Re: Town, Zaun, and Celtic Dun-

At 5:03:41 PM on Friday, August 21, 2009, andythewiros
wrote:

[...]

> Actually I looked up 'Lakeisha' and 'Lawanda' and found
> out that some of these African-American names are of
> Arabic or Swahili origin. However, many are merely
> rhyming-variants of Arabic or Swahili words, or of names
> of other origin. 'Lakeisha', according to the website, may
> be either of Arabic, Swahili, or rhyming origin (rhyme of
> 'Letitia'/'Leticia', from Latin 'joy');

<Lakeisha> is most likely derived from <Keisha>, both of
which are modern American coinages; supposed Arabic or
Swahili connections are wishful thinking. (The actual
inspiration for the <La-> and <Le-> names of this type seems
to have been Spanish and French nicknames beginning with a
definite article.)

> 'Lawanda' is listed as of American origin (hence created).

Yes, in the 30s as a variant of <Louanda> and in the 70s as
a <La-> extension of <Wanda>.

(By the way, the overwhelming majority of name sites on the
web are crap. Printed name books, especially baby name
books, are generally just as bad.)

Brian