Skip to main content

Leander

Today's name: Leander (male)

Potential nicknames: Lee, Andy, Ander, Leo, Leader

Variant forms: Ander, Leandre, Leandrew, Leandro, Leandros, Leanther, Lee, Leiandros, Leo, Liander, and Liandro.

Pronunciation: lee-AN-der

Origin: Derived from the Greek Leiandros, meaning "lion man."

Popularity: There were 55 baby boys named Leander in 2010 in the U.S., along with 51 Leandre's, 10 Leandrew's, and 262 Leandro's. In 2011 there were 48 boys named Leander, along with various other spellings: 34 Leandre, 27 Leondre, 5 Leeandre, and 5 Liandro (Italian). For girls, there were 81 named Leandra in 2011, along with 9 Leandrea, 8 Leandria and 8 Leeandra.

Fun fact: (1) This is a fun alternative to all the Leo's out there, considering the le- beginning in Leander, Leopold, Leo, Leonard, etc. all have the same meaning, "lion." It also feels fresh compared with the ever-popular Alexander. (2) Saint Leander of Seville was an early Spanish saint. (3) In Greek mythology, Leander swam across the Hellespont every night to see his love, Hero. However, one night Leander drowned, so Hero threw herself from her tower so that she would die as well.

Female version: Leandra


.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Massimo

Today's name: Massimo (male) Pronunciation: MAH-see-moh Potential nicknames: Masi, Simo, Max Origin: Along with Massimiliano, Massimo is the Italian variant of the Latin name Maximilian (which was the name of three Roman emperors and a few saints), meaning "greatest." Popularity: Massimo did not rank on the top 1000 baby names in 2010, but there were 148 baby boys born named Massimo and 5 named Massimiliano. In 2011 there were 107 named Massimo. Fun fact: (1) The name Maksim is also a variant of Maximilian. (2) Massimo has been the surname of many powerful Roman families. (3) Saint Massimo, a 5th century bishop. (4) Massimo D'Alema, Italian Prime Minister. (5) Massimo Capra, Canadian celebrity chef. .
Post a Comment
Read more

Galician Baby Names

I grew up on a street that was named an Italian variant of Roger. When I got married and we bought our first house, it turned out to be on Roger Street. Once noting that coincidence, I started searching for other variants of the name. However, female variants turned out to be pretty nonexistent. Save for Roxeria, which I later discovered was the Galician female form, possibly pronounced rohz-AIR-ee-uh. That led me to a few lists of female Galician names, ranging from common to rare. Here is a sampling of names not often heard here in the states... Albina Alda Alma Alodia Aloia Amada Amadora Amalia Amparo Anisia Antia Araceli Aranzazu Artemisa Avelina Azucena Baia Balbina Baltasara Beatriz Benvida Berenice Bieita Branca Braulia Caetana Carola Casilda Casimira Ceferina Celsa Cipriana Cira Clorinda Coralia Cornelia Cosima Davinia Delfina Desideria Dionisia Dominga Dorinda Dorotea Dositea Edelmira Edenia Elba Elvira Emiliana Etelvina ...
2 comments
Read more

Elowen

Elowen is a recent Cornish baby name meaning "elm." It may not take off in America like the last Cornish hit, Jennifer, but it's certainly pretty. She's part of a "linguistic revival," as Appellation Mountain puts it  here . Her nickname could be Ellie, Elle or Ella, or a more unusual choice, Wendy. The pronunciation of Elowen is "ell-LOH-en," though most Americans will probably stick with "ELL-oh-wen." Please note that it is not spelled Elowyn. There is a similar name, Eowyn, but if you spell it Elowyn it will no longer be the Cornish name meaning elm tree, just some creative name. Other great Cornish names include Penrose, Chesten (the Cornish form of Christine), Demelza, Denzel, Hammitt, Kerensa/Kerenza, Meraud (very similar to French gem name Emeraude, both meaning emerald, but Meraud is pronounced "meh-row"), Merryn, Morwenna, Tremain, Emblyn, Jory, Massen, Treeve and Cotton. Here's 's a link to a post on Cornish n...
2 comments
Read more