Alondra

Meaning: (Defender of Mankind, Defender, Helper of Mankind, Lark Bird, Short form of Alejandra which is Spanish version of the Greek Alexandra.)

Origin: (Spanish, Latin, English, Old Greek)

Pronunciation: (ah-LAHN-drə, ah-LOHN- drə, ah-LON-drah, aa-LAO-NDRah)

Gender: Female

This name has great meanings. It is a short form of Alejandra which is the Spanish version of the Greek Alexandra and Alexandra is the feminine form of Alexander *see on list of posts*. Alondra is a great alternative with the same meaning to Alexandra and Alejandra.

It does look like Calandra *see on list of posts* in a way and the meanings are similar to that name as well. Alondra is a beautiful name and I would love to see this used more often.

Catriona

Meaning: (Pure, Clear, is the French form of the Latin 'Katharina', from the Greek 'Aikaterina'. Famous bearer: the heroine of 19th century author Robert Louis Stevenson's novel 'Catriona'. )

Origin: (Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, Irish, Scottish, Literature, Greek)

Pronunciation: (ka-TREE-na, ka-TREE-oh-na)

Gender: Female

I heard this name someplace but I don’t remember where but then a while later I saw this as the name of a woman that died, she committed suicide and I think she was the girlfriend of actor Jim Carrey. It was really sad.

The meanings are lovely and beautiful and the name overall is gorgeous. It is a great alternative to its variants Catherine *see on list of posts*, Katherine *see on list of posts*, Katrina, Katharina, Catha *see on list of posts* Katya *see on list of posts* and Aikaterina.

As for the pronunciation I prefer ka-TREE-oh-na but that is an English speaker’s flaw apparently. It is pronounced ka-TREE-na by most in Ireland and Scotland where this name is popular.

Good Nicknames: Cat, Riona (REE-oh-na or REE-na), Tri (TREE or Try), and Triona (TREE-oh-na or TREE-na).

Goku

Meaning: (From the Sky, Air)

Origin: (Japanese)

Pronunciation: (GOWKUW)

Gender: Male

I was watching TV and saw a movie on and decided to watch it and the movie I watched was based off of the Dragon Ball Manga Series. It was a pretty good movie. I can’t speak about the Manga as I have never been into Mangas but I am sure it may be pretty cool as well. The main character is named Goku and I thought that was a really cool name.

I am obsessed with Japanese names whether used in the real world or just for Manga’s ect. I have even used a few before like Sawa *see on list of posts*, Sakura *see on list of posts*, and Shika *see on list of posts*.

The meaning of the name is strong and nature related. The name is very cool over all. I would love to find a character this name would fit on. I would also like to see this name used more often but I am afraid most people that look at the Manga Series will know this name and see it only as belonging to the Dragon Ball Manga Series.

Edit January 31, 2016:

Okay so last night I realized when re-reading the above post that I put to see the list of posts for Sawa and I realized I haven't put Sawa on here yet. It will be going on with the February posts. So if you noticed you couldn't find it you are not lost I simply forgot to tell everyone it will not be on yet, sorry. But do come back and check it out in February!

Anima / Animas

Meaning: (Infinite Smallness, Minuteness, Soul, Spirit, Hindi name derived from writings on yoga. In yoga texts, this is the name of the ability to make oneself infinitely small so to be invisible. Also refers to a petite and especially feminine physique. In Jungian psychology the anima is an individual's true inner self, or soul.)

Origin: (Sanskrit, Spanish, Latin, Hindi, English (Rare))

Pronunciation: (AN-i-mə, AENihMAH, Animas: ON-ee-mas)

Gender: Female, Possibly Uni-Sex

A few months back a river in Colorado went yellow after contamination of waste from an old gold mine and the river was named this. The contamination was an awful accident and probably will leave lasting effects to the area but it was kind of interesting looking but a sad state of affairs for the EPA.

The name is pretty and the meanings are interesting and lovely. The name does look like you are trying to spell Animal but left off the L at the end or for Animas left off L and added an S.

I have used Anima as the name of some woods in one of my stories I am currently writing. My character finds something in the woods that no one thought could exist for someone twice and so it seemed to be about the heart or soul so I thought this name fit that quite well. I know my description is odd and lacking but I am not getting into the long story that I am writing as I am tweaking it as I am writing so ideas may change but I am keeping Anima as the name of the woods in the story.

Aethelmaer

Meaning: (Noble, Famous, Nobly Famous, Aethelmaer (Old English) is an old form of Aylmer. Aethelmaer was a popular name prior to the Norman Conquest, but it gave way to other forms thereafter, of which the most modern is Aylmer. Aylmer saw a decline after the Middle Ages before enjoying a revival in the 19th century during the vogue for medieval names. In addition, Aylmer is an English variant transcription of Elmer (English and Scandinavian).  

Origin: (English, Old English, Anglo-Saxon)

Pronunciation: (EYTHEL-mehr)

Gender- Male, Possibly Uni-Sex

I forget where I first saw this name. I love the meanings as I love royal and noble meaning names and this would be great in a historical fiction novel. It of course has easier variants Aylmer and Elmer if you don’t care for the look of this name. It seems a name like many from medieval era that looks hard to pronounce now and it is. As for this pronunciation EYTHEL-mehr I made that up from how I think it is pronounced as I couldn’t find another pronunciation at all. I looked up the different parts of the name and made the pronunciation off of those pronunciations of the variant parts.  

So again if you know of another pronunciation please leave a comment in the comment section of this post and let me know, I would be very grateful!

Catalapa / Catalape / Catalpa

Meaning: (Winged Head, The name derives from the Muscogee name for the tree, "kutuhlpa" meaning "winged head" and is unrelated to the name of the Catawba people. The spellings "Catalpa" and Catalpah" were used by Mark Catesby between 1729 and 1732, and Carl Linnaeus published the tree's name as Bignonia catalpa in 1753.Giovanni Antonio Scopoli established the genus Catalpa in 1777.

The bean-like seed pod is the origin of the alternative vernacular names Indian bean tree and cigar tree for Catalpa bignonioides and Catalpa speciosa, respectively. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalpa )

Origin: (Native American, English)

Pronunciation: (Catalpa: ka-TAL-pa, ca-TAL-pa, ka-TALL-pa Catalape: ka-TAL-uh-pee, ka-TAL-uh-peh, ka-TALL-uh-pee, ka-TALL-uh-peh Catalapa: ka-TAL-uh-pa, ka-TALL-uh-pa

If you want to hear how this name is said then go to this link and run your cursor over the word to hear how it is pronounced:  http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=catalpa )

Gender: Uni-Sex

This is the name of another street I saw last summer when going to a religious convention. Meadowmere *see on list of posts* was about one or two streets away from Catalapa. I thought oh wow that’s kind of interesting and Native American like. So I put it on my list and as my list is always backed up for months and months I am just now getting to this name.

Now the street name was Catalapa but I could find no meaning for it spelled that way but I found it spelled Catalpa so I reason both probably mean the same but don’t quote me on that. It has an interesting meaning and long history of use so that is really nice. This name does seem Native American like to me but it could of course fit in a Fantasy or Sci-fi novel.

Now the pronunciation I found was for Catalpa so I tweaked it when putting together the pronunciation options for Catalapa and Catalape. Even with these pronunciations this name could throw some readers or even writers off so I think it would take a special kind of character and author to pull this off effectively.

Meadowmere

Meaning: (Meadow: Grassy Field, Field of Grass of Vegetation Mere: Maori form of Mary. Sea of Bitterness, Rebelliousness, Wished for Child, To Swell, Lake, Pond)

Origin: (English, Maori, Hebrew, French)

Pronunciation: (Meadow: MEH-doh Mere: MIHR, Meh-reh, merr-eh Meadowmere: MEH-doh-MIHR, MEH-do-Meh-reh, MEH-doh-merr-eh)

Gender: Female

This is the name of a street I saw last summer when going to a religious convention. I thought oh wow that’s kind of cool and a tad pretty. So I put it on my list and as my list is always backed up for months and months I am just now getting to this name.

Ok so this name when I looked it up had no known meaning so I had to break up the two parts of the name, Meadow and Mere, and get meanings for them and then you can get a sense of what the name means when put together as a whole, Meadowmere. The meanings are generally good and pretty. My preferred pronunciation is MEH-doh-MIHR for some reason. Though often I still pronounce it MEH-doh-meer.

Know I think this is an interesting way to lengthen the name Meadow *see on list of posts*. Though Meadow is sweet and cute Meadowmere gives it a fantasy foreign beauty.