Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Rory

Yes, yes, I know: Rory isn't a nickname; it's a full boys' name. But, thanks at least partially to Gilmore Girls, Rory is increasingly common on girls, both as a full name and as a nickname for Lorelei.

Boys:
  • Aurelio (ow-RAY-lee-oh, Italian, Spanish)--from Latin, "golden". Other forms include Aurélien (oh-ray-lee-AWN, French), Aurélio (ow-RAY-lee-oh, Portuguese) & Aurelius (aw-RAY-lee-us, or-EE-lee-us, Latin).
  • Florian (FLOH-ree-ahn, Danish, French, German, Polish, Swedish)--Italian form is Floriano (floh-ree-AH-noh).
  • Gregory (GREG-oh-ree, English)--from ancient Greek, "watchful". Other forms include Gregorius (Latin), Gregorio (greh-GOH-ree-oh, Italian, Spanish), Grigore (gree-GOR-eh, Romanian), and Grigoriy (gree-GOR-ee, Russian).
  • Horatio (hoh-RAY-shee-oh, English)--other forms include Horacio (oh-RAH-see-oh, Spanish), Horatius (hoh-RAH-tee-us, hor-AY-shus, Latin), and Orazio (oh-RAHTZ-yoh, Italian).
  • Laurence (LAW-rens, LOR-ens, English)--also spelled Lawrence. Other forms include Laurynas (lor-EE-nas, Lithuanian) and Laurentius (law-REN-tee-us, lor-EN-shus, Latin).
  • Maurice (moh-REES, French; mor-REES, MOR-is, English)--other forms include Mauricio (mow-REE-see-oh, Spanish), Mauritius (maw-REE-tee-us, mor-ISH-us, Latin), Maurizio (mow-REE-zee-oh, Italian), and Maurycy (mow-RITS-ih, Polish).
  • Rörik (ROH-rik, Swedish)--form of Roderick, from Germanic "famous power". Other forms include Rodrigue (rohd-REEG, French), Rodrigo (rohd-REE-goh, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish), Rorik (ROH-rik [Old] Danish), and Rurik (ROO-reek, Russian).
  • Roland (ROH-land, English; roh-LAWND, French)--other forms include Orlando (ohr-LAHN-doh, Italian), Loránd (LOH-rahnd, Hungarian), Lóránt (LOH-rahnt, Hungarian), Rolando (roh-LAHN-doh, Italian, Portuguese), Roldán (rohl-DAHN, Spanish), and Roldão (ROHL-dow, Portuguese).

Girls:
  • Aurelia (ow-RAY-lee-ah, Spanish, Italian; or-REE-lee-ah, English)--feminine of Aurelio. Other forms include Aurélia (ow-RAY-lee-ah, Portuguese), Aureliana (ow-ray-lee-AH-nah, Italian), Aurélie (oh-ray-LEE, French), and Aurélienne (oh-ray-lee-EN, French).
  • Aurora (ah-ROR-ah, English; ow-ROH-rah, Danish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Spanish; OW-roh-rah, Finnish)--from Latin "dawn". French form is Aurore (oh-ROHR).
  • Dolores (doh-LOHR-es, English, Spanish)
  • Florence (FLOR-ens, English; floh-RAWNS, French)--from Latin, "flourishing". Other forms include Florencia (floh-REN-see-ah, Spanish), Florentia (floh-REN-tee-ah, flor-EN-shah, Latin), Florentina (floh-ren-TEE-nah, German, Romanian, Spanish), and Fiorenza (fee-oh-REN-tsah, Italian).
  • Floriane (floh-ree-AN, French)--from Latin, "flower". Feminine of Florian. Other forms include Floriana (floh-ree-AH-nah, Italian), Florina (floh-REE-nah, Romanian), and Florinda (floh-REEN-dah, Portuguese, Spanish).
  • Gloria (GLOH-ree-ah, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish)--other forms include Glória (GLOH-ree-ah, Portuguese), Gloriana (glor-ee-AN-ah, English; gloh-ree-AH-nah, Spanish), and Gloriela (gloh-ree-EL-ah, Spanish).
  • Laurencia (law-REN-see-ah, lor-EN-shah, English)--feminine of Laurence. Other forms include Laurence (loh-RAWNS, French), Laurentia (law-REN-tee-ah, lor-EN-shah, Latin), Laurentina (law-ren-TEE-nah, Latin), Laurentine (loh-rawn-TEEN, French), Lorena (loh-REE-nah, English), and Lorenza (loh-REN-tsah, Italian; loh-REN-sah, Spanish).
  • Liora (lee-oh-rah, Hebrew)--"my light". Another form is Liorit (lee-oh-reet). 
  • Mallory (MAL-oh-ree, English)
  • Marjorie (MAR-jor-ree, English)--form of Margaret
  • Oriana (oh-ree-AH-nah, Italian)--from Latin "gold". French form is Oriane (oh-ree-AN).
  • Regnora (reng-NOR-ah, Norwegian, Swedish)
  • Roberta (rah-BERT-ah, English; roh-BEHT-tah, Danish, Italian, Spanish, Swedish)
  • Rolanda (roh-LAHN-dah, Italian, Spanish)--feminine of Roland. Another form is Orlanda (or-LAHN-dah, Italian). 
  • Rosaria (roh-SAH-ree-ah, Italian)--from Latin, "rosary". Other forms include Rosario (roh-SAH-ree-oh, Spanish), Rosário (roh-SAH-ree-oh, Portuguese), and Rosaire (roh-ZEHR, French).
  • Rosemary (ROHZ-mehr-ee, English)--other forms include Rosemarie (ROH-zeh-mah-ree, German; rohz-meh-REE, English, ROHZ-mah-ree, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish).

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Disney Princesses

....and princes...and other main people.....Let's just go with "Heroes & Heroines". Why limit ourselves?
This isn't going to be your usual Disney list, though--instead of the characters, I'm finding the names of the actors & actresses that voiced them.
Can you match your favorite character to his/her "real" name? ;)
(theatrical animated films only, not including Pixar)

Heroes:
  1. Adam
  2. Alex (Alexander)
  3. Barrie
  4. Bill (William)
  5. Bob (George Robert)
  6. Bobby (Robert)
  7. Bradley
  8. Brian
  9. Bruce
  10. Bruno
  11. Christopher (2)
  12. Corey
  13. David
  14. Dickie (Richard)
  15. Grant
  16. Hardie
  17. Harry
  18. Jeremy
  19. Joaquin
  20. Joey (Joseph)
  21. John (3)
  22. Jonathan (2)
  23. Jordan
  24. Joseph
  25. Keith
  26. Kurt
  27. Larry (Lawrence)
  28. Matthew
  29. Mel
  30. Michael
  31. Mickey
  32. Phil (Wonga Phillip)
  33. Robby (Robin)
  34. Rod (Rodney)
  35. Ryan
  36. Scott (2)
  37. Tate
  38. Tom (Thomas)
  39. Tony (Anthony)
  40. Zachary


Heroines:
  1. Adriana
  2. Anika
  3. Barbara
  4. Cammie (Eleanore Cammack)
  5. Cate (Catherine)
  6. Cree
  7. Daveigh
  8. Demi
  9. Eva (two roles)
  10. Idina
  11. Ilene
  12. Irene
  13. Jodi
  14. Kathryn (also two roles)
  15. Kristen
  16. Linda
  17. Mandy (Amanda)
  18. Mary
  19. Michelle
  20. Miley
  21. Ming-Na
  22. Minnie (Amelia)
  23. Moira
  24. Monica
  25. Niketa
  26. Paige
  27. Sandy (Sandra)
  28. Sarah
  29. Susan (2)

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Plants in Other Languages

Floral and other plant names are again having a heyday--Lily, Violet, Jasmine, Hazel, Willow, Ivy, etc. The boys are even getting into it with Rowan, Reed, and Sage. And while there's certainly no dearth of uncommon alternatives, I still thought it'd be fun to look at translations of the 12 most common plant names (ignoring the obvious cognates, like Lilja or Yasmin, because I need to save space!)
*Asterisks indicate the name is already in use in that language, and, unless otherwise indicated, feminine.


Lily
  • Azucena (ah-soo-SEH-nah)--Spanish*
  • Lelie (LAY-lee)--Dutch
  • Lelija (LEL-ee-yah)--Lithuanian
  • Lys (LEES)--French
  • Nari (nah-ree)--Korean*
  • Shoshana (shoh-shah-nah)--Hebrew* [also spelled Shoshannah]
  • Sousan (soo-SAHN)--Persian* [also can be transliterated as Soosan or Susan]
  • Yuri (yoo-ree)--Japanese*

Violet
  • Fialka (fee-AHL-kah)--Czech, Russian, Slovak
  • Fjóla (FYOH-lah)--Icelandic*
  • Jincai (jin-kye)--Mandarin [*a male name, but with different characters/meaning]
  • Ibolya (EE-boy-yah)--Hungarian*
  • Orvokki (OR-vok-kee)--Finnish*
  • Sigalit (see-gah-leet)--Hebrew*
  • Sumire (soo-mee-reh)--Japanese*
  • Waireti (WYE-reh-tee)--Maori*
  • Ziluolan (zee-loo-oh-lahn)--Mandarin

Jasmine
  • Giasemí (yah-seh-MEE)--Greek
  • Iasomie (yah-SOHM-yay)--Romanian
  • Matsuri (maht-soo-ree)--Japanese*
  • Melati (meh-LAH-tee)--Indonesian*
  • Moli (moh-lee)--Mandarin ["jasmine"]
  • Molihua (moh-lee-hwah)--Mandarin ["jasmine flower"]

Hazel
  • Aveleira (ah-veh-LEHR-ah)--Portuguese
  • Avellano (ah-veh-YAH-noh)--Spanish
  • Calltainn (KAHL-ten)--Scottish
  • Coll (KAHL)--Irish
  • Collen (CAH-hlen)--Welsh
  • Corylus (KOR-ee-lus)--Latin
  • Lazda (LAHZ-dah)--Latvian
  • Leska (LEH-skah)--Slovene
  • Líska (LEES-kah)--Czech
  • Nocciolo (noh-CHYOH-loh)--Italian [accented on the first syllable, means "core" or "kernel"]

Willow
  • Arava (ah-rah-VAH)--Hebrew* [also means "prairie"]
  • Helygen (hel-IG-en)--Welsh
  • Itiá--(ee-tee-AH)--Greek
  • Íva (EE-vah)--Russian
  • Liu (lee-oo)--Chinese [*surname]
  • Paju (PAH-yoo)--Estonian, Finnish*
  • Saule (SOLE)--French
  • Selje (SEL-yeh)--Norwegian [also the name of a Norwegian city, probably of different origin]
  • Varba (VUR-bah)--Bulgarian
  • Verba (VUR-bah)--Ukrainian
  • Vide (VEE-deh)--Swedish* [masculine]
  • Víðir (VEE-deer)--Icelandic* [masculine]
  • Weida (VYE-deh)--German [also means "pasture"]
  • Yanagi (yah-nah-gee)--Japanese [*surname]

Ivy
  • Edera (EH-dehr-ah)--Italian
  • Eidheann (AY-yen)--Scottish
  • Eidhneán (EYE-nan)--Irish
  • Hedera (HED-ehr-ah)--Latin
  • Hera (EHR-ah)--Portuguese
  • Heura (ay-OOR-ah)--Catalan
  • Hiedra (YEH-drah)--Spanish
  • Iederă (YEH-deh-rah)--Romanian
  • Lierre (lee-EHR)--French
  • Muratti (MOOR-at-tee)--Finnish

Daisy
  • Bellis (BEL-lis)--Latin [also means "wars" (dat/abl) or "pretty" (pl dat/abl)]
  • Hinanit (khin-ahn-EET)--Hebrew
  • Madelief (mah-deh-LEEF)--Dutch*
  • Margaritka (mar-gar-IT-kah)--Bulgarian
  • Margaritka (mar-gar-EET-kah)--Russian, Macedonian
  • Marguerite (mar-geh-REET)--French*
  • Neòinean (NAW-nen)--Scottish
  • Nóinín (NOH-uh-neen)--Irish

Rose
  • Gül (GOOL)--Turkish* [short 'oo', similar to English foot]
  • Ruža (ROO-zhah)--Croatian*, Serbian*
  • Trojánda (troh-YAHN-dah)--Ukrainian
  • Vered (veh-red)--Hebrew*
  • Warda (WAR-dah)--Arabic*
  • Yueji (yoo-eh-jee)--Mandarin

Rowan 
  • Caorthann (KWEHR-an)--Irish
  • Cerddinen (kehr-THEE-nen)--Welsh [hard 'th', like in the]
  • Eberesche (eh-beh-RESH-eh)--German
  • Jarebika (yah-REH-bee-kah)--Croatian, Serbian
  • Pihlaja (PEE-hlah-yah)--Finnish [*shortened form Pihla is used as a name]
  • Reynir (RAY-neer)--Icelandic* [masculine]
  • Sorveira (sohr-VAY-rah)--Portuguese
  • Tis (TEES)--Persian

Iris
  • Ayame (ah-yah-meh)--Japanese*
  • Perunika (peh-ROO-nee-kah)--Croatian, Macedonian, Serbian, Slovene

Olive
  • Azeitona (ah-zay-TOH-nah)--Portuguese
  • Elaía (el-EYE-ah)--Ancient Greek
  • Eliá (el-YAH)--Greek
  • Maslina (mahs-LEE-nah)--Bulgarian
  • Maslina (MAHS-lee-nah)--Russian, Serbian
  • Maslyna (mahs-LEE-nah)--Ukrainian
  • Oliven (oh-LEE-ven)--Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
  • Ulli (OO-lee)--Albanian
  • Zaituni (zye-TOO-nee)--Swahili*
  • Zayit (zah-YEET)--Hebrew
  • Zaytun (zay-TOON)--Arabic
  • Zeituni (zay-TOO-nee)--Swahili*
  • Zeytun (zay-TOON)--Persian

Reed
  • Ashi (ah-shee)--Japanese
  • Cana (KAH-nah)--Portuguese
  • Canya (KAHN-yah)--Catalan
  • Kaisla (KYE-slah)--Finnish*
  • Kalami (kah-LAH-mee)--Greek
  • Kamýsh (kah-MEESH)--Russian
  • Nendrė (NEN-dray)--Lithuanian
  • Ney (NAY)--Persian
  • Qasaba (KAH-suh-bah)--Arabic [also means "town"]
  • Rákosí (RAH-koh-see)--Czech
  • Roseau (roh-zoh)--French
  • Siv (SEEV)--Danish, Norwegian [*used as a name, but from a different derivation]
  • Yoshi (yoh-shee)--Japanese [*unisex name, but with different kanji/meaning(s)]