The Beauty of Names

Poster featuring Svetlana Svetlana, Sveta, and Severija - I've been watching and enjoying Babylon Berlin on Netflix. It's a German TV show following a cop new to Berlin who uncovers much more than he signed up for. One of the characters in the show is Countess Svetlana " Sveta " Sorokina, a white Russian who sings at a cabaret, and who is playing all the sides - she is lover to Trotskyist Alexei Kardakov, right wing industrialist Alfred Nyssen, and is even working for the Soviet secret police. Svetlana (called Sveta by her lover) comes from the Slavic svet, meaning "light, world". Interestingly enough, it is sometimes used as a translation of Photine, most likely because they have the same meanings. The character is played by a Lithuanian actress named Severija  Janušauskaitė. I couldn't find any information on the name, but I assume it's a form of Severa or Severina. Zaida - At work the other day there was a little girl called Zaida . It ...

Self portrait by artist Bartolommeo "Baccio" Bandinelli Balsamo Bartolommeo Bonanno - Means "good year" Brancaleone - Means either "a lion's paw" or "he who captures the lion" Franchino Galasso Grifo - Means "griffin" Jacobello Lancillotto - Italian form of Lancelot Lenuzo Mercuzio Oliverotto Saraceno Scarletto Torchitorio - The name of several "Giudices" of Caligari - Giudices, which translates into "judges", were rulers of their local places Zanobi - Tuscan form of Zenobio

"Belcolore" by Rossetti I have a great love for Italian names - to me they represent some of the most gorgeous, romantic names in the world, so I was head over heels for most of the names on this list! I can't verify the authenticity of these being used during the Medieval era, so take that with a grain of salt, but I couldn't not post about some of them. Please let me know your favorites and thoughts! Agnola Altapasqua Amellina Belcolore - Means "beautiful color", used by Boccaccio in "The Decameron" Cherubina Corelia Ermellina Ghisolabella - A real life Ghisolabella was the sister of Venedico Caccianemico, a 13th-century politician; both were mentioned in Dante's "Inferno" Junipera Pantasilea - Italian form of Penthesilea Pomellina Smeralda - Means "emerald" - this was the name of Botticelli's mother Vannozza - Vannozza dei Cattanei was the mistress of Pope Alexander VI and the mother of Cesare, Lucr...

Maé-Bérénice Méité I love watching the Olypmics, and one of the major reasons is to see all the wonderful names. I've done quite a few posts on them before (click here to view them!), so I knew I had to do some more this year! Here are a few of the names I found most interesting. Akuoma Omeoga (Nigerian) Blayre Turnbull (Canadian) Breanna "Breezy" Johnson (American) Brita Sigourney (American) Cendrine Browne (Canadian) Cornelia Hütter (Austrian) Desislava Stoyanova (Bulgarian) Dorothea Wierer (Italian) Dunja Zdouc (Austrian) Ebba Andersson (Swedish) Emőke Szőcs (Hungarian) Esmee Visser (Dutch) Estelle Alphand (Swedish) Ewa Kuls-Kusyk (Polish) Fanuza Kadirova (Russian) Federica Brignone (Italian) Freydís-Halla Einarsdóttir (Icelandic) Frida Hansdotter (Swedish) Gaia Vuerich (Italian) Galina Arsenkina (Russian) Gigi Marvin (American) Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (Norwegian) Keaton McCargo (American) Kerttu...

Prince Knud with his wife (center) and three children I've really missed doing these, and after a very long break I'm hoping to get back into them! If you have any suggestions of royals you'd like to see featured, please let me know! Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark was born Knud Christian Frederik Michael to Christian X of Denmark and Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin . He married Princess Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark , who's full name was Caroline-Mathilde Louise Dagmar Christine Maud Augusta Ingeborg Thyra Adelheid. She was named after her grandmother, and was called " Calma " by her family. Their children were: Elisabeth Caroline-Mathilde Alexandrine Helena Olga Thyra Feodora Estrid Margarethe Désirée, " Princess Elisabeth of Denmark " Ingolf Christian Frederik Knud Harald Gorm Gustav Viggo Valdemar Aage, " Prince Ingolf of Denmark "; he lost his title when he married someone without his parents consent he is now " ...

L-R: Aud Johansen, Enid Smeedon, and Audrey Hepburn Aud - I stumbled upon some photos of Audrey Hepburn during her days as a chorus girl - she was posing on top of a building with some other chorus girls and some ice in a bid to stay cool during a summer day. The other girls were Enid Smeedon and Aud Johansen. I thought Aud's name was especially interesting. Aud is the modern form of Auðr, an old Norse name meaning "wealth, prosperity". Dulcinea - A gorgeous name, especially for those who like longer, more dramatic options. Dulcinea would be a lovely name for a Valentine's baby - it comes from the Spanish dulce , meaning "sweet", and was invented by Miguel de Cervantes for the love interest of Don Quixote. Pollux - I was surprised by this name's meaning - "very sweet" - because I don't think I've ever seen a boy's name with a meaning like it. In Greek mythology, Pollux is the twin of Castor, sons of Zeus, and the constell...

"Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog" by Caspar David Friedrich For boys I imagine men in fancy suits or cravats, walking together on a misty moor, or a little boy lost in the library of a crumbling estate. Smells are leather, grass, plain white candles, and books. Sounds are a bird's call from somewhere far away, the ocean, feet crunching on gravel. Isidore Graeme Victor Dorian Soren Fitzgerald Laurence Ulysses Penrose Ephraim Julius and Julian Francis Sterling Dashiell Percival Octave Alistair Robin Devereux Rory Ignatius Montague Sebastian Noel Adrian Brighton Vaughn Augustine Casper Peregrine Christian Anthony