Tag Archives: pseudonyms

Famous Name: Fiona

30 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by in Famous Names

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The Archibald Prize this year was won by Fiona Lowry, for her portrait of architect Penelope Seidler. The Art Gallery of NSW trustees, who are the judges of the Archibald, seemed to avoid controversy this year by awarding the $75 000 prize to an overwhelming favourite.

Fiona first saw Penelope Seidler six years ago at a gallery opening, and was struck by her beauty and presence; she decided then that she would like to paint her. The portrait was begun at Penelope’s home, Killara House, a heritage-listed Sydney icon which she designed with her husband, the famous modernist architect Harry Seidler.

Fiona’s paintings are made with an airbrush and a limited range of soft pastel colours, creating an often unsettling atmosphere seen through a fine mist. I can’t help thinking that Clarice Beckett would give a wry smile … and that once again, Penelope proves a winner!

The name Fiona was created by the 18th century Scottish poet James McPherson, and first used in his famous Ossian poems, which were a great influence on the Romantic movement, and instigator of the Gaelic revival. MacPherson pretended his poems were “translations” of ancient Gaelic poems, but could never produce the originals, and it is now agreed that while he based them on old ballads, many of the stories and characters are from his imagination.

In the Fingal section of the Ossian poems, MacPherson wrote: Let the sons of Fiona rise, on the lone plains of her lovely Ardan. Fiona is a not a person, but a feminine personification, like Erin or Brittania, or Lady Liberty. But a personification of what?

You may recall that the Irish hero Finn McCool’s warriors were called the Fianna. Although that looks as it means “Finn’s men”, fiann means “soldier, warrior, hero” in Old Irish, and fianna is its plural. Fianna can thus be translated as “war band”. Although the Fianna come from mythology, it is believed that such bands did exist in medieval Ireland; young men and women of the nobility who had not yet come into their inheritance and had no lands of their own.

Fiona is James MacPherson’s transcription of Fianna, which he may have written to make it look as if it was derived from Fionn, or Finn, meaning “fair, white”, in order to give his Fingal the status of the great Irish hero Finn McCool. You might see MacPherson’s “Fiona” as a personification of Celtic pride, independence, and fighting spirit.

Baby name books often try to claim Fiona as a feminine form of Finn or Fionn, but in medieval Gaelic, adding an -a to a name did not make it feminine. Instead -nat or –sech were used, so the feminine forms of Finn are Finnat and Finnsech (genuine medieval names). Just to confuse things, Fíona is a modern Irish name meaning “wine”. Although some people take Fiona as an Anglicisation of Fíona, it’s more that an Irish meaning was found for an existing name.

Fiona was used as a pseudonym by the Scottish writer William Sharp. Although already a distinguished poet, biographer, and literary editor, he chose to sometimes write romantic novels and poetry as Fiona McLeod – which he feared would not be accepted if it was known he was the author. William Sharp edited the Ossian poems, which is most likely where he found the name Fiona.

William Sharp had a love affair with a woman named Edith Wingate Rinder, and it was those works inspired by his passion for Edith that he attributed to “Fiona McLeod”. The poetry he wrote under the influence of this inspiration is considered his greatest work, and the Fiona McLeod novels proved so popular that they brought him financial success. You could say that “Fiona” was the name William gave his feminine side, and tapping into it unleashed a wave of creativity.

The secret of William Sharp’s dual identity only became publicly known after his death, when his wife revealed that her husband was the author of all works by Fiona McLeod. It was after Fiona McLeod became a popular novelist that the name Fiona became well known, so while James MacPherson may have created it, it was another Scottish writer who spread its use.

Fiona first charted in Australia in the 1950s, making an impressive début at just outside the Top 100 at #105. The reason for its sudden appearance on the charts is the 1954 film Brigadoon, based on the Broadway musical of the same name. It’s about two American men who are hunting in Scotland when they happen upon a miraculous village which rises out of the mists every hundred years for just one day. One of the men falls in love with a girl from the village named Fiona Campbell (Fiona McLaren in the original musical), played in the film by Cyd Charisse. The magic and romance of the story were clearly a hit with Australian audiences.

By 1960, Fiona was #57, by 1961 it was in the Top 50 at #47, and by 1967 it had just scraped into the Top 20. Fiona reached its peak in 1970 at #14, and was last in the Top 100 in 1986. A famous fictional Fiona during the 1970s was matriarch Fiona Cleary, from Colleen McCullough’s The Thorn Birds, although by this time the name was falling in popularity.

If you judge the name Fiona purely as a name nerd, you must admit it has some black marks against it. It’s a “made up” name, and furthermore, not even a name made up for a character – it’s basically the Khaleesi of the 18th century. It was popularised by a man pretending to be a woman, in part to obscure an extra-marital affair. It’s not the most promising name history of all time.

Fiona leapt into the charts out of nowhere due to popular culture – a musical film which was a box office success, but received lukewarm reviews. It was a “trendy” name that climbed in popularity very suddenly, then sank again at almost the same rate. It’s a “dated” name, in that it is dated to a particular era – you can be almost sure that someone named Fiona was born somewhere between Brigadoon and The Thorn Birds 1983 mini-series, and most likely between the late 1960s and mid-1970s (Fiona Lowry was born in 1974).

But isn’t it tiresome to always judge names through the lens of nerdism? Because in spite of all this, I think Fiona remains a pretty, delicate name with a fascinating literary history. It has a romance to it – a name created by a poet who changed the face of literature, made well known by a writer who had a talent he never knew existed until he fell in love, brought to popularity through a miraculous love affair.

I like the fact that such a gentle-sounding name has a war-like meaning; it’s a warrior princess of a name. Despite being dated, Fiona doesn’t sound particularly dated – it even has a fashionable OH sound in the middle. There are tons of Fionas in current popular culture, including Princess Fiona, the feisty green ogress from Shrek.

If you love the name Fiona, take heart – it is no longer plummeting in popularity, but relatively stable around the 300-400s, and can claim modern classic status. Furthermore, in the United States, which is much slower to appreciate British (especially Scottish) names, Fiona only began charting in the 1990s and has been gradually climbing ever since.

I have a family member who is a massive fan of the Shrek movies, and especially of Princess Fiona. Sometimes I think I will be a grandmother to a little Fiona, and the idea doesn’t displease me at all.

POLL RESULTS
Fiona received a very good approval rating of 72%. People saw the name Fiona as strong and feisty (23%), and beautiful or pretty (19%). However, 16% of people considered it too dated to be a baby name. The association with Shrek didn’t seem to be an issue, with twice as many people (10%), thinking it was a cool association than a problematic one (5%). Only one person thought the name Fiona was “too made up”.

(Painting is Penelope Seidler by Fiona Lowry)

International Names for Boys

02 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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These are names chosen from my e-book, International Baby Names for Australian Parents – names which are familiar in other countries, but rarely used here. I chose ten that I particularly like, or find interesting, or think very usable. If you haven’t read the book, it gives you an idea as to what’s inside, and if you have read it, it’s a chance for me to provide more information than is possible in a book.

Ajay

Indian boys name meaning “he who cannot be defeated” in Sanskrit; also commonly used as a short form of longer Indian names beginning with Ajay-. It is pronounced uh-JAY. Ajay is also an English modern name (presumably) based on the initials AJ, and said ay-jay. It can be used for either sex, and a female example is media personality Ajay Rochester (born Leigh Towler). Initial names are growing in popularity, and this is also an Indian heritage choice which fits in with current trends (although it may present some minor pronunciation issues). The name Ajay charts in the UK for boys.

Barnaby

Medieval English form of Barnabas, which is derived from Aramaic. Saint Barnabas was one of the earliest Christian followers in Jerusalem, and the New Testament tells us he was one of the Seventy Apostles of Christ, and a companion of Saint Paul. According to tradition, Barnabas was martyred in Cyprus, and is claimed as the founder of the Cypriot Orthodox Church. The Bible explains that his birth name was Joseph (or Joses, the Greek form), but the Apostles gave him the name Barnabas, which may mean “son of the prophet”. However, in the New Testament, it says his name means “son of encouragement” – early Christians saw a link between prophecy and encouragement. The name is pronounced BAHR-nuh-bee. There are several Barnabys in fiction, most notably Barnaby Rudge, in Charles Dickens novel of the same name. Fictional characters named Barnaby tend to be cute, simple, absent-minded, or comical (Barnaby Rudge is a village idiot). Two famous Australians with this name are former AFL footballer Barnaby French, and National Party politician Barnaby Joyce. This name manages to be both hip and cuddly, and it charts in the UK, where it is rising.

Conrad

Germanic name meaning “bold counsel”. The 10th century Conrad I is recognised as the first ruler who can be called a King of Germany, although he never claimed that title. Related to every other subsequent monarch of Germany, it is little wonder his name became traditional amongst medieval German royalty and nobility. There are several saints named Conrad, with the first one Conrad of Constance, a bishop from the same powerful family as Conrad I. A story is told that he once drank some communion wine at mass after a spider had fallen in it; at that time, spiders were believed to be fatally poisonous, but Conrad drank the wine as a sign of faith. With our current knowledge, his survival no longer seems particularly miraculous. Conrad is the protagonist of The Corsair by Lord Byron, probably the most Byronic of all Byron’s heroes. An outlaw pirate fighting a chivalrous battle against mankind, he is a man of mystery, leading a life of adventure and passion. Because of the cult of Saint Conrad of Constance, the name was used in England during medieval times, and has been revived since the 19th century. Strong and intelligent, it charts in both the UK and the US.

Darius

From the Greek form of the Persian name Dārayavahush, meaning “holding firmly onto goodness”. It was traditional amongst kings of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, and Darius I was also known as Darius the Great, ruling the empire at the height of its power, and often remembered for his defeat by the Greeks at the Battle of Marathon. He is mentioned several times in the Old Testament, so you can see this as a Biblical name as well. Darius III was the last king of the Achaemenid Empire, being defeated by Alexander the Great. Musical Dariuses include French composer Darius Milhaud, British singer Darius Campbell, and Darius Rucker from American band Hootie & the Blowfish. A famous Australian with this name NRL footballer Darius Boyd, who plays for the Newcastle Knights. There are attractive fictional Dariuses in the The Hunger Games trilogy, and the House of Night vampire series. You can pronounce this elegant name DAR-ree-us, DAH-ree-uhs, or duh-RY-us, and it charts in both the US and the UK.

Gideon

Hebrew name meaning “hewer (of wood”) or “feller (of trees)”; often translated as “woodsman”, but other times more freely as “warrior, destroyer”, with the thought that the hewing and felling could be against enemies. In the Old Testament, Gideon was a hero who is listed amongst the Judges of the Hebrews. Born into humble circumstances, Gideon doesn’t seem to have had much confidence in himself, and when God chose him to free his people from oppression, Gideon asked for proof of God’s will through three miracles. Once convinced that God had really chosen him, Gideon led an army of Israelites against the oppressing Midianites. Contrary to standard military tactics, God commanded Gideon to send away most of his army, because it was so large that victory was virtually assured. Instead, he went in to battle with just three hundred men, so that when they won, they were certain it was accomplished through God’s power. Gideon is considered a saint in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox faiths, and the name came into use in Britain through the Puritans. Gideons International is the evangelical organisation which distributes free Bibles; you’ve probably found one in your hotel room at some point. Gideon is a stylish Biblical name; usually pronounced GID-ee-uhn, it charts in the US, where it is rising, and in the UK.

Iestyn

Welsh form of Justin, from the Latin name Justinus, derived from Justus, meaning “just”. All of these names were borne by numerous saints. Iestyn ap Gwrgant was the last ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Morgannwg, in South Wales, before it was taken over by the Normans. His coat of arms forms the modern flag of Glamorgan, and part of the flag of Cardiff. Saint Iestyn was a Welsh hermit who flourished in either the 6th or 7th century, and is said to have been of royal blood. He founded two churches in north Wales. Pronounced YEST-in, this is a positive-sounding name which could honour someone named Justin, or be an appealing Welsh heritage choice. Iestyn charts in the UK.

Orson

English surname which was originally a nickname, from the Norman French for “bear cub”. In the medieval romance Valentine and Orson, Orson is a wild man raised by bears, and twin brother to the knight Valentine, brought up in a royal French court. Originally, the “wild brother” didn’t have a name, and it seems to be an English innovation to give him a name to reflect his ursine upbringing. Orson has been used as a boy’s name since at least the 17th century, and has historically been more common in the United States. There are several famous men named Orson, including the American actor and director Orson Welles, who directed Citizen Kane and the notorious War of the Worlds radio broadcast – his first name was George, and he went by his middle name. Others include American television actor Orson Bean (real name Dallas Burrows), who lived in Australia during the 1970s, and American sci-fi author Orson Scott Card, who wrote Ender’s Game. You may also have heard of Internet sensation Orson Mackie, an Australian baby who stars in familiar movie scenes created by his parents from cardboard boxes. This masculine name is warm, snuggly, yet strong. It charts in the UK, where it is rising.

Roc

Catalan form of Rocco. Roc Brazilianos was a notorious 17th century Dutch pirate who operated from Jamaica. A cruel and debauched buccaneer, he raised terror on the high seas for many years before mysteriously disappearing with his ship and crew. His real name is not known for sure, but historians think he may have been Gerrit Gerritszoon, who moved to Dutch-controlled Brazil with his parents. Rather less spectacularly, a famous Australian with the name is visionary entrepreneur Roc Kirby, who founded Village Roadshow cinemas, and supported the Australian film renaissance. In his case, Roc is short for Roscoe. A roc is also a gigantic mythological bird which appears in Arabian fairy tales, and is well known to anyone who has read the One Thousand and One Nights. Pronounced like the word rock, this is a cool bad-boy choice which can also be seen as a nature name. It is popular in Catalonia, where it is rising.

Sixten

Swedish name which comes from the Old Norse Sigsteinn, meaning “victory stone”. Sixten Ehrling was one of Sweden’s most famous conductors, known for his difficult, yet witty, personality, and Sixten Sason was a super stylish Swedish designer who created the smooth lines of the Saab in the 1960s. Another famous namesake is the Swedish street artist Sixten, who at one time lived and worked in Melbourne. This is a smart-sounding Swedish heritage choice which provides few problems with pronunciation, as it’s said much as it looks. It is popular in Sweden, where it is rising.

Titus

Roman name of unknown meaning. According to tradition, the name was introduced to Rome by Titus Tatius, the Sabine king who attacked Rome, but later made peace with the legendary Roman king Romulus, the city’s founder. There were three Roman Emperors named Titus, and the Roman historian Livy’s full name was Titus Livius. Saint Titus is mentioned in the New Testament as a companion of Saint Paul. As you can probably tell from all these name bearers, Titus was an extremely common name in ancient times, and used by all social classes. The name gained an unpleasant reputation from Titus Oates, the perjurer who falsely claimed that Catholics were plotting to assassinate King Charles II; more honourable associations are Sir Titus Salt, the manufacturer and philanthropist, and Titus Brandsma, the Catholic priest (now a saint) who spoke out against Nazi ideology and died in a concentration camp. A contemporary namesake is American television actor Titus Welliver, from Sons of Anarchy and The Good Wife. Titus Andronicus is Shakespeare’s first tragedy, one of his most violent and gory plays. Titus charts in the US, where it is rising.

POLL RESULTS
The public’s favourite names were Gideon, Orson and Conrad, and their least favourite were Ajay, Sixten and Roc.

(Photo shows Orson Mackie depicting a scene from the movie Cast Away, on the blog Cardboard Box Office).

 

Names of Fictional Characters for Girls

10 Sunday Nov 2013

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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Arrietty

Arrietty Clock is a teenage “borrower” from Mary Norton’s classic children’s fantasy book series, The Borrowers. The borrowers are tiny people who live by “borrowing” everyday items from the Big People, who they call “human beans”. Because of the spirited Arrietty’s curiosity, she and her family end up having far more adventurous lives than the average borrower. In the UK issue of the Japanese animated film Arietty’s World, inspired by the books, Arrietty is voiced by Saoirse Ronan; in the US issue, by Disney actress Bridgit Mendler. Like everything else they own, the borrowers’ names have also been “borrowed”, and used in new ways. Arrietty is reminiscent of the word arietta, meaning “little song, a small aria” in Italian. However, it is also very similar to the name Harriet, and the short form Etty. As Aria and Harriet are quite popular, and Etta very hip, Arrietty is one of those invented names which we are half-surprised wasn’t used before the books’ publication.

Arwen

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings, Arwen Undómiel is an Elven princess, said to be the most beautiful of the last generation of the High Elves. She is the lover of the hero Aragorn, and because she is an immortal, Arwen must sacrifice a great deal to be with her love. In the Peter Jackson films, she is played by Liv Tyler. In the Elvish Sindarin language created by Tolkien, Arwen is said to mean “noble maiden”. However, Tolkien did not invent the name itself, which is a modern Welsh name. It may be a feminine form of Arwyn, which I have seen translated as “very fair, greatly blessed, splendid”. In the UK, the name began charting around the time The Fellowship of the Ring came out, and is currently #654 and rising. This does have a (short) history as a genuine Welsh name, and was given to a very lovely fantasy princess.

Bellatrix

Bellatrix Lestrange is an evil witch in the Harry Potter fantasy series, the Dark Lord Voldemort’s most faithful follower. In the films, she is played by Helena Bonham-Carter. Bellatrix was born into the Black family, and like all members of that clan, she is named after a star. Bellatrix is the common name of Gamma Orionis, a bright star in the constellation of Orion. Its name is Latin for “female warrior”, which was originally given to Capella, and then transferred to Gamma Orionis. It is also known as the Amazon Star, a loose translation of its Arabic name, which means “the conqueror”. Bellatrix Lestrange’s name is apt because she is a skilled warrior for Voldemort, and has won many duels. This name sounds very usable, because it has the popular Bella in it, and the -trix from hip Beatrix. However, while the Harry Potter character has raised the name’s profile, it’s also a stumbling block, because the character is evil – and not in a cool “strong yet misunderstood woman” way. Bellatrix is a fanatical racist with a love for murder and torture, and a starstruck Voldie fangirl with an annoying little-girl voice. So on one hand: great name. On the other: horrible association.

Iridessa

Iridessa is the name of one of the fairies in the Disney Fairies franchise. Her talent is working with light, and she wears a yellow dress, lives in a sunflower, and has clear fairy wings. In the movies, she is voiced by Raven-Symoné. Iridessa is a perfectionist and a worrier; she likes to look on the bright side of things, but can usually sense trouble approaching. When disaster strikes, she rushes in to save the day, and brings sunshine, light and brightness to every situation. The name Iridessa seems to be based on the word iridescent, meaning “producing rainbow-like colours; brilliant, lustrous, prismatic”. The word is derived from Iris, the name of the goddess of the rainbow, so you could see Iridessa as a modern spin on the older name. I have seen a baby with this name, and it’s been frequently Googled, so it seems that people find the name of this fairy intriguing. It’s not surprising, with such an attractive namesake associated with light. Looking for a nickname? Iridessa goes by Dess.

Khaleesi

Khaleesi is extremely unusual as an invented name, because it is not the name of a fictional character, but rather her title. In George R.R. Martin’s fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, khaleesi is the word for the wife of a khal or ruler, in the Dothraki language from the novels. The Dothraki are a nomadic indigenous people without a written language, so the spelling of khaleesi in the novels must come from another culture. In Martin’s novel series, shy Daenerys Targaryen adopts the title of Khaleesi when she weds powerful Dothraki warlord Khal Drogo, and as his queen, grows in strength and confidence, becoming a leader in her own right known as “the Mother of Dragons”. In the television series based on the books, A Game of Thrones, the role of Daenerys is played by Emilia Clarke. Since the television series began airing in Australia, there has been a spike of interest in the name, with about 25 baby girls called Khaleesi born this year. For some reason, the name is far more popular in Queensland than elsewhere – possibly because of the connection with queens.

Lorelei

The Lorelei is the name of a famous rock on the River Rhine in Germany, and also the name of a beautiful water sprite or siren associated with the rock, who is supposed to lure men to their doom. More prosaically, the current of the river is very strong here, which explains the many accidents which have occurred in the area. The character of the Lorelei comes from a 19th century German ballad which poet Heinrich Heine turned into a poem called Die Lorelei, where a golden-haired siren unwittingly distracts men with her beauty so they crash onto the rocks. The poem has often been set to music and turned into songs, and is part of German popular culture. The name Lorelei is a combination of German dialect and Celtic, and means “murmuring rock”. Lorelei is the name of the alluring blonde in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; in the film she is played by Marilyn Monroe. The name also features in garrulous gabfest Gilmore Girls, where both mother and teen daughter share the name Lorelei (the younger goes by Rory). Comedienne Kat Davidson named her daughter Lorelei “Rory” this year. Said LOR-uh-lie, this is better known in the US, where it is #531.

Pollyanna

Pollyanna Whittier is the title character of the Pollyanna books by Eleanor H. Porter; the series was continued by a number of writers. Pollyanna is an eleven-year-old orphan who is sent to live with her Aunt Polly in New England, and her sunny disposition soon teaches her stern relative, and the whole town, how to play the “Glad Game” – where you always look for something to feel glad about. While many are charmed by the heroine’s upbeat view of life, cynics find her too syrupy and her philosophy simplistic. Because of this, the word Pollyanna has entered our language to mean someone optimistic to the point of naivety or refusal to face facts. Pollyanna is a combination of Polly and Anna – Polly is a medieval variant of Molly, a pet form of Mary. This would be a difficult name to give a child in many ways, but would make a sunshiney middle, and easily shortens to Polly.

Rogue

Rogue is a character from the X-Men Marvel comic books created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. She is one of the team of mutant superheroes under the auspices of Professor Xavier, who recruits and trains young mutants to use their powers for the benefit of humanity. Rogue considers her special ability something of a curse, as she involuntarily absorbs, and sometimes removes, the memories, strength, and superpowers of anyone who touches her. For most of her life, she limited her physical contact with others, even loved ones, until after many years she was able to gain full control of her abilities. It was eventually revealed that Rogue was a code name, and her real name Anna Marie. In the movies, she is played by Anna Paquin. A rogue is a scoundrel or rascal. More to the point, a rogue animal is one which separates itself from the herd, and in horticulture the word rogue is used to describe a plant which has an undesirable mutation and must be destroyed. Anna Marie seems to have chosen Rogue as her code name to express her bitterness at the biological difference she had been lumbered with. This name can be used for both sexes; I saw it on a baby girl last year.

Scarlett

Scarlett O’Hara is the protagonist of Margaret Mitchell’s best-selling Civil War novel, Gone with the Wind; in the film version she was played by Vivien Leigh. Slender and attractive, Scarlett is flirtatious and charming, but doesn’t fit the mould of a typical Southern Belle. Smart, feisty, stubborn and very strong-willed, she nevertheless is inwardly insecure. What makes Scarlett such an interesting character are her many flaws – she is vain, selfish, spoiled, unscrupulous and manipulative, but hard as nails, with an overpowering survival instinct. Scarlett is an English surname from Norman French, referring to someone who dyed or sold brightly-coloured cloth, which was often red. It has been used as a unisex name since the 17th century, but is now usually thought of as feminine. The character’s full name is Katie Scarlett O’Hara, and she was named after her grandmother. Margaret Mitchell originally planned to call her heroine Pansy, and changed it to Scarlett just before the novel went to print. Scarlett first ranked in the 1990s at #467, the decade in which American actress Scarlett Johansson made her film debut. It climbed precipitately to join the Top 100 in the mid-2000s, and is currently #25 nationally, #23 in New South Wales, #17 in Victoria, #33 in Queensland, #17 in South Australia, #22 in Western Australia, #21 in Tasmania, and #26 in the Australian Capital Territory.

Velvet

Velvet Brown is the heroine of Enid Bagnold’s novel, National Velvet, about a teenager who rides to victory in the brutally difficult Grand National Steeplechase, the most valuable jump race in Europe. The story is about the ability of ordinary people to achieve great things – Velvet is a plain, rather sickly girl from a working-class family, and the horse she wins on is a piebald. The movie version chucks most of this inspiring message aside so they can show a radiantly pretty pre-teen Elizabeth Taylor galloping about on a chestnut thoroughbred. Velvet is a fabric which was originally very expensive to make, and therefore associated with nobility and royalty. The word is from Old French, and comes from the Latin for “tuft, down”, because of velvet’s distinctive texture. It has been used as a name since the 19th century, and has been given to both genders, but mostly to girls. This unusual fabric name is warm and luxurious, perhaps even rather sensual.

POLL RESULT: People’s favourite names were Lorelei, Arrietty, and Scarlett, and their least favourite were Rogue, Pollyanna, and Khaleesi.

(Picture is of Iridessa, from Disney website)

Why Your Child Will Hate Their Name

22 Sunday Sep 2013

Posted by in Your Questions Answered

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How can I pick a name my child won’t hate?

That’s the question somebody typed into a search bar, and Google knows how, ended up on my blog. Here’s the kicker: you can’t. There’s no name, no matter how tastefully chosen, that comes with a guarantee that your child won’t one day hate it to bits.

I know people with what I see as very nice names (nicer than mine, in my opinion) who hate them with a bewildering passion, while people who have what I consider very boring or even ugly names are deeply grateful to their parents for choosing them. We all have different tastes.

I do know quite a few people who hate their names, and if you hang out on name forums, you don’t have to look hard to find others who have become disgruntled with their names. While everyone has their own personal quirks, over the years I have noticed a few things they tended to have in common.

These are often not the things that baby name articles warn you about. For example, a popular belief is that a “weird name” is sure to be hated by the bearer, who will be teased in the playground and come to loathe their name, their parents, and probably the whole world.

I haven’t noticed this to be the case, with most owners of unusual names enjoying, or at least coming to terms with them. I have never met anyone with an unusual name who legally changed it to something more mundane, even those who professed to find it a bit of a pain sometimes. At most, they adopted a pseudonym when booking restaurants.

Another piece of advice often handed out is that a “bizarre” name spelling will be such a nuisance that the bearer will undoubtedly wish that their parents had gone with something more traditional. Again, I don’t find that to be generally true. Some people with unusually spelled names loathe them, while others are delighted by them.

I know someone with a very unintuitive name spelling (think Veeruyniiikkarh for Veronica), and she loves that every letter in her name was individually chosen by her mum, with each one having a specific personal meaning. I thought it would be the most tremendous nuisance to have to spell out every time, but she assures me that she doesn’t mind at all. “It makes me feel special that my name gets so much attention”. For her, holding up queues is an ego-massage.

As I can’t tell you how to pick a name your child won’t hate, I thought I would least explain why they may end up hating it.

They hate themselves

Research has shown that people with high self-esteem tend to like their own name, and the higher their sense of self-worth, the more they liked their name. That suggests that people who dislike their own name may suffer from self-esteem issues.

You might assume that someone who dislikes their name would arrogantly think it not good enough for them, but sometimes it seems to be the other way around – they don’t think they are good enough for their names.

“It’s a popular girl name, it’s just not me”; “It’s too pretty for me carry it off”; or the most tragic I heard, “It sounds like the name of a happy normal person”.

To give your child the best chance of liking their name, make sure that they have high self-esteem. Convince them that they are pretty, popular, happy and normal enough for their name.

Their name is going downhill

A lot of parents worry about popularity; nearly always that the name is “too popular” to use, or is going to be too popular in the future.

However, I’ve noticed that the majority of people who dislike their names were given names that were either falling in popularity when they were born, or hitting their peak, so that they had begun falling by the time they started school.

Not only that, but the level of dislike appears to correlate with how steeply the name rose and fell. Names with a very obvious peak and trough, dating them to a particular era, seem to be the most disliked.

It doesn’t necessarily seem to be the most popular names that are disliked so much as those which display this pattern. For example, Sarah was the #1 name of the 1980s, yet I rarely hear Sarahs complain bitterly about their name. Could that be because Sarah is a classic which is still in the Top 40, so we don’t think of it as a “typical 1980s name”?

I don’t often hear anyone identify the trajectory of their name’s popularity as the reason for their dissatisfaction. They all have what appear to be good reasons for their dislike: it’s unattractive, it’s boring, it doesn’t suit them. Yet somehow it seems to be names falling in popularity which are perceived as ugly, boring, and not suiting their owners.

People given names that were already dated and out of style at the time of their birth (“old people” names) usually say that they hated their name as a child, but now they’re grown up, they appreciate it’s different from the usual names of their generation.

That may because such names sometimes begin to come back into fashion when they are adults. For example, someone born in the 1980s named Florence would have had a dated name, as it peaked in the 1900s. But now it is fashionable and rising in popularity – suddenly Florence has a cool name.

I do think popularity is worth considering – but not to cross off a name because it’s hit a particular point in the charts. Of course, you can’t know how a name will perform in the future, but you can at least see how it’s doing now. Has it maintained its position over several decades? Has it suddenly “come out of nowhere”? Is it already falling steeply? This information might help you choose between different names.

They hate the reason you chose their name

If someone really loves their name, I don’t think a bad name story will seriously ruin it for them, but if someone is already lukewarm, a bad one can add insult to injury. The factors that seem to get people’s goats are a perceived randomness, casualness, or lack of thought in the way their name was selected.

When you tell your child how you chose their name, stress how important it was to you and how much you love their name. If you chose their name from a baby name book, or a TV show, for example, make sure they understand that it wasn’t just by chance you chose their name. Whatever it was that made you fall in love with the name, express it. And don’t wait until they’re a moody teen or resentful adult to share the good news – they should know from an early age how special you think their name is.

I know a lot of people who disliked their names, and were even thinking of changing them, until their parents explained how much love and care had gone into choosing it. Teenagers who thought their parents had unimaginatively picked a popular name found that they had been named after a much-loved relative. A “made up” name that seemed “random” was the result of putting together the initials of their parents’ best friends who introduced them. And sometimes just knowing it was a name their parents loved above all others was enough to reconcile someone to a name they had thought ordinary.

The bottom line: everyone wants their name to be meaningful. Show your child that theirs is.

You hate your name

In some cases, disliking names seems to run in the family. Quite a number of women I know who dislike their names tell me that their mother was also unhappy with her own name. This may be from parental modelling. Just as mothers who constantly moan about their flabby thighs tend to have daughters with body image problems, it could be that mothers who dislike their name unconsciously send the message to their children to focus on anything about their name that fails to please.

If you hate your own name, make peace with it. Don’t try to work out your own issues when choosing your child’s name. So many parents seem to think that because they hated being one of a dozen in their class their child’s name must be rare, or because they hated their nickname their child needs a “nickname proof” name.

It’s well intentioned, but the trouble is that you’ve made your child’s name story all about you. When you tell your child how you chose their name, the story shouldn’t include information about how you felt about your name. Don’t use your child’s name as an opportunity to fix the mistakes of the past.

They hate you

In rare but distressing cases, people reject their names because their relationship with their parents irretrievably breaks down. It’s not uncommon for them to change their names in order to signal a complete break from their family background, and it can also be so their parents can’t easily locate them.

I don’t think this is worth worrying about, because if it occurs, their name isn’t really the issue, and is the least of your problems.

POSTSCRIPT: I should add that most of my observations in regard to name dislike relate to women. It isn’t that I don’t know any men who dislike their names – I know a fair few who hated their name enough to legally change it, and I’ve read a lot of articles written by men on how much they dislike their name.

However, women and girls do seem to more openly express their feelings about their names, and it’s possible that they have subtler emotions toward their name, or are more likely to be analytical about them. Perhaps women are more likely to be “fussy” about their names than men. Whatever the reason, it seems to be easier to gather information about their feelings towards their names (at least for me).

POLL RESULTS
79% of people responding to the poll were generally satisfied with their name. 33% liked their name, 19% loved their name, 18% weren’t mad about their name, but could live with it, and 9% said that they used to dislike their name, but had changed their mind and now felt positive towards it.

However, 12% of people did hate their name, while 9% thought that hate was too strong a word to use, but they didn’t really like their names either.

The good news is, most of us have names that we are content with, and around 10% of people who don’t like their name will change their minds.

(Picture from Naver)

Colourful Names of Real Australians

23 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by in Historical Records

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

Black, White and Grey

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

Blue and Green

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

Purple

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

Red and Pink

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

Yellow and Orange

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

Brown

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

Gold and Silver

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

Requested Famous Name: Banjo

14 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by in Famous Names, Requested Names

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Less Commonly Used Girls Names

03 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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When all the name data for the most popular names was released, there were also several articles which looked at some of the names closer to the bottom of the popularity lists than the top. Dorcas at Names from the Dustbin calls these names Bottom of the Barrel – not meaning that they are necessarily of poor quality, but just low in the rankings.

Most names at the bottom of the lists are just re-spellings of common names, or short forms of names that are usually kept as nicknames rather than a full name. However, if you sift through these, there’s some interesting finds at the “bottom of the barrel”, and even some neglected gems.

These names are from the popularity charts of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and Tasmania. Nearly all of them are taken from the very rarest names in their state.

Adeline

This is a pet form of the French name Adele; the French pronunciation is a-de-LEEN, but the English is AD-uh-line. The name is well known from the American ballad Sweet Adeline, which was a standard for Australian folk band, The Seekers. There’s also the piece, Ballade pour Adeline, written for the composer’s baby girl, which I had to thump out tunelessly with my chubby fingers during many a childhood music lesson. However, Adeline has got considerably cooler since then; Kasey Chambers has a song called Adeline, Green Day’s Adeline Records handles indie rock bands, and Elliot Smith released his own darker version of Sweet Adeline. I read at Abby’s Nameberry Nine that Simon Helberg from The Big Bang Theory welcomed a daughter named Adeline last month, making it an up-to-the minute celebrity baby name. Adeline has never been on the Top 100; it was #162 for the 1900s, and then sank until it was out of regular use by the 1940s. Today it fits in well with Adelaide, Addison, Madison and Madeline; however it may be difficult for short form Addie to stand out amongst the sea of Maddies and Abbies.

Allegra

Allegra means “cheerful, lively” in Italian, related to the musical term allegro, and has a long history as a celebrity baby name. Romantic poet Lord Byron re-named his illegitimate daughter Clara Allegra Byron (called by her middle name, and originally named Alba by her mother). Despite poor little Allegras’s life being brief and marked by neglect, the name seems to have been an apt one, because she was described as a vivacious child. Her story didn’t stop American poet Henry Longfellow from using it as his daughter’s middle name; in his poem The Children’s Hour, he describes her as “laughing Allegra”. The American inventor and designer, Buckminster Fuller, also gave this name to his daughter. Allegra Versace is the daughter of Italian designer Donatella Versace, and Allegra Kurer is the daughter of British radio host Vanessa Feltz. In Australia, news presenter Jessica Rowe chose it for her eldest daughter in 2007, and last year it was chosen for the daughter of Emmy Kubainski. Frothy and elegant, with a positive meaning, this fashionable favourite would also make a good Italian heritage choice.

Bonnie

Bonnie is taken from the Scottish word bonnie, meaning “pretty, beautiful”; it’s derived from the French bon, meaning “good”. Bonnie has been used as a personal name since the 19th century, and was even sometimes given to boys, but received a huge boost when it was used in Margaret Mitchell’s popular romance, Gone with the Wind. Bonnie Blue Butler is the daughter of Scarlett and Rhett, and receives her name because she has eyes the colour of the Bonnie Blue Flag – the banner of the Confederate States in the American Civil War. British rocker Billy Idol, who sang Rebel Yell, named his daughter Bonnie Blue, and we had a Bonnie Blue competing in the Bonds Baby Search. Another famous Bonnie is Bonnie Parker, one half of notorious crime duo Bonnie and Clyde. Bonnie has been on the charts almost continuously, albeit in rare use in the 1950s and ’60s. It had a peak in the 1920s at #172, then peaked again in the 1990s at #157; it’s currently climbing in the mid-100s in New South Wales, but is obviously rarer in other states. It’s a sweet old-fashioned name which is also linked to rebellion, giving it a spunkier image.

Cleopatra

This Greek name means “glory of the father”, and is almost impossible for us to disassociate from the famous Queen of Egypt. From a dangerously inbred family of Macedonian Greek origin, she ruled Egypt alongside her father, and then her brothers (who were also her husbands), but then seized control and reigned alone for many years. She was able to align herself with Rome as both ally and lover to both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, but after Mark Antony’s death, is said to have poisoned herself before she could be captured and humiliated. According to tradition, she killed herself with an asp. Her story captured the imagination of William Shakespeare, who based his play Antony and Cleopatra on the last part of her life, and her story has been made into several films, including the lavishly dreadful one starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Cleopatra is always depicted as a woman of great beauty, although early traditions suggest her attractiveness was based more on enormous charm and sex appeal. This ancient, glamorous name carries a lot of weight, but with short form Cleo becoming fashionable, some parents may wish for a long form of the name.

Elif

This Turkish name is after Alif, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, and has connotations of “tall and slender”, as if the person is shaped like the letter, which is a long vertical line. It is pronounced ay-LEEF. You probably recall that Natalie Portman had a son named Aleph last year; Aleph is the Hebrew form of the same letter. The meaning of the letter goes back to the West Semitic word for “ox”, as the cuneiform originally represented the shape of an ox’s head. In Arabic, the word is connected via folk etymology to the word for “coy, tamed”, giving it a subtly demure feeling. It’s a common girl’s name in Turkey, and there are several Turkish celebrities with this name. There’s also a town in Turkey called Elif. I’m not sure a non-Turkish person would ever use it, but it’s certainly an attractive name that is easy enough for an English-speaker to understand and pronounce, once they’ve learned how it’s said.

Harlow

This name is inspired by Jean Harlow, a Hollywood superstar of the 1930s. With her platinum hair and vampish image, she was the forerunner to many blonde bombshells of the movies. Despite her beauty and success, Harlow’s life contained much tragedy, and she died of kidney failure while only in her twenties. Harlow took her mother’s maiden name as her stage name; her birth name was Harlean Carpenter. The surname Harlow is from several places in England. Harlow in Yorkshire means “hill of rocks” in Old English, while the meaning of Harlow in Essex is disputed. One theory is that it means “army hill”, with the idea being that local landmark Mulberry Hill was a meeting place for the local people. Another is that it means “temple mound”, as there is an Iron Age burial mound in the area which later had a Roman temple built on the site. Harlow is a unisex name, but more common for girls; the name came to public attention when Nicole Richie named her daughter Harlow in 2008. There were 20 babies named Harlow in Queensland last year, up from 12 the year before. Although numbers are still low, that’s a significant jump.

Pixie

This name is after the small mythological being of English folklore, tales of which come from Cornwall and Devon. They are usually depicted as small sprites who could be mischievous, but were often helpful to humans. A famous Australian with this name was the prolific illustrator and artist Pixie O’Harris (aunt of singer-artist Rolf Harris). Her real name was Rhona Olive Harris, but when she migrated to Australia from Wales she changed her name to Pixie because she was nicknamed “the Welsh pixie” on the boat over. A printer’s error changed her name from Pixie O. Harris to Pixie O’Harris, and she stuck with it as her pseudonym. Last year, businesswoman Roxy Jacenko named her new baby Pixie-Rose. I think some people will find the name Pixie adorably cute, and others impossibly twee; it’s bound to get some interesting reactions, and does have the fashionable X in it.

Sippie

The only person I know of named Sippie is the blues singer Sippie Wallace, who was born Beulah Thomas. Her career spanned seven decades, and although she found fame as a young woman in the 1920s, she was rediscovered in the 1960s and ’70s and was a big influence on Bonnie Raitt, who went on tour with her. Her album Sippie won the Blues Album of the Year in 1983, so her comeback was a definite success. The name Sippie is one that she gained in childhood because the gap in her teeth meant that she had to “sip” all her food and drink. Coincidentally, there is a place on the Gold Coast called Sippy Downs; its name is a corruption of an Aboriginal word meaning “winged creatures”, and interpreted as meaning “birds”. As Sippie Wallace was billed as “The Texas Nightingale”, I find this juxtaposition very charming. Sippie is an unusual name, but what a wonderful namesake. This would be very suitable for a family who loves music, especially jazz and blues.

Torah

In Australia, this name is well known as belonging to snowboarder Torah Bright, who won gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Her parents named her after the Torah, which is the Jewish word for the first five books of the Old Testament. The word is from the Hebrew, meaning “teaching, instruction”, however, Torah Bright’s mother believed that it meant “bearer of a great message”. Torah Bright is a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormon), and lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. There was slight disbelief at this name on The Baby Name Wizard, with a couple of people feeling that it seemed rather offensive, or at least strange. Torah’s name was reported on in Washington Jewish Week; there was no mention of it being offensive to Jews, but they did appear to find it slightly amusing. Like calling your child Bible or Gospel, many will find this name a head-scratcher. It would be given in honour of our Olympic champion, but the religious ramifications may be lost on some people. The fact that it sounds as if it could be short for Victoria is probably a help.

Zahlia

This name is pronounced ZAH-lee-uh, and as far as I’m aware, it’s a modern invention. It seems to be an elaboration of the name Zali; Zali Steggall is Australia’s most internationally successful alpine skier (now retired). Her name has proven a great success here, and spawned many variants, such as Zarly, Zahlee, Zalie etc. It’s unclear where the Stegalls got the name Zali from, and to the best of my knowledge, it’s made up. Zahlia does well in Australia, because it sounds rather exotic, while also being similar to popular names such as Zara and Tahlia (it even looks like a combination of those names). Despite being listed as a rare name, I have seen some parents dismiss Zahlia as being “too common”; perhaps it’s not rare enough to seem “unique”, or perhaps the many variants and sound-alike names make it appear to be one of the pack.

(Picture is from one of the posters for the 1963 movie Cleopatra)

Famous Names: Sebastian and Jenson

21 Wednesday Mar 2012

Posted by in Famous Names

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The Australian Grand Prix was held in Melbourne on the weekend, and before the event there was plenty of buzz in the media around German Sebastian Vettel, and British Jenson Button. These glamorous visitors from Europe always get a lot of attention, for both are handsome and charming; Vettel amusing and slightly mysterious, Button affable and quietly confident. In the end, Button opened the F1 season with a victory, winning comfortably against Vettel with a 2.2 second margin. It is his third Australian Grand Prix victory. (Picture has Vettel on the left in black).

I thought we’d take a look at the names of both these Formula One champions, because Sebastian and Jenson are Googled often to reach my blog, and so far I haven’t added any requested boys names to the Featured Names list, while I’ve been quite conscientious about adding the girls.

Sebastian is from the Latin name Sebastianus, which means “from Sebaste”. There were several places called Sebaste, because it is the Greek form of Augusta, named in honour of the Emperor Augustus. His adopted name meant “great, majestic, venerable”. There are towns in modern-day Turkey and Palestine with this name (or a version of it), still with ancient Roman ruins which can be visited.

The name became well known because of Saint Sebastian, a 3rd century Roman soldier originally from southern France. Skilled at converting people, according to legend he was shot through with arrows, yet did not die, so had to be martyred twice. He became popular in the Middle Ages because he was said to protect people from the plague, and also began to be depicted as a beautiful, semi-nude young man. (In early pictures, he looks like an ordinary bearded fully-clothed saint).

The name was popular amongst Continental royalty and nobility, and still retains a slightly upper-class image. Sebastian is Viola’s twin brother in Shakespeare’s gender-switching romantic comedy, Twelfth Night. Lord Sebastian Flyte is one of the main characters in Evelyn Waugh’s novel, Brideshead Revisited; beautiful and rather fey, the TV series and film makes it clear Sebastian is homosexual, although this is left ambiguous in the novel. Indeed, Saint Sebastian himself is considered a gay icon (for pretty flimsy reasons), and the name was a code for homosexuality; Oscar Wilde’s pseudonym was Sebastian Melmoth. So far, so androgynous.

However, the name got a watery overhaul when the name Sebastian was given to a Jamaican lobster in the Disney film, The Little Mermaid. Sebastian is a court composer, and a good friend and adviser to Ariel, the mermaid of the title. A Rastafarian who can lay down a reggae beat, he has given the name a new level of cool. The choice of his name seems like a deliberate reference to another famous composer: Johann Sebastian Bach. Incidentally, Sebastian is the lobster’s surname – his first name is Horatio (maybe after the American composer, Horatio Parker).

Sebastian first entered the charts in the 1960s and began steadily climbing, to become Top 100 by the 2000s. At #38 it still seems to be gaining in popularity – an elegant name that belongs to many people’s favourite Disney character.

Jenson is a lot more straightforward. It’s a surname which is basically a form of Johnson, being based on the name Jens, a short form of Johannes. According to Lou at Mer de Noms (rather a Jenson Button fan), the name Jenson has edged itself into the UK Top 100, and its growing popularity can be attributed almost solely to Mr Button himself. As to how he got his name, he was named after a family friend, Erling Jensen (father of F1 driver Steven Jensen). The spelling was altered so that it didn’t reference Jensen Motors, who made British sports cars until the 1970s.

It’s an attractive name, and one I think we’d be using in spades if Jenson Button was Australian. As it is, it’s one many parents are at least putting on their lists, although my personal feeling is that Jensen is slightly more popular, thanks to handsome American actor Jensen Ackles, from Supernatural. As I’ve said before, with female Jennifer become less popular, it gives male names starting with Jen- more of a chance.

When I try to decide which name I like best, Sebastian or Jenson, I find myself in private debate. If I take the side of Sebastian, it seems more sophisticated than Jenson, complex and multi-syllabled, romantic and princely. On the other hand, if I take the side of Jenson, it seems more laddish and chipper, down-to-earth and unpretentious, with oodles of cheeky British charm.

So I am content to say these are both very nice names, and I won’t force them to compete against each other in some Baby Name Grand Prix. When it comes to nicknames for them, I think of Seb and Bastian, and Jens and Sonny, respectively.

Saturday Celebrity Sibset: The Rockers – Brody Dalle and Josh Homme

03 Saturday Mar 2012

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This is yet another celebrity baby from 2011 I didn’t see, so made it a Celebrity Sibset instead.

Brody Dalle is a punk rocker who is originally from Melbourne. Her parents named her Bree, and she picked the unisex name Brody for herself as a teenager. Apparently as a child she was called Breezy Wheezy by her family because she had asthma, which rather ruined the name Bree for her.

She has used the middle names Leslie and Joanna Alice; I’m not sure if either of them are her original middle name/s. She has managed an impressive seven surnames during her life, and it’s unclear what the original surname was. She went by Pucilowski, Mayer and Robinson just as a teenager. Eventually she chose Dalle in reference to Béatrice Dalle, her favourite actress. Béatrice Dalle is best known for the film Betty Blue.

Brody began her career in punk at the age of thirteen, and at sixteen she met Tim Armstrong, the vocalist for punk rock band Rancid at a music festival. They began a relationship, although Tim was more than thirteen years her senior. They married when Brody turned 18, and she moved to Los Angeles with her husband, where she founded the band The Distillers. Brody and Tim divorced six years later.

In 2007, Brody married Josh Homme, lead singer from rock band Queens of the Stone Age, and founded the indie rock band Spinnerette; the couple live in Palm Springs, California.

Josh also has an interesting name – he was named after the town he was born in, Joshua Tree, in the Mojave Desert of California. He pronounces his Norwegian surname to rhyme with Tommy, although the Norwegian pronunciation is to rhyme with puma. He has adopted the pseudonym Carlo von Sexron for some of his work, and his nicknames include King Baby Duck, J. Ho, Joe’s Hoe, and the Ginger Elvis.

Brody and Josh have two children, and as they have enjoyed re-naming themselves so much, it’s interesting to see what names they would choose for their children.

Camille Harley Joan was born in 2006. Camille is named after Josh’s grandmother, and Josh collects motorcycles, which probably explains Harley. Although Joan looks like Brody’s middle name Joanna, it also reminds me of rock queen Joan Jett, who must have had some influence on Dalle herself. However, for all I know it’s another family name.

Orrin Ryder was born in 2011. Rumour has it that just as Camille is named after Josh’s grandma, Orrin is named for his grandfather, but I can’t confirm that. Josh has both his grandmother’s and grandfather’s nicknames tattooed on his knuckles – CAM and CAP – so it does have some symmetry. It’s hard not to connect the name Ryder with Josh’s motorcycle hobby as well.

Being called after a family member seems cosy and non-punk, although being named after Dad’s tattoos and motorbikes gives them a bit more of a rock edge.

I wonder if Camille and Orrin will follow the family tradition of giving new names to themselves, and what names they will choose?