What's In A Name: Ethan, Sophia, Sophie

Ethan-This male name goes back to transliterated Hebrew "Eitan," which meant "strong, firm." It was taken into Latin (about 500 AD?). Its popularity in English speaking countries has been limited until more recent decades, especially in the United States, Canada and Australia, but Scotland, England and Wales aren't far behind.

Sophia/Sophie-This female name goes back to transliterated Greek for "wisdom." The daughter of King James I of England was given the name "Sophia," but the child died in infancy. His  granddaughter was also named "Sophia" ("Sophie" in German), and she was born the "Princess of the Palatinate" in Germany, and she became the wife of the "Elector of Hanover." Later, her son became King George I of Great Britain and Ireland. "Catherine the Great," the famous tsarina, was actually born a German princess, Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbt." In more recent years, the name has increased in popularity in the United States and Canada, as well as in parts of the United Kingdom.  

I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, 1) "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003. 2) "A Greek-English Lexicon," by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Roderick McKenzie, and Eric Arthur Barber, published by Oxford/Clarendon Press, 1940. 3) Behindthename.com

WORD HISTORY:
Candor-This word, related to "candle," goes back to Indo European "kand," which had the meaning, "to glow, to shine brightly." This gave Latin "candere," meaning, "to shine brightly," but also, "to glow white." This produced the Latin noun, "candor," meaning, "brilliant whiteness;" and figuratively, "purity;" thus also, "honest in speech, open in mind." English borrowed the word in the early 1500s, initially with the "brilliant whiteness" meaning, but the "honest in speech, open in mind" meaning was taken about 100 years later.