Tag Archives: US name popularity

Names of Fictional Characters for Boys

17 Sunday Nov 2013

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an_27510937Asterix

Asterix is the hero of the Asterix comic books by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. The comic book series follows the adventures of a village of Gauls resisting Roman occupation. They manage to do this through a magic potion brewed by their local druid, which temporarily gives superhuman strength. Asterix is a diminutive warrior of great shrewdness, and because of his cunning and common sense, is usually chosen to lead important missions. Most of the Gauls in the comics have names ending in a suitably Gaulish -ix, echoing famous Gauls from history, such as Vercingetorix. However, each name is also a jokey pun – translations into English have been very clever at maintaining the spirit of the humour. In the case of Asterix, his name is a play on the typographical mark – the word asterisk comes from the Greek for “little star”, and Asterix is the “star” of the comic series. I have seen Asterix on an Australian baby, and this makes a quirky name for your own little star.

Atreyu

Atreyu is a character in the fantasy novel, The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende. In fact, he is the hero of the book which is read by a little boy named Bastian Bux, so he exists in a story within a story. Atreyu is a young warrior who is sent on a great quest to save the land of Fantastica by seeking a cure for the mysterious illness suffered by the land’s empress. He serves as a projection of Bastian’s “inner hero”, and only Atreyu can save Bastian from his own mistakes. In the 1984 movie version, Atreyu is played by Noah Hathaway. Atreyu was orphaned as a baby, and his name means “son of all” in his own (fictional) language, because he was raised by his entire village. It is pronounced ah-TRAY-yoo. Atreyu has strong connections with music, because not only is there a band with the name, but Atreyu himself has been referenced in songs. In the novel’s original German text, his name was Atréju, and this has proven a slightly geekier alternative.

Caspian

Caspian is a character in C.S. Lewis’ children’s fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. As a young boy in Prince Caspian, he had to fight for his throne against his usurping uncle to become king of Narnia, and as a youth in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, he led a daring expedition to the end of the world. In The Silver Chair, we meet him as a very old man, having reigned wisely and well, but also suffering personal tragedy. In the movies, he was played by Ben Barnes. Because of his great sea voyage, he is known as Caspian the Seafarer. Perhaps because of this connection, Lewis named his character after the Caspian Sea, the world’s largest inland body of water, which is bound by Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan. It is named after the Caspi, an ancient people believed to be the same as the Kassites, who were from modern-day Iran. The meaning of their tribal name is unknown. Caspian is a romantic geographic name which sounds rather like Casper with a Latin -ian ending, as in Lucian or Julian.

Dexter

Dexter Morgan is the protagonist of the Dexter series of psychological thrillers by Jeff Lindsay. Dexter works for the police as a forensic blood spatter analyst, but is a serial killer in his spare time. A violent sociopath, he has been carefully trained to satisfy his homicidal urges by only killing murderers, rapists, and other criminals. Dexter is an English occupational surname for someone who dyed cloth, literally “dyer” in Anglo-Saxon. The word was originally specifically feminine, but Dexter has overwhelmingly been used as a male name. Dexter also happens to coincide with the Latin for “right handed”, with connotations of being skilful. Dexter Morgan is certainly dexterous in committing his crimes, while it seems apt the name is connected with dying. The books have inspired a popular television series, with Michael C. Hall in the title role, and since Dexter began airing in 2006, the name Dexter (which was about to slip off the Top 1000) has gone steadily up in popularity in the US; it is currently #362. It may seem strange that a serial killer could save the name, but Dexter Morgan is an oddly sympathetic murderer. Michael C. Hall makes him both likeable and amusing, and (perhaps slightly worryingly) female viewers find the character very attractive. Dexter fits in the surnames-for-boys trend, and has a cool X sound in it. The name Dexter is #218 in Victoria.

Dorian

Dorian Gray is the protagonist of Oscar Wilde’s only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Dorian is an extremely handsome young man, who wishes his portrait could age while his own beauty remain changeless. His narcissistic wish is granted, and he spends his life in debauchery while retaining a youthful and innocent appearance. Meanwhile, Dorian’s hidden portrait bears the mark of his every corruption. The story has often been adapted into film; the most recent is Dorian Gray, with Ben Barnes in the title role. It is usually assumed that Wilde took the name Dorian from the Dorian people of ancient Greece, whose name means “upland, woodland”. The ancient Greeks did have names from this source, such as Dorieus and Doris. However, Dorian is also an Irish surname from O’Deoradhain, meaning “son of Deorain”. Deorain is an Old Gaelic name meaning “exile, wanderer, stranger”. Use of the name predates the novel’s publication, and in Eastern Europe it may be a pet form of Teodor. Dorian is sometimes used for girls. Despite Dorian Gray being an evil character, the name has remained in use, and is #558 in the US, and #549 and rising in the UK.

Heathcliff

Heathcliff is the male lead character in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, the foster-brother and love interest of Catherine Earnshaw. The novel explores the deep and obsessive love that Cathy and Heathcliff have for each other, and how the thwarting of that love turned Heathcliff into a tortured monster – or perhaps revealed the brute he already was. It’s an eerie tale, but many will think of Heathcliff as the Byronic hero and romantic lover whose passion lived beyond the grave. In film, he has been portrayed by Laurence Olivier, Timothy Dalton, and Ralph Fiennes. Heathcliff is an uncommon English surname meaning “heath on the cliff”; it doesn’t seem to have been used as a personal name before Wuthering Heights, and only rarely since. The name connects Heathcliff to the Yorkshire moors, the natural world outside society where Heathcliff and Cathy can love each other freely. Actor Heath Ledger was named after Heathcliff (and his sister after Catherine!), and as Heath is a fashionable name at present, Heathcliff doesn’t seem too bizarre as a long form, although admittedly a bold choice.

Huckleberry

Huckleberry “Huck” Finn is the protagonist of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and the best friend of the hero in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Huck is the son of the town drunk, a neglected vagabond who lives a carefree existence until he is adopted and “civilised”. He runs away with an escaped slave named Jim, and the two of them travel down the Mississippi River by raft in search of freedom. Huck has been portrayed on film by Mickey Rooney, Ron Howard, Elijah Wood and Jake T. Austin, among others. Huckleberry is North American dialect for the bilberry, although in practice applied to several wild berries. The word has long been part of American slang, usually to suggest something small and insignificant – the perfect name for Huck Finn, a child of little consequence in his town. Later it came to mean “companion, sidekick”. Huckleberry was in occasional use as a personal name prior to the publication of Twain’s novels. This would make a sweet, offbeat name, while Huck is a hip short form.

Rhett

Rhett Butler is the love interest of Scarlett O’Hara in Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind. A black sheep, he becomes entranced with the spirited Scarlett, and admires her will to survive. Although viewed as a cad by polite Southern society, Rhett is tall, dark, handsome, charming, intelligent, and has a very good understanding of human psychology – especially female – which he utilises to devastating effect. He is the only person who can stand up to Scarlett, and beat her in a battle of wits. In the 1939 movie, the biggest box office smash in history when adjusted for inflation, Rhett is played by Clark Gable. Rhett is a surname which comes from the Dutch de Raedt, meaning “counsel, advice”. Mitchell seems to have chosen the name as an allusion to her first husband, “Red” Upshaw, on whom the character of Rhett Butler is based (with a dash of Rudolf Valentino). Rhett is a sexy bad boy name, not often seen here, although cricketer Rhett Lockyear is one Australian example. In the US, it is #508 and rising.

Rocky

Robert “Rocky” Balboa is the title character in the Rocky movies, played by Sylvester Stallone. Rocky is from the slums of Philadelphia, a grade school drop-out with few skills apart from being able to land punches, so he makes his living as a boxer known as “The Italian Stallion”. Always the underdog, his main weapon (apart from fists like bricks) is a refusal to give up. The movies follow his career through the victories, the losses, the fame, the fortune, the brain damage, and the incredible comeback. Rocky is a humble man with great heart, and although barely literate, possesses a lot of wisdom about life and love. He is named after the boxer Rocky Marciano, whose real name was Rocco. Rocky can be a nickname for similar names, but also signifies incredible strength and toughness. A famous Australian with the name is rugby union champion Rocky Elsom. Rocky is a fun and even cute name, with a namesake that has an important message: it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, but whether you go the distance.

Sherlock

Sherlock Holmes is the world’s most famous detective, the creation of Arthur Conan Doyle, and the hero of many stories. Known for his use of deductive logic and bewildering array of disguises, he has become an archetype, with his interest in forensic science helping spawn the modern crime genre. The character of Sherlock Holmes was so loved by the public in his own day that Doyle was forced to resurrect him after killing him off, and his popularity continues, with numerous adaptations to stage, radio, film and television – in fact, he is the most prolific character in cinema. Sherlock is an English surname dating to before the Norman Conquest; it comes from the Old English for “shining locks”, referring to someone with fair hair (although dark-haired, brainy Sherlock Holmes does have a “bright head”). Sherlock has been used as a personal name since the 18th century, and early use may have been influenced by Thomas Sherlock, a popular bishop and Christian apologist. Contemporary adaptations of the Sherlock Holmes stories, such as Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, and Elementary, starring Johnny Lee Miller, show this character has lost none of his pulling power, although the name is still closely tied to the brilliant detective. Locky would make an appealing short form – more appealing than Shirley, anyway.

POLL RESULT: People’s favourite names were Caspian, Dexter and Rhett, and their least favourite were Asterix, Atreyu, and Rocky.

(Picture shows Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role of the BBC TV series, Sherlock)

Names of Fictional Characters for Girls

10 Sunday Nov 2013

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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Arrietty

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

Arwen

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

Bellatrix

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

Iridessa

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

Khaleesi

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

Lorelei

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

Pollyanna

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

Rogue

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

Scarlett

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

Velvet

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

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

(Picture is of Iridessa, from Disney website)

Famous Name: Hugo

06 Wednesday Nov 2013

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Hugo_Throssell

It will be Remembrance Day next Monday, so we are going to look at the name of another First World War hero.

Hugo Vivian Hope Throssell was from the country town of Northam in Western Australian, the son of former Western Australian premier George Throssell, who had also been Mayor of Northam, and the town’s first official citizen. George was prominent in local business and conservative politics, and was known as “the Lion of Northam”.

Hugo was sent to an elite boy’s boarding school in Adelaide, where he was captain of the football team, and a champion athlete and boxer. After leaving school, Hugo became a jackaroo on cattle stations in the north, then he and his older brother Frank Erick Cottrell (“Ric”) bought a farm together in the wheat belt. The brothers had a close bond, and were later described as “David and Jonathan” in their devotion to each other.

When war broke out in 1914, Hugo and Ric joined the 10th Light Horse Regiment, and Hugo was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Hugo arrived at Gallipoli in August 1915, just before the assault on the Nek, which he called “that FOOL charge”. Within minutes, 9 officers and 73 men from his regiment were killed.

Hugo was eager to avenge the 10th Light Horse, and on August 29, the regiment were brought into action to take a trench full of Turkish troops near the summit of Hill 60. The surrounds became a slaughterhouse, with the bodies of the dead piling up so quickly there was no time to bury them.

A fierce bomb fight began, described by Hugo as a sort of gruesome tennis match – it was one of the most intensive bomb fights of the Australians at Gallipoli. During the night, more than 3000 bombs were thrown, with the Western Australians picking up bombs thrown at them and hurling them back.

At one point, Hugo was in sole command of the regiment, and was wounded twice, continuing to yell encouragement to the men with his face covered in blood. For his bravery and inspirational leadership, Hugo received the Victoria Cross; it was the first VC a Western Australian had won during the war.

Promoted to captain, Hugo joined his regiment in Egypt, where he was wounded in April 1917 at the second battle of Gaza. It was here that his brother was killed; the night Ric disappeared, Hugo crawled across the battlefield under enemy fire, searching in vain for his brother amongst the dead and dying, whistling for him with the signal they had used since they were boys. Hugo took part in the final offensives in Palestine, and led the 10th Light Horse guard of honour at the fall of Jerusalem.

Soon after the war’s end, Hugo married an idealistic young Australian writer named Katherine Susannah Prichard, who he had met while in London for medical treatment, and settled on a farm near Perth. Already an award-winning novelist when she married Hugo, Katherine’s career continued to flourish. In 1920, Katherine became a founding member of the Communist Party of Australia, with Hugo joining her as a speaker to support the unemployed and striking workers.

Hugo’s experience of war had made him a pacifist and a socialist, but his views on the futility of war outraged many, especially coming from a war hero, and the son of a conservative political figure. His political opinions damaged his chances of employment during the Depression, and he fell into serious debt. At one point he pawned his VC just so he could take his son to the movies.

Believing that he could provide better for his family if he left them a war service pension, he shot himself in 1933, and was buried with full military honours. His wife, who had been on tour in the former Soviet Union at the time, suffered another unbearable anguish on top of losing her husband. She would never know if Hugo had read the manuscript of her unfinished novel, Intimate Strangers, in which an unwanted husband kills himself (Katherine changed the ending to the novel before publication).

Friends blamed Hugo’s depression on an attack of meningitis he had suffered in the trenches of Gallipoli which almost killed him. Depression and disordered thinking can be an after-effect of meningitis, and Hugo had undoubtedly been under severe post-traumatic stress since his arrival at Gallipoli. The tragedy of his war was that it damaged him psychologically to the point where he felt he could not continue.

In 1954 a memorial was built to Hugo outside his home, and a ward at Hollywood Private Hospital in Perth is named after him. In 1983 his son Ric Throssell gave his Victoria Cross to the People for Nuclear Disarmament. The Returned Servicemen’s League bought the medal and presented it to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, where it is on display in the Hall of Valour.

Hugo is the Latinised form of the Germanic name Hugh, meaning “mind, heart, spirit”, which was introduced to Britain by the Normans. In medieval times, the name Hugo would have been commonly used in Latin documents, but the person would have been called Hugh in everyday life.

Another famous Australian with this name is actor Hugo Weaving, who has been in several Hollywood blockbusters, as well as many Australian films. The name Hugo has been in the charts since the 1970s, and began ranking in the 1980s at #421 – the same decade that Hugo Weaving’s screen career began, in the 1984 cricketing miniseries Bodyline.

During the 1990s, when Hugo Weaving gained international attention for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Hugo was #248, and by the early 2000s, when Hugo Weaving was starring in The Matrix series as Agent Smith, and The Lord of the Rings as Elrond, it was #143. In the mid to late 2000s, when Hugo Weaving was providing the voice of the villainous Megatron in The Transformers, it had risen to #117.

The name Hugo made the NSW Top 100 in 2009, debuting at #93, and last year was one of the biggest risers for boys nationally, going up eleven places. Currently it is #76 nationally, #67 in New South Wales, #79 in Victoria, #83 in Queensland, #79 in Tasmania, and #76 in the Australian Capital Territory. Hugo went up 10 places in Victoria and 23 places in New South Wales, so it is making significant gains. Based on its current trajectory of popularity, I have picked it to be a Top Ten name by 2028.

Hugo is more popular here than in either the US or the UK, where it is not yet in the Top 100. However, it is extremely popular in Europe, and is a Top Ten name in France, Spain and Sweden, so we are following the lead of European countries rather than English-speaking ones.

This is a handsome name with a touch of European sophistication, and a fashionable OOH sound as well as a trendy O ending. It doesn’t really surprise me that Hugo is rising through the rankings while steady classic Hugh continues to plod along in the mid-100s, where it’s been since the 1980s. Hugo is more stylish and fits in better with current trends. If you love the name Hugo, you certainly won’t be alone!

POLL RESULT: Hugo received an approval rating of 80%, making it one of the most well-liked names of the year. People saw the name Hugo as handsome or attractive (27%), stylish and sophisticated (19%), hip and cool (15%), and cute and quirky (15%). However, 8% preferred classic Hugh, and 5% gloomily prognosticated that Hugo would soon be too popular. Only one person thought it was already too popular.

(Photo of Hugo Throssell from the State Library of Western Australia)

Brisbane Suburbs That Could Be Used as Boys Names

13 Sunday Oct 2013

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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Augustine

Augustine Heights is a new suburb of Ipswich, and gained its name from St Augustine’s Catholic Church and College. The name Augustine is from the Roman name Augustinus, derived from Augustus, meaning “great, venerable”. Its most famous namesake is the theologian Saint Augustine of Hippo, considered one of the most important Church Fathers. He describes his conversion to Christianity in his Confessions, which has become a classic of Christian literature. The name became popular in England in the Middle Ages because of Saint Augustine of Canterbury, a 6th century founder of the English church known as the Apostle to the English. It is probably because of him that there is an English form of Augustine – the popular Austin. In France, Augustine is a girls name, the feminine form of Augustinus.

Bowen

Bowen Hills is an inner-city suburb of Brisbane. It is named after Sir George Bowen, an Irishman who was the first Governor of Queensland. Tactful and democratic, with a great love of the outdoors, he made himself popular enough to be invited to serve two more years when his term had expired. There are a few places in Queensland named after Sir Bowen, including Bowen Park, a pleasure garden in Bowen Hills. The surname Bowen can be Welsh, meaning “son of Owen“, or it can be Irish, in which case it is an Anglicised form of the Gaelic O’Buadhachain, meaning “son of Buadhach”. The name Buadhach means “victory, triumph”. This name reminds me of the Bowen Technique, an alternative massage treatment developed by Australian Tom Bowen, although Bowen is a knight and dragon-slayer in the movie Dragonheart. Rarely seen here, Bowen is in the Top 1000 and rising for boys in the US. It gives the unisex nickname Bo, and for some reason I see this as a girls name just as much as a boys.

Chandler

Chandler is a semi-rural outer suburb of Brisbane. It is named after Sir John Beals Chandler, a successful businessman with a chain of electrical goods stores, and who owned several radio stations. He was elected to the Queensland Parliament in the 1940s, and Lord Mayor of Brisbane in the 1940s and early ’50s. Chandler is an English occupational surname, which denoted someone who made and sold candles, or someone who was responsible for the wax, soap, candles and lighting in a medieval great house. This name will remind many of Chandler Bing, from popular sit-com, Friends.

Crosby

Mount Crosby is an outer suburb of Brisbane adjoining the state forest. It is named after its dominant natural feature, Mount Crosby. The first settlers to this area were from the village of Crosby-on-Eden, near the Scottish border, and it seems likely that they named their new home after their original one. The surname Crosby is after the place name, a common one in northern England and southern Scotland. The name is of Old Norse origin, and means “settlement by the cross”; as we learned from Cruz, these stone crosses were often used as markers. Famous Crosbys include entertainer Bing Crosby and musician David Crosby. The name has recently begun charting in the US, after drama series Parenthood was shown on television there. The show has a character called Crosby Braverman, played by Dax Shephard, and the name must have resonated, because it went up 69 places last year. Crosby is rare in Australia (I’ve only seen it on a child once), but maybe Parenthood will have an effect here too.

Ebenezer

Ebenezer is a suburb of Ipswich. It had been a preaching place on the Methodist Church circuit since 1863, and by 1882 a church had been built named the Wesleyan Ebenezer Church. It is from this church that the suburb gets its name. In the Old Testament, Eben-Ezer is a place mentioned as the scene of battles between the Israelites and the Philistines; its modern day location is not known, but it is probably in Palestine or Arabic Israel. Eben-Ezer is from the Hebrew for “stone of help”, and it is theorised that a stone dedicated to Yahweh may have been located here to give it its name. Its most famous namesake must be Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, the cold-hearted miser redeemed by three spirits of Christmas. I think the name Ebenezer sounds pretty hip now, and an Old Testament boys name which has been overlooked for too long. Eben and Ben would make good nicknames.

Hamilton

Hamilton is a hilly inner-city suburb of Brisbane on the Brisbane River which was built by convict labour. It soon became known for its upper-class country houses and estates, ornamental shade trees, picturesque location and fine views of the city. Hamilton is associated with “old money”, and has the highest mean income of any suburb in Queensland. It is named after the Hamilton Hotel, built in 1865 by Gustav Hamilton, a wealthy solicitor who owned most of the land in the area. It soon became known as a meeting place for the horse racing world, as the Turf Club is nearby, and is still popular today. Hamilton is an English and Scottish surname after the village of Hamilton in Leicestershire; its name means “crooked hill” in Old English. The aristocratic Hamilton family gained lands in Lanarkshire, Scotland, and gave their name to the town of Hamilton there. The Hamiltons married into the Scottish royal family, and the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon is the highest peer in Scotland. A famous person with the name is Hamilton Hume, an early Australian explorer of New South Wales who was a top-notch bushman and formed friendly relationship with Aboriginal peoples. This is a name with an impressive pedigree.

Logan

The city of Logan is halfway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. It began as a penal settlement, and farming soon followed; it was developed for housing in the 1960s due to its laissez-faire planning laws. Logan is named after Captain Patrick Logan, the Scottish commandant of the original penal settlement, who had a reputation for being strict to the point of cruelty. He was a great explorer and was killed on one of his expeditions, most likely by Aborigines who had repeatedly told him to get off their land. News of his death was met with wild joy from the convicts. Logan is a Scottish surname; the Clan Logan comes from the “lands of Logan” in Ayrshire, which may be from the Gaelic for “hollow”, or even of Norman origin. In Ireland, it is considered to come from the Gaelic O’Leoghain, meaning “grandson of the warrior”. This name has many namesakes from popular culture, including the dystopian sci-fi film Logan’s Run, where Logan is played by Michael Yorke, and Logan aka Wolverine from the X-Men films, played by Hugh Jackman. Logan has charted since the 1970s (when Logan’s Run first screened), and ranked in the 1980s at #344. It climbed steeply through the 1990s and made the Top 100 by the 2000s. It is currently #38 nationally, #36 in New South Wales, #33 in Victoria, #65 in Queensland, #46 in South Australia, #28 in Western Australia, #17 in Tasmania, and #50 in the Australian Capital Territory.

Sherwood

Sherwood is a suburb on Oxley Creek. Its name comes from a farm which was named after Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, England. A Royal Forest, and remnant of an older and much larger royal hunting forest, it is one of England’s most ancient, having survived since the end of the last Ice Age. It is famous for its association with legendary folk hero Robin Hood, who is supposed to have lived in Sherwood, according to some sources. Sherwood in Brisbane even made its own Sherwood Forest Park, which is now, less romantically, the Sherwood Arboretum. The name Sherwood means “shire wood”. A famous person with the name is American author Sherwood Anderson.

Tennyson

Tennyson is a riverside suburb named in honour of Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Tennyson was Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland during Queen Victoria’s reign, and has the record for length of tenure as a Laureate at 42 years. Revered in his own time, he remains one of the popular English poets. One of his much-loved works is the Idylls of the King, a cycle of blank verse poems inspired by the legends of King Arthur; many of the streets in Tennyson have Arthurian names in compliment of the Idylls. For those amused by these coincidences, the Queensland Tennis Centre is located in Tennyson, and was once the Tennyson Tennis Centre. The English surname Tennyson means “son of Tenney”, with Tenney a pet form of the name Denis. Actor Russell Crowe has a son named Tennyson, after his favourite poet. This is a handsome and unusual name, with a great namesake, and would make an excellent middle name too.

Windsor

Windsor is an inner-city suburb of Brisbane, with many old homes, and containing several heritage-listed sites. It was named Windsor in 1887, most likely after Windsor Castle in Berkshire, England, as it was Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee Year. Windsor Castle was built by William the Conqueror, and was originally a fortification to protect the outskirts of London, with strategic views of the River Thames and access to the royal hunting forest of Windsor. Since the rule of Henry I, William’s son, it has been a royal residence, and is the largest inhabited castle and longest-occupied palace in Europe. Today it is a royal palace and weekend retreat for Elizabeth II, and state banquets and official entertainments are often held there – it is also a major tourist attraction. The castle is named after the nearby village of Windsor, once the site of a palace for the Saxon kings. Its name means “winding shores, winch shores” in Old English, because boats were pulled by windlass up the river. Famously, Windsor is the surname of the British royal family: the name was changed from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha by George V in 1917, due to anti-German sentiment during World War I. The final straw was when Germany used the Gotha G. IV aircraft to bomb London – just four months later, the Saxe-Coburg-Gothas had become the Windsors, the name taken from the royal palace. A famous person named Windsor is British actor Windsor Davies, best known as the sergeant on It Ain’t Half Hot Mum. Royal names are all the rage, and you can’t get any more royal than Windsor.

POLL RESULT: People’s favourite names were Tennyson, Augustine, and Windsor, and their least favourite were Sherwood, Hamilton, and Ebenezer.

(Photo shows the suburb of Hamilton)

Famous Name: Jason

18 Wednesday Sep 2013

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A federal election was held on September 7, and we have had a change of government. Votes are still being counted, so the election isn’t over, and we may have some names from it when the process is complete.

However, in a much more frivolous political poll held in August, Cleo magazine rated the male politicians on their sex appeal, and decided that Labor MP Jason Clare, described as the “Rob Lowe of Australian politics”, was the winner. I can’t help thinking if a men’s magazine had rated female politicians like this it would be considered very wrong.

Jason Clare represents the seat of Blaxland in western Sydney, which he won in 2007, and until recently was the Federal Home Affairs Minister. Jason grew up in the western suburbs, made dux of his class, and completed a law degree while pursuing an interest in politics. While Labor lost the election with a significant swing against it, Jason managed to increase his hold over the electorate by 6%.

To show that he is not vain about his appearance, Jason modestly joked that his wife’s preference in the Cleo poll was for the runner-up, Stephen Smith. Hello ladies – he’s a smart, handsome law graduate and his wife doesn’t appreciate him! (is the message I think we’re meant to be receiving there).

Jason is from the Greek name Iason, derived from the Greek for “to heal”. Iaso was the Greek goddess of recuperation from illness, so you could see Jason as a masculine form of her name. Although Jason is often translated as “healer” or even “physician”, to me the meaning of the name is more about the body’s natural ability to heal itself.

The name is best known from the mythological prince of Thessaly, who led a hand-picked crew of heroes on the good ship Argo, in quest of the Golden Fleece, with the aid of the goddess Hera. Jason and the Argonauts had a series of adventures, in which they didn’t behave very nobly for much of the time, then arrived in Colchis, which today is in Georgia, on the Black Sea.

The Golden Fleece was owned by King Aeetes, and to obtain it, the king gave Jason three tasks which seemed impossible to perform. Hera arranged for Aeetes’ daughter Medea to fall in love with Jason, and as she was a great sorceress, she was able to use her knowledge of magic to help him succeed, after he promised her that they would get married.

Jason and Medea then fled with the Fleece and sailed away on the Argo, because King Aeetes knew that Jason could only have completed the tasks by cheating, and wanted his property back. He pursued them until Medea came up with the horrible plan to kill her own brother and throw him into the sea, piece by piece, to distract her father.

Medea’s interest in dismembering family members continued when she and Jason returned to Greece, and she arranged for his Uncle Pelias to get chopped up into soup. Pelias had tried to drown Jason as a baby, then sent him off on the dangerous Golden Fleece quest hoping he’d die, so she had her reasons. With her penchant for murdering relatives, you’d think that Jason would have been blissfully happy with Medea, but instead he betrayed her love by becoming engaged to another woman.

When Medea tried to point out that all Jason’s luck in life was because of her, and he was being very ungrateful, he replied, “Babe, you’re the one who got lucky when the gods made you fall in love with me”. Medea wasn’t the type to take this treatment lying down, and she promptly burned her rival to death before murdering the children she and Jason had had together. Although Jason was ungallant, Medea’s tendency to see her own flesh and blood as collateral damage is disturbing.

Because Jason had broken his vow to love Medea forever, the goddess Hera abandoned him, and he wound up lonely and miserable. He was killed when the Argo, now old and rotting, broke and fell on top of him while he was asleep – a suitably ironic finish.

A king of Thessaly named Jason was a contemporary of Alexander the Great‘s father. A successful and ambitious general, it is thought that he must have been at least one of the inspirations of the great Alexander himself. It seems very likely he was named after the Thessalian hero.

There is a Jason in the New Testament, one of the Seventy Disciples of Christ, who ran a “safe house” for Christians in Thessalonica, and was once arrested for it. Saint Paul appointed him bishop of Tarsus, and he is known as Saint Jason. Unusually for an early Christian saint, Jason lived to a ripe old age. The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that Hellenised Jews used the name Jason to replace Yeshua (Joshua or Jesus), and this may apply to Saint Jason too.

Being Biblical, Jason was acceptable for use as a Christian name, and can be found in the records from at least the 16th century. The name Jason became very popular in the 1970s, and it looks as if this was due to the original Jason, because the movie Jason and the Argonauts came out in 1963 (it cut out most of the revolting parts). A special effects tour de force, it’s a cult classic, and according to Tom Hanks, the greatest film ever made. It must have made a huge impression.

Jason was already rising in popularity at the time of the film’s release, but soon zoomed up the charts to make the US Top 100 three years later. It was Top 10 in the US for all of the 1970s, which coincides with popular TV series, The Waltons, having a Jason. Even in the late 1980s, when Jason was #27, Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz were urging parents to “go beyond Jennifer and Jason”. Despite their book’s success, Jason has still not left the Top 100 in the United States, so American parents only partially heeded their call.

Jason has charted in Australia since the 1950s, when it was #290 for the decade. By the 1960s it had climbed phenomenally to make the Top 50, at #43 for the decade. It peaked in the 1970s (when Jason Clare was born) at #3, was still #18 in the 1980s, and #35 in the 1990s. Did nobody feel like going beyond Jason? It finally left the Top 100 in the mid-2000s, and is currently #133 and stable – not popular any more, but by no means plummeting into obscurity.

Jason has been a real 1960s success story, and continues to influence popular names for boys, because parents are still attracted to similar names, such as Mason, Jacob, Jayden, Jackson, Jasper and Jordan. In fact, Jason is staging a comeback under the short form Jace – already Top 100 in the United States, and no doubt rising here too.

It turns out we’re not ready to go beyond Jason yet – at least, not very far.

POLL RESULT: Jason received an approval rating of 38%. People saw the name Jason as a “dad name” (30%), and common and boring (20%). However, 12% saw it as a “nice guy” name, and 10% thought it attractive. Nobody thought the name Jason was sexy.

Popular Here, There and Everywhere: International Name Trends

17 Tuesday Sep 2013

Posted by in Name Data

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The Most International Popular Names

These names are all within ten places of each other on the Top 100s of Australia, England/Wales, and the United States, and should be equally familiar in all countries.

Boys

Ethan, James, Joshua, William

Girls

Ava, Ella, Emily, Isabella, Layla, Mia, Olivia

James and Olivia are the most international popular names, being no more than 2 places apart between any two countries.

You Saw it Here First

These are names which are already popular in Australia, but still rising toward the Top 100 in England/Wales and the United States.

Boys

Archer, Beau, Braxton, Jasper

Girls

Mila, Olive

Archer and Olive are the Australian popular names furthest ahead of international trends.

(The freshest names from the UK are Theodore and Elsie, and the freshest trends from the US are Jeremiah and Josiah – no popular American girls names were ahead of the trends).

Never Gonna Give You Up

These are names which have already left the Top 100 in the UK and US, but still remain popular in Australia.

Boys

Ashton, Hayden, Marcus, Mitchell, Patrick

Girls

Chelsea, Jade

Mitchell and Chelsea are the Australian popular names most behind international trends.

(The stalest names in the UK are Kyle and Bethany, while in the US, Gavin and Kylie are furthest past their used-by date).

Australia was the furthest ahead of international trends, and the USA most behind international trends – surely an indication of our different population sizes.

The Least International Popular Names

These names are common in one country, but rarely used in the others.

Most Australian Name: Darcy for a boy – it is considered feminine in the UK and US

Most British Name: Mackenzie for a boy – it is considered feminine in Australia and the US

Most American Names: Easton (boy) and Genesis (girl)

Famous Name: Declan

11 Wednesday Sep 2013

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September 8 marked the 74th birthday of folk singer Declan Affley, who was born in Wales to parents of Irish descent. He joined the British navy at 16, and travelled to Japan and Australia; he jumped ship in Australia and based himself in Sydney. At a harbourside pub called the Royal George (now The Slip Inn), he discovered the libertarian movement known as the Sydney Push, and joined its folksinging scene.

He became a regular performer in the folk clubs of Sydney and Melbourne, and appeared at folk festivals. He also busked on the streets, and was occasionally censored for singing left-wing political material, but this encouraged rather than deterred him. He was invited to sing some of his political songs on ABC radio, and also appeared in the 1966 award-winning ABC documentary, The Restless Years, presenting Australian history through poems, stories and songs. He also contributed to films, including the 1970 version of Ned Kelly.

Declan regarded himself as a socialist with anarchist leanings, and was an active supporter of the New South Wales Builders Labourers’ Green Bans, Irish hunger strikers, and Aboriginal land rights. He taught music at the Eora Centre in Redfern as his contribution to the advancement of Australian Indigenous people. Irish people are often thought of as having the gift of the gab, and Declan loved to talk for hours about history, music, politics and sport over a beer.

He died unexpectedly at the age of 45 – a very great loss to the folk community. The Declan Affley Memorial Award for excellence in a young performer is awarded each year at the National Folk Festival.

Declan is an Anglicisation of the Irish name Declán or Deaglán; it is usually translated as coming from the Old Irish for “full of goodness”. The name is known because of Saint Declán of Ardmore, a 4th or 5th century Irish bishop credited with the Christianisation of southern Ireland before the arrival of Saint Patrick.

The village of Ardmore in County Waterford is believed to be the oldest Christian settlement in Ireland, and by tradition, Saint Declán built a monastry here. He has been steadily popular in Waterford, with many churches dedicated to him, and each year on his feast day of July 24, devotions are held in his honour. This year, a five-day pilgrimage walk was held in late July, on a 100 km path between Cashel in Tipperary and Ardmore, which Saint Declán is said to have taken.

There is a long tradition of Christians taking new names, or being given new names, to mark their new lives, and in particular many of the Irish saints have created descriptive names. Declan looks to be one of them, for the meaning “filled with goodness” seems to have Christian significance.

I can first find Declan in Irish records from the late 18th century, and they were all born in southern Ireland; in Munster, where Declan is the patron saint, and in Waterford, near his centre of Ardmore. That suggests very strongly that the name was given in honour of the saint, and that it had an element of local pride as well.

Declan was quite a popular name in Ireland during the mid-twentieth century, and as well as Declan Affley, is borne by several musicians. These include Declan de Barra, an Irish-born Australian punk-folk singer, English pop singer Declan Galbraith who covers traditional Irish tunes amongst his own work, Declan Nerney, an Irish country singer, and Declan Sinnot, an Irish folk-rock singer. You may also have heard of Declan MacManus, who performs under the name Elvis Costello.

Declan has charted in Australia since the 1980s, and ranked since the 1990s, when it debuted at #145. It has been Top 100 since the early 2000s, and last year it was in the top ten fastest rising boys names in Australia, when it rose 12 places on the national chart. Currently it is #84 nationally, #74 in Victoria, #60 in Queensland, #50 in Western Australia, #71 in Tasmania and #56 in the Australian Capital Territory.

Unusually for a name in the national Top 100, Declan hasn’t been Top 100 in New South Wales since 2010. We seem to be caught between international trends, with New South Wales following the lead of England/Wales, where Declan has left the Top 100 and is declining in popularity, and Victoria and other states, who appear to be following the United States, where Declan is still rising towards the Top 100. Declan has a similar popularity to us in Scotland, but isn’t Top 100 in either Ireland or Northern Ireland.

If you love the name Declan, you won’t find yourself alone in your preference, but it’s still a good Irish heritage choice. It’s a handsome name, with an attractive, lilting sound to it, and it’s not wildly popular. Brooke from Baby Name Pondering chose it as her favourite boys name in the Victorian Top 100, and tells me that she finds it really charming – great recommendation!

POLL RESULT: Declan received an approval rating of 70%. People saw the name Declan as a good Irish heritage choice (25%), handsome or attractive (23%), and sweet and charming (11%). However, 11% thought the name was too trendy, and destined to be the next Aidan or Liam.

(Photo is of Ardmore in Ireland, where Saint Declan is supposed to have lived and preached)

Famous Names: Muhammad

04 Wednesday Sep 2013

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The name Muhammad joined the national Top 100 last year, which was also its first time in the New South Wales Top 100. However, data from the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages shows that, if you combine all the variant spellings, Muhammad has been in the Top 25 of the state since 2010, giving it a similar level of popularity to Xavier, Jayden, Mason and Charlie.

This trend looks likely to continue, with 161 baby boys named Muhammad, Mohamed, Muhammed or Mohammed already born in the state this year between January and August.

Muslin leader and community spokesperson, Keysar Trad, who has a son named Muhammad, believes that these statistics are a sign that Australian Muslims are becoming more confident in giving their children Islamic names.

He thinks that they show a greater acceptance of Muslim names in the wider community, and a healthier connection with their religion amongst Muslims.

Mr Trad says that religious names not only allow an expression of devotion to God, but allow parents to reclaim an aspect of their culture.

By choosing the name of a significant religious figure, they hope that their child will share in the good qualities of that name, and perhaps be inspired to learn more about it when they get older.

“You think that one day, maybe they will read up on the significance on the name,” he said.

The prophet Muhammad’s full name was Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim, and he was a 6th century leader from Mecca in Arabia who unified his country under Islam.

According to his own testimony, at the age of 40, he began receiving revelations from God through the archangel Gabriel, and a few years later began preaching these revelations. He proclaimed that “God is One”, and that complete surrender to Him was the only acceptable path to God – the word Islam itself means “surrender”. Muhammad declared himself a prophet, and a messenger sent by God.

The revelations which Muhammad reported receiving until his death in his early 60s form the Quran, which is the basis of the Muslim religion, and regarded by Muslims as the Word of God.

The name Muhammad means “praised, praiseworthy” in Arabic, and it is a very popular name amongst Muslims. It has a variety of transliterations and spellings because of the different languages used in the Islamic world.

It is believed that Muhammad, counting all variant spellings, is the most common personal name in the world, with an estimated 150 million men and boys bearing the name. It is the most common boys name in England/Wales, and in the United States, if all the spelling variants were combined, Muhammad would be in the Top 200 and rising, with a similar popularity to Silas, Maddox, Weston and Greyson.

There is a popular theory that names which are too “ethnic” sounding should be avoided lest they lead to discrimination, and you can find studies which show that in many cases, it can be harder to get a job interview if the name on your resume looks “foreign” (although this Australian study showed it depended where you lived and what kind of “ethnic” your name was).

Kayser Trad acknowledged that there have been cases where people with an obviously Muslim name had trouble getting a job, but he doesn’t believe the answer is to “go into hiding”, or change your name to Charlie Edwards to get an interview.

It also occurs to me that this theory assumes that all businesses are owned and all industries are controlled by people from an Anglo background, and that all people in charge of such businesses would prefer not to employ non-Anglo people. That just isn’t true.

I watched the daily business report on television yesterday, and noted that of the half dozen spokespeople from major businesses interviewed, four of them had ethnic names, including two with Arabic names. Furthermore, many businesses are owned by people from non-Anglo heritages, and having a Muslim name may prove an advantage in some areas.

Businesses in areas with a strong migrant community could prefer to hire people from a similar background for greater rapport with and understanding of their customer base, and your name shouldn’t be any disadvantage in the public and non-profit sector – about 25% of the workforce, and in some areas, up to 80% of the workforce.

Muhammad joining the Top 100 is a watershed in Australian society, but it should also be remembered that the majority of names on the boys Top 100 are of Jewish or Christian origin, with many names of pagan origin only coming into popular use through saints, such as George and Aidan, and even surname names developing because of saints, such as Mitchell and Jackson.

If you are interested how names of other religious figures fare in New South Wales, during the 2000s more than one baby each year, but less than six, were named Jesus or Moses, and in the same period most years saw about 7-11 babies named Abraham. By July this year, 10 babies named Krishna had been born. Hmm, this could be another growth area …

POLL RESULT: Muhammad received an approval rating of 49%. 27% of people thought the name Muhammad connected its bearer to his culture, and as a result, 24% believed the name was only suitable for Muslims. 14% saw the name as “too Muslim”.   

(The picture shows a 17th century Ottoman calligraphy panel by Hafiz Osman, describing the physical appearance of the prophet Muhammad; it is not permitted to show images of Muhammad in Islam)

Popular Here and There: Comparing the Shared Top 100 Names of England/Wales and Australia

03 Tuesday Sep 2013

Posted by in Name Data

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In May I compared the popular names Australia shares with the US, and now that the data for England/Wales has come out, I’m going to do the same with them. I think it’s interesting to see not only see how we compare with England/Wales, but to compare our results with the earlier ones for the United States. I used the Top 100 charts drawn up by Elea at British Baby Names.

BOYS

Similar Level of Popularity (within 10 places of each other)

Alexander, Ethan, Henry, Isaac, Jack, Jacob, Jake, James, Jayden, Joshua, Kai, Logan, Luke, Matthew, Max, Michael, Nathan, Oliver, Owen, Riley, Sebastian, Thomas, Tyler, William

More Popular in Australia (11-40 places higher)

Aiden, Bailey, Benjamin, Blake, Caleb, Connor, Elijah, Harrison, Hugo, Liam, Lucas, Mason, Noah, Ryan, Samuel

Much More Popular in Australia (more than 40 places higher)

No results

More Popular in England/Wales (11-40 places higher)

Adam, Aidan, Alex, Archie, Cameron, Charles, Charlie, Daniel, David, Dylan, Edward, Gabriel, Harry, Leo, Luca, Oscar, Toby, Zachary

Much More Popular in England/Wales (more than 40 places higher)

Callum, George, Joseph, Muhammad

GIRLS

Similar Level of Popularity (within 10 places of each other)

Amelia, Amy, Anna, Ava, Bella, Eliza, Elizabeth, Ella, Emily, Eva, Evelyn, Grace, Heidi, Imogen, Isabella, Isla, Jasmine, Layla, Lilly, Lily, Lucy, Maya, Mia, Olivia, Ruby, Scarlett, Skye, Sophia, Sophie

More Popular in Australia (11-40 places higher)

Abigail, Annabelle, Caitlin, Charlotte, Chloe, Emma, Georgia, Hannah, Matilda, Paige, Rose, Sienna, Summer, Violet, Willow, Zara

Much More Popular in Australia (more than 40 places higher)

Ivy, Maddison, Madison, Sarah, Zoe

More Popular in England/Wales (11-40 places higher)

Alice, Amber, Amelie, Ellie, Evie, Holly, Isabel, Isabelle, Jessica, Leah, Molly, Phoebe, Sofia

Much More Popular in England/Wales (more than 40 places higher)

Lacey, Lola, Poppy

Australia shares 62 boys names with the US, and 61 with England/Wales, which is pretty even. But we share 13 boys names of very similar popularity with the US, and 24 with England/Wales. You can see how hard it is to decide whether our boys names are more “American” or more “English”! Interestingly, we shared more boys names with Wales than with England, so perhaps our boys names are more “Welsh” than anything else.

Australia shares 54 girls names with the US, with 19 of those at a similar level of popularity, and 67 girls names with England/Wales, with 29 of them at a similar level of popularity – in several cases, they had exactly the same popularity ranking. This is a much more clear-cut situation – our girls names are significantly closer to those in England/Wales than to the United States.

An Interview with Linda Rosenkrantz from Nameberry

25 Sunday Aug 2013

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The baby name world changed forever when Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz penned their seminal work, Beyond Jennifer & Jason, back in the 1980s. Many more books were to follow, and along the way they educated a generation of parents on naming babies, and made it possible to admit to being interested in names – even obsessed with them. Now they have the Nameberry website, which provides a massive amount of information and opinion on names, creates a space for name nerds everywhere to meet up with other devotees, and inspires many a name blogger. Pam and Linda are the fairy godmothers of the baby name community, and you can link with them on Facebook and Twitter too.

Linda has been kind enough to take some time from her busy schedule to be interviewed on names, writing Jennifer & Jason, creating Nameberry, and how their love of names changed all our lives.

What is your name? 

Linda Rosenkrantz aka Linda Ruth Rosenkrantz Finch.

Have you ever changed your name?

This is a story that I’ve told in a Nameberry blog. It’s about how I was give a name at birth, but never called by that name. I was so traumatised when I began kindergarten and was called by that unfamiliar name that my wise mother allowed me to pick a new one for myself at the age of 5 or 6.

When did you first become interested in baby names?

I would say names in general rather than just baby names have always been a passion of mine from a very early age – a shrink might say it dates back to that kindergarten experience. And being a compulsive list-maker, I was constantly making lists of names, including names for fictional characters, names of prospective husbands, and of course, future children.

How did you and Pam meet?

A mutual friend brought her over for dinner to where I was then living, in Greenwich Village [in New York City], and we hit it off immediately – bonding, in part, over our mutual love for and attitudes towards names. Strangely enough, that was one of the few times we lived in the same city – she later moved to England, then the Bay area [of San Francisco], and then New Jersey. I settled in Los Angeles.

What made you decide to write Beyond Jennifer & Jason together, and how did the process of writing and publishing go?

Pam had been frustrated at the fact that there were no good name books around when she was naming her first child, Rory, and I had the idea of writing an article about the subject for Glamour magazine where Pam was an editor. We both realized that this had the makings of a book that would be a perfect project for a collaboration.

We wrote a very short outline of Beyond Jennifer & Jason and brought it to an agent, who thought it was so original – no one had ever looked at names this way, taking in their contemporary social context and categorising them – that he was sure he could sell it. It was bought by St. Martin’s Press, who published all ten of our name books, all edited by the excellent Hope Dellon.

Over the years, we have gone from communicating via thermal faxes to the internet – I’d say we email an average of 25 times a day, plus phone confabs and New York meeting several times a year. Responsibilities have been divided along the lines of our various strengths. But when it comes to working on some large project, we might split the boys and girls, then switch and edit each others’ efforts. It’s been a remarkably congenial, long-term marriage.

How did the success of your first book change your lives? Did you wake up one morning and discover you were now international baby name gurus?

First of all, here’s Pam’s answer to this question:

The first book changed my life in that it allowed me to quit my full-time job as an editor at “Glamour”, work at home as a writer full-time, and spend more time with my children – at that time, my oldest was only three years old. Although “Beyond Jennifer & Jason” was a big hit, we didn’t feel like international baby name gurus. Just writing books, you have so much less relationship with your readers, and it was difficult for us to tell how much influence our work really had. Our books were not published outside the US until the early 2000s, so we certainly didn’t feel like we were having an international impact overnight … or for a really long time.

Yes, it was a gradual process – and, although our books were successful in the UK, it wasn’t until the internet hit that we expanded into international “gurus”. Cumulatively, it has changed my life completely – widening my world in all sorts of ways, providing immense gratification. And it’s also been VERY HARD WORK.

When did you and Pam start the Nameberry website?

We started off with a smaller site, based on our book The Baby Name Bible. (We were fortunate enough to retain the digital rights to all our books – which is a very unusual situation). Nameberry began in 2008; we were excited to expand the word to a larger audience. We had no idea at the time that such a huge community of name lovers would form around the forums and blogs – an incredible group of informed, helpful people – now reaching two million people a month!

Do you have a favourite blog post that you have written for Nameberry?

Hard to come up with one post, but I especially enjoy those that require a lot of research, and feel good when I can come up with a topic that hasn’t been touched on before. (Which gets harder and harder with all the input we’re now getting from our great Berry Juice bloggers.)

There’s been some new developments on the site recently – what else is in the pipeline?

We are working on some new features, but we’re most excited about two new e-books – best girls’ names and best boys’ names.

What are some of your favourite names?

Pam and I did a slideshow of our faves on Nameberry, which includes several names I never tire of – Barnaby, Mirabella, Dinah, Duncan, and Araminta.

What names do you dislike?

Herman and Sherman.

Are there any names you love that don’t seem practical in real life?

That area is definitely narrowing. Some of the multi-syllabic and exotic names that once seemed too heavy for a baby to carry now seem perfectly wearable – like Persephone, Peregrine, Zinnia, Amaryllis and Peridot. The baby-naming climate is so much more “anything goes” than it was when Pam and I started.

What are your favourite names in the US Top 100?

Girls: Amelia, Lydia and Violet. Boys: Josiah, Julian and Lucas.

What are your favourite names in the rest of the US Top 1000?

Girls: Ivy, Maeve, Paloma and Arabella. Boys: Declan, Edison, Finnegan and Jedidiah.

What are your favourite names that have never been in the US 1000?

Verity, Boaz and Barnaby.

What is your child’s name?

Chloe Samantha (the Samantha was for my father, Samuel, who had recently died).

Did you and your husband agree easily on a baby name together?

Since my husband is British, we had some varying perceptions of names, especially boys names – and in fact never did find a boy’s name we both really loved. But when we hit on Chloe, there was instant agreement.

What is something that we may not know about you?

That I’ve written books on subjects ranging from Old Hollywood to collectibles to the history of telegrams to animation art to memoir to fiction. And Pam is a New York Times best-selling writer of fiction and humorous books.

(Photo of Linda and Pam from Nameberry; Linda is on the left)