Skip to main content

Fenella

As I often find myself saying on this blog, here's a name you don't hear every day. The lovely Fenella is an acquired taste, but enchanting once you consider it. Fenella is the (Scottish) Anglicized version of the Gaelic name Fionnuala, meaning "fair shoulder/white shoulder," which has ties to Fiona. I could only find a few namesakes - British actresses Fenella Fielding and Fenella Woolgar, and  radio presenters Fenella Fudge and Fenella Kernebone. Fenella Paton was a British radical who "emphasized with working mothers" and helped push along the birth control movement. In history, Fenella (Finnguala) was the daughter of Cuncar of Angus in the 10th century, and legend has it she was responsible for killing the King of Scots after he killed her son. In mythology she was the daughter of Lir, who was turned into a swan by her step-mother, and wandered for 900 years until the spell was broken. This became the subject of Thomas Moore's "The Song of Fionnuala."

It features in just a few fictional works as well. Fenella Feverfew was the name of a character in The Worst Witch, Fenella Scarborough was a character created by Nancy Werlin, and Diana Wynne Jones used the name in The Time of the Ghost. The Fate of Fenella was also an experimental novel inspired by J. S. Wood that appeared in a weekly magazine, and was written by several different authors. Supposedly, the name was first used with this spelling by Sir Walter Scott in Peveril of the Peak in 1823.

There were no babies born in 2011 named Fenella, nor for the past few years that I've checked. Its cousin Fionnuala, however, had 7 births in 2011, and its other cousin Finola had 9 births. White Pages tells me there are 128 living people named Fenella in the U.S. Choose Finella, Finola, Fionnuala, Finlea, or Finelia, and the meaning will stay the same.

If you're wondering why this name might sound familiar, it might be because of the plant fennel, of which licorice is made. While you ponder that, also consider the nicknames Fen, Ella, Nell, Nellie, Nella and Finn. This is a name I'm very excited to share, and I really love it. I hope someone else will love it enough to use.

Comments

  1. I was just thinking bout this name the other day - I once knew one when I was in school. I think it has a quiet, understated elegance to it. Fenella is such a pretty name.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My beautiful Scottish West Highland terrier is named Fenella for her white (fur) shoulders! It's a lovely name for a person too with endless great nicknames. She always gets compliments on it - as soon as we clarify that it's NOT "vanilla"! Thanks for the fantastic name ideas!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sailor Moon Baby Names

As a long-time fan girl of Sailor Moon, I was thrilled to hear about a potential reboot of the series, which was supposed to be in 2013 and has now been pushed to 2014. It's been over 20 years since Sailor Moon first aired, but many still get a warm fuzzy feeling when they think of the show. What is not often mentioned is how well researched Takeuchi's name choices were. She covered gems, minerals, astrology, mythology and creative word choices. Today I'll talk about Sailor Moon names. Usagi Tsukino- Bunny - Serena - Princess Serenity - Sailor Moon Usagi means "rabbit" in Japanese, referring to the Japanese legend of the rabbit on the moon, and Tsukino means "moon." In the translation of the comics, Usagi was renamed Bunny appropriately. Keeping with the mythological aspects of the moon and both Greek and Roman moon goddesses, Usagi's character was given the concept of "serene," which gave her the name Serena in the American TV series (a

Aragon

Today's name: Aragon Pronunciation: AYR-uh-gahn, AIR-ah-gonn Potential nicknames: Ar, Ary, Ara, Gon Origin: Spanish and Aragonese, the medieval Kingdom of Aragon in the northeastern Iberian peninsula of Spain, it is now an autonomous community as of 1982 and its own nationality and its own provinces. Aragon has a rich history dating back to pre-Roman days. Aragon became a self-proclaimed kingdom in 1035 AD. Popularity: In 2010 there were no babies named Aragon, nor has it ever ranked. In 2011 there were only 5 boys given this name. Fun fact: (1) Not to be confused with the book and movie titled "Eragon." (2) Catherine of Aragon was the wife of Arthur Tudor, the Prince of Wales, but he died five months after their marriage in 1501. She then married his brother, Henry VIII, the future King of England, in 1509. Henry was not satisfied that she gave him no surviving male heirs, so he annulled their marriage, partly due to his infatuation with his mistress, Anne Boleyn. Henry

Crispin

Today's name : Crispin (male) Alternate spelling : Krispin Variant forms : Crespin, Crispian, Crispino, Crispo, Crispus, Crisspin, Crespin, Crispinian, Crispianus, Crispinus, Crispen, Crispanius Potential nicknames : Cris, Crisp, Spin Pronunciation : KRIS-pin Origin : Latin, meaning "curly-haired." It comes from the Latin crispinus , derived from an old Roman family name Crispus. History lesson : (1) Saint Crispin is the patron saint of shoemakers. St. Crispin's Day falls on October 25. (2) Crispin and Crispinian were Roman twins who were martyred in c.286 for preaching Christianity in Gaul. With Vatican II they were removed from the liturgical calendar based on a lack of credibility. (3) Crispin the monk, who lived in Viterbo, Italy, was cannonized in 1982. (4) In Shakespeare's Henry V , the king gives a memorable, motivating speech on St. Crispin's Day. (Crispin Glover is named for this speech.) Popularity : According to the Social Security Administration th