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ArchivesWe get too overwrought about it; it's the GP name of the masses; so what?
in reply to a message by Mike C
Though I personally do not care for Nevaeh, it's easy to see why many people do.
My assumption is that people who like it for its meaning assign it the same meaning as Heaven. To them it either literally means "Heaven" or is a veiled reference to what Heaven is, i.e. Paradise, nirvana, spiritual ecstasy, etcetera. This is despite it being spelled backward, as though it is code for, or a linguistic symbol of, Heaven, KWIM? Virtually all names are linguistic symbols of something or other, aren't they, my etymological friends?
Finding new or different ways to say the same thing is considered creative (I don't mean kreatymh) and cool by most people. Don't we try to do that? Isn't doing so considered being articulate and eloquent? Truly new ways of saying the same thing are always admired. Nevaeh is certainly new and creative.
To illustrate this linguistic-symbol idea, look at another, similar cultural phenomenon. I refer to native English speakers who don't speak Chinese or Japanese getting tattoos of Chinese/Japanese characters that supposedly represent English words, like love, peace, etcetera, without really understanding what those characters actually mean to a native Chinese or Japanese speaker (usually more complex and nuanced than is thought).
Symbols have cachet, they have weight, obviously, and once absorbed into one's personal mythology, both tattoos and names mean what we say they mean. There's nothing wrong with that. That's how people learn to communicate. "XYZ means such and such to me. What does it mean to you?"
But apart from its appeal for what it represents, I think it just sounds nice. Listen to it without a subjective hatred of it. nehVEYeh. It has gentle consonants, softly spoken, with a lilting rhythm. To me it's comparable to Olivia or Vanessa in that way. Vanessa, btw, is also a made up name, one which is perfectly acceptable today and considered quite beautiful by many.
Bottom line: I don't care for it, and you may not either. But thousands of other people do, and there's nothing wrong with that. Think of it as the GP of the masses. We each have a GP. So what? Get over it.
~Lillian~
Proud daughter of Ann and John
Proud sister of Lauren and Leah
Proud wife of David
Proud mother of Alexander, Scarlett, Sophia, and Gideon
My assumption is that people who like it for its meaning assign it the same meaning as Heaven. To them it either literally means "Heaven" or is a veiled reference to what Heaven is, i.e. Paradise, nirvana, spiritual ecstasy, etcetera. This is despite it being spelled backward, as though it is code for, or a linguistic symbol of, Heaven, KWIM? Virtually all names are linguistic symbols of something or other, aren't they, my etymological friends?
Finding new or different ways to say the same thing is considered creative (I don't mean kreatymh) and cool by most people. Don't we try to do that? Isn't doing so considered being articulate and eloquent? Truly new ways of saying the same thing are always admired. Nevaeh is certainly new and creative.
To illustrate this linguistic-symbol idea, look at another, similar cultural phenomenon. I refer to native English speakers who don't speak Chinese or Japanese getting tattoos of Chinese/Japanese characters that supposedly represent English words, like love, peace, etcetera, without really understanding what those characters actually mean to a native Chinese or Japanese speaker (usually more complex and nuanced than is thought).
Symbols have cachet, they have weight, obviously, and once absorbed into one's personal mythology, both tattoos and names mean what we say they mean. There's nothing wrong with that. That's how people learn to communicate. "XYZ means such and such to me. What does it mean to you?"
But apart from its appeal for what it represents, I think it just sounds nice. Listen to it without a subjective hatred of it. nehVEYeh. It has gentle consonants, softly spoken, with a lilting rhythm. To me it's comparable to Olivia or Vanessa in that way. Vanessa, btw, is also a made up name, one which is perfectly acceptable today and considered quite beautiful by many.
Bottom line: I don't care for it, and you may not either. But thousands of other people do, and there's nothing wrong with that. Think of it as the GP of the masses. We each have a GP. So what? Get over it.
~Lillian~
Proud daughter of Ann and John
Proud sister of Lauren and Leah
Proud wife of David
Proud mother of Alexander, Scarlett, Sophia, and Gideon
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