Tag Archives: historical events

Requested Name: Eva

02 Wednesday Apr 2014

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Front1Eva is the Latinate form of Eve, a Hebrew name translated as “breath, life”. Eve is famous as the first woman in the Bible, and the companion of the first man, Adam. She shared Adam’s fate of being cast out of the Garden of Eden, and is regarded in the Bible as the mother of all humanity. Apart from the biblical figure, there is also a saint named Blessed Eva of Liege, a medieval holy recluse.

Eva is the most usual form of the name Eve in many countries around the world, and in Ireland and Scotland, can be used to Anglicise the Irish name Aoife, meaning “beauty”. In Australia, Eva has historically been often used by European immigrants, particularly amongst Catholics and Jews. This gives it considerable scope as a potential heritage choice.

Amongst English-speakers, the name received a boost of popularity in the 19th century after the publication of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. In the book, Evangeline St. Clare, or “Little Eva” is an angelic little girl who inspires love in even the most heart-hardened, and in her final throes, converts all the slaves to Christianity with some locks of her hair. It is the pure goodness of Little Eva which changes the lives of all around her.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin created a wave of pro-slavery novels to combat its views, and one of them was Little Eva: the Flower of the South, in 1853. Quick to cash in on the Little Eva phenomenon, it features yet another angelic little girl called Little Eva, equally loving and lacking in prejudice – only in this book, Eva is so kind-hearted that when the slaves are set free, they elect to remain with her of their own free will. This idealistic dream of voluntary slavery never came to pass on a large scale.

A real life Little Eva was the 1960s pop singer, born Eva Narcissus Boyd. She didn’t receive her moniker from either of these literary characters, but was called Little Eva by her family to distinguish her from her aunt, also named Eva. Little Eva is most famous for singing The Locomotion, later covered by Australian pop star Kylie Minogue. Little Eva apparently wasn’t too impressed by Kylie’s version.

Another Australian connection to Little Eva comes from World War II, when an American Air Force plane named the Little Eva got lost and crashed after a bombing mission in an isolated region of the Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland. What happened to the survivors of the crash, and their desperate struggle against the dangers of the Australian outback, was made into a documentary called Aeroplane Dance, and is being developed into a feature film scheduled for release this year.

Eva is a classic name in Australia which has never left the charts. It was #37 in the 1900s, sinking until it left the Top 100 in the 1930s. It reached its lowest point in the 1980s at #425, then rose steeply during the 1990s to make the Top 100 for the late 2000s. Currently it is #24 nationally, #26 in New South Wales, #30 in Victoria, #31 in Queensland, #66 in Tasmania, and #27 in the Australian Capital Territory.

Eva is a very international name, being popular in all English-speaking countries, and all over Europe, including Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. It is most popular in Slovenia, at #2, and its popularity in Britain and New Zealand is almost identical to that in Australia.

Eva’s position in the Top 100 is stable, and it is now at its highest level of popularity ever. This makes it a Contemporary Classic – a traditional classic name which manages to feel modern and up-to-date. Because it is still rising, albeit gradually, it is also an Up and Coming Classic, so that it still seems rather fresh and stylish.

This all helps to make Eva an attractive choice. Furthermore, it fits in with the trend for short names ending in -a, such as Isla and Ella, and the V names, such as Ava, Ivy, Evie and Evelyn. This means that while Eva doesn’t stand out amongst its peers, neither does it sound particularly distinctive.

However, for those who care about such things, Eva has the advantage of being a classic, unlike Isla, Ella, Ava, Ivy and Evie, and also began rising before them, so that it cannot be accused of being a copycat. Eva is closest to the name Evelyn, which is also a classic that began rising in the 1990s – although Evelyn has yet to reach the popularity it enjoyed in the 1900s.

Eva is a beautiful classic name that is feminine without being frilly. Eva sounds intelligent as well as pretty, and it’s a name which ages well. It is easy to spell and pronounce, and is popular without being either extremely common or faddish. That makes it a baby name which might tick a lot of boxes on many people’s lists. The usual nicknames are Eve or Evie, but it is so short and simple that it doesn’t really need a nickname.

POLL RESULT
Eva received an excellent approval rating of 83%, making it one of the highest-rated names of 2014. People saw the name Eva as a stylish classic (23%), feminine yet not frilly (19%), beautiful or pretty (18%), and easy to spell and pronounce (17%). However, 6% thought it was too popular. Nobody thought the name Eva sounded too much like the word evil.

Thank you to Brooke for suggesting the name Eva be featured on Waltzing More Than Matilda

Saturday Historical Sibsets: The Siblings of the Sea-Born Babe

20 Saturday Oct 2012

Posted by in Sibsets in the News

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This is a story I read on Baby Names from Yesteryear, and with Zeffy’s blessing, I have investigated some of the history behind it.

On March 21 1857, a baby was born on board a convict ship, two days after leaving England for Western Australia. He was named Alfred John Claris Wells – Alfred and John were family names, but Claris was in honour of the ship he was born on, the Clara. It seems that he went by the name Claris in everyday life.

Claris’ parents weren’t convicts. His father, Alexander Wells, was a pensioner guard employed to watch over the convicts on board ship. These guards tended to be recruited from the rural working class, and offered farmland in Australia as an inducement. The Wells family had been in villages around Sevenoaks in Kent since at least the 17th century, and Alexander’s branch of it had lived in the village of Leigh for several generations.

Claris’ mother was named Caroline Emily Minnor Goulding, and she married Alexander when she was in her early twenties, while he was in his early thirties.

The Clara arrived in Fremantle, Western Australia on July 3 1857 with its one very small extra passenger. The Wells family was offered farmland in Newcastle (now called Toodyay), one of the first inland towns to be established in Western Australia. It’s in the Avon Valley about 85 km from Perth, and today at least, Toodyay is a very pleasant country town, an easy drive from the city and popular for weekends away. Back then, it would been just a village, and farming difficult, even with free convict labour offered as part of the deal.

Claris wasn’t the only child of Alexander and Emily. His siblings were:

Martha (1852-1936) She was born in Kent, and was five years old when she arrived in Australia. She was living in Fremantle when she died at a ripe old age.

Alexander Thomas (b. 1855) He was born in Kent, and seems to have died before the family came to Australia.

Amelia Ann (b.1858-?) Amelia is missing from some family records, which makes me suspect she died during early childhood.

Ellen – known as Eliza (1859-1937) Eliza married a local man named Alfred Hutchings when she was 20, and had twelve children. The Hutchings moved to Northam, a town very close to Toodyay.

Emily (b. 1862-?)

Alexander (1864-?)

Alexander Wells died in 1863 aged 45, leaving his widow Caroline in a fairly desperate situation. She was 34 years old, had at least three children still living, and must have been pregnant.

In 1864 she married a convict called Esau Wetherall, a name that wouldn’t look out of place in a novel by Thomas Hardy. Esau was born in London, and had lived in Somerset. At the age of 35, he was transported to Fremantle on the Scindian, sentenced to fifteen years for horse-stealing. He was in the first group of convicts to arrive in Western Australia, and because they weren’t really prepared for convicts at the time, they only sent those who had a record of good behaviour. While in Toodyay, he was accused of stealing a sheep and brought to trial, but was acquitted. At the time of his marriage to Caroline, he was 49.

Caroline and Esau had only one child together, a baby girl who was stillborn in 1865. This was Claris’ half-sister.

Esau had been married before – his first wife was Mary Mallaby, and they were married in Toodyay the same year that the Wells family had arrived, in 1857, just after Esau was granted his ticket of leave. Mary died in 1864, so like Caroline, Esau had been left widowed and no doubt in equally desperate circumstances.

Esau and Mary had five children together, and these were Claris’ step-siblings.

Sarah (1858-1874) Sarah died when she was only 16 years old.

Mary Ann (b. 1859-1941) Mary married a man named Donald Lee when she was 18, and had fourteen children. She lived her whole life in Toodyay.

Ellen – known as Elizabeth (1861-1941) Elizabeth married a man named Thomas McKnoe when she was 17 and had eleven children. She was living in Perth when she died.

Twins Edwin and Frederick (1864-1864) Mary left behind her newborn twins when she died, and it’s not surprising they only lived for a few months. It’s very possible that Mary died giving birth to the twins, or shortly after the birth.

So Claris Wells had six siblings, one half-sister and five step-siblings.

Esau Wetherall died in 1889, at the age of 73. Although he has numerous descendants living today, for many years the family was deeply ashamed of having convict ancestry, and he wasn’t talked about or even mentioned.

Caroline Wetherall died in 1905 at the age of 75. However, the Wells family continued through her son Claris, and next time I will follow his family line through all the generations.

NOTE: Passenger list for the Clara is here.

(Picture is of a painting of Fremantle Harbour in the 19th century, close to where the Clara would have docked when she arrived)

Requested Name: Anzac

25 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by in Requested Names

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Today is ANZAC Day, one of the most solemn and significant days on the Australian and New Zealand calendars. Originally a commemoration for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) who fought at Gallipoli during World War I, today it also honours all those who served and died for their country during military operations.

It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces in 1915, as part of World War I. The Gallipoli Campaign took place on a peninsula near the Dardanelles in what is now Turkey, and was an attempt by the British and French to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul), and secure a safe route to Russia. The attempt was a failure for the Allies, and resulted in the loss of many lives.

While great military victories are often commemorated as national days of celebration, Australia and New Zealand instead remember this bitter military failure. Although Australia had been independent for thirteen years, and New Zealand for seven, when World War I broke out, many in both countries still thought of themselves as British (they had been, only a few years previous), and had a great deal of faith in the British Empire.

The miserable failure of the Gallipoli Campaign did much to shake that faith in British superiority. The stories of courage and heroism from the ANZACs bolstered a feeling of national pride, and a national identity which until then had been lacking. It is popularly said that although Australia officially became a nation in 1901, we only psychologically separated ourselves from Britain in 1915.

There is a long tradition of giving children a name to honour military events, and Anzac is another of these. Although the name Anzac is protected by the government to ensure it is not misused, it is permitted to use it on people. It would make a very patriotic name, especially for a child born on or near ANZAC Day.

Through reading the historical records, Anzac seems to have been most often given as a middle name. When used as a first name, it was almost always given to boys. As a middle name, it was much more even, but still more often given to boys than girls.

Although there seems to be have been a spate of baby Anzacs after the Gallipoli Campaign, it is a name still in use today, and I last saw a baby named Anzac in a birth announcement less than two years ago (a boy). For girls, Anne or Annie could be used as a nickname, and Zac seems most likely for a boy.

Some Anzac Name Combinations From the World War I Era

Female

Alma Anzac Myrtle

Annie Anzac

Anzac Cavel Vardon

Clover Anzac

Dardandella Anzac

Maple Anzac

Verdun Anzac Jane

 

Male

Anzac Gallipoli Claude

Anzac Kitchener

Lalbert Anzac

Valentine Anzac

Vivian Anzac Jasper

William Anzac France

Winston Anzac

Thank you to Larkin for suggesting the name Anzac back in early December, and waiting so patiently for ANZAC Day to arrive so that it could be covered!

(Image shows the Beach Cemetery at Anzac Cove, containing the remains of allied troops who died during the Battle of Gallipoli. Most of the graves are from the Australian Imperial Forces, and the first graves were dug here on the day of landing, April 25 1915)