House Names


Week Two of Renovations Round Four and I've suddenly got a bee in my bonnet about choosing a name for our house. This is something we've half-heartedly toyed with over the years but never reached agreement on whether it would be a good idea, let alone on any particular name.

Perhaps seeing the new walls and ceiling in our family room was all I needed to spark the once-dead discussion. Or perhaps it's viewing our new door frame in our hallway - which incidentially has been there since before Christmas - and which is a contant and appreciated reminder of the new entrance doors that will one day grace the front of our home. Whatever set off this latest addiction is unimportant. What is important is deciding on the perfect name.





Not all are as enthusiasic. I get the impression that DH is nowhere near as convinced of the need for our home to have a name, if his suggestions are any indication.

There are whole sites dedicated to house names and even a house name generator (which gave us such gems as Cat's End and Sewer Vent Vue along with The Irises, Lavender Lodge, and Rosevale). Some more promising names are shared below.

From the Welsh language (of which DH claims one quarter heritage) we have:

Deildre - leafy home (this is such a musical sounding name);

Llwyn fedwen - birch grove (we have what I believe are Silver Birch trees lining our drive but I'm not sure they constitute a grove or whether we'll keep them long-term);

Minffordd - edge of the road (this, and the one below, are self-explanatory if you could see the state of our driveway);

Pen-sarn - paved way end;

Rosbwich - rosebush (we have them, we grow them, DH doesn't like them very much);

Tawelfan - quiet place (cannot be honestly said of our house all the time);

Ty-Hen - old house;

Ty'r Anwylyd - House of the Beloved, Beloved House;

Yr Oerfa - cold place (my sentiments in winter).

From the Maori language (and I suggest these being well aware that The Most Adorable Granddaughter#4 will likely correct my pronounciation despite my best attempts):

Whakaemi - to gather together;

Te Maru - the shelter.

From the Australian Aboriginal languages (and these names probably seem the most familiar and comforting to me because they speak to me of the place names and unique words of my childhood):

Barooga - my home;

Birubi - the Southern Cross (which is on both the Australian and New Zealand flags so it would be a lovely way of acknowledging both countries in our family);

Burragah - meeting place;

Derribong - green tree;

Ellimatta - our home;

Illoura - pleasant place;

Krambruck - sandy place (yep, our house is built on sand);

Kui - come here, welcome;

Kurrajong - tree;

Milpera - gathering of people;

Mirambeena - welcome;

Mirrabooka - Southern Cross;

Urimbirra - to take care of, to preserve (love this because it exmplifies what family is about but also the physical act of preserving our home which is partly the goal of our present renovations);

Wahroonga - our home, my home;

Yoorana/Yurana - loving.

I have my favourites from the list but even if DH and I managed to agree on a name, I'm not sure if we have anywhere to even site a name plate!

I wonder, what name, if any we will choose? What would you choose?

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