Tag Archives: historical records

Famous Name: Gallipoli

24 Wednesday Apr 2013

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anzac-cove-gallipoli-photo_1343753-770tallGallipoli is a peninsula in Turkey, where the Gallipoli campaign took place between April 25 1915 and January 9 1916 during the First World War. The Australian and New Zealand forces, the Anzacs, landed at dawn at what is now known as Anzac Cove on April 25. The Turkish forces, the Ottomans, defended their territory with a fierce determination, but by evening, the Anzacs had managed to hold a tiny triangle of land about 2 km long and 1 km wide, which they called Anzac.

In his memoir, A Fortunate Life, Albert Facey described his experience of landing at Anzac Cove:

Suddenly all hell broke loose … bullets were thumping into us in the rowing boat. Men were being hit and killed all around me … The boat touched bottom some thirty yards from the shore so we had to jump out and wade in to the beach … The Turks had machine guns sweeping the strip of beach where we landed – there were many dead already when we got there. Bodies of men who had reached the beach ahead of us were lying all along the beach and wounded men were screaming for help. We couldn’t stop for them – the Turkish fire was terrible and mowing into us … we all ran for our lives over the strip of beach.

The Ottomans fought bravely, but there too few of them to drive the Anzacs back into the sea. The commander Mustafa Kemal issued this order to the 57th Infantry Regiment:

I do not order you to fight, I order you to die. In the time which passes until we die, other troops and commanders can come forward and take our places.

They followed their orders. The entire regiment was wiped out by the Anzacs, every man of it either killed, or so badly wounded he could not continue fighting. The modern Turkish army does not have a 57th Regiment, as a mark of respect.

By April 29, the first casualties from Gallipoli reached the Australian hospital near Cairo, in Egypt. Sister Constance Keys of the Australian Nursing Service wrote home:

The greatest number of men we came over with are either killed or wounded. The whole battalion was practically cut to pieces.

The Gallipoli campaign continued for eight more months, with nearly half a million casualties, and more than 100 000 deaths. This includes around 60 000 Turks and 53 000 British and French soldiers, including more than 8500 Australians and 2721 New Zealanders.

In the end, the campaign was a crushing defeat for the Allied forces, and one of the greatest victories for the Turks. It gave them a national identity and fostered their spirit of independence just as much as it did for Australians.

Today there are many cemeteries and war memorials on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Each year on Anzac Day, April 25, commemorative services are held at Gallipoli for the war dead, conducted by Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, Britain and France.

Gallipoli is considered sacred ground to many Australians, consecrated by the blood of those who fell there. Increasingly, it is seen as a place of pilgrimage, with many young people travelling to Gallipoli as a rite of passage.

The Macedonian city of Callipolis was founded in the 5th century BC on the Dardanelles Strait; its name comes from the Greek word kallipolis, meaning “beautiful city”. Also known as Gallipoli, it gives its name to the peninsula it sits on, and its Turkish name is Gelibolu. It is pronounced guh-LIP-uh-lee.

According to Australian historical records the name Gallipoli was given to just two girls during World War I, both of whom died in infancy. I wonder if this name was considered so sacred that it could only be bestowed on those destined for death.

As a middle name, it was given more often, and to equal numbers of males and females. People such as Mercia Gallipoli, Sydney Gallipoli, Brittania Gallipoli and Anzac Gallipoli flourished and increased, and some have only recently left us.

Although place names are becoming increasingly fashionable as baby names, I cannot recommend Gallipoli as a first name. Its extreme rarity, the problems with spelling and pronunciation, and difficulties shortening it to a usable nickname are some of the least problems it faces. In the middle, it seems easier to live with.

To me the main problem with Gallipoli as a first name is its heaviness. It was the scene of battles where many lives were lost, and much blood shed; a place of great suffering and enormous sacrifice. Gallipoli is a place of death – heroic deaths, brave deaths; corpse upon corpse of them. Many dead in the water before they even reached land; many lives given solely to buy others time.

There’s also the uncomfortable fact that we went to Gallipoli as invaders. We invaded someone else’s country, on the orders of another country, and we slaughtered their people. Another uncomfortable fact is that our side lost the campaign, and lost badly. Even more uncomfortably, this hideous loss was a waste of time, resources and life. The Allies achieved nothing from it, and the Turkish people who successfully defended their land were on the losing side of the war.

The name Gallipoli conjures up many emotions. National pride, gratitude for sacrifices made, deep sadness at loss of life, horror at what was endured, anger at the futility of war. And also forgiveness, respect, shared grief, and friendship between nations who were once enemies.

There’s been several quotes in this entry, and I will end with one more, from Turkey’s first president, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, which is now inscribed on a monument at Gallipoli:

Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives… You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours… You, the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.

POLL RESULT: Gallipoli received an approval rating of 15%, making it one of the least favourite names of the year. People had some real problems with the name Gallipoli, seeing it as having too many issues (31%), too weird (28%), too controversial (13%), and too sad (13%). Only 10% thought Gallipoli was usable as a baby name, and nobody thought it was beautiful.

(Photo is of Anzac Cove, Gallipoli)

Famous Name: Thor

17 Wednesday Apr 2013

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kinopoisk.ruThe Hollywood movie Thor came out a couple of years ago; last year it was followed by The Avengers, and a sequel will be coming out at the end of this year. The movie character is based on the Marvel Comics superhero, created by the famous Stan Lee, and the films place ancient gods in the modern world, interacting with humans and having spectacular magic vs science showdowns.

The Australian connection to this story is that Thor is played by Chris Hemsworth, who appeared on the blog as a celebrity dad last year, after welcoming daughter India Rose with his lovely wife Elsa. Thor‘s world premiere was held in Sydney.

In Norse mythology, Thor is the god of thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, healing and fertility. He is a protector of humanity, and the god who makes things holy. He is generally depicted as a large, muscular, red-haired and red-bearded man with fierce eyes, wielding a hammer that can pretty much smash through, well, everything.

Medieval epics describe Thor’s exploits in battle, and his fearsome wrath with anyone who crosses him. He is no steroidal oaf though, and capable of outwitting others and being clever with words; he sits as a judge at the foot of the World Tree. It is foretold that at the world’s destruction, Thor will do battle with his arch-enemy The Great Serpent and slay it, but will succumb to its venom and meet his end.

I think it’s too tempting for us moderns to imagine Thor as some sort of beefcake with anger management problems, but to his worshippers he was a source of strength and protection for their homes and possessions, giving security to family and community, and warding off plague and famine.

As the product of a divine marriage between the sky god Odin, and the earth mother Fjörgyn, he was a potent fertility symbol, and like lightning, he was a conduit between the heavens and the earth. The storms he brought with him watered the fields and made life grow.

Thor was worshipped by Germanic peoples, including those in Anglo-Saxon England, and the Vikings of Scandinavia, but it is from Norse mythology that most of our information about him is gained. His name is derived from an Ancient Germanic word for “thunder”; the Old English form of Thor is Thunor (pronounced THOO-nor), which makes the connection even more obvious.

It is a testament to his vast popularity how many names used in Britain there were that derived from Thor. A few that have survived into modern times, although rare, are Thora, a feminised form of Thor; Thurstan, meaning “Thor’s stone”; and Torquil, meaning “Thor’s cauldron”. His name is also in Thursday, meaning “Thor’s day”.

In Scandinavia the name Thor isn’t uncommon, and is pronounced TOR. Some famous Thors you may have heard of are Norwegian ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl (who crossed the Pacific on a raft named Kon-Tiki), Norwegian cyclist Thor Hushovd, Danish poker player Thor Hansen, Venezuelan human rights activist Thor Halvorssen, and Belgian singer Thor Salden.

Although the name Thor continued to be occasionally used in Britain, it is much more common in the United States, which has had significant migration from Scandinavia. Quite a few people named Thor can be found in Australian records, and most of them have Scandinavian surnames, or emigrated here from Scandinavia.

I recently saw a birth announcement for a baby boy named Thor, born in Tasmania; remarkably there was a Loki announced that same week, and an Odyn the following week.

Not long ago, Nameberry announced Thor was shaping up as one of the hot names of 2013 (along with other mythological names), and at the end of last year, told us that Scandinavian would be the ethnic name group most likely to rise in popularity. Meanwhile Abby’s Nameberry Nine this week pointed out that boy’s names are getting cooler all the time – even her little girl has noticed.

If you are considering the name Thor for your son, it is not only strong and interesting, with an ancient history that plugs in to European culture, but also right on trend.

With the Chris Hemsworth movies in the public consciousness, Thor is a name we’re all more familiar with, and for dads who hanker after a tough cool baby name, they might find it easier to persuade their partners if they have been smitten by Hemsworth’s hunkiness.

POLL RESULT: Thor received an approval rating of 59%. People were divided on the name Thor, with 16% thinking it was unusual, but something we’ve all heard of, while the same percentage thought it was over the top. 11% thought the god Thor gave the name greater substance and dignity, while 8% thought the god made the name seen heavy and oppressive. 7% considered that the movie made the name seem more accessible, while 5% saw the movie as making the name geekier.

Colourful Names of Real Australians

23 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by in Historical Records

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colourful-paints-colors-24236829-1920-1312I love poring over names in historical records, and I even made a Category for historical records, without ever adding much to it. It’s time this was remedied, and here is the first list I have drawn up for the series. Last Sunday I covered the fascinating name Orange, and here are some more interesting colour names from the records.

Black, White and Grey

  • Taupe Amon (emigrated 1883 to Sydney, New South Wales)
  • Brunette Black (resided 1903 in Brisbane, Queensland)
  • Doris Jet Black (born 1900 in Maclean, New South Wales)
  • Brighty Sable Bowden (born 1883 in Clarence, Tasmania)
  • Ivory Rose Fitzgerald (died 1903 in Queensland)
  • Prosper Ivory Gough (born 1878 in Sydney, New South Wales)
  • Victor Grey Green (born 1905 in Mersey, Tasmania)
  • Blanche Blonde Officer (born 1881 in Tower Hill, Victoria)

Blue and Green

  • Robert William True Blue Ainsworth (born 1884 in Will, Victoria)
  • Blue Fish (cited as the father on a gravestone dated 1939 in Sydney, NSW)
  • Olive Green (born 1878 in Adelaide, South Australia)
  • Verdant Green (born 1861 in Sydney, New South Wales)
  • Cyan Hook (migrated 1924 to Melbourne, Victoria)
  • Azure Josephine Marguerite McCasker (born 1927 in Queensland)
  • Emily Aqua Sparrow (born 1902, Mount Torrens, South Australia)
  • Blue Stockings (died 1875 in Queensland)
  • Teal Wang (died 1953 in Perth, Western Australia)

Purple

  • Laura Lavender Blue Boyce (died 1937 in Sydney, New South Wales)
  • Theodore Lavender Bunting (died 1942 in Geelong, Victoria)
  • Maroon Day (born 1893 in Sydney, New South Wales)
  • Mauve Dulaghan (emigrated 1958 to Sydney, New South Wales)
  • Tyrian Gibbon – married name (resided 1954 in Brisbane, Queensland)
  • Clethra Erubescent Lavender Nicholls (born 1891 in Redhill, South Australia)
  • Puce Pavell (emigrated 1875 to Sydney, New South Wales)
  • Lilac Pearl Luxford Virgo (born 1895 in Balaclava, South Australia)

Red and Pink

  • Ruby Coral Bandt (born about 1907 in South Australia)
  • Coral Ivy Pearl Blizzard (born about 1894, died in Wynard, Tasmania)
  • Miri Red Summerson Crossley (born 1887 in Melbourne, Victoria)
  • Frederick Red Rover Hardy (born 1866 in Queensland)
  • Magenta Chiffon Hensley (born 1904)
  • Percival Red Hood (born 1891 in Victoria)
  • Valentine Cerise Marsh (born 1910 in Queensland)
  • Red Archibald Jerome Ohea (born 1896 in Briton, Victoria)
  • Pink Penny (born 1896 in Warracknabeal, Victoria)
  • Carmine Rose (born 1889 in Sydney, New South Wales)
  • Burgundy Severance (emigrated 1912 to Fremantle, Western Australia)
  • Joseph Pink Starr (born 1872 in Athelstone, South Australia)
  • John Red Honeysuckle Yorkie Wilks (born 1885 in East Wellington, South Australia)

Yellow and Orange

  • “Yellow Dick” – criminal alias (born about 1812, arrested in New South Wales)
  • Saffron Gay (no date given, Western Australia)
  • Loyal Orange Hore (born 1897 in Zeehan, Tasmania)
  • “Ginger” Lawless – real name Ray Lawless (born 1949, died in Kingsborough, Tasmania)

Brown

  • Auburn Brown (born 1885 in Sydney, New South Wales)
  • Auburn Hair (born 1895 in Sydney, New South Wales)
  • Chocolate Lilywhite (resided 1930 in Sydney, New South Wales)
  • Caramel Sultana (migrated 1952 to Adelaide, South Australia)
  • Rust Wake (born about 1907, died in Northampton, Western Australia)

Gold and Silver

  • Hurtle Milford Gold Biggs (died 1966 in South Australia)
  • Daniel Gold Boon (born about 1895, died in Melbourne, Victoria)
  • Adelaide Gold Burner (born 1886 in Unley, South Australia)
  • Silver Bell Eddy (born 1899 in Zeehan, Tasmania)
  • May Silver Thorne Flower (born 1896 in Melbourne, Victoria)
  • Rose Ann Silver Fox (married 1911 in Queensland)
  • John Gold Hunter (died 1894)
  • Silver Price (born 1886 in Dubbo, New South Wales)
  • William Alexander Gold Steel (died 1928 in Queensland)
  • Silver Hope Tonks (born about 1903 in Hobart, Tasmania)
  • Ellen Silver Virtue (born about 1904, died in Longford, Tasmania)
  • Argent Wing (born about 1916, died in Ulverstone, Tasmania)

Requested Name: Dimity

20 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by in Requested Names

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Dimity is a type of corded fabric, which since the 18th century has been made with cotton. The name was applied to two different types of corded cotton – one a heavy material used for bedcovers and curtains, and the other a lightweight, sheer fabric, often white with gingham checks, used for women’s dresses, skirts, blouses and lingerie. People usually think of the second meaning when they talk about dimity. The word comes from the medieval Latin dimitum, derived from the Greek dimitos, meaning “double thread”.

There is a great daintiness and femininity to the fabric, but at the same time it is surprisingly tough because of its double weave. These days, dimity is often part of vintage fashion and considered a lovely “old-fashioned” textile.

Its image in the past was twofold. On the one hand, it was seen as very ladylike and respectable, so that in her diaries, the novelist Virginia Woolf used the word in the sense of “niminy-piminy”, to indicate an overly refined and fussy femininity. On the other, it had rather a saucy side, because in Victorian tableau vivants of an erotic nature, the women wore body stockings and were draped in see-through dimity to preserve their modesty.

Information on the history of Dimity as a girl’s name is rather thin, but it seems to be much more common in Britain and Australian than elsewhere, and to be a name from the 20th century. The earliest Dimity I could find in the records dates to World War I, with an apparent peak in the years after World War II, from the late 1940s to the early 1960s.

Although the name can be found in records from the United States, it’s a bit confusing, because there the name seems to have been used as a short form of the Russian name Dimitrya. I can’t even tell if the women were actually called Dimity in real life, or if this is used as a shorthand for Dimitrya by the people writing  the records. So although the English name Dimity might have a history of use in the US, it is not possible for me to be sure.

The whimsical and lightly tripping sound of the name Dimity has made it very suitable for fiction, with Australian children’s author Bob Graham penning Dimity Dumpty, about the sister of Humpty Dumpty, and American children’s author Jane Yolen writing of Dimity Duck, the friend of Frumity Frog.

Another American author, Nancy Atherton, has an entire series about an Aunt Dimity who manages to solve mysteries from beyond the grave. Interestingly, Ms Atherton’s novels are set in Britain rather than her homeland, and she also has to explain to her readers how to pronounce the name Dimity (DIM-uh-tee). This lends weight to the notion that the name Dimity is less familiar in the United States.

I get the impression that in times past, Dimity was seen as rather upper-class, and like Verity, had the image of being a Head Girl/Debating Team Captain/Pony Club Champion sort of a name. These days I think it seems much more accessible, with the number of successful women named Dimity in the public eye giving it greater exposure. I suspect that the popularity of the similar-sounding Trinity may also broaden its appeal.

Famous namesakes include news reporter Dimity Clancey, opera singer Dimity Shepherd, ballerina Dimity Azoury, violinist Dimity Hall, United Nations Women Australia board member Dimity Hodge, and speech pathologist Dr Dimity Dornan, who has been honoured for her lifetime working with deaf and hearing-impaired children. There seems to be many successful women called Dimity, considering that the name is apparently quite rare.

Dimity is a dainty, feminine name with a hint of whimsy, but not one to be underestimated. Like the fabric it is named after, there is a strength to delicate Dimity. Although it is an uncommon name, it isn’t unfamiliar in Australia, and has many high-achieving namesakes.

Thank you to Brooke for suggesting Dimity as a featured name.

POLL RESULT: Dimity received an approval rating of 69%. People saw it as poetic and whimsical (20%), delightful (19%), delicate but strong (15%) and dainty and demure (10%). However, its detractors thought it was too odd and eccentric (10%), or even “frightful” (8%). Nobody thought Dimity was a lower-class name.

(Picture is of a 1930s-style white dimity dress)

Waltzing with … Orange

17 Sunday Feb 2013

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Orange jacket Postcard autumn leavesToday is Banjo Paterson’s birthday, and as we have already covered his name, I thought it would be interesting to look at the name of his birthplace.

At the time of Paterson’s birth, his parents were living at Buckinbah Station, near the town of Yeoval (then known as Buckinbah). Because of the station’s isolation, Banjo’s mother Rose went to stay with her aunt and uncle, Rose and John Templer, at their homestead Narrambla, and it was here that she gave birth to her son. Narrambla is about 2 miles from the centre of Orange, and today lies on the city’s outskirts. Rose herself was born on a homestead near Orange, so it was rather a family tradition.

Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales. It was founded in the early 1820s as a convict settlement, and farmers began settling in the area in 1829. The first discovery of gold in Australia was made in 1851 near Orange, leading to the gold rush. Orange became a trading centre for gold, and continued growing due to its good position for agriculture. It was declared a city in 1946. Orange is known for its fruit growing, especially apples, pears and stone fruits; ironically it is too cool to grow oranges in Orange. It is also a thriving wine making area, and has both gold and copper mining. It is a sister city to Orange in California.

Orange was first called Blackman’s Swamp, after John Blackman, the guide who brought the first explorers there. The name was changed to Orange by the Surveyor-General Sir Thomas Mitchell, in honour of William, Prince of Orange. Mitchell and the Prince had both been aides-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington during the Peninsular War in Spain in the early 19th century. The Prince of Orange later became the first King of the Netherlands.

The Prince’s title originally came from the Principality of Orange in the south of France. It began life as a settlement called Arausio, named after a local Celtic water god; the god’s name is said to mean “temple”, meaning the temples that are on the forehead, not a temple as in a building for worship.

The town’s name was corrupted into Orange, and by the Middle Ages, conflated with the word orange, which comes from the Sanskrit for “orange tree”, naranga. The colour was named after the fruit, and first used this way in the 16th century.

As a personal name, Orange has a longer history than you might imagine, for the girl’s names Orenge and Orengia are found in the 13th century. As this predates the name for the fruit, their etymology is extremely uncertain, and possibly has the same source as the French town, which first became a principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the 12th century.

The surname Orange is either from the place name, or derived from the female name, and when the English name Orange appears in the early 17th century, it may have been after the surname. The name first arises in Devon, and in the beginning was exclusively given to girls, although the name became unisex after William III of England, or William of Orange, gave it a masculine feel.

As a first name, Orange is extremely rare in Australian records, and given to only a few girls, but as a middle name is much more common, and given to boys in almost equal numbers as girls (the middle name Orange was sometimes combined with William in the case of boys, showing that William of Orange still had some naming clout).

Colour names for girls are popular at the moment, with many little girls named Scarlet or Jade; tree names such as Olive and Willow are in the girls’ Top 100, surnames such as Marlowe and Quinn are fashionable for girls, and it’s not unusual to see baby girls named after European cities, such as London or Vienna. Orange seems a more vibrant continuation of these trends. Indeed, you could see it as a hyper juiced-up Clementine.

Orange is such a bright, outgoing, fun colour that it seems very cheerful as a person’s name, but it also has a more serious side, because orange is connected to religion and spirituality. There’s a real yin/yang, East/West dichotomy with the name Orange. Is it as crazy as a clown’s wig? Or as serene as a meditating Buddhist monk?

Orange fruit gains its colour from carotenes, the same thing which makes deciduous leaves turn orange. By chance, the city of Orange is known for its spectacular displays of autumn leaves, and it is therefore known as “The Colour City” (also a play on its name). You might see Orange as a name that evokes the changing of the seasons, and the turn of the year.

Although Orange started life as a girl’s name, it did become unisex, and is so rare that it could be worn by either boys or girls. If you are shy about using this vivid name, it would make an eye-catching middle.

Orange is a bold choice as a baby name, though not without shades of subtlety, and it celebrates Australian geography and history. I think Orange is one of the more distinctive of the patriotic names, and has a real tang to it.

Name Combinations for Orange

Orange Beatrice, Orange Eliza, Orange Lily, Orange May, Orange Ruby, Orange Victoria

Brothers for Orange

Eden, Hartley, Fitzroy, Paterson, Sunny, Tennyson

Sisters for Orange

Audley, Breeza, Corindi, Junee, Kendall, Marinna

Note: Name combinations from historical documents; just for fun, sibsets include names of other towns in New South Wales

POLL RESULT: Orange received an approval rating of only 27% – the lowest-rated featured name of 2013, and the only one to score less than 50%. 40% of people hated the name Orange, and nobody loved it.

(Picture shows a postcard from the city of Orange)

Requested Famous Name: Banjo

14 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by in Famous Names, Requested Names

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146168-banjp-paterson-grapphicOn Sunday February 17 this year it will be the 149th birthday of Andrew Barton Paterson, affectionately known as “Banjo” Paterson. To celebrate, The Orange and District Historical Society will be throwing him a birthday party, with a car rally, picnic lunch in Banjo Paterson Park, poetry readings, stories of Banjo’s life, and walk around the historic property where he was born.

Because this is a name blog, I feel obliged to explain that Paterson was named Andrew after his Scottish-born father, and his middle name Barton was a family name from his mother’s side; he was related to Edmund Barton, who would later become Australia’s first prime minister. Because he and his dad had the same name, Paterson went by his middle name, and was always known as Barty to his friends and family.

Paterson lived with his grandmother while he was attending the prestigious Sydney Grammar School, and she encouraged in him a love of poetry. He was 21 when he first began submitting poems to The Bulletin, under the pseudonym of “The Banjo” (sometimes shortened to a simple “B”). Full of fierce nationalism and a desire for a fairer society, he had some aspirations to write fiery polemic, and had even written a political pamphlet. However, The Bulletin had other ideas.

In the late 19th century, there was a movement towards the British colonies of Australia becoming one country, a feeling that Australia should be a united nation, and Australians a united people. In the effort to provide Australia with a unifying mythology that would instil nationalistic pride, it seemed that the Australian bush and outback would be the symbol to draw everyone together.

The Bulletin suggested that Banjo Paterson try his hand at bush poetry in line with its nationalist editorial policy. Banjo had been born in the Central West, but spent most of his childhood and youth growing up on the family property near Yass, north of Canberra. It was here he learned to ride, and watched the horsemen from the Murrumbidgee River and Snowy Mountains country play polo and take part in picnic races. He gained a great love of horses, and an admiration for horsemanship.

When he wrote The Man from Snowy River, it was a poem of reckless horse-riding heroism which immediately captured the nation’s imagination, and which still has our heart. It made his name, and his first poetry collection, under the title The Man from Snowy River, is the most-sold collection of Australian bush poetry ever, and is still reprinted today. During his lifetime, Banjo Paterson was second only to Rudyard Kipling in popularity among living poets writing in English.

Banjo Paterson was a colleague and friend of Henry Lawson, but had a very different way of seeing the bush. In Banjo Paterson poems, the bush is a place of adventure, romance and beauty, populated by heroes who live in freedom amongst the gum trees, honest freckle-faced youths, and characters with funny names and odd yarns about them.

Australia is the Outback, and pioneers, and songs around the campfire under the starry sky, and swagmen camped by billabongs. It’s a country of warmth and humour, and although it never quite existed, like all good mythology it lives in our hearts and minds. Banjo Paterson gave us a dream of Australia – one from which we have never truly awakened.

When it comes to names from history, often times there is a tinge of tragedy to them; some sadness attached to the real person who bore them, or even a whiff of scandal. There is no darkness to the name Banjo – Paterson was a decent, highly intelligent man who cared very much about the less fortunate, but he was essentially a happy person who was popular and sociable, and liked sport and the outdoors.

He wore his fame easily, remained modest about his talents, and never had any scandal attached to him. He was able to fulfil many of his dreams, and those that were denied him didn’t set him back. He enjoyed the ordinary love of friends and family, as well as the extraordinary love and devotion given to him by his nation. He is the model of what we hope for and expect from our celebrities.

The equine-loving Paterson took his pen name name of The Banjo from that of a horse owned by his family. This always seems to be described as “a favourite horse”, or even “his favourite horse”, but I cannot find any original source for this. Paterson himself simply describes it, no doubt with affection, as a “so-called racehorse“.

The origin of the horse’s name is apparently lost to history, but the word banjo has a history as a slang word in Australia. Slang dictionaries suggest as possible meanings “frying pan”, and “shoulder of mutton”. Another meaning was “shovel used for mining”, which during World War I, became used for any military entrenching tool – in other words, there are some correlations between the slang terms banjo and digger!

A banjo is military slang for a bacon and egg roll, because the motion of constantly dealing with crumbs while eating is reminiscent of someone playing the banjo. And Banjo Paterson himself has added another slang term – a banjo is a $10 note, because Paterson’s picture is on it, along with the words to The Man from Snowy River (Henry Lawson was on the old $10 note).

The banjo is the descendant of musical instruments brought to Colonial America by African slaves, and long seen as a staple of country music, the music of the poor and downtrodden (the kind of people that Banjo Paterson cared about). It is not known where the word banjo comes from, but the most likely source is West Africa, where it may be the same word they used for bamboo.

There are quite a few men named Banjo in Australian records, with the name most common as a nickname or alias. Many must have been named in honour of the poet, with some families named Paterson apparently finding it hard to resist having their own “Banjo Paterson”. The name isn’t unusual in Aboriginal communities, where it is given as a nickname.

The name Banjo gained fresh impetus when actress Rachel Griffiths named her son Banjo Patrick in 2003; since then the name has received more use, with 12 baby boys named Banjo last year in Victoria alone.

Banjo is an uniquely Australian name; one which seems strange in other countries, yet cosy and familiar in our own. It’s patriotic and honours one of our most beloved national poets. It’s cute, cool, and has a very Aussie nickname too – Joey.

Thank you to Brooke for suggesting Banjo as a featured name.

POLL RESULT: Banjo received an approval rating of 86%, making it one of the most highly esteemed names of the year. It was seen as uniquely Australian and patriotic (36%), cool and different (30%), and cute and spunky (20%). The remaining 14% of people thought it was over the top, weird, or ridiculous.

(Picture shows Banjo Paterson with the score to Waltzing Matilda)

Underused Names for Girls

03 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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sabine women detailLast week we had names from Victoria which were used less than ten times in 2012. Those names are uncommon – but what if you wanted something even rarer? These are names which don’t appear even once in the Victorian data from last year, and have never charted in Australia. However, they are not strange or obscure, and all of them can be found in Australian historical records.

Angharad

Angharad is an Old Welsh name meaning “greatly loved”. It was reasonably common in medieval times, and there are several Angharads in Welsh history. In Welsh mythology, Angharad Golden-Hand is the lover of Peredur, one of King Arthur’s knights. Angharad Morgan is a main character in How Green Was My Valley, and in the film version was played by Maureen O’Hara. Actress Angharad Rees became well known in the 1970s for playing the role of Demelza in the TV series Poldark. Lots of famous Angharads, yet I could find only one woman named Angharad in Australian records. The pronunciation, ang-HAH-rad, may have caused some concern. This is a strong and unusual name with a lovely meaning. It would definitely stand out.

Beatrix

Beatrix is based on the name Viatrix, the feminine form of the Latin name Viator, meaning “voyager, traveller”. Early on, the spelling was altered to associate it with the Latin word beatus, meaning “blessed”, and it was common amongst early Christians. Some baby name books sandwich these two meanings together and interpret it as “blessed traveller”. Saint Beatrix was an early Roman martyr; according to legend, she was strangled by her servants. The name became less common in England after the Middle Ages, but was revived in the 19th century. One of the most famous people with this name is Beatrix Potter, the children’s writer and illustrator, who gave us such delightful characters as Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddleduck, Squirrel Nutkin and Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle. As well as these talents, she was also a scientific researcher, conservationist, farmer, and sheep breeder. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands helps give this name a royal touch, and a famous literary character is Beatrix “Trixie” Belden, girl detective. To me, this charming name seems spunkier and more eccentric than her sister Beatrice.

Cressida

In Greek mythology, Chryseis was the daughter of a Trojan priest named Chryses, and she was captured by the Greek champion Agamemnon as part of the spoils of war; he refused to give her back even after being asked nicely. Chryseis’ dad prayed like blazes to the god Apollo, who obligingly sent a plague through the Greek soldiers until Chryseis was returned. A later legend says that she bore Agamemnon a son. Her name given in the Iliad simply means “daughter of Chryses”; appropriately for a priest of Apollo, Chryses’ name means “golden”, perhaps in reference to sunlight. Some writers say Chryseis’ real name was Astynome, meaning “possessor of the city”. When medieval authors retold the tale of the Trojan War, this story had a complete rewrite. Chryseis became Cressida (KRES-ih-duh), and one corner of a tragic love triangle; she is made the epitome of the false woman and the whore. Some authors were sympathetic to Cressida’s plight, and in Shakespeare’s version, Cressida is complex, highly intelligent and witty. A famous Australian with this name is the artist Cressida Campbell. I find this literary name quite bewitching.

Emmeline

Emmeline is the Old French form of the Germanic name Amelina, based on the word for “work”; it is therefore related to the name Amelia, and not to Emily. The name was introduced to Britain by the Normans, and many people prefer to give it a slightly French pronunciation as EM-uh-leen, while others seek to Anglicise the way it is said as EM-uh-line (like Caroline). My experience is that the British tend to say leen, Americans tend to say line, and Australians have a bob each way and can usually cope with either. There were several prominent suffragists named Emmeline, including Emmeline Pankhurst, Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence and Emmeline Wells. Australia mountaineer Emmeline Du Faur was the first woman to climb Mount Cook (in record time), and the first person to climb several peaks – always dressed in a skirt. Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence was a keen hiker and woodcrafter, and to me the name Emmeline sounds vigorous, healthy, and practical. Emmeline has a solid history of use in Australia, being commonly found in old records, and today its nickname Emmie means it fits in with popular names such as Emily, Emma and Emmerson.

Isadora

Isadora is a variant of the name Isidora, the feminine form of Isidore, from the Greek for “gift of Isis”; the Egyptian goddess Isis was worshipped widely in the ancient world, and she was also important to the Greeks and Romans. Saint Isidora was a 4th century Egyptian nun, considered to be a “holy fool”, and treated with contempt by the other nuns for her eccentric ways, such as wearing a dirty dishrag on her head instead of a veil, and eating only leftovers instead of proper meals. When a visiting saint came to the nunnery, he immediately picked out Isidora as the only person holier than himself; upset by the praise and attention, Isidora ran away into the desert to be a hermit, and nothing more is known of her. The most famous Isadora is the American dancer Isadora Duncan, who developed her own unique style of dance, based on the natural movements of the human body. Like the saint, she was considered eccentric and radical, and danced to the beat of her own drum. Isadora is a beautiful, glamorous and individualistic name!

Lavender

Lavender has been used as a personal name since the 17th century, and was given to both sexes. It may have originally been derived from the surname, which is Norman-French and based on the word lavandier, referring to a worker in the wool industry who washed the raw wool (this is an occupation that both men and women had). Even in the middle of the 20th century, you can still find boys named Lavender. By now, however, it is almost entirely thought of as a girl’s name, and considered to be from the flower. The flower name comes from the Old French lavendre, possibly from the Latin for “blue-coloured”, lividius, but also influenced by lavare, meaning “wash”, because lavender was used in washing clothes. Lavender is often used to scent soaps and beauty products, and has been used as a relaxation aid for thousands of years. The colour lavender is associated with sensuality and decadence, and at one time, was considered symbolic of homosexuality. Like Rose, this is a pretty old-fashioned flower name that is more complex that it first appears.

Sabine

Sabine is a French and German form of Sabina, the feminine form of the Latin name Sabinus, meaning “Sabine”. The Sabines were an Italian tribe who inhabited the region where the city of Rome stands today, and some of them fought against Rome for their independence. According to legend, the Romans abducted Sabine women to populate the city of Rome; the war between the Romans and Sabines ended when the women threw themselves and their children between the armies of their fathers and those of their husbands. The history behind the legend is that the conquered Sabines assimilated with the Romans, beginning a new line of inheritance. Many of the noble Roman families traced their ancestry to Sabine origins, and at least some of the deities and rituals of Rome came from the Sabines. The Sabines were said to have taken their name from the hero Sabus, who was worshipped as a deity. Although it is too long ago to be sure, one theory is that the tribal name Sabine meant “us, ourselves, our own people”. You can either say this name the French way, sa-BEEN, or the German way, za-BEE-nuh; most English-speakers use the French pronunciation. There is at least one famous man named Sabine – the writer Sabine Baring-Gould, whose name was after the surname (derived from the personal name). You can find both men and women named Sabine in Australian records. Sabine is smooth and sophisticated, but comes with a cute nickname – Bean.

Theodora

Theodora is the feminine form of the Greek name Theodoros, meaning “gift of God”. The name pre-dates Christianity, but its meaning appealed to early Christians, and there are a few saints with this name. One of them was Saint Theodora, who as punishment for her pious celibacy, was dragged into a brothel. Her first “customer” was a Christian man, who had came to save her; they were both martyred, but their virtue remained intact. This story is probably fictional, and may have been inspired by sacred prostitution, of which Christians obviously disapproved. An Eastern Orthodox Saint Theodora disguised herself as a man and joined a monastery. Her identity as a woman was only discovered after her death. The name was a very popular one for Byzantine empresses, and Theodora I is also regarded as a saint. A Roman Theodora was a senator, and supposedly the lover of one of the early popes. She was harshly condemned for daring to “exercise power like a man”. The hussy! The image you get from these historical Theodoras is of very strong, independent, determined women – which might explain why Disney has chosen this name for the Wicked Witch of the West in Oz: The Great and Powerful. Pop star Robbie William welcomed a daughter named Theodora Rose last year, called Teddy; he wanted a dignified full name for the cuddly nickname, and Theodora fit the bill perfectly.

Verity

Verity is an English word meaning “truth”, especially in regard to religious truth or doctrine. It has been used as a personal name since the 17th century, and would have been given as a virtue name by the Puritans. However, it was most likely also given in honour of the surname, for births of Veritys in Yorkshire are suggestive, given that the Verity family is a prominent one in that county. The surname is Anglo-Norman, and has the same meaning as the personal name. Originally, Verity was a unisex name, and in early records is given equally to boys and girls. The first Verity I can find born in the United States was a boy, and his family were Puritans in Massachusetts. You can find the name Verity given to both sexes in Australian records, but only as a middle name for boys, and it has never been very common here. Famous Australian women named Verity include the politicians Verity Barton and Verity Firth, the ABC presenter Verity James, and the actress Verity Hunt-Ballard, who played Mary Poppins in the Australian version of the musical. This is a crisp, clean name which sounds intelligent and upper-class to me.

Zia

Zia is a variant of the Arabic name Ziya, meaning “light, shine, splendour” – more specifically, it refers to light which shines by its own illumination, and is connected to the sun and sunlight. Traditionally, Zia is a male name, but Arabic baby name sites usually list it as female, and the name charts in France only for girls. There are quite a few people called Zia in Australian records, and they are not all Arabic men. There are women called Zia from different cultures, including Italian, where Zia may be short for a name such as Annunzia (zia means “aunt” in Italian, but this doesn’t seem to have been a hindrance to its use by Italians). Most women called Zia in the records seem to be of British descent, and I’m guessing either it was seen as a short form of other names, or parents just liked the sound of it. I can imagine parents today also liking the sound of it, because it is so similar to popular names such as Zara and Mia – indeed, it almost seems like a cross between these names. This is a zippy name which sounds a bit different, but won’t seem out of place in the playground.

POLL RESULT: People’s favourite names were Beatrix, Emmeline, and Isadora, and their least favourite were Lavender, Zia, and Angharad.

(Picture shows a detail from The Intervention of the Sabine Women (1799) by Jacques-Louis David)

Famous Name: Jackson

23 Wednesday Jan 2013

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Sydney_Harbour_Bridge_from_the_airOn Saturday January 26 it will be Australia Day, so we are looking forward to the long weekend. In Sydney, there will be many events in and around the harbour, with one of the most popular the Ferrython, where the Sydney ferries race against each other. Chartering a boat to spend Australia Day on the harbour, basking in sunshine under blue skies, must be one of the most perfect ways to spend Australia Day in Sydney.

It’s also very appropriate, because the early history of Sydney is centred on its harbour. The size of Port Jackson, in which Sydney Harbour is located, was one of the main things which convinced the British to set up base in this area. You may recall that Captain Arthur Phillip rated Port Jackson as “the finest harbour in the world”.

I was always taught that Port Jackson was the largest natural harbour in the world, but it turns out that this is a matter of disagreement. In fact, what with the difficulties in deciding what is classed as a harbour, and whether you count size by square kilometres, length of coastline, or water volume, it doesn’t seem possible to declare any natural harbour the largest in the world – although Port Jackson must be one of the world’s largest, at least.

Sydneysiders still firmly believe that Port Jackson is the finest natural harbour in the world, and many that it is the world’s most beautiful – and as beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder, this claim at least is difficult to dispute. I expect other cities feel the same way about their own harbours.

The first known European to come here was James Cook in 1770. Not being of a gushing nature, there is nothing in his ship’s log to indicate that he thought the harbour fine or beautiful, only recording that it “appeared to be a safe anchorage”.

He named it after Sir George Jackson, a fellow Yorkshireman, and Cook’s friend and patron. Jackson later got married and changed his surname to his wife’s, becoming Sir George Duckett. I can’t help but be thankful that this happened after the naming of Port Jackson, as Port Duckett doesn’t have quite the same ring to it – although like the island of Nantucket, it would no doubt be a boon to the authors of limericks.

Jackson is an English and Scottish surname meaning “son of Jack“, which must be one of the most straightforward name meanings. The surname Jackson can be found from the 14th century onwards, and was historically most common in the north of England.

Jackson was first used as a personal name in the early 17th century, and in the United States, may sometimes have been given in honour of the seventh president, Andrew “Stonewall” Jackson – before he was president, he was a national hero for defending New Orleans from the British. He had such a reputation for toughness  that his nickname was “Old Hickory”.

Although there are many examples of men named Jackson in Australian records, the name did not begin charting in Australia until the 1970s – around the time American teen idols, The Jackson 5, became a big hit. Jackson climbed steeply to make the Top 100 by the 1990s, and peaked in the early 2000s at #29. Since then it has gently declined in popularity, and was #40 in NSW for 2011.

Early results from 2012 name data in the ACT and Victoria suggest that Jackson is falling as the variant spelling Jaxon takes off. This spelling (also a legitimate surname), takes advantage of the fashionable X, while suggesting Jax as the nickname, rather than Jack.

While Jackson may not be quite as popular as it once was, this name makes a great one for a boy born on Australia Day, and is much more subtle than last year’s suggestion.

POLL RESULT: Jackson received an approval rating of 62%. More than half of people (56%) said the name Jackson was fine and handsome, although 22% believed it was too popular, and 17% saw it as boring. Nobody preferred the spelling Jaxon, or thought of Jackson as a patriotic name.

Waltzing with … Sullivan

13 Sunday Jan 2013

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thesullivansfamilynewWe are now about halfway through the summer holidays. Despite your best intentions that every day of the holidays will be productive, rewarding, and jam-packed with memorably fun activities, there always seems to come at least one day where you find yourselves slumped in front of the air conditioner watching non-ratings season re-runs on TV. Perhaps this is what has inspired me to cover a name from Australian television.

The Sullivans is one of Australia’s most successful soap operas. First aired in 1976, it centred on an ordinary middle-class Melbourne family, and the effects that World War II had on it. The war gave endless opportunities for dramatic plot-lines; various members of the Sullivan family, and their friends and neighbours, went off to battle, worked as nurses, opposed the war, developed psychological problems, married people from different countries, got divorced, committed suicide, were lost at sea, ran the black market, went to prison, were interned as enemy aliens, shot by the Nazis, killed by bombs during the London Blitz, and had to adapt to peace-time conditions.

The show’s producers went to great lengths to ensure historical and cultural accuracy. Not only did the sets use authentic period furniture, but even the weather in the show mirrored that which actually occurred on each day during the war. This attention to detail and high production standards, not to mention a new nostalgia for the recent past, made the show a success.

A consistent ratings winner which gained the acclaim of the critics, it won five Logie Awards in 1978 and was the first Australian drama series to be sold overseas; more than 45 countries broadcast The Sullivans, where it was most popular in the United Kingdom. It made a star of Lorraine Bayly, who played dignified matriarch Grace Sullivan, and employed dozens of Australasian actors in supporting roles. Like all good soaps, it provided a testing ground for young actors, and it was on the set of The Sullivans that later big names such as Mel Gibson, Kerry Armstrong, Kylie and Dannii Minogue, Sam Neill, Gary Sweet and Sigrid Thornton gained early experience.

Ratings for the show suffered after fan favourite Grace Sullivan was killed off, and as time went on, the war finished and most of the main characters were dead or had otherwise been written out. There was some talk of continuing the story into the 1950s and showing how Australia changed in the post-war era, but it was decided to let it come to an end in 1983.

Sullivan is an Anglicisation of the Irish surname O’Sullivan, which means “grandson of Súilleabhán”. The meaning of Súilleabhán is disputed, but one theory is that it means “dark eyed”. There are also Sullivans whose family name is derived from Súileacháin, meaning “quick eyed”.

The O’Sullivans originated in County Tipperary, and the original Súilleabhán was a direct descendant of one of the kings of Munster, so his dynasty is of royal blood. The O’Sullivans also claim descent from the first Celts to colonise Ireland, migrating there from northern Spain in 800 BC.

Although this story is mythological, it does have some truth to it, for DNA studies show that the Celts of Britain and Ireland (all Celts, not just the O’Sullivans!) are descended from a tribe of Iberian fisherfolk who migrated there about 6000 years ago, and formed what is considered to be the indigenous population of the British Isles. In fact, nearly everyone in Britain is descended from them, and any of us who have British and Irish ancestry are too.

Famous Australians Sullivans include Pat Sullivan, who helped create Felix the cat; Victoria Cross recipient Arthur Sullivan; Olympic swimmer Eamon Sullivan; and Paralympic athlete Tim Sullivan. Actor Sullivan Stapleton, who starred in Animal Kingdom, is a rare example of it as a first name.

Sullivan has never charted in Australia, and only a few with the name can be found in old records, although it is reasonably common as a middle name. In 2012, there were 16 baby boys given the name Sullivan in Victoria. In the US, it is #524 and rising briskly up the rankings; in England/Wales, it is #970, and also trending upward.

Last year country music singer Melinda Schneider welcomed a son named Sullivan James Gable, and this may help raise the name’s profile in Australia.

Sullivan is a name from Australian popular culture, and more specifically, it is one from Melbourne, where The Sullivans was set and filmed. It feels modern, yet at the same time rather nostalgic, looking back to the 1970s and ’80s – who in turn were looking back with nostalgia at the 1940s.

Irish-surnames-as-first names are a great favourite in Australia, as in other countries where a significant proportion of the population claim Irish heritage. For those wanting something more unexpected than old favourites like Ryan or Darcy, I think Sullivan fits the bill of being something that’s recognised as a “real name”, while still underused. Sully or Van could be used as nicknames.

Name Combinations for Sullivan

Sullivan James, Sullivan Kelly, Sullivan Lucas, Sullivan Maddox, Sullivan Patrick, Sullivan Thomas

Brothers for Sullivan

Beckett, Cooper, Finlay, Oscar, Ronan, Toby

Sisters for Sullivan

Aisling, Emerson, Isla, Kenzie, Maeve, Violet

Note: Middle names and sibling names partially based on real life examples

POLL RESULT: Sullivan received an approval rating of 96% – the highest-rated featured boys name of 2013, and the highest-rated overall. 40% of people thought it was okay, and nobody disliked it.

(Picture is a publicity shot from The Sullivans; photo from fan site)

Australian Beaches That Could be Used as Boys Names

06 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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SetWidth960-Kangaroo-on-the-beach-Lucky-Bay-Esperance-Western-AustraliaCheviot

Cheviot Beach is on Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula, and will forever be remembered in Australian history as the place where our seventeenth Prime Minister, Harold Holt, disappeared without trace on December 17 1967, presumed drowned. To the best of my knowledge, we are the only country to have had a national leader disappear in modern times. The beach is named after the SS Cheviot, which was wrecked here in 1887, 35 people losing their lives. Not surprisingly, the public is not permitted access to Cheviot Beach, because the seas are far too dangerous – Harold Holt was only allowed to swim here because he was the Prime Minister, and as we see, it wasn’t a good idea. The SS Cheviot was named after the Cheviot Hills on the border between England and Scotland. They feature in The Ballad of Chevy Chase, which tells of a medieval battle between the English and the Scottish here. The name Cheviot is almost certainly Celtic, but the meaning is not known. This seems like an interesting way to get the nickname Chevy – which I’ve seen several times on baby boys.

Elliott

Elliott Heads is a small town in Queensland, set amongst farmland and sugarcane fields. The beach at Elliott Heads is family friendly, popular for swimming, fishing, sailboarding and jet skiing. The town is at the mouth of the Elliott River, with the river supposedly named after Gilbert Eliott, who was the first Speaker of the Queensland Parliament. If so, I’m not sure why it is spelled differently. Eliott came from a long line of Scottish barons and baronets, and being calm, courteous and dignified, avoided nearly all political controversy, and was extremely popular. The surname Elliott can be derived from a number of different personal names. One is Ellis, a medieval English form of the name Elijah. It can be from the Old English Athelgeat, a male name meaning “noble Geat” (the Geats were a tribe who inhabited what is now Sweden). Another source is Old English Athelgyth, a female name meaning “noble battle”. It can be from Old English Aelfwald, meaning “elf ruler”. Finally, in Scotland it can be from the Gaelic surname Elloch, meaning “dweller by the mound”. Elliott has never charted in Australia, with parents preferring the spelling Elliot for their sons, currently #181.

Henley

Henley Beach is a pleasant suburb of Adelaide, and its white sandy beach has gentle water for swimming and a jetty for fishing. The public square next to the beach is lined with shops, hotels and restaurants. A well-established older suburb, it was first advertised in 1860 as being “free of noxious smells”, but as you can see, it’s got a lot more going for it than that. Henley was named after Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, a famous centre for rowing, with the Henley Royal Regatta held each summer. Sir Ninian Stephen, former Governor-General of Australia, was born in Henley, and came to Australia during his childhood. The name Henley means “high wood” in Old English, because the town is in the Chiltern Hills. Henley was in use as a boy’s name in the 19th century, and it is found in some rather aristocratic-sounding name combinations in Australian records (and the less inspired Henry Henley). It was a classy name choice 150 years ago – could it be again?

Kingston

Kingston is a commuter town just south of Hobart in Tasmania; Kingston Beach is one of its suburbs. The area was settled in the 19th century by a family who were evacuated from Norfolk Island. Norfolk Island was at first a convict settlement like Sydney, but it ran into such difficulties that settlers were eventually forced to relocate to Tasmania. Being sent from a balmy subtropical island to freezing Tasmania must have come as a shock, but the pioneers obviously flourished. After World War II, many Dutch immigrants moved to Kingston, and it is a sister city to Grootegast in The Netherlands. Kingston Beach is the first swimming beach south of Hobart. Kingston was nostalgically named after the capital of Norfolk Island, which gained its appellation from its founder, Lieutenant Philip King. As we know, it’s not possible to name your child King in Australia, but you can call a baby Kingston, and it’s reasonably well-used in the records – one girl from Tasmania was even named Revie Josephine Kingston Beach. Quite common as a middle name for girls, only boys seem to have received it as a first name, including Kingston Rainbow, who managed to get two beachy names from my lists.

Lennox

Lennox Head is a village in the Northern Rivers district of New South Wales near the town of Ballina. Lennox Head Beach is more popularly known as Seven Mile Beach, although technically it’s only 5.3 miles long. The head, often called Lennox Point, provides panoramic views and a world-class point break, which makes this a famous surfing destination. Young surfers can look forward to the Rusty Gromfest in Lennox Head, known as the original and best youth surfing event in the country, and boasting alumni such as Stephanie Gilmore and Joel Parkinson. People also use Lennox Point for hang-gliding, and dolphin and whale watching. Lennox Head was named after Charles Gordon-Lennox, Duke of Lennox and Richmond, a soldier and politician. The dukedom is named for the district of Lennox in Scotland, near Glasgow; its name comes from the Old Gaelic for “field of elm trees”. Lennox is a very cool name for boys at the moment, which not only has the fashionable X, but also gives the trendy nickname Lenny; it was chosen as a baby name by racing driver Jason Bright. Handsome and aristocratic, it’s a great choice, and one I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of in the future.

Lorne

Lorne is a seaside town on the stunning Great Ocean Road in Victoria. Settled in the mid 19th century, it was visited by Rudyard Kipling in 1891, who mentions it in his poem The Flowers. Kipling was obviously ahead of the trends, because the town only opened up to tourists in the 1930s. Lorne is one of Victoria’s most popular tourist destinations, and its beach one of the main attractions, offering good swimming, surfing and fishing. In January, the town holds the Pier to Pub swim, which, with a 1.2 km course, attracts thousands of entrants, and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest organised ocean swim in the world (Kieren Perkins won in 1992). Lorne is named in honour of the Marquess of Lorne, to commemorate his marriage to Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria. The Marquess became a very popular Governor-General of Canada; the Candian press feared he and his princess bride would be horribly snooty, but the young couple turned out to be sociable, relaxed, and flatteringly enchanted by Canada’s natural beauty. The district of Lorne in Scotland may have gained its name from Loarn mac Eirc, a Dark Ages ruler of a kingdom in Argyllshire. The Celtic name Loarn is said to mean “fox”, a clan totem animal. Lorne is a name comparatively well-used in Canada, which has close ties to the Marquess, and probably best known for many years as the screen name of Canadian actor, Lorne Greene. Others may remember it as Andy Hallett’s character’s name on the TV series, Angel – the joke is that his demonic face is green.

Lucky

Lucky Bay is in Cape Le Grand National Park, not far from Esperance on the Southern Ocean coast of Western Australia. Australia has more than its fair share of beautiful beaches, but Lucky Bay must be one of the most magnificent – over five kilometres long, it is a perfect crescent of white sand lapped by clear, sparkling turquoise water. Surrounded by bushland inhabited by pygmy possums and bandicoots, you may have to share the beach with kangaroos, who enjoy lazing on the sands. Lucky Bay received its name from the navigator Matthew Flinders, who discovered it in 1802. He had been sailing in the hazardous Archipelago of the Recherche, the place where Australia’s only pirate operated from, in the 1830s. Although Flinders didn’t have to negotiate wth pirates, he had trouble enough to deal with. Sailing through the labyrinth of islets and rocks, and with night falling, Flinders took the risky step of sailing straight to the coast, in the hope that he could find safe anchorage on a beach. All was well, and he dubbed his welcome haven Lucky Bay. Most explorers in Australia haven’t been as fortunate, and therefore it is littered with forbidding place names such as Mount Disappointment, Misery Creek, Mount Hopeless, Miserable Island, Starvation Lake, Point Torment, Dismal Swamp, and Mount Destruction. Lucky Bay is unusually upbeat for an Australian place name chosen by an explorer. Lucky is a rare unisex name, and a very happy one – well suited to a baby whose birth circumstances seem particularly auspicious.

Preston

Preston Beach is a hamlet in the south of Western Australia, between Mandurah and Bunbury. It was developed in the late 1950s as a private estate, and its beach is known locally for being a good fishing spot. It was named after nearby Lake Preston, in Yalgorup National Park; the lake is named after Lieutenant William Preston, who discovered it in 1829. The surname Preston is from a very common place name in England, and means “priest town”. It may have either denoted a village which had its own priest, or one which belonged to the Church. Preston is well-known in Ireland as an aristocratic surname, and it is fairly common in Australian records from the 19th and early 20th centuries. It strikes me as a rather sleek, understated surname name for boys, in a similar mould to Parker and Spencer.

Tallow

Tallow Beach is near Byron Bay in northern New South Wales. Once a hard-working and rather environment-destroying centre for logging, sand-mining, dairying, slaughtering, fishing and whaling, in the 1960s Byron began attracting surfers to its beaches. This began its new life as a tourist destination, and in the early 1970s the counter-culture Aquarius Festival was held in nearby Nimbin. From then on, it was known as a hippy, alternative town. Today in Byron, barely a weekend goes by when they are not holding a yoga or meditation retreat, pagan gathering, music festival, film festival, writers festival, surf festival, triathlon, underwater photo festival or art fair. Tallow Beach, in Bouddi National Park is a long stretch of wild, windswept shoreline with huge waves. It got its name when the Volunteer was wrecked there in 1864, and 120 casks of tallow were washed ashore. Tallow is rendered meat fat, once used to make candles, and still used today for biodiesel, soap and skincare products. I have occasionally seen Tallow used as a unisex name – it has the fashionable -oh sound ending with homespun appeal, and is  similar to names such as Talon, Tallis, Talia and Tully. Because Tallow was used for candles, it seems like another name with an association of “light”.

Trigg

Trigg is a northern suburb of Perth in Western Australia, and Trigg Beach one of the city’s most popular beaches for surfing and bodyboarding. The suburb is named after Henry Trigg, who was the Superintendent of Public Works in the 1830-1850s. A wealthy builder, Henry was able to emigrate to Australia and take up a large land grant. His son, also named Henry, was his partner in the building trade, and an architect who designed many of the buildings in Perth city. The surname Trigg is from the Old Norse surname Triggr, meaning “trustworthy, faithful, true”, and the personal name Trig has been used in England since medieval times. The American politician Sarah Palin has a son named Trig, which brought this very old name to new public attention. It has an attractive meaning, and is part of Western Australian history. I think it might appeal to people who like short, unusual names for boys, such as Kip, Dex or Zed.

(Picture shows kangaroo relaxing on the beach at Lucky Bay)