Once Upon a Time Baby Names

www.krishna.com Rani (RAH-nee) is a Hindu girl's name, Arabic, Sanskrit and Nepali for "queen." As a word, it is the feminine form of Raja or Rana, which applies to male rulers. It is still used as a given name today in India. Some sites will tell you Rani means "she sings," but in Hebrew it is a nickname for the masculine name Ran, meaning "he sings," which is where the common misunderstanding comes from. Rani has dozens great namesakes. Because Rani is also a title it's a bit hard to siphon out the namesakes where Rani is a given name. Rani Vijaya Devi is one example. She was a princess in India, but articles do not specifically point out her birth name. Rani Rashmoni founded the Dakshrineswar Kali Temple and played a part in blocking British trade on the Ganges river. Rani Karnaa, born in 1939, was a dancer who was so respected that she recieved the Padma Shri award. There was also a famous Pakistani actress called Rani, and Indian act...

Tana River, Kenya  (source) Tana can be pronounced TAH-nah or TAN-uh, whichever you prefer. It can be a short form of Tanya or Tatiana in Russian, which comes from the Roman cognomen Tatius and is assumed to mean "from the house of Tatius," however  could mean  "I arrange" or "founder." It is also an Anglicized spelling of Arabic Thana, meaning "praise." It can even be a nickname for Tiziana, from Titus, Latin meaning "honored." In the arts Tana is a character in The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black, a reporter in the Superboy comics, and a video game character in Fire Emblem . In real life there is Cayetana "Tana" Ramsey, wife of Gordon Ramsey, Czech actress Tana Ficherova, Thai footballers Tana Sripandum and Tana Chanabut, children's book author Tana Hoban, and Irish novelist Tana French. There's also a Gujarati (Indian) legend about twins Tana and Riri, born around 1564, who commited suicide in refus...

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.

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 ...

Hania (HAN-yah, HAH-nee-uh) is a Hebrew variation of Chania/Channah, meaning "resting place; grace of the Lord" and also a Polish diminutive of Hannah, meaning "grace, gracious." Hannah is an Old Testament name which became Anna in the New Testament. Chania is also a city in Crete which the Greeks called Kydonia, meaning "quince." Spelled Haniya this name is taken to mean "to be happy." There are a few namesakes for Hania - most recently Vin Diesel chose this name for his daughter, but also Polish pop singer Hania Stach, English actress Hania Barton (sister to Mischa), and Hania Mufti, a human rights activist from Jordan. In the Bible this was the name of the mother of the prophet Samuel. Hannah was a childless woman who prayed to God for children and was then blessed with six of them. Samuel became a warrior and judge of Israel. The name Hannah was not used regularly until after the Protestant Reformation, but it was favorited by the Puritan...

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.

  Queen Zenobia's Last Look Upon Palmyra by Herbert Schmalz Here is an appellation that name lovers and history buffs can't stay away from. Zenobia (zen-OH-bee-ah) is a Greek name that is often listed as meaning "life of Zeus, strength of Zeus" due to the components zen, zeno , (Zeno being the poetic name of Zeus), and bia , meaning "strength." The etymology seems a bit forced  in this case , but Nook of Names has a different suggestion: Zenobia  — although interpreted as “life of Zeus” in Greek, the name is probably from the Palmyrean form of Arabic  Zaynab , the name of a fragrant flowering plant, as the original Zenobia was a 3rd C Queen of Palmyra who defied the Romans. Although she was ultimately defeated, she was said to have lived out her days in Rome as a respected philosopher and socialite. Used since the 16th C, but always a rarity. ( Source ) Zaynab means "desert flower" or "ornamented tree" in Arabic.  Wikipedia sugges...

Simple botanical name Senna (SEHN-uh) is mysterious and unusual, yet sounds familiar. It has the simplicity of Jenna, but the uniqueness of Gwenna. It can be shortened to Sen, which means "one thousand" in Japanese. (Japanese parents bestowing the name Sen upon their child intend the meaning as "to live one thousand years". It can also refer to the sennin forest/mountain hermit. I named my first cat this, and she definitely suits the name.) The senna plant, specifically the Senna Alexandrina, is a flowering bush with little yellow flowers and can be found in the tropics. Lately it can be found as an ingredient in dieter's tea, laxative tea, although it has a wide array of uses. In Arabic the name  means "brilliance." This name has been used in a few books and movies, one of which being a vampire in the Twilight series, the other a girl in K. A. Applegate's Everworld book series.

Lamia and the Soldier by John William Waterhouse (1905) Although Lamia (LAH-mee-uh) means "glitter," or "glisten" in Swahili, she is a lesser known part of Greek mythology. Lamia was a queen and descendant of Poseidon, and had children with Zeus, but Hera kept killing all of them. Eventually Lamia went crazy over it and started eating as many children as she could. This turned her into a demon, some say half serpent, half woman, most likely because of her grief. The meaning of Lamia supposedly means "gullet," which is a bird's throat, but the more appropriate and logical meaning is "to devour," from the Phoenician word lahama . Her story differs depending on who is telling it. The city of Lamia, Greece may have been named for the mythological character. There was a courtesan named Lamia of Athens, and John Keats wrote a poem about her in 1820. In modern times, people see her mythological history as an excuse to use her name for vampire...

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...

Today's name : Lilith Alternate spelling : Lillith "Lilith" by John Collier, 1862 Potential nicknames : Lil, Lily, Lilly, Li-Li, Lithy/Lithie, Lila, Lilah Pronunciation : LIL-ith Origin : (1) Arabic, meaning "of the night." (2) In Jewish folklore - Lilith was Adam's first wife, who thought she was equal to Adam because they were created at the same time out of the same material. In some legends she chose to leave Adam, in others she spoke the name of God and vanished. (3) In Jewish mythology, Lilith is thought to be a demon, most likely from an entire class of female demons, but scholars debate this. The name could come from the Akkadian word lilitu, meaning either "spirits" or "of the night," or the Hebrew lilit or lilith, meaning, roughly, "female night being/demon." (4) There are also Sumerian, Babylonian and Mesopotamian meanings to this name, although they are disputed and hard to come by. Fun fact : (1) In some myths, Lili...