Category Archives: Nickname Names

Zillah

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  • Origin: Biblical Hebrew צִלָּה
  • Meaning: “shade, shadow; bell.”
  • Gender: Female
  • Eng (ZIL-luh)

The name is Hebrew, either derived from צל (tsel) (shadow) or צלל (tsalal) (to ring like a bell). In Genesis 4:19, it is the name of one of the two wives of Lamech.

Though it never became a widespread Jewish name until recently, it had usage in the Protestant Anglo world since the 16th-century and experienced mild popularity in the mid to late 19th-century. It appeared in the U.S. Top 100 between 1881 and 1886, peaking at #679. It was borne by Zillah Oakes (circ. 1870s), the namesake of the city of Zillah, Washington. It was also borne by New Zealand Politician, Zillah Smith Gill (1859-1937).

In English literature, Lord Byron used it as the name of the wife of Abel in his 1821 play, Cain. It is the name of a servant in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights (1847), and the name of the titular heroin in the 1865 operetta by Australian composer, William Wilkins Russell. In recent years, it is the name of a character in Madeleine L’Engle’s, A Swiftly Tilting Planet (1978).

It may have occasionally been used as a form or short form of Cecilia.

Other forms include:

  • Sella Σέλλα Селла (Armenian, French, Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Slovak, Spanish)
  • Zilla (Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Scandinavian, Spanish)
  • Sille, Zille, Selle, Zelle (French)
  • Sela სელა (Georgian, Lithuanian, Portuguese)
  • Tzila, Tsila Цілла (Hebrew, Ukrainian)
  • Cilla (Hungarian, Polish)
  • Cillá (Hungarian)
  • Silla (Latvian)
  • Zila (Portuguese)

Sources

Spyridon, Spyridoula

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Spyridon is a Byzantine Greek male name which comes directly from the Greek word σπυρίδιον (spyridion), meaning “basket.” Other sources suggest it is a hellenised form of the Latin Spiritus (spirit). It was popularized by a 4th-century Greek saint who played a key role in the Council of Nicaea. He is revered as the patron saint of Corfu and of potters.

His feast day is December 12.

Spiro & Spyros are its short forms, while Spyridoula is the femininine form.

Spiro was borne by the 39th vice president of the United States, Spiro Agnew (1918-1996).

It was borne by Spyridon Louis, the first modern Olympic Gold medalist in the 1896 Summer Olympics.

Forms and usage include:

  • Spiridoni, Spiridhoni (Albanian)
  • Asbiridun اسبيريدون (Arabic)
  • Spiridon Спиридон (Assyrian, Bulgarian, Croatian, German, Lebanese-Arabic, Romanian, Serbian)
  • Espiridió, Espiridó (Catalan)
  • Spyridon Σπυρίδων (Coptic, French, Greek)
  • Špiro (Croatian)
  • Spi’ridon სპირიდონ (Georgian)
  • Spiridione, Spiridone (Italian)
  • Spirydon (Polish)
  • Espiridão (Portuguese)
  • Spiridón (Russian)
  • Espiridón, Espiridión (Spanish)
  • Spyrydon Спиридон (Ukrainian)

Italian feminine forms include: Spiridiona & Spiridona.

Sources

Dania, Danya

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DanyaThis name can have several origins and meanings. Spelled Dania it is a Polish diminutive name, which could be short for Daniela or Danuta. In Italian, Dania is also used as a diminutive form of Daniela, but is often used as an independent given name. In Russian, the name is a unisex diminutive form of Danil or Danila, the equivalent of Danny in English.

Dania is also the Latin name for Denmark and has occasionally been used as a given-name in Denmark and other Scandinavian countries. Dania Beach is the name of a city in Florida, which was named in honour of its predominately Danish residents.

Dania دانية is also an Arabic female name, derived from the root d-n-a, meaning “close; near.”

Danya דַּנְיָה, sometimes transliterated as Dania, is a popular female name in Israel, used as a modern feminine form of Dan, it is probably an import from Polish and Russian immigrants from when it was in use as a diminutive form of one of the above mentioned names.

In the United States, Dania appeared in the U.S. top 1000 between 1996 and 2010 and peaked at #764 in 1996.

Regardless of origin, use, and spelling, the name is pronounced (DAHN-yah) in all of the aforementioned languages.

Below is a list of other forms and languages of use:

  • Dania (Arabic/Danish/Faroese/Hebrew/Italian/Norwegian/Swedish)
  • Danja (Danish/Swedish)
  • Danía (Icelandic)
  • Danit (Hebrew)
  • Danya (Hebrew)

Note in Poland and Russia, Dania is used as exclusively as a diminutive form of one of the above mentioned names.

Sources

Zelda

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ZeldaThe name can either be a Yiddish feminine form of Selig (blessed; happy) or a diminutive form of Griselda.

The name came became somewhat widespread at the turn of the 20th-century thanks to the American writer, Zelda Fitzgerald (1900-1948), who in her case, was named for the fictional characters in Jane Howard’s Zelda: A Tale of the Massachusetts Colony (1866) and Robert Edward Francillon’s Zelda’s Fortune (1874).

Despite its vintage feel, Zelda has only recently appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 within the last 2 years, first entering in 2015. It is currently the 689th most popular female name.

This is also the name of the character from the video game series, The Legend of Zelda by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka.

Other notable bearers include American fashion designer, Zelda Wynn Valdes (1905-2001), American actress Zelda Rubenstein (1933-2010) and American actress, daughter of Robin Williams, Zelda Williams (b.1986).

Another form is Selda.

The name has also occurred in occasional use in French-speaking countries, Spanish and Portuguese-Speaking countries and German-Speaking countries.

Sources

 

Katia, Katja, Katya

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KatiaThe name is a Russian diminutive form of Ekaterina and spun off as a well-established independent given name across Western Europe. In Russian, this is the equivalent of Katie.

In France, Katia appeared among the Top 100 most popular female names between 1968 and 1979. Katia peaked at #42 in 1970. As of 2018, the name has not been in the French Top 1000 since 2004. Likewise, in Italy, it appeared in the Top 200 Most Popular Female Names between 1999 and 2007 and peaked at #141 in 1999. While in the United States, Katia appeared in the Top 1000 between 1996 and 2001 and peaked in 1996 at #772.

In the 1980s, Katja became extremely popular in Northern Europe, especially in Germany and Scandinavian countries.

In English, the name is sometime transliterated as Katya.

Its latinate form of Catia is occassionally used in Italy, Romania, Portuguese-Speaking and Spanish-speaking countries. Cátia and Kátia is used in Brazil.

As an independent given name, it is seldom used in Russia.

Countries/Languages in which Katia is in use: Bulgarian, Danish, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Romanian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish.

Countries/Languages in which Katja is in use: Bosnian, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, German, Latvian, Macedonian, Norwegian, Serbian, Slovenian, Swedish

Sources

Tala

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This name is one of the ultimate cross-cultural names, it has various meanings and legitimate origins from Europe, to Asia and to the Middle East.

The name has been recorded in use in Northern Europe since Medieval Times, possibly being a contracted form of Adalheidis, its offshoots of Talea and Talina have experienced minor recent resurgence in Germany. Tala also been used in most Scandinavian countries, though today, it is considered very archaic.

Tala appears in a 14th-century Swedish folk ballad Herr Holger (which is the subject of a 1996 song by the Swedish band, Gamarna). The ballad recounts the exploits of a greedy tax official who steals tax money for himself. He is caught by King Christian and beheaded. He is condemned to hell, but is able to return to warn his wife, Fru Tala (Lady Tala). He pleads with Tala to return all the wealth she inherited from him, (which in turn was the result of his stolen money), to its rightful owner or else she will experience a similar fate. Tala refuses, as she would rather condemn herself to hell than give up her wealth.

Its Finnish and Estonian form is Taala and Taali, and a Scandinavian  masculine version is Tale.

Tala is also the name of a Tagalog goddess of the morning and evening star. In one legend, she is the daughter of the sun god Arao and the moon goddess, Buan. Arao and Buan had a large number of star-children, the eldest being Tala. Arao was afraid his heat would burn up his star-children, so he and Buan decided to destroy them, but Buan reneged on her promise and hid her children behind clouds. Arao got wind of Buan’s secret and, according to legend, continues to try and destroy her, which explains the phenomenon of eclipses. Each morning, Buan runs to hide her children behind the clouds, her eldest Tala being the lookout before dawn, being the personification of the morning star.

In another Tagalog legend, Tala is the daughter of the god Bathala. She is the sister of Hanan (the goddess of the morning) and Mayari, another moon goddess.

In Tagalog, tala means “star; planet; celestial body.”

Tala was recently a hit song by Filipina singer, Sarah Geronimo (2016).

In Indian classical music, Tala is the term used to describe musical meter and rhythm. It literally means “clapping; tapping.”

Tala can also be Arabic تالة (Tala) meaning “Turmeric tree; turmeric spice” or a “small potted palm.”

In Amazigh, one of the languages of the Berber people, Tala means “source; spring or fountain.”

Tala is also Farsi and means “gold.”

In Italy and Romania, Tala is used as a diminutive form of Natalia, a la Romanian actress, Tala Birell (1907-1958).

Tala is the name of a type of decidous tree native to tropical and subtropical South America. Its scientific name is celtis tala.

Other meanings include:

  • It is the Azeri word for “glade.”
  • tālā is the Samoan currency and is believed to be a phonetic corruption of the English word dollar.
  • In Polish, it is a feminine form of the Greek, Thales, though it is seldom used, it does appear on the nameday calendar.
  • In Pashtun, Təla/Tala means “weighing scale” and is the name of the seventh month of the Afghan Calendar, its meaning referring to the Zodiac sign of Libra.
  • It is the name of a minor Chadic language in Nigeria.

What the name is not:

Many baby name sources have dubiously listed this name as meaning “wolf” in “Native American,” (which is not a language by the way), while other sources have listed this as being Cherokee or Iroquois for “wolf hunter,” but there are no legitimate Cherokee or Iroquois sources collaborating this information. In fact, Native Languages of the Americas has written a fabulous list pertaining to faux Native American baby names and Tala made the list.

As a closing to this post, I recommend this blog post written by a mother explaining the reason why she chose this name for her daughter. It is from 2006, but still a wonderful read D-Log: The Many Meanings of Tala.

Sources

Apolena, Apolline, Appollonia

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Greek
Meaning: “belonging to Apollo.”
Fre (Pronunciation); Czech (ah-poh-LEY-nah); Pol (ah-paw-LAW-nee-ah); Germ/Hung (ah-poh-LONE-ee-ah); It (ah-poh-LONE-yah)

She is sweet, fruity and portable, with the possible nickname options of the avant-garde Apple or the more subtle, Polly, who couldn’t resist this pearl?

Appollonia is a feminine form of the Greek male name, Appollonios πολλωνιος , which means “belonging to Apollo.” It was a very common name in Ancient Greece and is fairly common in modern Greece.

Its feminine form, however, was borne by a legendary saint. St. Appollonia was an early Christian Greek martyr. According to tradition, she was a deaconess and when she left her Church she was approached by a gang looking to kill Christians. Before being killed, she was tortured by either having her teeth pulled out one by one or more likely, she took such a hard blow to the face from her attackers that her teeth were knocked out. She has been revered as the patron saint of dentists and invoked against tooth ache by both the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches.

There is evidence to suggest that Appollonia, or at least a form of it, was used in England before the Protestant Reformation. The cult of the saint was fairly popular in Medieval England, and though I cannot conclude that they are related for sure, I have found records of the female name Apelyn as early as the 15th-century in England. Another form of Appelin appears a few times in the mid 19th-century U.S. census records. Both Apelyn or Appelin may make interesting yet legitimate trendy alternatives to Adelyn or any name currently popular name ending in -lyn.

Appollonia is a common enough name in Greece and Southern Italy, many of you may be familiar with the name via The Godfather in which it is the name of the ill-fated Sicilian first wife of Michael Corleone.

As of 2010, its French form of Apolline was the 98th most popular female name in France. Its Polish offshoot of Pola ranked in as the 46th most popular female name in Poland in 2009. In this case, the name may be used in reference to its associations with the Polish noun, pole (field).

Another interesting Polish offshoot is Polonia, which is rare in Poland these days but might make an interesting choice for Polish-American parents who want to honour their heritage as polonia is a term used to describe the Polish diaspora in the United States. She may be the Polish-American answer to the Irish-American, Erin.

Then there is the lovely Czech variant of Apolena, which would make an interesting alternative to Elena or Magdalena.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Apollonia Απολλωνια (Albanian/Dutch/German/Greek/Italian/Romanian/Romansch/Scandinavian)
  • Ap(p)olonija Аполлония (Bulgarian/Croatian/Macedonian/Polish/Russian/Serbian/Slovene)
  • Apol·lònia (Catalan)
  • Abelone (Danish)
  • Lone (Danish)
  • Apolline (French)
  • Apollonie (French)
  • Pollonie (French)
  • Abelena (German)
  • Appolonia (German)
  • Apol (Hungarian)
  • Apolka (Hungarian)
  • Apollinária (Hungarian)
  • Apollónia (Hungarian)
  • Pólika (Hungarian)
  • Polina Полина (Hungarian/Russian/Ukrainian)
  • Polla (Hungarian)
  • Apollònia (Occitanian)
  • Apolinaria (Polish)
  • Apolla (Polish)
  • Apollina (Polish)
  • Apollona (Polish)
  • Apolonia (Polish/Serbian/Spanish)
  • Pola (Polish)
  • Polonia (Polish)
  • Apolônia (Portuguese: Brazilian)
  • Apolónia (Portuguese: European)
  • Balugna (Romansch)
  • Paluongia (Romansch)
  • Apollinárija Аполлина́рия (Russian)
  • Apolónia (Slovak)
  • Apoliena (Slovak: ah-poh-LYEH-nah)
  • Polona (Slovene)

Polish diminutives include: Pola, Polka, Polunia, Polusia, Polonka, Połonka, Lonia

Appollonia is also the name of several ancient cities throughout the former Greek colonies.

Masculine forms include:

  • Apollinarij/Apollinary Аполлинарий (Bulgarian/Russian)
  • Apol-loni (Catalan)
  • Apolinár (Czech)
  • Appollonius (Dutch/Latin/Romansch)
  • Apollinaire (French)
  • Apolonio (Galician/Spanish)
  • Apollinaris Απολλιναρις (Greek/Romansch)
  • Apollonios Απολλωνιος (Greek)
  • Apollóniosz (Hungarian)
  • Apollinare (Italian)
  • Appollonio (Italian)
  • Apolinary (Polish)
  • Apoloniusz (Polish)
  • Apolinário (Portuguese)
  • Apolônio (Portuguese: Brazilian)
  • Apolónio (Portuguese: European)
  • Apollinar (Romansch/Spanish)
  • Apollinari (Romansch)
  • Balun (Romansch)

Lison

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: French
Fre (leey-ZOHn)

Pronounced, LEE-sen or LEE-zen, she may make an interesting yet legitimately feminine alternative to Madison or Addison or a more cool and modern form of the dated, Lisa.

Lison is a Medieval French diminutive of Elizabeth. It is also the name of a commune and river in France.

As of 2010, Lison was the 113th most popular female name in France, and she is rising. She jumped 9 spots from the year previous.

Fannie, Fanny

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: French
Eng (FAN-nee); Fre (fahn-NEE)

While most sources agree that the name may have originally been a diminutive form of Frances, it may have actually started off as a franconized form of the Russian, Faniya, which is a Russian form of the Greek, Phaenna, derived from the Greek, φαεινος (phaeinnos), meaning, “shining.” The name may have been introduced into France via the Ballet Russe. Another possibility is that it is a French contraction of Stephanie.

In the Anglophone world the name has fallen out of usage due to vulgar connotations, in American-English, it is used to refer to the female buttocks while in British-English, it is slang for the female genitalia. This nomer may have developed due to the association of the erotic novel, Fanny Hill also known as Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, by John Cleland, (1748)

The name also appears in Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park as the name of the heroine, Fanny Price (1814)

Fannie and Fanny was at one time a very popular name in the English-speaking world. The highest she ranked in U.S. naming history was at # 47 from 1881-1883. She completely disappeared from the U.S. top 1000 by 1968.

As of 2010, Fanny was the 130th most popular female name in France.

The name is currently borne by French pop-singer, Fanny (b.1979).

The name is also used in Scandinavia.

Andrew

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Greek
Meaning: “of man, belonging to man.”

The name is derived from the Greek Ανδρεασ (Andreas), which is derived from the Greek word, ανδροσ (andros), a genitive form of the word, ανηρ (aner), meaning, “man.” Hence, it would rougly translate to mean “belonging to man” or “of man.”

It was popularized by one of the twelve Apostles, who is now considered a popular Christian saint. It is suggested that Andreas was a nickname given to him, or possibly just a direct Greek translation of a Hebrew name that had a similar meaning, now lost to history.

Saint Andrew is considered the patron saint of Scotland, Russia, Greece and Romania. According to legend, he was martyred around the Black sea on an X shaped cross. His designated name-day is November 30.

The name has remained a staple in the U.S. top 100. As of 2011, he was the 16th most popular male name. His rankings and his various incarnations in other countries are as follows:

  • # 1 (Andrei, Romania, 2009)
  • # 3 (Andrea, Italy, 2010)
  • # 3 (Andrea, Italian-speaking, Switzerland, 2010)
  • # 6 (Andreas, Estonia, 2011)
  • # 8 (Andria, Georgia, 2011)
  • # 8 (Andrej, Serbia, 2011)
  • # 9 (Andrey, Russia BabyCenter, 2011)
  • # 10 (Ondřej, Czech Republic, 2011)
  • # 10 (Andre/Andrew/Andrea/Andrei, Malta, 2011)
  • # 12 (Andreas, Norway, 2011)
  • # 25 (András, Hungary, 2011)
  • # 28 (Andreas, Denmark, 2011)
  • # 35 (Scotland, 2010)
  • # 38 (Canada, BC, 2010)
  • # 39 (Andrej, Croatia, 2009)
  • # 41 (Andraž, Slovenia, 2010)
  • # 46 (Andreas, Austria, 2010)
  • # 57 (Andrija, Croatia, 2009)
  • # 58 (Ireland, 2010)
  • # 61 (Andres, Spain, 2010)
  • # 68 (Australia, NSW, 2011)
  • # 70 (Northern Ireland, 2010)
  • # 92 (Andrej, Slovenia, 2010)
  • # 98 (Andro, Croatia, 2009)
  • # 98 (Anders, Norway, 2011)
  • # 176 (Andres, United States, 2011)
  • # 241 (André, United States, 2011)
  • # 244 (Andrea, France, 2010)
  • # 388 (Andreas, France, 2010)
  • # 950 (Anders, United States, 2011)

Other forms are as follows (listed alphabetically by linguistic origin).

  • Andrees/Andries (Afrikaans/Old Dutch)
  • Andrea (Albanian/Italian)
  • Ndreu (Albanian)
  • Andreyas (Amharic)
  • Andraws/Andraous اندراوس (Arabic/Coptic/Lebanese/Syriac)
  • Andreas (Armenian/Czech/Estonian/German/Greek/Hungarian/Slovak/Scandinavian)
  • Andresu (Asturian)
  • Ander (Basque)
  • Anderl (Baverian)
  • Andrièu (Bearnais/Occitanian/Provencal)
  • Andrivet (Bearnais)
  • Andrej Андрэй (Belarusian)
  • Andreo/Andrev (Breton)
  • Andrei/Andrey Андрей (Bulgarian/Old Church Slavonic/Romanian/Russian/)
  • Andrejko (Bulgarian)
  • Andreu (Catalan/Aragonese)
  • Andria ანდრია (Corsican/Georgian/Sardinian)
  • Andrej (Croatian/Czech/Slovak/Slovene)
  • Andrija (Croatian/Serbian)
  • Andro/Jandre (Croatian)
  • Ondřej (Czech)
  • Anders (Danish/Norwegian/Swedish)
  • Dres/Dreves/Drevs (Danish)
  • Andries/Adrees (Dutch)
  • Andres (Estonian)
  • Ando/Andre/Andro/Andrus/Andu/Andi/Anti (Estonian)
  • Andras/Andrias (Faroese)
  • Andriou (Fijian)
  • Antero/Tero (Finnish)
  • Antti (Finnish)
  • Andris/Driess (Frisian)
  • André (French/Galician/Ladino/Portuguese)
  • Dria (Genevoese: Dialectical Italian form)
  • Anda (German: dialectical form, Northern Austria)
  • Anekelea (Hawaiian)
  • Andor/András/Endre (Hungarian)
  • Andris (Hungarian/Latvian)
  • Andrés (Icelandic/Spanish)
  • Aindréas/Aindriú (Irish)
  • Andrejs (Latvian)
  • Andriejus/Andrius (Lithuanian)
  • Andrija/Indri (Maltese)
  • Anaru (Maori)
  • Dreesi (Old Swiss German: Basel dialect)
  • Andrzej/Jędrzej (Polish: latter is a very old form)
  • Drewes (Plattdeutsch)
  • Andrea/Andreia/Andri/Andrin/Andriu (Romansch)
  • Ándá/Ándaras/Ándde/Ánde (Saami)
  • Aindrea/Aindreas/Anndra (Scottish)
  • Ondrej (Slovak)
  • Andraž (Slovene)
  • Handrij (Sorbian)
  • Andalea (Swahili)
  • Andriy Андрiй (Ukrainian)
  • Andras (Welsh)

Belorusian diminutives are: Andros, Andruk and Andrus. Czech masculine diminutive forms are Andy, Ondra, Ondrášek, Ondrejko, Ondrík, Ondřejek and Ondříček. French diminutive forms are: Dédé, Ti-Dré, Andi, Déa & Andy. A German diminutive form is Andy/Andi and English are Andi, Andie, Andy, Dre and Drew. A Hungarian diminutive is Bandi and Polish diminutive forms are Andrzejek, Jędrek and Jędruś. Scotch diminutive form is Dand.

Note: Andrea is a common feminine form in most European countries outside of Italy and Albania, particularly in Germany and the Anglo-phone world. Whether this is a borrowing from the Italian and was changed, or a coincidental evolution, is unknown. What is known is that Andrea has been used in England as a feminine form since the 17th-century.

Feminine forms are (listed alphabetically by linguistic origin)

  • Andere (Basque)
  • Andrea (Basque/Breton/English/German/Spanish)
  • Andriva/Andriveta (Bearnais/Occitanian)
  • Andersine (Danish)
  • Andrine (Danish/Norwegian)
  • Drine (Danish)
  • Dreesje (Dutch)
  • Andrée (French)
  • Aanasi/Aanarsi/Aanta/Aantariarsi (Greenlandic)
  • Andreina (Italian)
  • Andzeja/Ondzeja (Polish: obscure)
  • Andréia (Portuguese: Brazilian)
  • Andreia (Portuguese: European)
  • Andriano (Provencal)
  • Andreea (Romanian)
  • Andrina (Romansch)
  • Andrijana (Serbo-Croatian)
  • Andreja (Slovene)
  • Andrietta/Andriette (Swedish/Danish: very rare)

Czech diminutive forms are: Adrejka, Andruška, Andra, Rea. English diminutive forms are Andi, Andy, Annie and Drea.