Requested Names: Estelle and Estella

07 Wednesday Sep 2016

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European name popularity, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, French names, Greek names, Latinate names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, name trends, retro names, royal names, saints names, UK name popularity, US name popularity, vintage names

Estelle is a French name. It became known because of Saint Estelle, a legendary 3rd century martyr from Gaul whose father was a Roman nobleman, and her mother descended from a long line of powerful Druids. After converting to Christianity, her own father condemned Estelle to death for her faith, making her another of those young girl saints with less than supportive dads.

The saint’s name was actually Eustelle, from the Greek for “beautifully adorned”. Over time, the spelling of the name seems to have been altered so that it looked as if it was derived from estela, the Occitan word for “star”. (Occitan is a dialect from southern France).

Although Estelle was apparently a popular saint in the Charente region of southern France, the name doesn’t seem to have received much use until the 18th century. In 1788 the French poet Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian published a pastoral romance called Estelle and Némorin, and although critics didn’t exactly give it rave reviews, it seemed to kick-start Estelle as a baby name.

An early namesake was Estelle Duboeuf, later Fornier, who was born in 1797. The Romantic composer Hector Berlioz met Estelle on a summer holiday in the French Alps and instantly became infatuated with her. He was already a fan of Estelle and Némorin, and perhaps there was some connect between the fictional and real Estelles. He was 12 and she was 18, so this wasn’t a relationship which was going anywhere, and Estelle married a lawyer and had six children.

For the rest his life Berlioz considered her to be his muse and called her his Stella montis (Latin for “mountain star”). One of Berlioz’s early compositions was based on a song in Florian’s Estelle and Némorin, full of despair at having to leave his “star” behind. Its melody wound itself into the violins in his Symphonie fantastique, and his longing for Estelle helped inspire his symphony Romeo and Juliet.

Much later in life Berlioz again encountered Madame Fornier, now an elderly widow, and asked her to marry him. She turned him down and never understood his obsession with her, but they remained friends and he left her an annuity in his will. She was his first love, his last love, and his sweetest love, and the fact that it was almost entirely in his imagination made it all the more powerful.

The name Estelle became a favourite choice in 19th century romance novels in both Britain and America. One of the most famous examples of the name in literature must be the the beautiful but pitifully frozen-hearted Estella Havisham in Charles Dickens’ 1860 novel Great Expectations.

Dickens may have chosen the name Estella because of its similarity to Stella, the unattainable beauty in Sir Philip Sidney’s poem Astrophel and Stella, so the name already signified painful, hopeless unrequited love to a woman far out of reach, cold and distant as a lovely star.

Estella is the Latinate form of Estelle, and it has also been in use since the 18th century. It was originally more popular in Italian and Spanish-speaking countries, although used in English-speaking ones as well.

Estelle was #228 in the 1900s, and peaked in the 1920s at #222, the era of American silent screen star Estelle Taylor, regarded as one of the most beautiful women of the silent era. The name fell in popularity after Estelle gave up acting to pursue a singing career, and had an unhappy marriage to boxing champ Jack Dempsey. By the time Estelle passed away in the 1950s, the name had left the charts.

It returned in the 1970s at #625, just after American actress Estelle Parsons won an Oscar for her role in Bonnie and Clyde. It went down in the 1980s, perhaps because Estelle Getty on sitcom The Golden Girls made it seem like an old lady name. Estelle began climbing in the 2000s. Its current position is probably around the 200s, but could be higher.

In the US, Estelle was in the 100s from the late 19th century until the end of the 1920s. It left the Top 1000 in 1964 and returned in 2012. This was the same year that the Swedish royal family welcomed Princess Estelle, daughter of Crown Princess Victoria; Estelle is second in line to the throne of Sweden. The name Estelle is currently #822 in the US.

Estelle has been less popular in the UK, and was only in the Top 500 for a few years in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It left the Top 1000 in 2011, but perhaps Princess Estelle brought it back, as it returned the following year. It’s currently #891 and seemingly falling again.

Estelle was a Top 100 name in France in the 1990s and early 2000s, but has been gradually falling in favour and is now #187. It’s still popular in Belgium.

Famous Australian Estelles include journalist Estelle Blackburn, naturalist and wildflower painter Estelle Thomson, and model/dancer Estelle Asmodelle, Australia’s first legally recognised transsexual, billed as “Australia’s first transsexual pin-up” in the 1980s.

In the US, Estella was in the 100s from the late 19th century until 1912, and left the charts in 1974. Like Estelle, it returned in 2012 and is now #873. Estella has never been in the Top 1000 in the UK; last year there were 16 baby girls given the name. Estella is a royal name as well, as Prince Edward of Kent’s daughter Lady Helena Taylor had a daughter named Estella in 2004.

Estelle and Estella are pretty vintage names with a fascinating literary and musical history which have recently gained royal glamour, and fit in with popular names like Isabelle and Stella. They also strike me as names which have great potential as multicultural crossovers – apart from the French connection, Estelle has sometimes been chosen by Jewish families as a spin on biblical Esther, while Estella may appeal to those from Romance language backgrounds such Italian and Portuguese.

Could one of these names be right for your little star?

Thank you to Patricia for requesting the names Estelle and Estella be featured on Waltzing More Than Matilda; Patricia is considering using one of these names.

POLL RESULTS

Estelle received an approval rating of 70%. 35% of people loved it, and only one person thought Estelle was a terrible name. Estella did less well, with an approval rating of 51%. 44% of people weren’t keen on it, although only 6% thought Estella was a terrible name.72% of people preferred the name Estelle to Estella for a baby girl.

Famous Name: Billie

08 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ 7 Comments

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American names, celebrity baby names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, name history, name meaning, name popularity, name trends, names from television, nicknames, popular names, retro names, screen names, stage names, UK name popularity, unisex names, US name popularity

After looking at the fastest-rising names in the Top 100 for last year, I thought it would be a good idea to add these names to the database if they hadn’t already been covered. This week we are starting with Billie, a name which has risen through television.

Name Information
Billie is traditionally considered a short form of names such as Wilhelmina, but more practically is used as a feminine form of Billy, short for William. In fact its gender lines are very blurry, because the name originated in the US in the 18th century as a spelling variant of Billy, and for quite some time there were more male Billies than female ones.

In the US, Billie charted for boys on the Top 1000 from 1880, not leaving it until the mid 1980s. It peaked in 1929 at #122, but last year there were just 10 baby boys named Billie. It began charting for girls in 1886, and was in the bottom portion of the Top 100 from 1928 to 1934 – as with the boys, the name peaked in 1929 and 1930 at #79. It left the Top 1000 in 1998, and last year there were 95 girls named Billie, with numbers continuing to fall for both sexes.

In the UK Billie has also charted for both boys and girls, although always much higher for girls. In the mid 1990s Billie was #182 for girls, and generally fell in popularity after that. After hitting a low in 2009 at #673, the name has risen and is now #439. Boys hit a peak in 1997 at 17 births, but since then has mostly around a handful of births per year; in 2014 there were 4 baby boys named Billie.

In Australia, the name has only ever charted as a female name. It first charted in the 1930s and 1940s, when it was around the 300s and 400s. This correlates with the biggest career success for seminal jazz star Billie Holiday, often known as Lady Day. Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan, and took the first part of her stage name from silent film star Billie Dove, called The American Beauty for her good looks (Dove was born Bertha Bohny, so in her case Billie was a screen name). The name’s peak in the US seems to fit better with the film star, as it peaked there before Billie Holiday’s career really began.

The name Billie disappeared from the Australian charts in the 1950s, when Billie Holiday’s career began to fail, embroiled in legal proroblems, drug addiction, and illness; she died in 1959. However it returned in the 1970s at #739, when there was a Billie Holiday revival. A film based on her autobiography called Lady Sings the Blues was released in 1972, with Diana Ross in the starring role, and the soundtrack was a huge success. In 1973, Billie Holiday was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

After a steep rise in the 1980s, the name Billie climbed more gradually, levelling off around the high 200s/low 300s towards the late 2000s. However, the name began zooming up the charts after 2010, when the hit TV drama series Offspring began screening. This starred Kat Stewart as the bold, brassy and brutally honest big sister Billie Proudman; she puts her wild child past behind her as she matures, and eventually helps her sister Nina raise her daughter.

Based on its trajectory, I predicted that Billie could be in the Top 100 by 2013, encouraged by the fact it was already in the Top 100 in Victoria. Instead it debuted in the national Top 100 in 2015, gaining 19 places or more to make #82. It made the Top 100 in New South Wales for the first time at #99, was the fastest-rising girl’s name in Victoria, going up 40 places to #57, and was #83 in Tasmania. Analysis of data from Sydney shows it is a favourite in the city’s wealthy northern suburbs.

There have been further boosts to the name in Australia, with soapie Home and Away introducing tomboy surfer Billie Ashford in late 2014, and attractive chef Billie McKay winning MasterChef in 2015. AFL star Chris Judd, and his wife, model Rebecca Judd, welcomed their daughter Billie in 2014, making this a celebrity baby name.

Other famous Billies include Broadway and silent film star Billie Burke (real name Mary), who played Glinda the Good in The Wizard of Oz; British pre-war long distance cycling champion Billie Fleming (real name Lilian); American tennis champion Billie Jean King; American country music star Billie Jo Spears; British actress and singer Billie Piper; Australian TV actress Billie Hammerberg; and Australian professional wrestler Billie Kay (born Jessica). Examples of famous men named Billie include Billie Joe Armstrong from the band Green Day and AFL footballer Billie Smedts.

Billie is a retro name only popular in Australia, as there is a local interest in the name. Data shows you are more likely to appreciate the name if you live in Victoria or Tasmania, or in Sydney’s northern suburbs. With Billie, you get a cute and spunky tomboyish name shared with strong and beautiful female namesakes; it’s a casual name that you can take to the beach, but hip enough to dress up nicely in the evenings too. Billie’s day has arrived: the question is, will it keep climbing?

POLL RESULTS
Billie received an approval rating of 46%. 23% of people thought it was only suitable as a nickname, although 22% saw it as strong and spunky. Only one person thought the name Billie seemed smart and classy.

Cyclone Names for Girls

28 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 4 Comments

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Arabic names, aristocratic names, Biblical names, celebrity baby names, Christmas names, classic names, created names, cyclone names, epithets, European name popularity, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, French names, germanic names, Greek names, hebrew names, Italian names, literary names, modern classics, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, name trends, names from television, names of bears, names of mountains, nicknames, retro names, Roman names, royal names, saints names, Scottish names, Spanish names, underused classics

Summer is cyclone season, and here are ten girls’ names from the official list used to name Australian cyclones. Information on cyclones from the Bureau of Meteorology.

Adele
Cyclone Adele was off the east coast of Australia in 1969. Adele is the Anglicised form of Adèle, the French form of the Germanic name Adela, meaning “noble”, and the basis for familiar English names such as Adelaide, Adeline, and Alice. Adèle has been in use since the Middle Ages, and as with its related names, was a favourite with the nobility; it is still a popular name in France. Adele has been used all over the world, and has recently been placed in the spotlight by the popular British singer. In fact there’s quite a few singers called Adele so it’s a good name for songbirds – there is also an Adele in Johann Strauss II’s operetta Die Fledermaus. Adele was #272 in the 1900s and peaked in the 1940s at #198; it’s never been off the charts, yet never been popular. It’s risen sharply since 2011, when Adele’s second album went to #1, and is probably somewhere in the 100s. Pretty and substantial with a high-profile namesake, there is much to recommend this underused classic, and it might be right for someone like you!

Clara
There have been several cyclones named Clara in the north of Australia. Clara is the feminine form of the Roman name Clarus, meaning “bright, clear, famous”. It was used in ancient Rome, but became well known in the Middle Ages due to St Clare of Assisi, one of the first followers of St Francis of Assisi. She was born Chiara Offreduccio to a noble family, and her Italian name can be translated as Clara or Clare. Clara is familiar throughout the world, and a popular name in Europe. You might think of this as a Christmas name because Clara is the little girl in Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker. A more contemporary fictional namesake is Clara Oswald, companion to Dr Who, played by Jenna Coleman; she also has a Christmas connection. Clara was #57 in the 1900s and left the Top 100 the following decade; it was off the charts by the 1950s. It made a comeback in the 1980s, perhaps because of friend Clara in the Heidi movies and TV shows. Since then it has been climbing steadily, and is probably not far outside the Top 100. A stylish retro name rapidly recapturing its former heights.

Cynthia
Cyclone Cynthia hit the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1967, bringing strong winds and heavy rain. Cynthia is a Greek name meaning “from Mount Cynthus”. Mount Cynthus is in the middle of the island of Delos, and according to Greek mythology the twin deities Apollo and Artemis were born on the mountain. Because of this, Cynthia was an epithet of Artemis, goddess of the moon and hunting. In modern times, Mount Cynthus is a popular tourist destination, offering superb views. Cynthia has been used as an English name since around the 16th century, but was better known in literature. Richard Barnfield wrote a series of sonnets to Cynthia, while Ben Jonson wrote a comedy called Cynthia’s Revels, where the goddess Artemis represents Elizabeth I. The name became much more common in the 18th century, with usage concentrated in America. Cynthia has been almost continually on the charts, making #284 in the 1910s and peaking in the 1940s at #133. It may be around the 500s now; I am seeing more of this underused classic. An elegant literary name from the mountain of the moon goddess: its short form Cindy is coming back into fashion, with Thia another possibility.

Delilah
There was a Cyclone Delilah in 1966 and another in 1988. In the Old Testament, Delilah is the lover of Samson; the Bible implies she is a prostitute or courtesan. Delilah was heavily bribed to discover the source of Samson’s supernatural strength, and through nagging/emotional blackmail, eventually brought him down and betrayed him. Unusually, the Bible never punishes Delilah, but her name became synonomous with treachery and feminine wiles. The name Delilah is said to be from the Hebrew for “poor, weak”, perhaps with connotations of “she who makes weak”, as Delilah sapped Samson’s strength. It can also be translated as “flowering or fruitful vine or branch”, which Bible commentators have tended to associate with sexual availability. However, the name is written to connect it with the word for “night” – layela; Bible writers probably wanted to give the name a feeling of dangerous sensuality. The name was in common use by the 18th century, particularly in the American South, so parents weren’t put off by the Bible story. Its use is rapidly growing in the English-speaking world, and is probably around the 100s, thanks to its similarity to popular Lila. Delightfully pretty and wickedly sexy, it’s a bad girl name celebrated in a slew of popular songs.

Elise
There was a Cyclone Elise in 1966 and another in 1986. Elise is a short form of Elisabeth which has been in use as an independent name since at least the 16th century, and is popular in Europe. A favourite musical association is Beethoven’s Für Elise (“For Elise”), not published until many years after the composer’s death. Who Elise was remains a mystery – there are several possibilities of the time known by this name. One of them was a teenage musical prodigy, and it’s nice to think of this piece being dedicated to a young girl. Elise has charted since the 1960s, debuting at #634, and although it has hovered just below the Top 100 a few times, it’s only once been on it: in 2014, when it made #97. This is an underused modern classic that’s been overtaken by more fashionable names such as Eloise and Elsie. Its spelling variants tend to be confused with those for Alice, making it harder for sweet Elise to be noticed in the data. A good choice for those wanting something contemporary but not trendy.

Ines
Ines was a severe cyclone affecting the north coast of Australia in November 1973, bringing heavy rains and gale force winds; so far, this is the earliest in the season a cyclone has ever hit. Ines is based on Inés, the Spanish form of Agnes, originally used in honour of Saint Agnes. It gained a romantic medieval namesake in Inês de Castro, a noblewoman who had a secret relationship with Peter I of Portugal with tragic results – this story of forbidden love has often been turned into operas and ballets. The name Ines has a long history in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, and spread early to the English-speaking world. It’s popular in many European countries, including in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, and is most popular in France. This stylish name is being used more often in Australia, where it is known from the daughter of chef Bill Granger. Pronunciations vary, but it’s usually said ee-NEZ or ee-NESS – gentle correction is probably necessary. Sometimes confused with Scottish Innes, but familiarity will make things easier as the number of girls named Ines grows.

Selma
Cyclone Selma hovered around Darwin in December 1974, then changed course and disappeared – a harbinger of rampaging Tracy who would infamously do all the damage later that month. The origin of Selma is unsure. It may be a short form of Anselma, a Germanic name meaning “helmet of God, protection of God”. However, it only came into common use in the 18th century, after the publication of the Ossian poems by James McPherson, where Selma is a royal castle. McPherson created the name from the Scottish Gaelic for “good view”, translated as “beautiful to behold”. Just to confuse things, the name Selima also became known in 18th century Britain, thanks to a mock elegy by Thomas Gray about a cat called Selima who accidentally drowned. It was based on a real life incident: Selima was the pet of Gray’s friend, the writer Horace Walpole. The name – an apparent variant of the Arabic name Salima, meaning “peace” – took off, and Selma may be a variant. Currently popular in Norway and Sweden, this name has gained publicity from actress Selma Blair, and the film Selma, about the Civil Rights marches in Selma, Alabama. Rising in both the US and UK, this would have a real chance if people could forget about Selma Bouvier from The Simpsons.

Vida
Cyclone Vida was off the south west coast of Western Australia in 1975, bringing gale force winds and strong squalls which did about a million dollars worth of damage. The name Vida has several possible origins. It can be a feminine form of the Germanic name Wido, meaning “wood”, or of the Roman name Vitus, meaning “life” (a variant of Vita). In Portuguese and Spanish-speaking countries, it can be understood as a vocabulary name meaning “life”, from the Latin vita. It can also be used as a short form of Davida, a feminine form of David particularly associated with Scotland. In Australia, the name may be known from feminist Vida Goldstein, who campaigned for female suffrage in the late 19th and early 20th century; she was the first woman in the British Empire to stand for election in a national parliament. Her left-wing pacifist views made it almost impossible for her to be elected during World War I, but she was an extremely popular speaker. Vida was #129 in the 1900s, and off the charts by the 1940s. Little seen today, vivacious vintage Vida fits in well with popular names like Olivia and Ava, and seems very usable.

Winnie
Winnie was a severe cyclone that hit the north-west of Australia in 1975, with powerful winds. Winnie is traditionally used as a short form of Winifred, but in practice can be a nickname for anything that sounds similar, such as Wynne, Wilhelmina, Winter, Winsome, Gwendolyn, Guinevere, or Edwina (Appellation Mountain has an article on long forms for Winnie). Jimmy Fallon’s daughter Winnie was named in honour of Lake Winnipesaukee, a favourite holiday spot. A famous male with the name is Winston Churchill, known affectionately by the public as Winnie. Another is Winnie-the-Pooh, from the books by A.A. Milne. Winnie-the-Pooh was a real life teddy, and the first part of his name was after a Canadian bear at London Zoo, named Winnipeg. Of course, Winnie is fabulous as a name all on its own, and has been in common use as an independent name since the 18th century: it was especially associated with Ireland. This sweet and spunky short form is very fashionable, and rising in popularity in both the UK and US.

Zoe
Cyclone Zoe hit the coast at Coolangatta in 1974, causing extensive flooding in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. Zoe is a Greek name meaning “life”. Early Christians chose the name in allusion to life everlasting, and there are two saints and martyrs named Zoe. The name was also traditional for Byzantine Empresses. Greek-speaking Jews used the name to Hellenise the Hebrew name Chava, which also means “life” (its English form is Eve). Zoe came into use in modern times in the 19th century, and was especially associated with France. Zoe had a flurry of activity in the 1920s, when it reached #305; a famous namesake of this era was silent film star Zoe Palmer. It returned in the 1960s at #499; a possible inspiration is Australian actress Zoe Caldwell, who made several international TV appearances in this decade. It was in the Top 100 by the 1980s, and is currently #18 and stable (it is among the most popular names for Jewish baby girls in Australia, so remains a Jewish favourite). Zoe is popular in Europe and the English-speaking world, and this retro name will appeal to parents wanting something long-familiar, yet still faintly exotic.

POLL RESULTS
People’s favourite names were Clara, Zoe and Elise, while their least favourites were Ines, Vida and Selma.

(Painting is Delilah, by Australian artist Henry Clive, 1948; the model is Broadway beauty Beryl Wallace)

Save Our Susans and Protect The Peter: The Ridiculous World of “Endangered” Names

17 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by A.O. in Names in the News

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Baby Name Explorer, classic names, middle names, name data, name popularity, Nancy's Baby Names, popular names, retro names, Sydney Morning Herald

A wave of articles on “endangered” names has been flooding my inbox since last year, and eventually some poor sap from the Sydney Morning Herald with minimal interest in names got roped into providing some scary statistics for New South Wales, so now I have to cover it too.

(I know they’re not interested in names because they think Jessica is a Hebrew name meaning “rich” – it isn’t Hebrew, and doesn’t mean anything of the sort).

By accessing the Baby Name Explorer database of names in NSW from 1900 to 2011, they found that the names that were fast disappearing were John, Robert, Peter, and David for boys, and Mary, Margaret, Susan, and Karen for girls.

In the world of manufactured name problems, this is surely one of the daftest. Here is why the sudden concern over endangered names is nonsensical.

The Statistics are Wrong
John and David are still in the Top 100, which they have never left after more than a century, and the Baby Name Explorer actually shows them increasing in usage in 2011. This is surely the exact OPPOSITE of disappearing or endangered.

Mary, Peter and Robert were only just outside the Top 100 in 2011 (Mary was #101), and the graph shows that both Mary and Robert had increased usage in 2011, while Peter’s position had remained extremely stable for some time.

Margaret increased in usage in 2011, and even Karen had an uptick which brought into back onto the charts that year. Susan was the only name on the list which had actually dropped off the charts by 2011.

How did they get it so wrong? By selecting names that had been #1 for a particular decade, so that their drop in popularity would look alarmingly steep, and then completely ignoring the names’ ranking and usage.

Mary was #1 in 1900 and had dropped to #101 in 2011 – in other words it only went down 100 places in 111 years! That’s very stable: the kind of stability that made Mary the overall #1 girl’s name of the twentieth century.

The “resurrected” names were equally silly, with William, Jack, Ruby, and Grace cited as names which had made brave comebacks against the odds. William has never been out of the Top 50, so it can hardly be said to have ever gone away, while Jack and Grace are classics which have never been lower than #400. Retro Ruby is the only name which has ever been off the charts and returned.

Why couldn’t the article identify any names which actually were still in use yet fast disappearing? Because the Baby Name Explorer only covers the 1200 most popular names of the century, so that any name still on the charts by 2011 was getting reasonable, and often increasing, usage. You can’t make useful statistics out of insufficient data.

The Data Doesn’t Include Middle Names
Margaret may only be around the 400s as a first name, but it’s a fairly common middle name for girls – probably in the Top 100 of middle names. Dorothy may not chart any more, but it’s not unusual in the middle. It doesn’t really matter whether a name is in the first or middle position: if it’s in use either way, you can hardly claim it as disappearing or long gone.

It’s Misleading to Apply Scientific Terms to Names
Terms like endangered or extinct, taken from environmental science, don’t make any sense when applied to names.

If a plant or animal is endangered, it is very difficult to ensure its survival, and will require specialised breeding programs or seed collecting initiatives, all of which depend on funding. Losing some species may have dire consequences for the planet; for example, we need bees and beetles to pollinate our crops and plants. Worst of all, once they are all gone, we cannot bring them back – no matter how much we long for the dodo, it is done for, and nothing will return it to us.

If a name isn’t used much any more, no great calamity will result. Brangien and Althalos have been rarely used since the Middle Ages, but nobody has suffered as a result of Brangien deficiency, and no awful disaster has ensued from the loss of Althalos.

Furthermore, if we decided we’d like to see more of a particular name which has gone out of use, it costs no money or effort to bring it back. You simply slap the name onto your child’s birth certificate, and hey presto – you’ve got yourself a rare and beautiful specimen of an Althalos.

As long as we still know of a name’s existence from books and records, it is a potential baby name, no matter how many centuries or even millennia since it was last used. (Thank you Nancy from Nancy’s Baby Names for pointing out this absurdity).

I hope you can all sleep more soundly now, knowing that herds of Johns and Davids wander at will, the Mary and the Peter are gambolling freely, and numbers of Margarets and Roberts are secure for the foreseeable future. We even have high hopes for the diminished Susan, which may yet return to a sustainable population as 1950s names prepare to come back into fashion.

I do wonder what effect these kinds of articles have on people though. Does it make them more likely to “save” the “endangered” names, knowing that not as many people are using them now, or does it put people off the names even more, in the belief that they would be choosing a baby name heading for the scrapheap?

POLL RESULTS
74% of people said being told a name was in danger of disappearing didn’t make any difference as to whether they would use it or not. 21% said they would be more likely to use the name, knowing it was a normal name that was currently underused. 5% would be less likely to use the name, knowing it had gone out of fashion and may be disliked by others.

39% of people thought we should save the name Susan, while 61% believed we shouldn’t bother.

Waltzing With … Felix

02 Sunday Aug 2015

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

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Biblical names, European name popularity, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, Greek names, historical records, imperial titles, Latin names, middle names, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, names of cats, New Zealand name popularity, nicknames, papal names, patriotic names, popular names, retro names, saints names, UK name popularity, US name popularity

Famous Namesake
I think many Australians would readily associate this name with Felix the Cat, the silent film era cartoon. One of the most recognisable cartoon characters in film history, he was the first animated character to become popular enough to attract a cinema audience.

Felix the Cat was created by Sydney-born Pat O’Sullivan, who arrived in the United States in 1910 and began working as a cartoonist. By 1916, he had opened his own cartoon studio, and around 1917 he created Felix the Cat, inspired by a cat his wife Marjorie brought into the office. Under contract to provide one cartoon a month to cinemas, by 1921 Felix was in sixty percent of North American cinemas.

Pat O’Sullivan was fiercely protective of his creation, successfully gained royalties from pirated merchandise, and took action when Walt Disney made a Felix carbon-copy called Julius. Unfortunately for Felix, Disney then went on to create a certain Mickey Mouse, who starred in early talkie Steamboat Willie in 1928. This spelled the beginning of the end for Felix, and by 1931 it was obvious that Walt Disney was going to be the big success story of cartooning.

After Pat O’Sullivan’s death in 1933, his lead animator Otto Messmer took credit for the creation of Felix. Messmer’s claim is still accepted in the United States, even though O’Sullivan was acknowledged as Felix’s creator during his lifetime. Australian film curators have pointed out that it is O’Sullivan’s handwriting on the early Felix sketches, and that kittens in an early film are given Australian accents, saying ‘lo, Mum! ‘lo Ma!

The cartoon cat that Felix was based on was called Thomas or Tom (a fairly obviously cat-related name), but Pat O’Sullivan changed his name to Felix. Apparently this was after the Australian boxer Peter Felix, who was born in the West Indies, and won the heavyweight title in the 1890s – he often wore black and was a flashy dresser. Pat had seen Peter Felix in his last big fight in 1908, shortly before he left Australia. O’Sullivan had a strong interest in boxing, and when he first arrived in New York he himself boxed for prize money.

The name Felix was a very Australian choice, because in 1836 Scottish explorer Thomas Mitchell called the lush pastureland of western Victoria Australia Felix, meaning “happy Australia, fortunate Australia”. In 1845 English travel writer Richard Howitt’s lively Impressions of Australia Felix was published, and in 1849 the Australia Felix magazine was founded.

After the colony was named Victoria in 1850, the name Australia Felix gradually dropped out of use. However, 19th century Victorian politician Jonas Australia Felix Levien provides an example of it being used as a name, and he wasn’t born until the 1870s. (I have also found someone named Australia Felix Drake in historical records).

Despite all these Australian references, I can’t help wondering if Pat O’Sullivan was also thinking of Felis, the scientific name for the cat genus, from the Latin word feles, meaning “cat”.

Pat O’Sullivan gave Felix a lucky name, and the cat brought Pat luck and success. He did not have a very happy end to his life though. His marriage became increasingly strained (it probably got off to a rocky start, as they wed while he was on bail for raping a teenage girl; he was subsequently imprisoned for 9 months), and Marjorie fell to her death from their second floor apartment in 1932. O’Sullivan’s mental faculties deteriorated due to syphilis, and he died of alcoholism a year after his wife’s death.

Name Information
Felix is a Latin name meaning “lucky, fortunate”. It was first given as a nickname to the 1st century BC Roman general and statesman Lucius Cornelius Sulla, a free translation of the Greek nickname he acquired during his military campaigns – Epaphroditos, meaning “beloved of Aphrodite”.

Whether the goddess Aphrodite was taking care of him or not, Sulla was very successful, holding the position of consul twice, and being awarded the Grass Crown, the rarest and most prestigious Roman military honour, given only to those whose actions saved an entire legion or the whole army. Like Alexander the Great, he achieved many of his victories before his thirtieth birthday, and provided the model for later Roman leaders to gain power by force.

After him, the nickname became a common one for Roman leaders to take, and several emperors adopted it as a title. The Roman procurator Marcus Antonius Felix is mentioned in the New Testament, although not in a positive way – he imprisoned Saint Paul.

Felix was a favourite name amongst early Christians, as the name can imply being in the favour of God, or blessed by God. There are masses of saints named Felix, including quite a few martyrs, and three popes with the name. Saint Felix of Burgundy was sent as a missionary to East Anglia in the 7th century, and there are several churches dedicated to him in Yorkshire and East Anglia. The village of Felixkirk in Yorkshire is named after him, and so might be Felixstowe in Suffolk.

Although more common in Continental Europe, Felix has been in use as an English name since the Middle Ages, in honour of these various saints. It is particularly associated with East Anglia and south-eastern England in general, showing the legacy of Felix of Burgundy.

Felix was #172 in the 1900s, and left the charts in the 1920s (Felix the Cat didn’t do it any good). It returned in the 1980s at #396 and climbed steadily; it’s been on and off the Top 100 since 2011. Currently it is #89 nationally, #86 in New South Wales, #78 in Victoria, #36 in Tasmania, and #54 in the Australian Capital Territory. It was one of the fastest-rising names in Tasmania and Victoria last year, and one of the nationally fastest-rising names of 2013.

In the US, Felix is #267 and rising steeply, while the UK has a similar popularity to Australia, at #91 and rising. Felix is #66 in New Zealand and fairly stable – the highest popularity of any English-speaking country. Felix is well used in Western Europe and Scandinavia, and is most popular in Austria at #4.

Handsome, intelligent, and upbeat, Felix is a name with an irresistibly positive meaning and strong Australian associations. Once seen as rather hipster, this retro name is growing in popularity, and fittingly it’s rather a favourite in the state of Victoria.

POLL RESULT
Felix received an outstanding approval rating of 93%, making it the highest-rated boys name in the Waltzing With … category for 2015. 45% of people loved the name Felix, and only 3% hated it.

Suburbs of Adelaide and Hobart Which Could Be Used as Boys Names

26 Sunday Jul 2015

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Anglo-Saxon names, aristocratic names, aristocratic surnames, astronomical names, car names, colour names, dated names, english names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, gemstone names, germanic names, honouring, locational names, middle names, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, names from movies, names of animals, names of ships, nature names, nicknames, Old French names, plant names, popular names, rare names, retro names, Roman names, royal names, saints names, Scottish names, surname names, tree names, unisex names, vocabulary names

Austin
Austins Ferry is a suburb of Hobart, named after convict James Austin. Austin and his cousin was transported to Australia in 1803, and after their sentences expired, were given small land grants on the River Derwent near Hobart. In 1818 they established a ferry service across the river, and became very wealthy. You can still visit James Austin’s original cottage. Austin is an Old French shortening of the name Agustin, the equivalent of the English Augustine, and the surname Austin has the same source. Austin was #108 in the 1900s, and left the charts in the 1950s. It returned in the 1990s at #196, the decade of the Austin Powers spy comedies with Mike Myers in the title role. Groovy, baby! It climbed steeply and joined the Top 100 in 2011. It is currently #61, and was the fastest-rising name in Queensland and a fast-rising name in South Australia last year. It was a fast-rising name in New South Wales in 2013 too, so this retro name is doing very well for itself, and is now more popular than it has ever been before.

Cornelian
Cornelian Bay is a suburb of Hobart, whose bay on the River Derwent provides anchorage for yachts; there are boathouses and a waterside restaurant along its foreshore. The first English navigator to explore the Derwent was Lieutenant John Hayes; he came ashore here in 1793, and named the bay after the semi-precious cornelian stones which he found on the beach. Cornelian (also known as carnelian) is a dark red mineral whose name is from the Latin for the cornel cherry, a flowering dogwood tree which has small dark red fruit just the colour of the gemstone. Cornelian was used in Roman times for signet rings used to seal important documents, as hot wax doesn’t stick to it. It was a gemstone often associated with courage and good luck. Cornelian has been in very rare use as a personal name since the 17th century, and overall has been given fairly evenly to both boys and girls. Not many gemstones work well as boys’ names, but this sounds very similar to Cornelius, yet seems much more up-to-date. This would also make a great middle name, and is suitable for both sexes.

Fitzroy
Fitzroy is an inner-city suburb of Adelaide, and an exclusive area overlooking the North Adelaide Parklands. The houses are mostly 19th century mansions along a few tree-lined streets, as this is where the upper class settlers lived in the city’s early days. It may have been named after Fitzroy in Melbourne, which is named after Sir Charles FitzRoy, the governor of New South Wales in the mid 19th century. Another suggestion is that it was named for historic Fitzroy Square in London, whose name comes from Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, an 18th century politician who was a distant ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales. The English surname Fitzroy (or FitzRoy) comes from the Old French for “son of the king”, and was traditionally given to illegitimate sons and daughters of a monarch, and could be inherited as a surname by their descendants. For example, the father of the 2nd Duke of Grafton was an illegitimate son of King Charles II by his mistress Barbara Villiers. Fitzroy has been used as a personal name since the 18th century, and was sometimes used to indicate a family relationship with illegitimate royalty. Roy- (and royal) names are on trend, and this is one you could consider that has Fitz or Fitzy as the nickname.

Hobart
Hobart is the capital of Tasmania; it is Australia’s second-oldest capital city after Sydney, and is our most southern capital city, serving as a hub for Australian and French Antarctic operations. It is located on an estuary of the Derwent River at the foot of Mount Wellington, and more than half of the city is taken up with bushland, so it contains much natural beauty. A small city with many historical buildings from its colonial past, Hobart has a great deal of charm. Hobart was named after Robert Hobart, 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire: Lord Hobart was the Colonial Secretary at the beginning of the 19th century. The surname Hobart is derived from the personal name Hubert, meaning “bright mind”. Hobart has long use as a personal name, and can be found often in historical records, with it being a bit of a favourite in Tasmania – indeed one example I found was Tasman Hobart. The Ho- at the beginning is rousing yet problematic, but you could use Bart or Barty as a nickname. A patriotic choice that may work better as a middle name.

Holden
Holden Hill is an inner-city suburb of Adelaide. It was named after a road extension called Halden’s Hill in the mid 19th century, as the land the road ran through was owned by a Mr Halden. The name was corrupted into Holden Hill. Holden is an English surname after a small village in Lancashire; it comes from the Anglo-Saxon meaning “deep valley”. Its most famous literary namesake is Holden Caulfield from J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. It’s quite likely that Salinger named the character after a friend called Holden Bowler he met while they were both working on a ship. Mr Bowler went on to run his own advertising business and was godfather to singer Judy Collins. In Australia Holden will remind people of the car company, its name coming from South Australian manufacturer Sir Edward Holden (although it is owned by General Motors). Sadly, Holden will cease production in Australia in 2017. A very uncommon name in Australia because of the car.

Jupiter
Jupiter Creek is a semi-rural suburb of Adelaide which was once part of a gold-mining area, and still a place to go fossicking. Its name was given by gold-miners, possibly after a bull named Jupiter who was fond of running away to graze there. In Roman mythology, Jupiter is king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder, the equivalent of the Greek god Zeus. Ruler of the heavens, he was a divine witness to oaths and the protector of the state and justice; his symbols were the oak tree, the eagle, and the thunder bolt. His name is from an ancient root meaning “O Father Sky-god”, so his name is an invocation: to speak the name of Jupiter aloud is to call upon the god. The Romans named the largest planet in the solar system after Jupiter, and believed those born under its influence to be especially fortunate. As Juno is a hip name for girls, and so is Juniper, Jupiter for boys doesn’t seem too strange. A possible issue is the movie Jupiter Ascending, which has Mila Kunis as a heroine named Jupiter.

Linden
Linden Park is an affluent suburb of Adelaide. It was named after a house and estate which was built by Sir Alexander Hay in 1861. Linden trees (Tilia) are also called lime trees, although they are not closely related to the tree which produces lime fruit. They are tall, shady trees that have great significance in Germany and Eastern Europe, where they were seen as sacred; in German folklore, the linden is said to be the tree of lovers. Lindens have often featured in stories and poems, often as a symbol of love, protection, or resurrection. In Marcel Proust’s Swann’s Way, the narrator dips his madeleine cake into a cup of lime-flower tea, which opens up a flood of memories. The word linden is from an ancient Germanic root which may mean “mild, soft”: the timber of the linden tree is soft and easily worked, making it ideal for carving. Linden has been used as a name since the 18th century, overwhelmingly for boys, and is found in Australian records quite often, mostly from around the late 19th and early 20th centuries, although I know a few men around my age named Linden. I haven’t seen it on a young child, but this is a handsome, soft-sounding tree name, not so different in sound from popular Lincoln.

Montrose
Montrose is a northern suburb of Hobart. It is named after Montrose House which was built in 1813 by a Scottish settler named Robert Littlejohn, a renowned painter, botanist and teacher. It is the third oldest house in the state, and is named after Montrose, on Scotland’s east coast. A picturesque resort town, it is regarded as a cultural centre, and known for its sculpture. The town’s name is usually thought to be from the Gaelic monadh, meaning “moor”, and ros, meaning “peninsula”. Folk etymology understands it as “mount of roses”, and the town’s Latin motto is Mare Didat, Rosa Decorat, meaning “the sea enriches, the rose adorns”. Montrose is also a surname, and the Duke of Montrose is a title in the Scottish peerage, held by the Graham family. Montrose has been used as personal name since the 18th century, and first used by the Grahams. It has been used for both sexes, but is more common as a male name. Scottish and aristocratic, this is like a cross between Montgomery and Ambrose, and has Monty as the obvious nickname.

Sorell
Sorell is a historic market town north-east of Hobart, now a dormitory suburb of the city. It is named after William Sorell, the state’s third Lieutenant-Governor. William Sorell did a good job of cleaning up the colony, which he had found in a fairly lawless and untidy position. The English surname Sorell is from the Old French nickname Sorel, meaning “chestnut”, and given to someone with reddish-brown hair. It has been in rare use since the 19th century, and is given to both sexes, although more common overall as a male name. It may be known from Sir Julian Sorell Huxley, biologist and brother of Aldous Huxley. An interesting, intelligent name that may sound too close to the word sorrow for some parents.

Stuart
Mount Stuart is a suburb of Hobart on a ridge with the wonderful name of Knocklofty. The suburb is named because of Mountstuart Elphinstone, a Scottish statesman and historian who was Governor of Bombay (now Mumbai). A ship named in the governor’s honour as the Mountstuart Elphinstone visited Hobart in 1836, bringing the welcome news that the cruel and unpopular Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur was ordered to return to London. In celebration of getting rid of him, two roads were named Mount Stuart Road and Elphinstone Road, and eventually the area became known as Mount Stuart. Mountstuart Elphinstone was probably named after Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute in Scotland, the seat of the Stuarts of Bute. They are descended from Robert II of Scotland, the first of the Stuart kings (the Elphinstones are related to the Stuarts). The name of the Stuart dynasty comes from Stewart, the Scottish form of steward, meaning a governor. The first of this surname was Walter Stewart of Dundonald, High Steward of Scotland. The Stuart dynasty ended up ruling Great Britain for more than a century, and it’s because of them that Stuart was used as a personal name. Stuart was #135 in the 1900s, joined the Top 100 in the 1940s and peaked in 1969 at #31. It left the Top 100 in the 1990s and hasn’t charted since 2010. Stewart was less popular, never reached the Top 100, and hasn’t charted since the early 2000s.

POLL RESULTS
People’s favourite names were Linden, Austin and Holden, and their least favourite were Montrose, Jupiter and Hobart.

(Photo shows Hobart)

From Mary to Olivia: Life Cycles of the #1 Girls Names in New South Wales

05 Sunday Jul 2015

Posted by A.O. in Naming Issues

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Appellation Mountain, brand names, celebrity baby names, classic names, dated names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, modern classics, name data, name popularity, names from films, names from songs, nicknames, popular names, retro names, royal names, UK name popularity

Recently Abby from Appellation Mountain had a great article on the #1 girls names in the United States – such a good idea that I had to steal it! As we don’t have national data stretching back to the turn of the century, I’ve looked at the #1 girls names in New South Wales, since it is the most populous state, and has the best data. Annual data is only available from 1960, so until then the #1 names are for the decade only.

Mary 1900s and 1910s
The #1 name of the 1900s and 1910s (previous history unknown, but in the UK was #1 for the second half of the 19th century). Left the Top 10 in the 1940s, and the Top 100 in 2009. 2011 position was #101. Mary was the overall #1 girls’ name of the twentieth century.

Betty 1920s
Was #276 in the 1900s. Joined the Top 100 in the 1910s at #62 – sudden increase in popularity correlates with matinee idol Betty Blythe starting her film career. Shot up to #1 in the 1920s, the peak era for Blythe. Left the Top 10 in 1940, and the Top 100 in 1950. Left the charts in the 1990s.

Margaret 1930s and 1940s
Was #6 in the 1900s (previous history unknown, but in the UK had been stable in the Top 10 for the second half of the 19th century). Made #1 for both the 1930s and 1940s, coinciding with the early life of Princess Margaret. Left the Top 10 in the 1960s, and the Top 100 in 1970s; Princess Margaret attracted some controversy at this time. Failed to chart in 2010, but in 2011 was #428 – higher than before the drop. Margaret is the overall #1 girls’ name in Australian history.

Susan 1950s
Was #149 in the 1900s. Joined the Top 100 in the 1940s at #14 – sudden increase in popularity correlates with actress Susan Hayward starting her career. The #1 name of the 1950s, the peak of Susan Hayward’s career. Left the Top 10 in the 1970s, and the Top 100 in the 1980s. Although in steady use for many years, it failed to chart in 2011.

Jennifer 1960-62
Joined the charts and Top 100 in the 1930s at #75. Surged in popularity during the 1940s, correlating to career success of actress Jennifer Jones. Was #1 in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Left the Top 10 in 1970, and the Top 50 in 1995. Left the Top 100 in 2005. 2011 position was 260 and stable.

Karen 1963 to 1966
Joined the charts in the 1940s at #104 and the Top 100 in the 1950s at #13. By 1960 it was Top 10, and overall Karen was the most popular girls’ name of the 1960s. Left the Top 10 in 1977, and the Top 50 in 1983, leaving the Top 100 in 1987. Sudden drop in popularity correlates with the death of singer Karen Carpenter from anorexia nervosa, and the death of Karen Ann Quinlan, who had been in a long-term coma after a radical starvation diet. Left the charts in 2009, but made a slight recovery in 2011, ranking #631.

Michelle 1967-72 and 1974-75
First charted in the 1940s at #248 and joined the Top 100 in the 1950s at #52. By 1960 it had reached #18, and was in the Top 10 by 1961. Reached #1 in 1967, when The Beatles song Michelle won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year. Michelle reached #1 again in the mid 1970s, the most popular girls’ name of that decade. Left the Top 10 in 1985, the Top 50 in 1995, and the Top 100 in 2003. 2011 position was 233 and stable.

Kylie 1973
Joined the charts and Top 100 in 1965 at #93. Reached the Top 50 in 1968, and the Top 10 in 1970. Left the Top 10 in 1982, but managed to get back into it in 1987, the year of Kylie Minogue’s onscreen wedding to Jason Donovan in soap opera Neighbours. Left the Top 50 in 1989 and the Top 100 in 1990 – sudden fall in popularity correlates with Mary-Anne Fahey appearing as grouchy schoolgirl Kylie Mole in The Comedy Company television show. Left the charts in the late 2000s.

Rebecca 1976 to 1982
Was #179 in the 1900s, and left the charts in the 1930s. Made a comeback in the 1940s at #366, the same decade that Alfred Hitchcock’s film Rebecca was released. Joined the Top 100 in 1966 at #93, and the Top 50 in 1969. Joined the Top 10 in 1972, and was #1 four years later, staying in the top spot for eight years. Left the Top 10 in 1998, and the Top 50 in 2004. Left the Top 100 in 2008 – sudden fall in popularity correlates with actress Rebecca “Bec” Cartright leaving soap opera Home and Away. 2011 position was 188 and stable.

Sarah 1983
Has been on the charts since the 1900s, falling to its lowest level in the 1940s at #284. Began rising in the 1950s, and joined the Top 100 in 1964 at #98. Joined the Top 50 in 1970, and the Top 10 in 1976. Despite only being #1 for one year, Sarah was overall the most popular girls’ name of the 1980s. Left the Top 10 in 2005. Currently #44.

Jessica 1984-97 and 2000-01
Joined the charts in the 1960s at #437; similarity to Jennifer probably a major factor. Joined the Top 100 in 1976 at #97, and the Top 50 in 1979. Joined the Top 10 in 1982, spending thirteen consecutive years at #1 and managing to get there again at the start of the 2000s. Overall Jessica was the most popular girls’ name of the 1990s. Left the Top 10 in 2008. Currently #40.

Emily 1998-99 and 2002-2004
Has been on the charts since the 1900s, falling to its lowest level in the 1950s at #455. Began rising in the 1960s, and joined the Top 100 in 1977 at #77. Joined the Top 50 in 1981, and the Top 10 in 1989. Made #1 twice for a total of five years between 1998 and 2004, and was overall the most popular girls’ name of the 2000s. Currently #6.

Olivia 2005 and 2014
Joined the charts and Top 100 in 1978 at #65, the year that Newton-John starred as as Sandy in the movie Grease. Joined the Top 50 in 1990, and Top 10 in 1998. Currently #1 again, correlating with a busy period for actress Olivia Wilde.

Chloe 2006 and 2011
Joined the charts in the 1970s at #674, the decade when French fashion house Chloé was at its peak. Joined the Top 100 in 1985 at #98, the same year that actress Candice Bergen welcomed a daughter named Chloe. Joined the Top 50 in 1986 – sudden rise in popularity correlates with the birth of Olivia Newton-John’s daughter, Chloe Lattanzi. Joined the Top 10 in 1996 and was #1 ten years later. Made #1 again in 2011, a key year for young actress Chloe Moretz. Currently #7.

Isabella 2007 and 2009-10
Has been on the charts since the 1900s, dropping off in the 1950s and the 1970s. Came back in the 1980s at #499, after actress Isabella Rossellini began her career in American films. Joined the Top 100 in 1993 at #78 and the Top 50 in 1994 – sudden surge in popularity correlates with actress Nicole Kidman welcoming a daughter named Isabella by adoption. Joined the Top 10 in 1998. Reaching #1 in 2007, it was back again in 2009, the year after the first Twilight film, with Kristen Stewart as Isabella “Bella” Swan. Currently #9.

Mia 2008
Joined the charts in the 1960s at #464 for the decade, the era when Maria “Mia” Farrow, daughter of Australian director John Farrow, began her career on soap opera Peyton Place. It joined the Top 100 in 1997 and the Top 50 in 2003 – sudden massive surge in popularity correlates with The Princess Diaries being released on DVD, with Anne Hathaway as Princess Mia. Joined the Top 10 in 2005, and was #1 for one year. Currently #2.

Ruby 2012
Was #21 in the 1900s and left the charts in the 1950s. Came back in the 1980s, at 548, the decade comedian Ruby Wax began her career on British TV. Joined the Top 100 in 1996 at #100, and the Top 50 in 1998 – sudden surge in popularity correlates with Ruby Wax getting her own interview show. Joined the Top 10 in 2010, just after the name Ruby was chosen for a baby on hit drama series, Packed to the Rafters. Two years later it was #1. Currently #8.

Charlotte 2013
Was #96 in the 1900s, and left the charts in the 1940s. Came back in the 1960s at #513, just as actress Charlotte Rampling began her career. Joined the Top 100 in 1989 at #86, and the Top 50 in 1998. Joined the Top 10 in 2003, and was #1 a decade later. Charlotte is currently #3.

What do the #1 names have in common? They include classics and retro names, but many had never appeared on the charts before they began their ascent to the top.

The amount of time it took to go from obscurity to popularity varied. Some leaped straight from nowhere into the Top 100, while others took decades – Mia had around 30 years between appearing on the charts and joining the Top 100. The average was 13 years.

One thing that nearly all the names had in common was the swiftness with which they went from the bottom half of the Top 100 into the Top 50: the average amount of time it took was just four years, and some managed it in a single year. The longest was Olivia, which took 12 years to get into the Top 50.

Once in the Top 10, the longest any names took to reach #1 was ten years. It took them at least two years before they reached the #1 spot, with the fastest being Jessica and Ruby. The average was six years.

Having made #1, names tended to stay in the Top 10 for a while, an average of twelve years. It took Kylie 17 years to finally leave the Top 10 for good, while Jessica was gone in just seven.

After they left the Top 10, most names were fairly quick to depart the Top 100, except Jennifer, which had 35 years of further popularity. Kylie had just three. Most of the names remained in reasonable use, so #1 names don’t usually become horribly dated, unless they become associated with something unpleasant or comical.

Can we draw any inferences for the future? It’s apparent that the nature of the #1 name has changed – the days of one name being at the top for several years are over. The change set in around the mid-2000s, which is when we all became a lot more conscious about name popularity. Since then, it seems as if being #1 is a job-sharing position, with several Top 10 names taking it in turns to wear the crown.

Could other current Top 10 names get to #1? Ava reached the Top 10 in 2008 and Amelia in 2009, so they still have until 2018 and 2019 to make the ten year deadline. However, Sophie joined in 2004, so time has run out – she should have been #1 last year if we accept a ten-year time-frame.

Speed of rising is a predictor of potential #1 success. If we look at names currently rising, Aria and Evelyn look like possibilities for the future, taking just 2 years to go from the bottom of the Top 100 to the Top 50. Harper, Isla and Ivy seem even more likely, as they took only one year.

Maybe that’s making parents of Arias and Islas feel a little nervous, but there’s one thing to remember: out of all the names given to babies in New South Wales since 1900, most didn’t get to #1. In other words, whatever name you love, the odds are on your side that it will never become the most popular name of the year.

POLL RESULTS
People’s favourite #1 girl’s name was Charlotte, gaining 20% of the vote. The least favourite was Michelle, which nobody voted for.

The Fastest Rising Top 100 Names of 2014

31 Sunday May 2015

Posted by A.O. in Naming Issues

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

birth notices, classic names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, name trends, names from films, New Zealand name popularity, nicknames, popular names, retro names, royal names, US name popularity

GIRLS

Hazel
Hazel just joined the national Top 100 as its fastest-rising name, going up 63 places to make #88: the last time it was a Top 100 name was in the 1940s. Hazel was also new to the Top 100 in New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania, and one of the Apple Isle’s fastest-rising names. The catalyst for Hazel’s debut in the Top 100 is last year’s teenage tearjerker, The Fault in Our Stars, based on the novel by John Green, and with Shailene Woodley in the role of Hazel. A fashionable retro name with a cool Z sound, chosen by several celebrities, Hazel was due for popularity. Just outside the US Top 100, it’s aready in the Top 50 in New Zealand.

Aria
Aria has been on the Top 100 since 2012, and in 2013 was the #1 fastest-rising name nationally. Last year Aria was the #1 fastest-rising name in New South Wales and Western Australia, and also rose significantly in Victoria and South Australia. I saw many more baby girls named Aria in birth notices too, so this pretty name is still going strong.

Ariana
Hard on Aria’s heels is Ariana, which just squeaked into the national Top 100 in 2013. Last year it was the #1 fastest-rising name in Tasmania, and rose 27 places to become one of the fastest-rising names nationally. It was also one of the fastest-rising names in New South Wales and Queensland. The major influence on the popularity of this name is American pop singer Ariana Grande, who has a couple of Australian connections: she dated Jai Brooks from The Janoskians in 2013/14, and her 2014 song Problem featured Iggy Azalea: it was Grande’s first Top Ten hit in Australia. Not only a multicultural choice, Ariana benefits from looking like an elaboration of Aria (it isn’t though).

Eleanor
Eleanor was new to the national Top 100 last year, and one of the fastest-rising names, as it went up 31 places to debut at #84: a classic never off the charts, Eleanor has not been in the Top 100 since the 1900s. It was also one of the fastest-rising names in New South Wales and Queensland. This is in line with international trends, as Eleanor joined the US Top 100 last year, and has been Top 100 in the UK for decades. Elegant Eleanor fits in with the trend for El- names for girls, and can be shortened to Elle, Ella, Ellie, Nell, Nellie, and Nora, among others. Such a lot of popular and fashionable nicknames!

Evelyn
Evelyn has been on the national Top 100 since 2011, and is a classic name which was last on the Top 100 in the 1940s. One of the fastest-rising names of 2013, Evelyn continues its ascent, as last year it was a fast-rising name in New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia. I saw an increase of Evelyns in birth notices during 2014.

BOYS

Maxwell
Maxwell was new to the Top 100 last year, and was the #1 fastest-rising name nationally, going up 43 places to debut at #97. It was also one of the fastest-rising names in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. Maxwell is a classic name never off the charts, and was last in the Top 100 during the 1950s. Fitting in with the trend for boys’names that shorten to Max, Maxwell is rising in the both US and UK, but has not yet become popular in either. Because of the Victorian connection, I wonder if the retirement of Nick Maxwell, captain of Collingwood, had any effect.

Fletcher
Fletcher joined the Top 100 last year, and went up 26 spots to make #99. It also joined the Top 100 in Victoria, Queensland, and the Australian Capital Territory, having already been Top 100 in Tasmania for some time. Although Fletcher was not a fast-rising name in any particular state or territory, that’s because it is so new on the charts that there is no data yet for that to show up. Fletcher has been rising in the charts since the 1990s, and has been a Top 100 name in New Zealand since 2010: it is still quite a way off becoming popular in either the US or UK, so this is a Trans Tasman trend.

Harvey
Harvey debuted on the Top 100 last year, rising 20 places to reach #84; this made it one of the fastest-rising names nationally, and it also rose significantly in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory – which seem to have a strong influence on the Top 100 for boys’names this year! A retro name which charted from the 1900s to the 1950s, rejoining the charts in the 1990s, Harvey has never been on the Top 100 before. It’s been a popular name in the UK since the late 1990s, so it’s in line with British trends. The death of veteran journalist Peter Harvey in 2013 may have been on influence on its rise.

George
George is a solid classic which has never been out of the Top 100, but last year it joined the Top 50 for the first time since the 1970s. After the birth of Prince George, the name George became one of the fastest-rising names of 2013, and its upwards progress continues. One of the fastest-rising names in New South Wales and Victoria, I saw many more Georges in birth notices, especially from rural and regional areas.

Nate
Nathaniel was one of the fastest-rising names of 2013, and last year more parents opted to go straight for the short form, Nate, which was one of the fastest-rising names in both New South Wales and Victoria. Nate has been in the charts since the early 2000s, and is only popular in Australia, although it once made the bottom of the Top 100 in New Zealand, and is rising in the UK.

NOTE: A quick reminder that the fastest-rising names of 2013 were Aria, Evelyn, Penelope, Samantha and Lola for girls, and Louis, Hudson, Nathaniel, George and Lincoln for boys.

I have chosen those names which increased in popularity in the most number of states and territories, making their popularity widest across the board in Australia. For the positions of each name in individual states and territories, please refer to the Name Data category for more information.

POLL RESULTS
People’s favourite fastest rising names were Hazel, gaining 38% of the vote, and Maxwell, gaining 27% of the vote (George was close behind on 26%). The least favourite were Ariana (7%), and a tie between Harvey and Nate (15%).

Boys Names from the British Royal Family

17 Sunday May 2015

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 4 Comments

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Christian
Christian Mowatt is the younger brother of Zenouska Mowatt, grandson of Princess Alexandra, and great-great-grandson of King George V; born in 1993, he is 51st in line to the throne. Christian is one of the most common names in the British royal family, especially in the middle. Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, a member of the Danish royal family, was the husband of Princess Helena, the daughter of Queen Victoria. Their son was also called Prince Christian, and he was Queen Victoria’s favourite grandson, a British army officer who fell in the Boer War. Christian is from the Latin name Christianus, meaning “follower of Christ”. It has been used as a personal name since the Middle Ages, and was originally more common for girls amongst English-speakers. It became seen as a boy’s name after John Bunyan’s highly popular The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678), where the hero is a man named Christian. Christian has been a traditional name for Danish kings since the 15th century, and Prince Christian of Denmark, the son of Prince Frederik and Princess Mary, is second in line to the Danish throne. Christian was #178 in the 1900s, and disappeared from the charts the following decade. It returned in the 1950s at #280, perhaps inspired by French fashion designer Christian Dior, or Danish fairy tale writer Hans Christian Anderson, both popular at the time. It rose in the 1960s, and reached the Top 100 in 1971. Its progress has been up and down, and it’s currently #85. It’s a retro name that feels like a modern classic, popular for decades without feeling overused.

Columbus
Columbus Taylor is the eldest son of Lady Helen Taylor, a grandson of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and a great-great-grandson of King George V; born in 1994, he is 38th in line to the throne. The name Columbus is best known as the surname of Christopher Columbus, the 15th century Italian explorer and navigator under the patronage of the Spanish monarchy. In his efforts to find a safe passage to Asia by sailing west, he initiated the Spanish colonisation of the New World, leading to lasting European contact with the Americas that changed the world forever. The explorer’s Italian name was Cristoforo Colombo; Colombo is the Italian form of the saint’s name Columba, Latin for “dove”, and used by Christians in reference to the Holy Spirit, often symbolised as a dove. A name with Transatlantic appeal, nearly always given in honour of the explorer, and a more eyebrow-raising form of Callum.

Guelph
Guelph is one of the middle names of Leopold Windsor, the son of Nicholas Windsor, who has been featured on the blog as a royal dad. A grandson of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and great-great-grandson of King George V, Leopold was born in 2009, and as a Roman Catholic, is not in the line of succession to the throne. The House of Guelph was a European dynasty which played a major role in the politics of medieval Italy, but whose territories moved towards Germany early on, and was eventually succeeded by the Kingdom of Hanover – thus giving strong ties to the British royal family. The current head of the House of Guelph is Ernest August, Prince of Hanover, a descendant of King George II, and husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco. The House of Guelph was founded by Welf IV, Duke of Bavaria, of Italian and German heritage; his name is a Germanic one meaning “young dog”, and thus the equivalent of the English word whelp. A very noble name – perhaps even too aristocratic for most.

Hubert
Hubert was one of the middle names of George Lascelles, the 7th Earl of Harewood, who was the son of Princess Mary, and grandson of King George V, cousin to Elizabeth II. He passed his middle name down to his son, Mark Hubert Lascelles, born 1964, and not in line to the throne due to being born out of wedlock. Hubert is a Germanic name meaning “bright mind”, and became well known because of St Hubert, an 8th century Bishop of Liege. A French nobleman, he became addicted to hunting after his wife died in childbirth, until he had a vision of a crucifix between the antlers of the stag he was pursuing. Even though this legend was taken from the story of St Eustace, St Hubert is honoured as the patron of ethical hunting, having compassion for animals as God’s creatures. Widely venerated during the Middle Ages, St Hubert’s noble ancestry made him a favourite with chivalric and military orders. Hubert has been used in two Disney films – King Hubert is the father of Sleeping Beauty, while in Brave, Hubert is one of Princess Merida’s three brothers. Hubert was #102 in the 1900s, and had left the charts by the 1940s, so this vintage name may appear dated, although it is rising in the UK, and fits in with Hugh and Hugo.

Inigo
Inigo is one of the middle names of Charles Armstrong-Jones, the son of Viscount Linley, grandson of Princess Margaret, and great-grandson of King George VI; Queen Elizabeth II is his great aunt. Born in 1999, he is 19th in line to the throne, and his middle name is in honour of Inigo Jones, a personal hero of his father. Inigo Jones was a 17th century British architect and stage designer, a royal Surveyor-General, and hugely influential. Some of his many works include the Queen’s House in Greenwich, now used to house the art collection of the National Maritime Museum, the Banqueting House in the Palace of Whitehall, now a museum, and the Queen’s Chapel at St James’ Palace. He also designed Covent Garden square, and undertook repair and remodelling of St Paul’s Cathedral. Inigo is a British form of Íñigo, a Castilian form of the Basque name Eneko, translated as “my little love, my little dear one”. It may go back to Roman times, but from the Middle Ages was traditional amongst Spanish royalty and nobility. Pronounced IN-i-go, this was first used as an English name in Cornwall, but became traditional amongst descendants of Inigo Jones. Those descendants in Australia include meteorologist Inigo Owen Jones, and wealthy grazier Arthur Triggs, whose brother was named Inigo. A sweet yet solid choice, Inigo has been given further dash and a famous catchphrase by Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride.

Maximilian
Maximilian Lascelles is the son of Henry Lascelles, the great-grandson of Princess Mary, and great-great-grandson of King George V; born in 1991, he is 66th in line to the throne. The name Maximilian is from the Roman name Maxmilianus, derived from Maximus, meaning “greatest”. There are a few saints named Maximilian, with the 3rd century martyr St Maximilian of Tebessa regarded as the first conscientious objector, because he believed that as a Christian, he could not serve in the Roman army. He has been a hero to the anti-war movement ever since. Maximilian I was a 15th century Holy Roman Emperor, named for one of the St Maximilians – probably Germanic missionary and martyr Maximilian of Celeia – and the name has been traditional amongst European monarchy ever since (the tradition that his name was a cross between two Roman emperors is just folklore). Maximilian is around the 400s here, but significantly higher in the UK. Handsome and regal, Maximilian sounds very imposing – but shortens to popular, friendly Max.

Otis
Otis Shard is the son of Lady Emily Shard, and the great-great-grandson of King George V; born in 2011, he is not in the line of succession because his mother was born out of wedlock. Otis is a surname derived from an English form of the medieval Germanic name Ode or Odo, an earlier form of the German name Otto. The surname is very well known in the United States, as the Otises are a prominent family influential in early American politics; aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart was one of their members. Famous musical namesakes include Otis Redding, Otis Rush, Otis Span, rapper Otis Jackson Jr, and Otis Williams, from The Temptations, and another musical connection is the song Otis by Kanye West and Jay-Z, sampling Otis Redding. A rising name in the UK, Otis is around the 300s here, and a very fashionable choice.

Tane
Tane Lewis is the brother of Senna Lewis, and great-great-grandson of King George V; born in 2012, he is 30th in line to the throne. As earlier discussed, Tane’s father is New Zealander Gary Lewis, the only Maori to have married into the British royal family, and Tane has a name to honour his heritage. Tane is the god of trees and birds in Maori mythology, the son of the sky father and the earth mother, who clothed his father in the stars and his mother with vegetation. In some legends, he made the first man, and in others he made the first woman, moulding her from soil so she could be his wife. The word tāne means “man” in Maori, and it is pronounced TAH-neh, although I have met boys in New Zealand and Australia called Tane who say their name TAYN. A strong, simple yet evocative name which is a wonderful heritage choice, fitting in with familiar names such as Tanner, Tate, and Talon.

Tewa
Tewa Lascelles is the brother of Tanit Lascelles, a great-grandson of Princess Mary, and great-great-grandson of King George V; born in 1985, he is 58th in line to the throne. Tewa’s mother was Lori Lee, known as “Shadow”, of Native American descent, and his name was chosen to honour his heritage. The Tewa people are from New Mexico, and the name Tewa comes from a Keres word meaning “moccasins”; it is pronounced TAY-wuh, rather like Taylor with a W instead of an L. Tewa Lascelles, an American citizen, was born in New Mexico, and perhaps the name reflects his birthplace as well. Tewa is in a progressive punk band, following in his family’s musical footsteps, as James Lascelles is a keyboardist with an interest in world music, and grandfather George Lascelles devoted most of his career to opera.

Xan
Xan Windsor, Lord Culloden, is the brother of Lady Cosima Windsor, son of the Earl of Ulster, and great-great-grandson of King George V; born in 2007, he is 26th in line to the throne. Xan is named in honour of his father, Major Alex Ulster, and this snappy short form of Alexander seems very versatile. Fresh and futuristic, Xan could belong to either gender, and is of ambiguous cultural background, making it the perfect choice for the modern age.

POLL RESULTS
People’s favourite names were Otis, Christian and Tane, and their least favourite were Columbus, Tewa and Guelph.

(Picture shows Tane Lewis, accompanied by his mother, Lady Davina Lewis; photo from The Daily Mail)

Girls Names from the Top 100 of the 1940s

01 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

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These are names of babies born during World War II, and the first baby boomers, born in the years just after the war. If you are an older parent, your own mother might have been born in this decade, while young parents may see 1940s names as “grandma” names. For those wanting a name that’s ahead of the curve, there are rich pickings from this time period.

Coral
Coral is a gemstone made from the polished shells or exoskeletons of coral polyps – originally, and typically, Corallium rubrum, from the Mediterranean. Because this species has a pink or red colouring, the word coral also refers to a pinkish colour. The ancient Romans believed coral would protect children, and it was common for baby toys and teething rings to be made from coral, even in the 19th century. Coral jewellery has been worn since prehistoric times, although it was the Victorian era which made coral fashionable. Today, with greater awareness of the environmental impact of harvesting coral, many jewellers will no longer sell coral items, and consumers are urged to boycott jewellery made from coral. The name Coral was #194 in the 1900s, and joined the Top 100 in the 1930s. It peaked in the 1940s at #79, left the Top 100 the following decade, and was off the charts by the 1980s, perhaps partly due to growing environmental concerns. Leaving aside the gemstone, you could see this name as a way to celebrate our beautiful coral reefs, and marine environment.

Daphne
In Greek mythology, Daphne was a naiad; a nymph of fresh water, and daughter of a river god. Acording to legend, she was so beautiful that the god Apollo pursued her. Just as he was about to catch her, she pleaded with her father to help her, and he turned her into a laurel tree – Daphne literally means “laurel”, and it’s also the scientific name for the plant. The laurel became sacred to Apollo, and wreaths of laurel were traditionally given to those who had achieved victory. The name Daphne has been use since the 18th century, when classical names became fashionable, but only became common in the 19th, because of the interest in botanical names. Daphne was #82 in the 1900s, and peaked in the 1920s at #22. It was #76 in the 1940s, left the Top 100 the following decade, and was off the charts by the 1970s. Recently it been in the charts again, and is around the 300s. Charming retro Daphne makes a distinguished choice, not a daffy one.

Frances
Feminine form of Francis, often given in tribute to St Francis of Assisi, although St Frances of Rome provides a medieval female saintly namesake. The name was commonly used by the British aristocracy, with examples such as Frances Cobham, a close friend of Elizabeth I, and Frances Grey, the mother of queen-for-nine-days Lady Jane Grey. The great Restoration beauty Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox, drove King Charles II batty with desire, but she refused to become his mistress. Her lovely face was used as the model for Brittania on coins, medals, and statues, and can still be seen today. In common use since the 16th century at least, Frances is a classic name which has never disappeared from the charts. It was #52 in the 1900s, and peaked in the 1940s at #47, leaving the Top 100 in the 1970s. It sank into obscurity in the late 2000s, but had a boost at the start of this decade which saw it move into the 500s, and is now around the 200s. More solid than Francesca, Frances is a quiet achiever which gets royal glamour from being the middle name of Diana, Princess of Wales, and offers the cool nickname Frankie.

Irene
From the Greek Eirene, meaning “peace”. In Greek mythology, Eirene was the personification of peace, depicted as a beautiful young girl carrying symbols of plenty. Another mythological Eirene was a daughter of Poisedon. The name was in use in ancient Greece, and one Eirene was a famous artist. There are a number of saints named Irene, with Irene of Thessalonica martyred with her sisters Love and Purity, so personifications of theological virtues. Originally more popular in eastern Christianity, it was the name of a Byzantine Empress, and has been used by European royalty. The name was originally pronounced e-REE-nee, but is usually said IE-reen now. Irene is a classic name which has never left the charts. It was #19 in the 1900s, and peaked the following decade at #17. It was #56 in the 1940s, and left the Top 100 in the 1960s. It reached its lowest point in the late 2000s at #684, and since then become more popular, perhaps because it’s been used for several fictional characters in the past few years. Currently it’s around the 400s. This is a hip, underused classic with a lovely meaning.

Lois
In the New Testament, Lois was the pious grandmother of Saint Timothy. It’s not known what the name means: it may be from the Greek meaning “more desirable, more agreeable”, and understood as “the most beautiful, the best”. However, as Lois was Jewish, it could be an attempt to Hellenise a Hebrew name. Lois is also a male name – an Occitan and Galician form of Louis. The female name Lois has been in use since the 16th century, and was used by Puritan families. Lois Lane, Superman’s love interest, has given the name publicity for many decades, but more recently it has become a “mum name” on TV, with Lois Wilkerson from Malcolm in the Middle, and Lois Griffin from Family Guy. Lois joined the charts in the 1910s, debuting at #181. It joined the Top 100 in the 1930s, when it peaked at #84, and was #93 in the 1940s. It left the Top 100 the following decade, and was off the charts by the 1970s. Soft sounding Lois would make an interesting alternative to popular names such as Eloise.

Marlene
German name combining Maria/Marie and Magdalene, so it commemorates Mary Magdalene from the New Testament, the chief female disciple of Jesus Christ. The German pronunciation is mahr-LE-nuh, but it is often said MAHR-leen in English. The name became well known in the English speaking world because of iconic German-American film star Marlene Dietrich, whose real name was Marie Magdalene. The name Marlene rocketed into the Top 100 from nowhere in the 1930s when Dietrich became a star after appearing as the uberdesirable Lola Lola in Josef von Sternberg’s movie The Blue Angel. It both debuted and peaked at #63 in the 1930s. The name Marlene was #68 in the 1940s, when Dietrich did valuable war work, such as performing for the troops and raising war bonds. By the 1950s, when Dietrich became a cabaret star, the name Marlene had left the Top 100. It left the the charts in the 1980s, when Dietrich’s career was over. Despite being a dated name which spiked in popularity only briefly, Marlene still seems glamorous and sexy, fitting in with modern names such as Marley and Elena.

Pamela
Created by Sir Philip Sidney for his 16th century epic, the Arcadia; in the story, Pamela is an attractive main character. It is usually thought that Sidney based the name on the Greek for “all sweetness”. The name was given publicity by Samuel Richardson’s best-selling 18th century novel, Pamela, where a lovely teenaged maidservant is threatened with rape by her employer, but she successfully resists him, and is rewarded for her virtue by being allowed to marry him. Not only are there so many things wrong with that sentence, it was apparently based on a true story. Pamela was originally pronounced pa-MEE-luh, but PAM-eh-luh is more usual now. Pamela has been used since the 17th century, and an early namesake was Lady Edward Fitzgerald; although her real name was Stephanie, she named her eldest daughter Pamela. Pamela joined the charts in the 1910s, debuting at #310, and peaked in the 1940s at #9. It left the Top 100 in the 1970s, and hasn’t been on the charts since the early 2000s. This is an elegant literary name which is dated, but still seems very usable.

Ruth
In the Old Testament, Ruth was the loyal widowed daughter-in-law of Naomi, who famously offered to follow her mother-in-law wherever she went. Naomi married Ruth to one of her relatives, who called Ruth a “noble character”; she is one of the nicest people in the Bible, blessed with a loving spirit. Her name comes from the Hebrew ru’at, meaning “friend, companion” – it seems chosen for the story, as she was such a good friend to Naomi. Ruth is also an English word meaning “mercy, compassion” – it’s one of those words which only seems to be used in its negative form, as we often describe people as ruthless, but rarely ruthful. Ruth has been in common use throughout the modern era, and is a classic name which has never left the charts. It was #66 in the 1900s, and peaked in the 1920s at #41. It was #58 in the 1940s, and left the Top 100 in the 1970s. It’s currently around the 500s. An underused classic with two lovely meanings and a sweet namesake, this is a great name. After all, you can’t spell truth without Ruth!

Thelma
Popularised by Marie Corelli’s 1887 novel Thelma; in Corelli’s romance, Thelma is an enchantingly beautiful, snow-pure Norwegian princess who marries an English nobleman. The name Thelma had been in use since at least the 18th century, but the meaning is not known. One theory is that it is based on the Greek word thelema, meaning “will”, but there is no evidence to support it. It may be a variant of Selma, since Selma is a common name in Scandinavia even today, and Thelma was used in Norway before the novel was published. The name Thelma was also used in Spanish-speaking countries before Corelli’s novel, and Anselma (the long form of Selma) is a Spanish name. Thelma was #18 in the 1900s and peaked the following decade at #9. It was #96 in the 1940s, left the Top 100 by the following decade, and was off the charts by the 1970s. With the name Selma now receiving a boost from the film, could its clunky sister Thelma be in with a chance?

Valerie
English form of the French name Valérie, from the Latin name Valeria, the feminine form of Valerius, meaning “strong, healthy”. It comes from the same source as the name Valentine. St Valerie was a legendary French saint who was martyred by beheading, then went for a walk carrying her head. This was a popular thing for French saints to do in medieval legends, so the name Valerie got quite a boost. Valerie is a classic name which has never left the charts. It was #180 in the 1900s, and joined the Top 100 the following decade. Peaking in the 1930s at #12, it was #38 in the 1940s. It left the Top 100 in the 1960s, and has remained in uncommon use. It had a small boost at the start of this decade, when it was in the 400s. Valerie is a classic with a rather luscious feel to it. It makes a great middle name too.

POLL RESULTS
People’s favourite names were Daphne, Coral and Frances, and their least favourite were Marlene, Thelma, and Pamela.

(Picture shows members of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force working on a RAAF plane; photo from the Australian War Memorial)

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