Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Names of the week

This week I am putting up a couple names. I've been obsessing about them equally. It's a strange obsession because in the past I have had very few favorite names that start with 's.'

Sunniva- (soon-EEva) (sun-EEva) This is a Norwegian name that means "sun gift." It was derived from Sunngifu a name that reportedly belonged to an Irish princess, but the name has Old English elements. The story goes that in the 900's an Irish princess fled with her brother and maidens from the prospect of an unhappy marriage. They settled in a cave on the coast of Norway. After a while, locals found the cave closed off by a landslide. In the 11th century King Olaf Tryggvason came along and decided to excavate. He was reported to have found the saint's body intact and he built a church in her honor.
Here is a statue of Sunniva in the Bergen museum.



Siri- (See-ree) This is a shortened form of Sigrid, which means "beautiful victory." I always thought Nordic names were the worst out of all European varieties, but then I found out that they don't pronounce 'd' as harshly as we do in English. Here is a link to the Norwegian pronunciation of Sigrid.

Solveig- Another name that looks ugly but sounds quite pretty in Norwegian. It means "sun way" most likely, but also possibly "sun strength." A few ladies spell this name Solvei so that it is easier to pronounce for English speakers. An extra plus to this name is Grieg's Peer Gynt. Solveig's Song is beautiful.

Suvi- This is a Finnish name. It is the poetic word for "summer." It's pronounced here. I just find it beautiful!
So, four 'S' names. How to choose?!

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