Huh

[ithildin]

I've been looking up names for some of the secondary characters for my Queen of Swords fic, and came across in entry for 'Amanda':

Gender: Feminine

Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Finnish

Pronounced: ə-MAN-də (English), ah-MAHN-dah (Spanish, Italian) [key]
Created in the 17th century by the playwright Colley Cibber, who based it on Latin amanda meaning "lovable, worthy of love". It came into regular use during the 19th century.

Comments

[jinxed-wood.livejournal.com]

But...but...that means that Amanda isn't Amanda! It's the Rebecca/Rikvah thing again, isn' it?

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was thinking that. Well, maybe whoever named her just picked a Latin word at random as her name :)

The site overall is fascinating! I discovered all sorts of variations of my name I didn't know about. They have a function that will give you all the variations of one name (http://www.behindthename.com/php/related.php?name=denise) male and female. Which brings me to... in the comments someone said the Irish form of Denis is Donaca, except I can't find any documentation on that. I've always wondered if there was some sort of Gaelic/Irish version of my name. Would you happen to know?

[jinxed-wood.livejournal.com]

[Grins] I'm not surprised you didn't find an 'official' translation! What you have to understand is the Irish isn't a Latin or Greek based language, so direct translations of names don't exist, per se, (My name is one of the few exceptions Kathleen - trans: caitlin - taken from Hecate ) For instance 'Donaca' (incidentally usually spelt Donnacadh) actually means 'brown warrior', but someone ticked a box beside it at one point, (at Dublin castle or some such place) and went 'All Donnachas are now Denis!

I remember a Denise in my class at school being called Dymphna (pronounced dim-fnah...yup, welcome the tongue twister language of hell!) but apparent Fine (Fee-nah)is acceptable as well (Fine= wine=dionysious...only in the vagaries of the Irish language! Keep in mind that if you went with this variation, it sounds very like Fianna (Fee-ah-nah), which is a group of warriors in Irish mythology)

I was always fond of Damhnait, ( Dow-a-nit - a short, breathy a) too, which is a variant of Dympna. (Both mean Bard!)

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

No, I knew there was no official translation, so that was why I was wondering after the comment I read. I assumed there would be something similar based on the names meaning as opposed to an actual translation, like it would be in Japanese. Since my name translates to 'Wine Goddess' :) Fine works -- easier to pronounce than Dymphna and that reminds me of 'nymph' :)

Do Fine and Fianna actually sound similar when spoken aloud? In my brain, they sound fairly different. I'm familiar with Fianna, and have heard it 'said'. Just idle curiosity on my part. If I'd ever gone to college, I would have taken linguistics or something related. I remember trying to teach myself Anglo Saxon when I was a teenager!

[jinxed-wood.livejournal.com]

All Is sound like a long E unless there is an A in front of it - and an A after the I is usually a short A (almost breathed, rather than said), unless covered by a fada. Which means:

Fine = Fee-nah

Fianna Fee-ah(very short)-nah.

Unless you were looking out for it and used to the breathy variations in gaelic pronouciaton, you might miss the difference!

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

Ah! Thank you :) I know it's hard to write what something sounds like! When we meet in RL, I'll make you pronounce stuff for me [g]

[jinxed-wood.livejournal.com]

[Laughs] Hey, I'd have you pronouncing Irish in a Kerry accent in no time!

[sophiedb.livejournal.com]

Heh. I always wondered whether that name came from the French (and possibly others) word for almond: "amande".

There are however a zillion baby name websites out there (oh yes), including one (http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Amanda) which states:

It is of Latin origin, and its meaning is "fit to be loved, lovable". Amanda first appeared on a 1212 birth record from Warwickshire, England. Literary: poets and playwrights brought this name into popular usage in the 17th century. The name was probably modelled on Miranda. May also be used as a feminine form of Amandus, the name of a sixth-century French saint.

Better? :)

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

It wasn't bothering me, I just found it interesting :) I'm a sucker for baby name sites! But that will make Kate happy!

Now if only you could add some padding to April's name. She's feeling left out as 'fourth month' girl :)

[ninjababe.livejournal.com]

Yeah!

Usually, my name is easy to translate. You just look at a calendar for what their version of 'April' is. But, in Japanese, it translates to literally 'Fourth Month'. No thanks...

Someone told me to find the meaning of April and use that as the translation, then add -ko for 'girl child'. April means "Spring, Born, Open". Ummm... No... Even though, 'Spring girl child' has kinda of a ring to it.

Then again, another translation of 'Four' is 'Shi' which also means 'Death' in Japanese, which is why it is never used, and sometimes 'Four' is considered bad luck because of that... There are other words that mean 'Four' so they can avoid 'Shi'. But, I kinda like Shiko...

But, I'll never use it, because it's a bad omen...

[pat-t.livejournal.com]

Wonder what that means for Amanda? Is that a name she picked for herself later? What was her first name? Now must go to that site to check out Duncan and Methos. *g*


PATRICIA
Gender: Feminine

Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Ancient Roman

Pronounced: pə-TRISH-ə (English), pah-TREE-thyah (Spanish), pah-TREE-syah (Latin American Spanish), pah-TREE-tsee-ah (German) [key]

Feminine form of Patricius (see PATRICK). In medieval England this spelling appears in Latin documents, but this form was probably not used as the actual name until the 18th century, in Scotland.

[juniperphoenix]

Yeah, I ran across that a while ago and promptly decided to ignore it. Clearly Highlander takes place in an alternate universe where the name came into common usage much earlier... right? ;)

Seriously, though, one could do something really interesting with the notion that someone (Rebecca? A priest who discovered a foundling on his doorstep? Someone who spoke Latin, anyway...) gave her the name "Amanda" for its Latin meaning before it came into common usage. Young Amanda was a person who badly needed to be told and shown that she was worthy of love, and her name is a lovely and enduring symbol of that worth.

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

That was my thinking.

[pat-t.livejournal.com]

METHOS was not found in this database. Names that sound similar to METHOS:

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

He's one of a kind :)

[pat-t.livejournal.com]

He certainly is. Whoops - almost said something slashy. Sorry *g*

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

Now I'm trying to figure out what it was [g]

[rodlox.livejournal.com]

Methen- the serpent who guards Ra's boat from attacks by Apophis.

[pat-t.livejournal.com]

DUNCAN
Gender: Masculine

Usage: Scottish, English

Pronounced: DUN-kən (English) [key]

Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Donnchadh meaning "brown warrior", derived from Gaelic donn "brown" and cath "warrior". This was the name of two kings of Scotland, including the one who was featured in


Yes, he is certainly masculine. And a warrior.

[idontlikegravy.livejournal.com]

Well that's obviously untrue, otherwise Amanda couldn't possibly be called...oh. ;-D Hmm, seems the research gremlins have struck Highlander again *g*

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

Sophie says the name actually shows up in a register in 1212, so that's a bit closer!

[fondued-jicama.livejournal.com]

My brother told me he was taught in Latin class that this is commonly what Amanda is translated to mean -- worthy of being loved -- but in the true Latin, it's a form of the past tense of love that comes out to mean "about to be loved." And so "Amanda" is a name signifying a girl who spends her whole life with love always right behind her, but never catching up.

[merriman.livejournal.com]

I remember it being a little different. The "nd" ending to the verb had an implicit command in it and the a is the feminine ending. So I've always thought of it more as "she who must be loved". I paid special attention, as it's my real name, but then I almost failed Latin, so I could have been totally wrong.

[rodlox.livejournal.com]

wait a minute...so both Wendy *and* Amanda were created by writers?

hm.

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

Yep.

[catyuy.livejournal.com]

Going back to the secondary characters, why don't you have Carlotta (from Counterfeit Queen and played by Elizabeth Gracen) show up.

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

Because she's dead [g]

[catyuy.livejournal.com]

she is....
darn