Author Topic: The Significance of Names (Read 56459 times)

boo_boo · « **Reply #30 on:** Apr 22, 2007, 09:17 AM »

Alma: Modern name meaning either "nourishing" from Latin or "the soul" from Spanish.

welshwitch · « **Reply #31 on:** Apr 22, 2007, 12:37 PM »

Wonder if "Lureen" implies that she lured Jack?

tpe · « **Reply #32 on:** Apr 23, 2007, 07:53 AM »

Quote from: jackster on Apr 22, 2007, 09:14 AM

Alma. What about this name? Does anyone have any insights to it?

I find it interesting that another poor, rural, western movie with McMurtry ties, Hud, which coincidentally was released in 1963, also features an Alma (wonderfully played by Patricia Neal). Is there significance here?

I don't know if the Latin meaning had anything to do with the choice of this name, but it means "nurturing", and is closely associated with the term "anima".

And I must admit that the family name "Newsome" evokes both "nouveau riche" and "noisome" in my mind, especially when it is associated with Lureen's father...

JT · « **Reply #33 on:** Apr 23, 2007, 08:00 PM »

I read somewhere that Alma means "soul". Ennis also means "reliable" acording to a book on baby names.

tpe · « **Reply #34 on:** Apr 24, 2007, 07:25 AM »

Quote from: JT on Apr 23, 2007, 08:00 PM

I read somewhere that Alma means "soul". Ennis also means "reliable" acording to a book on baby names.

Yes, as "anima" connotes "spirit", "driving force", or "soul" -- it is that that nurtures us at the core.

Interesting comment about "reliable" and "Ennis". I wonder where this is rooted...

welshwitch · « **Reply #35 on:** Apr 24, 2007, 12:53 PM »

It also seems to me that Randall and LaShawn have names that appear to come from outside or be less traditional than someof the others. LaShawn to me sounds Southern or maybe trailer-park. (

Jan)

JT · « **Reply #36 on:** Apr 24, 2007, 05:29 PM »

Quote from: tpe on Apr 24, 2007, 07:25 AM

Yes, as "anima" connotes "spirit", "driving force", or "soul" -- it is that that nurtures us at the core.

Interesting comment about "reliable" and "Ennis". I wonder where this is rooted...

If I ever find that book again, I'll see what it says and post it here.

JT · « **Reply #37 on:** Apr 24, 2007, 05:32 PM »

What about John Twist? A grumpy old toilet? After all, he punished baby Jack for sprinkling all over the toilet.

tpe · « **Reply #38 on:** Apr 25, 2007, 07:37 AM »

Quote from: JT on Apr 24, 2007, 05:29 PM

If I ever find that book again, I'll see what it says and post it here.

Thanks JT. Etymology is always of interest!

tpe · « **Reply #39 on:** Apr 25, 2007, 07:38 AM »

Quote from: JT on Apr 24, 2007, 05:32 PM

What about John Twist? A grumpy old toilet? After all, he punished baby Jack for sprinkling all over the toilet.

I don't know if that association was ever intended!

welshwitch · « **Reply #40 on:** Apr 25, 2007, 12:15 PM »

Cassie. Cassandra? The one who prophecies the future and yet isn't listened to? What does she say about Ennis?

tpe · « **Reply #41 on:** Apr 26, 2007, 07:50 AM »

Quote from: welshwitch on Apr 25, 2007, 12:15 PM

Cassie. Cassandra? The one who prophecies the future and yet isn't listened to? What does she say about Ennis?

Very provocative. The prophetess doomed to be ignored - and is "killed" in the end.

tamlynn · « **Reply #42 on:** May 19, 2007, 08:21 PM »

I can't stop thinking about the names! Good subject...

Alma... what comes to my mind is alma mater. Like Ennis graduated from her to Jack. She was very likely his first serious lover until Jack. And, mater is mother. Kind of like an old shoe, the one left behind.

But now, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist are extremely sexual names. We all get Jack and Twist.

Ennis... well, penis. that's easy. Did you ever reverse his last name? Del Mar: Ram Led. He was the led ram.

welshwitch · « **Reply #43 on:** May 20, 2007, 12:21 PM »

Never thought of those angles before!

ethan · « **Reply #44 on:** May 20, 2007, 05:18 PM »

Quote from: tamlynn on May 19, 2007, 08:21 PM

I can't stop thinking about the names! Good subject...

Alma... what comes to my mind is alma mater. Like Ennis graduated from her to Jack. She was very likely his first serious lover until Jack. And, mater is mother. Kind of like an old shoe, the one left behind.

But now, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist are extremely sexual names. We all get Jack and Twist.

Ennis... well, penis. that's easy. Did you ever reverse his last name? Del Mar: Ram Led. He was the led ram.

Very interesting take. To this date, I am still amazed by these details. I have never thought of those either.

chameau · « **Reply #45 on:** May 20, 2007, 11:00 PM »

I'm wondering where Annie Proulx found the names...

Lureen and LaShawn are quite "exotic" to say the least. I 'am about to finish Close Range and there are a big bunch of names I can't believe people got like... Car and his brother Train

I could figure real people got names like this but why parents would call their children like this?

I'm still trying to figure out Lureen (Lorraine?) and LaShawn (no clue

) I have to admit some of my folks have uncommon names to say the least. Both branches of my family are from a very remote area of Quebec, as far as Wyoming and Texas are, I was blessed to be named Pierre I guess.

tpe · « **Reply #46 on:** May 21, 2007, 07:41 AM »

Quote from: tamlynn on May 19, 2007, 08:21 PM

I can't stop thinking about the names! Good subject...

Alma... what comes to my mind is alma mater. Like Ennis graduated from her to Jack. She was very likely his first serious lover until Jack. And, mater is mother. Kind of like an old shoe, the one left behind.

Alma Mater indeed means "nourishing mother", but it's associations with commencements also add another layer of meaning.

Quote

But now, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist are extremely sexual names. We all get Jack and Twist.

Ennis... well, penis. that's easy. Did you ever reverse his last name? Del Mar: Ram Led. He was the led ram.

I think of their names as less sexual and more revealing of their inner selves.

tpe · « **Reply #47 on:** May 21, 2007, 07:49 AM »

Quote from: chameau on May 20, 2007, 11:00 PM

I'm wondering where Annie Proulx found the names...

Lureen and LaShawn are quite "exotic" to say the least. I 'am about to finish Close Range and there are a big bunch of names I can't believe people got like... Car and his brother Train

I could figure real people got names like this but why parents would call their children like this?

I'm still trying to figure out Lureen (Lorraine?) and LaShawn (no clue ) I have to admit some of my folks have uncommon names to say the least. Both branches of my family are from a very remote area of Quebec, as far as Wyoming and Texas are, I was blessed to be named Pierre I guess.

Good questions. It would be good to look further into the origins of these 2 names.

welshwitch · « **Reply #48 on:** May 21, 2007, 01:40 PM »

Americans seem to create -ene or -een names eg Charlene, Mayleen. And I think southerners have the La- something ones - maybe a hang-over from the French possession of the Southern states like Louisiana?

chameau · « **Reply #49 on:** May 21, 2007, 01:47 PM »

So LaShawn could be some feminine version of Shawn? It's interesting what you wrote about the French possesion of Louisiana.

tpe · « **Reply #50 on:** May 22, 2007, 07:17 AM »

WW and Cham, these are excellent ideas. I like the theory on LaShawn.

What about Lureen then? Is it a variation of Laurent?

To be sure, the French owned everything from the Upper Great Plains down to Louisiana. The Louisiana purchase sold most of what is today a good portion of the American Midwest to the US. The French presence in these and the surrounding territories can still be seen today in the preponderance of names given to midwestern cities and counties: Joliet, Des Plaines, St. Clair, St. Cloud, Fond du Lac, La Crosse, Eau Claire, etc.

welshwitch · « **Reply #51 on:** May 22, 2007, 12:59 PM »

I know it's not linked, but when I was trying to say the name in a French way ( with my accent?) I suddenly thlought of l'ours - the bear. Maybe you could make a version of little bear from Lureen's name. No, it's too fanciful more likely a sort of name made up because it sort of sounded like other sort of Frenchy sort of names.

Lashawn sounds like a distorted version of something French - pity chaume ends in a m not an n. I like the idea of her being called "thatch". Maybe it's a version of "chaud" = hot - but she isn't, and anyway it would be LaChaude. Or maybe a version of chienne = bitch. LaChienne would be a great name.

tpe · « **Reply #52 on:** May 23, 2007, 07:23 AM »

Quote from: welshwitch on May 22, 2007, 12:59 PM

I know it's not linked, but when I was trying to say the name in a French way ( with my accent?) I suddenly thlought of l'ours - the bear. Maybe you could make a version of little bear from Lureen's name. No, it's too fanciful more likely a sort of name made up because it sort of sounded like other sort of Frenchy sort of names.

Lashawn sounds like a distorted version of something French - pity chaume ends in a m not an n. I like the idea of her being called "thatch". Maybe it's a version of "chaud" = hot - but she isn't, and anyway it would be LaChaude. Or maybe a version of chienne = bitch. LaChienne would be a great name.

I would like to find out more the etymologies of these names. They intrigue me...

zephK · « **Reply #53 on:** May 24, 2007, 02:36 PM »

This is probably old hat to most of you, but Ennis (or Innis, either is used) means "island" in Gaelic, and Del Mar is, of course, "in the sea" in Spanish. So Ennis Del Mar becomes Island in the sea, a perfect name for the psychological isolation of little Ennis after Earl's death. This might also be a reference to a poem by John Donne called "No Man is an Island," which contains the famous lines, "do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee."
In "The Mud Below," another short story in "Close Range," by Annie Proulx, one cowboy puts "A hand, fingers outstretched, ...across (the bull rider's) right shoulder, and against his chest. (The bull rider) did not know why this eased his chronic anxiety. But, in the way these things go, that was when he needed twist, to auger him through the ride."

tpe · « **Reply #54 on:** May 25, 2007, 07:23 AM »

I found something. It seems to indicate that LaShawn can also be a boy's name!

From http://www.babynamescountry.com/meanings/Lashawn.html

The Name Origin and Meaning of Lashawn
Gender: Name suitable for both gender
Origin: American
Meaning: The American name Lashawn means - a short form of Lashawna

The Name Origin and Meaning of Lashawna
Gender: Female
Origin: American
Meaning: The American name Lashawna means - a combination of the prefix La + Shawna

The Name Origin and Meaning of Shawna
Gender: Female
Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: The Hebrew name Shawna means - a form of Shana, Shawn
Variants: Seana, Shauna, Shona

The Name Origin and Meaning of Shana
Gender: Female
Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: The Hebrew name Shana means - God is gracious

So I guess LaShawn means "God is gracious".

Also:

From http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Lashawn

Lashawn - Name Meaning and Origin

The boy's and girl's name Lashawn \l(a)-sha-wn\ is a variant of La-.

The baby name Lashawn sounds like Leshawn and Lucian. Other similar baby names are Dashawn and Rashawn.

Lashawn is a very rare male first name and a very rare surname (source: 1990 U.S. Census). Displayed below is the baby name popularity trend for the boy's name Lashawn. Click here to compare Lashawn with related baby names.

(For the charts, please refer to the actual site.)

I shall look up Lureen next...

zephK · « **Reply #55 on:** May 25, 2007, 11:13 AM »

Thanks for that work you did explaining the meaning of "LaShawn." It does fit her, because, by "the grace of God," (by asking LaShawna to leave the table to go dance), Jack is able to escape Lureen's sarcasm and Randall's unwanted attention.

aintfoolin · « **Reply #56 on:** May 25, 2007, 10:27 PM »

According to The Book of Baby names , the name "Jack" has traits that mean "party animal", cocky.

tpe · « **Reply #57 on:** May 29, 2007, 08:10 AM »

Quote from: zephK on May 25, 2007, 11:13 AM

Thanks for that work you did explaining the meaning of "LaShawn." It does fit her, because, by "the grace of God," (by asking LaShawna to leave the table to go dance), Jack is able to escape Lureen's sarcasm and Randall's unwanted attention.

She may have been the grace of God to someone, but for the life of me, it is hard for me to think that their is a symbolism behind this choice of name!

Her inability to listen and observe were certainly convenient traits as far as Randall was concerned! And Jack also found her a convenient "screen" when it came to obfuscating his relationship with Randall.

zephK · « **Reply #58 on:** May 30, 2007, 12:49 AM »

Jack had a relationship with Randall?

tpe · « **Reply #59 on:** May 30, 2007, 07:22 AM »

Quote from: zephK on May 30, 2007, 12:49 AM

Jack had a relationship with Randall?

OT: I assume that he had. This was implied when Jack confessed to having a relationship with "the ranch foreman's wife". There are many threads dealing with this topic...