Wednesday, September 9, 2009

What's in a name?

Who is your namesake?
What's the story behind your parents naming you?
What does your name mean?
Do you have any great "name" anecdotes to share?



As we begin reading our first book together this year, Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake, we will share all of the trivia surrounding our name that we know. The questions above should get you thinking about your name, and you should talk to your family about your naming process if you don't know the story. You could even research what your name means. These will be fun stories to share on Friday, September 11, so be prepared to do so when you get to class. Over the weekend I want you to comment on this blog post with one or two fun facts about your name. Make sure that you only use your first name though since EHS's Web 2.0 Code of Ethics require that you do not use last names.



So I know that you are dying to know the answers to those questions for me, so I'll need to make a few calls home . . . check out Ms. Roehl's blog for her very interesting anecdote.

42 comments:

  1. Ariel is a satellite of the planet Uranus and also means Lionness of God.

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  2. I was named John because my of its heritage in my family. Also, my parents just like the name!

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  3. Howell Dalton McCullough is a family name, and most of it is from Wales. Howell is Welsh, and is anglicized form of Hywel and it means eminent, prominent, or conspicuous. McCullough is Scottish. The word cullach, which is derived from my last name, is Gaelic for boar. Dalton was a name of a 10th century king of Wales.

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  5. I was named Ben mainly because my parents liked the name and because it is my grandpa's middle name. He strongly encouraged my parents to name me this.

    -Ben Dahlberg

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  6. I was named Sarah just because my parents liked the sound of it, but I now know it means "Princess" in Hebrew. My middle name is Marie, because it is family tradition of all the girls on my mom's side to have the middle name Marie.

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  7. Jessica means "God is watching"
    Rae means "Ewe"
    Godfrey means "God's Peace"
    My parents gave me my middle name Rae after my great grandfather Ray.

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  8. I was named Ashley because of my grandmother and because my parents liked the name. Ashley means "ash tree clearing"

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  9. I was named Bryn because my mom's grandparents are Whelsh and she wanted me to have a Whelsh name.
    Bryn= little hill or grassy knoll
    Bryn Elizabeth= blessing from god
    McIntyre= son of the carpenter

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  10. My name is Emily because my parents said that when they names me Emily it wasn't a very common name. My middle name is Adair which is the same middle name as my mom and my grandma.

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  11. I was named Joseph after my great grandfather who immigrated here from Germany. Also my middle name William was named after another one of my great grandfathers whos parents immigrated here from Norway.

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  12. Alexandra means "helper and defender of mankind" in Greek. I was also named after an actress on a T.V. show my parents used to watch.

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  13. My parents named me Jennifer because they wanted a more traditional name after naming their first daughter Kahla. My great grandma and Mom's good friend were named Jennifer. Jennifer is Welsh and means "white,fair."

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  14. I was name after the french tennis player turned singer name Yannick Noah

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  15. I was named Kim because it was a very popual name when my parents were growing up and no one was naming their kid(s) Kim at the time. And I went almost a week without a name since I didnt look like any other name to my parents. I now know that Kim is a English name meaning ruler.

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  16. I was named Sam because my parents didnt know any other Sams but now its a common name. Also, in the dictionnary Sam means surface-to-air missile.

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  17. I was named Peter just because my parents liked that name. I learned that Peter means "stone" in Greek. I also learned that William, my middle name, means "desire".

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  18. My parents decided to name me Patricia because they thought the name was really pretty. My dad also liked it because there are many nicknames that can come from Patricia, like Patty. I also learned that patricia means someone who is a noble, or a person with a high rank in society.

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  19. Thea Alizabeth Zerbe is a family name of Greek and German origins. Thea is a shortened version of Theadora, my great great grandmothers first name. She lived on the Greek island Crete with my great great grandfather Andréas, whom my sister Andrea was named after. Thea is Greek for goddess.

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  20. I was named Erik because both my parents really liked the name. I figured out that my name means "ruler of all". I guess I was also named after a Prince who was also named Erik.

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  21. Sabir is Arabic for Patience. I dont know why my parents gave me that name cause im not patient at all.

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  22. I was named Emily because it was a name that both my parents liked and agreed on. They also said that it was not a popular name at the time, although now it is popular. My middle name Lynn is also my grandma's middle name which is why it was given to me. The name Emily means rival. -Emily G, 2 hour

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  23. I wasn't named after anyone in particular, my parents just liked how madeline is a French name.
    My parents originally were gonna name me Victoria, Madeline. But then when i came out my mom decided I was a Madeline, so instead they named me Madeline, Victoria.

    -Madeline S, hour 2

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  24. My name is Ishwpriya. My mother named me this not only because she liked the sound of it, but also because of the meaning, which is "God's Loved One". Also, neither I, nor any of my family members have ever met anyone else who has the same name as I do, therefore my name is very unique here in America and in India, where my mother and father are from.
    - Ishu S. Hour:3 Benson

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  25. I wasn't named after anyone specific but when my mom was pregnant with my brother, my parents were at a concert and the singers name was Michaela and they knew they wanted to name a child Michaela. My middle name is Grace and that's my great aunts name.

    -Michaela G, Hour 4

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  26. Since my mom got to choose my older sister's name my dad got to choose mine. There wasn't really a reason behind it I think he just liked the name Taylor. My middle name is Marie and that's my mom's sisters middle name so thats how I got my middle name. I looked up what Taylor means and I came up with "cutter of cloth" and "creative".

    Taylor A, Hour 3 Benson

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  27. Amira means princess in Arabic. My parents were thinking about naming me Sarah or Serena but they decided they wanted something that would reflect my heritage.

    -Amira K

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  28. Im named after my great grandmother Julia. She was very out going and for 35 years of her life she wore the same red cowboy boots everyday.

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  29. My parents wanted an old traditional name. Sarah means "Princess" in Hebrew. I spell my name with an "h" because my parents thought it was a more classic spelling. Sarah was my mom's favorite name. Kathryn is my middle name after my mom's name.

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  30. I was named Nick, because my parents liked the name. I also learned that Bakke means "hill" in Norwegion.

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  31. I was named after the Elvis Costello song "Alison". The name Alison means sweet, honest and of noble birth.

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  32. My name (Alaya) means mercy in Greek. I don't know why my mom named me Alaya, just that it is really unique. I've only ever met one person with the same name as me, but they spell it differently than I do.

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  33. I got my name because both of my parents liked the name Stephen but i got the ph because a kid in my dads elementary school had a v instead of a ph so that's why its with a ph. -Stephen Johnson 4th hour

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  34. I was named Lindsey because my parents liked the name and it was suggested by my godfather.

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  35. I was named nicole because my parents heard the name and liked it. They we're going to name both of my brother nicole but then they found out they were boys so they switched the names around and waited until i was born. nicole means "victorious people"

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  36. My dad named my brother after his side of the family. And my mom named me after her side of the family, my moms 100% irish so she named me Erin which means Ireland.

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  37. I was named Evan because my parents liked the name and could not agree on any other one. It is a Celtic name that means young warrior.

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  38. My full name is Anika but people call me Nika, i'm 50% Greek. Nika is the name of a riot that happened in Greece. My parents said that i wasn't named after that riot but after a few years of getting to know me they decided that the name fit the event. Apparently i turned out like a riot:(

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  39. Alex T... my name is Russian. In Russian, Alex translates to sashia. Alex is my middle name and means "Great." My first name however, (David) means defender of mankind. I go by Alex because there are a lot of Davids in my family.

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  40. Jon G... my name means god is graceful. The origin is from england. I am named after my cousin. No reasons of why i was named that.

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  41. Mitchell means absolutly nothing. Woo Hoo!

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