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Where the name "Ennis" came from?
Scott6373:
In all the "Meet The Author" thingys she did, I am surprised no one ever asked her how she came up with that name
Shakesthecoffecan:
Once long ago I saw a post that someone reported that Ennis, Montana had a DelMar Motel, but I have never seen any cooberating evidence.
Penthesilea:
South of Dallas in Texas, along Highway 45 between Dallas and Houston, there's also a town named Ennis. Not far from Ennis, TX is a town (village?) named Alma. They're both in Ellis county. Here's a map of Ellis county where you can see both, Ennis and Alma:
(look at the right lower end of the map for Highway 45. Follow it and it leads you first to Alma, then to Ennis)
Naturally, I have no idea where Annie Proulx first encountered the name Ennis. But I firmly believe that she meant Ennis Del Mar to be an island in the sea.
moremojo:
Ennis has been noted as both a geographic name (apart from the towns in Montana and Texas, there is also the one in Ireland) and as a family name, but apart from our fictional Ennis del Mar, I've never known of anyone bearing it as a first (or even middle) name. I wonder if Proulx had ever encountered anyone named thus in her own life.
southendmd:
Bumping this interesting thread.
In addition to the oft-quoted "Island of the sea" meaning, I found one source that defines "Ennis" not as "island", but as meaning "one choice". It's one of those "what to name your baby" sites! But, it suggests that Ennis as a name is a variant of Angus.
Ennis \e(n)-nis\ as a boy's name (also used as girl's name Ennis), is of Celtic origin, and the meaning of Ennis is "one choice". Variant of the Scottish Gaelic name Angus.
Food for thought!
http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Ennis
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