Skip to main content

Odette

Today's name: Odette (the only other variant being Odetta)


Pronunciation: oh-DET

Potential nicknames: Odie, Oda, Detta, Dottie, Etta, Ettie

Origin: French and Old Germanic, meaning "wealth."

Popularity: In 2015 there were 86 girls named Odette, in 2011 there were 48, and in 2010 there were 19 (compare to 48 Odessa and 23 Odelia in 2010). She does not rank on the U.S. top 1000. It ranked #967 in 1899 and #843 in 1905. Perfect for your little ballerina or graceful swan.

Fun fact: (1) Odette was the name of the white (good) swan character in the famous ballet "Swan Lake," which recently inspired a movie. Odile was the name of the black swan. (2) You might be more or less familiar with Princess Odette from the animated movie "The Swan Princess." (3) Folk singer Odetta. (4) Actress Odette Justman. (5) Actor Mark Ruffalo's daughter. (6) Odette de Crecy was the wife of Charles Swann in Proust's "A la Recherche du Temps Perdu."

.

Comments

  1. I like the simplicity of Odette, but I know some people are put off by her sounding like the phrase 'owe-debt' - especially given today's economic climate!

    ReplyDelete

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. .

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 ...

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...