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ArchivesEphrael or Ephreal
Hey all,
My husband and I are going to try to have a baby this summer. We already have a boys' name picked out, but he wants to name a girl "Ephreal" that's "eff-RE-l" sounds like Gabriel but with an "eff" sound at the begining. I told him I don't like made up names and he needed to make sure it was a real name (BTW, I think it's really pretty, but just want to make sure it's a real name) So, my question is, has anybody heard of it before? My guess is that it's a (little used) female form of "Ephraim" but I'm not sure. Anyone have any instances of it? Thanks.
~LL
My husband and I are going to try to have a baby this summer. We already have a boys' name picked out, but he wants to name a girl "Ephreal" that's "eff-RE-l" sounds like Gabriel but with an "eff" sound at the begining. I told him I don't like made up names and he needed to make sure it was a real name (BTW, I think it's really pretty, but just want to make sure it's a real name) So, my question is, has anybody heard of it before? My guess is that it's a (little used) female form of "Ephraim" but I'm not sure. Anyone have any instances of it? Thanks.
~LL
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Replies
Where did your husband find this name? That would help to track down if it is a recent creation or has a longer history.
P.S. A bit of quick Googling seems to show that this name was created for the character Ephrael Stern in a game called Warhammer. I can't find any references on short notice to the name having existed before 1999 when the character seems to have been created. The references on the Web to the spelling Ephreal all seem to be places where fans of the game have misspelled Ephrael! So I think this was a name created by the authors of the game. There's a good chance that they did this by deliberately blending Ephraim and Raphael, or similar names, but it does seem to be a name created in 1999.
P.S. A bit of quick Googling seems to show that this name was created for the character Ephrael Stern in a game called Warhammer. I can't find any references on short notice to the name having existed before 1999 when the character seems to have been created. The references on the Web to the spelling Ephreal all seem to be places where fans of the game have misspelled Ephrael! So I think this was a name created by the authors of the game. There's a good chance that they did this by deliberately blending Ephraim and Raphael, or similar names, but it does seem to be a name created in 1999.
This message was edited 3/12/2007, 3:02 PM
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Thanks for your help all. After doing a search of American birth/death records, we found three instances of Ephrael. All in the same family, all in Pennsylvania, between 1854 and 1910. My guess is that that family (who look to be dutch, from their last name) modified the name from the biblical Ephraim (possibly combining it with Raphael, as PP suggested).
And yes, my husband found it from reading the comic based on the game. Still, I think it's pretty and sounds ligitimate enough. And knowing it's been used before makes me feel better. Thanks for the help all.
And yes, my husband found it from reading the comic based on the game. Still, I think it's pretty and sounds ligitimate enough. And knowing it's been used before makes me feel better. Thanks for the help all.
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Perhaps the autors of the game are "respelling" in English the Spanish Efrael (masculine), sometimes used in South America:
http://www.garycluster.org/hac/images/Jan-28-2007.pdf
Peru
http://www.inei.gob.pe/biblioineipub/bancopub/Est/Lib0557/libro.pdf
http://www.produce.gob.pe/descarga/produce/dna/catastro/huancavelica/huancavelica.htm
http://www.onpe.gob.pe/orgpol/adherentes/partido_democratico_descentralista/partido_democratico_descentralista111.html
Argentina
http://www.trabajo.gov.ar/programas/empleo/beneficiarios/EmpleoInternet/LIQUIDEPTOLOCAL/LDpResultados.asp?criSalto=Paginado&Pcia=2&Gecal=2&Depto=441&Localidad=10027&Prog=83&Proy=17&Criterio=lisLiquidados&page=022
Dominican Republic
http://www.presidencia.gov.do/frontend/amp_decretos.php?id=1915
They all are born before 1999, so the use of the name is not derivated from the game, obviously.
In Spanish, its use seems to be tied to Peru, basically, and I think that the name was originated by linguistical confusion. In Spanish speak by Quetchua speaking people, and Peruan and Bolivian Spanish in general, the sounds E and I are often mixed up, so the name Efraín sometimes is found as Efraén; this form Efraén can be easily understood as Efrael, because a lot of Biblical names have the ending -el:
http://www.garycluster.org/hac/images/Jan-28-2007.pdf
Peru
http://www.inei.gob.pe/biblioineipub/bancopub/Est/Lib0557/libro.pdf
http://www.produce.gob.pe/descarga/produce/dna/catastro/huancavelica/huancavelica.htm
http://www.onpe.gob.pe/orgpol/adherentes/partido_democratico_descentralista/partido_democratico_descentralista111.html
Argentina
http://www.trabajo.gov.ar/programas/empleo/beneficiarios/EmpleoInternet/LIQUIDEPTOLOCAL/LDpResultados.asp?criSalto=Paginado&Pcia=2&Gecal=2&Depto=441&Localidad=10027&Prog=83&Proy=17&Criterio=lisLiquidados&page=022
Dominican Republic
http://www.presidencia.gov.do/frontend/amp_decretos.php?id=1915
They all are born before 1999, so the use of the name is not derivated from the game, obviously.
In Spanish, its use seems to be tied to Peru, basically, and I think that the name was originated by linguistical confusion. In Spanish speak by Quetchua speaking people, and Peruan and Bolivian Spanish in general, the sounds E and I are often mixed up, so the name Efraín sometimes is found as Efraén; this form Efraén can be easily understood as Efrael, because a lot of Biblical names have the ending -el:
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I did that too and found the same thing. However, the fantasy character's name might have been inspired by the male name Ifrael (also appears as Efrael), which is claimed here - http://www.jochnowitz.net/Essays/JudeoProvencal.html - to be a form of Israel.
Also, there's an Efriel (female) in the Phillipines on Friendster. I couldn't find any info on Efriel, though. Maybe you have some?
Also, there's an Efriel (female) in the Phillipines on Friendster. I couldn't find any info on Efriel, though. Maybe you have some?
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I suppose anything is possible, but some I really doubt if the people who created the character Ephrael as a woman in a role playing game in 1999 were inspired by an obscure "Judeo-Provencal" name from medieval times. Where would they have found it? Why would they have searched it out, and if they had found it, why change to spelling from Ifrael and give it to a warrior woman character from the future? I'd have to have a statement from the creators of the game that that was where they found it before I'd consider that a likely possibility.
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Oh,
don't get me wrong -- I agree it's probably just made up. I just thought it was interesting, and if the OP is trying to convince herself that the name has some connection to history in order to get along with her husband, she might use that as justification. ;-)
It actually does look a lot like that name Efriel, though, of which there are several instances of named females (older than 8) to be found by googling (not that that means it's a real name, nor that Ephreal comes from it, but it seems possible). I just wondered if you've ever seen that one before.
don't get me wrong -- I agree it's probably just made up. I just thought it was interesting, and if the OP is trying to convince herself that the name has some connection to history in order to get along with her husband, she might use that as justification. ;-)
It actually does look a lot like that name Efriel, though, of which there are several instances of named females (older than 8) to be found by googling (not that that means it's a real name, nor that Ephreal comes from it, but it seems possible). I just wondered if you've ever seen that one before.
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