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ArchivesFemale version of Merlin...?
in reply to a message by Merlina
MERLIN m
Usage: Welsh Mythology, English
Pronounced: MUR-lin
Form of the Welsh name Myrddin (meaning "sea fortress") used by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his 12th-century Arthurian tales. He likely chose the form Merlinus over Merdinus in order to prevent associations with French merde "excrement". In the earliest legends Myrddin is a prophetic madman who lives in the Caledonian Forest, but in later tales Merlin is a wizard, the sorcerer and counselor for King Arthur. in,
Usage: Welsh Mythology, English
Pronounced: MUR-lin
Form of the Welsh name Myrddin (meaning "sea fortress") used by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his 12th-century Arthurian tales. He likely chose the form Merlinus over Merdinus in order to prevent associations with French merde "excrement". In the earliest legends Myrddin is a prophetic madman who lives in the Caledonian Forest, but in later tales Merlin is a wizard, the sorcerer and counselor for King Arthur. in,
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Replies
Merla or Meryla? Pronounced mer-la?
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I'm not quite sure. But people do use my name when they write fantasy-like stories, or ancient-like ones. So, yeah, it CAN be the female version of "Merlin." But what about people saying that it means "Blackbird?" I really don't understand....
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Since all are in agreement that "Merlina" is a relatively modern, feminine twist on the masculine name "Merlin," we'll turn our attention to that form.
This site's Welsh/literary derivation seems, to me, quite solid.
Regarding the fantasy stories' usage, well they are almost always as unreliable as the bespoke 'baby-names' websites out there. Sometimes more so. The best so-called 'founder' of the genre was Tolkien, and he was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at freaking Oxford. His followers in the fantasy genre have been less authentic or even naturalistic.
Now the 'blackbird' attribution, this is as simple as a trip to dictionary.com (which often has multiple derivations listed, due to its querying multiple major dictionaries).
Lumping up the multiple sources, a 'merlin' is defined as:
A small falcon of northern European & American regions. It has predominantly dark plumage and a black-striped tail.
The scientific names are 'falco columbarius' (pigeon hawk), 'falco lithofalco' (stone hawk?) and 'falco salon/aesalon' (salt/copper/hall/room halk? [purely guesswork]).
The lumped derivations are as follows:
Middle English 'merlin' > Old English 'merlion' > Anglo-Norman 'merilun' > French '[é]merillon' > Old French 'esmerillon' > Old French 'esmeril' > Old High German 'smirl' / German 'schmerl' > Latin 'merula' meaning 'blackbird.'
This derivation also seems to indicate the derivation of one Emeril Lagasse's given-name.
The name "Merlin," when so sourced, is akin to the name "Merle." This website states that "Merle" is a masked form of "Merrill," originally from Gaelic feminine "Muirgheal." I must disagree, as I have always understood English "Merle" to be masculine derived directly from the French, again from Latin 'merula' for 'blackbird.'
Now breaking from research: I always assumed any name equalling 'blackbird' (Merle, Lonán, etc) was equivical to the animal also called a 'thrush.' I cannot state whether this should be widely considered false, otherwise.
This site's Welsh/literary derivation seems, to me, quite solid.
Regarding the fantasy stories' usage, well they are almost always as unreliable as the bespoke 'baby-names' websites out there. Sometimes more so. The best so-called 'founder' of the genre was Tolkien, and he was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at freaking Oxford. His followers in the fantasy genre have been less authentic or even naturalistic.
Now the 'blackbird' attribution, this is as simple as a trip to dictionary.com (which often has multiple derivations listed, due to its querying multiple major dictionaries).
Lumping up the multiple sources, a 'merlin' is defined as:
A small falcon of northern European & American regions. It has predominantly dark plumage and a black-striped tail.
The scientific names are 'falco columbarius' (pigeon hawk), 'falco lithofalco' (stone hawk?) and 'falco salon/aesalon' (salt/copper/hall/room halk? [purely guesswork]).
The lumped derivations are as follows:
Middle English 'merlin' > Old English 'merlion' > Anglo-Norman 'merilun' > French '[é]merillon' > Old French 'esmerillon' > Old French 'esmeril' > Old High German 'smirl' / German 'schmerl' > Latin 'merula' meaning 'blackbird.'
This derivation also seems to indicate the derivation of one Emeril Lagasse's given-name.
The name "Merlin," when so sourced, is akin to the name "Merle." This website states that "Merle" is a masked form of "Merrill," originally from Gaelic feminine "Muirgheal." I must disagree, as I have always understood English "Merle" to be masculine derived directly from the French, again from Latin 'merula' for 'blackbird.'
Now breaking from research: I always assumed any name equalling 'blackbird' (Merle, Lonán, etc) was equivical to the animal also called a 'thrush.' I cannot state whether this should be widely considered false, otherwise.
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