Fascinating Female Names From My Family Tree

In honour of International Women's Day earlier this week I thought I'd have a look at five female names that I've found on my family tree. Tracing my family tree is something I've been doing off and on for the past few years - roughly as long as I've had this blog, I guess. As my interest in names grew keener so too did my curiosity in what names had previously been used in my own family (besides the couple of generations I already knew). It's a sometimes frustrating - but more often fascinating - activity which I highly recommend trying if you haven't already. Or if the family historian hasn't already beaten you to it.

So here are five of the most  (I think) fascinating female names from my family tree. I'd love to hear what gems can be found on yours!

Rohese - 11th century France 

I've heard people complain that Rose as a first is old fashioned, and Rose as a middle name is a filler. But this medieval version of Rose definitely can't be accused of either of those things these days. Also in my tree is Rohesia and Roesia, other versions of Rose. Any of these three is a good way to re-introduce some old-fashioned romantic charm to a name that has been a favourite for generations.

Hephzibah - 19th century England
What a mouthful this one is - and what a surprise to find it on my family tree. I always felt like it was the kind of name given to old crones and evil witches in fairy tales. But the meaning is so at odds with that image! This Ancient Hebrew name found in the Bible means "my delight is in her" - a beautiful sentiment to bestow on your beloved daughter.

This name was apparently passed down through my family in a few different forms - Hepzibah, Hepsibah and even the elaborate Hephzabahian, which was very distinctive in comparison to her siblings William, Mary, Johnathan, Harriet, Emma and George.

Aseda - 9th century Norway
Aseda is a bit of a mystery name - it's hard to find any information about it. Apparently this relative also went by Ascride/Ascrida, Aserida or Ásdís. The latter is the only one that can be found on the website Nordic Names, and it seems that it loosely means 'goddess'.

It's names like this that perfectly illustrate the ever changing nature of names. We may lament on the 'correct' spelling of names, but names and spellings have often been fluid, whether by design or due to mis-translations or mis-spelling.

Thurfrida - 11th century England
Alternatively spelled Torfrida, there is both a mother a daughter in my tree with the same name, and I wish I knew the names of the mother's parents to see how far back this name goes. It's hard to track down the meaning of this name though. This makes me tempted to say it might come from a combination of Thor or Tor (Old Norse for 'thunder') and Frida, which means 'beautiful' or 'beloved' in Old Norse, or 'peace' in Germanic. I like to think that 'beautiful thunder' is the intention, as it's such a romantic notion.

Godiva - 11th century England
Godiva was Thurfrida's mother in law. And if you're wondering - yes, apparently it is that Godiva. Godiva was the 17th Great Grandmother of the wife of  my 12th Great Grandfather. It is reported to have been a fairly popular name at the time, and was a Latinised version of an Old English name meaning 'gift of God'.

While the tale of Lady Godiva riding naked through the streets to stop her husbands' oppressive taxes on his people can't be totally substantiated, it's a tale that it re-told and celebrated enough that this name will always be associated with naked horseback riding. Which unfortunately makes this name unusable for a modern child. But not a bad choice for your chocolates ☺

Bellamy

Bellamy Blake, portrayed by Bob Morley on the CW TV show 'The 100'

Bellamy is an interesting one. I started seeing this name pop up quite regularly in forums maybe a year or a little more ago. It felt like it came out of nowhere, and suddenly it was on everyone's favourites list.

Admittedly I didn't see the immediate appeal, possibly thrown by the fact that it was most often discussed as a boys name, when to me it felt more feminine. Possible nicknames all felt girly - Belle, Amy, Mimi and Bella. It's hard to escape the fact that the Bella sound is extremely popular for young girls these days. It also has the familiar three syllable, ends with Y sound and flow seen on so many other girly faves, such as Emily, Natalie, Serenity, Kimberly and Trinity (all top 100 names in the U.S).

But of course names following this pattern aren't entirely unpopular for boys too. Anthony, Zachary and Jeremy all spring to mind, not to mention unisex options such as Avery, Kennedy and Mackenzie.

And now recently there are two new TV shows featuring a male Bellamy - and suddenly I see its' masculine appeal.

Bellamy is best recognised as a surname of Norman (Old French) origin. Coming from the words beu/bel for 'good, fair, handsome' and ami meaning 'friend', it has been interpreted by different sources as having meanings such as 'my good friend', 'handsome friend' and 'good-looking companion'. Which are all pretty much different ways of saying the same thing.

There are plenty of people bearing this surname, including:

• Pirates Charles and "Black Sam" Bellamy, 
• 18th century Dutch poet Jacob Bellamy, 
• American actor Ralph Bellamy, 
• author of the U.S Pledge of Allegiance Francis Bellamy, 
• Canadian Judge Denise Bellamy, 
• American pop and country music duo 'The Bellamy Brothers'; and
• the fictional family in the 70's British TV show 'Upstairs, Downstairs'

And this is just a small sample.

Despite it's widespread use as a surname, it took a lot longer for Bellamy to make the transition to given name. It barely made the U.S SSA charts for girls in 1993 and 1996, given to just five girls each year. Then in 2003 she was given to 23 girls, and she's been present on the charts since.

It's hard to pinpoint anything that happened in 2003 to give Bellamy the boost it needed to become a steady presence on the charts. At the time English band Muse (fronted by Matt Bellamy) had released their third album, the top selling 'Absolution'. American actor Bill Bellamy was starring on TV show 'Fastlane', and actress Bellamy Young was appearing on TV Western Crime show 'Peacemakers' and 'American Dreams'. She was born Amy Young, but adopted Bellamy in order to join the Screen Actors Guild, who already had another Amy Young registered.

Then in 2009 Bravo aired a reality show called '9 By Design', featuring designers Cortney and Robert Novogratz and their children, including twin daughters Bellamy and Tallulah. Bellamy's name was chosen because her parents love France, and even spent their honeymoon there. Subsequently 2010 saw another leap in popularity of the name.

Maybe 2014 will be the year that sees Bellamy chart for boys too. Those two male Bellamy's I mentioned earlier? One is 'Resurrection' Immigration and Customs Agent Martin Bellamy, played by Omar Epps. Being a Federal Agent, he's primarily referred to as Bellamy on the show. The other is Bellamy Blake, a main character on TV show 'The 100'. He's played by young Australian actor Bob Morley, and helps to give the name a youthful, bad boy edge. I also love the alliteration of his name - Bellamy is a name that really lends itself well to alliteration for some reason.

It's equal parts soft and flowy, yet solid and spunky, with a stylish feel. On trend but not trendy. Bellamy is a well balanced name that lends itself well to either boys or girls if you're looking for something familiar feeling but not weird.