The 2014 Matilda Awards

18 Sunday Jan 2015

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aristocratic names, Biblical names, celebrity baby names, classic names, english names, famous namesakes, flower names, gemstone names, Greek names, hebrew names, historical records, middle names, name combinations, nature names, Old French names, patriotic names, plant names, popular names, rare names, retro names, royal names, Scottish names, sibsets, surname names, twin sets, underused classics, virtue names

Welcome to the second annual Matilda Awards, a quest to discover which names featured on the blog in 2014 gained the greatest approval from the public.

Waltzing With … Category

The most popular names featured in the Waltzing With … category were CONSTANCE for girls, which scored an approval rating of 85% and FORREST for boys, which was rated 78%.

Constance is an Old French name dating to medieval times, traditional amongst aristocracy and royalty, but also valued as a virtue name. It hasn’t charted since the 1990s, and hasn’t been popular since the 1920s. The name Constance was chosen to honour courageous World War I nurse, Sister Constance Keys.

Forrest is an English surname with strong Scottish associations, in use as a first name since at least the 16th century, and possibly even earlier. It has never charted, but is found fairly often in Australian historical records. The name Forrest was chosen for the wealthy Forrest family, prominent in conservative politics.

Once again, the key to winning this category, which has a very simple voting system, is for people to have a high level of tolerance for the name. Both Constance and Forrest were names which hardly anybody had animosity towards, and most people thought were perfectly fine.

Famous Name Category

The most popular names featured in the Famous Name Category were HOPE and OPAL for girls, which both scored an approval rating of 86% and SAMUEL for boys, which scored 88% and was the top-rated name overall for the year.

Hope is a virtue name which is an underused classic; almost constantly on the charts, it has never become popular. Hope was praised as a simple and elegant classic which was both pretty and wholesome, and had a very positive meaning. The name was chosen to commemorate the centenary of the start of World War I.

Opal is a gemstone name with a patriotic meaning – the opal is Australia’s national gem, and the black opal is the state gem for New South Wales. A name most used during the Victoria era, it has never charted, but is often found in Australian records, especially in opal mining regions. Opal gained approval as an unusual and refreshing choice which was both pretty and simple, and hip and quirky. The name was chosen for the roll-out of the Opal public transport card in Sydney.

It’s interesting that Hope and Opal tied for first place, as they are quite similar – both short, simple English names with a strong OPE sound to them.

Samuel is a Hebrew name from the Bible; in the Old Testament, Samuel was a prophet and judge of Israel who brought peace to the land. Samuel is a classic name which has never been out of the Top 200, and is very popular, with a stable position for twenty years. Samuel was seen as a handsome classic which was both strong and gentle; a “nice guy” name which aged well and suited a variety of people. The name was chosen for the actor Samuel Johnson, who broke the world unicycling record to raise funds for breast cancer research; coincidentally, Samuel did this feat for his sister, who is named Constance, another favourite name.

Name Themes and Lists Category

The most popular names which were featured in the Names Themes and Lists Category were VIOLET and THEODORE. Violet won very convincingly, and also managed to win its original poll, while Theodore had a comfortable win.

Violet is a retro flower name first used in Scotland. Popular in the 1900s, it left the charts from the 1960s to the 2000s, but is now back with a bang, and zooming up the Top 100. The name was chosen for a spring-time list of native Australian flowers.

Theodore is a Greek name common in ancient times, which gained popularity amongst early Christians. An underused classic, Theodore has been rising steeply for decades, and seems likely to join the Top 100 soon. Theodore was chosen from the Australian children’s book Antonio S and the Mystery of Theodore Guzman by Odo Hirsch, part of a list for Book Week.

Celebrity Baby Names

The most popular celebrity baby girl name was CLEMENTINE FRANCES LOGAN, which proved a clear favourite right from the start. Clementine is the daughter of Peter and Hannah Logan, and this is proof you do not need to be an A-lister to have a great baby name, because the Logans are local celebrities from the Mudgee area, who run a successful wine company. Tess Clementine was the favourite baby name in 2013, and it looks as if blog-readers are Clementine-crazy.

The most popular celebrity baby boy name was EVANDER MAXWELL GLEAVE, who managed to win by a single vote in an extremely tight contest, as many boys’ names were nominated this year. Evander is the son of Australian model and Miss Australia winner Erin McNaught, and British rapper Example (Elliot Gleave).

Clementine and Evander both have elegance and substance, with classical roots, and a European vibe, being fairly popular in France, while uncommon here. The middle names are solid classics which aren’t popular as first names. Celebrities, take note!

There was no favourite amongst the celebrity twins, as none of them received enough approval to be eligible. Yes, this is a tough audience.

Names from the Birth Announcements

The most popular names for multiples were boy/girl twins FLORENCE AND HENRY, who proved solid performers. This handsome twin set from March was nominated by Madelyn.

In the girls section, ARABELLA HERMIONE ROSE scraped through by one vote. Elegant and a little off-beat, this pretty girl’s name from April was nominated by Sophia.

Amongst the boys, HUGO FREDERICK had a very comfortable win. This stylish boy’s name from early November was nominated by Nana Patricia.

The sibsets were dominated by LILY, WINTER, BEAU AND VIOLET, who absolutely destroyed all opposition. Note that Violet had a second victory. These four siblings, whose names have a simple, natural feel, were nominated in late November by both Nicole and Names For Real (Sarah from For Real Baby Names).

Some themes were clear this year: Scottish names did very well, as Forrest, Violet, Clementine Logan and Arabella all have links with Scotland. It did not win independence, but the land of loch and legend clearly won our hearts. Nature names and virtue names were also clear favourites – a positive meaning seems to be a real help.

Famous Name: Jasper

07 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ 5 Comments

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American slang terms, Banjo Paterson, Chaldean names, Christmas names, english names, English slang terms, European name popularity, gemstone names, locational names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, New Zealand, Pashto names, popular names, royal names, saints names, unisex names, William Shakespeare

Name Story
Yesterday was Epiphany, which commemorates the Adoration of the Magi in western Christianity. According to The Gospel of Matthew, the magi were learned men from the East who followed a mysterious star to kneel before the baby Jesus, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Although the Bible does not specify a number, it is usually assumed there were three, because there were three gifts. The Magi were Zoroastrian priests from Persia, and the word magi has been traditionally translated as “wise men”, although modern translations of the Bible use the word “astrologers”, as Zoroastrians studied the stars.

Christian legend sometimes calls them the “three kings”, due to a Psalm which says May all kings fall before him. In some countries, January 6 is known as the Feast of Kings, and it is most famous from the Epiphany carol, We Three Kings of Orient Are.

The date of January 6 is purely symbolic – the Magi are supposed to have arrived some time in the two years after the birth of Jesus, and although they are often included in Nativity scenes, the Bible says they visited Mary at her house, not in the stable. Tradition says that after the Magi returned home, they became Christians and were martyred: they are thus regarded as saints.

The Bible being so short on details, legend has filled in the blanks with imaginative flair. The Magi are given names, usually said to be Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. Gaspar is identified as a middle-aged brown-skinned Indian who brings the frankincense; Melchior as an elderly white-skinned Persian who carries the gold; and Balthasar as a young black-skinned Arabian who bears the gift of myrrh.

Perhaps you think it is far-fetched that a group of men would cross the desert (a difficult journey of many months) in order to worship a foreigner of a religion that isn’t even theirs. However, history records that it did happen, at least once.

King Tiridates of Armenia, a Zoroastrian priest of Armenian, Greek, and Persian ancestry, travelled to Rome in 66 AD on a visit to the Emperor Nero with a huge retinue of followers, including his magi. As his tribute king, Tiridates knelt before Nero, proclaiming that he worshipped him as a god (this was mere diplomacy; Tiribates was apparently disgusted by Nero). Unlike the Bible story, it was Nero who gave gifts to Tiridates, and paid for all his travel expenses.

It has been suggested that this state visit may have provided the inspiration for the Adoration of the Magi in the Gospel of Matthew. However, it’s also evidence that the journey of the Magi as described in the Bible has some degree of plausibility.

Epiphany is the traditional date for the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas, and in the past, its eve was celebrated as Twelfth Night, with much feasting and tomfoolery. William Shakespeare wrote his comedy Twelfth Night as an entertainment for the end of the Christmas season: its theme of cross-dressing is appropriate, for it was the rule that everything had to be topsy-turvy. If you went to a Christmas pantomime, you’ll know this tradition continues.

Most people say your Christmas decorations have to come down by Epiphany, and many people will go back to work by this date. I’m not back at work yet – but I am back at blogging! Hope you had a great Christmas and New Year.

Name Meaning, History and Popularity
Jasper is the English form of Gaspar, derived from the ancient Chaldean word gizbar, meaning “treasurer”; the modern Hebrew word for treasurer is still gizbar. These days the word treasurer doesn’t sound too glamorous (if you’ve ever been treasurer of your local tennis club or something, you’ll know it’s essentially a boring, thankless job), so the name is sometimes translated as “master of the treasure house”.

The traditional names for the three Magi date back to at least the 6th century, and Gaspar is the only one whose name may be inspired by a real person. The apocryphal Acts of Thomas mentions a Zoroastrian king named Gudnaphar, and Gondophares was a traditional name and title in the House of Suren – they were kings of Iranian background who ruled in the area around northern India.

According to tradition, Saint Thomas the Apostle travelled to India as a missionary. Gondophares was identified in medieval texts as the Indian king who brought incense to the baby Jesus as one of the Magi, and was converted to Christianity by Saint Thomas. Gondophares is the Greek form of the Pashto name Gandapur, meaning “may he find glory”.

Jasper is also the word for a gemstone which is usually red, yellow, brown or green in colour. The word comes from the Old French for “spotted stone, speckled stone”, and may be Semitic in origin. It was a favourite gemstone in ancient times, especially the green variety, although the ancients probably called many different minerals “jasper”; it is mentioned in the Bible. Because of the gemstone, Jasper has occasionally been used as a name for girls.

Jasper has been used as an English name since the Middle Ages, in honour of the saint, although it was never highly popular. It has also been used as a slang term – in England, it is an old country term for a wasp (because it sounds a bit similar), and in America, it has been used as slang for a simpleton or hick (perhaps because it sounded a backwoodsy sort of name there).

There is a Lake Jasper in south-west Western Australia; it has very clear fresh water and is popular for picnics. It’s named in honour of Jasper Bussell, who died in infacy, and was the brother of the famous Grace Bussell, who we met earlier. Its use by the wealthy and prominent Bussells suggests a rather upper class image in the 19th century.

There is also a small village in the mountains of New South Wales named Wee Jasper, where Banjo Paterson once had a country home. Folklore relates the village got its name due a Scottish settler who came home with a “wee jasper” in his pocket, the gemstone found in some stream amongst the hills.

Jasper has ranked in Australia since the 1990s, when it debuted at #237. It joined the Top 100 in 2009, at #98, and since then has remained around the bottom of the Top 100. Currently it is #82 nationally, #87 in New South Wales, #77 in Victoria, #87 in Queensland, #22 in Tasmania, and #80 in the Australian Capital Territory.

In the English-speaking world, Jasper is most popular in Australia, as it is not yet Top 100 in the US or UK, although rising, and has just joined the New Zealand Top 100 at #85. It isn’t popular in many other countries, but ranks highest in Belgium, at #55.

Jasper is a handsome and sophisticated choice related to gifts, gems, and treasure that will please many parents for not being overused. It isn’t highly popular anywhere in the world, and in Australia has never been higher than the bottom quarter of the Top 100; nor does it show signs of rising alarmingly. The name has its detractors, due to some image problems from popular culture, but no doubt that’s one of the factors keeping use down. I think it helps make Jasper seem a bit quirkier.

And the name commemorates one of the most beautiful Christmas stories – who could resist the magic of a star guiding your way?

POLL RESULTS
Jasper received an excellent approval rating of 89%, making it the most highly-rated boy’s name in the Famous Name category for 2015. People saw the name Jasper as hip and quirky (29%), handsome or cute (22%), and cool and sophisticated (19%). However, 3% thought the name seemed creepy and evil. Only one person thought Jasper was too old-fashioned, and just one thought it was too posh.

(Picture shows The Adoration of the Magi, an 1890 tapestry by Edward Burne-Jones)

Famous Name: Ava

17 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

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celebrity baby names, english names, famous namesakes, germanic names, modern classics, name history, name meaning, name popularity, name trends, Persian names, royal names, saints names, US name popularity

Today is the 55th anniversary of the release of Stanley Kramer’s On the Beach, starring Ava Gardner and Gregory Peck. Based on the novel by Nevil Shute, the film depicts the aftermath of a nuclear war, set in the near-future of the 1960s. With most of the world’s population dead, the film centres on a small group of people in Melbourne waiting for the lethal fallout to reach them.

Most of On the Beach was filmed on location, and a piece of local folklore is that Ava Gardner described Melbourne as “the perfect place to make a film about the end of the world”. Melbourne was a quiet little place in the 1950s, the first day of filming was abominably hot, and the media was horrible to Ava Gardner, so you could forgive her for being a bit grumpy. However, the quote was actually invented by a Sydney journalist with his tongue in cheek – whatever Ms Gardner’s thoughts about Melbourne, she was too professional to broadcast them publicly.

On the Beach made a financial loss, but was praised by critics, and has become a (slightly neglected) classic. The film created a ruckus in Melbourne, which went so crazy over seeing big Hollywood stars in their little city that they positively frightened most of the cast. Even the Australians cast as extras were mobbed as if they were A-listers. The film’s grim message was considered so traumatic that the Salvation Army, who play a small but significant role in the film, were on hand to provide counselling to people in cinemas.

Another of the film’s achievements was to bring attention to Waltzing Matilda, which is used to great effect during the closing scenes of On the Beach. It also opens the film, used to immediately signify an Australian setting. Waltzing Matilda became more popular after the film – not just in Australia, but overseas as well.

I read On the Beach as a young teenager, and found the story utterly compelling because for once the scenes of horror are set in Australia. The book has sometimes been criticised for showing the end of the world happening so quietly, and the characters going about their daily lives as calmly as possible. But I thought it made the story far more chilling, and far more real; many years later, the story is still vivid in my memory.

Ava was a medieval girl’s name, pronounced AH-vuh. It seems to have been a feminine form of the Germanic name Avo, originally a short form of names starting with Avi-. The meaning of it is much debated, but with no agreement reached. One theory is that it meant “desired”, to indicate a long wished-for child, but other ideas are that it came from aval, meaning “strength, power”, or from alfi, meaning “elf”.

In Norman English, the name produced Aveline, which evolved into Evelina, and is the basis for the surname Evelyn, also used as a first name. Another variant was Avis or Avice, which although it looks like the Latin for “bird”, is an elaboration of Ava. Av- names were quite fashionable in medieval times, thanks to Ava.

Two famous medieval Avas are Saint Ava, a Frankish princess who became a nun after being miraculously cured of blindness, and Ava of Melk, an anchorite and religious poet who was the first known female writer in the German language.

While Ava is still said AH-vuh in Germany and most European countries, in modern English it is usually pronounced AY-vuh. Some people see AY-vuh as a modern continuation of the medieval AH-vuh, while others see it as a completely separate modern English name, perhaps a variant of Eva.

While Ava may well have been understood as a form of Eva by some English-speakers, in continental Europe Ava was often understood as related to the Latin word Ave (said AH-veh), meaning “hail, greeting”, as in Ave Maria, or to similar words and names in modern languages. If we discount the English Ava (AY-vuh) on those grounds, then the European Ava (AH-vuh) must also be brought into question.

I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Ava has historically been more common in the United States than other English-speaking countries, because America has had significant immigration from Germany and Scandinavia. You could see the English pronunciation of Ava as the American pronunciation of the name. You’ve probably noticed that Americans tend to pronounce AY sounds rather than AH ones – for example, they often say the name Dana as DAY-nuh instead of DAH-nuh.

Just to add another layer, Ava is also a common Persian name for girls, meaning “voice, sound, call”, and said AH-vuh, making this a very multicultural name.

The name Ava was popularised in the United States in the 19th century by the Philadelphia socialite Ava Lowle Willing, who married John Astor IV (called Jack), from the prominent Astor family. They named their daughter Ava Alice Muriel Astor (born 1902), making this an early celebrity baby name. The Astors divorced, and not long after, Jack Astor was drowned during the Titanic disaster, making him the richest person to sail on the Titanic, and probably the richest person in the world at the time.

Ava Alice Muriel Astor married Prince Serge Obolensky (an admirer of Australian beauty Sheila Chisholm, and her husband’s cousin), and their wedding was the social event of the London season. Ava Astor went on to divorce and marry several more times in both England and the United States; pretty, supremely wealthy, and a patron of the arts, her name was well known on both sides of the Atlantic.

The actress Ava Gardner was born at the end of 1922, not long after Ava Astor had been photographed visiting Tutankhamen’s tomb in Egypt with her fiancé, Prince Obolensky. Unlike many other film stars, Ava Gardner never had to change her name to something more screen-worthy: it was already perfect – glamorous, fashionable, upper-class sounding, and not too common.

Ava Gardner’s film career did not make Ava a popular name in her lifetime. Continuously on the US Top 1000 since the late 19th century, and #751 in 1941 when Gardner first began getting parts in films, it peaked at #376 during the 1950s, at the height of Gardner’s success.

Ava left the US Top 1000 during the 1970s, when Gardner’s career had waned, but returned in the 1980s, after Ava Gardner suffered two strokes and became bedridden. Her serious health problems were widely publicised, putting her name back in the news, and no doubt there was genuine shock and sympathy for the Hollywood star’s condition.

The name Ava began rising after Ava Gardner’s death in 1990, and its popularity was further hastened by celebrities choosing it as a baby name, including Aidan Quinn, Heather Locklear, and Reese Witherspoon – in the last case at least, as a conscious tribute to the late Ava Gardner.

In Australia, the name Ava first ranked in the 1990s at #465, and rose so rapidly that it was in the Top 100 by 2003, debuting at #70. Bad luck to all those parents who called their baby girl Ava in the 1990s because they saw it an an underused name! Or maybe good luck that they jumped on the trend nice and early.

In 2005, Ava made a massive leap forward to #22, as this was the same year Hugh Jackman and his wife Deborra-Lee Furness welcomed their daughter Ava. In 2011 the name Ava joined the Top 10 at #9, the year after Lleyton Hewitt and Bec Cartright welcomed their youngest daughter and named her Ava.

Currently Ava is #3 nationally, #8 in New South Wales, #2 in Victoria, #8 in Queensland, #3 in Western Australia, #17 in Tasmania, #17 in the Northern Territory, and #2 in the Australian Capital Territory. It was one of the fastest-rising names at Baby Center Australia last year.

Ava is highly popular throughout the English-speaking world, being a Top 10 name in the United States, Canada, England/Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and New Zealand. However, it is slightly more popular in Australia than anywhere else, and has so far peaked higher here than in any other country.

Yes, Ava is very popular – so much so that some parents may be wary of choosing it. But it is also boosting the fortunes of other names, such as sound-alikes Ada, Avery, Aria, Arya and Ayla, and has risen in tandem with Eva, Evie, Evelyn and Ivy.

This modern classic has been very influential on contemporary girls’ name trends. Maybe you won’t use Ava because it is too popular, but you might use one of her style-sisters, like Isla or Maeve. Or perhaps something unusual like Alba, Avalon, Avril or Aveley now seems like a good choice, or an older name like Ida or Maida no longer seems fusty, but pretty and fresh.

The power of Ava is such that we will be hearing her echoes for many, many years to come.

POLL RESULTS
Ava received a respectable approval rating of 64%. 25% of people saw it as simple and elegant, but 19% thought it was too popular. Nobody thought the name Ava was ugly or tacky.

Waltzing With … Paddington

14 Sunday Dec 2014

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

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Anglo-Saxon names, animal names, english names, fictional namesakes, historical records, locational names, middle names, name history, name meaning, names from movies, names of bears, names of railway stations, nicknames, Old English names, surname names

Family movies as a Christmas season treat is a tradition I really look forward to, and already we have been to see two films based on children’s books with Australian stars: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, with Ed Oxenbould as the hero Alexander, and Paddington, with Nicole Kidman as the villain Millicent.

Paddington is surely Britain’s favourite illegal immigrant – a polite stowaway bear from darkest Peru with a penchant for marmalade sandwiches, who is found by the Brown family at a railway station, with a note reading: Please look after this bear. The Browns take the bear home to 32 Windsor Gardens and name him Paddington, after the railway station where they found him (his Peruvian name of Pastuso is apparently too difficult for English-speakers to pronounce).

Michael Bond was inspired to write the Paddington stories by a lonely-looking teddy bear he bought as a present for his wife, and named after the railway station close to their home. The first book was written in the 1950s, and Michael Bond was influenced by his memories of evacuated children during the war, often left at railway stations with a label around their necks to identify them. Surely he was also influenced by increased post-war immigration to London – Paddington’s best friend is a Hungarian shopkeeper.

Without giving away too many spoilers, the movie has all the warm-hearted charm and humour of the books, including lots of jokes for the adults watching. However, it has a touch more darkness and a lot more adventure (much needed, as the books’ big adventures tend to revolve around going to the shops or the cinema). Somehow the movie manages to have some of the books’ sadness, because despite the comedic chaos, there was always a poignancy to Paddington’s situation.

Paddington is a district of central London which began as a Saxon village on the city’s outskirts. Even in the early 19th century, Paddington was surrounded by open fields and meadows.

For many years, the area had a dark connection, because it was in this neighbourhood that the notorious Tyburn Tree, or gallows, was set up. This was the main place for public executions from medieval times to the late 18th century, a spectacle which attracted thousands. A “Paddington Fair Day” meant an execution day, while “to dance the Paddington Frisk” meant to be hanged.

Paddington’s development began in the 19th century, with the canal and the railway station. Paddington Station was designed by the famous engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and today there is a statue of Paddington Bear on platform 1. You can also buy a Paddington Bear stuffed toy from Paddington station, with a label asking you to please take care of this bear. These toys were first created by Jeremy Clarkson’s mother, making enough money to send Jeremy to a private school, and also providing him with his first job as Paddington Bear salesman.

The Victorian era was Paddington’s heyday, when it was described as a “city of palaces”. With its grand terraced houses overlooking Hyde Park, and its garden squares, it became a highly fashionable address. Many famous people have lived in Paddington, including Robert Browning and Winston Churchill, and more recently, Emma Thompson and Tony Blair.

The name Paddington is believed to mean “Padda’s farm”. Padda doesn’t seem to have been a common Anglo-Saxon name, but enough examples exist to show it is genuine. The meaning is not certain (it may be a variant spelling or shortening of another name), but one theory is that it came from the Old English word pad, meaning “toad”. Toads were considered magical creatures in ancient Europe (we still think of witches and wizards as having toads for familiars), and this makes me wonder if the name Paddington is a little more mystical than it might appear at first sight.

Paddington is also an inner-city suburb of Sydney, about 3 km from the CBD, and named after the London area because of its similarly close proximity to the city centre. When the Victoria Barracks army base was built here in the 19th century, the village of Paddington sprung up to house artisans and labourers who worked to build the barracks. It grew rapidly, with large estates filled with terraced housing, and by the early twentieth century was thriving.

During the Great Depression, Paddington became a slum, but after World War II its fortunes changed as European migrants moved in to the suburb, finding it cheap and conveniently located. In the 1960s, students and artists arrived to add bohemian flair, and it also became part of the gay “scene”, with the first Mardi Gras parade marching proudly down Oxford Street in 1978.

As the suburb became gentrified, Paddington’s Victorian architecture meant that it was protected as a heritage area, and these days “Paddo” is fashionable and upmarket. The main streets are filled with art galleries, trendy stores, boutiques, antiques, and interior designers, while artists and craftspeople hawk their wares every weekend at Paddington Market.

There is another Paddington in Brisbane, which is likewise inner city, and has a similar history to the one in Sydney. There is also a gold mine in Western Australia called Paddington.

The name Paddington is not often found in historical records, but use goes back to the 18th century, and is almost certainly prompted by the surname Paddington rather than directly after the place in London. It is much more common as a middle name, and in Australian records, is found extremely rarely, and only as a middle name.

So that’s Paddington – a rare name, but a genuine one, with some history of use even in Australia. It is very closely associated with the famous bear, but that might be exactly the reason a Paddington fan wants to use the name, and Paddington is such a nice bear. In Australia it will remind people of the Sydney suburb, but again, it’s a fashionable area with positive associations.

When I did a couple of minutes idle searching online, I found not just one, but two people considering the name Paddington for a baby – one of them Australian. I have to admit their tentative idea was shot down pretty hard by others, so there doesn’t seem to be much support for the idea of a baby named Paddington.

However, I think it could make an awesome middle name, and if you have your heart set on a little Paddington, Paddy would make a cute nickname. Far be it from me to tell people not to name children after fictional bears.

POLL RESULT
Paddington received an approval rating of 63%. 36% of people didn’t mind the name Paddington, but 24% disliked it. Less than 10% of people loved the name.

(Photo shows terrace housing in Paddington, Sydney)

Famous Names: Heston and Tex

10 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

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American names, birth notices, code names, controversial names, english names, famous namesakes, historical records, locational names, middle names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, name trends, names of American states, Native American names, nicknames, Old English names, rare names, screen names, surname names, UK name popularity, unisex names, US name popularity

In 2014 Melbourne was named the world’s most liveable city by the Economist Intelligence Unit for the fourth year in a row. Their annual survey rates 140 cities out of 100 in healthcare, education, stability, culture and environment, and infrastructure, and Melbourne received 97.5 overall, with perfect scores in healthcare, education, and infrastructure.

To celebrate Melbourne’s continuing success, I thought we’d look at two names that have recently made the news there. Melbourne is not only a very cultured city, it’s also rather quirky, so I picked a couple of cultured, quirky guys.

HESTON
Heston Blumenthal is a multi award-winning British chef at the forefront of the “New Cookery”. Inspired by the playful nature of historic British cuisine, he follows a rigorously scientific approach to cooking, and has unleashed on an appreciative public such delicacies as snail porridge, chocolate wine, and bacon and egg ice cream.

Well known from his television shows, Heston has also been a celebrity chef on MasterChef Australia, been a guest at food festivals in Australia, and you can also buy his products through Coles (maybe you have already purchased one of his Christmas puddings). A great admirer of Australia, Heston has told Britons of Aussie food trends they should copy, including charcoal chicken, Tim Tams, quality beef, street food, and good coffee [article expired].

Early this year it was announced his triple Michelin-starred restaurant The Fat Duck, recognised as the best in Britain, will be temporarily relocated to Melbourne’s Crown Casino next February. He made a savvy move taking The Fat Duck to Melbourne, which has a marvellous foodie culture. The tasting menu is $525 per person (not including drinks), making The Fat Duck the most expensive eatery in Melbourne, more than twice as pricey as its current premier restaurant, Shannon Bennett‘s Vue du Monde.

Despite this hefty price tag, demand was so strong that a ballot system was introduced, with potential patrons having to register before the end of October. Unfortunately some scammers managed to hack into the ballot system, and are now scalping reservations for up to $1000 (you still have to pay for your food on top of that). However, never fear people with more than $1500 to spend on one meal, after six months the restaurant will morph into Dinner by Heston Blumenthal.

Heston is an English surname which comes from a place name; originally a Saxon village, Heston is now a suburb of west London. One of its claims to fame is that British prime minister Neville Chamberlain flew from Heston Aerodrome to Germany in 1938 for uselessly appeasing talks with Adolf Hitler. Naturalist Sir Joseph Banks, who discovered so many species of Australian plants and has the banksia flower named after him, is buried at St Leonards church in Heston.

Heston is usually thought to mean “enclosed settlement” in Old English, because it was part of an area surrounded by forest and woodland. For the same reason, another theory is that it meant “brushwood farm”.

The surname is strongly associated with Hollywood legend Charlton Heston, who starred in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, and Planet of the Apes. Born John Charles Carter, and known as Chuck or Charlie, he created his screen name by combining his mother’s maiden name, Charlton, with his stepfather’s surname.

Heston Blumenthal (who wasn’t rapt with his name as a child) asked his mother if he had been named after Charlton Heston, but she replied that she simply liked the name. When asked about the origins of his name, Blumenthal joked that perhaps his parents had a night out in London and parked at Heston Services (a motorway service station). The headline on the front cover of The Times was Top Chef Named After Parents’ Love of Motorway Services, requiring many apologies from Heston to his mum and dad.

Heston may be unusual, but it is by no means unique, being found thousands of times in historical records going back to the 16th century. There are a few examples of Heston being used as a first name in Australian records, although it is more common in the middle.

It’s a surname name for boys which is is rare yet on trend, and seems pretty cool, although I do think it will instantly remind everyone of the chef. Just like Mrs Blumenthal, you may be required to repeat that you just liked the name. Heston has also highlighted another issue with his name – American actress Tina Fey told him it translates as “shit on you” in Greek, so this is a name which does not travel well, at least not to Greece.

TEX
Tex Perkins is an Australian rock star, best known for fronting The Beasts of Bourbon and The Cruel Sea, but part of many other innovative musical acts. Recently he threw his hat in the ring as an independent candidate for the marginal seat of Albert Park in last month’s state election. His single policy? To get funding for the Palais Theatre in St. Kilda, a heritage-listed concert venue which needs a $40 million refurbishment.

Having gained the sitting Labor candidate’s promise of partial funding if he was elected, Tex directed his preferences to the ALP, then told people not to vote for him, but for Labor instead, and on election day, his How to Vote card instructed them to place the ALP first on the ballot paper. That’s taking self-effacement to a new level. His plan worked – Labor was elected, both in Albert Park and across the state. Let’s hope they honour their promise to the Palais. (Tex still got more than 1000 votes).

Tex is a nickname which is short for Texas, the US state. The state’s name comes from a Native American word in the Caddo language, tejas, meaning “friends, allies”. It was the name the Spanish called the Caddo, and the land they lived on, in today’s East Texas.

There is a Texas in Australia too, a town in southern Queensland. It is said that the name came about because of a territorial dispute between the owners of the land and some squatters – once the legalities were sorted out, the owners humorously called their land Texas because the United States and Mexico had a dispute over Texas, settled by the Mexican-American war. The town of Texas has featured in several country music songs, including one by James Blundell, who has spent quite a bit of time there.

The nickname Tex can be given to someone from the state of Texas, but can also be taken as a code name, and is a favourite for people with a cowboy, country, or Western persona, such as country music stars, cowboy actors, and rodeo promoters.

British soldier Keith “Tex” Banwell was the son of an Australian soldier, and lived in Australia for a few years as a child. A World War II hero who acted as General Montgomery’s double, he helped the Dutch Resistance, and was taken prisoner a few times, spending several months in Auschwitz after refusing to betray his friends. A character straight out of an adventure novel, Tex was his wartime code name.

Tex Morton (born Robert Lane) was a country music pioneer in New Zealand and Australia, and had a career that lasted from the 1930s to the 1970s. Dubbed the Singing Cowboy Sensation, the New Zealand-born yodelling whipcracker and sharpshooter performed at the Grand Old Opry and was a major contributor to the Australian country music scene. Tex Perkins (born Gregory Perkins) followed this lead, as he began in cowpunk, and has taken a Johnny Cash tribute show on the road.

Tex was in the US Top 1000 around the 1940s, but is now a rare name – only 11 boys were named Tex last year, although a further 11 were named Texas, perhaps called Tex on an everyday basis. It’s even less common in the UK, where less than three boys (maybe none) have ever been named Tex, although 19 girls (a meteoric rise) were named Texas, and maybe have Tex as a nickname.

In Victoria, 6 boys were named Tex in 2012, and it’s a name I see fairly regularly in birth notices; to me it seems as if the numbers might even have risen. Perhaps Tex Perkins is helping the name along, although I don’t know if any have actually been named in honour of the rock star. Tex is a great little nickname name, with a cool X-ending like Max, Rex, or Fox. It has a bit of a cowboy feel to it, although Tex Perkins makes it seem a bit rockstar too.

Two cool, charismatic boys names that are a little out of the ordinary – but which one do you prefer?

POLL RESULTS
Both Heston and Tex received approval ratings of 40%, but more people loved the name Tex.

(Picture shows Tex Perkins outside the Palais Theatre; photo from the Herald Sun)

Interesting Boys Names from the 2014 Birth Announcements

07 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

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Anglo-Saxon names, Arabic names, Biblical names, birth notices, car names, celebrity baby names, english names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, Gaelic names, Greek names, hebrew names, Irish names, Japanese names, locational names, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name trends, names of herbs, names of horses, nature names, nicknames, Old English names, Old Norse names, Oscan names, Pictish names, plant names, rare names, regnal names, Roman names, royal names, saints names, Scottish names, surname names, Swedish names, unisex names

Do you worry there are no interesting names left for boys, or that only girls can have unusual names? Not so! For the final list of the year, here are a dozen rare names for boys that were recently used for real babies by Australian parents.

Arion
In Greek mythology, Arion was an immortal talking horse who was the son of the sea god Poseidon, known for being extremely swift. The horse is referenced in the Percy Jackson fantasy series, and the Mistubishi Starion is meant to be a cross between star and Arion. There was a real person named Arion in Greek history – a famous poet and singer. However, even he became legend, as a folk tale sprung up that he had been kidnapped by pirates and miraculously rescued by dolphins, who were attracted by his beautiful singing and carried him safely to shore on their backs. The name may be from the Greek for “braver”, and is pronounced AR-ee-on. This name fits in well with the trend for AR names, has fashionable Ari as the nickname, and sounds similar to Aryan and Orion.

Basil
From the Greek name Basileios, meaning “king”. Saint Basil the Great was a 4th century bishop and one of the fathers of early Christianity. A great theologian and preacher, he cared for the poor and was one of the founders of monasticism. Recognised as a Doctor of the Church, in Greek tradition he brings gifts to children on New Year’s Day, making him an eastern version of Santa Claus. A common name in the east, there are numerous other saints named Basil (including Basil the Great’s father), and a few Byzantine rulers. Brought to Britain by the Crusaders, we often think of Basil as a particularly “English” name, thanks to actor Basil Rathbone, who played Sherlock Holmes, Basil Fawlty, and Basil Brush, and it has a rather old-school gentlemanly feel. The herb basil has the same meaning as the Greek name. Basil is also an Arabic name meaning “valiant, courageous”, so this would be an unexpected cross-cultural choice with the Australian nickname Baz or Bazza.

Cassius
Roman family name. The Cassii were of great antiquity, and said to be one of the noblest families in Rome; the Via Cassia in the city is named after them. They seem to have been from southern Italy, where they owned large estates, and their name may not be Latin in origin, but Oscan; the meaning of Cassius is probably not traceable. One of the best known of the family is the Cassius who instigated the plot to assassinate Julius Caesar. Famously, William Shakespeare writes of him as having “a lean and hungry look” in his tragedy Julius Caesar, while in Dante’s Inferno, he is chewed by Satan in the centre of Hell, alongside Judas Iscariot. Despite this, the name came to be associated with those who stood up to tyranny and injustice. There are two saints of the name – Cassius of Clermont, and Cassius of Narnia (are you able to resist a saint of Narnia?). The name is strongly associated with boxer Muhammad Ali, who was named Cassius Clay after his father, and his father was named in turn after a politician who worked for the abolition of slavery. Depending on how you pronounce it, you can use either Cass or Cash as the nickname, both of which are on trend.

Fenris
Norse mythology tells of a monstrous wolf who is the son of Loki and a giantess; Odin raised the wolf himself, but the gods kept him bound in fear of his power. It is foretold that at the end of the world, one of this wolf’s sons will swallow the sun, and the other swallow the moon. All fetters will break, and the great wolf will go free, with flames burning from his eyes and nose. In a great battle, he will swallow the god Odin, killing him, but Odin’s son will in turn slay the wolf. The wolf is called Fenrir, meaning “fen-dweller” (a fen is a type of wetland), or Fenrisúlfr, translated into English as Fenris Wolf. Fenris has appeared as a character in comic books and video games, and in fantasy novels such as Arthur Quinn and the Fenris Wolf. Norse mythology names are in fashion at present, and this one is very cool.

Fyfe
Scottish surname after the historic kingdom of Fife, on a peninsula in east Scotland between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth. The region is one of the country’s historic counties, and is the location of St. Andrews. Once a Pictish stronghold, Fife became a politically important area, and until the 15th century, the Earl of Fife was the highest peer in Scotland, and had the privilege of crowning the nation’s monarchs. The meaning of Fife is not known – it was originally Fib, and according to legend, Fib was one of the sons of the founder of the Picts. The name Fyfe has nothing to do with the flute known as a fife, which comes from the German for “pipe”, although this does give it a rather musical feel. Known in Australia as the surname of AFL footballer Nat Fyfe, and cartoonist Andrew Fyfe, this is a handsome Scottish choice with plenty of history.

Joachim
From the Latinised form of Yehoyaqim, a Hebrew name meaning “established by Yahweh”. In the Old Testament, there was a king of Judah with this name, and his name is transliterated as Jehoiakim; it seems to be a throne name, because he was named Eliakim by his parents. According to early Christian tradition, Joachim was the name of the Virgin Mary’s father, and he is venerated as a saint in Christianity and honoured in Islam under the name Imran. Legend states that Joachim was a wealthy, pious man married to a woman named Anne; although they loved each other dearly, they were unhappy at their childless state, believing it to be a sign of God’s displeasure. At the climax of their story, an angel tells Anne that she is pregnant, and that her child will be known throughout the world. Anne joyfully rushes to meet her husband, embracing him at the city gate to tell him the glad tidings. The name Joachim has been more common in continental Europe than in English-speaking countries, and was used amongst royalty: a contemporary example is Prince Joachim of Denmark, the younger brother of Crown Prince Frederik. Strong and distinctive, this has familiar Joe as the obvious nickname.

Lazarus
From the Greek form of Eleazar, a Hebrew name meaning “God is my help”. In the New Testament, Lazarus of Bethany was the brother of Martha and Mary, and one of the followers of Jesus. He was famously brought to life by Jesus, four days after his death, and his story contains the shortest and perhaps most quoted sentence in the Bible: “Jesus wept”. This is the biggest miracle performed by Jesus in the New Testament, and one which leads directly to his own death and resurrection, which Lazarus foreshadows. Lazarus is regarded as a saint, and according to Christian tradition, he lived another thirty years after his raising, and never smiled again. Jesus also told a parable about a beggar covered in sores named Lazarus, and because of this, the name Lazarus became associated with the care of those with leprosy, with leper hospitals called lazar houses. It’s currently in the news as the surname of Glenn Lazarus or “the brick with eyes”, rugby league star turned senator. A name that embodies a spectacular miracle of hope, Lazarus is an eye-catching choice that fits in with current trends, and has Laz, Lazar, and Lazy as nicknames.

Makoto
Japanese name meaning “truth, faith, sincerity”, and pronounced mah-ko-to. It is unisex, but more common for boys. Makoto is often used in Japanese video games and manga, so may be reasonably familiar to some English-speakers. It’s an attractive boy’s name with a very positive meaning and easy to pronounce; exotic but not too strange. The baby I saw in a birth notice had Mako as his nickname; if this sounds similar to Marco, it would make the name seem like an appealing cross-cultural name choice.

Riordan
Anglicised form of the Irish surname O’Rioghbhardain, meaning “son of Rioghbhardan”. Rioghbhardan is a Gaelic byname meaning “royal bard”. Poets and singers were held in high regard in ancient Irish society; they were not mere entertainers, but also historians, scholars and advisers to the king. The O’Riordans came from Tipperary, and are strongly associated with Cork. Ballyrearden in Cork is named for them. The surname has recently become well known because of American novelist Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson fantasy series, and others. Riordan is pronounced REER-dun, or REE-uh-dun, but the surname has taken on such a variety of pronunciations, like ROAR-den, ROY-uh-dun and RYE-uh-dun, that you might feel free to say it in almost any way you like. Rio could be used as the nickname.

Royce
English surname derived from Royse, a medieval form of Rose; it is thus one of those rare surnames taken from a female name rather than a male one, and could honour someone named Rose . The name is strongly associated with the luxury car brand Rolls-Royce, co-founded by English engineer Sir Frederick Royce. A famous Australian namesake is botanist Robert Royce, for whom the genus of shrubs Roycea is named. There are several famous sporting Royces in Australia, including former AFL star Royce Hart, who played for Richmond in the 1960s and ’70s. Roy names are bang on trend at the moment, and if you’re one of those people who get all het up about girls with masculine surnames like Addison and Mackenzie, here’s your chance to even the score slightly.

Stellan
Swedish name of obscure origin. The first known person with the name came to Sweden from Germany in the 16th century, so it may be from the German language, yet the name is not used in Germany, which casts doubt on that theory. It isn’t a particularly common name in Sweden, but has become known here because of Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård, who has been in such films as Good Will Hunting, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and Thor. Stellan became a celebrity baby name when actors Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connolly named their son Stellan after their friend Stellan Skarsgård. This is a handsome heritage choice which sounds to English-speakers like a masculine form of Stella, and so may be understood as having the same meaning – “star”.

Wulfric
Anglo-Saxon name meaning “wolf power, wolf ruler”, and pronounced with the first syllable to sound like the word wolf. Wolves were numerous in Anglo-Saxon times, and it’s not surprising that wulf was a common element in Old English names. The Anglo-Saxons saw the wolf as a symbol of warrior strength, and in stories wolves were protectors of the god Woden, and of royalty. The gloriously named Wulfric Spot was chief councillor to King Ethelred the Unready; his mother was a noble lady named Wulfrun, and the city of Wolverhampton is said to be named after her. Saint Wulfric of Haselbury was a 12th century hermit who managed to wield quite a bit of influence as a prophet and healer even over royalty; he correctly predicted the death of Henry I. Despite these interesting namesakes, Wulfric is a name more common in fiction than real life, and you may know it as one of the middle names of the wizard Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter. An English name with plenty of history but little contemporary use, this fits in well with the current fashion for animal names. Despite its ferocious meaning, it seems eccentric and lovable to me.

POLL RESULTS
The public’s favourite names were Stellan, Cassius and Riordan, and their least favourite were Joachim, Royce and Makoto.

(Photo shows St Andrews golf course in Fife, recognised as the home of golf)

Famous Name: Edward

05 Wednesday Nov 2014

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ 16 Comments

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Anglo-Saxon names, choosing baby names, classic names, english names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, locational names, middle names, name history, name meaning, nicknames, popular names, royal names, saints names

This year is the centenary of World War I, and just a few days ago there were commemorative celebrations for the first Australian troops to leave for the battlefields of Gallipoli. Because of this, I have chosen the name of one of our war heroes.

Edward Picton was a shearer and drover from country New South Wales when war broke out in 1914, and by the end of that year he had embarked with the 7th Light Horse Regiment. He saw active service in Gallipoli, and distinguished himself in the campaigns of Sinai and Palestine. Twice he was decorated for capturing prisoners under heavy shelling, and his commanding officer praised him as reliable, full of dash and pluck, and cool under fire.

In early 1918, he received a severe wound which left him with a permanent limp, and was taken prisoner himself; reported as missing in action, he was taken to Turkey to endure many months as a POW, and returned to Australia after the Armistice. Despite his age and disabilities, he also signed up during World War II and served in Egypt and Syria. Although one of the the most decorated soldiers of the Australian Light Horse’s famous 1917-18 campaign, he remained modest, and lived a quiet life with his family.

The name Edward is derived from the Old English ead “wealthy” (or poetically, “blessed, happy”) and weard “guardian, watchman” (the origin of our English word warden), and is usually translated as something like “rich guardian”.

The name was a traditional one amongst Anglo-Saxon royalty and nobility, as were other Ed- names, which emphasised their inherited wealth and power. An early example is the Anglo-Saxon king Edward the Elder, the son of Alfred the Great; he was a successful ruler who is said to have been extremely handsome and intelligent.

Two other pre-Conquest English kings named Edward became saints: Edward the Martyr, whose short reign ended with his murder, and Saint Edward the Confessor, who was one of the patron saints of England until he was replaced by Saint George.

It was because of Saint Edward the Confessor that the name Edward also became traditional amongst the Norman kings, because Henry III named his eldest son Edward in honour of the country’s patron saint, and he became Edward I. Thus Edward became one of those rare Anglo-Saxon names which continued to flourish after the Conquest.

There have been eight English kings named Edward since 1066, with the last one being Edward VIII, who famously abdicated in 1936, the first year of his reign, to marry the American socialite Wallis Simpson.

The name, although perhaps not auspicious for a king any more, is still in use by the British royal family, with a notable example being Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth, who is currently visiting Australia. The queen has a cousin named Edward – Prince Edward, Duke of Kent. The Duke of Kent was born a year before Edward VIII’s abdication, and I wonder if he would have been given a different name if born a year after the abdication?

If you are a fan of the Anne of Green Gables books, you will know they are mostly set on Prince Edward Island, Canada’s smallest province. They are named after Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, who was Queen Victoria’s father.

Edward is a name which has been something of a favourite in romantic fiction, including the dutiful Edward Ferrars in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, and the Byronic Edward Rochester in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. Mr Rochester was one of the models for another romantic love interest, the vampire Edward Cullen from the Twilight series. There’s also Prince Edward from the movie Enchanted, and from a very different fairy tale, the strangely gifted Edward Scissorhands.

Edward is a classic which has never been off the charts, and barely been out of the Top 100 in Australia. It was at its height in the 1900s at #10, and hit its lowest point in the late 2000s at #103 (it did rise after Twilight). Currently it is #59 nationally, #53 in New South Wales, #39 in Victoria, #83 in Queensland, #30 in Tasmania, and #32 in the Australian Capital Territory, where it was one of the fastest-rising names of 2013.

I must admit to having great affection for the name Edward, because it was the first name I ever bestowed on a human, at the age of three. It is my brother’s name, and my parents allowed me to choose his name, in the hope that this would prove a great bonding experience, as I’d been very jealous and grizzly about the whole “new baby brother” deal.

I chose the name Edward after my favourite literary character, Winnie-the-Pooh – well I was only three! As Pooh fans will know, Winnie-the-Pooh, who was named after a real bear named Winnipeg and a swan named Pooh, is identified in the poetry book When We Were Very Young as having Edward Bear as his official name.

The budding name nerd in me was thrilled at learning someone’s real name, and excited that there were such things as real names. My mum explained that Edward was the “proper name” for Teddy, so the name meant “teddy bear”. That discovery about nicknames coming from names blew my mind. No wonder I couldn’t get enough of Winnie-the-Pooh.

I may have also been drawn to the name because one of the “big boys” in our community (about eleven) was called Edward, and he had apparently impressed me as being very kind and gentle. Perhaps I saw Edward as a “nice guy” name – the kind of person I would want as a brother. If so, my wish came true, as my brother Edward is gentle and kind too, and has devoted his life to helping others. He’s definitely one of the good guys.

Of course I didn’t get things all my own way. My idea was that my brother’s whole name would be Edward Bear, like Winnie-the-Pooh, and that his nickname would be Teddy. My parents said Bear wasn’t a proper name, and the middle name was James, after my dad. Teddy was vetoed, as to my parents’ generation, it was a synonym for thug, and his nickname eventually became, without any particular forethought that I noticed, Eddie. It was an early lesson in name compromise, and that once you’ve named someone, you lose creative control of the project.

My parents’ master plan did not work, and despite naming him, I was a complete brat towards my baby brother, locked in sibling rivalry hell. However, it didn’t last long, as my mother got pregnant again almost immediately, and in an astonishingly short time, there was another baby. Either the shock of having two baby brothers pulled me up, or I had turned four and was now a lot more mature. My parents chose their youngest child’s name themselves (I didn’t get a second gig), and ironically his nickname became Bear, which had nothing to do with his name at all. Talk about name theft!

(I don’t have clear memories of being three, and have drawn on the recollections of my parents and sister for this, but I do remember Winnie-the-Pooh, and the moment of actually announcing Edward’s name. I don’t remember being a massive fangirl of older-boy-Edward, but my family assures me that I was a great admirer; I don’t remember him from the age of three, but obviously I grew up around him and have many later memories. I only recall throwing one jealous tantrum over Eddie, but I’ve been told I was a right little monster).

So there you have it – a handsome classic which is a solid, reliable choice, yet still has some dashing romance to it, as well as teddy bear huggability. Even as a toddler I could tell it was a great name, and it has served my brother well for many years. Highly recommended!

POLL RESULTS
Edward received an excellent approval rating of 83%, making it one of the highest-rated names of 2014. People saw the name Edward as a handsome and elegant classic (31%), noble and gentlemanly (18%), dashing and romantic (13%), and having great nickname options (13%). However, 7% of people thought it was too stuffy and old-fashioned. Nobody thought the name Edward seemed stuck-up or snobbish.

(Portrait of Corporal Edward Picton from the Australian War Memorial)

Boys Names From Native Australian Flowers

02 Sunday Nov 2014

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 7 Comments

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Australian slang terms, birth notices, celebrity baby names, classic names, controversial names, english names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, flower names, Gaelic names, Greek names, honouring, Irish names, Latin names, locational names, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name trends, names from songs, names from television, nature names, nicknames, patriotic names, plant names, popular names, rare names, scandinavian names, scientific names, Scottish names, sibsets, surname names, tree names, underused classics, unique names, unisex names, Welsh names

This follows on from Girls Names From Native Australian Flowers. If you thought it would be hard for me to find floral boys’ names, you were right, and many hours were spent poring over gardening books and field guides. I did notice that several of the names come from plants that are traditionally used as female names, so this might be a way to find a boy’s name which honours a Daisy, Iris, or Lily, for example.

Bailey
Acacia baileyana is the scientific name for Cootamundra Wattle, a small tree with silvery-green leaves and masses of golden blossom in the spring. It is native to New South Wales around the town of Cootamundra, which holds a Wattle Time Festival every year when the wattle blooms. However, it is extremely adaptable, and will grow almost everywhere – if anything it grows a little too well, and can escape into the bush and become an invasive weed. Its scientific name honours Frederick Manson Bailey, a colonial botanist in Queensland. Bailey is an occupational surname originally designating someone who was a bailiff, the officer executing the decisions of a lower legal court (these days such duties are usually carried out by local councils). It has been used as a personal name since at least the 18th century, and Bailey has charted in Australia since the 1990s, when it was catapulted straight into the Top 50 from almost nowhere, debuting at #32 in 1997. It peaked in 2004-2005 at #27, and is currently #77. Although only popular for boys, Bailey is sometimes used for girls. Bailey provides a way for boys as well as girls to be named after the patriotic acacia tree.

Carex
Carex is the scientific name for grass-like plants commonly known as true sedges. Sedges are common all over the world, and nearly always found in wetlands; if you’ve ever walked around a swamp or lake, sedge is the dense stiff grassy stuff along the edge which might cut your hands if you try to gather it. Although sedges are not usually thought of as terrifically exciting – hardly anyone hopes for a bouquet of sedges on Valentine’s Day – they are vitally important to the ecology of our wetlands. Anyone working on a project to save a wetlands area will need native sedges to plant along lakes and riverbanks to stabilise the soil, and they are also around dams and garden ponds. They bloom in spring; the flowers are tiny, and appear on short spikes. I have seen a boy named Carex in a birth notice, and this is a daring and environmentally aware choice that is on trend for boy’s names ending in -x, like Felix and Max.

Eric
Banksia ericifolia is the scientific name for Heath Banksia, a medium to large shrub with eye-catching orange or red flowers which bloom in autumn or winter. Banksias are famous for their flower spikes; each spike can have hundreds or even thousands of individual flowers, looking overall like a large brush. Banksia ericifolia was one of the original banksia species collected by botanist Sir Joseph Banks around Botany Bay, and the subspecies ericifolia is native to the area around Sydney. It has been adopted as the city’s official plant, and can be seen in parks and public spaces. Heath Banksia is reasonably easy to grow; if your garden is too small for a regular Heath Banskia, there is a dwarf cultivar called “Little Eric”. The eric in ericifolia comes from Ericaceae, the family of heath and heather. The name Eric is an English form of the Scandinavian name Erik, usually translated as “eternal ruler”. Although known in England since the Middle Ages, it didn’t become popular until the 19th century, after the publication of a moralising children’s book called Eric, or Little by Little. Eric is a classic which has never left the charts. It was #21 in the 1900s, and peaked in the 1910s at #19. It didn’t leave the Top 100 until th 1970s, when it hit its lowest point of #149. Since then, Eric has improved slightly in popularity, and remains stable in the 100s – an extremely safe choice.

Evan
The Hawkesbury Daisy (Brachyscome multifida) grows on the east coast; it has matted foliage with the daisy flowers rising above it in mauve, pink, or white, blooming in autumn and winter. They are very popular garden plants, as they are are quite hardy and look great in borders and mass plantings. One of its cultivars is “Evan”, which was named after the son of the founder of the Australian Daisy Study Group. “Evan” is mauve with small flowers and compact foliage, easy to grow, and perfect for rockeries and hanging baskets. The name Evan is the Anglicised form of Iefan, a Welsh form of John. Evan is an underused classic in Australia – it has never left the charts, but never reached the Top 100 either. The highest it has ever been is #103 in the 1980s, and it’s never been lower than it was in the 1900s at #194, making it a handsome, solid choice which hasn’t been out of the 100s for well over a century. Evan is the poster boy for “normal but not overused” names.

Heath
Common Heath (Epacris impressa) is a small shrub native to south-east Australia; it has red, pink, or white tubular flowers which bloom from late autumn to early spring. A pink-flowered form called “pink heath” is the floral emblem for the state of Victoria. Common Heath is tricky to grow in the garden, and perhaps best enjoyed in its natural setting. Heath is an English surname which can refer to someone who lived on or near a heath, or was from one of the many English towns called Heath. Heath is an underused modern classic which has charted consistently since the 1960s without ever becoming popular. It peaked in the 1970s at #101, possibly because of Heathcliff from Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, serialised on television that decade, and a hit song by Kate Bush in 1978. Actor Heath Ledger, born in 1979, was named after Heathcliff, with his sister Kate named after Catherine from the novel. Heath dropped to its lowest level in the 1990s at #279, but picked up the next decade when Heath Ledger’s film career took off, and gained momentum from Dan Ewing‘s performance as Heath Braxton in Home and Away. Heath is a strong, simple nature name which has long been associated with intense, hunky guys.

Orestes
Caladenia orestes is the scientific name for the Burrinjuck Spider-orchid, native to New South Wales. These small, delicate flowers with dark red colouring are listed as vulnerable, so count yourself lucky if you ever find one in the bush. In Greek mythology, Orestes was the son of Agamemnon Greek commander during the Trojan War. Their family had been placed under a curse, so that their line was a rich source of Greek tragedy. Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to obtain fair winds to Troy; when he got home from the Trojan War, Agamemnon’s wife Clytemestra murdered him in retribution. When Orestes grew into a young man, he murdered his mother to avenge his father’s death. According to legend, Orestes was pursued by the Furies in punishment for his crime, but he got a good lawyer in the goddess Athena, who put his case before the gods and got him acquitted (slightly rigged, as Athena was one of the judges). He was often seen by Greek writers as a dutiful son to his father, and an example of someone forced by circumstances to commit a terrible act. The name Orestes means “of the mountains”, which is the reason for the orchid’s name. An unusual and possibly controversial choice.

Paterson
Patersonia is the scientific name for the Australasian flower commonly called Native Iris. It was named in honour of William Paterson, the first Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales, and most species are from Western Australia. Patersonia has small flowers that are usually mauve, and can look very attractive in the garden. Paterson is a common Scottish surname which means “son of the follower of Saint Patrick“, and the Clan Paterson is from Lowland Scotland. Sir William Paterson founded the Bank of England, but perhaps the most famous episode in the Clan’s history is when Sir Hugh Paterson entertained Bonnie Prince Charlie, and his niece nursed the prince through a bad cold, becoming his mistress and bearing him an illegitimate daughter. The name Paterson could honour our national poet Banjo Paterson, and would naturally shorten to Paddy. A possible issue is another flower, the attractive but toxic purple weed commonly known as Paterson’s Curse.

Smith
Syzygium smithiim is the scientific name for the Lilly Pilly, an ornamental tree which is a member of the myrtle family; its name honours botanist Sir James Edward Smith. Lilly Pilly is native to the east coast of Australia, and has glossy leaves and cream or pink flowers which bloom in spring and summer. However, it is best known for the fruit which follows the flower – attractive edible berries with a deep pink colour. Smith is the most common English surname, and originated in northern England and Scotland. Although it later came to specifically refer to a blacksmith, the word means any craftsman in metal, hence goldsmith or swordsmith, and more generally, any creator, hence wordsmith. Metalworkers have historically been seen as magical in their skill to transform through fire, and there are several smith gods and heroes, such as Vulcan and Wayland; Cain is said to have been the father of metalsmiths. The name always reminds me of J.R.R. Tolkien’s bittersweet fairy tale, Smith of Wooton Major. Smith has often been thought too common a surname to be used as a personal name, but gained recent familiarity through Sex and the City’s handsome Smith Jerrod (real name Jerry Jerrod). Hawthorn’s Sam Mitchell has a son named Smith.

Sturt
Sturt’s Desert Pea (Swainsona formosa) is native to the deserts of inland Australia, and highly recognisable from its striking deep red pea flowers. According to an Aboriginal legend, the flowers sprang from the blood of two murdered lovers and their child. Sturt’s Desert Pea is the floral emblem of South Australia, and is a popular subject for arts, crafts, and decorative motifs. Although it grows in such profusion in the harsh desert, Sturt’s Desert Pea is difficult to establish in the garden. It is named after the explorer Captain Charles Sturt, who recorded seeing masses of the flower during his explorations. The surname Sturt comes from the Old English for a promontory – a raised mass of land with a sharp slope on one side – and this could be given to someone who lived near such a landmark, or from a town named after one. Similar to Stuart, this is a lesser-used surname which is given meaning by the flower.

Tucker
Tuckeroo (Cupaniopsis anacardioides) is an Australasian flowering tree in the soapberry family. It has greenish-yellow flowers which bloom in winter, followed by orange berries in the spring and summer which are a source of food for native birds. Tuckeroo is a popular ornamental tree for gardens which gives good shade and looks attractive all year round, and is often grown along streets in coastal towns of New South Wales and Queensland. The English surname Tucker is an occupational one referring to someone who softened cloth for the wool industry by tramping on it in water; the word comes from the Old English for “to torment (the cloth)”. As an Irish derivation, Tucker comes from the Gaelic O’ Tuachair, meaning “son of the brave one”. Tucker seems problematic as a first name, breaking the rule of “no names that rhyme with rude words”, but it does have a very Australian meaning, as it is slang for “food”, derived from “to tuck in”. Some people might think that’s another problem with the name in Australia. I’m not sure … any takers for Tucker?

POLL RESULTS
The public’s favourite names were Heath, Evan and Tucker, and their least favourite were Carex, Orestes and Sturt.

(Picture shows Sturt’s Desert Pea; photo from Our Naked Australia)

Girls Names From Native Australian Flowers

26 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 16 Comments

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colour names, english names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, flower names, French names, Greek names, historical records, honouring, Latin names, locational names, middle names, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, name trends, names from television, nature names, nicknames, plant names, popular names, Portuguese names, rare names, retro names, Roman names, scientific names, Scottish names, surname names, vocabulary names

Now that it’s spring, I have been taking advantage of the warmer weather and lighter evenings to get out into the garden more. I love the spring flowers, which make me think of floral names, so here are some from our native blooms.

Boronia
Boronia (bor-OH-nee-uh) is a native shrub whose cup-shaped, pink or red-hued flowers give off the most exquisite sweet scent; boronias are related to citrus trees, and the fragrance of boronia is slightly lemony. It is a popular ingredient for perfumes and scented oils, but oddly enough, quite a few people are unable to smell boronia at all. Boronias grow in many parts of Australia, but the Brown Boronia, considered to have the most magnificent scent of all, is from Western Australia. Many people find boronia difficult to grow, and might enjoy this plant more by walking through the bush in spring. The plant has given its name to a pleasant suburb of Melbourne, while Boronia Heights is a suburb of Logan. The boronia is named after Francesco Borone, who was the servant of botanist Sir James Smith, but became his talented and valued field assistant. Francesco died in a bizarre accident when he sleep-walked out the window while recovering from illness. When Sir James discovered the boronia several years later, he named it in Borone’s memory. There are quite a few people with the name Boronia in Australian historical records, mostly as a middle name. Bo would make a charming nickname.

Correa
Correa (KOR-ree-uh) is a small shrub related to the boronia, but its bell-shaped flowers have no fragrance; instead it is the leaves which have a fruity smell when crushed. Correa reflexa is known as Native Fuchsia, because of its long tubular petals which are often a dusky pink colour, although correa can come in a range of colours. Correa grows all over Australia, and is an easy garden plant to grow; it blooms in autumn and winter, making it a great plant to brighten up your garden during the cold months. Correa is named in honour of the Portuguese botanist José Correia da Serra; the Correia part of his name is a common Portuguese surname meaning “leather strap”, originally given to those who worked in the leather trade. Correa is a rare find in Australian historical records, and would make a distinctively Australian alternative to names such as Cora.

Daisy
Daisies are simple little picture-book flowers common all over the world; they are symbolic of childhood innocence. There are many types of daisy native to Australia; one of the most popular is the Paper Daisy, called the Everlasting in Western Australia. Small with crisp, papery petals, they are pink and white, and very easy to grow. The word daisy comes from the Old English for “day’s eye”, as English Daisies open when the sun rises and close in the evening. Daisy has been used as a girl’s name since the 16th century, and became popular in the 19th, along with other floral names. It is also used as a nickname for Margaret, because the French name for the Ox-eye Daisy is the Marguerite. The name Daisy was #58 in the 1900s, and left the Top 100 in the 1920s. It dropped from the charts in the 1940s, made a minor come-back in the 1950s, then dropped out again the following decade. Daisy returned to the charts in the 1980s at #646, and climbed fairly steadily. It rejoined the Top 100 last year at #90, making it one of the fastest-rising names of 2013. Wholesome yet also sexy, retro Daisy still sounds fresh … as a fresh a daisy!

Dianella
Dianella is commonly known as Blue Flax-lily, found in all states of Australia. These woodland plants grow in clumps with small, deep blue flowers that bloom in spring and summer; they are popular garden plants being hardy as well as decorative. The Perth suburb of Dianella was named after the flower, which grew in abundance there before development. Dianella is named after the Roman goddess Diana, goddess of the hunt, because she is associated with woodlands; the name Diana may mean “heavenly, divine”. Dianella seems like an interesting way to honour a Diana or Diane, while giving a nod to native flora, and offering popular Ella as the nickname. The name Dianella shows up several times in Australian historical records, always in South Australia for some reason.

Laurina
Hakea laurina, also known as Pincushion Hakea, is a large upright shrub or small tree from south-west Western Australia. The flowers are very striking, being deep pink or red, and shaped like globes with cream spikes coming out of them; they have a mild fragrance, but are best known for producing nectar, which is very attractive to birds. Hakea laurina blooms in autumn and winter, and this popular garden plant is easy to grow, being both drought-tolerant and frost-hardy. Laurina is simply based on the Latin Laurus, as its leaves are similar to those of the laurel tree. The name Laurina dates to the 18th century, and is an elaboration of the name Laura. It has recently been brought to attention through “Melbourne princess” Laurina Fleure, who was a contestant on this season of The Bachelor: although portrayed as a villain by the show’s producers, she gained a fan following and has been dubbed “Australia’s Carrie Bradshaw”.

Lilac
Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) is a small tree native to the Balkans, famous for its pale purple flowers, which have a beautiful sweet fragrance. Australia has a plant which is sometimes called Native Lilac, or Lilac Vine, and that is Hardenbergia violacea, also known as Purple Coral Pea, as it is member of the pea family. It is a hardy and vigorous climbing vine, capable of growing twenty feet; some varieties are low-growing shrubs. In winter it produces masses of showy violet pea-flower blooms, and is an easy to grow garden plant, popular for training over fences and pergolas. Lilac is a word from the French, which ultimately goes back to the Sanskrit for “dark blue”; it has been used as a girl’s name since the 19th century, when other flower names came into fashion. Lilac has never been a common name, but it is very pretty, and would be right on trend, fitting in with popular Lily and Lila, while having its own distinctive sound. It would also make a lovely middle name to match all those girls’ names ending with -a or an EE sound.

Lotus
The lotus flower (Nelumbo nucifera), sometimes known as Sacred Lotus, Red Lily, or Lotus Lily, is an aquatic plant native to Tropical Asia and Northern Australia; it is thought that the plants were brought to Australia many centuries before European settlement. There are many different varieties and cultivars, with one of them being the Waltzing Matilda Lotus, which is small with pink flowers. Lotus flowers can be easily grown all over Australia, but the native lotus will only be happy in warm areas. The Lotus is a very symbolic plant – as it is a stunning flower which grows out of slimy mud, you can see it as a message that life can be beautiful no matter what your origins or circumstances. In Hinduism, a lotus is often used to indicate divine beauty and spiritual growth; in Buddhism it represents purity and non-attachment to the material world. Asian literature sees the lotus as the ideal of feminine grace, beauty, and elegance. The lotus is also a peace symbol, and Aboriginal people from the Top End held up lotus leaves to strangers to show they meant no harm. With so many wonderful meanings for this lovely flower, it’s surprising how little Lotus has been used as an English name. Many will see it as having a hippie vibe, while others may see it as a car name.

Orchid
Orchids are extremely diverse plants found almost everywhere in the world except on glaciers; they grow in the Arctic, and on Macquarie Island near Antarctica. There are hundreds of types of orchids native to Australia. Orchids are grown for their often beautiful flowers, and excite a passion in those who cultivate and collect them that amounts to an obsession. The Cooktown Orchid (Dendrobium phalaenopsis) is the state emblem of Queensland, and grows naturally in the state’s tropical far north. It is considered to be Australia’s showiest orchid, with beautiful mauve flowers that bloom in the dry season. With care, it can be grown outdoors as far south as Brisbane; any lower than that and you need a glasshouse. Orchid has been used as a girl’s name since the 19th century, and despite the beauty of the orchid flower, it has remained in rare use. This may be because the ORK sound at the start is not considered attractive, or because the flower’s name comes from the Greek for “testicle”. Orchid is an unusual, sophisticated floral choice that starts with the fashionable O, but sounds quite distinct from today’s popular names.

Pandorea
Pandorea (pan-DOR-ee-uh) are climbing vines native to Australasia. Pandorea pandorana, otherwise known as Wonga-wonga Vine, is a popular garden plant, being an easy to grow vigorous climber with glossy leaves. The flowers are bell-shaped, bloom profusely in spring, and are naturally creamy-white with maroon markings, but cultivars come in a very wide range of colours. Hardy and adaptable, Wonga-wonga Vine grows all down the east coast, as well as in the central deserts, and is also native to several Pacific Islands. The wood of the vine was used by Aborigines of central Australia to make spears, and it appears in their mythology as a group of women with very thin and flexible bodies. The plant’s scientific name is after Pandora from Greek mythology, who legend says had a container filled with all the world’s evils, which she opened out of curiosity. It is usually thought the name came about because the Pandorea vine grows a pod which opens to reveal a multitude of seeds; supposedly the plant’s namer was reminded of “Pandora’s box” by the seed pod. The name Pandora has a lovely meaning – “all gifts”. If you are attracted to the name Pandora, but have doubts about the myth, or worry it’s too Avatar, or don’t like the -dora sound at the end, why not consider Pandorea as a floral alternative?

Violet
Violets are small violet-blue flowers, which symbolise modesty – we call a shy person a “shrinking violet”, and connect the flowers with pure femininity. They are associated with death and resurrection in Greek myth, and can be used to denote death which comes too soon, such as for Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Violet Day was commemorated in Australia to remember those who died during World War I; the last Violet Day was held in 1970. There are a few species of violet native to Australia – a favourite for gardeners is Viola banksii, which grows naturally in New South Wales. It has striking purple and white flowers, and is very easy to grow, forming an attractive groundcover. The word violet comes by way of the Latin viola, and simply refers to the colour. Violet has been used as a name since the 16th century in Scotland, influenced by the French name Violette. Violet was #22 in the 1900s, and left the Top 100 in the 1940s, before dropping off the charts in the 1960s. It didn’t return until the early 2000s, when it was #569; this follows the publication of Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events, starring pretty teen inventor Violet Baudelaire. After becoming a celebrity favourite, and having a staggeringly swift rise, it made the Top 100 in 2009 at #85, and was #51 last year, being the fastest-rising name in both Western Australia and Tasmania. This is a dainty retro name that has a dark side: its similarity to the words violence and violate act as a counterweight to its maidenly timidity.

POLL RESULTS
The public’s favourite names were Violet, Daisy and Lilac, and their least favourite were Orchid, Boronia and Pandorea.

(Photo shows a Pink Boronia (Boronia heterophylla), Pink Lipstick variety)

Famous Names: Buddy and Sonny

22 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ 4 Comments

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birth notices, British name trends, celebrity baby names, celebrity sibsets, english names, famous namesakes, historical records, honouring, name history, name meaning, name popularity, nicknames, rare names, slang terms, UK name popularity, US name popularity, vocabulary names

It’s spring, which means that football season is definitely over now. If you’re a sad case like me, the second the Grand Final is over, you begin looking forward to next season, which is about five months away. You might also spend time looking back on the season which has just passed.

“Buddy” Franklin and “Sonny Bill” Williams are two footballing names I heard repeatedly throughout the 2014 season; every time I watched a sports update on television, or heard it on radio, it seemed as if either Buddy or Sonny would be mentioned at some point.

Lance “Buddy” Franklin is an AFL star, and the brother of netballer Bianca Giteau, who has been featured on the blog twice as a celebrity mum. Not only a leading goal-kicker and multiple medallist, Buddy has tons of celebrity glamour, due to dating Miss Universe Australia winner and model Jesinta Campbell.

The big story that had him constantly in the sporting news was that he swapped clubs, from Hawthorn to the Sydney Swans, and proved one of the Swan’s best players. In a nail-biting finish, Hawthorn and Sydney played each other in the Grand Final – could Hawthorn win without their star player?

Sonny William Williams, or Sonny Bill Williams, is a New Zealand rugby player and former boxer who has code-swapped into rugby league at times. He also has glamour for his many endorsements from fashion labels, and is one of Australia’s most marketable athletes. Last year he signed with the Sydney Roosters for two seasons, and helped take the Roosters to Premiership victory. Could he once again become a premiership winner in his last NRL season?

In the end, all the hype ended in a bit of a fizzle – the Sydney Swans lost, and although the Roosters were the Minor Premiers, they were knocked out during the finals and did not make it to another Grand Final.

Buddy is a slang word meaning “friend, companion” – the equivalent of the Australian favourite, mate. It may be an affectionate alteration of the word brother, but there is an 18th and 19th century English and Welsh dialect word butty, meaning “work-mate”, which was used by coal-miners, which seems more likely. This goes back to the 16th century term booty fellow, given to a partner that you share your booty or plunder with; booty of course means “gains, prizes”, often with connotations of being ill-gotten. Interestingly, we still sometimes jokingly introduce a friend as our partner in crime.

Buddy has been used as a (mostly male) personal name since at least the 18th century, and seems to have historically been much more popular in America. It isn’t always possible to tell from historic records whether Buddy was the person’s name, or a common-law nickname, but in at least several cases, it was the name they were christened with. There are a number of Buddys in Australian historical records, but in most (maybe all?) cases it seems to be either a nickname or a middle name.

Famous people named Buddy nearly always have it as a nickname, such as rock and roll pioneer Charles “Buddy” Holly, or NRL player Yileen “Buddy” Gordon. Fictional Buddys include Buddy Hobbes, the man who thought he was one of Santa’s elves in the Christmas comedy Elf, and Buddy Love, the arrogant alter ego in The Nutty Professor.

Buddy has been chosen as a baby name by two TV chefs – Bartolo “Buddy” Valastro from American show Cake Boss has a son named Buddy after his own nickname, and British chef Jamie Oliver welcomed his son Buddy Bear Maurice in 2010 (the name chosen by Jamie’s model wife Jools). Buddy Oliver still manages to make the occasional “crazy celebrity baby name list”, although his sisters Poppy Honey Rosie, Daisy Boo Pamela and Petal Blossom Rainbow are usually thrown in as a sort of package deal. Australian cricketer Michael Hogan has a son named Buddy.

Buddy has never charted in Australia, but I do see it in birth notices fairly often, mostly from Victoria. In the United States, Buddy peaked at #202 in the 1930s and left the charts in 1989; last year just 21 boys were named Buddy – the same number as those called Trigger. But in 2013, Buddy was #356 in England/Wales; the numbers began climbing the same year Buddy Oliver was born, although it seems to have slackened off slightly.

Sonny is even more straightforward as a slang term than Buddy, as it is a casual or affectionate way to address a young boy, from the word son. As a baby name, you could see Sonny meaning “my son”, or even as another form of Junior.

Sonny has been used as a boy’s name since at least the 17th century, and as with Buddy, it isn’t always possible to know whether it was the person’s given name or their nickname, but it does seem to have been the name they were christened with in many cases. There are many more Sonnys in Australian historical records than Buddys, and often it was a common-law nickname. This seems to have been given humorously in the case of a Thomas Fogg, who was dubbed Sonny Fogg. Sonny Day and Sonny Love may have been real names, however.

Sonny is a popular nickname amongst famous musicians, such as jazz legend Theodore “Sonny” Rollins, rapper Paul “Sonny” Sandoval from Christian metal band P.O.D., and Flower Child era pop singer Salvatore “Sonny” Bono, who was half of Sonny & Cher before becoming a conservative politician. However, Sonny is the real name of blues guitarist Sonny Landreth, and DJ Sonny Moore, who performs under the stage name Skrillex. Even in fiction, Sonny has a musical heritage, because James Baldwin’s story Sonny’s Blues centres on a young jazz musician.

Sonny has been chosen as a baby name by Sophie Ellis-Bextor from English rock band The Feeling, and by Noel Gallagher, from Britpop band Oasis. American actor Jason Lee also has a little boy named Sonny. Australian comedian Hamish Blake welcomed his son Sonny Donald last year, and NRL player Todd Lowrie welcomed son Sonny in 2011.

Sonny is not an unusual name in Australia, being around the mid-100s. In the United States, Sonny has been solidly on the Top 1000 since the 1920s, and peaked at #428 in the 1970s (perhaps under the influence of Sonny Bono, as Sonny & Cher became household names in this decade due to their successful variety shows on television). Currently Sonny is #842 in the US, and relatively stable. In England/Wales, Sonny became a Top 100 name last year, debuting at #90. It is possible it could also make the Top 100 here one day.

These are two cute, friendly, upbeat, boyish nicknamey names that have gained celebrity support and are very much in line with British trends. Some may see the names as a little too snuggly and huggable, but I think they could also seem cool, or even a bit bad boy.

POLL RESULTS
Buddy received an approval rating of 21%, while Sonny was better received with an approval rating of 53%.

(Picture shows Lance Franklin; photo from the Herald Sun)

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Waltzing More Than Matilda

~ Names with an Australian Bias of Democratic Temper

Tag Archives: english names

The 2014 Matilda Awards

Famous Name: Jasper

Famous Name: Ava

Waltzing With … Paddington

Famous Names: Heston and Tex

Interesting Boys Names from the 2014 Birth Announcements

Famous Name: Edward

Boys Names From Native Australian Flowers

Girls Names From Native Australian Flowers

Famous Names: Buddy and Sonny