Gender: Feminine
Origin: Albanian
Meaning: “snow.”
(BOH-rah).
The name comes from the Albanian word, borë, meaning “snow.”
Bora
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Tag Archives: Wintery Names
Sarma, Sarmite
Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latvian
Meaning: “frost; hoar frost; snow; rime.”
(SAHR-mah; sahr-MEE-teh)
The name is derived from a poetic Latvian sarma, which is a poetic word for “frost; hoar frost; snow; rime.” The designated name-day is December 5. As of 2008, 509 women in Latvia bore the name Sarma, while 3 bore the name Sarmite.
The masculine form is Sarmis.
Tisa
Gender: Feminine
Origin: Slovenian
Meaning: “Yew tree”
(TEE-sah)
The name comes directly from the Slovenian word for Yew Tree and is also the name of a river in Slovenia. In 2005, Tisa was the 91st most popular female name in Slovenia.
Sniedze
Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latvian
Meaning: “snowflake; snowbird”
(SNYED-zeh).
The name comes directly from the Latvian word for snowflake, it is also the word for the snowbird. Its designated name-day is December 2nd. As of 2008, approximately 201 women bore this name.
Natalia, Natalie, Natasha
Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: “Christmas day”
Natalia is a Late Latin given name which was derived from the Latin phrase natale domini, literally meaning (birth of the Lord), the phrase would correctly translate to “Christmas” or “Christmas Day.” The name is also related to the word for birth in Latin and could technically mean “birth”, but its usage as a given name started off in reference to a child born on or around Christmas.
Its popularity should be attributed to the wife of St. Adrian of Nicodemia, (both 4th-century Christian saints). She and her husband are particularly popular in the Eastern Orthodox Churches, hence is why Natalia has had a longer usage in Eastern Europe than in the rest of Europe.
The form of Natalie was popularized in the U.S. due to the fame of American actress Natalie Wood (nee Natalia Zarachenko, who was born to Russian immigrant parents). Natalie is currently the 13th most popular female name in the U.S. (2008).
In other countries, her rankings are as follows:
- Australia # 55 (2008)
- Canada # 37 (2007)
- Norway # 84 (2007)
- Sweden # 41 (2007)
Other forms of the name include:
- Natalya (Armenian)
- Natallja Наталля (Belorusian)
- Natàlia (Catalan)
- Natálie (Czech)
- Natalie (Danish/Dutch/English/Estonian/German/Norwegian/Swedish)
- Tasha (English: contraction of Natasha)
- Neida (Estonian)
- Taale/Taali (Estonian: originally diminutive forms, used as independent given names).
- Nato (Georgian)
- Nathalie (French)
- Nathalène (French: obscure)
- Natacha (French)
- Natascha (German)
- Natália (Hungarian/Portuguese/Slovak)
- Natasa (Hungarian)
- Natalia (Italian/Late Latin/Polish/Spanish)
- Natala/Natalina/Natalizia (Italian: obscure forms, Natalia is the more common form)
- Natalija (Latvian/Lithuanian/Serbo-Croatian/Slovene)
- Natalena (Occitanian)
- Natalena/Natalina/Natalisa (Polish: obscure)
- Natasha (Russian/English: in Russia, exclusively a diminutive form of Natalia, in other countries, used as an independent given name, particularly in English speaking countries, German-speaking countries, France, Poland and the Balkans).
- Natasza (Polish)
- Nataša (Serbo-Croatian)
- Nataliya Наталия (Russian/Ukrainian)
Russian diminutive forms are Nata, Natalka and Natasha. Czech/Slovak, Ukrainian and Polish diminutive is Natalka. An English diminutive form is either Nat or Nattie.
Masculine forms are:
- Nadal (Catalan)
- Natale (Italian)
- Natalino/Natalizio (Italian: obscure forms)
- Natalius (Late Latin)
- Natalis (Polish: obscure)
- Natalio (Spanish)
The designated name days are: July 27 (France), August 26 (Latvia/Bulgaria), August 28 (Greece), September 8 (Russia), October 6 (Slovakia), December 1 (Poland and Lithuania), December 9 (Hungary), 21 (Czech Republic), 25 (Estonia), and 29 (Sweden)
The designated name-days for Natasha/Natascha/Natacha are: May 18 (Czech Republic), August 28 (France), January 17 (Slovakia)
Pyry
Gender: Masculine
Origin: Finnish
Meaning: “snowfall; blizzard, snowstorm.”
To hear the prounciation go here: http://www.forvo.com/search/Pyry/
The name comes directly from the Finnish noun describing a snowstorm, blizzard or snowfall. In recent years, it has become a fairly common male name in Finland and its designated name-day is November 1.
Vetle
Gender: Masculine
Origin: Norwegian/Old Norse
Meaning: “one winter old bear.”
(VET-leh)
The name is derived from the Old Norse Veturliði which is composed of the elements vetr meaning “winter” and liði meaning “one who fares.” Veturliði is still in use in Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Other forms include the Old Norse Vetreliðr and Vetreliði, other Norwegian dialectical forms include Velle (Rogaland) and Vete/Vette (Östfeld).
In modern Norwegian the word Vetle coincides with the word for small. In this case it is the name of one of Norway’s highest mountain peaks known as the Vetle Skagastølstinden or the Vesle Skagastølstind.
The designated name-day in Norway is November 1.
Taidi
Gender: Feminine
Origin: Estonian
Meaning: “snow white.”
(TYE-dee)
Cutsy and quirky, the name sounds more like a nickname than a full fledged formal name. The name is a legitimate Estonian feminine name, it comes directly from the Estonian word meaning “snow white.” I don’t believe its reference to the fairy tale, its more a descriptive name, describing the fairness of one’s skin. Its designated name day is September 9th.
Ibolya
Gender: Feminine
Origin: Hungarin
Meaning: “violet.”
(EE-boy-ah)
Are you loving the name Violet but fear its rising popularity? If you are one of those people, then you might want to consider this Hungarian form. Be weary however, the name is not pronounced as it looks and this may lead to a lot of pronunciation difficulties outside a Hungarian speaking community. Pronunciation from a native speaker can be heard at this link http://forvo.com/word/ibolya/. Though the violet is considered the flower of February, and the violet itself doesn’t usually start to bloom till September, its designated name day in Hungary is Aug 7. The name is rather common in Hungary and is borne by several famous Hungarian ladies, including famous Olympic athlete Ibolya Csak and Hungarian painter, Ibolya Csanadi.
Calidia
Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: debated
(kuh-LID-dee-uh)
The name is from an old Romen nomen, a feminine form of Calidius. Its either possibly derived from calidi, the name of a hot Roman winter drink, or it may be derived from calidus, meaning “warm; hot; fiery” or “having a warm climate.”