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Could-be names ending in -fera

Apis_mellifera
Apis mellifera, aka Western Honey Bee


The suffix -fera for girls and -fer for boys (as in Lucifer) is a New Latin nomitive neuter plural meaning "bearing." Some examples of plant and animal related words with the suffix -fera are as follows:

Caelifera, "heaven-supporting," which is a taxonomic suborder of grasshopper
Ensifera, "sword-bearing," which is a genus of hummingbird
Indigofera, "bearing indigo," a genus of beans
Loricifera, "breastplate bearer," marine animals with a protective casing
Porifera,"pore-bearing," sea sponges
Mangifera, "mango-bearing," the mango tree
Stolonifera, "branch-bearing," types of sea coral
Rotifera, "wheel-bearing," a phylum organism

There are other words ending in -fer, such as bellifer, "making war," and mellifer, "carrying honey," where the word could be used in the feminine sense, so I will put an asterisk next to those. Following the above model, these names are not yet taken by the plant and animal kingdom, except for what is starred because they have no negative association and are good as names. I think it goes without saying that all of these are quite rare, and I'd be surprised to find out any were used as baby names. I'd also like to note that for pronunciation, the suffix becomes FAIR-uh, not FUR-uh ("fur" being included in the way we say Lucifer), which would be the Latin pronunciation.

Stellifera, Astrifera
Solifera
Mellifera*
Florifera, Anthifera
Aurorifera
Lucifera*
Mercifera (*seems to be a word along the lines of merciful)
Ambrosifera
Lunifera, Selenifera
Aurelifera, Aurifera (*aurifer)
Bellifera*
Carifera
Nicefera
Sperantifera
Clarifera (*butterfly)
Ismenifera
Jacinthifera
Vitalifera
Dianifera
Thalifera
Laurifera (*laurifer)
Lilifera (*magnolia lilifera)
Chryseifera
Chlorifera
Dulcifera (*dulcifer)
Violifera (*helianthia violifera)
Cassifera
Felicifera
Glorifera
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Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 24, 2017 at 6:11 AM

    This is gold!!! Thankyou so so much for this post!!! I literally might use one of these names for my future kiddo. Happy Thanksgiving!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Once Upon a Time Baby NamesNovember 25, 2017 at 1:55 AM

    To me, they all already sound like they are names. Cassifera? Shorten it to Cassie for accessibility. Lilifera? Just as unique as Lilith, Guinevere and Ferelith.

    Stellifera was the only one of these on my radar when I had my girl, and it was shortlisted as a way to honor a Stella in my family. We chose to honor a different family member instead, but had I seen Mellifera she'd have a completely different name (and a pissed relative).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousNovember 25, 2017 at 2:29 AM

      Hahah! Yes I agree- these names just work and they add such a nice spin. I love the nickname "fairy" for all of them too. Kinda dumb but hey- I love fairies so ya know.

      Delete

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