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Cruise baby name has many meanings, expert says

(Reuters)
2006-04-23 14:10

Cruise's fans can't wait to see his daughter's pictures, and use computer to compose a Suri's picture.

LOS ANGELES - It's a Nubian tribe, the word for "rose" in Persian, the "sun" in Sanskrit and, oh yes, it's also an obscure variation on the Hebrew name Sarah and refers to form of an Alpaca's wool.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes may have gotten more than they bargained for naming their daughter Suri when she was born on Tuesday, according to language expert Paul JJ Payack, head of the Global Language Monitor, a group that studies word use.

Payack said he found at least five meanings for Suri, including the name of a Nubian tribe on the Sudanese-Ethopian border. The tribe is known for the ceremonial clay plate inserted into the lower lip of Suri girls after their lower teeth have been extracted.

Suri also refers to the sun in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-European language in which the word's meaning sometimes is translated as "lord" or "ruler."

Moreover, Suri is the name for the wool of the Andean Alpaca.

In Persian, it means rose, though not necessarily a red rose, as Cruise and Holmes said through their spokesman when the birth was announced.

Payack said Suri was also a relatively rare variation of the biblical name Sarah, which means "lady" or "princess."

Combined with the child's last name, which in English means to move or go along, especially in an unhurried or unconcerned fashion, Payack added that Suri Cruise could translate to: "The ruling Nubian sun princess unhurriedly moving along wearing a rose-colored blanket."