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2019

 

THE ORIGIN OF NAMES

- A -

ABIGAIL
Abigail Ellen
Nicholls - 1984 - to date
Old Testament name meaning ‘Father of Exaltation’ in Hebrew. The name of one of King David’s wives.

ALAN
Alan
Blundell - 1907 - 1986
Of Celtic origin possibly meaning rock. Introduced into England by the Breton followers of William the Conqueror, most notably Alan, Earl of Brittany, who was rewarded for his services with vast estates in the newly conquered Kingdom.

ALEXANDER
Alexander Giles
Molden - 1983 - to date
Latin form of the Greek name Alexandros composed of 'alexein' meaning to defend and 'aner' meaning man, warrior. The name was very popular in the post-classical period and was borne by several people in the New Testament and early Christian Saints. Its use as a given name throughout Europe is largely due to the influence of Alexander The Great.

ALEXANDRA
Alexandra Olivia
Green - 1984 - to date
Feminine form of Alexander. Very little used before the 20th Century and owes its rise in popularity to Queen Alexandra, the Danish wife of Edward VII.

AMELIA
Amelia Phoebe Klitz - 1847 - 1931
Amelia May - 2010 to date -
Perrett-Hulme
Probably the result of a cross between the Latin Emilia and the Germanic ‘Amalia’. It was first used by Henry Fielding for the heroine of his novel Amelia (1751).

ANGELA
Mary Angela
Blackwell 1946 - to date
Feminine form of the rarer boy’s 'Angel', from Latin 'Angelus' meaning Angel, from Greek 'Angelos' meaning messenger. Has been used in Britain since the 18th Century.

ANN / HANNAH
Ann Jayne Klitz - 1936 - to date
Hannah Marie
Harding - 1996 - to date
Variant spelling of Anne which is from the Hebrew girl’s name 'Chana'. ‘He (God) has favoured me with a child.’ According to non-biblical tradition the name born by the mother of the Virgin Mary. Anne, with the ‘e‘ has become more common since the 19th Century but before this Ann was mostly used. Possibly due in part to L. M. Montgomery’s story ‘Anne of Greengables’ and partly due to the Princess Anne (Royal).
Other derivations are Annette, Anita and Annika.

ANTHONY
Evelyn Anthony 1896 - 1915
Anthony Robert 1917 - 2000
Anthony Richard Tenison-Smith 1922 - 1945
Antoni ? 1905 - ?
English form of the old Roman family name of Antonius. The spelling Antony is also used. The French Antoine and German Anton are also used as less common variants in the English-speaking world.

ARTHUR
Arthur Everard 1853 - 1931
Arthur Geoffrey 1888 - 1897
Of Celtic origin. King Arthur was a British King of the 5th or 6th Century, about whom virtually no historic facts are known. He ruled in Britain after the collapse of the Roman Empire and before the coming of the Germanic tribes. A vast body of legends grew up around him in literatures of the medieval Western Europe. The name became particularly popular in the 19th Century partly because if the fame of Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), partly because of Tennyson’s Idylls of the King (1842-1885) and partly because of the enormous Victorian interest in things medieval in general and in Arthurian legend in particular.

AUDREY
Audrey Marie Klitz - 1911 - 1969
Reduced form of an old English girl’s name and 6th Century Saint, Etheldreda. Means combined noble and strength.

AUGUSTUS / AUGUSTA
Robert Augustus 1840 - 1886
Mary Augusta Klitz - 1854 - ?
Helena Augusta Klitz - 1887 - 1908
Latin from the adjective 'augustus' great, magnificent. The word was adopted as a title by the Roman Emperors starting with Octavian in 27 BC, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, who is now generally known as the Emperor Augustus. The name, together with Augusta was revived in the 18th Century although now declined in popularity.

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