Tandra

Bachelorette Tandra Steiner

As I do, I was checking out the list of the new bachelorettes who will be vying for the heart of Chris Soules in the next season of 'The Bachelor'. Among the usual suspects (the Ashleys and the Brittanys) I noticed this rarity - Tandra.

Maybe you've met a Tandra. She first charted in the U.S in 1947, and made regular appearances up until 2009. She's never come close to cracking the top 1000 though.

But where did Tandra come from? I can't find any examples that explain why she came to people's attention in 1947 in particular. It's also interesting that it's seen as a girls name, as one of the most famous Tandra's was a male. Tandra Paparayudu was an Indian General and hero who was present at the Battle of Bobbili in 1757. So is Tandra an Indian or Sanskrit name? Maybe, although there isn't much evidence of this. Some sources cite that it's Indian meaning is 'daughter', which seems a little strange for a country where the name is associated with a male hero.

Other sources say that Tandra is a female name from Madagascar and means 'mole or beauty marks'. Not the most inspirational meaning. Others agree that it is African, but that it means 'sleep', or more specifically 'the feeling of drowsiness just before going off to sleep'. That's a little more poetic. Or maybe it could be a variant of Tandy, or even a nickname for Timandra (a Greek name used by Shakespeare).

Seems this is a name infused with mystery.

Then again, maybe the explanations of it's use in the U.S is a little more ordinary. Perhaps people were simply attracted to Tandra as an alternative to Sandra or Tanya. Sandra was after all at the height of her popularity and a top 10 name in the decade that Tandra started charting, so it's entirely plausible.

I like the sound of it. She feels a little girl-next-door, but with enough of a twist to hint at a fun and spirited personality. And we won't have to wait much longer to see what additional impressions this bachelorette will give us of the name. Maybe her appearance on the show will see Tandra back on the charts soon.

Chris Soules and his 2015 bacherlorettes

Sia

Australian Music Artist Sia

There are plenty of great girls names of the three-letter-ends-in-"ia" variety. The reigning queen for quite some time has been Mia - in Australia, the US and UK she was a top 10 name (at #5, #8 and #10) in 2013. But no-one loves her more than the Germans. In 2013 Mia was their number one girls name!

At the other end of the spectrum you'll find Sia, pronounced SEE-ah. In the US she was ranked #2979 in 2013, so is much, much rarer. Up until a few years ago you may not have heard of the name, but an Australian musician by the name of Sia has been giving this name a lot of exposure, albeit in an understated fashion.

You may recognise the name but have trouble placing her. Sia has been in the music industry for years, collaborating with many great artists. In 2010 she worked with Christina Aguilera, gaining a Golden Globe nomination for best original song from the soundtrack of 'Burlesque' and appearing as an advisor for team Aguilera on 'The Voice'. She had continued success with her next (and fifth studio album) 'We Are Born'. She was the vocals on the David Guetta track 'Titanium', and more recently had a chart topper with 'Chandelier'. And as an aside, if you haven't seen the Jim Carrey skit on 'Saturday Night Live' based on the video clip for 'Chandelier', you should. It's hilarious.

But where does the name Sia come from? Seems it has a few possible origins. Different sources claim it to be:

• Of Indian origin, derived from the goddess Sita who represents the feminine virtues of dedication, self-sacrifice, courage and purity;
• A Hebrew name meaning 'helper';
• Derived from the Old Norse "sigr", hence a Swedish name meaning 'victory';
• A Scottish word meaning 'six';
• A variant of the Arabic name Zia, meaning 'light, splendour or glow';
• Of Swedish origin, meaning 'prophesy'; or
• Persian in origin, meaning 'one who brings joy'. 

Whichever it means, it feels like the time is right for Sia to rise. She's just different and quirky enough to feel fresh and cool, yet familiar enough not to be intimidating to parents debating whether it's usable. Or maybe you think this would make a cute and spunky nickname. In which case you might want to consider names such as Anastasia, Sienna, Elyssia, Alexia, Cassia or even Sophia for the birth certificate.

Give it a few years and I'm sure you'll notice many more Sia's turning up in birth announcements.

Fairlie

Image Courtesy of Dani Brubaker

I sometimes think that parents in the rural area I grew up in were some very adventurous namers. Fairlie is a prime example of that. I don't think I have ever met another - or even heard of another - Fairlie other than the one that went to one of the same primary schools as I did (that's elementary school for my American readers).

I've always been struck by what a pretty name it is. The Fairlie that bore this name was (I assume still is) cheeky, mischievious, fun loving and passionate. I'm sure that it's these qualities that have led me to always think of this name as a happy name, one that makes me think of springtime, sunshine and blue skies.

My first assumption was that the meaning of Fairlie would be pretty straight forward. Combining fair, meaning 'fair' or 'lovely' and lie (lee/leigh) which means 'meadow' or 'clearing', it should mean 'lovely meadow' or some variation upon that, right? 

Well....turns out it may not be quite that straight forward. 

Like so many other names, Fairlie started as a surname by way of place name. It seems Fairlie and Fairley are Scottish in origin, the names of two separate clans. Variants Fairleigh and Farley however are English. With so many variants, some of the meanings I've seen besides 'fair meadow' are:

• 'the boar's field', from the word 'eofor' meaning boar or hog
• from 'fearn leah' it could mean 'the fern wood' or 'the fern covered field'
• or possibly 'fair wood'
• from Farley, it could mean 'meadow of the sheep' or 'meadow of the bulls'
• or maybe 'the far field'
• or some sources say it means 'from the yellow meadow'

Whichever it is, one thing is for certain - it's been around a long time as a surname. 

All forms predate the 7th century, with many originating from the barony of Fairlie in Ayrshire, Scotland. There is still a little town called Fairlie there today, plus towns in New Zealand and South Africa and a National Park in the Australian state of Queensland. While there are plenty of notable people with the surname Fairlie, there only seems to be one who has the given name Fairlie. That would be Fairlie Harmar. She was also known as Viscountess Harberton, and was an English painter who lived from 1876-1945. Around the same time (1866-1948), the differently spelled Colonel Fairleigh S Dickinson was also making a name for himself as the co-founder of Becton Dickinson and a benefactor of Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Which raises another intriguing aspect to this name - is this a male or female name? Most sources would say male, but it feels feminine to me as I've only known a female Fairlie. However, it's such a rare name that it really could be used however you like, as very few people would have preconceived opinions on what gender a Fairlie "should" be. 

Or maybe it comes down to the impression you get from the spelling. To me, Fairley leans male, Fairleigh feels like a little lady and Fairlie feels like a bundle of fun in either gender. Of these, Fairley is actually the only one to ever chart in the U.S. It was only for boys, and mainly clustered around the 1940's.

If you are happy to live with puns about it being a "fairly good" name, Fairlie is a great name to consider. It works especially well if you want to recognise your Scottish roots without using a name that is pigeonholed as typically Scottish. Or maybe you want to honour a Lee or Leigh and are looking for something out of the ordinary. Or maybe like me, Fairlie simply brings a smile to your face. And who doesn't like a name that makes you want to smile when you say it.

Quill and Gamora

The 'Guardians of the Galaxy' - Drax (Dave Bautista), Gamora (Zoe Saldana),
Quill "Star Man" (Chris Pratt), Groot (Vin Diesel) & Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper)

You may have seen recently the trailer for the upcoming latest Marvel movie adaptation, 'Guardians of the Galaxy'. It looks like it's going to be a very fun and cheeky almost anti-hero superhero movie (although having not read the comics it's based on, I'm not sure how accurate that actually is). When watching the trailer though, like many of us name enthusiasts I found myself oohing and ahhing at the names just as much as the action and special effects.

And there are some great character names in this! Nebula, Rocket, Drax, Ronan, Taneleer, Meredith, Korath, Rhomann and Yondu - such a great mix of different, "spacey" and futuristic sounding names. But the two that struck me the most were Quill and Gamora, which I think are most like to get a small boost in popularity when this movie is released.

Quill is actually the surname of main character Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star Lord, played by Chris Pratt. Quill (pronounced KWIL) is a pretty cool sounding word name. Its a great name if you love writing. I love that it evokes images of an old fashioned time when people wrote with feather quills and inkwells, yet also feels kind of futuristic. That's possibly because Q names aren't very popular - it's a good example of the "scrabble effect".

This is not the only character named Quill to grace our screens in recent years. One of the 'Twilight' werewolves was Quil Ateara, and Quill was an Australian love interest introduced to the 'Luann' comic strip in 2009. These examples are all males, but Quill feels like it could easily be a unisex name like Quinn. It's never charted for either in the U.S.

There's a few different given meanings for Quill, which include:

• It is an English name meaning 'feather'
• It's a diminutive of Irish name Quillan (pronounced KILL-an) meaning 'lion cub';
• It's an anglicised version of Gaelic surname O'Cuill, meaning 'descendant of Coll'
• It's a diminutive of English occupational name for a scribe or writer, Quiller 

On the other hand, there is very little history behind the name Gamora. It has never charted in the U.S, which isn't to say it is never used as a first name, just that it has never been used more than five times in one year. It seems it is more likely you'll see Gamora as a middle or surname.

Gamora's resemblance to the biblical city of Gomorrah pretty much guarantees that this will never be a widely used name. The tale of the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah means it is permanently associated with unbridled sin, and while Gamora is not spelled the same, phonetically it's far too close for comfort.

Which is a real shame. Gamora both looks and sounds pretty enough to be an attractive name. I was convinced I had heard it before as the name of a planet or star, but it seems that it was largely created for this character by Jim Starlin for her first appearance in 'Strange Tales #180' in 1975.

But if anyone can get a name off the ground it's the beautiful Zoe Saldana, who plays Gamora in 'Guardians of the Galaxy'. She's starting to build a solid reputation playing smart, sexy, brave, dangerous and exotic characters, a winning combination. Zoe has put the names Neytiri and Cataleya on the charts in recent years - perhaps her magic touch will work for Gamora too.

Both have great potential - old world yet futuristic sounding, fresh and spunky. And the movie will likley only help with this perception, especially if it's turns out to be as successful as the promoters are hoping (it's not even out for another five months yet!) What do you think - are Quill and Gamora be your picks for breakout names inspired by 'Guardians of the Galaxy'?

Zaria

Photo Courtesy of Unposed Kids Photography

Today's nature name Zaria was plucked from Waltzing More Than Matilda's debut book 'International Baby Names for Australian Parents', which is full of good ideas even if you're not in Australia.

Zaria has a few possible pronunciations, which include ZAHR-ee-ah (my favourite), ZAHR-yah; or zah-RY-uh. And just as she has multiple pronunciations, she also has multiple origins in Russian/Slavic, Arabic, Swahili and Hebrew.

In Russian Zaria (or Zarya) means 'dawn' or 'sunrise'. It may also have links to the Zorya, who in Slavic mythology are two (or three) guardian goddesses known as the Auroras. They represent the Morning Star and the Evening Star, the third one being the Midnight Star, who is sometimes omitted. They watch over the doomsday hound who would bring on the end of the world if his chain were to break.

This is not the only link Zaria has to Slavic mythology, either. Zaria (separate to the Zorya) is the goddess of beauty, who was known as "the heavenly bride" and associated with the morning. According to Wikipedia, people prayed to her at dawn and thought her to be "the brightest maiden, pure, sublime, honourable". She was also known as a water priestess who protected warriors and was invoked to protect against death in battle.

Another popular belief is that Zaria comes from the Arabic name Zahrah, meaning 'blooming flower'. Similarly, the Swahili name Zahra also means 'flower', giving this name a lovely floral connection that is far less literal than options like Flora or Fleur or the wide range of floral word names like Rose and Lily.

It's also possible that Zaria is a variant of Sarah, a Hebrew name meaning 'princess'; or perhaps Zara, meaning 'radiance'. Which brings us full circle back to the Russian association with sunrise.

Zaria fits in well with todays' namescape - a little less popular than Zara (who feels quite popular in Australia) but without the "dingoes took my baby" association we Australians have with the name Azaria. In the U.S she was positioned at #857 on the charts in 2012, putting her in company with names such as Lara, Sky, Alyvia and Elliot; all of which seem comparatively much more recognised and/or "trendy" at the moment. So she's popular enough to be liked by many, but not so commonly discussed that she feels like she's much more commonly used than she actually is. Anecdotally, much of it's American popularity seems to be amongst African Americans, as a nod to their African heritage via the Nigerian city of Zaria.

I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking that Zaria has a beautiful, lovely exotic sound and feel. I love the rich history and varied associations - it even has dual nature meanings! Zaria seems to me to be an understated name that nevertheless makes a statement, and a stylish one at that.