Store away some names for a rainy day

GIRLS

Abba - not sure if it's just that creative spelling used in the old days for Abby or if in fact it is Abba used as a name on a girl. Or perhaps just a nickname for a girl named Abigail.

Deliann - a combination of Delia and Ann perhaps? Or Delilah and Ann?

Diodame - I'm guessing that this is Diadem. A woman in Ohio - 1834

Hepzibe - a spelling of Hephzibah I wasn't familiar with

Honer - I'll guess that this is a misspelling of Honor.

Macury -

Orlinda



 BOYS

Johnza- so far I've found it as the name of an early pioneer in Indiana and Illinois, Johnza Orton, and also as a first name in the 1790 census for Maryland (Johnza Dorsey) but I do not yet know the name's origin. It is interesting that I found Johnza Orton as someone employed by the Post Office in 1830.


However, if I were to guess, I would think Johnza is said like the name Jonesy, a nickname for someone named Jones. Jones is a Welsh surname, meaning John's son. John comes from Hebrew and means "gift".


Another idea I had is that Johnza is said like "john zay" instead of 'joan zee', and therefore comes from the name Chauncey. Chauncey or Chauncy is Norman and comes from the place Canchy in Normandy, France.

How 'bout these names!

GIRLS


Emireth - when I came across this name, on a Spanish language website for parents, I also read about Emileth and Emilet, also used by Spanish-speakers. All three seem to be rather rare.




BOYS


Maelfothartaigh - Irish, I assume,

Coibhdeanach - ditto

Eugenius - Latin?

Maenghal - Irish?

Maelcaularda - ditto

Maelpadraig - ditto

Cathusach - ditto

Ailchi - ditto

Guaire - ditto

Doilghen- ditto

Murtough - Irish, more familiar when spelled Murdoch

Maelbrighde - Irish

Awley - Irish? English???

Gilladowney - Irish?

Mulmurry - Irish?

Florence - Latin, I think. I'd not thought of it ever as a boy's name, but in the Middle Ages I find it used as a man's first name. Now that I think about it, Florent is a boy's name from the Middle Ages, so I don't know why Florence surprises me. But it does.

Giolla - Gaelic, meaning "servant". Giolla is an element of both Scottish and Irish surnames such as Mac Giolla Mhuire (in English this becomes Gilmore).

Turloch - Irish, there are many spellings for this name, it comes from Turlough, which comes from Toirdhealbach meaning "prompting" or "instigator".

Some names from the Fertile Crescent

Boys

Annubanini -

Enmerkar -

Erridupizir - Gutian

Gula'an - Gutian

Lugalbanda -



Naram-Sin defeats the people of Lullubum

Naram-Sin - Akkadian

Satuni - Lullubi


A Neat Name

Ran into this name some months ago. I still haven't gotten around to researching it but this blog is a bit like a notebook to remind me which names I want to learn about. At the same time, you get to learn about them when I do. If you know anything about it, let me know!

Odalis - used in Spanish for a girl.  'oh dah lees', emphasis on the last syllable

Some names you only hear

Shalda, for instance. This is a name I heard in court today. I know how it sounded (shawl duh) and that it was a youngish black woman who had it. I don't know its origin or meaning. If it is a created name I would wonder how they came up with it and of course, how is it correctly spelled? Since my spelling is just a guess.  I'm curious about it so if you know anything, let me know!

And there's more where THAT came from!

It's been a while since I shared some of the unusual names I've run into. Here are a few with a promise that I'll post more another day. It's possible that some of the names aren't as unusual as others, like LaVonne, still, they seemed interesting and worth knowing more about, especially more about their origin.

Girls

Ehrengard

LaVonne

Laerke

Melior

Palatyne

Pressyne



Boys

Abargi - Sumerian, name of a king of the ancient city of Ur (more well-known as the biblical Abraham's hometown).

Ormsby

Shulgi - Sumerian, name of a king of the ancient city of Ur


UNSURE OF GENDER

Couldrette or Coudrette

The Top 100 Names of 2014

Popularity in 2014

Rank	Male name	Number of males	Female name	Number of females
1	Noah	19,144	Emma	20,799
2	Liam	18,342	Olivia	19,674
3	Mason	17,092	Sophia	18,490
4	Jacob	16,712	Isabella	16,950
5	William	16,687	Ava	15,586
6	Ethan	15,619	Mia	13,442
7	Michael	15,323	Emily	12,562
8	Alexander	15,293	Abigail	11,985
9	James	14,301	Madison	10,247
10	Daniel	13,829	Charlotte	10,048
11	Elijah	13,694	Harper	9,564
12	Benjamin	13,687	Sofia	9,542
13	Logan	13,579	Avery	9,517
14	Aiden	13,296	Elizabeth	9,492
15	Jayden	12,878	Amelia	8,727
16	Matthew	12,809	Evelyn	8,692
17	Jackson	12,121	Ella	8,489
18	David	12,078	Chloe	8,469
19	Lucas	12,078	Victoria	7,955
20	Joseph	11,995	Aubrey	7,589
21	Anthony	11,490	Grace	7,554
22	Andrew	11,069	Zoey	7,358
23	Samuel	10,859	Natalie	7,061
24	Gabriel	10,826	Addison	6,950
25	Joshua	10,764	Lillian	6,869
26	John	10,600	Brooklyn	6,767
27	Carter	10,599	Lily	6,727
28	Luke	10,431	Hannah	6,512
29	Dylan	10,350	Layla	6,428
30	Christopher	10,278	Scarlett	5,965
31	Isaac	9,868	Aria	5,893
32	Oliver	9,365	Zoe	5,828
33	Henry	9,350	Samantha	5,680
34	Sebastian	9,237	Anna	5,639
35	Caleb	9,143	Leah	5,563
36	Owen	9,100	Audrey	5,531
37	Ryan	9,026	Ariana	5,461
38	Nathan	8,902	Allison	5,440
39	Wyatt	8,812	Savannah	5,433
40	Hunter	8,759	Arianna	5,240
41	Jack	8,685	Camila	5,194
42	Christian	8,388	Penelope	5,062
43	Landon	8,180	Gabriella	5,051
44	Jonathan	8,035	Claire	4,991
45	Levi	7,958	Aaliyah	4,850
46	Jaxon	7,635	Sadie	4,823
47	Julian	7,611	Riley	4,761
48	Isaiah	7,530	Skylar	4,732
49	Eli	7,428	Nora	4,708
50	Aaron	7,334	Sarah	4,647
51	Charles	7,269	Hailey	4,595
52	Connor	7,195	Kaylee	4,513
53	Cameron	7,013	Paisley	4,473
54	Thomas	6,972	Kennedy	4,459
55	Jordan	6,810	Ellie	4,442
56	Jeremiah	6,780	Peyton	4,426
57	Nicholas	6,713	Annabelle	4,324
58	Evan	6,667	Caroline	4,307
59	Adrian	6,659	Madelyn	4,289
60	Gavin	6,582	Serenity	4,284
61	Robert	6,572	Aubree	4,258
62	Brayden	6,539	Lucy	4,257
63	Grayson	6,532	Alexa	4,227
64	Josiah	6,376	Alexis	4,188
65	Colton	6,339	Nevaeh	4,188
66	Austin	6,263	Stella	4,165
67	Angel	6,255	Violet	4,156
68	Jace	6,254	Genesis	4,144
69	Dominic	6,205	Mackenzie	4,122
70	Kevin	5,859	Bella	4,050
71	Brandon	5,804	Autumn	4,034
72	Tyler	5,785	Mila	4,033
73	Parker	5,677	Kylie	3,928
74	Ayden	5,586	Maya	3,904
75	Jason	5,510	Piper	3,840
76	Jose	5,442	Alyssa	3,798
77	Ian	5,422	Taylor	3,782
78	Chase	5,322	Eleanor	3,704
79	Adam	5,293	Melanie	3,681
80	Hudson	5,199	Naomi	3,677
81	Nolan	5,181	Faith	3,664
82	Zachary	5,137	Eva	3,651
83	Easton	4,961	Katherine	3,651
84	Blake	4,913	Lydia	3,609
85	Jaxson	4,900	Brianna	3,582
86	Cooper	4,803	Julia	3,578
87	Lincoln	4,785	Ashley	3,539
88	Xavier	4,726	Khloe	3,518
89	Bentley	4,722	Madeline	3,409
90	Kayden	4,691	Ruby	3,383
91	Carson	4,580	Sophie	3,364
92	Brody	4,297	Alexandra	3,288
93	Asher	4,279	London	3,264
94	Nathaniel	4,257	Lauren	3,072
95	Ryder	4,073	Gianna	3,061
96	Justin	3,991	Isabelle	3,044
97	Leo	3,936	Alice	3,042
98	Juan	3,887	Vivian	3,040
99	Luis	3,879	Hadley	2,992
100	Camden	3,872	Jasmine	2,988

Check out the top 100 names on the Social Security Administration's list of names given to babies in 2014. Since we've already looked at the first half of the list, now let's focus on the second part.

To begin with, on the boys' side, only 2 names advanced from the bottom 50 names to the top 50 (Oliver and Aaron). Jase actually fell out of the top 100 boys' names in 2014, going from # 89 to 105. 16 spots!

Names that rose: Grayson, going from 77 to 63, 14 spots

Names that fell:
Gavin fell out of the top 50 names, going from 49 to 60, 11 spots
Tyler, dropped from 63 to 72 , 9 spots
Zachary also dropped, from 73 to 82, also 9 spots

Tristan and Damian bowed out, at 101 and 102 this year, while Asher snuck in, coming in at 93 from 104. Ryder and Leo are two boy names that entered the top 100 in 2014. Ryder's move was respectable, going from 103 in 2013 to 95 this year, 8 spots. Leo did a bit better, going from 112 up to 97, 15 spots. Oliver is the only name that outdid Leo on the boy's portion of the SSA list, in terms of how much change in rank he experienced. This is the first year Ryder has been in the top 100 names, only entering the top 1000 in 1994 at 951. Leo is an interesting case. He is more popular this year than last, by a few hundred births. Even though fewer than 700 Leos were born in 1903 that is the year the SSA lists as his best, when he was ranked 38.

The girls names in the second half of the above list show more movement than the boys do. Names that moved into the top 50 names from the bottom 50 in the top 100 names:
Ariana, from 54th in 2013 up to 37th in 2014
Penelope, from 56th to 42nd ... 14 spots
Skylar, from 73 to 48... 25 spots
Nora, from 83 to 49 ... 34 spots

Nora is the 'big news' of the top 100 names this year.

Some names dropped from the top 50 into the bottom 50 of the top 100 names.
Hailey, from 43 to 51... 8 spots
Kaylee, from 41 to 52 ... 11 spots