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Tag Archives: Turkish names

Famous Name: Errol Flynn

22 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

aristocratic titles, Disney names, Disney princes, famous namesakes, Irish names, locational names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, names from films, Old English names, popular names, Scottish names, surname names, Turkish names, Welsh names

Errol-Flynn

Errol Flynn is one of Australia’s most famous actors, even though he died more than 50 years ago, on October 14 1959. Born in Hobart in 1909, he is seen as a particularly Tasmanian export, although in Hollywood he passed himself off as Irish before he became an American citizen (he also said he was a descendant of a Bounty mutineer, which wasn’t true either).

Flynn became an immediate sensation in Hollywood from his very first role – a 17th century pirate in the 1935 film Captain Blood, although other stand out roles were as Fletcher Christian and Robin Hood. He was typecast as a derring-do swashbuckling action hero, famous for his well-choreographed sword fighting scenes. At the height of his career he was one of the most popular actors in America, and was roguishly handsome, with a dashing, debonair, devil-may-care image.

His reputation was as a womaniser, a highly-sexed, caddish, unscrupulous seducer. The expression in like Flynn is said to have been inspired by the ease at which Flynn was able to obtain women, and dates to 1942, when Flynn was up on charges of statutory rape. Accused of raping two 17-year-old girls, Flynn was acquitted by a jury made of mostly of women: during the trial he flirted with a teenager who he went on to respectably marry, after carefully verifying she was over 18.

Flynn was blunt about his proclivities, saying I like my scotch old and my women young. He was tickled enough by the slang expression that he tried to call his autobiography In Like Me, but the publishers changed it to My Wicked, Wicked Ways.

The rape trial didn’t seriously damage Flynn’s reputation, earning a round of backslaps and you-rascal-yous. He did face criticism for not serving in the US military during World War II. The studio kept secret that he had failed his medical, as their supposedly athletic star was in terrible physical shape. He had multiple heart problems, recurrent malaria, chronic back pain, chronic tuberculosis, and a dizzying array of sexually transmitted diseases.

To self-medicate these various ills, he drank heavily, and sometimes used morphine and heroin. When his career went downhill and he lost most of his money, he became old and bloated, sailing around on his yacht developing hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver. However, he still managed to get a 15-year-old mistress to sail around with (Orry-Kelly had been their go-between), and planned to marry her except that she was barely 17 when he died. She never stopped loving him.

Whatever he had – charm, charisma, sex appeal – he never lost it. Controversial to the end, he became a figure of which almost anything could be believed, and biographies have variously suggested that he was a closet bisexual, a Nazi, a Communist, a sexual predator, a paedophile, a murderer, and a drug-runner (the Nazi claim is definitely debunked; the others are unsubstantiated).

Flynn was one of the original Hollywood bad boys, celebrated in film and song, and still making headlines today. Love him or loathe him, he was unforgettable.

ERROL
Scottish surname, usually said to be from the village of Errol in Perthshire, the meaning of whose name is lost in the mists of time. However, the surname came into use late enough as to cast some doubt on this theory, and it may be a corruption of an earlier surname.

Errol has been used as a first name since the 18th century, originating in Scotland. One of the factors helping its use was probably the aristocratic title the Earl of Erroll, in the Scottish peerage since the Middle Ages. Erroll is the older spelling of the village of Errol, and the first Earl was William Hay, who was born in Errol. The title is still in the Hay family.

Errol was #160 in the 1900s when Errol Flynn was born, and peaked in the 1940s at the height of his career – just outside the Top 100 at #103. After the rape trial, the name fell sharply, and left the charts in the 1970s.

The name has been a favourite in the Caribbean, with a famous example being British singer Errol Brown, who was born in Jamaica. The first prime minister of Barbados was Errol Barrow, an enormously popular leader regarded as a hero of his country, although Errol Flynn lived in Jamaica in the 1950s and was a great boost to the island’s tourism.

Errol joined the US Top 1000 in 1936, the year after Errol Flynn’s Hollywood career began. It peaked in 1941 at #355 – the 1942 rape charges may not have killed off his career, but it did damage his brand as a namesake for babies. It hasn’t been in the Top 1000 since 1985, and last year 20 baby boys were named Errol. In the UK, there were 11 baby boys named Errol in 2014, and numbers are actually rising.

Errol is well known to Harry Potter fans as the name of the Weasley family’s owl. J.K. Rowling may have had in mind the Latin word erro, meaning “to go astray, to wander about, to go amiss”, as Errol is a feeble old owl who often gets lost while delivering the Weasley’s mail. It’s the basis for the English word error.

Errol seems rather vintage and cool, while still lovably eccentric. It could work well cross-culturally, as its similar to the Old English name Eorl, meaning “earl”, the Welsh name Eryl, meaning “a look out post”, and the Turkish name Erol, meaning “brave”.

FLYNN
Irish surname which is an Anglicised form of Ó Floinn, meaning “son of Flann”; the name Flann means “reddish, ruddy of complexion”.

Flann Fína mac Ossu was a 7th century king of Northumbria who was the son of an Anglo-Saxon king and an Irish princess – his English name was Aldfrith. Flann Sinna was a 9th century High King of Ireland, and there are also medieval Irish poets with the name. Flynn has been used as a personal name since the 18th century, mostly for boys: from the beginning the name was used in Ireland as well as other English-speaking countries.

The name Flynn began charting in the 1990s, and was #342 for the decade, although it made the Top 100 in 1997 at #93. This was the year after Flynn was released, a film about the early life of Errol Flynn with Guy Pearce in the title role. Coincidentally, it was also the year that Sean Flynn, the grandson of Errol Flynn, began his acting career.

In 2001 Flynn was back in the Top 100 at #98 – this was the year after David Bret published a salacious biography about Errol Flynn called Satan’s Angel. It had a burst of popularity in 2004, getting to #73: the year before, Flynn’s 1959 autobiography My Wicked Wicked Ways was republished, and the 1938 film The Adventures of Robin Hood was released on DVD.

The next jump for the name was in 2011, when it got to #51: this was the year after the Disney film Tangled, with the Disney prince Flynn Rider based on Errol Flynn himself, and named in his honour. It was also the same year that model Miranda Kerr chose the name Flynn for her son. The name peaked in 2013 at #32 (the same year that Kerr separated from her husband, British actor Orlando Bloom).

Last year Flynn was #45 nationally, #40 in New South Wales, #38 in Victoria, #34 in Queensland, #40 in Western Australia, #37 in Tasmania, and #42 in the Australian Capital Territory.

Flynn is only popular in Australia and New Zealand – it is #48 and stable across the Tasman. It is #137 in the UK, and has been rising steadily since Tangled and the birth of Flynn Bloom, while in the US it joined the Top 1000 in 2011, and is currently #659 and still rising. It will be interesting to see how it fares in other countries since reaching its peak here.

Flynn is a popular name with a strong Australian connection. Unlike Errol, it has gained a cool Disney namesake and become a celebrity baby name, giving it a significant boost. No longer rising in Australia, Flynn seems to have settled in, perhaps on its way to becoming a modern classic. Handsome, Irish, Australian, on trend, and stable, Flynn seems like a popular yet safe choice.

POLL RESULTS
Errol received an approval rating of 27%. 53% of people weren’t keen on Errol, and 8% loved it.

Flynn did much better, receiving an excellent approval rating of 82%, making it one of the top-rated names of 2015. 44% of people thought Flynn was a good name, while only 4% thought it was a terrible one.

Popular Here, There and Everywhere: Baby Names That Travel Well

07 Sunday Sep 2014

Posted by A.O. in Naming Issues

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Arabic names, Behind the Name, Essential Baby, famous namesakes, international name trends, Nancy's Baby Names, popular names, Russian names, short forms, Turkish names

images

Happy Father’s Day! Because dads mean the world to us, today we’ll be looking at names that are popular in many parts of the world.

While some people shy away from popular names, there’s a lot to be said for having a name that is familiar in many countries. It makes travel and working overseas that little bit easier, and if you have a particular cultural background, it’s nice to know relatives in your country of origin will be easily able to understand your child’s name. Even if your child never leaves Australia’s shores, it’s a global village, and they will most likely meet, study, and work with people who have come here from other countries.

To me, a name with high international recognition needed to be popular in as many regions as possible, so that as a mimimum, it needed to be Top 100 in the English-speaking countries of Australia, New Zealand, England/Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada, and the USA. It also needed to be popular in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Northern Europe (Scandinavia).

I’ve included common and popular international variants of names, as long as I thought an English-speaker could easily identify them, and short forms as well. You need to remember that even in cases where the name is spelled identically, it probably won’t be said in exactly the same way, but most people are fine with that. In many countries, my name is said AHN-ah, rather than AN-a, and to me this is not only perfectly comprehensible, but makes my name sound warmer and more exotic.

International name data came from Behind the Name, Essential Baby, and Nancy’s Baby Names.

BOYS

Alexander/Alexandar/Aleksander
I have treated these variants as the same name, because certain countries regard them so in their popularity charts. This means that Alexander is popular in the English-speaking world, as well as in Western Europe, including Austria and the Netherlands. It is a favourite in Eastern Europe, solidly popular across most of Scandinavia, and a familiar name in South America. Alexander is Top 10 in Belarus, Bulgaria, Germany, Iceland, Malta, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, and the USA, and most popular in Russia, where it is #2. So far so good, but what makes Alexander such an international winner is the widespread popularity of its short forms and variants. Just look at Alex, which is popular in Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, England/Wales, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Slovenia, South America, Spain, and Sweden, and Top 10 in Armenia and Catalonia, while Xander is popular in Belgium. Alejandro is popular in Catalonia and South America, and Top 10 in Spain. Alexandre is popular in Belgium and France, and Alessandro Top 10 in Italy and Switzerland. Further east, Alexandru is Top 10 in Moldova, while Iskander and Eskandar are familiar names in Iran and Arabic countries. Credit Alexander the Great, who conquered the known world more than 2000 years ago, and whose name is famous in both east and west.

Daniel
As well as being popular in the English-speaking world, all-rounder Daniel is popular right across Europe, where it performs well in Eastern Europe, and is Top 100 in every Scandinavian country. It’s also a popular name in South America. Daniel is Top 10 in Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Moldova, Northern Ireland, Russia, Scotland, South America, and the USA, and is the #1 name in Spain. Short form Danny is popular in Ireland and Northern Ireland, Danijel is popular in Croatia, while Daniil, the Russian form, is Top 10 in Belarus.

David
David is popular in the English-speaking world, and widely across Western Europe, including Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. It also does well in Eastern Europe, and is popular in two Scandinavian countries, Norway and Sweden. Furthermore, it is a popular name in South America. David is Top 10 in Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Spain, and Switzerland, and most popular in Moldova and Brazil, making #2 in two hemispheres. When it comes to international variants, Dawid is popular in Poland, Davide is Top 10 in Italy, while Davit is the #1 name in Armenia.

Adam
Being the oldest name in the Book does give you widespread recognisability, which is why you can find Adam fairly evenly through the English-speaking world, and in many countries of Western, Eastern, and Northern Europe. Adam is Top 10 in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Ireland, and is most popular in Malaysia at #3. The Turkish form Adem is popular in Turkey, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Samuel
Samuel is popular in the English-speaking, and widely across Western Europe, including Austria, France, Malta, the Netherlands, and Spain. In Eastern Europe it’s popular in the Cezch Republic and Hungary, while in Scandinavia Samuel is popular in Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Samuel is Top 10 in New Zealand and South America as a whole, and most popular in Canada, where it is #5. Short form Sam is popular in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Sweden. Of its international variants, Samuele is Top 10 in Switzerland, and Samvel is Top 10 in Armenia.

Runners-up: Benjamin, Oliver, and Liam.

GIRLS

Sophia/Sofia
I have treated Sophia and Sofia as one name, since several countries do so when calculating their most popular names – including Australia. Sophia/Sofia is the queen of international names; poular around the globe, and familiar in a host of countries. As well as the English-speaking world, it is popular right across Europe, the whole of South America, and in Malaysia as well. Sophia/Sofia is a Top 10 name in Australia, Canada, Chile, Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Moldova, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland, and is the #1 name in Brazil, Denmark, Italy, Latvia, Russia, South America as a whole, and the USA. Furthermore, it has several international variants, such as Zsofia, which is Top 10 in Hungary, and Zofia, which is Top 10 in Poland. It sounds similar to the unrelated Arabic name Saafiya, giving it a very high recognition factor.

Emma
Emma is popular in the English-speaking world, and across the whole of Europe, including France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. It charts in several Eastern European countries and is Top 100 in every part of Scandinavia. It is also highly popular in South America. Emma is Top 10 in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Malta, South America as a whole, and the USA, and is # 1 in Belgium, Finland, France, Norway, and Switzerland. Its international variant Ema, often pronounced exactly the same way as Emma, is popular in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Czech Republic, and Top 10 in Croatia and Slovenia.

Anna
Popular in the English-speaking world, and in Western Europe, where it charts in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain. Anna also does well in Scandinavia, and is a particular favourite in Eastern Europe. Top 10 in Armenia, Belarus, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, and Russia, it makes #1 in Austria. The international variant Ana is popular in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Catalonia, Spain, and South America as a whole, and is Top 10 in Croatia and Slovenia. The many international variants and pet forms give this a high recognition factor, and there are several similar-sounding names in Arabic and Asian languages as well.

Ella
Ella is popular in the English-speaking world, and in Europe, including Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Demark. It is Top 10 in Canada, Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, and Sweden, and #1 in Malta. The similar Ela, often pronounced the same way, is popular in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia, as well in Turkey, where it means “hazel-coloured, honey-brown”.

Eva
Eva is popular in the English-speaking world, and in several European countries, including Austria, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Croatia, Iceland, and Norway. It is a Top 10 name in Northern Ireland and Switzerland, and most popular in Slovenia, at #2.

Runners-up: Mia, Olivia, and Sarah/Sara

Looking at the names, you can see certain themes at work. The big tip to finding an internationally popular girls name seems to be something short and simple that is easily pronounced in a variety of languages and accents. For boys’ names, the Bible is a unifying factor. In her recent interview at Baby Names from the Bible, Clare noted that one of the appealing things about biblical names is that so many people around the world share in a tradition of names handed down for thousands of years.

POLL RESULTS: People’s favourite international names were Alexander and Anna. Alexander received more than 50% of the vote, while Anna received more than 30% of the vote.

Famous Name: Gallipoli

24 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by A.O. in Famous Names

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Anzac Day names, controversial names, Greek names, historical records, locational names, middle names, military events, name history, name meaning, names of battlefields, Turkish names

anzac-cove-gallipoli-photo_1343753-770tallGallipoli is a peninsula in Turkey, where the Gallipoli campaign took place between April 25 1915 and January 9 1916 during the First World War. The Australian and New Zealand forces, the Anzacs, landed at dawn at what is now known as Anzac Cove on April 25. The Turkish forces, the Ottomans, defended their territory with a fierce determination, but by evening, the Anzacs had managed to hold a tiny triangle of land about 2 km long and 1 km wide, which they called Anzac.

In his memoir, A Fortunate Life, Albert Facey described his experience of landing at Anzac Cove:

Suddenly all hell broke loose … bullets were thumping into us in the rowing boat. Men were being hit and killed all around me … The boat touched bottom some thirty yards from the shore so we had to jump out and wade in to the beach … The Turks had machine guns sweeping the strip of beach where we landed – there were many dead already when we got there. Bodies of men who had reached the beach ahead of us were lying all along the beach and wounded men were screaming for help. We couldn’t stop for them – the Turkish fire was terrible and mowing into us … we all ran for our lives over the strip of beach.

The Ottomans fought bravely, but there too few of them to drive the Anzacs back into the sea. The commander Mustafa Kemal issued this order to the 57th Infantry Regiment:

I do not order you to fight, I order you to die. In the time which passes until we die, other troops and commanders can come forward and take our places.

They followed their orders. The entire regiment was wiped out by the Anzacs, every man of it either killed, or so badly wounded he could not continue fighting. The modern Turkish army does not have a 57th Regiment, as a mark of respect.

By April 29, the first casualties from Gallipoli reached the Australian hospital near Cairo, in Egypt. Sister Constance Keys of the Australian Nursing Service wrote home:

The greatest number of men we came over with are either killed or wounded. The whole battalion was practically cut to pieces.

The Gallipoli campaign continued for eight more months, with nearly half a million casualties, and more than 100 000 deaths. This includes around 60 000 Turks and 53 000 British and French soldiers, including more than 8500 Australians and 2721 New Zealanders.

In the end, the campaign was a crushing defeat for the Allied forces, and one of the greatest victories for the Turks. It gave them a national identity and fostered their spirit of independence just as much as it did for Australians.

Today there are many cemeteries and war memorials on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Each year on Anzac Day, April 25, commemorative services are held at Gallipoli for the war dead, conducted by Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, Britain and France.

Gallipoli is considered sacred ground to many Australians, consecrated by the blood of those who fell there. Increasingly, it is seen as a place of pilgrimage, with many young people travelling to Gallipoli as a rite of passage.

The Macedonian city of Callipolis was founded in the 5th century BC on the Dardanelles Strait; its name comes from the Greek word kallipolis, meaning “beautiful city”. Also known as Gallipoli, it gives its name to the peninsula it sits on, and its Turkish name is Gelibolu. It is pronounced guh-LIP-uh-lee.

According to Australian historical records the name Gallipoli was given to just two girls during World War I, both of whom died in infancy. I wonder if this name was considered so sacred that it could only be bestowed on those destined for death.

As a middle name, it was given more often, and to equal numbers of males and females. People such as Mercia Gallipoli, Sydney Gallipoli, Brittania Gallipoli and Anzac Gallipoli flourished and increased, and some have only recently left us.

Although place names are becoming increasingly fashionable as baby names, I cannot recommend Gallipoli as a first name. Its extreme rarity, the problems with spelling and pronunciation, and difficulties shortening it to a usable nickname are some of the least problems it faces. In the middle, it seems easier to live with.

To me the main problem with Gallipoli as a first name is its heaviness. It was the scene of battles where many lives were lost, and much blood shed; a place of great suffering and enormous sacrifice. Gallipoli is a place of death – heroic deaths, brave deaths; corpse upon corpse of them. Many dead in the water before they even reached land; many lives given solely to buy others time.

There’s also the uncomfortable fact that we went to Gallipoli as invaders. We invaded someone else’s country, on the orders of another country, and we slaughtered their people. Another uncomfortable fact is that our side lost the campaign, and lost badly. Even more uncomfortably, this hideous loss was a waste of time, resources and life. The Allies achieved nothing from it, and the Turkish people who successfully defended their land were on the losing side of the war.

The name Gallipoli conjures up many emotions. National pride, gratitude for sacrifices made, deep sadness at loss of life, horror at what was endured, anger at the futility of war. And also forgiveness, respect, shared grief, and friendship between nations who were once enemies.

There’s been several quotes in this entry, and I will end with one more, from Turkey’s first president, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, which is now inscribed on a monument at Gallipoli:

Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives… You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours… You, the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.

POLL RESULT: Gallipoli received an approval rating of 15%, making it one of the least favourite names of the year. People had some real problems with the name Gallipoli, seeing it as having too many issues (31%), too weird (28%), too controversial (13%), and too sad (13%). Only 10% thought Gallipoli was usable as a baby name, and nobody thought it was beautiful.

(Photo is of Anzac Cove, Gallipoli)

The People’s Choice of Girl’s Names

16 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Australian Aboriginal names, Biblical names, birth announcements, celebrity baby names, doll names, Dutch names, English idioms, english names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, Finnish names, French names, germanic names, Google, Google searches, hebrew names, Hungarian name popularity, Hungarian names, Indian names, Irish name popularity, Irish names, Japanese names, locational names, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, Native American names, nicknames, Polish name popularity, Polish names, popular culture, royal names, saints names, Sanskrit names, Slavic names, Spanish names, tribal names, Turkish names, UK name popularity, unisex names, US name popularity, Visigothic names, vocabulary names, Welsh names

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

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

Arya

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

Carmel

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

Elodie

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

Kinga

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

Mika

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

Niamh

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

Saskia

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

Seren

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

Tuppence

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

Zaria

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

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

Less Commonly Used Girls Names

03 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 20 Comments

Tags

Abby Sandel, alphanumeric names, Arabic names, Baby Name Wizard, Bonds Baby Search, celebrity baby names, Celtic names, created names, english names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, French names, Greek names, hebrew names, Italian names, locational names, Mer de Noms, modern names, mythological names, name data, name history, name meaning, name popularity, Nameberry, Names from the Dustbin, nicknames, popular culture, pseudonyms, rare names, Scottish names, Semitic names, Shakespearean names, stage names, surname names, The Nameberry Nine, Turkish names, unisex names, vocabulary names

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

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

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

Adeline

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

Allegra

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

Bonnie

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

Cleopatra

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

Elif

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

Harlow

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

Pixie

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

Sippie

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

Torah

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

Zahlia

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

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

Global Girls – More Names from Around the World from the Bonds Baby Search

04 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by A.O. in Baby Contests

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

African names, Arabic names, Australian Aboriginal names, Chinese names, Dutch names, Ethiopian names, Fijian names, Finnish names, French names, German names, Greek names, hebrew names, Igbo Names, Indian names, Iranian names, Italian names, Japanese names, Maori names, Persian names, Polish names, polynesian names, Russian names, scandinavian names, Slavic names, Slovak names, Spanish names, Sri Lankan names, Swahili names, Swedish names, Turkish names, Xhosa names

Akira (Japanese et al)

Amara (Igbo et al)

Amaya (Spanish et al)

Anamaya (Indian)

Annalisa (Italian)

Annika (Swedish)

Anushka (Russian)

Anya (Russian)

Aranya (Indian)

Arya (Indian)

Astrid (Scandinavian)

Ayana (Swahili)

Belen (Spanish)

Catalina (Spanish)

Chalah (Hebrew)

Chava (Hebrew)

Diamalaini (Fijian)

Dika (Scandinavian)

Diya (Arabic)

Eleni (Greek)

Elisa (Spanish etc)

Eliska (Slovak)

Elke (German et al)

Emel (Turkish)

Evanthia (Greek)

Giuliana (Italian)

Grazia (Italian)

Hadassah (Hebrew)

Hanneke (Dutch)

Hawaiki (Maori)

Ilaria (Italian)

Indra (Indian)

Ivona (Slovak etc)

Jamilla (Arabic)

Jana (Slavic et al)

Jara (Slavic et al)

Jaya (Indian)

Jazarah (Ethiopian)

Jedda (Australian Aboriginal)

Jiaya (Chinese?)

Kaisa (Finnish)

Kamilah (Arabic)

Katia (Russian)

Lalita (Indian)

Latika (Indian)

Layal (Arabic)

Leilani (Polynesian)

Lidija (Slovak etc)

Liv (Scandinavian)

Magali (French)

Mannat (Indian)

Manarra (Arabic)

Mariam (Arabic et al)

Marta (Slovak etc)

Matarii (Polynesian)

Mathilda (German et al)

Meila (Dutch etc)

Mereana (Polynesian)

Mija (Finnish)

Mika (Japanese)

Milena (Slavic)

Naava (Hebrew)

Naeema (Arabic)

Nahla (Arabic)

Nalani (Polynesian)

Nataya (Indian)

Ngareta (Maori)

Nicolina (Italian)

Nikisha (Indian)

Nithara (Indian)

Oviya (Indian)

Porjai (Indian)

Raffaella (Italian)

Ru (Chinese)

Safia (Arabic)

Sakura (Japanese)

Samala (Hebrew)

Samara (Arabic et al)

Sana (Arabic et al)

Soraya (Persian)

Stefania (Italian etc)

Tamika (Indian)

Tarla (Indian)

Tatiana (Russian)

Thandiwe (Xhosa)

Thinuki (Sri Lankan)

Vanya (Russian – usually male)

Yianna (Greek)

Zaneta (Spanish)

Zari (Persian et al)

Zofia (Polish)

Multicultural Men – Boys Names from Around the World from the Bonds Baby Search

04 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by A.O. in Baby Contests

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Afghan names, African names, Albanian names, Arabic names, Armenian names, Chinese names, Dutch names, Ethiopian names, Filipino names, Finnish names, French names, German names, Greek names, hebrew names, Igbo Names, Iranian names, Italian names, Japanese names, Lithuanian names, Macedonian names, Maori names, Persian names, polynesian names, Portuguese names, Russian names, scandinavian names, Spanish names, Swahili names, Swedish names, Turkish names

Aasil (Arabic)

Adnan (Arabic)

Adriano (Italian)

Akil (Arabic)

Alakai (Polynesian)

Aleksandr (Russian)

Amon (Hebrew)

Andre (French etc)

Andrei (Russian)

Anuj (Indian)

Aras (Lithuanian)

Ardem (Armenian)

Bavneet (Indian)

Benito (Italian)

Cihan (Turkish)

Chinedu (Igbo)

Dardan (Albanian)

Didyme (Greek)

Diego (Spanish)

Dimitri (Russian)

Djaali (Arabic)

Domenico (Italian)

El’Amein (Arabic)

Emil (German etc)

Emir (Arabic)

Eshaan (Arabic)

Eyob (Ethiopian)

Fuakava (Polynesian)

Gian (Italian)

Giorgio (Italian)

Giovanni (Italian)

Giuseppe (Italian)

Hamza (Arabic)

Hang (Chinese)

Heemi (Maori)

Henri (French)

Horomona (Maori)

Hussein (Arabic)

Ioannis (Greek)

Ishan (Indian)

Jabari (Swahili)

Jad (Arabic)

Jalal (Arabic)

Jin (Chinese)

Josef (German etc)

Kaan (Turkish)

Kalani (Polynesian)

Kareem (Arabic)

Kelepi (Polynesian)

Keoni (Polynesian)

Khamesa (Arabic)

Khan (Arabic)

Kheez (Arabic)

Khrishwin (Indian)

Kingi (Maori)

Kiva (Hebrew)

Koa (Polynesian)

Koray (Turkish)

Leonardo (Italian)

Levent (Turkish)

Lorenzo (Italian)

Lui (Polynesian)

Malik (Arabic)

Marcello (Italian)

Markell (German)

Massimo (Italian)

Mateo (Polynesian)

Matheos (Greek)

Matias (Finnish et al)

Michelangelo (Italian)

Mikail (Russian)

Mirza (Persian et al)

Nakoa (Polynesian)

Namish (Indian)

Naseem (Arabic)

Navrin (Indian)

Ngarani (Maori)

Niketas (Russian)

Nikita (Russian etc)

Nikolai (Russian etc)

Omar (Arabic)

Panagiotis (Greek)

Panayioti (Greek)

Paolo (Italian)

Pieter (Dutch etc)

Qiyamah (Arabic)

Rastin (Afghan)

Rauna (Polynesian?)

Ren (Japanese)

Riwai (Maori)

Rocco (Italian)

Ronin (Japanese)

Saalih (Arabic)

Sahar (Arabic)

Sahib (Indian)

Sahil (Indian)

Sanchay (Indian)

Sebatian (Filipino)

Shaunak (Indian)

Sobhi (Arabic)

Soltan (Persian)

Souvik (Indian)

Stefan (German etc)

Sulo (Swedish)

Taavi (Finnish)

Tariq (Arabic)

Tirso (Spanish)

Tommaso (Italian)

Toren (Dutch et al)

Trifun (Macedonian)

Vasco (Portuguese)

Vincenzo (Italian)

Walid (Arabic)

Yianni (Greek)

Zamzam (Arabic)

Zaya (Arabic)

Zayd (Arabic)

Zidane (Arabic)

Zied (Arabic)

Girls Names from Songs

06 Sunday Mar 2011

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 39 Comments

Tags

American names, aristocratic names, Australian slang terms, British name trends, created names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, food names, French names, fruit names, gemstone names, germanic names, Hawaiian names, hebrew names, Latin names, name history, name meaning, name trends, names from films, names from songs, nature names, nicknames, Old Norse names, patriotic names, plant names, polynesian names, popular names, retro names, royal names, saints names, scandinavian names, Turkish names, UK name popularity, unisex names, vintage names, Yiddish slang


This list was first published on March 6 2011, and substantially revised and updated on March 12 2015.

Astrid
Goodbye (Astrid Goodbye) was a 1979 single for popular rock band Cold Chisel, written as an energetic set finisher. Songwriter Don Walker didn’t know anyone named Astrid, and thinks he probably heard of the name because of Bill Wyman’s partner, Astrid Lundstrom. Astrid is the modern form of Ástríðr, an Old Norse name which can be translated as “beloved of God”, or more freely as “divine beauty”. A traditional name amongst Scandinavian royalty since medieval times, it was the name of Canute the Great’s sister, giving it a slender English connection. It became well known in the English-speaking world because of popular Swedish children’s novelist Astrid Lindgren, the author of the Pippi Longstocking books, and has received fresh attention from Astrid Hofferson in the film How to Train Your Dragon. The name is often understood as being related to the word “star”, because it sounds like the Greek aster, which was exploited in a Dr Who special where Kylie Minogue played star-loving Astrid Peth. This attractive name is currently around the 500s.

Ayla
Ayla was a 1987 single for New Wave duo Flash and the Pan, comprised of music industry powerhouses and ex-Easybeats, Harry Vanda and George Young. The name Ayla has several possible origins. It can be a variant of the Hebrew name Elah, meaning “terebinth tree”, pronounced eh-LAH, or a Turkish name meaning “halo of light around the moon”, and often translated as “moonlight”. In Turkey, it is pronounced to sound like the name Isla. The name Ayla was also used for a beautiful, inventive, and spiritually gifted palaeolithic superwoman in the popular Earth Children  novel series by Jean M. Auel. In the books, Ayla is a Neanderthal attempt at the character’s real name, which isn’t given, but much longer; it is said like Kayla without the K. The name Ayla first joined the US Top 1000 in 1987, a year after Auel’s Clan of the Cave Bear was made into a film, starring Daryl Hannah. Despite being a flop, it seems to have catapulted Ayla to #593, and to have helped inspire the Flash and the Pan song. In Australia, Ayla joined the Top 100 in 2013, fitting in with popular names like Layla and Ava.

Clementine
Col Joye’s 1959 #1 hit single (Rockin’ Rollin’) Clementine is a hip retelling of the folk ballad, My Darling Clementine. In this version, the miner’s daughter Clementine is a jeep-driving “real down chick” who meets up with a “cat from the city” in a jumping joint where she hops, bops, and “digs that crazy rhythm”. Clementine is a French form of Clementina, the feminine form of Clement, from the Latin name Clemens, meaning “merciful, gentle”. Clement is a saint’s name, so Clementine would originally have been given with this in mind, and the name dates to the Middle Ages. It has a rather aristocratic image, with several French princesses named Clémentine, and Sir Winston Churchill’s wife was also called Clementine. A clementine is a small citrus fruit, but that isn’t an issue in Australia, where they are nearly always sold as mandarins. Clementine was quite a popular name in Australia in the 19th century, but has never been in the charts since Federation. There has been renewed interest in the name recently, with the quirky Clementine children’s book series by Sara Pennypacker, Clementine the moral compass in The Walking Dead video game, and free spirit Clementine in the film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Expect to see more of this elegant vintage name in the future.

Evie
Stevie Wright is the former lead singer of legendary 1960s rock band The Easybeats. Australia’s first international pop star, he was the first forced to deal with the pressures of being famous and beautiful at a very young age, and the first to blaze, burn out, and come crashing down in spectacular fashion. Evie is his 1974 rock ballad of young love and new life blossoming, blooming, and then going appallingly wrong, and is the only 11-minute song to become a #1 hit. Evie is a pet form of Eve, or a short form of names like Evelyn. It’s been used as an independent name since the 18th century in America, and may have a Dutch influence. Evie first joined the charts in the early 2000s, after the song was covered by one-off supergroup The Wrights in 2004. It climbed so steeply that it was in the Top 100 by the late 2000s, and was #22 in 2013. It’s even more popular in the UK, so you can see this as part of the British nicknamey trend, as much as a tribute to an Australian classic.

Georgy
The Seekers were a folk group, and the first Australian band to achieve major success in the UK and US. Georgy Girl was the title song to the 1966 British movie of the same name, a Swinging Sixties coming-of-age tale about a naïve, frumpy young girl and her unconventional love affairs. The song went to #1 in Australia, and was The Seekers’ highest-charting single in the US, where it got to #2 and was used to advertise mineral water. Georgy can be used as a pet form of either the male name George, or the female names Georgia, Georgette, or Georgiana – the “Georgy Girl”in the song is named Georgina. Although Georgy has a long history of use for both sexes, it is far less common that the variant Georgie, which has charted for girls since the 1990s and is rising steeply in the 200s.

Leilani
Leilani, released 1982, was the début single by quirky rock group Le Hoodoo Gurus (later Hoodoo Gurus). The song’s narrative is loosely based on the plot of 1951 B-grade movie Bird of Paradise, and combines an exotic South Pacific setting with an oddly suburban mindset, and a fun faux-Polynesian chorus filled with Australian place names. Leilani is a Hawaiian name meaning “heavenly garland of flowers”, but often understood as “heavenly child”, pronounced lay-LAH-nee. It fits in with the trend for L-l names, such as Lillian, and is currently around the 300s. A very pretty Polynesian heritage choice which has the fashionable nickname Lani.

Matilda
Waltzing Matilda was written by Banjo Paterson in 1895. The Matilda in the song isn’t a dancing girl, but is what swagmen called the bundle that they carried; to “waltz Matilda” is to walk while carrying a bundle. It is said that the swagman in the song was a real person called Samuel Hoffmeister who was involved in the Shearer’s Strike of that year, so it’s a political protest song (unintentionally). Waltzing Matilda is our unofficial national song and the lyrics are written on every Australian passport. Matilda is a Germanic name meaning “mighty in battle”. A traditional name amongst European royalty, it was literally brought over with the Conqueror to England, as it was the name of William I’s wife, the mother of William II and Henry I. Her grand-daughter was named after her, and she was married to a Holy Roman Emperor, so was the Empress Matilda. She tried to claim the throne of England as her father’s heir, but was never crowned queen, being named Lady of the English – her son instead became King Henry II. Saint Matilda was a medieval German queen whose son became a Holy Roman Emperor; she is the patron saint of large families. Matilda was #144 in the 1900s, and disappeared from the charts in the 1930s. It made a comeback in the 1980s, after Matilda the Kangaroo was chosen as the mascot for the 1982 Commonwealth Games, held in Brisbane and won by Australia. Matilda joined the Top 100 in the early 2000s, peaked in 2009 at #16, and by 2013 had only fallen to #18. A patriotic retro name choice that is extremely stable in the charts.

Rosie
Founded by the brothers of one of the Easybeats, AC/DC is Australia’s most successful rock band, and one of the most successful world-wide. Whole Lotta Rosie is their cheeky 1978 single, allegedly based on Bon Scott’s real life encounter with an obese Tasmanian woman. Rosie is a pet form of Rose which has a long history as an independent name; it can be used as a short form of any Rose- name, such as Rosalie, Rosamund, Rosetta, or Rosemary. Rosie was #229 in the 1900s, and left the charts in the 1930s. It made a come-back in the 1980s, reaching #749 and climbing steeply. It was in the mid-100s in Victoria in 2012. A sweet, fresh-faced retro name that is already Top 100 in Britain.

Ruby
Ruby Wednesday is an early song by rock band Eskimo Joe, released in 1999. A whimsical re-take on the Rolling Stones’ Ruby Tuesday, it made the Triple J Hottest 100 the year it came out. Ruby is a precious gemstone, whose name comes from the Latin for “red”. It’s been used as a girl’s name since the 17th century, but became popular in the 19th, when gemstone names became fashionable. Ruby was #21 in the 1900s, and had left the Top 100 by the 1930s. It disappeared from the charts in the 1950s, but came back in the 1980s at #548. It reached the Top 100 in 1996, peaked at #1 in 2012, and and by 2013 was #2. A spunky retro choice which has already reached maximum popularity, and is therefore expected to gradually fall.

Sadie
Sadie (The Cleaning Lady) was a 1967 novelty song and the first solo single for pop idol Johnny Farnham; it hit #1 and was the biggest-selling single by an Australian artist in the 1960s. Sadie is a pet form of Sarah, which seems to have originated in 18th century America. The name gained an especially Jewish image in 19th century England, where in Yiddish slang, a Sadie was a low status Jewish girl, sometimes with connotations of prostitution. It’s interesting how often Sadie is linked with that profession, such as Sadie Thompson in the W. Somerset Maughan’s Rain, while The Beatles’ Sadie adds another “sexy” image to the name. Sadie was #145 in the 1900s, and left the charts in the 1940s. It returned in the late 2000s at #566, and in Victoria is in the mid-100s, a similar popularity to that in the UK, while it is already a Top 100 name in the US. This sassy retro name looks set to go places.

POLL RESULTS
People’s favourite names were Evie, Matilda, and Clementine, and their least favourite were Ayla, Leilani, and Georgy.

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