Famous Name: Piper

24 Wednesday Oct 2012

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Anglo-Saxon names, english names, famous namesakes, Hollywood names, locational names, musical names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, popular culture, popular names, surname names, unisex names, US name popularity, vocabulary names

Sydney was recently named the second most expensive city in the world, after Tokyo; luckily it was also revealed that Australians are now the richest people in the world, so we can afford it! The most expensive suburb in Sydney is Point Piper, where the median house value is $7.38 million, and the most expensive privately owned house in Australia, costing $70 million to build, is located here. Point Piper’s Wolsley Road is the tenth most expensive street in the world, with 16% of Australia’s priciest houses on this 1 km stretch.

Point Piper is a little piece of land which juts into Sydney Harbour, a small enclave of just eleven streets and 148 houses. As Sydney’s most exclusive suburb, it is only 4 km from the CBD and offers views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. Despite its size, it has two beaches and two yacht clubs. The suburb is named after Captain John Piper, a Scottish-born military officer of Cornish parentage and German descent who arrived in the colony in 1792 and became an immediate social success.

Piper’s career got off to an interesting start when he asked to be posted to the penal settlement in Norfolk Island after a scandalous love affair which ended with an illegitimate daughter in his care. Later he became acting commandment of Norfolk, and ruled it so kindly that even one of the convicts wrote home to say how outstandingly nice he was. While on Norfolk, he took as his mistress a teenage girl who was the daughter of convicts; they eventually married, but not before she had borne him four children (they had nine more).

He became very rich by collecting custom duties and excises, and after being granted land by the governor, built a mansion on the point which is now named after him in 1816 at a cost of £10,000 (about $11 million in today’s money). He continued gathering wealth, real estate and respectability, until he ran into financial difficulties in the 1820s, and was suspended from his position after mismanagement of funds was discovered.

Piper tried to drown himself in Sydney Harbour, but was rescued. He had to sell everything he owned to settle his debts, and moved to Bathurst, where he ran a farm and became a figure of local importance. When he ran into problems there as well, his friends bailed him out and bought him a riverside property, where he and his wife and numerous children could be comfortable. He was just so nice, you see – blithe, unsinkable, amiable, and eminently forgiveable for his lack of business acumen.

Piper is an English surname which refers to someone who played the bagpipes. Although we think of bagpipes as being uniquely Scottish, their origins go back to the ancient world; it’s said that the Roman emperor Nero could play them. Their use spread through Europe in the Middle Ages, with their first explicit mention in Britain being in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. However, it was in Scotland that bagpipe music became most sophisticated and highly developed.

The piper was a well-paid and highly-respected professional, who would have been employed by a great lord or chief; it was often a hereditary position. The piper’s job was to entertain his lord at home and while travelling; this sometimes included military service. While traditions of pipers rallying the troops before battle go back centuries, the first documented case is 1549, when they were played by the troops of the Earl of Argyll. Later, pipers could be employed by a town to play each day, as well as at fairs and other events.

There is a myth that in times of old only men were pipers, and one ancient saw is that a woman found playing the bagpipes would have her fingers cut off in punishment, but this simply isn’t true. There are many documented cases of women pipers, and they were employed as teachers in a famous piping school on the Isle of Skye. Today women pipers are still out-numbered by the men, but there are plenty of them, and they are equally good.

The surname Piper goes back to the 13^th century, and seems to have historically been most common in Sussex in England. However, the personal name may predate the surname, for the name Pipere has been found in an Anglo-Saxon charter from Sussex, which could make Piper one of the oldest English names – and another possible source for the surname.

Piper, with the modern spelling, comes directly from the surname, and dates to the 18^th century, when it was nearly always given to boys (although as a middle name, much more evenly divided between the sexes). The name became seen as a girl’s name when a teenager from Detroit changed her name from Rosetta Jacobs to Piper Laurie and got a contract in Hollywood.

Although Ms Laurie says in her autobiography that she had to change her name because it sounded “too Jewish”, she gives no clues as to where she got the name Piper Laurie from. It almost sounds like a girl’s name – Laurie Piper – backwards.

Piper Laurie was in The Hustler and Carrie, but would have become well-known here for her role in the miniseries The Thorn Birds, based on the best-selling novel by Australian author Colleen McCullough. The Thorn Birds was originally broadcast in 1983, and the name Piper first charts in Australia the same decade.

The name skyrocketed in the 1990s to reach #128 by the early 2000s; I can’t help feeling this has a lot to do with the character of Piper Halliwell in the TV show Charmed. The actress who played Piper, Holly Marie Combs, confessed to having a large and inexplicable fan base in Australia.

Piper made the Top 100 in 2009, and is currently #70 and rising. Although we think of this as an American-style name, it’s only been on the US Top 1000 since 1999, and is still not Top 100, although not far off at #110, so Piper has charted in Australia longer than in the US and is more popular here. Australian parents do seem quick to pick up on Hollywood names.

I saw someone on a name blog say Piper is a name which will please everyone, which seemed going a bit far. However, I do think it has a lot to recommend it. It references luxury real estate, an ancient form of music, a Hollywood star with an Aussie connection, and an appealing namesake with a history unusually free of tragedy.

It’s a very old Anglo-Saxon name, but seems bright and modern. It’s a surname name for girls that doesn’t have any “son of” or male-only occupation issues, or significant prior use as a male name. It’s a vocabulary word which everyone can spell, pronounce and understand, and it’s a popular but not too popular name that still has room for growth.

So while Piper may perhaps not please all people, if Piper pleases you, then you may be pleased enough with Piper to pick it!

(Photo of Point Piper from the Sydney Morning Herald)

Names of Australian Female Paralympic Medalists

21 Sunday Oct 2012

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 8 Comments

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Arabic names, Arthurian legends, Arthurian names, astronomical names, Biblical names, english names, ethnonyms, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, French names, gemstone names, germanic names, Greek names, hebrew names, honouring, Indian names, Irish names, Latin names, locational names, military events, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, names of dolls, nature names, nicknames, Norman-French names, Old French names, popular names, royal names, saints names, Sanskrit names, street names, surname names, unisex names, vocabulary names

Amber (Merritt)

Amber Meritt was born with a club foot, and is originally from England; she came to Australia as a child (she’s now 19). She started playing wheelchair basketball in 2007, and won silver at the London Games. Amber is fossilised tree resin, and since prehistoric times has been valued as a gemstone. The word amber is derived from Arabic, and means ambergris, the waxy substance regurgitated by the sperm whale; it was only later realised these were different substances. Amber has been used as a girl’s name since the 17^th century, but wasn’t popular until the 20^th. The name became notorious in 1944, when the racy historical romance, Forever Amber, was published, with its heroine the sleep-her-way-to-the-top Amber St. Clare. Despite being condemned, and even banned here until 1958, the book was a bestseller, and made into a film. Amber was in rare use in the 1950s, and during the 1960s made #647 (about one Amber per year). It absolutely skyrocketed during the 1970s up to #135, peaked in the early 2000s at #49, and is now #91. This pretty gemstone name is still popular, and it’s all thanks to a “dirty” book! If looking for a nickname, Miss Merritt goes by Bambi.

Danae (Sweetapple)

Danae Sweetapple was blind from birth, and started swimming in 1990. She won a silver and two bronzes at the 1992 Paralympics. In Greek mythology, Danaë was a Greek princess and the mother of the hero Perseus. Her father shut her up in a bronze tower due to a prophecy that he would be killed by her son, but she was impregnated by Zeus, who came to her in the form of golden rain. The king had Danaë and Perseus cast into the sea, and they washed ashore onto an island, where a kind fisherman raised Perseus as his own son (as an adult, the prophecy was fulfilled when Perseus did kill his grandfather). Getting it on with a godly shower of gold was either supremely satisfying or very traumatising for Danaë, as she had no interest in mortal men afterwards, and never married or had further children. Her name is derived from the Danaans, one of the names the Greeks used for themselves, with the idea that they were partly descended from Danaus, a mythical prince of Egypt. I’m not sure how the Greeks would have said her name (nobody seems to agree), but not like the way it is usually said in Australia, which is dan-AY.

Elaine (Schreiber)

Elaine Schreiber won a bronze in table tennis, a gold in club throw, and a silver in javelin at the 1964 Paralympics, and a silver in table tennis at the 1968 Games. Elaine is a name shared by several characters in Arthurian legend, who are occasionally confused with each other. One of the most famous is the fair Elaine of Astolat, who dies of unrequited love for Sir Lancelot. The story inspired Tennyson’s poem, The Lady of Shalott, and it was only after the popularity of his poem that Elaine became a commonly-used English name. Elaine is an Old French variant of Helen. Elaine was #254 in 1900, joined the Top 100 in the 1920s, and peaked in the 1930s at #18. It left the Top 100 in the 1960s, and reached its lowest point in the late 2000s, when it was in rare use. Since then, it has been very gently rising, and is currently #457.

Gloria (Pascoe)

Gloria Pascoe developed epilepsy at the age of 9, and became totally blind by 55. At 61, she attended the 1980 Paralympics, where she took gold in lawn bowls. Gloria is the Latin for “glory, fame, renown”, and in Christian tradition it denotes the manifestation of God’s presence, often associated with a divine light. The name Gloria has been in use since at least the 16^th century, but received a boost in popularity in the 19^th from two literary works. One was Gloria, a romantic novel by popular American novelist E.D.E.N. Southworth in 1891; the other was George Bernard Shaw’s 1897 comedy of errors, You Never Can Tell. Both these works feature very attractive heroines who seem to have done the name more good than all of God’s glory. Gloria was #257 in 1900, Top 100 by the 1920s, and peaked in the 1930s at #23. It left the Top 100 in the 1960s, and hit its lowest point in 2009 when it was in rare use. Since then it has risen again, and is currently #427. If you’ve been paying attention, you will see this makes it the virtual twin of Elaine in terms of popularity.

Jemima (Moore)

Jemima Moore became paraplegic at the age of 6 from a virus, and is now 20. She won a silver medal in the 100 metres relay at the 2008 Paralympics, and attended the London Games. In the Bible, Jemima was the eldest of Job’s three daughters, and she and her sisters are described as being the fairest in the land. The name Jemima literally means “warm” in Hebrew, and can be translated as “day”. The name could actually be derived from Arabic, as there is an ancient land in Arabia who had a queen called Jemama; if so, Jemima from the Bible could be inspired by the queen of Arabic folklore. This does fit in with the Biblical story, because Job and his family were said to be from an Arabic country. The name Jemama means “turtledove”. It first charted in the 1960s, the same decade children’s show Playschool first broadcast, which has a rag doll named Jemima. Never in the Top 100, it peaked at #196 in the late 2000s and is currently #254 and stable. This is a fashionable name which has never gained popularity or lost cachet.

Lorraine (Dodd)

Lorraine Dodd became paraplegic at the age of 13, after contracting transverse myelitis. She attended the 1968 Paralympic Games, where she won three golds for swimming, and a silver and a bronze in athletics. Lorraine is a region in north-eastern France; its name comes from an earlier kingdom named Lotharingia, meaning “Lothar’s kingdom. Lothar I was a Frankish king and a great-grandson of Charlemagne; his name is Germanic and means “famous army”. As a personal name, Lorraine has been used since the 18^th century, a century in which Lorraine first became part of France. It’s sometimes said to be a Catholic name, since St Joan of Arc was also known as The Maid of Lorraine. There was a World War I Battle of Lorraine, which probably boosted numbers, and the area’s importance during World War II reflects a peak in popularity at this time. Lorraine was in rare use in the 1900s, and reached the Top 100 in the 1930s. Peaking in the 1940s, it left the Top 100 in the 1970s, and hasn’t charted since the 1990s. You can see how Lorraine helped Lauren appear feminine, and Lauren also seems to have replaced Lorraine.

Madison (de Rozario)

Madison de Rozario became paralysed by a rare neurological condition at the age of 3 and is now 18. She won silver in 2008 as the youngest Paralympian on the team, and was also at the London Games. Madison is a surname meaning “son of Matthew“, although in some rare cases it may be derived from “son of Maddy”, with Maddy being a pet form of Maud. It’s been used as a personal name since the 18^th century, and seems to have been given almost exclusively to boys in the beginning. Although certainly used in England, it was much more common in America, where it may often have been given in honour of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States (I only found one man named Madison in Australian records). Madison is famous in baby name circles for only becoming popular, and only becoming common for girls, after the movie Splash in 1984. This romantic fantasy, a rewrite of The Little Mermaid, stars Daryl Hannah as the mermaid, who chooses her “human name” from a street sign for Madison Avenue in New York City, named after the former president – although Tom Hanks’ character tells her this isn’t a “real name”. Madison was #606 for the 1980s, with about three born each year. It then absolutely screeched up the charts to make #52 for the 1990s, and peaked in the early 2000s at #22. It sunk to #44 in 2010, then rose last year to make #41. It’s been a real success story, with its nickname Maddie fitting in with Madeline.

Priya (Cooper)

Priya Cooper was born with cerebral palsy, and spends most of her time in a wheelchair. She began swimming competitively while still at school, and is one of our greatest disabled swimmers, winning nine gold medals and breaking world records at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Paralympics. She was twice team co-captain, and twice a flag-bearer at closing ceremonies. She has received many honours, and since retiring has become a spokesperson and fundraiser for several charities. Priya is an Indian girl’s name which means “dear, beloved” in Sanskrit. In Hindu legend, Priya was one of the daughters of King Daksha, a son of the god Brahma. The name is pronounced PREE-yuh, and has been rather a favourite in Australia for many years.

Siobhan (Paton)

Siobhan Paton is an intellectually disabled swimmer who holds thirteen world records, and won six gold medals at the 2000 Olympics. She was named Paralympian of the Year in 2000, and also received an Order of Australia. Siobhán is the Irish form of the Norman-French name Jehanne, a variant of Jeanne. There were several medieval queens named Siobhán. It is said that the twentieth century popularity of Siobhan owes a great deal to the actress Siobhán McKenna, who was born in Belfast. She was most famous as a stage actress, but also appeared in King of Kings (playing Mary), Of Human Bondage, and Dr Zhivago. Ms McKenna’s son, Donnacha O’Dea, was an Olympic swimmer for Ireland in 1968. Siobhan first charted in the 1950s, and during the 1960s was #571, which represents about one Siobhan a year. Use of the name increased sharply during the 1970s and ’80s, and it peaked in the 1990s at #211. It hasn’t charted since 2009, so this is another attractive name which has never made the Top 100. Pronunciation is an issue, because the usual Irish pronunciation is SHIV-on, but in Australia it’s usually said shi-VAWN.

Ursula (King)

Usula King was a swimmer who won a silver and two bronze at the 1984 Paralympics. The name Ursula means “little she-bear”, derived from the Latin ursa (which we know from constellations Ursa Major and Minor – the Great and Little Bears). According to legend, Saint Ursula was a Romano-British princess who was sent by her father to marry the pagan governor of Armorica (Brittany). Possibly to stall proceedings, she got all bridezilla and declared that before the wedding she must go all over Europe on a pilgrimage, taking an unbelievable 11 000 virgins with her as her handmaids. On their way to Cologne, they were besieged by Huns, who had a busy day beheading the lot of them. The story doesn’t fit with any known historic facts, and one theory is that Ursula is a Christianised form of the goddess Freya. However, Cologne has a magnificent basilica dedicated to St Ursula and her companions, and a little village in Wales also has a church in their honour, in the belief that Ursula was originally from Wales (in the legend, she is from the West Country). Because of the saint, the name came into use in medieval times, and got a little boost in the 20^th century from beautiful Swedish actress Ursula Andress, who was the first Bond girl, in Dr No. It’s clunky by contemporary standards, but strangely alluring.

(Photo of Madison de Rozario from her Twitter account)

Name News Round-Up

13 Saturday Oct 2012

Posted by A.O. in Names in the News

≈ 4 Comments

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Australian Aboriginal names, baby name superstitions, birth records, birth registries, changing a baby's name, choosing baby names, locational names, name changes, name combinations, name meanings, name popularity, name trends, nicknames, popular names, vintage names

I’ve read quite a few odd little snippets abut names in the news, and the holidays seems like a good opportunity to share them.

The same names popular across New South Wales

Data from the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages shows that most areas followed the same name trends last year, despite cultural and ethnic differences. One of the major exceptions to the rule was the name Aaliyah, which is #77 across the state, but a Top Ten name in Blacktown, in Sydney’s western suburbs. At the public hospitals of Royal North Shore and Royal Prince Alfred, Oliver and Chloe were the most popular names; Olivia was the favourite name at Westmead, St George and Nepean hospitals, while Isabella topped the girl’s list at Randwick, Blacktown and Liverpool hospitals. Ethan was #1 in Liverpool, while the Central Coast was the only region to appreciate Cooper in significant numbers. Amelia proved an across-the-board favourite in almost every region, only failing to make the Top Ten in Newcastle, St Leonards, Central Coast and Blacktown.

Lismore bucks the trend

Despite this uniformity, up in Lismore in the state’s far north, they pride themselves on doing things a little differently, including baby names. In the Northern Rivers region, the most popular baby names are Riley and Mia (#20 and #5 in the state respectively). Cooper is the #2 boy’s name in Lismore, adding weight to the idea that it is coastal areas which tend to go for this name. Grace is #4 in Lismore, although #14 in the state.

Baby name regret, 1909 style

This is a story sent in by a reader to one of those columns where people send in their odd little stories.

The Unthank family of Somerville welcomed their baby daughter Hazel Ethel in 1909. Today Somerville is a suburb of Melbourne, but back then it was a rural orchard town. In order to register his daughter’s birth, Mr Unthank had to drive 10 km (6 miles) by horse and carriage to Hastings, a bustling seaside town (now another suburb).

On his way to the registry office, he dropped into the local pub to visit his wife’s family, who owned the pub, and share the good news. They all had a few drinks, and decided Hazel Ethel wasn’t suitable after all. They picked a new name, wrote it down on a piece of paper, and Mr Unthank continued his journey.

When Mr Unthank got home, he casually told his wife that he and her sisters had changed the baby’s name, but unfortunately he couldn’t remember what it was, as he had handed the slip of paper to the registrar and thought no more about it.

It was six weeks before they could find the time to visit their relatives again, and in the meantime, they had no idea what their daughter’s name was. They just called her Bubby. Eventually, they discovered her name was Zalie Vivienne Unthank, but for the rest of her life, Zalie was known by her family as Bub.

Perhaps not so strangely, both Hazel and Zalie now sound perfectly suitable as contemporary baby names. Do you think her dad and aunties made the right choice for 1909? And which one sounds better today?

(You can see the birth record for Zalie here, where her name is given as Zalie Vyvian).

Baby name superstitions

In a newspaper article from Tasmania dated 1936, it is claimed that in times gone by, it was considered lucky to choose a baby’s name before it was born. The name had to be chosen in the first nine days after birth, or it would be an unlucky child. The article unfortunately doesn’t say how long ago these superstitions were in effect.

The town that got its name back

This isn’t about baby names, but I checked my blog’s title, and it says it is about Australian names, not just baby or even people names.

The town of Mutchilba in far north Queensland is on the small side, but famed for its mangoes. In 1999, the town was quietly downgraded and removed from the map. The population of Mutchilba was (statistically speaking) moved to swell the ranks of nearby Dimbulah, which has the same postcode.

It’s said that life moves at a slower pace in the tropical heat, and perhaps that explains why the good people of Mutchilba failed to notice the change in status to their little town until July of this year. Perhaps nobody bought any new maps in the interim. Certainly nobody bothered telling them.

However, when the local paper published an article informing them of what had occurred, they were hopping mad, and launched a campaign to get their town back.

I’m happy to say they were successful, and as of October 12 this year, Mutchilba is now officially a town once more. Queensland Natural Resources and Mines Minister Andrew Cripps says the State Government fast-tracked the process, and that he took personal interest in the case, being from the far north himself.

The mayor of Mutchilba is now hoping to re-launch the Mutchilba Mango Mardi Gras, the annual festival celebrating the mango harvest, as a means of highlighting the town’s unique identity.

Mutchilba has a lovely meaning in the local language – “place of many birds”.

The People’s Choice of Boy’s Names

23 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 15 Comments

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Adolf

A form of the Germanic name Adalwolf, meaning “noble wolf”. The Old English form is Æthelwulf, and there are a few famous men of this name in English history, most notably the father of Alfred the Great. The name was often used amongst the royal houses of northern Europe, and the Latinised form Adolphus turns up in the monarchy of the United Kingdom. There is a saint called Adolf of Osnabrück, a 9^th century German monk. Up until the mid-twentieth century, the name was common in central and northern Europe, and can be found in Australia due to immigration from Germany and Scandinavia. The reason this name has been included is because barely a day goes by without someone Googling: “Is it legal to call your child Adolf?”, to which I can say, yes, it is legal here, and you can find quite a few Australians in the records with this name – including ones born during and shortly after World War II. I have met a man named Adolf (born around the early 1960s), and I believe he was named after his grandfather. The other chestnut is, “Is it legal to call your child Adolf Hitler in Australia?” to which I reply, Why would you want to do that? Seriously, why? As the name Ned Kelly is banned because he is considered too wicked, I’m pretty sure Adolf Hitler would also be illegal here.

Buster

This spunky name has more history than you might think. In England, it was first used in the middle position; Buster is a variant of the surname Bustard, after the bird. In 18^th century America, it seems to have been more common for African-Americans, and may have started as a pet name in the sense of “breaker”. Later it took on the meaning of “unusual, prodigious, amazing”. Buster is used to address males in the same way as pal or fella (“Now listen up, buster”). This comes from the Spanish dialect busté, meaning “you”. It’s gone on to have negative connotations. One of the most famous men with this name is actor Joseph “Buster” Keaton, who started his career in vaudeville as a small child. He claimed to have received his nickname as a toddler from Harry Houdini, after falling down a flight of stairs unhurt. Houdini allegedly remarked, “That was a real buster!”, meaning “a fall with the potential to cause injury”. So Keaton’s name indicated he was tough enough to take a tumble. Buster Brown was a cartoon strip boy who was an angelic-looking blond prankster. In Australian slang, come a buster means to fall or fail by misfortune, while buster is a term for a strong wind – especially the Southerly Buster. This is a name Sydneysiders give to the abrupt cool change that sometimes blows in from the south during the warmer months. Vintage name Buster has recently become rather an Australian favourite for boys, although in the novel, The Shiralee, by D’arcy Niland, Buster is a little girl.

Chester

Chester is a city in Cheshire, England, founded by the Romans as a fortress in 79; its size has led some historians to speculate that the Romans intended it to be the capital, rather than London. Its current name comes from the Old English Ceaster, meaning “Roman fort”, and its early history was very military, with wars seemingly constant. Even King Arthur is supposed to have won a major battle here, and it was the last city to fall to the Normans during the Conquest. Today it’s a thriving modern city which still tries to preserve its historic buildings. Chester has been used as a personal name since the 16^th century, probably after the surname, although early births in Cheshire suggest they may have been named directly for the city itself. Although it’s been a popular name in the US in its time, and only left the Top 1000 in the mid-1990s, for some reason it never caught on in a big way here. I was surprised to see it on a baby in the Bonds Baby Search Competition this year. For some reason, this baby name is often Googled, although the slang term chester is an impediment to its use.

Digby

An English surname from a place name meaning “settlement by the ditch”, derived from a combination of Old English and Old Norse. The name seems to have been first given in honour of the aristocratic Digby family, Anglo-Irish peers whose family seat in Coleshill, Warwickshire was granted to them by Henry VII. It is from the town of Coleshill that the personal name originates in the 17^th century. One of the most famous of this clan was Sir Kenelm Digby, a Catholic philosopher considered a great eccentric for his exuberant personality and fascination with science, which extended to studying alchemy, astrology and magic (not considered incompatible with science then); he was the first person to note the importance of oxygen to plants. A man of action as well as thought, he became a privateer, and killed a man in a duel; he also wrote several cookbooks, invented the modern wine bottle and managed to fit in a secret romance to a famous beauty which led to their marriage. A true all-rounder. This name regularly appears in birth notices here, especially from Victoria, and may be encouraged by comedienne Cal Wilson, who welcomed a son named Digby a few years ago. People seem to either loathe this name or find it irresistibly cute; I must confess to being in the second category.

Elfyn

This is the Welsh form of the Old English name Ælfwine, meaning “elf friend”; it went out of use after the Norman Conquest. J.R.R. Tolkien liked to think of the name as meaning “friend of the elves”, and invented two fictional characters with this name who formed close bonds with elves. Modern forms include Alvin and Elvin, both taken from the surname form of the name. There are several famous people in Wales with Elfyn as either their first name or surname, including young rally driver Elfyn Evans and poet Menna Elfyn. For reasons I cannot explain, it is Googled several times a week.

Jharal

Jharal Yow Yeh is an NRL star who plays for the Brisbane Broncos. An Aboriginal Australian from the Margany people of Queensland, he also has Torres Straits Islander, Vanuatuan and Chinese heritage. Now aged 22, he has been playing for the Broncos since 2009, for the Indigenous All-Stars since 2010, and for both the Queensland state team, the Maroons, and the Australian national side, the Kangaroos, since last year. Early this season he sustained a serious leg injury, and is still recovering. People Google Jharal’s name all the time, asking for its meaning, and often querying whether it’s of Indigenous origin. In fact, his name was created for him by his grandmother. His mother couldn’t decide what to call him, so she asked nana Iris to name him. Iris cleverly arranged the letters of all the strongest men in her family into a name, and came up with Jharal. It is taken from the initials of James, Harold, Anthony, Reece, Arthur and Linc. The name is pronounced JHUH-rahl, and Iris says that most people think it is an Indian name. In fact, by coincidence, a jharal is a mountain goat from India. Names created for celebrities often seem too unique for others to use, but I have seen Jharal a few times in birth notices recently. Looking for a nickname? Jharal is known to his family as Joe.

Koa

This unisex name has several different origins. There is a Hawaiian male name Koa meaning “strong, brave, fearless”, and it’s also the name of a Hawaiian tree, the Acacia koa. The wood was traditionally used to make dug-out canoes and certain types of surfboards. In Maori, the word koa means “happiness”. In the Kaurna language of South Australia, the word koa means “crow”, and the Koa people come from south-east Queensland, so it’s also a tribal name. There has been a sudden proliferation of this name in Australian birth notices, and that might be because Tom Dumont from No Doubt welcomed a son named Koa last year. However, I am beginning to see far more girls named Koa in birth notices than boys. This may be because of model and actress Koa Whelan, a contestant on this year’s dating show, Please Marry My Boy. I think this works equally well for boys and girls, although the first meaning is male only.

Neo

This is from an Ancient Greek prefix meaning “new, young, fresh”. It turns up in words such as neonatal, meaning “pertaining to the newborn”, or neologism, meaning “a freshly coined word”. The name has become well-known since 1999 because Neo is the protagonist of the cyberpunk Matrix film series. In the films, the character’s name is Thomas Anderson, and Neo is his computer hacker identity (Anderson does have the letters N, E and O in it). Neo is also an anagram of One, and the films seek to discover whether Neo is “The One”, a Messiah-like figure who will be able to rescue humanity. The films have become cult classics, and intermingle a range of philosophical and spiritual ideals from the East and the West – it’s even spawned its own religion, Matrixism. From the amount of times that people have Googled neo baby name or neo for a boy, there are quite a few parents considering using this name. Neo fits right in with current trends, and doesn’t sound any stranger than Leo. It is very strongly associated with the film character though. However, Australians have a solid history of gaining name inspiration from the movies, and most of The Matrix series was filmed in Sydney, giving it an Australian connection.

Rune

A Scandinavian name derived from Old Norse meaning “secret”. The runes are the letters of the runic alphabets, which were used to write different Germanic languages, dating from at least the first or second century AD. Runic inscriptions seem to have been for magical and divinatory use, and perhaps their knowledge was restricted to an elite in early times. According to Norse mythology, the runes were originally stolen from the god Odin. They are part of English history, because the Anglo-Saxons had their own runic alphabet. If you have read The Hobbit, you will have seen Anglo-Saxon runes used on a dwarven map; Tolkien later invented his own runic alphabet which appears in The Lord of the Rings. Rune stones are used for divination today, often in a similar way to tarot cards. The name isn’t unusual in Scandinavia, and you may know the name from the Polish speedway rider Rune Holta, born in Norway. I think this is a simple, attractive name with layers of history and meaning.

Zephyr

A zephyr is a light, warm wind. It comes from the name Zephyrus, who was the Greek god of the west wind – the gentlest of breezes, which served as a harbinger of spring. He married both Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, and Chloris, the goddess of flowers – who is also seen as a deity of spring (and named Flora by the Romans). Children may know the name as that of a bat in the Silverwing book series, and, in the form Zephir, as the monkey in the Babar the Elephant stories. Grown ups may be reminded of The Zephyr Song by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. If you take the name as derived directly from the god, then it is male, but if you accept it as a nature name and vocabulary name, it is unisex. It only seems to be Googled to my blog as a male name however. Pronounced ZEF-uhr, this name is unsual but not outrageous; it seems like a breezy alternative to popular Z names like Zachary, Zeke or Zane. The obvious nickname is Zeff or Zeffy.

(Picture shows actor Keanu Reeves in his role of Neo from The Matrix; Sydney skyline in background)

Famous Name: Abel Tasman

19 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ 6 Comments

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Akkadian names, Arabic names, Biblical names, birth notices, Dutch names, english names, famous namesakes, German names, hebrew names, honouring, locational names, Maori names, mythological names, name history, name meaning, names of seas, New Zealand names, nicknames, Slavic names, star names, surname names, TV commercials, US name popularity

Last Wednesday, September 12, commemorated the founding of the colony of Tasmania. Although it doesn’t seem to be celebrated in Tasmania, I thought we’d look at the man who gave his name to the state. I chose this topic several months ago, but unfortunately this recent story in the news is giving Abel Tasman a somewhat controversial image at present.

I feel like a mother who has just sent out 300 cards announcing her new daughter’s name as Sahara, then opens the paper to read with horror the headline: Murder at Sahara strip club provides clue to cocaine ring: our paper investigates the seedy underworld of the Sahara, knowing that for months the name Sahara is going to be associated with some very shady dealings. This happens to the best of parents, and possibly even the best of bloggers. However, let us continue.

Abel Tasman was the first known European to reach Tasmania and New Zealand. A Dutch seafarer, he undertook his voyages as an employee of the United East India Company (VOC) – the first multinational corporation in the world, and the first to issue stock. They were based in Batavia, now known as Jakarta, in Indonesia. This company despatched Tasman on a mission to obtain knowledge of “all the totally unknown provinces of Beach”.

That was his first problem: Beach didn’t exist. It was supposedly the northernmost part of Terra Australis, and that didn’t exist either. In fact, they had misread Marco Polo’s handwriting, which said Lohach, and referred to south Thailand, which Polo had assured all and sundry was a kingdom rich with gold. Sent off to find a non-existent kingdom of gold on an imaginary continent with faulty maps based on a vital error, Abel Tasman did the best he could under the circumstances.

On December 3 1642, he formally claimed Tasmania, which he dutifully named Van Diemen’s Land, after Anthonie Van Diemen, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, and Tasman’s patron (Diemen is a homophone of demon). Battling against very rough seas, he managed to reach New Zealand ten days later, which he thought was connected to Argentina (the map’s fault again). A second voyage gave him the chance to map the north coast of Australia, which he called New Holland, and make observations of the land and its people.

From the point of view of the VOC, Tasman’s voyages were a failure. He hadn’t found Beach, located tons of gold, met anyone to trade with, or discovered new shipping routes. Although the Dutch had discovered Australia in 1606, they weren’t sufficiently impressed to follow it up, and so it was free for the British to claim many years later.

Abel Tasman did manage to make it to Thailand a few years later, although I’m sure he never realised he’d arrived in “Beach” after all. The lack of gold, it’s being called Siam, the way he was only there as a courier to deliver letters to the king – all these things helped disguise the fact he had reached his dream destination after all.

Abel was the second son of Adam and Eve in the Old Testament, and described as a shepherd, while his older brother Cain was a crop farmer. Famously, Abel is the first person in the Bible to die, while his brother Cain becomes the first murderer. The Bible doesn’t provide a motive for Cain’s actions, but it is usually assumed to be jealousy, since God was pleased by Abel’s offering from his flock, while not having a high regard for Cain’s produce. This story tends to irk vegetarians, and does make God seem rather like a capricious judge on Masterchef, but there is more to the story than meets the eye.

The archetypal simplicity of this tale of brother against brother has made an enormous impact, and been dramatised in modern stories, such as John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. Something in it speaks straight to our bones – primal emotions of rage, envy and betrayal; a deep sense of the fundamental injustice of the universe; the uneasy knowledge that those closest to us are the ones most likely to hurt us, even harm us.

Scholars believe the tale represents conflict between nomadic shepherds and settled farmers in the Middle East, at a time when agriculture was beginning to take over from hunter-gathering (this probably did sometimes end in bloodshed). Sadly, the story also serves as a commentary on the violence and hatred that has existed between religions who worship the same God, as Cain and Abel did (this still ends in bloodshed).

The name Abel is derived from the Hebrew name Hevel, often translated as “breath, vapour”, with connotations of “waste”, to indicate the transient nature of Abel’s existence. However, the name may simply mean “herdsman” to indicate his role in the story; a similar word still exists in modern Arabic. Another theory is that is based on the Akkadian word for “son”, which seems more likely as a person’s name, and fits in with modern scholarship identifying the story as based on a Sumerian myth.

Back in June, I mentioned Abel as a name I had encountered on a baby during the autumn, and considered it a rare sighting. Well, I have to eat my words, because over winter I met or heard of three new babies named Abel, and have seen a few more in birth notices. Clearly it’s a name on the rise, and in the US Abel is #237, jumping 56 places last year. With Old Testament names for boys growing in popularity, Abel is a solid, underused choice, and one that connects directly to early Australian history.

Tasman is a Dutch form of the German surname Tessmann, derived from both Slavic and German. Slavonic personal names such as Techmir, meaning “consolation”, become Tess in German. The -mann part of the name usually means “servant of”. So Tasman means “servant of Techmir”. English forms include Tesmond or Tessyman.

In Australia, Abel Tasman has given his name to the state of Tasmania, and also the Tasman Sea, which is the stretch of ocean between the east coast of Australia and the west coast of New Zealand (affectionately known as “The Ditch“). The Maori name for it is Te Tai-o-Rehua, which means “the sea of Antares”, the star Antares being associated with the height of summer, and considered a god of kindness and enjoyment. Many more places bear Abel Tasman’s name in New Zealand.

The name Tasman has a long history of use in Australia, and is most common in the state of Tasmania, which naturally feels a strong connection to it. It is turning up regularly in birth notices at the moment, and may be receiving more attention because there is currently a TV advertisement for Uncle Toby’s instant oats, with the little blond boy in the commercial being named Tasman.

This makes a fantastic name for a family which has one side from Australia and the other from New Zealand, with a baby Tasman joining both sides. The name is considered masculine in Australia, but feminised forms such as Tasmyn are thought suitable for girls. Usual nicknames are Tas, Taz or Tazzy.
UPDATE: I’ve just been informed that the reason the name Abel is skyrocketing is because of the TV show, Sons of Anarchy, where someone has a baby named Abel – thank you Twitter.

UPDATE: Thank you to blog reader Madelyn, who tells me that American actress Amy Poehler has a son named Abel.

(The picture shows a view of the Tasman Sea from Tasman National Park in southern Tasmania, on the other side of the bay where Abel Tasman claimed Tasmania; photo from There’s Nothing Like Australia)

The People’s Choice of Girl’s Names

16 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 14 Comments

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I have been trying to add Featured Names from those in the search terms, when possible. To celebrate the start of spring, I’m choosing ten names for each gender that people have used as search terms to reach my blog. I tried to concentrate on those that had been Googled multiple times, or which had questions attached to them, and I’ve chosen names which don’t make the Top 100.

Of course, if you would like to see a particular name featured on the blog, you don’t need to type it into a search engine and cross your fingers – you can always e-mail me directly and put in a request.

Arya

Arya is a unisex Indian name which means “noble, honourable” in Sanskrit. Common in India, it’s become known in the English-speaking world through two fantasy novelists. In George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice series, Lady Arya Stark is a beautiful free-spirited noblewoman who leads a very adventurous life. In Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance cyle, Arya Dröttning is an elf, later queen of the elves, and the romantic interest of the hero, Eragon. Both these characters are strong and independent, good at swordplay, horse-riding and taking care of themselves. Although there are several famous men and women in India called Arya, English-speakers probably think of it as a female name, because of the fictional characters. The Indian pronunciation is AHR-yuh, but both Martin’s and Paolini’s ladies say their names AHR-ee-uh (I’m basing this on how they are said in the TV series and the movie, as some written guides suggest AR-ee-uh or AYR-yuh). So there’s quite a selection of pronunciations. Arya recently joined the US Top 1000, and is currently #711. It would make a good heritage choice, or else an attractive literary name.

Carmel

Mount Carmel is a mountain range in Israel, and its name means “garden”. Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to the Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits who lived on Mount Carmel during the 12^th century, and built a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary. They were approved as an order devoted to contemplative prayer, but didn’t stay in the Holy Land for long. They soon made their way to Sicily and Cyprus, and from there throughout Europe. Carmel was first used as a name in honour of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, perhaps especially for girls born on or near her feast day of July 16. Carmel was in rare use in 1900, then climbed steeply to make the Top 100 in 1930. It peaked in the 1940s at #77, and was off the Top 100 by the 1960s. It hasn’t charted since the 1990s. Although this name originated amongst Catholics, Mount Carmel is a place name mentioned in the Bible, and is important in Judaism, Protestantism, Islam, and the Bahá’í Faith as well, so it is usable by anyone who feels a connection to it.

Elodie

This is the Anglicised form of French Élodie, derived from the Spanish name Alodia; Saint Alodia was a 9^th century Spanish martyr. The meaning of the name is uncertain, but it has been interpreted as Visigothic, from the Germanic meaning “foreign wealth”. In English it’s pronounced like Melody without the M, but the French pronunciation is ay-lo-DEE. There are several fashion boutiques in Australia with the name Elodie in them, giving it a self-consciously stylish air, and it’s a name often seen in birth announcements here, especially from Melbourne. This pretty name makes a good alternative to popular Eloise, and I can see it becoming another Amelie in the future (although a movie called Elodie would be a real help).

Kinga

Saint Kinga was born a Hungarian princess, and her name is the pet form of Kunigunde, which is from the Germanic for “family war”. Kinga had several saintly family connections, because she was the niece of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, and the great-niece of St. Hedwig. One of her sisters became St. Margaret of Hungary, while the other, Blessed Jolenta of Poland, is still being considered for canonisation. Saint Kinga was married off to Bolesław V, who became High Duke of Poland; she insisted that the marriage remain chaste, and although her husband wasn’t happy about the situation, he reluctantly agreed. During her marriage, she devoted herself to charitable works, and after being widowed, became a nun and spent the rest of her life in contemplative prayer. She is the patron saint of Poland and Lithuania, and her name is a popular one in both Hungary and Poland. This name has turned up repeatedly in the search terms ever since comedian Merrick Watts and his wife welcomed their daughter Kinga Rose in December last year. It’s apparently pronounced KEEN-gah, and makes an unusual and attractive heritage choice.

Mika

This little name has several different origins. Mika is a Japanese girl’s name translated as “beautiful fragrance”. It is also a Native American word, meaning “racoon” in the Osage and Omaha-Ponca languages of Oklahoma and Nebraska. However, it’s an Australian Aboriginal word too, because mika means both “moon” and “month” in the Nyungar language of south-west Western Australia. This is a name I’ve seen used a lot in the past, although not so much lately. It often appears in variant spellings, such as Meeka or Meekah – presumably to make the pronunciation clearer, because it is said MEE-kuh, and not like the boy’s name Micah. However, it’s possible that these variants were trying to provide a phonetic spelling of the Dutch name Mieke, which is a pet form of Maria, and said exactly the same way. Mika is similar to popular names such as Mia and Mila; it could also be understood as a short form of Mikayla. Just to confuse things further, Mika is an unrelated boy’s name as well – it’s a pet form of Mikael, the Finnish form of Michael. I suspect the reason I see less babies with this name is the British singer Mika, who now makes it seem male.

Niamh

Niamh is an Irish name meaning “bright, radiant”. In Irish mythology, Niamh was a goddess, the daughter of the god of the sea, and a fairy queen in the Otherworld known as the Land of Eternal Youth. Called Niamh of the Golden Hair, she lured the poet Oisin away to her own world, and together they were the parents of two children, Oscar and Plúr na mBan (meaning “flower of women”). Oisin thought he had been with Niamh for three years, but when he returned to Ireland, he found that three centuries had passed. Niamh gave him her white horse to ride, and warned him not to let his feet touch the ground, or he would never return to her. Later, he accidentally fell off the horse, and the three hundred years caught up with him; he became a very old man, near death. According to legend, his grave site is in Scotland. Depending on accent, the Irish pronunciation is either NEE-av or NEEV, but English-speakers tend to opt for NEEV as easier to say. This fairytale name is Top 100 in England/Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, and you can see why.

Saskia

This Germanic name is derived from the name of the Saxons, a tribe from the north of Germany. We know them well, because some of them migrated to the British Isles and merged with the Angles to become the Anglo-Saxons of English history; their lands were in the south of England. The name of the tribe may come from the seax, a type of knife that the Saxons were known for using as a weapon. The seax is still an important symbol in the English counties of Essex and Middlesex, both of whom feature three seaxes in their ceremonial emblem. The Saxons who stayed behind in Germany resisted the Christian Franks for some time, but were defeated by Charlemagne and forced to convert; their lands became the Duchy of Saxony. Saxons also gained territories in the Netherlands and northern France. The name became famous through Saskia van Uylenburgh, who was the wife of the Dutch artist Rembrandt vn Rijn, and often served as a model for his paintings. In Australia the name is well known because of the actress Saskia Burmeister, who appeared in the film Hating Alison Ashley, and from the British-Australian children’s TV series Noah and Saskia, where Saskia is the Australian girl. Here the name is pronounced either SAHS-kee-ah, or SASS-kee-ah, and can be seen as a Dutch heritage choice.

Seren

This is a modern Welsh name meaning “star”, and it’s said SEH-ren. It can apparently be used for both sexes, but in Wales it is highly popular as a girl’s name and doesn’t chart for boys. Its similarity to female names such as Sarah, Serena and Serenity probably makes it seem more feminine. I’m including this one because amongst the most common search terms I receive are those asking for baby names which mean “star”, and I think this is a very pretty and simple one. Seren is also a popular unisex Turkish name, which, according to a Turkish dictionary I consulted, refers to the spar of a boat, which juts out from the sail. I’m not sure if the name is taken directly from the word, though. This might be a good name for yachties to consider – especially as boats once used the stars to navigate.

Tuppence

Tuppence means “two pennies” in the pre-decimal currency or old money. We use the word tuppence to signify a very small amount, as in the phrase, I don’t care tuppence, and is also used in the same way as my two cents to indicate you are proffering an opinion (“Well, that’s my tuppence worth”). Tuppence is theoretically unisex, and in Australia “Tuppence” was the nickname of Desmond Moran, from the notorious crime family. However, it’s usually seen as feminine, as in the British actress, Tuppence Middleton, or the nickname of Agatha Christie’s detective, Prue Beresford, in Tommy and Tuppence. Little Tuppence was a New Zealand fashion doll sold throughout Australasia in the late ’60s (a slight rip-off of American Penny Brite), and this gives it a definite girly flavour. To me it seems distinctly vintage, with a touch of English eccentric. It’s Penny to the power of two!

Zaria

Zaria is a goddess of beauty in Slavic mythology, and her name means “dawn” – the time of day when people would pray to her. She is a goddess of warriors, and was invoked to protect against death in battle. The Dutch royal family have a little Countess Zaria, aged six; she is the daughter of Prince Friso and Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau. Although her first name is Joanna, she is officially known as Zaria, and was named after the goddess. Zaria seems like a great alternative to popular Zara, and very much like Azaria without the baggage. In the US, Zaria has been Top 1000 since the mid 1990s, and is currently #753.

(Picture shows actress Sienna Guillory in the role of Arya from the movie Eragon)

Famous Name: London

12 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ 6 Comments

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Arthurian legends, British names, celebrity baby names, Celtic names, Disney names, english names, fictional namesakes, germanic names, J.R.R. Tolkien, locational names, mythological names, name history, name meaning, Old English names, Roman names, surname names, unisex names, US name popularity

The Olympics and Paralympics have come to a triumphant end, climaxing with a a concert, grand parade and a spectacular fireworks display which lit up the sky over the Thames and Tower Bridge. The sporting festival has been a golden summer for the city of London, which has gained new confidence after putting on a fantastic Olympic Games, followed by the most successful Paralympics Games ever. The city of London itself looked richly alluring, with its parks and gardens in leaf under the sun, or its historic buildings looking grand yet discreet in the grey drizzle.

I know many people who couldn’t wait to visit London, or visit it again, after watching the coverage of the Olympic Games, and it’s a city which has drawn many Australians to it, for holidays, to work, and sometimes to live permanently. Since the post-war era, it seems as if we have been sending Australians to Britain in droves, and most of them seem to end up in London. They give us a bunch of convicts, and in return they get Barry Humphries, Kylie Minogue and a ton of drunk Aussie backpackers. Whether this is a fair trade or not only history can decide.

London was first established as a town around 47 AD by the Romans, who called it Londinium. It is almost certain that they based it on a local name for the area, which may be Celtic, or perhaps even older. What that name may have signified has taxed the brains of etymologists for many years, with none of them coming up with a theory that has gained widespread acceptance.

The very first theory put forward was by medieval chronicler Geoffrey Monmouth in his History of the Kings of Britain. He asserted that the name is derived from the name of King Lud, who once ruled the area. It would thus mean “Lud’s fortress”, although there is no evidence of Londinium ever being fortified, and in fact seems to have been built as a civic and mercantile centre; perhaps “Lud’s valley” would be more accurate. The name Lud may be connected to a mythological figure named Llud Llaw Eraint, who is the Welsh version of a British god named Nodens.

Nodens was a Celtic god of the sea, hunting, dogs, and healing, and a patron of amputees, and there is a ruined temple complex in his honour in Gloucestershire, while other artefacts connected to him have been found in Lancashire and on Hadrian’s Wall. He is sometimes identified with the Fisher King of medieval myth, who features so enigmatically in Arthurian legend.

J.R.R. Tolkien derived the name Nodens from a Germanic root meaning “acquire, own, utilise” from an earlier word with connotations of “catch, entrap”. This would certainly fit in with Nodens as a god of hunting, and at this point most scholars seem to be in general agreement with the meaning proposed by Tolkien.

Several places in Britain and Ireland derive their names from Nodens, and it doesn’t seem too far-fetched that London might too. The reason Geoffrey of Monmouth’s theory has been given short shrift is that like many medieval chroniclers, his work is quite fanciful, and riddled with errors in etymology. For example, he latched onto Lud as the origin of London because of Ludgate in the London Wall; most likely it’s a corruption of the Old English for “swing gate”. However, even though Geoffrey of Monmouth got a lot of things wrong, he may have been drawing on genuine traditions of London being sacred to Nodens in ancient times.

According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, the Romans built a temple to Lud, but if so, it remains elusive. There are statues of Lud and his sons, once adorning Ludgate, which are now on a church porch in Fleet Street, while a pub at Ludate Circus was once called Old King Lud. Although the building now houses a Leon restaurant, medallions commemorating King Lud can still be seen on its roofline and over its doors. So King Lud aka Nodens still maintains a presence in London town.

If I may stick my own ignorant oar into the debate, I can’t help noticing that names of places near a river nearly always have a meaning connected to it. As Nodens was a god of the sea, and the part of the Thames near London is a tidal river, this notion of mine does not cancel out the idea that it was connected to Nodens in some way. The Museum of London tells us that finds of prehistoric artefacts dredged from the Thames provide copious evidence that they were placed there as votive offerings, and that the deity presiding over the river was worshipped.

Could this hypothetical deity have been Nodens? Possibly, but it’s all getting very speculative, so I think we have reached the end of our investigations for now. In my uneducated opinion, London’s name is probably connected to its river, and quite possibly to the deity presiding over it, who may very well be Nodens. Apart from that I can say no more, except that Britain’s capital is a vital part of its ancient and rich mythology.

London has been used as a first name since at least the 17^th century, and was first given to boys, most likely from the surname London, after the city. It’s possible that even early Londons were named directly in honour of the city, as many were born in London districts.

From very early on, London was used for both genders, and although I can easily understand it as a unisex name, I have slightly more trouble comprehending why it has become so much more popular for girls. While cities such as Paris and Florence have a certain “feminine” vibe, to me, London has quite a “masculine” feel – solid, serious, the seat of business and government. The name London also fits the pattern for many of our popular male names – two syllables, ending with an -n, such as Aidan, Mason, Logan or Nathan. In fact it’s only one letter different from a male name – Landon, while its last three letters form a male nickname – Don.

I have been told that the reason for this is the character of London Tipton, from the Disney TV series, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. However in the US the name was always more popular for girls, even before the show came on air – although its popularity as a girl’s name certainly increased markedly after the show started. I suspect that for many parents, London seemed like a more “classy” version of the name Paris, whose image had become slightly tarnished. Intriguingly, Miss Paris Hilton apparently plans to name her first-born daughter London; I wonder what effects that might have, if it ever happened?

London has charted as a baby name for both sexes in the US for over ten years, and currently it’s #560 for boys and #94 for girls. Although it’s not such a popular name in Australia (although it’s seen more use than you might expect), I wouldn’t be surprised if a similar gender disparity wasn’t apparent here too. Early this year we welcomed celebrity baby London Joy Polak, partly named in honour of the city, where her grandfather was from.

Despite its long history, London still seems a very “modern” name, and one that would be especially suitable for anyone who has a connection to the city. I think it works well as a name for both boys and girls, and matches nicely with a wide variety of middle names. Although the thought of your child sharing their name with Paris Hilton’s future offspring might give some people second thoughts.

NOTE: Not all Australian backpackers in London are drunk, at least not all the time, but that is the not totally undeserved reputation they carry.

Famous Names: Ned Kelly

29 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ 12 Comments

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African names, African-American names, American names, Anglo-Saxon names, Australian idioms, banned names, birth announcements, British Baby Names, Cornish names, English name trends, english names, famous namesakes, folk etymology, Google, Irish names, locational names, middle names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, nicknames, popular culture, Scottish slang, surname names, unisex names, US name popularity

On August 2 this year, it was reported that the descendants of notorious bushranger Edward “Ned” Kelly were about to receive his remains, 132 years after he was hanged for murder. At that time, the bodies of executed prisoners were buried in unmarked graves in Melbourne Gaol, and Kelly was one of them. In 1929, he and several others were re-buried in Pentridge Prison during renovations to Melbourne Gaol, and last year scientists were able to identify Ned Kelly’s skeleton from a group of twenty-four at Pentridge, by comparing his DNA to that of living members of the Kelly family. The Kellys can now give Ned a private burial.

Ned Kelly was the son of an Irish convict, and gained notoriety as a horse thief and cattle rustler before being convicted of bank robbing and murder. He was hanged on November 11 1880. He looms large in the Australian imagination, and is widely seen as a folk hero, and a symbol of Irish-Australian resistance against the ruling classes and police corruption. There is in the Ned Kelly legend a particular type of Australian masculinity which is admired: physically powerful, ballsy, defiant, daring, anti-authority, and an under-dog. The phrase, As game as Ned Kelly, is the ultimate praise for bravery, and his legend has spawned countless folk stories and ballads – not to mention a few films.

The name Ned is a pet form of names starting with Ed-, such as Edward and Edmund. It has been used as a nickname since at least the 14^th century, and as an independent name since the 17^th century. One theory is that it began life as a contraction of the affectionate “mine Ed“, which became understood as “my Ned”. Although this can’t be verified (and Elea at British Baby Names remains slightly sceptical), the story does add a layer of sweetness to the name.

It is among the first names that crossed the pond, because a baby named Ned was born in the English colony of Virginia, so it became a British and American name almost simultaneously. It has often appeared in American popular culture, such as Ned Flanders on The Simpsons and Ned Dorsey from 1990s sit-com Ned and Stacey. All-American girl detective Nancy Drew even had a boyfriend named Ned Nickerson. (Ned and Nancy! Adorable!). Ned was on the US Top 1000 until the mid-1970s.

Like Kevin in England and Bevan in Australia, it’s a name with a bad rep elsewhere, because in Scotland ned is slang for a hooligan or petty criminal. Given our own history with the name, this seems unlikely to put Australian parents off. Here solid unpretentious Ned will always be associated with folk hero Ned Kelly, but as it’s currently fashionable as an upper-class name in England, this makes it seem quite chic as well.

Kelly is an Anglicisation of the Irish surname Ó Ceallaigh, meaning “son of Ceallach”. Ceallach is often interpreted as meaning “bright headed”, but it may mean “church-going”, as the Irish word for church is ceall. It can also be seen as an Anglicisation of Ó Cadhla, meaning “son of Cadhla”, with the male name Cadhla meaning “attractive, graceful”.

Outside Ireland, the surname Kelly can be from place names in Scotland (in this case, probably from the Anglo-Saxon meaning “calf hill”) and in Devon, the latter derived from the Cornish word for “grove”. However, it is much more common as an Irish surname.

Kelly has been used as a first name since at least the late 17^th century, and is another name which seems to have been used in Britain and America almost at the same time. It appears to have quickly become far more common in America as an Irish heritage name.

Although the name was first given to boys, in a relatively brief space of time the name seems to have been accepted as unisex, with roughly even numbers of males and females named Kelly in colonial America. Quite a few of the early American Kellys arrived directly from Ireland itself, and these were just as likely to be female, if not more so.

I don’t know why, but the name seems to have been commonly given to the sons and daughters of Christianised black African indentured servants in early colonial America. I would be fascinated to know the reason for this, and wonder if there is an African name Keli that seemed familiar to both cultures. Or perhaps working alongside Irish indentured servants gave them a fondness for the name.

Kelly first shows up on the US Top 1000 in 1880 as a male name, and first appears there for females in 1944. It grew in popularity for both sexes, but really took off as a girl’s name in the 1950s with the fame of glamorous Hollywood actress Grace Kelly (of Irish background). After she became Princess Grace of Monaco, the name simply bounded up the popularity charts.

Kelly peaked for both boys and girls in the late 1960s, but then lost ground as a boy’s name, while maintaining a female presence; it even managed to peak again for girls in the 1970s. Kelly hasn’t ranked as a boy’s name in the US for ten years, while it is now #335 for girls, and falling.

In Australia, the history of the name is much shorter, and it only ever charted for girls. It first appears in the charts in the 1950s at #560 (about one Kelly per year). By the following decade, it was already in the Top 100, and peaked in the 1970s at #13. It left the Top 100 in the early 2000s, and last year just ten baby girls named Kelly were born in New South Wales, giving it a ranking of #641.

Amongst the most common Google searches used to reach my blog are those enquiring about using Kelly as a boy’s name, and many of these are from Australia. With Kelly becoming rare as a name for girls, and the fame of American world surfing champion Kelly Slater (of Irish background) lifting its profile internationally as a male name, this seems the perfect time for Kelly to step up and gain more use for boys in Australia.

I hope that these assiduous Googlers are giving serious thought to choosing Kelly as their son’s name. I scan the birth notices for Kelly, and this year I have only seen it used as a middle name for boys. However, Kelly Slater himself uses his middle name (his first name is Robert), so these babies do have the choice to go by the name Kelly when they get older.

NOTE: Although you are free to call your child Ned, or Kelly, it is, bizarrely, forbidden in New South Wales to name a baby Ned Kelly. This makes Ned Kelly one of Australia’s rare illegal names.

(The picture is from Sidney Nolan’s series of paintings of Ned Kelly in his armour 1946-47. These images are some of the most iconic and recognisable of Australian artworks. Taken from ABC News).

Waltzing With … Darwin

26 Sunday Aug 2012

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

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Anglo-Saxon names, english names, famous namesakes, locational names, name history, name meaning, surname names, UK name popularity, US name popularity

This blog post was first published on August 26 2012, and revised and re-posted on May 18 2016.

Famous City, Famous Namesake
Today is the last day of the Darwin Festival, a Top End cultural extravaganza of art, music, dance, comedy, film, theatre, cabaret, and festivities. The city of Darwin is known for its laid-back lifestyle and unique multicultural mix, with people of over fifty nationalities living side-by-side and intermingling.

If you attended the festival, you could have learnt how to make Chinese dumplings, watched an Aboriginal drag queen, got a make-over at an African beauty salon staffed by children, picnicked with teddy-bears, been seduced at a Bollywood burlesque show, swum at a pool party, gone to a Rio-style cabaret, and attended a rock concert in someone’s back yard.

Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territory, the smallest Australian capital, and the most northerly of our capital cities. It looks towards Asia, across the Timor Sea, and is geographically closer to the capital cities of five other countries than it is to the capital of its own.

It has the highest Indigenous population of any capital city, with perhaps 10% of the city’s residents being Aboriginal, and has a significant Asian population from China, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Darwin swelters in tropical heat year-round, and is one of the most lightning-prone areas of the world. Having been bombed by the Japanese in World War II, and flattened by Cyclone Tracey in 1974, it’s been rebuilt twice and looks very modern.

The first British person to see Darwin harbour was Lieutenant John Stokes in 1839, who was on HMS Beagle. The ship’s captain, John Wickham, named the port after naturalist Charles Darwin, who had sailed with them on the Beagle‘s previous voyage. Charles Darwin had spent almost five years sailing the world on the Beagle, and it was his adventure of a lifetime.

He accumulated enough specimens to make his reputation and keep him occupied for years, not to mention surviving an earthquake and discovering a new species of dolphin. In Australia, he found the platypus and kangaroo-rat so odd that it seemed to him two distinct Creators must have been at work making life on earth – a radical thought for someone who had just finished studying to become a clergyman (not surprisingly, he went with a scientific career instead).

Darwin returned to England a celebrity, but what he didn’t do on his trip was discover evolution, for that idea was decades old, and familiar to Darwin’s own grandfather, Erasmus. What he did (when he got home) was come up with natural selection as a means to help explain the mechanism behind evolutionary theory.

His masterwork On the Origin of Species proved a bestseller, but Darwin avoided using the word evolution in case it proved too controversial, and only vaguely alluded to humans being part of the evolutionary framework. However, it resonated with both the scientific community and popular imagination, inspired the ideas of others, and made evolutionary theory an established part of the modern world-view.

Name Information
The English surname Darwin has two separate meanings. Originally it was from the Anglo-Saxon personal name Deorwine, meaning “dear friend”. Later it was taken from the town of Darwen, which stands on the river of that name in Lancashire. The river’s original name seems to have been Darwent, from the British meaning “valley thickly grown with oaks”. The surname Darwin is most often found in the north of England, suggesting the origin from the town is more common.

Darwin has been used as a personal name since at least the 18th century, and in England was first associated with Lincolnshire. Charles Darwin was descended from the Darwins of Lincolnshire, and he inherited the family estate there, which came down to him through his grandfather.

Even in the 19th century, a link with Lincolnshire continued, but the name became more common in the Midlands, a focal point for the Darwin family as it married into the Wedgwood family, famous for its pottery. So many Darwins went on to do interesting and worthy things that it isn’t possible to say everyone called Darwin had their name inspired by Charles Darwin – it might well have been another admired family member.

The name Darwin has always been more common in the United States, where it was first associated with the New England area. Although some of the towns and natural features in America called Darwin are named in honour of Charles Darwin, unlike in other countries, several are named are local people whose first name was Darwin.

The name Darwin has been on and off the US Top 1000 since the 19th century, with a long continuous stretch from the early 20th century until the mid 1990s. It peaked in 1938 at #279. It has been on the Top 1000 again since 2001; it is currently #876 and generally fairly stable. In the UK, the name Darwin has been generally rising, and 27 baby boys were given the name Darwin in 2014.

In Australia, Darwin is extremely rare as a first name, and only slightly more common as a middle name. Although it can be found a handful of times in records, most Australians probably think of it as a “modern” name. While Adelaide and Sydney are accepted as baby names here, I suspect for many people Darwin seems more of a “place” name than a “person” name. However, Darwin is genuinely Australian, and honours a wonderful namesake – a great thinker and humanitarian scientist who changed our world forever.

POLL RESULT
Darwin received a decent approval rating of 68%. 26% of people thought the name was okay, and 14% hated it.

(Picture of a storm over Darwin from the NT News; the photo was snapped from Darwin’s Evolution Building)

Famous Name: Adelaide

22 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

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celebrity baby names, famous namesakes, Frankish names, French names, germanic names, honouring, locational names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, nicknames, retro names, royal names, saints names, US name popularity

Tomorrow the city of Adelaide will welcome their Olympic athletes home with a street parade. That’s a good enough excuse as any to cover the name Adelaide, which has been sitting in my Request file for many months now.

Adelaide is the capital of South Australia, and it’s a pleasant coastal city which has been voted the Most Liveable and judged Most Affordable capital city in Australia. It was planned in the 19^th century as the capital of a British province of free settlers, and is the only state capital not to have a history of convict settlement – something of which it is still very proud.

Its early history was marked by a commitment to religious freedom and political civil liberties, which led to its nickname of The City of Churches. Despite this moniker, the last census revealed that almost a third of Adelaideans had no religious affiliation at all, making it one of our least religious cities.

From early on, Adelaide attracted many European immigrants escaping religious persecution, most notably from Germany. The Germans brought with them the vine cuttings which were planted to found the famous wineries of the Barossa Valley. After World War II, there were many more immigrants, including Italian, Greek, Dutch, and Polish. The names in the birth notices from Adelaide tell me that South Australians remain very aware of their cultural heritage, because there are always lots of German and Italian baby names.

Adelaide is famous for its many festivals, celebrating music, art, theatre, comedy, sport, food, wine and just about anything else you can think of. When not having a festival, Adelaide tends to be on the sedate side, although quite sophisticated for a small city. If you enjoy somewhere quiet and clean, with good food and wine, attractive beaches, plenty of parkland, lots of outdoor activities and generally friendly people, you will like Adelaide. Please don’t drink the water though; it’s not unsafe but it tastes like it is.

The name Adelaide is from the French form of the Germanic name Adalheidis, meaning “noble kind”. The Frankish nobility were keen to stress their daughters’ high-born pedigree, as it made them more marriageable, and thus names starting with Adel- abound.

There are several Adelaides from history amongst the ruling classes of Europe, including Adelaide of Aquitane, who married Hugh Capet, elected king of France and the founder of one of the most important royal dynasties of that country. Saint Adelaide was the wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto, and she ruled the Empire for several years as her grandson’s guardian. (Saint Adelaide’s daughters were Emma and Matilda, which both sound very contemporary).

The name wasn’t particularly common in England until the 19^th century, when William IV, then the Duke of Clarence, married Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, a small state of Germany. Adelaide was less than half William’s age, and had to accept his ten illegitimate children as part of the bargain, but despite this, the couple were devoted to each other, and led a life of domestic harmony.

After William became king and Adelaide queen consort, the name got a huge boost. The English people loved Adelaide – she was dignified, modest, charitable, and gained public sympathy for being unable to produce a surviving heir. However, she was very fond of her niece, who would one day reign as Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria’s first child had Adelaide as one of her middle names, in her aunt’s honour.

It is this Adelaide that the city of Adelaide is named after; the city was founded in 1836, just a few years after Adelaide became queen. The city has never forgotten its royal namesake: there is a bronze statue of Queen Adelaide in the foyer of the Town Hall, and the Queen Adelaide Club provides an exclusive social club for women.

Each year the city celebrates Queen Adelaide’s birthday on August 13, held in the Queen Adelaide Room of the Town Hall. There is a tea party given, and everyone who bears the name Adelaide is invited to attend as an honoured guest. This year, on Queen Adelaide’s 220^th birthday, 30 Adelaides came, up from 22 last year; the eldest was in her eighties, and the youngest only 17 days old. Over the past 15 years, more than 50 girls in South Australia have been named Adelaide.

In New South Wales, Adelaide was #132 in the 1900s, and then sank in popularity until it was out of regular use between the 1930s and the 1970s. During the 1980s, it was #792, representing about one Adelaide born each year. During the 1990s, it increased to #447, and continued rising. It peaked in 2010 at #154, and last year suddenly dropped to #232, so it may be losing popularity before reaching its 1900s ranking.

Australian actress Rachel Griffiths and artist Andrew Taylor welcomed a daughter named Adelaide Rose in 2005. As Adelaide Taylor was born in Los Angeles, she became part of a growing trend, because her name joined the US Top 1000 the year she was born. It has continued to rise, and is currently #407. I wonder if beleaguered MP Craig Thomson having a baby girl named Adelaide in 2011 damaged the brand in NSW – it was going so well until last year?

This is a stylish, ladylike name that manages to sound both “old fashioned” and contemporary. It’s never been on the Top 100, and doesn’t seem likely to join it at this stage. You could use Addie as a nickname, in which case it would blend right in with all the Addisons and Madisons, but many would prefer Ada, Adele, Dell, Della, or no nickname at all.

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Tag Archives: locational names

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The People’s Choice of Girl’s Names

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Waltzing With … Darwin

Famous Name: Adelaide