newcomer and some questions
Hi all,
this board is rather fascinating.
I've always been a fan of names and their origins.There are two that I have been wondering about for several years.The first is the welsh name Eilonwy, I have sort of broken it down to have some meaning but I was wondering if anyone knows an accepted one.the other is the Polish name Neshka.-shiraz
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Welcome aboard, Shiraz!
The ultimate etymology of Neshka appears to be Agnes, meaing "pure" in Greek.
The Russian form of the name is Agnessa from which scores of variations
evolved throughout the Slavic world (Neshka, Neska, Nesha, Nessa, Nesya etc etc).By the way Daividh has a dear bearded aunt called Agnes-Neshka.
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With a statue in the Louvre, no less. Hey, the Russian site said "male", and who am I to deny the truth of anything I see on the 'Net?
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Just occurred to me -- could you provide any insight to Mike T. in his 12/29 posting re the name "Nashmin"?
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I'm afraid not.
My heritage is Israeli actually, and my name is a Hebrew form meaning "secret song"
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Hi Shiraz,And welcome to the insanity!I can't add anything to Nanaea's response on "Eilonwy". I've not seen it on Welsh sites either.As for "Neshka", I've found it listed as a Russian male name with occurrences as early as the mid-17th century (could be Polish, actually, due to the fluid borders back then). Unfortunately, no meaning was given with the citation. Sorry.
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I somehow suspect that Lloyd Alexander may have invented the lyrical name of "Eilonwy" for his wonderful Chronicles of Prydain series that so many of us fondly remember having read as youngsters.I have a book which I picked up while touring Wales one year, titled *Enwau Cymraeg I Blant: Welsh Names for Children* by Heini Gruffudd, and even though this is a rather comprehensive dictionary of Welsh names, the name "Eilonwy" is not to be found in it. Probably your guess is as good as anyone's, as to a possible meaning that might be fathomed out of the combined Welsh elements of that name.I'll let someone else here tackle your question regarding the name "Neshka", as I'm off to bed now.-- Nanaea
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I had seen the name in the chronicles of Prydain, though I found it earlier in a dedication to an earlier book, though for the life of me I can't remember which book.
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