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Famous Name: Esme

21 Wednesday Sep 2016

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mollyfink1

Famous Namesake
Last week it was the 122nd birthday of Esme Fink, born on September 15 1894, and known as “Molly” from her middle name, Mary. She was an attractive blue-eyed blonde with a charming, fun-loving personality, and came from a respectable Melbourne family who had fallen on hard times, so her mother was desperate for Esme to meet an eligible bachelor as soon as possible.

While staying in Sydney, Esme caught the eye of of a middle aged Indian rajah who was there for the races and had become part of Sydney’s elite. His name was Martanda Bhairava Tondaiman, and he was the ruler of the princely state of Pudukkottai in British India, today in southern India. Martanda was smitten with Esme, and after a few months proposed marriage.

The happy couple wed almost immediately, and after being sneered at in the Australian press, travelled to India. Right from the start the British authorities were hostile to Martanda’s choice of bride. They had already warned him that a “mixed marriage” would not be formally recognised, and King George V decided that Molly Fink was a dreadful name. The final straw came when Esme became pregnant, and a poisoning attempt was made on her.

Esme and Martanda returned to Australia, where their son Martanda Sydney was born; Martanda became known in racing circles, and Esme as a socialite. They left Australia for London in order to demand recognition of their marriage, but when it became obvious their son would never be acknowledged, Martanda abdicated in exchange for substantial financial compensation.

Esme and Martanda settled in Cannes, where Esme’s friends included the photographer Cecil Beaton, and hostess Elsa Maxwell. Esme loved fashion, and was the first person to ever buy a Schiaparelli evening dress; she known for her extravagance, and eccentricities such as taking a pet tortoise for walkies while dressed to kill.

After her husband’s unexpected death, the Aga Khan proposed marriage to her, but she turned him down in order to live the high life independently. When World War II broke out she travelled to New York with Cecil Beaton and Anita Loos, and with her money frozen because of the war, worked illegally in a department store to make ends meet, while raising funds for Australian and Canadian servicemen.

She was estranged from her son after he was imprisoned for jewel theft, and as her funds dwindled became something of a recluse, taking comfort in alcohol and her Pekingese dogs. She died in 1967, leaving her extensive wardrobe to the Fashion Museum in Bath.

Name Information
Esme is the Anglicised form of Esmé, derived from the Old French word esmer, meaning “esteem, respect, love”, and pronounced EZ-may. It was first given to Esmé Stewart 1st Duke of Lennox, a cousin of King James VII, born in 1542; his mother was French. The name was used for eldest sons in his family for a few generations (the chain was broken after one of the Esmés died young, after which the name wasn’t used again by the family).

Esmé as a boy’s name never really took off, even in Scotland, and by the 19th century Esme was becoming better known as an English name given to girls, although still in some use for boys by the aristocracy, especially those with ties to Scotland.

The reason for its gender switch could have been because it sounds like a cross between Esther and May, or perhaps it became conflated with Ismay, a medieval English girl’s name thought to be derived from the Germanic name Ismagin, meaning “iron strength”. It is better known as a surname (the owner of the doomed Titanic was J. Bruce Ismay), and the surname Esmay is a variant. Ismay and Esme both came into use around the same time in the modern era, and at one time Ismay was usually given to boys – both names became more commonly feminine in the 19th century.

Another possible blow to the name Esmé remaining masculine was the scandalous 1894 novel The Green Carnation, published anonymously but written by Robert Hichens. The lead characters in the novel were Esmé Amarinth and Lord Reginald Hastings, closely modelled on real life lovers Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas. An instant success in both Britain and the US, its readers were shocked and titillated, and a reviewer described it as “impudent … bold … delicious”.

The book had to be withdrawn because it depicted homosexuality, but the damage was done and the novel set the stage for Oscar Wilde’s public disgrace and downfall. The Green Carnation was one of the works used by the prosecution in the case against Oscar Wilde for gross indecency, which saw him sentenced to two years hard labour. Use of the name Esme for boys became extremely rare after the late 19th century, and I can’t help wondering if the book helped cement the idea that the name was not only feminine, but effeminate on a man.

The name Esme has been used several times in literature, quite apart from this scandalising roman-à-clef. J.D. Salinger wrote a short story called For Esmé – with Love and Squalor; Esmé is an orphaned English teenager who befriends an American soldier. The name is referenced in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, which has a nasty piece of work named Esmé Squalor.

Another villainess is mutant Esme Cuckoo in Marvel’s X-Men series, while powerful witch Esmerelda “Esme” Weatherwax in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld  fantasy series is a force for good. In Saki’s darkly comic 1911 short story Esmé, the title character is an animal and the person who bestows the name does not know its sex, so chooses Esmé as suitable for either male or female. Knowing Saki, it’s hard not to wonder if The Green Carnation helped inspire the choice of name.

More recently the name has featured in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, as Esme Cullen is the gentle, caring vampire den mother. Her name is half the basis for her granddaughter’s name, Renesmee.

Esme was #139 in the 1900s, and peaked in the 1910s at #120 – the same period Esme Fink was in the papers as a society beauty and putative rani. Esme left the charts in the 1950s. Since then it has made a mild come-back, and is around the 600s.

In the UK Esme did not make the Top 200 during the 19th century. However, it has been rising steadily since the late 1990s, and joined the Top 100 in 2008. It is currently #38 and still going strong. One influence on the name may be the British model, DJ and actress Esmé Bianco, who played Ros in Game of Thrones. The name is popular in Scotland, at #57.

Esme doesn’t have a strong history of use in the US, and only joined the Top 1000 in 2010, two years after the first Twilight movie. Numbers have risen, and it is currently #682.

For many years in Australia this name was associated with gossipy old Esme Watson from A Country Practice, but it has been given a new lease of life. It’s a vintage name that feels contemporary and stylish, and by now its masculine origins are long past, although not forgotten. It’s an artistic name with plenty of literary clout, and popular culture has brought it new admirers.

You can spell it Esmé if your state or territory birth registry will allow it (some won’t), but Esme looks neat and pretty, and by now I think nearly everyone knows how to pronounce the name without the aid of an accent. Adding an extra E to spell it Esmée in an attempt to feminise or Frenchify it is redundant, as by now the name already is feminine, and it’s not a French name but a British one.

POLL RESULTS
The name Esme received an approval rating of 82%. People saw the name Esme as intelligent and artistic (20%), pretty or beautiful (20%), classy and elegant (17%), and cute on a little girl but sophisticated on a grown woman (15%). However, 6% saw it as ugly and frumpy.

(Photo is of Esme “Molly” Fink, taken by Cecil Beaton)

Unique Girls Names from the 2015 Birth Notices

11 Sunday Sep 2016

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These are ten names given to girls which I saw only once in the birth announcements of last year. They are not all rare (and some of them are popular in other countries even if uncommon here), but they are at least names you don’t see every day.

Aviva
Feminine form of the modern Hebrew name Aviv, meaning “spring”. The word aviv refers to that time of year when grain crops are ripening, is a month of the Jewish calendar, and well known from Israel’s capital Tel Aviv, meaning “Spring Hill”. The names Aviv and Aviva have also become commonly used in Russian-speaking countries. The American philosopher Noam Chomsky has a daughter named Aviva, who is a historian and activist, and you might have seen Aviva Dreschel on The Real Housewives of New York City. Another TV Aviva was pretty schoolgirl Aviva “Viv” Newton from Home and Away, played by Mouche Phillips back in 1990. Although Aviva is a rare name in Australia, it fits in perfectly with current name trends for girls, and does not look at all out of place next to popular Ava and fashionable Vivian. Despite the name’s origin, I suspect many people will automatically connect it to the Latin viva, meaning “alive”. However, this dovetails nicely with the true meaning, as spring is a season of new life. Avi, Viv, Eva, Evie, and Viva are obvious nicknames – the last one is also a brand of paper towels. Vivka is a traditional Russian pet form.

Clodagh
Modern Irish name taken from the name of the River Clodiagh, which runs through the counties of Tipperary and Waterford. There’s a small river with the same name in Kilkenny, and you can find variations of the name all over Ireland. There’s a River Clydagh in Mayo, a Clady Water in Antrim, and towns with names such as Claudy in Derry and Bunclody in Wexford, at the foot of the River Clody, which is yet another river with basically the same name. The name is derived from the Gaelic for “wash, clean” – baby name sites often tell us that Clodiagh was a goddess of water in Irish mythology, but nothing is known of such a deity, although it’s not implausible. The name is said to have first been bestowed in 1897 on the youngest daughter of John Beresford, 5th Marquess of Waterford, giving the name aristocratic origins. Lady Clodagh married the son of an English earl and wrote memoirs, gaining a wider audience for her name. Clodagh is a popular name in Ireland and Northern Ireland, being in the Top 50 of both countries. Pronounced KLO-da, this is an Irish heritage choice reminiscent of Chloe and Claudia.

Eilidh
Medieval Scottish name. Despite the rather daunting spelling, it is very easy to pronounce – AY-lee. It is usually said to be the Scottish equivalent of Helen, although seems much more likely to be a form of Elionoir (said AY-lee-nuh), the medieval Scottish form of Eleanor, due to the usual medieval mix-up between Eleanor and Ellen. It has also been linked to the Irish name Eileen, the name Evelyn, and so august a source as the Oxford Press suggests it as a Scottish medieval pet form of Elizabeth. Eilidh was a common name during the Middle Ages, but went out of use and was revived in the 20th century so you can see it as both ancient and modern. It’s a popular name in Scotland, and is currently #22. This is a charming Caledonian choice whose sound fits in with familiar names like Ellie, Ayla, Hayley and Kaylee, and due to the competing theories of origin, could be used to honour multiple women at once.

Liv
Norwegian name from the Old Norse hlif, meaning “shelter, protection”. In modern Norwegian, it coincides with the word for “life”. Both these meanings bring to mind the character of Líf from Norse mythology: it is foretold that at the end of the world, she and her male partner Lífþrasir will survive by hiding in the World Tree, and from them will new generations of humans be born (their names can be translated as Life and Life’s Lover). This gives it an irresistible connection to the name Eve. The name Liv became well known in the English-speaking world through the award-winning Norwegian actress Liv Ullman, who starred in several Ingmar Bergman films. The American actress Liv Tyler was named after her – Tyler’s mother saw Liv Ullman on the cover of TV Guide a few months before Liv Tyler was born. The name Liv is popular in Scandinavia, Belgium, and The Netherlands, and doesn’t seem unfamiliar because of popular Olivia. Short and simple with two great meanings, this is a rare but very usable name.

Nadia
Can be a variant of Nadya, a short form of the Slavic name Nadezhda, meaning “hope” (in some Slavic languages, Nadia actually coincides with the word for “hope”). Nadia has an extensive history of use, being used in English-speaking countries, Latin America, Scandinavia, France, Italy and Spain, as well as in Russia and Eastern Europe. Nadia is also an Arabic name, a transliteration of Nadiyyah, which can be translated as “tender, delicate”, or “the caller”, to suggest one who inspires others to a higher cause. Nadia is a popular name in Spain and Portugal, and most popular in Poland, as well as being widely known in the Arabic world. In Australia, Nadia joined the charts in the 1950s at #348; one of the names introduced by post-war immigration. It peaked in the 1980s at #181 and is currently around the 200s or 300s. This is a multicultural choice with two positive meanings that will be familiar almost everywhere.

Rhea
In Greek mythology Rhea was one of the Titans, the daughter of the earth goddess Gaia and sky god Uranus. The sister and wife of Cronus, the god of time, Rhea was the mother of the chief Olympian gods and goddesses. It was she who helped save Zeus from being killed by his father, tricking Cronus by presenting him with a stone wrapped in a blanket instead of a baby god. As such, she was venerated as the mother of the gods, and as a mother goddess and guide of destiny; she is often depicted driving a chariot pulled by two lions. The mother of Romulus and Remus, and the mother of Hercules were both named Rhea after the goddess. The meaning of Rhea’s name is uncertain. It’s traditionally derived either from the Greek word for “ground”, or from “flow, discharge”. Another suggestion is that it comes from the word for “pomegranate”, a fertility symbol. It’s quite possible that the name is pre-Greek and the meaning unrecoverable. Pronounced either REE-uh or RAY-uh, Rhea is an uncommon name but is simple to spell and say, and fits in well with current naming trends (not to mention the fashion for mythological names). It’s also a good multicultural choice, as it sounds like European Ria, used as a short form of names like Maria, and also like the Indian names Riya and Reya.

Serena
Latin name meaning “serene, tranquil”. There is a legendary Saint Serena, said to be the Christian wife of the Emperor Diocletian; Diocletian’s wife was actually Saint Prisca, sometimes called Saint Alexandra just to confuse things further. There was a famous Christian noblewoman named Serena in ancient Rome, married to a high-ranking general and cousin to the emperor. The story goes that she took a necklace from a statue of Rhea Silvia, the legendary mother of Romulus and Remus, and placed it around her own neck. The last Vestal Virgin cursed her for her impiety, and after this Serena was troubled by nightmares about her own death; these dreams proved prophetic when she was falsely accused of conspiring with the Goths and executed. The name Serena first entered the charts in the 1960s at #515; this was the era when Serena was Samantha’s mischievous brunette cousin on Bewitched (played by Elizabeth Montgomery in a wig). The name mostly rose after that, peaking in 2009 at #190: it’s now around the 200s. A popular name in Italy, this is another multicultural choice with a famous namesake in American tennis champ Serena Williams, and numerous fictional namesakes.

Tauriel
Tauriel is a character in The Hobbit movie series by Peter Jackson, played by Evangeline Lilly. She doesn’t appear in the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien but was created for the films by Peter Jackson, Phillipa Boyens, and Fran Walsh. In the films Tauriel is one of the Woodland Elves of Mirkwood; a warrior and head of the elven guard. She’s a rebellious figure, and rather reckless, but shows her softer side through a romantic plot line. The name Tauriel was created for the character from the Sindarin language invented by Tolkien, and is probably best translated as “forest maiden”; it’s said TAWR-ee-el. There’s a real Katniss vibe to this name, as they are names from popular culture, and both Tauriel and Katniss are bold, brave young women who are brilliant with bow and arrows. It feels like a name with a use-by date, but doesn’t seem that strange, as it has the Tori sound from Victoria and the -elle sound ending shared with names like Estelle and Gabrielle.

Ulanni
Variant spelling of Uʻilani or Uilani, a Polynesian name usually translated as “heavenly beauty” or “royal beauty”, which can also be spelled Ulani. It can be pronounced yoo-LAH-nee. Uilani an be given to either sex (there is a male soccer player from Tuvalu called Uilani), but is generally thought of as a female name, and is sometimes a surname as well. To me, Ulanni feels like a more specifically feminine spelling, and this is a pretty heritage choice which comes with the fashionable nickname Lani.

Zaya
Mongolian name meaning “fate, destiny”. It is a Top 10 name for girls in Mongolia, although a famous namesake is Zaya Pandita, a 17th century Mongolian prince who became a Tibetan Buddhist scholar – in his case, the name is a variant of the unisex Indian name Jaya, meaning “victory” in Sanskrit. The name has recently been in the spotlight because of the fantasy film Gods of Egypt, which has a slave girl named Zaya as the love interest, played by Australian model and actress Courtney Eaton. In the film the name is said ZAY-uh, but it can also be pronounced ZY-uh. Zaya is a spunky little name that seems like a fresh alternative to Zara, Zahlia, and other Z names.

POLL RESULTS
People’s favourite names were Liv, Aviva and Eilidh, while their least favourites were Clodagh, Tauriel and Ulanni.

(Picture shows a poster for Gods of Egypt, featuring Zaya)

Waltzing With … Rio

21 Sunday Aug 2016

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Famous City
Today is the final day of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio – can you believe that London was already four years ago? This is the first time the Olympics have been held in South America, the first time the Summer Olympics took place in winter, and only the third time they have been hosted in the Southern Hemisphere. This was the first Olympics that a Refugee Olympic Team took part.

It’s been a rather controversial Olympics (although not as disastrous as the gloomy doomsayers predicted). However Rio has looked beautiful with its views of mountains and beaches, and the famous landmark of Christ the Redeemer overlooking the city and its surrounds. No wonder Rio is one of the most popular cities to visit in the Southern Hemisphere, and why Australian entertainer Peter Allen had to write a song about it!

Congratulations to all the Olympic athletes, and see you all in Tokyo in 2020!

Name Information
The Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro means “River of January” in Portuguese, and received its name because Portuguese explorers first sailed into its bay on January 1 1502, mistakenly believing the harbour was the mouth of a river.

The city itself was founded in 1565, and first called São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro in honour of Saint Sebastian, the patron of the Portuguese monarch. Just as the São Sebastião got dropped, the city is now often known as simply Rio (“River”).

Rio has been used as an English name since the 19th century, although it is not always possible to tell from records whether Rio was the person’s nickname. It was given to both sexes, but mostly to males, and in the US may have been influenced by the great south-western river the Rio Grande, or various places named Rio.

In fiction, guys called Rio tend to be tough and gritty, rebellious and sexy, or even butch and bullying. Female fictional characters named Rio include the heroine of the YA undersea novel Atlantia: in the book, the characters all have names connected with water, so a name meaning “river” makes sense.

Rio is also a popular Japanese girl’s name. It can be translated in a variety of ways, including “white jasmine and cherry blossom”, and “village centre of cherry blossom”. An example of someone with the name is Japanese child star Rio Suzuki. You will find the name used fairly often in anime and manga, and confusingly, sometimes for male characters too – an apparent Anglicisation of the Japanese boy’s name Ryu, meaning “dragon”.

If you tend to think of Rio as a masculine name, it’s probably because in Romance languages an O at the end of a name usually signals it’s male – Rio even looks as if it could be short for Mario. Also, the English name River is more popular for boys, so it makes some kind of sense for Rio to be as well.

If you think of Rio as a feminine name, it might be because you’re an older parent or young grandparent, and you’re thinking of the song Rio by Duran Duran where her name is Rio and she dances on the sand. In the song, the girl’s name is linked to the Rio Grande; the band have said that Rio is a symbol of their love for the United States (originally the girl in the song was called Amy, short for America, but Rio sounded more exotic so Rule of Cool won out).

Rio isn’t an unusual name in the UK. It has charted for boys since the late 1990s, around the time English football star Rio Ferdinand began playing for the national team; he went on to captain his side. The name peaked in 2008 at #155, the year after Rio Ferdinand’s autobiography was published. The name Rio is now #213 for boys, and its popularity has almost certainly been influenced by Mr Ferdinand.

Rio also charts for girls in the UK, and before Rio Ferdinand became well known, was actually more common as a female name. This is a good example of how just one high-profile person can cause a less-common name to do a gender switch. Rio has only been in the Top 500 for girls once, in 1997 – ironically the same year Rio Ferdinand joined the English national side. In 2014, 11 baby girls were given the name Rio in the UK.

Rio is less popular in the US, but more common for boys there as well. In 2015, there were 103 boys named Rio, and 38 girls. Numbers are fairly stable for both genders, but it does seem to be gradually falling for girls, and very slightly rising for boys. I have seen Rio on both sexes in Australia, but more boys than girls.

Whether you think of it as inspired by the city, or the Rio Grande, or simply an exotic nature name, Rio is a cool and spunky name for both boys and girls. It will be interesting to see if this year’s Summer Olympics will help bring about an increase in babies named Rio.

POLL RESULTS
As a boy’s name, Rio received an approval rating of 74%. 38% thought it was okay, and only 9% hated it. It was far less successful as a girl’s name, with an approval rating of 47%. 34% disliked it, and only 9% loved it.

(Picture shows a view of Rio’s harbour from Mount Corcovado)

Waltzing With … Carter

19 Sunday Jun 2016

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Famous Namesake
It’s cold and wet at the moment – just the right weather for curling up with a good book. But what if you want to curl up with a bad book? That’s what pulp fiction is for: cheap, disposable paperbacks that can entertain you for an hour or so.

Australia’s prolific prince of postwar pulp fiction was Carter Brown – the pen name of British-born Alan Yates. He came here during the war, and married an Australian woman he had met on leave. They lived in England for a while, but Alan’s articles and radio scripts kept getting rejected, so they returned to Sydney in 1948.

One of Alan’s jobs was producing the in-flight magazine for Qantas. In the evenings, he wrote a western, and went on to write horror, science fiction, and detective stories. At his publisher’s urging, he wrote his first full-length crime novel, Murder is My Mistress, which came out in 1954. It was so successful that Alan was contracted to become a full-time writer, turning out a novel every month for a weekly income plus royalties.

In the next 30 years, Alan wrote over 200 novels under the pen name Carter Brown, as well as 75 novellas. An individual title could sell up to 200 000 copies, and his total sales were 55 million. His books were second only to the Bible for the number of languages they were translated into.

His detectives included ditzy blonde private investigator Mavis Seidlitz, Hollywood screenwriter Larry Baker and his drunken assistant Boris Slivka, San Francisco lawyer Randy Roberts, and Lt. Al Wheeler, a policeman from fictional Pine County near LA.

The plots had beautiful, dangerous women, plenty of action, a bit of a laugh, and enough sex and violence to keep readers coming back for more. They could expect strippers, starlets, spankings, vampires, ghosts, aliens, witches, Satanists, psychiatrists, sexy Women’s Libbers, deadly yoga instructors, and rampant dwarfs.

There were loads of alliterative titles, like Bullet for My Baby, Honey, Here’s Your Hearse, Darling, You’re Doomed, and Cutie Wins a Corpse. Blondes were a favourite topic, featuring in Blonde Verdict, No Blonde is an Island, Blonde on the Rocks, and Blonde, Beautiful, and – BLAM!

The books were usually set in California, which was what readers expected. Alan hadn’t been to the United States when he first started, so wrote from his imagination, with some comic results. However, this didn’t bother his readership in Australia and Europe, most of whom hadn’t been to America either.

Once his books started being sold in the US in 1958, he did visit America and was able to add more realism. It was also America which fixed his pen name in place: he had sometimes published as Peter Carter Brown or Peter Carter-Brown, but it was felt Carter Brown would do better in the United States. A helpful rumour circulated that Carter Brown was the favourite author of President John F. Kennedy, which boosted sales.

Alan’s life was very different from that of his heroes, as he was a devoted family man who enjoyed a beer and a joke with friends. He spent nearly all his time writing, living in dread of deadlines, and surviving on coffee and Benzedrine to maintain the relentless pace. He dreamed of one day publishing a serious work, a historical novel set in Australia, but there was too much writing to be done.

Alan was no Raymond Chandler, but although he wrote pure pulp, it wasn’t complete trash. He was able to keep readers addicted through constant inventiveness while sticking to the same formula the publisher insisted on, and his humour, puns and literary allusions added sparkle to the text. Some of his works are still in print, and he has a loyal readership among fans of vintage crime fiction.

Alan won his only literary award a dozen years after his death, when he received the Ned Kelly Award for lifelong contribution.

Name Information
Carter is an English occupational surname for someone who transported goods, or who made a living building carts. It’s a very old surname, and may pre-date the Norman Conquest.

There are many people with the surname. Jimmy Carter, former American president; archaeologist Howard Carter who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen; writer Angela Carter; country singer June Carter from The Carter Family, wife of Johnny Cash; Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman; Rubin Carter, the boxer known as “The Hurricane” who later worked to help people wrongfully convicted; and Shawn Carter, the rapper known as Jay Z, married to Beyoncé.

Famous Australian Carters include ornithologist Thomas Carter who found many bird specimens; entomologist Herbert Carter, beetle expert; physicist Brandon Carter, known for his work on black holes; photographer and film-maker Jeff Carter; influential businessman Bruce Carter; and high jumper Doris Carter, the first Australian female track and field athlete to make the Olympic finals.

Carter has been used as a personal name since at least the 17th century, and usually given to males. Famous namesakes include Carter Braxton, one of the signatories to the United States Declaration of Independence, and Carter Woodson, the African-American historian considered to be the father of Black History Month in the US.

An influential fictional character with the surname Carter is John Carter of Mars, an immortal Southern Virginian gentleman created by Edgar Rice Burroughs: practically every sci-fi adventure story since owes a debt to him. There’s also dime novel detective Nick Carter, and mob enforcer Jack Carter, from the cult film Get Carter.

Fictional characters with Carter as a first name include superheroes such as Carter Grayson from the Power Rangers, Carter Hall, otherwise known as the Hawkman, and Carter Slade, the original Ghost Rider. There’s also Carter Kane from Rick Riordan’s Kane Chronicles, a powerful teenage magician and the human host of the Egyptian god Horus.

In the US, Carter has been on the Top 1000 almost continuously for boys since the late 19th century. It has been climbing since 1980, joined the Top 100 for the first time in 2004, and is currently #24.

Carter began charting for girls in 2013, and is currently #533. Two female Carters from popular culture are tomboy Carter Mason in the Disney movie Princess Protection Program, played by Selena Gomez, and rebellious Carter Wilson, on the teen drama series Finding Carter.

In the UK, Carter has been in the Top 500 since the late 1990s and has been generally rising since 1999, rising steadily since 2010. It is currently #118, so not far outside the Top 100. Carter is a popular name in Northern Ireland, and is most popular in New Zealand, where it is #20 and rising. It only charts as a female name in the US.

In Australia, Carter debuted in the Top 100 in 2014, and last year went up 19 places to #79, making it one of the fastest rising names of 2015. Carter debuted at #83 in New South Wales, being one of the fastest rising names in the state, and was #39 in Queensland.

Carter fits right in with the surname trend, as well as with the other rising AR names, like Archer, Arlo, and Harvey. It sounds sleek and tailored, but also rugged and manly – a tough-talking guy who looks good in a suit. Like Carter? Join the club.

POLL RESULTS
Carter received an approval rating of 71%. 42% of people thought it was okay, but only 8% loved it.

Famous Name: Billie

08 Wednesday Jun 2016

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Waltzing With … Dami

15 Sunday May 2016

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Famous Namesake
Yes it’s Eurovision time again! Australia was allowed to compete for a second time in 2016, and we entered popular singer Dami Im. Dami was born in South Korea, and grew up in Brisbane, where she studied music and became a piano teacher; her first public performances were as a gospel singer at Christian youth camps in South Korea.

Fame came for Dami when she won X-Factor Australia in 2013 and received a recording contract. Her self-titled album went platinum after debuting at #1 in the charts, as did the single from the album, Alive. Since then she has released two more albums, the second one going gold, and her albums also chart in South Korea. Apart from her other recognitions, she has been named the cultural ambassador for her home town of Logan City.

Unlike Guy Sebastian, who was given automatic entry into Eurovision as a special guest, Dami had to compete for her position at Stockholm. Would she get through? (nail bite, nail bite). Yes of course – she gave a stunning performance which earned her a standing ovation and thunderous applause from the crowd. Australia thus became one of the countries to win a place in the finals, and was immediately tipped as a strong contender.

In the finals, it looked as if Australia was going to win in a landslide victory, as the juries from each country thought Dami had given the best performance. However, when the televotes from the audience came through there were several upsets: countries given little encouragement from the juries stormed ahead in the audience vote, while some which the juries had judged a solid performance were suddenly flailing.

In the end, the Ukraine’s Jamala won with a haunting political song, while Australia came a close second with Dami Im’s power ballad Sound of Silence. Russia, which was the favourite to win, came in third. Australians were allowed to vote in Eurovision, and as you aren’t allowed to vote for your own country, they mostly voted for Belgium – perhaps influenced by Dami picking it as one of her own favourites in the competition.

There’s been lots of complaints about Australia being allowed to compete, but at the very least we’ve proved we have what it takes to do well at Eurovision without needing special treatment, and can be popular with both juries and audiences.

It’s not known yet whether we will be invited back for Eurovision 2017, but in any case SBS has another card up its sleeve. They now have the rights to produce their own version of Eurovision for the Asia Pacific, and the first one may be launched in Sydney next year. Not coincidentally, China broadcast Eurovision for the first time in 2016.

It’s interesting that the United States also broadcast Eurovision for the first time this year, because Justin Timberlake was selected as a surprise interval act. As that’s how Australia joined the Eurovision glamour train, pundits are wondering if the United States will be the next nation to be invited to compete. Grab your sequins and thicken your skins, would be my advice – it will be a bumpy but fun-filled ride to the finals.

Name Information
Dami is an Anglicised form of the Korean name Da-Mi, meaning “of great beauty, very beautiful”. The name is pronounced DAH-mee – Dami Im’s fan base is called The Dami Army, which makes the pronunciation obvious. By coincidence, dami is also a Korean vocabulary word, a verb meaning “to put in”.

Dami’s name demonstrates the usual pattern for Korean names: a one-syllable family name, and a two-syllable personal name (of course in Korea Dami’s name would be Im Da-Mi). Dami’s surname Im is the equivalent of the English name Forest or Woods, so her name altogether makes for a very attractive image.

Dami is a name that works well cross-culturally because it is used by Europeans as a short form of girl’s names such as Damiana. The name Dami is used in Nigeria for both sexes, short for names such as Damilola, meaning “God has rewarded me”. It also seems familiar to English-speakers as we have similar-sounding girl’s names such as Demi and Dani.

An international name suitable for an Australian woman performing on the world stage!

POLL RESULTS

Dami received an approval rating of 79%, making it one of the highest-rated names of 2016. 36% of people loved the name Dami, while only 4% hated it.

Unisex Names from the WMTM 2015 Name Survey

20 Wednesday Apr 2016

Posted by in Naming Issues

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Boys Names Sometimes Given to Girls
Mason – 36 boys, 1 girl
Hudson – 32 boys, 1 girl
Riley – 28 boys, 3 girls
Aidan/Aiden – 23 boys, 1 girl
Luca/Luka – 20 boys, 2 girls
Beau/Bo – 17 boys, 1 girl
Harvey – 16 boys, 1 girl
Billy – 17 boys, 1 girl
Lenny – 17 boys, 1 girl
Koby – 13 boys, 1 girl
Elliot – 12 boys, 2 girls
Bailey – 11 boys, 2 girls
Spencer – 11 boys, 2 girls
Alex – 10 boys, 2 girls
Dylan – 8 boys, 2 girls
Parker – 7 boys, 2 girls
Jett – 9 boys, 1 girl
Harley – 8 boys, 1 girl
Finlay/Finley – 6 boys, 1 girl
Micah – 6 boys 1 girl
Oakley – 5 boys, 1 girl
Clancy – 4 boys, 1 girl

Girls Names Sometimes Given to Boys
Harper – 41 girls, 1 boy
Madison/Maddison – 41 girls, 1 boy
Marley – 26 girls, 2 boys
Mackenzie – 16 girls, 1 boy
Frankie – 15 girls, 1 boy
Addison – 8 girls, 1 boy
Emerson – 8 girls, 1 boy
Taylor – 7 girls, 2 boys

Unisex Names More Common for Boys
Charlie – 41 boys, 18 girls
Darcy – 13 boys, 9 girls
Jordan – 12 boys, 4 girls
Lleyton/Leighton – 5 boys, 2 girls

Unisex Names More Common for Girls
Remy/Remi – 13 girls, 5 boys
Eden – 10 girls, 3 boys
Asher – 6 girls, 2 boys
Quinn – 4 girls, 2 boys

Unisex Names Fairly Equally to Both Sexes
Brooklyn – 7 girls, 5 boys
Miller – 3 boys, 2 girls
Casey – 3 boys, 2 girls
Henley – 2 boys, 2 girls
Koa – 2 boys, 2 girls
Blair – 2 boys, 1 girl
Reggie – 2 boys, 1 girl
Cory/Corey – 2 girls, 1 boy
Kalani – 2 girls, 1 boy
Shelby – 2 girls, 1 boy
Sloan/Sloane – 2 girls, 1 boy
Vali – 2 girls, 1 boy
Aspen – 1 girl, 1 boy
Briley – 1 boy, 1 girl
Rocket – 1 girl, 1 boy
Tully – 1 girl, 1 boy

This isn’t a complete list of all unisex names. A few of them are taken, not from the data sheet, but from my original notes to reflect spelling variants.

One of the problems as to deciding whether a name is unisex or not is there is often a differently-spelled version for each sex. For example, I did not include Andie and Andy, because only girls were called Andie, and only boys Andy. Does it it make any difference if your daughter Andie Smith is in the same class as a boy named Andy Smith? I would assume it would be equally confusing (or equally straightforward) as a girl Andie and a boy Andie.

You can see why parents of boys are more likely to get upset over unisex names, as it is more common for a girl to be given a name much more popular for boys than the other way around. They may also be cross to discover that Mackenzie and Emerson are classified as girls’ names, because there are significantly more girls than boys with the names. It certainly doesn’t look like a level playing field, although in all fairness surname names are more likely to be used by both sexes, and these are generally more common for boys.

However, there are still genuinely unisex choices (although they nearly always seem to be names that are rare), and the numbers of girls called Mason and boys called Maddison are very low overall. You may also feel that spelling really does matter, and are therefore unconcerned about all the girls called Charlie (for example), as their name may very well be Charli or Charlee.

POLL RESULTS

There was a slight preference for not choosing a unisex name for a child, with 54% saying they probably wouldn’t, or definitely wouldn’t choose a unisex name – 20% actively hated the idea. 31% were fine with the idea of giving a unisex name to either a boy or a girl, with 13% loving the idea. There was very little difference when it came to giving unisex names to one gender and not the other: 8% would only give a unisex name to a girl, and 7% would only give a unisex name to boy.

The public were fairly evenly divided on whether the spelling of a name made a difference when indicating gender in unisex names. 52% though that the spelling made almost no difference, or very little difference, while 48% were sure that spelling was a major signifier of gender, and saw the masculine and feminine versions as completely separate names.

 

Waltzing With … Mars

13 Sunday Mar 2016

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Music legend David Bowie passed away early this year, with fans both grief-stricken and shocked at the news, as he had kept his final illness private. I covered the name Bowie last year because of his touring exhibition, which we now know was his way of saying goodbye.

At the time, there were many tributes to David Bowie taking place, with radio and TV stations taking the opportunity to play his music (my local radio station kept playing Starman non-stop, as if this was the only Bowie record they owned).

My favourite was from Weatherzone, who put out a weather report for the planet Mars, so that we could see what “life on Mars” was actually like.

Having already covered Ziggy and Bowie, there was no choice but to cover the name Mars in the month named after it.

Name Information
In Roman mythology, Mars was the god of war, and second only to Jupiter in importance. He represented military power as a method towards peace, rather than a destructive force, and was a father to and guardian of the Roman people themselves. His worship was central to Roman society, and he was an important symbol of the Roman Empire.

Mars was also an agricultural deity. Masculine, aggressive, and virile by nature, he was equally adept at defending soldiers from attack, and protecting crops. He is described as wild and savage, with a connection to woodlands, and may originally have been a god of the wilderness that needed to be mollified lest he destroy farmland. The animals sacred to Mars were wild ones, like the wolf, bear, and woodpecker, but the list also includes the domestic goose.

In art, Mars was either depicted as a youthful warrior, or as a handsome mature man with a beard, the dignified general who has won many victories. He is often nude or semi-nude to show that he is brave enough to enter battle with little to protect him. Mars is nearly always shown with a helmet and a spear, to symbolise warfare. However, when his military victory brings peace, his spear is draped with laurel.

The origin and meaning of the name Mars has been debated, with no agreement being reached. Two suggestions are that it is related to the Etruscan god Maris, or to the Hindu gods the Marutas, but both sides rubbish the opposing theory. We know that the worship of Mars was very ancient, because one of his hymns was in such archaic language that the Romans could no longer understand it, so it is safe to say that the meaning of the name Mars is lost in antiquity.

More certain are the words derived from Mars, such as martial, meaning “of war”, the month of March, which was sacred to Mars, and names such as Marcus and Martin.

The Romans named the fourth planet from the Sun after Mars: they were not the first to associate the planet with a god of war, which had been traditional ever since the Babylonians. It is speculated that the red colour of Mars brought to mind bloodshed – if so, the ancients were not far wrong, because the iron oxide that gives Mars its distinctive colour is the same thing which makes our blood red.

The planet Mars has captured the human imagination for years, and as soon as we had telescopes able to view the surface of it, we began seeing things. Astronomers thought they could see regular channels on the planet’s surface, which were called canals, and inspired a belief in intelligent life on the planet. Sceptics correctly identified this as an optical illusion caused by using a 19th century telescope which wasn’t good enough – nobody can see the “channels” today using modern instruments.

Astronomers of the 19th and early 20th centuries also thought they might have received radio signals from Mars, and even a mysterious bright light appearing to emanate from the planet was considered to be some sort of message. The idea that there were intelligent Martians, and they wished to contact us, was an idea humans had trouble shaking.

In science fiction, Mars is sometimes a Utopia, and sometimes a source of menace (most notably in H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds). It is often a place of adventure and exploration, such as in the John Carter stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Later on, when it was accepted that Mars was uninhabited, sci-fi focused on the possibility of Mars becoming colonised by Earth, so that the Martian population was actually human.

Mars has been used as an English name since the 18th century. When director Spike Lee chose the name Mars for his character in She’s Gotta Have It, he took it from his own family history – Mars was the name of his great-great-grandfather, a freed slave and successful farmer. Mars was the kind of mythological name often given to slaves in America, but records show both white and black people with the name Mars.

In some cases it may not necessarily have been inspired by the god or the planet. Mars is also an English surname, a variant of Marsh: it’s most famous from Frank Mars who developed the chocolate Mars bar, which is still owned by the Mars family. The singer Bruno Mars (born Peter Hernandez) took his stage name as a symbol of being “different”. The name Mars has been more commonly used in Scandinavia and Central Europe, a variant or contraction of the name Marius.

Despite the ultra-masculine vibe of the god Mars (the symbol for the planet ♂ is the same as the one for male), Mars was sometimes given to girls, right from the start. Perhaps the surname was more influential, although girls are also given Mars-type names, such as Martina and Marcella – Mars even looks as if it might be short for Marsia or Marsha.

Recently two American celebrities have given Mars publicity as a girl’s name. Singer Erykah Badu welcomed a daughter named Mars in 2009, and comedian Blake Anderson in 2014. Two pop culture aids to seeing this as a girl’s name are TV girl detective Veronica Mars, and Sailor Mars from the Sailor Moon anime series (in the show, Sailor Mars is named after the planet and associated with fire and passion, as the planet Mars is in Japanese culture).

This is, and has always been, a rare name. In the US in 2014, 34 boys were given the name Mars, and less than 5 girls (we know there must have been at least one!). In the UK Mars does not show up in the data at all as a baby name.

Mars is an out of this world baby name, but it has millenia of history, taking in a god of protection and a red planet that has loomed in our imagination since time immemorial. Granted, there’s some teasing potential due to the Mars bar, and the fact your child would literally be a Martian, but there could be life in this name yet (in the middle for those worried about the curiosity factor). At least Mars is distinctive and will be easy to recall. Totally.

POLL RESULTS

Mars received an approval rating of 57%. 31% of people thought it was okay, although only 6% actually loved the name.

Cyclone Names for Boys

06 Sunday Mar 2016

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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Dominic
There was a Cyclone Dominic in 1982 and another in 2009; both were quite severe and did significant damage. Dominic is from the Latin name Dominicus, meaning “of the Lord”, and often translated as “belonging to God”. It began as a specifically Christian name, and there are several saints named Dominic. The most famous is the medieval Spanish priest who founded the Dominican Order; he was named after St Dominic of Silos, who answered the prayer of the second St Dominic’s mother that she might become pregnant. As part of that joking folk etymology that religion is so fond of, the Dominicans are said to be named from the Latin for “dog of God” (Domini canis), as a sign of St Dominic’s dogged faithfulness. Dominic has charted since the 1950s, when it debuted at #236. It reached the Top 100 in the 1990s, and has mostly stayed around the bottom quarter of the Top 100, or fallen just below it. Currently it is #88. This is a sleekly handsome modern classic that’s never been highly popular, and comes with the nicknames Dom, Nic, or Nico.

Iggy
Cyclone Iggy was off the coast of Western Australia in 2012: grave fears were held as its power intensified, but by the time it made landfall it had waned considerably. Iggy is traditionally used as a short form of Ignatius, but rocker Iggy Pop (born James Osterberg) took his stage name from his high school band, The Iguanas. Another musical Iggy is Australian rapper Iggy Azalea (born Amethyst Kelly): her stage name Iggy is from her childhood dog, possibly named after Mr Pop. In the Maximum Ride YA series by James Patterson, Iggy is an extremely handsome blind boy whose real name is James Griffiths. This name might feel like “nickname only” territory, but a few people have Iggy as their full legal name. While Ignatius is elegant, Iggy is in-your-face cyberpunk nuttiness, and will appeal to parents wanting something fun and different.

Marcus
Marcus is on the current list of cyclone names. Marcus is a Roman name believed to be derived from Mars, the Roman god of war, and was one of the most popular names in ancient Rome. Famous Romans with the name include the general Marcus Antonius, otherwise known as Mark Antony; the emperor Marcus Aurelius; Marcus Junius Brutus, usually known to us as Brutus, the assassin of Julius Caesar; and the philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero. Marcus has been used as an English name since the Middle Ages, but widely used on the Continent and in Latin America as well. It’s currently popular in Scandinavia, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Marcus is a classic name which has been almost continuously on the charts. It was #190 in the 1900s, and fell to nothing during the 1930s. After that it continued growing and made the Top 100 by the 1970s. Popularity dipped, but it was back again in the 1990s, and peaked at #51 in 2003. It is currently #82. A popular classic never higher than the bottom half of the Top 100, Marcus combines historical gravitas with European style.

Miles
Cyclone Miles was off the coast of Queensland in 1977. Miles is the English form of the Germanic name Milo, whose meaning is unclear. It may be from an ancient Germanic word meaning “mild”, but it has been argued that it is related to those Slavic names meaning “dear, gracious”, such as Mila and Milan. From early on, folk etymology connected it to the Latin word miles, meaning soldier – in Roman comedies, a foolish stock character was Miles Gloriosus, meaning “bragging soldier”. The name has been in use since the Middle Ages, introduced by the Normans, and is often thought of as rather aristocratic. A famous namesake is Miles Coverdale, who was the first person to translate the Bible into English in 1535. Miles has charted since the 1950s, when jazz legend Miles Davis gave the name an injection of cool; it debuted at #323. Since then, the name has increased in popularity, but never become popular, so this is an underused modern classic. It’s around the 100s currently. Rising in both the US and UK, this is a hip choice with a smooth sound.

Oswald
Cyclone Oswald hit Queensland and New South Wales in 2013, causing widespread storms and floods. A natural disaster was declared, and due to the severity of the cyclone, the name Oswald has now been retired. Oswald is an Old English name meaning “godly ruler, divine ruler”. There are two English saints named Oswald; Oswald of Northumbria was an Anglo-Saxon king, and the most powerful ruler in Britain during his time. The name Oswald became less common after the Middle Ages, but was revived in the 19th century as part of the Victorian fascination with ancient British names. Oswald was #75 in the 1900s and left the Top 100 in the 1920s. It left the charts in the 1940s and had unfortunate wartime namesakes – Nazi officer Oswald Pohl, who oversaw the concentration camps, and British Fascist, Sir Oswald Moseley, a friend of Adolf Hitler. In fiction, Oswalds are usually villains or comic characters, but Oswald Bastable from the Treasure Seeker series by E. Nesbit has been claimed as a revolutionary hero name in the Nomad of Time Streams works of Michael Moorcock, and the name is sometimes used in sci fi. A bold vintage choice with a steam punk vibe.

Paddy
Cyclone Paddy was near Cocos Island in May 1981, extremely late in the season. Paddy is an Irish nickname for the name Patrick, or its Irish forms Padraig and Padraic. It was once so commonly used that Paddy became a derogatory term for any Irishman. With such strong immigration from Ireland, the name has a long history in Australia with several famous namesakes, with Paddy either short for Patrick, their full name, or a nickname unrelated to their name. Some examples are: Paddy Hannan, the gold prospector who set off the gold rush in Kalgoorlie; Indigenous artist Paddy Bedford; colourful politician Paddy Crick; Aboriginal elder Paddy Roe; and pioneering bushwalker Paddy Pallin, who founded the chain of outdoor equipment stores. Paddy is also occasionally used as a girl’s name, a variant of Patty; an example is Australian author Paddy O’Reilly. Paddy is around the 500s in Australia, and fits in with the trend for nicknames as full name. Great Irish heritage choice with an Australian flavour.

Rusty
Cyclone Rusty hit the coast of northern Western Australia in 2013. Hurricane-force winds and heavy rain caused flooding and significant damage. Due to the severity of the cyclone, the name Rusty has now been retired. Rusty can be a nickname for either the first name or surname Russell, or a nickname given to someone with red or reddish-brown hair. It is not commonly given as a full name, but after Cyclone Rusty there was a reported increase in the number of baby boys named Rusty, so this is one cyclone at least which influenced local name trends. A rough-and-tumble boyish name in the style of Buster and Sunny: not recommended if your surname is Naylor, Bucket or Lidd.

Seth
Seth is on the current list of cyclone names. In the Old Testament, Seth was the third son of Adam and Eve, born after Abel was murdered by Cain. According to the Bible, Seth was the progenitor of the human race as it exists today, as only his descendants survived the Great Flood. The Bible is coy as to how Seth had children for us to be descended from, but the Apocrypha provides the obvious solution by having him marry his sister. Although the Bible tells us nothing more about Seth, according to tradition he was virtuous and wise; he is regarded as a saint in Christianity, and revered as a prophet in Islam. The name doesn’t seem to have been common for Jews, although in the New Testament the High Priest is said to be the son of a Seth. According to the Bible, the name Seth means “appointed”, to suggest that God appointed Seth as a replacement for Abel. Seth is also the Greek form of the Egyptian god Set, deity of storms and chaos, and murderer of his brother Osiris. The name has a strong New Age resonance due to the supposed chanelled messages of a being named Seth, highly influential to later writers. Seth has been used as an English name at least since the 16th century, and became more common during the 18th. Seth has charted since the 1970s, debuting at #539, and joined the Top 100 in the 2000s. It left the Top 100 in 2014, but cannot be far below it. An Old Testament name that women in particular seem to love as both soft and gentle, and dangerously sexy.

Vance
Cyclone Vance hit Western Australia in 1999, bringing gale-force winds and severe storms, and causing significant damage, particularly in Exmouth. Vance is an English surname that comes from the Old English for “fen”, describing someone who lived near a flat wetlands area or marsh. The surname has a particular association with Scotland, and the Scottish Vances believe their name is Norman, from Vaux in France, meaning “valley”. Vance has been used as a personal name since the 18th century, and was strongly connected with Scotland and Ireland. Vance Drummond was a New Zealand-born officer in the RAAF, much decorated for his gallantry in the Vietnam War. The famous writer Vance Palmer was born Edward, with Vance short for his middle name, Vivian. Not only a great contributor to Australian literature, he and his wife Nettie were part of the social movement that promoted Australian egalitarianism. The indie pop singer Vance Joy’s real name is James Keogh – he took his stage name from a minor character in Peter Carey’s novel Bliss. A vintage name ripe for revival with a strong connection to Australian culture.

Zane
Cyclone Zane was off the coast of Queensland in 2013, but by the time it made landfall it had dissipated to almost nothing. The name Zane was popularised by the American western novelist Zane Grey: he was born Pearl Grey (apparently in tribute to Queen Victoria’s mourning dress, which seems a strange way to name a child, especially a boy). Grey used his middle name Zane for his pen name; it was his mother’s maiden name. The Zanes were a famous American pioneering family, and Zane Grey himself was born in Zanesville, Ohio, named after his ancestor, Ebenezer Zane. The Zanes were descended from Devon Quakers, but the name’s origin is a mystery. It has been claimed that the family had either Danish or Italian ancestry, but neither theory has been proven. Sometimes presumed to be a form of John, as Zane is an unusual short form of Giovanni; it can also be a female name, short for Suzannah or Zuzannah. Zane has charted since the 1970s, debuting at #397 – Zane Grey was still a bestseller then, and another namesake for the era was bodybuilder Frank Zane, multiple Mr Olympia winner. It was in the Top 100 during the 2000s, peaking at #83 in 2005, and is probably around the 100s now. Not at all zany, Zane has become a modern standard conflated with the Arabic name Zain or Zayn, meaning “beauty, grace”.

POLL RESULTS

The public’s favourite names were Dominic, Miles and Seth, while their least favourites were Oswald, Paddy and Rusty.

(Photo is of Australian literary powerhouse, Vance Palmer)

Famous Name: Asha

02 Wednesday Mar 2016

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BABY ASHA HOSPITAL PROTEST

Even though this blog discusses baby names, real life babies, names of famous people, and names of famous people’s babies, this is the first time I have looked at the name of a real life famous baby. Unfortunately, when a baby is able to grab the headlines in their own right, it is nearly always a tragic story, and this is no exception.

The baby girl known as “Asha” was born in Australia at the start of 2015 to refugees who had arrived by boat: her parents are Nepalese Christians. Under Australia’s Migration Act, any person who arrives by boat without papers is declared an “unauthorised maritime arrival” (UMA) and is transferred to an offshore processing centre. These are not pleasant places, and the waiting times for processing can be extremely long.

You would think that anybody born in Australia would be an Australian citizen by birth, but that changed in 2014 when the Migration Act was amended retrospectively to say that any child born in Australia to a UMA is also a UMA.

In June last year baby Asha became the first Australian-born child to be transferred to a detention centre on Nauru with her parents. Although a thriving baby when she arrived, she had a less than ideal life sleeping on a wet mattress in a leaky tent in the middle of a phosphate mine surrounded by rats and mosquitoes. Her parents quickly became suicidal, and her mother unable to feed her. Asha’s health deteriorated.

Doctors and nurses at the detention centre said that it amounted to child abuse: the government decided to do something about that by changing the Border Force Act to say that any health worker who spoke up about the dangerous conditions on Nauru could be imprisoned for two years. A social media campaign started to Bring Back Asha, and the other babies kept in detention.

On Australia Day this year, baby Asha was taken to Brisbane’s Lady Cilento Hospital to be treated for burns, having been accidentally scalded with hot water. Even after she had been effectively treated and her condition stabilised, doctors refused to release her from hospital, as they feared that sending her back to Nauru would be detrimental to her physical and mental health. Hundreds rallied outside the hospital in support of staff, with Let Asha Stay banners.

The Immigration Minister suggested that Asha had been burned on purpose so that she could come to Australia for treatment. There was no evidence to support this, and it is unclear how it would have made a difference anyway: if a baby is hurt deliberately, it needs the same health care as if it had been hurt by accident.

The stand off between the Federal Government and doctors continued. After almost a month in hospital, baby Asha and her parents were released into community detention instead of being sent back to Nauru. The Immigration Minister insists this is not a back-flip on policy, but exactly what would have happened all along, and that the baby and parents will eventually be returned to Nauru.

The location of baby Asha and her family is currently secret, and their fate is unclear. The other babies and children on Nauru remain in detention, their situation unchanged. It is not really a happy ending to the story.

But at least we know now that Australians are ready to stand up for children against their government, because there was widespread community support for the hospital staff and for the protesters. That is the ray of light in an otherwise very dark chapter.

Name Information
Asha is a Hindi name for girls, from the Sanskrit word āśā, meaning “hope”. A famous namesake from India is Asha Bhosle, who has done playback singing for thousands of Bollywood movies; she is immortalised in the song Brimful of Asha, by British band Cornershop, and still touring the world as a concert singer.

The name Asha is also used in East Africa, an apparent form of the Arabic name Aisha, translated as “life, alive, she who lives”. The name is commonly used among Muslims, because Aisha was the name of the prophet Muhammad’s third wife. A famous namesake is Asha Abdalla, a Somali politician and activist who has been recognised globally for her efforts towards promoting peace and women’s rights.

Another African connection is the award-winning Nigerian-French singer-songwriter Aṣa, her name pronounced the same way as Asha. Born Bukola Elemide, she took her stage name from the Yoruba word for “hawk”: I have seen her name transliterated as Asha, even on official merchandise. Like Asha Bhosle, she has performed in Australia.

There is a male association for the name Asha as well. In Zoroastrianism, Asha Vahishta is a deity of Truth and Righteousness. Asha is translated as meaning “truth” in the Avestan language, but it also means “existing”, in the sense of bringing something into being. Asha can also be translated as “natural order, acting correctly, righteous”, in the sense of cosmic harmony under natural law.

Asha is strongly connected with divine fire, and this is not only the spark of life which brings creation into being, but also a fire which can pass judgement, finding out the truth, and burning away the lie. Fire protects Asha Vahishta, and in later times he is identified as a god of the household hearth. It is interesting for an Anglophone that Asha is connected with fire, which produces ash. Asha is used as a male name in Iran, but is more common as a name element.

Despite all these origins for the name, Asha has been used in the English-speaking world since the 18th century, given to both sexes. It might have been used as a variant spelling of the biblical name Asher, or seen as a specifically feminine spelling. (Asher is translated as “happy, lucky”, but you can read more about its etymology in the entry for this name).

Asha also makes sense as a name to an English-speaking person because of the word ash. This can mean the residue of a fire, and ashes are often seen as holy and protective. The other meaning of ash is an ash tree, which has the same etymology as ashes – ash trees were also seen as protective and healthy.

Although ash trees do make excellent firewood, the Old English word for ash and spear were the same, aesc. Aesc was a popular element in Anglo-Saxon names, and both men and women were called Aesca (said Asha). Even today, popular names such as Ashley (“ash meadow”) and Ashton (“ash town”) are derived from the ash tree, so Asha does not feel alien to us.

Asha is a fairly common name for girls in Australia, and has become conflated with the name Asher, which is used for girls as well as boys here, thanks to actress Asher Keddie. If Asha and Asher were combined together, the name would be in the Top 100, or only just outside it.

In the UK, the name Asha is #940 for girls, and falling in popularity from a peak of #313 in 2003 (Asha has rarely been given to boys, and Asher only occasionally given to girls in Britain). In the US in 2014, 200 girls were given the name Asha, and 74 called Asher (no boys are registered as having the name Asha, while Asher is a Top 100 name for boys).

Asha is an attractive name that has a long history, but feels contemporary. Simple to spell and pronounce, it works multiculturally without seeming particularly exotic. One of its most appealing attributes must be the multiplicity of meanings, all of which are positive. Although common in Australia compared to other English-speaking countries, it could very well be confused with Asher.

I hope the baby Asha story does not put parents off the name: not only is Asha just a name used by the press to protect her identity, but the meaning of “hope” seems so apt. Hope not only for Asha, but for all babies who need our care and compassion.

POLL RESULTS

Asha received an outstanding approval rating of 90%, making it the most popular of all the Famous Names for 2016. People saw the name Asha as pretty or beautiful (23%), working well multiculturally while still fitting in (23%), strong and independent (22%), and having many positive meanings (17%). However, 4% thought it would be too easily confused with the name Asher. Only one person thought the name would be connected with the Baby Asha case, and nobody thought it would be confused with names like Ashley and Ashlyn.

(Photo of protesters supporting Asha from SBS).