[Opinions] Re: Cornish Names (and a question about Cornish culture)
in reply to a message by erb816
I share your love of Morwenna - Endellion was chosen by just-resigned British prime minister David Camerion and his wife Samantha for a middle name for daughter Florence, born in the Cornish village of St Endellion
Jago is a name I like - Cornish form of James
I grew up in England and as a child spent many holidays in Cornwall, sometimes at a bed and breakfast on the outskirts of the little town of Helston, famed for the "Floral Dance" (properly Furry Dance).
There has been a revival of the Cornish language of late, and there's a Cornwall (Kernow) "nationalist" movement! It always used to be said that the last speaker of Cornish was a woman called Dorothy (I can't remember her last name) who lived in the eighteenth century - but that may not be accurate, for I'm guessing that the modern revivalists learned the language from some speaker rather than a book.
There are lovely place names in Cornwall such as Mousehole, Marazion, Polperro and Lostwithiel - these fascinated me as a child on holiday there (the little fishing villages, home to smugglers in years gone by) are charming.
Gift shops always included a model of a Cornish folklore pixie queen called "Joan the Wad" - no doubt they still do!
During the nineteenth century there was a significant migration of Cornish tin miners to Australia (where I live) - mostly South Australia. They had surnames such as Andrewartha - very odd-looking to the non-Cornish eye - as well as the more familiar Tre- and Pen- names. The great Australian prime minister Sir Robert Menzies was of Cornish descent on his mother's side.
Jago is a name I like - Cornish form of James
I grew up in England and as a child spent many holidays in Cornwall, sometimes at a bed and breakfast on the outskirts of the little town of Helston, famed for the "Floral Dance" (properly Furry Dance).
There has been a revival of the Cornish language of late, and there's a Cornwall (Kernow) "nationalist" movement! It always used to be said that the last speaker of Cornish was a woman called Dorothy (I can't remember her last name) who lived in the eighteenth century - but that may not be accurate, for I'm guessing that the modern revivalists learned the language from some speaker rather than a book.
There are lovely place names in Cornwall such as Mousehole, Marazion, Polperro and Lostwithiel - these fascinated me as a child on holiday there (the little fishing villages, home to smugglers in years gone by) are charming.
Gift shops always included a model of a Cornish folklore pixie queen called "Joan the Wad" - no doubt they still do!
During the nineteenth century there was a significant migration of Cornish tin miners to Australia (where I live) - mostly South Australia. They had surnames such as Andrewartha - very odd-looking to the non-Cornish eye - as well as the more familiar Tre- and Pen- names. The great Australian prime minister Sir Robert Menzies was of Cornish descent on his mother's side.
Replies
Oooh, thanks for this post. I am spending a few days in Cornwall this summer (I'm American) and this post got me really excited!
Okay, you just made me look up the Furry Dance, and that was delightful!
Personally, I'd love to see St. Ives, if pictures are anything to go by.
Personally, I'd love to see St. Ives, if pictures are anything to go by.
Yes, it's long been an artist's delight. Not to be confused with the "other" St Ives in England that's featured in the famous "as I was going to St Ives ... seven wives" ditty.