Joyce

According to the authoritative sources, Joyce became a name this way: First there was the Breton name Iodoc, which meant "lord." The Latinized form of that name was Jodocus. From Jodocus came the Norman name Josce and the Middle English Josse. These were all male names, apparently, as well. None of the forms survived the Middle Ages as given names, but they did survive as surnames, including Joyce. Joyce began to gain some popularity for girls in the U.S. in the late 19th century, and became truly popular in the early decades of the 20th century. It remained in the top 100 names for girls in the U.S. from 1924 until 1966. Joyce also appeared as a name for boys during the first half of the 20th century, possibly often as a transferred use of the surname. Joyce is currently still a top 1000 name in the U.S., and may eventually regain at least some of its former popularity, once it is no longer perceived as being outdated. The original meaning of the name that Joyce is derived from is mostly irrelevant to the name as it is used these days, but it is worth noting that part of the popularity of the name is due to the fact that it contains the word "joy," also used as a name in its own right. For this reason, I think it's fair to consider "joy" as an implied meaning of the name Joyce when it's used as a given name.

Randall

Randall comes from the name Randolf, a Norman given name which means "shield wolf" or possibly "raven wolf." Randall is the vernacular form of Randolf that was used in medieval times--which simply means that the spelling "Randall" represents how "Randolf" was pronounced. The surname Randall comes from the use of Randolf as a given name in medieval times, and more modern use as Randall as a given name in its own right is a result of the surname. Randall enjoyed some real popularity in the middle decades of the 20th century, but has been steadily falling in popularity since the 1960's. It is still used often enough to almost make the top 500 list in the U.S., however, and could eventually regain some popularity. The main drawback to the name is the fact that its most obvious nickname, Randy, is a slang term in England meaning "horny."

Jocelyn

Jocelyn comes from the Old French name Joscelin, which was introduced to Britain by the Normans around the time of the Norman Conquest and was ultimately derived from the name of a Germanic tribe, the Gauts. In the days of the Conquest the name was masculine. The name fell out of use as a given name, but it had by that time spawned the surname Jocelyn, which eventually itself began to be used as a given name. This time around though, the name is nearly always feminine rather than masculine, probably because of the lyn which is equated with the feminine Lynn. In its new feminine capacity, Jocelyn began appearing in the U.S. top 1000 in the 1930's, but didn't begin to really gain popularity until the 1980's. In 2002, Jocelyn cracked the top 100, and continues to rise in popularity.

Travis

Travis is another surname that is also used as a given name. The surname is from Norman French traverser, which means "to cross." The name designated someone who made their living by collecting tolls for crossing a bridge or a particular stretch of road. Travis was especially popular in the U.S. from the 1970's through the 1990's, and is still a regularly used name, though not as popular as it was at its peak. My personal favorite famous Travis is singer Travis Tritt.

Bruce

It's pure coincidence that Bruce is the name I'm listing here right after having listed Morris--to me these are both cat names, but that's not why they're listed together. Alright, on to Bruce. According to Ask Oxford, Bruce was originally a Norman baronial name. Behind the Name says that it comes from the place name Brieuse in France, but Ask Oxford says there are other candidates for the place the name its taken from. So I guess no one really knows for sure. The Bruces were a Norman family that became powerful in Scotland. A member of that family, Robert the Bruce, became King Robert I of Scotland and ruled from 1306 to 1329. If you've seen the movie Braveheart you are familiar with Robert the Bruce, but that movie is not historically accurate in many respects. Popularity-wise, Bruce is not used as much as it was in the mid 1900's, but is still far from rare. The famous include Bruce Willis, Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Lee, and of course, Bruce Wayne--the alter-ego of Batman. The Cat Connection: I've been acquainted with not one but two cats named Bruce. They were both huge. In fact, they were the largest domestic housecats I've ever seen. So if you want your new kitten to grow really large, feed him well and name him Bruce. It can't hurt.

Morris

Morris is a variant spelling of Maurice. It makes for a fun and quick bit of name tracking through history. First, we have Maurice. Maurice, like so many names, was brought to the English by the Normans around the time of the Norman Conquest. Once in England, we have some people who spell it the way it sounds to them, and we get Morris from Maurice. During the Middle Ages, Morris was used fairly frequently as a given name, but after the 17th century was used rarely if at all. It was used often enough in the Middle Ages to spawn surnames though--Morris, Morrison, etc. Later, Morris came back into limited use because of its status as a surname--for instance, a common practice has been to use the mother's maiden name as the middle name for the son. The name did not become fashionable or popular again though, so today, we tend to think of Maurice as a French name, and Morris as a cat. Incidentally, 9Lives is the only canned cat food our cat will eat, and the only variety he will eat is the veal, which isn't always easy to find. Our cat looks a lot like Morris, but his name is Cat.

Walter

Walter comes from the Germanic name Waldhari, which meant, essentially, "ruling warriors." The form Walter was brought to England by the Normans. The English already had their own form of this name, Wealdhere, but since the two names apparently meant the same thing, came from the same original source, and sounded much the same, Walter eventually became the version that was used. Walter was quite popular with the Normans, and then with the English in Medieval days. It has been in constant use ever since and was a top 20 name in the U.S. in the first few decades of the 20th century. Its popularity has dropped since then, but since this name has been around for so long, it will probably continue to be used, and will probably see other peaks in popularity as time goes on. Walter is a relatively common surname, but in this case, the first name came first and the surname came last. Famous Walters include Walter Cronkite, Walter Brennan, and Walter Pidgeon. Incidentally, Walter is wonderful name for a dog.

Emma

Emma is derived from the Germanic ermen meaning "all-embracing," "whole," "entire,"...you get the picture. Originally, we are told, it wasn't a name on its own at all, it was used as the first element for Old French names such as Ermengarde. How they made the leap from Ermen to Emma is just one of those little mysteries. The name was introduced to England by the Normans, but before the Norman Conquest: Emma of Normandy was twice the Queen of England, first marrying Ethelred the Unready, and after his death, marrying Canute, who was also king of Norway and Denmark. She was then mother of two kings of England, one of whom was Edward the Confessor, and William the Conqueror was her grandnephew. Possibly because of her, Emma was quite popular in the Middle Ages. One fascinating Emma was Lady Emma Hamilton, who was actually originally named Emily, but "became" an Emma. Her story is definitely worth reading. In addition to its historic and royal connections, Emma is a name with literary and popular entertainment connections as well: The book Emma by Jane Austen is a classic, which was made into a wonderful movie starring Gwyneth Paltrow in 1996. It would seem that a baby girl named Emma would have some pretty large--though ladylike--shoes to fill. One can only hope there are enough shoes to go around, since Emma has continued to be popular through the ages, and is currently enjoying a peak of popularity in many countries including the U.S, Scotland, Sweden, Ireland, Canada, and others. This is one of those names that seems old-fashioned in the good way, and always benefits from trend towards traditional names. Because of Emma's extreme popularity at the moment, I'd actually recommend against giving it to a baby girl right now--it certainly would not be unique. Emma is always a wonderful name for a fictional character, and it's also always a great name for a cat, particularly a tabby with the classic "M" on her forehead.

Robert

Robert is considered to be one of the names brought to England with the Norman Conquest. The English were, however, already using the name Hreodbeorht, and I have also seen one source report that the name the Normans brought was not Robert, but another similar name, in which case perhaps Robert represents a melding of the two names. In any case, whether the name comes from the Old English Hreodbeorht or the Germanic hrod 'fame' + berht 'bright,' the meaning is the same and comes down to "famous." And regardless of where they got it, the English of the Middle Ages loved the name Robert, and gave it to their children often, leading to the necessity for plenty of nicknames to differentiate between all those Roberts: Rob, Robbie, Bob, Bobby, Robin, and even nicknames such as Nob, Dob, Hob, and Dobbin. Of course, most of those nicknames have fallen out of use today, and few people would automatically associate "Dobbin" with "Robert," but the use of those nicknames gave us surnames such as Hopkins, Hobbs, and Dobson. Robert remains now as popular as it was in the Middle Ages, and has never really been out of use in the years in between. Famous Roberts are simply too many to name, but include three kings of Scotland, Scottish poet Robert Burns, U.S. Civil War General Robert E. Lee, one of my favorite actors of all time-- Robert Mitchum, and Robert F. Kennedy. Robert is one of the true classic names of all time, and is always an excellent choice for a baby boy.

Albert

Like William (see below,) Albert is a name that is an Old French form of name derived from Germanic, and like William, Albert was introduced to England by the Norman Conquest. Also like William, Albert is derived from two parts, adal which means "noble," and berht, which means "bright," or "famous." Albert has not had the immense popularity in English-speaking countries that William has, but then, few names have. Albert was extremely popular, especially in England from 1840 through the 1920's, in honor of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the husband of Queen Victoria. The name was also well-used in the United States through the first half of the 1900's, finally falling out of the top 100 in the tradition-rejecting 1960's. The name has declined slowly yet steadily in popularity since then, but still remains in the top 400 names for baby boys in the U.S. Albert is definitely in a popularity lull, and to many ears it now sounds hopelessly old-fashioned. Still, as a middle name, particularly given in honor of an older relative, it's a fine name. Its use as a first "main" name is not really recommended at this point however, simply because even its common nicknames, (Al, Bert, Bertie) have a definite out-of-style sound to them. Albert remains a great name for a cat with a certain aloof and dignified manner.

William

William is one of the most popular names of all time, in English speaking countries. The name is Old French, and is derived from the Germanic Wilhelm. The meaning translates to "will" or "desire" (from "wil") plus "helmet" or "protection," (from "helm".) From this combination one could come up with "I'd like a strong helmet, please," as a meaning for the name, but the intended meaning is probably more meant to indicate someone whose will, or desire, was so strong that it was a form of protection itself. William the Conqueror himself brought this name to England, and was the most common name given to boys in England up until the Middle Ages. It remained extremely popular throughout the Middle Ages. In the 20th century it became only slightly less popular, no longer automatically appearing as the first or second most popular name for boys, but has never once dropped out of the top 20 names in the U.S. It still retains huge popularity all over the world, and there is no reason for that to change in the foreseeable future. William is a wonderful name for a baby boy in part because of its versatility. Someone named William may choose whether to be William, Will, Willie or Willy, Bill, or Billy. Famous Williams throughout history are too numerous to count, but include William Shakespeare, William Faulkner, William Shatner, William J. Clinton--known to most of us as Bill Clinton, William Penn, and Prince William of England.

Conan

According to most sources, Conan means "wolf" or "hound." (So would Conan-Conan mean wolfhound? Hmm.) The origin is Celtic. We are aware of the name because of Conan O'Brien, as well as Conan the Barbarian, and of course, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I find it interesting that the Social Security Administration's baby names site says that Conan hasn't been in the top 1000 names for any year. Considering that none of the instant associations with the name are bad (well, the barbarian one, but that's not bad, just odd,)and considering that parents recently have seemed to have an obsession with Celtic and Gaelic names, and considering that the sound of Conan is pretty agreeable...well, I'm surprised. Well, if parents aren't going to use this name, someone should. Conan is a great name for a big dog such as a doberman or rottweiler...or if you're feeling silly, name your chihuahua Conan. Or your cat, that'll work really well also. In most fantasy-based RPG's, I'd guess that Conan is probably already taken as a character name, but if the game is new, give it a try, one never knows. For fictional characters--Conan has been used at least in Ireland since the Norman Conquest, but since the name is already so heavily associated with that barbarian guy, I'd be careful.