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Alphabet Week: E-H

Elbereth: this name has not been used in the U.S. it is a Lord of the Rings name meaning “star-queen.”
Elynas: this name has not been used in the U.S. you may remember this as the name of the King of Albany (Scotland) from the story of Melusine. Traditional searches for this name’s meaning turned up nothing until I found his supposed real name - Gille Sidhean, which might mean “steward of the fey,” or Elinas d’Albha. He is connected to the Vere and Anjou lines and said to be born circa 704, but with names this old sometimes there is more speculation than fact, although it becomes very interesting when the lines blur (like, some would say, King Arthur). At the end of this speculation there is a bit more of his ancestry connecting him to the Ulsters. Unfortunately I have yet to find the name’s meaning, but Helinus looks promising.

Fruzsina: the Hungarian form of Euphrosyne, meaning “mirth.” It is pronounced fruuz-EE-nah. Eufrozina and Frosina are other variants. The variant Frozine was the only one ever noted in U.S. statistics, used 5 times in 1917.
Ferrand: a French variant of Ferdinand, which has many root meanings to choose from. This name hasn’t been used in the U.S. but a few similar names have, including Ferran, Ferron, Ferrin, Ferren, and Ferrante.

Gentiana: a genus of pretty flowering plants named after an Illyrian king. Gentian is the masculine version. Genie, Geannie, Gentie, Genna, Giana, Gia, are examples of possible nicknames. Gentiana was used 6 times in 1996, 5 in 2001, and 6 in 2007. Gentian has not been used despite the extremely adorable nickname option Gent.
Guiscard: a name used by Norman nobility, it is cognate with “wizard,” meaning “wise.” Unfortunately the pronunciation is gees-KAHR, and Wysard (WY-sahrd) might be an easier option.

Heloise: heloise has been used in the U.S. since at least 1900, but it’s always been rare, used only 10 times in 2017, while Heloisa is even more rare, used 5 times in 2006, 6 in 2015, and 13 in 2017. Heloise dates back to at least the 11th century.
Hugo: this name has always been used in the U.S. and has always been rising in popularity. It was given to 744 boys in 2017 with a rank of #418. Hugo means “heart and mind” and has a wealth of history behind it.

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