History Behind a Name

History Behind a Name By Tim Akers www.behindthename.com

First Names

Timothy • From the Greek name Τιμοθεος (Timotheos) meaning "honouring God", derived from τιμαω (timao) "to honour" and θεος (theos) "god".

Meagan • Meagan- Welsh nickname for Margaret • Derived from Latin Margarita, which was from Greek μαργαριτης (margarites) meaning "pearl", probably a borrowing from Sanskrit. • Saint Margaret was martyred at Antioch in the 4th century. She is the patron saint of expectant mothers. Another famous bearer was Queen Margaret I of Denmark, who united Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in the 14th century. The name was also borne by Margaret Mitchell, author of 'Gone with the Wind'

Donna • Means "lady" in Italian.

Erin • From Eirinn, the dative case of Gaelic Eire, meaning "Ireland".

Alyssa • Either a variant of ALICIA, or else derived from the name of the alyssum flower. • Alicia: Short form of the Old French Adelais, itself a short form of Adalheidis. This is the name of the heroine of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' and 'Through the Looking Glass'.

Kristy • Short form of CHRISTINA • Christina: Feminine form of CHRISTIAN. This was the name of a Swedish queen of the 17th century who was interested in the arts and philosophy. She gave up her crown to become a Roman Catholic.

Susanna • From Σουσαννα (Sousanna), the Greek form of the Hebrew name שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (Shoshannah). This was derived from the Hebrew word שׁוֹשָׁן (shoshan) meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose"), perhaps ultimately from Egyptian sšn "lotus". • In the New Testament this is the name of a woman who ministered to Christ. It also occurs in the Old Testament Apocrypha as the name of a woman falsely accused of adultery. The prophet Daniel clears her name by tricking her accusers, who end up being condemned themselves.

Whitney • From a surname which was originally derived from a place name meaning "white island" in Old English.

Lauren • Feminine form of LAURENCE (1). First popularized by Betty Jean Perske, who used Lauren Bacall as her stage name. • Laurence: From the Roman cognomen Laurentius, which meant "of Laurentum". Laurentum was a city in ancient Italy, its name probably deriving from Latin laurus "laurel". Saint Laurence was a 3rd-century deacon and martyr from Rome. According to tradition he was roasted alive on a gridiron because, when ordered to hand over the church's treasures, he presented the sick and poor.

Andrew • From the Greek name Ανδρεας (Andreas), which derives from ανηρ (aner) "man" (genitive ανδρος (andros) "of a man"). • In the New Testament the apostle Andrew was the brother of the apostle Simon Peter. According to legend he was crucified on an X-shaped cross, and he is the patron saint of Scotland, Russia, Greece and Romania. This was also the name of kings of Hungary.

Chelsea • From the name of a district in London meaning "landing place for chalk or limestone" in Old English.

Mariah • Variant of MARIA. • Maria: Latinate form of MARY. • Mary: Usual English form of Maria, which was the Latin form of the New Testament Greek names Μαριαμ (Mariam) or Μαρια (Maria) (the spellings are interchangeable), which were from the Hebrew name מִרְיָם (Miryam). The meaning is not known for certain, but there are several theories including "sea of bitterness", "rebelliousness", and "wished for child". However it was most likely originally an Egyptian name, perhaps derived in part from mry "beloved" or mr "love".

Matthew • English form of Ματθαιος (Matthaios), which was a Greek form of the Hebrew name מַתִּתְיָהוּ (Mattityahu) which meant "gift of YAHWEH". Saint Matthew, also called Levi, was one of the twelve apostles, a tax collector. He was supposedly the author of the first Gospel in the New Testament. • Yahweh: A name of the Hebrew God, represented in Hebrew by the tetragrammaton ("four letters") יהוה (Yod Heh Waw Heh), transliterated into Roman script Y H W H. Because it was considered blasphemous to utter the name of God it was only written and never spoken. This resulted in the original pronunciation being lost. The name may have originally been derived from the old Semitic root הוה (havah) meaning "to be" or "to become".

Tracy • was taken from a Norman French place name meaning "domain belonging to THRACIUS". • Thracius: From a Roman name which meant "of Thracia". Thracia was a region in southeastern Europe, now divided between Greece and Turkey.

Abigail • From the Hebrew name אֲבִיגָיִל ('Avigayil) meaning "my father is joy". In the Old Testament this is the name of the wife of Nabal. After he was killed she became the third wife of King David.

Alexander • From the Greek name Αλεξανδρος (Alexandros), which meant "defending men" from Greek αλεξω (alexo) "to defend, help" and ανηρ (aner) "man" (genitive ανδρος). • This name was most famously borne by Alexander the Great, King of Macedon. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. The name was later used by emperors of Russia, kings of Scotland and Yugoslavia, and eight popes. Another notable bearer was Sir Alexander MacKenzie, an explorer of the north and west of Canada in the 18th century.

Tara • Anglicized form of the Irish place name Teamhair, which possibly means "elevated place" in Gaelic. This was the name of the sacred hill near Dublin where the Irish high kings resided. • Tara was also used as the name of the O'Hara plantation in the novel and movie 'Gone with the Wind'.

Stephen • From the Greek name Στεφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown". Saint Stephen was an early Christian martyr who was stoned to death, as told in Acts in the New Testament. • Another Saint Stephen is the patron saint of Hungary, the first Christian king of that country (10th century). • This was also the name of kings of England, Serbia, and Poland, as well as ten popes.

Mark • Form of Marcus • Marcus: Roman praenomen, or given name, which was probably derived from the name of the Roman god MARS. • Two famous Roman bearers of this name were Marcus Tullius Cicero (known simply as Cicero), a statesman and orator, and Marcus Aurelius, a notable emperor of the 2nd century. This was also the name of a pope of the 4th century. Marcus is the original form of the name Mark.

History Behind a Name