Cosmina

Like her Italian sister Cosima, the feminine, Romanian name Cosmina is a form of the names Cosmin and Cosmas which come from the Ancient Greek Κοσμας or Kosmas. That name was further derived from the name κοσμος or kosmos meaning "order, decency". It refers to the order and beauty of the universe.

Cosmo, Cosimo and Cosima are all currently beginning to gain slightly more attention after having a bit of celebrity usage, but until the new US name data for 2013 comes out, they may be limited to conversations rather than actual birth certificates. View the whole Kosmas family tree here.

Interestingly, the name Cosmina has never had any recorded usage in the US. Ever. And sister name Cosima has very little usage. A handful of births in the late 1980s and only a few in the 2000s. It had 8 births in 2012. These names are not popular but I've seen an increase in chatter about them, Cosima specifically, around the baby naming community. Do you think it may catch on eventually or remain in obscurity?

Sofia Coppola recently named her daughter Cosima. There is a Romanian footballer named Cosmina Dușa and also an actress named Cosmina Stratan.  In Romania, there is a Cosmina River as well.

Beyond this information, there is not very much to be said about the rare Cosmina. It is not listed in the databases of big-name sites like Nameberry and BabyNames.  There are a few other sites that do list very basic information. I got my information from BehindTheName.

I think Cosmina deserves some love. The nickname Mina is certainly cute and could also be spun into Minnie. If you're looking for a one-of-a-kind type of name for your daughter, you can be assured that she is not likely to ever meet another girl named Cosmina unless you live in Romania. Cosima is still a more viable option, one I've even considered, if you'd prefer that. Both are very rare and very beautiful!

Don't forget to take a look at the other Romanian-themed posts from earlier this week!

Here are some ideas for sibling and middle names for Cosmina:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Aurelia, Corina, Daciana, Elena, Irina, Lavinia, Magdalena, Ramona
Brothers: Augustin, Caspar, Constantin, Darius, Luca, Marius, Sorin, Theodor

Middle Name Ideas:
Cosmina Elisabeta
Cosmina Isabel
Cosmina Madeline

As a Middle Name:
Adele Cosmina
Lillian Cosmina
Maren Cosmina

World-Wide Wednesday: Romanian Names

By request, this edition of World-Wide Wednesday will zoom in on the naming traditions used in Romania and Moldova in eastern Europe.

In Romania, there are customs that revolve around man's three most essential human events: birth, marriage and death.  We're going to focus just on the birth customs and those surrounding children, their parents and their names.

TravelGuideRomania.com says: "Birth related customs regard the grown-ups: besides parents, there are the midwife and the godparents. When the baby suffered from an illness or faced danger, the custom was to change the baby’s name into “The Bear” (Ursu) or “The Wolf” (Lupu), in hope of avoiding the risk of being “recognized” again by that danger in future. This custom also implies the idea of the baby’s “death and resurrection”." It is interesting that they would change the child's name to avoid dangers. This is a new concept that I had never come across before. That site also discusses the other customs and daily life if you're interested in learning more.

Then there is the more ancient customs found in Romanian Folk beliefs. Many of the specific things are no doubt dated and not commonly practiced today, but this article from folklore.ee is full of information regarding these practices. It mentions the birth customs this way:  "The Romanians, as well as other nations have always expressed joy about the arrival of a new-born child in the world. An old proverb said: `The more children, the richer the Romanian'. So, one of the most ardent desires of the newlyweds, especially the bride's, is for the mighty God to bless them with sons and daughters."

Then it describes the very important guidelines that a pregnant woman needed to follow to remain healthy and avoid any harm falling upon her and the baby, whether it was physical or spiritual. There was much fear regarding evil spirits and becoming bewitched; these things would be blamed if the child were lost. Some of these practices may sound a bit strange to us in the modern day, but these were taken extremely seriously in order to protect the child.

Now as far as names go, I found this excellent "naming practice guide" for many different countries. Under the Romanian category, it states that depending on the occasion, names can be given in different orders:

• Personal Name + family name is typically used in conversation.
• Family name + personal name is typically used in official documents.
• A Romanian will often introduce himself with his family name first, particularly in any official context. 

Common endings for Romanian family names include: -escu (meaning "son of"), -eanu, and -aru.

Traditionally, it is appropriate for a wife to take her husband's family name. Very few woman choose to keep their maiden name instead, but it does happen. Also, children do inherit their father's family name.

There are many baby names that are listed as usable in Romania along with many other counties. However, I'd like to list the names that are a bit more specific to the country. Here are some names that BehindTheName lists as strictly Romanian:

Girls: Anca                                   Andreea Brândușa Camelia Cătălina Catina Constanța Cosmina Crina Daciana Doina Dorina Ecaterina Elisabeta Georgeta Ilinca

Ionela Lenuța Luminița Mădălina Miruna Nicoleta Oana Raluca Rodica Ruxandra Sanda Sorina Ștefania Stela Vasilica Viorica

There happen to be a lot more "Romanian Only" names for boys than there were for girls. However, that does not mean that the girls' names are limited. There are so many more listed for common usage in Romania but they are also used in other countries. I only included the ones that are strictly Romanian.

Boys:                                     Alexandru Alin Carol Cătălin Cezar Ciprian Claudiu Constantin Cornel Corneliu Cosmin Costache Costel Costică Costin Cristi Dănuț Decebal Dinu Dionisie Dorin Doru Dragos Dumitru Emilian Fane Flaviu Florin Ghenadie Gheorghe Grigore Haralamb Horațiu Horea Horia Iancu Ilie

Ionel Ionuț Iulian Iuliu Laurențiu Liviu Mihai Mahăiță Mircea Mitica Neculai Nelu Nicolae Nicu Nicușor Ovidiu Petrica Pompiliu Radu Râzvan Sandu Serghei Sergiu Silviu Simion Sorin Stan Ștefan Stelian Tiberiu Traian Tudor Valeriu Vali Vasile Veaceslav Viorel Virgiliu

If you would like to see the other names that are commonly used in Romania or learn more about the listed names above, I encourage you to view BehindTheName's extensive list!   Which of these Romanian names do you like best? Do you have any thoughts about any of them?


[Note: I am not Romanian nor have I ever traveled to Romania. If any of this information seems incorrect, please let me know so I can correct it. Thanks!]

Constantin

Welcome to the week of Romanian-inspired names. On Wednesday you'll see the traditions and customs surrounding birth and baby naming in Romania. On Friday you'll get a featured Romanian girl name, and today you get a boy name!

The male name Constantin ranked in as the #14 name of 2009 in Romania according to this website. I couldn't find much more information beyond that.

Constantin is the Romanian (and French) form of the name Constantinus. Other Romanian variations of this are Cosatche, Costel, Costică, Costin, and Dinu. Of course, the name The English Constantine is probably most used and most familiar outside of Romania. All of these names are derived from the Latin Constantinus which comes from Constans meaning "constant, steadfast".

The first Roman emperor to adopt Christianity was named Constantine the Great (272-337). He's famous for establishing Constantinople which is now known as Istanbul.  Be sure to view the family tree of all these names related to Constans. There are numerous variations in multiple languages.

Both Constantin and Constantine have previously been viewed as too big of a name for a modern boy, but along with the rise of other big Latin names, they are now a bit more acceptable for usage! However, obvious nicknames are still a bit unappealing to today's parents, and that is probably the only reason these names haven't caught on well in the US. Nicknames Con, Connie, Stan or Tino just don't fly too well. But using the whole name is definitely a handsome choice. It seems long, but it is only three syllables. How many other three syllable names do you like in whole? Probably a few!

Constantin is rather rare in the US. It was given to 5 boys in both 1913 and 1917, but was not seen in the records again until 5 more were born in 1963. After that, a handful were named from 1987-1990, and 1999-2001. It has been use regularly since 2005, but the most births in a single year has never topped 15 in 2006. Click here to view popularity stats for Constantin.

Constantine is a bit more popular. That letter E really helps to round out the name. It first appeared in 1885-86 and 1897 before gaining regular usage in 1906. It did well through the 1920s but has remained unpopular. The year with the most baby boy Constantines was 2007 with 107 births for a ranking of #1485. There were 106 born in 2012. (#1503)

What do you think of these names? Do you prefer Constantin, Constantine or one of the other variations?

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Amabel, Cordelia, Ginevra, Imogen, Josephina, Leonora, Sunniva
Brothers: Augustus, Cosmo, Ferdinand, Heathcliff, Sebastian, Thaddeus, Vladimir

Middle Name Ideas:
Constantin August
Constantin Emil
Constantin Lucius
Constantin Max
Constantin Sorin

As a Middle Name:
Axel Constantin
Benedict Constantin
Dominic Constantin
James Constantin
Oliver Constantin

Replace Constantin with Constantine for even better flow and pronunciation in the above suggestions.