US vs UK :: 1904

Inspiration :: Herman (art by Nada Herman)

1904 takes us into the 21st Century - Edwardian Britain and a period of change. Again we see more nicknamey names in the US chart for girls. There are two types of boys names I see standing out -the clunky Ronald, Gerald, Clyde and Eugene in both charts and the 'posh' names like Hubert and Percival in the UK charts that have too many connotations for use nowadays.

Names that were in the US chart but not the UK chart in 1904

Names that were in the UK chart but not the US chart in 1904

Name Data :: Origins of Names

Inspiration :: Maya (art by Maya Hayuk)

The name Maya has many different origins - Greek, American Indian, Spanish, Latin and Hebrew. It seems like many different languages had the same 'idea' at the same time.

I would have expected to see most names coming from Latin and Greek with others coming from English. But there was an overload of Hebrew names in the top 100 - England loves traditional, Biblical names like Hannah and Jacob. Surprisingly, there weren't many Greek names (like Thea, Phoebe and Leon). 

When we break the data down into the different genders, we get a more detailed picture. Latin or 'other' origins are favoured for girls and Hebrew or Celtic names for boys. This fits the theory that girls are more likely to be given aesthetically pleasing names (aka. flowing Latin names like Amelia) whereas boys are given names with history and status (aka. 'Strong' Biblical names).

And more than one quarter of all names in the top 100 were diminutives. They are gradually taking over our ranking charts!

New Surname Names :: F

Inspiration :: Farren (painting by David Farren)

Farren

Origin: English

Meaning: Occupational name for an oxherd

Features: Neutral sounds and fits in the popular two-syllable, -n ending surnames.

Similar Names: Darren, Aaron, Mason, Soren.

Feehally

Origin: Liverpudlian

Meaning: Variation of Fitzhenry

Features: Sounds Irish, energetic and friendly.

Similar Names: Rafferty, Flannery.

Fennell

Origin: English

Meaning: Grower or seller of fennell

Features: Nature name, occupational name with the option of the nickname Nell.

Similar Names: Merrill, Fern, Nell.

Fiala

Origin: Czech

Meaning: Violet

Features: Beautiful meaning, unusual with familar sounds.

Similar Names: Viola, Fenella, Nuala.

Fiorelle

Origin: French

Meaning: Little flower

Features: Pretty with lots of French flair.

Similar Names: Elle, Flora, Isabelle.

Flinn

Origin: Irish

Meaning: Reddish

Features: Has similarities to Finn but looks less flimsy than Flynn. It would make a really cool girls' name.

Similar Names: Finn, Flynn, Sloan. 

Foy

Origin: French

Meaning: Faith

Features: Simplicity in one syllable.

Similar Names: Faith, Roy, Fay.

Freidis

Origin: Jewish

Meaning: Joy

Features: Lovely meaning, unusual ending.

Similar Names: Freya, Frida, Phyllis.

Power and Popularity :: Part 1

Inspiration :: Oliver (picture from Oliver Twist)

Often one of the first criteria a couple have when choosing a name is that it ‘isn’t too popular’. Often we look at names that are within a certain rank – like looking at names below the top 100 or top 1000. But using the ranks as a guide can be deceiving. For one thing, the birth counts for boys and girls are different. The name Oliver (1^st in 2014 for boys) was given to 6649 babies but Amelia (1^st in 2014 for girls) was given to 5327 babies. In this first post in a series on the statistics of baby name popularity, I’m going to show you what popular and unpopular really look like in the real world.

The chart below shows the proportion of babies named out of each section.

You can see that the amount of babies given a name from the top 100 is very similar to the number of babies given a name from outside the top 1000. The remaining third shows a breakdown of the number of babies given a name ranked between 100 and 1000. I was really surprised by the number of people that choose a name outside the top 1000. This means that it is popular to be unusual so even though your child may be the only person in their class with their name, it won’t stand out as much because most other people will have an unusual name of their own. But this is okay because most parents don’t want their child to be standing out for a ‘weird’ name – they just don’t want their child to be 1 of 3 Emily’s in a class.

Talking of classes, I made a chart to show what the name popularities would look like in a class of 30. To do this I worked out the percentage of babies born out of the total babies born for each 100 section of the chart. I then found that percentage out of 30. It uses the same colour code as the pie chart above.

If your 2014 born child was in a classroom there would be:

9 children with names within the top 100

3 children with names ranked from 100-200

2 children with names ranked from 200-300

1 child with a name ranked from 300-400

1 child with a name ranked from 400-500

1 child with a name ranked from 500-600

1 child with a name ranked from 600-700

1 child with a name ranked from 700-1000

11 children with a name outside the top 1000

Of course this is only a model and can’t perfectly predict every classroom. There are going to be some clubs and groups that children are part with like minded parents. This means that there may be more of a certain type of name. I wonder whether this makes parents more fussy about popularity – they have a skewed view because the other parents they associate with are naming their children similar names. When, in the big scheme of things, the names they are choosing are not that popular.

Creative Baby Naming

Inspiration :: Skye (painting of the Isle of Skye)

People often make lists of names titled '10 Great Artist Names' or 'The Most Creative Musician Names'. These lists are great for honouring your favourite creative souls but what I find is that their names are often not all that creative. This is because they had no say in the name they were given, it was their parents' choice - which is why you get painters named Brian and fabric designers named Linda. So today I am showing you the names that creative people give their children - the names that the creative people themselves have chosen. 

I looked through issues of 'Mollie Makes' - a sewing and craft magazine that I read. The names were mostly short and sweet. They were a mix of vintage nicknames, Scandi minimalism, word names and English elegance.Here are some of the sibsets I found. 

Finn & Ruby
Daisy, Alfie, Frankie & Betty
Bor & Rover
Bay, Oscar, Hal & Orion
Wolf & Mus
Tallulah, Woody, Jesse & Mathilda
Bonnie & Betsy
Boudica Venus May
Jack & Otto
Ted
Max & Selma
Skye
Charlie, Nomi, Liv & Viggo
Violet
Rafferty
Ruby & George
Solie, Rosa & Pearl
Uma
Satine
Lois & Ellie
Skip
Babette, Rosemarijn, Anne-Floor & Friso
Cooper & Campell
Bert & Gus
Elfie
Edith
Sonny & Huck
Lina
Alfred & Flossie
Arthur & Kit
Ellerie
Atlee
Ruby
Anton & Hope
Emily
Moos

Through the Decades :: 1 syllable, Male

Inspiration :: Dale (Yorkshire Dales)

Below is a chart showing all the one syllable names in the top 100 for each decade. The names are listed in their order of popularity. For example, you can see how John is the top 1 syllable name in 1860 and 1870 but in 1964, it slips to 3rd place.

John, George and James take the the top places for a good 100 years. Others like Fred, Frank, George and Hugh were less popular but remained in the top 100 for a long length of time. Many of the name that appear fleetingly in the top 100, seem dated now - Carl, Bruce, Dale and Shane.

Modern 1 syllable names are a mix of historical (John and James) and Modern (Zain and Cole). The rise of nicknames has had a bigger impact on the boys' 1 syllable names than the girls. They are often diminutives of older, longer names such as Max for Maximillian, Ted for Edward or Frank for Franklin. The longer, older names are rarer now - sometimes we even forget that they were ever a diminutive!

Below are the 1 syllable names from the top 200 names in the UK 2014.

Below are the 1 syllable names in the top 200-1000 in the UK 2014.

From Surname to First Name :: A

Inspiration :: Arco

Surnames as first names are one of the biggest naming fashions at the moment. Think Mason and Sloane or Tierney. Some we forget that they were ever surnames like Donovan. But even with this trend, there are many undiscovered surnames that would fit in fine with the many children named Oliver and Joshua. Spanish and Italian surnames make great girly-girl names and there are many English and Scottish surnames which would create a fine name for a son. Another bonus to surname names is that they are not gender specific – which works very well for those who are conscious about stereotypical genders of names.

Below are some surnames beginning with A that are already in usage as first names but are still quite unusual:

Below are some surname beginning with A that are very rare for first names:

Abry     

Origin: French

Meaning: Shelter

Gender: Unisex

Unisex sounding with a hint of natural ruggedness. Doesn’t sound like a nickname but has the benefit of being short and simple. Could be used as an unusual alternative to Abby or as a diminutive of Abry.

Aliaga 

Origin: Spanish

Meaning: Person who lives in a place overgrown with gorse.   

Gender: Feminine

Feels like a merge of Agnes and Alana. Ali is familiar enough so that the exotic –aga ending doesn’t feel too weird.

Allegri 

Origin: Italian    

Meaning: Quick/lively  

Gender: Unisex

Allegro still feels stuck on sheet music. Allegra is starting to become popular for girls. Allegri has a historical yet fresh sounding, cheery feel.

               

Almeida             

Origin: Portuguese

Meaning: Place Name  

Gender: Feminine

A name that will fit in with popular girls’ names at the moment like Amelia but feels more distinctive. Alma or Mei could be good nicknames.

Alvey   

Origin: English  

Meaning: Form of Alfwy             

Gender: Unisex

Alvey does feel more like a nickname than a full name but some may argue that the extra ‘e’ makes it more substantial. It could be a good diminutive for Alfred.

               

Amiranda                                          

Origin: Spanish

Meaning: Woundrous/lovely

Gender: Feminine

This name seems to have so much strength but is also terrically feminine. She feels like a more unusual alternative to Matilda and of course Miranda. She also has the popular Am– prefix seen in name-nerd favourites Amabel and Amaryllis.

Antilla 

Origin: Finnish  

Meaning: Place Name  

Gender: Feminine         

A hint of Scandi fashion and the familiar three syllable, -a ending girls’ name style. The t adds strength and the An– prefix opens the door to many nickname options such as Annie.

Arco

Origin: Italian and Spanish          

Meaning: Bowmaker    

Gender: Masculine but could also be a brave choice for girls.

A mix of the trendy -o ending with an occupational name, a word name and a nod to the world of music. This name ticks so many boxes.

Ardes

Origin: Scottish

Meaning : Place Name 

Gender: Masculine but could also be a brave choice for girls.

This name feels like it would never stand out (but they would never be Ardes L or Ardes E in class because of its rarity)

               

Arrietta

Origin: Basque

Meaning: Place Name  

Gender: Feminine

If Arrietty is too ‘Borrower’ for you. A perkier alternative to Harriet I think.

New Names

Inspiration: Mariposa (the Spanish word for butterfly)

I study the English language as part of my education and I am realising parallels between this and the world of names. I have been studying neologisms (new words) and how they are created and I thought I might pick out a few processes that apply to names as well as words. I highlighted the problem of how to create new names in my posts on the journeys of andrognous names and this may start explaining this.

Loan Words
Or should we call them 'loan names'? These are names we borrow from different languages. Think of Eleni, Giovanna, Xavier or Matthias. Many names are loan names but have become so mainstream that we have forgotten this. Henry comes from the French name Henri but has gone through a slight orthographical change (a change in spelling). Many diminutives-turned-standalone-names like Bella or Lottie were originally loan names. You can find loan words of your own by browsing the top 100 lists from other countries. It is very useful if you can understand enough of a foreign language to pick out names from international baby naming forums because you can find some hidden gems that speakers of English have never heard before.

Here are some beautiful names I found from the Turkish top 100 in 2012:
Zehra, Meryem, Rabia, Esma, Ceylin, Esila, Miray, Aylin.
Eren, Ismail, Kaan, Berkay, Ensar, Onur.


Compounding
Compound words are made up of two other words. Like wind+mill= windmill, Annabelle, Annmarie or Marybeth are compound names. Some names can seem like they are compounds but are just normal names. Elizabeth seems to come from Eliza and Beth but I think they have only become standalone names after being used as nicknames. Liliana is another example. Lil is a name. Liana is a name. But Liliana is not a compound name.

Here are some plausible compound names:
Maudlily, Liluna, Islamy, Leahlina, Evelisa, Elizabella.


Conversion
Usually conversion is where a word changes its grammatical function such as changing from a noun into a verb. Just think of how we use Google as verb (like 'I'm just going to Google this') But maybe conversion in names is little different. Maybe conversion means changing from what we think of as a 'word' into a 'name'. Word names have become very popular. Flower and jewel names (like Pearl and Rose) were popular historically but recently we have been picking from a wider vocabulary especially in celebrity culture. We have North, Saint, Ever and Apple. We often combine loan names and word names (use word names in different languages) like Soleil or Beau. If a word has a desirable meaning (such as love or beauty or happiness) then it is more likely to become popular.

Here are some words from Spanish that could become names:
Vivir, Almendra, Milagro, Mariposa, Lluvia.


Affixation
Affixes are collections of letters that are added onto the beginning or end of a word. Like 'Dis-' can be added to make 'disrespectful', 'disallow' or 'dishonest'. Sometimes affixes can get confused with compounding as they are very similar.  The line between affixation and compounding seems to be quite blurred in the world of names.

Some affixes include -anna, -bel, -lyn and -a. It is harder to find prefixes like Leo- (as in Leonore or Leocadia) but they do exist. Marilyn, Caitlyn and Jocelyn are good examples of the use of an affix.


Blending
Many of the processes I have explained are more relevant to frilly, elaborate girls' names but blending is definitely also for the boys. Think Aiden, Kayden, Jaden, Hayden. Think... Blending is all about changing a very small part of an existing name. Of course, some blends sound better than others. From Taylor, you could have Naylor, Saylor or even Haylor. But when I use Traylor, it sounds awfully like 'trailer' and Jaylor sounds awfully like 'jailer'. You have to be very careful!

Here are some blended names that might be usable:
Mackson (from Jackson), Trentley (from Bentley), Browan (from Rowan)

Journeys of Androgynous Names :: Part 2

Inspiration :: Madison (Madison Square Park)

This post follows on from Journeys of Androgynous Names:: Part 1. You may want to read it first if you haven't already.

Of course, there are a few rebellious names that do not fit the mould of being male, becoming unisex and then female. Sometimes there is a sharper change often spurred on by a catalyst from the media. The jaunty surname Bailey went from female to almost completely unisex in just a year. It is a similar story with Madison which was always a male name. In 1983 it was unheard of to see a female Madison but by 1985 practically all Madisons were female and it has been waving the pink flag ever since. But what causes these sudden changes? I think that it has a lot to do with celebrity culture and many of the sudden changes happened in the 70s and 80s. For example the film ‘Splash’, which features a mermaid named Madison, is an obvious contributor to the popularity of the name.

It seems unfair that the majority of names move from male to female – the girls get the hand me down clothes that are no longer fashionable in the boys’ world. But I’m not just being an angry feminist; women get the short straw with language anyway. There are countless words in the dictionary that get used negatively towards females but only a handful for men. Our androcentric language seems to have influenced our naming culture as well. However, there are a few misfit names that make the rare journey from female to male. Theo is a well-established male name today and the trendy diminutive of Theodore but from 1880 to 1930, Theo was popular female name.

If the majority of names follow the pattern of travelling from male to female, then we will start to hit a problem. Where will new boys names come from? If something doesn’t happen, we are going to be reduced to an ever smaller pool of boys’ names. But I think parents are already finding the answer. They are looking at the historical roots of already popular boys’ names and discovering more unusual names. Joshua was rare for boys until the 1950s where I suspect that the group of parents that started the trend were seen as courageous and innovative. Now, Joshua is high in the charts along with other Biblical favourites such as Benjamin and Isaac. Even characters like Ezra moved 115 places in the UK popularity charts from 2013 to 2014. It seems strange that soon we might be seeing little Zephaniahs or Boazez in nurseries and pre-schools. However, these names seem safer to use, as names with strong historical associations don’t often change gender. Invented or modern names usually have unstable genders and make the switch from male to female.

Nicknames are also adding to the amount of boys’ names. It is becoming more acceptable to put diminutives like Charlie and Freddie on the birth certificate. This doubles the amount of names on offer for sons. But maybe this divide in genders is gradually phasing out. Maybe in the future, all names will be able to be used for girls and boys. 

100 year rule :: 1914 and 2014

Inspiration :: Mary (St Mary's Lighthouse, No. 1 in 1914)

Name nerds use the term '100 year rule' to explain the pattern of name popularity where popular names from 100 years ago become popular again. But how accurate is this 'rule'? I'm going to look at the similarities between the 2014 and 1914 chart to discover this.

Names that were in the top 100 of 1914 and 2014.

27% of names from the top 100 of 1914 were in the top 100 of 2014.

Many of these names are those we would consider 'classic' but is this just because they are historical and are popular at the moment? 

Names in the top 100 of 1914 and the top 1000 (but not top 100) of 2014.

40% of names from the top 100 of 1914 were in the top 1000 (but not top 100) of 2014.

67% of names from the top 100 of 1914 were in the top 1000 of 2014.

These names are what people would call 'vintage'. They are the comeback names that seem fresh and exciting after being uncommon for 100 years.

Names from 1914 that were not in the top 1000 in 2014.

33% of names from the top 100 of 1914 were not in the top 1000 of 2014.

These names are the names that people would say were too 'granny-ish' and would be unlikely to return to our charts. However, I think some such as Marion, Bessie and Freda could make a comeback - just a bit later than their 100 year schedule.

I do not have enough data to comment whether the '100 year rule' works or is just a myth but hopefully, when I have data from other years and from the boys' names, I will be able to create some graphs and charts to reveal the truth.

Journeys of Androgynous Names :: Part 1

Inspiration :: Paris (a name that became female in the 1990s)

Some names metamorphosise like butterflies - changing gender. They start as an egg, then grow into a caterpillar, form into a chrysalis and finally emerge as a beautiful painted lady or red admiral. Many names do not go through a gender change but most names that do go through a similar pattern. Most gender-switched names started life as male. It may surprise you that well known female names such as Lauren and Allison were male at birth. But don’t worry; names like John, Peter, and Paul that have been masculine since their debuts in the New Testament are unlikely to transform into the ultimate ‘girly-girl’ names any time soon.

The next stage of the life cycle is where a few brave souls make the decision to use the boys’ section of their baby name Bible for their darling daughters. This effect is magnified if the name reached its peak and is having a dip in popularity. Parents start to look at dated boys’ names which will sound fresh again if used for daughters. The name may even become androgynous for a while, wavering between masculinity and femininity. At the moment, names such as Emerson and Emory are unisex after being entirely masculine for a hundred years.

The period of being androgynous can last more than 50 years. Paris started to be unisex at the beginning of the 1940s but it was only in the 1990s where it became significantly feminine. But some names, like Hilary switch in only a few years. At the moment, occupational names (names that come from work names) such as Harper or surname names such as Cameron are becoming popular as unisex names. No doubt the actress Cameron Diaz and little Harper Seven Beckham have helped these names rise through the ranks.

After the indecision of being androgynous, names draw nearer into old age as they become feminine. Names such as Kelly and Kelsey started life as masculine, became unisex, then feminine and are now slowly dying as they decline in popularity. Brooke and Alexis, which were both male names, have seen a boost in popularity for females over the past few years but I fear that their time to shine may be over as they plummet down the ranks for both genders. Maybe in 100 years, they will appear back in the popularity charts as male.