What's In A Name: Quentin, Quinton, Zelda

Quentin/Quinton-There seem to be two separate sources of these names. "Quentin" is derived from Latin "Quintinus," which was from Latin "quintus," meaning "fifth," and "Quintinus" was from the use of that word for the "fifth" son in many Roman families. One of the men with the name embraced Christianity in the 200s and he went to Gaul (now France), to Amiens, as a missionary. He was imprisoned, tortured and beheaded in 287. His name was later rendered as "Quentin" and the Normans carried the name across the English Channel to England, although the name never proved to be highly popular in England. President Teddy Roosevelt's youngest son was named "Quentin," and he was killed during World War One. The form "Quinton" supposedly goes back to Old English from the name of a town called "Queen's town" (queen was then spelled "cwene") with the name later seemingly continuing alongside "Quentin," which influenced the use of "Quinton" as a given name. 

Zelda-"Zelda" became a proper name in its own right, but it is simply the shortened form and nickname form of the English feminine name "Griselda," which came into use in the Middle Ages.

WORD HISTORY:

Witch (Wicked)-The ultimate origin of this word is uncertain and its history is not easy. It "may" go back to an Old Germanic or West Germanic form "wikkjaz," for "someone who awakens the dead," but this is far from a certainty, although Low German has "wicken," meaning, "to use witchcraft," and the noun, "wikker," meaning, "one who tells of the future." Old English had "wicca," which meant, "a wizard, a man of magic," from that was derived the feminine form, "wicce," for "a sorceress, priestess of magic," with somewhat later the underlying notion of, "supernatural powers derived by a connection to evil spirits." It seems the male form was derived from a verb, "wiccian," which meant "to practice sorcery or magic," and later, the male form "wicca," along with the female derived "wicce," gave English "wicche" in the Middle Ages, and this then became "witch." There is a possible connection to modern German "weihen," which means, "to consecrate," which was once spelled "wihan/wihen," and also, "wichen." This is tied to other Germanic forms that had to do with, "be committed to something, be dedicated to;" thus also, "to be holy." Old English had the related "wig," which meant, "idol." It took some time for the various Germanic peoples, including the English, to convert to Christianity. Wicked seems to have been an adjective formed from "wicca" in late Old English as "wikk(e)," meaning "evil, bad, morally twisted," and it then became "wicke," before formation as a participle-type word, "wicked," but without being from a verb.

What's In A Name: Eugene, Jasmine

Eugene-This male name is from transliterated Greek "Eugenios," pretty much literally "good stock," but often translated as "well born."  This was taken by Latin as "Eugenius," and passed into French as "Eugène." behindthename.com says the name was not very common in western Europe until the time of Prinz Eugene of Savoy, who became well known in the latter part of the 1600s and the earlier 1700s. He was a military commander for the Old German Empire (Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation) and for the Habsburg monarchy, although he had been born in Paris when Louis XIV was King of France. He was of French and Italian descent. He is a pretty famous person in German/Austrian history. "Apparently" the name made its way into English via Latin, French, and perhaps, German (?). The name in German is Eugen and is Eugenio in Italian. The female form in English is Eugenia and in French it is Eugénie, a name that became well known in the mid 1800s as it was the name of Napoleon III's wife (he was Napoleon's nephew and Emperor of France).  

 

Jasmine-This name is from the plant/flower (from the "olive" family), which has long been used to make perfume. It goes back to transliterated Persian* "yas(a)min," the name for the plant/flower, but where the word comes from is unknown. Arabic borrowed the word from Persian as transliterated "yasamin," and Old French borrowed the word originally as "jessemin," which then became "jasmin," and English borrowed the word in the 1570s. In spite of this information, exactly where English got the female given name usage is unclear, although the name has become rather popular in English and quite a number of other languages, including forms in Persian, Arabic, French. Certainly the use of plants and flowers for given names is quite common (think "Rose," Holly," "Lily" and "Daisy," and there are more). The name is sometimes spelled with a "Y" in place of the "J" in some languages (for instance, sometimes in Spanish as "Yasmin") and the name sometimes is spelled without the ending "e" in English.

I consulted the following for preparation of this article: 1) "A Greek-English Lexicon," by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Roderick McKenzie, and Eric Arthur Barber, published by Oxford/Clarendon Press, 1940  2) "A World of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003 3) behindthename.com

* Persian is an Indo European language making it a relative of English, although further down the family tree. 

WORD HISTORY:

Cosmos-I'm going to say the ultimate origin of "cosmos" is unknown, although there have been some Indo European forms proposed, but there is no general consensus about any one form. "Cosmos" and "cosmetic" are close relatives. What is known about "cosmos" is that it goes back to transliterated Ancient Greek "kósmos," which meant, "order, arrangement;" thus also, "the universe" (seen as an arrangement or order); thus also, "decoration" (something added to give order to someone or something with the intent of improving its appearance). The famous Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras used "kósmos" as his word for the heavenly bodies and the universe. German scientist and thinker Alexander von Humboldt (he was from Berlin) used the Greek word used by Pythagoras and applied it to (then) modern times for his work "Kosmos," a multi-volume work published in the mid 1800s. English seems to have simply anglicized the word as "cosmos." English had taken the word in the 1100s (from Greek texts?), but it was very rarely used, "seemingly" even among academics. Humboldt's work appears to have been the catalyst for a re-borrowing, or a revival, of the word.

What's In A Name: Agnes, Logan

Agnes-This female name is from transliterated Greek "Hagne," meaning "pure, chaste, holy." Latin took the name as "Agnes," and a girl of about 13 years old with the name was killed during the persecution of Christians in the reign of the Emperor Diocletian in the early 300s C.E. The story was that the girl would not renounce her Christian faith in spite of any enticements or then punishments, including the threat of death; and, she was indeed slain. Within a short time the story of the girl's death spread and she began to be venerated as a saint during the 300s. She is the patron of young girls and virgins. Her name became a common given name in many parts of Europe, for example: Agnese in Italian, Inés in Spanish, Inês in Portuguese, Agnès in French, Agnieszka in Polish, Agnes in German.  

 

 

Logan-This is a Scots Gaelic* name meaning 'little hollow," originally used as a family name for those who lived in or around a little hollow, but later also used as a given name, "seemingly" at first for girls, but then also for boys. Also a town in western Scotland with the name ("Lagan" in Scots Gaelic); thus, a likely source of at least some of the family name origins. 

 

* Scots Gaelic, or Scottish Gaelic, is one of the Celtic languages. It is closely related to Irish Gaelic and Manx Gaelic (from the Isle of Man), and it is also related to Welsh (from Wales), Cornish (from Cornwall in southwestern England) and Breton (from Brittany in France).  

 

 

 

I consulted the following for the preparation of this article: 1) "A World of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003  2) behindthename.com   3) "A Greek-English Lexicon," by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Roderick McKenzie, and Eric Arthur Barber, published by Oxford/Clarendon Press, 1940  4) Catholic.org

 

WORD HISTORY:

Chastity-This word is related to "caste," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English from Portuguese, to "chateau," another Latin based word, but borrowed by English from French, and to "castle," another Latin derived word borrowed by English from that language, although with French influence on what became its predominant meaning. "Chastity" goes back to Indo European "kes," which meant "to cut," which gave the parent of Latin, Old Italic, "kastro," which meant "a part, a share, a segment." This gave Latin the verb "carere," meaning, "to be cut off or separated from;" thus also, "to lack, to be lacking, to be without." [Note: The "s" sound of the Italic form (kastro) changed to an "r" (carere), a fairly common occurrence in Latin and in other languages too, including in the Germanic languages, which includes English. It is called "rhotacism" from Greek "rho," for the letter "r."] But the adjectival form apparently was from the Old Italic form; thus, "castus," seemingly originally meaning, "separated, cut off from;" thus then, "pure in morals;" thus in religion, "abstinent, thoroughly pious." This gave Latin the noun "castitas," meaning "chastity, purity," and this passed to Latin-based Old French as "chastete/chasteté," with the same meaning, although with the additional specific meaning of "virginity" often being present. English borrowed the word in the very early 1200s (initially as "chastete?").        

What's In A Name: Max, Minerva

Max-While this name may well be used as a name in its own right, it is most often a shortened form of Maximilian or Maxwell in English. Maximilian was the name of a Christian saint of the North African part of the Roman Empire (now Tebessa in Algeria), known as Saint Maximilian of Tebessa. He was executed in 296 A.D. for not joining the Roman army; and as such, he is credited by some as being a conscientious objector. The name is based upon the Latin word "maximus," meaning "greatest," with the second part seemingly being based upon the Latin name "Aemilius/Aemilianus,"* which meant "rival," perhaps to simply combine the name of a saint and a Roman emperor (Aemilianus was emperor briefly in the 250s (A.D.). The feminine form is "Maxine," which, according to behindthename.com, only came into common usage in English in the early part of the 20th Century.

 

 

Minerva-"Minnie" is frequently used as a nickname for women named Minerva, but "Minnie" is sometimes used for other names too (like "Amelia" and "Wilhelmina"). The name seems to go back to the Indo European root "men," which meant "to remember, to think;"** thus, "Minerva" means "intellect, wisdom." It was the name of the Roman goddess of "wisdom and thoughtfulness," which seems to have been the Roman equivalent to the Greek goddess "Athena" (spelled "Athene," by some). The name came into English in the late 1300s, initially as "Minerve/Mynerfe," from Latin "Minerva" (originally "Menerva").     

* For more about Aemilius/Aemilianus and the modern derived names, here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2021/06/whats-in-name-emil-emilio-emily.html

 

** The Indo European root "men" lies behind the common English word "mind," a word from the Germanic roots of English.

I consulted the following in the preparation of this article: 1) behindthename.com  2) "A World of Baby Names," by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003  3) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages" (Volume 7 of the Leiden Indo-European Etymological Series), by Michiel de Vaan, Brill (Publishing), Leiden (Netherlands), Boston (U.S.), 2008 4) https://www.catholic.org/saints/

 

WORD HISTORY:

Speck/Speckle-English has a couple of words spelled "speck," and I covered the other one, commonly meaning "bacon," before. This is a difficult word, and I can't give a definitive history here, although it was in Old English as "specca" (supposedly in Low German and Dutch, but sources are very scant on info), meaning "a small spot, a stain," but exactly where any of these forms came from is unknown. The Old English form then became "spekke/specke," meaning "a stain, a small spot,"  before the modern form "speck." "Speckle" showed up in the mid 1400s, and likely it was based upon the existing English word, but at least patterned after Dutch "spekel/spekkel," also seemingly meaning "spot," with a Dutch verb, "spekelen," meaning "to sprinkle." By the 1500s, English had developed the verb "bespeckle;" that is, "to mark something with spots." I'll throw out my own possible explanation, which would tie it to "speck," meaning bacon. Could the relatively thin layers of meat and fat in bacon have given some of the Germanic languages the figurative meaning "small amount;" thus also, "small spot?"

What's In A Name: Abigail, Alvin

Abigail-This female name goes back to transliterated Hebrew "Avhigayl/Avhigayil," seemingly taken to mean "father's joy" or "father's rejoicing." It is derived from "av," meaning "father" and "gil," meaning "joy." Biblically speaking, Abigail was one of the wives of King David. behindthename.com says that Abigail became popular in English after the Reformation and that the name was a popular one with the Puritans. 

 

Alvin-This male name is the revived version of Old English "Ælfwine" (literally "elf-friend") and "Ealdwine" (literally "old friend"). The "-wine" ending is from an Old Germanic form that is synoymous with "friend," a word also from Germanic. German has modern "Alwin," patterned after Old High German "Adalwin," meaning "noble friend," with its Old English relative having been "Æthelwine" (later spelled "Ethelwine"). The thing to remember is, many of the Old English names declined in usage after the Norman Invasion of England, and these old names were not always passed on in updated versions thereafter. Later however, some names were revived in modified forms, but these were not always direct descendants. The feminine forms are "Alvina" and "Elvina."  

 

If you are old enough to remember the late 1950s, you'll certainly remember the popular Christmas-themed song from that time, "The Chipmunk Song," a fun song performed by a group of cartoon chipmunks named, Simon, Theodore and Alvin, or perhaps it would be better to put it, "ALVIN!!!" The song was performed and recorded by its creator, Ross Bagdasarian (his stage name was Dave Seville), who was of Armenian heritage, and he sang all of the parts of the three chipmunk characters, then he adjusted the tape speed to achieve the squeaky sounding voices he wanted for the chipmunks. The most notable part of the recording was when Dave would yell out "ALVIN," to get a response from the chipmunk, who would finally answer, "OKAY!" The song was a huge hit, hitting #1 on the American pop music charts. 

 

I consulted the following in preparation of this article: 1) behindthename.com

2) "A World of Baby Names," by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003

 

WORD HISTORY:

Serge-This word for a heavy woolen and silk or linen cloth mixture came to English in the late 1300s from French "serge" (dialect "sarge?"), which was from Latin "sarica," with the cloth meaning, and this was from Latin "serica," meaning "silk garments," which was from transliterated Greek "sērĭkḗ" (the feminine form of "serikós"), meaning "silken, of or from silk." Greek took the first part from "Seres," the name of a people from China from whom they got silk, although the Greeks may have first encountered the word "Seres" by contact with the Mongols. (Note: There "seems" to be no connection between the word "serge" and the name "Serge," which is a form of "Sergius.")

What's In A Name: Emil, Emilio, Emily

Emil/Emilio/Emily-These names all trace back to the Roman name "Aemilius," derived from Latin "aemulus," an adjective which meant "striving, rivaling," but also used as a noun to mean "rival." "Emil" in English came via German, but with reinforcement by French "Émile" in the second half of the 1800s from French author Émile Zola. "Emilio" is the Italian and Spanish form of the name, while Portuguese uses the same spelling, but with an accent mark, "Emílio." These names, however, are not uncommon in English speaking countries, as immigrants from Italy, Spanish speaking countries, Portugal and Brazil have continued with the use of the names, although the Portuguese form will lack the accent mark. All of these names, thus far, have been masculine, and the feminine form in English is "Emily," a name sort of taken from German by mistake. According to "behindthename.com," after the German House of Hanover became the royal house of England and Britain in the 1700s, Amelia Sophia was the daughter of King George II, but she was known as "Emily," even though the names "Emily" and "Amelia" are not related. "Emily" IS, however, related to "Emilia," the actual descendant from the Latin form "Aemilius" mentioned above.    

 

WORD HISTORY:

Reverend-This word is closely related to "revere," a Latin word borrowed by English via French, and somewhat more distantly related to "guard," a word borrowed from French, which had it from Germanic Frankish, and it is distantly related to "ward," "beware" and "aware," words from the Germanic roots of English. "Reverend" is a prefixed word that goes back to "re," a common prefix in Latin derived words, often meaning "back, backwards," with those meanings providing another meaning, "again," but exactly where this prefix comes from is unknown. The main body of the word goes back to Indo European "wer," which had the notion, "watch out for, pay heed to, take notice of." This gave Latin "vereri," meaning, "to have fear of, to stand in awe of;" thus also, "to respect." This verb acquired the "re" prefix, seemingly as an intensifier, but with the same meanings; so thus, "revereri." A future participle form of the verb was "reverendus," meaning, "one who is to be respected." Old French/Middle French (unclear to me exactly when) took it from the Latin form as "révérend," initally as an adjective meaning "revered, respected, worthy or deserving of respect," and it then was used as a noun. English borrowed the word in the early 1400s, seemingly at first as "reverent," although not to be confused with that separate word (another relative of "reverend"), as the "reverend" spelling prevailed in a short time. The usage as a title for clergymen started circa 1500.     

 

What's In A Name: Bertha, Oscar

Bertha-This name is also spelled "Berta" in some languages, for example: Czech, Hungarian and Spanish. The name is from Germanic and was originally a shortening of some compound names, although it quickly became a common name in its own right. The primary element of "Bertha" was from Germanic "berhtaz," which had the notion of "shining, gleaming;" thus, "bright." The Germanic form gave Old High German "beraht," which also meant "bright," and indeed, the Germanic form is the source of English "bright." It seems that Charlemagne's mother had the name, as a shortening of her proper name, "Bertrada," and this greatly popularized the name. The name "Big Bertha" was a nickname given by the Allies to the German 420mm howitzer of the World War I era, likely as a play on Bertha Krupp, who had headed the German armaments manufacturer "Krupp" prior to the war. In actual usage, the nickname was often used for various large German artillery pieces, and the beginning letter "B" for both words was perfect in sound and made it easy to remember. The use for large artillery made a tie of the nickname to heavy set women which became so strong, the term was used in a comedic way, and likely this unfortunately made many English speaking parents think twice about naming their newly born daughters "Bertha."     

Oscar-This name, also spelled "Oskar," is a compound derived from Germanic, with the first part, "Os," going back to Indo European "ansu," which meant, "(a) spirit." This gave Old Germanic "ansu(z)," meaning "god, deity;" thus also, "godliness." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "ós," which meant "god," in a general sense. The second part of the name is from Germanic derived "gar," which meant "spear," and it is related to the first part of "garlic." Together they gave Old English the name "Osgar," meaning "god's spear." The change to the spelling "Oscar" is more contentious, although quite simply it could just be a variant spelling of the English name "Osgar." On the other hand, Irish had the name "Oscair/Oscar," 1) perhaps borrowed from the English form, 2) perhaps borrowed from Old Norse "Ásgeir" (the Norse landed in Ireland in circa 800 and continued involvement with landings/settlements there for a couple of hundred years, and longer if you take up when they were called "Norsemen" and later "Normans" 3) perhaps from Gaelic "os," meaning "deer" (the animal) and "cara," meaning "friend." Of course, there may be some truth to many or all of these things, from the Old English form and the Irish form, or the Irish form influenced the Old English form. Oscar I King of Sweden and Norway helped popularize the name in the 1800s (Oscar was a middle name for him, but it had been "given" ("suggested?") by Napoleon, whom the boy's father served as Minister of War when the child was born.    

I consulted the following for this article: 1) https://www.behindthename.com  2) "A Dictionary of First Names (Second Edition)," by Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle and Flavia Hodges, Oxford University Press, 2006

WORD HISTORY:  
Borrow-This word is related to "bury," a word from the Germanic roots of English, and to "bargain," a word of Germanic origin, absorbed by Latin-based French and later borrowed by English via the Normans. "Borrow" goes back to Indo European "bhergh," which had the notion "to hide, to protect, to secure." This produced the Old Germanic offshoot "borganjan/burganan," which meant "to borrow, to lend," and borrowing/lending have the notion of "something given with security," thus showing the "secure/protect" notion of the word, but it did not necessarily mean collateral was used to "secure" the transaction, but often an agreement or pledge was what was meant, which required some  "give and take," "back and forth;" that is, haggling, to finalize, the idea behind the verb form "to bargain." The Germanic form gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "borgian," meaning "to borrow, to lend, to pledge security for," which then morphed into "borwen," before the modern form. "Borg" was the Old English noun and it meant, "pledge (also the more specific "bail")." Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German and Low German have the verb "borgen," meaning both "to borrow" and "to lend," depending upon usage in the sentence; German has the nouns "Borg" and "Borgen" meaning "the act of borrowing (with a pledge of payment)," Dutch has "borgen" meaning "to guarantee," and the noun "borg," "a pledge, a guarantee," also, "bail;" Frisian once had "borgia," Swedish has "borga" meaning "guarantee a payment."      

What's In A Name: Giles, Penelope

Giles-The actual meaning of this name is hard to say, as it likely comes from figurative senses from its origin. It goes back to transliterated Greek "aigidion," which meant, "young goat." Long ago animal skins, including from goats, were used to make shields, and this "seems" to have given Greek "Aigis," the name of the goatskin shield of Zeus in Greek mythology. This gave Greek the name "Aigidios," "perhaps" with the meaning, "one who shields," or "one who protects." Latin borrowed the name as "Aegidius," and this passed to Old French in an abbreviated form, "Gilles." The name became popular from a Greek (Athenian) Christian religious hermit (later a saint) who settled in southern France/Gaul in the 600s and founded the Abbey of Saint Gilles near Nîmes. The name appears to have come into English in the Middle ages, "perhaps" brought to England by the Normans, but that is not a certainty. The spelling "Gyles" has made rare appearances over time.

Penelope-The name comes from the name of the wife of Homer's Greek hero Odysseus, known for her faithfulness to her husband. The name "may" be from the name used for a type of duck of the Mediterranean area in ancient times. Penelope had been saved as a baby by the protection of a duck. There is also a theory the name came from transliterated Greek "pene," a word for a bobbin in weaving, as Penelope weaved as she waited for Odysseus to return from his travels. The name seems to have come into English usage in the 1500s. 

I consulted the following in the preparation of this article: 1) "A World of Baby Names," by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003. 2) www.behindthename.com  3) "A Greek-English Lexicon," by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Roderick McKenzie, and Eric Arthur Barber, published by Oxford/Clarendon Press, 1940

WORD HISTORY:
Brother-This word is related through Indo European to "fraternal," a word of Latin derivation borrowed by English from Latin-based French. "Brother" goes back to Indo European “bhrater,” which meant, "brother, kinsman." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "broþar/broþer" (þ=th). This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "broþor," meaning "brother," perhaps also in limited use, but expanded later, in an extended sense, "people in common cause," as came to be used with monks, and then also in various professions and organizations representing those professions or causes (later also, "strong friends," from the notion, "friends like brothers"). The Old English word then became "brother," where it has remained for centuries! Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German has "Bruder," some Low German dialects have “brooda,” others have "broder," Dutch has both “broer” and “broeder,” West Frisian "broer" (the North and East Frisian dialects have numerous similar forms, with "bruur" and "brouder" being two fairly common forms), Danish has “broder,” Norwegian has “bror,” Swedish has both “bror and broder” and Icelandic has "bróðir" ('ð' is another form that =th, so equivalent to "bróthir").

What's In A Name: Celeste, Trevor

Celeste-The female name goes back to Latin "caelum," meaning, "sky;" thus also, "heaven(s), atmosphere." This gave Latin the adjective "caelestis," meaning "of the sky or heaven;" thus also, "of the gods." This was used as a name in Late Latin and passed to other Latin-based languages, including French as, "Céleste." It came to be used in English from French, but almost certainly given reinforcement by the Latin form.

Trevor-This name is of Celtic origin, but in Anglicized form, coming from two Celtic sources: Welsh and Cornish "Trefor," meaning, "large settlement:" thus also, "a village, a town, an estate," from "tref," a word distantly related to English "thorp,"* and "mawr," meaning, "great, large, big," a distant relative of English "meal" (the word of that spelling meaning "time for eating, mealtime"), with the connection being both words going back to an Indo European form having to do with "measuring." "Trevor" also is an Anglicized form of Irish "Treabhar," which means, "wise, prudent."

I consulted the following for this article: 1) "A World of Baby Names," by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003. 2) www.behindthename.com

WORD HISTORY:
Shrine-The origin of "shrine" is unknown, although attempts have been made to connect it to Indo European forms having to do with "curved, bent," but why the fascination with this notion is unclear to me. It goes back to Latin "scrinium," meaning, "a chest for scrolls." This was borrowed either by Old Germanic, or perhaps by individual Germanic dialects/languages, and Old English (Anglo-Saxon) had "scrin" ("chest for holding relics and valuable objects," also possibly, "Ark of the Covenant??"). This then became "schrin"(?) and "shryne," with the meaning expanded to, "tomb, crypt, coffin for saints," circa 1400, before the modern form, by which time it had taken on the expanded meaning, "a place (not necessarily in or with a chest) with cherished objects used for reverence and dedication to someone." The verb form developed in the late 1500s as "enshrine" (to keep sacred objects in a chest for preservation and reverence"), with the inclusion of the prefix "en."^ "Shrine" has relatives in other Germanic languages, which generally mean the chest used for objects and relics, but sometimes with the expanded meaning of a place used for dedication, with that meaning a likely borrowing from English: German has "Schrein," Low German "Schrin" (?), Dutch "schrijn," Danish "skrin," Swedish "relikskrin" (chest for relics). Frisian once had "skrin" and Old Norse had "skrini," apparently the source of the Danish and Swedish forms. 

^ The prefix "en-" in English comes both directly from French in some cases, but also from French influence in spelling upon the original English prefix "in-." Both forms trace back to Indo European "en," and interestingly, in both Latin and Germanic the forms came to be "in." 

What's In A Name: Ambrose, Zoe, Zoey

Ambrose-This name goes back to transliterated Greek "Ambrosios," which meant "immortal." This was taken by Latin as "Ambrosius," and the name was popularized in parts of Europe because of Ambrose, who was the Bishop of Milan and an important Christian leader in the 300s, who was also a saint known for helping the poor. The name has never been especially popular in England or in English speaking countries; and to be quite honest, it's unclear to me exactly why the name is rendered as "Ambrose" in English, although this spelling seems to be from the Middle Ages. Spanish uses "Ambrosio," Portuguese uses "Ambrósio," French uses "Ambroise" and Dutch uses (apparently rarely used) "Ambroos," "perhaps" taken from Spanish? The Spanish branch of the German Habsburg family ruled the Dutch areas for awhile and the pronunciation is virtually the same as the English form. In my life I've only personally known one guy named "Ambrose" (given name).    

Zoe/Zoey-The female given name "Zoe" goes back to transliterated Greek, where it was used as a translation of the Hebrew name "Eve." It means "life." "Zoe" is a distant relative of the English word "quick," which in its noun form was once spelled "cwic," and meant, "life, living, living person;" as in, "the quick and the dead." Neither "Zoe" nor its phonetic rendering of "Zoey" have ever been especially common names in England or English speaking countries.  


I consulted the following for this article: 1) "A World of Baby Names," by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003. 2) www.behindthename.com

WORD HISTORY:
Cloister-This word is related to the verb "close," a word of Latin derivation borrowed by English, and it is related to the first part of "claustrophobia," which is also from Latin, and it is distantly related to "clavicle," another Latin-derived word borrowed by English via French. It goes back to Indo European "klau," which meant, "hook, peg." This gave Latin the verb "claudere," meaning "to close, to shut" thus also, "to confine." Its participle form gave Latin the noun "claustrum," meaning "a bolt or bar used to shut off a space or room;" thus also, the result of such a shutting off; that is, "an enclosure, a confined area," which later took on the meaning, "area of a monastery closed off to non clergy or non members of a religious order." This was borrowed into Old English from Latin with later influence on the spelling, circa 1300, as "cloystre/cloistre," from French "cloistre," which was from the same Latin source, and with the additional broader meaning, "monastery," as well as, "separate part of a monastery for religious seclusion." By the 1400s, it also had the meaning, "walls or barriers enclosing an open court yard." Borrowed by many of the other Germanic languages, where its primary meaning is "monastery": German has "Kloster," Low German has "Klooster," Dutch has "klooster," West Frisian "kleaster," Danish, Norwegian and Swedish all have "kloster," and Icelandic has "klaustur."    

What's In A Name: Frances, Francis, Godfrey

Francis, and the female form of the name, Frances, go back to the Germanic tribe the "Franks." It's not really clear whether the tribal name came from their type of spear, called a "frankon," or from a throwing ax they used called a "francisca/franciska," or if rather the names for their weapons were taken from the name of the tribe itself. Whatever the case, the main elements of the Franks conquered much of Gaul, eventually giving their own name to the territory, “France,” and to the people and language, “French.” The Latin speaking Gauls borrowed the name for the Franks into Latin and it took on the meaning of “freeman, free,” as during Frankish rule, only people of Frankish background had full rights and status in the Frankish kingdom. This produced the Latin name "Franciscus" during the second half of the 1100s, which meant "Frenchman." One Italian Christian friar named Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone was nicknamed "Franciscus" (Latin)/"Francesco" (Italian) by his father, who greatly admired the French. This friar came to be known to history as "Saint Francis of Assisi," and this spread the name throughout a great part of Europe in various forms, including: "Francisco" in Spanish and Portuguese, "Franz" in German, "Ferenc" in Hungarian, "Frančišek" in Slovenian, "Franco" as a shortened form of "Francesco" in Italian. "Apparently" the name was not common in England until the 1500s, and famous English seafarer Sir Francis Drake bore the name and this spread the name in English. Some feminine forms: "Francisca" in Spanish and Portuguese, "Franziska" in German, "Francesca" in Italian, "Frances" in English.          

Godfrey-This name, used as both a family name and a given name, goes back to Old Germanic "Godafrid," which meant either, "peace of god,"* or "good(ness of) peace." "Frid," which meant "peace," was represented in Old English by a couple of related words, "freod" and "friþ(u)" (þ=th), which eventually just became "frith," a word now antiquated, as "peace," a Latin-derived word, was borrowed by English and became the main word of that meaning. There have been a variety of spellings of the name "Godfrey" over time, including forms taken to England by the Normans. While French is a Latin-based language, it was influenced by Germanic, especially by the Germanic Franks, and by the Normans, who arrived with their North Germanic language and settled in what came to be called "Normandy," where they relatively quickly took on a form of French as their language. "Godefridus" was one of the forms used in England by the Normans, although it appears to be a "Latinized" form. There are a number of forms in other languages, including, but not limited to: "Godfried" in Dutch, "Gottfried" in German, "Godofredo" in Spanish and Portuguese, "Gottfrid" in Swedish, "Godtfred" in Norwegian.        

* The ancient Germanic peoples were pagan, so not likely "God," with a capital "G," as meant in Christianity.

I consulted the following in writing this article: 

www.behindthename.com and www.houseofnames.com

WORD HISTORY:
Stigma (plural: Stigmata)-This word is distantly related to "stick" (verb and noun), a word from the Germanic roots of English. "Stigma" goes back to Indo European "steg/steig," which had the notion, "to pierce, puncture or prick with a pointed object;" thus adjectivally, "pointed." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek the verb "stizein," meaning, "to mark (with a pointed object);" thus also, "to tattoo," which then produced the transliterated Greek noun "stígma," meaning, "a mark, tattoo or identifying mark made by a pointed implement." This then added the meaning, "a mark burned onto the skin by a pointed hot iron rod;" thus, "a brand." Latin borrowed the word as "stigma" (plural: "stigmata"), with the last meaning, especially used to denote slavery or low status. In Church Latin, however, the plural form came to mean "marks similar to the wound marks inflicted on the body of Christ during his crucifixion and claimed to appear on the bodies of the most devoted Christians." English borrowed the word as "stigme" in the first half of the 1400s, which then became "stigma" (late 1500s?), initially "seemingly" with the "brand" meaning, but adding the religious meaning in the 1600s. The "low status" meaning came into English circa 1600, but more with the meaning, "a mark of shame or disgrace." A further meaning is, "the part of a flower where pollen germinates."          

What's In A Name: Clara, Claire, Jordan

Clara/Claire: This name means "bright;" thus, "clear," and it comes from the Latin name "Clarus," itself from the Latin word "clarus," with the same meaning. It also passed from Latin to French as, "Claire." It seems to have taken hold in English as some families named their children after Saint Clare of Assisi beginning in the mid 1200s.

Jordan: This name is from the river in ancient Palestine where Jesus was baptized. The river's importance to Christianity brought its use as a name. The word comes from transliterated Hebrew "yarden," meaning, "to flow down(ward)."

 I consulted the following for this article: "A World of Baby Names," by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003.

WORD HISTORY:
Bull (2) ^-This is the noun most commonly meaning, "an official papal document." It is not related to the word of the same spelling, but meaning "a type of male animal." The word's distant history is unclear, although some seem to feel that Latin borrowed it from Gaulish, a Celtic language of western Europe that was largely absorbed by Latin in what is today much of France and southern Belgium. That may well be, but at this point, I'm not really convinced. It goes back to Latin "bulla," which meant, "knob, bubble," which then produced the meaning, "a rounded metal device used to seal documents." The meaning then transferred to the documents themselves; thus, "a sealed document issued by a figure of authority." More and more such documents were issued by the pope, bringing a strong connection between "bulla" and the papacy. The word was borrowed by English as "bulle" in the late 1200s, with likely added reinforcement for its spelling from Old French, a Latin-based language, which had "bulle" as its form of the word.^^             

^ This is the link to the article with the history of the word "bull," the animal: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2012/02/world-in-protest-revolution-or-civil_07.html

^^ Just a guess really, but likely the word was present in religious circles in England from Latin itself, but the upper classes in England were descendants of the Norman French and they still used their form of French extensively in writing in that time period. Many, many Latin and French words were similar or even the same in spelling.  

What's In A Name: Chloe, Nicholas

Chloe-This female name goes back to transliterated Greek "Khlóē," with the meaning, "plant shoot, young plant, blooming;" thus also, "fertility." In Greek Mythology it was a name used for Demeter, the goddess of grains and vegetation; thus also, of the world's fertility. The name is mentioned in the New Testament's 1st Corinthians in the Bible, "in the household of Chloe," or, "in the house of Chloe," depending upon translation. The name seems to have begun use in England in the aftermath of the Reformation, but it has seen a rise in use in some English speaking countries since about 1990.  

Nicholas-This male name (and sometime family name), come from transliterated Greek "Nikolaos," which meant, "victory of the people." Saint Nicholas, a Christian figure born in the 3rd Century, and revered as a saint by many people in Christianity, is the basis of the more modern figure of Santa Claus. The name began to gain use in English in the 1100s. Five popes have been named Nicholas, with the first being in the 800s and the last being in the 1400s. There are various spellings in other languages: German "Nikolaus," Spanish "Nicolás," Portuguese "Nicolau," and many others. Its abbreviated forms in English are commonly "Nick" and "Nicky." The female form is usually "Nicole" or "Nicola" in English, with "Nicky" also used as an abbreviated form.

 I consulted the following for this article: 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:
Epithet-This compound word is composed of "epi-" which goes back to Indo European "epi," which meant, "on, upon, at, near." This gave Ancient Greek (transliterated) "epi," used as a word forming part meaning, "upon, near;" thus also, "in addition." The second part, "thet," goes back to Indo European "dhe/dheh," meaning, "to put, to set, to place." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek "tithenai," with the same meanings. Together this gave Greek "epitithenai," meaning, "to add on." This produced Greek "epithetos," meaning, "added," which produced the Greek noun, "epitheton," meaning, "something added (as descriptive);" thus also, "an adjective, a descriptive word or phrase." Latin borrowed the word from Greek as "epitheton," which passed into French as "épithète," and English borrowed the word as "epithet" in the second half of the 1500s, with the meaning, "a word or phrase used to describe or characterize a person," but also, "a word or phrase of abuse toward someone or some group" (as in "racial epithets").    

What's In A Name: Hazel, Travis

Hazel-This female name, which came into popular use in the second half of the 1800s, is from the tree name, see "Word History," below.

Travis-This male name (also a family name) is an occupational name from a toll collector at bridges, along roads or at town gates (cities and towns were usually surrounded by a wall in former times). It comes from Old French "traverser," taken to England by the Normans, which meant, "to pass through, over or across," and also used in reference to "passing through the gate of a town or over a toll bridge." Landowners along waterways used toll bridges to extract money from those wanting to cross. Likewise, similar was done in parts of waterways themselves, often in narrow parts, to extract money from boaters needing passage. As a family name another form is "Travers."

 I consulted the following for this article: "A World of Baby Names," by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003

WORD HISTORY:
Hazel-This word goes back to Indo European "khoseloz," meaning, "hazel (tree)." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "hasalaz," with the same meaning. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "hæsel," also with the same meaning. This then became "hasel," before the modern form. The meaning, "a shade of brown (usually for eye color)," came from Shakespeare's use of that meaning in "Romeo and Juliet," from the color of a ripened hazelnut. Forms in other Germanic languages: German has "Hasel," Low German Saxon has "Hassel" (both German and Low German capitalize nouns), Dutch has "hazelaar," West Frisian has "hazze(nutebeam)" (literally, "hazelnut tree"), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian have "hassel," Icelandic "hasl/hesl" (?). 

What's In A Name: Christine, Christopher

Christine-This female name goes back to transliterated Greek "christianos," which meant, "one who follows Christ;" thus, "a Christian." This was borrowed by Latin as "christianus," which then used it for the name, "Christiana," later rendered in other languages as "Christina/Christine." Other forms are "Kristina" and "Kristen."

Christopher-This male name, also used as a family name, started with transliterated Greek "Christos," meaning, "Christ," and "phoros," from the Greek verb "pherein," meaning, "to bear, to carry." The name was borrowed into Latin, the language of early Christianity, with the assumption that it meant, "bearer of Christ (in the heart)." Some, but not all, Christians accept the existence of Saint Christopher, and revere him as a protector of travelers. It seems, however, that "Christopher" was used as a title (Bearer of Christ) for some Christian leaders, and thus, some believe the title was confused for a name of a man from the 200 A.D. era. So... whatever your beliefs...  The name started to spread in English during the 1400s. The name is common, or fairly common, in various languages, and a few examples are: modern (transliterated) Greek uses "Christoforos," French uses "Christophe," German uses "Christoph," Portuguese uses "Cristóvão" and Spanish uses "Cristóbal," and sometimes, "Cristóforo."

I consulted the following for this article: 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:
Bear (verb)-English has more than one word of this spelling, and this is for the verb meaning, "to carry, to carry to fruition, to produce or give birth." It is related to "burden," another English word from its Germanic roots, and it goes back to Indo European "bher," which meant, "to bear a burden, to carry." This gave its Old Germanic offspring, "beranan," with the same meaning. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "beran," meaning, "to bear, to carry, to wear, to produce, to give birth, to hold up physically (weight, as in, "Can the foot bridge bear both of us?"), to endure a burden." It also gave Old English "geberan," meaning the specific, "to give birth, to bring forth." These later became consolidated into "beren," before the modern form. The other Germanic languages have: German has several forms, including: "gebären" meaning, "to give birth, to bring into the world, to bring forth;" also, "entbehren," meaning, "to do without (something)," and the noun, "Entbehrung" means, "deprivation" (a lack of something you must bear), "gebaren," for "behavior" (the way you 'bear/carry' yourself); Low German has "beren" (to give birth) and "bären," for "behavior;" Dutch verb "baren," meaning, "to give birth," and the noun, "baren," for "childbearing;" Frisian had forms in the past, but I could only find  "bern," meaning "child," in a modern form; Danish "bære," meaning "to wear, to carry;" Norwegian "bære/bera" meaning, "to carry, to endure a burden;" Icelandic "bera" meaning, "to carry, to endure;" Swedish "bära," meaning, "to carry, to wear." 

What's In A Name: Peter, Rebecca

Peter-This male name goes back to Greek "Petros," meaning "stone," as a translation of Aramaic* "Cephas," the name given to Simon by Jesus in the New Testament of the Bible. Latin took the name as "Petrus," and it spread to other European languages by way of Christianity. The feminine form is "Petra," meaning "rock," as in "rock formation." The Norman influence in England brought the form "Piers" into use, but the English form "Peter" rebounded after a century or two, and it has remained the main form in English. Other European forms: Italian "Pietro," Spanish "Pedro," German "Peter" and "Petrus," French "Pierre," Serbian and Croatian "Petar." "Pete" is a common shortened form of "Peter."  

Rebecca-This female name goes back to transliterated Semitic** "rbq," which had the notion, "to tie together, to bind;" thus further, "to join." This gave transliterated Hebrew "ribqah," meaning, "connection, joined, teamed," thus the basis for the name of the biblical wife of Isaac. The name was translated into transliterated Greek as "Rhebekka," which was taken by Latin as "Rebecca."  The name was not common in English until the 1500s. The spelling "Rebekka" is an alternative form in English, as well as a primary form in a number of languages, like Norwegian, Dutch and some others. "Becky" is a common shortening for "Rebecca."

* Aramaic is a Middle Eastern Semitic language (see next note) akin to Hebrew.

** Semitic is a language family centered in the Middle East. The most common modern Semitic languages are Arabic, Amharic, Hebrew and Tigrinya. Arabic and Hebrew are commonly known in much of Europe and North America, but Amharic is spoken in a large part of Ethiopia. Tigrinya is also spoken in parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea, another East African nation. 


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: 
Rock-This is the noun^ for "stone." The ultimate origin is unknown. It appears in Old English in the compound "stanrocc" (literally "stone rock"), but meaning, "high pile of stones, column of stone, obelisk," with the "rocc" part a borrowing from Latin  "rocca." This was later reinforced and given staying power by Norman French "roche/roce," which was also from the Latin form.

^ The verb "rock," with the meaning, "to move something back and forth, to make something move in such a way," is an original English word from Germanic. It also came to be applied to the "rock" part of, "rock-n-roll." It is a completely different word from the noun form above. For the verb's history, it is included in this article: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/02/german-question-part-seventy-eight.html

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.       

What's In A Name: Jane, Jeanne, Joan, Zachary

Jane-This is a feminine form of John;" and thus, it goes back to transliterated Hebrew "Yohanan," "graced by God." Greek took the name as "Ioannes" (transliterated), which was then borrowed by Latin as "Ioannes," the feminine form of which was "Johanna." This passed into Latin-based French as "Jehanne/Jehane," and then "Jeanne," which was taken by English in the Middle Ages as "Jeanne," but also in the altered English form "Jane." "Joan" was taken by English directly from the Latin form "Johanna," and for awhile in England, it was used more than "Jane," which then overtook it during the 1600s. The use of "Jane" has declined in England, other parts of Britain and in the United States in more recent times, which prompts me to ask, "Whatever happened to Baby Jane?" * Likewise with the name "Joan," but I'm not going to ask, "Whatever happened to Baby Joan." 

Zachary-The most common short forms of this name are "Zac" and "Zack." The name is from transliterated Hebrew "Zekaryah," meaning, "Yahweh remembered," which was rendered in transliterated Greek as "Zacharias," and which was taken by Latin as "Zaccharias." Seems to have been Anglicized as "Zachary" circa 1600, although it has never been highly popular until more recent times in English.  


* For an article I did on the movie of that name, here is the link:  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/09/whatever-happened-to-baby-jane-featured.html

I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003.

WORD HISTORY:
Daunt/Daunting-This word, distantly related to "tame," an original English word from Germanic, goes back to Indo European "demeh," which had the notion, "to compel, to force;" thus also, "to break the wildness from, to get an animal accustomed to being around humans." This gave its Latin offspring "domare," which meant, "to tame, to subdue," and an infinitive form of which was "domitare," with the same meaning. This passed to Latin-based Old French as "donter/danter," which meant, "to control, to hold in check;" thus also, "to tame," but also, "to dominate, to subdue;" which gave the word a "sense of fear" as a part of the meaning. English borrowed the word in the early 1300sas "danten/daunten," with those meanings, but by circa 1500, the "sense of fear" part had come to the fore; and thus, "to instill fear, to intimidate, to bring fear, to frighten," became the main notion of the word, which brought "daunting," the adjective, meaning, "intimidating;" often heard in the expression, "daunting task;" that is, "an intimidating task, a job that inspires fear." 

What's In A Name: Alexander, Alice

Alexander-This male name, also found as a family name, is from transliterated Greek "Alexandros," which means, "defender of men" (perhaps in the more general sense, "mankind?"). Its shortened forms are "Alex" and "Alec." It is a fairly common name in English, as well as in many European countries. The most famous person with the name is "Alexander the Great," the king of the ancient Greek kingdom, Macedon (Macedonia), although there have been other rulers, as well as popes, with the name, all of which undoubtedly helped to spread the name and to reinforce its usage. The most common female form is "Alexandra."

Alice-This female name goes back to the name "Adalheidis," a Germanic name meaning, "of the nobility," or, "noble one." English once had the adjective, "æþele" (þ=th), which meant, "noble;" that is, "of the nobility"), as well as a variety of words from the same source, all having to do with "nobility, the nobility." The borrowing of "noble," of Latin derivation and borrowed from Latin-based French, overtook the original English form, which was closely related to the "Adal" part of the Germanic name. Old French absorbed a form of "Adalheidis" from Frankish, a Germanic dialect/language, which gave French "Alelaide," then eventually ,"Alais/Aaliz." English took the name from French, seemingly initially as "Alys." One of Queen Victoria's daughter's was named Alice, and she married the Grand Duke of Hessen. She was the mother of "Alix of Hessen," with "Alix" being the best German rendering of her mother's name. She became the Russian Empress, as she married Tsar Nicholas II, and she was given the name by which she is best known, "Alexandra." Overall, "Alice" has been a fairly common name in English for a number of centuries, and who hasn't heard of "Alice in Wonderland?" 

I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003.

WORD HISTORY:
Via-This word, distantly related to "way," an original English word from Germanic, goes back to Indo European "wegh," which had the notion of "movement;" thus also, "transport/carry." This gave Latin "via," meaning, "road, pathway," although there "may" have been an intermediary Latin word from which "via" was taken???  The noun also spawned the use of the word for, "by way of, from," which is the more typical meaning in English. It was borrowed into English in the latter part of the 1700s from Latin. 

What's In A Name: Conrad, Elizabeth

Conrad-Also spelled "Konrad," this name is a compound, with the "con" part meaning, "bold, brave," but also had the meaning, "wise, knowledgeable." It is Germanic and a relative of the verb "can" and of the adjective "keen." The "rad" part, also from Germanic, means "advice, counsel." So the name means like, "wise counsel." It was a popular name in the German lands, as there were German emperors, kings and other nobles with the name, as well as a Christian saint from the Lake Constance area in Germany. While it did have limited use in England long ago, its use increased in the 1800s, "perhaps" due to the strong familial ties of the British royal family and nobility to the German nobility.    

Elizabeth-Also spelled "Elisabeth," both of which are also most often used in German. A VERY common name in many countries and languages, with shortened forms like "Elly" and "Elli," and with MANY spelling variations in other languages, a few of which are: "Isabel/Isabela," in Spanish, Portuguese; Isabelle (French); Elisheva (Hebrew); Yelizaveta (Russian); Elisavet (Greek), but there are many more. The name goes back to transliterated Hebrew "Elisheva," the meaning of which seems to be hard to define, but which has to do with "God" and "oath." Greek took the name as transliterated Greek "Elisabet." As the New Testament of the Bible was written in Greek, the name spread into various languages, as I noted above, including to a Christian saint from Hungary, as "Erzsébet," in Hungarian. Its use in England, and in English, increased tremendously because of Queen Elizabeth I, the Queen of England from 1558 until 1603. The long reign of Queen Elizabeth II, begun in 1952, has certainly enhanced the name, as it remains a highly popular name in English.   

I consulted the following, so for more information on any of the names see, "A World Of Baby Names" by Teresa Norman, published by Perigee/Penguin Group, New York, 2003. 

WORD HISTORY:
Awl-This word "seems" to go back to an Indo European form "ohla/ela," meaning, "piercing tool." This gave Old Germanic "ahlo," with the same meaning; thus also, "awl." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "æl" and "eal" (dialectal variants?). This then became "alle" (likely pronounced like "ahl-leh"), before the modern version. Relatives in the Germanic languages: German has "Ahle," Low German Saxon "had" "al," but no longer uses it, Dutch has "aal," West Frisian "els" (?). Old Norse had "alr," but it seems to have died out in its descendants (an ending "r" was common in Old Norse words).