Once Upon a Time Baby Names

Tomyris painting by Castagno Tomyris (pronounced TOM-ir-iss or toh-MY-riss) is the name of an ancient Massagetean queen known for having Cyrus the Great beheaded. Although he had built the largest empire then known and defeated Tomyris's army in one battle, she challenged him to a second and won. Cyrus did try proposing marriage to her in order to gain control over the Massagetae, but she laughed and this probably made him more eager for battle. Tomyris's son, the army general, was captured in the first battle, and he committed suicide to escape being a prisoner. Tomyris sent a message to Cyrus warning him to release her son, but he ignored her and her son died, resulting in the final battle. Her name - originally in the form of Tahm-Rayi š  is Iranian (Persian) in origin, as she ruled in Central Asia and the Scythian language was a branch of Iranian. This article  makes an educated guess that her name either means "iron" or "brave glory." Her name r...

The U.S. top 1000 baby names and extended list is here (thank you Social Security Administration!), and my priority is picking out the gems from the very bottom of that list. While Emma and Noah are the current rulers of popularity, names like Cassiana, Euphemia and Faustine were only given to 5 baby girls into 2016, and Pippin and Lonan only given to 5 boys in 2016. In this post I'll talk about names that really stood out, and legitimate names at the very bottom of the barrel. One thing I noticed right away was a large amount of boy names ending in -iel at the bottom of the list (5 boys in 2016). The letter Y had four - Yaciel, Yassiel, Yekusiel, and Yatniel. There was also Remiel, Raniel, Lexiel, Keriel, Joxiel, Joriel, Jazziel, Jaydiel, Ithiel, Eddiel, Doniel, Deriel, Azariel, Audiel, Andiel, Alexiel and Avriel. For girls, I noticed the Brazilian (and Venezuelan?) -y ending on popular girl's names: Gabrielly, Isabelly, and so on. I also noticed a decline in Renesmee ...

Yara (YAR-uh) is an international girls name. In Brazilian Tupi mythology, Iara (same pronunciation) was a mermaid, siren, or river goddess with green hair and fair skin. This version of the name means "water lady," fr om   y   îara.  In Persian the name means "power," or possibly "warm." In Arabic it means "butterfly." In Hebrew it means "honeysuckle" and "honeycomb." The name is banned in Saudi Arabia for seemingly no reason. Yara was given to 199 girls in 2015, making it uncommon, if not unusual. Yara Greyjoy is a character in the Game of Thrones TV show, while real-life namesakes include actress Yara Shahidi, Miss World Puerto Rico 2010 Yara Lasanta, Palestinian researcher Yara Jarallah, Puerto Rican actress Yara Martinez, French actress Yara Pilartz, Syrian journalist Yara Bader, and Brazilian artist Yara Tupynamba. Raya and Arya are anagrams.

Cian (KEY-in) is an Irish boy's name meaning "enduring, ancient." The most legendary namesake was Cian Mac Maelmuaid, son-in-law of Ireland's great Brian Boru, King of Munster. Cian led an army from Munster to victory against the Vikings during the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, where he and his father-in-law were killed in battle. Ironically, Cian's father Mael Muad had been killed by Brain Boru years before. In mythology, however, Cian is also known as Scal Balb and is father of Lug (Lugh, sun god) and son of Dian Cecht. In oral medieval narrative Cian's marriage to Ethniu was a romance/bridal quest. Today the most popular namesake is likely either Youtube star Cian Twomey or Kian Lawley. In 2015 Cian was given to 153 boys, not too far outside the top 1000 but far enough from the top 100 to be unusual. It is currently a very popular name in Ireland, #14 as of 2015. Spelled Kian the name is now Persian, pronounced key-AHN, possibly meaning "kings."...

Dario, pronounced DAHR-ee-oh, is the masculine Italian form of the Latin Darius and Greek Dareios. Ultimately it comes from Persian name  Dārayavahush, simplified to Dariush, meaning "he who holds firm the good," or "to possess good, to possess well" but is sometimes taken to mean "preserving good,"  "upholding good," or "protector." The English name Darien (#1000 in 2013) can be either from the Latin or Greek form, or from the questionable Irish Gaelic name Darren, meaning "great." Three ancient Persian kings had this name - Darius I, Darius II, and Darius III, the first of which was Darius the Great. Rulers Darius I and Darius II of Media Atropatene also shared the name. Prince Darius the son of King Mithridates VI of Pontus is another, and his father claimed he was a descendant of Darius the Great and/or Cyrus the Great, and Mithridates also had a grandson named Darius of Pontus, though he was a child of Mithridates's...

Shalimar Gardens of Srinagar The Shalimar Gardens were built between 1619 and 1653, while the Renaissance period was happening in European countries, Portugal and Russia, by the Mughal Emperors of the Indian Subcontinent. Collectively the gardens are known as the Mughal gardens, because there are four total with the name Shalimar, located in Lahore, Ghaziabad, Delhi, and Srinagar. However, this style of garden was nothing new, and could be traced back to Persia, probably around 600 BC. Shalimar Bagh in Srinagar came first. It originated as a cottage for the ruler Pravasena II, who founded the city of Srinagar and ruled in Kashmir. Over time the cottage deteriorated, but Emperor Jahangir found it again in 1619 and decided to make it bigger and more beautiful to please his wife. It became the imperial summer residence of Jahangir and his wife, Nur Jahan, and their entire court. In 1630 it was extended by his son, Shah Jahan, who is also famous for the Taj Mahal. Shalimar Bagh of ...

Sadie, meaning "princess," comes as a nickname from Sarah. Here are five ways you can use Sadie without Sarah. Sandra, a short form of Alexandra, meaning "man's defender." Saranda, an Old Greek word meaning "forty." Sadira, a Persian name meaning "lotus." Sadia/Sadiya, meaning "lucky" in Arabic. Saida, pronounced SAY-duh, a variant of Zaida meaning "lucky, fortunate" in Arabic.

Kyria, the unisex Kyrie and the boy's name Kyrian are variants of the Greek girl's name Kyra, which currently ranks at #401 (in decline). They each mean "lord" in Greek but have a connection to ancient Persian and Egyptian in which they referred to the sun god Ra. The Greeks connected their word for lord to the Persian name for king, Kourosh (equivalent to Cyrus and possibly Cyril), which meant "throne." Several Persian kings were named Cyrus. In Egyptian, Ki-Ra meant "like Ra," or like the sun. There is no ancient connection to the word valkyrie, although if you were to name a daughter Valkyrie there is no sound reason to not nickname her Kyrie. Kyria (KEER-ee-uh, and less often KY-ree-uh) is a variant of the popular girl's name Kyra. The spelling Kyria specifically means "noblewoman, respectable lady" and has been a Greek title of respect for women, much like "madam" or "miss." Kyrios was the male version of t...

  Jessamine (JESS-ah-meen, JESS-uh-min), thankfully, has been getting attention in recent years. I credit that to baby naming websites that have message boards, but who knows. Jessamine is the archaic French, medieval English, and Persian for "jasmine,” although there is a strong case that she comes from Ismenia, Isemene, which is a Greek name meaning “knowledge.” Variants that became obsolete included Jessamy, from Jessamie, Jessima, Jacamine, and Jessamyn. Jesmond is likely related, and she comes with her own variants, including Jessimond, Ghismond, Ghismonda, and Jesmaine. Jessamyn is probably the most used variant. Jessamyn West was an American Quaker and writer best known for The Friendly Persuasion in 1945. Another Jessamyn West is a librarian and blogger. Like Clary, she's also a character in a Cassandra Clare series which is rapidly gaining popularity. Nicknames can range from Jessica's "Jessie" or "Jess," to Jasmine's "Minnie,...

Traditionally, if you're a Capricorn you should be wearing a ruby, although turquoise is considered December's modern stone. It is not uncommon for a month to have more than one stone. So, since Ruby currently ranks #113, I will cover Turquoise, and it's Turkish gem-turned-baby-name, Fairuza. Turquoise would make a fine middle name in my opinion, because it's not as feminine and frilly as Ruby, Amethyst, Coral, etc. Fairuza, on the other hand, has first name potential. Fairuza is Turkish, meaning "turquoise." Pronounced fy-RO-zah, fair-OO-zah, or FY-ru-zah, you might be more inclined to ask actress Fairuza Balk (of The Craft and Waterboy fame) how she pronounces her name. A suitable nickname for Fairuza is Fay. It was originally spelled Firouza, which is where the fy-RO-zah pronunciations come from. It can also mean "happiness," "luck," "precious one" and "victory." I believe the word fairuz means "turquoise...

Pronunciation: KASS-pur, CAHS-pehr Potential nicknames: Cass, Caspie, Casey, Cap, Case Origin:  This is the Dutch form of the Persian name Jasper, meaning "treasurer" or "treasure holder." Kasper, Jaspar, Gaspard and Gaspar are variants. The spelling Gasper ranked twice in U.S. history - once in 1911 and once in 1917. Popularity: Casper ranked on the U.S. top 1000 from 1911 to 1933, but has not been seen since. In 2010 there were 51 baby boys named Casper and 11 named Caspar, 5 Kaspar and 26 Kasper. In 2011 there were 7 boys spelled Caspar and 54 Casper. Fun fact: (1) Part of Casper's lack of popularity is due to "Casper the Friendly Ghost," which first appeared in a 1939 children's book and later an animated cartoon and comics, finishing with a movie in 1995. (2) Saint Gaspar del Bufalo. (3) Along with Balthazar and Melchior, Casper was one of the three Magi, or Wise Men, who brought gifts from afar to the infant Jesus. These three ...