Carenza: the Cornish connection

While most of the Time Team regulars must make do with names such as Tony, Mick and Phil, Carenza Lewis is blessed with something more interesting. So where does 'Carenza' come from?

The name translates from its Cornish origins as 'loving', the Cornish word for love being 'car' (the 'enz' is the present participle). This, in turn, comes from the same Euro-linguistic roots as words like caress or charity (or carita, for example, from the Italian). In fact, large parts of the Cornish language bear much closer relation than English to others descended from the Latin (notably the Spanish and Italian) because it retained links with Roman Europe after the departure of the Romans for much longer than other parts of Britain.

Carenza was told as a child that her name was Spanish, and that it had been brought over to England by survivors of the Spanish Armada. Shipwrecked off the Cornish coast, one of these had swum ashore (unlikely since few of the Spanish sailors could swim), married a local girl and named their daughter Karenza – the traditional Cornish spelling being with a 'K'. The name is found in the fictional Poldark family, which also hailed from Cornwall, although the character never appeared in the television series.

Neither Carenza nor her parents have any connection with Cornwall. Her mother knew a girl at school who was named Karenza and thought it would make a nice name for her daughter. Carenza's godfather's brother suggested it would look better spelt with a 'C'.