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HelpRe: Tomima
in reply to a message by Frollein Gladys
I wonder if it didn't start out as Tomina. Medieval handwriting being what it was - right u p to and including the 18th century, actually - it could easily have done what Amabel famously did, but in reverse. Tomina -> Tomima, and Amabel -> Annabel.
And, yes, the Jemima connection could lend it some appearance of authenticity, just as Anne did for Annabel. I'd also guess that it'd sound like to-MIE-ma nowadays, both from the Jemima connection and because the Scots have a traditional affection for feminising names like Andrew and Donald by affixing an -ina and making it sound like IEna.
Wherever did you find it? It's certainly new to me. Well spotted!
And, yes, the Jemima connection could lend it some appearance of authenticity, just as Anne did for Annabel. I'd also guess that it'd sound like to-MIE-ma nowadays, both from the Jemima connection and because the Scots have a traditional affection for feminising names like Andrew and Donald by affixing an -ina and making it sound like IEna.
Wherever did you find it? It's certainly new to me. Well spotted!
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How I found her? It was the dumbest thing, really. The other day, a friend of mine and I had a girls' night in and sure enough we were talking about girl stuff. You know, that kind of thing. At some point the conversation turned to clothes and fashion in general. So one day later this friend sent me a link to some (American-based, I think) lingerie shop. And the woman who owns or runs the shop is apparently called Tomima. I instantly loved this nostalgic air I get from the name, so I started digging.
(Half an hour later I got a text message from said friend: "So did you even have a look at the products or did you start researching this poor woman's name straight away?" Oops! Busted! ;) )
Your explanation makes perfect sense to me, thank you!
Once I realized that Tomima was apparently an Orcadian name, I got so caught up in this "Scandinavian connection" idea of mine that it didn't even occur to me Tomima could have taken the same route as Annabel, just in the opposite direction.
By the way, at first I thought Tomima might be a mash-up of Thomas and Jemima. But when I dug a little deeper, all of a sudden I was wading knee-deep in old census records, most of them from the Orkney Islands, fewer from the Shetland Islands and some decades later the odd American document appeared (usually with some Scottish "connection" there).
As for the pronunciation, my first instinct said to-MIE-ma, too. Then I started over-thinking this whole thing and ended up confusing myself ;)
But wait, you mean Andrewina (there were tons of them!) would be pronounced Andrew-IE-na? Interesting! I never knew that, I always thought it was EE-na. You learn something new every day. Thanks!
(Half an hour later I got a text message from said friend: "So did you even have a look at the products or did you start researching this poor woman's name straight away?" Oops! Busted! ;) )
Your explanation makes perfect sense to me, thank you!
Once I realized that Tomima was apparently an Orcadian name, I got so caught up in this "Scandinavian connection" idea of mine that it didn't even occur to me Tomima could have taken the same route as Annabel, just in the opposite direction.
By the way, at first I thought Tomima might be a mash-up of Thomas and Jemima. But when I dug a little deeper, all of a sudden I was wading knee-deep in old census records, most of them from the Orkney Islands, fewer from the Shetland Islands and some decades later the odd American document appeared (usually with some Scottish "connection" there).
As for the pronunciation, my first instinct said to-MIE-ma, too. Then I started over-thinking this whole thing and ended up confusing myself ;)
But wait, you mean Andrewina (there were tons of them!) would be pronounced Andrew-IE-na? Interesting! I never knew that, I always thought it was EE-na. You learn something new every day. Thanks!
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Ooh love that
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