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ArchivesRe: The meaning of Orian, a masculine name.
in reply to a message by Dorchadas
I've been looking up this name on a lot of sites, mainly because I've used the name for a female character. According to this site, it could be an anglicized name of Urien :http://www.20000-names.com/male_o_names_2.htm
It could also be a French (male) variation of the name Oriana :http://legitbabenames.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/oriana/
But then this site claims it's a unisex name meaning either gold, sunrise, or dawn for the female version, which is supposed to come from Old French, or limit, boundary, or urine for the male version of the name, coming from Old Greek.
http://www.babynamespedia.com/meaning/Orian/m
I don't know how reliable any of these sites or their information are. But it's interesting because I came across this site that lists the survivors of the Titanic, and this name belongs to a female survivor named Orian Davidson, and she's supposed to have been born in 1884. I hope this helps you a little, even though I've given you nothing concrete.
http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/orian-davidson.html#articles-and-stories
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“If your enemy is superior, evade him. If angry, irritate him. If equally matched, fight, and if not split and reevaluate.”
-Sun-Tzu
It could also be a French (male) variation of the name Oriana :http://legitbabenames.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/oriana/
But then this site claims it's a unisex name meaning either gold, sunrise, or dawn for the female version, which is supposed to come from Old French, or limit, boundary, or urine for the male version of the name, coming from Old Greek.
http://www.babynamespedia.com/meaning/Orian/m
I don't know how reliable any of these sites or their information are. But it's interesting because I came across this site that lists the survivors of the Titanic, and this name belongs to a female survivor named Orian Davidson, and she's supposed to have been born in 1884. I hope this helps you a little, even though I've given you nothing concrete.
http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/orian-davidson.html#articles-and-stories
~~~~
“If your enemy is superior, evade him. If angry, irritate him. If equally matched, fight, and if not split and reevaluate.”
-Sun-Tzu
This message was edited 12/28/2013, 4:08 PM
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Replies
Thank you for taking the time to share your findings with me, Halfstargazer. :)
I was aware of the fact that Orian is also used as a feminine name, but it had been my impression that the feminine Orian had different etymological roots, and that's why I didn't mention it in my original post.
I didn't know that Orian was the name of a Titanic survivor, which is indeed very interesting. The name is already rare in this day and age, so I imagine it must have been even rarer in 1884, as most women in those days had very traditional names, such as Mary, Elizabeth and Jane. No doubt Orian Davidson must always have stood out because of her unusual name.
I'm not very surprised to see that the male name Orian is listed as a variant of Orion and that it was also listed as a male form of Oriana, since the name is very close to both names in appearance (and pronunciation, in the case of Orion). But I'm pleased to see that my guess that the name might be Gaelic in origin is actually an option - now I have an idea of what the original Gaelic name was like, in that case. Unfortunately, it's indeed difficult to tell how reliable those websites are - if only they listed what their sources were, then we could have gone to the library and check those books out. But alas, they didn't - so it looks like we'll have to find books (that mention the etymology of Orian) on our own. I think I'd first start with finding an authoritative and reliable book about Welsh names, to see if Orian (or at least Urien) is mentioned in there and what the author has to say about it.
That's all, I think - thank you again for your input, it was certainly helpful. I wish you a happy and healthy transition into 2014! :)
I was aware of the fact that Orian is also used as a feminine name, but it had been my impression that the feminine Orian had different etymological roots, and that's why I didn't mention it in my original post.
I didn't know that Orian was the name of a Titanic survivor, which is indeed very interesting. The name is already rare in this day and age, so I imagine it must have been even rarer in 1884, as most women in those days had very traditional names, such as Mary, Elizabeth and Jane. No doubt Orian Davidson must always have stood out because of her unusual name.
I'm not very surprised to see that the male name Orian is listed as a variant of Orion and that it was also listed as a male form of Oriana, since the name is very close to both names in appearance (and pronunciation, in the case of Orion). But I'm pleased to see that my guess that the name might be Gaelic in origin is actually an option - now I have an idea of what the original Gaelic name was like, in that case. Unfortunately, it's indeed difficult to tell how reliable those websites are - if only they listed what their sources were, then we could have gone to the library and check those books out. But alas, they didn't - so it looks like we'll have to find books (that mention the etymology of Orian) on our own. I think I'd first start with finding an authoritative and reliable book about Welsh names, to see if Orian (or at least Urien) is mentioned in there and what the author has to say about it.
That's all, I think - thank you again for your input, it was certainly helpful. I wish you a happy and healthy transition into 2014! :)
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😊 my son's name is Orian. He is named after his great grandfather who was born 96 years and 4 days before my son and, who subsequently lived to be 106. HIS parents named him after the star constellation Orion but were illiterate, so following on, decided to not alter the spelling. That would've been around 1870 and so I guess they were star gazers, definately farmers, and obviously had no tv nor internet to lose their evenings to.
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It was no problem! Have a happy and healthy new year to you as well :)
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