What's in a Name?

Saturday, April 2, 2016


Howdy, thanks for stopping by on day 2 of the Challenge. Today's sampling of names come from all over the globe.

Barra (f)    flame, origin - Hebrew
Belicia (f)  dedicated to God, origin - Spanish
Bodhin (f)  enlightenment, awareness, origin - Sanskrit

Bahari (m)   One who sails, origin - African
Baraz (m)    Exalted, origin - Persian
Baris (m)     Peaceful, origin - Turkish 

Have any 'B' names that would look good in a book? Do share!

58 comments:

  1. Belicia is my favorite of the B names you listed for B-Day. I don't usually choose B names for my novels because the name of my protagonist is Pepper Bibeau. I should have some ideas for later letters. Happy weekend!

    Gail’s 2016 April A to Z Challenge
    Be is for Breathe Deep

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    1. Same to you, Gail. I understand why you'd stay away from B names.

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  2. Barra sounds as though it could be unisex I think.,

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  3. I like Barra, although it definitely sounds masculine to me.
    I had three B names in my series - Byron, Bassa, and Bassan.

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    1. And Barra sounds like it would be a great fit. :)

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  4. Belicia is a lovely name!

    Bahar in Arabic means 'sea' so Bahri would mean 'of the sea' or 'my sea' depending on context. Several African names have their origins in Arabic I think. Balqis and Bilal are two names I like, both Islamic origin ie Arabic. Benazir is also a lovely name meaning unparalleled.

    Best wishes,
    Nilanjana
    Madly-in-Verse

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    1. Nilanjana,
      I too believe - comparing the names - that these names do originate with Arabic. Yes, I definitely like the sound of Benazir. Thanks.

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  5. I like the name Barra; I agree with another commenter that said it possibly could be used unisex. Belicia is interesting; almost a bit of a tongue twister.

    Boris comes to mind for a B name, but then you wonder about the character; would he be an evil one?

    betty

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    1. True, Betty, I'd wonder about the character of Boris. :)

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  6. I should have had your list when I was naming babies. Some of these are perfect.

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    1. Thanks. They'll work well for some of the babies yet to be written. :)

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  7. Your theme is reminding me I need to think outside the 'American' name box when naming characters.
    Susan Says

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    1. Me too. I love it when the meaning of the name fits the character's personality.

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  8. Great idea for a theme. How about Barnaby?
    Yvonne.

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    1. Barnaby is a name I equate with the English. Now I'm wondering about the origins.

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  9. I love the sound of the name Bodhin - it feels nice on the tongue.
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

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    1. Thanks for stopping in, Natasha!
      We all have our favourites.

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  10. Agree with Natasha. There is just something so right about Bodhin. A very good list today Joy.

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  11. I love your theme and I must have something for B names because two of my kids have B names, but that's because they are family names. My daughter's name is Blake. It's actually Katherine Blake and we call her Blake and my son is Bennett, Brian Bennett and we call him Bennett. I have a friend whose name is Bassima, I believe they are Muslim.

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    1. Yup, you do have a thing for B names.
      Bassima has an interesting sound to it.

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  12. Balasz I like. Hungarian male name. Good luck in the challenge.

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  13. Some lovely names.
    I'm wondering about the pronunciation of some of these names. You know how I love the sounds of words...
    Writer In Transit

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    1. I've added pronunciations only to some names. :)

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  14. Interesting names. I haven't heard any of them before.

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  15. I can see I'll be returning here for more inspiration for the names I'm making up as I go along at Camp Nano!
    Thanks, Joy!
    Jemima

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  16. I like Baris. B seems like a difficult letter for unique names, but I've seen Bhaia for a girl which I think is pretty.

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  17. Joy, you aren't going to find any red-neck southern kids with these names. lol I'm not pocking fun, so please don't take offense. While these names are certainly different, I love the meanings, especially that of Belicia ~ dedicated to God. Just noticed your surname; it's the same as my second cousins. Do you have family from southern West Virginia by chance? Thanks for hosting #AprilA2Z fun this year and have a nice weekend!

    Curious as a Cathy
    All Things Vintage: Bomber Girls #AprilA2Z

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    1. Hi, Cathy, no offense taken. I believe that most of us on this side of the world were landed with the last names names of the plantation owners. In my case, I'm assuming that's true, but a bit of research wouldn't hurt.

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  18. Brooke. She was my post today.
    http://ffmamas.wordpress.com

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  19. My two youngest grandchildren are Blake and Bryce. Not original, but not common either. I like the Spanish Bs... Bella, Benita, and Bibiana.

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    1. Wow those are nice names Bella and Benita...perfect for twins..

      http://meotherwise.com/2016/04/02/beaches-and-taste-buds-atozchallenge/

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  20. Hi there!

    I’m stopping by from the #AtoZChallenge. I have two blogs in this challenge…my author blog at THE STORY CATCHER (www.donnalmartin.com) and my KICKS Kids Club blog (www.kickskidsclub.blogspot.com).

    If you get a chance, check them out and good luck with the challenge!

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  21. I like the two-syllable names. Barra and Baraz are my favorites.

    Pioneer Women in Aviation A-Z

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  22. Of course I'm a little partial to my own name even though it's a surname. Bushman!

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  23. Beatriz is a nice name. (I know someone whose daughter is named Beatriz.) This is an interesting theme you picked. I was surprised that Belicia means dedicated to God, because Elizabeth (Isabella) means the same.)

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    1. Didn't know what Elizabeth means, but then it's your name. :)

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  24. What a lovely theme, Joy! I like Bernadette and Bartholomew. (But not shortened to Bernie and Bart...)

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  25. Beatrice and Betsie I think are such cute 'B' names for girls. Bettina is one of my really good friends names!

    This is a cool theme! I'll be stopping by.
    Jazminn from the AtoZ challenge.

    Under Jazminn Skyes

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  26. I do love Persian names. I find them very beautiful.

    @TarkabarkaHolgy from
    The Multicolored Diary
    MopDog

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  27. A fellow expat here in Ecuador, I believe he is originally from England is Bodhi. He's a pretty popular chef guy here. Great post, I look forward to maybe gleaning some character ideas through the month. Enjoy the challenge!
    @ScarlettBraden from
    Frankly Scarlett

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    1. I like Bodhi. It sounds Indian. Hope you find a name or two that you like.

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  28. This is a fun theme! I always struggle with character names.

    I'm blogging about productivity for creative people this month. Happy A to Zing!
    Yvonne

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  29. This is a fun theme! I always struggle with character names.

    I'm blogging about productivity for creative people this month. Happy A to Zing!
    Yvonne

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  30. Don't want to spoil my book (which is far from completion) but one of my "Avatars" is named "Balan" which I think is made up. We have 3 - the good guy, the bad guy, and the balancer. Or at least that's what the readers are led to think :-)


    Sue Hernandez
    Wordpress Blogs: writing and A to Z Challenge

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Don't be shy, I'd love to hear what you think.