Baby-Naming Trends of the Past
January 8, 2015 § Leave a comment
What’s that they say?
“Everything old is new again.”
“There is nothing new under the sun.”
“History repeats itself.”
“What goes around, comes around.”
It all seems so appropriate for the subject of naming trends. We even have an early 19th century preference for “K” names to thank for making “Katherine” (and it’s nickname, “Katie” / “Katy“) more common than “Catherine“!
Click through to the article for more baby-naming trends that aren’t as modern as we might think!
Most Common Names for Some Common Jobs
January 7, 2015 § Leave a comment
Click here to see an infographic showing the six most disproportionately common names for for 37 professions. The data was gathered from U.S. public records, with some rather interesting (and useful, if, for example, you’re trying to choose a name that really suits a particular character) results. What do you think: Do certain names just sound right for certain jobs? Were there any results that surprised you? Are you in the right position for your name (keep in mind, some names show up for more than one occupation)?
– ACCOUNTANT: Adele, Charmaine, Kurtis, Maribel, Mindy, and Mitzi.
– BIOLOGIST: Cheryl, Janet, Nicholas, Sara, Stuart, and Suzanne.
– CAR SALESPERSON: Allen, Bob, Clay, Larry, Pete, and Travis.
– DRUMMER: Billy, Chad, Dave, Joey, Mickey, and Tommy.
– ELECTRICAL ENGINEER: Alfred, Bernard, Charles, Edwin, Eugene, and Harvey.
– FARMER: Darin, Delbert, Duane, Elwood, Marlin, and Mavis.
– FIREFIGHTER: Brandon, Darren, Jason, Jeremy, Matthew, and Ryan.
– FITNESS INSTRUCTOR: Jennifer, Julie, Karen, Pamela, Rebecca, and Virginia.
– FOOTBALL COACH: Bill, Dan, Jim, Mike, Rich, and Steve.
– FOOTBALL PLAYER: Darnell, Derrick, Jermaine, Nate, Quinton, and Reggie.
– GEOLOGIST: Frederick, Henry, Hugh, Leonard, Samuel, and William.
– GOLFER: Bobby, Bud, Johnny, Simon, Tommy, and Willie.
– GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Alison, Diana, Jan, Jessica, Kurt, and Vanessa.
– GUITARIST: Buddy, Eddie, Mick, Richie, Sonny, and Trey.
– HAIRDRESSER: James, Lori, Patricia, Raymond, Robert, and Susan.
– HISTORIAN: Adrienne, Caroline, Emma, Henry, Herbert, and Theodore.
– INSURANCE SALESPERSON: Brent, Clark, Dalton, Garrett, Mac, and Patty.
– INTERIOR DESIGNER: Bonnie, Elise, Lynne, Marjorie, Martha, and Melinda.
– JOURNALIST: Alastair, Angus, Gideon, Hanna, Jonah, and Louisa.
– JUDGE: Archibald, Clement, Josiah, Lise, Louise, and Rufus.
– LAWYER: Augustus, Cecily, Marshal, Norton, Sanford, and William.
– LIBRARIAN: Abigail, Eleanor, Johanna, Julia, Margot, and Nanette.
– MECHANIC: Dave, Fred, Jerry, Patrick, Randy, and Rick.
– METEOROLOGIST: Bill, Jeff, Joe, Jim, Mike, and Scott.
– PHOTOGRAPHER: Annie, Bruno, Hugo, Noah, Tracey, and Zoe.
– POET: Anne, Celia, Dorothy, Edgar, Edmund, and Hannah.
– POLICE OFFICER: Kevin, Kim, Louis, Raymond, Timothy, and Wayne.
– RABBI: Chaim, Judah, Meir, Moshe, Shlomo, and Yosef.
– RACE CAR DRIVER: Bobby, Jimmy, Johnny, Luigi, Robbie, and Sebastian.
– RANCHER: Boyd, Clifford, Judy, Leland, Leroy, and Roy.
– SOCIAL WORKER: Constance, Jeannette, Marsha, Penelope, Stella, and Vivian.
– SOLDIER: Jacob, Jeremy, Joshua, Justin, Kyle, and Zachary.
– SONGWRITER: Benny, Billy, Mick, Richie, Sonny, and Stevie.
– STUNT-PERSON: Alex, Ben, Eddie, Erik, Terry, and Tom.
– SURGEON: Barrett, Harris, Holly, Jefferson, Sanford, and Sherwin.
– VENTURE CAPITALIST: Alexander, Doug, Guy, Joanna, Nicholas, and Shawn.
– VETERINARIAN: Gene, Larry, Peggy, Sara, Tracy, and Wayne.
Dudley
January 6, 2015 § 2 Comments
ORIGIN:
An Old English last name, meaning “from Dudda’s meadow”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
None that I can think of.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Lord Dudley, the evil Duke Wulf’s fat son, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
WRITERS:
– Dudley Carew (1903-1981), English critic, journalist, poet, and writer.
– Dudley Costello (1803-1865), Anglo-Irish journalist, novelist, and soldier.
– Dudley Doust (1930-2008), American author and journalist.
– Dudley Fitts (1903-1968), American critic, educator, poet, and translator.
– Dudley Leavitt (1772-1851), American editor and publisher.
– Dudley Nichols (1895-1960), American screenwriter.
– Dudley Randall (1914-2000), American poet and publisher.
– Dudley Pope (1925-1997), English author.
Colin
January 6, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Anglicized version of the Celtic “Cailean” or “Coilean”, or a diminutive of “Nicholas“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Cailan, Cailean, Cailin, Calan, Calum, Coilean, Col, Colan, Cole, Coley, Collin, Collins, Colombe, Colombo, Colombano, Colson, Columbanus, Colyn, Kolman, Koloman, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Prince Colin, one of Princess Alison Jocelyn’s three brothers, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
WRITERS:
– Colin Campbell (1859-1928), Scottish actor, director, and screenwriter.
– Colin Dann (b. 1943), English author.
– Colin Dexter (b. 1930), English author.
– Colin Douglas (b. 1945), pen name of Scottish novelist Colin Thomas Currie.
– Colin Fletcher (1922-2007), Welsh outdoorsman and writer.
– Colin Forbes (1923-2006), pen name of English author Raymond Sawkins, who also wrote under the pen names “Harold English”, “Jay Bernard”, and “Richard Raine”.
– Colin Greenland (b. 1954), English author.
– Colin Harvey (1960-2011), English author and editor.
– Colin Henry Hazlewood (1823-1875), English playwright.
– Colin Higgins (1941-1988), Australian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter.
– Colin Kapp (1928-2007), English author.
– Colin MacInnes (1914-1976), English journalist and novelist.
– Colin Mackay (1951-2003), Scottish novelist and poet.
– Colin McDougal (1917-1984), Canadian author.
– Colin McEvedy (1930-2005), English author, historian, and scholar.
– Colin Morton (b. 1948), Canadian poet.
– Colin Thiele (1920-2006), Australian author and educator.
– Colin Turbayne (1916-2006), Australian philosopher and writer.
– Colin Ward (1924-2010), English activist and writer.
– Colin Watson (1920-1983), English author.
– Colin White (1951-2008), English historian.
– Colin Wilson (1931-2013), English philosopher and writer.
Corin
January 6, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Medieval French version of the Latin “Quirinus”, possibly from the Sabine word meaning “spear”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Quirijn, Quirin, Quirino, Quirinus.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Prince Corin, one of Princess Alison Jocelyn’s three brothers, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Wulf
January 6, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Germanic variation of “Wolf”, a shortened version of names like “Wolfgang”, “Wolfgar”, “Wolfram”, etc., or simply referencing the animal.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Ulf, Wolf, Wolfe, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Duke Wulf, Princess Alison Jocelyn’s evil uncle, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Alban
December 19, 2014 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
From the Latin place name, meaning “from Alba”, derived from the Latin word “albus”, meaning “white”. Also the name of a prominent English saint.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Albano, Albanus, Albany, Alben, Albin, Albinus, Aubin, Aubyn, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Duke Alban, whose land needs to be saved from a rampaging ogre, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
WRITERS:
– Alban Butler (1710-1773), English author and priest.
– Alban Stoltz (1808-1883), German author and theologian.
– Alban Thomas (c. 1660?-c.1740), Welsh cleric, poet, and translator.
Mabruk
December 19, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Probably Persian, meaning “blessed” or “prosperous”, or related to the Arabic “Mabrouk”, meaning “congratulations”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Mabrouk. And I don’t know what else.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Mabruk, the master magician Schmendrick usurps as a member of King Haggard’s court in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Drinn
December 19, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Unknown. Possibly related to an Arabic word for a particular type of wild grass or grain, or to a Germanic word, meaning “inside”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Dirin, Dirini, Dren, Drini, Drin, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Drinn, the miserly and mean-spirited leader of the villagers of Hagsgate, in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
Lir
December 19, 2014 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
The Irish version of the Welsh “Llyr”, meaning “the sea”. These were the names of the Irish and Welsh gods of the sea, respectively.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Lear, Leier, Leir, Leire, Leyr, Leyre, Lhyr, Llyr, Lur, Lyer, Lyr, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Prince Lír, the young hero in the fantasy novel The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle.
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 