774: miranda, amanda, and sophia Jan 20, 2017

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Words, and by extension names are rarely made up out of thin air. Generally, names come from words that meant something historically, or in another language. Names like 'Miranda' and 'Amanda' come from Latin participles, and in this case turned the verbs for 'to admire' and 'to love' into nominal forms that meant 'she being admired' and 'she being loved' respectively. Meanwhile, other names project a hoped for characteristic, such as 'Sophia' which in Greek means 'wisdom'.

For more on names, see how Richard became 'Dick' or see more about common last names.

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