Some very interesting lists

So I started writing again, and in my research I cam across some lists of very old Italian names, most dating between 1350 and 1650. These are my favorites for each gender - enjoy!

14th century Venetian names:

Male:

Almerico
Aureo
Cristiano
Denieli
Dionisio
Galaxio
Gurian
Luchas
Mafeo
Nicolo
Olivierio
Thadeo


Female:

Donata
Micola
Penina
Zaneta

Northern Italy circa 1312:

Male:

Ameus
Arientus
Cabriel
Caruis
Dragus
Facius
Galante
Gilius
Iohannes
Lencius
Mante
Maxius
Pax - there was 3 of them!
Simonus


Female:

Adalasia
Agnesia
Aulina
Aymelina
Belaflore
Cadiana
Cathalina
Corelia
Corina
Drusia
Dulce
Galiana
Galicia
Iuliana
Madiana
Matalia
Paxe - yes, there was a female Paxe
Trisola



16th century Venice:

Male:

Alvise
Anzolo
Aurelio
Iulio
Magno
Piero

Female:

Andriana
Anzola
Fiametta
Fiordelise
Iseppa
Leandra
Livia
Santina
Antea
Gaspara

Perugia 1285:

(only female)

Aldiana
Armilia
Genevria
Imilia
Iohanna
Isotta
Iuliana
Madolina
Marsilia
Meliore
Romana
Rosanna
Rosanella
Ysabella

Florence 1427: (Again, feminine only:)

Zanobia
Ciana
Ismerelda
Savia
Milia
Nera
Gaia

Pick n - mix

This is a rant about what I call "Pick -n - Mix" names.

There's this horrible trend emerging that irritates the heck out of me. Basically, all you have to do is pick a random suffix to pair with a random pre-fix and ta da! You have a name. Now, this not only lacks creativity, it also lacks any sort of culture or history behind it. They all sound so similar and lack substance. *shudder*

Examples of "Pick -n -Mix" names:

Briley
Shaylee
Maylen

See what I mean? Add a B to Riley. Take Shay and Lee and you have Shaylee. Tale May and lyn - but you can't have just lyn, thats boing, you have to get kr8tif and use -len, which, if you speak proper English, doesn't sound the same, you get Maylen. *sigh* The stupidity never ends.

*Emilia - Feminine version of the masculine name Emil. Emil is from the Roman Aemilius and means "Rival".

Emilia Angeline
Emilia Daphne
Emilia Jane

*Maelys - French form of Mael, which means "prince" or "chief". So I'm assuming that since this is the feminine variation, it means "Princess"....but that's only a guess.

Maelys Anastasia
Maelys Catharina Lily
Maelys Eleanora

* Ilona - Eastern European version of Helen, which is from the Greek Helene - meaning "torch".

Ilona Gabrielle
Ilona Emer
Ilona Therese

Names of the day.

I think this is a good way to get through a lot of my favorites. I think I will talk about 3 of my favorites, or finds everyday.....in theory, anyway, I'm a busy woman.

Today, it will be my top 3 girls names: Felicity, Cecily and Isla.

Origins:

Felicity - Derived from the Latin word Felicitas, meaning "luck". Felicitas was the name of a Roman Goddess who was associated with luck and fortune.

**Right now, I have her paired with Johannah, after my sisters. Felicity Johannah.


Cecily - a form of the Latin Cecilia, which means "blind". (kind sad.....)

**Cecily is paired with Jeanne (said Jean), which is my middle name, my mothers and grandmothers. Cecily Jeanne.


Isla - a form of Islay, which is an island off the coast of Scotland. From what I've found, Islay means "Island".
**I have Isla paired with both Cate and Josephine. Josephine is a family name, an I like her elegance, Isla Josephine, but I like Cate's short, spunky feel. Isla Cate. Hmm...

Review of popular classics

There has been a recent rise in popularity of "classics" and "vintages" lately. Personally, I'm in love with it, since they carry a classy and fresh feel. According to www.ssa.gov, the social security administration website, the top 10 is almost completely compiled of vintage and classic beauties. Emma -1, Isabella - 2, Emily -3, Ava -5, Olivia -6, Sophia - 7, Abigail - 8, Elizabeth -9. The only one in the top 10 I would consider trendy is Madison - 2. I think this proves my theory that names come back every 3 or 4 generations. This generations parents, for the most part, are Heathers, Jennifers and Melissas. Their parents where probably Lindas, Susans and Karens. This brings us back to THEIR mothers, who where most likely Marys, Margarets, Helens and Ruths....back to our classics.

Definitions

I seem to have different definitions when it comes to names than most people, so before I really get started here, I want to explain my reasoning and rationale behind some of the terms I use.

One, I firmly believe that there is a difference between "popular" and "trendy". I believe that something can be popular, but classic, therefore, making it not fall under the "trendy" label. These would be names like Emma, Ava, Isabella.....they are all very popular, but still classics. A "trendy" popular name is something like Madison. It's a surname, which is a trend, but it's also popular.

THEN, to make this even more confusing, you can have a trendy name that's NOT popular. Randomly adding -Lyn to a prefix (take Ry, for example) is a trend and just because "Rylyn" is not "popular", does not mean it's not "trendy".

Second, I often group classics and vintages into one category. I might label thing like Catherine and Ruby in the same category, even though they technically are not.

Lastly, is my "international" or "exotic" beauties. These are one's that are not often heard within the US, but have roots in a different country or culture.