Well, what a hectic January it has been, full of new starts and promises for things to come. And the names have been interesting, too!
Euros
2017 kick-started with a bang with the premier of the fourth series of Sherlock. I won't give any spoilers, but needless to say, the name of the series is Euros. The name (pronounced YOO-ros) is taken from the name of the ancient Greek god of the East Wind. In this case, however, Euros is female -- though the naming after the god appears to be deliberate.
This Greek name is very rare in Britain. However, confusingly, the Welsh name Euros (pronounced AYR-ros) from the Welsh aur "gold" isn't unheard of.
Bohemond
The BBC's Timewatch series recently aired their documentary on the Crusades. One name that caught my attention immediately was Bohemond (pronounced BŌ-ə-mənd) -- the name of one of the leaders of the First Crusade who became Prince of Antioch. According to legend, this Bohemond was a large baby and was originally christened with the name Mark, but was nicknamed Bohemond by his father who had recently heard tale of a giant named Buamundus gigas.
Balian
Another find from the Crusades is Balian, used by the notable Crusader Ibelin family. Orlando Bloom brought the name to the big screen when he played one Balian of Ibelin (pronounced BAY-lee-ən) in the 2005 Hollywood epic Kingdom of Heaven. It has always surprised me that Balian has failed to catch on again.
Dinah
While we are on the subject of returning television programmes, Channel Four have recently brought back irreverent police drama series No Offense, featuring the feisty main character DC Dinah Kowalska. Once again I'm reminded of lovely Dinah and how great it is to see the name on such a string, independent character. Other great character names in the series include Vivienne "Viv", Joy, Nora, Spike, Randolph and Jonah.
Emerald
Another return to the screen this January is Call the Midwife, which I love, but would watch for the period baby-naming alone. This series is set in 1962, so I'm expecting some great period names to come from this series. For the moment, however, I'm struck by the name of actress Emerald Fennell who plays midwife Patsy Mount (who's full name, it turns out, is Patience, not Patricia as expected). Given the success of Ruby, Jade and even Jasper, I definitely this there is room for more Emeralds.
Bluey
Richard Branson recently proudly announced the arrival of his new grandson Bluey Rafe Richard Branson, a brother for Eva-Deia and cousin for twins Artie and Etta. Announcing the arrival on Virgin.com, proud grandad explained the significance of Bluey:
"There are many reasons behind the name Bluey. His great-great grandfather was a Cambridge rowing blue, while his great-grandfather (my dad) was a Cambridge swimming blue... When Sam was born (early) I was attempting to win the Blue Riband back for Britain by completing the fastest crossing of the Atlantic by boat.[...] Finally, all of our family loves Australia, especially Sam, who spent his gap year there. Sam, Bellie and Eva-Deia also spent some magical time there recently before Bluey’s birth. When we were trying to come up with a name for our airline in Australia, we chose Virgin Blue after an Aussie explained to me that Bluey meant redhead in Australia. The flying maidens on the side of our planes had red hair too."
Caben
Stephanie Davis has finally announced the name of her son as Caben-Albi George Davis. Some of you may remember that Stephanie was part of a name-stealing saga back in July, when she announced that she wanted to name her son Albie in honour of her late grandfather Albert. Life on Marbs reality star Alex Weaver, who had recently named her son Albie, was very put out because, in her words: "I called him that because it was original and there wouldn't be any Albie's in his class". [I know, right? Albie. Original. When it's at #107!!!"]
Anyhow, seems Steph was perturbed enough by this to slightly alter her name choice. Writing for her blog for OK magazine recently, Steph revealed: "I've picked my boy's name! It's not Albi but that will definitely be a middle name.
"I'm going to keep it a secret for now but I will say it's something different – I've not heard it before! It's like a movie star name.
"We got it when I was getting chatted up with my friends recently and he said his name when he left – we just all looked at each other and knew, so thanks to him!"
So, while the Branson family are taking pains to explain the origin and meaning behind Bluey's unusual moniker, Ms. Davis is happy to embrace a name with no meaning other than she just met a man with it and liked the sound of it. And, yet, really, does that make the name any less significant?
