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Do You Know What Your First and Last Names Mean?

Wordle of all First NamesToday I came across this link in my RSS feeds from the Make Use Of website. It all had to do with First and Last Names. So after some playing around with our family's names I decided that it would make a great blog post.

The following info is from these two website:

My Maiden Name: Moser
  • South German: topographic name for someone who lived near a peat bog, Middle High German mos, or a habitational name from a place named with this word.
  • North German (Möser): metonymic occupational name for a vegetable grower or seller, from an agent noun based on Middle Low German mo-s ‘vegetable’
My Married Name: Cohen
  • Jewish: from Hebrew kohen ‘priest’. Priests are traditionally regarded as members of a hereditary caste descended from Aaron, brother of Moses. See also Kaplan.
My First Name: Marlies Gertrud
I had a hard time finding any English info as my name is Dutch, German or Swiss
  1. Dutch sequence of Maria and Elisabeth. Means 'Star of the ocean' (Latin) or 'Dedicated to God' (Hebrew)
My Middle Name: Gertrud
  • German: Adored warrior
  • First name variations: Gerta, Gerd, Gerda, Gerte, Gertie, Gerty, Gert, Jera, Jerica, Trude, Truta, Trudy, Trudie, Trudi, True
My husband's First Name: Maxwell Raymond
  • English: Capable
  • Latin: Great
  • Scottish: Mack's well
  • First name variations: Maxwel, Maxwill
    Scottish: habitational name from a place near Melrose in Roxburghshire. The place name is first recorded in 1144 in the form Mackeswell ‘Mack’s spring or stream (Old English well(a))’.
  • Irish: this surname is common in Ulster, where it has sometimes been adopted as an alternative to Miskell.
  • Jewish: arbitrary adoption of the Scottish name, or Americanized form of one or more like-sounding Jewish surnames.
My husband's Middle Name: Raymond
  • Old English: Worthy protector
  • First name variations: Raymund, Ramon, Raimundo, Raimund, Reamonn, Rayner, Wray
  • English and French: from the Norman personal name Raimund, composed of the Germanic elements ragin ‘advice’, ‘counsel’ + mund ‘protection’.
  • Americanized spelling of German Raimund, a cognate of 1.
  • A Raymond, also called Passe-Campagne, from the Angoumois region of France is documented in La Prairie, Quebec, in 1692.
My son's First Name: Reuven Jacob
  • Hebrew: Behold, a son
  • My son's Middle Name: Jacob
  • Hebrew: The supplanter
  • First name variations: Jakob, Jacobo, Jacopo, Jacoba, Jacobson, Jacobi, Jacobine, Jacobina, Jayme, Jacques, Jacinto, Jascha, Jake, Jackob, Jakub, Jack, Jackson, Jeb, Cob, Cobb, Giacobo, Giacomo, Iago, Iacovo, Yago, Yaacov, Yacov, Yakov, Jaccob, Jachob, Jaco, Jacobb, Jacub, Jaecob, Jaicob, Jalu, Jecis, Jeks, Jeska, Jocek, Jock, Jocob, Jocobb, Jokubus
  • Jewish, English, German, Portuguese, French, Dutch, and southern Indian: derivative, via Latin Jacobus, from the Hebrew personal name ya‘aqobh (Yaakov). In the Bible, this is the name of the younger twin brother of Esau (Genesis 25:26), who took advantage of the latter’s hunger and impetuousness to persuade him to part with his birthright ‘for a mess of potage’. The name is traditionally interpreted as coming from Hebrew akev ‘heel’, and Jacob is said to have been born holding on to Esau’s heel. In English Jacob and James are now regarded as quite distinct names, but they are of identical origin (see James), and in most European languages the two names are not distinguished. It is used as a given name among Christians in India, and in the U.S. has come to be used as a surname among families from southern India.
My first daughter's First Name: Yael Lisa
  • Hebrew: Mountain goat
  • German, Old English: One who pays or produces; corner of land
My first daughter's Middle Name: Lisa
  • Hebrew: Consecrated to God
  • Greek: Bee; honey bee
  • First name variations: Lisette, Lisetta, Liza, Melicent, Mellissa, Millicent, Melisent, Melita, Melisse, Meli, Mellie, Melly, Mel, Millie, Milly, Missy, Lissa, Lis, Melissa
  • Czech: variant of Lis.
  • Italian: from a short form of Elisa (see Delisa) or Luisa (feminine form of Luisi).
My second daughter's First Name: Tova Tamar
  • Hebrew: Good
  • Hebrew: God is good
My daughter's Middle Name: Tamar
  • Hebrew: Palm tree, spice, date - fruit of the palm tree
  • First name variations: Tamarah, Tamarind, Tamika, Tamary, Tamara
My daughter-in-laws First Name: Brenda Lynne
  • Old English: Sword
  • Irish: Little raven; Feminine of Brandon; fiery hill
  • First name variations: Branda, Brynna, Bren, Brendie, Breonna, Brendah, Brendyl, Brennda, Brenndah, Brinda, Brindah, Brynnda, Brynndah
My daughter-in-law's Middle Name: Lynne
  • English: Verbose; waterfall
  • First name variations: Lyn, Lin, Linn, Lynn
  • Scottish or English: variant of Lynn.
Lynn
  • Irish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Fhloinn and Ó Fhloinn (see Flynn).
  • Scottish: variant of Lyne 3.
  • English: habitational name from any of several places so called in Norfolk, in particular King’s Lynn, an important center of the medieval wool trade. The place name is probably from an Old Welsh word cognate with Gaelic linn ‘pool’, ‘stream’.
My grandson's First Name: Samuel Buckley
  • Hebrew: To hear
  • Hebrew: Heard God; asked God
  • German: Angel of joy
    First name variations: Sammie, Sammy, Samouel, Samuele, Samuello, Sam, Samuele, Samuelson, Samelle, Sam, Sammy, Sammie, Shemuel, Schmuel, Shem, Zamael
My grandson's Middle Name: Buckley
  • Old English: Meadow of deer
  • First name variations: Buckminster, Buck, Bucky, Buckner, Bucklee, Buckleigh, Buckly, Buclie, Buklee, Buclea, Buckli, Bucklie
  • English: habitational name from any of the many places so named, most of which are from Old English bucc ‘buck’, ‘male deer’ or bucca ‘he-goat’ + leah ‘woodland clearing’. Places called Buckley and Buckleigh, in Devon, are named with Old English boga ‘bow’ + clif ‘cliff’.
  • English: possibly a variant of Bulkley, from the local pronunciation.
  • Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Buachalla ‘descendant of Buachaill’, a byname meaning ‘cowherd’, ‘servant’, ‘boy’.
  • Altered spelling of German Büchler (see Buechler), or of Büchle, a variant of Buechel.
My son-in-laws First Name: Brendan
  • Old English: Fiery hill
    First name variations: Branden, Brand, Bran, Brenden,Brant, Brent, Brennen, Brennan, Branford, Brandon
My son-in-laws Middle Name: James
  • Hebrew: Supplanter, substitute; the patron saint of Spain
  • First name variations: Jaymes, Jaime, Jaymie, Jamy, Jaimie, Jamesy, Jameson, Jamey, Jan, Jay, Jim, Jimmy, Jimmie, Jimbo, Diego, Giacomo, Seamus, Sheamus, Shamus, Hamish, Santiago, Jaemes, Jaimes, Jaemie, Jaemy, Jaimie, Jame, Jameyel, Jami, Jamia, Jamiah, Jamian, Jamiee, Jamme, Jammey, Jammie, Jammy, Jamye, Jameze, Jamze, Jamieson, Jamison, Jamiesen
  • English: from a personal name that has the same origin as Jacob. However, among English speakers, it is now felt to be a separate name in its own right. This is largely because in the Authorized Version of the Bible (1611) the form James is used in the New Testament as the name of two of Christ’s apostles (James the brother of John and James the brother of Andrew), whereas in the Old Testament the brother of Esau is called Jacob. The form James comes from Latin Jacobus via Late Latin Jac(o)mus, which also gave rise to Jaime, the regular form of the name in Spanish (as opposed to the learned Jacobo). See also Jack and Jackman. This is a common surname throughout the British Isles, particularly in South Wales.
My mother's First Name: Gertrud Alice
  • German: Adored warrior
  • First name variations: Gerta, Gerd, Gerda, Gerte, Gertie, Gerty, Gert, Jera, Jerica, Trude, Truta, Trudy, Trudie, Trudi, True
My mother's Middle Name: Alice
  • German: Noble
  • Greek: Truth
  • Old German: Of good cheer
  • First name variations: Addala, Adelice, Adelicia, Ailis, Aleece, Aleese, Aletta, Alexis, Alicia, Aliceie, Aliciedik, Alicija, Alicija, Aliedik, Alika, Aliki, Ali, Alina, Aline, Aletta, Alisa, Alisan, Alise, Alisen, Alisin, Alison, Alisun, Alisyn, Alissa, Alisyn, Allie, Allisan, Allisen, Allisin, Allison, Allisun, Allisyn, Allyce, Ally, Allyse, Alyssa, Aliza, Alodia, Alse, Alyce, Alys, Alyse, Elice, Elise, Elisan, Elisen, Elisin, Elison, Elisun, Elisyn, Elsje, Ilyssa
  • French Canadian: altered form of Alix.
  • Hispanic: variant of Alicea. For the etymology, compare English Allis.
My father's First Name: René Fritz
  • 1. Greek: Peaceful
  • 2. French: Born again
  • 3. Old English: Powerful one
  • 4. Latin: Reborn
    First name variations: Renee, Reene, Renne, Renata, Renay, Renelle, Reney, Reni,Renia, Renie, Renni, Rennie, Renny, Renee, Reggie, Reggy, Reg, Reynolds, Reynold, Reinwald, Regnauld, Reinald, Renault, Rinaldo, Renato, Reinhold, Raghnall, Reginald, Rennie, Renny, Renato, René, Renee
  • French (René): from a personal name (Latin Renatus ‘reborn’) borne by a 4th-century saint, and popular in France throughout the Middle Ages because of its transparent reference to Christian spiritual rebirth.
My father's Middle Name: Fritz
  • German: Peaceful ruler
  • First name variations: Frederic, Frederico, Fred, Freddie, Fredrik, Freddy, Fredderick, Fredek, Fréderick, Frédérik, Fredricks, Fredrik, Frederick, Fritts, Fritson, Frizchen, Fritzl
    German: from a pet form of Friedrich. It is also found as a surname in Denmark, Sweden, and elsewhere.
My brother's First Name: André
  • Greek: Valiant, courageous
    First name variations: Anders, Andor, Andreas, Andrae, Andrei, Andres, Andros, Andy, Aindrea, Andery, Andonis, Andru, Andrue, Audrew, Andie, Andrews, Andrzej, Drew, Andrew
  • French (André): from the personal name André, French vernacular form of Andreas, also found as a Huguenot name in England in the 17th and 18th centuries.
  • German: shortened form of Andreae.
  • Swedish: shortened form of Andree.
  • A bearer of the surname André is recorded in Quebec city in 1653; another, from Charente, is documented there in 1659. Other branches, from Normandy and Burgundy, were recorded in Montreal from 1663.

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