Category Archives: Sea/Ocean Names

Pacificus, Pacifico, Pacifica, Pacifique

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Pacificus is a Late Latin name derived from pax, meaning “peace,” or “peaceful” more specifically.

It’s Italian form of Pacifico was borne by a follower of Saint Francis of Assisi and an 18th-century Italian saint. The designated name-day for the latter is September 24th.

Its feminine form of Pacifica has been in use in Italy since at least the 16th-century.

Its French form of Pacifique is a unisex name and experienced some usage in France at the turn of the 20th-century. It appeared in the French Top 1000 Most Popular Male Names between 1901-1909, peaking at #446 in 1909. Today, the name is an obsolete gem.

Today, Pacific, with the nickname Pace, may make an unusual place and nature name for a boy. Though rare, it is the legit English translation of this name.

Forms include

Male

  • Pacific (English)
  • Pacifique (French)
  • Pacificus (German, Late Latin)
  • Pacyfik (Polish)
  • Pacífico (Portuguese, Spanish)

Female

  • Pacifique (French)
  • Pacifica (Italian)
  • Pacyfika (Polish)
  • Pacífica (Portuguese, Spanish)

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Kayal

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The name is a feminine Indian name that sounds identical to the male English surname & given-name, Kyle.

It can either be derived from the Hindi “कायल (convinced) or the Tamil கயல் which is the name of a species of fish endemic to the Indian subcontinent, known under the scientific term of cyprinus fimbriatus or the Fringed-lipped peninsula carp.

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Ianeira, Ianira, Yanira

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Les_Oceanides_Les_Naiades_de_la_mer

Les Oceanides Les Naiades de la mer. Gustave Doré, 1860s

  • Origin: Greek Ιάνειρα Ιάνιρα
  • Meaning: uncertain
  • Gender: feminine
  • (yah-NEER-ah)

The name is Greek but of uncertain derivation, it may be linked with the term Ionian. In Greek mythology, it is borne by an Oceanid nymph who was said to be gathering flowers with Persephone when she was abducted by Hades. It is also borne by a nereid.

In recent years, its Spanish forms of Janira & Yanira have become common in Spanish-speaking countries.

Other forms include:

  • Janira (Catalan, Spanish)
  • Ianira (Italian, Greek)
  • Yanira (Spanish)

Sources

Coral, Coralia

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Portrait_of_a_Woman_with_Coral_Beads_by_Hans_Canon

Coral comes directly from the word for the marine invertebrates whose detached exoskeletons have been used for centuries by various cultures to create jewelry. The word itself is derived from the Greek κοραλλιον (korallion).

It is also the name of an orangish-pink colour.

As a given-name, it has been in use for centuries as its Greek form of Koralia (Coralia in Late Latin) was borne by a 4th-century Christian saint and martyr.

There are records for Corilia in 16th-century England, Corelia in 17th-century England Coreyle in 16th-century Württemberg & Corille in 17th-century France.

Coral appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 between 1881 & 1992, peaking at #486 in 1888.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Koraljka (Croatian)
  • Coral (English, Spanish)
  • Coralia (English, Late Latin)
  • Corilia (English)
  • Corail (French)
  • Corille (French, archaic)
  • Coreyle (German, archaic)
  • Koralia Κοραλια (Greek)
  • Korália (Hungarian)
  • Coralla, Corallo (Italian)
  • Koral קורל (Modern Hebrew)

Sources

Coraline

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Coraline.jpgOrigin: French
Meaning: uncertain
Gender: Feminine
Fr. (KOH-hrah-LEEN); Eng. (CORE-e-LINE)

The name is most likely a French diminutive form of Cora, (Grk. maiden), or Coralie that eventually spun off as an independent given name.

In both France and England, the name has been in use since the early 19th-century.

The French opera by Adolphe Adam Le toréador, ou L’accord parfait (1849) probably helped put this name on the map.

It is also the name of a French genus of apple that was bred for the first time in 2002.

In the Mediterranean, coraline is the name of a type of felucca used to hunt coral.

Its recent usage in the English-speaking world was no doubt brought back to life by Neil Gaiman’s 2002 novel Coraline, which was adapted into a film in 2009. Gaiman claimed that the character’s name was originally meant to be Caroline, but Coraline was a typo that just stuck.

Alternately, if spelled Coralline it is the name of a genus of red algae.

Another form is the Italian Coralina and the Russian and Polish form, albeit rare, is Koralina Коралина.

The name has also been in use in the Netherlands since the 19th-century.

Coraline has been in the U.S. Top 1000 Most Popular Female Names since 2012 and is currently the 602nd most popular female name in the United States (2016).

Sources

 

Marina, Marine

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: “sea; of the sea”
(mah-REE-nah); Fre (mah-REEN)

The name is borne by a very famous and legendary Middle Eastern Christian saint. Known as Saint Marina the Monk, or St. Marina of Bithynia, (also known as Mariam), legend has it that as a girl, her father disguised her as a boy and left her at a monastery to live with monks. She grew up among the monks, who always believed she was a boy, and she became a role model for the monastic community. She caught the eye of a local girl who, believing she was a man, tried to seduce her, when Marina refused the advances, the girl accused her of making her pregnant. The monastery banished Marina and she was forced to raise the child of the woman who had accused her of being the father. She raised the boy and the boy grew up to join the order and become a pious monk himself, but Marina continued to be ostracized by her former community. It wasn’t until she died that her true identity as a woman was revealed and the monastery realized that she could have never made the woman pregnant, and that the child was not her son. Since she continued to live in humility and raised the child as her own even when he was not, she was seen as a great suffering saint. Her feast is held on July 18th in the Coptic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. The Catholic Church holds her feast on June 18th. Her cult is especially popular among marionite Lebanese Christians.

As a result, the name is fairly popular throughout the Christian Orthodox World, including Russia, Greece, Lebanon and Syria.

Other forms include:

  • Marina Марина მარინა Μαρινα (Bulgarian/Catalan/Croatian/Dutch/Georgian/German/Greek/Italian/Latin/Macedonian/Portuguese/Romanian/Russian/Scandinavian/Serbian/Slovene/Spanish)
  • Marína (Czech/Slovak)
  • Maren (Danish/Norwegian)
  • Marna (Danish)
  • Marine (French)
  • Marinella/Marinetta (Italian)
  • Maryna (Polish: diminutive form is Marynka).
  • Marinela/Marinka (Slovene)
Her French form of Marine also coincides with the French word for “navy blue” and for the female form of marin, meaning, “sailor.” She may make an interesting choice for someone looking for a more feminine and legit alternative to Sailor or even Navy.
As of 2010, Marine was the 100th most popular female name in France. Marina’s rankings in other countries are as follows:
  • # 27 (Catalonia, 2010)
  • # 27 (Spain, 2010)
  • # 33 (Brazil, 2010)
  • # 59 (Croatia, 2009)
  • # 71 (Maren, Norway, 2011)
  • # 266 (France, 2010)
  • # 321 (Maren, Netherlands, 2011)
  • # 616 (United States, 2011)

Masculine form is Marinus.

Sæbjørn

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Old Norse
Meaning: “sea-bear.”
(SYE-byern)

The name is composed of the Old Norse elements, saer (sea) and bjørn (bear).

As of 2010, Sæbjørn is the 8th most popular male name in the Faroe Islands.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Sæbjørn (Faroese/Norwegian/Old Norse)
  • Sæbjörn (Icelandic)
  • Sebjørn (Norwegian)
  • Sebjörn (Swedish)

Aegir

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Old Norse
Meaning: “to frighten; sea; ocean.”
(I-geer)

The name may be related to the Old Norse verb aegja, meaning, “to frighten.” In modern Icelandic, it is used as a poetic term for the ocean.
In Norse mythology, he was a minor sea god and husband to Rán. He was feared by sailors because if angered, Aegir was the one responsible for horrific sea storms. He was believed to have pre-dated the Aesir and the Vanir and was indestructible, (unlike the other gods), being able to survive the prophetic days of Ragnarok.
He shared his hall with his wife Ran on the Isle of Hlesey where he brewed ale for the gods. It was in his hall where Loki had murdered the beautiful god Baldur.
Aegir was known by other names such as, Oegis (EW-gees); Hler and; Gymir (the Blinder).
He was often depicted as a skinny old man with long white hair and crab claws for fingers.
The name is not used as a name in Iceland, (it is not on the approved list), probably due to its close sound to the word aegja. However, the female spin off name of Aegileif is a very common name. In Old Norse Aegileif meant “life of Aegir” however in modern Icelandic it literally means, “the fear of leaving food uneaten.” Aegir, however, is usable in other Scandinavian countries, but is rare. It is possible that he may catch on with the revival of other pre-Christian Nordic such names as Viking, Loki, Frejr and Odin.
Update: As of 2010, Ægir was the 8th most popular male name in the Faroe Islands. Contrary to what was written a few years back, my research has shown that the name is used in Iceland, and it is fairly common.
Other forms of the name include:
  • Ægir (Danish/Faroese/Icelandic/Old Norse)
  • Æge (Norwegian)
  • Egir (Norwegian)
  • Aegir (Swedish)
  • Ägir (Swedish)

Bara

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The name could be of a few different origins, it could be a Croatian short form of Barbara, or if spelled, Bára, it is a Czech diminutive form of Barbora.

Bára can also be an Old Norse female name meaning, “wave.” In Norse Mythology, it is occasionally found as an alternate name for the Dröfn.

Bara can also be the Japanese word for Rose.

As of 2010, Bára 3rd most popular female name in the Faroe Islands.