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Learn What Your Name Means Day (Contest)
Wednesday, March 5th, 2025

This is another of those fun holidays I love to find. Learn What Your Name Means Day was begun in 1997 by some random dude named Jerry Hill to celebrate our unique names.

Since you know I’m going to ask you to find the meaning of your name to enter my contest, I figured you might like a shortcut to a site where you can check yours out. Try this one: Behind the Name.

The origin of my name is kind of fun. My real name is Deloris. My dad dated a girl named Delores back in high school and always liked the name. My mom let him choose my name but spelled it DELORIS and carved out the nickname “Lori” from that name. That’s what she and my father called me throughout my life. Mom wasn’t jealous of Delores; my dad and the OG were only good friends who went to the prom together because they didn’t have dates. She had named me Kathleen when I was born and called me that for three days, but Dad’s name sounded more interesting, so that’s what I was stuck with. (I’ve never liked the name. Sorry, Dad!)

Anyway, what does Deloris mean? The website tells me that Deloris is a form of “Dolores.” It’s a Spanish name that means “sorrows.” As in Mary of Sorrows. And it also means pain. So, I guess when my sister calls me a pain, she’s right.

 Now, it’s your turn. Share what your name means for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

14 comments to “Learn What Your Name Means Day (Contest)”

  1. Deb Brown
    Comment
    1
    · March 5th, 2025 at 9:21 am · Link

    My first name is actually DEBORAH I have always been called Debbie or Deb and occasionally Hey you. As for the origin it actually comes from the Bible. The Old Testament and is Hebrew in origin DEVORA. She was a heroine and prophetess who led Israelites against Canaanite’s. And she forms an army with another person mentioned in the Bible and they destroy the army. Wonder if my parents knew back then that I would eventually make a career in the ARMY.



  2. Debra
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    2
    · March 5th, 2025 at 9:23 am · Link

    Mine is a variant form of Deborah. It is Hebrew and means bee



  3. Pansy Petal
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    3
    · March 5th, 2025 at 10:42 am · Link

    My given name is Rebecca – a Hebrew name (Rivqa) probably from a Semitic root meaning “join, tie, snare”. The name is found in the Old Testament, the wife of Isaac and the mother of Esau and Jacob. It became popular with the English after the Protestant Reformation and came across the pond with the Puritans, being a popular name since.

    Okay, now that you know the origin and meaning, I will tell you I, too, hate the name. If you want me to answer, don’t call me that. My dad didn’t like it either and wanted to name me the diminutive of Becky, but mom insisted, so it is on the birth certificate. But, dad called me Becky anyway and that is what I answer to. Sorry Mom.

    Interesting topic. Thank you for the thought exercise.



  4. cindy
    Comment
    4
    · March 5th, 2025 at 11:14 am · Link

    Cynthia here, though I prefer Cindy. Latinized form of Greek Κυνθία (Kynthia), which means “woman from Cynthus”. This was an epithet of the Greek moon goddess Artemis, given because Cynthus was the mountain on Delos on which she and her twin brother Apollo were born. It was not used as a given name until the Renaissance, and it did not become common in the English-speaking world until the 19th century. It reached a peak of popularity in the United States in 1957 and has declined steadily since then. Given I was born in ’54, the timeline is correct. And moon related, I am a Cancer



  5. Laura Bowles
    Comment
    5
    · March 5th, 2025 at 12:00 pm · Link

    Laura: Meaning & History
    Feminine form of the Late Latin name Laurus, which meant “laurel”. This meaning was favourable, since in ancient Rome the leaves of laurel trees were used to create victors’ garlands. The name was borne by the 9th-century Spanish martyr Saint Laura, who was a nun thrown into a vat of molten lead by the Moors. It was also the name of the subject of poems by the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch.
    As an English name, Laura has been used since the 13th century. Famous bearers include Laura Secord (1775-1868), a Canadian heroine during the War of 1812, and Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), an American author who wrote the Little House on the Prairie series of novels

    Technically my name is hyphenated and is Laura-Mae but I have always gone by Laura. Immediately family call Laura-Mae but most of them are gone now. My mom called me by my full name because she didn’t want anyone to shorten it to Laurie. She detests the name Laurie.



  6. Beckie
    Comment
    6
    · March 5th, 2025 at 1:33 pm · Link

    Diminutive of Rebecca, Hebrew “to tie”or “bind”. My spelling alone not listed in most places.

    Loyalty, caring, nuturing, trustworthy, and Strong bonds.



  7. Stacey Kinzebach
    Comment
    7
    · March 5th, 2025 at 3:40 pm · Link

    As Told by Ginger characters, Babysitters Club characters, Dharma and Greg characters, Disney characters, Family Ties characters, male to female, models, movies, QVC hosts, Roseanne characters, Scott Pilgrim vs the World characters, Stephen King characters, Stranger Things characters, Tennessee Williams characters, The Great British Bake Off contestants, The Haunting characters, Two and a Half Men characters, variants, ZOMBIES characters

    Interesting!



  8. Theresa Privette
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    · March 5th, 2025 at 3:58 pm · Link

    Theresa- The meaning is uncertain, but it could be derived from Greek θέρος (theros) meaning “summer”, from Greek θερίζω (therizo) meaning “to harvest”, or from the name of the Greek island of Therasia (the western island of Santorini). Named after my Grandmother Mary Theresa so I was named Theresa Marie. Fun fact: I am the first female born on my dad’s side of the family any other females married into the family so when I was born my folks only had a boy’s named (I was supposed to be James Anthony) so it took them like 3 days to give me name.



  9. Mary Preston
    Comment
    9
    · March 5th, 2025 at 6:05 pm · Link

    Mary, most likely derived from the Egyptian word MYR for beloved.



  10. Eileen McCall
    Comment
    10
    · March 5th, 2025 at 6:27 pm · Link

    Eileen is an Irish name derived from Eibhlín or Helen, meaning “bright”. It became popular in the English-speaking world in the 19th century and has various associations with literature, film and music.

    I was named in honor of my dad’s sister Helen.



  11. Sara D
    Comment
    11
    · March 5th, 2025 at 7:02 pm · Link

    My actual first name is Saralyn. Sara is from Hebrew and means Princess. Lyn or Lynn is Welsh and means by a lake. So my name means Princess by a lake, which I always thought is kind of cool. I was named after my great grandmother who was Sara but went by Sadie. She also said she was too young to be a grandmother so mom and her siblings had to call her Aunt Sadie.



  12. Jennifer Beyer
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    12
    · March 5th, 2025 at 7:36 pm · Link

    This is the first time I have ever gotten this definition: white ghost. I usually get fair or fair one.



  13. Diane Sallans
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    · March 5th, 2025 at 7:42 pm · Link

    French form of Diana (tho my Dad was Irish & my Mom was English/Dutch/German); Means “divine, goddesslike”; Diana was a Roman goddess of the moon, hunting, forests and childbirth, often identified with the Greek goddess Artemis.

    Not sure why my parents named me Diane, but there was a Hurricane Diane the month before I was born.



  14. Daun Ann Korty
    Comment
    14
    · March 5th, 2025 at 9:38 pm · Link

    My name is Daun, from the English word dawn, ultimatley derived from Old English dagung.

    US last ranked #910 in 2000.

    People think this name is: classic; natural; wholesome; refined; simple and serious.



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