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Waltzing More Than Matilda

~ Names with an Australian Bias of Democratic Temper

Waltzing More Than Matilda

Tag Archives: double names

Waltzing with … May

28 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by A.O. in Waltzing with ...

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

anagram names, birth notices, double names, famous namesakes, flower names, middle names, month names, mythological names, name combinations, name popularity, nature names, nicknames, plant names, popular names, retro names, sibsets

eucalyptus-flower-bookIt will be May very soon, and whenever that month comes around, it reminds me of one of my favourite Australian authors from childhood – May Gibbs. Born in England, May grew up in Western Australia, and it was while riding her pony around the bush as a little girl that she began writing stories and drawing pictures based on the native flora.

After going to art school, she became a professional illustrator in the early twentieth century, and was most famed for her “gumnut babies” – plump little cherubs scantily dressed in gumnuts, gumblossom and gumleaves. She even produced postcards of the gumnut babies to support the war effort during WW I, and her house was called Nutcote.

Later she wrote stories to accompany her enchanting drawings, the best-known being the Snugglepot and Cuddlepie series. Adults are charmed by the stories’ sense of fun, but for small children, they are filled with adventure and excitement, and can even be frightening, due to the villains of the story, the wicked Banksia Men. Without being sickly or sentimental, the subtle message of the stories is always that we must care for each other, and for the world around us.

After growing up with May Gibbs’ picture books, it is impossible to walk through the Australian bush and not see it differently; she gave us our own fairy tales and our own mythology of nature. And because many eucalyptus trees flower in autumn (not to mention some banksia species), you can see “gumnut babies” and “banksia men” for yourself in May.

The name May appears to have begun life as a short form of names such as Mary and Margaret, but very soon was associated with the fifth month of the year.

The month of May is generally said to be named by the Romans in honour of the goddess Maia, whose name may mean “greater”. She probably didn’t have a connection to the Greek goddess Maia originally, but the two goddesses became gradually merged into one. Maia was a mother goddess, an earth goddess, and encouraged growth and abundance. May is in the spring in the northern hemisphere, so readily suggests the idea of fecundity.

The poet Ovid said that the month was named for the ancestors, also connected to the word for “greater”; I’m not sure if this was his own idea or one in wide circulation in his day. On the first of May, the Romans sacrificed both to the goddess Maia and to the ancestor spirits who were guardians of the city.

The first of May has quite a history as a day of celebration. In Ireland, it is the Celtic festival of Beltane, which marks the beginning of the summer; this is observed by Neo-Pagans around the world. Related to this is May Day, a European celebration of spring and fertility which often involves dancing around a phallic Maypole decorated in blooms, and choosing a Queen of the May, as if still honouring a spring goddess. In Catholic tradition, the month of May is sacred to the Virgin Mary and the flowering of her spirituality; a continuation of the devotion to floral mother figures.

Another floral connection is the word mayflower, which can refer to several different flowering species, but traditionally is the hawthorn, also known as may, mayblossom, may tree or may thorn. The hawthorn is one of the flowers associated with Beltane, and in Ireland you can make wishes on the maytree during this festival. It is also said that they are inhabited by fairies, especially if you see a lone hawthorn bush out in the wild. To bring us back full circle, hawthorn was sacred to the goddess Maia.

The name May was at its highest popularity in the 1900s, when it was #41 for the decade, and had left the Top 100 by the 1930s. It left the charts entirely between the 1960s and 1980s, but has remained in modest use since the 1990s. Currently it is #557 (11 births) in New South Wales and #489 (10 births) in Victoria.

I should have said in modest use as a first name, because May gets a real workout in the middle position. You can’t read through a few pages of birth notices without seeing name combinations such as Charlotte May, Emma May, Harper May, Pippa May and Zara May – not to mention double names like Gracie-May, Ella-May and Lily-May.

You might say that other names are similarly popular in the middle, such as Elizabeth, Grace and Rose – and Alice is quickly joining their ranks. However, all these names are in the Top 100 and either rising or stable, so they are clearly not being neglected as first names.

Poor May lies in the doldrums, with parents preferring Maya and Mia. Even May’s big sister Mary and anagram twin Amy are much more popular, and April is far more common as a name than the following month.

Yet there is something so simple and sweet about May; it sounds old-fashioned without being the least bit musty. If you would like an underused retro name which still seems fresh and youthful, why not consider rescuing May from the middle, and putting her front, rather than centre?

Name Combinations for May

May Amelia, May Elizabeth, May Kathleen, May Luella, May Sophia, May Victoria

Brothers for May

Charlie, George, Harry, Samuel, Tobias, William

Sisters for May

Alice, Clara, Lillian, Nettie, Rose, Sadie

POLL RESULT: May received an approval rating of 93% – just 1% behind the highest-rated girls name, Layla. 37% of people liked the name May, and 35% loved it.

Cherry-Rose and Uneke-Hope: Double Names for Girls from the Bonds Baby Search

02 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by A.O. in Baby Contests

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

double names, flower names, locational names, nature names, triple names

I would have loved to have listed all the girls’ double-names, but they went for pages – the Something-Roses alone ran into the dozens. So I have limited myself to those which made the most impact on me.

Aiko-Jayne

Aleah-Persia

Alisha-Savannah

Annabelle-Ang

Asher-Marcelle

Bella-Ching

Bryndee-Bella (there is a mountain range called the Brindabellas)

Caprice-Elouise

Carlay-Diaz

Cereniti-Lee

Cherish-Bonnique’

Cherry-Rose (pictured is the rose called the cherry rose)

Daisha-Lee

Denyella-Sophia

Destenee-Rose

Elexis-A’vril

Ellie-Peach

Esthershoel

Imarni-Rose

Indigo-Saige

Ivory-Rose

Jaylah-Mae

Jazzmine-Tira

Jypzee-Lee

Kailyn-Stevie

Kimyah-Lee

Krisjanis

Kyarnah-Jane

Lahnee-Mia

Latalia-Star

Lily-Jagga

Maddison-Torika

Mayella

Memphis-Bella

Montana-Armour

Myami-Jade

Narla-May

Nevaeh-Mai

Odessa-Brigit

Parkah-Grace

Pipi-Grace

Rangimarie

Rita-Adele

Ruby-Lou

Sarita-Hazel

Scarlett-Rose

Shiah-Blue

Schuyler-Rae

Sienna-Jade-Lee (a triple name!)

Tilly-Rose

Tippi-Lee

Uneke-Hope

Violet-Amaya

Zaphire-Lee

Thank you to Sophia for suggesting some of these names

Harper-Chaos and Kobie-Lebron: Double Names for Boys from the Bonds Baby Search

02 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by A.O. in Baby Contests

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

double names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, initial names

Allan-Jackson

Benjamin-James

B-Jay

Ceejae

CJ

Corey.Lamar

Dante-Beau

DJ

Dylan-Julius

Giancarlo

Harper-Chaos

Isaac-Cael

Jade-Te Tane

Jaedee

JD

Jesse-James

Jet-Li

Jethro-Shekel

Jett-Jonathan “JJ”

Jor-Ell

Josiah-Hamiora

KC

Kobie-Lebron

Ko-Dai

Kodah-Cruz

Koopah-Leigh

Levi-Joel

Levi-Jose

Micheal-James

Mitchel-William

MJ

Peejay

Quentin-Riley

R-Jay

RJ

Ryder-Leigh

S-Jay

Teejay

T-Jay

Tyler-Jai

Tyler-Jay

Vaa-Greg

Xavier-Alexis

William-Storm

 

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