Jim

Name Origins   Saturday, December 18, 2004, 22:29 GMT
What is the origin of the name ''Jim''?
Jim   Sunday, December 19, 2004, 02:03 GMT
Nora   Sunday, December 19, 2004, 02:05 GMT
and what is origin of my name.
Nora   Sunday, December 19, 2004, 02:20 GMT
but Jim the second link is an advertisement - look what I have got via email
http://www.andythenamebender.com/wire-name.php?name=Nora
Nora   Sunday, December 19, 2004, 02:24 GMT
Brennus   Sunday, December 19, 2004, 07:17 GMT

The name has an interesting progression from Semitic Yakub to Greek Iakobos thence to Latin Jacobus and a variant Jacomus and to finally James.

"Jim" and "Jimmy" seem to be unattested before the early 1800's (American frontiersman Jim Bowie (1796-1836) being one of the earliest). The name probably did exist among working and lower-middle class males in the 17th and 18th centuries, however, since this was an era when nobles, landlords and planter aristocrats dominated we don't hear about them. It is interesting that the first people in historical records called "Jim" appear so soon after the American and French Revolutions.
general_ricardo   Sunday, December 19, 2004, 09:28 GMT
Nora,
I think Arabic
Nora   Sunday, December 19, 2004, 19:40 GMT

Nora Latin Honor, light. Female
Norabel English Abbreviation of Eleanora. Light and Honora, honor. Female
Norah French Diminutive of Eleanora: A variant of Eleanor, derived from the Greek Helen

There is an arabic name Nura which means light.
Easterner   Tuesday, December 21, 2004, 18:57 GMT
Brennus said: >>The name has an interesting progression from Semitic Yakub to Greek Iakobos thence to Latin Jacobus and a variant Jacomus and to finally James.<<

Other derivatives are Séamus in Irish and Giacomo in Italian, and still another is Iago (later modified to Diego due to a mistaken pronunciation of Santiago as San Diego) in Spanish, which was closer to Iacobus. I have always found this interesting, because a single name with so different derivatives in various languages is not very common. Another example could be John/Ian/Seán/Jean/Johann/Jan/Ivan/Ion/János, from Greek Ioannes, derived from Hebrew Yochanan, but in this case somehow the same basic pattern is easier to recognise.
Brennus   Tuesday, December 21, 2004, 22:09 GMT

Easterner,

Speaking of János, comming from Hungary (?) you are probably familiar with the famous Hungarian general János Hunyadi "Hammer of the Turks". He is another one of these unsung heroes in history that the Western World owes a great deal to but he is never mentioned in our history classes.
Easterner   Wednesday, December 22, 2004, 10:53 GMT
Yes, I'm from Hungary, and I am glad you are familiar with János Hunyadi, father of King Mathias Corvinus. He did a lot indeed to defend Europe from Turkish invasions in the 15th century. Below there is some information on him an account of his victory over the Turks near Nándorfehérvár (present-day Belgrade), then part of Hungary:
http://www.hungarian-history.hu/lib/hunspir/hsp16.htm
By the way, in Hungary church bells are still sounded at noon as a sign of remembrance to this event.
Easterner   Wednesday, December 22, 2004, 11:10 GMT
Speaking about James, let's not forget Jacques in French, another mutation of this many-faced name. :) Interesting how almost every West European language subjected this name to a "refashioning".

Another interesting progression of a very common name is for Mary/Marie/Maria: Hebrew "Miriam" -> Greek "Mariamne" -> Latin "Maria" (-> Irish "Máire/Moira"). One possible meaning, as I know, is "mistress of the sea and compassion" in Hebrew, it may be a pre-Judaic name (but it is disputed). So it may have a similar noble meaning as Nora. :)