Peter

Gender:  Masculine

Usage:  English, German, Dutch, Scandinavian, Slovene, Slovak, Biblical

Pronunciation:  PEE-tǝr (English), PE-ter (German, Slovak), PAY-tǝr (Dutch)

Meaning & History

Derived from the Greek word petros, meaning "stone".


Jerusha
Gender:  Feminine
Usage:  Biblical
Pronunciation:  jǝ-ROO-shǝ (English)

Meaning & History
Means "possession" in Hebrew.  In the Old Testament, this was the given name of the wife of King Uzziah of Judah and the mother of Jotham.

Gender:  Masculine

Usage:  English, French, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek

Pronunciation: NAY-thǝn (English)

Meaning & History

Hebrew for "he gave".  In the Old Testament, this was the given name of a prophet of God as well as a son of King David.  The prophet Nathan was the man who confronted the king of Israel upon his sin concerning Bathsheba. 

As a side note, VeggieTales has a great version of this story: King George and His Rubber Ducky.  Yes, we still watch them! =D

Since the Protestant Reformation, Nathan has been used a Christian given name in the English-speaking world.

Faina

Gender:  Feminine

Usage:  Russian

Pronunciation:  fah-EE-nah 

Meaning & History

Meaning unknown.  Possibly a form of Phaenna, which is derived from a Greek word meaning "shining".  According to some Greek myths, Phaenna was the given name of one of the three Graces or Charites.  

Side note:  Faina is a minor character in a fantasy I'm currently writing.  Essentially, she's only mentioned a couple times as the mother of the main character, Safia.

Here is a brief summary:
Faina died in a drowning accident near the white shores of her home on the coast of Charan (pro. shah-RAHN), leaving her husband, Gunnar Leifson, a renowned, and quite wealthy, Skahman merchant of Norskan descent (based on the Vikings of the North), to raise their only child, then age 10, as best he could.  Eight years later, Leifson's merchant vessel is attacked on open waters by a pack of wicked pirates flying the flag of the well-known Ishadi barbarian, Muhktar, captain of the Death's Avenger.  In the resulting battle, both ships are destroyed, killing everyone.  Only Safia survives, later rescued by a royal ship of Gondoa.  Nursing a reviving faith in the God of her past, whom she had previously abandoned eight years ago at the death of her mother, Safia slowly learns to trust wholly in Him and Him alone.

As his final wish, Gunnar charges Safia with the care of the family medallion, which holds a secret she must discover for herself, and directs her to find her mother's family, who reside in Charan.  "They ne'er liked me much, but you will remind them of her."  With the help of her new friends and the guiding hand of her Master, known to her as Eliadan or Adaan, Safia follows her father's dying command and returns to the country she vaguely remembered from her past.  There, she meets the family she never really knew and despite past wrongs, truly learns to love them.

But evil doesn't sleep.
Deception begins its slow poison from the inside out and the man responsible hungers for power.  Eventually, they meet, the lonely maiden and the man who murdered her father.  Vengeful of a lost love and missed opportunity of power, he seeks to destroy the Leifson line running through her veins, and in the process, bring a kingdom to ruin.

Family is important.  No one knows this better than Safia.  With the help of family, friends, and a mountain-moving faith, a kingdom is saved, a legendary treasure recovered, and a happily ever after in store.

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Remember! this is an unfinished work... Still workin' on it...

Thanks for reading!