Names...

Mim

I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction, or help completely.

I have a hobby of making baby names and trying different combos. I don't know why I do, I just enjoy it. I've run into a bit of trouble though. I'm trying to translate the name Dawn into Norwegian or Scandinavian or maybe even Irish Gaelic. I can't seem to find a database to help me with that though. I'm looking more specifically for Norwegian though.

Any tips?

cooljammer00

Is it analogous to "dawn" the noun? Like, the dawn of a new era or the dawn of the sun?

Cause I got "demringen, morgengryet, demring, lysne, morgengry" when I googled translators.

Mim

I got those as well. I was just wondering which one would be suitable for a name.

I'm not sure how to answer your first question. Should I be looking at the meaning of the name?

Platy

Just to give an example... I typed "dawn" into a German-English online dictionary.

dawn
= Anbruch (beginning)
= Beginn (beginning)
= Dämmerung (dusk or dawn)
= Frühzeit (early times, like in "dawn of man", stone age)
= Morgendämmerung (break of dawn, dawn)
= Morgengrauen (daybreak, dawn)
= Morgenröte (Aurora, red sky, sunrise)
= Morgenrot (dito)

"dawn" can mean different things which are expressed by different words in another language. You should be careful when using an online dictionary and consult someone who speaks the language, especially if you want to use something as a baby name. Using the example above, you could want to name a baby "dawn", but you might end up calling her "stone age".

cooljammer00

Out of all those words, Morgan seems like the most normal. You could stick with that. But you're just doing this for fun, and not for an actual baby, right?

Tav

The irish for "morning" is Maidin (Maw-djin), if that's any help.

I can translate other Irish words too, since I've learned it school for the last 14 years :P

Mim

cooljammer00 wrote: »

Out of all those words, Morgan seems like the most normal. You could stick with that. But you're just doing this for fun, and not for an actual baby, right?

Mmm, well, eventually I would like to use it for a real child. My partner is Irish/Norwegian (or Scandinavian, but his ancestors are traced back to Norway) and I would like a Norwegian/Scandinavian middle name for the baby that doesn't sound too common but still sounds nice.

YES, I KNOW I MIGHT NOT HAVE KIDS WITH THIS PERSON. It still is just a nice hobby of mine. I don't know if I'm the only person who does this, but its pretty much a cliche in romantic comedies to do such things..

Faynor

You're not alone. I make up baby names sometimes too. But I don't tell anyone. I'm always afraid they'll discover my secret when the topic of baby names comes up and I know quite a few I like without having to think about it!

Mim

Faynor wrote: »

You're not alone. I make up baby names sometimes too. But I don't tell anyone. I'm always afraid they'll discover my secret when the topic of baby names comes up and I know quite a few I like without having to think about it!

I'm glad I'm not alone

Well, I looked up what Dawn means in English (the name), and it says "Sunrise" so I should find a Norwegian/Scandinavian word for "Sunrise" and it should mean the same?

Khavall

Faynor wrote: »

You're not alone. I make up baby names sometimes too. But I don't tell anyone. I'm always afraid they'll discover my secret when the topic of baby names comes up and I know quite a few I like without having to think about it!

Sometimes if I'm naming an MMORPG character I'll think of prospective kid names with them...



I still debate whether naming the child of a musician "Aria" is cruel and unusual. It's just so pretty and different as a name...

Either way I also consider "Alina", which is a reference to Arvo Part, but is also a pretty name.

If I have a son I'm just screwed with names.

Mim

I already have my baby names picked out. One kid's name is Kingston Amadeus (Amadeus is of Latin origin, but my partner felt the Spanish version (Amadeo) was just too weird).


He said the kid is going to need fencing lessons when he tells people his whole name. Yes, my kids are all getting 2 middle names, one of Spanish origin and the other of Norwegian origin (considering Irish names and Black names are kind of already American).

Faynor

Kingston is a great name, that never occurred to me. I was always stumped on boy's names, opting for older ones like Silas and Gabriel.

Platy

I think you should stick with a real Norwegian names. Something like Gudrun, Margit, Hakon or Anders.

a) It's much more melodic than "morgengryet". Words like "dawn" may sound beautiful in English, but their Norwegian counterparts may not.

b) It's much easier to pronounce and more people will know how to pronounce it. You can even get away with an "English" pronunciation, for example "Anders" like in "Anderson" (it would be Aanders in Norwegian).

c) You're saving yourself and the kid potential embarrasment. You could end up calling her something entirely different if you don't consult someone who speaks the language. And don't forget that words which are neuter in English might be masculine or feminine in Norwegian.


[edit]
Uh, I get it. You're looking for the Norwegian equivalent of the name Dawn, not the noun. Sorry, "Dawn" is a name which is derived from an English word. You can't translate names like that directly. You've got to search one which carries the same connotations, preferably on a site like this:

http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/nor.php

"Bjarte", for example, is a Norwegian boy's name derived from a word meaning "bright".