A lot goes into picking a baby's name. After all, this is going to be something your kiddo is gonna be stuck with for the rest of their life — or at least until they can convince the courts to let'em change it.
给孩子取名字要花很多时间。毕竟,这将是你的孩子一辈子都要面对的事——或者至少在他们说服法院让他们改名之前。
"Wait, you.. You changed your name to..McLovin?" "Yea." "McLovin?"
“等等,你……你把名字改成了……麦克拉文?” “是啊。” “麦克拉文?”
After finding out that the stork's en route, suddenly questions of what to call the baby pop up.
在路上发现这只鹳鸟后,突然被人问起该怎么称呼这个婴儿。
And that spirals into debates about whether to go with an old family favorite and risk ticking another relative off by omission or choosing something you both just like right now — and find it's too obscure to stand the test of time.
这就演变成了一场争论:是选择一个家人最喜欢的,还是冒着被遗漏掉的风险选择另一个同类的,还是选择你们现在都喜欢的——却发现它太晦涩,根本经不起时间的考验。
"Where is Blakay at?" "No Blakay here today? Yes sir." "My name is Blake."
“布莱凯在哪儿?” “布莱凯今天没来?请讲” “我叫布莱克。”
So, a lot of people tend to opt for names that are a little more common and current to avoid these issues.
所以,很多人倾向于选择更常见、更流行的名字来避免这些问题。
But did you know that even some of the most popular names have their own hidden meanings to consider? "Well Madison's not a name."
但你知道吗,即使是一些最流行的名字也有其隐藏的含义需要考虑。“麦迪逊并不是名字。”
Here are some facts that you might not know about names you hear around town all the time.
这里有一些你可能不知道的事实,关于你经常听到的一些名字。
Emma. Historically, Emma is derived from the German "ermen" which means "whole" or "universal."
爱玛。纵观历史,Emma源于德语“ermen”,意为“完整的”或“普遍的”。
The name came to England by way of Emma of Normandy, wife of King Ethelred II.
这个名字由埃塞尔雷德二世的妻子诺曼底的爱玛传入英格兰。
King Ethelred the Unready made have let the Danish to invade and destroy much of England, but at least he gave the English speaking world one of its most popular names.
虽然这个墓志铭上写着还没准备好的埃塞尔雷德二世使得丹麦入侵并摧残了英格兰,但至少他在英语国家留下了一个最流行的名字。
Since 980 A.D., the name has stuck around. It gained popularity again in the 1700s, possibly because of the poem "Henry and Emma" by Matthew Prior.
自公元980年,一直停滞不前。直到18世纪再次流行起来,可能是因为马修·普赖尔的《亨利和爱玛》一诗。
Once Jane Austen wrote Emma, the name grew even more common and beloved.
在简·奥斯丁写完《爱玛》后,这个名字就变得更加普遍和受人喜爱了。
Over the last 100 years, Emma has almost always been in the top 90 names, with 2017 seeing the name spike to the number one spot for baby girls.
在过去的100年里,爱玛几乎总是名列前90,在2017年,爱玛还成为了最受欢迎的女孩名字。
"It's Emma Oh Ahhhh.. Emma" "See, I don't want it." But with just a few letters swapped out, it's a whole different story …
“叫爱玛吧,啊……” “哦,我不想给取这个名字。” 但换几个字母,情况就完全不同了……
Emily. For British literature fans, the name Emily might conjure up memories of Wuthering Heights author Emily Bronte or the poet Emily Dickinson.
艾米莉。对于英国文学迷来说,“艾米莉”这个名字可能会让人想起《呼啸山庄》的作者艾米莉·勃朗特或诗人艾米莉·狄金森。
But Friends fans might think of a different, albeit more accurate, personality association. "We all hate Emily!"
但《老友记》的粉丝们可能会有不同的想法,尽管这种想法更准确。“我们都讨厌艾米莉!”
Believe it or not, Emily actually does have a slightly sinister meaning. It's the feminine version of Aemilius or Emil which means "rival."
信不信由你,艾米莉确实有一点险恶的意思。埃米利乌斯或埃米尔的女性版意为“竞争对手”。
Therefore, any Emily is automatically your enemy. Though the masculine form of Emily isn't very popular in America, Emily is the 14th most popular girl's name.
因此,自然而然任何一个艾米莉都会成为你的敌人。虽然艾米莉的男性化形式在美国不是很流行,但艾米莉却是第14个最受欢迎的女孩名字。
Since at least 1911, the name has never fallen below number 300 on the hottest name charts.
至少自1911年以来,这个名字在最热名字排行榜上从未跌出第300名以下。
Perhaps the constant rivalry of the name is what keeps it in fighting shape to stay at the top.
也许是这个名字的持续竞争使它保持在战斗状态,以位居顶端。
But it's obviously very different than Emma, even though some celebs — like Emma Stone, born Emily Stone — do use the names interchangeably.
但这显然和爱玛有很大的不同,尽管有些名人——比如艾玛·斯通,本名艾米莉·斯通——可以互换使用这两个名字。
"I just… I just" "I see the resemblance." "It's uncanny." "Uncanny." "It really is."
“我只是……我只是” “我看到了相似之处。” “太不可思议了。” “太不可思议了。” “的确如此。”
Liam. An already popular Irish name, Liam didn't arrive in America until the late 1960s.
连姆。作为一个已经很流行的爱尔兰名字,连姆直到20世纪60年代末才来到美国。
Since then, the usage has slowly increased, and the 1990s saw a burst of popularity — right around the time Liam Neeson became a household name.
从那以后,使用这个名字的开始缓慢增长,并在20世纪90年代大受欢迎——也就是连姆·尼森这个名字家喻户晓的时候。
That's entirely speculation regarding the Liam boom, of course — but it had to have been at least a slight factor, right?
当然了,这完全是关于连姆这个名字火爆的猜测——但这至少也是一个轻微影响的因素,没错吧?
So what does Liam even mean? Most of us just think of it as being Irish-sounding and that's it. Well, that's partially right since it's the Irish short form of William.
所以,连姆到底是什么意思呢?我们大多数人认为它听起来像爱尔兰语,仅此而已。嗯,只能说是部分正确,因为它是爱尔兰语中William的缩写。
Derived from the German "Willahelm," it breaks down to two parts: "Will" meaning will or desire, and "helm" meaning helmet, or protection.
它源于德语“Willahelm”,可分为两部分:“will”意为意志或欲望,“helm”意为头盔或保护。
So, desire helmet? Usually the meaning is listed as the less literal translation of "strong mind and protection."
所以,是指想要头盔?通常它意为“意志坚定”而非直译的意义。
The name William became common in England after William the Conqueror in 1066, remaining popular ever since.
在1066年征服者威廉之后,威廉这个名字在英国变得很常见,并一直流行至今。
Nowadays, the U.S. prefers Liam over William. It was the fourth most popular boy's name in 2016 and has been in the top five for the last four years.
如今,美国人更喜欢连姆一名而非威廉。这个名字在2016年最受欢迎的男孩名字中排名第四,在过去四年里一直排在前五名。
Maybe there's a handsome Hemsworth to thank for the recent resurgence?
也许是英俊的海姆斯沃斯促成了这个名字近期的复苏?
Olivia. You may have thought made-up celebrity names started with the likes of Apple Martin and Blue Ivy Carter. Yet, it was Shakespeare who really started the trend.
奥利维亚。你可能认为虚构的名人名字起源于阿普尔·马丁和布鲁·艾薇·卡特。然而,真正开启这一潮流的却是莎士比亚。
The third most popular name of 2016 was Olivia, a name Shakespeare invented for the lead character in his play Twelfth Night.
奥利维亚位居2016年最受欢迎名字第三位,这是莎士比亚为戏剧《第十二夜》的主角创设的名字。
He may have based his name creation on "Oliver" which was either derived from the German "Alfher" or the Old Norse name that became "Olaf."
他可能是根据“奥利弗”的名字创作的,要么来自德语“阿尔弗”,要么来自古斯堪的纳维亚语的名字,后来变成了“奥拉夫” 。
Though the Germanic or Norse roots could have influenced Shakespeare, it's more likely that he used a simpler source.
尽管日耳曼语或斯堪的纳维亚语的词根可能影响了莎士比亚,但他更有可能使用了一种更简单的词源。
The latin word "oliva" is pretty close to "Olivia." What does "oliva" mean? Olive. Yep, pretty simple!
拉丁语的“奥利瓦”和“奥利维亚”很接近。“奥利瓦”是什么意思?奥利弗。是的,很简单吧!
We won't ever know if the Bard named his heroine after Norse Kings, old German, or a garnish plunked in his martini, but Olivia would be a great choice for any Shakespeare fan.
我们永远也不知道莎士比亚是用挪威国王、古德语,还是以马提尼酒的装饰物来给女主人公起名,但奥利维亚绝对是莎士比亚迷的最佳选择。
Michael. This may be one of the most enduringly popular boy names in history, but lately, it's losing a little steam.
迈克尔。这可能是历史上最受欢迎的男孩名字之一,但最近,它有点失去了吸引力。
Considering we've heard this name a million times and some of the biggest sports stars in history are named Michael, people don't think much about its meaning so much as who else has had the name.
考虑到我们已经听过这个名字无数次了,而且历史上一些最伟大的体育明星都叫迈克尔,人们并不会过多考虑这个名字的意义,而是更多地考虑还有谁是这个名字。
But its origin stems all the back to the Bible, when Michael led the angels in their fight against Lucifer. Having defeated the fallen angel, he's now regarded as the Patron Saint of Soldiers.
但它的起源可以完全追溯到《圣经》,当时米迦勒率领天使们对抗撒旦。打败了这个堕落天使后,他现在被视为士兵的守护神。
It's understandable why the noble name has remained a go-to for so long. The actual definition of Michael comes from the Hebrew word for "who is like God?"
这样也就可以理解为什么这个高贵的名字长久以来都是人们的首选。迈克尔的真正定义来自希伯来语,意思是“与神相似?”
The question mark is part of the meaning because Michael is meant to be a rhetorical question, which means it's not meant to be answered.
问号也是其意思的一部分,因为这是一个反问句,不必作答。
Imagine saying "who is like God?" every time you see a Michael. Suddenly all those gold medals make sense.
想象一下,每当你看到迈克尔的时候,你会说“与神相似”,这样一下子所有的金牌都就说得通了。
Aiden. The second most popular boy's name of 2016, Aiden has spurred on quite a craze.
艾登。艾登是2016年第二受欢迎的男孩名,引发了一场热潮。
The name wasn't terribly popular in America till it shot up the ranks in 1995. For what it's worth, that's a year after Aidan Quinn appeared in Legends of the Fall, so maybe there's some relation.
这个名字在美国并不是很受欢迎,直到1995年它的排名才急剧上升。不管怎样,这已是艾丹·奎因出演《燃情岁月》一年后的事了,所以可能有一些联系。
Aiden is most notable for starting the long list of -ayden names. Kayden, Hayden, Jayden, Brayden, and Zayden are all just made-up mash-ups of Aiden.
艾登最引人注目的是一长串带有-ayden的名字。凯登、海登、杰登、布雷登和扎登都是艾登的混搭版。
So, where does Aiden itself come from? Well, we have to trace back through quite a few names before we get to the real meaning.
那么,艾登源自哪里呢?好吧,在我们找到真正的意思之前,我们得追溯很多名字。
First, it's based on the Irish name Aidan, which is the English speaking version of Aodhán.
首先,它是基于爱尔兰名字Aidan,也就是Aodhán的英文版本。
That name is just a diminutive version of Aodh or Aed, who was the Celtic god of the sun, and whose name can also be translated to "fire."
这个名字只是凯尔特太阳神Aodh或Aed的缩略语,他的名字也可以翻译为“火”。
In Gaelic myth, Aed was one of the Children of Lir, a popular folktale that Irish children still learn today. The English gave themselves a translation of this fiery god, a name. Aed became Hugh.
在盖尔神话中,Aed是《李尔王的孩子们》的角色,爱尔兰的孩子们仍然在学习这个流传至今的民间故事。英国人自己给这个火热的神起了一个名字。Aed变成了休。
Somehow, Hugh doesn't elicit the same sense of "fire," but Aiden and Hugh are brothers from the same cultural mother.
不知何故,休并没有体现出相同的那种“火”的感觉,但艾登和休都是源自同一文化的弟兄。
Aubrey. Like Ashley, Aubrey actually started out as primarily a boys name in the Middle Ages, but shifted over to girls in the 1970s.
奥布瑞。 和艾什莉一样,奥布瑞在中世纪时主要也是一个男孩名字,但在20世纪70年代,开始被用作女孩名字。
The song "Aubrey" by Bread in 1972 helped make the girl version popular. Still, the origin of the name retains its masculine roots.
1972年,面包合唱团的歌曲《奥布瑞》使得女孩版的名字流行起来。尽管如此,这个名字的起源仍然保留了其男性根源。
It's a Norman French form of the German name Alberich, which contains the German root words "elf" and "power."
它是德语名字Alberich的诺曼法语形式,其中包含了德语词根“elf”和“power”。
Though it might be fun for a celebrity to call their kid "Elf Power," Aubrey's meaning is usually recognized as "King of the Elves."
虽然名人称他们的孩子为“精灵力量”可能很有趣,但奥布瑞的意思通认为“精灵之王”。
Currently, the masculine Aubrey is pretty rare, but the feminine version was the 25th most popular name in 2016.
目前,男性版的奥布瑞一名相当罕见,但在2016年,女性版的奥布瑞在最受欢迎的名字中排名第25位。
Maybe the deadpan wit of Parks and Recreation star Aubrey Plaza has a little something to do with that.
也许这和《公园与游憩》中的女星奥布瑞·普拉扎的面无表情有点关系。
What's in a name? Though many of America's favorite names have been around for centuries, we rarely take their root meanings into account.
名字到底包含什么呢?虽然很多美国人喜欢的名字已经流传了几个世纪,但我们很少考虑到它们的本义。
A slightly unfavorable meaning shouldn't sway you from your top choice.
你的首选不应该被些许不利的意思所动摇。
But if you'd rather your little prince or princess not be dubbed a "rival," or "king of the elves," now you know the names to scratch off the list!
但如果你不想让你的小王子或小公主被称为“竞争对手”或“精灵之王”,现在你应该知道该从名单上划掉哪些名字了吧!
"What do I have to do?!" "He has to give me a new name!" Good luck with that...
“我该怎么办啊?!” 他得给我起个新名字!” 祝你好运了……
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