Category Archives: Sky

Celestine

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Gender: Masculine (English); Feminine (French)
Origin: Latin
Meaning: ” of the sky; of the heavens.”
Eng (sel-es-TINE; SEL-es-tin); Fre Masc (say-les-TEN); Fre Fem (say-les-TEEN)

The name is derived from the Late Latin male name, Caelestinus, meaning, “of the sky; of the heavens.”

In English, the name was anglicized to Celestine while in French, Célestine was always strictly the feminine form, the French masculine form being, Célestin.

The name was borne by five popes.

In the English-speaking world, Celestine was seldom used, if it was ever used it was usually used for females being a borrowing from the French, though Celestine is a common male name among Nigerian Catholics.

As of 2010, Célestin was the 415th most popular male name in France, while its feminine form of Célestine was the 419th most popular female name in France.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Celestin Целестин Целестин (Asturian/Bulgarian/Romanian/Romansch/Russian/Scandinavian/Serbian/Ukrainian)
  • Celestí (Catalan)
  • Celestýn (Czech)
  • Celestijn (Dutch)
  • Celestinus (Dutch)
  • Celestine (English)
  • Célestin (French)
  • Celestino (Galician/Italian/Portuguese/Spanish)
  • Coelestin (German)
  • Cölestin (German)
  • Zölestin (German)
  • Kelestínos Κελεστίνος (Greek)
  • Celesztin (Hungarian)
  • Caelestinus (Late Latin)
  • Celestinas (Lithuanian)
  • Celestyn (Polish)
  • Celestìnu (Sardinian)
  • Celestín (Slovene)
A famous female bearer was Célestine Galli-Marié (1840–1905), a French mezzo-soprano who created the title role in the opera Carmen
La Celestina, a 15th-century literary piece written by Fernando de Rojas, is considered one of Spain’s greatest pieces of literature.
Celestina is also the name of an 18th-century literary piece written by poet, Charlotte Turner Smith.
Other feminine forms include:
  • Celestina Целестина (Czech/English/Italian/Lithuanian/Portuguese/Romanian/Romansch/Russian/Slovak/Spanish)
  • Célestine (French)
  • Cölestina (German)
  • Zölestina (German)
  • Celesztina (Hungarian)
  • Celestyna (Polish)
  • Kolestina Колестина (Russian)

Celestine is also the name of an order of Benedictine monks and it is also the name of a type of mineral.

Diana

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latin Диана
Meaning: “sky.”
Eng (di-AHN-nah)

The name is derived from the Latin word, dius which refers to “divinity” but may also be traced to an earlier Indo-European root word deyew* meaning “sky.” It is believed to share the same etymology with the Greek Zeus, the Latin Deus (god), the Vedic Dyaus and the Latin dies (day, day light).

In Roman mythology the name was borne by the virgin goddess of the hunt and of the moon. She was most often associated with wild animals and the woodlands. She was considered the patroness of virgins and women and was one of the triad of maiden goddesses, Diana, Minerva & Vesta.

The name was borne by several early Greek saints and as a result, was always a common name in Southeastern Europe and frequently used among the Christians of the Middle East. It was possibly introduced into the English-speaking world via Sir Walter Scott’s 1817 novel Rob Roy, it may have been further popularized by George Meredith’s Diana of the Crossways (1885).

In modern history, the name was borne by the late Princess of Wales, Diana Spencer (1961-1997).

The name is currently the 190th most popular female name in the United States, (2010). The highest she ranked in the U.S. name charts was in 1946 when she ranked in as the # 42. Its French counterpart of Diane became exceedingly popular in the English-speaking world during the mid-20th-century. She currently does not rank in the U.S. top 1000, but at one time (1951) she was the 15th most popular female name.

Diana’s rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 4 (Kazakhstan, 2010)
  • # 83 (Hungary, 2010)
  • # 84 (Spain, 2010)

Other forms of the name include:

  • Dijana Дијана (Bosnian/Croatian/Macedonian/Serbian/Slovene)
  • Diana Диана დიანა (Assyrian/Bulgarian/Coptic/Czech/Dutch/English/Estonian/German/Georgian/Greek/Hungarian/Italian/Kazakh/Latin/Latvian/Lebanese/Lithuanian/Polish/Portuguese/Romanian/Russian/Scandinavian/Spanish/Syrian/Ukrainian)
  • Diane (French/English)
  • Diána (Hungarian)

The designated name-days are: Janury 4 (Czech Republic), January 29 (Sweden), February 23, (Latvia), June 9 (France), July 1 (Slovakia), August 13 (Lithuanian/Poland) September 23 (Estonia).

Sources

  1. http://www.behindthename.com/php/find.php?name=diane
  2. http://www.askoxford.com/firstnames/diana?view=uk

Araceli

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: alter of the sky
Pronunciation: ah-rah-THE-lee (Spanish), ah-rah-SE-lee (Latin American Spanish)

The name is composed of the Latin elements, ara (alter) and coeli (sky).

The name caught on in the Spanish-speaking world due to an epithet to the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señore de Araceli, revered as the patroness of Lucena Spain. There is also a place in Italy which bears the same name.

The name is currently the 821st most popular female name in the United States (2010).  Another form is Arcelia.

Sources:

  1. http://www.behindthename.com/name/araceli

Taivo

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Estonian
Meaning: “heaven; sky.”
(TAHEE-vo)

The name is derived from the Estonian taevas (heaven; sky); Old Estonian, taivas (heaven; sky).

The designated name-day is May 17.

Sources

  1. http://www.fredonia.edu/faculty/emeritus/EdwinLawson/estoniannames/index.html
  2. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Taivo
  3. http://www.behindthename.com/namedays/lists/est.php
  4. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.idigitalemotion.com/tutorials/guest/stellar/sky.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.idigitalemotion.com/tutorials/guest/stellar/stellar.html&usg=__b9Zm3sfivTRYP9hRr3IGpIzqtnM=&h=1150&w=1536&sz=403&hl=en&start=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=CQeunT_AwvZbrM:&tbnh=112&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsky%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26tbs%3Disch:1

Nevena

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Bosnian/Serbo-Croat/Bulgarian/Macedonian
Meaning: “marigold.”
Невена
(neh-VEY-nah)

or
Origin: Breton
Meaning: “heaven; temple; fane.”

The name could be from the South Slavic word, neven, meaning, “marigold flower”.

There is also a masculine version of Neven.

The feminine form is currently borne by Nevena Tsoneva (b.1986), a famous Bulgarian pop singer, (pictured left).

Diminutive forms include Neva and Nevenka and the masculine Nevenko.

Neven is also the name of a popular gel used in the former Republic of Yugoslavia. Known as Neven Gel, it is made from marigold extracts and is used as a sort of Bengay cream.

I must give credit to one of my followers Capucine who informed me of the names’ coincidental Breton origins.

The name was borne by a Breton Saint of whom I could find very little information, however, it is believed that he left his name in some French place names in Brittany Lannéven and Lesneven. His feast and name-day is April 6.

Its meaning and derivation is of debated origin, it could be derived from an old Breton word for “temple; fane” or it is possibly related to the modern Breton word for “sky”, (also possibly meaning “heaven”) from the Breton word (neñv).

Offshoots include the masculine forms of Nevenoe, and Neveno.

Masculine diminutives include: Nevenou, Nevenig, Venou and Venig.

The feminine versions are Nevena and Nevenez and feminine diminutives include: Venaig and Nezig.

Anahí

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Gender: Female
Origin: debated
Meaning: debated
(ah-nah-EE)

The name, which has recently become extremely popular in South American countries, is clouded in mystery and legend.

In legend, Anahí was the daughter of a Guarani chief, her and her father tried to fight the Spanish, but were finally subdued. In punishment, the Conquistador’s tied Anahí to a tree and set her on fire. Legend says that the next day, the same tree bloomed flowers, and that is supposedly how the Ceibo tree got its flowers.

The Ceibo is the national flower of Argentina.

Some sources believe that the name may be of Guarani origin and mean “flower of the sky.” Or that it is simply the Guarani word for the Ceibo tree itself. Still other sources contend that it is a derivative of the Assyrian Anahita, and that it first appeared in South America via Lebanese and Assyrian immigrants at the beginning of the 20th-century.

The name is currently borne by famous Mexican actess, Anahí Portillo (b. 1983).

In 2008, the name ranked in at 437 for the top 1000 names in the U.S.

(upper left, Ceibo tree, national flower of Argentina).

Palatine, Palatyne, Palestine, Kestenn

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Gender: Female
Origin: French/Celtic
Meaning: debated
Pronunciation French (pah-lah-TEEN); English (pal-uh-TINE)

The name is found in French folklore as the name of the daughter of Pressyne and Elynas, and the sister of Mélusine.

Palatine was cursed by her mother to be locked in the Aragonese mountains with her father’s treasures, accompanied by a bear and serpent. Only a knight could free her and save her, on the condition that he be of the same bloodline as her father’s.

Throughout the years, many knights did just that, but had failed. However, a knight of King Arthur’s court, and the relative of Tristan, decided to climb the mountain and free the princess. He had to scale a mountain covered in venemous snakes, and then face the bear that guarded the entrance to the cave, all of which he killed. Finally he was able to enter the cave, but within the first chamber was a large serpent with one eye. The snake swallowed him up, and the knight was defeated in his quest, because, as it turned out, he was not of the right lineage.

Years later, Geoffrey-with-the-great-tooth, the nephew of Palatyne, had spent his life saving time, money and energy to rescue his aunt. However, he grew old, and died before he was able to commence his quest, and it is said that till this day, Palatyne still awaits within her mountain top for the right knight of the right lineage to free her. http://www.encylopediamythica.com

This is also the name of one of the 7 hills of Rome, a location which has its own legends.

In Ancient Roman folklore, the Palatine is where the Lupercal cave is to be found, the cave where Romulus and Remus were rescued and milked by a wolf. Another legend holds that Hercules defeated the monster Cacus, on the same hill.

The etymology of the name is debated, whether the fairy Palatyne and the name of the hill are related is not proven, but very possible. The fact that both legends contain a mountain top or hill top as their focal point makes it plausible.

According to the Roman historian Livy (59 BC-Ad 17), the hill got its name from the Arcadian settlement of pallatium, which is derived from the Latin palatum meaning “palate.” According to another ancient source, Ennius, the name is derived from an Etruscan word meaning “sky” or “heavens.” The term palace gets its name from the Palatine hill.

Other sources point its etymology to a Breton source, it is suggested that Palatine, (or Palestine in some instances), is a medieval French corruption of the Breton Bac’h C’hesten, bac’h means “cell; unit” and c’hesten means “hive; beehive.” Hence “hive pupa.” This is supported by the fact that in the legend, Palatine is an enclosed in a cell in the mountains like a bee in a beehive.

The name was borne by an early Christian martyr, Saint Palatino, and its masculine form is still in usage in Italy today. There is also a more obscure feminine version of Palatina.

Another French form is Palestine (pah-le-STEEN), and a possible Breton form is Kestenn.