In 2014 I featured a series of blog posts introducing you to 2,014 names. For the most part they were names that were brand new to me as well. Some names may be more familiar but I found the meaning or origin or some other aspect of the name made it worthy of inclusion here. You may love some of the names, you may hate some, but hopefully you enjoy learning about all of them.

Monday, December 5, 2016

NTMN-9

GIRLS

Altine

Clema

Danneell

Daviette

Dixie Colledge
                                  
Larsina



BOYS

Holbert

Maxence

Friday, October 14, 2016

NTMN - 8

GIRLS


Cyrilla - feminine form of the name Cyril, which is derived from the Greek 'kyrios' which meant 'lord' or 'master' and came from a verb meaning "to find or possess".

Moncha - Irish variant of Monica



Nedelijka - Illyrian, from the name of the day Sunday.

Christopherine - an English feminine form of the Greek name Christopher meaning "the Christ-bearer".

Christophera - English feminine form of the Greek name Christopher.




BOYS

Cristovalo - a variant form of the name Christopher, Italian, I think, though Christopher comes from Greek.

Christachi - Greek variant of the name Christopher.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

NTMN-7

GIRLS

Servant girl plucking a chicken
 18th century French painting

Ancilée - French, from Latin, meaning "a servant".

Eddeve - English, derived from German and meaning 'rich gift'. I would love to know the correct pronunciation! With just my guessing it sounds beautiful though!

Emezetta - apparently at least once an Emezetta was listed on a census form as Embesetta. I also found the form Emezette. It may be a familiar form or type of endearment of the name Emma or Emily. As Amezetta is another spelling of the name that I found, it 'may' be a type of endearment for the name Amy or Amelia. It would also be possible that it is a feminine form of the Hebrew name Amos (in the Bible it is at times spelled Amoz). Another possibility is that it is a feminine form of the name Amasa. I will be glad to hone in at some point on an actual etymology or clue on the origin of the name!

Hilza - Lusitanian, from Hebrew and meaning "God's oath".

Joletta - English, derived from the Greek name Iolanthe, meaning "violet flower".

orchids of the variety laelia milleri fidelensis

Laelia - Latin, the name of a Vestal Virgin of Rome. It was also a name given to girls born to the family of ancient Rome called the Laellii. Males were named Laelius or Laelianus. One of the women of the Laellii who was called Laelia was known for her perfect Latin. There is also an orchid called laelia.

Rigonthe - French, derived from German and meaning "ruling war".

Sealbflaith - Erse form a Celtic name meaning 'lady of possessions'.

Theone - Greek, meaning "godly".

Wendelgard - German, meaning "wandering guard".




BOYS



Abishalom - Hebrew, from 'ab' meaning 'father' and 'shalom' meaning 'peace'.

Achashverosh - Hebrew form a Zend name, meaning "venerable king".

Adalfieri -  "noble pledge"

Dunulf - German, meaning 'hill wolf'.

Miyamoto - Japanese, from 'miya' meaning 'temple' or 'shrine' or 'palace' and 'moto' meaning 'base' or 'root' or 'origin'. 

Niklau - Bavarian form of the Greek name Nicholas, meaning "victory of the people". It is ultimately derived from the name of the Greek goddess of victory, Nike.

Pedrinho - Portuguese form of the Greek name Petros, meaning "stone".

Monday, August 8, 2016

The Botanical Magazine, or Flower Garden Displayed


Google Books has made available Curtis' Botanical Magazine or Flower Garden. Not every print is in color. But here are some of the amazingly beautiful ones to be found in this book. I believe I will try to do an embroidery or cross stitch of these. They are lovely! Click on the link above to go to the book on Google Books. 
  

The following poem appeared on the title page of The Botanical Magazine, or Flower Garden Displayed, by William Curtis, Volume IV, published in 1796.


 

Some of the pictures show the age of the volume that contained them more than other, such as the one below.

 
 

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Saturday's Sampling of Names

GIRLS



BOYS

Bayliss
-French, meaning "bailiff".
Below are 25 names that were among those most frequently used for babies last year in the U.S.

116 Damian3,474 Delilah 2,706
117 Carlos3,400 Andrea 2,699
118 Max3,398 Natalia 2,686
119 Harrison3,316 Lauren 2,677
120 Weston3,305 Morgan 2,670
121 Brantley3,282 Rylee 2,668
122 Braxton3,278 Sydney 2,647
123 Axel3,229 Adalynn 2,612
124 Diego3,218 Mary 2,602
125 Abel3,216 Ximena 2,591
126 Wesley3,213 Jade 2,549
127 Santiago3,202 Liliana 2,545
128 Jesus3,166 Brielle 2,519
129 Silas3,153 Ivy 2,489
130 Giovanni3,118 Trinity 2,485
131 Bryce3,114 Josephine 2,477
132 Jayce3,105 Adalyn 2,450
133 Bryson3,088 Jocelyn 2,441
134 Alex3,085 Emery 2,409
135 Everett3,032 Adeline 2,391
136 George3,032 Jordyn 2,362
137 Eric3,028 Ariel 2,332
138 Ivan3,028 Everly 2,315
139 Emmett3,026 Lilly 2,294
140 Kaiden3,006 Paige 2,278

Trends here that I like:

X appropriateness

--- not everyone minds their ps and qs these days when it comes to spelling or how to overdo something in a stylish way versus in a 'gauche' way. Max, Alex, and Ximena are examples of doing things appropriately.

One syllable wellness

--- sometimes people make very poor choices of which one syllable name to use. One syllables can draw a lot of attention or be demure, depending, and either is a fine reason for using a one syllable name for your child. If you do it well. Paige and Max are great examples. I've come to appreciate Bryce, also (spell it wrong and now you've done the name and your child a disservice. Yes, Brice is fine. It's the odd stuff to stay away from). Please remember to pair the one syllable name well also. Paige Simone, very cool. Max Tex --- oh God NO!!

Handsome to the end

--- the surname trend is still going quite strong. I like typical use of surnames as first names, such as Harrison, but also names you might not have thought to use (Ellington comes to mind). But do steer clear of surnames that are unattractive as first names, or as first names on the wrong gender. Bryson on a boy is fantastic, but on a girl, horrible. Braxton as a first name is just a bad idea. I can't guess where this trend got started. It would do well to stop.

Sunday Best

--- The Bible is a great resource for baby names and I'm glad to see some of the better ones this high on the SSA list. Mary, Abel, Ariel, and Delilah.




Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Some want a place in the sun, and some prefer the shade

I thought it would be good to look at the 15 names that hang just below the top 100 baby names from 2015.

They are:

101 Tristan
Alexandra
102 Roman
Hadley
103 Leonardo
Eliana
104 Camden
Sophie
105 Brody
London
106 Luis
Elena
107 Miles
Kimberly
108 Micah
Bailey
109 Vincent
Maria
110 Justin
Luna
111 Greyson
Willow
112 Declan
Jasmine
113 Maxwell
Kinsley
114 Juan
Valentina
115 Cole
Kayla


I rhink these are mostly good names. I would match them up in combos like this:

Tristan Cole
Justin Miles
Vincent Micah
Maxwell Brody

Sophie Valentina
Maria Kimberly
Jasmine Luna
Elena London
Willow Alexandra

Making Use of the SSA Top 100 Baby Names of 2015

The 10 best combos I could come up with (boys and girls) using the bottom 50 names of the top 100 names from last year:

Thomas Blake
Robert Aaron
Jeremiah Adam
Brayden Josiah
Ian Theodore
Zachary Easton
Nathaniel Ezra
Hudson Leo
Adrian Sawyer
Jordan Elias



Katherine Julia
Lucy Autumn
Annabelle Cora
Clara Isabelle
Sarah Naomi
Madeline Aurora
Alice Eleanor
Sadie Alyssa
Faith Vivian
Hazel Caroline




NTMN - 6

GIRLS

Abelona

Anina

Aninta

Athy

Cleary 

Eleason

Rhodey

Williamtina




BOYS

Armwell

Bartle

Gerkin

Godardus

Hastings

Hynaman

Langhorn

Lynford

Merchant

Mifflin

Nace

Pekah

Theobald

Thursday, May 12, 2016

A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of John and Mary Palmer of Concord ...





The two above descendants were listed on page 49 of the book I gave in the title to this post, under the heading "Fourth Generation". I found it in the first place due to Mary who married a man named Lockhart and then moved West (yes, thank you, nice to know, and we have sort of the time frame. Probably no sooner than the late 1780s and no later than.... The book was published in 1875 but I should think they migrated before turning 100 years old! Round about 1800 would be perfect and a time of a lot of migration west, to Ohio, for instance.) But I was more interested than such a scarce reference would normally generate due to her sister Ann who married a man named Benjamin Starr and then moved to PA (admittedly just to Chester County, which is almost like not moving to PA at all). Mom (my mom) in her research met a fellow Lockhart descendant by the name of Starr who lived in PA or OH I think. Though I suppose that Starr was her married name. It's always helpful to know which people married into which families, because, well, it just is. I wanted to keep this information without spending a lot of time on the source, but without losing where to find it, should I find other information I wish to check against this. I know that Parkers married into the Dennys and with the McClures and that Josiah Lockhart of Lancaster's wife was a McClure. But I do not offhand recall if there are any Palmers in our extended relations. Not even relations so much as just 'oh hi, how are you' folk.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

LANDMARKS OF THE SSA LIST OF THE 1000 MOST POPULAR NAMES OF 2015

On your tour of the SSA list of the top 1000 names in America in 2015, be sure to take note of these:

Tristan and Jasmine are no longer ranked 100. Tristan has stayed close to home, falling out of the top 100 but only by one spot, as he is now listed at 101.Jasmine seems to have made a definite move away from 'stardom' as she fell 12 spots to 112. Instead, become at ease with Elias and Khloe. Those are the new residents at 100, though they represent movement in opposite directions. Khloe, like her predecessor Jasmine, has arrived at 100 from a spot 12 spots higher as she was ranked 88 in 2014. It is not premature to suggest that either Khloe as a name is becoming less popular (or is it? Chloe went from 18 in 2014 to 17 in 2015, which suggests relative stability) or it has lost status due to an increase in popularity of another spelling of the name or to a greater variety of spellings becoming more common for the name. Elias is making a slow and steady move up the list, going from 103 in 2014 to 100 in 2015.

Which names are 'waiting in the wings'? Or have experienced a growth in popularity that suggests they may soon enter the top 100? And which names are 'on their way out', showing a decrease in their popularity? Some names tend to hover around a certain level of use or familiarity. Which names are relatively well-used names but just not 'the most popular'? Also remember that this is NATIONAL data. But all of these people live in certain places where a name may be experiencing something different from the national trend, it contributes to the overall situation of the name, but it is not what you experience in any given place that you go.


WAITING IN THE WINGS

Jayce (in 2014: 150 in 2015: 132, rose 18 spots)
Emmanuel (in 2014: 165 in 2015: 150, rose 15 spots)
Bradley (in 2014: 183 in 2015: 173 rose 10 spots)
Leilani (in 2014: 218 in 2015: 178, rose 40 spots)
Everly (in 2014: 178 in 2015: 138, rose 40 spots)
Adalyn (in 2014: 153 in 2015: 132, rose 21 spots)
Isla (in 2014: 150 in 2015: 141, 9 rose spots)


ON THEIR WAY OUT

Kaleb (in 2014: 147 in 2015: 165, fell 18 spots)
Richard (in 2014: 141 in 2015: 155, fell 14 spots)
Ivan (in 2014: 132 in 2015: 138, fell 6 spots)
Maxwell (in 2014: 107 in 2015: 113, fell 6 spots)
Kendall (in 2014: 132, in 2015: 147, fell 15 spots)
Brooke (in 2014: 138 in 2015: 150, fell 12 spots)
Reese (in 2014: 165, in 2015: 173, fell 8 spots)


THE GRASS IS NOT GREENER

Jonah (in 2014: 138 in 2015: 143, fell 5 spots)
Jesse (in 2014: 174 in 2015: 178, fell 4 spots)
Kyle (in 2014: 178 in 2015: 175, rose 3 spots)
Ashton (in 2014: 143 in 2015: 141, rose 2 spots)
Miles (in 2014: 108 in 2015: 107, rose 1 spot)
Micah (in 2014: 109 in 2015: 108, rose 1 spot)
Gracie (in 2014: 165 in 2015: 163, rose 2 spots)
Lyla (in 2014: 141 in 2015: 142, fell 1 spot)



Tristan seems to be comfortable where he is, at 100. He only rose 1 spot from 101 in 2014. Camden also, at 104, has only dropped 3 spots from 101. Alexandra, also 101 in 2015, is on her way out, dropping 9 spots from 92 to 101. Kayla, a name ranked at 102 in 2014 has fallen to 115 this year, dropping 13 spots. Morgan has fallen further, going from 101 in 2014 to 120 in 2015.

Some names have 'crossed the barrier' or entered the top 100 names this year. Cora did it, leaving her spot at 109 for a spot in the sun up at 88 (that's 21 spots she skipped over!) Theodore did as well, slipping into the top 100 at 99, leaving his place at 126 wide open, he moved 27 spots! Sawyer did the same, leaving his spot at 110 to jump in the 100 at 94 (so only 16 spots ahead).

Hazel made herself NOTEWORTHY by swooping in and capturing a seat at 63 from her niche on the sidelines at 105 in 2014. Which is to say that she sailed over 42 spots to wind up where she is now. Along with Leilani and Everly, she's among the 'movers and shakers' crowd of the top 100.



More Fun With the SSA List of Names from 2015

First, a little history.

Liam seems to me the name in the top 10 that is newest to U.S. name royalty. This is not his first year ranked #2, but it is only his 4th year to be among the 10 most popular names for boys. It's only his 5th year to be in the top 20 names. Liam has only been ranked among the top 50 names for 7 years now. He has spent a total of 10 years ranked in the top 100. But that's just how long he's been among the MOST popular names given. He's been among what I call 'the most familiar' names given since 1994, which rather corresponds to the time since actor Liam Neeson became 'a household name'. Personally. I don't recall ever having heard of Liam as a name until I became familiar with Liam Neeson due to movies like Rob Roy (with one of my favorite actresses, Jessica Lange). That is to say, Liam has been one of the top 500 names given since then. So how long has he been in the top 1000 baby names given? Once you leave the top 500 and start talking about the top 1000 names given you are talking about names like:

            Rank in  2015      1994      1967                     1916                        Year Rank was Highest
                                                                         (year Liam 1st entered
                                                                          the top 1000 names)                                          with rank in (  )                                  
                                                                                                                                                                                

Darius                501         155         590                       --                           1991 -1992  (152)  
Douglas              618        156          33                        151                        1942      (23)
Briggs                745          --             --                          --                          2015     (745)
Reginald             875        295          126                      346                        1968      (118)
Yehuda               953         --              --                          --                         2012      (897)
       

Monday, May 9, 2016

My Top Ten Names of the Top 100

From the SSA's list of the top 100 baby names of 2015, these are the 10 I like the best (their actual rank on the list is in parentheses):

James (9)
Matthew (16)
Alexander (8)
Aaron (50)
Thomas (54)
Michael (7)
Benjamin (12)
Nathaniel (94)
Jonathan (44)
Henry (33)
-------------
Elizabeth (14)
Katherine (82)
Alice (98)
Lily (27)
Julia (86)
Ellie (55)
Ella (17)
Anna (34)
Lucy (61)
Annabelle (57)

The One Hundred Best Names of the Year (2015)

Thank you, Social Security Administration, for this data.

Popularity in 2015
RankMale nameFemale name
1NoahEmma
2LiamOlivia
3MasonSophia
4JacobAva
5WilliamIsabella
6EthanMia
7JamesAbigail
8AlexanderEmily
9MichaelCharlotte
10BenjaminHarper
11ElijahMadison
12DanielAmelia
13AidenElizabeth
14LoganSofia
15MatthewEvelyn
16LucasAvery
17JacksonChloe
18DavidElla
19OliverGrace
20JaydenVictoria
21JosephAubrey
22GabrielScarlett
23SamuelZoey
24CarterAddison
25AnthonyLily
26JohnLillian
27DylanNatalie
28LukeHannah
29HenryAria
30AndrewLayla
31IsaacBrooklyn
32ChristopherAlexa
33JoshuaZoe
34WyattPenelope
35SebastianRiley
36OwenLeah
37CalebAudrey
38NathanSavannah
39RyanAllison
40JackSamantha
41HunterNora
42LeviSkylar
43ChristianCamila
44JaxonAnna
45JulianPaisley
46LandonAriana
47GraysonEllie
48JonathanAaliyah
49IsaiahClaire
50CharlesViolet
51ThomasStella
52AaronSadie
53EliMila
54ConnorGabriella
55JeremiahLucy
56CameronArianna
57JosiahKennedy
58AdrianSarah
59ColtonMadelyn
60JordanEleanor
61BraydenKaylee
62NicholasCaroline
63RobertHazel
64AngelHailey
65HudsonGenesis
66LincolnKylie
67EvanAutumn
68DominicPiper
69AustinMaya
70GavinNevaeh
71NolanSerenity
72ParkerPeyton
73AdamMackenzie
74ChaseBella
75JaceEva
76IanTaylor
77CooperNaomi
78EastonAubree
79KevinAurora
80JoseMelanie
81TylerLydia
82BrandonBrianna
83AsherRuby
84JaxsonKatherine
85MateoAshley
86JasonAlexis
87AydenAlice
88ZacharyCora
89CarsonJulia
90XavierMadeline
91LeoFaith
92EzraAnnabelle
93BentleyAlyssa
94SawyerIsabelle
95KaydenVivian
96BlakeGianna
97NathanielQuinn
98RyderClara
99TheodoreReagan
100EliasKhloe

Sunday, May 8, 2016

2015's Top 50 Names

According to the SSA, these names were the most popular last year:

Popularity in 2015
RankMale nameFemale name
1NoahEmma
2LiamOlivia
3MasonSophia
4JacobAva
5WilliamIsabella
6EthanMia
7JamesAbigail
8AlexanderEmily
9MichaelCharlotte
10BenjaminHarper
11ElijahMadison
12DanielAmelia
13AidenElizabeth
14LoganSofia
15MatthewEvelyn
16LucasAvery
17JacksonChloe
18DavidElla
19OliverGrace
20JaydenVictoria
21JosephAubrey
22GabrielScarlett
23SamuelZoey
24CarterAddison
25AnthonyLily
26JohnLillian
27DylanNatalie
28LukeHannah
29HenryAria
30AndrewLayla
31IsaacBrooklyn
32ChristopherAlexa
33JoshuaZoe
34WyattPenelope
35SebastianRiley
36OwenLeah
37CalebAudrey
38NathanSavannah
39RyanAllison
40JackSamantha
41HunterNora
42LeviSkylar
43ChristianCamila
44JaxonAnna
45JulianPaisley
46LandonAriana
47GraysonEllie
48JonathanAaliyah
49IsaiahClaire
50CharlesViolet





I enjoy comparing things, so here's the list for 2014




Popularity in 2014
RankMale nameFemale name
1NoahEmma
2LiamOlivia
3MasonSophia
4JacobIsabella
5WilliamAva
6EthanMia
7MichaelEmily
8AlexanderAbigail
9JamesMadison
10DanielCharlotte
11ElijahHarper
12BenjaminSofia
13LoganAvery
14AidenElizabeth
15JaydenAmelia
16MatthewEvelyn
17JacksonElla
18DavidChloe
19LucasVictoria
20JosephAubrey
21AnthonyGrace
22AndrewZoey
23SamuelNatalie
24GabrielAddison
25JoshuaLillian
26JohnBrooklyn
27CarterLily
28LukeHannah
29DylanLayla
30ChristopherScarlett
31IsaacAria
32OliverZoe
33HenrySamantha
34SebastianAnna
35CalebLeah
36OwenAudrey
37RyanAriana
38NathanAllison
39WyattSavannah
40HunterArianna
41JackCamila
42ChristianPenelope
43LandonGabriella
44JonathanClaire
45LeviAaliyah
46JaxonSadie
47JulianRiley
48IsaiahSkylar
49EliNora
50AaronSarah


Names that left the top 50 names in 2015:
Aaron (droppped to 52), Eli (dropped to 53)
Sarah (dropped to 58), Sadie (dropped to 52), Gabriella (dropped to 54), Arianna (dropped to 56)

The names that took their places:

Charles (rose from 51 to 50), Grayson (rose from 63 to 47)
Violet (rose from 67 to 50), Ellie (rose from 55 to 47), Paisley (rose from 53 to 45), Alexa (rose from 63 to 32)

For fun, I made some name combinations with the names on the 2015 list. I liked these best:

James Andrew
Alexander Luke
Matthew Isaac
Benjamin Caleb
Chloe Aria
Elizabeth Natalie
Victoria Leah
Emma Audrey

TOP 20 NAMES OF 2015

Many thanks to the Social Security Administration for giving us this data.

The top 20 names are:

Popularity in 2015
RankMale nameFemale name
1NoahEmma
2LiamOlivia
3MasonSophia
4JacobAva
5WilliamIsabella
6EthanMia
7JamesAbigail
8AlexanderEmily
9MichaelCharlotte
10BenjaminHarper
11ElijahMadison
12DanielAmelia
13AidenElizabeth
14LoganSofia
15MatthewEvelyn
16LucasAvery
17JacksonChloe
18DavidElla
19OliverGrace
20JaydenVictoria

For comparison, here are the top 20 names of 2014:

Popularity in 2014
RankMale nameFemale name
1NoahEmma
2LiamOlivia
3MasonSophia
4JacobIsabella
5WilliamAva
6EthanMia
7MichaelEmily
8AlexanderAbigail
9JamesMadison
10DanielCharlotte
11ElijahHarper
12BenjaminSofia
13LoganAvery
14AidenElizabeth
15JaydenAmelia
16MatthewEvelyn
17JacksonElla
18DavidChloe
19LucasVictoria
20JosephAubrey

The biggest changes are that Joseph and Aubrey dropped out of the top 20 names this year and Oliver and Grace both entered the top 20 at 19, plus the changes with the top 10... Harper and Benjamin rising and Madison and Daniel dropping into the bottom half of the top 20. The other big change was that Jayden dropped 5 places, from 15 to 20

I thought it might also be nice to consider the longterm history of these names. Emma, for instance, has been number 1 for 2 straight years in a row. She may have been that popular in the 1800s. but the SSA data does not go back any further than 1880, when she was ranked 3rd, after Mary and Anna. Victoria, at the bottom of the list, has spent 2 straight years in the top 20. Even though dropping to 20 from 19 may indicate she's on her way out of the top 20 names, the last time she was ranked this high for 2 years in a row, last year's high school seniors were brand-spankin' new in the hospital nursery.

On the boy's side, let's take a look at William, a perennial classic for, well, hundreds of years now. It has been ranked 5th since 2009, except for 1 year at #3 (in 2011). It has fallen as low as 20th, but it has never fallen lower than that. It was not this popular, though, for a long time, by which I mean, it was not in the top 5 names, from 1950 until '09. But before 1950 it was 4th for 2 1/2 decades, and #3 before that, and #2 before that, in fact, as far back as the SSA data goes. 

And Matthew. Though he's at 15 right now, his luck has varied somewhat, from being ranked 2nd in the mid-90s to 209 in 1931. He only entered the top 100 60 years ago in 1956, which surprised me a bit, as I thought Matthew had always been as popular as he was when I was growing up, which is about when he joined the top 10 names. Only since 2008 has he fallen out of the top ten. Matthew is one of my all-time favorite names, so I hope he stops dropping and climbs right back up on top. He's never been #1 and I think it's high time he was!

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Top Baby Names in the U.S.A. for 2015

Every year on the Friday before Mother's Day the Social Security Administration releases the most popular baby names in the United States as calculated through requests for social security numbers of children born here the previous year. Before you look at the top 10 names for 2015, have a look at 2014.


Popularity in 2014
RankMale nameFemale name
1NoahEmma
2LiamOlivia
3MasonSophia
4JacobIsabella
5WilliamAva
6EthanMia
7MichaelEmily
8AlexanderAbigail
9JamesMadison
10DanielCharlotte

The main difference, I think you'll notice, is that not much changed. The top 3 names for both boys and girls are exactly the same. Other than losing Daniel, on the boy's side, and Madison, on the girl's side, thereby gaining Harper (for girls) and regaining Benjamin (for boys), the only other difference is that a few names switched spots. The biggest change really is that Ava is now in the top 4 names used for girls last year. Will she make it to #1 someday? Is 4 the highest she'll go? Is she here to stay, a new classic or will she fall out of favor for generations?

Popularity in 2015
RankMale nameFemale name
1NoahEmma
2LiamOlivia
3MasonSophia
4JacobAva
5WilliamIsabella
6EthanMia
7JamesAbigail
8AlexanderEmily
9MichaelCharlotte
10BenjaminHarper

I thought it might be nice to examine the bottom half of the top 20 names in 2015 by just making some name combinations using the first half of the list (names 1-10).

Here's what I came up with:

Noah Jayden
Liam  Oliver
Mason Elijah
Jacob Logan
William Jackson
Ethan Lucas
James Matthew
Alexander David
Michael Aiden
Benjamin Daniel

Emma Victoria
Olivia Chloe
Sophia Grace
Ava Madison
Isabella Evelyn
Mia Elizabeth
Abigail Avery
Emily Sofia
Charlotte Ella
Harper Amelia  

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

NTMN - 5

GIRLS

Varna



BOYS

Latane

Muscoe


NTMN - 4

BOYS

Ludwell

Templeman

Townshend


I'm familiar with the names, but had not seen them used as first names before. These were all men involved in the Episcopal Church in Virginia at the end of the 18th century.

Well, actually, I don't suppose I ever had seen Templeman either as a name or word before.

Friday, April 8, 2016

NTMN - 3

Just two girl names this time:


Joyella -

Lloydine -



Saturday, March 19, 2016

New to Me Names - 2

GIRLS

Aurania

Cyntha -

Letha -

Marintha

Onila

Orissia - this is the name of a distant cousin of mine, who was born in the 1800s.

Rhodetha -Orissia's sister, so also my cousin.

Roseltha

Rozilla -

Seretta - the lady I came across with this name married a man with the last name of Sirrine. Now that is fun to say!

Sildona - this was the middle name for the lady named Cyntha I came across

Veleta -




BOYS

Almeron

Clermont

Ornetus

Orr

Whitford

Winthrop




NOT SURE OF GENDER

Armorel

Thursday, March 10, 2016

New to Me Names

From now on the posts regarding names which are new to me will all be titled New To Me Names, or NTMN for short, and numbered. There were quite a few today when I scanned arrest records and court cases. In some instances they are spellings I haven't seen before which I thought deserved a spot and a couple are names I would expect on a different gender.

GIRLS

Adrienna

Brandalynne

Ikeia

Jenise

Joeann

Kimala

Lei

Mandah Jo

Myeeka

Nidhi

Ordessa

Provita

Rami

Seretha

Shahera

Skylier

Tereaka

Yarelis




BOYS



Adron

Albertus

Camerino

Carlin

Chanz

Daquan

Dashawn

Dejohn

Dontelle

Farjam

Glenroy

Gurwinder

Hansjurgen

Jamaine

Jamar

Jamell

Jonnie

Kojo

Mingo

Obaidullah

Samir

Tayjon


Windy Payne

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

New Names Springing Up All the Time!

The birds are twittering and the green moss is poking its head up from under the dead leaves. Why not a few names that in yesteryear were used?

GIRLS

Syvella - I came across this name researching genealogy, one used by American pioneers.


BOYS

Goodrich

Conway

Friday, March 4, 2016

March of Names

GIRLS

Casander

Claracy

Zelinda

BOYS

Archimedus

Dumas

Learned

Lyons

Painter


?

Epaphroditius - an old Harrison County, Kentucky court record lists this person as the parent of orphans

Friday, February 26, 2016

Give me time, and a couple leads, and I will tell you what your 5th great-grandfather was doing at 12:00 p.m. on a winter's day about 240 years ago



My 5th great-grandfather Major Robert Volney Lockhart would have seen the conditions in both Lancaster, PA and Winchester, VA, at the times mentioned in Part III Prisoners of War above. He was the sergeant of the day guarding the prisoners in Lancaster about this time period (I must check my notes for the exact day and description of his day). By 1781 he had married Margery Denny Wilson, a widow, who had lived in both Chester, PA and Winchester, VA. Their oldest son, Brigadier General Josiah E. Lockhart, my 4th great-grandfather, was born in 1782 in Frederick County, Virginia.

At the same time, many of my other ancestors were German immigrants. I'm not aware of any that were Hessian or prisoners of war. But some ancestors did live on Apple Pie Ridge, which was so named because the Hessian soldiers who had deserted or escaped, etc, knew they could go there for apple pie. One safe place must have been such a blessing to them. It is still the most beautiful part of the county, in my opinion, that area up there.




Sunday, February 7, 2016

A Nice Tribute




Isn't that a nice way to describe a fellow shortly before death?


The same author, a page or so later, describes one lady this way:




Names to Delight, Tho' it Be Past Midnight

Nearly 1 a.m. Here are some names that are brand new to me tonight.



GIRLS


Cyrene

Melabee

Nannine




BOYS


Creighton

Hardin

Henderson

McKendree

Thursday, February 4, 2016

T'is still a new year and begin anew we must continue to do!

It's about the time of the Chinese New Year, so why not feature a Chinese theme?

Chinese personal names are very short. Here are some I like:



GIRLS

Nuan - 'warm' or 'genial'

Ning - 'peaceful' or 'tranquil'

Nuo - 'graceful

Qiu - 'autumn'

Ru - 'scholar'

Su - 'plain' or 'respectful'

Wei - 'small' or 'rose'

Xue - 'study' or 'learning



BOYS

Ning - 'peaceful' or 'tranquil'

Qiang - 'strength'

Qiu- 'autumn'

Tai - 'great' or 'extreme'

Tu - 'chart' or 'map'

Wei - 'power' or 'strength' or 'towering' or 'lofty'

Xue - 'study' or 'learning'

Sunday, January 31, 2016

3 More for the Road

BOYS


Humberson

Naphthalim

Yelverton


Saturday, January 30, 2016

3 For the 30th

Girls


Finetta

Paralee




Boys


Joseph Mary -  I had heard of doing this sort of name for a boy in Catholic countries like Spain or France, but had not actually ever encountered a man with a woman's name for a middle name (a woman's name that had not ever been a man's name first, like Ashley or Vivan)

His father's name was Joseph, his mother's name was Mary, and his older sister's name was Josephine. Paralee was his oldest sister's name and Finetta the second sister's name.

Mary was, I think, his middle name and not part of a double name like John Paul.


Friday, January 22, 2016

One New Name, Leads to Another

I was researching the name Vontess for an earlier post and coming up with dead ends everywhere. I turned to my mother who remembered the lady better than I did and I came across more unusual names to feature from Vontess' family.

GIRLS

Esmont - this was her daughter's name

Nelma - The daughter's name Nelma Esmont, though she went by Esmont (it's a Utah thing)
I came across a great website, http://lumitar.blogspot.com/2013/03/finnish-names-suomalainen-nimikirja.html, which lists Nelma as a nickname for names such as Unelma, which means 'dream' in Finnish. My hometown had a lot of Scandinavian roots, but I don't think any Finnish, however, so it is more likely related to whatever this name means in Swedish/Danish/Norwegian. Unelma seems just like the sort of name someone where I'm from would have, so I wouldn't be surprised if Vontess wasn't inspired to use Nelma as a result of such a name.

BOYS

Keogh - Her husband. But Mom cannot remember how this name is said or where it comes from!

I found in one source that it means "darkness". Another source says it comes from the Irish name Eochaidh, which derives from the word for 'horseman', 'eochadha'. Eochadha comes from 'ech' meaning 'a horse'. It can be found as part of the surname MacKeogh, which means 'son of Eochaidh'. Knowing the meaning of Eochaidh, it would mean son of the horseman. It would seem that it can be spelled Kehoe and, according to another source, though it does mean horse and a man who rides one, it describes the horseman as "a bold horseman or knight". MacKeogh comes from the surname Mac Eochy and is seen to make the Irish name easier for an English speaker to pronounce. I still have not figured out how this name is said!

a Christian knight, armed with virtues

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Neat New Names Hiding in Every Nook and Cranny!

GIRLS


Adelma - Anglo-Saxon, from the name Ealdhelm, from "eald" meaning "old" and "helm" meaning "helmet".



BOYS


Cranmer

Needham

Friday, January 15, 2016

I Spy, With My Little Eye, Some Extraordinary Names

Or at least, they were names I had not seen or noticed before. I saw these on my walk yesterday at the graveyard.

GIRLS

Christia - I'm wondering how it's pronounced. Is it just said like Christa? Or is it said like Christy? Is it 'chris tee ah' or is it 'christ yah'  or 'christ jah' or maybe even 'chris TEE ah'? Chris tee yah is my personal choice.

BOYS

Clagett - this is a surname around here but this was the first time I have seen it as a personal name.

Thursday, January 7, 2016

New Names, My Treat!

GIRLS

Tiziana -Italian, meaning "giant", according to The Everything Baby Names Book" by June Rifkin.


BOYS

Arioch - Hebrew, meaning "royal", according to June Rifkin's book.

Zabbai-  at left the name as it is written in Hebrew, its language of origin. It is derived from , which is Hebrew, written in English as 'zub'. The name means "that runs or glides". From Calmet's bible dictionary.

Friday, January 1, 2016

'Tis a New Year and With it We Should Begin Anew

2 years ago I introduced you to 2014 names over the course of a year, names which were unknown to me previously, fairly rare or unusual, or which I thought warranted introducing to you. This year I will be featuring various things related to names. Since we begin the year in January, why not begin with Jan? Which can be a nickname for longer names such as Janet, Janice, or Janelle, or, said more like 'yawn' it is a Scandinavian boy's name.

The Sea Storm by Jan Brueghel the Elder

Coastal landscape by Jan Brueghel the Younger

A pair of Dutch painters, Jan Brueghel (the Elder and the Younger)

Jan Brady... one of the first things I picture when I hear this name


Kimberly Jan Dickens,one of the actresses in the t.v. show Fear the Walking Dead