The short form of Etheldreda, from the Old English for 'noble' and 'strength'. It first appears in written form in the 16th century, and was used mostly by country folk until the late 19th century, when it came into general use.
"Noble" (English)
Dee:
This is usually a nickname, given to anyone with a name beginning with the letter D, but is occasionally found as a given name. Compounds such as Deedee also occur.
a 1-syllable girl's name of Old English origin, means: Dark water
Deirdre:
The Irish name of a character in Irish and Scottish legend, possibly meaning 'raging' or 'sorrowful'. Beautiful and wise 'Deirdre of the sorrows'. As she is sometimes called, left Ireland in order to marry the man of her choice and lived with him and his two brothers near Loch Etive. Tempted back to Ireland by a false offer of friendship, the three men were killed, and Deirdre, lamenting her sad lot, committed suicide. The name
became popular after the late 19th century Celtic revival.
"Sorrow" (Gaelic)
Gordie:
Either short for Gordon or Godfrey, or a name in it's own right. (see below)
Gordon:
This was originally a Scottish place name, probably in Berwickshire from which the local lords took their name, founding a large and famous clan. It was rarely used as a Christian name until 1885, when the tragic death of General Gordon at Khartoum gave the name immense popularity.
Jenny:
Usually a short form of names, Jennifer, Jean, Jane. (see below)
Jennifer:
Jennifer was an old Cornish form of Guinevere, from the Welsh, meaning 'fair and yielding'; which was the name of King Arthur's wife. It was practically obsolete when it was revived in the 20th century. It spread rapidly and is now very popular throughout Britain. Jenny is the pet form.
"Fair" (Welsh)
From the Old Welsh for "white wave," a modern variation of Guinevere
Julian:
Latin Julianus, derived from Julius. Greek-light bearded. The most famous of numerous saints of this name was St. Julian of Hospitaller, who devoted himself to helping poor travellers. The name came to Britain in the 13th century in the Latin form, which was anglicized as Julyan, and on the North of England as Jolyon. Julian became popular in the 19th century, and today is quite a common name. Jolyon was used by John Galsworth in his Forsyte Saga novels, and this helped the form become better known. Jules, the French form of Julius, is also used as a short form of the name, as are Jule and occasionally, Julie.
Greek-light bearded
Latin for "of Julius." Saint Julian is the patron saint of
innkeepers. Julius means: Soft-bearded, youthful.
Michael:
From the Hebrew, meaning 'who is like the Lord?' In the Bible, Michael was one of the seven archangels, and their leader in battle, and therefore patron of soldiers. The name was common from the 12th century but the spelling and pronunciation varied considerably, Machel, Mihiel and Mighel being the most common. The variant form Micah, the name of a minor prophet in the Old Testament, was used in the 17th century among the Puritants.
Michael is now common throughout Britain and has pet forms Mike, Mick, Micky. Sometimes shorted to Miles. The surname Mitchell, derived from Michael, is also used as a boy's name, with the short form, Mitch. Michele is the French feminine form of the name, which is anglicized to Michelle, and can be shorted to Shelly. Michaela is another feminine form of the name.
Summer:
A season used as a first name.
a 2-syllable girl's name of Old English origin, means: In
reference to summertime.
Tom:
Short for Thomas. From the Aramaic, meaning 'twin'. It was first given by Jesus to an Apostle named Judas, to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot and Jude. In England, it occurs only as a priest's name until the Norman Conquest after which it became common. The abbreviation Tom appears in the Middle Ages. Tam and Tammy are the Scottish pet forms. The use of Tommy as a nickname for a British private soldier goes back to the 19th century,
when the enlistment form had on it the specimen signature 'Thomas
Atkins'.
From the Greek for "twin."
Zach:
short for either Zacchaeus, Zacharias or Zachary. (see below)
Zacharias, Zachary:
These are respectively the Greek and English forms of the Hebrew Zachariah and Zechariah, meaning 'the Lord has remembered'. Zachary was used occasionally in the Middle Ages but did not become at all common until the Puritans adopted it in the 17th century. They took it to America where it has recently become very popular, together with the short form, Zak or Zach.
From the Hebrew for "God remembers" or "renowned is God."