The Name Game, Decoded

Several of you endeavored to play the name game from the last post.    The 16-17th Century names given were:

1. Mehetable
2. Zohra
3. Lettus
4. Seekpeace
5. Francis
6. Pleasance
7. Mayhew
8. Fairfax
9. Eudoia
10. Syntyche

So lets run this one down.

1. Mehetable - Female.  From the Bible.  Meaning "God Rejoices" .  In North American parlance "Damn, another dowery."

2. Zhora - Female.  Found in the bible as the city in which Samson was born. From the middle east.  Brought back by traders.

3. Lettus - Female.  Yupper. A harkening to bountiful gifts from the harvest.  Uhm, yeah.  My friend the super adorable Justin McKenzie performs under the name "Anita Lettus."

4. Seekpeace - Male. Tis true.  "Seekpeace" was an aspirational name.  It was a spin on Stephen.

5. Francis (Frank-Is) - Female.  Now here me out.  Francis (Fran-SIS) IS a male name.  But "Frank-Is" is a variation on the nature of women as property.  In Handmaid speak - literally "of Frank".  It morphed into Frances, and lost it harshness.

6. Pleasance - Female.   Cookie is going to give full disclosure.  I am a direct descendent, of one Pleasance Ely, of Ann Arundel County, and her first husband Edward Dorsey, who are my tenth great grandparents.  Pleasance, so named by her doting father, grew into a woman with a well known disposition that was anything but pleasant.  Harridan would have been a better description.  In fact, a Maryland history book notes that where Edward Dorsey died by drowning when his boat sank in the Chesapeake, several men attempted to court the widow Dorsey, who was - by her late husband's will the wealthiest widow in the state, but she hissed and spat until there was one suitor left.  He soon regretted his union, because it wasn't an act.  She was a throughly unpleasant person and made his life miserable for years to come.   SECOND tidbit.  Another Pleasance descendent is the Duchess of Windsor, the former Bessie Wallis Warfield Simpson. 

7. Mayhew - Male.  One of the variants of Matthew. 

8. Fairfax - Male. Yes.  Allegedly, a male named Fairfax allegedly had hair of flax.  Now, how are you going to know if the baby is bald.

9. Eudoia, Female. See Syntyche

10. Syntyche - Female.  Both Syntyche and Eudioa are biblical names, women, who are members of the same congregation in the New Testament.  Eudoia meaning, we think, Sweet Fragrance.  Synthyche meaning fortunate.