Nicolas Thiên Sơn Martens

Nico's New Zealand passport arrived last week. He's entitled to all three passports but it was going to take too long for the other two to arrive. Because we're not married, the Netherlands require proof that Bas has been looking after Nico for three years before agreeing to give him citizenship. As for France... well they're just slow.



So what do Nico's names mean, and where do they come from?

• Nicolas: this is the French spelling, with no H, and properly pronounced [nikɔˈlɑ]. Some people (including the Department of Internal Affairs, on his passport's observation page) have already misspelled it! It's derived from the Greek Nikolaos, which means 'Victory of the people'. Derivatives include: Nikki, Nic, Nicanor, Nicholas, Nick, Nickolaus, Nickson, Nicky, Nico, Nicodemus, Nicol, Nicson, Nikko, Nikkos, Niko, Nikolaus, Nikos, Nikson.
  
  
  
  



• Thiên Sơn: of Vietnamese origin, proposed by my parents. The meaning of it is Sky and Mountain, with the underlying meaning that he's as strong as the sky and a mountain. It's also a mountainous area 50km from Hanoi. The 'Th' isn't pronounced the English way as in 'Thickshake', rather it's a T with an expired H. And the accent above the o turn the 'oh' sound into an 'uh' sound. You'd end up with something like T-hee-en Suhn.
  
  



• Martens: Bas' Dutch surname, originating from a personal name (Latin Martinus, a derivative of Mars, the Roman god of fertility and war). This was borne by a famous 4th-century saint, Martin of Tours. Bas (and I guess other Dutch people as well) almost pronounces it 'Martons'.

- Alouette -

Lark, lovely Lark
Lark, I am going to pluck you
I am going to pluck your head,
I am going to pluck your head,
And the head, and the head,
O-o-o-o-oh...

All the verses are the same except the part of the body. The usual ones are: the head, the beak, the eyes, the neck, the wings, the back, the legs, the tail.