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But Tristan doesn't mean "sad"
in reply to a message by Seda*
Tristan:
From the Celtic name Drystan, which was probably derived from
drest meaning "riot" or "tumult". It is sometimes associated with Latin tristus "sad", but this connection is doubtful.Miranda
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You could say it has the partial meaning "sad"... Most in-depth information on Tristan acknowedges that Drystan's change to Tristan was directly influenced by French "triste", because of the character's tragic fate.Just as you could say the name Rose only has the partial meaning "rose", Tristan probably does partially mean "sad", if that was the intention behind its form.
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I still always think of sad and so do most people...*Aphrodite* (aka Hattie)
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Nope, in fact, this is from babynames.com...TRISTAN

Gender: Male
Meaning: Bold, melancholy.
Origin: Celtic/Gaelic
User Rating:
5=LOVE IT
1=HATE IT 3.4

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Babynames.com can't be trustedIt's one of the crappiest, most inaccurate places to get name meanings. They don't care about accuracy, since they cater to ignorant parents who just want to find a name for their KEWT BAYBEE!1!, and don't care about etymology.In short, never trust Babynames.com, or any of its many clones. It'll probably be wrong. And certainly don't call them "factual".Miranda
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Really? I'm sorry...
Where would you suggest going online besides here?
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Several placesNote that you should try and double-check in several places--basically do your own research--if you want to be 100% sure of something regarding a name.That said, here are some good sites that I have bookmarked:
http://tools.oxygen.com/babynamer/ - Oxygen's Babynamer. Fairly accurate, but does have some errors. Also has quite a few kre8iv spellings, some very cringe-worthy (Qeleigh for Kelly, for one). Has interesting categories and namesakes, and a relatively good search. You used to be able to contribute opinions on names, but they've apparently removed that feature
http://www.geocities.com/edgarbook/names/welcome.html - Edgar's Name Pages. A less professional, but still fairly accurate site. Gives top 50 popularities for England going all the way back to the Middle Ages, and lots of other goodies. Is due for an update soon
http://www.gaminggeeks.org/Resources/KateMonk/ - Kate Monk's site. I regret I keep not checking it out fully due to various distractions, but everyone here praises it for accuracy, and being backed up by sources. Includes, among other things, medieval names for both sexes, as well as Puritan names
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/ - Feminine Given Names in A Dictionary of English Surnames. In other words, lots of female names that were used in the Middle Ages in England, separated into eras. Not etymology-oriented--although it does have some--but is rather focused on what names parents were naming their daughters
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~oel/givennames.html - Given names used from 1450 to 1650 in England. Quite similar to the above site, but includes male names too

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