Ombeline

 

It seems to me that modern parents in the U.S. only fawn over a select few French names. Noelle, Madeline (Madeleine), Isabelle, Natalie, Sophie, Charlotte, Elle, Claire and Caroline can all be found high on the top 1000, but where are the unique and uncommon French names? Where's Jessamine, Felicienne, Marcheline and Emmanuelle? Where are Corisande, Melusine and Chantal? Where's Ombeline?

Ombeline (ohm-bell-een, om-bell-een) saw no U.S. births in 2011, and remains unheard of here. Similar sounding and sea-sweet Ondine fared only a bit better with 7 births. Ombeline is also connected to water, as Greek philosopher Pliny claimed it was one of the stones that fell from heaven during rain and thunderstorms. Known then as Ombria, the "rain stone," Notia, meaning "south wind," and occasionally the Scirocco-stone, and Brontia, meaning "thunder-stone," even the gemstone is hard to find information on. Ombria was used to prevent offerings from being "burnt away" or eaten after placed on an alter, according to Pliny the Elder, "gemstone philosopher." Ombeline is the French variant of Ombria, transferred to use as a female given name.

A French source claims Ombeline was not used much until the 1980's, any is now given about 150 times a year. It is well liked in France. A possible meaning is "glittering spirit," from the French word for spirit and some Germanic tracings. However, the gem Ombria's etymology has much more in common with the place name Umbria, from Ombrii, meaning "people of the thunderstorms," also according to Pliny. "Of the thunderstorms" or even "thunderstorm" is a simpler way to go, and keeps the connection to the gemstone's meaning and origin. But Umbria is also connected to shadow, as "shadow" is ombre in French and umber/ombra in Latin. Italian folk etymology connects Umbria to ombra, shadow. In Umbria, tall hills and mountains cast shadows. Umber now refers to a shadowy brown color of earth, and earth is another connected word. And yes, umbrella comes from ombra as well.

Saint Ombeline, also known as Holy Ombeline, or Hombeline, only seems to be well known in France. She was a 12th century Cistercian nun (prioress), born 1092 AD in France. She was the sister of Saint Bernard, and was known for giving up a life of frivolous pleasures (and a marriage) for a humble religious life. Oddly, Humbeline is a name sometimes given in her honor. Good luck trying to figure out anything else unless you speak French - U.S. searches turn up next to nothing. Thank you Google translator.

Winston

If you're like me, the first person to come to mind when you see this name is Winston Churchill, and the first place is Winston-Salem. However, there's a lot more to this name than meets the eye. In fact, it was recorded as far back as 1086 AD in the Domesday Book. Winston is of Old English origin, meaning "joy stone, friend stone" from Wynnstan. (source) Wynn was often used solely in female names. Many baby name blogs and websites confuse the meaning of Winston, claiming it means "wine town," which would only be accurate in Suffolk and Durham, England. (source) Wine meant friend in Old English, (which you can find evidence of in The Wife's Lament, one of the first pieces of literature ever) winn meant joy, and stan meant stone, but in Durham and Suffolk, Wine was a personal name. Such is the case with the Isle of Wight, where the personal name was Wynsige, and Glouchestershire, where it was Wynna. To be clear, Wynnstan came first, and Winston was derived from it, so when the spelling evolved some people changed the meaning from "joy stone" to ">insert personal name depending on location< town." Of course, "friend town," "friend stone," or "friend's stone town" would be more appropriate and acceptable, but "joy stone" would still be the true meaning. (source)Why all the confusion? Because surnames became necessary in old England when personal taxation came into play, known as the Poll Tax. (source)

Wynnstan, long forgotten, would almost be guaranteed to come off as trendy or a "youneek" spelling today. In the Middle Ages it was a place name transferred to use as a surname for those with ties to the area. (source) Such was the case for former British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill, who got the name from the father of his ancestor John Winston, the first Duke of Marlborough. It's also the name of an Australian politician, was John Lennon's middle name, and the name of the main character in George Orwell's novel "1984."

The name ranked on the SSA charts every year since 1883, its highest place in 1940 at #311. (source) In 2011 it was #742, but it isn't obvious if the name is going up or down in popularity. It has also been popular in the West Indies and Caribbean. Winn makes for one excellent nickname, and many people see Winston as a courageous and heroic name because of how valiantly Winston Churchill fought in World War II.

Philippa

 

Is it any coincidence Phillipa and filly have the same sounds? Maybe (since filly comes from Old Norse), but Phillipa does mean "lover of horses" in Greek, composed of philos (friendly love) and hippos (horse). It is the feminine version of Phillip/Philip, brought back to life in the 19th century. However, it seems Phillipa has never charted in the U.S. The strange thing is, everyone around the world was introduced to Pippa Middleton during the royal wedding coverage, and Philippa has been ever fashionable in England, but Phillipa was only used 10 times in 2011 in the U.S., the spelling Philippa used 53 times, Pippa used 69 times, and Felipa 8 times. That's pretty rare for a name everyone was raving about. But chances are these names will be used more in 2012, since the numbers did rise from 2010, when there were only 25 Phillipa's and 16 Pippa's born.

As for pronunciation, fil-LEE-pah is the most common, fil-IPP-ah the second most common, although it seems to make more sense phonetically that the spelling Philippa would make for a fil-IPP-ah pronunciation, and the spelling Phillipa would mean a fil-LEE-pah pronunciation. FILL-ip-ah is the third most common pronunciation. Pippa can be a nickname to either, as well as Flip or Filly/Philly. Pippa Middleton spells her full name Philippa. Both Pippa and Philippa have been used for literary characters: Robert Browning's poems "Pippa's Song" and "Pippa Passes," Libba Bray's character in "A Great and Terrible Beauty," "Pippi Longstocking," and a book by Rebecca Miller that Brad Pitt turned into a movie, "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee." Any spelling with an F - Filippa, Fillipa, Fillia, Fillipina, etc, and the variant Phillipine, Felepita, and Pelipa, are exceptionally rare.

 

In medieval times, Philip was fairly unisex, so the spelling Phillipa/Philippa, on paper, was used to determine which were female. Philip and Philippa also carried a note of wealth, as one had to be wealthy in order to own a horse or participate in horse related activities, which was true even in ancient Greece. One of the earliest namesakes was Philippa of Hainault (above), the queen consort of King Edward III of England, whose coronation was in 1330. There is some beautiful artwork of her and a story, "The Uncrowned Queen" by Anne O'Brien. She was well loved by her people, known for her kindness and compassion. She was also an excellent leader, serving as regent from time to time. Her name is a perfect example of Phillip being a unisex name at the time, because she was best known as Phillipe, not Phillipa. Fun fact: Chaucer's wife may have been named for Philippa of Hainault. A second medieval namesake was Philippa of Lancaster, queen consort of Portugal. She was born into royalty in England one decade after Philippa of Hainault died. Her marriage to King John I of Portugal secured the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, and her children became so famous that they were known as the "Illustrious Generation." You can also find the name Philippa on a Duchess and a Countess.

Saint Philippa was martyred and crucified along her her son, Theodore, and others during the reign of Elagabalus, a Roman Emperor from 218 to 222. Blessed Philippa Mareri was strongly influenced by St. Francis and lived as Mother Superior in a covent in Italy. Blessed Philippa de Chantemilan and Blessed Philippa of Gheldre both lived in the late 1400s.

This name could appeal to those who like Lidia, Lydia, Portia, Phoebe, Fiona and the like, while Pippa could appeal to those who like Piper, Pepper, Poppy, or Fifer.

Topher

Topher is a short form of Christopher, Greek, meaning "bearing Christ," which not many people in the U.S. realized could be used as a given name until "That 70's Show" star Topher Grace came along. It is said he didn't like Chris as a nickname and insisted on Topher. There was also a Joss Whedon character named Topher. It is popular to call Christopher's Topher in Denmark. In 2011 only 7 parents chose to name their boys Topher instead of the full name Christopher. As of now, Topher is just beginning to be recognized as a formal given name, but perhaps he'll have a bright future ahead of him.

Ellery

 

Ellery fashion label

Ellery is unisex due to being a non-occupational surname, from the Latin name Hilary (and Hilary was masculine in medieval times), meaning "cheerful," though there is a slight chance it could mean "alder tree" from Old English (the only credible info to back this up is the Old English word for alder, aler). One of the only well known namesakes is Ellery Queen, the fictional 1930's detective. In fact, this was one of the first times Ellery was ever used as a first name. Back in the day you could find Ellery as a corrupted variant of Eulalie in England, as well as Elaria, often confused with Hilaria. Ellery was a blip on the top 1000 only five times - 1882, 1897, 1904, 1908, and 1959. In 2011 it ranked just outside the top 1000 with only 196 girls born with the name, and 10 boys. (Safe to say the girls have taken over this one, too.) The above picture is from a fashion label named Ellery. Also check out Ellery Sprayberry, a child actress.

Bevan

Bevan, pronounced BEH-vehn and/or BEH-vahn, is a Welsh name meaning "son of Evan." It can be found as a surname, as in British politician Aneurin Bevan, but also as a first name, as in Ameican musician Bevan Davies. It is not to be confused with the Anglicized Irish girl's name Bevin. While it's probably a little tacky to have a father named Evan and son named Bevan in the same family, it would be lovely to honor a grandpa, uncle or special friend named Evan, especially for those that don't want to deal with the popularity of Evan, which was #40, while Bevan was only used 6 times in 2011. Other than being a type font and foundation, I'm sorry to report there isn't much more on the name.

Verona

 

Verona is the romantic city in northern Italy, quite possibly best known as being the source of inspiration for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew (if in a small way) and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. And while Romeo and Juliet are constantly in use as baby names in America, Verona was used only 29 times in 2011. It ranked from 1880 to 1934, most popular in 1905 and 1906 (when many names containing the letter V were popular), falling off the charts every so often. The meaning of Verona is contested. It could be from the Greek name Veronica, meaning "victory bringer," which would make it just a little bit place name-y. One legend has it that Verona was named for King Theodoric's castle. There are many tales of battle and power connected to Verona since it was an intersection of many cities - when Verona was just forming as a city, several leaders fought on the land and it exchanged hands quite a bit.

Today Verona is a nice tourist attraction, where visitors can find festivals, art (Leonardo da Vinci called it home), music, and operas. The Verona Arena, built by the ancient Romans, is definitely a main stop, and the city's medieval architecture is beautiful. It's a great historical place to name a kid after (bonus if you have sentimental/family ties to the city) and much more sophisticated and historically rich than other place names, such as Dallas, Dakota or Brooklyn. Take it from St. Peter Martyr.

Nicknames can go either way - the feminine Vera, or the tomboy Ronnie. Since I probably won't be covering any more Italian cities-as-names starting with V, at least for a long time, I'll tell you there were 6 baby girls named Venezia, 30 Venice, and 8 Venecia.