Once Upon a Time Baby Names

This week I will cover 26 boys and 26 girls that are considered rare. Ashwin : a Sanskrit name meaning “light,” and possibly Anglo-Saxon meaning “spear.” As a given name it has been used since 1977 in the U.S. always rare, it was given to 56 boys in 2017. Amellina : a Spanish and Italian variant of Amelia meaning “rival.” This name is very rare, with no statistics. Brynja : a Norse name meaning “armor.” Pronounced BRIN-yah, this name has been used since 1993 in the U.S. but is very rare, given to only 7 girls in 2017. Bedivere : a Knight of the Round Table, his name means “birch man.” This name has not been used in the U.S. despite its chivalrous vibe, along with the possible unusual nicknames Bev, Bear, or Biv. Csilla : a Hungarian name meaning “morning star.” It was created by the Hungarian author Andras Dugonics in 1803. Pronounced tCHEE-luh. This name was only used 5 times, in 1961. Cain : a Bible name with a negative story, this Hebrew name meaning “acquired” was liked en...

  Alifair Hatfield The baby name Allifair, alternatively spelled Alifair, Alafair, or Alafare, has a very interesting history. This girl's name suddenly popped into existence in the U.S. around the mid 1800's, with no mention why or how. Some history buffs may be familiar with the Hatfield-McCoy "New Year's Day" Massacre, in which a long-time hatred between families (including Union vs Confederacy differences) finally escalated into an all-out violent battle. Alifair was the name of Randolph McCoy's daughter, born in 1858, who suffered from Polio as a child but remained productive. During an attack on the McCoy home, Alifair was shot and killed. There was later a legal trial for her murder. Ironically, there was an Alifair Hatfield born in 1873 in Kentucky. So how did she get her name? There are records of others in 1809, 1815, 1819, 1831, 1870, 1883, 1920 and 1923. 1767 or 1787 seems to be the earliest it was recorded. It could come from Alfher/Alvar...

I passed by a beauty salon with this name in the title, and it immediately struck me as a name I had to write about. However, when I looked for information, none was found. So like many -bel names, I assumed it was simply Erisa + bel. Truthfully, people can find a way to add -bel or -belle to just about anything, from Annabel to Corabelle. I also came across Onabelle recently. Erisa is known as a Japanese name that I cannot find an accurate meaning for (most Japanese name meanings vary by how they're written in kanji). Eris, meaning "strife," was a Greek goddess of discord, the equivalent of the Roman goddess Discordia. Eris charted in 1923 and 1924, and is a recently named dwarf planet. If Eris is the main component, Erisabel would essentially mean "beautiful chaos." Erisa in English could come from Iris by way of Irisa. Unfortunately, the letters of Erisa are also an acronym for the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, so adding -bel makes all the di...