Famous Names: Aria and Delta

14 Wednesday Aug 2013

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alphanumeric names, celebrity baby names, english names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, geographical names, Greek names, historical records, Italian names, locational names, musical names, musical terms, name popularity, name trends, names from songs, names from television, nature names, nicknames, saints names, vocabulary names

The Australian music industry celebrated an important birthday a month ago, because July 10 this year marked thirty years since the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) began collating sales information from music stores. The ARIA charts developed from the Kent Music Report, and the first Australian charts began in the 1960s, collated by Go-Set magazine, the music “bible” of its time which later spawned Australian Rolling Stone, and whose weekly music columnist Ian “Molly” Meldrum would go on to host seminal music show Countdown.

The first single to top the ARIA charts way back in 1983 was Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler, the first #1 album was Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and the most consistently popular performer over the many years of her career has been Madonna. However, Kylie Minogue equalled Madonna for the most #1 singles (10), and was equal second with the Black Eyed Peas for most weeks (30) spent at #1 in the singles charts.

Pop singer Delta Goodrem’s debut album, Innocent Eyes, spent longer at #1 than any other Australian album at 29 weeks, and she is the first ever music artist to have five #1 singles from a debut album. Innocent Eyes went on to be the best-selling album of the 2000s. Delta played aspiring singer Nina Tucker on soapie Neighbours, where she sang Born to Try, scoring Delta her first #1 spot on the ARIA charts. She has won ten ARIA Awards, and all her albums have gone to #1, making her one of Australia’s best-selling female artists. Delta is currently a judge, coach and mentor on The Voice.

In music, an aria is a vocal piece performed by a singer, usually as part of a larger work. We often connect arias to opera, although they can be part of classical concert music too, and usually think of them as very beautiful and elaborate pieces of music that only an expert singer can do justice to.

Some famous arias are Ave Maria, O Sole Mio, La Donne e Mobile from Rigoletto, and Nessun Dorma from Turandot (if you think you don’t know them, click on the links to listen, and you’ll probably find that you have heard them before). In Italian, aria means “air”, and is from the Latin word for “atmosphere”.

As a girl’s name, Aria is usually said to be a modern English name. It’s hard to track it through historical records, as any Arias you find could easily be a misprint for Maria, so while there are hundreds of Arias in Australian records, with both English and Italian surnames, your guess is as good as mine whether they were really named Aria.

There is a Saint Aria, an obscure early Christian who was martyred in Rome, but her name seems to have been short for Ariadne.

Aria catapulted into the national Top 100 last year, debuting at #83, the second-highest rising name for girls in Australia, and possibly the highest, if we had access to all the data. The name has been popularised by the character of Aria Montgomery, from the Pretty Little Liars books and TV series, and young singer and actress Aria Wallace; it’s also been boosted by its similarity to other fashionable names, like Arya, Arianna, Ariel, Allira and Allegra. Musician Ash Grunwald welcomed a daughter named Aria earlier this year.

Delta is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet; it’s based on a letter in several Semitic alphabets which is supposed to represent a door. The Greek letter is shaped like a triangle when capitalised, and it is for this reason that the landmass at the mouth of river became known as a “delta”. If you want to get geographically technical, it is wave-dominated deltas which tend to have this triangular form; the most obvious example is that of the River Nile, and it is the Nile Delta which was first given the name, and is the “original” delta.

The Mississippi Delta region is the area which lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers, and includes parts of the states of Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas. Here’s another geographical technicality – the Mississippi Delta isn’t actually a delta – it’s an alluvial plain. The Mississippi River Delta is 300 miles to the south, in Louisiana, where the river meets the Gulf of Mexico. Just in case you have, in this short space of time, due to my scintillating prose style, become obsessed with river deltas, the Mississippi River has a bird-foot delta, where long finger-like projections reach out into the sea, and isn’t actually delta-shaped in the least.

The Mississippi Delta (the region, not the actual river delta in Louisiana – gosh I hope all this geography isn’t getting too confusing) is associated with the very beginning of several genres of popular music, such as Delta blues and rock and roll. You can no doubt get yourself into some very stimulating arguments over whether Delta blues is significantly different to any other kind of blues, or just how rock and roll got started anyway, but the Mississippi Delta would be crazy not to cash in with tons of music festivals, and they’re not, so they do.

Rita Coolidge is an American singer who inspired the song Delta Lady, by her one-time boyfriend, singer-songwriter Leon Russell. I always assumed that the name came about because Ms Coolidge is from the Mississippi Delta, but – more geographical technicalities – she’s from Macon county in Tennessee, which isn’t in the Delta region. So we may be talking poetic license here rather than geographical technicalities, although from the song’s lyrics, Russell seems to be using delta as a metaphor for ladyparts (as in the erotica collection, Delta of Venus, by Anais Nin).

(Just as an aside, the faded southern belle of unsound mind in the song Delta Dawn, which became Helen Reddy’s first #1 hit, was from Brownsville in Tennessee, which prides itself on being the “heart of the Tennessee Delta”. Dawn was a real Delta Lady.)

It was the song Delta Lady which inspired Delta Goodrem’s parents to name their daughter Delta, so that is one possible source of the name, but you could see it as a geographic name, a nature name or an alphanumeric name as well. You can also see it as a musical name, because a major 7^th chord is sometimes called a Delta Chord.

There are many, many women named Delta in Australian historical records, dating back to the 19^th century, and it is currently #412 in Victoria.

So here’s two pretty, modern-sounding musical names for girls, both with an Australian focus. Cross-cultural Aria is much more on trend that Delta, and consequently more popular, yet Delta has a more solid history of use as a personal name. Which one do you like better?

POLL RESULTS: Aria received an approval rating of 78%, and Delta of 33%.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOz6Mt2t084

Boys Names of Australian Aboriginal Origin – Part 2

04 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 5 Comments

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Ancient Germanic names, animal names, astronomical names, Australian Aboriginal names, Chinese names, colour names, days of the week names, english names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, Google, Hindi names, historical records, Indian names, locational names, middle names, mythological names, name history, name meaning, names from movies, names of weapons, nature names, nicknames, onomatopoeic names, rare names, unisex names

Bambam

Bambam as a person’s name might seem like an oddball suggestion, but although it would definitely be an unusual choice, I don’t think it’s an unfamiliar one either. For a start, there is Bamm Bamm Rubble from The Flintstones, first introduced as a cute blonde baby with superhuman strength. His name came from the fact that he would say Bamm bamm, and swing his club, to the general destruction of everything around him. Bam Bam is used as a man’s nickname, from American wrestler Bam Bam Bigelow to British DJ Bam Bam. There’s also skater Bam Margera, who gained his nickname from constantly running into walls as a toddler. I have seen a baby boy called Bambam – although that may have been a nickname. In English, bam bam is an onomatopoeic interjection, suggesting one thing repeatedly hitting or banging into another. In much the same way, in Nyungar (from south-west Western Australia), bam means “to hit”, and in Bundjalung (from northern New South Wales), bambam means “bruise, swelling”. However, in the Meriam language from the eastern Torres Strait Islands, bambam means “yellow”; in Indigenous art, yellow ochre is often used to represent the earth. It’s quirky, but Bambam is a rather lovable name.

Daku

Daku means “sand hill” in the extinct Diyari language; the Diyari people are from the South Australian desert, and thus very familiar with sand. Despite being generally used as a boys name in Australia, Daku is also a unisex name in India, and in Hindi it means “bandit”. Someone wrote in to the blog considering the name Daku for their son, but they never got back to me, so I don’t know whether they overcame family opposition to the name or not. This name reminds me a bit of Dakota, and it has the fashionable OO sound, such as Reuben and Jude; the name is pronounced (I think) DAK-oo. It would be a bold choice though, and I haven’t seen many boys with this name, although it can be found a few times in historical records.

Jardi

Jardi means “front” in the Ngadjumaja language; the Ngadjumaja people are from the Nullarbor Coast area of south-east Western Australia. I remember reading in the papers last year about a baby boy from Mudgee who has named Jardii, and his mother explained that his name was from the Wiradjuri language and means “first born son”. I wasn’t able to find that information for myself, but it occurred to me that “front” and “first” are similar in meaning, so Jardi also seemed like a good name for an eldest son. In the Jaminjung language from the Victoria River region of the Northern Territory, jardi means “to keep”, which also seems very positive. I found quite a few Indigenous boys and young men named either Jardi or Jardii, and I think it’s really attractive, with a similar sound to Jordie, the short form of Jordan.

Jiemba

Jiemba means “laughing star” in the language of the Wiradjuri people of central New South Wales. It refers to the morning star, or the planet Venus. (In some other Aboriginal languages, djimba simply means “star”). Astronomy was very important to the Wiradjuri, as with other Aboriginal societies, because stars and planets were used to tell the times and seasons, and this information was first given in early childhood. It is recorded that in the Wiradjuri in the 19^th century, the elders would teach the children the stories behind the stars (the constellations), while the old women would teach children to count stars, which they could do into the thousands using a particular system. This information comes from radical poet and journalist Mary Gilmore, who grew up in Wagga Wagga, and was given the name Jiemba by the Wiradjuri people. Despite it being given to a little girl, I have only seen Jiemba given to boys – most likely because it is said JIM-ba, and thus shortens to Jim or Jimmy. One of the Aboriginal men from the Sydney area first encountered by Europeans was named Jimbah, so it sounds quite masculine (this Jimbah may also have been Colebee).

Lue

Lue is a small village in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales. Its name means “chain of waterholes” in the local Dabee language – the Dabee are part of the Wiradjuri group. The village’s name is pronounced LOO-wee, which makes me think that this could be an Australian alternative to Louis or Louie. There are quite a number of people named Lue in Australian historical records – many of them are of Chinese ancestry, but there are some from the Lue area, suggesting that at least a few of them were named after the village.

Nullah

A nulla nulla, also known as a nullah or waddy, is an Aboriginal war club or hunting stick; the word comes from the extinct Darug language from the Port Jackson area of Sydney. A nullah is a heavy club which could be used in hand to hand combat, or used to stun prey; sometimes they were used to punish lawbreakers. In addition, these useful tools could be used to make fires, and grind ochre. This name is frequently Googled, because Nullah is the name of the young Aboriginal boy in Baz Luhrman’s 2008 epic, Australia, played by Brandon Walters. The film is set in the Northern territory, so the choice of Nullah for the character’s name is not meant to be authentic; I wonder if they chose it partly because it suggests the name of the Nullarbor Plain (Latin for “no trees”). Nullah is also a Hindi word for a narrow, steep-sided valley; in dry countries like Australia, these nullahs are commonly filled with brushwood, and when it rains heavily, they temporarily become streams. This could be another inspiration for the character’s name.

Omeo

Omeo is a town in Victoria which is in the East Gippsland, set high in the Great Dividing Range. Its name means “mountains, hills” in the local Gunaikurnai language, or one of its dialects, because it is set on a treeless plain on the fringes of the Snowy Mountains. There is evidence of human occupation of this region dating back around 20 000 years, and the first reported sighting by a European of Omeo was in 1832, by a naturalist on the slopes of the southern alps. It was his reports of fine grazing land which soon attracted pastoralists and squatters to the region. Gold was discovered in the 1850s, but Omeo’s isolation meant that it did not experience the massive boom of many goldfields towns – it did however, have the dubious distinction of being the roughest and most unruly place on the goldfields. Its first magistrate was Judge Browne, better known as author Rolf Boldrewood, who wrote of the area’s lawlessness in his novel, Robbery Under Arms. This name looks and sounds like Romeo without the R, which gives it recognisability as a name, although it also reminds me of Omo washing powder. Its goldfields history gives it a bit of a “wild west” feel; it seems a bit more bad boy than romantic Romeo. Omeo has had some use as a boy’s name in Australia, especially amongst people from Omeo itself, and was more often found in the middle.

Tanami

The Tanami Desert is in the Northern Territory, and is Australia’s most northerly desert. In the wet season, it rains heavily and even floods, but the high temperatures mean that most of it evaporates. Some parts of the Tanami do have wetlands though, and there is even a lake which has permanent water in it, so as deserts go, it’s on the slightly moist side. It is a refuge for several rare and endangered species of flora and fauna, making it a biologically important area. You can cross the desert on the Tanami Track, which is more than 1000 km long, and goes from Alice Springs to Halls Creek, in the Kimberly region of Western Australia. Tanami is a corruption of the local Walpiri name for the area, Chanamee, meaning “never die”, because the rock holes in a particular gully were said to never run dry of water, even in drought. When white people came here in the early twentieth century, they found to their dismay that this was not the case, so either the name was optimistic in nature, or the Indigenous people had a superior knowledge of obtaining water from the rock holes. I have seen Tanami occasionally on girls, but after seeing it given to a boy, I really like it as a male name. The pronunciation is TAN-uh-my, but the Aboriginal pronunciation would be more like TAN-uh-mee, so you could take your pick on how to say it.

Woden

Woden Valley is a district of the capital city of Canberra. The area is named after a homestead owned by Dr James Murray, which was built in 1837. In Aboriginal Place Names, Harold Koch suggests that the name of Dr Murray’s homestead may have been influenced by the word wadyan or wadhan, which means “possum” in several Indigenous languages, in an area stretching from the Monaro region right down to Omeo in Victoria. If so, then the spelling was altered to make it look like the name of the Anglo-Saxon and Germanic god Woden, whose name means “inspiration”; Dr Murray saw him as a god of wisdom. Woden was the chief god of the Germanic peoples, and is their equivalent of Odin. Anglo-Saxon royalty claimed that Woden was their ancestor, and he survives in English folklore as leader of the Wild Hunt, and perhaps even as Father Christmas. Of course, we unconsciously celebrate his special day once a week, on Wednesday (Woden’s day). With Odin being a rather hip name at present, Woden really doesn’t seem too strange, and this could be a way of celebrating Australian and English heritage together. There are a couple of men named Woden in Australian historical records, although it is more common as a middle name.

Yarramundi

Yarramundi is an outer suburb of Sydney which is a semi-rural area in the City of Hawkesbury. It is named after a famous Indigenous leader who was a member of the Boorooberongal clan of the Darug people, and a garadyi, or shaman – a healer, a man of great spiritual knowledge and power, and an enforcer of tribal law. Yarramundi’s son Colebee was the first Aboriginal person to receive a land grant, and his daughter Maria was the first Aboriginal child to be enrolled in a school for the education of Indigenous children; her marriage in 1824 was the first legally recognised union between an Aboriginal woman and a convict. Maria ended up being a successful land owner in Liverpool and Blacktown, and dozens of families in the area trace their ancestry back to Yarramundi. Yarramundi means “deep water”, and I saw a newspaper story about a baby boy named Yarramundi after this inspiring namesake.

POLL RESULT: People’s favourite names were Jardi, Lue, and Nullah, and their least favourite were Yarramundi, Omeo, and Bambam.

(Picture shows the Tanami Desert in northern Australia)

Names Spotted at Home and Abroad (Autum Edition)

27 Thursday Jun 2013

Posted by A.O. in Names Spotted at Home and Abroad

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Arabic names, Arthurian names, Biblical names, Cornish names, english names, hebrew names, Japanese names, locational names, Maori names, name meaning, names from movies, names from television, portmanteau names, rare names, Scottish names, Slavic names, Spanish names, stage names, surname names, terms of endearment, unisex names, vocabulary names, Welsh names

Names of Babies and Children

The winners of the 2013 Bonds Baby Search were announced during the autumn, and some of the interesting names I saw amongst them were Ramsey, Cielo and Azriel. Ramsey is a Scottish surname from an English town meaning “wild garlic island” – at last, it’s an anti-vampire name! Cielo means “sky”, in Spanish, but it’s also a term of affection, meaning “my heaven”. Azriel is a Hebrew Biblical name which means “help of God”. Although male in the Bible, its similarity to Azaria and Ariel probably makes it seem unisex, or even female.

A baby girl born rather suddenly in a hospital car park in Adelaide was named Lowenek, a Cornish name said to mean “joyfulness”. South Australia has a strong Cornish heritage, and I wonder if little Lowenek was named with this in mind?

A poor little baby had a rather awful time in hospital. Her name is Venice, which I think is really pretty. We just saw a Verona in a birth announcement, and I saw a Vienna at For Real Baby Names – Valencia must be just around the corner.

This story on a mum who went all out to lose her baby weight, getting super fit in the process, says that she has a toddler son named Jatticus, and a baby daughter named Atlantis. I’ve seen people use Jatticus as a user name online, but never seen it on a baby before, and Atlantis is pretty wow.

A story on a Sydney family with a dozen children did not give all their names, but did mention one boy named Taiawhio, which is a Maori name meaning “go around, encircle”.

An article on baby naming laws in Australia from Lifehacker mentioned a few rare baby names that were registered last year – Hurricane, J’Adore, Couture, Excel, Burger, Google, Tron, Hippo. Are these unique baby names? Nope, they were each registered more than once. Remember, no matter how unusual you think your baby name is, someone else has probably thought of it.

Names of Adults

A story on a baby’s difficult birth mentioned the midwife as being named Oki Rose. Oki is a Japanese name which means “offing” – the offing is the distant sea which is still visible from the shoreline. It’s a surname in Japan, as well as a place name, the Oki Islands. It’s a name which strangely appeals to me, and as parents sometimes call their babies after the midwife in gratitude, I wonder if there are any little Okis in her area?

There was a profile on a novelist named Honey Brown. People always ask her if it’s a pen name, but it’s the name she was given at birth. Her dad was driving down a country road when he saw a sign advertising honey painted on a roadside shed, and he went home and told his pregnant wife that if they had a girl, her name had to be Honey. If that isn’t sweet enough, for her 40^th birthday, Honey’s sister tracked down the original sign and took a photo of it. I love a name with a story behind it.

Another writer, this time a teenage fashion blogger from Perth named Willabelle Ong. She’s been blogging since she was 15, has more than 60 000 subscribers, racks up over 115 000 views a month, and has been featured in Teen Vogue and the New York Times. I’m not usually a fan of portmanteau names, but Willabelle is really quirky and charming.

There was a story on a young rapper whose stage name is Iggy Azalea, which is pretty cool. Her real name is Amethyst Kelly, which is cool too. Would you prefer to be called Iggy or Amethyst?

A story on new Australian citizens in Queensland mentioned one with the intriguing name of Ginny Lovelady. It puts an interesting picture in your mind. Other names of new Australians were Craig, Manjula, Marriette, Brigette, Albert, Melissa and Almari.

While watching RPA, I saw a young man, still in his teens, having a tumour removed from his leg. Luckily, his limb was able to be saved. He had the romantically Arthurian name Galahad, which some interpret as being from the Welsh for “hawk of summer”. Galahad is the only knight who is pure enough to find the Holy Grail, and some see him as a Christ-figure. Guinevere is becoming accepted as a “normal” name now, so how about Galahad for the guys?

On the news, there was a brief interview with the father of an unsuccessful criminal who was foiled by a quick-thinking young lady. The dad’s name was Trampas, which seemed to me very unusual (okay, utterly bizarre). Turns out the name had quite a vogue in its day, because Trampas was one of the main characters in the 1960s TV cowboy series, The Virginian. It’s from a place name meaning “traps” in Spanish, and there’s some famous Americans with this name, who were born while the TV show was on. There’s also several Australians with the name in historical records. Perhaps in 50 years a name blogger will exclaim over a stout middle-aged lady named Katniss, and wonder where on earth she got her “weird” name from.

Speaking of names from books, a friend complained that she couldn’t finish the novel she’d started because of the heroine’s name – Ava. She found it ridiculous that a grown woman should have a “little girl” name – sooo unbelievable. The funny thing is, I know an Ava who’s 32, not to mention a Ruby who’s 28 , a Keeley who’s 29, and an Oliver and a Tyson in their mid-forties. These popular baby names had to start out somewhere! The grown-up Ava I know has a toddler named Jessica – I wonder how many people get their names confused?

Interesting Names Spotted in Real Life

Akira – a Japanese name meaning “bright, clear”. It can be unisex, but I saw it on a boy.

Ebenezer – I was so rapt to see this on a little boy! It really doesn’t seem any different to Biblical names like Ethan, Elijah, Ezra etc.

Malik – an Arabic name meaning “chieftain, king”. Does it remind you of Slumdog Millionaire or One Direction?

Riven – a girl’s name from the online game, League of Legends. Literally it means “split asunder” in English, which kind of freaks me out, but I can see it sounds a lot like River and Rivendell. Maybe her parents think riven means “full of rivers”?

Zora – a Slavic name meaning “dawn”. A nice alternative to popular Zara.

Names of Babies Born to People I Know or Know Of:

Girls: Autumn, Mabel, Xanthe

Boys: Calvin, Lennon, Theo, Wyatt

(Picture shows the original sign which inspired Honey Brown’s name)

Diminutive Names for Girls

23 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 14 Comments

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Australian Aboriginal names, Babyology, birth notices, english names, epithets and titles, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, French names, German names, historical records, Indian names, locational names, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, names from songs, names from television, names of animals, names of comics, names of lions, nicknames, popular names, retro names, Scottish names, slang terms, Spanish names, Swedish names, underused names, unisex names, vintage names

These short days of winter seem like the perfect time to cover names which are diminutives, nicknames, pet names, and short forms of names, but can also be used as full names.

Annika

Annika is a Swedish diminutive of the name Anna, so it’s one of those cases where the pet form of the name is longer than the name itself. The name became well known in the English-speaking world through Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking books, because Annika is the little girl who lives next door to Pippi and is one of her friends. There are several variants of the name, such as Anneka and Anika, although while Anneka is said exactly the same way as Annika (AN-ih-ka), Anika is pronounced a-NEE-ka, and is also an Indian name. Annika has charted since the 1970s, and peaked in 2010 at #165; it’s now #196. Although in regular use, it’s never become popular. I think it’s pretty; in fact I wish this had been used as my own nickname!

Elsa

Elsa is a short form of the name Elisabeth. This name reminds me of the 1930s, as there were several prominent Elsas active during those years. One was stylish Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, who was Coco Chanel’s greatest rival in pre-war Paris. Another was bohemian actress Elsa Lanchester, who studied under Isadora Duncan and played the “Bride of Frankenstein” on film. American hostess Elsa Maxwell threw lavish parties for the rich, including a scavenger hunt in Paris which disrupted the entire city. In fiction, Elsa is the heroine of Wagner’s opera, Lohengrin, and the pretty and fashionable young mistress in Françoise Sagan’s Bonjour Tristesse. The name may also remind you of Elsa the lioness, from the non-fiction books and movies, Born Free and Living Free. Similar to fashionable Elsie, but with a sophisticated European twist, this name has gained more attention since Chris Hemsworth married lovely Spanish actress Elsa Pataky. Elsa is #297 in Victoria.

Heidi

Heidi is a short form of the name Adelheid, the German form of Adelaide. This name became well known in the English-speaking world due to the best-selling children’s book, Heidi, by Johanna Spyri; the story of a curly-haired young orphan girl growing up in the Swiss Alps with a gruff, hermit-like grandfather. Although it was translated into English in the late 19^th century, the name Heidi only became famous after the 1937 movie was released, starring Shirley Temple. Heidi first charts in Australia in the 1940s, and ranks in the 1950s, debuting at #527. The name skyrocketed to peak in the 1970s at #74. Heidi dropped out of the Top 100 in the 1980s and sunk to #213 in the 1990s – the band Killing Heidi probably didn’t help. It climbed again, and was Top 100 in 2010, then fell the next year. Last year it was one of the fastest-rising names for girls, rising to #76 nationally. It is currently #87 in New South Wales, #85 in Victoria, #72 in Queensland, #57 in Tasmania and #55 in the Australian Capital Territory. This is a spunky little name which just won’t give up – it keeps climbing up and down the charts as if they’re the Alps, but like little orphan Heidi, our hearts can’t let it go.

Jinty

Jinty is a Scottish pet form of Janet, a variation of French Jeanette. One prominent person with this name is British historian Dame Janet “Jinty” Nelson. You may also have heard of the Scottish-born Australian artist and designer, Jinty Stockings. There used to be a British girl’s comic called Jinty, much loved by readers for its bizarre storylines which dealt with dystopian futures, school bullies with mind control, mermaid mothers and the like. There is also a steam locomotive named Jinty in The Railway Series on which the kid’s TV show Thomas and Friends is based; small tank engines were once nicknamed “jinties” by railwaymen. I saw this name in a birth notice a while ago, and was charmed by its jauntiness. Although it’s not a common name in Australia (I found only one woman named Jinty in Australian historical records and that may have been a nickname), there’s something vaguely Australian-sounding about it. Perhaps it’s partly because it sounds like Jindy, the affectionate name for the town of Jindabyne, which comes from an Aboriginal word for “valley”.

Lola

Lola is a short form of the name Dolores, taken from a Spanish title of the Virgin Mary, Maria de los Dolores, meaning “Mary of Sorrows”. The title refers to the Catholic devotion, the Seven Sorrows of Mary, reflecting on sad events during Mary’s life as the mother of Jesus. Despite this serious meaning, Lola is usually thought of a fun and even sexy name, and this can be attributed to Lola Montez. Born Eliza Gilbert in Ireland, she was beautiful and exotic-looking, and billed herself as a “Spanish” dancer. Her routines were considered salacious, and she was even more famous as a courtesan, being the mistress of Ludwig I of Bavaria. Lola toured Australia in 1855 where she enraptured audiences but attracted controversy; her beauty manual is illustrated by Australian cartoonist Kaz Cooke. After Ms Montez, Lola was a bad girl name, inspiring songs about showgirls, girls from bars in SoHo, and girls who get what they want. Lola was #203 in the 1900s, and peaked in the 1930s at #74, leaving the Top 100 the following decade. It was off the charts between the 1960s and 1990s, returning in the 2000s at #393, coinciding with the publication of the Charlie and Lola book/TV series, where the name got a new image as that of a lively little girl. Lola has been Top 100 since 2010, when it debuted at #97. It is currently #75 nationally, #86 in New South Wales, #59 in Victoria, #61 in Tasmania, #92 in Queensland, and #62 in the Australian Capital Territory. Cute yet alluring, it’s hard to resist the charms of this retro name.

Mimi

Mimi is a short form of all the Mary names – Mary, Marie, Maria, Miriam, and so on, although in practice it is used as a nickname for almost any name with an M sound in it. Some famous Mimis include Miriam “Mimi” Macpherson, actress Miriam “Mimi” Rogers, singer Mei “Mimi” Choo, and children’s author Mimi King. Mariah Carey is called Mimi by her family and close friends. Sometimes it is used as a pet form of certain male names; an example of this is Mislav “Mimi” Saric, who plays soccer for the Adelaide Raiders. The most famous fictional person of this name is Mimi from Puccini’s opera, La bohème; Mimi’s real name is Lucia, so Mimi can be used as a generic “cute” nickname. Mimi has an Australian connection, because in the Indigenous folklore of Arnhem Land, the Mimi are a race of spiritual beings who are often referred to as “Australian fairies”. Mimis are extraordinarily long and thin, and live in rock crevices. They taught humans how to hunt, cook and paint, and are usually harmless, but can be mischievous. The name Mimi is pronounced mee-mee, and seems to be rarely chosen as the name on the birth certificate. That seems unfair, when many brief, and perhaps insubstantial, names are highly popular for girls.

Nellie

Nellie is a pet form of Nell, a medieval short form of names such as Helen, Ellen and Eleanor. Australia has had two famous performers with this name. One of them is Dame Helen “Nellie” Melba, the charismatic operatic prima donna who reigned at London’s Covent Garden during its golden age. During her career, she was invited to sing for many of the royal heads of Europe, and was mobbed by fans, just like pop singers are today. The other is Eleanor “Nellie” Stewart, a beautiful singer and actress who made her name playing Nell Gwynn in Sweet Nell of Old Drury; after that she was always known as “Sweet Nell”. She starred in Sweet Nell, one of Australia’s earliest films. Nellie was #31 in the 1900s, and left the Top 100 in the 1930s. It hasn’t charted since the 1950s – coincidentally or not, that was the decade the enduring children’s song Nellie the Elephant was released. This vintage name is now a very hip choice, and I’m sure we will see more of it. It is currently #494 in Victoria.

Pippa

Pippa is a short form of the name Phillipa. It gained fame in 1841 when Robert Browning published his play-poem, Pippa Passes, which has the famous lines, God’s in His heaven/All’s right with the world! The Pippa of the poem is an innocent young silk-winder named Felippa, nicknamed Pippa. Pippa seems to be more readily accepted as a full name in Britain and Australia than elsewhere, and I used to think of it as a “soap opera” name, because there were two Pippas in Home and Away, and actress Pippa Black had a leading role on Neighbours. However, since 2011 we’ve all connected the name to Phillipa “Pippa” Middleton, who became an immediate sensation after appearing at her sister Catherine’s wedding to Prince William. The name is already Top 100 in Victoria, where it is #73, Queensland, where it is #84, and Tasmania, where it is #93. Other states to follow? Probably.

Romy

Romy is a German short form of Rosemarie, although it can also be used as a male name, possibly short for Romeo or Roman. The most famous person with this name is probably German-Austrian actress Rosemarie “Romy” Schneider, who gained fame in France during the 1960s and ’70s. In the 1990s, the name got some publicity with the release of ditzy gal-pal comedy, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, with the role of Romy played by Mira Sorvino. The name has been picked up by several celebrities, including cricketer Ed Cowan and his wife Virginia Lette, who welcomed their daughter Romy last year. Suzi Catchpole from Australian website Babyology lists Romy as a name with “swagger and sass” – it’s certainly very hip at the moment, a cool twist on popular Ruby and Rose. The name is pronounced RO-mee, like the first two words in the sentence, Row me to the shore.

Willa

Although Willa can be used as a short form of Wilhelmina and other names, it is actually a full name in its own right (so it’s slightly cheating to include it). It is the English form of the medieval French name Guilla, a feminine form of Guillaume – the French form of William. Famous people named Willa include novelist Wilella “Willa” Cather, New Zealand actress Willa O’Neill, and singer Willa Ford, whose real name is Amanda Modana – her stage name comes from her original surname, Williford. Another Willa is young actress Willa Holland, who has starred in The OC and Gossip Girl TV series. The Alternative Guide to Baby Names lists Willa as an Aboriginal name meaning “wife”, but the author doesn’t say which language it is from; in a language from the Melbourne region, willa means “possum”. There are so many place names here that begin with or contain Willa-, such as Willa-Willa Ridge near Adelaide, and Willa Willyong Creek near Broken Hill, that the name does have a rather Australian feel to it. Willa has been gaining in popularity, not only riding the success of its brother name, William, but providing a hip alternative to popular Willow. It is #468 in Victoria.

POLL RESULT: People’s favourite names were Elsa, Pippa, and Willa, and their least favourite were Heidi, Mimi, and Jinty.

(Picture of silver coin in commemoration of Dame Melba from Perth Mint)

Waltzing with … Fletcher

02 Sunday Jun 2013

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

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english names, Errol Flynn, famous namesakes, name combinations, name history, name meaning, name popularity, Old French names, popular names, sibsets, surname names, UK name popularity, US name popularity

Bounty Day is on June 8th, and this year the festivities will be held on the 10th because it’s a weekend. Bounty Day is a major holiday on Norfolk Island, and celebrates the day that the descendants of the mutineers on the Bounty arrived on the island. The mutiny on the Bounty in 1789 is a tale which has often been told in books, movies, songs and TV shows, yet continues to be a subject of debate, with the relationship between Captain William Bligh and head mutineer Fletcher Christian at its centre.

There has been a tendency to portray Captain Bligh as a cruel tyrant who flogged his men into mutiny, but records show that his rule was generally mild and enlightened. For whatever reason, he and his master’s mate, Fletcher Christian, failed to get along. During the voyage, the ship’s crew enjoyed a lengthy stay on Tahiti, and its relaxed lifestyle seem to have made a return to naval discipline appear intolerable to the men; Bligh’s acid tongue, quick temper and insulting manner probably didn’t help.

Fletcher led the mutiny against Bligh while the ship was near Tonga, and took control of the Bounty, while Bligh and his loyalists were set afloat. The mutineers spent time in Tahiti, where Fletcher married Maimiti, the daughter of a local chief. From there, they kidnapped several of the locals and took them to Pitcairn Island, at that time uninhabited and incorrectly mapped. Once there, they sunk and burned the Bounty so that nobody could leave.

Perhaps they thought they had found an island paradise, but Pitcairn Island became plagued by murder, rape, slavery, alcoholism and insurrection. During one conflict, Fletcher Christian was reportedly killed, leaving behind his pregnant wife and their sons, Thursday October and Charles; his daughter Mary Ann was born after his death. Thursday and Charles are the ancestors of almost everyone with the surname Christian on Pitcairn and Norfolk Island, and the Christians are one of Norfolk Islands first families.

Norfolk Island was once a penal colony, and after the convicts had been repatriated to Tasmania, it was resettled in 1856 by people from Pitcairn Island, whose population (the descendants of mutineers and their Tahitian wives) had grown too large for it. Norfolk Island became part of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.

[If you have been worried about Captain Bligh all this time – don’t be. That capable seaman navigated his way to Timor across 3618 nautical miles of sea in 47 days, and made his way back to England, where he reported the mutiny to the Admiralty. Later he was appointed Governor of New South Wales, where he must have rubbed people up the wrong way again, as the Rum Rebellion saw him arrested and imprisoned by the rebels. Once all that mess had been sorted out, he was promoted].

Fletcher is an English surname which is an occupational name for an arrowsmith, someone who makes arrows. The word is derived from the Old French fleche, meaning “arrow”. It takes a great deal of skill to make arrows correctly, and during medieval times, the role of the fletcher became highly respected and well-paid.

The Fletchers trace their descent from Jean de la Fleche, a Norman noble who was granted lands in Yorkshire by William the Conqueror. Jean’s descendant, Sir Bernard Fletcher, moved to Scotland, where he was granted lands by King David I. The Fletchers forged strong relationships with the Campbells, the Stewarts and the McGregors; one of the Fletchers is said to have saved the life of Rob Roy McGregor when he was wounded. The Fletcher line continued their involvement in arrowsmithing for royalty and the nobility for several centuries.

The most famous Australian with the first name Fletcher is probably Sir (David) Fletcher Jones, the son of a Cornish miner who started his own highly successful menswear business in the 1920s. Fletcher Jones is credited with transforming men’s fashion in Australia, which gives this name a conservative, yet stylish, feel.

Fletcher began charting in New South Wales in the 1990s, when it debuted at #365. It peaked in 2009 at #156, and is currently stable at #178. Fletcher is #152 in Victoria, and is significantly more popular in Tasmania, where it is in the Top 100 at #56.

Given the connection between the islands of Pitcairn, Norfolk and Tasmania, it seems apt that Fletcher Christian’s forename should be most popular there. Another Tasmanian connection to the name is that Errol Flynn’s first film role was playing Fletcher Christian in In the Wake of the Bounty.

The name Fletcher is more popular in Australia than elsewhere – in the US, Fletcher is #790 and rising, and in the UK it is #253 and rising.

As surnames for boys become ever more popular, Fletcher is another which seems as if it has plenty of room for growth. The flipside to Archer, it connects us to an enigmatic adventurer who founded an island dynasty, and continues to haunt our imaginations.

POLL RESULT: Fletcher received an approval rating of 88%. 32% of people liked it, and 28% loved it.

Famous Name: Ruby

29 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

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english names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, gemstone names, Latin names, locational names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, names from television, nature names, nicknames, Norman-French names, Old Norse names, popular names, retro names, stage names, surname names, unisex names

Yesterday was the birthday of Ruby Payne-Scott, who was born 101 years ago in 1912, and a pioneer in radio physics and radio astronomy, as well as an advocate for women’s rights. Her extraordinary scientific mind became obvious early in life, when she entered the University of Sydney aged just 16, where she graduated with double first-class honours in mathematics and physics, and won the mathematics prize, as well as gaining a scholarship in physics. She was the third female graduate in physics at the university.

The Depression wasn’t a good time to be job-searching, but Ruby found work at the Cancer Research Institute where she completed her masters thesis on radiation. After a brief stint of teaching, she applied to Australian Wireless Amalgamated, a huge company that ran all the wireless services, and was the first woman they hired in a research capacity. AWA weren’t keen on hiring women at all, even as cleaners or typists, but they took Ruby on as librarian; she was soon a full-time research physicist.

During World War II, she was one of a group of young engineers from AWA hired by the government to conduct research on a secret new defensive weapons system – radar. She came into close contact with group leader Joseph Pawsey, and both became fascinated with reports of extra-terrestrial radio signals; they conducted the first experiment in radio astronomy in the southern hemisphere in 1944. After the war, she was one of a team at the CSIR (later the CSIRO) formed to survey “cosmic static” from astronomical objects. As a result, Australia became a global leader in radio astronomy, with Ruby the first female radio astronomer in the world.

Ruby was feisty and self-confident, very outspoken about her political views, which were that women should be equal to men, and scientific research should be independent. This got her labelled a communist, and “loud and unstable”, but she continued to press for equal treatment.

One thing she kept quiet was that she had married a telephone mechanic named Bill Hall in 1944, because until 1966, married women were expected to resign from the public service, and could not be employed on a permanent basis. When news of her marriage got out in 1950, she was reduced to temporary status and lost her pension and other benefits. She was forced to resign in 1951 when she became pregnant with her first child, and with no maternity leave or childcare, her brilliant career ended at the age of 39.

By the standards of her day, Ruby had it all. A highly-paid and rewarding scientific career, outside interests which included bushwalking and home renovation, a happy marriage, two children (who grew up to be a renowned mathematician and a distinguished artist), and, when her children were older, a return to teaching, where she was greatly admired by students who had no idea of her earlier achievements.

In her honour, the CSIRO initiated the Payne-Scott Awards to support researchers who need to take time off after the birth of a child. She was a bright star in her field, and because of Ruby and women like her, it’s possible to want equal pay, and the choice to work and have a family without being called a loud, unstable communist.

Ruby is a precious gemstone which is a variety of the mineral corundum, and comes in a range of red colours (when corundum is blue, it is called Sapphire). Its name comes from ruber, the Latin for “red”, and the most valuable rubies have the deepest red colour with a hint of blue. For centuries the main source of rubies was Myanmar (Burma), and today most rubies are either from Burma or Thailand. Rubies have always been especially valued in Asia, where they are seen as bringing good fortune.

Ruby has been used as a girl’s name since at least the 17^th century, but was used as a pet form of Reuben since the Middle Ages. When Ruby was established as a girl’s name, it was sometimes given to boys, perhaps after the surname, which can come from the town of Roubaix in Normandy; its name means “stream on the plain”. Another possibility for the surname is that it is from the town of Roby in Lancashire, meaning “settlement by the boundary marker” in Old Norse. Ruby became popular for girls in the 19^th century, when other gemstone names were fashionable.

Ruby was #21 in the 1900s, and had left the Top 100 by the 1930s. It disappeared from the charts between the 1950s and the 1970s, but came back in the 1980s at #548. One of the 1980s-born Rubys is model and TV host Ruby Rose, born Ruby Rose Lagenheim.

Ruby zoomed up the charts at such a dizzying speed that by 1996 it was already in the Top 100, debuting at #75. By 1998 it was in the Top 50 at #44, and by 2003 it was #20. Ruby made her Top 10 début in 2010, at #2, and last year she was #1. According to this article, Ruby is particularly popular on the Central Coast and in Newcastle.

Currently Ruby is #1 in New South Wales, #3 in Victoria, #3 in Queensland, #2 in South Australia, #3 in Western Australia, #1 in Tasmania, #4 in the Northern Territory and #2 in the Australian Capital Territory. Nationally Ruby is #2.

When a new baby was added to the Rafter family on popular family drama, Packed to the Rafters, she was named Ruby, and one of the babies portraying the character is also named Ruby. In fiction and real life, Ruby is big news.

Last year, Ruby was the name most commonly searched for to reach my blog, and no wonder people love it, because it’s a warm, vibrant name that is womanly yet spunky. However, it’s certainly had some detractors along the road to massive popularity.

It’s been called an old lady name, a hooker name, a trashy name … but the one that irritates me the most is when people refer to Ruby as a “dumb girl” name. I even saw one online pundit prophesy that your daughter would not get a degree if she was named Ruby!

Ruby Scott-Payne is proof that you can be named Ruby, and get as many degrees as you want. A Ruby can be brainy, bright, brilliant, strong, smart, sassy … and she can reach for the stars.

More information on Ruby Payne-Scott can be gained by reading her in-depth biography – Under the Radar: The First Woman in Radio Astronomy, Ruby Payne-Scott by William Miller Goss and Richard X. McGee

POLL RESULT: Ruby received an approval rating of 66%. People saw the name Ruby as cute and spunky (25%), but also thought it was too popular (20%). Nobody thought the name Ruby sounded like a “stripper name”.

(Picture is a detail from a poster featuring Ruby Payne-Scott designed by Amy Blue; by clicking on this link, you can “appreciate” the picture, or “like” it on Facebook etc)

Boys Names from the Top 100 of the 1910s

26 Sunday May 2013

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

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aristocratic surnames, aristocratic titles, Arthurian legends, Biblical names, British names, celebrity baby names, Celtic names, classic names, english names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, French names, Gaulish names, germanic names, hebrew names, Idylls of the King, King Arthur, Latin names, locational names, Lord Tennyson, name history, name meaning, name popularity, names from movies, nicknames, Norman-French names, Old Norse names, papal names, Roman names, royal names, saints names, Scottish names, surname names, unisex names, Welsh names

Arthur

Arthur‘s fame comes from the legendary King Arthur, a British hero of the Dark Ages who became much celebrated in medieval romances. The meaning of the name isn’t known; some popular theories derive it from the British for “bear king” or, less convincingly, the Welsh for “bear man”. Another theory is that it is from the Roman surname Artorius, which would make King Arthur a Romanised Briton; this does fit in with some of the earliest versions of the tales. Unfortunately, it isn’t known what Artorius means, so leaves us no wiser. It’s a name we often think of as Victorian, as the 19th century was so keen on reviving medieval names, and Lord Tennyson’s Idylls of the King made the Arthurian legends popular once more. Queen Victoria’s favourite son was named Arthur, and Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, and detective writer Arthur Conan Doyle were two other famous Victorian namesakes. Arthur was #6 in the 1900s, and peaked in the 1910s at #5. It didn’t leave the Top 100 until the 1960s, and reached its lowest point in the early 2000s at #334. Since then it has been rising gently, and is currently #216. Handsome and noble, this is a classic which isn’t overused and the nickname Artie is a good alternative to popular Archie.

Clarence

Clarence seems to have started out as a girl’s name, presumably an elaboration of Clare or variant of Clarice. In the 19^th century, although given to both sexes, it was much more common as a boy’s name, due to Queen Victoria’s son Leopold, the Earl of Clarence. The title is said to originate from the town of Clare in Suffolk, owned by the first Duke of Clarence, Lionel of Antwerp, in the 14^th century. The town’s name was originally Clara, from Roman times – this was either from the Latin for “clear” because of the Chilton Stream which flows through the town, or a Latinisation of a Celtic word, but scholars seem to currently lean towards the first explanation. Clarence was #30 in the 1900s, #42 in the 1910s , and left the Top 100 in the 1940s. It hasn’t charted since the 1960s. Famous as the angel in It’s a Wonderful Life, this might seem like an “old person name”, but actor Clarence Ryan, who has starred in kid’s TV shows Lockie Leonard and Dead Gorgeous, gives us a chance to see the name on a young man. The classic nickname is Clarry, but Ren would be neat.

Ernest

Ernest is a Germanic name meaning “vigour, strife”, only very distantly related to the English word earnest. It was a name used by German royalty and nobility, and introduced to England in the 18^th century when the Hanoverians inherited the British throne. Famous men named Ernest include New Zealand-born physicist Ernest Rutherford, British explorer Ernest Shackleton, American author Ernest Hemingway and Australian TV host Ernest “Ernie” Sigley. The name also reminds us of Ernest Worthing, from the Oscar Wilde play, The Importance of Being Earnest. Ernest was #16 in the 1900s, #17 in the 1910s, and left the Top 100 in the 1950s. It hasn’t charted since the 1970s. Ernest seems like one of those granddad names that could easily be used again; it’s strong and appealing, almost sounds like a virtue name, and Ernie makes a cute nickname. In a recent poll on the blog, Ernest was voted the male name from the 1900s that people most wanted to be revived.

Horace

Horace is the name by which the Roman poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus is known in English. He was a member of the Horatii, an ancient noble family of Rome. The family name Horatius is said to go back to a legendary hero named Horatus; the meaning of his name is unknown. The poet Horace used to make puns on his own name and its similarity to the Latin hora, meaning “hour”, and from this exhorting to “seize the day” and make the most of time. The elegant and witty poetry of Horace was a great influence on English literature from the Middle Ages onwards, but to modern eyes his love poetry appears brutally unromantic (he seized the day with an awful lot of people). The name Horace was #45 in the 1900s, #57 in the 1910s, and had left the Top 100 by the 1930s. It hasn’t charted since the 1940s. Unfortunately for the name, Horace always seems to be used for comic characters in fiction, often overweight ones, such as barrister Horace Rumpole of the Bailey and Horace Slughorn from Harry Potter. Indeed, the Roman poet himself was short and rotund, giving this name a portly sound. However, it also seems sturdy and reliable – and you could use Ace as a contemporary nickname.

Joseph

Joseph is a form of the Hebrew name Yosef. In the Old Testament, Joseph was the son of Jacob and his favourite wife Rachel. The meaning of the name appears to be “Yahweh shall add (a son)”, but the Bible makes a pun about Joseph also “taking away” his mother’s shame of being barren – a little mathematical joke. Jacob spoiled Joseph terribly, gave him some fancy duds, and his jealous brothers sold him into slavery after he unwisely shared a dream he had about being way better than them. Through a series of adventures where his dream skills were more appreciated, he became the most powerful man in Egypt after the Pharaoh, and was reunited with his family, who he received with love and forgiveness. In the New Testament, Joseph was the husband of Mary, and the earthly father of Jesus; he is regarded as a saint. Joseph was #17 in the 1900s, and #23 in the 1910s. A sturdy classic which has never left the Top 100, the lowest it’s ever been is #68 during the 1940s. Currently it is #52 in New South Wales. Although last year it fell somewhat, Joseph is an extremely safe choice with Joe as the standard and popular nickname.

Laurence

Laurence is the English form of the Roman surname Laurentius, meaning “from Laurentum”. Laurentum was an ancient city near Rome whose name may mean “laurel tree”. The Romans wore laurel wreaths to symbolise victory, so it’s a very positive meaning. (In France, Laurence is the feminine form of Laurentius). Laurence became well known because of Saint Lawrence, a 3^rd century martyr put to death for not handing over the church’s money to the Emperor. According to legend, he was roasted on a gridiron, cheekily saying, “I’m done – turn me over!”. He is one of the most popular saints, and widely venerated. Laurence was #87 in the 1900s and #72 in the 1910s; it peaked in the 1920s at #62, and didn’t leave the Top 100 until the 1960s. Laurence hasn’t charted in New South Wales since 2009, but in Victoria it is #494. This name is sleek and handsome, but presently much more popular in the middle than up front.

Maxwell

Maxwell is a Scottish surname which comes from a place named Maccus Well or Maxwell on the Scottish Borders. The name came about when a Norman lord named Maccus obtained land on the River Tweed, with a salmon pool soon known as Maccus’ Wiel – Maccus’ pool. Maccus is from the Old Norse name Makkr, a form of Magnus, meaning “great”. A grandson of Maccus became chamberlain of Scotland, and through him many branches of the family grew through south-west Scotland. Clan Maxwell was a very powerful Lowland clan who operated as one of the great noble houses of Scotland, holding titles of high esteem. Maxwell has been used as a first name since the 17^th century, and in Scotland was sometimes given to girls. Entertainer Jessica Simpson raised eyebrows when she named her daughter Maxwell last year. Maxwell was #118 in the 1900s and #79 in the 1910s. It peaked at #29 in the 1930s, and left the Top 100 in the 1960s. Maxwell hit its lowest point in the 1970s and ’80s, when it plateaued at #318. After that it climbed, and was just outside the Top 100 when it fell to #139 in 2011. The retro nickname Max makes this a very attractive choice.

Percy

Percy is an aristocratic surname used as a first name. William de Percy was a Norman who arrived in England in 1067; he may have lived in England before the Conquest, but been expelled and returned when it was safe. He was granted large tracts of land, and it is from him that the House of Percy descends. The Percys were the most powerful noble family in the north of England during the Middle Ages, and rivals to the Nevilles. Various Percys did all the usual noble things – signed the Magna Carta, took leading roles in wars and battles, governed Virginia. George Percy, Earl Percy, the current heir to the Dukedom of Northumbria, was Pippa Middleton’s housemate, and is close friends with her. The name Percy comes from the manor of Perci-en-Auge in Normandy; it’s derived from the Roman personal name Persius, of unknown meaning, and may be a Latinisation of a Gaulish name. Percy was #41 in the 1900s, #48 in the 1910s and had left the Top 100 by the 1930s. It hasn’t charted since the 1940s. Because Percy can be used as a nickname for Percival or Perseus, it fits in well with the trend for old-fashioned nicknames like Ned or Ollie.

Ronald

Ronald is a Scottish form of Ragnvaldr or Rognvaldr, an Old Norse name meaning something like “well-advised ruler, decisive ruler”. The Gaelic form of the name is Ragnall, and this was Anglicised as either Ranald or Ronald (the Latinised form is Reginald). The Norse name was introduced to Scotland by settlers from Scandinavia, and there were several powerful Norse rulers of northern England and Scotland named Ragnall. Ronald was #34 in the 1900s, #10 in the 1910s, and peaked in the 1920s at #3. It didn’t leave the Top 100 until the 1970s, and only stopped charting in the late 2000s. There are two likeable fictional sidekicks which remind me of this this name – Ron Weasley, red-headed best mate of wizard Harry Potter, and Ron Stoppable, bestie of crime fighter Kim Possible. Both are played for laughs, yet are brave, loyal, and manage to get the girl. I have seen a few babies in birth notices called Ron or Ronnie, but so far I haven’t seen a full-blown Ronald. I suspect the familiar hamburger clown Ronald McDonald might hamper it – the name Ronald took a definite dive after McDonalds became established in Australia.

Victor

Victor is a Roman name meaning “victor” in Latin, which is easy enough to understand. It was a very popular name amongst early Christians, symbolising victory over sin and death. There are several saints named Victor, and three popes with the name – Saint Pope Victor I was the first African pope. Victor was commonly used as a name amongst Continental European nobility and royalty, and in the 19^th century received a boost in England due to Queen Victoria. There are quite a few Victors in fiction, but the most widely-known often has his first name forgotten – Victor Frankenstein, the young Swiss scientist who brings a nameless creature to life. Writer Mary Shelley based Frankenstein on her husband Percy Shelley, who used Victor as a pen name and had been a keen science student while at university. Victor was #31 in the 1900s and #38 in the 1910s. It left the Top 100 in the 1960s, and reached its lowest point in the charts in 2009, when it dipped to #478. Currently it is #333. This is a strong, honest-sounding classic which seems rather hip.

POLL RESULT: People’s favourite names were Arthur, Joseph, and Maxwell, and their least favourite were Clarence, Ronald, and Horace.

(The photo shows Australian soldiers in the trenches at Bois-Grenier near Armentières on the Western Front, 1916. Image held by the Australian War Memorial)

Famous Name: Chelsea

22 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ 4 Comments

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American names, celebrity baby names, english names, locational names, military events, modern classics, name history, name meaning, name popularity, names from songs, Old English names, popular names, UK name popularity, unisex names, US name popularity

Australian horticultural team, Flemings, have made history by taking out the top prize at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show this year. It is the first time anyone from Australia has ever won Best in Show.

The winning garden is a landscape showing a gorge with giant boulders, ferns, wildflowers, and a billabong fed by a series of waterfalls. Overlooking it is a studio in the shape of a giant waratah flower, and the accompanying soundtrack is a chorus of Australian frogs. The garden promotes sustainability by collecting rainwater run-off and being powered by solar panels.

The judges were unanimous in voting for Flemings’ Trailfinders Australian Garden, designed by Phillip Johnson, and it was praised for its lush greenery, exuberant spirit and environmental message. Flemings will go out on a high, as this is their last year at Chelsea.

2013 is the centenary year of the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show (although the Society have been holding spring flower shows since the 1830s). More than a hundred thousand people visit the Chelsea Flower Show each year, with many chances of celebrity-spotting, and royal-spotting, as the royal family are patrons of the Show.

Chelsea is a district of West London which began as a Saxon village some miles from the town of London. The name of the area is from the Old English for “chalk wharf”, indicating a landing place for boats on the River Thames, and suggesting that it was used for the shipment of chalk.

The Manor of Chelsea is first mentioned in the Domesday Book as being a gift to the Abbot of Westminster during Anglo-Saxon times. King Henry VIII acquired the manor, and two of his wives lived at the manor house, as well as his daughter Elizabeth, destined to be Queen Elizabeth I. By the 17^th century, it was a popular locale for the ultra-wealthy, and called “a village of palaces”, but still rural in nature, serving London as a market garden until the 19^th century.

Chelsea gained a bohemian reputation in the 19^th century, when it was an artist’s colony for painters such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti and poets such as Leigh Hunt. The area around around Cheyne Walk was the heart of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Right into the first decades of the twentieth century, it was a place for radicals, artists, poets and bohemians.

Oscar Wilde began his career living in an artistic boarding house in Chelsea and feminist activist Sylvia Pankhurst had a house on Cheyne Walk. The occult Order of the Golden Dawn had members active in the area, including Pamela Colman Smith, who painted the designs for the Rider-Waite tarot cards.

However, it was the era of Swinging London in the 1960s and 1970s that really put Chelsea in the public consciousness as a cool place to be. This was centred around the King’s Road, where you could find groovy psychedelic fashion boutiques that catered to super-slim model Twiggy and the Rolling Stones.

The Chelsea Drugstore was a hip hangout that combined a pharmacy with a record store and a soda fountain; it features in the lyrics of Rolling Stones hit, You Can’t Always Get What You Want. In the 1970s, Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren ran their boutique SEX, which became a focal point for the punk movement; habitués of the store were formed by McLaren into punk band The Sex Pistols.

The hipness of Chelsea rapidly faded. Today it is inhabited by more investment bankers than avant-garde painters, you’re more likely to shop at The Gap in the King’s Road than a crazy boutique, and The Chelsea Drugstore has been replaced by a McDonalds.

Chelsea is first found as a personal name in the United States during the late 18^th century, and was given equally to boys and girls. There is a city near Boston named Chelsea (named after the place in London), and the Battle of Chelsea Creek was fought here in 1775 during the American Revolution. American forces made one of their first captures of a British ship, which was a great boost to their morale. Perhaps Chelsea was originally given as a name in honour of this battle.

During the 19^th century, Chelsea was much more commonly given to boys and in the first half of the 20^th century, numbers of boys and girls named Chelsea became more even. It was in the 1960s, at the height of (London) Chelsea’s chicness, that the pendulum swung and Chelsea became overwhelmingly feminine.

In 1969, Chelsea made the US charts, debuting at #707. This was the same year that Joni Mitchell released Chelsea Morning – this time inspired by Chelsea in New York City, also named after Chelsea in London.

The song describes Mitchell’s room in Chelsea, with light filtering through a stained glass mobile. As the song has the phrase Wake up pretty baby in it, it probably helped cement Chelsea as feminine, although the name had been heading there anyway. Bill and Hillary Clinton named their daughter Chelsea after Mitchell’s song.

Chelsea first charted in Australia in the 1970s, debuting at #337. By the 1990s it was in the Top 100, where it remains to this day. Chelsea peaked in 2009 at #26, and since then has been gradually declining. Currently it is #34 in New South Wales, #47 in Victoria, #29 in Queensland, #42 in South Australia, #33 in Western Australia, #42 in Tasmania and #48 in the Australian Capital Territory, so it has yet to move out of the Top 50 in any state.

Australians have had an enduring affection for Chelsea unmatched by any other country, for it left the US Top 100 in 1999, and the UK Top 100 in 2005. (In both countries, it quickly fell, and is now around the #200 mark).

I’m not sure why, but for some reason, Chelsea seems to suit Australian conditions. Perhaps the -sea on the end subconsciously reminds us of the beach? There is a Chelsea in Australia too – a seaside suburb of Melbourne which does happen to have a beach.

Like the district of London, the name Chelsea has moved firmly into the mainstream and become a modern classic. It’s a simple, friendly and unpretentious choice which isn’t frilly or fussy.

POLL RESULT: Chelsea received an approval rating of 41%. People saw Chelsea as downmarket (21%), but also pretty or cute (15%). 13% of people could not shake the association with Chelsea Football Club and/or Chelsea buns. Only one person thought Chelsea could still be used as a boys name.

(Picture shows the winning garden at the Chelsea Flower Show; photo from The Daily Mail)

Girls Names from the Top 100 of the 1910s

19 Sunday May 2013

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

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Amy

Amy is the English form of the Old French name Amée, meaning “beloved”; it’s a form of the Latin name Amata. It was in use in the Middle Ages, and revived in the 19^th century. Amy was #32 in the 1900s, and by the following decade had sunk to #58, leaving the Top 100 in the 1920s. Amy disappeared from the charts between 1940 and 1960, but soared in popularity to make the Top 100 in the 1970s, and peaked in the 1980s at #8; by the 1990s it had only dropped one place. Amy had a very gentle decline, and left the Top 100 in 2011, but last year rallied and made #89, showing that there is life in this name yet. No wonder Amy has remained such a favourite – it’s a simple, unpretentious name with a nice meaning, and possesses appealing fictional namesakes from Little Women‘s Amy March to Doctor Who‘s Amelia “Amy” Pond.

Enid

Enid is a Welsh name meaning “soul”. In medieval Welsh legend, Enid is the wife of Geraint, a warrior king who is one of King Arthur’s men. Due to a silly misunderstanding, Geraint believes Enid has been unfaithful, and drags her off on a dangerous journey where she is not allowed to speak to him. Sensible Enid ignores this request, as she often has to warn him of approaching danger. Somehow this road trip from hell doesn’t put Enid off her husband, and in the end the two lovebirds are reconciled. Lord Tennyson turned the legend into two poems for his Idylls of the King, which brought the name to the attention of literature-loving Victorians. Enid was #64 in the 1900s, #49 for the 1910s, and peaked in the 1920s at #40. It left the Top 100 in the 1940s, and hasn’t charted since the 1950s. The most famous Australian Enid is Dame Enid Lyons, the first woman elected to the House of Representatives. Strong yet sweet, and sounding like an anagram of Eden, this is a clunky old-style name which deserves revival.

Gertrude

Gertrude is a Germanic name meaning “spear of strength”. It was used amongst medieval German nobility and royalty, and Saint Gertrude was one of the great mystics of the 13^th century. The name probably didn’t become well known in Britain until the 15^th century, due to immigration from the Netherlands. Shakespeare used it for the Danish queen in Hamlet, giving it a stamp of approval as an English name. The name seems to have been more common in Australia amongst Catholics, due to its saintly namesake. Gertrude was #54 in the 1900s, #87 in the 1910s, and had left the Top 100 by the 1920s. It hasn’t charted since the 1930s – a very steep decline. However, I feel that this dignified name could have a slight revival, and would make a very hip and cutting-edge choice. The nicknames Gertie and Trudy seem cute and usable.

Helen

Helen is a name of Greek derivation whose meaning has been much debated. Often translated as “light”, “torch” or “the shining one”, the name may be related to a Sanskrit name meaning “swift”. The name is forever connected to its original namesake, Helen of Troy, a woman of staggering beauty. In Greek mythology, Helen was the daughter of Zeus, who came to her mother Leda in the guise of a swan, so that Helen was born from an egg. Married to King Menelaus of Sparta, she was carried off by Prince Paris of Troy, sparking the Trojan War to avenge her abduction, causing no end of trouble for all involved. Famous Helens include singer Helen Reddy, novelist Helen Garner, and opera star Dame Helen “Nellie” Melba. Helen has never left the charts; #77 in the 1900s, it was #71 in the 1910s and peaked in the 1940s at #4. A long-time favourite, it didn’t leave the Top 100 until the 1980s. It reached its lowest point in 2009 at #554, and since then has taken a slight upward turn, making #355 in 2011. With names such as Eleanor and Elena gaining rapidly in popularity, and retro nicknames Nell and Nellie becoming fashionable, classic Helen looks like it has plenty of room for growth.

Joan

Joan is the English form of the Old French name Johanne, a feminine form of Johannes, which is the Latin form of the Greek name Ioannes, from the Hebrew name Yehochanan, meaning “Yahweh is gracious”. The English form of Johannes is John, and Joan is also a Spanish form of John. Joan was introduced to Britain by the Normans, and it was used amongst royalty and the nobility during the Middle Ages. Later it became less common, and had a revival in the 19^th century. It is well known from Saint Joan of Arc, the visionary military leader, whose French name is Jeanne d’Arc. Famous Joans include Joan Lindsay, who wrote Picnic at Hanging Rock and opera star Dame Joan Sutherland. Joan was #152 for the 1900s, shot up to make #28 for the 1910s, and peaked in the 1920s at #2. It didn’t leave the Top 100 until the 1960s, and hasn’t been on the charts since the 1970s. For many years, Joan’s image was stout and sensible, but since Mad Men came to our TV screens, Joan Holloway has given it a stylish and sassy edge.

Mavis

Mavis is an English dialect word meaning “song thrush”; it is related to the French word mauvis and appears in literature as a poetic word for the bird. The word was in rare use as a girl’s name, but massively popularised by its use in Marie Corelli’s 1895 novel, The Sorrows of Satan. Although panned by the critics, it is considered the world’s first best-seller. Mavis was #85 in the 1900s, #16 by the 1910s, and peaked in the 1920s at #14. It left the Top 100 in the 1940s, and hasn’t charted since the 1950s. Mavis seems to have been a real Australian favourite, because it was more popular here than in Britain, and much more popular than in the US. In the 1960s, pioneering TV series, The Mavis Bramston Show, set the tone for Australian sketch comedy (a “Mavis Bramston” was theatre slang for an actress who was a pain in the backside). Australian band The Mavis’s were named after a cat. Mavis was a fresh, pretty name in the 1910s, and I think it can be again. It sounds very much like Maeve, and its associations with spring time and bird song are lovely.

Minnie

Minnie can be used as a short form of many different names – Mary, Amelia, Wilhelmina, Minerva, Hermione, or anything similar – and has long been used as an independent name. Famous fictional Minnies include Disney sweetheart Minnie Mouse, the Beano‘s tomboyish Minnie the Minx, and Cab Calloway’s jazzy Minnie the Moocher. These lively vintage creations make Minnie seem appealing, mischievous and off-beat; you can’t imagine a Minnie being tame or dull. Minnie was #56 in the 1900s, and by the 1910s was #100; it hasn’t ranked since the 1940s. With other vintage nicknames like Millie in vogue, piquant Minnie seems more than ready for a comeback.

Olga

Olga is the Russian form of the Scandinavian name Helga, meaning “holy, blessed”. Saint Olga was a 10^th century Russian saint and princess, and the first Russian ruler to convert to Christianity. She didn’t convert until she was quite elderly, and before that she was a fierce ruler and brutal military leader. The name Olga was used by the Russian imperial family, and Mount Olga in the Northern Territory is named after Queen Olga of Württemberg, a daughter of Nicholas I of Russia. Olga was #88 in the 1900s, and peaked in the 1910s at #60. It left the Top 100 in the 1930s, and last charted in the 1980s. I am not sure why Olga became such a trend in this decade; I can only think it had something to do with the Russian Imperial Family, who would have often been in the news during World War I, and who were overthrown in 1917. Today we might connect the name to actress Olga Kurylenko, who played Bond girl Camille in Quantum of Solace and recently appeared in Oblivion. On Nancy’s Baby Names, people debated whether Olga was a “horrid” name; although some find it ugly, others could find it clunky and hip. This would be a bold choice which still seems exotic.

Stella

Stella is the Latin for “star”, and it was created as a name by 16^th century poet Sir Philip Sydney in his sonnet sequence Astrophel and Stella. It is believed that Stella was inspired by real-life noblewoman Lady Penelope Rich, so endowed with dark-eyed, golden-haired beauty that it was practically mandatory for the poets of the day to fall in love with her (or pretend to), and dash off poems in her honour. Apparently unmoved by their literary efforts, she instead chose as her lover a handsome, wealthy and ruthless baron. Perhaps Sydney saw Lady Rich like a distant star – beautiful, glittering, cold, and unattainable. Stella wouldn’t have seemed too crazy as a name, because the Old French name Estelle is based on the Latin stella, and had been in use since the Middle Ages, and the Virgin Mary had for centuries been known as Stella Maris (“Star of the Sea”). Stella is a classic name in Australia. It was #48 in the 1900s, and #70 in the 1910s; by the 1920s it had left the Top 100. It reached its lowest point in the 1980s at #563, and since then has mostly climbed, reaching the Top 100 in the late 2000s. It is currently #52 in New South Wales, and still rising. You can understand why parents continue to use this pretty, star-like name, which fits in with the trend for -ella names.

Veronica

Veronica is a Latin form of the Greek name Berenice, which means “bringing victory”; the spelling was altered to make it seem as if it was based on the Latin phrase vera icon, meaning “true icon”. Saint Veronica is a legendary saint who is said to have been so moved to pity when she saw Jesus on his way to Calvary that she wiped his face with her veil. By a miracle, the image of his face was impressed upon it, and this cloth could then be used to heal the sick, or even bring the dead back to life. This legend, which comes from the Eastern church, was very popular in the Middle Ages, and several of these veils were venerated as holy relics until their cult was suppressed. Veronica was first used as a girl’s name in Italy, and spread from there. In Australia, Veronica was #63 for the 1900s and #69 for the 1910s; it didn’t leave the Top 100 until the 1950s. It has never stopped charting, and is currently at its lowest point yet – #356. Veronica has something of a glamorous image. Hollywood femme fatale Veronica Lake lent her name to Veronica Lodge from the Archie comics, with the comics themselves suggesting that “a Veronica” was a stunning high-maintenance girl. This was picked up by 1980s mean girls cult flick Heathers, with Winona Ryder as Veronica, and Australian girl band The Veronicas called themselves after Ryder’s character. This is an underused classic which seems sophisticated, with dark undertones.

POLL RESULT: People’s favourite names were Stella, Helen, and Minnie, and their least favourite were Gertrude, Joan, and Olga.

(Photo is of Australian World War I nurses; standing at the back on the right is Sister Constance Keys, who was mentioned in the post on Gallipoli. These nurses received military decorations for their heroism, and all made it back to Australia at the end of the war)

Famous Name: Rebel

01 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birth notices, celebrity sibsets, english names, famous namesakes, historical records, Hollywood names, middle names, name history, name meaning, Old French words, popular culture, royal names, unisex names, vocabulary names

Rebel Wilson seems to be in the papers ever time I open it. Just in the past few weeks, she’s hosted the MTV Awards (and won a couple of them too), attended an official function at the White House, a Vanity Fair party, and a Hollywood première, been chosen to appear in Kung Fu Panda 3, had a glamorous makeover, is tipped to have a sex scene in upcoming Pain & Gain, performed on Late Night, and been interviewed on The View and BET.

Browsing through the headlines, I read that she is funny and wonderful, wows on the red carpet, has captivated audiences everywhere, loves being a gay icon, is now a certified international star, a great dancer and the toast of Hollywood, and it’s a proven scientific fact that she is the greatest living thing on the planet and reviewers wish she could star in every film. I am also reliably informed by some pundit that if you don’t love Rebel Wilson, you’re stupid.

It seems that Rebel has “arrived” in Hollywood, and in the uncertain world of acting, comedy and entertainment, she has gained enough success to be counted as a famous person.

It’s all a long way from her beginnings on Australian television, playing the controlling wife Toula on the SBS comedy Pizza. I could appear very clever by claiming that I always knew that Rebel would make it in Hollywood, but I can’t, because I didn’t. It never crossed my mind, even as I noted that she was a scene-stealer on the show, and by far the funniest thing about the TV special Pizza World.

To be fair, I don’t think anyone else from her early days predicted it either. A maths whiz who went on to study law, she spent a year in South Africa as a Rotary Youth Ambassador. She claims that while suffering hallucinations during a bout of malaria, she saw herself winning an Oscar. After that, she pursued acting, and when she got laughs during a serious performance, realised she had a gift for comedy.

So far, there’s been no Oscar, but she has received an acting scholarship funded by Nicole Kidman, got her big break in Bridesmaids after she wrote and starred in her own TV show, Bogan Pride, and won the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance in Pitch Perfect – past alumni of this award include George Clooney, Jennifer Garner, Isla Fisher and Zac Efron.

Rebel’s parents named her after a girl who sang at their wedding, and Ms Wilson’s siblings are named Ryot, Liberty and Annachi (her brother Ryot and sister Liberty have been contestants on The Amazing Race).

Professional dog showers with a surprisingly conservative streak, the Wilsons gave all their children middle names from English royalty – Rebel’s is after the present queen, and at school she was known as Elizabeth. I recently saw a birth notice for a little Rebel Elizabeth, so maybe this is a name combination which works well.

A rebel is someone who resists or defies authority, often with connotations of doing so violently. The word comes from Old French, and is ultimately from the Latin for “I fight back”.

The name Rebel became much more common in the American southern states after the American Civil War. The soldiers in the Confederate army were known as the Rebels, and personified as Johnny Rebel or Johnny Reb. It could thus be seen as a patriotic name for some Americans, and was given to both sexes, but mostly boys.

In Australia, it appears rarely in the records, mostly in the middle, and is much more common as a girl’s name. There is a female Australian film producer named Rebel Russell-Penfold, and mum Rebel Wylie writes for Kidspot.

Tough baby names like Bandit, Rocket, Blade and Maverick are fashionable, and the classic teen movie Rebel Without a Cause, western TV show The Rebel, and pop song He’s a Rebel give this name a certain retro rockabilly vibe (rebels were clearly a real fad of the 1950s and early ’60s).

Although unisex, it tends to read female in Australia, and the current success of Rebel Wilson only strengthens that. I think it can still work as a boy’s name though – it certainly doesn’t have an ultra-feminine meaning, and The Rebels is a popular name for sports teams, and also a biker club.

If you fancy the idea of having your own little Rebel, it’s a name which is on trend, and a little different without being too strange. The recent success of Rebel Wilson means that most people have heard of it, although some parents may fear that the larger-than-life comedienne could overshadow the name.

POLL RESULT: Rebel received an approval rating of 32%. People saw the name Rebel as unprofessional (19%), ridiculous (17%), and over the top (16%). However, 13% thought it was different and cool. 12% thought Rebel Wilson made the name seem more usable, while 3% were put off the name by the actress.

	waltzingmorethanmati… on Zarah Zaynab and Wolfgang…
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	waltzingmorethanmati… on Rua and Rhoa
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Waltzing More Than Matilda

~ Names with an Australian Bias of Democratic Temper

Tag Archives: english names

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Boys Names of Australian Aboriginal Origin – Part 2

Names Spotted at Home and Abroad (Autum Edition)

Diminutive Names for Girls

Waltzing with … Fletcher

Famous Name: Ruby

Boys Names from the Top 100 of the 1910s

Famous Name: Chelsea

Girls Names from the Top 100 of the 1910s

Famous Name: Rebel