What’s In A Name?

Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.

Rosslyn’s *possibly* Scottish Gaelic etymology *possibly* refers to being located on a waterway and/or *possibly* refers to being located on a promontory. There are other possibilities as well. Old German. Latin. A rose by any other name…

Word-wonder wandering is seductive but in the case of *our* Rosslyn, the etymology is more straightforward, or so we understand.

Historic Rosslyn

Built by William Daniel Ross just over two centuries ago, the property takes its name from its first owner’s surname. I’ve not yet discovered whether Rosslyn’s name dates from its namesake, or whether it was applied posthumously. And was it Rosslyn from the get-go, or was it a timeworn contraction of “Ross’s land”? Perhaps I’ll never know for certain.

Romantic Rosslyn

I’ve come to admire the romantic resonance of our property’s inherited name as much for its historic footnote as the whimsical ambiguity about when and how the moniker was adopted. I suppose that it hints at the property’s humanness, encouraging its anthropomorphism and maybe semi-elucidating our affectionate relationship with Rosslyn. In some way, it helps me explain our unusual journey together.

Benevolent Rosslyn

Although we might’ve balked at the suggestion during our early years as Rosslyn’s homeowners and earnest renovators, I’ve come to realize that we may have misunderstood the equation. Looking back, there’s no question in my mind that Rosslyn took possession of us, at least as much as the other way around. And our ambitious historic rehabilitation of Rosslyn, actually turned out to be Rosslyn’s rehab of yours truly (and probably Susan too, but I’d better check with her before I say so here!)

Inspiring Rosslyn

This synergistic relationship — revitalizing Rosslyn as she revitalized us — can and has been explored in many ways throughout this website. But one of the most important for me personally was that Rosslyn became my muse. Not just the house, the property, or the abstraction summarized in her name. Rosslyn became my muse in the tradition of Don Quijote’s Dulcinea del Toboso. Or Dante’s Beatrice Portinari…

After all, this experiment I call Rosslyn Redux is above all else a celebration and exploration of Rosslyn’s inspirational wellspring. She goads and challenges, beguiles and edifies, entrances and vitalizes.

So, what’s in a name? In Rosslyn we discovered history, home, romantic adventure, companionship, sanctuary, rehabilitation, and bountiful inspiration.

NB

If you’re wondering about that mesmerizing woman in the portrait above, it’s an AI apparition, not an historic rendering of Rosslyn. I prompted Craiyon to paint a “Romantic Era portrait of a beautiful woman” and this was the most appropriate of the nine outputs.