Tag Archives: Harry Potter

Ursula

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ursulaBritishMuseumGender: Feminine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: “little she-bear; she-cub; little female bear.”
Eng (ERS-uh-LAH)

The name is of Latin origin but is suggested that is may be a latinization of the old Germanic female name Yrsa meaning “bear” and was popularized by a medieval Christian saint said to be martyred in Cologne. Not much is known about the saint, other that she was martyred under Huns along with 11,000 other virgins, which is now believed to be a misprint from the written source of the legend. What is known for sure is that there was a basilica built in honour of a virgin Christian martyr in Cologne and from this arose several different legends referring to a St. Ursula and St. Cordula. According to the legend, St. Ursula was a British princess who was sent by her father to Germany to marry a prince, along with her, were sent 11,000 maidens, however,  her ship was taken off course due to a storm and instead ended up in France where she then decided to do a pan-European Christian pilgramage before meeting her future husband. She made a pilgramage to Rome where she tried to pursuade the pope to do a pilgramage with her and her 11,ooo companions. When she reached cologne she and her companions were massacred by the Huns.

The legend is based off of a 4th century inscription written in the Basilica which was built in the saint’s honour. It is believed that the 11,ooo handmaidens was confused with a female martyr named Undecimilia, Undecimila or Xemilia and that the abbreviation XI.M.V was misread as a number. The same saint has also been referred to under the names Pinnosa or Vinnosa. The name was quite prevalent in Great Britain before the Reformation and went out of usage afterwards. The name is also borne by Swiss actress Ursula Andress (b. 1936). It has also appeared in popular culture as the name of the evil sea-witch in Disney’s the Little Mermaid and as the name of the wife of Nigellus Phineas Black in the Harry Potter Series.

In Poland, the name is associated with a great piece of Polish Literature written by Jan Kochanowski. Known as Laments (Treny) 1580, they are a series of 19 elegies which talk about the author’s grief after the death of his two and half year old daughter Orszola (Urzula) which he refers to as the Slavic Sappho.

Other forms of the name are (divided alphabetically by nationality):

  • Orsula (Corsican)
  • Uršula (Croatian/Czech/Slovakian/Slovenian)
  • Yrsa (Danish/Faroese/Icelandic/Norwegian/Swedish)
  • Orsel (Dutch)
  • Ursule/Ursuline (French)
  • Ursula/Ursel (German/Dutch/Estonian/Finnish/Spanish: German diminutive forms are Ulla, Uli and Uschi)
  • Orsolya (Hungarian: or-SHOH-lah was the 56th most popular female name in Hungary in 2006)
  • Úrsúla (Icelandic)
  • Orsina/Orsola/Orsolina (Italian)
  • Ursa (Latin)
  • Urzula (Latvian)
  • Uršulė (Lithuanian)
  • Urszula/Orszola/Warszula (Polish: Latter two forms are older forms and are rarely used. Diminutive form is Ula and Urszulka. Older diminutive forms are Ulicha and Ulita)
  • Úrsula (Portuguese)
  • Ursetta/Ursina/Urschla (Romansch)
  • Urška (Slovenian: originally a diminutive now used as an independent given name, it was the 51st most popular female name in Slovenia in 2005)
  • Orscheli (Swiss-German: ORSH-lee)

There are a few male equivalents which include:

  • Orso/Orsino/Ursio/Ursino (Italian)
  • Urs (German)
  • Ursinus/Ursus (Latin)
  • Ursyn/Ursycjusz (Polish: very rare)
  • Ursin/Urosin (Romansch)

Hermione, Ermioni

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Greek
Ερμιόνη
Eng (/hərˈmaɪ.ɵniː/ hər-MYE-o-nee); mod Grk (air-MYOH-nee)

She probably reminds you of Hermione Granger, the character from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. The name is of ancient Greek origin and it is derived from the masculine name Hermes.

In Greek mythology, Hermione was the only daughter of Helen and Menelaus. The name is also found in the calender of Saints, Hermione of Ephesus was an early martyr, and as an interesting side note, the Hermione of Harry Potter is named for the saint and not for the maiden of Greek Legend.

Hermione of Sicily is a character featured in Shakespeare’s Play, A Winter’s Tale (1610).

The name, though quirky and a bit extravagent, seems to have been a common moniker in Britain prior to Harry Potter fame. It is borne by several British actresses, Hermione Baddeley (1906-1986), Hermione Cockburn (b.1973) Hermione Gulliford, Hermione Hannen (1913-1983) and Hermione Norris (b.1968). It is also borne by British painter, Hermione Hammond (1910-2005).

It is also the name of an Opera, based on the Hermione of Greek Mythology.

In modern Greece, the name is often transliterated as Ermioni and Ermione where its designated name day is September 4th. It is also the name of a town in the Peloponnese.

In Italy, Ermione is the prefered form.

Despite the charming associations with Harry Potter, the name has not ranked in the US top 1000. In Britain, it does not appear in their top 100, but I have seen many instances of babies with the middle name or even the first name of Hermione in the British birth announcements. Other forms Herminie and Hermia. To hear the way the name is pronounced in Italian, you can listen to it here: http://www.forvo.com/search/Ermione/

Other forms include:

  • Hermiona (Croatian/Czech/Serbian)
  • Hermioné (Czech/Hungarian)
  • Hermelien (Dutch: could also be a feminine form of Herman)
  • Hermine (German/Norwegian)
  • Hermione (French)
  • Ermione (Italian: air-MYOH-nay)
  • Hermiona (Lithuanian/Polish)
  • Ermion (Piedmontese)
  • Hermiuona (Saimogaitian)
  • Hermíone (Spanish/Portuguese)

Regula

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: “rule; law”
(REG-oo-LAH).

This name may seem unusual to the common English speaker, but when in Switzerland, specifically in the German speaking parts, you will find quite a few of them of varying ages.

It is safe to say that the name is a “Swiss German” classic. She is even apart of a lyric in Florian Ast’s, (a Swiss pop singer), song entitled Sex. Sung in the traditional schwyzertuutsch, the main dialect spoken in Germanic Switzerland. To see the lyrics, in which you will see a variety of very popular Swiss German female names, you can see the text here, http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/ast_florian/.

The name doesn’t seem to get much usage out of Switzerland, and surprisingly, it’s even unusual in the French and Italian speaking parts of Switzerland. I always found it rather odd that an obscure name of Latin origins should be popular in a very minor part of the world, especially in a German speaking area, while being virtually unheard of in say, Italy or Spain, where the languages are Latin based.

Further research brought me to the legend of Ss. Felix & Regula, two 3rd century saints who were martyred in what is now Zurich.

The story is rather interesting, the saints, being long dead, later played a huge role in Swiss Religious-Politics during the time of the Reformation, when the adherents of Huldrych Zwingli, raided the monastery of Ss. Felix & Regula, and exhumed the graves of both the saints, they ran off with the bones, attempting to throw them into the river, somehow, a pious Catholic man of Uri managed to rescue the bones where he buried them in the village of Andematt. The skulls of both saints can be seen there till this day, and carbon dating later proved that one skull dated to the Middle Ages, while the other consisted of two different skull fragments, one part dating back to the Middle Ages, and the other dating, interestingly enough, back to Roman times.

The legend of the saints themselves is even more gory. Ss. Felix and Regula were siblings who happened to be members of the Egyptian Theban legions who were stationed in Valais Switzerland. Many of the members converted to Christianity, all to the consternation of the Roman Empire. When an execution was posted for the Christians of the legions, Ss. Felix and Regula fled to what is now Zurich. There they were caught and beheaded.

According to legend, their headless bodied walked several paces before collapsing down on a patch of dirt where they were later buried and a monastery erected in their honour.

Before the Reformation, the monastery was a huge pilgrimage site for Catholics across Switzerland. Apparently, where 40% of the country remains Catholic, the legend of the two saints still holds, as Saint Regula continues to inspire Swiss parents to name their daughters after her.

She has a pleasant appeal, strong, yet distinctively feminine, she might make an interesting alternative to Regina, with the nickname of Regi to boot.

Other associations with the name include the Regula Benedicti, (the Rules of St. Benedict) a 7th century document written by St. Benedict of Nursia which gives out precepts on how to live a monastic life. The book is still used by modern day Christians monks and nuns as a source of inspiration.

There is also a masculine version: Regulus, which is the name of a character in the Harry Potter novels a la JK Rowling.

Two other forms include the French, Régula and the Italian, Regola.

Henry, Harry, Harriet, Henrietta

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Origin: English/Germanic
Meaning: home ruler

Henry, an age old classic male name, is an anglicized version of the Germanic Heimric, which is composed of the elements heim meaning “home” and ric meaning “ruler.” The name evolved into the modern German Heinrich, the Scandinavian Henrik, the Polish Henryk, the French Henri, the Spanish Enrique and the Italian Enzo.

Henry has a lot of staying power in virtually most European countries. Like many of the other classic English names, this name came to England not through any Anglo-Saxon Germanic connections but through the conquering French Normans. It is has been a very popular choice among British and German royalty alike. It has been borne by the infamous Henry VIII all the way to our very present, Prince Henry, (aka Prince Harry), of England.

Henry has given to the world its diminutive form of Harry, which in many respects, is seen as an independent name in its own right. In Medieval England, Harry was considered the vulgar or everyday form of the name, most of England’s King Henrys were known affectionately as Harry. At one time, the name Henry was so common in the English speaking world, that the phrase, “Every Tom, Dick and Harry,” arose.

Harry is the title character of J.K. Rowling’s wizardry series, Harry Potter and again most the world knows the charming prince by his nickname versus his full name, given it a new appeal to young parents. Once seen as a stodgy and stuffy old man name, it is now seen as a classy and chic choice. Harry has recently enjoyed a surge in popularity in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Currently, Harry sits at # 644 in the 2008 most popular male names of the United States, while Henry comes in at # 76, and seems to be rising. Meanwhile, in Great Britain, Harry came in at a whopping # 5, while Henry at # 34. In France’s top male names of 2006, Henri came in at # 330, while its Italian version of Enzo, seems to be the more preferred version in recent years, Enzo came in as the # 1 most popular male name of France!

Other popular nicknames are Hal and Hank.

It also has feminine forms of Harriet and Henrietta, from both female versions the nicknames Hattie, Hettie and Etta came about. There is also the French form of Henriette, and the Italian feminine form of Enza.

Likes its male counterpart, Harriet seems to be enjoying a recent surge in popularity. In Britain and Wales’ top 100 female names of 2008, she came in at # 73, while in the United States, she still has some ways to go, in fact, she has not been in the top 1000 for at least 9 years. The name was borne by Harriet Beacher Stowe.

The designated name day for all forms of this name is July 13.

Other forms include:

  • Hanrí هنري (Arabic: primarily used among Arab Christians)
  • Endika (Basque)
  • Enric (Catalan)
  • Henrik (Croatian/German/Hungarian/Scandinavian/Slovene)
  • Jindřich (Czech)
  • Hynek (Czech: originally a diminutive form, now used as an independent given name)
  • Henderik (Danish)
  • Henning (Danish/German/Norwegian/Swedish)
  • Driek/Dricus (Dutch: originally a diminutive form, used as an independent given name)
  • Dries (Dutch: originally a diminutive form, used as an independent given name)
  • Hein (Dutch: originally a diminutive form, now used as an independent given name)
  • Heino (Dutch/Estonian)
  • Hendrik (Dutch/Estonian/German)
  • Henk (Dutch/Limburgish: originally a diminutive form, now used as an independent given name)
  • Hal (English: originally a diminutive form, now used as an independent given name)
  • Hank (English: originally a diminutive form, now used exclusively as an independent given name)
  • Enrico (Estonian)
  • Harri (Finnish/Welsh)
  • Heikki (Finnish)
  • Henrikki (Finnish)
  • Henri (French)
  • Haio (Frisian)
  • Aiko/Eiko/Haiko/Heiko (Frisian)
  • Heink (Frisian)
  • Henner (Frisian)
  • Hinrich (Frisian)
  • Hainrixi ჰაინრიხი (Georgian)
  • Heimo (German)
  • Heiner (German: originally a diminutive form, now used as an independent given name)
  • Heinrich (German)
  • Heinz (German: diminutive form occasionally used as an independent given name)
  • Errikos (Greek)
  • Hinrik (Icelandic)
  • Anraí/Einrí (Irish-Gaelic)
  • Anrico (Italian)
  • Arrigo/Errigo (Italian)
  • Enrichetto (Italian)
  • Enrico (Italian)
  • Enzo/Enzio (Italian)
  • Richetto (Italian)
  • Rico (Italian: contracted form)
  • Rigo (Italian)
  • Henricus (Latin)
  • Indriķis (Latvian)
  • Herkus (Latvian)
  • Endrikis (Lithuanian)
  • Henrikas (Lithuanian)
  • Heng/Hari (Lexumbourgish)
  • Henno (Low German)
  • Hinderk/Hinnerk (Low German)
  • Jendrik (Low German)
  • Heimrich (Old German)
  • Hinnerk (Plattdeutsch)
  • Henryk (Polish)
  • Henrique (Portuguese/Galician)
  • Henric (Romanian)
  • Andri/Andrin (Romansch)
  • Gendrich/Genrich (Russian)
  • Eanraig (Scottish-Gaelic)
  • Hendry (Scottish)
  • Heinri/Heiri (Swiss-German: dialectical form)
  • Henrich (Slovak)
  • Hendrich (Sorbian)
  • Enrique (Spanish)
  • Hersh (Yiddish)

Female forms include:

  • Drika (Dutch)
  • Heintje (Dutch)
  • Hendrika/Hendrikje (Dutch)
  • Henriëtte (Dutch)
  • Jetta/Jette (Dutch/German: Originally diminutive forms, now used exclusively as independent given names)
  • Etta (English: contracted form)
  • Harriet (English)
  • Hattie (English: originally a diminutive form, used as an independent given name)
  • Henrietta (English)
  • Hettie (English: originally a diminutive form, used as an independent given name)
  • Henna (Finnish)
  • Henriikka (Finnish)
  • Henriette (French)
  • Hinriette (Frisian)
  • Heinriette (German: obscure)
  • Heinrike (German)
  • Henrike (German/Danish/Norwegian)
  • Enrica (Italian)
  • Enrichetta (Italian)
  • Enza (Italian)
  • Errichetta (Italian)
  • Rica (Italian)
  • Henryka (Polish)
  • Andrina (Romansch)
  • Henrika (Swedish)