It's the summer holiday! Yay! To celebrate, I've had a sickness bug and a broken laptop... Okay, so not so great a start to the holidays, but there are always opportunities to be struck by a name or two. Here are some that have caught my attention in July:
Medalion
Netflix UK aired teen drama Before I Fall this July. The supporting character Elody was portrayed by Iranian-American actress Medalion Rahimi, who has recently also gained notice for her role as Princess Isabella in the series Still Star-Crossed. Of course, what drew my notice to her was her unusual name. A medallion (note the two Ls) is an engraved metal disk, used as decoration, usually denoting achievement and accomplishment. In terms of sound, its not a world away from Madeleine and Marion. Time will tell whether this young actress will gain as much fame and name-clout as Sienna Miller and Scarlett Johansson.
Sveva
While I was compiling research on the name Gaia earlier in the month, I lingered a little over the name data for Italy -- where Gaia is currently #13. A glance down Italy's top 100 was a treat: Alessia, Ilaria, Azzurra, Lucrezia...And at #61 sits Sveva.
Sveva (SVAY-va) is unique to Italy's top 100 and does not feature elsewhere in European rankings. The origins aren't clear, but it has been linked to the ancient Germanic tribe of the Suevi. One notable bearer is Italian-Canadian artist Sveva Caetani (1917–1994).
Swithin
July 15th marked St Swithin's Day. Tradition has it that whatever the weather is like on that day, so it will continue for the next 40 days. This year? It was cloudy and breezy with a few showers... So it looks like the legend could be playing out.
St Swithin (or St Swithun) was an Anglo-Saxon bishop at Winchester Cathedral who died in 862 and was adopted as the Cathedral's patron saint one hundred years later. Though little is known of his life, he is noted for his charity and the building of churches. His name derives from the Old English swiþ "strong."
Dorsey
With another King Arthur movie out this year, it is little wonder that the fascinating historyonthenet.com recently featured an article on the Legend of King Arthur. The Arthurian expert interviewed for the podcast is Professor Dorsey Armstrong, Professor of English and Medieval Literature at Purdue University.
Half Dorothy, half Daisy, Dorsey is a very accessible surname which, like current rising (girls') favourite Darcey, derives from a French place name. In this case, the town of Orsay near Paris. But unlike popular Darcey, Dorsey is rare as a given name. Perfect for anyone looking for an uncommon alternative.
Tudor
Speaking of historians, this month I have (coincidentally) come across several mentions to historian and author Tudor Parfitt, dubbed the "British Indiana Jones."
As a given name, Tudor is one I hear so rarely, yet it always makes me smile. Thanks to the royal house of Tudor, it feels like a surname, but the surname itself comes from the Welsh given name Tudor (or Tudur).
Henry Tudor's (King Henry VII) surname was strictly ap Tudor -- "son of Tudor". His grandfather was Owain ap Marededd ap Tudur (Owen Tudor in English) whose own grandfather was Tudur Fychan.
Tudor itself comes from the old Celtic name Teutorigos (cognate with the Germanic Theodoric) meaning "ruler/king of the people."
Rowella
Series 3 of Poldark started this July and with it came a few new characters. Early on in the series we met the lovely and sweet-natured Morwenna Chynoweth, and more recently her mysterious sister Rowella Chynoweth.
I must confess, it took me a while to work out her name. Other characters said it so quickly and rarely that all I picked up was the "oh-EH-a" sounds. Was it Lowenna? Sowenna? Ysella? So I turned to the internet for clarity to discover Rowella's name.
For most of his characters' names, author Winston Graham took inspiration straight from Cornish topography. For the character Demelza, he famously took the name from a signpost in Cornwall. Rowella's origins are obscure, but with its three-syllables, strong vowel sounds and middle syllable stress, it does fit in perfectly in the Cornish name-landscape.
