Did you know you could fly

I'm trying to think of common names that are also the name of a flower. Can you add any to the list below? I'm not looking for flowers that *could* be used as a name, like Chrysanthemum (would you call her Chrys?), but actual flowers that are *commonly* used as names. So far I have:


EDIT: Updated list


Blossom (maybe)
Daisy
Heather
Iris
Ivy (maybe)
Lavender
Lily
Pansy
Rose
Rosemary
Veronica
Violet

It is rare for a book to tick me off in the very first sentence, but I've found one that manages it. If it hadn't been from an author I'd read before and enjoyed I might even have not continued.

The very first sentence begins: "Branwen ap Griffith sat on the grassy hillside with her back to an oak tree . . ."

Ok, first off, if you plan on writing historical fiction set in early Medieval Wales, for goodness sake, do your research!!

Branwen is a young woman, as such she would not use the patronymic 'ap' which means 'son of'. She would use 'ferch' or 'daughter of'. Secondly, 'Griffith' is a later Anglicization of the Welsh 'Gruffudd'.

So if she'd done her homework, the sentence should correctly read "Branwen ferch Gruffudd sat on the grassy hillside . . ."

Hmmph.

So I just read that the term "bint", derogative British slang for a woman, similar in connotation to "bitch", is actually derived from an Arabic patronymic form. Just as "ibn" means "son of", so "bint" means "daughter of".

This got me thinking about patronymics in general, something I've had to deal with as I work with my genealogy. Below are the ones I'm familiar with, please add any you know:


Irish: Irish is particularly difficult because of the various contractions of patronymic phrases. At its most simple, you have "mac" as "son of", "nic" as "daughter of, "o'" as "grandson of" and "ni" as "granddaughter of".

Welsh: "Ap" for "son of" and "verch" for "daughter of"

Nordic: the Norse put their patronymics at the end of the name. "son" or "sen" means "son of" and "dóttir", "datter", "dotter" means "daughter of". There is also usually an extra 's' to form the possessive between the name and the patronymic, i.e. Olafsson ('son of Olaf') or Gunnarsdottir ('daughter of Gunnar').

Arabic: "ibn" for "son of" and "bint" for "daughter of". The Arabs also have a reverse patronymic, "abu" meaning "father of".

Norman: the Normans used "fitz", a version of the Latin "fils" to mean "son of". The patronymic still lives on particularly in Irish names, a carryover from the time that Ireland was dominated by the Normans. Among British nobility, however, the patronymic took on different connotation, in which "fitz" was used to indicate an illegitimate son who has been acknowledged by his father. This twisting of the patronymic convention led to the creation of the name "Fitzroy" which does not indicate the son of a man named Roy, but rather an (illegitimate) son of the King (roi in French).

Russian (and related Eastern European languages): various spellings of "-evich" for "son of" and "-ovna" for "daughter of" (like the Norse, these come at the end of the name).

Hebrew: "ben" for "son of" and "bat" for "daughter of"


So those are the ones I know. Any one know any others?

As I go through the old censuses and other records, I am struck by how, at least in the English-speaking world, there seem to be so few names that are really used prior to about 1850 or so. So I thought I'd start a list. Suggestions welcome. I'm really thinking there are perhaps only about 20 or so for each gender.


Male:
Alexander
Anthony
Benjamin
Charles
Christopher
Edward
Francis
George
James
John
Joseph
Michael
Nathaniel
Richard
Robert
Thomas
William


Female:
Agnes
Abigail
Ann/Anne
Catherine/Katherine (and variants)
Dorothy
Elizabeth (and variants)
Frances
Hannah
Jane/Janet (and variations)
Joan (Joanne, Joanna)
Louisa
Lucy
Margaret/Margery (and variations)
Martha
Mary
Sarah

So I play Pure Felinity. One of the fun things is getting to name the kittens each week. I use a random name generator to pick them. Today the generator spat out the following name (first and middle): Mordred Percival.

Whoah. Talk about your loaded name. Almost have to wonder just how 'random' the generator is that came up with that combination.

Hmmm . . . I could use that in a story.

I need people to help me think of traditionally male first names that end in 'a' or 'ah'. So far I have:

Elijah
Ezra
Hosea
Ilya
Ira
Isaiah
Jebidiah
Jedidiah
Jeremiah
Jonah
Joshua
Josiah
Kostya
Micah
Nehemiah
Noah
Obadiah
Zephaniah
Zechariah
Zachariah

(edit: are there any that aren't Biblical? There have to be some that aren't Biblical)

Ok, so the new ratling looks much like Gormless II, except instead of spots behind his dark grey hood he has a stripe. He's also very fond of trying to escape, but hasn't managed it yet. So I'm calling him Hapless. So we have Gormless, Hapless, Murine, and Glirine. There's at least one more ratling out there, so we'll have to think of names for that one. I'll have to see how it's patterned first. It could be a -less ratling (dark grey hood) or an -ine ratling (cream hood), or perhaps it's very own new name ending. Should be interesting.

The problem with having two different names that you actually *use* is that you have difficulty remembering which name to use on different occasions. After being Gwyn for the last week and a half, I've almost signed Gwyn to several work emails today. Wouldn't that confuse my co-workers. I'd love to be Gwyn full-time, but it's just too confusing to change now. Ah well.

Ok, so I'm late on the bandwagon, but here's the "(your name here) needs" Google meme:

1) Gwyn needs to find the strength to stall the disaster that hangs over them.
2) Gwyn needs to borrow some Trumps.
3) Gwyn needs to talk to Bailey.
4) Gwyn needs female companionship. (Boy do I ever!)
5) Gwyn needs to get over it!
6) Gwyn needs to get her the minutes so that she can post them on the website.
7) Gwyn needs someone more like her, who won't fug up the lens every time they're photographed together.
8) Gwyn needs a HC or smthing position.
9) Gwyn needs to grin more.
10) Gwyn needs help.

Interestingly, a lot of these were referring to Gwyneth Paltrow, who I didn't realise anyone called "Gwyn".

An article I was reading mentioned that there were at least 15 common diminuitive forms of the name Elizabeth. It didn't list them. So without looking anything up, I'm going to try:

1)Liz
2)Lizzie
3)Liza
4)Eliza
5)Beth
6)Betsy
7)Bette
8)Bess
9)Bessie
10)Elspeth
Edit: 11)Betty. How could I forget Betty?

That's all I can come up with. Anyone have any suggestions for the last 5 4?