It’s All In The Name: Name Origins

I was scrolling through Facebook earlier today when an ancestry.com add popped up. Now, whilst I’m intrigued to find out my family history; I’m not willing to pay for it.
Instead, I found this website that tells you the meaning of your name, and when it was popular. Sounded pretty cool to me, so I checked it out. It’s called NameBerry – in case you were wondering…

So, let’s see what my name means – shall we?

Melissa:

Melissa is a more classic name than you might think, used in the U.S. since the eighteenth century and originating as the name of a nymph in Greek mythology: the mythical Melissa was nursemaid to the infant god Zeus.

• Gender: F
• Meaning of Melissa: “honeybee”
• Origin of Melissa: Greek
• Melissa’s Popularity in 2014: #224

Victoria:

Victoria is the ancient Roman goddess of victory, the equivalent of the Greek Nike, and also a popular third century saint.

• Gender: F
• Meaning of Victoria: “victory”
• Origin of Victoria: Latin
• Victoria’s Popularity in 2014: #19

Holden

Holden is a classic case of a name that jumped out of a book and onto birth certificates–though it took quite a while. Parents who loved J. D. Salinger‘s The Catcher in the Rye are flocking to the name of its hero, Holden Caulfield. 

• Gender: M
• Meaning of Holden: “hollow valley”
• Origin of Holden: English
• Holden’s Popularity in 2014: #292

So basically, I’m a Greek nursemaid – who is really a bee -, who wants to have victory over a hollow valley that is possibly full of J.D Salinger’s books. Well… you learn something new every day!

What does your name mean? Let me know in the comments!