Malvina

A Dictionary of First Names | 2006 | 700+ words | Copyright

Malvina ♀ Semi-fictional name, based on Gaelic mala mhìn ‘smooth brow’, invented by James Macpherson (1736–96), the Scottish antiquarian poet who published works allegedly translated from the ancient Gaelic bard Ossian. The name became popular in Scandinavia because of the admiration of the Emperor Napoleon for the Ossianic poems: he was godfather to several of the children of his marshal Jean Baptiste Bernadotte (who ruled Norway and Sweden (1818–44) as Karl XIV Johan) and imposed his own taste in naming practices on them, hence the frequency of Ossianic given names in Scandinavia. Las Malvinas is the Argentinian name for the Falkland Islands, but it has no connection with the Ossianic name, being derived from the name of the French seaport St Malo.

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PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Malvina." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Malvina." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Malvina2.html

PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Malvina." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Malvina2.html

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