Famous Name: Elizabeth

25 Wednesday May 2016

Tags

Biblical names, classic names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, hebrew names, international name popularity, locational names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, nicknames, popular names, royal names, saints names, UK name popularity, US name popularity

Famous Namesake
Next month marks 226 years since Elizabeth and John Macarthur came to New South Wales on the Second Fleet. From her arrival Elizabeth found herself in a privileged position, for she was the first educated woman to arrive in the colony. Beautiful, tastefully-dressed, charming, witty, articulate, and well-read, she held court among the men of colonial society like a queen. Because of this, she is known as Australia’s First Lady.

When her husband was made Commandment at Parramatta and given land there, he built Elizabeth Farm at Rosehill for them. Originally just a stone cottage, in time the farm became a country estate surrounded by gardens and orchards. While her husband was a politically controversial figure who created chaos and drama wherever he went, Elizabeth transformed their home into an oasis of peace and harmony which even impressed her husband’s numerous enemies.

Elizabeth wrote many letters to family and friends in England, and what strikes the reader is the happiness she managed to create for herself in her new homeland. She loved the climate, and was sensitive to the beauty of the natural landscape, exulting in the way she could grow vegetables, fruit and flowers in rich abundance. She enjoyed the social life of the colony, and with her high spirits and sense of fun, was perennially popular.

After her husband was arrested in 1809 and forced to flee to England, Elizabeth took on the management of John’s extensive merino sheep farm on his estate in Camden, including managing the convict labour force; she is credited with pioneering haymaking in Australia. Elizabeth was a spectacular success in the business, which involved travelling alone through dangerous territory and writing detailed reports for her husband. Together they were a formidable force: John promoting Australian wool in England, while Elizabeth worked hard at producing it.

When her husband returned in 1817, Elizabeth remained important to the Macarthur wool business. Now wealthy and powerful, John built a mansion on the estate in Camden, and descendants of the Macarthurs still live at Camden Park: here also is the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, and nearby Elizabeth Macarthur High School, a selective agricultural high school. Elizabeth Farm, which is one of the oldest colonial dwellings still standing, is now a museum where visitors can move freely and interact with everything on display.

Colonial society was a hotbed of gossip and could be relentlessly critical. Anyone who made the smallest error in appearance or behaviour was mocked and torn down, yet none of this ever touched Elizabeth Macarthur. Contemporaries heap only praise upon her as a devoted wife, perfect mother, accomplished homemaker, and determined businesswoman. She never gossiped, never criticised, and never complained, either of her own workload or the brutality of colonial life.

To the end of her life she remained a lady through and through, combining gentleness and delicacy with a very womanly strength and tenacity. Our First Lady, and our greatest.

Name Information
Elizabeth is from the Greek form of the Hebrew name Elisheba, which can be translated in two ways. One is “God is an oath”, to indicate the power of God’s word – what He swears will be done must come to be. The other is “God is abundance”, to suggest that God always fulfils our needs. Even for a biblical name, Elisheba has a very religious meaning, and in the Old Testament, she is the wife of Aaron, the first High priest, and the mother from whom the priestly caste was born.

The Greek form of the name is used in the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament. Elizabeth was a distant descendant of Aaron, presumably named for her ancestress, and married to Zechariah, who was a priest. The couple had been married for many years and grown old together without ever having the son they longed for.

This is a well-worn plot device in the Bible, so it should come as no surprise that the angel Gabriel brought Zechariah the good news that God had answered their prayers, and Elizabeth was going to have a baby. While pregnant, Elizabeth was visited by a young relative of hers named Mary, from Nazareth, who had received a similar message from Gabriel.

As soon as Mary greeted her, Elizabeth felt the child leap in her womb, and she was moved to hail Mary as “blessed among women” and “the mother of the Lord” (her words used to write the Hail Mary prayer, the basis of Ave Maria). Because of this, she is seen as one of the female prophets.

Elizabeth gave birth to a son, who she named John. He became John the Baptist, the preacher and prophet seen as a forerunner to the ministry of his kinsman Jesus. As a prophet and mother of a prophet, Elizabeth is revered as a saint in Christianity, and given reverence in Islam.

The name Elizabeth has been in use since the Middle Ages, and there are several other saints with the name. The most famous is Elizabeth of Hungary, a 13th century princess famous for her charity. One story told of her is that she was secretly taking bread to the poor when someone demanded to know what she had in her basket. She lifted her cloak, and instead of bread, all that could be seen was a divine vision of roses. This was such a popular act that after this female saints often seemed to cart around miraculous roses as a sign of God’s favour.

Because of the saint’s noble ancestry the name Elizabeth became a favourite among European royalty and aristocracy. It is a traditional name in the British royal family, and Elizabeth I was the last Tudor monarch of England, named after her grandmother Elizabeth of York, the wife of Henry VII. The present queen is Elizabeth II, and she was named after her mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, wife of George VI. Her name was given to the suburb of Elizabeth in Adelaide.

Thanks to its royal associations Elizabeth has remained popular for centuries, and there are many famous namesakes, such as poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, novelist Elizabeth Gaskell, feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and actress Elizabeth Taylor. In Australia there is the writer Dame Elizabeth Durack, Sister Elizabeth Kenny who saved so many polio patients, pioneer Elizabeth Underwood who founded Ashfield in Sydney, and speedy athlete Elizabeth “Betty” Cuthbert.

In fiction we know witty Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice; shy Elizabeth “Beth” March in Little Women; good-girl twin Elizabeth Wakefield in Sweet Valley High; the mysterious Elizabeth (aka Anna) from Bioshock Infinite; spirited beauty Elizabeth Swann from Pirates of the Caribbean; klutzy Elizabeth “Lizzie” McGuire from the TV series; dainty Elizabeth Grayson from L.M. Montgomery’s Anne Shirley books; and Enid Blyton’s “naughtiest girl” Elizabeth Allen.

Elizabeth is a solid classic which has never left the Top 100; it is the only girl’s name to have achieved this distinction. Elizabeth was #13 in the 1900s, and peaked in 1952 at #10, the year that Elizabeth II ascended the throne, and also a year that she toured Australia. Elizabeth is currently #42 nationally, #45 in New South Wales, #50 in Victoria, #49 in Queensland, #42 in Western Australia, and #25 in the Australian Capital Territory.

In the US, Elizabeth has enjoyed even greater popularity and almost never been out of the Top 25 (in 1948 it reached #26). It was continuously in the Top 10 from the 19th century until the mid 1920s, and rejoined the Top 10 in 1980. Since then it has been in the Top 10 or only just outside it, and is now #13.

In the UK, Elizabeth has never been out of the Top 50. It was a Top 10 name from the mid 19th century until the 1930s, and regained its Top 10 spot in the 1950s when Elizabeth II became queen, but left it again by the following decade. It is currently #37. Elizabeth is popular in all English-speaking countries, and most popular in the United States. It is also popular in Mexico and Latin America.

Elizabeth is that rare creature: a true timeless classic. Held by generations of royalty, it is a name of strength, power, and dignity, while also wholesome, honest, and serious. It is as practical as bread and as pretty as roses, and tells us that every word must bear fruit, every promise must be fulfilled.

There isn’t really any other English name that sounds like Elizabeth: it is both distinguished and distinctive. Furthermore, it has a wealth of nicknames, so that every Elizabeth has the chance to be a Lizzie, a Beth, a Libby, a Birdie, an Ellie, an Elsie, or a Betsy (and that’s just for starters). Hail to thee, Elizabeth, mother of many names!

POLL RESULTS

Elizabeth gained an excellent approval rating of 87%, making it one of the highest-rated names of 2016. People saw the name Elizabeth as classy and elegant (23%), versatile because of its many nicknames (19%), strong yet feminine (17%), and intelligent and professional (15%). However 6% of people thought it was too common and boring. Only one person thought the name Elizabeth sounded snobbish.

(Photo shows the verandah at Elizabeth Farm in Parramatta)

Boys Names from the Top 100 of the 1950s

08 Sunday May 2016

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ Comments Off on Boys Names from the Top 100 of the 1950s

Tags

aristocratic titles, classic names, english names, epithets and titles, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, French names, Gaelic names, Greek names, imperial names, Indian names, Irish names, locational names, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, names from movies, nicknames, papal names, Roman names, royal names, saints names, Scottish names, surname names

Adrian
From the Roman name Hadrianus, meaning “from Hadria”. Hadria (now called Adria) is a town in northern Italy. Its name may be from the River Adria, named from the Venetic word adur, meaning “water, sea”. It has given its name to the Adriatic Sea, to which the river was once connected. A famous Roman namesake is Publius Aelius Hadrianus, otherwise known as the Emperor Hadrian, well known for the wall he built across northern England. There have been many saints named Adrian, including Adrian of Canterbury, an African-born English scholar famous for his learning. There have also been six popes named Adrian. The name Adrian has been used in Britain since the Middle Ages, but only became common in the 19th century. Adrian was #144 in the 1900s and joined the Top 100 in the 1940s; by the 1950s it was #94. It peaked in 1976 at #38 and left the Top 100 in 2004; it is currently around the 100s so still in reasonable use. This is a classic which has been superseded by Aidan, but a reliable choice which is still widely popular around the world.

Christopher
From the Greek name Christophoros, meaning “bearing Christ”; it was a name chosen by early Christians to indicate they held Jesus Christ in their hearts. The legendary St Christopher is said to have carried the Christ Child across a river, making the name’s meaning literal. Christopher seems to be a title or epithet of the Egyptian martyr St Menas, and the story is very similar to one told of the hero Jason in Greek mythology. Christopher is a hugely popular saint, and you may even know someone who has a St Christopher medal to keep them safe, as he is the patron of travellers, athletes, surfers, and sailors. Christopher has been used as an English name since the Middle Ages, and has remained in constant use for centuries. Famous Australian namesakes include poet Christopher Brennan, winemaker Christopher Penfold, Federal Minister Christopher Pyne, statistician Professor Christopher Heyde, and actor Chris Hemsworth. Christopher was #97 in the 1900s and left the Top 100 in the following decade. It returned in the 1940s and by the 1950s was #11, peaking at #2 in the mid 1980s. Christopher just left the NSW Top 100 in 2015, so is still common here, and popular in the English-speaking world.

Darryl
Variant of the English surname Darrell, from the Norman-French D’Airelle, meaning “from Airelle”; Airelle in Normandy means “courtyard”. Although Darrell has been used since the 17th century, the variant Darryl didn’t come into common use until the 19th. Darryl entered the charts in the 1930s at #174, and was on the Top 100 by the 1950s, when it was #80 for the decade. This corresponds to the period when Darryl F. Zanuck was head of Twentieth Century Fox. That was also its peak, and it left the Top 100 in 1969; it hasn’t charted since the 1990s (Daryl has a similar history, but slightly less popular). A famous fictional namesake is cheerful battler Darryl Kerrigan from The Castle, voted the favourite Australian film character of all time. Is that enough to give Darryl another go around the block? Some would say you’re dreaming to think it.

Denis
From a medieval French form of Dionysius, derived from Dionysos, the Greek god of wine. The god’s name combines his father’s name, Zeus, with Nysa, the mythological region where he was raised. Dionysius was an extremely common name in ancient Greece, and the name continued to be used in the Christian era. There is a Dionysius in the New Testament, a judge of Athens converted by St Paul. A number of saints have the name, and a pope as well. However, the most famous is the Dionysius who became bishop of Paris in the 3rd century and was martyred; he is known as St Denis and is one of the patrons of France. According to legend, after being decapitated he picked up his head and walked several miles with it, preaching sermons the whole way. He seems to have started a trend, as after that it became fashionable for saints, especially French ones, to carry their own heads. St Denis was very popular, and his name was introduced to England by the Normans. It became a great favourite in Ireland. Denis was #109 in the 1900s, and joined the Top 100 in the 1930s. It peaked in the 1940s at #41, and by the 1950s was #73. It left the Top 100 in 1957, and hasn’t charted since the late 2000s. The surname form Dennis has always been more popular, and this spelling is still in use.

Gary
Surname usually said to be a variant of the surname Geary, a medieval English nickname for names such as Gerard and Gerald, and thus another form of Gerry or Jerry. In Ireland Geary is used to anglicise the Gaelic name O Gadhra, meaning “son of Gadhra”, with the name Gadhra meaning “dog”. The surname Gary is more common in Ireland as a contraction of McGarry, from the Gaelic name Mag Fhearadhaigh, meaning “son of the brave”. Gary has often been understood as a pet form of Gareth, even though that isn’t its origin. Gary has been used as a boys name since perhaps the 16th century, coming into common use by the 19th. Gary entered the charts in the 1930s when Gary Cooper began his Hollywood career in films such as A Farewell to Arms. The name Gary was in the Top 100 by the 1940s and peaked in 1952 at #8, the year Gary Cooper starred in classic Western High Noon. Gary left the Top 100 in 1985, and hasn’t charted since the early 2000s. Its downfall is usually attributed to the numerous child sex offence charges against British pop star Gary Glitter (real name Paul Gadd) although it had already left the Top 100 long before he was first arrested. Garry had a similar history, but was a bit less popular.

Glenn
Scottish surname meaning “narrow valley”. It has been used as a personal name since the 18th century, becoming more common in the 19th. Glenn joined the charts in the 1940s, just as Hollywood star Glenn Ford was making his name known in war drama So Ends Our Night, and appearing in early film noir Gilda. It was in the Top 100 by the 1950s when it made #40 for the decade, peaking at #17 in the early 1960s, around the time Glenn Ford starred in epic Western Cimarron. It left the Top 100 in 1987, and hasn’t charted since the 1990s. There are a number of Glenns in the field of music, including pianist Glenn Gould, jazz star Glenn Miller, Glenn Frey from The Eagles, heavy metal guitarist Glenn Hughes, and Glenn Tilbrook from Squeeze. In Australia there is cricketer Glenn McGrath, and rugby league star turned politician Glenn Lazarus. Glenn is a simple nature name that could still appeal – in a discussion I had with other parents, Glenn was the 1950s boy’s name most people wanted revived. Glen had a similar history, but was less popular.

Keith
Scottish surname from the lands of Keith in East Lothian, whose name is said to come from a British word meaning “wood”. In the 11th century, the lands were supposedly given to a Germanic warrior of the Chatti tribe who helped defeat invading Danes, and some believe the name may be German in origin. The Clan Keith held a hereditary title as protector of the King of the Scots, and took leading roles in the Scottish Wars of Independence. One of the most powerful of the Scottish clans, various Keiths have been appointed ambassadors and keepers of the crown jewels, so have always had close ties with royalty. Keith has been used as a personal name since the 18th century; from the beginning it had strong associations with Scotland. The name became popular in the 19th century, perhaps due to George Elphinstone, Baron Keith, an admiral during the Napoleonic Wars. Keith was #43 in the 1900s, peaking in the 1920s at #8. By the 1950s it was #44 for the decade; it left the Top 100 in 1970, and hasn’t charted since the late 2000s. I do see the occasional baby named Keith (could country singer Keith Urban be an influence?), so this name is still going long past its peak, and could experience a revival in the future.

Neil
Based on the Irish name Niall, perhaps derived from the Old Irish word niadh, meaning “champion, warrior”, or from nel, meaning “cloud”. The most famous Niall in history is the semi-legendary 5th century Irish king Niall of the Nine Hostages. The name Niall was popular in medieval Ireland and Scotland. It was adopted by the Vikings, who had strong ties with Ireland in the Middle Ages, and the name was taken to Scandinavia in the form Njall. The Normans, who were of Viking stock, brought the name to England, although the name already existed in the north, where it had been introduced from Ireland or by Scandinavian settlers. Neil was in use by the 17th century, and originated in Scotland, perhaps influenced by the surname McNeil, meaning “son of Niall”. Neil was #110 in the 1900s and joined the Top 100 the following decade. It peaked in 1955 at #33 and left the Top 100 in 1986. It is currently around the 600s, and the Indian name Neel, meaning “blue”, is more common. Neil is still a pleasant Gaelic choice with some cool namesakes, including astronaut Neil Armstrong, singer Neil Young, and Beat muse Neal Cassady.

Shane
Anglicised form of Séan, the Northern Irish version of Seán, pronounced SHAYN rather than SHAWN, and an Irish form of John. Shane has been in common use since the 19th century, and was strongly associated with immigration from Ireland. The name became famous because of the classic 1953 Western film Shane, with Alan Ladd in the title role as the mysterious stranger who rides into a little Wyoming valley and becomes a guardian, teacher, and inspiration to a family of settlers still unskilled in the ways of the West. The name Shane rocketed into the Top 100 from nowhere in 1954, and was #69 for the decade. It peaked in 1973 at #12 and left the Top 100 in 1997 (cricketer Shane Warne doesn’t seem to have helped, even at the peak of his success). It is now around the 500s and drifting away like its famous namesake – will anyone ever cry out, Come back, Shane!, I wonder?

Wayne
English occupational surname for a wagon-driver or wagon-maker, from the Old English waegn, meaning “cart, wagon”. It has been used as a personal name since the 18th century, and was more common in the United States – probably because of Anthony Wayne, who was General in Chief of the Army during the American Revolutionary War. The name Wayne first charted in the 1930s, the decade when Hollywood star John Wayne began his career in Western films; he hit the big time in 1939 with Stagecoach. Interestingly, 1939 was also the year that superhero Batman first appeared, the alter ego of billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne; this seems significant, although the creators named him after Anthony Wayne. Wayne was in the Top 100 by the 1940s and peaked in 1955 at #11, the year after John Wayne starred in airline disaster flick The High and the Mighty. It left the Top 100 in 1987 and hasn’t charted since the 1990s, the name disappearing after the Wayne’s World movies with Mike Myers as partying slacker Wayne Campbell. This name is no longer excellent, which is bogus and sad.

POLL RESULTS

The public’s favourite 1950s names were Adrian, Christopher and Neil, and their least favourites were Darryl, Denis and Gary.

(Picture shows At Newport, 1952, by classic Australian photographer Max Dupain; now held at the Art Gallery of NSW)

Famous Names: Angela and Russell

30 Wednesday Mar 2016

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

aristocratic names, aristocratic surnames, Austrian name popularity, classic names, english names, European name popularity, famous namesakes, Latin names, locational names, name history, name meaning, nicknames, royal names, saints names, South American name popularity, surname names, UK name popularity, US name popularity

On March 27 it was the thirtieth anniversary of the Russell Street bombing in Melbourne, in which a gang of criminals blew up the city’s Police Headquarters Complex in an apparent revenge attack. That day in 1986 was Easter Thursday, and the bomb was timed to go off at 1 pm, when the street would be crowded with police and court room staff breaking for lunch.

Constable Angela Rose Taylor, aged 21, was on duty in the watch house at the old Magistrates Court when she tossed a coin with her workmate as to who would collect their sandwiches. Constable Taylor lost. She was on her way to the canteen when a stolen car packed with 50 to 60 sticks of gelignite exploded on Russell Street.

Constable Taylor was just one metre away from the car at the point of detonation, and she was thrown across the street in a fireball, her clothes blown off her body, her shoelaces alight, and her police hat melting. She suffered horrific burns to over 70% of her body and died in hospital on April 20, becoming the first Australian policewoman to die in the line of duty.

Twenty-two other people were injured in the blast, and over one million dollars worth of damage was done to the Police Headquarters, which is now an apartment block. Two men were sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Constable Angela Taylor and other crimes, one without a parole period.

Constable Angela Taylor received a posthumous service medal from Victoria Police, there is a plaque in her honour on Russell Street, a unit at the Royal Melbourne Hospital is dedicated to her, the Angela Taylor Memorial Scholarship offers grants for police to study, the Angela Taylor Memorial Run/Walk commemorates her life, and the dux of each graduating squad receives the Angela Taylor Award. Four of the Taylors’ grand-children are named in her honour – Brooke Angela, Laura Angela, Alyssa Rose, and Alex Jasmine Rose. In these ways does her name live on.

ANGELA
Angela is the feminine form of the Latin name Angelus, meaning “angel”. Angels are mentioned in the Old Testament as spiritual beings who bring communications from God; the word angel is derived from the Greek for “messenger”. Angels play a much bigger role in the New Testament, where they make several important announcements, including the birth and resurrection of Christ.

Angela has been used as a name since the Middle Ages, and given impetus by St. Angela of Foligno, one of the great medieval mystics and a spiritual teacher; later St. Angela Merici specialised in the education of young girls.

The name Angela was most common in Italy, Spain (from where it spread early to Latin America), Germany and Central Europe. Although the name was known in Britain too, it didn’t come into common use in English-speaking countries until the 18th century, aided by Spanish immigration in England. In the US, the name spread via the Hispanic population, and immigration from Germany and Italy.

Famous Australians named Angela include mining heiress Angela Bennett, the second richest woman in the country after Gina Rinehart; actress Angela Punch McGregor, who starred in classic films such as The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith and We of the Never Never; British-Australian novelist Angela Thirkell, who was the god-daughter of J.M. Barrie; scriptwriter Angela Webber, who created the successful children’s show Mortified; and veteran radio broadcaster Angela Catterns.

Angela is a classic name which has never left the charts. It was #268 in the 1900s, joining the Top 100 in 1957 at #87. Famous namesakes from this era include actresses Angela Lansbury and Angie Dickinson. Angela peaked in 1976 at #12, and didn’t leave the Top 100 until 2003. Use has remained stable, and it is not far outside the Top 100 even now.

Angela is also a classic in the United States which has charted in the Top 1000 since the late 19th century, and almost never been lower than the Top 200 during the 20th century. It joined the Top 100 in 1956, and hit its peak in the mid-1970s at #5, when Angela Lansbury was wowing Broadway audiences in Gypsy, while Angie Dickinson starred in TV drama Police Woman. Angela left the Top 100 in 2003; it is now #191 and reasonably stable.

In the UK, Angela joined the Top 100 earlier, during the 1930s. It had been a fashionable choice among the aristocracy earlier in the century, with a notable example being Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, later the Queen Mother, who had Angela as a middle name. The name Angela peaked in the 1960s, and was off the Top 100 by the mid-1990s. It is far less popular in England/Wales than in Australia or the US, being #516 and fairly stable.

Angela is a Top 100 name in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, and is most popular in Spain, where it is #39.

No longer popular, Angela is an enduring classic with a beautiful meaning that is still in reasonable use. Pretty and sweet, it works well cross-culturally and makes a good choice for parents who want a familiar name which is neither very common for new babies, nor rising in popularity, without being particularly dated. Ange or Angie are the usual nicknames.

RUSSELL
Russell is an English surname of Norman origin. The aristocratic Russell family claim descent from Hugue de Roussel, who came over with the Conqueror as a high-ranking attendant and was granted land in Dorset. The Russells trace their surname from Roussel in Normandy, whose name comes from the Old French for “stream, brook”.

The Scottish Clan Russell trace their descent from an English baron named Rozel, whose name is perhaps derived from the Norman nickname Rous, meaning “red” and given to someone with red hair or ruddy skin. It was common amongst the Normans, and Latinised to Rufus, as with William Rufus, the son of William the Conqueror, who was blond with a florid complexion. This is another possible source for the surname.

The Russell family is one of the most famous in Britain, among the richest landowners in the country, and a powerful dynasty in Whig politics. They are descended from John Russell, a royal minister in the Court of Henry VIII, and the 1st Earl of Bedford, ancestor of all subsequent Earls and Dukes of Bedford.

Sir John Russell was British Prime Minister during the 19th century – it is he who Russell Street in Melbourne is named after. Others members of this prominent family include Bertrand Russell, the 20th century philosopher, humanist, peace activist, and Nobel Prize winner, and Bertrand’s son, historian Conrad Russell. Anne Russell was a literary patron and one of Elizabeth I’s closest friends, niece to the writer Anne Clifford; Anne’s mother Elizabeth Russell was a noted poet herself, so the family has long had a literary connection.

Famous Australian Russells include distinguished artist Russell Drysdale; World War II fighter pilot Russell Fosket; controversial politician Russell Hinze; New Zealand-Australian actor Russell Crowe; film director Russell Mulcahy who created the cult classic Highlander; and rock star Russell Morris, who sang the 1960s classic The Real Thing.

Russell has been used as a personal name since at least the 16th century, most likely in honour of the aristocratic family, and in some cases perhaps to demonstrate kinship with it. By the 18th century it shows up in Scotland, as by that time the Scottish Russells had a baronetcy and were distinguishing themselves in military service.

The name Russell was #94 in the 1900s, and peaked in 1956 at #45 (just as Angela was joining the Top 100). It left the Top 100 in the 1980s, and hasn’t charted since 2009. It is still in occasional use.

In the US, Russell has never been off the Top 1000, and was a Top 100 name from the late 19th century until 1983. Currently it is #408, and relatively stable. In the UK Russell was a Top 100 name from the 1960s until the 1980s. It has been on a fairly steep overall decline, and is now #959 and reasonably stable.

Russell is certainly not fashionable, but doesn’t seem horribly dated either – British comedian Russell Brand is perhaps helping to give it a rather livelier image. Although not a nature name it almost seems like one, as it sounds like the words russet and rustle, conjuring up images of autumn leaves. The usual nicknames are Russ and Rusty.

POLL RESULTS

Angela received an approval rating of 45%. 50% of people weren’t keen on it, and 5% thought it was a terrible name. Russell had a very similar approval rating of 46%. 48% of people weren’t keen on it, and 7% thought it was a terrible name.

(Photo of Constable Angela Taylor’s memorial service from the Daily Mail)

Famous Name: Patrick

16 Wednesday Mar 2016

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ Comments Off on Famous Name: Patrick

Tags

British names, classic names, english names, Irish names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, popular names, Roman names, saints names, Scots Gaelic names, UK name popularity, US name popularity, Welsh names

Tomorrow is St Patrick’s Day, a worldwide celebration of Irish culture. With such a strong Irish heritage in Australia, you would think that St Patrick’s Day would be special here, and you would be right. As early as 1795, Irish convicts were celebrating March 17 in raucous fashion, and these later became more respectable dinners held by colonials of Irish descent. Parades began to be organised in the 1800s, and had become established institutions by the 1920s.

St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, and people are sometimes surprised to learn he wasn’t Irish; he was a 5th century Romanised Briton from an aristocratic family on the west coast of Britain. Although his father was a deacon and his grandfather a priest in the Christian church, as a youngster Patrick wasn’t very interested in religion.

According to his own testimony, when he was a teenager he was kidnapped by pirates and taken as a slave to Ireland, where he worked taking care of farm animals in what he describes as a very cold and wet climate. During this time he learned the Irish language and converted to Christianity; after six years he managed to escape and return to his family.

Patrick wrote that a few years after his return, he had a vision of the Irish people begging him to help them. After training as a priest, he went as a missionary to Ireland and became a bishop. Here he converted many people, not only slaves and the poor, but also noblemen and women who became monks and nuns (this may not seem very liberating to us, but the church provided an attractive career path for educated medieval women).

Very little is actually known about Patrick’s life and work, and doubt has even been cast upon his claim of enslavement in Ireland. He wasn’t the first missionary to Ireland – that was St Palladius. Some of the details of Palladius’ Irish mission seem to have got mixed up with Patrick’s story, and Palladius’ role in Ireland may have been minimised to give Patrick the spotlight.

However where facts are thin on the ground, myths and legends flourish. A favourite is that St Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to illustrate the Trinity, so that the shamrock is a popular symbol on St Patrick’s Day. Another is that St Patrick banished all the snakes from Ireland – an incredibly easy miracle to perform, as they were never there. It is even said that he introduced whiskey to Ireland, and used the drink as a teaching aid: thus drinking alcohol is traditional on St Patrick’s Day.

St Patrick overcame his slightly boring saintliness to become a colourful figure of folklore, and over the centuries a symbol of Irish identity and culture that transcends Catholicism, and even Christianity. And that’s why we all feel just a little bit Irish on St Patrick’s Day!

Name Information
In his autobiography, St Patrick always refers to himself as Patricius, a Roman name meaning “nobleman” (it is the source of the word patrician). It is possible that he chose this himself, because the name is linked with the Latin for “father” – pater – to suggest he was the father of his people. However, Patricius was in regular use among the Romans, and in fact the name of St Augustine’s dad.

It is often said that Patrick’s birth name was Maewyn Succat, a British translation of the Roman name Magonus Succetus, and translated with great optimism as “famous war god”. (Succetus was supposedly a Celtic god of war, although nobody seems to have heard of him, which doesn’t help the translation overmuch).

This already seems like something his followers might have invented, and looks even less convincing as it appears that the name comes from British and means “servant swine-herd” – a clear reference to Patrick’s period of slavery. If St Patrick had another name as a child, we do not know it.

Patrick is the Anglicised form of Patricius, with the Irish form being Pádraig, the Scots Gaelic Phádraig, and the Welsh Padrig. Due to the fame of St Patrick, Patrick was used in Britain by the Middle Ages (sometimes with Patricius as the official name), where it was especially popular in the north of England. It was also taken up with enthusiasm in the west of Scotland, where it was seen as a form of Peter.

Although we think of Patrick as a typically Irish name, it did not come into common use in Ireland until the 17th or perhaps even 18th century, when it was introduced by Scots immigrants to northern Ireland. Before this, the Irish felt that the name of their national saint was far too sacred to be given as a baby name, although they did use names such as Gilla Pátraic, meaning “servant of St Patrick”.

However, once the Irish gave in to peer pressure and decided Patrick was okay to use, it became a great favourite. Patrick was so popular as a boy’s name in Ireland by the 19th century that the nickname Paddy became a (rather disparaging) term for an Irishman.

With strong Irish immigration to Australia, there have been many Australian Patricks. Some examples include the Nobel Prize-winning author Patrick White; pioneering farmer Patrick Durack, who founded the famous Durack dynasty; Patrick Hannan, whose discovery of gold sparked the gold rush in Western Australia; Presbyterian minister Patrick Murdoch, progenitor of the famous Murdoch dynasty; and Patrick Sullivan, creator of Felix the cartoon cat.

It thus comes as little surprise that the name Patrick is a solid classic in Australia, never out of the Top 100, and rarely out of the Top 50. It was #36 in the 1900s, and reached its lowest point in 1978 at #71. Its peak was in 1994, when it reached #30. It is now stable around the lower end of the Top 50.

Currently it is #40 nationally, #51 in New South Wales, #26 in Victoria, #46 in Queensland, #36 in South Australia, #46 in Western Australia, #46 in Tasmania, and #29 in the Australian Capital Territory. In 2014 it was the fastest-rising name in Tasmania, and one of the fastest-rising in South Australia.

In the US, Patrick has constantly charted on the Top 1000, and never been lower than #166, which it reached in 1919. It was a Top 100 name at the turn of the 20th century, and again from 1936 to 2003, peaking at #30 in the 1960s. Currently it is #153 and fairly stable.

In the UK, Patrick has likewise been a long-time favourite. It was in the Top 100 from the mid-19th century until 2006, and is now #115 and stable. Patrick is a Top 100 name in New Zealand, and in Northern Ireland, where its popularity is similar to Australia’s. It is most popular in Ireland, where it is in the Top 20, and very stable.

Patrick is a strong, handsome name that is a timeless classic while remaining stylish. It’s popular, but has always been so, and its position on the charts is is extremely stable. It’s a traditional name with ties to Irish history and culture, and in Australia often considered a rather upper class choice. Traditional nicknames like Pat, Patsy and Patty are out of favour, but Paddy is still going strong, and Patch perhaps deserving of a mention.

POLL RESULTS

Patrick received an approval rating of 79%, making it one of the highest-rated names of 2016. People saw the name as handsome and charming (24%), a stylish classic (21%), and a name which ages well (17%). However 9% thought it was too common and boring. Only 1 person thought Patrick from Spongebob Squarepants made the name too embarrassing to use.

Cyclone Names for Boys

06 Sunday Mar 2016

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Anglo-Saxon names, Arabic names, Biblical names, classic names, cyclone names, Egyptian names, english names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, germanic names, hebrew names, Irish names, Latin names, locational names, modern classics, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, name trends, nicknames, Old English names, pen names, popular names, rare names, Roman names, royal names, saints names, Slavic names, stage names, surname names, underused modern classics, unisex names, vintage names

Dominic
There was a Cyclone Dominic in 1982 and another in 2009; both were quite severe and did significant damage. Dominic is from the Latin name Dominicus, meaning “of the Lord”, and often translated as “belonging to God”. It began as a specifically Christian name, and there are several saints named Dominic. The most famous is the medieval Spanish priest who founded the Dominican Order; he was named after St Dominic of Silos, who answered the prayer of the second St Dominic’s mother that she might become pregnant. As part of that joking folk etymology that religion is so fond of, the Dominicans are said to be named from the Latin for “dog of God” (Domini canis), as a sign of St Dominic’s dogged faithfulness. Dominic has charted since the 1950s, when it debuted at #236. It reached the Top 100 in the 1990s, and has mostly stayed around the bottom quarter of the Top 100, or fallen just below it. Currently it is #88. This is a sleekly handsome modern classic that’s never been highly popular, and comes with the nicknames Dom, Nic, or Nico.

Iggy
Cyclone Iggy was off the coast of Western Australia in 2012: grave fears were held as its power intensified, but by the time it made landfall it had waned considerably. Iggy is traditionally used as a short form of Ignatius, but rocker Iggy Pop (born James Osterberg) took his stage name from his high school band, The Iguanas. Another musical Iggy is Australian rapper Iggy Azalea (born Amethyst Kelly): her stage name Iggy is from her childhood dog, possibly named after Mr Pop. In the Maximum Ride YA series by James Patterson, Iggy is an extremely handsome blind boy whose real name is James Griffiths. This name might feel like “nickname only” territory, but a few people have Iggy as their full legal name. While Ignatius is elegant, Iggy is in-your-face cyberpunk nuttiness, and will appeal to parents wanting something fun and different.

Marcus
Marcus is on the current list of cyclone names. Marcus is a Roman name believed to be derived from Mars, the Roman god of war, and was one of the most popular names in ancient Rome. Famous Romans with the name include the general Marcus Antonius, otherwise known as Mark Antony; the emperor Marcus Aurelius; Marcus Junius Brutus, usually known to us as Brutus, the assassin of Julius Caesar; and the philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero. Marcus has been used as an English name since the Middle Ages, but widely used on the Continent and in Latin America as well. It’s currently popular in Scandinavia, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Marcus is a classic name which has been almost continuously on the charts. It was #190 in the 1900s, and fell to nothing during the 1930s. After that it continued growing and made the Top 100 by the 1970s. Popularity dipped, but it was back again in the 1990s, and peaked at #51 in 2003. It is currently #82. A popular classic never higher than the bottom half of the Top 100, Marcus combines historical gravitas with European style.

Miles
Cyclone Miles was off the coast of Queensland in 1977. Miles is the English form of the Germanic name Milo, whose meaning is unclear. It may be from an ancient Germanic word meaning “mild”, but it has been argued that it is related to those Slavic names meaning “dear, gracious”, such as Mila and Milan. From early on, folk etymology connected it to the Latin word miles, meaning soldier – in Roman comedies, a foolish stock character was Miles Gloriosus, meaning “bragging soldier”. The name has been in use since the Middle Ages, introduced by the Normans, and is often thought of as rather aristocratic. A famous namesake is Miles Coverdale, who was the first person to translate the Bible into English in 1535. Miles has charted since the 1950s, when jazz legend Miles Davis gave the name an injection of cool; it debuted at #323. Since then, the name has increased in popularity, but never become popular, so this is an underused modern classic. It’s around the 100s currently. Rising in both the US and UK, this is a hip choice with a smooth sound.

Oswald
Cyclone Oswald hit Queensland and New South Wales in 2013, causing widespread storms and floods. A natural disaster was declared, and due to the severity of the cyclone, the name Oswald has now been retired. Oswald is an Old English name meaning “godly ruler, divine ruler”. There are two English saints named Oswald; Oswald of Northumbria was an Anglo-Saxon king, and the most powerful ruler in Britain during his time. The name Oswald became less common after the Middle Ages, but was revived in the 19th century as part of the Victorian fascination with ancient British names. Oswald was #75 in the 1900s and left the Top 100 in the 1920s. It left the charts in the 1940s and had unfortunate wartime namesakes – Nazi officer Oswald Pohl, who oversaw the concentration camps, and British Fascist, Sir Oswald Moseley, a friend of Adolf Hitler. In fiction, Oswalds are usually villains or comic characters, but Oswald Bastable from the Treasure Seeker series by E. Nesbit has been claimed as a revolutionary hero name in the Nomad of Time Streams works of Michael Moorcock, and the name is sometimes used in sci fi. A bold vintage choice with a steam punk vibe.

Paddy
Cyclone Paddy was near Cocos Island in May 1981, extremely late in the season. Paddy is an Irish nickname for the name Patrick, or its Irish forms Padraig and Padraic. It was once so commonly used that Paddy became a derogatory term for any Irishman. With such strong immigration from Ireland, the name has a long history in Australia with several famous namesakes, with Paddy either short for Patrick, their full name, or a nickname unrelated to their name. Some examples are: Paddy Hannan, the gold prospector who set off the gold rush in Kalgoorlie; Indigenous artist Paddy Bedford; colourful politician Paddy Crick; Aboriginal elder Paddy Roe; and pioneering bushwalker Paddy Pallin, who founded the chain of outdoor equipment stores. Paddy is also occasionally used as a girl’s name, a variant of Patty; an example is Australian author Paddy O’Reilly. Paddy is around the 500s in Australia, and fits in with the trend for nicknames as full name. Great Irish heritage choice with an Australian flavour.

Rusty
Cyclone Rusty hit the coast of northern Western Australia in 2013. Hurricane-force winds and heavy rain caused flooding and significant damage. Due to the severity of the cyclone, the name Rusty has now been retired. Rusty can be a nickname for either the first name or surname Russell, or a nickname given to someone with red or reddish-brown hair. It is not commonly given as a full name, but after Cyclone Rusty there was a reported increase in the number of baby boys named Rusty, so this is one cyclone at least which influenced local name trends. A rough-and-tumble boyish name in the style of Buster and Sunny: not recommended if your surname is Naylor, Bucket or Lidd.

Seth
Seth is on the current list of cyclone names. In the Old Testament, Seth was the third son of Adam and Eve, born after Abel was murdered by Cain. According to the Bible, Seth was the progenitor of the human race as it exists today, as only his descendants survived the Great Flood. The Bible is coy as to how Seth had children for us to be descended from, but the Apocrypha provides the obvious solution by having him marry his sister. Although the Bible tells us nothing more about Seth, according to tradition he was virtuous and wise; he is regarded as a saint in Christianity, and revered as a prophet in Islam. The name doesn’t seem to have been common for Jews, although in the New Testament the High Priest is said to be the son of a Seth. According to the Bible, the name Seth means “appointed”, to suggest that God appointed Seth as a replacement for Abel. Seth is also the Greek form of the Egyptian god Set, deity of storms and chaos, and murderer of his brother Osiris. The name has a strong New Age resonance due to the supposed chanelled messages of a being named Seth, highly influential to later writers. Seth has been used as an English name at least since the 16th century, and became more common during the 18th. Seth has charted since the 1970s, debuting at #539, and joined the Top 100 in the 2000s. It left the Top 100 in 2014, but cannot be far below it. An Old Testament name that women in particular seem to love as both soft and gentle, and dangerously sexy.

Vance
Cyclone Vance hit Western Australia in 1999, bringing gale-force winds and severe storms, and causing significant damage, particularly in Exmouth. Vance is an English surname that comes from the Old English for “fen”, describing someone who lived near a flat wetlands area or marsh. The surname has a particular association with Scotland, and the Scottish Vances believe their name is Norman, from Vaux in France, meaning “valley”. Vance has been used as a personal name since the 18th century, and was strongly connected with Scotland and Ireland. Vance Drummond was a New Zealand-born officer in the RAAF, much decorated for his gallantry in the Vietnam War. The famous writer Vance Palmer was born Edward, with Vance short for his middle name, Vivian. Not only a great contributor to Australian literature, he and his wife Nettie were part of the social movement that promoted Australian egalitarianism. The indie pop singer Vance Joy’s real name is James Keogh – he took his stage name from a minor character in Peter Carey’s novel Bliss. A vintage name ripe for revival with a strong connection to Australian culture.

Zane
Cyclone Zane was off the coast of Queensland in 2013, but by the time it made landfall it had dissipated to almost nothing. The name Zane was popularised by the American western novelist Zane Grey: he was born Pearl Grey (apparently in tribute to Queen Victoria’s mourning dress, which seems a strange way to name a child, especially a boy). Grey used his middle name Zane for his pen name; it was his mother’s maiden name. The Zanes were a famous American pioneering family, and Zane Grey himself was born in Zanesville, Ohio, named after his ancestor, Ebenezer Zane. The Zanes were descended from Devon Quakers, but the name’s origin is a mystery. It has been claimed that the family had either Danish or Italian ancestry, but neither theory has been proven. Sometimes presumed to be a form of John, as Zane is an unusual short form of Giovanni; it can also be a female name, short for Suzannah or Zuzannah. Zane has charted since the 1970s, debuting at #397 – Zane Grey was still a bestseller then, and another namesake for the era was bodybuilder Frank Zane, multiple Mr Olympia winner. It was in the Top 100 during the 2000s, peaking at #83 in 2005, and is probably around the 100s now. Not at all zany, Zane has become a modern standard conflated with the Arabic name Zain or Zayn, meaning “beauty, grace”.

POLL RESULTS

The public’s favourite names were Dominic, Miles and Seth, while their least favourites were Oswald, Paddy and Rusty.

(Photo is of Australian literary powerhouse, Vance Palmer)

Cyclone Names for Girls

28 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Arabic names, aristocratic names, Biblical names, celebrity baby names, Christmas names, classic names, created names, cyclone names, epithets, European name popularity, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, French names, germanic names, Greek names, hebrew names, Italian names, literary names, modern classics, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, name trends, names from television, names of bears, names of mountains, nicknames, retro names, Roman names, royal names, saints names, Scottish names, Spanish names, underused classics

Summer is cyclone season, and here are ten girls’ names from the official list used to name Australian cyclones. Information on cyclones from the Bureau of Meteorology.

Adele
Cyclone Adele was off the east coast of Australia in 1969. Adele is the Anglicised form of Adèle, the French form of the Germanic name Adela, meaning “noble”, and the basis for familiar English names such as Adelaide, Adeline, and Alice. Adèle has been in use since the Middle Ages, and as with its related names, was a favourite with the nobility; it is still a popular name in France. Adele has been used all over the world, and has recently been placed in the spotlight by the popular British singer. In fact there’s quite a few singers called Adele so it’s a good name for songbirds – there is also an Adele in Johann Strauss II’s operetta Die Fledermaus. Adele was #272 in the 1900s and peaked in the 1940s at #198; it’s never been off the charts, yet never been popular. It’s risen sharply since 2011, when Adele’s second album went to #1, and is probably somewhere in the 100s. Pretty and substantial with a high-profile namesake, there is much to recommend this underused classic, and it might be right for someone like you!

Clara
There have been several cyclones named Clara in the north of Australia. Clara is the feminine form of the Roman name Clarus, meaning “bright, clear, famous”. It was used in ancient Rome, but became well known in the Middle Ages due to St Clare of Assisi, one of the first followers of St Francis of Assisi. She was born Chiara Offreduccio to a noble family, and her Italian name can be translated as Clara or Clare. Clara is familiar throughout the world, and a popular name in Europe. You might think of this as a Christmas name because Clara is the little girl in Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker. A more contemporary fictional namesake is Clara Oswald, companion to Dr Who, played by Jenna Coleman; she also has a Christmas connection. Clara was #57 in the 1900s and left the Top 100 the following decade; it was off the charts by the 1950s. It made a comeback in the 1980s, perhaps because of friend Clara in the Heidi movies and TV shows. Since then it has been climbing steadily, and is probably not far outside the Top 100. A stylish retro name rapidly recapturing its former heights.

Cynthia
Cyclone Cynthia hit the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1967, bringing strong winds and heavy rain. Cynthia is a Greek name meaning “from Mount Cynthus”. Mount Cynthus is in the middle of the island of Delos, and according to Greek mythology the twin deities Apollo and Artemis were born on the mountain. Because of this, Cynthia was an epithet of Artemis, goddess of the moon and hunting. In modern times, Mount Cynthus is a popular tourist destination, offering superb views. Cynthia has been used as an English name since around the 16th century, but was better known in literature. Richard Barnfield wrote a series of sonnets to Cynthia, while Ben Jonson wrote a comedy called Cynthia’s Revels, where the goddess Artemis represents Elizabeth I. The name became much more common in the 18th century, with usage concentrated in America. Cynthia has been almost continually on the charts, making #284 in the 1910s and peaking in the 1940s at #133. It may be around the 500s now; I am seeing more of this underused classic. An elegant literary name from the mountain of the moon goddess: its short form Cindy is coming back into fashion, with Thia another possibility.

Delilah
There was a Cyclone Delilah in 1966 and another in 1988. In the Old Testament, Delilah is the lover of Samson; the Bible implies she is a prostitute or courtesan. Delilah was heavily bribed to discover the source of Samson’s supernatural strength, and through nagging/emotional blackmail, eventually brought him down and betrayed him. Unusually, the Bible never punishes Delilah, but her name became synonomous with treachery and feminine wiles. The name Delilah is said to be from the Hebrew for “poor, weak”, perhaps with connotations of “she who makes weak”, as Delilah sapped Samson’s strength. It can also be translated as “flowering or fruitful vine or branch”, which Bible commentators have tended to associate with sexual availability. However, the name is written to connect it with the word for “night” – layela; Bible writers probably wanted to give the name a feeling of dangerous sensuality. The name was in common use by the 18th century, particularly in the American South, so parents weren’t put off by the Bible story. Its use is rapidly growing in the English-speaking world, and is probably around the 100s, thanks to its similarity to popular Lila. Delightfully pretty and wickedly sexy, it’s a bad girl name celebrated in a slew of popular songs.

Elise
There was a Cyclone Elise in 1966 and another in 1986. Elise is a short form of Elisabeth which has been in use as an independent name since at least the 16th century, and is popular in Europe. A favourite musical association is Beethoven’s Für Elise (“For Elise”), not published until many years after the composer’s death. Who Elise was remains a mystery – there are several possibilities of the time known by this name. One of them was a teenage musical prodigy, and it’s nice to think of this piece being dedicated to a young girl. Elise has charted since the 1960s, debuting at #634, and although it has hovered just below the Top 100 a few times, it’s only once been on it: in 2014, when it made #97. This is an underused modern classic that’s been overtaken by more fashionable names such as Eloise and Elsie. Its spelling variants tend to be confused with those for Alice, making it harder for sweet Elise to be noticed in the data. A good choice for those wanting something contemporary but not trendy.

Ines
Ines was a severe cyclone affecting the north coast of Australia in November 1973, bringing heavy rains and gale force winds; so far, this is the earliest in the season a cyclone has ever hit. Ines is based on Inés, the Spanish form of Agnes, originally used in honour of Saint Agnes. It gained a romantic medieval namesake in Inês de Castro, a noblewoman who had a secret relationship with Peter I of Portugal with tragic results – this story of forbidden love has often been turned into operas and ballets. The name Ines has a long history in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, and spread early to the English-speaking world. It’s popular in many European countries, including in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, and is most popular in France. This stylish name is being used more often in Australia, where it is known from the daughter of chef Bill Granger. Pronunciations vary, but it’s usually said ee-NEZ or ee-NESS – gentle correction is probably necessary. Sometimes confused with Scottish Innes, but familiarity will make things easier as the number of girls named Ines grows.

Selma
Cyclone Selma hovered around Darwin in December 1974, then changed course and disappeared – a harbinger of rampaging Tracy who would infamously do all the damage later that month. The origin of Selma is unsure. It may be a short form of Anselma, a Germanic name meaning “helmet of God, protection of God”. However, it only came into common use in the 18th century, after the publication of the Ossian poems by James McPherson, where Selma is a royal castle. McPherson created the name from the Scottish Gaelic for “good view”, translated as “beautiful to behold”. Just to confuse things, the name Selima also became known in 18th century Britain, thanks to a mock elegy by Thomas Gray about a cat called Selima who accidentally drowned. It was based on a real life incident: Selima was the pet of Gray’s friend, the writer Horace Walpole. The name – an apparent variant of the Arabic name Salima, meaning “peace” – took off, and Selma may be a variant. Currently popular in Norway and Sweden, this name has gained publicity from actress Selma Blair, and the film Selma, about the Civil Rights marches in Selma, Alabama. Rising in both the US and UK, this would have a real chance if people could forget about Selma Bouvier from The Simpsons.

Vida
Cyclone Vida was off the south west coast of Western Australia in 1975, bringing gale force winds and strong squalls which did about a million dollars worth of damage. The name Vida has several possible origins. It can be a feminine form of the Germanic name Wido, meaning “wood”, or of the Roman name Vitus, meaning “life” (a variant of Vita). In Portuguese and Spanish-speaking countries, it can be understood as a vocabulary name meaning “life”, from the Latin vita. It can also be used as a short form of Davida, a feminine form of David particularly associated with Scotland. In Australia, the name may be known from feminist Vida Goldstein, who campaigned for female suffrage in the late 19th and early 20th century; she was the first woman in the British Empire to stand for election in a national parliament. Her left-wing pacifist views made it almost impossible for her to be elected during World War I, but she was an extremely popular speaker. Vida was #129 in the 1900s, and off the charts by the 1940s. Little seen today, vivacious vintage Vida fits in well with popular names like Olivia and Ava, and seems very usable.

Winnie
Winnie was a severe cyclone that hit the north-west of Australia in 1975, with powerful winds. Winnie is traditionally used as a short form of Winifred, but in practice can be a nickname for anything that sounds similar, such as Wynne, Wilhelmina, Winter, Winsome, Gwendolyn, Guinevere, or Edwina (Appellation Mountain has an article on long forms for Winnie). Jimmy Fallon’s daughter Winnie was named in honour of Lake Winnipesaukee, a favourite holiday spot. A famous male with the name is Winston Churchill, known affectionately by the public as Winnie. Another is Winnie-the-Pooh, from the books by A.A. Milne. Winnie-the-Pooh was a real life teddy, and the first part of his name was after a Canadian bear at London Zoo, named Winnipeg. Of course, Winnie is fabulous as a name all on its own, and has been in common use as an independent name since the 18th century: it was especially associated with Ireland. This sweet and spunky short form is very fashionable, and rising in popularity in both the UK and US.

Zoe
Cyclone Zoe hit the coast at Coolangatta in 1974, causing extensive flooding in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. Zoe is a Greek name meaning “life”. Early Christians chose the name in allusion to life everlasting, and there are two saints and martyrs named Zoe. The name was also traditional for Byzantine Empresses. Greek-speaking Jews used the name to Hellenise the Hebrew name Chava, which also means “life” (its English form is Eve). Zoe came into use in modern times in the 19th century, and was especially associated with France. Zoe had a flurry of activity in the 1920s, when it reached #305; a famous namesake of this era was silent film star Zoe Palmer. It returned in the 1960s at #499; a possible inspiration is Australian actress Zoe Caldwell, who made several international TV appearances in this decade. It was in the Top 100 by the 1980s, and is currently #18 and stable (it is among the most popular names for Jewish baby girls in Australia, so remains a Jewish favourite). Zoe is popular in Europe and the English-speaking world, and this retro name will appeal to parents wanting something long-familiar, yet still faintly exotic.

POLL RESULTS
People’s favourite names were Clara, Zoe and Elise, while their least favourites were Ines, Vida and Selma.

(Painting is Delilah, by Australian artist Henry Clive, 1948; the model is Broadway beauty Beryl Wallace)

Save Our Susans and Protect The Peter: The Ridiculous World of “Endangered” Names

17 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by A.O. in Names in the News

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Baby Name Explorer, classic names, middle names, name data, name popularity, Nancy's Baby Names, popular names, retro names, Sydney Morning Herald

A wave of articles on “endangered” names has been flooding my inbox since last year, and eventually some poor sap from the Sydney Morning Herald with minimal interest in names got roped into providing some scary statistics for New South Wales, so now I have to cover it too.

(I know they’re not interested in names because they think Jessica is a Hebrew name meaning “rich” – it isn’t Hebrew, and doesn’t mean anything of the sort).

By accessing the Baby Name Explorer database of names in NSW from 1900 to 2011, they found that the names that were fast disappearing were John, Robert, Peter, and David for boys, and Mary, Margaret, Susan, and Karen for girls.

In the world of manufactured name problems, this is surely one of the daftest. Here is why the sudden concern over endangered names is nonsensical.

The Statistics are Wrong
John and David are still in the Top 100, which they have never left after more than a century, and the Baby Name Explorer actually shows them increasing in usage in 2011. This is surely the exact OPPOSITE of disappearing or endangered.

Mary, Peter and Robert were only just outside the Top 100 in 2011 (Mary was #101), and the graph shows that both Mary and Robert had increased usage in 2011, while Peter’s position had remained extremely stable for some time.

Margaret increased in usage in 2011, and even Karen had an uptick which brought into back onto the charts that year. Susan was the only name on the list which had actually dropped off the charts by 2011.

How did they get it so wrong? By selecting names that had been #1 for a particular decade, so that their drop in popularity would look alarmingly steep, and then completely ignoring the names’ ranking and usage.

Mary was #1 in 1900 and had dropped to #101 in 2011 – in other words it only went down 100 places in 111 years! That’s very stable: the kind of stability that made Mary the overall #1 girl’s name of the twentieth century.

The “resurrected” names were equally silly, with William, Jack, Ruby, and Grace cited as names which had made brave comebacks against the odds. William has never been out of the Top 50, so it can hardly be said to have ever gone away, while Jack and Grace are classics which have never been lower than #400. Retro Ruby is the only name which has ever been off the charts and returned.

Why couldn’t the article identify any names which actually were still in use yet fast disappearing? Because the Baby Name Explorer only covers the 1200 most popular names of the century, so that any name still on the charts by 2011 was getting reasonable, and often increasing, usage. You can’t make useful statistics out of insufficient data.

The Data Doesn’t Include Middle Names
Margaret may only be around the 400s as a first name, but it’s a fairly common middle name for girls – probably in the Top 100 of middle names. Dorothy may not chart any more, but it’s not unusual in the middle. It doesn’t really matter whether a name is in the first or middle position: if it’s in use either way, you can hardly claim it as disappearing or long gone.

It’s Misleading to Apply Scientific Terms to Names
Terms like endangered or extinct, taken from environmental science, don’t make any sense when applied to names.

If a plant or animal is endangered, it is very difficult to ensure its survival, and will require specialised breeding programs or seed collecting initiatives, all of which depend on funding. Losing some species may have dire consequences for the planet; for example, we need bees and beetles to pollinate our crops and plants. Worst of all, once they are all gone, we cannot bring them back – no matter how much we long for the dodo, it is done for, and nothing will return it to us.

If a name isn’t used much any more, no great calamity will result. Brangien and Althalos have been rarely used since the Middle Ages, but nobody has suffered as a result of Brangien deficiency, and no awful disaster has ensued from the loss of Althalos.

Furthermore, if we decided we’d like to see more of a particular name which has gone out of use, it costs no money or effort to bring it back. You simply slap the name onto your child’s birth certificate, and hey presto – you’ve got yourself a rare and beautiful specimen of an Althalos.

As long as we still know of a name’s existence from books and records, it is a potential baby name, no matter how many centuries or even millennia since it was last used. (Thank you Nancy from Nancy’s Baby Names for pointing out this absurdity).

I hope you can all sleep more soundly now, knowing that herds of Johns and Davids wander at will, the Mary and the Peter are gambolling freely, and numbers of Margarets and Roberts are secure for the foreseeable future. We even have high hopes for the diminished Susan, which may yet return to a sustainable population as 1950s names prepare to come back into fashion.

I do wonder what effect these kinds of articles have on people though. Does it make them more likely to “save” the “endangered” names, knowing that not as many people are using them now, or does it put people off the names even more, in the belief that they would be choosing a baby name heading for the scrapheap?

POLL RESULTS
74% of people said being told a name was in danger of disappearing didn’t make any difference as to whether they would use it or not. 21% said they would be more likely to use the name, knowing it was a normal name that was currently underused. 5% would be less likely to use the name, knowing it had gone out of fashion and may be disliked by others.

39% of people thought we should save the name Susan, while 61% believed we shouldn’t bother.

Famous Name: Martin

11 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

classic names, European name popularity, famous nameksakes, French names, honouring, international name popularity, locational names, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, Roman names, saints names, surname names, UK name popularity, US name popularity

Famous Location
Today is Remembrance Day, when we remember all those in the armed forces who have laid down their lives in the line of duty. It marks the end of hostilities of World War I, when by the terms of an armistice, fighting formally ceased at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Remembrance Day takes place on same day as the feast of Saint Martin, a patron of soldiers, so it seemed like a good opportunity to look at the name connected with this day.

If you would like to see the Anzac Cenotaph in Sydney honouring those who fell in World War I, you must go to Martin Place in the heart of the city, named for three-times New South Wales Premier and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Sir James Martin. It is here that Anzac Day parades and commemorations are traditionally held in Sydney.

The reason this spot was chosen for the Cenotaph was because conscription rallies were held here during World War I, and it was at the old General Post Office across from the Cenotaph that so many soldiers enlisted. As the GPO’s telegraph office was where important news first arrived, people gathered here to learn of significant events, and where the Cenotaph now stands, crowds formed waiting for the end of World War I to be announced.

The General Post Office was really the beginning of Martin Place, its Victorian-era neo-classical grandeur making it the largest building in Sydney when it was first built, and its granite and sandstone arcade providing a link between George and Pitt Streets. It demanded a public space around it, and by the 1970s Martin Place had become a major pedestrian mall.

Martin Place is the centre of the city’s business and finance sector, with the head offices of major banks and insurance corporations, and the Reserve Bank. Still a centre for news distribution, it is where Channel Seven’s Sydney news station is located.

Crowds continue to gather in Martin Place, for the annual Christmas tree concert, for festivals and performances, for major sporting events shown on huge screens, for political protests such as the Occupy Sydney movement, and as a backdrop in television programs and films, including The Matrix series.

Its very centrality and importance made it a target for violence during the hostage siege crisis last year, and a focus for remembrance and healing afterwards when Martin Place was transformed into a “field of flowers”. Martin Place is a place to remember, to celebrate, to mourn, and to heal.

Name Information
Martin is from the Roman name Martinus, derived from Martis, which means “belonging to Mars”. In Roman mythology Mars was the god of war, and etymologists dispute the origin of his name. It must come from some older god, but quite who it was, whether they were Oscan or Etruscan, and what their name signified, is something lost in the mists of time.

The name Martin has become well known to us because of Saint Martin of Tours, a Christian soldier conscripted into the Roman army who felt that a military life was incompatible with his faith and turned conscientious objector. He became a disciple of St Hilary in France, and then a hermit before he was elected bishop of Tours by popular acclaim.

There are many stories about Saint Martin. One is that he was so reluctant to become bishop that he hid in a barn full of geese, but their cackling gave him away (this legend shows that the mythology of the god Mars may have got involved here, because geese were sacred to Mars in pagan Gaul). Another famous story is while still a soldier he used his military sword to cut his cloak in half to give to a ragged beggar shivering in the depths of winter. That night he dreamed of Jesus wearing the half cloak, which convinced him he was on the right path by following the Christian faith.

Saint Martin was enormously popular in France during the Middle Ages, and was adopted by the royal houses of France. Saint Martin is not only a patron of soldiers, but of France itself, and Martin is the most common French surname. Saint Martin has been called upon during many modern conflicts in France, including World War I, and when his feast day of November 11 was chosen as the day to sign the Armistice, the French saw it as a sign of his intercession.

Saint Martin’s Day was widely celebrated in Europe, and in Britain was known as Martinmas. Occuring at the beginning of the coldest months, it was the traditional day to slaughter animals for the winter, with a feast naturally following – goose was often served, and wine drunk liberally, as Saint Martin is also the patron of the grape harvest and winemaking. Martinmas was a Christian successor to the pagan feast of Samhain, which took place on October 31/November 1. It was formerly seen as the beginning of the lead-up to Christmas.

There are several other saints named Martin in his honour, and popes as well. The famous theologian Martin Luther was named after the saint, and he was baptised on November 11, Saint Martin’s Day. The great Civil Rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr gained his name from Martin Luther – his father had been a pastor named Michael King, but changed his name to Martin Luther King after becoming inspired by the life of Martin Luther on a trip to Germany. One way or another, the name wields a powerful spiritual clout.

Martin is a classic name which has never left the charts. It was #93 in the 1900s, and left the Top 100 the following decade. It began climbing during the 1940s (perhaps the war brought this military name to the fore). By the 1950s Martin was in the Top 100 again, peaking in 1967 at #41 (around the time of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr’s greatest publicity). It left the Top 100 in the 1900s, and is now around the 200s.

In the US, Martin was a Top 100 name from the late 19th century until 1970, and reached its peak in 1880 at #44. Its highest point in the twentieth century was #63 in 1964, the year after Martin Luther King’s famous I Have a Dream speech. It is now #261 and very stable, even rising slightly last year – in 2014 the film Selma was released, with David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King Jr.

In the UK, Martin was in the Top 100 from the mid 19th century until the 1990s, peaking in the 1960s at #18. It is now #247 and stable, and as in the US, numbers went up last year. Martin is still a popular name in Europe, including Ireland, and is a particular favourite in Spain and Latin America. It is rising in Spain, where it is #8, and in France, where it is #46, so the French are still backing their patron saint.

With Martin you get a classic name seems both strong and gentle – a warrior under Mars, and a man of firm principles and the power of his convictions, like Saint Martin, Martin Luther and Martin Luther King Jr. It’s a traditional name that isn’t common, and yet isn’t disappearing into obscurity either: it’s stable and even had a small boost. A surprisingly safe choice that’s possibly just a little cooler than you might think.

POLL RESULTS
Martin received an approval rating of 57%. 21% of people believed it was old-fashioned and dated, while 16% saw it as geeky or dorky. However, 13% thought it was a strong yet gentle name for a boy. The tease names of Martian or Fartin’ Martin each bothered 2% of people, while only one person thought it was too closely connected to alcohol because of Remy Martin cognac or the martini cocktail.

(Photo shows the GPO at 1 Martin Place)

Famous Names: Hugh and Margot

28 Wednesday Oct 2015

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

aristocratic names, celebrity baby names, classic names, famous namesakes, Gaelic names, germanic names, Irish name popularity, name popularity, name trends, Old French names, royal names, saints names, UK name popularity, US name popularity

Last week I covered an Australian actor who hit the big time during Hollywood”s Golden Age. So I thought we would finish the month by looking at the names of two contemporary Hollywood film stars born in Australia.

Hugh Jackman had a career in stage musicals and on Australian television before he got the breakout role of Wolverine in the 2000 X-Men film. As well as gaining success with this franchise, he has continued in musical threatre, most famously portraying Australian singer-songwriter Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz.

Among his other major roles are the heroic Jean Valjean in the musical film Les Misérables, and leading man Drover in Baz Luhrmann’s romantic epic Australia – it came out in 2008, and in the same year Hugh was named Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine. Most recently he appeared in box office flop Pan as the wicked pirate Blackbeard. Not even super trouper Hugh could save this stinker.

Margot Robbie got her start on soap opera Neighbours – something which was offered to Hugh Jackman at the start of his career, but he turned down. Playing the kooky Donna Freedman for three years made Margot a household name in Australia and Britain, but her dream was always to go to Hollywood.

Her breakout year was 2013, when she appeared in About Time, and The Wolf of Wall Street. In both these films, her character was a focus of desire, and her stock soared. Next year we will see her as comic book villain Harley Quinn. She has just been named the Sexiest Actress Alive by Glamour Magazine – getting on a “sexiest list” was good publicity for Hugh, and hopefully for Margot too.

HUGH
English form of Hugues, Old French form of the Germanic name Hugo, meaning “mind, thought, sense, understanding”.

An early namesake is Hugh the Great, a 10th century Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris; his son Hugh Capet became the first King of France, forging the powerful House of Capet who were to produce thirteen generations of French kings. This royal seal of approval made the name popular amongst the Frankish nobility in the Middle Ages.

The name Hugh was brought to England by the Normans, where it was in common use for the Norman aristocracy – the English spelling comes from the Picardy form of the name. The name Hugh was used to Anglicise the Gaelic names Aodh and Uisdean, making it common in Scotland and Ireland as well.

The name was boosted by the popular St Hugh of Lincoln, a French nobleman who became bishop of Lincoln in the 12th century. He had an attractive personality, did many charitable works, tried to protect Jews from persecution, and was a great animal lover who befriended a wild swan. As a result, he is one of the most popular of the English saints. St Hugh’s College at Oxford University is named after him, as the college’s founder was the daughter of a Bishop of Lincoln.

Hugh is a classic name which has never left the charts. It was #65 in the 1900s, and left the Top 100 in the 1930s, reaching its lowest point in the 1970s at #212. After that it rose until it made a minor peak at #136 in 2009 (the year after Hugh Jackman starred in Australia) and is now around the mid-100s and fairly stable.

The name Hugh was been almost constantly on the US Top 1000, and was most popular in the late 19th century. It dropped off the charts in 2008, and is currently #869 and fairly stable. In the UK, Hugh had a solid run in the Top 100 from the middle of the 19th century until the 1960s, and has never been out of the Top 400. Currently it is #352 and stable. Hugh is probably most popular in Ireland, where it has been on and off the Top 100 in recent years.

Hugh is a classic name that has been in use for over a thousand years. Although it hasn’t been popular for almost a century, it’s barely been out of the Australian Top 200, and has been stable for years. That makes it a very reliable choice, quite different to the swift-rising popular Hugo. Of royal origin, Hugh is aristocratic, yet comfortably unassuming, and under the radar.

MARGOT
Pet form of Marguerite, the French form of Margaret, meaning “pearl”.

Margot was used amongst royalty and aristocracy: a famous example is the 16th century Margaret of France, who was named Marguerite, but called Margot. Beautiful and fashionable, Margot was queen both of France and Navarre, and wrote her memoirs during 18 years imprisonment by her brother. She helped inspire Shakespeare’s comedy, Love’s Labour Lost, and is the subject of Alexandre Dumas’ historical novel, La Reine Margot.

Margot first entered the charts in the 1930s at #233, when Dame Margot Fonteyn began her career at the Vic-Wells Ballet School, and was appointed principal dancer. It peaked in the 1950s at #218, and left the charts in the 1980s, when Dame Margot had retired, and no longer presenting TV shows on ballet. Margot was more popular in Victoria, where it made the Top 100 in the 1930s.

In the US, Margot has been on and off the Top 1000 several times without ever getting into the Top 500. Its most successful period was between 1929 and 1955, correlating with the peak of Dame Margot Fonteyn’s career: it reached its highest point in 1938 at #586. It returned to the Top 1000 in 2013, the year of Margot Robbie’s Hollywood success. Currently it is #747, and apparently rising.

In the UK, Margot has generally been on the rise since 1996, and had a significant boost into the Top 1000 in 2009, around the time Margot Robbie joined the cast of soap opera Neighbours. It began rising steeply in 2013, and is currently #415.

In 2012, Margot was in the 600s in Victoria, but seeing the very strong international trends, it would be remarkable if the name had not risen significantly in 2013 as it did in other countries, and is in all likelihood still rising.

This is another French royal name, but has quite a different feel to solid Hugh – far more glittering, and with a fashionable O-sound ending. Ushered onto the charts by a supremely talented dancer, it has again been brought into the spotlight, and given further starpower by being chosen as a celebrity baby name. Little wonder that parents are wondering just how popular Margot will become in the future.

As Margot Robbie has been such a strong influence on the name, it will be interesting to see how the elegant name Margot fares once Suicide Squad is released, with Margot Robbie playing the crazed super-villain Harley Quinn. Will it gain an ever wider audience of fans?

POLL RESULTS
Hugh received an excellent approval rating of 84%, making it one of the highest-rated names of 2015. 51% of people thought Hugh was a good name, and only one person thought it was terrible.

Margot received a very good approval rating of 75%, making it one of the highest-rated names of 2015. 45% of loved the name Margot, and 8% thought it was terrible.

(Photo shows Margot Robbie in The Wolf of Wall Street)

Famous Name: David

23 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Biblical names, classic names, famous namesakes, hebrew names, international name popularity, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, popular names, royal names, saints names, Semitic names, US name popularity

Famous Namesake
Next week it will be the 143rd birthday of David Unaipon, who was born September 28 1872 – Unaipon is an Anglicised form of the name Ngunaitponi. David was a writer, mythologist, inventor, motivational speaker, lecturer, religious leader, and political activist; in his lifetime he was hailed as a genius. Yet he was given no schooling after the age of 13, and was often denied service because of the colour of his skin.

Born on a South Australian mission, his high intelligence was obvious even as a child. Frustrated by the scarcity of career paths open to him, and almost complete lack of educational ones, after work he would devour books on literature, science and philosophy until the early hours of the morning. He became obsessed with the idea of inventing a perpetual motion machine (a hot topic of the day), and this led to his first patented invention: an innovative design for shearing machines which is the basis for modern mechanical shears.

In all, David took out 19 provisional patents on his inventions, but could not afford to fully patent them: he made no money from his inventions, and received no credit apart from one newspaper article. His other inventions include a centrifugal motor, a multi-radial wheel, and a mechanical propulsion device. One of his ideas was a basic design for a helicopter in 1914, based on the spinning motion of a boomerang; this earned him the title of “Australia’s Leonardo”. A recognised authority on ballistics, he also had a great interest in lasers which he foresaw might one day have military applications – this was some years before Einstein’s pioneering work on lasers.

David worked as a lay preacher and missionary, but was also keen to educate white people on Indigenous mythology and culture. David compiled his versions of Aboriginal legends, influenced by his study of classical and Egyptian mythology, and written in a style reminiscent of John Milton. They were published in a series of booklets and articles, and eventually commissioned as Myths and Legends of the Australian Aboriginals in 1930: David was paid $150 for his work, but received no credit. He was the first Indigenous Australian writer to be published.

Urbane and cultured, dignified in bearing, formal of manner, and fastidious in speech, David defied the stereotypes then held about Aboriginal Australians, and confounded expectations. Even when sympathetic, the newspapers spoke of him in ways which now make us squirm.

He was not just a genius: he was a “black genius” or “Australia’s cleverest darkie”. One journalist calls him “a remarkably intelligent specimen of primitive man”, and writes that people can barely believe he is a “full blooded Aborigine”. “An outstanding representative of the primitive race”, and “remarkably able … even amongst superior whites”, it was made clear that he was an exception to every rule, and one fine shining hour for a people who were inevitably dying out.

David lived to the age of 94, packing many lifetimes into his generous span of years; he continued working on his inventions into old age, and right to the end remained determined to discover the secret of perpetual motion.

He had lobbied the government on Aboriginal rights, been the first Aboriginal person to attend a royal levee, and received a Coronation Medal. The David Unaipon Literary Award is given to an unpublished Indigenous author each year, and the David Unaipon College of Indigenous Education And Research at the University of South Australia is named after him. You may also have David in your wallet – he is on the $50 note.

An extraordinary Australian with an original mind, he was neither mute nor inglorious, yet his story is one of undeveloped potential. Howard Florey was sent to Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and he changed the world: what might David Unaipon have done if given similar opportunities and advantages?

Name Information
David is derived from the Hebrew name Dawid, from the Semitic root dwd, meaning “to love”. It is usually translated as “beloved” or “my darling”. There were a number of Semitic deities with names from the same source, and it is possible the name David was originally given in honour of these gods, or came to be understood as “beloved of God”.

The name has come into common use because of the character from the Bible. In the Old Testament, David was an armour-bearer to Saul, the first king of Israel. David was a talented musician, and whenever Saul was feeling particularly wretched, David would play the lyre to him until he felt better. David was a great warrior, and Saul made him commander over his armies: eventually he became so popular that after Saul’s death David was anointed king.

A popular story from the Bible is about David’s youth. Saul’s armies were facing those of the Philistines, and their opponents sent their largest warrior to fight someone in single combat – a huge giant named Goliath (around six foot nine, or just over 2 metres tall). Everyone was afraid to take on the big boy, until David stepped forward and accepted the challenge. He brought Goliath down with a slingshot, then cut off his head using the giant’s own sword. In modern parlance, a David and Goliath battle is one where the underdog wins, and we all love a story where the “little guy” is victorious over someone more powerful.

King David is a central figure in Judaism, a symbol of Jewish kingship. According to the Hebrew canon, a descendant of King David will one day sit on the throne of Israel, heralding an era of global peace. Christianity views David as a divinely appointed king, and the ancestor of Jesus Christ. In Islam, David (Dāwūd) is revered as one of the great prophets.

David has been a popular figure in art and literature, most notably Michelangelo’s statue of him as a young man, the epitome of masculine strength and beauty. In the Bible, David is described as a handsome youth with beautiful eyes, and ruddy in colour. This has often been taken to mean David was red-haired (Jewish tradition makes David a redhead), but the word used refers to the same coppery-brown skin tone assigned to Adam. There is another connection between these two characters: Adam is the first name in the Bible, while David is the last.

David has been used as an English name since the Middle Ages; in medieval Europe, David was seen as the ideal chivalrous hero, and a model for kingship. Saint David is the patron saint of Wales, and his icons include the leek, a Welsh national symbol. A Welsh short form of his name, Taffy, was used to refer to a Welshman (often insultingly) for many years, just as a Paddy meant an Irishman. King Edward VIII went by David, which was his final middle name, given in honour of the national saint.

The name David also has a strong history in Scotland, as David I was a powerful medieval Scottish king who supported his niece, the Empress Matilda, in her claim to the English throne. A defender of the Scottish church’s independence from the English church, contemporary historians describe him as pious and just. He is regarded as a saint in Roman Catholicism.

David is a solid classic which has never left the Top 100. It was #28 in the 1900s, and peaked at #1 through most of the 1960s, making it the most popular boy’s name for that decade. Currently it is #91 nationally, #92 in New South Wales, #76 in Queensland (where it was one of the fastest rising names of last year), #98 in Tasmania, and #83 in the Australian Capital Territory.

Thanks to the fame of King David, David is a popular name around the world, including in eastern and western Europe, Scandinavia, and Latin America. It is most popular in Croatia, at #4. It is popular in all English-speaking countries, and most popular in the United States, at #18. It is still a popular name in Israel, and seems a patriotic choice as the national flag has a Star of David on it.

David is an attractive classic name with a beautiful meaning. An ancient name with a heroic royal namesake, it has never gone out of style and remains popular. Widely recognised around the world, it travels well and can work cross-culturally. A beloved name for thousands of years, it would not be surprising if this name was perfect for your darling son.

POLL RESULTS
David received a creditable approval rating of 70%. People saw the name David as a timeless classic which would never go out of style (27%), clean and wholesome (19%), and handsome or attractive (16%). However, 21% thought it was too common and boring. Only person thought David seemed too mature to give to a little boy, and just one thought it was too biblical.

(The photo of David Unaipon is the same one used for the bank note).

	waltzingmorethanmati… on Zarah Zaynab and Wolfgang…
	Madelyn on Zarah Zaynab and Wolfgang…
	drperegrine on Can Phoebe Complete This …
	waltzingmorethanmati… on Rua and Rhoa
	redrover23 on Rua and Rhoa

Waltzing More Than Matilda

~ Names with an Australian Bias of Democratic Temper

Tag Archives: classic names

Famous Name: Elizabeth

Boys Names from the Top 100 of the 1950s

Famous Names: Angela and Russell

Famous Name: Patrick

Cyclone Names for Boys

Cyclone Names for Girls

Save Our Susans and Protect The Peter: The Ridiculous World of “Endangered” Names

Famous Name: Martin

Famous Names: Hugh and Margot

Famous Name: David