A lot of ideas for this blog come from questions asked by my daughter. Here’s one she asked today – what does my name mean? So using Google (gotta love Google for being able to find all the information you ever need) this is what I found.

Amy – The name Amy (Ay-mee) is a popular name which literally means beloved. It is of Old French and Latin origin, the Latin word amare meaning to love. The name like most others seems to have started out as a vernacular expression which later developed into a name. The variants of the name are Aimee, Amada, Amelia and Amita. It was made popular after the American novelist Louisa May Alcott’s (1832-1888) World famous novel Little Women which depicted the life of four sisters in Civil War times, the youngest among whom was called Amy.

And here I just thought it was a pretty name that my husband and I could agree on when we were picking girls names. Who knew that it would be so representative of who she really is.

Michelle – The name Michelle is Hebrew in origin, and means who is like God.
The name rose to popularity again in the 1970s and became a very common girls name. Then in the 1980s the popularity of the names peaked again. For the last five years this popular name has declined from its peak, and has been replaced by modern trendy names like apple and peaches.
The name has been used for both male and female babies.
As Mi(ch)elle, being the Italian form of Michael and very popular for boys in Italy (pronounced Mik kay le) In French it is generally pronounced Michelle for boys, and not used for girls, except in its diminutive form Micheline.

Well that’s a little intimidating. I don’t know that I live up to that. It’s an interesting thing to consider though if you are thinking of naming your child. What does their name say about them?