English Language

Names Studies





|
Oxford
Dictionary of First Names (1990, with
Flavia Hodges) |
| Karin (f.) Swedish form of KATHERINE,
found as a less common variant of KAREN in
America and Britain. Mitrofan (m.) Russian: from Greek
Metrophanes, a derivative of meter (genitive
metros) mother (sc. of God) + phainein to show,
appear. The name was borne by the first bishop of Byzantium.
Thecla (f.) English: contracted form of the Greek name
Theokleia, composed of the elements theos god +
kleria glory. The name was borne by a 1st-century saint (the
first female matyr), who was particularly popular in the Middle
Ages because of the lurid details of her suffering recorded in
the apocryphal 'Acts of Paul and Thecla'. |
 |
A
Concise Dictionary of First Names (1992, 1997, with Flavia
Hodges) |
| Bethan Originally a Welsh pet form of Beth,
now also popular elsewhere in the English-speaking world.
Elena Italian and Spanish form of Helen, now
sometimes also used in the English-speaking world.
Niamh Irish Gaelic name, pronounced 'nee-uv',
from a vocabulary word meaning 'brightness' or 'beauty'. It was
borne in Irish mythology by the daughter of the sea god, who
fell in love with the youthful Oisin, son of Finn MacCool, and
carried him off over the sea to the land of perpetual youth,
Tir na nOg, where there is no sadness, no ageing, and no
death. It is now a very popular given name in Ireland. |
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