By Michael Barrows
Speaking
as a Michael (a Hebrew name, meaning “Who is like God”),
I’m really proud of my name. And I think that I – mostly
- live up to the title! Of course, my mother would probably disagree;
I think the phrase “little devil” would probably pass
her lips if she was describing me during many stages of my childhood.
But then, my mother has her own issues; apparently
her name (Kathleen) is a Celtic name meaning “Little Darling”.
Hmmm, that isn’t the way I used to think about her during
those regular occasions when she was punishing me for my “not
like God” behaviour…!
And that’s the fun of baby name meanings –
parents make naming decisions based on many, many different reasons,
including family traditions, religion, culture, uniqueness and “it
just sounds really nice.” But – in the Western world
– we rarely do any real research into the history or real
meaning of baby names. So when the poor/lucky child finally finds
out the meaning of his/her “really nice sounding” name,
the results can be interesting, ironic, unfortunate or just sometimes
hilarious.
You can have a lot of fun thinking up family/friends
names, finding out the meanings and trying to make a connection
between the two. For example, my eldest brother Clive is apparently
“a cliff dweller”, which is coincidental, since he lives
at the top of a very long steep hill! Or why not play the game with
celebrities – consider the following:
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Badu (as in r n’b singer Erykah Badu):
African name meaning “Tenth born child”
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Winona (as in actress Winona Ryder): Sioux name
meaning “Firstborn daughter”
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Aaliyah (the late r n’b singer): Arabic name
meaning “High, exalted”
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Hilary (as in actresses Duff/Swank): Latin name
meaning “Cheerful”
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Some cultures have very interesting traditions when
it comes to baby name meanings. For example, Hindu names usually
have connections with very positive things such as truth, beauty,
happiness, blessings, etc, or one of the Hindu gods. In the Sikh
culture, girls traditionally have the middle or surname “Kaur”,
meaning “Princess”, whilst the boys have the middle
or surname “Singh”, meaning “Lion”.
An African friend of mine once mentioned that many
Africans are given a second name corresponding to the day of the
week on which they were born. I think is a really nice tradition,
but in my case, my middle name would be “Sondo” (born
on Sunday)!! Hmmmm…
 Whatever
type of name you have chosen, or are thinking about for your “bundle
of joy”, its worth doing a little research into the meaning.
And it’s never been easier, with the wealth of Internet resources
and books available, including my own site at www.all-about-baby-names.com,
which is jam-packed with resources, tips and information on baby
names, baby name meanings and baby products.
Your search may yield some surprises; for example,
the lovely-sounding name “Malory” is French and means
“Bad luck”. You could get round this by spelling it
“Mallory”, but this means “Without good fortune”
in Old German!
Alternatively, you may end up a little confused
by different meanings of the same name; for example “Leah”
is a beautiful girl’s name, but what does it mean? Well…
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In Hebrew it means “Cow” or
“Weary one” – uugghhh!
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In Greek it means “Glad tidings”
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In Assyrian, it means “Mistress, ruler”
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And a final warning: if you are planning to go for
a funky, unusual-sounding name, be sure to avoid “Bacia,”
– its Ugandan meaning is “Family deaths ruined the home!
Article written by Michael Barrows.
All opinions expressed are that of the writer.
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