Christopher

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Sebastiane

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Greek
Meaning: “Christ-bearer.”
(KRIS-te-FER)

A popular male name throughout the Christian world, it is derived from the Greek Χριστόφορος, which is composed of the elements, χριστός (khristós), meaning, “anointed one” or in this case, just “Christ” and φέρειν (phérein), meaning, “to carry.”

The name caught on in the early Middle Ages after the legends of a Saint of the same name became a widespread cult, according to the legend, the name was borne by a giant who carried the Christ child across a river. He is considered the patron saint of travellers and is still revered as a popular saint in both the Eastern Churches and the Roman Catholic Church.

As of 2008, Christopher was the 9th most popular male name in the United States. Between 1979-1994, he was the 2nd most popular male name. The lowest he has ranked in U.S. naming history was in 1931, when he came in as the 360th most popular male name.

The name has always been quite common in Central and Northern Europe.

His rankings in other countries are as follows:

# 53 (Australia, 2007)
# 65 (Canada, B.C., 2008)
# 94 (England/Wales, 2008)
# 155 (Germany, 2009)
# 61 (Ireland, 2007)
# 18 (Poland, Warsaw, 2009)
# 52 (Scotland, 2008)
# 99 (Sweden, 2008)

Other forms include:

Kristofor (Albanian)
Krystafer كريستوفر (Arabic: used among Middle Eastern Christian)
Khrystafor Хрыстафор (Belarusian)
Kristof (Breton)
Khristofor/Hristofor Христофор (Bulgarian)
Cristòfol (Catalan)
Cristofanu (Corsican)
Kristofor (Croatian)
Kryštof (Czech)
Christoffer/Christopher/Kristoffer (Danish)
Christoffel/Christoforus (Dutch)
Christophe (Dutch/French)
Christof/Kristof (Estonian)
Tohver/Tohvri (Estonian)
Kristofer/Risto (Finnish)
Christoph/Christof (German)
Khristóphoros Χριστόφορος (Greek: Modern)
Kristóf/Krisztofer (Hungarian)
Kristófer (Icelandic)
Críostóir (Irish-Gaelic)
Cristofaro/Cristofero (Italian)
Cristofalo/Cristofolo (Italian)
Cristofano (Italian)
Cristoforo (Italian: most common form)
Christophorus (Latin)
Kristaps/Kristofs (Latvian)
Kristoforas/Kristupas (Lithuanian)
Christopher/Kristoffer (Norwegian)
Krzysztof (Polish)
Cristóvão (Portuguese)
Christof/Christofor (Romanian)
Khristofor Христофор (Russian/Serbian/Ukrainian)
Cristolu (Sardinian)
Kester (Scottish)
Krištof (Slovak/Slovene)
Kito (Sorbian)
Cristóbal (Spanish)
Christoffer/Kristoffer (Swedish)
Kristof (Turkish)
Krishtof Криштоф (Ukrainian)
Cristoforo (Venetian)

Common English diminutives are Chip, Chris, Christy, Kip, Kit and Topher.

German diminutives are Stoffel and Stoffi.

Polish diminutives are: Krzysiek, Krzysiu, Krzyś, Krzysio, Krzysiaczek, Krzych and Krzychu.

An Italian feminine form is Cristofora and an obscure French/German feminine form is Christophine. Another obscure feminine form is the Polish, Krzysztofa.

Notable bearers include: Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), three Danish Kings which include Christoffer of Bavaria, English playwright, Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) and the fictional character, Christopher Robin, of Winnie-the-Pooh books.

William, Liam

Posted on January 15, 2010 by Sebastiane

Gender: Masculine
Origin: German
Meaning: “desire; helmet protection.”
(WIL-yem)

The name is of Norman origins and is derived from the Old Germanic elements wil meaning “desire” and helm, meaning “helmet; protection.”

In the early Middle Ages, the name was especially popular among Norman nobility and royalty. It was borne by an 8th-century saint, William of Gellone, a monk and cousin of Charlemagne.

The name was introduced into England in the 11th-century by William the Conqueror, and remained an extremely common name in England from thereon.

In the United States, William stands as the 8th most popular male name (2008), the lowest he has ever ranked in U.S. history was in 1992 and then again in 1995 when it came in as the 20th most popular male name.

At the turn of the last century, for 30 years in a row, William remained the 2nd most popular male name in the United States, (1880-1909).

His rankings in other countries is as follows:

# 2 (Australia, 2008)
# 16 (Canada, B.C., 2008)
# 10 (England/Wales, 2008)
# 83 (France, 2006)
# 44 (Ireland, 2007)
# 402 (the Netherlands, 2008)
# 5 (New Zealand, 2009)
# 19 (Norway, 2007)
# 46 (Scotland, 2008)
# 4 (Sweden, 2008)

Another popular up-and-coming form is Liam, which is an Irish contracted form of William. Currently, he stands as the 75th most popular male name in the United States (2008). His rankings in other countries are as follows:

# 17 (Australia, 2007)
# 48 (Belgium, 2006)
# 10 (Canada, B.C., 2008)
# 22 (England/Wales, 2008)
# 26 (Ireland, 2008)
# 82 (the Netherlands, 2008)
# 7 (New Zealand, 2009)
# 4 (Scotland, 2009)
# 13 (Sweden, 2007)

The name is borne by Irish actor, Liam Neeson.

Other cognates of William include:

Guildhelm (Afrikaans/Old Dutch)
Uilliam (Albanian)
Willelm (Anglo-Saxon)
Guillén (Aragonese)
Gwilherm (Breton)
Uiliam Уилиам (Bulgarian)
Guillem (Catalan)
Vilém (Czech)
Vilhelm (Danish)
Willem (Dutch)
Wim (Dutch)
William (English/Scandinavian)
Villem/Villu (Estonian)
Vilhelmi (Finnish)
Vilho (Finnish: contracted form)
Viljami (Finnish)
Ville (Finnish: contracted form)
Guillaume (French)
Jelle (Frisian: originally a diminutive form, used as an independent given name)
Pim (Frisian: originally a diminutive form, used as an independent given name)
Wilke/Wilko (Frisian)
Guillerme (Galician)
Wilhelm (German/Polish)
Gouliélmos Γουλιέλμος (Greek: Modern)
Vilmos (Hungarian)
Vilhjálmur (Icelandic)
Uilleag (Irish-Gaelic)
Uilliam (Irish-Gaelic)
Ulick (Irish: anglicization of Uilleag)
Guglielmo (Italian: most common offshoot)
Lemo (Italian: contracted form)
Velmo/Velmino (Italian: obscure)
Villelmo (Italian: obscure)
Villermo (Italian: obscure)
Vilio (Italian: obscure)
Guilielmus (Latin)
Viljams (Latvian)
Vilis (Latvian)
Wöllem/Wullem/Wum (Limburgish)
Vilhelmas (Lithuanian)
Vilius/Viliumas (Lithuanian)
Wellëm (Luxembourgish)
Illiam (Manx)
Wiremu (Maori)
Gllâome (Norman)
Guilhem (Occitanian)
Willahelm (Old German)
Vilhjálmr (Old Norse)
Willken/Wilm/Willm (Plattdeutsch)
Guilherme (Portuguese)
Zelmino/Zelmo (Romanesque)
Vilhelm (Romanian/Scandinavian)
Wellem (Ripoarisch)
Vilgelm Вильгельм (Russian/Ukrainian)
Vėljams (Samogaitian)
Uilleam (Scottish-Gaelic)
Gugghiermu (Sicilian)
Vilim Вилим (Serbian)
Viliam (Slovak)
Viljem (Slovene)
Guillermo (Spanish)
Gelmo/Gilmo (Venetian)
Gwil (Welsh)
Gwilim/Gwilym (Welsh)
Velvel װֶעלװֶעל (Yiddish: also the Yiddish word for wolf but commonly used as a diminutive form of Wilhelm)

Notable bearers include: Swiss national folk hero, William Tell (14th-century), Scottish national hero, William Wallace (13th-century).

It was also borne dramatist, William Shakespeare (1564-1616), poet William Blake (1757-1827), dramatist, William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), author William Faulkner (1897-1962), including the current Crown Prince of England, Prince William of Wales (b.1982), and it has also been borne by several U.S. presidents.

Common English diminutives England: Bill, Billy, Will, Willy and Wills/Wils.

Italian diminutives include: Gelmino, Ielmo, Memmo (Tuscan dialectical form), Memo and Lemmo.

Feminine offshoots include Willa, Wilhelmina, Wilma, Mina and Minnie.

Wilhelmina is a German/Dutch form that was briefly used in the United States in the early part of the 20th-century but is in rare use today, in fact, she does not appear in the U.S. top 1000. It is, however, currently the 297th most popular female name in the Netherlands (2008)

Wilhelmina was borne by several Danish princesses, and was extremely common in German and Dutch royalty.

Its contracted English form of Willa, seems like it should be an up-and-comer, but currently does not rank in the U.S. top 1000.

The name was borne by famous American author, Willa Cather (1873-1947) née Wilella, another feminine form of William which should be noted.

Minnie was quite fashionable as a stand alone name at the turn of the 20th-century. In 1880, she was the 5th most popular female name in the United States. She was out of the top 1000 by 1971.

The name is usually associated with the Disney Character and girlfriend of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, hence is probably why she fell out of usage.

Wilma is another form that has not been in the U.S. top 1000 for quite some time, introduced into the 19th-century by German and Scandinavian immigrants, Wilma is currently very trendy in both Norway and Sweden. More so in Sweden, it is currently the 9th most popular female name (2008).

An early English feminine form that might be appealing to the surname lovers was Wilmot, which appears as early as the 16th-century. It may have been an anglicization of an early French feminine name, Wilmette.

Other feminine forms are:

Wilma/Vilma (Czech/English/German/Portuguese/Scandinavian/Slovak/Spanish)
Elma (Dutch/German/Slovene: contracted form)
Willemina (Dutch)
Willemijn (Dutch)
Mina (English/German: contraction of Wilhelmina)
Minnie (English/German)
Velma (English/German)
Wilella (English)
Willa (English)
Willia (English)
Wilmot (English)
Wilhelmina (English/German/Dutch/Polish)
Helmi (Finnish: also means “pearl” see Helmi)
Miina (Finnish: contraction of Wilhelmina)
Minna (Finnish/German)
Vilhelmiina (Finnish)
Guillaumette/Guillaumine (French)
Guilette (French)
Minette (French)
Wilhelmine (French/German/Dutch)
Wilmette (French)
Jeltje/Jeltsje (Frisian: contractions of Wilhelmina)
Helma (German: contraction of Wilhelmina)
Helmine (German: contraction of Wilhelmina)
Vilhelma (Hungarian)
Vilhelmina (Hungarian/Scandinavian)
Azelma (Italian)
Gilma (Italian)
Guglielma/Guglielmina (Italian: diminutive forms are Mema and Memma)
Velma/Velmina (Italian)
Villelma/Vilelma/Villelmina/Villermina (Italian)
Vilia/Villa (Italian)
Zelma/Zelmina (Italian)
Mien (Limburgish: originally a short form of Wilhelmina, now used as an independent given name)
Guilhermina (Portuguese)
Wilja (Scandinavian)
Willamina (Scottish)
Guilla/Guillerma/Guillermina (Spanish)
Ilma (Spanish: contraction of Guillierma)
Gelma/Gelmina (Ventian)
Velvela (Yiddish)

A Finnish/Scandinavian diminutive is Mimmi.

A Czech and Polish diminutive is Minka and a popular English diminutive was Billie.

Designated name-days are: January 10 (France/Lithuania/Poland), April 6 (Finland/Hungary/Poland), May 26 (Finland/Lithuania/Poland/Sweden), May 28 (Germany/Latvia/Poland/Slovakia), June 8-24-25 (Hungary/Lithuania/Poland), July 5 (Poland), September 2 (Poland), September 19 (Hungary/Lithuania), October 25 (Poland).

Michael

Posted on January 7, 2010 by Sebastiane

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: “who is like God?”
Eng (MI-kel)

One of the most prevalent male names in the Western World, and to a certain extent, the Middle Eastern world, the name is derived from a rhetorical Hebrew question מִיכָאֵל (Mikha’el) meaning “who is like God?” or “who is like El” the answer being that no one is like God.

This is in reference to the legend of when one of God’s most powerful angels, (Lucifer depending on the theological tradition), became so arrogant and prideful that he built an army of angels in order to overthrow the throne of God, thinking that he himself could be like God, Michael is believed to have smite the fallen angel, asking him the question “who is like God?” after casting him out of the gates of heaven.

According Mormon saint theology, “who is like God?” refers to the idea that Michael was Adam before he was created by God in human form. The meaning of the name explains that all humans are created in God’s image.

Michael is believed to be a powerful angel in Islamic, Christian and Jewish tradition. He appears several times in the Bible, being mentioned in the Book of Daniel, the Book of Jude and the Book of Revelations. He even appears in the apocryphal Book of Enoch.

In Roman Catholicism, Michael is referred to as St. Michael the Archangel and is considered a powerful saint, especially powerful against demonic attacks and is the patron saint of chivalry, the warrior, police officers, paratroopers, firefighters, soldiers and fighter pilots. Among German Catholics, he is the patron saint of Germany, and in Belgium, he considered the patron saint of Brussels.

In the Eastern Christian tradition, is known as Taxiarch Archangel Michael or simply as Archangel Michael.

In Jewish tradition, Michael is the protector and heavenly warrior of Israel and the advocate of the Jews.

In Islam, he is mentioned in the Qu’ran once, in Sura 2:98 and that Michael was a good angel who stood on the left hand of God (Allah’s) throne.

The archangel is also important in the Bahai faith and the New Age religions.

He plays a role in John Milton’s epic poem, Paradise Lost.

There is no reason to explain why Michael is so popular, especially in the U.S. As of 2008, Michael was the 2nd most popular male name. He was moved down from the 1st position down to the 2nd position back in 1999, when he was overthrown by Jacob.

Between the years 1954 and 1999, Michael was the most popular male name. The lowest that Michael ever ranked in U.S. naming history was in 1892 when he came in as the 59th most popular male name in the United States. In other countries, Michael’s rankings are as follows:

# 36 (Australia, 2007)
# 36 (Canada, B.C. 2008)
# 4 (Denmark, 2009)
# 52 (England/Wales, 2008)
# 10 (Ireland, 2007)
# 239 (the Netherlands, 2008)
# 33 (Scotland, 2008)

The Michael form is also used in Afrikaans, Danish, Czech, German and Ripoarisch.

Other forms of the name include:

Mëhill/Mhill (Albanian)
Mighel (Amazigh/Moroccan)
Mikhael/Mikail ميخائيل‎, (Arabic/Coptic)
Miguel (Aragonese/Galician/Portuguese/Spanish: mee-GEL)
Mikael Միքաել (Armenian)
Micael (Asturian)
Mikayıl (Azeri)
Mikel (Basque)
Mitxel (Basque)
Miquèu (Bearnais/Occitanian/Gascon/Provençal)
Mickaël (Breton)
Mikael (Breton/Finnish/Icelandic/Norwegian/Swedish: a Finnish diminutive form is Mika)
Mihail Михаил (Bulgarian/Russian: Misha is the most common diminutive form)
Michjeli (Calabrian: Chjeli is the diminutive mee-KYAY-lee)
Miquel (Catalan: mee-KEL. Quelo is a common diminutive form)
Myghal (Cornish)
Michal (Czech/Slovak: mee-HAHL: 15th most popular male name in the Czech Republic-2007)
Mihajlo/Mihovil (Croatian: diminutive form is Miho)
Mihail Михаил (Croatian/Serbian)
Mikkel (Danish/Norwegian/Swedish: 6oth most popular male name in Norway-2007)
Maikel (Dutch: MY-kel)
Michaël (Dutch/Frisian: mee-kah-EL)
Michiel (Dutch: 307th most popular male name in the Netherlands-2008)
Miikael/Mikhel (Estonian)
Mikko (Finnish)
Michel (French: MEE-shel)
Michêl (Fruilian)
Mícheál (Gaelic-Irish)
Mìcheal (Gaelic-Scotch)
Micheil (Gaelic-Scotch)
Mikheil მიხეილი (Georgian)
Mikhael/Mikhalis Μιχάλης/Μιχαήλ (Greek: Μίκης (Mikis) is the common pet form))
Mikala (Hawaiian)
Micha’el מִיכָאֵל‎, (Hebrew)
Mihály (Hungarian: 60th most popular male name in Hungary-2008. Misi and Miska are the most common pet forms. MEE-hie)
Mikhael (Indonesian)
Michea (Italian: obscure/archaic mee-KAY-ah)
Michele (Italian: mee-KAY-lay)
Michelino (Italian: obscure)
Miķelis/Mihails (Latvian)
Mykolas (Lithuanian)
Mikail (Malayalam)
Mikiel (Maltese)
Mikaere (Maori)
Migueltzin (Nahuatl)
Michè (Neopolitan)
Miché/Michi (Norman)
Miqueu (Occitanian)
Mikhailu Мїхаилъ (Old Church Slavonic)
Michał (Polish/Sorbian: mee-HOW)
Mihai/Mihail (Romanian: diminutive form is Mihaita)
Micheli/Mikelli/Migali (Sardinian)
Mihailo Михаило (Serbian)
Miceli (Sicilian: Celi is a diminutive form. mee-KAY-lee)
Miha (Slovene: originally a diminutive form of Mihael, now used exclusively as an independent given name, it was the 11th most popular male name in Slovenia-2005)
Mihael (Slovene: 86th most popular male name in Slovenia-2005)
Mikâil (Turkish)
Mikhailo/Mykhailo Михайло (Ukrainian)
Michełe (Venetian)
Meical (Welsh)

English diminutive forms are: Mick, Micky, Mike and Mikey. German diminutive forms are Maik (pronounced like Mike), Maiki, Michi and Micki. A Swiss-German dialectical diminutive is is Michu (Bern)

There are also forms that mean “Michael Archangel” and are used in reference to the angel. These are:

Michelangelo (Italian)
Michelarcangelo (Italian)
Michelangiolo (Romansch)
Mihangel (Welsh)

Michelangela is an Italian feminine form.

An Italian smush is Michelantonio.

The feminine form of Michelle (an English corruption of the French feminine form Michèle), has been used in the English speaking world since the early 20th-century.

It currently ranks in as the 103rd most popular female name, and the highest it peaked was # 2, in the years 1968, ’69 and again in ’71, ’72.

Its Latinate feminine form has recently sparked in popularity as well (see Michaela for more details)

Other feminine forms include:

Micaela (Asturian)
Mikelle (Basque)
Miquèla (Bearnais)
Mikaela (Breton)
Miquela (Catalan/Occitanian/Gascon/Provençal)
Michelle (English/German: a phonetic corruption of the French Michèle)
Michèle (French)
Michéline (French: mee-shay-LEEN)
Michaelina/Michaeline (Irish: an Irish corruption of the French Micheline and the Italian, Michelina, common diminutive form is Micki/Micky. MY-keh-LEEN-ah; MY-keh-LEEN)
Michela (Italian: mee-KAY-lah)
Michelina (Italian: mee-kay-LEE-nah)
Michalina (Polish: mee-ha-LEE-nah: Michalinka and Misia are the diminutive forms)
Miguela (Spanish)
Miguelina (Spanish)

The designated name-day for Michael is September 29.

Magdalena, Madeleine, Madeline

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Sebastiane

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: “of Magdala.”

We have the exotic and sophisticated Magdalena, the French classic Madeleine and the English trend setter Madeline. The origins of these names go all the way back to the Bible, the New Testament to be exact. It is derived from a title given to the famous Catholic saint, Mary Magdalen, also known as Mary of Magdala. Magdala, being the town that the former prostitute turned follower of Christ, hailed from, a town on the sea, near Galilee, its meaning being “tower.”

In the Middle Ages, St. Mary Magdalen was a beloved saint, making the name popular in virtually every European country, evolving into myriad different forms. The cult of St. Mary Magdalen was especially popular in France, where she was known as La Madeleine (lah mah-deh-LEN). In fact, tradition holds that, after the death of Christ, Mary Magdalen travelled to France, where she converted many of the early inhabitants to the new faith. She is considered one of France’s patron saints and it is believed that her bones were buried in France. La Madeleine gave her name to several communes in France as well as a river. It is even the name of a famous French pastry.

While you are out rushing to work, standing in line, getting your daily fix of Starbucks, you may notice that at the front counter there are packages of a soft little sponge-like cookie. These are madeleines or petit madeleines. They are a popular snack in France, made from lemon and butter, and are known for their distinctive shell shape. Legend has it that they acquired their name from the lady who invented them, Madeleine Paulmier. They are a delightful little treat, and I recommend that the next time you are at Starbucks, you should try them yourself.

Likewise, Madeleine has been a very popular choice in Great Britain and currently ranks in as the 80th most popular feminine name in Britain and Wales for 2007, while in its home country of France, it comes in rather low. It was the 454th most popular feminine name in France for 2006.

Let us not forget the fun and sweet version of Madeline (MAD-eh-LINE), Madeline seems to be specifically a North American version of the French form. Originally pronounced (MAD-eh-LIN), its preferred pronunciation has switched over to the former in the last decade, no doubt due to the popular children’s series of books of the same name.

Madeline has been quite popular the last few years, she ranked in at a whopping 61 in the 2007 most popular feminine names in the United States. She has also made her mark in other non-British English speaking countries, such as Canada and Australia. In Canada she came in at 85, while in Australia 93.

There is also the trendified corrupted form of Madelyn, which currently comes in at # 104, however, it is advisable to use the French spelling if you prefer the (Mad-eh-lin) pronunciation, which seems to be the goal of the parents of the Madelyns.

Nicknames include Maddie, Leine and Lynn. The name is borne by Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Madeleine Albright, and author Madeleine L’Engle.

Let us now move on to its Eastern European alternative of Magdalena (MAHG-dah-LAY-nah). This form is used in Spain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Poland. It is especially popular in both Poland and the Czech Republic where it is often shortened to Magda, and occasionally Lenka. There are the Czech spin offs of Alenka and Madlenka, used as an independent name.

Magdalena might be appealing to English speaking parents who love the nickname Maggie but really dislike Margaret. On top of that, it can be shortened to appealing and trendy Laney or even Lena.

Other forms of the trio include:

Magdalawit (Amharic/Eritrean)
Maialen (Basque: MY-ah-LEN)
Madenn (Breton)
Miglena (Bulgarian)
Alena (Czech-Slovak and occasionally used in Germany. Diminutive form is Alenka)
Magdaléna (Czech)
Mahulena (Czech: a form created by Czech author, Julius Zeyer, for his his Ráduz and Mahulena-1898)
Magdalene (Danish)
Magdalone/Malene/Lone (Danish)
Malle/Madli (Estonian pronounced MAHL-leh and MAHD-lee) other forms include Mall, Leen (LANE), Leena and Made (MAH-deh)
Matleena (Finnish pronounced maht-LAY-nah) diminutive forms now commonly used as independent names include: Leen, Leena and Lenita)
Magdeleine (French: archaic form)
Leni (German: originally a diminutive form, it has recently become trendy in German speaking countries as an independent name)
Madelene (German: mah-deh-LEH-neh: other forms include, Madlene and Madlen)
Magdalini (Greek Modern-pronounced mahg-dah-LEE-nee)
Magdolna (Hungarian, pronounced mog-DOH-noh) diminutive forms now popularly used as independent name in Hungary are Lenke (LEHN-keh) and Duci (DOOT-see).
Madalein (Irish-Gaelic)
Mailin (Irish-Gaelic)
Maddalena (Italian pronounced mahd-dah-LAY-nah. Other forms include Maida, Madina and Magdala)
Madala (Latvian) another form is Magone
Talena (Latvian/Scottish)
Maguelone (Occitanian)
Madalena (Portuguese pronounced mah-dah-LAY-nah)
Maclaina (Romansch pronounced mugg-LIE-nah) other Romansch forms include Madina, Madlaina (mudd-LIE-nah) and Madlena (mudd-LEH-nah).
Madalina (Romanian pronounced mah-dah-LEE-nah)
Magdalina Магдалина (Russian)
Manda (Serbo-Croatian/Macedonian/Slovene)
Madlena (Sorbian)
Malin/Målin (Swedish/Norwegian pronounced MAW-lin, other forms include Malena and Madicken (MAH-dee-KEN)
Mädi (Swiss-German: dialectical form from Bern MAD-dee)
Magdalyna (Ukrainian)
Madałena (Venetian)

Other popular offshoots include the English corrupted form of Madelaine (MAD-eh-LANE): given to the daughter of David Duchovny and Téa Leoni. The dated German forms of Marlene (Eng mar-LEEN; Germ mahr-LEH-neh) & Marla and the Polish Marlena.The designated name day for all of these names is July 22.

French diminutives are Mado and Madelon. Polish diminutive forms are: Madzia, Magda, Magdunia, Magdusia and Magdeczka. Hungarian diminutives are, Duci

There are a few Italian masculine forms and that includes, Maddaleno, Magdalo and Maido.

Thomas

Posted on July 3, 2009 by Sebastiane

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Aramaic
Meaning: “twin”
(TOM-us)

The Latinized form of the Aramaic Tau’ma which is derived from the word T’oma (תאומא) meaning “twin.” The name was introduced to the world via St. Thomas the Apostle, a character that plays a prominent role in the New Testament. He is best known for his disbelief when he first heard that Christ had resurrected from the dead, hence the saying “doubting Thomas.”

Tau’ma was a nickname given to him to differentiate him from Judas Iscariot, (Thomas’ real name being Judas or Jude). He is also known as Didymos, (the Greek word for twin), and Jude. His evangelization was attributed to the area of Persia and India. Thomas is a very popular name among Indian Christians and Persian Christians. His feast is celebrated on July 3rd. The name was introduced into the English speaking world via the Normans after they had conquered England. Since that time Thomas has been a relatively popular male name.

Tomas (Albanian)
Touma توما‎, (Arabic)
Tovmas (Armenian)
Foma (Azeri/Russian)
Tomás (Aragonese/Asturian/Spanish)
Tomas (Basque)
Dammerl (Baverian)
Tòmas (Bearnais)
Tamaš Тамаш (Belarusian)
Toma Тома (Bosnian/Bulgarian/Georgian)
Tomaz (Breton)
多馬 Duoma (Chinese Biblical)
湯瑪斯 Tangmasi, 湯瑪士 Tangmashi, 托馬斯 Tuomasi, (Chinese General Translation)
Tumasgiu (Corsican)
Tomo/Tome (Croatian: occassionally Tomislav is used as a translation, though technically it has no etymological relation to Thomas)
Tomáš (Czech)
Thomas (Danish/Dutch/English/French/German/Indonesian/Latin/Luxemborgish/Norwegian/Swedish)
Maas (Dutch: originally a diminutive form, sometimes used as an independent given name)
Toomas (Estonian)
Tummas (Faroese)
Tuomas/Tuomo (Finnish)
Maes (Flemmish)
Tomas (Filipino/Tagalog)
Theumis (Frisian)
Tomé (Galician)
Thōmâs Θωμᾶς/Thomás Θωμάς/Didymos Δίδυμος (Greek: Modern)
Teom (Hebrew)
Tamás (Hungarian)
Tómas (Icelandic)
Tomás (Irish)
Tommasso (Italian)
Tommassino (Italian)
Tomasiello/Tommasuccio (Italian: obscure)
トーマス Tomasu (Japanese)
Tomas (Karakalpak: a Turkic language spoken in Uzbekistan)
도마 Doma /Toma (Korean Biblical)
토머스 Tomeoseu/T’omŏsŭ (Korean: General Translation)
Thomasê (Kurdish)
Toms (Latvian)
Tomas (Lithuanian)
Томислав, Τоми, Томо, Томас, Τоме (Macedonian)
Thoma/Thommen/Oummen/Thommy (Malayalam)
Tamihana (Maori)
Tumas (Maltese)
Tuami (Moroccan-Arabic)
Thomé (Occitanian)
توماس Tomasp (Persian)
Tomasz (Polish: Tomek is a popular diminutive, equivalent to Tommy or Tom)
Tomás, Tomé (Portuguese)
Tomašis/Tomerdos (Romani: language of the Roma people)
Tumasch (Romansch)
Tuoms (Saimogaitian: a dialect of Lithuanian)
Tomasi (Samoan)
Tomasso (Sardinian)
Tam/Tòmas (Scottish)
Тома Toma (Serbian)
Tomáš (Slovakian)
Tomaž (Slovene)
Tomás (Spanish)
Thoma (Swahili)
Tāmas தாமஸ்/Tōmā தோமா (Tamil)
To-mus โทมัส (Thai)
Choma (Ukrainian)
Tomaš (Upper Sorbian)
Tomaxo (Venetian)
Tomos/Twm (Welsh)
Teomo (Yiddish)

Thomasina, Thomasine, Thomazina and Tammy, Tamsin. Popular nicknames include Tom and Tommy.

Sebastian

Posted on April 23, 2009 by Sebastiane

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Latin
Meaning “from Sebastus.”

The name Sebastian is the English form of the Latin, Sebastianus. It means “from Sebastus.”

Sebastus was a town in Armenia. The town of Sebastus was named for the emperor Augustus, “sebastos” being the direct Greek translation of Augustus, which is Latin and means “venerable.”

In the States, the name has had a recent surge of popularity, it is currently the 74th most popular male name. Its rankings in other countries are as follows:

# 59 (Australia, 2008)
# 7 (Austria, 2008)
# 5 (Chile, 2006)
# 7 (Denmark, 2008)
# 77 (England/Wales, 2008)
# 43 (Germany, 2009)
# 312 (the Netherlands, 2008)
# 12 (Norway)
# 32 (Poland, Warsaw, 2009)
# 44 (Sweden, 2008)

Other forms of the name include:

نايتسبس Cpectayan (Arabic: used primarily among Arab Christians)
Sɛbasadian Սեբաստյան (Armenian)
Wast/Wastl/Wastel (Bavarian)
Sebastijan (Bosnian/Croatian)
Sebastià (Catalan)
Bas (Dutch: originally a diminutive, now used as an independent given name)
Bastiaan (Dutch/Low Saxon)
Sebastiaan (Dutch)
Sebastian (English/German/Polish/Romanian/Scandinavian)
Seppo (Finnish)
Sébastien/Bastien (French)
Sebast’ian სებასტიან (Georgian)
Bastian (German: contraction of Sebastian.
Sebestyén/Szebastián (Hungarian)
Sebastiano/Bastiano (Italian)
Sebastianus (Latin)
Sebastians (Latvian)
Sebastijonas (Lithuanian)
Sebastjan Себастијан (Macedonian/Serbian)
Bastjan (Maltese)
Sebastião/Bastião (Portuguese)
Sebaščan (Prekmurian)
Sevastian Севастьян (Russian/Ukrainian)
Bustianu/Serbestianu (Sardinian)
Vastianu (Sicilian)
Šebastián/Sebastián (Slovak)
Boštjan (Slovene)
Sebastijan/Sebastjan (Slovene)
Bošćij (Sorbian)
Sebastián (Spanish)
Baschdl (Swabian)
Bastián (Venetian)

German diminutives include: Basti, Baschti, Baschi/Baschy (Swiss-German), Sabba, Sebbe, Sebbo, Sepp, Seppi, Seibi and Selbi.

Basto is an Italian diminutive form.

Hungarian diminutives are Sebő and Sebők.

Polish diminutives are Sebek

Feminine forms include:

Bastienne/Sébastienne (French)
Sebastiane (German)
Bastiana/Bastianina/Sebastiana (Italian)
Vastiana (Sicilian)
Sebastiána (Slovakian)
Sebastiana (Spanish/Polish)

Legitimate Baby Names

names that are not made up and have had a history

Category Archives: Venetian Names