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Does anyone know where Sansa comes from and what it means?
Here it says that it is Sanskrit and means "praise" or "charm" but I couldn't find a confirmation for this.
Arya is definitely also Sanskrit so maybe the author of "Game of Thrones" was interested in India? It could also just be a coincidence as a name like Arya is easy to make up.
So I'm just wondering is Sansa really Sanskrit and if not where does it come from?
Please rate my list: https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/6232
Here it says that it is Sanskrit and means "praise" or "charm" but I couldn't find a confirmation for this.
Arya is definitely also Sanskrit so maybe the author of "Game of Thrones" was interested in India? It could also just be a coincidence as a name like Arya is easy to make up.
So I'm just wondering is Sansa really Sanskrit and if not where does it come from?
Please rate my list: https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/6232
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Replies
Many names used in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) are elaborations or new spellings of common English medieval names:
Eddard - Edward
Jon - John
Robb - Robert
Catelyn - Catherine
Rickon - Rick, Richard
Joffrey - Geoffrey
Jaime - Jamie, James
Margaery - Margery
Tommen - Thomas
Melisandre - Melisande
Lancel - Lancelot
Sansa was surely inspired by Sancha / Sancia, which was a common name among European royalty during the Middle Ages.
Eddard - Edward
Jon - John
Robb - Robert
Catelyn - Catherine
Rickon - Rick, Richard
Joffrey - Geoffrey
Jaime - Jamie, James
Margaery - Margery
Tommen - Thomas
Melisandre - Melisande
Lancel - Lancelot
Sansa was surely inspired by Sancha / Sancia, which was a common name among European royalty during the Middle Ages.
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This site (in the submitted names section) refutes the theory of a Sanskrit origin for Sansa.
Not every ASOIAF name comes from medieval names. Some are derived from:
- Ancient names (Cersei / Circe, Oberyn / Auberon)
- more modern names (Lyanna, Brienne)
- non-Western names (Asha)
- made up names (Danaerys, Tyrion)
The name Arya could presumably belong in the last three categories. Perhaps the fact that Arya does not have a medieval-inspired name, like the rest of her family, is a deliberate choice to make her stand out more.
The only names I can think of that could be a direct inspiration for Arya are Ariadne / Ariana, Daria, Maria, Hilaria, Berengaria. Or perhaps Harry? (Arya is called Arry when she's disgusted as a boy.) But I find it more likely that her name was created by GRRM to make her a more distinctive character.
Not every ASOIAF name comes from medieval names. Some are derived from:
- Ancient names (Cersei / Circe, Oberyn / Auberon)
- more modern names (Lyanna, Brienne)
- non-Western names (Asha)
- made up names (Danaerys, Tyrion)
The name Arya could presumably belong in the last three categories. Perhaps the fact that Arya does not have a medieval-inspired name, like the rest of her family, is a deliberate choice to make her stand out more.
The only names I can think of that could be a direct inspiration for Arya are Ariadne / Ariana, Daria, Maria, Hilaria, Berengaria. Or perhaps Harry? (Arya is called Arry when she's disgusted as a boy.) But I find it more likely that her name was created by GRRM to make her a more distinctive character.
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Thanks! I have done more research and I actually don't think the author used any non-Western names on purpose and that the fact that Arya and Asha are also non-western is a coincidence. He released his first book in 1996 and even though this site existed (I believe) it hardly included any foreign names and this was true for most of internet sources back then.
I agree that not all of his names come for medieval names, but I do think that all of his names are based on more common English names (many English names have Hebrew and Greek roots):
Circe - is well-known in English speaking countries and has Greek roots as do many common English names (e.g. Alexander)
Auberon - was used by Shakespeare
Lyanna - pretty sure that this isn't supposed to sound modern but that it is supposed to be a twist on the common Leanne. Just like other names he used are variants of well-known English/classic names (e.g. Eddard instead of Edward, Robb instead of Robert, Cersei instead of Circe)
Brienne - Briana is an old name used in the popular "The Faerie Queene", I think this is just a twist. Brianna was also crazy common in the 90s but Briana in itself is an old, classic name.
Asha - Ashley was popular for men ever since popularity statistics exist (late 1800s) and probably before and crazy popular for girls in the 80s and 90s. Aisling (ASH-ling) was also an extremely popular name in the UK and Ireland in the 80s and 90s. I think Asha is just a twist.
Daenerys - her nickname is Dany so my guess is that it was a twist on the very popular Danielle/Daniella, maybe influenced by a Welsh name (many Welsh names end in -ys.
I agree that not all of his names come for medieval names, but I do think that all of his names are based on more common English names (many English names have Hebrew and Greek roots):
Circe - is well-known in English speaking countries and has Greek roots as do many common English names (e.g. Alexander)
Auberon - was used by Shakespeare
Lyanna - pretty sure that this isn't supposed to sound modern but that it is supposed to be a twist on the common Leanne. Just like other names he used are variants of well-known English/classic names (e.g. Eddard instead of Edward, Robb instead of Robert, Cersei instead of Circe)
Brienne - Briana is an old name used in the popular "The Faerie Queene", I think this is just a twist. Brianna was also crazy common in the 90s but Briana in itself is an old, classic name.
Asha - Ashley was popular for men ever since popularity statistics exist (late 1800s) and probably before and crazy popular for girls in the 80s and 90s. Aisling (ASH-ling) was also an extremely popular name in the UK and Ireland in the 80s and 90s. I think Asha is just a twist.
Daenerys - her nickname is Dany so my guess is that it was a twist on the very popular Danielle/Daniella, maybe influenced by a Welsh name (many Welsh names end in -ys.
This message was edited 5/5/2021, 5:46 AM
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Sansa was a name created by George R. R. Martin for the character so unless he makes a statement about how he created it any further ideas of its origin are speculative.
However, one speculation would be that it's an alteration of Sancia. That might make sense as in Renaissance Italy Lucrezia Borgia’s brother Gioffre (1481-1517) married Sancia, daughter of the King of Naples. Perhaps Martin unconsciously remembered that when he was creating the characters Sansa and Joffrey.
For more information on the use of "Game of Thrones" names for real babies, here is a link to my column on the subject:
https://omaha.com/entertainment/evans-game-of-thrones-may-be-over-but-its-legacy-lives-on-in-names/article_b92d1109-2206-51ec-919a-1fd73ac1d4b9.html
However, one speculation would be that it's an alteration of Sancia. That might make sense as in Renaissance Italy Lucrezia Borgia’s brother Gioffre (1481-1517) married Sancia, daughter of the King of Naples. Perhaps Martin unconsciously remembered that when he was creating the characters Sansa and Joffrey.
For more information on the use of "Game of Thrones" names for real babies, here is a link to my column on the subject:
https://omaha.com/entertainment/evans-game-of-thrones-may-be-over-but-its-legacy-lives-on-in-names/article_b92d1109-2206-51ec-919a-1fd73ac1d4b9.html
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