Aïda

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Sebastiane

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Arabic عائدة
Meaning: “the return; the visitor.”
It (ah-EE-dah); Al/Bos (I-dah)

The name has a two different possible etymologies. One is that it is from the Arabic, meaning, “returning; visitor.”

In the case of Verdi’s Opera, Auguste Mariette was inspired by a possible Greco-Egyptian male name which was recorded on the Rosetta Stone, Aitus. The name was initially feminized to Aita, but was later changed to Aïda. Mariette attests to the origin of the name himself in a letter he wrote: “Don’t be alarmed by the title. Aida is an Egyptian name. Normally it would be Aita. But that name would be too harsh, and the singers would irresistibly soften it to Aida.”

The opera is about an Ethiopian princess who is captured and enslaved in Egypt. An Egyptian military commander by the name of Radamnes must chose between his love for Aida or his loyalty to the pharoah.

As of 2010, Aida was the 52nd most popular female name in Bosnia & Herzegovina, (2010).

Its Arabic form is sometimes transliterated as Ayda.

The name is used throughout the Islamic world in addition to Anglophone countries, Spanish speaking countries, Italy and in Hungary and Latvia.

Its designated name-days are: February 2 (Hungary) and February 3 (Latvia).

Sources

Dizionario dei Nomi (Selene, Armenia, 2002)
http://www.behindthename.com/name/aida
Simon, Henry W. (1946). A Treasury of Grand Opera. Simon and Schuster, New York, New York.
http://archive.operainfo.org/broadcast/operaBackground.cgi?id=33&language=1

Tarana, Təranə

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Sebastiane

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Persian
Meaning: “melody; music.”
(tuh-RAH-nuh)

The name is derived from an Old Persian source meaning, “music; melody.”

As of 2010, it was the 10th most popular name among the general female population in Azerbaijan.

It is sometimes transliterated as Tarana and in this case is the name of a is a type of composition in Hindustani classical vocal music.

Sevda

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Sebastiane

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Turkish
Meaning: “love; passion; longing.”
(SEF-da)

The name comes from the Turkish and Bosnian word meaning, “love; passion; longing.”

In Bosnian, the element can be found in the word for a type of folk music known as sevdalinka.

In Bulgaria, the designated name-day is September 17.

The name is borne by Azeri pop songstress, Sevda Alakbarzadeh (b.1977).

Currently, Sevda is the 6th most popular name among the general population in Azerbaijan.

Sources

Michelle

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Sebastiane

Gender: Feminine
Origin: French

The name is derived from the French female name, Michèle, a feminine form of Michel.

The name was popularized outside of France from the 1965 Beatles ballad, Michelle. Between 1968 and 1969 the name entered the U.S. top 10, ranking in as the 2nd most popular female name in the United States. As of 2010, Michelle came in as the 125th most popular female name in America.

Michelle’s usage has spread to Scandinavia, the Netherlands, South America and German-speaking countries. She is the 26th most popular female name in Italian-speaking, Switzerland, (2010)

Her rankings in other countries are as follows:

# 151 (Netherlands, 2010)

Ava

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Sebastiane

Gender: Feminine
Origin: German/Persian
Eng (AY-vah); Germ/Per (AH-vah)

This vintagy, two syllable name has risen way up to the US top 10, coming in at # 5 most popular female name in the United States, (2010).

The name was relatively rare before 2000, and came out of nowhere, thanks, no doubt, to such Hollywood trendsetters as Heather Locklear and Reese Witherspoon, both of whom used the name for their daughters in the late 1990s. Both actresses named their daughters in honour of actress, Ava Gardner (1922-1990), whose full name was Ava Lavinia Gardner.

The name has several different origins and meanings, the beloved English counterpart is probably derived from a medieval Frankish name, which was borne in the 9th-century by a saint and the daughter of King Pepin II. In this case, it might be derived from the Germanic element avi meaning “desired.” Other sources have related it to the Frisian awa (water) or from the old Saxon, aval (power).

Another notable bearer is Ava of Melk (1060-1127), a Medieval poetess credited as being the first German language writer. Its recent popularity in German-speaking countries may in part be in tribute to her millennial anniversary and in part to Hollywood.

The name is also a popular Persian female name and is commonly used in Iran and throughout Central Asia. It can either be related to the Persian meaning, “sound, voice” or it may be connected with the Avestan word meaning “first.”

In Ireland and Scotland, it is sometimes used as an anglicized form of Aoife.

Its rankings in other countries are as follows:

# 3 (Scotland, 2010)
# 6 (Canada, B.C., 2010)
# 6 (Ireland, 2010)
# 11 (England/Wales, 2010)
# 14 (Australia, 2010)
# 20 (Northern Ireland, 2010)
# 188 (Germany, 2011)
# 246 (France, 2009)
# 444 (the Netherlands, 2010)

Lorîn

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Sebastiane

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Kurdish
Meaning: “lullaby.”
(LOH-reen)

The name comes directly from the Kurdish meaning “lullaby.” It is currently the 433rd most popular female name in Germany, (2011).

The name is borne by Kurdish pop singer, Lorin Berzinci (b.1980).

Cosima

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Sebastiane

Gender: Feminine
Origin: German/Italian
Germ (KOH-zee-mah); It (KOH-zee-muh)

The name is a feminine form of Cosmas. It was introduced into Germany through Cosima Wagner (1837-1930) the daughter of Hungarian composer, Franz Liszt and the wife of German composer, Richard Wagner. She was the director of the Beyreuth Festival for 31 years.

Currently, Cosima is the 416th most popular female name in Germany, (2011). German supermodel, Claudia Schiffer, recently chose this name for her youngest daughter, Cosima Violet (b. 2010), as did writer and director Sofia Coppola the same year. It is also the name of Lady Cosima Windsor (b.2010) and Australian pop singer, Cosima De Vito.

Another German for is Kosima.

Laïs

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Sebastiane

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Greek/Celtic
Meaning: debated
(lah-YEES)

The name could be of a few derivatives depending on the bearer of the name. It could be a Greek name, of uncertain meaning. It was borne by two very famous hetaeras of the ancient world. Laïs of Corinth was alive during the Peloponnesian War and was said to be the most beautiful woman of her time, another courtesan of the same name is often confused with the former, Laïs of Hyccara, was a rival of Phryne and was said to be stoned to death by the jealous women of Thessaly.

Laïs could also be a plural form of lai, a type of Provençal or Breton lyrical narrative poem written in octosyllabic verse which often deals with tales of romance and adventure. In this case, it is argued that the source of the word may be from the Celtic meaning “song” or from the Old High German word, leich, meaning “song; melody.”

It could also be the name of the botanical genus of hippaestrum, erroneously referred to as amaryllis, they are endemic to Central and South America.

Lais is also the name of a castle in Estonia.

Currently, the Portuguese rendition of Laís is the 56th most popular female name in Brazil, (2011).

Other forms of the name include:

Laïs (French/Greek)
Laïda Λαΐδα (Modern Greek)
Laís (Portuguese)

Malena

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Sebastiane

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Croatian/Bosnian/Czech/Italian/Serbian/Spanish/Swedish
(mah-LAY-nah)

The name is an abstract form of Maria Magdalena, Mahulena and Magdalena.

As of 2009, Malena was the 19th most popular female name in Argentina. Its popularity in Argentina may be due to a famous tango song, Malena, by Homero Manzi and Lucio Demarre.

In the former Yugoslavia, it is the name of a title song by Videosex and Idoli.

Recently the name was brought to the public attention by the 2000 academy award winning Italian film starring Monica Belucci.

The name is borne by Swedish pop star, Malena Ernman (b.1970).

Another form is the Danish and Norwegian, Malene.

Ludmila

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Sebastiane

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Slavic
Meaning: “dear to the people.”

The name is composed of the Slavic elements lud (people; folk) and mil (dear; beloved; kind). The name is most likely a remnant from pre-Christian Slavic culture and survived due to a popular Czech saint of the same name.

St. Ludmila of Bohemia is considered the patron saint of Bohemia and is the mother of Good King Wenceslaus.

Alexandr Pushkin also used the name for his heroine in his 1820 poem based on Russian folklore, Ruslan and Ludmila. M. Glinka followed suit by creating an opera based on the poem.

Around the same time, in Poland, the name was popularized by a Romance written by Leo Potocki entitled, Żelisław & Ludmiła (1816).

As of 2009, Ludmila was the 20th most popular female name in Argentina.

Other forms of the name include:

Ljudmila/Lyudmila Людмила (Bulgarian/Hungarian/Russian/Slovene)
Ludmila Људмила (Czech/Serbian/Slovene)
Ludmiła (Polish)
Ludomiła (Polish)
Ludzimiła (Polish)
Ludźmiła (Polish)
Ľudmila (Slovak)
Lyudmyla Людмила (Ukrainian)

Diminutives include:

Lída (Czech)
Ljuda/Luda (Russian)

Masculine forms include

Lyudmil/Ljudmil Людмил (Bulgarian)
Ludmił (Polish)
Ludomił (Polish)

Legitimate Baby Names

names that are not made up and have had a history

Category Archives: Musical Names