Names and meanings

One of the hobbies Sandie and I share is collecting names. So, while I know that she already has some ideas for her baby's name, I thought I would post this list of Chinese names for girls in case it might be of interest.

Whenever I look at a group of names from a particular culture, I can't help but think about what the names' meanings say about that culture. A lot of the meanings in this list refer to the beauty of the natural world, and the images they bring to mind are truly lovely.

Look at many of the meanings of elements in the old Germanic names (coined by my bloodthirsty naming ancestors) and you get a rather different picture. My name book, making a similar point (I swear I didn't lift the idea), cites the following meanings as examples: war, strife, battle, protection, rule, counsel, raven, wolf, and bear; adding that Germanic female names "are no less warlike in meaning than their male counterparts" (A Dictionary of First Names, p. xvi).

Were we as a culture so single-mindedly focused on fighting back then that we really couldn't come up with anything else worth commemorating? Oh dear.

Really gives me a new appreciation for the 19th century love for flower and gem names...