Naming Your Home
- Posted on March 23, 2015
Around the world, in many different countries, there is a tradition of naming one’s home. Before the advent of house numbers, naming your home was how the mail found you. But soon, stamps were invented and mailing letters to people became popular and the postal system needed a simpler method of finding people’s homes. Thusly, the house number was born.
A home called Askuin suddenly became 220 S. Main. The Willows became 405 N. Center street. And the BeinFein Manor became 520 W. 300 N. We tried to pretty it up a little in the last fifty years or so by naming our neighborhoods things like Willow Park, The Hunters Brook, or The Meadowlands but it just isn’t the same
The United States has a similar tradition that probably originated with our ancestors. But like we tend to do, we do it big and with a western flair. Thus,The Bar S Ranch was born and the Homestead was hatched. Titles with a distinctly American feel to them… and they have also been given their numbers.
But the house name is having a comeback in many circles around the world. The quaint notion of the home being the center of family life with the family gathered safely together around the hearth, drinking a glass of wine or hot chocolate, seems to strike a chord with so many today.
There are a number of websites, mainly overseas that can help you find your name for your house. Being the melting pot that we are, you can look back to your lineage to find names such as Blanx Plase (high mortgage In Welsh), Beguildy (house of the shepherd), or Zinkybonkyboo, which doesn’t really mean anything.
You could choose something romantically Italian like Benedetto which means blessed or Buona Fortuna which means good fortune. Or you can go a with Duice Domum which means home sweet home in Latin or Cave Canem, which means beware of the dog.
Maybe your family tree runs a little Germanic and you prefer a name like Glucksbringer, which means lucky charm or something more exotic from India like Aabharana, which means Jewel.
If you have a sense of humor you might choose something like Folie Maison, which sounds very romantic in French but means madhouse. Bedside Manor comes to us from Australia but has an American sound to it. And in Northern Utah, where we have a little experience with cold winters, you might find Frozanova.
For the wanderer who settles down we have Dunroamin, Jer ni Zend, or Binalong Way. A home improvement enthusiast might choose Did-Ya-Re-Doo or Renovate Inn. Busy travelers might like Seldom Inn, Seldomere, or Never Inn.
House proud homeowners might like Weownit, Weedsenall, or Thisle doo. Dewdrop Inn or Linga Longa works for the hospitable entertainer crowd. Or try Lovemedo and Hisnhers for the just marrieds.
Whatever you choose, it should be personal and have special meaning for you. Emblazon your home’s name on a plaque and have a naming ceremony. Naming your home says “This is my home and I am going to love it here”. Isn’t that what home ownership is all about?