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ArchivesNew names I've come across -- mixed bag
I work among lots of children, so I hear names being called around every day. A few have been totally unfamiliar to me. Any advice you have on origin is much appreciated!
(Oh, and all these spellings are best guesses. I usually only hear the names).
Amitai - on a girl? I'm certainly acquainted with Amittai on a boy (love it in fact). Does this have any history as a girls name?
Anuka - on a (I think) Japanese-speaking girl
Chayani - on a Spanish-speaking girl
Denilson - on a Hispanic boy; I see that it's part of the -son trend that has been quite popular among Latin Americans, but I've never heard of this version, even as a surname
Joriana - just a trendy portmanteau? Or is there some history here?
Manya - I see this is a Russian pet form of Maria, but I don't think the family was Russian. She had a sister named Kimia.
Kitomi - on a girl, who I don't believe was Japanese. I have actually been seeing quite a bit of Japanese & Hawaiian names (or invented names that sound Japanese or Hawaiian) on children not from those ethnic groups.
Natu - I've heard this twice now! Both boys I've seen with this name were ethnically African...one spoke English and one did not (my guess was Amharic, who knows how accurate that is, though).
Naya - Is this just an invention that rhymes with Maya? She had a sister named Kiana, so I thought that was a definite possibility. Any info on this as a traditional name?
Niraj & Bina - I asked these kids about their names--they said they were Sanskrit. The kids were not ethnically Indian, either.
Parsa - on a boy
Kehinde - on a girl. Her father is Nigerian, and her twin sister is named Taiwo, so I'm almost sure it's also a Yoruba name. I would love to know its meaning, though.
Zayana - on an Indian girl, I think.
Zherina - also on an Indian girl.
ZhiBo - on a Chinese boy. I saw his name written, and assumed it was pronounced ZHEE BO, but his classmates pronounced it ZYE BO. Weird.
(Oh, and all these spellings are best guesses. I usually only hear the names).
Amitai - on a girl? I'm certainly acquainted with Amittai on a boy (love it in fact). Does this have any history as a girls name?
Anuka - on a (I think) Japanese-speaking girl
Chayani - on a Spanish-speaking girl
Denilson - on a Hispanic boy; I see that it's part of the -son trend that has been quite popular among Latin Americans, but I've never heard of this version, even as a surname
Joriana - just a trendy portmanteau? Or is there some history here?
Manya - I see this is a Russian pet form of Maria, but I don't think the family was Russian. She had a sister named Kimia.
Kitomi - on a girl, who I don't believe was Japanese. I have actually been seeing quite a bit of Japanese & Hawaiian names (or invented names that sound Japanese or Hawaiian) on children not from those ethnic groups.
Natu - I've heard this twice now! Both boys I've seen with this name were ethnically African...one spoke English and one did not (my guess was Amharic, who knows how accurate that is, though).
Naya - Is this just an invention that rhymes with Maya? She had a sister named Kiana, so I thought that was a definite possibility. Any info on this as a traditional name?
Niraj & Bina - I asked these kids about their names--they said they were Sanskrit. The kids were not ethnically Indian, either.
Parsa - on a boy
Kehinde - on a girl. Her father is Nigerian, and her twin sister is named Taiwo, so I'm almost sure it's also a Yoruba name. I would love to know its meaning, though.
Zayana - on an Indian girl, I think.
Zherina - also on an Indian girl.
ZhiBo - on a Chinese boy. I saw his name written, and assumed it was pronounced ZHEE BO, but his classmates pronounced it ZYE BO. Weird.
This message was edited 7/10/2007, 8:41 AM
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