What Do Our Names Really Mean?
(Ok not really really, but figurative really)
If you look up, say, the name Audrey in a baby name book, it will probably give you a meaning and origin something like: derived from the Old English Aethelthryth, which comes from the words æðel "noble" and þryð "strength".
However, when I talked to a couple who was considering Audrey for a baby, they liked it because it sounded nice, and it reminded them of the actress Audrey Hepburn... but they weren't sold because Audrey sounded like it began with the word "odd."
True origins are interesting and informative, but they are little more than a footnote if you don't speak the language in which a name originates. Here's what names sound like in English (at least to me)... people have asked me why I can't warm up to Jacqueline (can't past 'jackal'), or why I like Melanie (sounds like 'melon.') here's why!
Click the names on the right to see the "real" meanings! ==>
