Valentine's Day Baby Names

This is a repost of last year’s entry.  Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!

Valentine’s Day has had several incarnations over the past several thousand years.   While the origin is somewhat debated, it likely originated in Rome to take the place of Lupercalia, an Ancient Roman festival honoring the wolf Lupa who suckled Romulus and Remus.  Women were fed raw animal parts in an effort to make them more fertile.  The pope outlawed pagan Lupercalia, but kept the amorous spirit of the holiday when he declared February 14 to be St. Valentine’s day.  But who was St. Valentine?

When Emporer Claudius II saw that he had a disgruntled and homesick fleet, he outlawed marriage.  St. Valentine, who thought this practice was unjust, kept marrying couples in secret.  He was caught and imprisoned.  Grateful men and women passed him notes and flowers, and his last note passed out of the prison was said to be signed, “Love, Your Valentine.”  And so the tradition began.

Today the commercial aspects of the holiday have taken hold.  Despite it’s Hallmark status, it has always been and will always be one of my favorites.  Tiny surprise gifts in red and pink and traditional chocolates sprinkle our house with lots of love.  I was reminded how special it was again when we received lovingly crafted homemade valentines from my mother far away.  This time, they were for my daughter.  And so the tradition continues.

GIRLS

Ahava- Hebrew, “love”

Aiko- Japanese, “love, affection” + “child”

Amabel- English, from the Latin amabilis ”lovable”

Amy, Aimée- Both from the Old French, amée, ”beloved”

Amity- English, “friendship”

Amethyst- Greek.  Did anyone know that February’s birthstone means literally, “not drunk”?  These precious stones were thought to ward off inebriation.

Angela, Angelica, Angelina- Latin, “angel”, “messenger”

Annabel, Annabelle, Annabella- Originally arose as a misspelling of Amabel, see above

Aphrodite- Greek goddess of love who was born from the foam in the sea.  Aphros means foam in Greek.

Branwen- Welsh goddess of love

Cara- Italian for “beloved”; the Welsh caru also means “love”

Carys- Welsh, “love”

Cordula- Latin, “heart”

Esme- Scottish via Old French, meaning “esteemed” or “beloved”

Freya- Old Norse, “lady”; Norse goddess of love and beauty

Hermione- Greek, “messenger”

Janan- Arabic, “heart, soul”

Kerensa- Cornish, “love”

Kokoro- Japanese, “heart, soul”

Lakshmi- Sanskrit, “sign, luck”, and the Hindu goddess of beauty

Love- English, derived from lufu in Old English

Nayeli- Zapotec, Native American, “I love you”

Poésie- French, “poetry”

Posy- A diminutive of Josephine, but also a bunch of flowers

Priya- Sanskrit, “beloved”

Psyche- Greek, “to breathe” or “soul”; In Greek mythology, Psyche was Eros’ lover, and the envy of Aphrodite

Rosa- Italian for not only “rose”, but the color “pink”, making this doubly appropriate for this rosy holiday

Rose- Originally derived from Germanic elements hrod ”fame” and heid ”type” in the forms Roese and Rohese, and later associated with the flower

Tanith- “Serpent lady”; Phoenician goddess of love and fertility

Valentina, Valentine- Latin, “brave, valiant”

Venus- Latin, Roman goddess of love, passion, and beauty

Violet- Latin, from Viola, also symbolizing the flower for February

BOYS

Amado, Amato- Spanish and Latin respectively, “beloved”

Amias- English, “friendship”

Archer- English surname, and the occupation of Cupid

Bard- A college and a surname of the same meaning, a poet or singer

Cupid- Latin, from cupido which means “desire”, this winged sex god morphed into an infant over time.

David- Hebrew, “beloved”

Erasmo, Erasmus- Greek, “beloved.”  St. Erasmus is the patron saint of sailors

Eros- Greek, “passionate love”, Aphrodite’s son and the predecessor to Rome’s Cupid

Habib- Arabic, “beloved, darling”

Hermes- Greek mythology, messenger to Zeus

Hubert- Germanic, “bright heart, mind”

Jedidiah- Hebrew, “beloved”

Lev- Hebrew, “heart”

Philo- Greek, “to love”

Red- English, usually given as a nickname to a person with red hair, beard, or complexion

Tadhg, Teague- Irish, “poet”

Valentine, Valentijn, Valentino- Latin, “brave, valiant”