Today is the first day of winter in Britain for 2016; a season where both the sky and the ground turn a crisp white, frost settles, snow (sometimes) falls, and there is a haunting beauty to the landscape, all of which bring to mind a whole host of fabulous names which are associated with this season.
Here are 50 choices inspired by this season:
Winter – Although nowhere near as popular as seasons Summer and Autumn in the world of names, elegant Winter has been marching up ranks in the last few years. Back in 2010 it ranked #2392 (10 births) and has risen ever since to #674 (60 births) in 2015. A seasonal twist on literary Harper.
Snow – With Once Upon a Time putting Snow (a nickname for Snow White) to the forefront as a given name, it's no wonder that Snow is getting more and more usage.
Oak – In the winter solstice, the Oak King was thought to defeat the Holly King signifying the bringing in of the lighter days. As such, the oak tree is a classic winter plant.
Holly – A common image during winter months. In the Roman winter festival of Saturnalia, holly was sacred to Saturn. It was used to decorate halls and homes, even images of Saturn himself, and holly wreaths were given as gifts.
Ivy – An evergreen plant which has been used to decorate houses during winter-time for centuries.
Frost – A word associated with the winter months and embodied in the image of Jack Frost, the personification of ice, sleet, snow, ice
Robin – Whilst so many other British birds have migrated for the winter, robins, with their red breasts highlighted against the snow, are a familiar sight in winter yet are rarely seen in summertime when they are moulting. Their song is at its strongest at the end of December when males and females have paired up.
Douglas / Fraser – popular varieties of pine which flourish in winter and are often used as Christmas trees.
Other languages:
Alban / Albus / Alba – Latin “white”
Alon/Elon / Alona – Hebrew “oak”
Ametza – Basque “oak”
Aneira – Welsh “(much) snow”
Baila – Yiddish “white”
Běla – Czech “white”
Beyza – Turkish “white”
Bianca – Italian “white”
Blanca – Spanish “white”
Blanche – Medieval French “white”
Bora – Albanian “snow”
Candida – Latin “bright white”
Celyn – Welsh “holly”
Chione – Greek goddess of snow
Edera – Italian “ivy”
Edur – Basque “snow”
Eira – Welsh “snow”
Eirlys – Welsh “snowdrop”
Eirwen – Welsh “snow white”
Endzela – Georgian “snowdrop”
Enero – Spanish “January”
Gwyneira – Welsh “snow white”
Hollis – Old English “dweller by holly trees”
Janeiro – Portuguese “January”
Kelynen – Cornish “holly”
Kerzu – Breton “December”
Lierre – French “ivy”
Li Xue / Xue – Chinese “pretty snow”
Livna – Hebrew “white”
Lumi – Finnish “snow”
Neve – Italian “snow”
Nieve – Spanish “snow”
Nieves – Spanish “snows”. From title of the Virgin Mary Nuestra Señora de las Nieves meaning "Our Lady of the Snows".
Oakley – Old English “oak field”
Whitaker – Old English “white field”
Zima – Slavic “winter”
Zuriñe – Basque “white”