short blog on Cornish names

Cornwall is traditionally associated with King Arthur and has names that are not usually found in other parts of Britain. The TV series Poldark in the 1970’s made some of these names popular.. The name of the chief female character was Demelza.. which was mentioned in the books as an old Cornish name. In fact it was a name that Winston Graham had seen as a village name in Cornwall. It means “hill fort of Maeldaf”. Another name that did well Ross, the name of the hero of the books. Another Cornish male name is Jago, which evolved as a version of James and which had a bit of a revival in the twentieth century. Morwenna is is another prominent female character.. she is one of four sisters, Rowella, Garlanda and Carenza. Morwenna means “maiden” and there are several Cornish churches named after an early Saint Morwenna. Carenza is sometimes spelled “Kerenza” and means love or affection. Loveday is another name mainly found in Cornwall. It refers to the medieval custom of “love days” which were days when disputes were settled. In the 13th century children of both sexes who were borne on these days were often called “Loveday” (which was sometimes pronounced “Lowdy”). Now, the name is still used in Cornwall but is confined to female children.(In Poldark we learn in the later books that Morwenna's daughter by her second husband is Loveday). A male name, not mentioned in Poldark, is Piran or Perran. It is a Cornish place name and there was a St Piran who was the patron saint of miners. The name’s origin is unknown but it may derive from the name Peter which was often abbreviated as Perkin in medieval times. Plaxy is another unusual name said to be derived from the Greek word Praxis.. but it’s not clear why it was popular in Cornwall. Melior or Meliora is a girl’s name.. which is derived from the Latin word “melior” which means “better” and is largely a Cornish name. It appears in the Poldark books as the name of a minor character.. one of the children of Dwight Ennis…who is the local doctor.