Girls Name: Eleanor

From the Old French form of the Occitan name Aliénor. It was first borne by the influential Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century), who was the queen of Louis VII, the king of France, and later Henry II, the king of England. She was named Aenor after her mother, and was called by the Occitan phrase alia Aenor "the other AENOR" in order to distinguish her from her mother. Aenor is probably a Latinized form of a Germanic name of unknown meaning. This was the name of the mother of Eleanor of Aquitaine. May also be related to Helen, the English form of the Greek ‘Ελενη (Helene), probably from Greek ‘ελενη (helene) "torch" or "corposant", or possibly related to σεληνη (selene) "moon". 

The popularity of the name Eleanor in England during the Middle Ages was due to the fame of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as well as two queens of the following century: Eleanor of Provence, the wife of Henry III, and Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I. More recently, it was borne by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the wife of American president Franklin Roosevelt. - quoted from Behind The Name

Eleanor started being more popular in the late 1890's and reached #25 in 1920 in the USA, then by the 1940's it went back to being out of the top 100 in the USA. Today Eleanor rates #60 in England and Wales, #78 in the USA, #82 in Australia and #88 in Canada. 

Eleanor is unfortunately not on my family tree but I do love it so much! One of my favorite Jane Austen characters is Eleanor Tilney from Northanger Abbey and I also love Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility. I also like Eleanor with nickname Lena or Ellie. My favorite combos are Eleanor Mary, Eleanor Sally and Eleanor Amelia. 

What do you think of the name Eleanor? 

Do you know anyone with this name? 

What other names would you pair it with? 

Girls Name: Lena

Scandinavian, German and Polish short form of Helena the Latinate form of Helen, English form of the Greek ‘Ελενη (Helene), probably from Greek ‘ελενη (helene) "torch" or "corposant", or possibly related to σεληνη (selene) "moon". In Greek mythology Helen was the daughter of Zeus and Leda, whose kidnapping by Paris was the cause of the Trojan War. The name was also borne by the 4th-century Saint Helena, mother of the Roman emperor Constantine, who supposedly found the True Cross during a trip to Jerusalem. - quoted from Behind The Name

Lena hasn't ever been super popular in the USA, but in the late 1800's it rated as high as #41, and it is much more popular in other countries. It ranked #1 in Poland, #8 in Austria, #13 in France, #13 in Switzerland and #18 in Belgium. 

I've only heard of one modern Lena, one time when I was a craft store a mom was calling her little girl "Lee-nuh!" and it was quite cute, not sure if it was just a nickname or a full name. 

On my dad's family tree he has a great-grandmother named Lena Viola and she named her daughter Beatrice Elena - lovely names! 

Lena is at the top of my favorites list, right below Amy. I go back and forth trying to decide whether to use it as a full first name or just a nickname for Eleanor. I also can't decide whether to pronounce it LEE-nuh or LAY-nuh. My favorite combos are Lena Sally, Lena Mary, Lena Mercy, Lena Ruth and Lena Viola. I also like Eleanor Sally "Lena", Eleanor Mary "Lena" and Eleanor Joyce "Lena".

What do you think of the name Lena? 

Do you know anyone with this name? 

What other names would you pair it with?

Girls Name: Sophia

Means "wisdom" in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical, saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred. Legends about her probably arose as a result of a medieval misunderstanding of the phrase Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom", which was the name of a large basilica in Constantinople. This name was common among continental European royalty during the Middle Ages, and it was popularized in Britain by the German House of Hanover when they inherited the British throne in the 18th century. It was the name of characters in the novels 'Tom Jones' (1749) by Henry Fielding and 'The Vicar of Wakefield' (1766) by Oliver Goldsmith. - quoted from Behind The Name entry

Sophia, Sophie, Sofia and Sofie have been super popular in recent years but I still really love it. In recent years Sophia ranked #3 in the USA and Canada, #6 in Austria, #9 in Northern Ireland and New Zealand and #10 in Scotland.

I've known a few little girls named Sophia. Jane Austen used the name Sophia for a few minor characters in her novels and in film adaptations and audiobook readings it is often pronounced so-FIE-uh which seems to be the British English pronunciation. In Jane Austen's Persuasion the character Sophia Croft is called "Sophy" by her brother.

Because it's so popular I like Sophia better as a middle name as in Eleanor Sophia, Catherine Sophia or Adelaide Sophia. But I do also like the combos Sophia Rose, Sophia Maeve and Sophia Eleanor.

What do you think of the name Sophia? 

Do you know anyone with this name? 

What other names would you pair it with?

Girls Name: Priscilla

Priscilla is a Roman name, a diminutive of Prisca which is a feminine form of Priscus, a Roman family name which meant "ancient" in Latin. This name appears in the epistles in the New Testament, referring to Priscilla the wife of Aquila.. In Acts in the New Testament Paul lived with Priscilla and her husband Aquila in Corinth for a while. It has been used as an English given name since the Protestant Reformation, being popular with the Puritans. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow used it in his poem 'The Courtship of Miles Standish' (1858). - Quoted from Behind The Name entry

I've known a few people named Priscilla. One young lady I grew up with is called Priscilla (some times called "Priss" by her siblings), my good friend is Priscilla but always goes by Cilla, and an elderly patient I knew was always called Prissy.

I'm not sure I'd use Priscilla for a daughter's name but I do enjoy the combos Priscilla Ruth, Priscilla Miriam and Priscilla Rose.


What do you think of the name Priscilla? 

 Do you know anyone with this name? 

 What other names would you pair it with?

Names I've Been Thinking About

Lately I've found and been thinking about the names below. I like the sound of these and thought I'd just share them here. I'd love to know if you've heard of any of these names and what you think of them!

Girls:

• Niobe - I found this today and really didn't know how to pronounce it or anything about it! So I looked it up on Behind the Name (my one stop source for names). It's pronounced nee-o-bee or nye-o-bee (similar to Naomi). It's a name from Greek Mythology and the meaning is unknown. To me it sound similar to Phoebe which I love so I'm really starting to like this. I can at least add it to my very short list of N names that I like.
• Nimue - another name I just didn't know anything about! This one is from Welsh Mythology so I like it because of that already. Some people pronounce it nee-moo but it's really pronounced nih-moo-way. I have a hard time pronouncing it and I'd love to hear a Welsh person pronounce it because I'm sure it's beautiful! Meaning unknown.
• Gwendlyn - this name I found in a name game I played and thought it was rather pretty. I can't find any info on it so it's probably a misspelling of Gwendolyn but I thought it looked pretty anyway.

Boys:

• Colm - on St. Patrick's Day I watched a TV program where a man from Ireland had this name. I enjoyed hearing it used because I don't think I'd heard it used before. I really like the short sound and like that's it's less popular than Callum which I love. It's in the same family as Callum and means 'dove'.
• Leith - this is an English name which has ties with Scotland and is also the name of a river that runs through Edinburgh, Scotland. I kind of liked it because it's similar to Keith but different.
• Imre - I'd heard this name before but ran across it again. I love the sound! It's pronounced EEM-re. It's actually a Hungarian form of the German names Emmerich, but to me it sounds Welsh or Celtic. I like it!
• Aloysius - every time I run across Aloysius it surprises me how much I like the sound. It's just a fun name to say - al-oh-WISH-us! It's related to the name Louis which I also like right now. These old-fashioned names are delightful!
• Jason - I usually don't like this name but the few Jasons I have met are really nice and make me want to like this name even though it is well known and popular. 

I'm also falling in love with the name Colin again! It's my dad's name and my brother's first name (but he goes by his middle name) and I really don't hear it often enough. If my brother doesn't use it then I'm going to because I do love it! My dad doesn't have a nickname but I'm kind of liking the nickname Col (like call) right now. What do you think, on a little boy?

Opinions on all of these names? What you heard of them before? Have you met people with these names?

Alethea

Alethea is an English name derived from Greek αληθεια (aletheia) meaning "truth". This name was coined in the 17th century and may be related to Althea.

I didn't find very many refrences when I looked up famous Aletheas but here are a few ladies by that name that you might have heard about or might find interesting:


In Greek mythology, Alethea (or Altheia) was the daughter of Zeus and Arete, the personification of truth and the nurse of the infant Apollo.


Alethea Howard, Countess of Arundel (1585-1654) was the wife of Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel (1585-1646) who was an ardent art collector (having over 700 paintings in his collection) and prominent English courtier during the reigns of James I and Charles I. She was born Lady Alethea (or Alatheia) Talbot the youngest daughter of Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury and his wife Mary Cavendish; and the sister of two other countesses: Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke and Elizabeth Grey, Countess of Kent. She married in September 1606 and gave birth to four children: James Howard, Baron Maltravers (1607-1624), Henry Frederick Howard, 22nd Earl of Arundel (1608-1652), William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford (1614-1680), and Lady Mary Anne Howard (c. 1615-1658).
Along with her sister Elizabeth, and their cousin Arbella Stuart, she performed in a masque celebrating the investiture of Henry Stuart as Prince of Wales in 1610.
Alethea's husband bought many pieces from her art collection using her money and left the collection of over 600 paintings and 200 sculptures to her on his death. Like her sister, Elizabeth, Alethea was interested in the use of herbs and other foodstuffs for medical purposes. Her recipes were published under the title Natura Exenterata. Little else is known about this fascinating lady.


Alethea McGrath is an Australian actress who played the role of Jocasta Nu in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. She is also known for her roles on television, playing Dot Farrar in Prisoner and two parts in Neighbours: Mary Crombie from 1989 to 1990 and Lilly Madigan in 1998.
Alethea McGrath is an Australian actress who played the role of Jocasta Nu in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

I never used to like the name Alethea until I met a girl who did not pronounce her name like uh-LEE-thee-uh but like uh-LAY-thee-uh. Then I thought the name was just beautiful and fitted the girl's sweet and bubbly nature.

I added Alethea to my favorites list where it currently resides outside of my top 20 favorite combos as Alethea Spring, just a bit of beauty and whimsy and one of my guilty pleasures! :)

Know anyone named Alethea? What do you think of the name? Will this name ever catch on - why or why not?