This is Celebrate Your Name Week (Mar 2-8), and today is "Learn What Your Name Means Day."

Anyone curious about what their name means? (First? Middle? Last?) I'd be happy to find out for you, if you'd like.

Or, maybe you already know what yours means? If so, let us know!

Hello Nancy,
Yes, I am curious to know what Lita means.
Well from a baby name book, I found Jan which said means God
and Kara which means Face. I have a daughter whom I call JanKara so her name would mean face of God?

"Lita" is a lot like "Tina" -- it has a number of possible origins, as it was originally a nickname. So, as "Tina" could come from Christina, Clementina, Martina, etc., "Lita" could be from any of a number of names -- including Lolita, Angelita, Carmelita, Manuelita and Perlita. If your name came from a particular source (i.e. your Aunt Adelita), then you can trace it back to that source name and figure out the meaning. Otherwise, the meaning is ambiguous.

"Jan" -- be it from Jane, Janet, Janice, John, Johannes, or any other related name -- can be traced back to a Hebrew name meaning "God is gracious." So the meaning is definitely God-related.

But "Kara" is like "Lita" in that its meaning depends on the specific source. If it's related to Katherine, then the meaning might be "pure" (though the meaning of Katherine is itself debated). If it's from Caroline, it can be traced to Charles, which means "man." If it's simply from Cara, it could be either "face" or "expensive" in Spanish, "friend" in Irish, or "beloved" in Italian (i.e., "cara mia" = "my beloved"). And "Kara," being such a simple word, probably also appears in a number of other languages, and therefore probably has many other possible meanings.

If you can give me some specifics on where Lita and Kara came from, I might be able to be a bit more helpful.

My name - Megan - is the Welsh form of Margaret (the Irish form of Megan is Meghan or Meagan). I know that I've seen the meaning of Megan as being strength - but never known how that came about.

Hello Nancy,
Thank you so much for the info you have given.
I really have no specifics on where or how Lita was picked to use as a name. And that goes for Kara as well.
As you have said, the meaning of Lita can be ambiguous. That is also what I know. But I have read somewhere, that it can mean diminutive as in Spanish -ita/ito. So probably, I was born cute and petite. Hahaha Hence, the name Lita given me by my parents.
I am, however, delighted that you have given other meanings for the name Kara. And it is nice to know what wonderful meanings the name Kara have.
Thanks.