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Friday, September 22, 2006

Jessica and some alternatives

Last year Jessica was the #1 name in England, around #6 in Australia and #5 in NZ. Etymologically, Jessica supposedly hails from the Hebrew name Yiscah, though Shakespeare was the first recorded user of this name - in the Merchant of Venice as the daughter of the Jewish money lender Shylock.

Yiscah means 'Yahweh beholds' or 'God beholds'. Though Jessica may also mean wealth.

Famous Jessicas include actresses Jessica Alba and Biel, and singer Jessica Simpson. There is also the fictional character Jessica Rabbit. Jessicas also class among Oscar winners - with Jessica Tandy and Lange winning awards.

Jessica is very much a name of the 80s and 90s. Especially in America where it was #1 for 9 years between 85 and 95, and the top 5 from 1977-95. It's big year was 1987 when almost 56000 babies were named Jessica in the USA. It was even in the top 1000 boys names from 1977-91, peaking at #579 in 1985, with 229 boys being given that name.

It may not be an ultra-popular name anymore, Jessica is now one of those names that the universities are full of. So what are the alternatives:

1) 'Jes' names:
Jessenia
Jessamine
Yiscah

Containing elements of Jessica:
Jasmine
Justine
Josephine
Jocelyn
Jacinthe
Joyce
Jenna
Jemima
Odessa
Vanessa
Altessa
Cressida
Monica
Veronica
Erica
Fredrica
Rebecca
Bianca
Francesca

2) The meaning (Yahweh beholds, the Lord's gift):
Dorothea
Eudora
Godiva
Hadiyya
Isidora
Mattea
Theodora
Atiya
Callidora
Donata


3) Random connections (this is where I really on Babynamer on Oxygen):
(One I thought up myself) Any Alba name after Jessica Alba - Albinia, Rosalba etc.
(Another one of mine) Another Shakespeare name - Nerissa, Portia, Juliet, Ophelia etc.
(BNoO from now on):
Angela - from Angela Lansbury who plays Jessica Fletcher on 'Murder She Wrote'
Similar names according to BNoO:
Jennifer
Deborah
Maria
Janet
Jacoba
Jaleesa

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Alternatives to Emily

New little thing I'm starting.
Basically Emily is a popular name, in terms of the stats I could get for it, it is:
#1 in the USA
#2 in the UK
#7 in Germany
#8 in Scotland
#1 in Canada
#1 in N Territory, Australia and #3 in New South Wales
#4 in New Zealand

Emilija is #3 in Lithuania and Emilie is #6 in Norway.

That's an awful lot of babies being called Emily.
So...what are the alternatives:

1) Obvious alternatives - similar in sound:
The 'Em' names:
Emma (however, this is also an ultra-popular name, in the top 10 of 14 countries - more than Emily)
Emmeline
Emilia
Emerald
Emmanuelle

The 'Milly' names:
Amelia
Camilla
Jamila
Millecent
Mildred
Milburga

Other names containing 'Emily' sounds:
Artemisia
Clementine
Demelza
Demetria
Dilys
Gemma
Hilary
Holly
Jemima
Jillian
Kelly
Lily
Lydia
Molly
Polly

2) Less obvious: The meaning
Emily is from Aemilius from aemelus meaning 'rival'.
There are no names with exactly the same meaning as Emily, however, here are some close and opposite ones:
Amika (friendly)
Atalanta (equal in weight)
Cara (friend)
Philomena (friend of strength)
Ruth (friend)
Theophilia (friend of God)

3) Really random connections (mainly from Babynamer on Oxygen, these are people that I have heard of - I could only think of the Bronte connection):
Charlotte and Anne (two other Bronte sisters)
Natalie, Laura, Martie and Robin (other members of Dixie Chicks)
Dorothy (creator of Emily Pollifax character)

Babynamer on Oxygen lists the following (which I have not mentioned) as similar to Emily:
Valerie
Eleanor
Evelyn
Christina
Diana
Gloria
Julia (I would say that Julie is closer)
Sylvia

So, just a 'few' names to consider, if Emily is not an option.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Zillah and Adah

I think that this is going to be a short one, but I would just like to touch upon two lovely, unusual, Biblical names - Zillah and Adah.

Zillah is a Biblical name meaning 'shade' featured in Genesis 4 v 19-23, as one of two wives of Lamech, the other being Adah meaning 'ornament' or 'dawn'.

Zillah is also spelled Tsilah.

Adah should not be confused with Ada, originally a pet form of Adela, Adelaide and Adeline etc. and therefore meaning 'noble'. Both Adah and Ada are usual alternatives to Ava, which is getting increasingly popular. Adah is also the wife of Esau, and is also known as Basemath.

Zillah is only the third woman to be mentioned in the Bible, and it is partly for that reason that the name was taken up by Puritans and fundamental Christians.

Unusual? Yes, Zillah has only been in the US top 1000 3 times, the last time being 1889. Adah is slightly more popular, it's high point was in 1883 when it was 277th, however, it dropped out of the top 1000 in 1917 and hasn't returned since.