A Bookish Sarah

encouragement & bookish things

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Sarah
Welcome, friend! Relax & rest awhile, if you please. I'm an ordinary girl, a follower of Christ, mama to Gabriel, Heidi, & Aidan; and wife to Evan. Here in this little space of the online world, I share all manner of bookish things, including full content reviews, writerly snippets, encouragement for everyday life, and a whole collection of names & their meanings.

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Names

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Encouragement

What's in a Name?

Anna requested a set of Swiss names!  Thank you, Anna!

I actually had to research a couple different websites in order to find these.  I am quite happy with my finds. =]  Most of these names are similarly connected to other countries' names like Sweden, Germany, Norway, etc.  Just as people migrated through neighboring countries, names also traveled.  Thus, we have a myriad of different spellings with virtually the same meanings and so on.

Halvar
Gender:  Masculine
Usage:  Swiss, Swedish
Pronunciation:  HAL-vahr

Meaning & History
Swedish form of Halvard, which is derived from the Old Norse name Hallvarõr, meaning "rock guardian" or "rock defender."








Verena
Gender:  Feminine
Usage:  Swiss, German, Late Roman
Pronunciation:  ve-RE-nah (German)

Meaning & History
Possibly means "defender."  May also be related to the Latin word verus meaning "true."  Saint Verena was a 3rd-century Egyptian nurse who accompanied the Theban Legion to Switzerland.  After the legion was massacred, she settled near Zurich.

Jörgen
Gender:  Masculine
Usage:  Swiss, Swedish
Pronunciation:  YORE-gan

Meaning & History
Swedish form of Jürgen, which is a low German form of George, ultimately meaning "earth-worker, farmer."








Kaja
Gender:  Feminine
Usage:  Swiss, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian
Pronunciation:  KIE-ah

Meaning & History
Possibly means "pure."  The Estonian translation means "echo."  Also a Scandinavian diminutive of Katarina, a cognate (relative) of Katherine; and might also be derived from the Old Norse kaõa meaning "hen."








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Comments

  1. I love them all! Great names! I might end up putting one in my novel!

    Could you do some old English names next?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very interesting, as always. :D I especially like Halvar.
    Samantha suggested you might look into animal inspired names sometime. Just a thought. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Claire: Me too!

    Aili: Please do! Oo, which one?? =] Yes, Old English is next on the list!

    Risa: I liked Halvar as well. Sounds like he'd be the start of a good character! What a great suggestion! I'll definitely look into it. :D

    Thanks for commenting, ladies!! <3

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks Sarah, I can't wait for the names! I love how you take requests;)

    To answer your question- Verena and Halgar.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm glad =] I like taking requests, because it gives me a chance to research other names I may not have thought of.

    Great choices, Aili!

    ReplyDelete

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To each is given a bag of tools,
A shapeless mass, and a book of rules,
And each must make, ere life is flown,
A stumbling block or a stepping stone.
-Anonymous-

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