It's been a recent interest of mine to understand the definition and meaning of various names. Any culture will do, but for the English-types I've known my own name means:

Timothy - to honor; honoring God

Not terribly certain about the religious implications, but it's quite nice to know what our own syllables are about.

What are some other names that are peculiar or fascinating whose meanings are equally as intriguing? Or what does your own name mean?

Onomastics (or onomatology) is the study of names, their meanings and etymologies. There are personal names, place-names (toponyms), ethnic designations (ethnonyms), and a host of others. My first and middle names contradict one another, in a way: James 'supplanter' (< Hebrew יעקב ya`aqobh) and Frederic 'peace-king' (from Germanic frid + rik).

I was trying to find a good Web site for finding the origin of personal names. I didn't find much; most are very superficial and have all sorts of pop-up ads.

However, I did find this interesting book, "Medical Greek: Collection on Medical Onomatology and a Grammatical Guide to Learn Modern Greek," written in 1908. Right off the bat the author introduced me to a new word, "misoneismus" or the "correct name" of "misocainia." I only find "misocainia" in Luciferous Logolepsy, defined as "hatred of anything new."

Sorry to get this thread off-topic, but sometimes you find really interesting things when you're searching for something else. I should have saved it for the Bluffing Game!

quote:

Originally posted by Kalleh:
Right off the bat the author introduced me to a new word, "misoneismus" or the "correct name" of "misocainia." I only find "misocainia" in Luciferous Logolepsy, defined as "hatred of anything new."

try misocainea

I also have contradictory given names. My first name, Harold, means "leader of an army;" the first part of my second name, Geoffrey, has a questionable origin. It may mean territory, or maybe prisoner, or maybe god. The second half means "peace." So, maybe I'm suposed to be a peaceful army leader!

The meanings of my given names are over the top:
Sarah -- princess
Elizabeth --gift of God.

It's wonderful how parents slap these grandiose monikers on their newborns. Actually, I was named for two great-grandmothers.

And Kalleh, I absolutely love the term Luciferous Logolepsy, although it looks as if it means Satanic disease of the vocabulary? Not that I've ever studied Greek.


Wordmatic

When WordCrafter Kalleh came to visit me, her first question was, "Is your name really Jerry Thomas?"

It is.

The Thomas branches of my family tree allegedly were miners from Wales, where lots of surnames are used as "given names" elsewhere. When my brother was born they named him Ivan (for our father) Vernor (for Uncle Vern) Thomas, and everyone called him Tommy -- the popular nickname for Thomas.

Tommy's little brother (me) was born 14 months later, and when it came to naming the new baby, . Uncle Vern, the bartender and tavern owner, convinced other relatives that where there's a Tom there's gotta be a Jerry, as in Tom & Jerry, and they named me Jerry.

But in those ancient times it was not fashionable to give nicknames to babies; "real" names were required. Jerry is a nickname for Gerald -- sword bearer, which has no connection with reality ... but ...

... According to a dimly remembered family joke, shortly after my birth, my father was overheard saying to my mother, "Let's call it quits."

She preferred Jerry.

So, WM, you're saying you're NOT a diving princess? Oh, how my image of you has fallen!

quote:

Originally posted by Asa Lovejoy:
So, WM, you're saying you're NOT a diving princess? Oh, how my image of you has fallen!

Oh, how a single letter can change the meaning.
Perchance you meant "divinE".

Uhhh, yeah, a divine diving princess!

Asa with foot in mouth

Sorry, Asa. Not divine. Minimally diving. Not a princess either.

I do like to swim though. Does that count?

Princess Wordy

quote:

try misocainea

Duh! Interesting how the spelling has changed. Nothing I had read hinted that there was an alternative spelling.

Still, of all the discussions of "misocainea" or "misocainea," most only cite the definition, "fear of new ideas," and don't include some of the nuances of the word as discussed in that 1908 discussion. See my discussion of some of those nuances here and my mea culpa here.

interestingly, neither form is to be found in OED, which is a bit surprising as they completed a massive update of the Ms about five years ago.

edit: there are several good cites to be found for misocania, and at least one (from 1984) for misocanea, using Google[books]. (Amazon turns up nothing but lexicon results for both.)

i need search the web for meaning of names though i need know the meaning of my name..

quote:

interestingly, neither form is to be found in OED,

Yes, I had realized that, tsuwm, even with my errant spelling. That was why I had equated it with "epicaricacy." However, "misocainea" seems more accepted. I will ask John Simpson why it's not in the OED.

Joat,

At a guess, your given name is of Nigerian origin, no? It will probably depend on which particular one of Nigeria's hundreds of ethno-linguistic groups you are a part.