The name comes directly from the Persian کیوان, which is the Persian word for the planet Saturn. It is ultimately derived from the Sumerian designation of the planet, Kaimanu.
In Zoroastrianism, the planet Saturn was viewed as the planet of strength, endurance, loyalty and patience. The Mandaic version of the name is Kiwan ࡊࡉࡅࡀࡍ.
Despite its pre-Islamic associations, the name is still popularly used in Iran and is still used among Zoroastrian families.
The Syriac version of Kewan ܟܝ݂ܘܢ is used among Assyrian Christians.
The name is from the classical Greek, related toApollo. It was borne by several early Christian saints. The most notable being St. Apollinaris of Ravenna, a Syrian Christian missionary to Ravenna who was martyred there and thereafter became the city’s patron saint.
The French form Apollinaire is linked to the Franco-Polish poet, Guillaume Apollinaire. He lived from 1880 to 1918. He was born Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki.
Apolinary was common in Poland during the late 19th-century and early 20th-centuries, it is now obsolete. Diminutives include: Apolinek, Apollinek, Apolin, Apollin, Polin, Polinary, Polinarek, Polinaruś, Poli, and Polik.
In Italy, Apollinare was mainly used in the Romagna region due to it being the name of their patrion saint, but it has since fallen out of use.
Apollinaire sporadically appeared in the French Top 1000 between 1900 and 1926 and peaked at #403 in 1923. In 2024, 5 babies were given this name.
Neither its masculine form nor its feminine form had much usage in the English-speaking world. It was mostly used in families of Greek or Eastern European background during the late 19th-century.
Designated name-days include July 20th, July 23rd, and September 12th
A traditional feminine diminutive form in Russian is Polina. Polish diminutives include: Apollinka, Apollina, Apolinka, Apolla, Apola, Pola, Polka, Polcia, Polina, and Polinka. Modern Greek diminutives include: Nαρία (Naría), Πόλλα (Pólla), or Λίνα (Lina). Potential English short forms would include: Apple, Pollie, Polly, and Narey, or Narie.
Gender: Male
Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: “happy, blessed.”
Eng (ASH-er); Heb (ah-SHAIR)
The name is found in Genesis as the name of the son of Jacob and Zilpah. He was the founder of the tribe of Asher and had played a role in selling his brother, Joseph, into slavery. Asher had four sons and a daughter and had eventually settled in Canaan.
The name, Asher is believed to come from the Hebrew, Osher meaning “happy,” or “blessing,” though some scholars have argued that the name is actually a male counterpart of the Assyrian, Asherah: said to mean “she who walks on the sea.” Others suggest that it could be a cognate of the Assyrian, male name, Ashur.
Both Asherah and Ashur are related and were the names of an ancient Sumerian god and goddess, both of which I will go further into in another installment of Asherah in the near future.
The name has always been popular among Jewish families. Ash is usually the prefered nickname. Due to the popularity of other Ash names such as Ashton, the name is increasing in popularity in the United States, currently he comes in at # 206 in the U.S. top 1000 and seems to be rising.
Gender: Male