While that which we call a rose would smell as sweet if it were not called a rose, how about a Barbara? Ever wonder what a name means or how it came about?
Barbara comes from a Greek root, barbarous, meaning foreign traveler or strange. It was an incredibly popular name in the earlier 20th century but has been steadily declining in popularity in recent years. In fact, Barbara dropped by 798 spots in 2023 to become the 2,138th most used name for baby girls.
Besides the obvious famous Barbaras – Bush, Streisand, Walters, or Eden, there is also a Saint Barabra who is the patron saint for protection from fire and lightning.
And for the flip side –
While that which we call a rose would smell as sweet if it were not called a rose, how about an Yves? Ever wonder what a name means or how it came about?
Yves is a boy’s name with a French origin. It means yew wood or archer, depending on what translation you use. Either makes sense since English bows were traditionally made from yew, so there you go. Yew trees and yew, while poisonous, feature in a lot of mythology dating back to druids and feature as a symbol of death and resurrection.
Couldn’t find many famous Yves, in fact I only found two. Yves Montand was French entertainer that never caught on too well in the USA but did star opposite Marilyn Monroe in “Let’s Make Love”. The other, Yves Saint-Laurent the fashion designer, who did catch on here, for a while. These day’s he is mainly seen via the initial YSL on overpriced satchels and handbags.
