Thursday 23 June 2011

New Poll: Which Austen hero has the best first-name?

When it comes to names I have somewhat of an obsession, I love looking at their meanings and origin, and I often spend hours looking through baby name books or websites. Lately I have been thinking a lot about the names of some of my favourite heroes, and in particular those wonderful men within Jane Austen's novels. Although it was extremely easy to pick my favourite, I thought it might be fun if I did put up a poll to see which name you thought was the best.
So, we have 8 heroes and 8 names, in additon to listing the names I have also given the orgin and some of the meanings, because sometimes I find the meaning can help you to decide. I hope you enjoy this post and don't forget to vote for your favourite name.

*in alphabetical order (not preference)
 



CHARLES

Origin: German, English, French

Meaning: "man", "free man", "army, warrior"




CHRISTOPHER

Origin: Greek

Meaning: "Christ- bearer", "bearer of the Christ"



EDMUND

Origin: Old English

Meaning: "prosperous protector"




EDWARD

Origin: Old English

Meaning: "prosperous guardian", "wealthy protector"





FITZWILLIAM

Origin: English, Celtic

Meaning: "son of William"




FREDERICK

Origin: German

Meaning: "peaceful ruler"




GEORGE

Origin: Greek

Meaning: "farmer", "earth worker"



HENRY

Origin: German

Meaning: "ruler of the household"






Also if you happen to love (or you're just simply interested) in names Miss Laurie has a wonderful blog I would encourage you to visit called Name Enthusiast.

Much love from your friend,

Mel xx

5 comments:

Melody said...

Either Edmund or Frederick or...George. haha

(I call everybody George and it makes me start to like it. :P)

I'll decide later.

Jujube said...

Knowing a name's origin and meaning is really interesting. For the my favorite Austen hero name (excluding the meanings), I like Edmund best. I just like the way it sounds. But with the meanings included, I like Charles and Christopher.

Miss Laurie said...

Wow! How did I miss this post? I saw and voted in the poll but somehow missed this lovely post!
First, thanks so much for linking to me! I'd love to have a few more visitors!

I adore the name Edmund (as you know Mel!) and do love the meaning as well! But my favorite of these meanings is Christopher. It's too bad Jane Austen didn't really give Colonel Brandon a first name, but Christopher suits him.

I always have thought that the names Jane Austen chooses for her characters completely suit them and here in the meanings is further proof! Edmund is Fanny Price's "prosperous protector". Edward proves to be an honorable "guardian" and "protector" to not only the Dashwood girls but also Lucy Steele. Mr. Darcy is the son of a "desired protector" carrying on his father's noble traditions as master of Pemberley. As a Navy Captain, Frederick Wentworth is a "peaceful ruler". Mr. Knightley is certainly a down to earth gentleman "farmer". And Mr. Tilney's future is to be the "ruler of the household" he and Catherine build!

What a lovely post! Do you think you might do a heroines poll too? :)

~Miss Laurie
Old-Fashioned Charm

Mel said...

No Problem- it really was your blog that inspired this poll in the first place :) along with the fact that I am in love with the name Edmund.

I think Christopher suits Col. Brandon perfectly too! I remember being quite disappointed not knowing his first name...when I heard Christopher (I think it was in the 1995 film version) I loved it! I had thought of leaving him out of this poll, but i couldn't help myself :) Althought perhaps I should have said that it wasn't given to him by Jane :)

I love how all the meanings are so "spot on" with the characters- well in this case :) I can't wait to have a look at some of the other characters, and see their meanings too (well the ones I don't already know). And I definitely plan to do a heroine's poll too!

Mel

Melody said...

It's funny - I had thought before about doing a poll for favourite JA heroine names! I guess you beat me to it! ;-)

Janeites think alike...