Skip to main content

Tomyris

tomyris castagno
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-Rayiš 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 recently became a common given name in Turkey and Central Asia. She was written about by many ancient writers, painted by several influential painters, and added to a list of the "Nine Worthies," which was originally a group of nine men from different time periods who represented the ideals of chivalry. A list of women was added in the late 14th century, but the list varied. Now you can find her name as a species of Central Asian butterflies and a minor planet (asteroid).

Tomyris is not present in U.S. naming records. Today it would be a bit of a daring choice, considering how graphic her legend is, but many see her as a powerful warrior queen and a fine example of a woman in charge. For a namesake that has been remembered through the ages, she deserves a bit of love in the naming world.
Labels:

Comments

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. .
Post a Comment
Read more

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 ...
2 comments
Read more

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...
2 comments
Read more