New Post
Search
Help
ArchivesSeeking Name Meaning Unexpected/Surprise
I'm seeking a name that means someone who is unexpected, has come out of the blue, appeared out of nowhere. Ideally I'd like it to have the feel for the meaning of "dark horse," which means a little known person emerging to prominence. If you could find me a feminine name that is like that, I'd be quite grateful!
1
Replies
Anastasia — "resurrection, rising"
Nova — "new"
Rune — "secret lore"
Sigrun — "victory + secret"
Perdita — "lost"
Vincentia or Vincenza — conqueror
Leto — "hidden, forgotten"
Suha — "forgotten, overlooked"
Theophania, Tiffany
Aliya — "ascend"
Paula, Pauline, Paulina — "small, humble"
Or name her after a famous character with a similar story: Joan (like Joan of Arc), Davida...
Nova — "new"
Rune — "secret lore"
Sigrun — "victory + secret"
Perdita — "lost"
Vincentia or Vincenza — conqueror
Leto — "hidden, forgotten"
Suha — "forgotten, overlooked"
Theophania, Tiffany
Aliya — "ascend"
Paula, Pauline, Paulina — "small, humble"
Or name her after a famous character with a similar story: Joan (like Joan of Arc), Davida...
1
This is hard!
I found 'Nenad', a Croatian and Serbian masculine name meaning "unexpected". I suppose you could make it feminine with Nenada?
Apparently the Latin name Proserpina means 'to emerge'.
Epiphany -- from the English word meaning 'sudden appearance' or 'sudden perception'. It would usually be given in honour of the Christian feast day by this name commemorating the visit of the Magi to the Baby Jesus, but it could obviously be used simply for the English word, the same way the names Felicity and Hope are used, for instance. Other forms of this name, its Greek origin meaning 'manifestation' (as in sudden manifestation), include Epiphania and Epifania (Spanish).
Aristophanes, a Greek masculine name which means "best appearing", could potentially be made feminine with Aristophania.
Aparecida, Portuguese feminine meaning "appeared". It comes from, and is given in honour of, a title for the Blessed Virgin Mary. However, it could be used simply for its actual word meaning of 'appeared'. (in this sense, 'suddenly appeared', which is where the Marian title comes from, the statue suddenly appeared out of nowhere)
I guess the English word Serendipity could be used, but it's not quite what you mean, though it is related. (I think it's a little weird, though)
The English word 'admiration' comes from a Latin root ultimately meaning 'to wonder at' and could also be used to mean 'surprise'. So Admiratia might work.
Names that mean 'miraculous' or 'miracle' could also fit with your meaning... Milagros is the usual Spanish form, meaning plural 'miracles'. Milagra is a feminised form of 'milagro' (miracle) that I think sounds nicer.
Karishma is 'miracle' in Sanskrit.
Nessa means miracle in Hebrew, and Alazne means miracle in Basque.
Vismaya is Sanskrit and means surprise or wonder.
Prakhya is also Indian (not sure if Sanskrit or Hindi), derived from a word meaning 'appearance'.
My only other suggestion would be to look up words such as appear(ing)/appearance, emerge/emerging, surprise/surprising, unexpected, miracle/miraculous in other languages and see if you could adapt or use those words to make a feminine name.
Hope this helps! :)
I found 'Nenad', a Croatian and Serbian masculine name meaning "unexpected". I suppose you could make it feminine with Nenada?
Apparently the Latin name Proserpina means 'to emerge'.
Epiphany -- from the English word meaning 'sudden appearance' or 'sudden perception'. It would usually be given in honour of the Christian feast day by this name commemorating the visit of the Magi to the Baby Jesus, but it could obviously be used simply for the English word, the same way the names Felicity and Hope are used, for instance. Other forms of this name, its Greek origin meaning 'manifestation' (as in sudden manifestation), include Epiphania and Epifania (Spanish).
Aristophanes, a Greek masculine name which means "best appearing", could potentially be made feminine with Aristophania.
Aparecida, Portuguese feminine meaning "appeared". It comes from, and is given in honour of, a title for the Blessed Virgin Mary. However, it could be used simply for its actual word meaning of 'appeared'. (in this sense, 'suddenly appeared', which is where the Marian title comes from, the statue suddenly appeared out of nowhere)
I guess the English word Serendipity could be used, but it's not quite what you mean, though it is related. (I think it's a little weird, though)
The English word 'admiration' comes from a Latin root ultimately meaning 'to wonder at' and could also be used to mean 'surprise'. So Admiratia might work.
Names that mean 'miraculous' or 'miracle' could also fit with your meaning... Milagros is the usual Spanish form, meaning plural 'miracles'. Milagra is a feminised form of 'milagro' (miracle) that I think sounds nicer.
Karishma is 'miracle' in Sanskrit.
Nessa means miracle in Hebrew, and Alazne means miracle in Basque.
Vismaya is Sanskrit and means surprise or wonder.
Prakhya is also Indian (not sure if Sanskrit or Hindi), derived from a word meaning 'appearance'.
My only other suggestion would be to look up words such as appear(ing)/appearance, emerge/emerging, surprise/surprising, unexpected, miracle/miraculous in other languages and see if you could adapt or use those words to make a feminine name.
Hope this helps! :)
1
Karishma is not a Sanskrit word. It is the name of an Indian film actress. I do not know its etymology (I do not recognize it as a common Hindi/Urdu word), but my best guess would be Greek χάρισμα, divine gift etc., ultimately cognate with English greed.
vismaYa is a Sanskrit word. The root is smi, cognate with English smile, that with the prefix vi (which typically means "apart", "between", "against", "without", etc.) it means to wonder. vismaYa is the noun form meaning wonder (It can also mean "without hubris" since smaYa, smiling can also mean arrogant). It is the common word for wonder in a bunch of north Indian languages. It has been used only recently as a name.
prakhyA is also a Sanskrit word. It derives from khyA which means to announce (and has been conjectured to be related to Latin inquam). With the prefix pra (which typically has a directional meaning "forth" or "before"), it means to make a public announcement or to publish. prakhyA is the corresponding noun meaning appearance or manifestation in the sense of made manifest. In a compound it can also mean "visible as" or "appearing as". It is thus a very specific word, and not the general word for appearance. It is not a common word in Hindi or Bengali today, though it is usable. Its use as a name is also pretty recent.
vismaYa is a Sanskrit word. The root is smi, cognate with English smile, that with the prefix vi (which typically means "apart", "between", "against", "without", etc.) it means to wonder. vismaYa is the noun form meaning wonder (It can also mean "without hubris" since smaYa, smiling can also mean arrogant). It is the common word for wonder in a bunch of north Indian languages. It has been used only recently as a name.
prakhyA is also a Sanskrit word. It derives from khyA which means to announce (and has been conjectured to be related to Latin inquam). With the prefix pra (which typically has a directional meaning "forth" or "before"), it means to make a public announcement or to publish. prakhyA is the corresponding noun meaning appearance or manifestation in the sense of made manifest. In a compound it can also mean "visible as" or "appearing as". It is thus a very specific word, and not the general word for appearance. It is not a common word in Hindi or Bengali today, though it is usable. Its use as a name is also pretty recent.
1
Thank you for your input! :)
I got my info on the name Karishma from here on this website, which lists it as Sanskrit: http://www.behindthename.com/name/karishma
I also found it on this website of specifically Indian names which gives it as coming from Hindi. :P Karisma (born Karishma) Kapoor is not the only person with that name, plus there was a Bollywood movie named 'Karishmaa' from 1984, it is apparently a known word, so I'm not sure why you wouldn't be familiar with it? Maybe it's archaic or not used as much in everyday speech now? Idk.
I'm not so sure about that Greek word being cognate with English 'greed', though. I always thought Karishma most resembled the word charisma, which does come from Greek, 'charis'.
I found my info on Vismaya here: http://www.askganesha.co.in/babynames/female-babyname.php?gen=Female&id=Vismaya&nam=V which lists it as meaning 'surprise', and here: http://www.indiachildnames.com/name.aspx?name=Vismaya which also lists it as 'surprise', and here http://babynamesu.com/meaning-vismaya-1183.html which gives the meaning as 'wonder'. On this Indian baby name site, http://www.indianhindunames.com/indian-hindu-boy-name-v.htm it lists the feminine Vismaya as 'amazing', but the masculine Vismay as 'surprise'. I'm not sure why there would be that discrepancy. :P The last website also includes Karishma as 'miracle'.
I found Prakhya here: http://www.babycenter.in/babyname/1156832/prakhya which simply says 'appearance'. Thank you for going into more depth on that name. :)
As someone who does not know these languages, I rely on looking things up online for my information. Admittedly they may not always be reliably accurate. So thank you for adding your thoughts to what I suggested to the original poster per their names request.
I got my info on the name Karishma from here on this website, which lists it as Sanskrit: http://www.behindthename.com/name/karishma
I also found it on this website of specifically Indian names which gives it as coming from Hindi. :P Karisma (born Karishma) Kapoor is not the only person with that name, plus there was a Bollywood movie named 'Karishmaa' from 1984, it is apparently a known word, so I'm not sure why you wouldn't be familiar with it? Maybe it's archaic or not used as much in everyday speech now? Idk.
I'm not so sure about that Greek word being cognate with English 'greed', though. I always thought Karishma most resembled the word charisma, which does come from Greek, 'charis'.
I found my info on Vismaya here: http://www.askganesha.co.in/babynames/female-babyname.php?gen=Female&id=Vismaya&nam=V which lists it as meaning 'surprise', and here: http://www.indiachildnames.com/name.aspx?name=Vismaya which also lists it as 'surprise', and here http://babynamesu.com/meaning-vismaya-1183.html which gives the meaning as 'wonder'. On this Indian baby name site, http://www.indianhindunames.com/indian-hindu-boy-name-v.htm it lists the feminine Vismaya as 'amazing', but the masculine Vismay as 'surprise'. I'm not sure why there would be that discrepancy. :P The last website also includes Karishma as 'miracle'.
I found Prakhya here: http://www.babycenter.in/babyname/1156832/prakhya which simply says 'appearance'. Thank you for going into more depth on that name. :)
As someone who does not know these languages, I rely on looking things up online for my information. Admittedly they may not always be reliably accurate. So thank you for adding your thoughts to what I suggested to the original poster per their names request.
This message was edited 1/25/2014, 6:15 PM
1
I honestly did not know why I, being a native speaker of Hindi (I am trilingual from childhood: I speak the standard Calcutta dialect of Bengali, the Delhi dialect of Hindusthani and the North Indian dialect of English as my native tongues) and a fluent speaker in Sanskrit, and who has actually enjoyed a lot of the old literature in each of these languages, have not come across the word karishmaa. May be because it did not exist in these languages?
So, I looked up the one language that is not in the list above, but which is often confused with it. And, yes, it does exist in Urdu. The word کرشمه derives from Farsi, and is properly kirishma, but karashma and karishma are folk pronunciations for it, and it is glossed as "Wink, nod, glance; looking languishingly through half-shut eyes, amorous look or gesture, side-glance, ogling, blandishment, coquetry (cf. kaṭāksha);—a phenomenon, a wonder, a miracle; a talisman, a charm". A Farsi dictionary says "A wink, nod, glance; looking languishingly through half-shut eyes, an amorous gesture or blandishment, coquetry; consenting, agreeing with a look of love or benignity; also refusing with an oblique or side-glance; a phenomenon, a wonder, a miracle; a talisman, a charm" and another glosses the word as "ogling amorous gesture , nod , wink". I did not follow it back to its Indoeuropean roots.
Karisma Kapoor was born with this name and changed it to Karisma (which she consciously linked to the Greek word in interviews, and which she wants to pronounce as karizmaa, not karishmaa), probably for numerological reasons.
Also the Greek kharisma (divine gift) derives from the kharis (grace, etc.) which is related to khairein (to rejoice at) which comes from ProtoIndoEuropean gher (to desire). English greed comes from Old English graedig (voracious/covetous) which comes from proto-Germanic graedagaz, from graeduz, which also comes from gher. Obviously, we could argue at length about each of these transitions, and whether the two gher's are the same root, but which of these were you doubting in the first place so that I can focus on that?
So, I looked up the one language that is not in the list above, but which is often confused with it. And, yes, it does exist in Urdu. The word کرشمه derives from Farsi, and is properly kirishma, but karashma and karishma are folk pronunciations for it, and it is glossed as "Wink, nod, glance; looking languishingly through half-shut eyes, amorous look or gesture, side-glance, ogling, blandishment, coquetry (cf. kaṭāksha);—a phenomenon, a wonder, a miracle; a talisman, a charm". A Farsi dictionary says "A wink, nod, glance; looking languishingly through half-shut eyes, an amorous gesture or blandishment, coquetry; consenting, agreeing with a look of love or benignity; also refusing with an oblique or side-glance; a phenomenon, a wonder, a miracle; a talisman, a charm" and another glosses the word as "ogling amorous gesture , nod , wink". I did not follow it back to its Indoeuropean roots.
Karisma Kapoor was born with this name and changed it to Karisma (which she consciously linked to the Greek word in interviews, and which she wants to pronounce as karizmaa, not karishmaa), probably for numerological reasons.
Also the Greek kharisma (divine gift) derives from the kharis (grace, etc.) which is related to khairein (to rejoice at) which comes from ProtoIndoEuropean gher (to desire). English greed comes from Old English graedig (voracious/covetous) which comes from proto-Germanic graedagaz, from graeduz, which also comes from gher. Obviously, we could argue at length about each of these transitions, and whether the two gher's are the same root, but which of these were you doubting in the first place so that I can focus on that?
1
Karishma is a Farsi term meaning miracle. It is used in Urdu as an alternative to muajiza which is an Arabic word meaning the same and is more often used in religious context. As Urdu language developed it incorporated Arabic, Persian, Turkish and some Pashto vocabulary into a local venaculars of Dehli known as Khari Boli etc. in the army camps - Urdu means horde/army and is the original form of the anglasised Horde or orde. It was also alternatively called Hindawi and for a time written in Devanagri script.
in early 20th century language riots against Urdu and its modified Arabic script began in Behar and spread all over north India. This movement against Urdu was incited by Hindu revivalist parties. They insistex on the removal of Urdu as official language and instead offered alternative in a language written in Devanagri called Hindi wi
hich was purged of all 'foreign words I.e. Arabic and Farsi etc. and replaced with Sancritic vocabulary. The paradox is that the words Hindi, Hindu and Hindustan are Perso-Arabic terms for Sind/Sindhu. But there is more: the so-called Hindi that is spoken and written in secular discourse is no different from Urdu with all of its Arabic, Farzi and Turkic vocabulay. In fact these words are prefdrrex over Sanstritic terms. Bollywood Hindi is Urdu at best and its colloqual version Hindustani at the least but not Hindi per se.
. Thus to answer the question is Karishma a Hindu kr Muslim in origin? The answer is it is Muslim because its from word used
Urdu word of Farsi t
etymology meaning miracle. If some Indians are using it as a name does not make it Indian nor of Hindi origin. Following the name adopted by a Hindu film star whose family origin is from Peshawar, capitan of the old North West Frontier, now Khyber PakhtunKhwa (KPK). The motivation to use Urdu word as a name for their daughter that chimes with a Hindu name I.e. Kareena may be an attempt bridge the two seems to be the reason. That an actress from an acting family of Pathsn origins but Hindu by faith is leading many to incorrectly think its Hindi/Hindu by origin.
.
in early 20th century language riots against Urdu and its modified Arabic script began in Behar and spread all over north India. This movement against Urdu was incited by Hindu revivalist parties. They insistex on the removal of Urdu as official language and instead offered alternative in a language written in Devanagri called Hindi wi
hich was purged of all 'foreign words I.e. Arabic and Farsi etc. and replaced with Sancritic vocabulary. The paradox is that the words Hindi, Hindu and Hindustan are Perso-Arabic terms for Sind/Sindhu. But there is more: the so-called Hindi that is spoken and written in secular discourse is no different from Urdu with all of its Arabic, Farzi and Turkic vocabulay. In fact these words are prefdrrex over Sanstritic terms. Bollywood Hindi is Urdu at best and its colloqual version Hindustani at the least but not Hindi per se.
. Thus to answer the question is Karishma a Hindu kr Muslim in origin? The answer is it is Muslim because its from word used
Urdu word of Farsi t
etymology meaning miracle. If some Indians are using it as a name does not make it Indian nor of Hindi origin. Following the name adopted by a Hindu film star whose family origin is from Peshawar, capitan of the old North West Frontier, now Khyber PakhtunKhwa (KPK). The motivation to use Urdu word as a name for their daughter that chimes with a Hindu name I.e. Kareena may be an attempt bridge the two seems to be the reason. That an actress from an acting family of Pathsn origins but Hindu by faith is leading many to incorrectly think its Hindi/Hindu by origin.
.
1
This might be in the wrong place, (writer's or opinions board might have been a better choice), but some names that I think could work are
Dark meanings-
Melanie, Nila (or change spelling to Nyla), Kali (or change spelling to Callie), Li (or change spelling to Lee or Leigh), Nigella, Maura, Mauricia
Horse meanings-
Phillippa, Rosalind, Rosamund, Roswitha (hros was ancient Germanic for horse)
Adela could mean secretive, so maybe that would work, too.
Nyla Roswitha
Callie Phillippa
Mauricia Rosalinda
Dark meanings-
Melanie, Nila (or change spelling to Nyla), Kali (or change spelling to Callie), Li (or change spelling to Lee or Leigh), Nigella, Maura, Mauricia
Horse meanings-
Phillippa, Rosalind, Rosamund, Roswitha (hros was ancient Germanic for horse)
Adela could mean secretive, so maybe that would work, too.
Nyla Roswitha
Callie Phillippa
Mauricia Rosalinda
1