ROMANCING THE NAME: MELISSA TO MELISANDE

Let’s say you have a dilemma:  There’s someone dear to you who would make a great namesake, but who has a not-so-great name.

Or there’s a name you’ve always loved that has become a bit too popular over time.  

One solution you might consider is finding a foreign variation of the name that adds a little pizzazz to it, while still retaining the family connection. No reason why Great-Aunt Florence can’t inspire a little Fiorella, or Grandpa Henry can’t bond with his relatedly-named Enrico.  (Granted, the idea might take a little getting used to on the part of the honoree.)

It doesn’t take much to change a conservative straight guy or  Plain Jane kind of name into a Latin lover or a French flirt. Sometimes it’s only a matter of adding one final vowel to give it that extra bit of exotic flair–say going from Leonard to Leonardo–or dropping a letter, as in making Flora into Flor; while others require some more elaborate  translating.  In any caseo Romance language cognates can definitely make a name more romantic, and the possible variations are almost endless..

Here, first, are some pairs with minimal differences, where the relationship between the two names is fairly obvious:

GIRLS

ADRIENNE  –  ADRIANA

ALEXIS –  ALESSIA

AMANDA –  AMANDINE

AMELIA  –  AMELIE, AMALIA

BEATRICE  –  BEATRIZ

BLANCHE –  BIANCA, BLANCA

CHARLOTTE  –  CARLOTTA

CLAIRE  –  CHIARA

EMILY  –  EMILIA

ESTELLE  –  ESTELLA

FELICE  –  FELIXA

FLORA  –  FLOR

FRANCES  –  FRANCESCA

GENEVIEVE  –  GENOVEVA

GRACE  –  GRAZIELLA, ENGRACIA

JACQUELINE  –  JAQUETTA

LEONA  –  LEONIE (LAY-oh-nee)

LOUISE –  LUISA

LUCY  –  LUCIENNE, LUCIA, LUCIANA, LUZ

LYDIA  –  LYDIE

MELISSA or MILLICENT –  MELISANDE

NAOMI  –  NOEMI

NICOLE  –  NICCOLA

PATRICIA  –  PATRIZIA

PAULA  –  PAOLA

PEARL  –  PERLA

RACHEL  –  RAQUEL

SYDNEY — SIDONIE

SYLVIA  –  SILVIE

VERONICA  –  VERONIQUE

VICTORIA  –  VITTORIA

VIOLET  –  VIOLETTA

BOYS

ADRIAN  –  ADRIANO

ANTHONY  –  ANTONIO

CALVIN  –  CALVINO

CONRAD  –  CORRADO

FRANCIS  –  FRANCESCO, FRANCHOT

FREDERIC  –  FREDERICO, FEDERICO

ISAAC  –  ISAACO

LAWRENCE  –  LORENZO

LEONARD  –  LEONARDO

LUCAS  –  LUCA

LUCIANO  –  LUCIANO

MARK  –  MARCO

MATTHEW  –  MATTEO

MICHAEL  –  MIGUEL

OLIVER  –  OLIVIER

PAUL  –  PAOLO

PHILLIP  –  PHILIPPE

SAMSON  –  SANSONE

TERENCE  –  THIERRY

THADDEUS  –  TADDEO

And now some where the connection isn’t quite as clear-cut:

GIRLS

CYNTHIA  –  CINZIA (CHIN-zee-a)

FLORENCE  — FIORELLA

HYACINTH  –  JAQUETTA

JADE  –  GIADA

JEWEL  –  BIJOU

JOAN — GIOVANNA

MICHELLE  –  MIGUELA

BOYS

CYRIL  –  CIRO

ELIJAH  –  ELIO

HENRY  –  ENRICO

HERMAN  –  ARMANDO

JAMES  –  DIEGO

JULIUS  –  GIULIO

LOUIS  –  CLOVIS

RALPH  –  RAOUL, RAUL

ROLAND  –  ORLANDO

STEPHEN  –  ESTEBAN, ETIENNE

WILLIAM  –  GUILLAUME

Tags: baby names, European baby names, exotic baby names, flirtatious names, French baby names, Italian baby names, Leonardo, romantic baby names, romantic names, Spanish baby names

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 at 12:02 am and is filed under French baby names, Italian baby names, Spanish baby names, Uncategorized, boys' names, ethnic baby names, exotic baby names, family names, girls' names, name ideas, namesakes, romantic names . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.