Tiffany/Stephanie
Sarah asked if Tiffany was related to the name Stephanie and I knew it wasn't but I wasn't sure exactly how it wasn't. So, what started as a simple answer got complicated. You probably won't care and that is why I answered the question succinctly in the first sentence. To spare you the trouble of reading the rest of this. Now if only I could find a way to not want to write it. Then my laundry would be finished in a timely manner.
Tiffany, as we now know, is derived from the Greek name, Theophania, a name given to girls born on the feast of the Theophany. The Theophany was a day celebrating the manifestation of God in the form of Jesus (theo meaning 'God' and epiphaneia meaning 'manifestation').
Stephanie was first used as a girls' name in France and finds its root in the Greek name Stephanos. Despite the similar "phanos" component Stephanos and Theophanos are not related. Stephanos, appears to mean 'crowned with a wreath' with the word stephos meaning either 'twist' or 'wreath' or something that would indicate a garland or the making of a garland.
I got really caught up in why there are two forms of the name Stephanos in France. There is Estienne which became Etienne and there is Stephane. I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation given the many different forms of the language we now call French that existed before France was France but I'd sure like to know how it came to pass. I found out how Estienne became the modern Etienne but not how Stephanos became Estienne (or Esteban as it is in Spanish).
Tiffany, as we now know, is derived from the Greek name, Theophania, a name given to girls born on the feast of the Theophany. The Theophany was a day celebrating the manifestation of God in the form of Jesus (theo meaning 'God' and epiphaneia meaning 'manifestation').
Stephanie was first used as a girls' name in France and finds its root in the Greek name Stephanos. Despite the similar "phanos" component Stephanos and Theophanos are not related. Stephanos, appears to mean 'crowned with a wreath' with the word stephos meaning either 'twist' or 'wreath' or something that would indicate a garland or the making of a garland.
I got really caught up in why there are two forms of the name Stephanos in France. There is Estienne which became Etienne and there is Stephane. I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation given the many different forms of the language we now call French that existed before France was France but I'd sure like to know how it came to pass. I found out how Estienne became the modern Etienne but not how Stephanos became Estienne (or Esteban as it is in Spanish).
2 comments:
How did I miss this post? I have always wondered why French had both Etienne and Stephane. Although I guess if English can have Cindy and Cyndee it's only fair.
Are you interested at all in names like Hepzibah or Keziah? Do you think there's a chance in hell those names will ever come back?
I am interested in those names but I don't think Hepzibah has a prayer. It tends to be used for witches and cats in modern films and novels.
Keziah may see a mild resurgence and is by far the more accessible of the two.
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