A Bevy of Very British Names, Part II
August 20, 2015 § 1 Comment
Another series of links to articles on names throughout Great Britain (see Part I here). As you can see, there’s quite a bit of overlap, though it’s interesting to see where the popularity diverges. Click through for more info on the rankings, as well as on the names themselves! (Also of note is the c.1986 news video on an extremely indecisive couple who gave their daughter 140 names!)
Top 10 Baby Names for England and Wales, 2014:
For girls: Amelia, Ava, Emily, Isabella, Isla, Jessica, Lily, Olivia, Poppy, Sophie
For boys: Charlie, George, Harry, Jack, Jacob, James, Oliver, Oscar, Thomas, William
Most Popular Baby Names in Northern Ireland, 2014:
For girls: Amelia, Anna, Ava, Ella, Emily, Grace, Lucy, Olivia, Sophia, Sophie
For boys: Charlie, Daniel, Ethan, Harry, Jack, Jacob, James, Noah, Oliver, Thomas
Most Popular Baby Names in Scotland, 2014:
For girls: Amelia, Ava, Ella, Emily, Isla, Jessica, Lily, Lucy, Olivia, Sophia, Sophie
For boys: Alexander, Charlie, Daniel, Jack, James, Lewis, Logan, Lucas, Noah, Oliver
Most Popular Baby Names in Wales, 2014:
For girls: Amelia, Ava, Emily, Evie, Isla, Lily, Mia, Olivia, Poppy, Ruby
For boys: Alfie, Charlie, Dylan, Jack, Jacob, Leo, Logan, Noah, Oliver, Oscar, William
Hallam
August 17, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
An English last name, meaning “at the rocks”, “at the nook”, “from the hills”, or “remote valley”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Hal, Hall, Hallum, Halm, Halum.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Middle name of Jethro Hallam Creighton (b. 1852), the young boy through whose eyes we view the events of Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
When Good Names Go Generic
August 5, 2015 § 1 Comment
When a brand name becomes the generic term for an item (as in kleenex, band-aid, aspirin, etc. — you can find a bunch of them here), we call that a “proprietary eponym”. But did you know that something similar can happen to people names as well? Perhaps you are familiar with wellingtons or wellies, the rubber boots named after the Duke of Wellington, or sideburns, the distinctive style of facial hair sported by Gen. Ambrose Burnside. But are you familiar with these names, which ended up in the dictionary as stand-alone words in their own right? Be sure to click through to the article for more information!
“26 First Names That Ended Up In The Dictionary”
Names included are:
Abigail, Andrew, Anna, Ava, Emma, Eric, George, Harry, Helena, Henry, Isabella, Jacob, James, Jesse, John, Luke, Matilda, Molly, Rebecca, Robert, Sam, Sarah, Steven, Toby, Tony, and Victoria
Everything Old is New Again, Vol. II
July 31, 2015 § 1 Comment
As in our first installment of “Everything Old is New Again“, here you’ll find an assortment of old-fashioned baby names which are poised to make a comeback. Be the first on your block / friends list to use one! (As usual, you can click through to the article for more information about the names):
- “25 Best Vintage Baby Names for Girls“
- “Classic Baby Names for Girls That Are Just Under the Radar“
- “10 Vintage Baby Names That Need to Make a Comeback“
- “11 Classic Baby Names That Are Ready for a Comeback“
- “Unusual Baby Names for Boys That Are Ready to Make a Comeback“
- “Vintage Boy Names: 9 Retro Choices Ready for a Rebound“
Names included are:
For girls: Adelaide, Agnes, Alice, Antonia, Aurelia, Beatrice, Betty, Clementine, Constance, Cora, Cordelia, Dorothy, Edith, Eleanor, Eliza, Frances, Harriet, Hattie, Hazel, Helen, Ida, India, Isadora, Josephine, Lillian, Louisa, Lucinda, Lula, Mabel, Marcella, Margaret, Margo, Marion, Mercy, Myrtle, Pearl, Penelope, Rosalind, Rosemary, Ruth, Susannah, Theodora, Winifred
For boys: Abner, Archie, Arthur, Augustine, Cormac, Cornelius, Denver, Ephraim, Ford, Francis, Frank, Gordon, Gus, Guy, Harris, Harry, Lawrence, Louis, Magnus, Martin, Milton, Nigel, Oscar, Otis, Patrick, Paul, Philip, Ray, Simeon, Stanley, Theodore, Walter
A Selection of Très Chic French Baby Names
July 29, 2015 § 1 Comment
If you follow the link, you’ll be able to find out a little bit more about these lovely French names (although a pronunciation guide is not included; you may have to look that up yourself!):
“20 French Baby Names You’ll Want to Steal Immediately”
(Click here for the Dutch version.)
For girls: Anaelle, Aveline, Coralie, Elize, Fleur, Marielle, Solene
For boys: Bale, Cabot, Danton, Henri, Janvier, Landry, Luc, Mathis, Montgomery, Olivier
For either: Bellamy, Jorden, Remi
Endangered or Extinct First Names
May 31, 2015 § 1 Comment
Here we have a couple of articles talking about first names which are disappearing (click here for some articles on endangered or extinct last names). Maybe it’s time to stage a renaissance? At the very least, these are some good resources for anyone looking for a name which has classic appeal, but is nevertheless unique in today’s world. As always, click through to the articles to see rankings, popularity peaks, and other information on the names!
“25 Names That Are Going Extinct”
“We started by crunching the numbers to find a list of baby names that were at least somewhat popular in 1950 (more than 1,000 per 1 million babies). Next, we tracked which of those names had nearly vanished by 2013.”
“Baby Names on the Verge of Extinction”
“These 15 names were given to only five babies each in 2013, the lowest number counted by the Social Security Administration. Once usage dips below that, they become the dodo birds of baby names.”
“Cecil, Bertha and Gertrude — Britain’s ‘Endangered’ Names Revealed”
“Many of the nation’s most traditional names are at risk of dying out according to a report released today by family history website Ancestry, which reveals forenames that have virtually disappeared over the last 100 years and many more that have become ‘endangered’.”
“Baby Names on the [Australian] Extinction List”
“Mums and dads, will you take one for the country and name your kids any of these to keep them from extinction?”
Names that made the various lists:
For boys: Arnold, Bernard, Bill, Bruce, Cecil, Clarence, Clifford, Cyril, Donald, Elmo, Ernest, Fred, Gary, Harold, Herbert, Horace, Ian, Icarus, Inigo, Leslie, Llewellyn, Neil, Nigel, Norman, Percy, Remus, Roland, Rowland, Sherwood, Sydney, Trevor, Waldo, Walter, Willie
For girls: Alpha, Ann, Barbara, Barbra, Bertha, Blodwen, Carol, Cathy, Cheryl, Claudine, Debbie, Debra, Dianne, Dolores, Doris, Dorothy, Edna, Ethel, Eveline, Fanny, Freda, Gail, Gertrude, Gladys, Glenda, Gwendoline, Helen, Hilda, Irene, Jackie, Jane, Janet, Janis, Jeanne, Jennie, Jill, Judith, Kay, Leslie, Lilian, Lizzie, Lynda, Marcia, Margaret, Margery, Marjorie, Marion, Marsha, Mary, Maud, Maureen, Mildred, Muriel, Nanette, Nellie, Pamela, Phyllis, Rhoda, Rhonda, Roberta, Sandra, Sandy, Sheba, Sheryl, Sondra, Sue, Thisbe, Vickie, Wanda, Winifred, Zelma
Most Popular Baby Names, 2014 (Canadian Edition)
May 24, 2015 § Leave a comment
Wondering which names made the top ranking for last year, eh? Wonder no more. The linked article lists ’em all, from #1 to #100. Did your name make the cut?
“Top 100 Baby Names in Canada 2014”
In alphabetical order (you’ll have to click through to the article for the rankings!), the names are:
For boys: Aaron, Adam, Aiden, Alex, Alexander, Alexis, Andrew, Anthony, Antoine, Austin, Benjamin, Bentley, Blake, Brayden, Caleb / Kaleb, Cameron, Carter, Charles, Chase, Christopher, Cole, Colton, Connor, Cooper, Daniel, David, Declan, Dominic, Dylan, Edward, Eli, Elijah, Elliot, Emmett, Ethan, Evan, Felix, Gabriel, Gavin, Grayson / Greyson, Hayden, Henry, Hudson, Hunter, Isaac, Jace / Jase, Jack, Jackson / Jaxon / Jaxson, Jacob, James, Jayden, Jeremy, John, Jonathan, Jordan, Joseph, Joshua, Justin, Landon, Leo, Levi, Liam, Lincoln, Logan, Luca, Lucas / Lukas, Luke, Marcus, Mason, Mateo, Mathis, Matthew, Max, Michael, Muhammad, Nathan, Nathaniel, Nicolas / Nicholas, Noah, Nolan, Oliver, Owen, Parker, Riley, Ryan, Ryder, Samuel, Sebastian, Simon, Theo, Thomas, Tristan, Tyler, Victor, Vincent, William, Wyatt, Xavier, Zachary / Zackary, Zack
For girls: Abigail, Adele, Addison / Addyson, Alexa, Alexandra, Alexis, Alice, Alicia, Alyssa, Amelia, Anna, Annabelle, Aria, Arianna, Aubrey, Audrey, Ava, Avery, Beatrice, Brooke, Brooklyn, Camille, Charlie, Charlotte, Chloe, Claire, Clara, Coralie, Elizabeth, Ella, Emily, Emma, Eva, Eve, Evelyn, Faith, Florence, Gabriella, Gabrielle, Georgia, Grace, Hailey, Hanna / Hannah, Harper, Isabella, Isabelle, Isla, Ivy, Jade, Jasmine, Jessica, Julia, Juliette, Justine, Lauren, Layla, Lea / Leah, Leanne, Leonie, Lillian, Lily, Lucy, Mackenzie, Madison, Maelie, Maeva, Maika, Marianne, Maya / Mia / Mya, Megan, Melodie, Mila, Morgan, Naomi, Natalie, Nevaeh, Nora, Oceane, Olivia, Paige, Peyton, Rachel, Romy, Rosalie, Rose, Rowan, Ruby, Sadie, Samantha, Sarah, Savannah, Scarlett, Sofia / Sophia, Sofie / Sophie, Stella, Sydney, Taylor, Victoria, Violet, Zoe / Zoey
The Decade’s Trendiest Baby Names
April 24, 2015 § Leave a comment
Following is a link to an article about the 15 trendiest baby names in the U.S. (those which have shown the fastest increase in popularity). If you’re looking to stay on top of fashion, or are hoping to avoid blending in with the crowd, this is some handy information, here.
Names included on the list are: Aria / Arya, Aubree (alternate spelling of “Aubrey”), Bentley, Easton, Harper, Jase (shortened version of “Jason”), Jaxson (alternate spelling of “Jackson“), Khloe (alternate spelling of “Chloe”), Lincoln, London, Mila, Paisley (side note: I cannot believe people actually name their children after a print fabric!), Penelope, Scarlett, Violet
Click through for more information (like when the names first hit the charts, and how long their rise to popularity has been coming):
“Today’s Trendiest, Fastest Rising Baby Names“
Some Declining U.S. Baby Names
April 24, 2015 § Leave a comment
Here you’ll find a link telling you all about the decade’s 15 fastest-declining baby names (names which are falling out of favor the quickest.) Will these be the next generation’s old-fashioned duds, like “Wilbur” and “Mildred” are today?
Names included are: Amanda, Amber, Danielle, Erin, Haley / Hayley, Jada, Jenna, Jennifer, Jessica, Jordan, Leslie, Marissa, Megan, Seth, and Shelby
Honorable mention: Cody, Courtney, Devin, Sean, and Trevor
Click through for more info about the names (like when they first became popular, and how high in the rankings they reached before their fall from grace):
“The Decade’s Fastest Dropping Baby Names“
Everything Old is New Again
April 5, 2015 § 2 Comments
I’ve long been of the opinion that there are many classic names that are long since due for a revival. I’d like to see more Olivers and Theodores and Maudies and Candaces and even Victorias running around. Apparently, I’m not the only one, as these links illustrates (click through for the whys and wherefores):
- “20 Victorian Baby Names That Are In Style For 2015“
- “20 Old-Fashioned Baby Names That Are Back In Style“
- “10 Traditional Baby Names That Are Making A Comeback“
For girls: Adeline, Alice, Alma, Amelia, Aubrey, Blanche, Clara, Cora, Edith, Effie, Evelyn, Florence, Hattie, Hazel, Leah, Lillian, Lucy, Maggie, Naomi, Nora, Olive, Ruth, Sadie, and Stella
For boys: Alfred, Bernard, Charlie, Eli, Everett, Henry, Harold, Henry, Isaac, Jack, Jasper, Leo, Max, Oliver, Oscar, Owen, Raymond, Samuel, Silas, and Warren
What other names do you think should make a comeback?
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 