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ArchivesThe meaning of Parina, an Asian feminine given name.
Hello everyone,
Recently, I paid a rare visit to Facebook, where I have had an account since 2008. I ended up making a stroll down memory lane, looking up people that I (vaguely) knew from my primary school years.
One of these people was a woman that I had never been friends with, because she was just a few years younger than me. But she attended the same primary school and also grew up in the same small village as I did, so I did see her from time to time. As a child, I always found her family interesting, in that she had an ethnic Dutch father (with a very Dutch surname) and an Asian mother. Partners of different ethnicities and biracial children were a rarity in my area (especially in my village) back then, so my young self couldn't help but find them fascinating. I never managed to find out for certain what ethnicity her mother was, but I always assumed she was probably of Indonesian descent, since Indonesia used to be a Dutch colony.
When I visited her Facebook, I discovered that her mother (who was one of her friends there) was in fact biracial herself, since she had a very Dutch maiden name (and a Dutch given name to boot!). Shortly thereafter, I stumbled upon the mother's own mother, who surprisingly turned out to have a Facebook account (at 81 years of age!). Her given name was Parina, which I think is a beautiful name. I would like to know what the meaning of it is. The origin is probably either Indonesian or Malaysian, since Parina sometimes spoke in her native language on her Facebook. I put some of those sentences in Google Translator, which made comprehensible translations of it - both when Indonesian and Malaysian were selected as the source language.
I would like to give a big thank you in advance to those who can provide me with any further information about this given name - it would certainly be much appreciated! :)
Sincerely,
Lucille
Recently, I paid a rare visit to Facebook, where I have had an account since 2008. I ended up making a stroll down memory lane, looking up people that I (vaguely) knew from my primary school years.
One of these people was a woman that I had never been friends with, because she was just a few years younger than me. But she attended the same primary school and also grew up in the same small village as I did, so I did see her from time to time. As a child, I always found her family interesting, in that she had an ethnic Dutch father (with a very Dutch surname) and an Asian mother. Partners of different ethnicities and biracial children were a rarity in my area (especially in my village) back then, so my young self couldn't help but find them fascinating. I never managed to find out for certain what ethnicity her mother was, but I always assumed she was probably of Indonesian descent, since Indonesia used to be a Dutch colony.
When I visited her Facebook, I discovered that her mother (who was one of her friends there) was in fact biracial herself, since she had a very Dutch maiden name (and a Dutch given name to boot!). Shortly thereafter, I stumbled upon the mother's own mother, who surprisingly turned out to have a Facebook account (at 81 years of age!). Her given name was Parina, which I think is a beautiful name. I would like to know what the meaning of it is. The origin is probably either Indonesian or Malaysian, since Parina sometimes spoke in her native language on her Facebook. I put some of those sentences in Google Translator, which made comprehensible translations of it - both when Indonesian and Malaysian were selected as the source language.
I would like to give a big thank you in advance to those who can provide me with any further information about this given name - it would certainly be much appreciated! :)
Sincerely,
Lucille
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Replies
Her mother wasn't necessarily biracial because of her surname. There are a lot of European surnames mixed in with Asian surnames in parts of South East Asia especially. My surname is French, and I married a Filipino man who can trace no link to anything other than native Filipino in his family.
In any case, the only Parina name I have heard was actually Indian in origin. Hindi to be specific. It is related to the phrase परी के समान, which is pronounced something like pari-ke-saman. It translates into the word "fairy".
From what I can find through a simple Google search, a parina is also a type of flamingo, a river in Italy (by the Alps) and a Australian slang word for something that is "like a fairy".
It is very possible that a Hindi name made it's way to Indonesia or Malaysia. In Bali, Hinduism is quite strong. Plus, it is common for Asian names to jump cultures and reassimilate. For example, Mayumi is a Japanese name referring to the Japanese Spindle Tree, while it is also a traditional Filipino name and means "gentle" in Tagalog.
Hope that helps!
In any case, the only Parina name I have heard was actually Indian in origin. Hindi to be specific. It is related to the phrase परी के समान, which is pronounced something like pari-ke-saman. It translates into the word "fairy".
From what I can find through a simple Google search, a parina is also a type of flamingo, a river in Italy (by the Alps) and a Australian slang word for something that is "like a fairy".
It is very possible that a Hindi name made it's way to Indonesia or Malaysia. In Bali, Hinduism is quite strong. Plus, it is common for Asian names to jump cultures and reassimilate. For example, Mayumi is a Japanese name referring to the Japanese Spindle Tree, while it is also a traditional Filipino name and means "gentle" in Tagalog.
Hope that helps!
This message was edited 7/13/2015, 10:53 AM
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Just to be clear, Parina does not mean "परी के समान" (equal to a pari, i.e., a beautiful nymph or fairy) in Hindi. Someone may have made that meaning up, but I doubt that is the origin of the Hindi name ...
Incidentally, I could not find the Australian slang Parina. And, are you sure Mayumi in Japanese is related to Mayumi in Tagalog? I would be surprised if Asian names are particularly prone to assimilation compared to other names.
Incidentally, I could not find the Australian slang Parina. And, are you sure Mayumi in Japanese is related to Mayumi in Tagalog? I would be surprised if Asian names are particularly prone to assimilation compared to other names.
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I apologize. I asked a friend from India and they said it sounded like I was saying "fairy" in Hindi. When I typed this into a few databases on names, it seemed to corroborate.
The Japanese Mayumi and the Tagalog Mayumi may not be related, but I do know that Filipino language and naming is greatly influenced by the Spanish, Chinese and Japanese cultures. It has to do with it's position on trade routes and colonization by Spain. I would be more convinced that a Filipino name was influenced by a Japanese name than I would be that a Japanese name was influenced by anything other than Japanese language.
Mayumi is an established name in both languages, and pronounced the same with slightly less stress in Tagalog. Even though it means "gentle" in Tagalog... the people I know in the Philippines consider it both a Japanese and a Filipina name.
I don't think Asian names are more prone than others to assimilation. Honestly, I would assume that countries which use Romance languages to be the most likely to assimilate names from place to place, simply because they can easily combine or trace the etymology to one source (Latin).
The Japanese Mayumi and the Tagalog Mayumi may not be related, but I do know that Filipino language and naming is greatly influenced by the Spanish, Chinese and Japanese cultures. It has to do with it's position on trade routes and colonization by Spain. I would be more convinced that a Filipino name was influenced by a Japanese name than I would be that a Japanese name was influenced by anything other than Japanese language.
Mayumi is an established name in both languages, and pronounced the same with slightly less stress in Tagalog. Even though it means "gentle" in Tagalog... the people I know in the Philippines consider it both a Japanese and a Filipina name.
I don't think Asian names are more prone than others to assimilation. Honestly, I would assume that countries which use Romance languages to be the most likely to assimilate names from place to place, simply because they can easily combine or trace the etymology to one source (Latin).
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You wrote: "...Filipino language and naming is greatly influenced by the Spanish, Chinese and Japanese cultures."
I agree with Spanish, but I am not sure at all about a "great" influence by Japanese. For example, check this Wikipedia article about loan words in Tagalog:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_loanwords_in_Tagalog
I speak Tagalog myself, and while the Spanish influence is present in every second sentence or so that I speak, and half of all common Philippine dishes seem to have Chinese names, I don't notice much Japanese influence.
The choise of common, everyday words with positive meanings like female "Mayumi" for "gentle" or "modest" is typical for traditional Philippine names. I thus see no problem at all with a native Philippine name of Mayumi, and no need to get help from Japan to name girls in that way.
That a Tagalog common word has the same pronounciation as a Japanese given name may well be a simple coincidence.
I agree with Spanish, but I am not sure at all about a "great" influence by Japanese. For example, check this Wikipedia article about loan words in Tagalog:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_loanwords_in_Tagalog
I speak Tagalog myself, and while the Spanish influence is present in every second sentence or so that I speak, and half of all common Philippine dishes seem to have Chinese names, I don't notice much Japanese influence.
The choise of common, everyday words with positive meanings like female "Mayumi" for "gentle" or "modest" is typical for traditional Philippine names. I thus see no problem at all with a native Philippine name of Mayumi, and no need to get help from Japan to name girls in that way.
That a Tagalog common word has the same pronounciation as a Japanese given name may well be a simple coincidence.
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Thanks for the detailed explanations.
Indeed, the Hindi word pari (long -i) means fairy, or rather a somewhat different concept, an angelic nymph, who often has wings and is benevolent, but, most importantly, is extremely beautiful; it is, though, etymologically quite unrelated to English fairy. Its etymology is from a Persian word that had an interesting evolution in meaning from a demoness to a very benign being (See http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/pairika for example). What I was pointing out was that the -na at the end is not a productive suffix in modern standard Hindi, though it certainly may be a dialectical form. So, parina meaning "like a pari" is not a standard grammatical construction from pari.
I agree with you that naming conventions in Philippines does borrow from a number of languages including Japanese. What I was getting confused about was that I thought you were suggesting that the Tagalog and Japanese names were etymologically related.
Indeed, the Hindi word pari (long -i) means fairy, or rather a somewhat different concept, an angelic nymph, who often has wings and is benevolent, but, most importantly, is extremely beautiful; it is, though, etymologically quite unrelated to English fairy. Its etymology is from a Persian word that had an interesting evolution in meaning from a demoness to a very benign being (See http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/pairika for example). What I was pointing out was that the -na at the end is not a productive suffix in modern standard Hindi, though it certainly may be a dialectical form. So, parina meaning "like a pari" is not a standard grammatical construction from pari.
I agree with you that naming conventions in Philippines does borrow from a number of languages including Japanese. What I was getting confused about was that I thought you were suggesting that the Tagalog and Japanese names were etymologically related.
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Too late to join but I have something to add.
Parina is a not-so-rare name here in India, and I doubt it has much to do with the word Pari(fairy) - that's now how Indian/Sanskrit names work. Not sure how this name made its way to Indonesia/Malaysia. But, Parin is also a common male given name in India, which also happens to be one of the names of Lord Ganesha (a Hindu God). Now, it's very common in India for male and female names to have a difference of an 'a' in the end.
In sanskrit Parina could mean 'of Parin' or 'by Parin' or simply a female equivalent of Parin (not entirely sure, maybe some Sanskrit scholar can tell better). But I think this is the best explanation I have come up with, though I could be wrong here.
P.S. My girlfriend shares the same name and she really wants to know the meaning of her name, hope someone can solve this for us :)
Parina is a not-so-rare name here in India, and I doubt it has much to do with the word Pari(fairy) - that's now how Indian/Sanskrit names work. Not sure how this name made its way to Indonesia/Malaysia. But, Parin is also a common male given name in India, which also happens to be one of the names of Lord Ganesha (a Hindu God). Now, it's very common in India for male and female names to have a difference of an 'a' in the end.
In sanskrit Parina could mean 'of Parin' or 'by Parin' or simply a female equivalent of Parin (not entirely sure, maybe some Sanskrit scholar can tell better). But I think this is the best explanation I have come up with, though I could be wrong here.
P.S. My girlfriend shares the same name and she really wants to know the meaning of her name, hope someone can solve this for us :)
1
What is the spelling of parin meaning gaNeSa? i.e., can you write in an Indian script? Which language? It is not an obvious Sanskrit word: may be I am not thinking of the right spelling... If you think it is Sanskrit, best reference would be to a hymn in Sanskrit using it, or to a dictionary, but with the spelling I can try to find it.
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