Catalonia

Meaning: (The name Catalunya (Catalonia)—spelled Cathalonia, or Cathalaunia, in Mediaeval Latin—began to be used for the homeland of the Catalans (Cathalanenses) in the late 11th century and was probably used before as a territorial reference to the group of counties that comprised part of the March of Gothia and March of Hispania under the control of the Count of Barcelona and his relatives. The origin of the name Catalunya is subject to diverse interpretations because of a lack of evidence.

One theory suggests that Catalunya derives from the name Gothia (or Gauthia) Launia ("Land of the Goths"), since the origins of the Catalan counts, lords and people were found in the March of Gothia, known as Gothia, whence Gothland > Gothlandia > Gothalania > Cathalaunia > Catalonia theoretically derived. During the Middle Ages, Byzantine chroniclers claimed that Catalania derives from the local medley of Goths with Alans, initially constituting a Goth-Alania.

Other less plausible theories suggest:

• Catalunya derives from the term "land of castles", having evolved from the term castlà or castlan, the medieval term for the ruler of a castle. This theory therefore suggests that the names Catalunya and Castile have a common root.
• The source is of Celtic origin, meaning "chiefs of battle". Although the area is not known to have been occupied by Celts, a Celtic culture was present within the interior of Iberia in pre-Roman times.
• The Lacetani, an Iberian tribe that lived in the area and whose name, due to the Roman influence, could have evolved by metathesis to Katelans and then Catalans.

In English, Catalonia is pronounced /kætəˈloʊniə/. The native name, Catalunya, is pronounced [kətəˈluɲə] in Central Catalan, the most widely spoken variety whose pronunciation is considered standard. The Spanish name is Cataluña ([kataˈluɲa]), and the Aranese name is Catalonha ([kataˈluɲɔ] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia).

Origin: (Medieval Latin, Celtic, English, Gothic, Catalan)

Pronunciation: (Cat-uh-loh-nya, cat-uh-lune-ya, if you want to hear how Catalonia is pronounced then go to this site and run your cursor over the word to hear how it is said: http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=catalonia )

Gender: Female, Possibly Uni-Sex

I think I was looking up Catriona *see on list of posts* and somehow I stumbled upon Catalonia. Catriona, Catalonia, and Catalina *see on list of posts* all seem to look alike to me and I would love to use, though I’ve already used Catalina before. Catalonia is unique looking and has an interesting history and possible meanings.

I love to say it like cat-uh-lune-ya, its addicting saying it like that, lol! I love the way my tongue rolls when I say it that way, lol! If I were to pronounce it that way then Catalunya would be the best spelling for it.

I see an exotic beautiful woman being named this. It would fit well in a historical fiction novel but would also look nice in a fantasy novel. It has an easy pronunciation and is easily recognized. I love this name a lot.

Aylee

Meaning: (One Who Lives Near an Oak Tree, Hazelnut, Bird, Little Cinders, Entire, The Juniper Tree. The correct spelling of 'Aylee' is 'Eilidh'. It is a Scots-Gaelic name thought to derive from 'Aveline' or 'Helen'. )

Origin: (Old French, English, Scottish Gaelic, Germanic, Gothic)

Pronunciation: (AY-lee, AYE-lee, EYLIY)

Gender: Female

Now I am not for sure but I think this was in CW TV Series Reign. I don’t watch many shows but when I read the info about it and see a name I like I add it to my list and months later when I add it to the blog I forget where I first saw it. When researching the name I think I saw it is a name on the TV Series Reign. Either if it was or wasn’t on the show or where ever I saw it this is a truly lovely name. It is as beautiful as the derivatives Aveline and Helen *see on list of posts*.

The meanings are so lovely and I just love them. I love nature names or nature meaning names. I love One Who Lives Near an Oak Tree the best but Little Cinders reminds me of Cinderella and so thus this would be a great way to have a character be Cinderella in a retelling. She can be Aylee but be Cinderella and kind of some where have it come up the connection to the meaning and the cinders as well. Anyway I love, love this name. Though some I could see would assume it was Haylee but someone forgot to put the H at the beginning.

Emmeleia

Meaning: (Whole, Immense, Entire, Universal, Imitating, Rivaling, Work, and Variant of Emma. A solemn and stately dance used in ancient Greek tragedy.)

Origin: (Germanic, Latin, Greek, Old French, Gothic)

Pronunciation: (EHMM-L-IYAH, M-EE-Lay-uh, M-EE-lee, EHM-AHLEYIYAH)

Gender: Female

I forget where I at first saw this name but I think I was looking up unique names. This is an absolutely beautiful name. I love everything about this name. I have decided to use this name as the name of one of my main characters daughters; she is to be a Princess. The meanings and name itself is a variant of Emma so if you want something much more unique and rarer than Emma then Emmeleia is it. The meanings are wonderful and grand. I like that this is a solemn and stately dance used in ancient Greek tragedy. It seems even grander and even more striking a name.

It also looks like a combination name between Emme and Leia, which are two name I love separate and love even more combined together. Though I prefer to pronounce it M-EE-Lay-uh.

Thierry

Meaning: (People’s Rule, Powerful, Ruler of the People, God’s Gift, French form of Theodoric.)

Origin: (Teutonic, French, Germanic, Gothic)

Pronunciation: (tyeh-REE, TIYEH-R-iy, tee-e-REE)

Gender: Male

This is a name with great meanings but the pronunciation is a bit difficult for me. It is interesting to me that this is a form of Theodoric as the two names don’t look anything alike to me. I think it would do best as a surname but it would be kind of cool as a first name. It has a nice older foreign look to it.

Matilda

Meaning: (Mighty in Battle, Powerful Battler, Strength in Battle, From the Germanic name Mahthildis meaning “Strength in Battle”, from the elements maht “Might, Strength” and hild “Battle”. Saint Matilda was the wife of the 10^th Century German King Henry I the Fowler. The name was brought to England by the Normans, being borne by William the Conqueror’s Queen Matilda (11^th Century). When it was brought to Britain it was pronounced “Maud”. It was popular until the 15^th Century in England, usually in the vernacular form Maud. Both forms were revived by the 18^th Century for awhile.). This name appears in the popular Australian folk song ‘Waltzing Matilda’, written in 1895.)

Origin: (Old German, Gothic, English)

Pronunciation: (muh-TIL-dah, MahTIHLDah, muh-tIHl-duh)

Gender: Female

I was watching the family movie Matilda not long ago. I have never been a fan of the name because it always sounded harsh to me or like an old ladies name for some reason. I do however love the meanings which are strong and nickname possibilities (ex. Mattie, Maddie, Tilda, Tillie, Maud, Tiller). I also love the very long history of this name. It’s a name most everyone has heard of at least in English speaking countries.

Emmy

Meaning: (Rival, Whole, Immense, Universal, Work, Imitating, Hardworking, Diminutive form of Emily.)

Origin: (Germanic, Gothic, Latin)

Pronunciation: (em-ee, EH-mee, EHMiy)

Gender: Female

Many of these meanings of this name are the same as Amelia *See on my list of posts.* I haven't really cared for the name Emmy in the past. Its exotic looking and sounding, short, and interesting. A well known bearer of this name is Emmy Rossum, though Emmy is her nickname name...her real first name is Emmanuelle. Still not sure it is a name I would use for a characters name but rightfully so that shouldn't and won't deter others from using it.  

Elvie

Meaning: (Happy, Good Elf, Elf, Supernatural Being, Noble Friend, Noble, Truly Lively, Truly Foreign, True to All, White, Bright, Blond, Diminutive of Elvina.)

Origin: (Old English, Irish, Scandinavian, Germanic, Old Norse, Latin, Gothic)

Pronunciation: (EL-vee, EHLViy)

Gender: Female

I saw this in a magazine about recent and upcoming books. I didn't care about the book details but the name Elvie I liked. Elvie is also a diminutive of Elvina *see on the list of posts.* The meaning is good and its a pretty name.

Emmeline

Meaning: (Hardworking, Whole, Universal, Immense, Imitating, From an Old French form of the Germanic name Amelina, originally a diminutive of Germanic names beginning with the element Amal meaning “Work”. Variant form of Emilie (Rival) formed by adding the diminutive suffix –ine: hence “Little Rival”. The Normans introduced the name to England.)

Origin: (English (Archaic), German, Latin, Gothic, Old French, Old German)

Pronunciation: (EM-e-Leen, EM-a-leen, EH-me-liyn, EHM-ah-LiyiyN)

Gender: Female

I once read The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield and one of the characters was named Emmeline. It is a pretty, feminine, old fashioned name. It is unique and rare today as far as I know. I have seem Emma but very few Emmeline's in novels or really for that matter I have never met anyone named Emmeline. The meanings are good and it is an all around nice name.

As for the book The Thirteenth Tale it was really good and I recommend that people read it. It was so well written and descriptive it was hard to put down.

Elvina

Meaning: (Friend of Elves, Elfin, Good Elf, Magical Being, Friend, Noble Friend, True to All, Truly Foreign, Truly Lively, Blond, Also possibly a place name or from an Old German name meaning Foreign, True.)

Origin: (Old English, Latin, Old Norse, Gothic)

Pronunciation: (ehLVIY-Naa, el-vine-uh)

Gender: Female

I was reading something the other day and I came across this name. I loved the meanings when I researched them. It's a beautiful name with a beautiful look. It has an exotic look but also a very Fantasy aspect to it as well.

Emera

Meaning: (Industrious Leader, Rival, Laborious, Eager, Imitating, Work, Female form of Emery.)

Origin: (German, Latin, Gothic)

Pronunciation: (ehMEHRah)

Gender: Female

I saw this name the other day when I got an email from a friend. One of the people she had on her email list had this name which I thought was a pretty name. It has an exotic look and pronunciation but it is still not all that crazy of a name.