What's in a Name?

Gandalf

Gender: Masculine

Usage: Norse Mythology, Literature

Pronunciation: GAN-dahlf (English)

Meaning & History

Old Norse for "wand elf." This was the given name of a dwarf in a 13th century Scandinavian manuscript called Völuspá, which forms part of the Poetic Edda. However, this name is more well-known due to the author J.R.R. Tolkien, who gave it to a wizard in his novels, The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954).

Atocha painting (Google), unknown artist and date

Atocha

Gender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish
Pronunciation: a-TAH-shah, a-TAH-chah

Meaning & History
Meaning unknown. This was the name of a Spanish ship, the Nuestra Señora de Atocha (Our Lady of Atocha), one of the most famous in a fleet of Spanish treasure ships, which sank off the Florida Keys in 1622. Her cargo contained copper, silver, gold, tobacco, gems, jewels, jewelry, and indigo from the Spanish ports of Cartagena and Port Bello in New Granada (now modern Columbia and Panama, respectively) and Havana on route to Spain.

Divers find gold from Atocha wreck

After 16 years of searching, the wreck was finally found in July 1985 by American treasure hunter Mel Fisher (1922-1998) and his team of sub-contractors. Florida State claimed right to the discovery, forcing Fisher to sign a contract, giving 25% of the treasure to the state. It was a long legal battle, but eventually the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor Fisher and his team.

Cannon from the Atocha

Josiah

Gender: Masculine

Usage: Biblical, English

Pronunciation: jo-SIE-ǝ (English)

Meaning & History

Means "YAHWEH supports" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament, this was the given name of a well-known king of Judah, who "did what was right in the eyes of the LORD" (2 Kings 22:2), coming into rule at the ripe age of eight, and reigning over Judah for 31 years.

You can find him in 1 Kings 13; 2 Kings 21, 22, and 23; 1 Chronicles 3; 2 Chronicles 33, 34, 35, and 36:1; Jeremiah chapters 1, 3, 22, 25, 26, 27, 35, 36, 37, 45, and 46. Also, Matthew 1:10-11 features him in the geneology of Christ.

Corinna

Gender: Feminine

Usage: English, German, Ancient Greek (Latinized)

Pronunciation: kǝ-REEN-ǝ (English), kǝ-RIN-ǝ (English), ko-RI-nah (German)

Meaning & History

Latinized form of the Greek name Korinna, which is derived from the word kore meaning "maiden." This was the name of a Greek lyric poet in the 5th century. In his book "Amores", the Roman poet Ovid used this as the given name of his central female character. In the modern era, it has been used since the 17th century when poet Robert Herrick used it in his poem "Corinna's Going a-Maying."