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ArchivesChimene - the name.
I was searching my name to see what pops up on google and I noticed that someone gave incorrect origins of this name which is my name.
Chimene is actually a Greek name meaning Heroine.
This is what the person wrote:
Chimene is the French form of Ximena. It is pronounced shi-men.
It is not pronounced Shi-men. It is either pronounced Shi-mean (short i) or She-maine. The name is used in the movie El Cid which is where my mother got it from.
Chimene is actually a Greek name meaning Heroine.
This is what the person wrote:
Chimene is the French form of Ximena. It is pronounced shi-men.
It is not pronounced Shi-men. It is either pronounced Shi-mean (short i) or She-maine. The name is used in the movie El Cid which is where my mother got it from.
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Replies
Mine is pronounced (she-men) the French sounding way. There’s no one way to pronounce it.
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Lovely to see so many Chimène's here. I was born in 62 (about 5 months after release date of movie El Cid.) I wonder who is the oldest Chimène :D
According to all the French people I know the French pronunciation is definitely "She-men". The American version is Chi-maine (think Chicago and Maine) I have asked people from France what my name means and one man told me: "THE PATHWAY" Another meaning discovered in my 1979 school assignment found my name to be associated with that of "HOSTESS" (providing for others). Recently found "FAITHFUL DAUGHTER" which I love. So now I can say I'm a faithful daughter providing others with what they need on their pathway :) I think we can all agree, the name Chimène is awesome and I wouldn't want any other ♡
P.S. I was also told American to French equivalent name was like "Cindy" In other words at one point it was not that uncommon of a name in France.
According to all the French people I know the French pronunciation is definitely "She-men". The American version is Chi-maine (think Chicago and Maine) I have asked people from France what my name means and one man told me: "THE PATHWAY" Another meaning discovered in my 1979 school assignment found my name to be associated with that of "HOSTESS" (providing for others). Recently found "FAITHFUL DAUGHTER" which I love. So now I can say I'm a faithful daughter providing others with what they need on their pathway :) I think we can all agree, the name Chimène is awesome and I wouldn't want any other ♡
P.S. I was also told American to French equivalent name was like "Cindy" In other words at one point it was not that uncommon of a name in France.
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My name is Chimene. Word origins are very interesting. Chimene is the French translation of Dona Jimena/Ximena the wife of El Cid ( Sayyid in Arabic), she ruled part of Basque territory around Valencia ( Vascon Region) after his death in the 11th century. Basque people are generally of Spanish, Arabic, and French and Northern European ( Norse, Gaelic) descent ( see history). In Arabic it means “mark of beauty”; in Spanish “listening intently” or “heard” depending. The French word for furnace ( chimenee) also are basque (iron works ) probably There is also reference to Chimene in northern Dutch see the male version of the name Semen ( see Jimeno, Ximeno). Originally from Aquitaine and Rome ( like 600, which might lead to Greek. It’s a long and windy road the etymology of anything.
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Valencia isn't in the Basque region, it's the other side of the country. Basque people have inhabited Northern Spain and western France since time immemorial,and the Basque language is the lone surviving "pre-European" language in Europe. There's no such things as a "pure" population group, so there will be Celtiberian, Frankish, Gallic, Italian, Suebian, Gothic, Vandal, Alan, Arabic and Moorish contributors (only in small amounts though). French chimenee (English chimney) is from Latin caminus, from Ancient Greek κάμῑνος (kámīnos, “furnace”), nothing to do with Basque. Some connect the earlier masculine Ximeno (modern spelling Jimeno) to the Basque personal name Semen, from seme (“son”), others to a Spanish version of Simon a common Ancient Greek name (probably dating from before Hellenic settlers arrived and possibly meaning "snub-nosed") which was later used as a Greek counterpart/translation of the Hebrew שמעון (šimʿōn, “hearkening”). Quite probably both the Basque and biblical Greek names contributed to its use in Spain.
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I was also called after Sophia Loren in that film but my mum couldn’t remember how it was spelt .... hence Shemain �
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I got my name also, from ElCid. It is traced back to Hebrew origins first. Shimon/ simone
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My father also got my name from the movie El Cid. However, my name is spelled (Shamine) which is pronounced Shuh-Mean. With this being said, would I look to the name Chimene for the meaning of my name although my name is spelled differently from the movie?
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A community of Chimene's of different spellings!!
I'm Chimene too also after El Cid!! Love it!! �
I'm Chimene too also after El Cid!! Love it!! �
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Wow, on a whim I googled the meaning of my name again and came across this thread. How fun to see all the other Chimenes! It had been a while since I’d looked it up. Yup, like y’all, I, too, was named from the movie El CID in the early 60’s. Sophia Loren playing Chiméne, El Cid’s wife. I’m 57 now and have NEVER met another Chiméne in my entire life! Although I know they obviously exist. I pronounce my name “Shi-main”. After a lifetime of misspellings and mispronunciations, I decided in college to add an accent above the first “e”, so that ppl could see it was pronounced like an “a”. Did it work? Haha, sometimes. Bottom line, in my life I like to say that I had to grow into my name . It was harder as a kid having such a unique name, but now I absolutely LOVE it. Blessings to all.
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Yes, this type of spelling alteration is common, and has occurred as long as names have crossed cultures, which is almost as long as we've had names. Note that the same thing has happened to create most of the other forms of this name = people hear a name, and attempt to render it in a familiar script, without ever seeing the original written.
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My name is also Chimène, however I pronounce it the French way so, (She-Men). I've learned that the name has French/Hebrew origins. I know that it's used mostly in francophone countries though.
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My name is also Chiméne. All I know is that my parents said it was french. And yes! People say it is pronounced like Shi-mène. But mine is also pronounced like Shi-maine. The ‘ai’ sound is what we call a long E in dutch. This is why I have a ‘é’ in my name. Instaid of e its ai. I’ve never met someone who has this same spelling or pronounciation but you might!be the first.
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I have the same spelling as you! Greetings, from CA! Never met another one, in my entire life. 57 yrs old now.
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Chimene is pronounced shi-men although funnily enough my grandfather also pronounces it She-maine. My family also got the name from El Cid. I heard that Charlton Heston couldn't say the Spanish version which is Jimena / Ximena which is why they used the french version - Chimene. The character played was called Jimena in real life
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I'm not sure about the Greek bit but my name was also taken from the film El Cid which was about Spanish history and the name Chimene (Shi-men) was used instead of Jimena / Ximena which was the name of the real person. I'm assuming they changed it to the French version to make it easier to say for the English speaking tongue as a J and X has a certain sound in Spanish.
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Chimene is a French form of Ximena / Jimena, Spanish female forms of Shimon.
~~ Claire ~~
My ! are Alia, Eidel, Enola, Israel, Dudel, Yuri, Lina, Lorelei, Leilani, Owen, Julian, Glorinda, Mirinda
My ? are Hillel, Meshullam, Johnny, Ginny, Cordelia, Fiammetta, Yocheved
My ~ are Tehila, Tilda, Hailey, Gillian, Huldah
My / are Aglaia and July
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Chimene is not listed in the database but since it is French, the stress is on the second/last syllable, "shi-MEN". Shi-mean is certainly not the French pronunciation though it may be an American one.
It is as you know a French form of Ximena. But the meaning of Ximena is unclear. Ximena may be a female form of Simon, in which case it means "listening".
Not all name meanings which you find on internet or in baby names books are correct. Where did you read that Chimene is Greek and means "heroine"?
"You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams."
(On Children by Kahlil Gibran)
It is as you know a French form of Ximena. But the meaning of Ximena is unclear. Ximena may be a female form of Simon, in which case it means "listening".
Not all name meanings which you find on internet or in baby names books are correct. Where did you read that Chimene is Greek and means "heroine"?
"You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams."
(On Children by Kahlil Gibran)
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