Message: "Re: Mona" - Behind the Name

This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

Re: Mona

by elbowin

11/14/2019, 12:20 PM

Mona as a word has certainly a meaning in many languages of the world, and Old Frisian, Old English, and Middle English are among them. However, one has also to consider the period naming practices: When the mentioned languages were spoken, dithematic names of Germanic origin were still very popular, with Christian names from Saints slowly coming in. There is no indication that parents named their children "moon" at that time. Even when you find a name like Mona in a document of that period, you will more readily interpret it as a short form of a name containing the name element MUNI "mind, thought, will".

Having said this, most Mona's I met in real life have some Arabic and/or Muslim background.

This message was edited 11/14/2019, 1:00 PM

Replies

- Sabertooth +1

12/1/2019, 5:46 PM

So, Mona isn't a short form of Ramona...?

- elbowin

12/2/2019, 3:14 AM

It can be that, it can be a short form of Simona, as well as a nickname for Monika, but this is not the case for most of the Mona's I ever met in real life.

- PrincessZ +1

11/15/2019, 6:52 PM

Thank you, I suppose that makes sense.

Though, what if parents name their child Mona "Moon" in the modern era? This is where I know it from and why I was so surprised

- thegriffon

11/16/2019, 7:41 AM

Possible, but it is not an Old English name (of any origin). I know it mostly in relation to (fictional) Italian characters, so the Italian honorific "Mona" (mistaken for a name) is more likely in these cases.

View Message

Replies