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Saturday 14 November 2015

Names from France

A view of the Pyrenees Mountains from the village
of Dun, near Toulouse. This is my own photo
so please ask for permission if
you want to use it. Thanks! :)

For the next part of the week, I stayed with some of my mother's friends in the village of Dun, near Mirepoix, which itself is near Toulouse. I spotted some more names whilst I was there.

Elodie
Elodie was a flight attendant on the plane. Her name is of French origins as a form of Alodia, which itself comes from the Germanic elements of alja ("other; foreign") and aud ("riches; wealth). In its native France, Elodie last appeared on the popularity charts in 2010, where it ranked at #216. In England and Wales, it ranked at #172 last year.

Elisabette
Elisabette was another flight attendant on the plane. Her name is a French form of Elizabeth, which has a meaning of "God is my oath". 

Étienne
Étienne was a waiter at the hotel on the first night. His name is the French form of Stephen, which has a meaning of "crown". In its native France, Étienne last appeared on the popularity charts in 2010, where it ranked at #225.

Sabine
Sabine was a member of staff at the airport in Toulouse. Her name is the French and German form of Sabina, which itself is of Roman origins, literally meaning "sabine", the name of an ancient Italian ethnic group. 

Jean
Jean was a local of Dun. His name is the French form of John, which means "Yahweh is gracious". In its native France, Jean last appeared on the popularity charts in 2010, where it ranked at #89. 

Robert
Robert was an English resident of Dun. His name is of European origins and itself comes from the Germanic name Hrodebert, meaning "bright fame". In England and Wales, Robert ranked at #96 in the popularity charts whilst in the United States, it ranked at #61 last year.

Pascal
Pascal was another local of Dun. His name is of Latin origins and has a meaning of "relating to Easter". 

Loïc
Loïc was a local of Mirepoix. His name is the Breton form of Louis, which itself is the French form of the Germanic name, Ludwig, which is composed of the elements hlud ("famous") and wig ("war; battle"). 

Philippe
Philippe was another local of Mirepoix. His name is the French form of Philip, which itself is an Anglicized form of the Greek Philippos, meaning "friend of horses". 

Sophie
Sophie was another local of Dun. Her name is the French form of Sophia, which itself is of Greek origins and has a meaning of "wisdom". In England and Wales, Sophie ranked at #10 in the popularity charts whilst in the United States, it ranked at #91 last year.

Logan
Logan was a staff member at the airport in Toulouse. His name is of Scottish origins, and is derived from a surname meaning "little hollow" in Scottish Gaelic. In England and Wales, Logan ranked at #23 in the popularity charts, whilst in the United States, it ranked at #13 for boys and #391 for girls last year.

Hannah
Hannah was an English tourist at the airport in Toulouse. Her name is of Biblical origins, and has a meaning of "favour" or "grace". In England and Wales, Hannah ranked at #59 in the popularity charts, whilst in the United States, it ranked at #28 last year.

Names from Seville

A view of Seville from the Metropol Parasol structure. This is my 
own photo so please ask for permission if you want to use it. Thanks! :)

It's been ages since I last posted and quite literally none of you have read my last few posts, which might be due to my hiatus. I can't make any promises that I'll be back to my old standards, as I'm in the middle of my exams (which are very important) which results in me being unable or forgetting to blog. But, at least I'm here today. 

In the first half of the first week of the October half term, I visited Seville in Andalucia, Spain. Whilst I was enjoying my trip I managed to spot quite a few names. 

Harriet
Harriet was a British tourist at the airport. Her name is an English form of Henriette, meaning "home ruler" as a feminisation of Harry. Harriet first began to be used in the seventeenth century and shot up in popularity in the eighteenth century. In England and Wales, Harriet was #61 on the popularity charts last year; whilst in the United States, it last appeared on the charts in 1970, where it ranked at #820.

Sage
I'm not sure if Sage counts as a proper sighting, since I overheard some women behind me on the plane talking about a baby named Sage. Sage originates from the English word, which describes somebody who is wise. It is also the name of a spice. Sage is very rare in England and Wales, though in the United States, it ranked at #388 in the popularity charts for girls and #652 in the popularity charts for boys last year.

Juan
Juan was the owner of my apartment. His name is a Spanish and Manx variation of John, which itself is the English translation of Iohannes. John has a meaning of "Yahweh is gracious" and is of Biblical origins. In it's native Spain, Juan ranked at #29 in the popularity charts, whereas in the United States, it ranked at #98 in the popularity charts last year.

Frolian
Frolian was a little boy at a tapas restaurant on the first night. His name derives from the Spanish name Froila, whose meaning is not known. It's a very rare name, though in 1998, Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo gave her oldest son Felipe the middle name of Froilán (his full name is Felipe Juan Froilán) and he is known as Froilán to the Spanish media, so as not to confuse him with his uncle King Felipe.

Lorena
Lorena was a woman behind the till at a shop on the second day. Her name is the Spanish form of Lorraine, which has a meaning of "kingdom of Lothar" as being derived from a French region. In Spain, Lorena last appeared on the popularity charts in 2010, where it ranked at #82. In the United States, it ranked at #968 that same year.

Claudia
Claudia was a little girl at the Alcàzar Palace on the third day. Her name is of Ancient Roman origins, as a feminsation of Claudius. Claudia was used very rarely as a given name until the sixteenth century. In England and Wales, Claudia ranked at #306 in the popularity charts, whilst in the United States, it ranked at #723 last year.

Matteo
Matteo was the younger brother of Claudia. His name is the Italian form of Matthew, which is of Biblical origins and has a meaning of "gift of Yahweh". In its native Italy, Matteo ranked at #6 in the popularity charts in 2013, whilst in England and Wales, it ranked at #402 a year later.

Luca
Luca was a little boy at the María Luisa Park in the evening. His name is a European form of Luke, a Biblical name which has a meaning of "from Lucania". In England and Wales, Luca ranked at #58 in the popularity charts, whilst in the United States, it ranked at #185 last year.

Blanca
Blanca was a baby at the park. Her name is a Spanish cognate of the French Blanche, which has a meaning of "white". In its native Spain, it ranked at #43 in the popularity charts last year.

Pablo
Pablo appeared twice in Seville. It is the Spanish form of Paul, which itself derives from the Ancient Roman name of Paulus, meaning "small" or "humble". A famous bearer of the name is Pablo Picasso. In its native Spain, Pablo ranked at #3 in the popularity charts whilst in the United States, it ranked at #396 last year.

Cristina
Cristina was a dancer at the Flamenco museum in the evening. Her name a romance language form of Christina, which itself is of Latin origins as being derived from Christiana. It means "follower of Christ". In Spain, Cristina ranked at #55 in the popularity charts last year whilst in the United States, it ranked at #952 a year earlier.

Rosario
Rosario was a singer at the Flamenco museum in the evening. Her name is of Spanish origins and has a meaning of "rosary", coming from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary, "Nuestra Señora del Rosario/"Our Lady of the Rosary". 

Roque
Roque was another dancer at the Flamenco museum in the evening. His name the Spanish and Portuguese form of Rocco, which has a meaning of "rest". 

May
May was a staff member at a supermarket. Her name is derived from the month, which itself comes from Maia, who was a Roman goddess. In England and Wales, May last appeared on the popularity charts in 2012, where it ranked at #493.

Mari
Mari was another staff member at a supermarket. Her name is a form of Maria, which itself is a European form of the Biblical name Mary. Mari has a number of meanings, including "bitter" and "wished for child". 

Paco
Paco was another staff member at a supermarket. His name is a diminutive of Francisco, which itself has a meaning of "Frenchman" as a Spanish form of Francis. 

Alejandro
Alejandro appeared twice in Seville. Alejandro the Spanish form of Alexander, which itself is a Latin form of the Greek name Alexandros, meaning "defending men". In its native Spain, Alejandro ranked at #4 in the popularity charts, whilst in the United States, it ranked at #157 last year.

Rafael
Rafael was a guest at my apartment. His name is the romance language form of Raphael, which itself is of Hebrew origins and has a meaning of "God has healed". In England and Wales, Rafael ranked at #275 in the popularity charts, whilst in the United States, it ranked at #293 last year.

Juan Carlos
Juan Carlos was another guest at my apartment. The name of the former King of Spain translates as John Charles in English. 

Constanza
Constanza was another guest at my apartment. Her name is the Spanish form of Constantia, which itself comes from the Latin name Constantius. Constanza has a meaning of "constant; steadfast". 

Caroline
Caroline was another guest at my apartment. Her name is the feminisation of Carolus, which itself is the Latin form of Charles, which has a meaning of "man". In England and Wales, Caroline last appeared on the popularity charts in 2004, where it ranked at #459, whilst in the United States, it ranked at #58 in the popularity charts last year.

Alexander
Alexander was a tourist at the airport. In England and Wales, Alexander ranked at #22 in the popularity charts, whilst in the United States, it ranked at #8 last year.