Language Matters May 2011: The Wonderful Etymology of LingoStar’s First Names
Dear Language Friend, Our first name defines us, is part of us, and still, we often don’t think about its history. How many of us know the exact origin, meaning, and popularity of our given name? Very few, actually. Thus the LingoStar team decided to unveil the mysteries of our international team’s first names. Let’s take a closer look at the true sense (Étumon, in Greek), and at the reason (Logia, in Greek) – that is to say the etymology – of our Canadian, Czech, French, and Japanese names. Contributed by Coralie Tripier and Cecilia Rose. LENKA /leŋkə/ – Owner of LingoStar “Lenka” is a female Slavic name that was originally a diminutive of “Magdalena” or “Elena”, before being used as an independent name. “Lenka” is mostly to be found in Czech Republic and Slovakia. In Slovak, the meaning of the name is “light”, but “Lenka” is thought to be a clear reference to Magdalena, meaning “woman from Magdala”, a town that might have existed on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. However, there could also be another meaning to “Lenka”, or to “Magdalena”, as the word “migdal” means “tower” or “elevated and great”, in Hebrew. It is also a clear reference to Mary Magdalena, the apostle to apostles, the most elevated of all, hence the first one to see Jesus after his resurrection. CECILIA – /sɨˈsiːliə/ -Project Manager at LingoStar “Cecilia” is a female name derived from the Latin word “caecum”, meaning “blind”. Although it doesn’t seem at first “sight” to have a glorious meaning, especially considering that “Caecilian” is also used to describe a blind worm,...
