hypocorisma

Friday, August 29, 2003

Researching Irish Names. Contains some useful links to places that will aid you in finding some Irish surnames.

Irish Names. An entire website devoted to Irish first names.

The Database of Family Names. Primarily a database for Jewish family names.

Real Peoples' Names. This webpage claims, "the only site on the Internet dedicated to the listing and definitions of names from Aaron to Zuzims." Well, it doesn't have Aaron or Zuzims or really any names at all from what I can tell. The list is not intuitive.


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 7:38 AM | link]



Wednesday, August 27, 2003

Scandinavian Names. Here's a little section in the Medieval Names Archive that may help you choose a Scandinavian name. As an aside, there are also links to particular projects dealing with runic inscriptions which looks pretty interesting.

Bird Names. At Ornithology.com--The Red-bellied Woodpecker does not have a red belly and you call goldfinches wild canaries and house finches linnets. The European Buzzard is similar to the North American Red-tailed Hawk. Blue birds are not necessarily bluebirds and all birds in the blackbird family are not black.

How to Pronounce Massachusetts Town Names. The author of this page so far has 80 pronounciations out of 364 towns and suggests that you can also submit a pronounciation.


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 7:58 AM | link]



Tuesday, August 26, 2003

The Middle-earth Name Generator. Discover your true Middle-earth names!

Middle-earth Name Translator. Your name gets translated into a Middle-earth name.


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 8:11 AM | link]



Monday, August 25, 2003

Learning Student Names. A professor who does not know his or her students' names may be perceived as remote and unapproachable. “When the professor engages the student in personal conversation, recognizes her by name, and seems to include her in the domain of attention, the subject matter seems more accessible. The nonverbal message goes out that the student is a part of the community of people who can do mathematics, statistics, chemistry, or whatever the subject is.”

Bandname.com. Once you've found that perfect name for your band, you can register it on this site.

Index of German-Polish and Polish-German names of the localities in Poland & Russia. "Index contains Polish and previous German names of localities situated in Poland and Russia useful for research, history, genealogy, numismatics, philatelic etc. Index contains also some names of places from former Saxony now in Poland and Silesien now in Germany."

Names of New York. This feature on Newsday.com contains the stories behind the names of New York's towns, roads, and landmarks.


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 7:12 AM | link]



Friday, August 22, 2003

The Funny Names Site. Puns. Everywhere.

Etymology of mineral and rock names. A fascinating list with some history behind particular rocks and minerals. For example: Amethyst is derived from the Greek word for drunk because they believed this stone could prevent drunkeness.

Calendar of Latvian Names and Namedays. "Customary celebration of common or older names associated with a fixed date on the calendar. Dates and names are related to traditional feast days for saints or aspects of ancient religious festivals."

Arabic Star Names. "Many star names are of Arabic origin, most of which were used by other nations in the past following almost the same Arabic nomenclature, and many of which have survived in modern scientific astronomical atlases."


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 7:10 AM | link]



Thursday, August 21, 2003

Hungarian Names 101. "This article is intended to be useable by a broad audience, particularly since most of the available literature of Hungarian names is in Hungarian. There is also a certain amount of background information, particularly cultural history, orthography, and pronounciation. Emphasis here is on the description of Hungarian names and their construction through the 16th century. Though the material presented is in its second edition, nothing here is the final word on any matter. You are strongly encouraged to locate some of the sources listed at the end of this article if you are truly interested in Hungarian names."

Historical Top 40 Names. "These are the top 40 names for each sex in the United States every ten years from 1930-1990." This site may be similiar to all the other sites that include the top ranking names, but this one also includes the number of people with the name within a given population sample.

Masculine Arabic Names and Feminine Arabic Names. Substantial lists of names.

I-Ching Lucky Numbers Makes Lucky Baby Names. Use the I-Ching and a form of numerology to see if your name is lucky. The I Ching or Book of Changes is not really the foundation of Chinese astrology, but the authors of this site are probably just being silly. I'm just posting this because I find it amusing.


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 8:22 AM | link]



Wednesday, August 20, 2003

Idescat. "The Statistical Institute of Catalonia (Idescat) provides information on the given names and surnames of the entire population residing in Catalonia." Specifically, one can find the particular frequency of names in Catalonia.

Surname Centers. The author of this website is in the process of creating specific pages for surnames with statistical information and links to other sites providing information on those names.

Etruscan Names. It's a list of names in Etruscan with what they would mean in English. It's a bit odd at first since the names are arranged in an Etruscan alphabetical order instead of the usual.

A Collection of Some Common Names for Deep Sky Objects. "This list only covers non-stellar deepsky objects (nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies)." I think this would be useful for sci-fi writers who want to set their rip-roaring space opera in a galaxy far, far away. I mean, it'll be hilarious to have some lost colony living in the Pinwheel Galaxy or the Rotten Egg Nebula or even "Tuft in the Tail of the Dog."


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 7:56 AM | link]



Tuesday, August 19, 2003

London Place Names. A good list of the origin of London's place names, particularly the districts and boroughs. London itself is named after Londinos which means "bold one." This website also has the interesting essay The Origin and History of the English Language.

An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris. Ah! Here's an entirely different census altogether. This is a great resource for anyone working on something dealing with this era. I find it fascinating that in the 13th century, last names haven't really taken root yet. Most names are like Saintisme la lavendière, i.e. given name and occupation.

How to Write Your Name in Mayan Glyphs. Here's a much more complicated system for writing your name. Unlike Egyptian hieroglyphs which can technically go left to right, right to left, up to down, or any way around really, Mayan hieoglyphics have set rules. For instance, syllable length determines glyph order.

Ship Names. An entire catalog of U.S. Naval ships. Also included are the Service Craft Names.


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 8:19 AM | link]



Monday, August 18, 2003

Phantasy Names Index. A "huge list" of names compiled by a role-player when she was at a loss for good, original names.

Names. A really odd quiz. To "play", you listen to a sound file and pick what name it is. It's really easy, but...maybe it was intended more for people learning English?

Last Name Meanings. "Find the ethnic origin and meaning of last names. Surname dictionary and genealogy helps include names of Irish, German, English, French, Italian, and Jewish descent."

Unincorporated and Unofficial Names of Massachusetts Communities. A list of colloqial names for regions in Massachusetts. I suppose an outsider could memorize the list and attempt to pass for a native.

Onomastics. Some interesting information is included here such as the origins of the names for Otto the Great, the Salian Dynasty, and the Luxembourgs.


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 8:16 AM | link]



Friday, August 15, 2003

Jewish Given Names. It's mostly background about how and why people have Jewish names. In powerpoint style, but it isn't required that you have the program to view it.

Austrailian Insect Common Names. "This website provides ready access to the correct scientific name of every insect or related creature for which there is a common (or vernacular) name in use in Australia. The site also enables the user to discover the common name or names used in Australia for a species for which the user knows only the scientific name."

The Names of the Moons. Specifically, what people had named the full moons appearing each month.

Satellite Names. A list of rockets and artificial satellites as well as description for who they were named after and where they originated from.


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 7:40 AM | link]



Thursday, August 14, 2003

Encyclopedia of Baby Names. What makes this site different from all the other cutsey baby naming sites? This one has a thesaurus which groups all names with the same meaning together.

Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America. There's a translation page for all the scientific names. Probably of more interest to people in taxonomy.

Popular American Names for Specific Ages. This page has the top couple of names from each decade. Bookmark this page if you don't want to go digging around on the social security website for the statistics.

International alternative country names. It's a list of country names in different languages. I know that at least for Chinese, the "alternative" name on first glance doesn't look anything like the English name, but actually it's the "closest" they can get to the pronounciation. All I can say is that whoever translated the names to Chinese must have had a skewed ear. For instance, Chicago in Chinese is actually pronounced gee-ga-go (emphasis on each syllable is the same) and Toronto is pronounced daw-lun-daw. I mean, there are equivalent ch-, t-, and r- sounds in Chinese, but apparently, accuracy was sacrificed for "aesthetics."


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 8:22 AM | link]



Wednesday, August 13, 2003

The Trumps of Amber. This is one guy's project of cataloging the etymology and mythology of Zelazny's Amber series. You can find lists of names (the Lost Princes, et al.) and information on the use of Tarot in the books. Zelazny must have done extensive world-building judging by how much stuff this fan has dug up.

Huck Onomastics. "Observations on the origins of the family name Huck, with a few digressions on ancient history, languages, and cuisine." And yes, this article was written by somebody named Huck.

Place Names of Europe. "Divergent forms of place names have often been an element in national rivalries: a sad legacy, clearly, of past conflicts. It is not, however, to this tradition that we wish to refer; rather, we aim to draw attention to the rich complexity of the European cultural environment which, as revealed by place names, has links on both the local and the continental scales."

Brainwashed' Canonical Guide to Weird Band Names. Ever put together a seemingly unrelatable string of words and thought it sounded good as a band name? Well, check here first to see if your idea is already taken.


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 8:13 AM | link]



Tuesday, August 12, 2003

Nova Roma. A brief introduction to ancient Roman naming. I find it interesting that women weren't really referred to by their own names. Instead, they were referred to as the daughter of (her father's name) which was then followed by a number. Practical, but not very individualistic. There are also lists of names for those of you who don't care too much about the rules.

Greek Names vs. Roman Names. A list of Greek and Roman deities that correspond to each other.

Coat of Arms and Family Surname Search Engines. If you have a suitably English or Scottish last name, enter it here and get back information on the history behind the name, the coat of arms, and any other type of connections the name might have.

BBQ Team Names. Oh, these are hilarious. "4 Men in Heat", "A Hobby Gone Awry", "The Mad Cow Cookers", "Wild Bunch Butt Burners"...


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 7:41 AM | link]



Monday, August 11, 2003

The Alias Collection. "It has been designed for use by roleplayers, authors, period re-creation societies, and to a point, for expecting parents." They also have a section for "pagan magick names" and they host some name generators.

Names in Dickens. No names per se here, but there is a list of resources about naming in Victorian literature (especially for Dickens' works).

American Name Society. "The American Name Society was founded in 1951 to promote onomastics, the study of names and naming practices, both in the United States and abroad. It is a non-profit organization that seeks to find out what really is in a name, and to investigate cultural insights, settlement history, and linguistic characteristics revealed in names."

Blue Shoes. This is a form that checks the gender of your name and also asks if you mixed up your first and last names.


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 7:44 AM | link]



Friday, August 08, 2003

Astronomical Names. Besides names, this is an excellent site for astronomy buffs.

Rare Greek and Roman Names. Oh, I think I've seen most of them somewhere before. But don't pay attention to me since I'm a mythology buff on the side too. Just go see the lists.

Luminara's Web of Myth-tery. Ignore the warning that the site has moved. It didn't. This is a nice collection of names co-opted from various mythologies.

Pluto. A bit of trivia about naming the ninth planet of our solar system. Warning: embedded new-agey midi.


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 7:16 AM | link]



Thursday, August 07, 2003

Heptune's Baby Names Central. At one place, you can find the rare or the common. Although some of those rare names look, well, not so rare. (Phoenix? Serenade? Storm? Give me a break!)

African Names. Yet another ethnic name site of African origin.

Names! at Kaeori.net. The owner of this site has compiled a "big list of names" for your browsing pleasure. The webmaster also thinks that the zodiac is scientifically interesting (as opposed to folklorishly interesting or superstitiously interesting) so make of it as you will.

Tamil baby names. The webmaster of this site says: "Our baby names collection contains a large number of Indian baby names that originated from the Tamil language. Being a rich language with a literary tradition spanning a few thousands of years, Tamil has enriched and benefitted from many other languages. As a result, there exists no concrete boundary between Tamil and other Indian languages, especially its linguistic siblings Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Tulu, etc and its linguistic cousins Bengali, Gujarathi, Hindi, Sanskrit, etc. Our attempt thereby uses etymological analysis to determine names that we believe originated from Tamil, but in many cases used outside the realm of Tamil. This is by no means an easy or accurate task."


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 7:11 AM | link]



Wednesday, August 06, 2003

Onomastics and Onomasiology. This little article explains what it's all about.

Personal Names of Romance Origin. Much to my disappointment, this isn't a list of ridiculous names that Romance authors have used in their novels, but for the more serious among us, this is a pretty good list of names derived from the European Romance languages such as Spanish and French.

Commission for Onomastics. For people who really are serious about studying all about names (this is just a hobby for me) it might be a good idea to contact this organization.

Zoroastrian names. Which includes Avestan, Old Persian, Parsi, and Irani. It looks like an exhaustive list to me. And there are even citations.


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 7:09 AM | link]



Tuesday, August 05, 2003

Names of Winds. So what do people call a violent wind? The northeast trade winds? What about a warm wind in the Mediterranean? The answers of all these questions (and more!) can be found on this site.

Minor Planet Names. Probably contains all the minor planets (a.k.a. asteroids) that have been named. The majority look like they've been culled from mythology.

Onomastics and heraldry. Extensive lists of names that have been used historically. Mostly Byzantine and Italian.

Medieval Names Archive. Picking a medieval name isn't as easy as choosing first and last names at random from a source text. This site has compiled a list of articles to help you devise an authentic name which can range from anything to gender, pronounciation, and spelling.

Dictionary of Flemish First Names. With translations to Latin and French too. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that Maaltje is Flemish for Amelia.


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 6:53 AM | link]



Monday, August 04, 2003

Everchanging Book of Names. This site offers a program to be downloaded that will help generate random names. It was originally intended to help role players and fantasy writers.

Name Nerds. "This is the site for all who are looking for a name, who love names, or who have a name. Founded by name connoisseurs, read by name geeks, genealogists, expectant parents and those curious about their own name alike, There is bound to be something for you and everyone else!"

A Dictionary of Carnivorous Plant Names. Ordered by family/genus/species instead of alphabetically, this list of carnivorous plants includes who and what they were named after.

Alfabette Zoope Name Lists. An extensive list by an amateur collector, unfortunately the author has only last updated in 1999. However, it has a nice interface and includes meanings and pronounciations.


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 7:20 AM | link]



Friday, August 01, 2003

Hong Kong Monikers. Some popular English names that people from Hong Kong choose for themselves. Personally, I tend to notice lots of people picking names ending in an "ee" sound. Like "Benny."

India a2z. Includes a search engine to find Indian baby names.

One-Named People. This is an alphabetical compendium of all the people who are vain enough to go by only one name. You know, like Madonna and Fabio.

You don't know Dick! A picture list of all the famous people who are named Dick (a.k.a. Richard).


[posted by S. Y. Affolee on 7:24 AM | link]









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