Bathory

Happy Halloween! On this spookiest of days I decided to highlight the surname of the most famous family to rule over Transylvania, the noble Bathory family. The most famous member of this family was Elizabeth Bathory who was better known as ‘The Blood Countess’. As the historical figure that Count Dracula was based on, she seems like the perfect person to look at on a name-blog based around historical figures.

Bathory (pronounced: BATH-ohr-ee) is the surname of a group of Hungarian Nobles and is from the word “bator” meaning ‘valiant’. For such a noble meaning, the family in history has not exactly lived up to this meaning. They reached the height of their power in the 16^th and 17^th century and while there were some good members, like King Stephan Bathory of Polland, the more brutal and sadistic are the ones that have been remembered today. Even an uncle of the most famous, Elizabeth, was a Devil worshiper.

Whilst Elizabeth was considered a beauty with raven hair and pale skin, she did have, let’s say, her problems. She was promiscuous, vain, narcissistic and highly sadistic and she was considered a vampire in her own time due to her enjoyment of torturing servants, especially young women. Elizabeth became so fearful of losing her youth and beauty as she got older that according to folklore when a servant girl accidently pulled her hair when styling it, Elizabeth struck the girl drawing blood and when she washed the blood off her hands she thought that her skin had become youthful and supple again.

Long story short, Elizabeth went on to kill hundreds of girls from the lower ranks and got away with it before starting to kill high ranking girls and that would be her undoing. She enjoyed torturing them and it is famously suggested that she bathed in virgin’s blood. Creepy and fit for Halloween? I think so. When she started killing high ranking girls she got caught but was never charged and instead was confined to house arrest in 1611 and died in 1614.

Bathory has never been a popular name and I doubt that it has ever been used as a given name. It does have Rory as a possible nickname, however, and could fit in with other popular three-syllable-names such as Melody and Emily as well as other surname-three-syllable names like Kennedy, Bellamy and Flannery. However, if you know your history, this name might not sit well with you. I think that Elizabeth Bathory is a fascinating person to look at but as someone I would want my daughter to look up to and aspire to be, well, not so much. It might be for someone however and would make for an interesting three syllable choice. 

Picture source: http://pinterest.com/pin/147492956516666419/

Berlin

Scanning through some names given to babies in 2011, one name caught my attention and that was Berlin. With other cities of the world being used on children including London, Paris and Sydney, the German capital of Berlin seems like a natural choice as a successor to these names.

Marlene Dietrich in 'The Blue Angel',
the epitome of Weimar Germany Style

Berlin (pronounced: BEHR-lyn) is of German origin and means ‘borderline’. I don’t think that place names generally are chosen for their meaning but for what the culturally represent to the parents of the child. In the 1920s, Berlin became an epicenter of culture and was the heart of the Roaring Twenties thanks to the Weimar Republic that was established at the end of WWI. Films such as ‘Metropolis’, ‘Blue Angel’ starring Marlene Dietrich and ‘Pandora’s Box’ starring Louise Brooks where made in Germany at this time and the movie and musical ‘Cabaret’ starring Liza Minnelli is a good look at what Weimar Germany was all about.

Berlin is of course also known for the Berlin Wall that divided Berlin during The Cold War. Of course, I prefer the imagery of 1920’s Berlin but of course, the Berlin Wall was an iconic structure connected to the city for a time.

In 2011, the name was given to 97 baby girls and 5 baby boys. This is compared to other capital names such as London (given to 3145 girls and 448 boys), Paris (given to 927 girls and 74 boys) and Sydney (given to 3942 girls and 66 boys)/Sidney (given to 412 girls and 227 boys) or even the popular non-capital place name of Brooklyn (given to 7115 girls and 77 boys), the name Berlin is a rare and unique choice when it comes to selecting a place name for your child. 

Britannia

With names like Brittany/Britney having seen their day and Britton currently on the rise, a possible variation to it all could be Britannia. The thought process behind me profiling this name came from watching the show Quints By Surprise, and one of their quints in called Britton. Long story short, I ended up coming across Britannia as an alternative with a slightly frillier sound, thanks to having more syllables.

Britannia (pronounced: brit-AN-ee-ah or brih-TAN-yah) is of Latin background and means ‘from Brittany or Great Britain’. A pretty self explanatory meaning if I do say so myself but in truth it is quite the patriotic name and in this year of Diamond Jubilees and Olympic Games, the spotlight is on Britain so if you were going to use the name at any time this would have been the perfect year (not saying that you can’t use it any other time, you can).

The name has been around since Ancient times and is not only an Ancient term for Great Britain but also a female personification of the island. The Roman Empire conquered an empire they deemed to be called Britannia (roughly cutting off south of Scotland). It was in the 2^nd century that the name was given to Roman Britannia as a personified Goddess who was armed with a shield, trident and centurion’s helmet. She is a symbol of British Imperial power and strength and is seen on British coinage.

The world is now naming kids after other Goddesses from around the world and while you may or may not be British, the idea of strength and power is a good thing to rally behind your daughter. One of the most famous uses of the name Britannia is in the patriotic song, ‘Rule Britannia!’ from 1740. I may not live in Britain but I do know the song, especially since my history teacher loved to sing it when we learnt about British naval battles when studying WWI. The words come from the poem of the same name by James Thomson.   

Rule Britannia!

Britannia rule the waves

Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.

Rule Britannia!

Britannia rule the waves.

Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.

The name is also commonly used is the naming of naval ships in England, with many called HMS Britannia and was well as a naval training college. Many companies use the name, there was a luxury car made in 1983 and an airline in 1952. The first steam engine liner in 1840 was called RMS Britannia and it is also a popular pub name with 82 of them in the UK (last recorded in 2011).

Alternatives to Britannia are Brittania, Britania and Brittanya though you might also like Brittani or Brittana as well. Really, it just all depends on how many letter ‘T’ and ‘N’ you want to put in.

The name definitely fits into my love of names with numerous syllables and there are a plethora of nicknames that come to mind as well including Britton, Britt, Tanya, Nia and Annie. The Brittania spelling was given to 8 girls in US last year though I prefer the original spelling and I think it is an alternative name to other names on the charts that would definitely be a unique and rare name for your daughter. 

Photo Source: http://pinterest.com/pin/235383517994344668/

Bysshe

Whilst Byron, Percy and Keats are all currently being used on baby boys, another name of the English Romantic Poets, Bysshe, is not. The middle name of Percy Bysshe Shelley, it would definitely make a perfectly interesting choice for your child.

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)

Bysshe (pronounced: BISH) is a rare English masculine name that derives from an English surname. It is considered a variant of the surname ‘Bush’. This name originally meant ‘a person that lived near the bush’. The names origins however are either Norse-Viking, deriving from the pre 9^th century ‘buskr’, or the Olde English pre 7^th century ‘busc’.

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) is the most famous bearer of the name. A Romantic English poet, he is famous for his work, obviously, as well as being the husband of Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein) and for his death for he drowned in a sudden storm off the coast of Italy, in a boat originally named ‘Don Juan’ but reportedly re-named ‘Ariel’ just before his death. Also, interstingly, he wrote much on vegetarianism. His middle name was to honour his grandfather, Sir Bysshe Shelley. Later on, the Scottish Victorian-Era poet, James Thomson (1834-1882) went by the pseudonym Bysshe Vanolis.

There are plenty of variants to the name as well including Bushe, Bish, Bysh, Busk and Buske. All of the variants though were given to less than five, or none at all, in 2011 so this is not a common name. It could make for an interesting name, nick-name or middle name choice for your child and I think there is potential for this name yet.