Tag Archives: surname names

Name Trends from Baby Center Australia – Boys

02 Tuesday Apr 2013

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Biggest Movers Up

  1. James +14 at least
  2. Cooper +11
  3. Xavier +9
  4. Jackson +8
  5. Liam and Thomas +6

Also Up

Benjamin, Lucas, Samuel, Ethan, Mason

James returned to the Top 20 after dropping off it in 2011 – Baby Center suggests the 50th anniversary of James Bond films may be a factor, which doesn’t seem too implausible. Samuel is also back on the list, no theories as to why. Xavier was new to the list last year, and continues his ascent; Benjamin was new too, and went up slightly. Baby Center believes this because of model Gisele Bundchen’s son Benjamin, born in 2009. Cooper and Jackson are two surname names doing well, with Mason new to the Top 20. Liam made modest gains, which Baby Center attributes to the success of One Direction. As Harry is suddenly doing really well in the official data, this seems fairly convincing.

Biggest Movers Down

  1. Riley -25
  2. Charlie -11
  3. William -9
  4. Aiden -8
  5. Alexander and Jack -8

Also Down

Lachlan, Max, Jacob, Joshua, Noah

Riley really stood out, diving 25 places right off the Top 20, and Charlie also fell more than 10 places, so it became less popular for both sexes. Old favourites William and Jack took a bit of a tumble, while Alexander, new to the Top 20 last year, left it this year. Oliver was the only name to stay at the same position, maintaining his presence as the #1 name. Baby Center noted that there were fewer alternative spellings for boys’ names in 2012, suggesting a shift back to basics.

New or Returned to the Top 20

  • Samuel #18
  • Mason #20

Gone from the Top 20

  • Riley #12
  • Alexander #18

No Change in Position

  • Oliver #1

Famous Names: Ellen and Portia

28 Thursday Mar 2013

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531523_10151298153817261_581124430_nAmerican chat show host, Ellen DeGeneres, was in Australia this week. She follows in the footsteps of Oprah Winfrey, another American chat show host who brought her show to Australia, in 2010. However, while Oprah managed to get around quite a bit, Ellen (who was recovering from ‘flu), just popped in to Sydney and Melbourne.

She did seem to take a bit of a shine to Melbourne, saying it reminded her of Boston and New Orleans, and even said that it was possible she and Portia would live there one day. Ellen is practically an Australian-in-law, because her wife, model and actress Portia de Rossi, is from Australia.

Portia was born Amanda Lee Rogers in Geelong. She changed her name as a teenager to sound more exotic and interesting – Portia is after the heroine of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, and de Rossi is an Italian surname, which probably means “red” (like Russell).

Portia de Rossi is the name of the mother of famous Italian poet Torquato Tasso, but I’m not sure whether the young Amanda Rogers was aware of that. Since her marriage, Portia has legally changed her name to Portia Lee James DeGeneres. I don’t know where the James comes from.

The name Ellen is a medieval form of Helen, making it the English equivalent of Elaine. Ellen was a fairly common name in the Middle Ages, and features in the English fairy tale Childe Rowland, where Burd Ellen is Rowland’s sister, who must be rescued from Elfland. Childe and Burd don’t mean how they sound – childe was a title given to the eldest son in a noble family, while burd means “lady, maiden”. In some versions of the tale, they are the children of Queen Guinevere, and Merlin also plays a significant role in the story.

Ellen is a classic name in Australia, which was at its most popular in the 1900s, when it was #20. It remained on the Top 100 until the 1950s, and made its way back there in the 1990s, when it reached #92. It’s been fairly stable for a few years now, and in 2011 rose slightly from #517 to #470. Although this looks like quite a jump, it represents just two more babies named Ellen.

With Ella and Ellie in the Top 100, and Elle, Eleanor and Elena rapidly gaining in popularity, and retro Nelly, Nellie, Nella and Nelle becoming increasingly hip name choices, Ellen seems extremely usable, with a host of cute and fashionable nicknames. Simple, pretty and unpretentious, I feel that we will see more of this name in years to come.

Portia is a variant of Porcia, the feminine form of the Roman family name Porcius, from the Latin for “pig”. A lot of people have problems with this name meaning, but the Fabii were named after the broad bean, and perhaps the Porcii gained their name from pig farming.

Another possibility is that in many parts of the ancient world, pigs were sacred animals of the Underworld, fertility and the moon, and there may have been some religious connotations to the name (and in fact pig farming itself had a distinctly religious side, as the Romans were very fond of sacrificing pigs to the gods). Many ancient gods and goddesses were connected with swine, such as Osiris, Adonis, Attis, Demeter, Persephone, Freya and Ceridwen. They were beasts of a mysterious and ancient power, and held in awe.

The most illustrious branch of the Porcius family were the Catones, which included Cato the Elder and his great-grandson, Cato the Younger. Cato the Younger had a beautiful, intelligent daughter named Porcia, and she married her cousin, Marcus Junius Brutus – famous for being one of the key people in the assassination plot against Julius Caesar. Porcia was the only woman who knew of the conspiracy, and as such she plays a role in William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar.

However, when we think of Portia, we automatically think of Portia from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, a beautiful and brilliantly intelligent lady who manages to get her own way while still showing obedience. She steals the show and saves the day in a gripping cross-dressing courtroom drama as her fine legal mind swoops in on a loophole in the law. Even now we sometimes call a gifted female lawyer a Portia. The role of Portia was once famously played by actress Ellen Terry.

Portia is an elegant literary name, with historical and fictional namesakes who have both beauty and brains. People seem to either love it, or find it pretentious. Another issue is that it sounds like the name of the car company, Porsche. (Porsche is a German surname derived from the name Boris). Because some people do use Porsche as a girl’s name, a certain type of parent does worry that a daughter named Portia will have her name confused with little girls named Porsche.

So Portia is not without her issues as a baby name, but still a very lovely one nonetheless.

POLL RESULT: Ellen received an approval rating of 46%, and Portia a rating of 31%.

(Photo shows Ellen and Portia on Sydney Harbour)

Names Spotted at Home and Abroad (Summer Edition)

25 Monday Mar 2013

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297602-baby-namesThe first baby born in Wollongong for 2013 was Rumi Vassilakoglou; he is named after the medieval mystical Persian poet, whose moniker means “from Rome” (this name for him is not used in Muslim countries, by the way). Rumi’s mum is named Leila, and his younger sibling is Mahli.

Your baby disappearing is every parent’s worst nightmare, but little Minowa Worthington’s story ended happily. Minowa is the name of a Japanese town, and a Japanese surname, but baby name books tell me it also Native American for “one with a moving voice”. They don’t say which language it is from, but I have seen Native Americans online with Minowa as their surname.

A Gold Coast baby born in the Queensland floods was named Sabre Smith. Although his name can be after the sword, putting it in the same genre as Blade or Steel, a sabre is also a class of racing boats – which seems apt for a baby born surrounded by water.

Another water baby is Dwight Anderson, who was born in the bath. I was a tiny bit surprised to see such an old-fashioned name in use … much more surprised to see that Dwight is a girl. Dwight’s sister is named Billie-Jo.

Allegra Bluebelle from Canberra, born in the city’s centenary year, has a middle name after its floral emblem, the royal bluebell. A little girl born on the city’s birthday seven years ago has the same initials as the Australian Capital Territory – Aisha Caitlyn Truselsen. A fisherman has a daughter named Makaira Indica, which is the scientific name for the black marlin (this isn’t connected to Canberra, so not sure why they mentioned it, but there you go).

The Hallett family changed their name by deed poll to Holden, in honour of the make of car. Not content with that, they have given their children Holden-related names too. Their son is named Toree, after the Torana, and his little sister is named Elcee – after the LC generation of Toranas.

An article about “unique” names quoted brothers named Mac and Fonzii. I have no idea why Mac is supposed to be unique, but Fonzii does seem slightly out of the ordinary. He’s not named about Fonzie from Happy Days, which reminds me of the baby named Tinkabell not named after the fairy. Other unusual names of real babies mentioned were Dragon, Justus, Porch, Ever, Notorious, Cash, Lychee and Bandit.

Another article on the same subject, with much the same information, featured a baby boy named Ace Bear Johnson, which strikes me as both cute and sporty (Ace’s sister is named Esmee). There was also a baby girl named Annecy Belle Easton [pictured], named after a French town that her parents fell in love with after they stayed there. She is called Annie for short, and Annecy’s mum also has the name of a French town – Nancy. Article also mentions real babies named Batman, Blaze and Charisma.

Darwin schoolteacher Wendy Green named her racehorse Rogan Josh, after the Indian spice mix, which she saw at the supermarket. She claims that in Tennant Creek, she was asked to baptise a baby, which she did using champagne, and named the baby Rogan Josh as well. You may take this story with as many grains of salt as you wish – but Rogan Josh really isn’t too bad a name. It literally means “boiling oil” in Persian.

Friday’s birth notices included a new baby named Passion Brinessa Ajayla Quinatee Martin, who is the 12th child in her family. The rest of the family are Samantha Jayne (18), twins Shantelle Victoria and Stephanie Catherine (15), Jenaya Lee (11), Shania Kay (10), Brandon Bradley (7), Brandi Shyla Molly Robyn (6), Cruz Richard (5), Clayton Adam Logan (4) and Diammond Sparckle Zedekeyah Lilly Ann (3). Mum is named Brinessa, which is a variety of rose, and quite an unusual name too. She admits she did find it difficult to come up with original names, and turned to an iPhone application for inspiration.

Names of Adults

Lyra Benbow is a primary schoolteacher in the Melbourne suburb of Digger’s Rest who is just about to spend her Easter break doing volunteer work in Uganda. Is anyone else just loving her name? It sounds like something out of a fantasy novel.

Another awesome name from the papers: Eugenie Pepper, who runs a children’s fashion business named Plum. I feel like ringing her number to hear if she answers, “Hello, this is Pepper of Plum”.

Last year, Cressida Moneypenny attended the Anzac Day commemorations in Turkey. Originally from the Gold Coast, Ms Moneypenny was drawn to her name’s spiritual home, and moved to London. Ian Fleming never gave his Miss Moneypenny a name, but I feel sure it should have been Cressida …

The Melbourne Comedy Festival will feature eight comedians named Dave. Why so many funny guys named Dave? Dave O’Neil was a David until he started in comedy – then he became Dave, which seemed more man of the people. Dave Hughes also began as a David, but said he couldn’t make it stick – people just expect a comedian of a certain age to be a Dave, apparently. All the Daves agreed they had been stuck with an uncool name – while a David can be hip or sexy, a Dave is always daggy.

Names From Real Life

A pair of sisters named Ilse and Matine, which I thought went together really well without being in the least matchy. Ilse is a German nickname for Elizabeth, while Matine is based on the French word for “morning”.

Another cute sibset, this time a little hippyish – Lotus, Jewel and Sunny (two girls and a boy). They are names which just make you smile.

Someone I know told me they have a new niece named Berrilee, which is the name of a suburb of Sydney (and one I missed!). It is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning perhaps “mouth” or “food”, and far from being a modern innovation, baby Berrilee is named after an ancestor.

A name I saw on a class list at the start of the school year – Phonique. It’s French for “phonic”, as pertaining to sound, and is used by a (male) DJ in Europe. To me it almost seems like a portmanteau of phony and unique …. and quite technological.

In spring it was Aryan … here’s another name I saw some people find controversial – Gypsy. This is a name more common in Australia than it is in the UK and other European countries, which have significant populations of Romanis or Travellers (who sometimes refer to themselves as gypsies). Romanis are not in fact from Egypt, which is what Gypsy literally means – their origins are from the Indian subcontinent.

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

Girls: Florence, Harriet, Lola, Marina

Boys: Arlo, Gus, Huxley

Waltzing with … Neville

24 Sunday Mar 2013

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Bonner - 700_tcm16-37336Today is Palm Sunday, which commemorates the triumphal ride into Jerusalem by Jesus about a week before the Resurrection. The people hailed him as if he were a victorious king, laying palm branches in his path. We already know that James Cook named the Whitsunday Islands and Trinity Beach after important days in Easter-tide, and on Palm Sunday 1770, he named the Palm Islands in northern Queensland after the day. After World War I Palm Island became an Aboriginal settlement, where the government maintained a repressive control over the Indigenous population.

On March 28 it will be 91 years since Aboriginal activist and Jagera elder Neville Bonner was born, and another tie-in with this time of year is that Neville once lived on Palm Island. Born on a small Aboriginal island settlement in northern New South Wales, he never knew his father and received almost no formal education. After working as a farm labourer, he moved to Palm Island with his family in 1946, and became assistant overseer of the settlement.

His time on Palm Island gave him both an interest and experience in politics, and after moving to Ipswich in 1960, he became the president of moderate indigenous rights organisation One People of Australia League, and an office holder in the Liberal Party. He was the first indigenous Australian politician, and elected senator in his own right four times.

Neville was appointed to the board of the ABC, and the council of Griffith University, which also awarded him an honorary doctorate. In 1979 he was named Australian of the Year, and in 1984 appointed as Officer of the Order of Australia. After his death, the Neville Bonner Memorial Scholarship was created for Indigenous students to take honours in political science. There is a Queensland electorate and a Canberra suburb of Bonner, named after him.

Neville is an English surname which was introduced to Britain by the Normans, and refers to a French place name in Normandy, either Neuville or Neville. Both places mean “new settlement” in Old French, and are common names of towns in France.

The House of Neville is an aristocratic English family which can trace its lineage back to Anglo-Saxon times. Although they married into the Norman nobility and assumed a Norman surname, the male line of the family had been ruling landowners in Northumbria since before the Conquest, with their ancestral seat near Durham, and were already wealthy and powerful in their own region.

The Nevilles continued to gain power, often appointed to prestigious royal offices and administrative roles. Ralph Neville was one of the founding members of the Peerage of England, being one of those summoned to sit in the House of Lords when it was established in 1294, and by the 14th century the family owned large tracts of the north of England.

They married into the royal family, but lost a great deal of power by getting involved in the War of the Roses, and also backing the wrong horse by supporting Mary, Queen of Scots instead of Elizabeth I (the Nevilles also claimed descent from one of the royal families of Scotland). Although their glory days were over, the Nevilles continued gaining earldoms and baronies through a junior line of the family, and they are still members of the peerage.

Neville can be found used as a first name from the 16th century, but remained extremely rare until the 18th century. Given that the Nevilles were so powerful in the north, you might expect to find the name greatly more common there than in the southern counties, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. It did appear to originate in Lincolnshire though, which is one of the many areas where the Nevilles owned estates and had loyal political supporters.

In Australia, Neville just squeezed onto the Top 100 of the 1900s at #99. It continued rising and peaked in the 1920s (when Neville Bonner was born) at #30; it didn’t leave the Top 100 until the 1960s, missing out by only a few places at #104. Neville hasn’t charted at all here since the 2000s.

It is sometimes suggested that the character of Neville Longbottom from the Harry Potter books could help raise the popularity of this name; however, it seems that almost as soon as the first book was published, Neville disappeared from the charts altogether.

The trouble was that Neville Longbottom, although a good person and loyal Gryffindor, was not necessarily an attractive character to parents. Chubby, unpopular and low on self-esteem, he seemed to be dogged by the chronic bad luck suffered by the self-conscious and unconfident. He lost and forgot things, had minor accidents, was bullied by both students and teachers, and was a mediocre student except in Herbology.

In the fifth book, The Order of the Phoenix, it was revealed that Neville’s parents, brave and gifted warriors in the fight against Voldemort, had been tortured to madness and permanently institutionalised. Although this evoked enormous sympathy for Neville, it didn’t help to make his name seem more usable. Nobody was saying, “Yes, I’d love to name my child after a character with insane parents, I can really relate to that”.

With Harry’s encouragement, Neville’s skills as a wizard improve and his courage grows. Once out of Harry’s shadow, he becomes the leader of the resistance group at Hogwarts, the protector of those younger and weaker, and a vital part of Voldemort’s downfall. He is the story’s alternate hero – brave, noble, kind, selfless, and pure-hearted.

Is this late blooming enough to rehabilitate Neville as a name? Or will parents continue to think of the awkward klutz that Neville is for most of the book series?

Neville is a dated name, but we have seen other old-fashioned names come back into use and even become popular. It’s a little clunky, and a tad geeky, but also solid and dignified. I often see Neville used as a middle name to honour a great-grandparent, and I wonder when someone might feel brave enough to use it up front again. Older people will find it almost irresistible to use the long-popular nickname “Nifty” Neville, but the standard Nev still sounds surprisingly dashing.

Name Combinations for Neville

Neville Anthony, Neville Charles, Neville Frederick, Neville John, Neville Peter, Neville Winston

Brothers for Neville

Edwin, George, Harold, Ralph, Stanley, Theodore

Sisters for Neville

Cecily, Emma, Flora, Isabel, Peggy, Susan

POLL RESULT: Neville received an approval rating of 69%. 26% of people liked the name Neville, and only 4% hated it.

(Photo shows Senator Neville Bonner 1979; image from the National Archives of Australia)

Italian Names for Boys

17 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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romeo_and_juliet_01Angelo

Angelo is the Italian form of the Latin name Angelus, meaning “angel”. The Angelus is a Christian devotion, which traditionally involves praying three times a day, accompanied by the the ringing of church bells. It was common during the Middle Ages, so the name can be seen as after the prayer as much as after the heavenly creature. Angels are mentioned in the Old Testament as spiritual beings who bring communications from God; the word angel is derived from the Greek for “messenger”. Angels play a much bigger role in the New Testament, where they make several important announcements, including the birth and resurrection of Christ. A famous Italian named Angelo was Father Angelo Secchi, a 19th century astronomer and one of the first scientists to state that the sun is a star. Cricket fans know the name well from Angelo Matthews, the Sri Lankan captain. The name is rarely used in Australia, where angel-type names for boys aren’t common – even though angels are traditionally masculine. However, singer Adele welcomed a baby boy last year, rumoured to be named Angelo, and this may be a help. The Italian and English pronunciation are very similar – AHN-jel-oh and AN-jel-oh.

Dante

Dante is a short form of Durante, the Italian form of the Latin name Durans, meaning “enduring”. Its most famous namesake is undoubtedly medieval Italian poet, Dante degli Alighieri, nearly always known by his first name only. His Divine Comedy is considered the greatest work of Italian literature, and in Italy he is known as il Poeto (“the Poet”), just as Shakespeare is called The Bard in England. He is famous for his adoration of Beatrice, a girl he knew only slightly and who died in her twenties; he plays an important role in the literature of “courtly love”. Dante is a name which seems to be gaining more use in recent years, perhaps because of the number of fictional characters named Dante on TV and in video games. I see this handsome name quite a bit in birth notices, and have met a number of small boys named Dante, from a variety of backgrounds. The Italian pronunciation is DAHN-tay, and this is commonly used in Australia, but I have heard it said DAN-tay as well.

Eduardo

Eduardo is the Italian form of the English name Edward. The name is used in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries as well, where it is much more popular than in Italy – it is a Top 100 name in Spain and Chile. Famous Italians include actor, playwright and screenwriter Eduardo De Filippo; songwriter Eduardo di Capua, who composed the famous song O Sole Mio; and quantum physicist and cyberneticist Eduardo Caianiello (all these Eduardos were from Naples). The name is pronounced ed-WARD-oh, with the ward part rhyming with hard rather than horde. Last year, Australian soccer player Vince Grella welcomed a son named Eduardo, and so far it’s the only celebrity baby boy’s name which has been rated as “perfect” by blog readers.

Lorenzo

Lorenzo is the Italian form of the Roman name Laurentius, which means “from Laurentum”; Laurentum was an ancient city in Italy, south of Rome, and its name probably comes from the laurel, or bay tree. Laurel wreaths were used by the Romans as a symbol of victory. The English form of the name is Laurence. One of the most famous Italian namesakes is Lorenzo de Medici, known as Lorenzo the Magnificent. A Florentine ruler during the Renaissance, he was famed for presiding over Florence’s Golden Age, and for being a great patron of the arts. Lorenzo’s grandson also bore his name; he is best known for being the ruler to whom Machiavelli dedicated his practical political handbook, The Prince. Lorenzo has been in the Top 5 in Italy for several years, and is currently #4; it’s also Top 100 in France. The Italian pronunciation is loh-REN-tso, and in English it’s pretty much the same except we say the final syllable -zo. Reality TV star Snooki, from Jersey Shore, welcomed a baby boy named Lorenzo last year. Possible nicknames include Enzo, Ren, Renzo and Zo.

Luca

Luca is the Italian equivalent of the name Luke, derived from the Greek name Loukas, meaning “from Lucania”. Lucania was an ancient district of southern Italy, and the name comes from the tribe of the Lucani who inhabited the area. One theory is that the tribe’s name comes from the Greek word for “wolf”; another that it means “sacred wood” in Latin. A famous Italian with this name is medieval sculptor Luca della Robbia; another is Fra Luca de Pacioli, a mathematician and Franciscan friar who worked with Leonardo da Vinci. You may also know the name from Luca Cordero di Montezemolo who is chairman of Ferrari. Luca is incredibly popular internationally: it is #12 in Italy, and also makes the Top 100 in the UK, Scotland, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and France. It has charted in Australia since the 1980s, and joined the Top 100 in the late 2000s; currently it is #79. You will sometimes see Luca described as a unisex name, and that’s because it is also the Hungarian form of Lucia, and is #10 for girls in Hungary. However, the two names are pronounced differently – the Italian boy’s name is said LOO-kah, while the Hungarian girl’s name is said LOO-tsah.

Massimo

Massimo is the Italian form of Maximus, a Roman family name derived from the Latin for “greatest”. There is a very old and noble Roman family named Massimo, and they claim to be descended from the Maximi family of ancient Rome, including the famous general Fabius Maximus. This cannot be proven, as the family history only goes back about a thousand years, but what’s on the record is impressive enough. Extremely rich and influential, great patrons of the arts, they have produced numerous cardinals, ambassadors, politicians and military leaders, and have married into some of the most important royal houses of Europe, so that the family now bears a princely title. Massimo is one of the most common Italian boy’s names I see in birth notices, with Massi the usual nickname. It is pronounced mahs-SEE-mo.

Orlando

Orlando is the Italian form of Roland, a Germanic name meaning “famous land” or perhaps “fame of his country”. According to history, Roland was a Frankish military commander in Charlemagne’s army, responsible for defending France against the Bretons; he died in a skirmish against the Basques after Charlemagne was defeated in a battle against Islamic forces. His death must have captured people’s imaginations, because while history says very little about Roland, legend says much. His life became an epic drama about a great nobleman of royal blood who dies in battle, defending his land and faith from Muslims. Just in case this seemed a bit tame, legend gave him a magic sword and threw in a giant, and the story was a massive medieval minstrel-sung hit all across western Europe. In Italy, he not only appears in Dante’s Divine Comedy, but starred in a whole line of epics as Orlando. The most famous of these is Orlando Furioso (it basically means Crazy Orlando) by Ludovico Ariosto. As the title suggests, Orlando goes doolally from unrequited love of a pagan princess and gallops around the world in a frenzy. There’s wizards and hippogriffs and sea monsters and a trip to the moon involved, and the story was hugely influential in European literature. We know this name well from actor Orlando Bloom, married to Miranda Kerr, and since their wedding I see this attractive name regularly in birth notices. The Italian pronunciation is or-LAHN-do, and the English or-LAND-oh.

Rocco

Saint Rocco is an Italian saint who was born a nobleman but came to Rome on a pilgrimage. Turning up while the city was suffering from a plague, he spent his time tending the sick. When he succumbed himself, he was banished from populated areas, but miraculously provided with water, and a dog who brought him food and licked his wounds, which cured him. Returning home, he was thrown into prison as a spy and died, refusing to reveal his noble identity. However, he was recognised by a cross-shaped birthmark, and canonised as a saint by popular acclaim. When the Black Death swept through Europe, it was said that this plague could be averted by praying to Saint Rocco, and when a town was apparently spared in this manner, his popularity went through the roof. Although his cult had begun in northern Italy, it soon spread across Europe; in France his name became Roch, in Spain Roque, and in England, Rock. You’d be forgiven for thinking Rocco had something to do with rocks, but it’s an ancient Germanic name meaning “rest”, and pronounced ROK-ko. Even though the Black Death isn’t such a worry any more, Saint Rocco is still popular as a healer of the sick and patron of dogs. Rocco has charted in Australia since the 1940s, hitting a peak in the 1960s at #193. Since the early 2000s, when Madonna welcomed her son Rocco, it has been climbing steeply and is currently #228. Expect to hear more of this cute yet macho name in the future.

Romeo

Romeo is the Italian form of the Latin name Romaeus, meaning “pilgrim to Rome”. When we hear the name Romeo, we think of the young and ardent lover from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, whose pubescent romance goes so tragically wrong. Shakespeare’s plot wasn’t original – he based it on retellings of 16th century Italian romances, and in turn, these used the story of Pyramus and Thisbe from Roman mythology as inspiration. However, one of the Italian authors, Luigi Da Porto, fell for an enchanting young woman at a ball and she returned his feelings; things never got off the ground because their families were feuding. By the time he had the chance to write about Romeus and Giulietta in Verona, the object of his desire had been married off to someone else. His version of the story, including the principals’ names, proved enduring – perhaps because it had the personal touches of someone who has loved and lost. Romeo is such an ultra-romantic name that it’s used as an epithet for any male lover. David and Victoria Beckham welcomed their son Romeo in 2002, giving this name some star appeal as well. We say it RO-mee-oh, but we know the Italian pronunciation of ro-MAY-oh from the car manufacture, Alfa Romeo.

Valentino

Valentino is the Italian form of the Latin name name Valentinus, the saint of lovers, also called Valentine. It got an extra helping of Latin Loverboyishess from Italian actor Rudolph Valentino, a seductive sex symbol and star of the silent screen. He made women swoon, and men snipe at his annoying amount of attractiveness. The gals screamed with desire during his movies; the guys stormed out in disgust and threw hissy fits. We know the name well from Italian motorcycle racer and MotoGP World Champion, Valentino Rossi, giving this name quite a sporty image as well. I don’t know if it’s because of Rossi, but I do see the name Valentino quite often in birth notices, where it seems to be especially popular in the middle position.

POLL RESULT: People’s favourite names were Luca, Rocco, and Massimo, and their least favourite were Orlando, Valentino, and Eduardo.

(Picture shows scene from Baz Luhrman’s Romeo + Juliet)

South Australia Name Trends – Boys

16 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by in Name Data

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Biggest Movers Up

  1. Braxton +57 at least
  2. Flynn +34
  3. Patrick +31
  4. Jaxon +28
  5. Archer +20
  6. Ryan +20
  7. Hudson +14
  8. Harrison +13
  9. Mason +12
  10. Elijah and Harry +11

Also Up

Angus, Hunter, Sebastian, Henry, Mitchell, Xavier, Charlie, Daniel, James, Riley

Up Slightly

Thomas, William, Jack, Jayden, Lucas

The rise and rise of Braxton … this name was not even on the Top 100 in 2011, so goodness knows how many places it jumped – probably far more than 57. The usual surnames turn up, with South Australia being the first state to welcome Mason into its Top 10. Harry and Henry keep doing really well, which makes me wonder if Harrison is so popular because it can be shortened to Harry? Irish names seem particularly popular in South Australia, with even old favourites like Ryan rising 20 places.

Biggest Movers Down

  1. Benjamin -22
  2. Logan -17
  3. Oscar -13
  4. Levi -12
  5. Brodie -11 at least
  6. Aiden -10 at least
  7. Blake -10
  8. Caleb -9 at least
  9. Tyler -9
  10. Dylan -8 at least

Also Down

Cooper, Luke, Jake, Liam, Jackson, Max, Owen, Jacob, Samuel, Hayden, Connor, Eli, Ashton

Down Slightly

Ethan, Isaac, Joshua, Noah, Oliver, Alexander, Lachlan

With the sadly foreshortened list, it’s hard to say how far many of these names have dropped, but several have dropped out of the Top 50 at least.

No Change in Position

Jordan #33

New or Returned to the Top 49

  • Jaxon #31
  • Patrick #35
  • Hudson #36
  • Ryan #37
  • Elijah #42
  • Flynn #43
  • Braxton #44
  • Archer #47

Gone from the Top 49

  • Brodie #39
  • Aiden #40
  • Caleb #41
  • Dylan #42
  • Luke #43
  • Owen #45
  • Hayden #46
  • Ashton #47

Famous Name: Mason

14 Thursday Mar 2013

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pngviewerOn March 19 this year, it will be the 81st anniversary of the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It’s an iconic symbol of Sydney, and of Australia itself; Sydneysiders refer to it with affection as “The Coathanger”, and more respectfully as “The Grand Old Lady”. The place where the bridge stands today is where Europeans first set foot on Australian soil, back in 1788.

There are many famous names connected with the bridge that I could cover, but when I think of its history, I see its true heroes as the workers who toiled long hours to build it, without any modern safety equipment, often risking their own lives in the process. So I dedicate this blog entry to the stonemasons who worked on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The bridge’s pylons are 89 metres high, made of concrete and faced with granite. While much of the steel for the bridge was imported from Britain, the materials for the pylons are all Australian, with most of the granite quarried from the seaside town of Moruya, 300 km south of Sydney. The pylons were designed by Thomas Tait of Scotland, and many of the stonemasons who worked in the quarry were from Scotland and Italy, as well as Australia.

There were perhaps 300 masons in all, who cut and dressed 40 000 stones for the pylons, with just two stonemasons facing them with granite. The stonemasons also built the Cenotaph in Martin Place, which commemorates all those who died during the Anzac campaign. You can read more about the building of the bridge and those who worked on it in this little booklet from The Pylon Lookout.

When the bridge was opened in 1932, the foreman stonemason, Jock McKay, proudly led 100 workers at the start of the Bridge Parade. We’ve already learned that it was the Stonemasons Association which first campaigned for an eight-hour working day, so this was another landmark day for them.

Mason is an English surname which is easy to understand, as it refers to the occupation of being a stonemason. It comes from the Old French word masson, introduced by the Normans; the word is derived from an ancient Germanic word meaning “cut, hew”. Mason is one of the oldest English surnames, being found from the early 12th century.

The trade of masonry is likewise one of the the most ancient, dating back to the Stone Age and the dim beginnings of civilisation. Indeed, when we think of the great works of civilisations, we tend to focus on their building projects, such as Egyptian pyramids, Greek temples or Roman aqueducts. During the Middle Ages, when the surname Mason first began to be used, masons were in demand for building castles and cathedrals, and they had a high status as skilled craftsmen.

I think from its earliest beginnings, stonemasonry had a spiritual or religious side, for the first large structures seem to nearly always be temples or other places of worship. It seems probable that the building of such temples would involve knowledge of spiritual symbols and motifs to be worked into their designs, and even the mathematics necessary to design such a temple may have seemed almost a magical art – it certainly required high intelligence, and greater knowledge than the average person.

The organisation of Freemasonry, or the Masons, seems to draw on myths that stonemasons were given secret knowledge that was handed down through the generations. These always seem to go back to the architect of King Solomon’s Temple of ancient Jerusalem, but includes Euclid, Pythagoras, Moses, the Essenes, and the Culdees, with Noah, the ancient Egyptians, the Knights Templar and the Druids thrown in for good measure. Even Jesus Christ is claimed as a Freemason, with his assertion of being the prophesied “cornerstone” a supposed indication.

These myths seem very far-fetched to me, but I can see how they might have an extremely tiny grain of truth to them, and they do add a bit of intrigue to stonemasonry and the name Mason.

Mason has been used as a first name for boys since at least the 16th century, and seems to have originated in East Anglia. It’s much more common in the United States than elsewhere, and that may partly be because of the distinguished Mason family of Virginia, which has played a prominent role in American history and politics. George Mason IV is considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, and an author of the Bill of Rights.

In Australia, although Martin Mason was one of our first pioneers, I tend to think of it as a rather sporty name, because of hockey player James Mason, cricketer Scott Mason, NRL star Willie Mason, and AFL player Mason Wood, from the North Melbourne Kangaroos.

Mason first charted here in the 1980s, debuting at #429 for the decade, and rose steadily to make the Top 100 by 2005. The year after Kourtney Kardashian welcomed her son Mason in 2009, Mason jumped 36 places in the charts, and rapidly ascended to #24 in New South Wales for 2012. (Although often connected with the Kardashians, Mason is quite the favourite amongst celebrity baby namers).

Name data for 2012 in so far shows Mason as one of the fastest rising names in Queensland, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, and Top 20 in Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria.

Mason is a name which denotes physical strength applied skilfully, and even has quite a spiritual side to it. It would be a great name to honour a tradition of stonemasonry in your family history, or a tradition of skilled craftsmen. Although we think of it as quite a modern name, it has a very long history, and is far older than most surname names. It is rising in popularity, but mostly not soaring like a trendy name; more the solid progress of a name set to be a modern classic.

There is plenty to appreciate about the name Mason, but one thing you can’t hope to do is keep it to yourself.

POLL RESULT: Mason received an approval rating of 26%. People saw the name Mason as too trendy (23%), too popular (21%), too much of a celebrity baby name (10%), and rising too quickly in popularity (9%). However, 7% thought the name was strong and handsome.

(Photo of the bridge opening from State Records NSW)

2012 Name Trends in Queensland – Boys

11 Monday Mar 2013

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Unfortunately I did not have access to the Queensland Top 100 last year, so I can only look at trends relating to the Top 30. If I had better data for 2011, I’m sure this would be more interesting and accurate.

Biggest Movers Up

  1. Mason +8
  2. Braxton +7 at least
  3. Hunter +7
  4. James +7
  5. Harrison +6
  6. Liam +5
  7. Jackson +3 at least

Up Slightly

Jack, Alexander, Noah, Oliver, Thomas, Xavier

Surnames for boys are popular and rising in all states, but they absolutely dominate in Queensland, with 5 of the 7 top risers a surname name.

Biggest Movers Down

  1. Jake -11
  2. Joshua -9
  3. Hayden -7
  4. Tyler -7
  5. Levi -5
  6. Nate -5
  7. Riley -4
  8. Eli -3
  9. Ryan -3

Down Slightly

Benjamin, Jacob, Lachlan, Max, Cooper, Lucas, Samuel, William

There seems to be definite drop in boys names that have a long I sound, as in Tyler or Eli, and short forms Jake and Nate also took a hit.

No Change in Position

  • Ethan #4
  • Charlie #18
  • Isaac #30

New to the Top 30

  • Braxton #25
  • Jackson #29

Gone from the Top 30

  • Jake #29
  • Hayden #31

2012 Name Trends in Western Australia – Boys

09 Saturday Mar 2013

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Biggest Movers Up

  1. Hunter +25
  2. Hudson +20 at least
  3. Braxton +17 at least
  4. Nicholas +15
  5. Isaac +13
  6. Dylan +11
  7. Henry +11
  8. Noah +10
  9. Mason +9
  10. Harry and William +9

More success for the surname names, with Hunter, Hudson and Braxton the top three risers, and Mason also gaining. In Victoria, Isaac was the only Old Testament boy’s name to do really well; here he is joined by Noah, who rose 10 places to make #1 overall. Princes Harry and William have their royal names making headway, although once again, Henry did even better than Harry.

Also Up

Jacob and Jake, Jack, Jackson and Jaxon, Jayden, Hayden, Aiden, Austin, Lincoln, Leo, Beau, Blake, Eli and Elijah, Adam, Daniel, Zachary, Luke, Lachlan, Liam, Declan, Owen, Ryan, Patrick, Finn, Flynn, Tyler, Max, Michael, Samuel, Nate, Archie, Charlie, Nate, Kai

No Change in Position

  • Benjamin #16
  • Harrison #27
  • Matthew #30

Biggest Movers Down

  1. Jordan -9 at least
  2. Cameron -8 at least
  3. Marcus -7 at least
  4. Joseph -7 at least
  5. Joshua -7
  6. Seth -7
  7. Callum -6 at least
  8. Sebastian -6
  9. Oscar -5
  10. Caleb -4

The names that fell the most in Western Australia tended to be the same ones that lost popularity elsewhere. There does seem to be a distinct drop in Biblical names starting with J, and anything starting with Cal- or Cam-.

Also Down

Connor, Cooper, Chase, Logan, Lucas, Mitchell, Riley, Hamish, James, Jesse, Ethan, Levi, Nathan, Taj, Tyson, Thomas, Alexander, Oliver, Xavier, Zac

New or Returned to the List

  • Hudson #31
  • Braxton #34
  • Leo #43
  • Adam #44
  • Owen #46
  • Finn #48
  • Austin #48
  • Archie #49
  • Declan #50
  • Lincoln #50

Gone from the List

  • Jordan #42
  • Cameron #43
  • Marcus #44
  • Joseph #44
  • Callum #45
  • Hamish #49
  • Zac #49
  • Jesse #50
  • Taj #50
  • Tyson #50

Famous Name: Griffin

06 Wednesday Mar 2013

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520px-Heraldic_figures_-_Griffin.svgOn March 12 the city of Canberra, Australia’s capital, will celebrate one hundred years since its foundation in 1913. Special events are planned for the entire year, with the major festivities taking place on the long weekend preceding the actual date.

A baby called Allegra Bluebelle Sofo born this year was named in honour of Canberra’s centenary – the royal bluebell is the floral emblem of the Australian Capital Territory. Her story was featured in The Canberra Times, and as further inspiration for potential Canberran baby-namers, the paper went on to make more suggestions for names with a Canberra connection, which you can read about on Nancy’s Baby Names blog.

I couldn’t help noticing that all the suggestions were for girls names, which seemed very unfair, given that boys will make up about half of all the babies born in Canberra during 2013, and an obvious suggestion is staring them in the face.

In 1911, King O’Malley held an international competition to find a designer for the layout of the new city, which was won by Chicago architect Walter Burley Griffin. Walter produced the design in colloboration with his wife and business partner, the architect Marion Mahony Griffin. The Griffins moved to Australia to oversee the project, and fell in love with the Australian landscape, becoming enthusiastic bushwalkers with a keen interest in botany and conservation. The building of a city set in bushland seemed perfect for their idealistic vision inspired by the Garden City movement.

Unfortunately, World War I put a dent in everyone’s plans, and Walter Burley Griffin was treated shamefully by bureaucrats, who undermined him to further their own interests, eventually forcing him to resign. Many of his ideas were discarded or altered, but the basic plan of the central city is undeniably that drawn up by Walter Burley Griffin.

It wasn’t until the 1960s that the artificial lake he had envisioned was built in the heart of Canberra (not to his plans, it must be said), and in the first kind gesture Canberra had made toward its designer, Prime Minister Robert Menzies refused to have the lake named after himself, and insisted it be called Lake Burley Griffin. Australians had rather cluelessly misunderstood American naming conventions, and imagined that Burley must be part of Walter’s surname, rather than his middle name, so the lake doesn’t even have his correct name.

It’s never been rightfully re-named Lake Griffin, which would also have honoured co-designer Marion, but it’s the only monument that Walter Burley Griffin has in Australia. One was planned in the 1960s, and an American architect hired, but a change of government left it shelved indefinitely.

With so little appreciation during his lifetime (Walter died in 1937), why not name your son Griffin to honour the man and his wife who helped bring the city of Canberra into being?

The surname Griffin has several sources. It can be a Latinised form of the Welsh name Gruffud, which is also Anglicised as Griffith. There was also an Anglo-Saxon name Griffin, derived from High German grifan, meaning “snatch, grab”, and an allusion to dragons. The Irish surname is taken from the Gaelic name Grioghtha, meaning “griffin”.

This legendary animal (also spelled gryphon or griffon) is a combination of an eagle and a lion, thus blending the king of the beasts with the king of the birds. How this combination was achieved was a matter to be decided by the artist, but by accepted convention the griffin has the body, tail and hindquarters of a lion, with the head, wings and talons of an eagle, and has prominent pointed ears. The word griffin is derived from the Greek for “hook”, possibly denoting the creature’s hooked beak or curved talons.

Griffins were prominent in the art and design of Ancient Greece, where they were seen as powerful protectors against evil. Greek writers described the griffin as native to mountainous areas of Asia, sacred to the sun, and a hoarder of gold. Other ancient legends tell of the griffin’s prodigious strength and intelligence, its hatred of horses, and wars against the Amazons. The griffin seems to be a symbol of good, of light, and of the masculine principle.

You will sometimes see griffins carved into old churches and cathedrals, because during the medieval era, the griffin was considered a symbol of Christ, who, like the griffin, has dominion over both the heavens and the earth. It was also thought that the winged cherubim mentioned in the Bible could have been griffins, as they are described as having the face of a lion and an eagle (although this ignores the fact cherubim also have the face of a man and an ox). It is possible that the legends of cherubim and griffins had the same source – the winged beasts of ancient Middle Eastern art.

Just to confuse things, the griffin was also associated with Satan, probably in the belief that anything so fierce must be up to no good (the hoarding of gold might have looked sinfully avaricious as well). This miserable idea doesn’t seem to have persisted, probably because it doesn’t make sense, since griffins were always noble, majestic, and on the side of good.

Griffins are a popular symbol in heraldry, with the first known person to have a griffin on his coat of arms being Richard de Redvers, the Earl of Exeter, in 1167 (the coat of arms was much older than that). A symbol of strength and vigilance, the griffin is said to be the perfect emblem for a hero in battle. For some reason, male griffins are always shown in heraldry without wings, but adorned with spikes denoting the sun’s rays. They are less common than winged female griffins. Canberra doesn’t have any griffins on its coat of arms, which I think would have been an appropriate choice.

Griffins are often found in fantasy literature, and the first one appears to be Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. You may also read stories that involve griffins in the works of Frank Stockton, Diana Wynne Jones, Tamora Pierce, Neil Gaiman, Mercedes Lackey, Patricia A. McKillip and Rick Riordan. Readers of the Harry Potter series will remember that Harry’s house at school was Gryffindor. These fantasy novels had a noble forerunner, because the poet Dante sees Beatrice in a chariot drawn by a griffin in The Divine Comedy.

Griffin is a strong, handsome and very masculine name which can either be taken as Celtic or English. The legendary creature gives it many layers of mystical associations, nearly all of them extremely positive. You could use either Griff or Finn as nicknames.

POLL RESULT: Griffin received a worthy approval rating of 77%. People saw the name Griffin as strong and handsome (33%), cool (18%), noble and chivalrous (13%), and cute and brainy (13%). However, 9% thought the connection to mythological griffins made the name seen ridiculous – half as many as those who thought the mythological connection made the name cool.

(Picture shows a heraldic griffin)