What's In A Name?

SARAH f English, French, German, Biblical
Pronounced: SER-a
Means "lady" or "princess" in Hebrew. This was the name of the wife of Abraham in the Old Testament. She became the mother of Isaac at the age of 90. Her name was originally Sarai, but God changed it (see Genesis 17:15).

ELIZABETH f English, Biblical
Pronounced: ee-LIZ-a-beth
From Elisabet, the Greek form of the Hebrew name Elisheba meaning "God is my oath". In the New Testament this is the name of the mother of John the Baptist. It was also borne by the 12th-century Saint Elizabeth, a daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary who became a Franciscan nun and lived in poverty. It was also the name of a ruling queen of England and an empress of Russia. Famous modern bearers include the British queen Elizabeth II and actress Elizabeth Taylor.

KATHERINE f English
Pronounced: KATH-ur-in
From the Greek name Aikaterine. The etymology is debated: it could derive from the earlier Greek name Hekaterine, which came from hekateros "each of the two"; it could derive from the name of the goddess HECATE; it could be related to Greek aikia "torture"; or it could be from a Coptic name meaning "my consecration of your name". The Romans falsely derived it from Greek katharos "pure" and changed their spelling from Katerina to Katharina to reflect this. The name belonged to a 4th-century saint and martyr from Alexandria who was tortured on the famous Catherine wheel. This name was also borne by two empresses of Russia, including Catherine the Great, and by three of Henry VIII's wives.

HANNAH f English, Jewish, French, Biblical
Pronounced: HAN-a
From the Hebrew name Channah which meant "favour" or "grace". Hannah was the mother of Samuel the prophet in the Old Testament. The Latin version of this name is Anna.

ABIGAIL f English, German, Biblical
Pronounced: AB-i-gayl
From the Hebrew name Abigayil meaning "my father is joy". This was the name of a wife of king David in the Old Testament.

CASSANDRA f English, Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Pronounced: ka-SAN-dra
Possibly means "shining upon man", derived from Greek kekasmai "to shine" and aner "man" (genitive andros). In Greek mythology Cassandra was a prophetic Trojan princess, the daughter of Priam and Hecuba. When she spurned the advances of Apollo, he cursed her so nobody would believe her prophecies.

CHLOE f English, Biblical, Greek Mythology
Pronounced: KLO-ee
Means "green shoot" in Greek. This was an epithet of the Greek goddess Demeter. The name is also mentioned by Paul in one of his epistles in the New Testament.

MAURA (2) f Scottish, Irish, English
Pronounced: MOR-a
Possibly from Gaelic mór meaning "great". This was the name of an obscure 5th-century Irish or Scottish martyr. This name is also used as an Anglicized form of MÁIRE.

MEGAN f Welsh, English
Pronounced: MAY-gan
Welsh pet form of MARGARET

ISABELLA f Spanish, Portuguese, French, English
Pronounced: ee-sa-BEL, IZ-a-bel
Most likely a medieval Spanish form of ELIZABETH, although some theories state that Isabel actually derives from an old Semitic name meaning "daughter of BAAL". Queens of Castile and Portugal and a queen of England have borne this name.

JESSICA f English
Pronounced: JES-i-ka
This name was first used in this form by Shakespeare in his play 'The Merchant of Venice', where it belongs to the daughter of Shylock. Shakespeare probably based it on the biblical name Iscah meaning "YAHWEH beholds" in Hebrew, a minor character in Genesis. Jessica is sometimes used as a feminine form of JESSE.

ANNA f English, Italian, German, Dutch, Scandinavian, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Czech, Bulgarian, Icelandic
Pronounced: AN-a
Latinate form of HANNAH. It was borne by an 18th-century empress of Russia. This is also the name of the main character in Tolstoy's 'Anna Karenina', a woman forced to chose between her son and her lover.

TARA (1) f English
Pronounced: TAR-a, TER-a
Anglicized form of the Irish place name Teamhair, which possibly means "elevated place" in Gaelic. This was the name of the sacred hill near Dublin where the Irish high kings resided. Tara was also used as the name of the O'Hara plantation in the movie 'Gone with the Wind'.

BELLE f English
Pronounced: BEL
Means "beautiful" in French. A famous bearer was Belle Starr, an outlaw of the American west in the 19th century.

PHOEBE f English, Greek Mythology (Latinized), Biblical
Pronounced: FEE-bee
Latin form of the Greek name Phoibe, which meant "bright, pure" from Greek phoibos. Phoibe was an epithet of the Greek moon goddess Artemis. A moon of Saturn bears this name in her honour. This name was also borne by a female minister in the church at Cenchreae mentioned in Paul's epistle to the Romans in the New Testament.

LAURA f English, Spanish, Italian, Romanian
Pronounced: LOR-a
Feminine form of the Late Latin name Laurus, which meant "laurel". In ancient Rome the leaves of laurel trees were used to create victors' garlands. Saint Laura was a 9th-century Spanish martyr, a nun who was thrown into a vat of molten lead by the Moors. Another famous bearer was Laura Secord, a Canadian heroine during the War of 1812.