Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name: Etta/Ettie

Despite the fact that Etta rose higher than any of her long forms, I still think of her as a nickname. I'm not sure why--because -etta is a diminutive suffix, perhaps?
Anyway, she's usually listed as a nickname for Henrietta on sites and in books, but there are tons of fun possibilities...

• Agneta (ahng-NET-ah, Swedish)--form of Agnes. Other forms include Aunetta (Finnish).
• Aleta (ah-LET-ah, English, Scandinavian)--form of Adelaide or Alethea. Also spelled Aletta.
• Aniceta (ah-nee-SEH-tah, Spanish; ah-nee-TSEH-tah, Polish)--from Greek, "unconquerable"
• Annetta (ah-NET-tah, Italian)
• Antonietta (ahn-tohn-YET-tah, Italian)
• Arletta (ar-LET-tah, English)
• Benedetta (beh-neh-DET-tah, Italian)--feminine of Benedict
• Bernetta (bur-NET-tah, English)--form of Berenice/Veronica
• Caieta (kye-ET-ah, Latin)
• Claretta (clah-RET-tah, Italian)
• Concetta (kon-CHET-tah, Italian)
• Coretta (koh-RET-tah, English)
• Dionetta (dee-oh-NEH-tah, Italian, English)--form of Denise/Dionysia
• Elettra (eh-LET-trah, Italian)--form of Electra
• Elisabetta (eh-lee-zah-BET-tah, Italian)--form of Elizabeth. Other forms include Alžbeta (Slovak), Elżbieta (Polish), Elisaveta (Macedonian), & Yelizaveta (Russian).
• Etelka (ET-el-kaw, Hungarian)
• Etelvina (et-el-VEE-nah, Spanish)--from Germanic, "noble friend"
• Eteri (eh-teh-ree, Georgian)--"air, ether"
• Étiennette (ay-tee-en-ET, French)
• Fiammetta (fee-ah-MET-tah, Italian)--"little flame"
• Fioretta (fee-oh-RET-tah, Italian)--"little flower"
• Floretta (floh-RET-tah, English)
• Georgeta (jor-JEH-tah, Romanian)
• Giosetta (joh-ZET-tah, Italian)
• Iveta (ee-VEH-tah, Czech, Latvian, Slovak)--form of Yvette
• Jacquetta (jah-KET-tah, English)--form of Jacqueline
• Julieta (joo-lee-ET-ah, English. Portuguese; hoo-lee-EH-tah, Spanish)--also spelled Julietta
• Lauretta (law-RET-tah, lohr-ET-tah, English; low-RET-tah, Italian)--form of Laura. Another form is Loretta.
• Lucetta (loo-SET-tah, English)--form of Lucy
• Margaretta (mar-gah-RET-tah, English)--other forms include Margareta (Dutch, German, Scandinavian), Margrete (Scandinavian), Marjeta (Slovene), Marketta (Finnish), & Merete (Dutch).
• Marietta (mah-ree-ET-tah, Italian)
• Nicoletta (nee-koh-LET-tah, Italian)--other forms include Nikoleta (Greek) & Nicoleta (Romanian)
• Odetta (oh-DET-tah, English)
• Pauletta (paw-LET-tah, English)
• Rosetta (roh-ZET-tah, Italian)
• Stenetta (sten-EH-tah, Scandinavian)--from Old Norse, "stone"
• Violeta (vee-oh-LEH-tah, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Romanian, Serbian, Spanish)--Italian form is Violetta.
• Žaneta (zhah-NET-ah, Czech, Slovak)--form of Jane/Jean/Joan. Another form is Żaneta (Polish)

April Showers Bring....

May flowers! Happy, uh, May Day? We'll go with that.
On the heels of my bird-themed post, a flower-themed post also seemed like a fun idea. So, here're various flower-names from other languages. Unless otherwise noted, these are female.

• Aoi (ah-oh-ee, Japanese)--"hollyhock"
• Aravind (ahr-ah-vind, Hindi)--"lotus" [masculine]
• Amaranta (ah-mah-RAHN-tah, Spanish & Italian)--"amaranth"
• Ayame (ah-yah-may, Japanese)--"iris"
• Azucena (ah-soo-SEH-nah, Spanish)--"madonna lily"
• Brânduṣa (brahn-DOO-shah, Romanian)--"crocus"
• Briallen (bree-AHL-len, Welsh)--"primrose"
• Capucine (kah-poo-SEEN, French)--"nasturtium"
• Crina (KREE-nah, Romanian)--"lily"
• Cullen (KUL-len, Irish)--"holly" [masculine]. Variant is Quillan.
• Celyn (KEL-in, Welsh)--"holly" [masculine]
• Daphne (DAF-nee, Greek)--"laurel"
• Đurđica (joor-JITS-ah, Croatian)--"lily of the valley" [also the Croatian form of Georgia]
• Eirlys (IRE-lis or AYR-lis, Welsh)--"snowdrop"
• Endzela (end-ZEL-ah, Georgian)--"snowdrop"
• Ffion (FEE-on, Welsh)--"rose" or "foxglove"
• Hollis (HOL-lis, English)--"holly tree" [usually masculine]
• Ianthe (ee-AN-thee or eye-AN-thee, Greek)--"violet"
• Ibolya (ee-boy-ah, Hungarian)--"violet"
• Ivančica (ee-vahn-CHEE-tsah, Croatian)--"daisy"
• Irit (ee-reet, Hebrew)--"asphodel"
• Jessamine (JES-sah-min, English)--"jasmine"
• Kamala (kah-mah-lah, Hindi)--"lotus"
• Kielo (KEE-eh-loh, Finnish)--"lily of the valley"
• Kiku (kee-koo, Japanese)--"chrysanthemum"
• Laleh (lah-LAY, Persian)--"tulip"
• Lan (LAHN, Chinese & Vietnamese)--"orchid"
• Liên (LEE-en, Vietnamese)--"lotus"
• Madara (mah-DAH-rah, Latvian)--"galium"
• Madelief (mah-deh-LEEF, Dutch)--"daisy"
• Marganita (mahr-gah-nee-tah, Hebrew)--"scarlet pimpernel"
• Margarita (mahr-gah-REE-tah, Spanish)--"daisy" [also the Spanish form of Margaret]
• Marguerite (mahr-ge-REET, French)--"daisy" [also the French form of Margaret]
• Mawar (MAH-wahr, Indonesian)--"rose"
• Melati (mel-AH-tee, Indonesian)--"jasmine"
• Nasrin (nahs-REEN, Persian)--"wild rose"
• Nóinín (NOH-neen, Irish)--"daisy"
• Nurit (noo-REET, Hebrew)--"buttercup"
• Orvokki (OHR-voh-kee, Finnish)--"pansy"
• Raisa (rye-sah or rye-zah, Yiddish)--"rose"
• Ren (ren, Japanese)--"lotus" [can also mean "love"]
• Rhoda (ROH-dah, English)--from Greek, "rose"
• Rotem (roh-TEM, Hebrew)--"retama" [unisex, more often masculine]
• Rozenn (ROH-zen, Breton)--"rose"
• Růžena (roo-ZHEN-ah, Czech)--"rose"
• Sakura (sah-koo-rah, Japanese)--"cherry blossom"
• Sayuri (sah-yoo-ree, Japanese)--"small lily"
• Spomenka (spoh-MEHN-kah, Croatian)--"forget-me-not"
• Vartan (VAHR-tahn, Armenian)--"rose" [masculine]
• Vered (veh-REHD, Hebrew)--"rose"
• Vuokko (VOO-oh-ko, Finnish)--"anemone"
• Yolanda (yoh-LAHN-dah, Spanish)--from Latin, "violet"
• Yuri (yoo-ree, Japanese)--"lily"

Same Name?!--Elizabeth

Watching languages develop & diverge is fascinating--or at least, that's what I tell myself when even I see a crazy alternative spelling or try to decipher 1447spk on a forum. ;) While most of us realize that our modern versions of names aren't exactly the same as the original, it can be surprising how many familiar, everyday names share a common source. I can see myself doing many of these posts, so today I'm going to start with the many versions of the traditional classic Elizabeth.

Original Hebrew form: Elisheva [אֱלִישֶׁבַע] (el-ih-she-VAH)
Greek transliteration: Elisabet [Ελισαβετ] (eh-LIS-a-bet)

 Modern versions:

• Alzbeta (alzh-BEH-tah)--Czech
• Bethan (BETH-ahn)--Welsh
• Bettina (bet-TEEN-ah)--German
• Eilís (AYL-eesh)--Irish
• Elisabetta (el-iss-ah-BET-tah)--Italian
• Elisaveta (el-ee-sah-VET-ah)--Bulgarian
• Eliska (el-EESH-kah)--Czech
• Eliso (eh-LISS-oh)--Georgian
• Elsa (EL-sah)--German
• Elspeth (ELZ-peth)--Scottish
• Elise/Elyse (el-EESE)--English
• Elizabella (ee-liz-ah-BEL-lah)--archaic English
• Isabeau (is-ah-bo)--Medieval French
• Isabel (IZ-ah-bell or ees-ah-bell)--Medieval French
• Isabella (iz-ah-BEL-lah)--Italian (from Isabel)
• Isobel (IZ-oh-bell)--Scottish (from Isabel)
• Liesel (LEEZ-el)--German
• Lilibet (LIL-eh-bet)--English
• Lisette (lih-sette)--French
• Sabela (sah-BEL-ah)--Galician (from Isabel)
• Spela (SPEL-ah)--Slovene

Usual Nicknames; Unexpected Names: Andy

Andy is usually short for the Biblical Andrew and its feminine spin-off Andrea. If you love the nickname, but are bored with the usuals, here're some alternates.

• Boys
• Alexander/Alesander
• Anand (AHN-and, Indian [Hindi])--"happiness"
• Anders (AN-derz, Scandinavian)--form of Andrew
• Andrius (AHN-dree-us, Lithuanian)--another form of Andrew
• Antero (AHN-teyr-o, Finnish)--yet another form of Andrew
• Armando (ar-MAHN-do, Italian, Spanish, & Portuguese)--"soldier"
• Eskandar (es-KAN-dar, Iranian [Persian])--form of Alexander
• Evander (ev-AN-der, Latin)--"good man"
• Ferdinand (FER-de-nand, Germanic)--"brave journeyer"
• Leander (lee-AN-der, Greek)--"lion man"
• Loránd (LOR-ahnd, Hungarian)
• Lysander (lye-SAN-der, Greek)
• Rembrandt (REM-brahnt, Dutch)
• Girls
• Amandine (ahm-ahn-deen, French)
• Andela (ahn-DEL-ah, Czech)--form of Angela
• Andraste (an-DRAHST, Celtic)--Briton goddess of war
• Anthea (an-THAY-ah, Greek)--"flower"
• Celandine (SELL-an-deen, English)
• Coriander (COR-ee-an-der, English)
• Endzela (end-ZEL-a, Georgian)
• Lavender (LAV-en-der, English)
• Melisande (mel-ih-sahnd, French)
• Miranda (meer-AN-da, English)--"wonderful"
• Rosenda (roh-SEN-dah, Spanish)
• Ruxandra (REWKS-ahn-dra, Romanian)--form of Roxana