Girls Names of Australian Aboriginal Origin – Part 2

28 Sunday Jul 2013

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My first lists of names from Aboriginal languages are the most popular articles on the blog, so it seemed time for another selection. These names are all ones which have been used as personal names in Australia. I have done my best to elucidate meaning and history as much as possible.

Alinta

Alinta means “flame” in one of the traditional languages of South Australia; it was published in a dictionary by the Royal Society of South Australia in 1891. The name was popularised in 1981 when it was featured in the award-winning mini-series Women of the Sun. Each episode portrayed fictionalised accounts of lives of Aboriginal women in Australian society through history, and the first was Alinta: The Flame. It shows first contact between an Aboriginal tribe and Europeans, when early settlers encounter a tribe while searching for grazing land. The tribe’s culture is threatened by the newcomers, and the tribe is wiped out. The only survivors are a woman named Alinta and her child; Alinta vows that her daughter will “carry the torch” for her culture. There are several businesses in Australia named Alinta, most notably a Western Australian energy company, one of the largest in Australia, and named with the Aboriginal meaning in mind. There is also an Australian-bred variety of strawberry called Alinta. It’s not a very unusual name here, and there are several young actresses with the name. Alinta is also used as a name in Romania, where it means “caress”.

Arika

Arika is a name from the Waka Waka people of south-east Queensland, meaning “blue water lily”. There are several species of blue water lily native to Queensland, and they are used as bush food, for all parts of the plant are edible. In Aboriginal mythology, water lilies are a gift from the Rainbow Serpent, and sometimes in Indigenous astronomy, small stars were seen as water lily bulbs. In the novel Book of Dreams by Traci Harding, the meaning of the name is translated, and it says that in the past, Aboriginal women named Arika were given the name Lily by white people – which suggests that Arika might be a good name to honour a great-grandma Lily. Australians named Arika include Indigenous artist Arika Waulu Onus, and Arika Errington, who works in Aboriginal health, and contacted the blog to tell us about her name. I saw several children and teens named Arika online, mostly from Queensland, so it seems as if this name could be today’s Nerida. Arika sounds a bit like Erica, and is an angram of the Japanese name Akira, while having a similar meaning to Lotus. Possible nicknames that occur to me are Ari and Riki.

Jedda

Jedda (1955) was the first Australian film in colour, the last film of famous director Charles Chauvel, and the first film to star two Aboriginal actors in leading roles. In the movie, Jedda is an Aboriginal girl raised from infancy by a white woman after her mother died giving birth to her. Although she is curious about her own culture, her adoptive mother forbids her from learning anything about it, with tragic consequences. The film was nominated for the main prize at Cannes, and was a commercial success in Australia. In the movie, the name Jedda means “little wild goose” – a forerunner of the chase she will engender. I am not sure if the meaning was invented for the film, or drew on local knowledge; Jedda certainly exists as an Aboriginal name in historical records before 1955. An Aboriginal lady told me that she understood the name Jedda (which was her daughter’s name) as “little child”, but she didn’t say what language that was from. This is reasonably well used as a girl’s name, being similar to Jenna and Jetta – but I have seen it on a boy, because it shortens to Jed, and is also a plant name, because jedda (Jedda multicaulis) is a native shrub.

Kalina

Kalina means “love” in the extinct Wemba-Wemba language of north-west Victoria and south-west New South Wales. It has often been used as a place name, street name, a name for businesses and organisations, and sometimes as a girl’s name in Australia, but I’m not sure whether it was used as a personal name by the Wemba-Wemba people. It is also a literary name, because Kalina is one of the brumbies in the Australian classic children’s series, The Silver Brumby, by Elyne Mitchell – although in this case, Kalina is a white stallion, and his name is understood to mean (in horse language) “marvellous beauty of frost on snow”. Kalina is also a Slavic name which means “cranberry bush”; in Romania it means “rowan tree”, and in Poland it means “virburnum bush”. This is a pretty cross-cultural name which has several attractive meanings, and seems very easy to wear, being similar to Karina, Katrina and Kalista.

Leumeah

Leumeah is an outer southern suburb of Sydney, in the Macarthur region. It was settled by John Warby, a convict explorer who was transported here in 1792. In 1802, Warby was given the job of protecting cattle roaming free south-west of Sydney. Here he befriended the Tharawal people who lived in the area, and learned some of their language. In 1816 he was granted land on which to build a house, barn and stables; the barn and stables are still standing – one of them is a restaurant and the other a motel. (Just to confuse things, the stables is called The Barn Restaurant). Warby named his farm Leumeah, which means “here I rest” in the Tharawal language, and this became the name of the suburb. It is pronounced LOO-mee-uh. I have seen one or two girls given this name, and it seems like an especially happy name for an Australian, as it came about from a rare case of friendship between Aborigines and European settlers. The sound of it is quite on trend, and Lulu could be a nickname.

Marlee

Marlee is a small town in mid-northern New South Wales, whose name means “elder tree” in the local Biripi language. Native Elderberry or Yellow Elderberry is Sambucus australasica; its berries are bush food and they are sweeter than the variety from the northern hemisphere. Marlee is a popular name for houses and streets, suggesting leafy abundance, and it is not uncommon as a girl’s name here. Marlee also means “swan” in the Nyungar language of Western Australia, so it has a nice meaning in two languages. It is a rare week when I don’t see a baby named Marli, Marlie, Mahli or Mali in the birth notices, and Marlee fits in perfectly – in fact there was a Marlee in this week’s birth announcements. You could see these names as attempts to “feminise” Marley, but they could just as easily be short forms of Marlene, Mahlia or Malia. Marlee seems like a great way to join this trend with a specifically Australian meaning.

Narelle

Queen Narelle was the wife of King Merriman (or Umbarra), an important elder of the Yuin people in the latter part of the 19^th century. The Yuin people are the traditional owners of the South Coast region of New South Wales, in the Bermagui area. Aboriginal people traditionally did not have kings or chiefs, and the title of “king” was given to certain elders by white people as a (misguided) mark of respect. There is a famous photo of Queen Narelle’s well-attended funeral taken around 1895, which shows black and white people mourning for her together, so it does seem as if Narelle and Merriman were able to form a bridge between cultures, or that relations in the 19^th century could be harmonious. You may see Narelle translated as “woman from the sea” in baby name books, but in fact the meaning isn’t known; it is pronounced nuh-REL. Narelle first charted in Australia in the 1920s at #362, and reached the Top 100 in the 1940s. It peaked in the 1950s at #50, and was out of the Top 100 in the 1970s. It hasn’t ranked since the 1980s or charted since the 1990s. The name took a dive in the late 1970s, when it featured on highly popular comedy series The Naked Vicar Show. Narelle was a slightly dim-witted, mildly tarty woman – hence the plummeting popularity of the name, which immediately lost all cachet. However, Narelle is actually a pretty name, and the TV show has long been off the air. It even fits in with the trend for -ell names for girls, and could have fashionable Nell or Nellie as the nickname. Names from the 1950s are predicted to make a comeback: could Narelle be one of them?

Nyah

Nyah is a small town in Victoria on the banks of the Murray River, pronounced NY-ah. It began as a utopian socialist community in the late 19^th century, but as utopian socialism went out of fashion, it lost the necessary government support, and it isn’t now any more utopian or socialist than the next country town. Its name means “this bend (of the river)” in the local Boorung language – the bend of the Murray River at Nyah was an important boundary marker for the Boorung people. The region around Nyah has several Indigenous sacred sites, and in the surrounding state forests, anthropologists have discovered many interesting artefacts of Aboriginal culture. I know of someone with this name, and it seems attractive and simple, similar in sound to popular names like Maya, while also a place name important to Indigenous heritage.

Talia

Talia is a small town on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia whose name means “near water” in one of the local languages – appropriately enough for a town by the sea. It may be from Wirangu, or one of its closely related languages. Talia has charted in Australia since the 1970s, which seems to follow its inclusion in Aboriginal Words and Place Names by Alexander Wyclif Reed (1965). It first ranked in the 1980s at #483, and hit its peak in 2009, when it joined the New South Wales Top 100 at #91. Since then it has rapidly declined, and is now #222. The variant spelling of Tahlia has been much more successful, which has been in the Top 100 since the 1990s, peaked in 2009 at #36, and is now #78. Tahlia may be more than an attempt to make clear the Australian pronunciation of Talia – it may also be to differentiate it from international names, because Talia is known as a girl’s name in several other cultures. Talia is a variant of the modern Hebrew name Talya, meaning “dew of God”, and the Italian form of the Greek name Thalia, meaning “blooming”. It can also be used as a short form of Natalia. Talia was the name of the princess in an Italian folk tale on which Sleeping Beauty was based. This is a pretty cross-cultural name with a specifically Australian meaning, and although it is less popular than Tahlia, that may make it more attractive to some parents.

Yindi

Yindi was the name of a ship, one of four that the Australian government presented to the navy of the Philippines as a gift in 1958. Each of them were given Aboriginal names taken from The Australian Language by Sidney J. Baker (1945). The first ship was the Yindi, whose name is translated as “sun”; in most Aboriginal cultures, the sun is female. Yindi also means “to descend” in the Yindjibarndi language of Western Australia, and the name may remind you of the Australian band Yothu Yindi, which means “child and mother” in the Yolngu language of the Northern Territory. I saw a baby girl named Yindi in a birth notice last year, and it struck me as a really stylish choice, which stands out from the crowd and has a sunny meaning.

POLL RESULT: People’s favourite names were Talia, Alinta, and Kalina, and their least favourite were Leumeah, Jedda, and Narelle.

(Photo shows Nymphaea gigantea – a species of blue water lily native to south-east Queensland; © Raimond Spekking / CC-BY-SA-4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Questions About Names

14 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by A.O. in Your Questions Answered

≈ 5 Comments

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Australian Aboriginal names, banned names, celebrity baby names, Dutch names, famous namesakes, Google, Japanese names, locational names, middle names, modern classics, name days, names from songs, names of gangs, nicknames, planet names, popular names, rare names, royal baby names, royal names, Russian names, unisex names, varieties of flower

This is a sample of the many random questions about names which get searched to reach the blog. I do try to answer them in posts if I can, but these are ones which I can’t see any way of subtly working into blog posts at this time.

Is it illegal to call your daughter Talula?

This gets Googled several times a month. I guess it’s because of the little girl from New Zealand called Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii whose name was changed by the courts. The Talula part wasn’t the problem, and it’s perfectly legal as a name.

Are girls named Georgia successful?

I’m sure any successful Georgia would be insulted by the suggestion that their name was entirely responsible for their achievements.

Are there any queens named Nyree?

Not any that rule as monarchs in an official capacity.

Why hasn’t there been an English king named after Alfred the Great?

Maybe because he was a king of Wessex, and not of England. Or because they didn’t want the obvious comparison to be made, in case the other King Alfred was nicknamed Not-So-Great.

What is the queen’s second name?

Ooh, I bet you were doing some royal baby name sleuthing. It’s Alexandra.

Ned Kelly‘s middle name?

He didn’t have one – he was just Edward Kelly.

What does Ballarat mean in Aboriginal language?

It’s thought to come from the local Wathaurong name for the area, balla arat, translated as “resting place”.

What other names were considered instead of Victoria for [the state of] Victoria in Australia?

I don’t think any other names were considered – it was named in honour of Queen Victoria because it was she who signed the Act of Parliament separating it from New South Wales in 1850.

What was the first name for South Australia?

The first Europeans to give it a name were the Dutch in 1627; they called it Pieter Nuyts Land after the chief explorer on their expedition.

What other things is Antarctica called?

The Antarctic, The South Pole (informal), The White Continent (poetic), The Ice (slang).

What is the name of the last [known] planet [in our solar system]?

Neptune, and if you count dwarf plants, Eris.

What was [notorious bank robber] Darcy Dugan’s gang’s name?

They sarcastically called themselves The Lavender Hill Mob or The Lavenders, after the 1951 movie starring Alec Guiness.

Abby, Abbie or Abbey – which is the correct spelling?

As far as I know, there isn’t a “correct” spelling, and these are all accepted short forms of Abigail.

What is the Australian spelling of the name Milly?

There isn’t a specifically Australian spelling, but Millie is more common here, as elsewhere.

How do you pronounce Mila in Australia?

MEE-lah or MEE-luh.

How do you pronounce the name Atticus?

AT-ih-kus.

How is Sadie a nickname for Sarah?

It doesn’t really make sense to me, either!

What name is more modern – Poppy, Sienna or Darcy?

Sienna.

Is Riley a classic name or a modern name?

As a boy’s name, it’s a modern classic.

What’s a girl name that starts with Fin-?

Finola.

Is there a flower named Maude?

There’s a variety of wisteria named Aunt Maude; it’s from the American south.

Is there a rose named Imogen?

Rosa indica v. Imogen was one of the first Australian-bred China tea roses, dating from the 1840s and created by John Bidwill, a friend of John Macarthur’s who was the first person to breed different varieties of plants in Australia. The “Imogen” rose was pure white, with clustered blooms. It doesn’t seem to exist any more.

Baby names that rhyme with Archie

Chachi, and the Japanese name Hachi – but it’s not an exact rhyme, because the stress is on the second syllable, not the first.

Will the name Beatrix become popular because of Fifi Box?

Probably not, but it’s so rare it would be significant if it even began charting.

Will Isabella become dated?

Chances are that it will, eventually. It’s never been this popular before, so I couldn’t put a timeline on it.

What is the name day for Azaria?

December 16.

Is the christening name commonly used in Australia?

If you mean, do most people who are christened in Australia use the name they were christened by as their everyday name, then I’m pretty sure the answer is yes. But if you mean, are most Australian babies christened, and therefore have a christening name to use, then I’m not sure. It’s certainly normal to be christened here, but also normal not to be.

Songs [for the] name Sophie

One is Song for Sophie by the Danish singer Aura Dione, who has spent some time in Australia.

Is the name Reginald used in Russia?

Not usually, but they have their own version of the name, Rengold.

Why do so many boys names become girls names?

I don’t think it’s the case that many boys names become used for girls (I can really only think of a handful of cases where that’s happened). However, unisex names do seem to become more often used by girls than by boys, and that’s because parents of boys have a tendency to stop using them once they become “too girly”. Having said that, there are several formerly unisex names that have become almost entirely masculine, such as Clarence and Elvis, so parents of girls must also sometimes decide that a name has become “too boyish” to use.

Do boys dislike having a unisex name?

I know quite a few boys under 15 that have a unisex name (including one of my nephews), and they are all fine with it. To be fair though, their names are ones which are mostly male, although considered acceptable to give to girls (eg Darcy), almost equally male and female (eg Remy), or so rare that they aren’t strongly associated with any particular gender (eg Bay).

Names of everyone who died in World War I

More than 37 million people (including civilians) died as a result of World War I – that’s a lot of names! I suggest you start at the Australian War Memorial, which has a roll of honour for all Australians killed in service, then ask the staff for help in accessing international war records.

Was there anyone named Mikayla on the First Fleet?

No.

Shortened Names for Boys

30 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 13 Comments

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African names, Arthurian names, birth notices, celebrity baby names, Chinese names, classic names, English idioms, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, Finnish names, Frisian names, German names, Greek names, Irish names, Japanese names, Latin names, locational names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, names from movies, names from songs, names from television, nicknames, Old Norse names, polynesian names, popular names, scandinavian names, Shakespearean names, Swahili names, Swedish names, unisex names, US name popularity, vintage names, vocabulary words

Alfie

Alfie is a nickname for Alfred. It is most famous from the award-winning (and still emotionally shocking) 1966 movie Alfie, starring Michael Caine as the predatory Alfred “Alfie” Elkins. The theme song was sung by Cilla Black, who objected that Alfie sounded like a “dog name”, and suggested Tarquin instead. As it was too late to remake the entire movie, her views were dismissed. Alfred Elkins was the grandfather of the British “Lad”, and until recently, Alfie was a name we thought of as one that could stay on grandfather. It has been Top 100 in the UK since the late 1990s, one of the old geezer names rehabilitated as cute and cool. The insipid 2004 remake of Alfie, starring handsome Jude Law as the charming Cockney, gave Alfie a new image, and Alfie Allen plays cocky Theon in Game of Thrones (big sis Lily Allen wrote a song about him). Alfie follows on the heels of popular Archie, and is #201 in Victoria.

Bastian

Bastian is a German short form of Sebastian. The name became well known from Bastian Balthazar Bux, the main character in the fantasy novel, The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende. Translated into English in the 1980s, it has been adapted into several films. In the story, Bastian is a lonely, neglected little boy who loves reading; he steals a book called The Neverending Story, and is gradually drawn into a world where make-believe becomes reality. Along the way, he not only has many adventures, but learns valuable lessons about life and love, and manages to rewrite his own story. Although he is the protagonist, he isn’t exactly its hero, which might explain why this name hasn’t taken off. It’s not only handsome, but sounds like the English word bastion – part of a castle’s defence structure, and figuratively, a person who defends a particular position.

Gus

Gus can be used as a short form of Augustus, August, Angus, Fergus, and even the Greek name Kostas, although in practice it often seems to be a nickname based on a person’s surname. The name might remind you of film director Gus Van Sant (who was named after his dad), or astronaut Virgil “Gus” Grissom, the second American in space, or of NRL expert Phil “Gus” Gould. You might think of Gus as a cowboy name, due to Texas Ranger Augustus “Gus” McCrae from Lonesome Dove, or as slightly geeky, due to Burton “Gus” Guster in Psych. The name seems to be often used for fictional animals, such as Walt Disney’s Gus Goose, and the mouse Octavius “Gus” in Cinderella (both these Guses are fat). Gus the Theatre Cat is a character from T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats; he is frail and elderly, and his nickname is short for Asparagus. This vintage nickname is now very fashionable, and is #241 in Victoria.

Jonty

Jonty is a nickname for Jonathan, which seems to have originated as a full name in the United States during the 19th century, but is now more common in Britain and some Commonwealth countries. You may know the name from retired South African Test cricketer Jonathan “Jonty” Rhodes. Oddly enough, Jonty does not appear in the US data at all now, so if any babies were named Jonty last year, there were less than five of them. Jonty is #315 for boys in Victoria. Although Jonathan is a boy’s name without a feminine form, girls are sometimes called Jonty too, but not enough to show up in the data.

Kai

Kai is Scandinavian name which may be a Frisian short form of Gerhard, Nikolaus or Cornelius. It could also be a short form of the Frisian name Kaimbe, meaning “warrior”. Another possibility is that it could be short for the Latin name Caius, a variant of Gaius, whose meaning is not known. If so, it would be the Scandinavian equivalent of the English male name Kay, as in Sir Kay, who was the foster-brother of King Arthur. Or it could be a variant of the Frisian male name Kaye, which is said to come from the Old Norse word for “hen, chicken”. Or perhaps it is short for Kajetan, which comes from the Latin name Caietanus, meaning “from the town of Gaeta” (Gaeta is in central Italy). Kai can also be a girl’s name in Scandinavia, and this case it is a variant of Kaj, which is a Swedish pet form of Karin (short for either Katrina or Karolina) – to complicate things, Kaj is also a Finnish form of male Kai. That’s a lot of names Kai can be short for! Kai can be a full name in its own right, because it is also a unisex Polynesian name meaning “ocean”, and Kai has the same meaning in Japanese. Kai is a Chinese boy’s name which means “victory” in Mandarin, and in Swahili, it is a girl’s name meaning “loveable”, but this is pronounced KY-yee, and not the more familiar KY. Kai first joined the charts in the 1970s, debuting at #498. It has climbed steeply and fairly steadily, and is currently #61 nationally, #60 in New South Wales, #78 in Victoria, #64 in Queensland, #35 in Western Australia and #62 in the Australian Capital Territory. This is a fantastic little cross-cultural name which can be used for either sex, although it has only ever charted for boys in Australia.

Liam

Liam is short for Uilliam, the Irish form of William. Famous people named Liam include Irish actor Liam Neeson, actor Liam Hemsworth, brother to Chris, musician Liam Finn, son of Neil, journalist Liam Bartlett, AFL footballer Liam Picken, and Liam Payne from One Direction, credited with much of the name’s international success last year. Liam first charted in the 1950s, and first ranks in the 1960s, when it debuted at #318. I don’t know if this was a factor, but it was in the 1950s that popular Irish folk band the Clancy Brothers began their career, with Liam Clancy their best singer. By the 1980s, Liam was in the Top 100, making #82 for that decade. Liam really took off in the 1990s, when Liam Gallagher kept grabbing headlines for controversial reasons, and was #26 for the decade. Stable for years, it is currently #11 nationally, #13 in New South Wales, #15 in Victoria, #9 in Queensland, #15 in South Australia, #8 in Western Australia, #24 in Tasmania, #14 in the Northern Territory and #8 in the Australian Capital Territory.

Max

Max can be short for Maxmilian, Maximus, Maxwell, Malcolm, or any name starting with Max-. Although we think of Max as a male name, it could also be short for female names such as Maxine or Maximilienne, and just this year Perth businessman Zhenya Tsvetnenko welcomed a daughter named Max Alice. It is perhaps best known from the Mad Max films, where Mel Gibson originally played Max Rockatansky, a vigilante in a dystopian Australian future. One of Australia’s most successful movie franchises, it kick-started a national film industry and created an enduring Australian icon. Max is a classic name in Australia which has never left the charts. It was #188 in the 1900s, and arrived in the Top 100 in the 1930s, before promptly leaving it again the following decade. It reached its lowest point in the 1970s, at #411, and then skyrocketed during the 1980s – this was the period when the Mad Max films were released. Max made the Top 100 in the 1990s. By 2003 it was in the Top 50 at #24, and by 2008 it was in the Top 20, where it has stabilised. It is #16 nationally, #18 in New South Wales, #14 in Victoria, #22 in Queensland, #18 in South Australia, #15 in Western Australia, #4 in Tasmania, and #46 in the Australian Capital Territory.

Ted

Ted can either be short for Theodore, or for Edward and other Ed- names. Teds seem to be very popular in comedy, including Father Ted Crilly from Father Ted, Ted Mosby from How I Met Your Mother, Ted from the Bill and Ted movies, Ted Bullpit in Kingswood Country, and the eponymous bear from the movie Ted. Ted became a celebrity baby name last year, when Leila McKinnon welcomed her son Edmund “Ted” Gyngell, and this year Livinia Nixon called her son Ted as his full name. Ted is #282 in Victoria, so it’s unclear whether Leila started a name trend, or simply joined one. I do see a fair amount of Teds in birth notices though.

Toby

Toby is a medieval contracted form of Tobias; you can see it as either a nickname for Tobias, or the English form of it. The name Toby is one prominent in traditional British popular culture, because of the Toby jug, originally a Staffordshire pottery jug in the shape of a stout seated man, drinking and smoking, dating to the 18^th century. There are at least two theories as why it has been given the name Toby. One is that it is after Sir Toby Belch, from William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, a suitably jovial and carousing namesake. Another is that after Henry Elwes, a famous drinker from the 18^th century who was nicknamed Toby Philpot, after a character in the drinking song, The Brown Jug. Another British Toby is Mr Punch’s dog in Punch and Judy puppet shows, traditionally a bull terrier; often in the past, Toby would be a a real trained dog, not just a puppet. Interestingly, The Brown Jug mentions Toby Philpot as enjoying a drink in “the dog days (of high summer)” – maybe one reason why the puppeteer’s dog was named Toby. Toby has charted since the 1960s, when it debuted at #427, and has been in the Top 100 since 2001. It is #78 nationally, #71 in New South Wales, #94 in Victoria, #85 in Queensland, #50 in Tasmania, and #46 in the Australian Capital Territory.

Xander

Xander is short for Alexander. Xander seems to have become common as a full name in Germany, the Netherlands and Scandinavian before it caught on in the English-speaking world, and as a nickname was used more in Britain than other Anglophone countries. Xander became popularised by the character of Alexander “Xander” Harris in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the alter ego of his creator, Joss Whedon. It may not be a coincidence that Whedon attended school in England for a couple of years. Xander is Buffy’s best male friend, and gradually matures from geeky, insecure sidekick into a smart, effective warrior, who makes a place for himself in the “real world” and is quite successful with the ladies. It was only after the show began in the late 1990s that Xander joined the US Top 1000, or charted at all in the UK. Xander is #159 in Victoria.

POLL RESULT: People’s favourite names were Gus, Toby, and Ted, and their least favourite were Bastian, Xander, and Jonty.

(Picture shows a movie poster for Mad Max)

Names Spotted at Home and Abroad (Autum Edition)

27 Thursday Jun 2013

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

≈ 7 Comments

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

Names of Babies and Children

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

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

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

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

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

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

Names of Adults

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Interesting Names Spotted in Real Life

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

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

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

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

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

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

Girls: Autumn, Mabel, Xanthe

Boys: Calvin, Lennon, Theo, Wyatt

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

Diminutive Names for Girls

23 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 14 Comments

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

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

Annika

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

Elsa

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

Heidi

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

Jinty

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

Lola

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

Mimi

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

Nellie

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

Pippa

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

Romy

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

Willa

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

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

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

Famous Name: Charlotte

19 Wednesday Jun 2013

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ 9 Comments

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Banjo Paterson, birth notices, Elisabeth Wilborn, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, food names, French names, germanic names, locational names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, names from movies, names from songs, names from television, names of bands, names of ships, nicknames, popular names, retro names, royal names, The Man from Snowy River, vintage names

The Winter Solstice is just a couple of days away, and the weather has been noticeably chillier in most places for about a month. I like lots of things about winter, but find I have to keep reminding myself of them as the weather gets colder. To convince myself it wasn’t so bad, I looked up the coldest temperature ever recorded in Australia, and found it was minus 23.4 degrees Celsius (around minus 10 Fahrenheit), on June 29 1994, at Charlotte Pass in New South Wales. That made today seem more bearable.

Charlotte Pass is in the Snowy Mountains, and nearby Charlotte Pass Village is the highest permanent settlement in Australia at 1760 m (5777 feet). It is in this region you will find the country that Banjo Paterson wrote about in The Man from Snowy River, although you are far more likely to be hurtling down a ski slope than mooning over poetry here, because Charlotte Pass is Australia’s oldest and snowiest ski resort. It can snow at any time of year, and snow may lie on the ground for days, even in the middle of summer. The pass and village are named after Charlotte Adams, who became the first European woman to climb Mount Kosciuszko in 1881.

Charlotte is a feminine form of Charles; I think technically it’s the feminine form of Charlot, a French short form of Charles (it ends in an -oh sound, like Carlo). Charles is derived from a Germanic name meaning “man”, and it is something of a puzzler whether Charlotte should be translated as meaning the same thing, or does a feminine ending on the name turn it into its opposite, so that it now means “woman”? Is a man-ette a woman, I wonder? I’m not so sure (it doesn’t seem at all flattering to women, if so), but I will leave you to figure this gender confusion out for yourselves, dear readers.

Charlotte has been commonly used amongst European royalty; one was Charlotte of Savoy, who married Louis XI of France and was the mother of Charles VIII. The name became popularised in Britain in the 18^th century because of Charlotte of Mecklenberg-Strelitz, who married George III, and whose daughter was named Charlotte after her. George III’s son, George IV, had only one legitimate child who was named Charlotte, and she died young, deeply mourned by the British public. Since then, the British royal family hasn’t seemed as keen on this name for its heirs to the throne.

Princess Charlotte Bay in far north Queensland is named after this unfortunate royal, and another Australian connection is that one of the First Fleet ships was named Charlotte. Rebel convict Mary Bryant named her daughter Charlotte after the ship she came here on. The Charlotte was later lost in the Canadian Arctic, and it recently had a fictional resurrection in the adventure film National Treasure, where the first clue to the treasure is found on the Charlotte.

Famous Australians named Charlotte include Charlotte Barton, who wrote the first children’s book to be published in Australia. Charlotte “Lottie” Leal and Charlotte Austin were both community leaders and benefactors, while Charlotte Sargent was a pastry-cook and co-founder of Sargent’s Pies. Charlotte “Lottie” Lyell was Australia’s first film star, and a pioneering film-maker.

Another exciting namesake is Charlotte Badger, a convict regarded as Australia’s first female pirate. She was a member of the notorious crew who commandeered the Venus and took it to New Zealand. The bawdy drinking song, The Good Ship Venus, references this historical event, and also refers to Charlotte … born and bred a harlot. Because of this, it is often surmised that Charlotte Badger is the original “Charlotte the Harlot“. This connection to Charlotte makes some parents uneasy, but I would be chuffed to share my name with an infamous pirate.

Some other musical connections to the name are Perth band Charlotte’s Web, who named themselves after the classic children’s book about the touching friendship between a pig and a spider. Similarly, US band Good Charlotte named themselves after a children’s book about an unlucky little girl named Charlotte, whose positive qualities are not discovered for some time.

Good Charlotte’s Joel Madden is currently living in Australia and a judge on The Voice, so you’ve probably been hearing of them a lot. For some reason, the band name’s always reminds me of the thriller Hush … Hush, Sweet Charlotte, where Bette Davis plays the mentally fragile Charlotte Hollis.

Charlotte was #96 in the 1900s, and left the Top 100 in the 1910s. It disappeared from the charts completely in the 1940s and ’50s; it’s rather surprising that Charlotte isn’t strictly a classic, but rather a retro name in Australia.

In the 1960s, Charlotte made a return at #513, representing just 2 babies named Charlotte per year. The name climbed steeply during the 1980s, and by 1995 was Top 100 at #87. By 1998, Charlotte had made the Top 50 at #37. By 2001 it joined the Top 20 at #17, in 2003 it debuted in the Top 10 at #10, and in 2005 it made the Top 5 at #2. In a decade, it had risen 85 places.

Nationally, Charlotte is #1, and it is #2 in New South Wales, #2 in Victoria, #1 in Queensland, #1 in South Australia, #1 in Western Australia, #2 in Tasmania, #10 in the Northern Territory, and #1 in the Australian Capital Territory. From the birth notices I have seen so far this year, it looks likely to wear the crown again in 2013.

Charlotte is extremely popular, and no wonder. It’s pretty and elegant, yet sounds sensible and professional. It’s been worn by a tragic princess, a snowy mountain climber, a mystery ship, a coral bay, a genius spider, a pie maker, a film star, a deranged Southern belle and a saucy pirate wench.

That’s an impressive diversity of Charlottes, and I haven’t touched upon Charlotte Bronte, Charlotte Church, Charlotte Rampling, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, or the various Charlottes from Sex and the City, McLeod’s Daughters, All Saints, Rugrats or Revenge. I haven’t even mentioned the pudding named Charlotte, which has a fascinating history of its own.

Baby name style queen Elisabeth Wilborn picked Charlotte as her favourite Top 100 name, which is an impressive commendation. She can’t get past the popularity, but maybe you can, because despite its rapid ascent, Charlotte seems like a name that will wear well. The unisex nickname Charlie had a surge of popularity which now seems to be dying down, but vintage Lottie is the current fashionable short form.

POLL RESULT: Charlotte received an approval rating of 69%. 33% of people saw the name Charlotte as elegant and classy, but 23% thought it was much too popular.

(Photo shows the sun rising over Charlotte Pass)

Famous Name: Ruby

29 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ 7 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Boys Names from the Top 100 of the 1910s

26 Sunday May 2013

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 14 Comments

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

Arthur

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

Clarence

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

Ernest

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

Horace

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

Joseph

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

Laurence

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

Maxwell

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

Percy

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

Ronald

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

Victor

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

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

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

Famous Name: Chelsea

22 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ 4 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Girls Names from the Top 100 of the 1910s

19 Sunday May 2013

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 18 Comments

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Arthurian names, Astrophel and Stella, band names, classic names, created names, Disney names, Doctor Who, english names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, French words, germanic names, Greek names, hebrew names, Hollywood names, honouring, Idylls of the King, Italian names, Latin names, Little Women, locational names, Lord Tennyson, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, name trends, names from comics, names from movies, names from television, nicknames, Old French names, popular names, retro names, royal names, Russian names, saints names, Sanskrit names, scandinavian names, Shakespearean names, Sir Philip Sydney, Spanish names, unisex names, vintage names, Welsh names, William Shakespeare

Amy

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

Enid

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

Gertrude

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

Helen

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

Joan

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

Mavis

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

Minnie

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

Olga

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

Stella

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

Veronica

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

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

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

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Waltzing More Than Matilda

~ Names with an Australian Bias of Democratic Temper

Tag Archives: locational names

Girls Names of Australian Aboriginal Origin – Part 2

Questions About Names

Shortened Names for Boys

Names Spotted at Home and Abroad (Autum Edition)

Diminutive Names for Girls

Famous Name: Charlotte

Famous Name: Ruby

Boys Names from the Top 100 of the 1910s

Famous Name: Chelsea

Girls Names from the Top 100 of the 1910s