For a while now, Wednesday
has been one of those guilty pleasure names for me. I love the name, though I
doubt I could get it across the board when the time came and yes, I do love the
character from ‘The Addams Family’. In any case, I have always seemingly had a
sympathetic ear to any ‘day-names’. When Nicole Kidman named her daughter Sunday, I thought it was darling, though
the combination with the middle name that I think caused more of the problems.
While those two days are the most commonly, if used, ‘day-names’,
this week I am going to write up about the days of the week and since this is a
Tuesday, what could be better than
starting with this name.
 |
| Tuesday Weld (b. 1943) |
Tuesday (pronounced: TOOZ-day)
is obviously the English word for the day of the week but it derives from the Old English ‘Tiwesdæg’ which literally means ‘Tiw’s Day’.
Tiw is the Old English form of the Proto-Germanic god ‘Tiwaz’ or ‘Tyr’ in Norse
who was a God of War and Law. The Latin variation of Martis is named after the Roman god of war, Mars and means ‘day
of Mars’ and is used in most languages with Latin Origins. In Slavic
Languages, the name gains the meaning of ‘the second’, which also symbolizes
its place in the week and in Japanese, the translation comes across as ‘fire
day’.
While Wednesday is given a bad reputation as the
day that is ‘full of woe’, in the Greek and Spanish speaking world, Tuesday is
actually seen as an unlucky day and if the 13th day of the month
falls on a Tuesday, well it is unlucky, just like how many Western cultures
believe that if the 13th falls on a Friday, then it is an unlucky
day. In the Thai solar calendar the name means ‘ashes of the dead’ and
the colour that is associated with the name is pink.
Also, like I mentioned slightly earlier, like
Wednesday’s child is full of woe, the folk rhyme states that ‘Tuesday’s child is full of grace’. That
is quite a darling meaning especially against all the negativity or darkness
that protrudes itself from some of the other meanings. It might also make an
interesting way to honour a past family member who has the name Grace.
Tuesday is also associated with the planets Mars
and Uranus – and it is the usual day for elections in the USA so it would make
an eclectic choice for someone who is really into politics. There are other
days associated with a Tuesday as well including Black Tuesday (part of the
Great Stock Market Crash of 1929), Shrove Tuesday (precedes the first day of
Lent in the Western Calender) and Fat Tuesday (associated with Mardi Gras and
is the same day as Shrove Tuesday).
There are Tuesday’s in popular culture as well,
though not as notable as Wednesday’s pop culture fixture. The American actress
Susan Ker Weld changed her name to Tuesday Weld, the ‘That 70s Show’ spin-off, ‘That
80’s Show’ had a character called Jane Tuesday who went by the name Tuesday and
in Jasper Fforde’s Bookworld novels there is a Tuesday Next, daughter of
Thursday.
Tuesday is the third most favoured day of the week
when it comes to naming children. Sunday comes first and is used on both males
and females, and Wednesday is next but Tuesday follows close behind with 22
girls given the name this year. All the other days of the week have none. I do
see Tuesday as one of the more viable ‘day-names’ and I think it would be a
unique, quirky and lively choice for a daughter, even with all the meanings surrounding
‘ash’ and ‘unluckiness’.
Picture Source: http://pinterest.com/pin/98586679313563681/
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