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Interesting..
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I might also add I agree with the variant of “señora” theory, and add that variations of this name are not uncommon as Mary, the mother of Jesus, is often referred to as “Nuestra Señora” (Our Lady). Naming a child a variation of this pays homage to her, and in fact “Leidy” (a variation of the English “lady”) is fairly. common in the Spanish speaking world, especially among Catholics.
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This is fairly certainly a variant of “Senora” which comes, unsurprisingly, from the Spanish word “Señora” (originally meaning lady of high or noble birth.) This has been used as a name in countries with Spanish influence for some time. Harry Belafonte’s song “Jump in the Line” is about a woman bearing this name. The fact that the name appears in Trinidadian Creole further solidifies this theory. The first colonizers to arrive on the island were Spanish speaking and remnants of the language persist.
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Not sure, Spanish usually does not confuse the letters S and Z.
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Actually I speak Spanish and have lived in Spain. S and Z are only pronounced differently in Spain. In the Caribbean, Central and South America, and in the Philippines Z and S are pronounced exactly the same.
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Though I do NOT necessarily think this supports a derivation of the Trinadian name from "Senora", it is very true that S and Z are usually pronounced the same in many Latin American dialects of Spanish, and that this often leads to respellings where one replaces the other. I have seen many examples of Hispanic Americans using spellings like Jezzica for Jessica.
This message was edited 3/13/2023, 7:24 PM
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It is very likely a variant of Zenora but this is not of much help: The meaning of Zenora is unknown, too. At least, the name Zenora has some time depth with attestations back in the 19th century, see https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Representative_women_of_New_England/Mary_E._Elliot — her mother was named Zenora.
P.S. I was able to trace the name further down to a book titled 'A genuine account of the life and transactions of H. ap D. Price ... Written by himself' and published in 1752. Still—no meaning.
P.S. I was able to trace the name further down to a book titled 'A genuine account of the life and transactions of H. ap D. Price ... Written by himself' and published in 1752. Still—no meaning.
This message was edited 3/3/2023, 2:57 PM
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