I'm of the opinion that meanings don't change when their forms are altered. Period. (Well, except when the altered form coincides with another derivations, such as
Alannah coming from both
Alana and
a leanbh "o child".)
Therefore,
Charles and
Charlie both mean "man", and very few people would say that
Charlie means "little man" simply because
Charlie's a diminutive of
Charles. Similarly,
Caroline still means "man" imo, because it's just another direct form of
Charles, albeit one specifically meant for females.
To me, feminisations and masculinisations change what sex a name is used, but not the meaning--otherwise
Mackenzie could legitimately mean "daughter of the wise ruler" (or, rather,
Kenneth), instead of the correct "son of" as indicated by the
Mac- prefix. You get what I mean?
There's only one exception to this rule that I'm aware of:
Nerys, which perhaps derives from
ner "lord". This name is said to have had its meaning deliberately changed to "lady" when
ner was feminised. It beats me why this was so, but I do accept it. And it doesn't stop me from discarding my above opinion.
Nerys is an exception to the rule, and imo most rules need an exception from time to time.
Miranda
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