Name News

This was my seventh year doing the A to Z Challenge with this blog, my ninth with two blogs. Much to my disappointment, for the third year in a row I had to suffice with a fairly simple theme, one I didn't need to do a huge amount of research for. I remain hopeful I…

Male: Vahto means "foam." Vahur means "brave." It was invented by Edward Börnhohe for his 1880 novel Tasuje. I have a character by this name. Väino is the Estonian form of Finnish name Väinö, which is a diminutive of Väinämöinen (the hero of Finland's great national epic The Kalevala). Väinä means "wide and slow-flowing river." Valkan…

Male: Taido means "artistic." Taivo means "heavens." Tarmo means "energy, vigour, drive." I have a child character by this name. Tarvo means "power, energy." Tunne is the Estonian form of Karelian Finnish name Tauno, which means "modest, peaceful." It also means "feeling, sense, sensation" in Estonian. Tormi means "storm." Female: Tähte means "star." The Finnish…

Male: Rait means "colossus." Raivo is of unknown etymology. This is also a Latvian name. Raoul is adopted from French, and ultimately comes from Old Norse Ráðúlfr (wolf counsel). Remo is adopted from Italian, and is a form of Remus (of unknown etymology). Rodion is adopted from Russian, and ultimately derives from the Greek name…

Female: Õie means "flower." In Estonian, Õ is its own separate letter, not just an O with a tilde. Oktjabrina is borrowed from the Russian name Oktyabrina, which was most popular in the early decades of the the USSR. It means "October." Oksana is borrowed from Ukrainian. It's a form of Xenia (hospitality). In 2019,…

Female: Maasika means "strawberry." Maiga, or Maige, means "gentle." Maimu means "little." Meeli means "mind; thought; mood; idea." The Finnish form is Meilikki, a goddess of hunting and forests. Variations include Meelika, Meelike, and Meelik (the lattermost of which is unisex). Meri means "sea." One of my characters has this name, a little girl who…

Female: Kaja means "echo." Kalja means "seagull." Kannike means "violet, pansy." Kirsika means "cherry." This is the name of my character Meri Lindmaa's doll, whom her paternal grandparents bought her in famous Stockholm department store Nordiska Kompaniet. Kulla means "gold." Külliki means "enough" or "abundance." The Finnish form is Kyllikki. Male: Kahru means "bear." Kaido, or…

Female: Ille means "lamb" and "good." Ilme means "air." I have a character by this name. Ilo means "delight, happiness, joy" and "beauty." This is the name of a minor goddess of feasts. Imbi means "maiden, virgin." The Finnish form is Impi. Inda means "zeal, enthusiasm." Ingel means "angel." Male: Ilmar, or Illimar, is the Estonian…

Female: Gaidi means "wait." The similar name Gaida means "waiting." Gerda is borrowed from the Scandinavian languages, and means "enclosure." Gerd was a fertility goddess. Gertrud is borrowed from German, and means "spear of strength." Gertu may be a nickname for Margit (pearl), now used as an independent name. Gisela is borrowed from German, and…

Female: Egle is borrowed from Latvian Eglė (spruce tree). Eha means "dusk." Elve means "principle." Endla is the name of a lake which prominently features in folk poetry. It derives from Medieval names Ent and Endo, which may be diminutives of Hendrik or Andres. The male version is Endel. Eneli may come from a Medieval…

Sorry, only female names today! Though I always prefer to feature names from both sexes and alternate which goes first, in the interest of fairness, I couldn't find a single male Estonian name starting with C, even adoptions from other languages. If you know of any, let me know in the comments, and I'll gladly…

This year, my A to Z theme is Estonian names, with a focus on names unique to the language instead of Estonian forms of well-known names like Katherine, John, Mary, and Thomas. Because Estonian is a Finno–Ugric language, its uniqueness really shows in its native names. They're far different from the Indo–European names they adopted…

Male: Zinovi is adopted from the Russian name Zinoviy, a male form of the Greek name Zenobia (life of Zeus). Female: Žanna is adopted from the Russian name Zhanna, which in turn is a form of the French name Jeanne. It means "God is gracious." Zinaida is adopted from Russian, and a derivative of Zeus.…

Female: Uljana is adopted from Russian name Ulyana (i.e., Juliana). Ulmi means "fantasy." Ulvi is of unknown etymology. Une means "sleepy." Ursula is adopted from German and the Scandinavian languages. It means "little bear." Urve means "catkin" (a cluster of flowers with inconspicuous or no petals). Male: Uku, or Uko, comes from Finnish name Ukko…

Female: Saale is a short form of Rosaalie, now sometimes used as an independent name. This is also the Estonian word for "hall." Säde means "spark" and "radius." This is also a Finnish name. Signe is adopted from the Scandinavian languages, and means "new victory." Sigrid, or Sigrit, is adopted from the Scandinavian languages, and…

Male: Päärn, Päären, and Pääru are Estonian forms of Bernard (brave bear). Paavo is the Estonian form of Paul (small; humble). The Russian form Pavel is also used, and was the 43rd most popular male name in 2018. Pearu may be related to the word pea (head). Pjotr is adopted from the Russian name Pyotr, a…

Male: Nazar is borrowed from Russian, and means "from Nazareth." Neeme is a variation of Meeme, which may mean "manly." Nestor is borrowed from Russian and Greek. It means "homecoming." Nigul is the Estonian form of Nicholas (victory of the people). Norbert is borrowed from German, and means "bright north." Nuut is the Estonian form…

Male: Leemet means "broth." Leino, of unknown etymology, comes from the pseudonym of Eino Leino (né Armas Einar Leopold Lönnbohm), a Finnish poet and journalist. Lembit means "beloved." Lembitu was the name of a heroic king who bravely fought against the conquest of his proud homeland. He was sadly killed in battle in September 1217.…

Male: Jaagup is a form of Jakob (heel). Jaroslav is borrowed from Russian name Yaroslav, and means "fierce and glorious." This is a fairly popular name. Joonas is the Estonian form of Jonah (dove). Juhan is the Estonian form of John (God is gracious). Jukk seems to be a nickname for Juhan. Jürgo is a…

Male: Harald is adopted from the Scandinavian languages and German, and means "army leader" or "army power." Heiko is adopted from German, and originated as a nickname for Heinrich. Heino is adopted from German, and means "home." Hirvo means "deer." Holger is adopted from the Scandinavian languages, and derives from Old Norse name Hólmgeirr (island…

Male: Faddei is adopted from the Russian name Faddey, and ultimately derives from Aramaic name Thaddai. The familiar English form is Thaddeus. It may mean "heart," or be an Aramaic form of another Greek name, such as Theodoros (gift of God). This is a very rare name in Estonia. Feliks is adopted from Russian, and…

Male: Danil, or Daniel, come from Hebrew and means "God is my judge." Though the native Estonian form is Taaniel, these spellings are also fairly popular. Demid is borrowed from Russian. It's a form of Diomedes (to think of Zeus). Demjan derives from Greek name Damianos (to tame). Dmitri is borrowed from the Russian Dmitriy, which…

Male: Benno is borrowed from German. It was initially a diminutive of names with the element bern (bear), but is now used as an independent name. Bernhard is borrowed from German, Dutch, and Scandinavian. It's a form of Bernard (a name I'll forever have a poisonous association with), which means "brave bear." Bertold is borrowed from…