Tag Archives: Australian names

Celebrity Baby News: International Celebrity Babies

28 Tuesday Jun 2016

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American reality TV star Audrina Partridge, and her fiance, Australian dirt bike rider Corey Bohan, welcomed their first child on June 25 and have named their daughter Kirra Max. Audrina starred in the MTV reality TV series The Hills, and briefly had her own spin-off show, Audrina; she now hosts a late-night travel show. Corey has been a professional BMX dirt bike rider since 2002 and was the first athlete to win in three consecutive years at the X Games – in 2004, 2005, and 2006. He took part in one episode of The Hills, and met Audrina during filming. Kirra is a beach from Corey’s home state of Queensland, while Max is the current unisex darling for celebrities to choose for daughters.

Balinese actor Kadek Mahardika and his Australian wife Laura recently welcomed their second child and have named their son Lenny, a brother for Mila [pictured]. When he was born they couldn’t decide between Jordy and Lenny so they chose the name using the “rock scissors paper” method – apparently Laura’s choice won. Kadek is best known for his role of Ketut, Rhonda’s Balinese holiday romance in the popular “Rhonda and Ketut” series of advertisements for AAMI car insurance.

Rare Girls Names From the 1950s

05 Sunday Jun 2016

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Tasma_photographed_in_Turkish_costume

The most popular girls names of the 1950s were Susan, Jennifer, Christine, and Margaret, but what were the least popular names? Here are ten names which were only chosen once in any year between 1950 and 1959 in South Australia, making them unique names for their time and place. They continue to be rare, and some parents will still find them appealing.

Adelie
Anglicised form of Adélie, a variant or pet form of the French name Adèle. The name came into common use in the 19th century, and has a strong connection with Antarctica. Adélie Land borders the Australian Antarctic Territory, and has been claimed by France, although most countries do not recognise their sovereignty. The coast of Adélie Land was discovered in 1840 by the French explorer Jules D’Urville, and named after his wife Adèle. Since 1956 there has been a French research station here, and perhaps it helped to give the name some publicity in this decade. Adélie penguins get their name from Adélie Land, and the location has another penguin connection, as this is where the award-winning French documentary March of the Penguins was filmed. Names such as Adeline and Adele are on trend, and Adelie has a strong local association. Usually pronounced AD-uh-lee by English-speakers; Addie is the obvious nickname.

Drusilla
Feminine form of the Roman family name Drusus. The first of the line was Livius Drusus, who gained his name by killing a Gallic chieftain named Drausus in one-on-one combat. Although the meaning of Drausus is unknown, one theory is that it comes from the Celtic for “strong”. Drusilla was the name of one of King Herod’s great-granddaughters, and she briefly appears in the New Testament as the wife of the Roman governor Felix Antonius; mention is made of her beauty, and that Felix used great cunning to persuade the Jewish – and already married – Drusilla to wed him, a pagan (later she perished in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius). Drusilla has been used as an English name since at least the 17th century; presumably the loveliness of the biblical namesake was a drawcard. A famous namesake of the decade was British actress Drusilla Wills, who passed away in 1951. In Australia this name has an intellectual image, due to novelist and literary critic Drusilla Modjeska; however Drusilla often has a Gothic connection in popular culture. Dru makes a cool nickname.

Isis
Greek version of the Egyptian goddess Aset, whose name means “throne”, and represents the power of the pharaoh. Worshipped as the ideal wife and mother, Isis was a patron of nature and magic; she was the protector of the poor and downtrodden, but also heeded the prayers of the wealthy and aristocratic. She was popular throughout Egypt, and later her cult spread through the Greco-Roman world, where she came to represent wisdom. She even influenced Christianity, for the popular image of the Virgin Mary nursing the baby Jesus was taken directly from Isis suckling her son Horus. Worship of Isis continues today in both pagan and interfaith contexts, and she has become important to occult, esoteric and New Age movements. A famous namesake from this decade was Isis Finlay, the Miss Cuba of 1954. The British astronomer Isis Pogson, who used her middle name, was probably named after the River Isis, part of the Thames, and this is the inspiration for the name of the Isis Rivers in Australia. A lovely ancient name which has suffered from the coincidence of the terrorist group popularly called ISIS, although Islamic State is the more usual way of referring to it.

Keturah
Hebrew name meaning “incense”, probably with spiritual overtones rather than simply describing a pleasant aroma. In the Old Testament, Keturah was the second wife of the patriarch Abraham; he married her after the death of Sarah, and she is implied to be a lower-status wife. Keturah bore Abraham six sons, and Abraham settled them in colonies at some distance away, presumably so that they wouldn’t trouble his son Isaac. They are said to represent the Arab tribes who lived south and east of Palestine, although the youngest ended up in Syria. Despite being one of the most ignored characters in the Bible, Keturah has been used as an English name since the 17th century, but has never gained popularity. Keturah fit in with popular names of the 1950s such as Kathleen, Kathryn, Karen and Kerry, and even today underrated Keturah is surprisingly stylish. You could use Kitty as the nickname.

Kiki
Can be used as a short form of any name starting with a K, ending in -iki, or with a strong K sound, or as a true nickname with no relation to the birth name. The name was well known by the 1950s due to the French artist’s model and cabaret singer Alice Prin, who worked under the professional name Kiki, and was known as The Queen of Montparnasse. The companion of American photographer Man Ray for several years, she is the subject of many of his most famous works. An artist in her own right, her autobiography was reprinted in the 1950s under the title The Education of a Young Model. Kiki died in 1953, but she remained a bohemian symbol of feminine freedom and audacity. Another inspiration was Norwegian-born fashion designer Kiki Byrne (born Olaug Grinaker), who was Mary Quant’s rival in the trendy London scene of the late 1950s and 1960s. Kiki was also a celebrity baby name in this decade, the nickname of Chiara, daughter of American artist Tony Smith, and his opera singer wife, Jane Lawrence (Kiki Smith is now a highly successful artist herself). Kiki is a vintage nickname which still seems daring, chic, and sexy.

Nerissa
Created by William Shakespeare for a character in The Merchant of Venice. It is usually thought that he based it on the Nereids, the beautiful sea nymphs of Greek mythology who were the daughters of the sea god Nereus; his name and theirs comes from the Greek word for “water”. In the play, Nerissa is the handmaid of the heroine Portia, and the two of them team up to fool the boys and save the day with a clever plan. Although Nerissa is pretty, witty, and gets her man, her role as a servant and sidekick may not have helped the name’s fortunes. It doesn’t seem to have been used as a name until the 19th century, when Shakespeare became very fashionable, and has never been popular, like his other creations Jessica and Olivia. Nerissa was very on trend in the 1950s, when names like Nerida, Narelle, Nerine, and Nerys were all the rage. It perhaps sounds slightly dated now, but is still a very pretty name with an attractive fictional namesake.

Pandora
In Greek mythology Pandora was the first woman created by the gods, designed not as a companion and helpmate for man but his punishment. Each of the gods bestowed upon Pandora the most seductive of gifts, such as beauty, grace, intelligence, and charm, but she was also given a jar which contained all diseases and miseries. Pandora almost immediately opened it, so that evil entered the world. Only Hope was left in the jar, but it is unclear whether this was a Bad Thing (hope was never released, giving us no expectation of improvement) or a Good Thing (at least we still have hope). For that matter, why did the gods regard Hope as an evil? Scholars have devoted many pages to these questions. At least Pandora’s name is straightforward: she was named by Hermes with the meaning “all gifts”, to indicate how well the gods endowed her. Pandora has been used as an English name since at least the 18th century, although the backstory is a mixed blessing. An inspiration from this decade was the 1951 romantic film Pandora and the  Flying Dutchman, with Ava Gardner as femme fatale Pandora Reynolds. An exotic spin on Eve, but the mistranslation of her jar makes Pandora’s Box something of an issue.

Tasma
The pen name of Australian novelist Jessie Couvreur, who was of Dutch, French, and English descent. Jessie and her family arrived in Tasmania from London in 1852, and she was raised and given a liberal education in Hobart. Her pseudonym was inspired by the island state of Tasmania, and could be seen as a feminine form of Tasman. There is a Tasma Street in Hobart, apparently named in her honour. Jessie began publishing her work when she was sixteen, and she spent most of her career in Europe. An example of the New Woman, Jessie divorced her first husband, and was already financially independent through her work. She published eight novels between 1877 and 1897, lectured in French, and wrote for the Nouvelle Revue, receiving the Officier d’Académie from the French government; she was particularly interested in feminist issues. Later in life she became a correspondent for The Times in Brussels, proving herself an excellent journalist. A famous namesake is actress Tasma Walton, who is married to comedian Rove McManus, and has been a celebrity parent on the blog. Another celebrity mum, Yumi Stynes, has Tasma as her middle name. The name Tasma is particularly associated with Australia, and although it is found in other countries too, seemingly only after Jessie Couvreur began her international writing career, leaving open the possibility this is a genuine Australian original that’s both literary and patriotic.

Viveka
Swedish form of Wiebke, feminine form of the Germanic name Wiebe, a medieval short form of names containing the name element wig, meaning “war”. The name is pronounced VIV-eh-kuh. In the 1950s, Viveka would have fitted in with fashionable Vivian and Vivienne, and still makes a good alternative to those names. By coincidence, viveka is also a Sanskrit word meaning “discrimination, discernment”. In Eastern philosophies, viveka is the ability to tell the difference between what is real (eternal) and unreal (changing), which is necessary for spiritual growth; the word is used in yoga and certain meditation techniques. It is sometimes used as a female name in India, which makes Viveka a cool multicultural choice.

Zora
Slavic name meaning “dawn”. A famous Australian with the name was the writer Zora Cross, who wrote several novels between the 1920s and 1940s but is primarily known for her poetry. Her private life was scandalous for the time, because she separated from her husband and lived with her partner, who she had two children with and “married” in a private commitment ceremony. Zora’s partner adopted another child she had with a previous lover, and in turn he and his wife were separated, she living with her own partner. These bohemian arrangements were frowned upon and caused some difficulties with employment, but Zora was able to support herself through acting and journalism. Despite this interesting namesake, the name Zora probably appeared in the 1950s data because of post-war immigration from the former Yugoslavia (now Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina). Several other Slavic names appear in the data, including Zorica, a pet form of Zora. Very similar to popular Zara, this makes a good heritage choice and an alternative to Aurora.

POLL RESULTS
People’s favourite names were Adelie, Zora and Viveka, and their least favourites were Pandora, Kiki and Drusilla.

(Photo shows the writer “Tasma” in Turkish dress in Istanbul; a favourite photo of hers since Turkish women’s clothing was unrestrictive compared to that in Europe)

Famous Name: Charles

26 Thursday Feb 2015

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Famous Namesake
Fifty years ago, on February 12 1965, a bus left Sydney University on a two-week tour of rural New South Wales. Aboard was a group of 29 white and black activists, mostly students, who had been inspired by the American civil rights movement of the 1960s to protest in support of Indigenous civil rights.

The bus trip had been organised by Student Action for Aborigines, and their elected president was Charles “Charlie” Perkins, one of only two Indigenous students at Sydney University, and a huge fan of Dr Martin Luther King. The trip was later dubbed the Freedom Ride, after the famous Freedom Riders of the American civil rights movement, who took buses through the southern states in 1961 to protest racial segregation.

Some members of SAFA saw themselves as on a fact-finding mission to collect evidence of discrimination against Aborigines in rural Australia. At the time, many Australians believed racism was a problem which existed only in South Africa, or in the deep south of the United States. But the Australian Freedom Riders found that apartheid and segregation did not just happen overseas.

The SAFA were shocked to find the poor living conditions of most rural Aborigines, and that hospitals, schools, and churches separated black people from white in some country towns, as did milk bars, pubs, and cinemas. In others, Indigenous Australians were barred from entering swimming pools, clubs, or restaurants, while it was routine for them to be refused service in shops and businesses.

The students made several non-violent protests on their bus trip, and also tried to encourage Indigenous Australians to join their protests and demand better treatment. In Moree they helped Aboriginal children to go swimming at the pool in defiance of the race-based ban against them, and were greeted with hostility by white locals, who threw eggs, rotten fruit, and stones at the protesters while spitting at them. However, they were eventually able to persuade the town council to overturn the ban.

One of the students on the Freedom Ride was also an ABC journalist, and the SAFA had ensured plenty of media coverage on their bus trip – they even made the news internationally. With the events of the Freedom Ride appearing on television, radio, and in newspaper articles, and with the harsh injustice against Australian Aborigines exposed, it was no longer possible for white Australians to claim ignorance of racism in their own country.

Charles Perkins graduated from Sydney University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1966, becoming the first Indigenous Australian man to graduate from university. The following year, as manager of the Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs, he headed the campaign to advocate for a Yes vote in the Referendum which allowed Aboriginal people to be counted in censuses, and for parliament to be allowed to introduce legislation specifically for Aboriginal people. The Referendum passed, with more than 90% of Australians voting Yes.

He became a public servant with the Office of Aboriginal Affairs, and in 1981 was appointed Permanent Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs – the first Indigenous Australian to become permanent head of a federal government department. He took leadership roles in the Aboriginal community, and, being a former soccer player, was also appointed to key positions in football administration. He received many awards and honours during his lifetime.

On February 18 this year, his daughter Rachel Perkins was among those who took a bus from Sydney University in a re-enactment for the fiftieth anniversary of the Freedom Ride. Along the way, they were greeted warmly by the communities they entered, rather than having stones thrown at them or being run off the road, as a sign of how things have changed.

Although this year’s five-day bus trip could celebrate improvements in the lives of Indigenous Australians, such as being counted in the census and having access to the same education as white people, it also highlighted the disadvantages that many Aborigines continue to suffer, such as poverty, unemployment, health issues, higher rates of incarceration, and covert racism. The work of the Freedom Riders is by no means complete.

Name Information
Charles is the French form of the Germanic name Karal, which in modern German is Karl; it comes from the Germanic karlaz, meaning “a free man”. In Anglo-Saxon English karlaz became ceorl, denoting the lowest rank of freemen – a peasant who was neither a slave nor a serf. Ceorl does seem to have been used as a name in Anglo-Saxon England, even by royalty. By modern times, the word had become churl, understood as “a country person, someone of low social status”, and eventually seen as someone rude, loutish and vulgar – exhibiting what we call churlish behaviour.

The name has become widely known chiefly because of Charles Martel, a powerful Frankish military leader who never held the title of king, but nevertheless ruled Francia (modern France) as Duke and Prince, and divided the kingdom of the Franks between his sons, just as kings did. His grandson was Charles I, otherwise known as Charlemagne (Charles the Great), called “The Father of Europe”. He united western Europe and laid the foundations for modern France and Germany; his kingdom is known as the Carolingian Empire.

Little wonder the name Charles was a favourite in the French monarchy; the last one was Charles X, who ruled in the 19th century until being forced to abdicate and go into exile. This means that Charles remained a French royal name for over a thousand years.

The name Charles became used by British royalty due to the Stuart kings, who were Scottish; Scotland has long had ties with France. Charles I wasn’t a terrifically popular king, and fought against his enemies in the English Civil War. Losing that, he refused to accept the parliament’s demand for a constitutional monarchy, and was beheaded for treason. He is regarded as a martyr in Anglicanism.

England became a republic for a few years, until the monarchy was restored with the accession of Charles’ son. Charles II was known as the Merry Monarch for his decadent lifestyle, and although he couldn’t stick the parliament either, he managed to dissolve it without getting his head cut off.

We may get a King Charles III in the near future, although some are of the opinion that Charles is not a suitable name for a modern king. The first two Charleses were anti-parliament and resisted a constitutional monarchy, while Charles II is considered to have lived an “immoral” life that we now expect kings not to emulate. (Maybe the spaniels are also an issue). Prince Charles could rule under any of his names, and a popular belief is that he will choose to take the throne as George VII.

There are quite a number of saints named Charles, and several religious leaders, such as Charles Wesley, who co-founded the Methodist Church, and Charles Spurgeon, a famous Baptist preacher.

Famous people from Australian history include explorer Captain Charles Sturt; naval officer Sir Charles Fremantle, after whom the city of Fremantle is named; Charles La Trobe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria; Sir Charles Menzies, founder of the city of Newcastle; astronomer and pioneering meteorologist Charles Todd; Charles Harpur, our first real poet; Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, World War I flying ace and pioneer aviator; Antarctic explorer Charles Laseron; distinguished film-maker Charles Chauvel; artist Charles Blackman; and brilliant neurosurgeon Charles “Charlie” Teo.

Charles is a classic name which has never left the charts, and barely been out of the Top 100. It was #7 in the 1900s, and reached its lowest point in the 1980s at #116. It was back on the Top 100 by the following decade, and since then its position has been fairly stable. In 2013, it was #81 nationally, #81 in New South Wales, #88 in Victoria, #85 in Queensland, #53 in Tasmania, and #86 in the Australian Capital Territory.

With Charles, you get a handsome, elegant classic and a solid, traditional name. Its history takes you back to European royalty, and Charles still feels regal and noble. However, lest the name feel too stiff and formal, it has a number of relaxed, casual nicknames.

Charlie is a popular name in its own right, while the older-style Chas is familiar from comedian Chas Licciardello. The vintage nickname Chilla, which appears to be uniquely Australian, is perhaps best known from 1950s Olympic athlete “Chilla” Porter. The American nicknames Chip and Chuck are rarely used here, probably because they mean “French fry” and “vomit” respectively in Australian English.

POLL RESULTS
Charles received an excellent approval rating of 82%, making it one of the top-rated names of 2015. People saw the name Charles as strong and handsome (18%), a name with history and substance (17%), and formal and elegant (15%). 16% of people thought the nickname Charlie was cute. However, 9% thought the name was too stuffy and old-fashioned. Only one person was bothered by the linguistic connection to the word churlish, and only one person thought the nickname Charlie was silly and childish.

(Picture shows Charles Perkins on the “Freedom Ride bus trip; photo from National Geographic)

Requested Famous Name: Banjo

14 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by in Famous Names, Requested Names

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146168-banjp-paterson-grapphicOn Sunday February 17 this year it will be the 149th birthday of Andrew Barton Paterson, affectionately known as “Banjo” Paterson. To celebrate, The Orange and District Historical Society will be throwing him a birthday party, with a car rally, picnic lunch in Banjo Paterson Park, poetry readings, stories of Banjo’s life, and walk around the historic property where he was born.

Because this is a name blog, I feel obliged to explain that Paterson was named Andrew after his Scottish-born father, and his middle name Barton was a family name from his mother’s side; he was related to Edmund Barton, who would later become Australia’s first prime minister. Because he and his dad had the same name, Paterson went by his middle name, and was always known as Barty to his friends and family.

Paterson lived with his grandmother while he was attending the prestigious Sydney Grammar School, and she encouraged in him a love of poetry. He was 21 when he first began submitting poems to The Bulletin, under the pseudonym of “The Banjo” (sometimes shortened to a simple “B”). Full of fierce nationalism and a desire for a fairer society, he had some aspirations to write fiery polemic, and had even written a political pamphlet. However, The Bulletin had other ideas.

In the late 19th century, there was a movement towards the British colonies of Australia becoming one country, a feeling that Australia should be a united nation, and Australians a united people. In the effort to provide Australia with a unifying mythology that would instil nationalistic pride, it seemed that the Australian bush and outback would be the symbol to draw everyone together.

The Bulletin suggested that Banjo Paterson try his hand at bush poetry in line with its nationalist editorial policy. Banjo had been born in the Central West, but spent most of his childhood and youth growing up on the family property near Yass, north of Canberra. It was here he learned to ride, and watched the horsemen from the Murrumbidgee River and Snowy Mountains country play polo and take part in picnic races. He gained a great love of horses, and an admiration for horsemanship.

When he wrote The Man from Snowy River, it was a poem of reckless horse-riding heroism which immediately captured the nation’s imagination, and which still has our heart. It made his name, and his first poetry collection, under the title The Man from Snowy River, is the most-sold collection of Australian bush poetry ever, and is still reprinted today. During his lifetime, Banjo Paterson was second only to Rudyard Kipling in popularity among living poets writing in English.

Banjo Paterson was a colleague and friend of Henry Lawson, but had a very different way of seeing the bush. In Banjo Paterson poems, the bush is a place of adventure, romance and beauty, populated by heroes who live in freedom amongst the gum trees, honest freckle-faced youths, and characters with funny names and odd yarns about them.

Australia is the Outback, and pioneers, and songs around the campfire under the starry sky, and swagmen camped by billabongs. It’s a country of warmth and humour, and although it never quite existed, like all good mythology it lives in our hearts and minds. Banjo Paterson gave us a dream of Australia – one from which we have never truly awakened.

When it comes to names from history, often times there is a tinge of tragedy to them; some sadness attached to the real person who bore them, or even a whiff of scandal. There is no darkness to the name Banjo – Paterson was a decent, highly intelligent man who cared very much about the less fortunate, but he was essentially a happy person who was popular and sociable, and liked sport and the outdoors.

He wore his fame easily, remained modest about his talents, and never had any scandal attached to him. He was able to fulfil many of his dreams, and those that were denied him didn’t set him back. He enjoyed the ordinary love of friends and family, as well as the extraordinary love and devotion given to him by his nation. He is the model of what we hope for and expect from our celebrities.

The equine-loving Paterson took his pen name name of The Banjo from that of a horse owned by his family. This always seems to be described as “a favourite horse”, or even “his favourite horse”, but I cannot find any original source for this. Paterson himself simply describes it, no doubt with affection, as a “so-called racehorse“.

The origin of the horse’s name is apparently lost to history, but the word banjo has a history as a slang word in Australia. Slang dictionaries suggest as possible meanings “frying pan”, and “shoulder of mutton”. Another meaning was “shovel used for mining”, which during World War I, became used for any military entrenching tool – in other words, there are some correlations between the slang terms banjo and digger!

A banjo is military slang for a bacon and egg roll, because the motion of constantly dealing with crumbs while eating is reminiscent of someone playing the banjo. And Banjo Paterson himself has added another slang term – a banjo is a $10 note, because Paterson’s picture is on it, along with the words to The Man from Snowy River (Henry Lawson was on the old $10 note).

The banjo is the descendant of musical instruments brought to Colonial America by African slaves, and long seen as a staple of country music, the music of the poor and downtrodden (the kind of people that Banjo Paterson cared about). It is not known where the word banjo comes from, but the most likely source is West Africa, where it may be the same word they used for bamboo.

There are quite a few men named Banjo in Australian records, with the name most common as a nickname or alias. Many must have been named in honour of the poet, with some families named Paterson apparently finding it hard to resist having their own “Banjo Paterson”. The name isn’t unusual in Aboriginal communities, where it is given as a nickname.

The name Banjo gained fresh impetus when actress Rachel Griffiths named her son Banjo Patrick in 2003; since then the name has received more use, with 12 baby boys named Banjo last year in Victoria alone.

Banjo is an uniquely Australian name; one which seems strange in other countries, yet cosy and familiar in our own. It’s patriotic and honours one of our most beloved national poets. It’s cute, cool, and has a very Aussie nickname too – Joey.

Thank you to Brooke for suggesting Banjo as a featured name.

POLL RESULT: Banjo received an approval rating of 86%, making it one of the most highly esteemed names of the year. It was seen as uniquely Australian and patriotic (36%), cool and different (30%), and cute and spunky (20%). The remaining 14% of people thought it was over the top, weird, or ridiculous.

(Picture shows Banjo Paterson with the score to Waltzing Matilda)

Names of Australian Female Olympic Medalists

12 Sunday Aug 2012

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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Chantal (Meek)

Chantal Meek is originally from Britain, and won a bronze medal in 2008 for sprint canoeing. The name Chantal was originally given in honour of Saint Jane Frances de Chantal (her non-saint name was Jeanne-Françoise Frémiot, Baronne de Chantal). Jeanne-Françoise was of the nobility, and married a baron; she devoted herself to prayer and charity, and later in life founded a religious order. Not only kind and sensible, she was known for her great sense of humour. The place name Chantal is from Old Provençal cantal, meaning “stony”, but people often imagine it is from the French word chant, meaning “song”. Chantal was first used as a personal name in France in the 1920s, and was most popular there during the 1940s-60s. The name entered the US Top 100 in 1968, the same year Marie-Chantal Miller was born to American millionaire and socialite, Robert Warren Miller (Marie-Chantal later became Crown Princess of Greece). Chantal (shan-TAHL) has never charted in Australia, with the preference here being for the variant Chantelle (shan-TEL).

Clover (Maitland)

Clover Maitland has won gold twice for hockey, in 1996 and 2000. Although usually thought of as a nature name, Clover was originally from the surname. It was an occupational name given to an official mace-bearer (a mace was called a clavia), or to a timber-worker, with the origin being from the word cleave. This accounts for boys named Clover. The plant of this name plays a role in folklore, for it is said that to find a four-leafed clover is lucky. The shamrock is a clover variety which is one of the symbols of Ireland, and proudly displayed on Saint Patrick’s Day. The word clover ultimately goes back to a Proto-Indo-European word meaning “sticky” – quite apt, as white clover flowers make excellent honey. Clover is also used in farming and gardening to enrich the soil, and so good for stock to eat that we say someone is living in clover if their life is one of ease and prosperity. So many positive things attached to this fresh green plant – another one is that it contains the word love. Clo, Cloey, Clove and Lola could all be used as nicknames.

Maree (Fish)

Maree Fish is a hockey player who won gold at the 1988 Olympics. The name Maree is typically Australasian, and so little known elsewhere that Abby at Appellation Mountain even asked about it, as she was puzzled why so many baby girls in Australian birth announcements had Maree in their names. There are several possibilities. The original pronunciation of Maree was MAH-ree, so it could be an Anglicisation of the Scottish Màiri, which is a form of Mary, and can be pronounced the same way. On the other hand, MAH-ree is how the name Marie was pronounced in England until the early twentieth century, and is also a common Gaelic and Irish pronunciation of the name. There is a Loch Maree in the Scottish Highlands, named after Saint Maree – however, he was a man, and his name is the Anglicised form of Máel Ruba, which roughly means “red haired monk” (sometimes it’s Anglicised as Rufus). These days, Maree is usually pronounced muh-REE, as a variant spelling of Marie. Maree entered the charts in the 1920s and was Top 100 by the 1940s. It peaked in the 1960s at #62, and left the Top 100 the following decade. It hasn’t charted since 2009. Like Marie, it’s much more common as a middle name.

Nova (Peris-Kneebone)

Nova Peris began her sporting career in hockey, becoming the first Indigenous Australian to win an Olympic gold medal when the Australian team won at the 1996 Olympics. She then switched to athletics, and although she won gold twice at the Commonwealth Games as a runner, she never received another Olympic medal. The name Nova is from the Latin word for “new”, and the word nova is well known in astronomy to describe a nuclear explosion in a white dwarf star. This makes it another “star” name. Although a rare name here, it has been on the US Top 1000 since the 1880s, and last year returned at #882, after not being seen there since before World War II. It now seems very usable, with its fashionable O and V sounds – it fits right in with popular girls’ names such as Ava and Eva, and can also be seen as an unusual nature name. It may remind some Australians of the radio station, Nova FM, but I’m unsure whether that would bother anyone.

Rohanee (Cox)

Rohanee Cox is a basketball player with the national women’s team who won silver at the 2008 Olympics. She is the first Indigenous Australian to win an Olympic medal in basketball. She has been awarded many sporting honours, including NAIDOC Sportsperson of the Year in 2010. Rohanee, pronounced ro-HAH-nee, is an Indian girl’s name which is a variant of Rohane, based on Rohana, meaning “sandalwood”. Sandalwood trees are native to southern India, and incense made from the tree is used in Hindu ceremonies, while devotees wear a paste made from it on their bodies, so the name has spiritual connotations. Another person with the name is Rohanee Walters, the sister of actor Brandon Walters, who served as his stand-in during the making of Baz Luhrmann’s Australia. Like Ms Cox, Miss Walters is from Broome in Western Australia, and I think is young enough to have been named after local sports star Rohanee Cox – although I don’t know if that’s what happened.

Shirley (Strickland)

Shirley Strickland is one of our most famous athletes, gaining more Olympic medals than any other Australian woman in track and field. She won silver and two bronze at the 1948 London Olympics, gold and bronze at the 1952 Olympics, and two gold at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956. Shirley is a surname from a common English place name meaning “bright clearing”. It was a rare male name until Charlotte Brontë’s 1848 novel Shirley was published. In the story, the lively young heiress Shirley Keeldar has been given a boy’s name, because her parents had no son to pass the family name on to. The US Top 1000 shows Shirley as a unisex name from the 1880s onwards, with 1957 being the last year it appears as a male name. The name began steadily rising just before World War I, coinciding with the 1908 publication of L.M. Montgomery’s novel, Anne of Green Gables, with its imaginative red-haired heroine, Anne Shirley (in a later book, Anne calls her youngest son Shirley). In Australia, Shirley was in rare use in the 1900s, and skyrocketed in popularity to be #10 for the 1920s. It peaked in the 1930s at #3, and had left the Top 100 by the 1960s. It hasn’t charted since 2009.

Taryn (Woods)

Taryn Woods was a member of the women’s water polo team which won gold a the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Taryn is a name popularised by Hollywood matinee idol, Tyrone Power, and his second wife, Linda Christian. They gave the name to their second daughter in 1953, and the name Taryn first appears on the US Top 1000 in 1955. Her name is presumed to be a feminised form of the name Tyrone, which is the name of an Irish county. Taryn is found in ultra-ultra-rare use before that as a unisex name, and similar-sounding names such as Taren, Terrian, Toreen and Torunn were common in the 1940s and ’50s, so the Powers did seem to be tapping into a mid-century zeitgeist. Many of these names look to be inspired by Scandinavian links to the Norse god of thunder, Thor, or perhaps combinations of names, such as Terri and Karen. Taryn first entered the Australian charts in the 1960s, and peaked in the 1980s, at #230. It hasn’t charted since 2009. The name seems to have been more popular in Australia than anywhere else, although its only tenuous Aussie connection is that Linda Christian was one of Erroll Flynn’s lovers.

Tatiana (Grigorieva)

Tatiana Grigorieva was a national hurdler in Russia, but when she migrated to Australia in 1997 she took up pole vaulting. Within a year of picking up a pole for the first time, she won a medal at an international competition. After winning silver at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she became a household name, and her blonde good looks made her very marketable. Tatiana is the feminine form of Tatianus, derived from the Roman family name Tatius. The name may be of Sabine origin, and the meaning is unknown. Saint Tatiana is supposed to have been a 3rd century Roman Christian who was martyred for her faith. She was venerated in Orthodox Christianity, and her name has been commonly used in Russia and surrounding areas. Although Tatiana is unusual in Australia, its forms Tania and Tanya both peaked in the 1970s in the Top 100. Last year, NRL star Akuila Uate welcomed a baby girl named Tatianna, and its short form Tiana peaked in the early 2000s.

Virginia (Lee)

Virginia Lee is a rower who won bronze at the 1996 Olympics. The name Virginia is the feminine form of the Roman family Verginius; the meaning may be “bend, turn toward”, but modern writers often spell it Virginius, to make it seem as if it is derived from virgo, Latin for “virgin”. According to legend, Verginia was a beautiful Roman girl murdered by her father to protect her honour. Virginia was the name of the first English colony in North America. In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh’s expedition to what is now North Carolina brought word of a Native American chief named Wingina. The first Native American leader to meet English settlers, he died by their hand soon after, setting an unhappy precedent for future cultural relations. Queen Elizabeth I called the new colony Virginia in her own honour, due to her status as Virgin Queen; it is thought that Wingina’s name may have helped inspire her choice. The original colony stretched from North Carolina into Canada, but the modern American state of Virginia is of more modest proportions. The first child born in the Americas to English parents was Virginia Dare, named after the colony, and her fate is a mystery, for all the colonists disappeared a few years later. Because of its origins, Virginia has been more popular in the United States than elsewhere. In Australia, it first charted in the 1920s, and peaked in the 1950s at #94 – the decade when Virginia McKenna starred in A Town Like Alice. It hasn’t ranked since the early 2000s.

Wendy (Schaeffer)

Wendy Schaeffer is an equestrian who won gold in eventing at the 1996 Olympics. The early history of the name Wendy is rather murky, and it’s usually suggested that it began as a pet form of Gwendoline or Wanda. Unfortunately for this theory, the first Wendy I can find was born in 1615 in Cambridgeshire, and was male. He may have been named after the Cambridgeshire hamlet of Wendy, meaning “island on the river bend”. In fact, boys named Wendy in 18th century England did tend to come from Cambridgeshire. The earliest woman named Wendy I can find died in Essex, and is estimated to have been born around 1711. Wendy is also a surname which is most commonly found in Essex – as this county is next to Cambridgeshire, could it be inspired by the place name? Leaving aside this mysterious origin, the name’s popularity is due to author J.M. Barrie. He knew a wee lass called Margaret Henley, and she called Barrie “fwendy”, as a childish way of saying “friend”. Margaret died aged five, and Barrie named the heroine of his 1904 play, Peter Pan, Wendy Darling; the novelisation of the play was published in 1911. In Australia, Wendy first entered the charts in the 1920s, and was Top 100 by the following decade. It peaked in the 1950s at #15, and left the Top 100 in the 1980s. It is still in rare use.

(Photo shows Tatiana Grigorieva after winning silver at the Sydney Olympics in 2000)

More About Matilda

29 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by in Your Questions Answered

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I love the title I chose for my blog, and as time goes by, it seems to be growing into its name even better. Although I don’t suffer from one ounce of name regret, an unintended side effect of its title is that it when people Google anything to do with the name “Matilda”, they often seem to be guided to Waltzing More Than Matilda.

They have been sent here under false pretences, because the blog isn’t dedicated to the name Matilda, or people named Matilda, or the song Waltzing Matilda. Even though Matilda is a Featured Name, in the wider scheme of things, it doesn’t rate too many mentions at all on the blog. I feel bad that so often, the information they are looking for just isn’t here.

So this is my attempt to answer as many of the Googled questions as I can about the name Matilda. They are all genuine questions, but I have added punctuation and corrected the odd typo to make things easier (it seemed fair enough as people don’t write their Google searches for publication). I’ve added information in brackets to make questions clearer, and where there were several questions asking similar things, I have amalgamated them into a generic enquiry.

I hope you enjoy learning more about Matilda; I ended up learning a great deal myself!

Matildas in the Bible/What is the Biblical significance of the name Matilda?

There aren’t any, and there is none.

Is Matilda the name of an angel?

No. Angels are always given male Hebrew names by tradition.

Is Matilda a saints name?

Yes. Saint Matilda was the wife of King Henry I of Germany, and she was therefore Queen Matilda too. She is said to have been very beautiful and virtuous, and was famous for her devotion to prayer and works of charity. Her feast day is March 14, and she is the patron saint of parents with large families, although she only had five children herself – Hedwig, Otto, Gerberga, Henry and Bruno.

Is there a character named Matilda in Shakespeare?

No.

Is there a star or constellation named Matilda?

No.

Is there a rose named Matilda?

Yes. There’s a hybrid named Rosa “Matilda” which was registered in France in 1988. It’s a hardy perennial shrub, and its scentless blooms are white with delicate pink edges.

Is Matilda an Irish or an Australian name?

Neither – it’s the Latinised form of a Germanic name, Mahthildis.

What is the Irish form of Matilda?

Maitilde. It was never a common name in Ireland though.

Why do Australians claim Matilda (as their own)? It’s not really Australian

It’s because of our national song, Waltzing Matilda. I’m sorry if it annoys you – you sound annoyed. You’re right that it’s not Australian, it’s German originally, but a German migrant to Australia helped to inspire the song.

What was Waltzing Matilda‘s first name?

As far as I know, the song’s title was always Waltzing Matilda.

Is Waltzing Matilda a train?

Not that I know of.

Did James Cook have a kid named Matilda?

No. His children were called James, Nathaniel, Elizabeth, Joseph, George and Hugh.

Were any of the convicts named Matilda?

When I searched the Australian Convict Collection at Ancestry.com.au, I got almost 2000 hits for the name “Matilda”. Some of those would be middle names, and some would be doubled-up entries, so maybe around 1000 convicts had the name Matilda.

There was also a convict ship named the Matilda; she came out in 1791 as part of the Third Fleet. However, she only carried male convicts, so there were no Matildas on the Matilda, alas.

How popular is the name Matilda in Australia?

It made #19 on the national chart for 2011.

A beautiful rocking Australian girl named Matilda?

I’m sure there’s absolutely tons of them.

Is there an Aboriginal name that’s the equivalent of Matilda?

It depends what you mean by “equivalent”. If you mean, Is there an Aboriginal girl’s name with the same meaning as Matilda?, then I don’t think so. Matilda means something like “strong in battle”, as the ancient Germanic tribes had a warrior culture. Aboriginal names tend to be inspired by nature.

However, if you mean, Is there a girl’s name of Aboriginal origin which, like Matilda, is considered to be a stereotypically Australian girl’s name?, then I would suggest that the name Talia fits that description, and Allira seems to be preparing to take its place.

Famous people named Matilda

One of the most notorious in Australia is Matilda Mary “Tilly” Devine, who was a prostitute and madam prominent in the 1920s and ’30s. The press called her “The Worst Woman in Sydney” and “The Queen of the Night”. Her colourful career continued until the late 1960s, and she died relatively well off.

Celebrity babies named Matilda

Matilda Esma Birmingham – Simon Birmingham (2011)

Matilda Thomson – Craig Thomson (2009)

Matilda Kewell – Harry Kewell and Sheree Murphy (2008)

Matilda Rose Ledger – Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams (2005)

Matilda Elizabeth Ramsay – Gordon Ramsay (2002)

In what year was Matilda a name?

Wow, that’s very specific. The name’s origins go back to the Dark Ages, but I’m not sure at which point it was Latinised as Matilda. I do know that it became an English name in 1066, as this was the name of William the Conqueror’s wife. However, her name was pronounced Maude. I think the modern-day pronunciation dates to the 18th century.

There must be a “first Matilda” – the first person with both the modern spelling and pronunciation of the name – but who she is, and what year she was born, I’m afraid I cannot say. I welcome input and suggestions from others more knowledgeable than myself.

Is Matilda too trendy?

No, I don’t think so. It’s trending downwards in Australia and the UK, and is still underused in the United States.

Will Matilda reach Top 100 in North America?

It’s been back on the US Top 1000 for only four years, and you are already worrying about it getting into the Top 100? Sheesh. It’s not even going up in popularity very quickly! If it does, it won’t be for years and years, so quit stressing already.

Is Matilda a boy or a girl name?/Matilda as a boy’s name/Any boys named Matilda?

It’s a girl’s name, and although you are free to use it on a boy, it’s an idea that doesn’t appeal to me. I’ve never heard of a boy named Matilda; they may all call themselves Matt to avoid terminal embarrassment.

What’s a good boy’s name to match with Matilda?

Angus, Banjo, Barnaby, Charlie, Darcy, Harry, Henry, Jack, Jasper, Lachlan, Liam, Sam, William

What girl names go good with Matilda?

Adelaide, Alice, Charlotte, Clementine, Harriet, Edith, Emmeline, Lucy, Poppy, Rose, Ruby, Sophie

An Aussie-style sibset for Matilda?

I think the quintessential Australian sibset is Jack, Matilda, Lachlan, and Ruby.

Names to go with the middle name Matilda?

Annabel Matilda, Caroline Matilda, Eloise Matilda, Jane Matilda, Phoebe Matilda, Violet Matilda

A boy’s name that rhymes with Matilda?

Bob the Builder? Seriously, I don’t think there is one.

Name of story about mean stupid couple who have nice smart kid called Matilda?

Matilda, by Roald Dahl. It was originally published in 1988, made into a film in 1996, and adapted as a musical in 2012.

What’s that song at the start of (the movie) Matilda where she makes stuff spin round?

Little Bitty Pretty One. It was written and originally recorded by Bobby Day; the movie features the 1957 version sung by Thurston Harris.

What are the cast of (the movie) Matilda all doing now?

The whole cast? For flip’s sake, that’s dozens of people! Go look it up at the Internet Movie Database or something.

Matilda is an awesome name

Too right it is!

(Image from Flickr)

MYTH: Australian Baby Names are Becoming Increasingly Influenced by American Trends

01 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by in Baby Name Mythbusters

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Since I last went mythbusting, the 2011 name data from the United States has been released, and this week it’s American Independence Day. To celebrate both events, I decided to compare Australian and US name data. (Lou at Mer de Noms brought out her own comparison of the data for the United States and England/Wales in May, and did something pretty interesting with it.)

That Australians are becoming increasingly Americanised, including their choice of baby names, is something not debated, but accepted as a truism. It is often mourned by older generations that Australians used to call their children good solid Aussie names like Barry and Sheila, and now give them sleek American-style names like Logan and Scarlett.

It’s a myth which sounds very plausible – I certainly know far more children named Logan and Scarlett than I do Barry and Sheila (actually I don’t know any children called Barry or Sheila). But I thought we should try to get some numbers to back the myth up.

So I decided to look at the Top 100 names from both countries, in the years 1930, 1950, 1970, 1990 and 2011. If the number of names shared by both countries went steadily up, that could help support the theory that Australian names were becoming increasingly “American”. By no means conclusive proof, but it would be a start, and frankly I couldn’t think of any other way of doing it.

As I went through calculating the number of shared names, I also took note of those trends at work in Australia and the United States, where they were the same and where they differed. This gave me a picture of changing trends through the years. (The data is from Victoria, because theirs go back to 1929).

1930

MALE – 65% shared with US Top 100

1930 marked the highest percentage of shared names between the countries. This wasn’t because Australians were more “American” in 1930, but because in every year, the common denominator for both countries were classic names like John, Thomas and William, and these sort of names took up more space of both countries’ Top 100.

Trends noticeable on the Australian Top 100 were names from Ireland, Scotland and Wales, such as Kevin, Malcolm and Trevor, and aristocratic English surnames, such as Neville. Americans preferred prominent surnames of their own citizens, such as Elmer and Lee. Popular names from America we didn’t share were “cowboy” names – Wayne, Earl and Jesse. In America, nicknames for boys were all the rage, including Billy, Bob and Jimmie.

FEMALE – 51% shared with US Top 100

Popular girls names in both countries were homespun names such as Margaret and Dorothy, as well as plant names like Hazel and Rose.

Australian trends for girls included names from Ireland and Wales, such as Sheila and Gweneth, saints names such as Carmel and Veronica, and literary inventions like Doreen and Mavis. American trends were for Germanic names such as Emma and Clara, and the clunky Old English Mildred and Bertha. America’s Hispanic population meant that Delores and Juanita were Top 100 there.

1950

MALE – 59% shared with US Top 100 (down 6%)

American trends for boys we had picked up by 1950 include Gary, after Hollywood star Gary Cooper, and that supposed Australian favourite, Bruce, also popular in the US.

America continued its love of nicknames, with Bobby, Joe and Fred all Top 100. Several of the Irish boys names such as Kevin and Barry were now on the US Top 100 as well, but new Irish-style names such as Shane were still to gain American acceptance. Already in the US you can see a reluctance to use “feminine sounding” or unisex names such as Lindsay and Noel, which were Top 100 in Australia. In Australia, that same 1950s gender-anxiety produced the opposite result, with some unisex names like Leslie becoming male-only.

FEMALE – 47% shared with US Top 100 (down 4%)

The most noticeable shared trends for girls were those glamorous Hollywood names such as Marilyn (Monroe) and Rita (Hayworth). Even when Australians did take a name from America, such as Jennifer from Hollywood star Jennifer Jones, it didn’t always follow that Americans would embrace it as rapidly themselves. Jennifer was a 1950s name in Australia, but didn’t peak in the US until the 1970s.

Australian girls were being given French names like Annette and Jeanette, while Americans girls had Jacqueline. Another popular Australian “French” name was Lorraine, given in honour of St Joan of Arc, sometimes called The Maid of Lorraine. The American love of the nickname meant that names such as Judy and Peggy were Top 100 for girls.

1970

MALE – 56% shared with US Top 100 (down 3%)

Popular 1970 names which we think of as “American style” were in evidence on both charts, such as Bradley, Jason, Glenn, Darren and Craig.

Australian boys names not picked up in the US included Scottish-style names such as Ross, Graham, Stuart and Gavin, and the “feminine sounding” Ashley and Jamie. Differing ethnicities also made their mark, with Spanish Carlos in the US Top 100, and Italian and Greek names like Giovanni and Giorgio in the Australian Top 100. American nicknames powered on, with Larry, Terry and Jerry amongst them.

FEMALE – 51% shared with US Top 100 (up 4%, return to 1930 level)

It was the decade of those 1970s names Sharon and Tracey, although Sharon in particular had been popular in America for some time and we’d only just caught up.

Names such as Samantha and Amanda were already popular in Australia in 1970, but would have to wait until the 1980s to make it big in the US. Conversely, Amy was popular in the US, but wouldn’t be here until the 1980s. French Nicole was in vogue in both countries, and we’d caught up with Jacqueline; however Australia also had Danielle, Louise, Justine, Natalie, Simone and Josephine – typical 1970s girls names that were underused in the US. Scottish and Welsh names like Fiona, Megan and Bronwyn were popular here but didn’t get a look-in in the US. We were proudly using names of Australian origin, like Kylie and Narelle; naturally these were unknown in the US.

1990

MALE – 56% shared with US Top 100 (no change)

Trends from the US we were embracing were Old Testament names, such as Jacob and Zachary; and the new surname names, such as Ryan and Mitchell.

A new generation of “too feminine” boys names that were popular in Australia were ignored in the US, such as Shannon, Tristan and Leigh, as were more Scottish, Welsh and Irish-ish names, such as Lachlan, Rhys and Kane. Hayden and Jayden were already Top 100 in Australia, but not in the US. America had finally gone off nickname names, while Australia now had Jack, Jake and Ricky. American names Beau, Jackson and Tyson were popular then, as now, in Australia; of the three, only Jackson has hit the US Top 100 so far.

FEMALE – 56% the same as the US Top 100 (up 5%)

Names that both countries had in common were those typical 1990s names, like Tiffany, Brittany, Kayla and Caitlin.

Americana we were still to discover included unisex names for girls like Ariel, Shelby and Paige. Although the US had Danielle and Natalie by now, French names such as Monique, Elise, Renee and Madeleine which were popular here had apparently failed to make an impression. Although Welsh Caitlin was all the rage, the US were not on board with Tegan and Rhiannon, as we were. Most notably, Emma, Amelia, Charlotte, Sophie, Chloe and Zoe were missing from the US Top 100 – while American parents who chose these names in 1990 were ahead of the trends, in Australia, parents choosing these names in 1990 were just following the trends.

2011

MALE – 59% shared with US Top 100 (up 3%, return to 1950 level)

Congruence in popularity between the two nations has risen to 1950 levels, with many name trends in common, mostly a fresh crop of Biblical names, such as Elijah, and surname names, such as Mason.

American parents are now avoiding a new generation of Scottish names, such as Angus and Hamish, while Irish names like Declan and Flynn are also neglected in the US. Oddly enough, Kevin is still Top 100 in the US, while it’s considered a bit dated here. The scunner against nicknames continues as Americans shun Australian populars Charlie, Harry, Archie, Sam and Nate. No longer merely  shying away from “feminine sounding” names for boys like Bailey and Riley, parents in the US have actually given these names to their daughters in such numbers that they are now Top 100 for girls, while Top 100 for boys here. Several names we have taken from the US, such as Jett, Hudson and Jasper, are still not popular in America.

FEMALE – 47% shared with US Top 100 (down 9%, return to 1950 level)

Girls names have also returned to 1950s levels. Many names are shared because America has caught up with our popular names from 1990, but Australian parents have also begun to use unisex names for girls like Madison and Addison.

America has abandoned many names as “outdated” such as Amy, Jessica, Holly and Amber that have taken on “modern classic” status here. While America has accepted Lily, it is less keen on our popular plant names Daisy, Ivy, Violet, Willow, Olive and Rose. British-style names such as Isla and Imogen cut no mustard in the States. Meanwhile, popular American virtue names like Genesis, Serenity, Trinity, Nevaeh and Destiny do not resonate here. Perhaps they will in the future.

CONCLUSIONS

I did not manage to bust this myth, but neither did I find much evidence to support it, so I will give its status as MYTH UNCONFIRMED.

As I compared popularity charts from the two countries, I realised more and more that it was a case of apples and oranges. Names took longer to gain popularity in the US, and it was harder for them to stay in the Top 100; name popularity was a competitive environment there. Australia has a much smaller population size, which means that name trends show up faster here. We’re also more likely to hold onto our favourite names once we’ve found them, sometimes for generations.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that American parents are absolutely obsessed with getting ahead of the current trends, and can watch the slowly rising popularity of their chosen names with almost comical anxiety. This makes some sense, because trending names can take so long to reach the Top 100 that they have a good chance of having ten to twenty years before that happens. In Australia, this behaviour makes no sense at all, because as soon as a name begins to show up in the data, it’s basically already quite popular. As we keep names around for longer, there’s no real rush to “catch” a name on the way up either; we can always wait until it’s a cosy, familiar “classic”.

In any given year, Australia and the US will share around half the names on their respective Tops 100s, and this has not changed across time. We share many name trends, and since at least 1950, Australia has been drawn to names from America. Sometimes it took us a long time to get onto a particular trend from America, and other times we took to it with greater enthusiasm than Americans did themselves.

Both countries also have their own styles of naming. Australia has always been fond of Irish-inspired names, and although Barry and Sheila have fallen by the wayside, we now have Finn and Molly. Scottish names continue to be a growth area, with Angus, Hamish, Callum and Isla seeming rather stylish to us. Through the years, there were many names unique to the Australian popularity charts. Names that I thought of as typical of their period, such as Dulcie in 1930, Glenys in 1950, and Jacinta in 1970 seemed to be unknown in the US.

Americans are slow to adopt Irish names, but often touchingly faithful to them, and are wary of Scottish and Welsh names. They have a deep suspicion of unisex names for boys or anything that even sounds remotely feminine, while comfortable with briskly masculine names for girls. Flower names are not popular there; perhaps they seem too girlish even for girls.

Due to going overboard on nicknames in the past, America has developed almost a horror of them, much in the same way I can no longer stomach gingerbread after overindulging on it a few Christmases ago. As nicknames are currently internationally popular, this has seen them unfairly branded as a bit stuffy on the issue, when they’re really just over the whole thing.

We don’t have to try to follow American trends, and in fact a couple of them would be downright foolish for us to imitate. But the United States has proved a rich source of name inspiration for many decades, and I know it will continue to be so for many decades to come.