Name Meanings

StickyBaby

How much weight do name meanings hold for you in deciding a baby name? Do you know the meanings of your children's names?


-Signed Mallory's Mom

Scarlett&Gatsby

(I love Mallory!) I don't put much stock in name meanings. I try to know them just for general trivia (the name nerd in me), and sometimes the meaning can win DH over on a name he's meh about. I know the meanings of my daughters' names, more or less. The meaning of Monica is kind of unknown. Most any name books say "advisor," but that just comes from the person of St. Monica and who she was to her son. According to DH, Augustine wrote that his mother was names for a Tunisian goddess.

diamondduck13

If the meaning is negative it can be a turnoff, but generally speaking I don't pay much attention to the meanings.  But, I guess in a way I do pay attention to meanings from the point of view I mostly like names that are just names because I don't like the associations that can come with giving someone a name that is also a noun of some kind or other.

stahlop

I don't care about the meaning. My kids are Everett (wild boar) and Piper (job name for a musician).

MrsSparklesMcGee

I don't care at all about name meaning.  Not one iota.

I LOVE the name Mallory!

ETA: I do care about personal meaning.  For instance, Emerson is a meaningful family name which is why we love it.  I don't care at all that it technically means son of Emery.

Scarlett&Gatsby

Joy2611 said:

I really really like Mallory.  I could never use it because of its meaning.

As long as the meaning is positive (like sun, water, happiness, blessed, etc) and not weird (lumpy head) or negative (devilish death), I'd use it.  I would like the name to have some meaning.

Interesting. So Claudia, Cecelia, Cameron---all no-go's for you? (Just curious. Not meaning to be snarky). ETA: and Jacob, since "grasping his heel" was a cultural euphemism for being deceitful?

JaysonandKristin

I absolutely adore the name Mallory.

I have no idea what my kids' names mean, nor do I care.  I did look them up to ensure that their names weren't offensive, but have since forgotten what the exact meanings are.  

Kmommy91

I hold a good bit of weight on the meaning behind a name. I would want something negative like sorrowful or bent nose. I don't mind if it meant something like a color or something in nature, though I prefer something more profound.

NerdyLucy

Name meanings generally matter to me. I like Claudia and Mallory, for example, but I don't think I could ever use them. If they're too negative, I can't use them.

It's interesting how this kind of thing differs in certain cultures.  I think in China, names tend to be entirely based of meaning, and not much on the way they sound.  I've known non-Americans to be greatly surprised at how some people in the US tend to not pay attention to name meaning.  

I don't think either "method" is wrong, per se.

blu-eyedwife

For me it only comes into play when deciding between names I love.  For instance, I love the -elia names.  But if I had to decide between Amelia and Cecilia, I would choose Amelia because it has a better meaning.

If I had to choose between Cecilia and Linda (a name I don't love) I would choose Cecilia even with a worse meaning.

+ASH+

I don't care about the meanings at all. It's the name itself I love.

MMason12

I wouldn't name a children simple because of the meaning; however, I do look to see what the name means before we put it on our "short list".  If it has a meaning that we don't like no matter how much we love the name, we wouldn't use it. 

HummingbirdMama

Maybe its because my parents put such thought into the meaning of my names (i.e. "victorious" & "spirit") and that I feel I have lived up to them but I do actually care quite a lot. For me, it has to sound good, feel good, mean good, and fit with who we see our family becoming. It doesn't have to be a literal fit; it does need to have the essence of us. And absolutely no offense to anyone else, but a biblical name would never fly for us. We are not religious people and it seems hypocritical to name our child for something we don't believe in.

Scarlett&Gatsby

legarske said:

Maybe its because my parents put such thought into the meaning of my names (i.e. "victorious" & "spirit") and that I feel I have lived up to them but I do actually care quite a lot. For me, it has to sound good, feel good, mean good, and fit with who we see our family becoming. It doesn't have to be a literal fit; it does need to have the essence of us. And absolutely no offense to anyone else, but a biblical name would never fly for us. We are not religious people and it seems hypocritical to name our child for something we don't believe in.

I support and admire that (the very reason I wouldn't use a name that means "Allah be praised" or something deeply tied to the Jewish faith), but I have to ask---do you mean ALL biblical names? Or just the ones that still have a religious vibe? Because even though I'm religious, there are some names (James, Elizabeth, Abigail, Michael, Stephen) that I forget are even biblical, they're so mainstream. Would you use a derivation of a biblical name, like Sean or Maren, or are those out, too?

(I'm just curious because I feel like biblical names are harder to avoid in our culture because they've been so pervasive. I think it's noteworthy that you wouldn't use a name that represents something you don't believe in; I'm just curious how adamant you are.)

HummingbirdMama

Scarlett&Gatsby said:

legarske said:

Maybe its because my parents put such thought into the meaning of my names (i.e. "victorious" & "spirit") and that I feel I have lived up to them but I do actually care quite a lot. For me, it has to sound good, feel good, mean good, and fit with who we see our family becoming. It doesn't have to be a literal fit; it does need to have the essence of us. And absolutely no offense to anyone else, but a biblical name would never fly for us. We are not religious people and it seems hypocritical to name our child for something we don't believe in.

I support and admire that (the very reason I wouldn't use a name that means "Allah be praised" or something deeply tied to the Jewish faith), but I have to ask---do you mean ALL biblical names? Or just the ones that still have a religious vibe? Because even though I'm religious, there are some names (James, Elizabeth, Abigail, Michael, Stephen) that I forget are even biblical, they're so mainstream. Would you use a derivation of a biblical name, like Sean or Maren, or are those out, too?

(I'm just curious because I feel like biblical names are harder to avoid in our culture because they've been so pervasive. I think it's noteworthy that you wouldn't use a name that represents something you don't believe in; I'm just curious how adamant you are.)

hischelseababy said:

I am an atheist and FI is agnostic. Speaking for ourselves, we love Nathaniel, but would never use it because it means "Gift of God." That's also the reason names like Isaiah and Elias are on my guilty pleasure list. I love the way they sound, but would consider it to be disrespectful to use them.

Names that are in the Bible, but don't have directly religious meanings or aren't mainly associated with the Bible are fair game to me.

I would have to go with something along the lines of what @hischelseababy ended with... certainly there are names that appear in the Bible but don't have directly religious meanings, etc. and if you try hard enough you can probably find someone who is convinced they can trace anything back to anything (remember the father character in My Big Fat Greek Wedding!?). To be fair, I should probably extend my comment to other religious texts as well. I wouldn't rule out mythological or ancient names (e.g., Greek derivations) since the context is different in modern society but I would be considerate. Humbly, I'm not a religious scholar so I'll leave room for error.

Fortunately, DH and I aren't drawn to many names that fall into the religious categories and most of our preferences lean towards the natural world instead (geology, botany...), which we do have a strong personal connection with. I should note that my husband is half Jewish (ethnic, not religious) and half Spanish. I'm sure our Catholic family members (both sides) will love me for all of this, LOL.

zaramarie81

For me, the name has to be positive in meaning or have depth. For example, my mn is Marie, but the meaning doesn't bother me. As a Catholic, the Virgin Mary is associated, among many things, with her sorrow over enduring the crucifixion of her son. There are even prayers that meditate on the Seven Sorrows of Mary. Of course, she also carries a lot of positive connotations too, but yeah, regardless of the "bitter" aspect, it's considered am honor (and a positive) to bear the Saint's name. So, history and context is everything. (I am pretty sure Dolores has the same history - the Seven Dolors of Mary. That said, I'd probably shy away from Dolores because it does seem to exclusively reference the Saint's sorrow, instead if her entire story).

zaramarie81

Oh brother, I can't type on an iPhone!

Dr.Loretta

I don't put much stock in them. But I did note a poster's favorite name translated to "lump of earth" and that was a turnoff for me for some reason. Maybe because it was an unusual name, so I knew the first question from people would be "what does that name mean?"

DD's name means freedom. It has no special significance for us

Keri Marie

I know every meaning of my kids' name. Meaning does not matter to me, I just like to be informed

llyrmer

I didn't know the meanings of the names I'd already fallen in love with. But after looking up the meanings I'm still 100% on board with what I already chose. Evelyn (hazelnut) and Aiden (fire). Honestly I don't think the meaning would have made me change my mind, especially with Evelyn.

queenbone

Of course I know the meanings because I'm a nerd!

DS1 has a great one: "Divine gift." The other two have underwhelming literal meanings "Frenchman" and "from Magdala." For me the associations with the names trumped the meanings.

***And now that I think about it, as much as I say I dislike place names, 2 out of my 3 children kinda have place names!

FakeFinn

Honestly, To me they're not that important. Of course, I'll look a meaning up and if it's off-putting I might scratch it off my list, but I love Josephine (it's a 5/6/7 generation family name) and wouldn't scratch it off my list, even though I'm not religious. Edit: phrasing.

cookiedough22

Scarlett&Gatsby said:

Joy2611 said:

I really really like Mallory.  I could never use it because of its meaning.

As long as the meaning is positive (like sun, water, happiness, blessed, etc) and not weird (lumpy head) or negative (devilish death), I'd use it.  I would like the name to have some meaning.

Interesting. So Claudia, Cecelia, Cameron---all no-go's for you? (Just curious. Not meaning to be snarky). ETA: and Jacob, since "grasping his heel" was a cultural euphemism for being deceitful?

I did scratch Jacob off my imaginary lust because of the meaning. Along with the stealing if his brothers birthright.

Ladybug32110

I was going to say it didn't matter to me until I saw the meaning of Claudia and Mallory! I had no idea names had such awful "meanings"... I can just imagine little Claudia at a sleepover and they all decide to look up their names for fun.. How sad!
Haha so I guess I care if it's super negative like that. I still love Emerson for a girl though (gasp!) that kind of meaning doesn't bother me

NerdyLucy

I want to add that I'm struggling a bit with Jude.

 

Some sites say that it means "from Judea."

BehindtheName.com says it's a form of Judas, which isn't exactly positive considering who Judas was, but then it also says that Judas is a form of Judah, which means "praised" or "to be praised."

I prefer to focus on the positve.

nicholssquared

If the name I picked (or like) has a good meaning - bonus! If it has a neutral/negative meaning - IDGAF.

One of my girl names on my short list is "Claudia" - it means lame. I honestly don't care in the slightest. How many (average - not name nerds like us) people know what a name means when they hear it? I'm willing to bet it's pretty small.

sweetpeace13

I wouldn't search for a name specially because of a reason but on our shortlist of girls names is Serafina and it means "fiery" which I love. 

Scarlett&Gatsby

NerdyLucy said:

I want to add that I'm struggling a bit with Jude.

 

Some sites say that it means "from Judea."

BehindtheName.com says it's a form of Judas, which isn't exactly positive considering who Judas was, but then it also says that Judas is a form of Judah, which means "praised" or "to be praised."

I prefer to focus on the positve.

There was a good Judas, too. The point is always made to differentiate in the Bible, "Judas, not Iscariot..." I love Jude. I'm pretty sure Jude/Judas both come from the same root, Judah. (In this grain, James is the same as Jacob; it's a translational thing between Hebrew and Greek, according to DH. He studies biblical Greek, Hebrew and Latin).

NerdyLucy

Scarlett&Gatsby said:

NerdyLucy said:

I want to add that I'm struggling a bit with Jude.

 

Some sites say that it means "from Judea."

BehindtheName.com says it's a form of Judas, which isn't exactly positive considering who Judas was, but then it also says that Judas is a form of Judah, which means "praised" or "to be praised."

I prefer to focus on the positve.

There was a good Judas, too. The point is always made to differentiate in the Bible, "Judas, not Iscariot..." I love Jude. I'm pretty sure Jude/Judas both come from the same root, Judah. (In this grain, James is the same as Jacob; it's a translational thing between Hebrew and Greek, according to DH. He studies biblical Greek, Hebrew and Latin).

I think so too, which is how I reconcile the association between Jude and Judas.   I feel like there's enough positive meaning in there to counteract the "bad Judas" association.