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ArchivesRe: "Negative" names
in reply to a message by E.W.
You have to look at each particular name to understand why a word with that meaning developed into a given name.
For the Spanish names you mention, most of them are "Marian devotion" names which come from titles of the Virgin Mary. Originally the full name was something like "Maria de los Dolores" (Mary of the Sorrows), and it was only gradually from shortening that full form that Dolores by itself became a given name.
Claudius wasn't a given name originally but a family name which indicated an ancestor was lame. It was nickname which developed into a family name, and then only later became a given name in honor of particular members of the Claudius family.
I think most of the Italian names would go back to a similar religious origin like the Spanish ones. I must say that whether a particular term is "negative" or not is also subjective and influenced by both cultural and personal factors. I am very surprised to see you include Modesto in your list, because to me modesty is a highly valuable and positive trait.
For the Spanish names you mention, most of them are "Marian devotion" names which come from titles of the Virgin Mary. Originally the full name was something like "Maria de los Dolores" (Mary of the Sorrows), and it was only gradually from shortening that full form that Dolores by itself became a given name.
Claudius wasn't a given name originally but a family name which indicated an ancestor was lame. It was nickname which developed into a family name, and then only later became a given name in honor of particular members of the Claudius family.
I think most of the Italian names would go back to a similar religious origin like the Spanish ones. I must say that whether a particular term is "negative" or not is also subjective and influenced by both cultural and personal factors. I am very surprised to see you include Modesto in your list, because to me modesty is a highly valuable and positive trait.
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Replies
I think it is more important to think about what a name is associated with, rather than a direct translation - which could be wrong anyways. When I hear Ajax (which I've heard could also actually mean "eagle"), I think of the great warrior. And Persephone is the beautiful maiden captured by Hades, whose mother inflicts winter upon the earth when her daughter spends her 6 monthes there.
When I think of negative names, I'm thinking more like 'Adolph' ("Noble wolf" btw), 'Osama' and 'Saddam' really. Just due to fairly modern bad connotations.
When I think of negative names, I'm thinking more like 'Adolph' ("Noble wolf" btw), 'Osama' and 'Saddam' really. Just due to fairly modern bad connotations.
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