Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/207

 i85 CHILDREN GIRLS' CMRISTSAN NAMES CvnCinited Jiom fai;e jj. Part /. A. (continued) Alphonslne — French feminine form of Hilda (Battle-maid), transformed through the Spanish Hildefuns into lUefonso, then Alfonso ; shortened in France into Alphonse. Althea (Greek) — " Healing." Derived from Althaia, the marshmallow, so famed for its healing properties. Amabel [Latin] — "Beloved." From "amata*' ("loved one" or "darling"). From this common root comes also Amanda, Amoret and Aniyos, pretty old-fashioned names popular in England in the eighteenth century, but now obsolete. Amata itself still survives in Germany. Amarantlia [Greek) — " Unfading," or " fade- less." The Greeks had a poetic belief that the fields of Paradise were clothed with amaranth, a plant which never drooped or faded. The name is derived from the Greek " a," privative, and " maraino " (to die away). Amapyllis [Greek) — " Refreshing stream." Amelia [Teutonic) — " Energetic," or " hard worker." This name shares with Emily the common root " amal," signifying " work." Amelie and Amalia are the French and German variants. Amy [Latin) — " Beloved." Same root as Amabel, which see. Anastasia [Greek) — " One who shall rise again." From "ana" (up) ; "istemi" (to raise); used in one word as anistemi ; the future tense is anasteso, hence the name. Popular in Ireland and Russia. Anatolia [Greek) — " An Eastern maid." Ana- tolic is the French. Andromache [Greek) — " She who fights with men." From the Greek words " aner " (a man) ; and "machomai " (to fight). AndPOmeda [Greek) — " She who preserves or provides for men." Angelica [Greek) — " A message from God." Angelique, Angela, Angelina, and Angelot are variants. Ann [Hebreiv) — " Grace, mercy, or favour." The immense number of different forms of this name show its extreme popularity. Among them may be mentioned Anne, Annie, Annette, Nancy, Hannah, Nannie, Nan, and Nina. Anna — A Greek variant of Hannah, derived from common root with Ann. All these names come from the Hebrew word chan- nach (favour, mercy) ; the shortened forms being really diminutives. Annbella and Annabel [Teutonic) — " Eagle heroine." From the name Arnhilda, or else from the old Phoenicians, in which case it means " grace of Baal " and comes to us from the masculine Hannibal. Certainly it is not a compound of Anne, since it is a rnuch older name. Antoinette is the French form, and it is in that country that it is chiefly used. Antonina, Antonetta being other variants. Antonius is the masculine form, whence comes the EngHsh Antony and Anthony, the French Antoine, and the Italian and Spanish Antonio. Antonius was the name of a Roman patrician family. Aphrodite [Greek) — " Sea-maiden." Tradition relates that Aphrodite was sprung from the foam (Aphros) of the sea ; hence her name. Arabella — This name has two derivations and theroiore two significations — (i) Teutonic — " eagle-heroine," from " ari," an "eagle''; (2) " hearth-heroine," from " arin, the hearthstone. Areta [Greek) — " The one desired or prayed for." Arethusa [Greek) — " The waterer." Ariadne [Greek) — " Very sweet," or " pleasing one."' Artemis [Greek) — "A huntress." Artemisia [Greek) — " Prudence." This lady was the wife of Mausolus, a prince of Caria, in the 4th century B.C. Her extreme grief at her husband's death added a new word to the language, since to perpetuate his memory she built, at Halicarnassus, the famous monument. Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, whose name ulti- mately became a generic term for any grand sepulchral monument. Arthurine [Celtic)—" High and noble." Aspasia [Greek) — ^" The welcome " or " glad one." Aspasia is said to have retained her matchless complexion by binding fresh rose- leaves on her cheeks each night. Atalanta [Latin) — " The swift-footed one." Athena [Greek) — " War-like." Another name for Minerva, the Goddess of War. Athens, the chief city of Greece, was dedicated to Athena; hence the name and the term Athenian. Auda [Teutonic) — " Rich." Audrey [Teutonic) — "Noble counsellor." A contraction of Ethelreda (noble adviser). Augusta [Latin) — " Venerable," or " noble." An agnomen conferred by the Romans on their reigning empresses. Augustine and Augustinia are other forms and diminutives. Masculine forms are Augustus, August, Austin, and Austen. This source also supplies the objective August, meaning grand, sublime. The eighth month of the year was so named out of compliment to Augustus Caesar. Aurelia [Latin) — " Golden." Other forms are Aurea, Aurelie, Aurelia, and (Spanish) Aureliana. Aurelius is the masculine form. Aurora [Latin) — " The morning," or " the dawn." This word comes from the Sanscrit " ushas," from the root " ush," which corresponds to the Latin " diluculum," the dawn, from the verb " diluceo," to grow quite light, or to dawn, the meaning being literally, " one who ushers in the dawn." It passed next into the Greek " eos," and this became corrupted into "anos," the " a " being retained in the Latin form. The word is used in the phrases "Aurora Borealis " or " Australis " (Northern or Southern Lights), to signify that on those occasions the rosy glow in the sky looks as if the dawn were breaking in that part of the horizon, instead of in the east. This alphabetical list will be continued. The following are good firms for supplying materials, etc., nientio.ned in this Section : Messrs. Daniel Neal (Children's Footwear), and Wuifing & Co. (Patent Food).