Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Winnie

Despite an iconic namesake, Winnie's never really caught on in the U.S.  I am, of course, referring to The Wonder Years, not Winnie the Pooh, but I imagine the children's book and resulting media have definitely helped keep it down. The fact that it's usually short for the ultra-vintage Winifred hasn't exactly boosted its popularity either. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see it come back soon, as a nickname for the on-the-rise Gwendolyn (à la Winnie Cooper), or other Gwen-names.
Oh, and in the case of that silly old bear, Winnie was actually short for Winnipeg. Probably less usable than most other alternatives.

  • Gwenaëlle (GWEN-ah-el, Breton)--"blessed and generous"
  • Gwyneira (gwun-AY-rah or gwun-EYE-rah, Welsh*)
  • Jaswinder (jas-WIN-der, Hindi)
  • Morwenna (mohr-WEN-nah, Cornish)
  • Owena (oh-WEN-ah, Welsh*)--feminine of Owen
  • Rowena (roh-EE-nah, English)
  • Willemijn (wil-leh-MINE, Dutch)--feminine of William/Willem
  • Winfrieda (win-FREE-dah, German)--"peaceful friend"
  • Winimar (WIN-ih-mar, Old German)--"famous friend"
  • Winona (win-OH-nah, Sioux)

*I was attempting to keep this list from getting too repetitive by limiting the number of Welsh names (gwen- and -wen are extremely common elements, since they mean "holy, blessed, fair"). If you do want to see dozens and dozens more, head on over to NameNerds

No comments:

Post a Comment