**Eaglefoot**

braveangel2

I just read your response to the 'name book' thread - wow, you've given me a lot to think about! I agree the Bible is an odd one in that respect. I about laughed at my screen at "Agubwa and say "It means 'He who likes to lick spoons'." I'm totally using that one!

And I'm going to say that your name means 'body part of a bird'

strangebird

::butting in:: I was nosy and had to go read the response, too. Eaglefoot, you make a very valid point (and a well-written one, too!). I think you and I agree for the most part on name meanings--interesting to know (especially if they're correct), but they aren't likely to sway my decision to much.

One thing I wanted to argue about that article was the mention of Katherine. Sure, we don't know the ancient Greek meaning, but Katherine has meant "pure" to us for ages. It's been an incredibly popular Catholic baby name for decades because of it's meaning. If that wasn't the historical meaning, pronunciation or spelling, it shouldn't really matter, that's what it means to us today. Let's all remember that "cool," used to just be a temperature and "bad" used to just mean, well, bad.

braveangel2

I know; she's so well-spoken!

strangebird, your response makes me think of these three things:

https://nameberry.com/blog/2009/08/28/the-secret-meaning-of-names/

and

 https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/timmcgraw/backwhen.html

and

https://nameberry.com/blog/2010/07/14/question-of-the-week-how-meaningful-is-meaning/

strangebird

braveangel2:

I know; she's so well-spoken!

strangebird, your response makes me think of these three things:

https://nameberry.com/blog/2009/08/28/the-secret-meaning-of-names/

and

 https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/timmcgraw/backwhen.html

and

https://nameberry.com/blog/2010/07/14/question-of-the-week-how-meaningful-is-meaning/

Haha--well then, my job is done. I had a History professor in college who told his classes, 'if your writing inspires your readers to memories of other literature they've read and makes them want to read it again, then you've reminded them of the past and your job is done.'

 

ETA: Poor Eaglefoot is going to see the post title and the number of responses and think she's being royally eviscerated in here: )

braveangel2

strangebird:

braveangel2:

I know; she's so well-spoken!

strangebird, your response makes me think of these three things:

https://nameberry.com/blog/2009/08/28/the-secret-meaning-of-names/

and

 https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/timmcgraw/backwhen.html

and

https://nameberry.com/blog/2010/07/14/question-of-the-week-how-meaningful-is-meaning/

Haha--well then, my job is done. I had a History professor in college who told his classes, 'if your writing inspires your readers to memories of other literature they've read and makes them want to read it again, then you've reminded them of the past and your job is done.'

ETA: Poor Eaglefoot is going to see the post title and the number of responses and think she's being royally eviscerated in here: )

That's so cool!

And I *heart* Eaglefoot - she needs to come back and respond though...oh Eaglefoot!!! Where are thou?

starlight8323

I'm here, I'm here!

Sorry girls, I was spending quality time with my mom tonight. I think I've mentioned before that my favorite thing in the world is to watch the constantly-reloading Nameberry list of "Names being viewed right now", and make fun of them or add them to my list. So tonight I let my mom in on it, and we had so much fun! We also went through the entire 2009 SSA list all the way down to where there were only 5 people born with each name, and I showed her all of the Jayden, Braden, Caelyn spellings/misspellings.

But I'm here now! And I don't feel eviscerated at all, SB. In fact rather than taking away anything, you've added so much. Thanks for the compliments girls- I feel so loved!  And I have so much to say (as usual).

Regarding the blog: I'm in! haha. I'm not nearly as well-educated about names or languages as you girls, but it would be fun to let others read as I learn more. Angel would do the "Name Wrecks" section (Read: facebook names section), and "Name of the Day" section. Strangebird would do the "Voice of Reason" section, responding to reader emails, and telling them why their name lists are silly. Mj.reilly can be the organizer, and hand out assignments to all of 4 us. We would be known for giving a thorough history of each name, including all possible literal translations, rather than a subjective "meaning". Or just give the meaning as a small part of the history. And we wouldn't have superfluous spellings or nicknames, because they just give people bad ideas.

Regarding my screen name meaning: you might like to know that I went to school at UNT, where the mascot is the eagle, and I was a part of the official spirit and service organization there, which was therefore called the "Talons". So you see, Eaglefoot is already the meaning! Maybe now that I'm steering away from meanings, I should change my screen name to Talon. Haha. I guess if the same logic were applied to you, Braveangel, your new name would be Michael. And Strangebird, your new name would be Dodo! It's funny how we all chose adjective-noun screen names!

Regarding Katherine: Strangebird, I totally agree that name meanings should be whatever they mean to us. This was part of what I meant by my Agubwa paragraph. I don't think anyone (even our beloved namenerds.com) can authoritatively say "NO, that's not what it means," if the parents give the name with that intention.

To take it a step further, if the parents think that Katherine means "pure", they will not only expect purity from their daughter, but they are likely to raise her in a way to encourage purity from her. Therefore, she is more likely to exhibit this behavior. On the other hand, if little Katherine's parents don't know the meaning of the name, or don't care, it is likely they won't raise her in a manner conducive to the trait.

So maybe name meanings could be considered more of a "mission statement" for some people. I kind of like that idea.

I also added the Nameberry link, "The Secret Meaning Of Names" to my bookmarks. It had so many good points that I hadn't even thought of, but totally agreed with. Good thing Dodo reminded you of that article through her writing, Mikey!