Fake Aboriginal names?
I have a (Swedish) name book with names from many different cultures. Many of the meanings are so totally wrong that I almost suspect the author has made them up herself:
Agnes - lamb
Alison - sunshine
Amelia - purple
Cinderella - a fairy tale by H.C. Andersen (sic!)
Curt - short
Erin - peace
Gemma - bud
Gillian - light yellow
Imogene - image
Lavinia - to wash
Leah - woman
Maeve - purple
Malvina - righteous friend
etc, etc...Then, there are also a lot of names said to be Australian Aboriginal names. I know there are hundreds of Australian Aboriginal languages and I don't speal a word of any of them, but from what I've read about the Aboriginals and seen in old Australian place names, most of the "Aboriginal" names don't sound like they come from any Australian Aboriginal languages. Many actually sound like modern African American names - Latanya, Latisha, Latoya, Moesha, Nichelle, Tavarius. One - Azzure - sound more Italian.
The only one I really know IS from an Aboriginal language is Kylie.
But where can the author have found these names? And why are they said to be "Australian Aboriginal"? And although names like Elanora and Gulara don't sound like they come from Aboriginal languages, how can I be sure they aren't? As I have written, there are hundreds of Aboriginal languages.
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Messages

Fake Aboriginal names?  ·  Caprice  ·  9/21/2012, 1:14 PM
Re: Fake Aboriginal names?  ·  Norah Namenerd  ·  10/12/2012, 10:50 PM
Re: Fake Aboriginal names?  ·  zizi  ·  9/23/2012, 6:56 PM
Re: Fake Aboriginal names?  ·  Amphelise  ·  9/21/2012, 2:45 PM
Re: Fake Aboriginal names?  ·  Caprice  ·  9/22/2012, 11:15 AM