The Beauty of Names

"Christmas in America" by Alphonse Mucha I can't believe December is already here! I'm one of those people who absolutely love Christmas and anything associated with it. I'm also so excited it is finally cold- really cold! As we start our countdown to Christmas, here are some names to keep your holiday spirits up. Wintery Names: Eira - Welsh, "Snow" Nicholas Lumi - Finnish, "Snow" Frostine Haukea - Hawaiian, "white snow" Natalie - "Christmas Day" Rudolph Bora (b) - Albanian, "snow" Fannar - Icelandic, "snow drift" Decima/Decimus Noelle/Noel Isolde - Possibly "ice battle" Zuzu - Nickname for Susan; daughter in "It's a Wonderful Life" Yuki - Japanese, "snow" Hollis - English, "holly trees" Gwyneira - Welsh, "white snow" Vetr - Norse personification of winter Nieves - Spanish, "snow" Words: Icy Winter/Wintry Frost

Michelle Pfeiffer as Isabeau in "Ladyhawke" I sabeau - I watched a bit of "Ladyhawke" the other day, the cheesy fantasy film with Michelle Pfeiffer and Rutger Hauer. I love fantasy films, especially the ones made in the 80s and 90s. Isabeau is the name of Michelle Pfeiffer's character, and one I've seen thrown around a lot on name forums. In the film it is said "EE-sah-bo", though it can also be said "IZ-uh-bo". For a historical figure, there is Isabeau of Bavaria, who was Queen of France from 1385-1422.     Manu - I first came across this name on actor Manu Bennett of "Spartacus" fame, who is of Maori descent on his father's side. He says it is a Maori name meaning "bird", and that it is in honor of his uncle who was the Bishop of New Zealand.   Fernway - Going through Lena Horn's filmography, I came across this unusual choice. I'm really loving it, and I think it would make an especially grea