Lilian's Tree

Zara This name could represent a rarish variant of Sarah or of  Arabic origin, zahr , 'flower'. Zara Tindal, the daughter of the Princess Royal, is one person who comes to mind with this name. The other is Dame Zara Bate, who is said to have been an Australian fashion designer but I know her as Zara Holt, wife of a former Australia Prime Minister, Harold Holt.  

Yvonne. No names with Y appear on the family tree but I do have a friend with the name Yvonne. The name is an independently adopted diminutive of the French male name Yves. It was very popular in the 1950's and 1960's. While it comes from Yves, I can't find a meaning for it. Sometimes E is used instead of Y at the start of the name, as with the Australian tennis player, Evonne Cawley. We also have, Yvonne Elliman, a US singer. Yvonne Craig, US actress.  

Xanthia A cousin's daughter has this lovely name but it isn't listed in my book. The only name given is Xavier. I've had to go to the internet and see what I could find. The website    www.thebump.com     gives this explanation, Xanthia  as a girl's  name  is a variant of Xanthe (Greek), and the  meaning  of  Xanthia  is "yellow, blonde".    

William. My William, hanging on my tree was a bit of a rogue, leaving his wife, to live with another woman, changing his name, all things that make tracing family history fun. This name was introduced into England by the Normans in the person of  William the Conqueror, himself. Its origins come from the Old German name formed from willo,   'will,' 'desire' and helm, ' helmet,' protection, thus meaning one who desires to protect. In England it had been a royal name, with four kings being called William from the 11th to 19th centuries. This name had plenty to pick from, as being famous, William Shakespeare, English playwright. William Blake, English poet. William Wordsworth, English poet. William Butler Yeats, Irish poet. William Dobell, Australian painter. William Shatner, Canadian actor, yes Captain Kirk was born in Canada.   

Vera My grandmother bestowed the name Vera on her third daughter, so yes, she is on my tree. I love the explanation of this name. ' This is properly a name of Russian origin, meaning 'faith', but it happens to coincide with the Latin word vera, the feminine form of verus, 'true'" It goes on to say that the Russian equivalents of the three virtues, Faith, Hope and Charity are, Vera, Nadeshda and Lyubov. Now there are several well known ladies with this name, Dame Vera Lynn, UK singer, known as the Forces Sweetheart during WW11. Vera Brittain, UK writer and feminist. Vera Miles, US actress.    

Ursula Another letter where I have no-one having a name start with it. On checking my book I found only seven names listed as starting with U. These being Ulysses, Una, Unity, Urban, Uriah, Uriel and Ursula and there weren't many people listed as having those names. I'm starting to feel sorry for the letter U. The name is an adoption of the Latin name, itself a diminutive of ursa meaning she-bear. In the 4th century there was a St Ursula. Shakespeare, in two of his plays, Two Gentlemen of Verona (1592-3) and Much Ado About Nothing (1598), give the name to attendants of main characters. Ursula Andress, a Swiss-born US actress is the only one in the list that I think we would know. A search on the internet came up with about 20, 17 of which are strange, so poor U.  

Toens Don't you love the sound of this name? To me it sounds strong.  So who is/was Toens and does he hang on my tree?  Toens was my great, great-grandfather, so yes he hangs on my tree. As for the meaning, origin etc. I can find no information, with Google turning it into Towns! I can assume that it is German, given that he was born, married and died in Germany but that is all I know. Such an interesting name, but...  

Sinead. This is the Irish form of the English name Janet, being pronounced 'Shi nade '.  Two famous Irish ladies with this name are, Sinead Cusack,  actress and sister on Niamh Cusack. Sinead O'Connor, pop singer. Now this name doesn't hang on my tree but I didn't feel like doing Samuel, Suzanne, Stephen or Shirley.  

Ralph.                                                                  Chosen in honour of my cousin Ralph. The name is the English form of the Scandinavian name Rathulfur, meaning wise and strong. The spelling with ph came through classical Greek associations. Shakespeare used the name Ralph in the play Henry IV in 1597.   Famous Ralph's include, Ralph Waldo Emerson, US poet and essayist. Sir Ralph Richardson, UK actor. Ralph Waite, US actor, (the dad in the Waltons TV show). Ralph Fiennes, UK actor.

Quintin. This was another letter, where I didn't have a name for it, so went looking for one. Quintin is the  English form of the Latin name Quintinus, a derivative of Quintus, meaning fifth. Quentin is variant of it. So if this name appears on your tree, have a look as to where he is placed in the line-up, is he the fifth son?  

Patrick. Patrick is the given name of my late father-in-law, who was born in March just after St Patrick's Day. Patrick is the English form of the Latin name Patricius   meaning patrician, that is belonging to the Roman nobility. St Patrick is the patron of Ireland. He was a British missionary in the 5th century. Another spelling is Patric, with Pat and Paddy being diminutives of it. Famous Patrick's are, Patrick Kavanagh, Irish poet. Patrick Macnee, UK actor. Patrick Magee, UK astronomer. Patrick Swayze, US actor. Dad.                                                                                                                    ...

Olga. The Olga I have on my tree is my brother-in-law's Mum. Olga is a Russian name, with the equivalent name in Scandinavia being Helga and means holy. Tsar Nicholas of Russia had a daughter named Olga.    Other ladies with this lovely name are, Olga Master, Australian writer. Lady Olga Maitland, UK politician.  

Niamh. I don't have any names with N hanging on my tree, so I picked  one from my book, Niamh. It is an Irish name, usually pronounced 'Neeve' in English.  Niamh is goddess in Celtic mythology and the usual meaning is brightness or radiance. There are to famous Irish ladies with this name, Niamh Cusack, an actress and Niamh Kavanagh, a pop singer.  

Matilda. For those of us here in Australia, Matilda is immortalised is the song, Waltzing Matilda,   have a look at this video, sung by John Williamson.   Waltzing Matilda    Matilda is the eldest child of Michael Abberton, my great uncle. She was known in the family as Tilly. The origin on this name is from the Old German name Mahthilda, meaning mighty in battle. The name was introduced in England by Matilda (d 1083), wife of William the Conqueror. It wasn't until the 18th century before it enjoyed a period of popularity. Roald Dahl wrote a children's book, called Matilda and it is a great story. I couldn't find a famous person named Matilda.

Linus While most might think that Linus was a male name, the Linus on my tree is female, with it making an appearance as a (male)  middle name in a younger generation. Linus is a biblical name from the Greek name Linos, meaning flaxen. In Greek mythology, Linus is a musician who gives lessons to Hercules. When I think of the name Linus, I picture, Linus from the cartoon strip, Peanuts, with his security blanket. Famous people named Linus are very few and far between with only these two listed, Linus Pauling, US chemist. Linus Roache, UK actor.  

Keith. I have both an uncle and a cousin with the name Keith hanging from my tree and they are father and son. My uncle Keith made a dolls cradle for me one Christmas and now my youngest granddaughter plays with it. Keith is a Scottish surname from the town southeast of Eglin. It was taken up by English speakers in the 19th century and reached a peak in the late 1950's but has now declined. Some famous Keith's are, Keith Richards, from the Rolling Stones. Sir Keith Holyoake, former New Zealand prime minister. Keith Michell, an Australian-born, UK actor.  

Julia  This name is the feminine form of Julius, a Latin name. The name was first used in the 16th century and was most popular in the 1960's. In Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona,   the is a lady of Verona, Julia but the Italian form, Giulia is used.  (something for a trivia night) The Battle Hymn of the Republic,   was written by US author Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910). On Hubby's tree, Julia is his cousin's grandchild, so making her his 3rd cousin. Some famous Julia's are, Julia Gillard, former Australian Prime Minister. Julia Roberts, actress.  (but her first name was originally Julie.) Julia Neuberger, UK rabbi.

Iris. I don't know what you think of when you hear the word iris, but I think of the flowering bulb but I don't know what my husband's late aunt and my late sister-in-law would think about that. In Greek mythology Iris was the goddess of the rainbow and that is the meaning of the name. Another of the plant names that became popular in the late 19th century, it has now fallen from favour. So who were famous ladies named Iris,   Iris Williams, a Welsh singer,  Iris Murdoch a UK novelist  and Iris Holland, an American politician, to name a few.   My 700th Post!

Hazel. Hazel isn't a name that you hear much in the 21st century but I have a cousin Hazel hanging on my tree and my godmother was  named Hazel. Hazel comes from the bush or hazel nut tree but can also be associated with eye colour. It came into use in the late 19th century, like a lot of other plants names and after the 1930's started to fall out of favour. Some famous Hazel's are; Hazel Edwards, Australian Author, Hazel O'Connor, UK singer and actor. While I never met my cousin, I did know my godmother and she was a lovely lady. Hazel is the lady hold me at my baptism.  

Georgina. I had to look hard for a name starting with G, hanging on the trees and finally found that one of my husband's cousins had named their daughter Georgina. So, my trusty book tells me that Georgina is the feminine form of George and has been in regular use from the 18th century, with it being originally favoured in Scotland. In the US the form Georgia is preferred Georgie and Gina are diminutives that can be used but Gina is now also used as a first name. Famous Georgina's are; Georgina Haig, Australian actress, Georgina Sweet, Australian zoologist, Georgina Mace, British scientist.  

                                                                     Finis I have Finis on my tree, being my Dad's cousin but using my book I find it isn't there. Once more I turn to the internet to see what I can find and both have different places of origin. The name Finis is of French origin. The meaning of Finis is "finished". fi-nis, fin- is ] The  baby boy  name Finis  is pronounced as FIHN-ihS- †.  Finis ' origin is Latin.  Finis '  meaning  is end. ...  Finis  is rare as a baby  name  for boys. At the modest peak of its usage in 1901, 0.010% of baby boys were named  Finis .  Interesting, as my Finis was the last of six children maybe my great-aunt had a sense of hu...

                                                                 Edgar. Edgar hangs of my husbands tree with the glorious handle of Edgar Bird Ironside, being his great grandfather.  A very dapper fellow. The name Edgar comes from the Old English name,   Eadgar, formed from ead , meaning prosperity and   gar meaning spear, thus ' owning many spears.'   It has been in use from medieval time and was at it's peak in the late 19th century. Some famous Edgars are; Edgar Alan Poe, US poet and writer.  Edgar Rice Burroughs, US novelist.

                                                             Darjeeling. Now you might think that Darjeeling is a good name for tea but on my family tree I have two Darjeelings. The first is an Aunt, who married  my Uncle Fred and the second is their  daughter, Darjeeling, who only lived a few days. So where does the name come from?  I looked in my names book, with no success, so I've turned to the internet to see what I can find. This is what I found, but I'm not sure it could apply to a name; The  name  ' Darjeeling 'came from the Tibetan words,'dorje'meaning thunderbolt (originally the scepter of Indra) and 'ling'a place or land, hence 'the land of the thunderbolt'. A land-mark year in the History of  Darjeeling was  1835, but i...

Charlotte.   Charlotte holds a special place on my tree, being my 2x great-grandmother. You can read about her here Charlotte The name Charlotte is a French form of the Italian name Carlotta, with the English being Charles. It has been in English-speaking use from the 17th century. Lottie and Charley are two variants commonly used. Famous Charlotte's are,  Charlotte Bronte, author. Charlotte Rampling, UK actress. Princess Charlotte, (1796 -1817), granddaughter of George 111.

  Bruce. Bruce is the name of a cousin, on my Dad's side that I knew as a child, so what secrets does the name Bruce hold? Bruce:-  An adoption of the Scottish surname famous from the 14th century king of Scotland, Robert the Bruce. The name was particularly popular in Australia and the unusual diminutive is Brucie. Famous males called Bruce; Bruce Springsteen, musician, Bruce Oldfield, UK fashion designer. Bruce Willis, US actor. Bruce Lee, Chinese-US actor.

Albina Albina is the name of a distant cousin on my tree and has given me problems trying to find the meaning of it. In the end I resorted to good old Wikipedia for the answer. Albina  (ahl-BEE-nah) is a feminine given  name  from the Roman cognate Albinus, derived from the Latin albus,  meaning  "white" or "bright".  See also:  Albinus ,  Albin ,  Aubin Meaning:  "white", "bright" Language(s):  Latin Pronunciation:  ahl-BEE-nah https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albina I never met this cousin so I don't know if she was fair haired or fair skinned.