NTMN-9

GIRLS

Altine

Clema

Danneell

Daviette

Dixie Colledge
                                  
Larsina



BOYS

Holbert

Maxence

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.

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".

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.

 
 

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	Damian	3,474	Delilah	2,706
117	Carlos	3,400	Andrea	2,699
118	Max	3,398	Natalia	2,686
119	Harrison	3,316	Lauren	2,677
120	Weston	3,305	Morgan	2,670
121	Brantley	3,282	Rylee	2,668
122	Braxton	3,278	Sydney	2,647
123	Axel	3,229	Adalynn	2,612
124	Diego	3,218	Mary	2,602
125	Abel	3,216	Ximena	2,591
126	Wesley	3,213	Jade	2,549
127	Santiago	3,202	Liliana	2,545
128	Jesus	3,166	Brielle	2,519
129	Silas	3,153	Ivy	2,489
130	Giovanni	3,118	Trinity	2,485
131	Bryce	3,114	Josephine	2,477
132	Jayce	3,105	Adalyn	2,450
133	Bryson	3,088	Jocelyn	2,441
134	Alex	3,085	Emery	2,409
135	Everett	3,032	Adeline	2,391
136	George	3,032	Jordyn	2,362
137	Eric	3,028	Ariel	2,332
138	Ivan	3,028	Everly	2,315
139	Emmett	3,026	Lilly	2,294
140	Kaiden	3,006	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.

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

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.

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)
       

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

Rank	Male name	Female name
1	Noah	Emma
2	Liam	Olivia
3	Mason	Sophia
4	Jacob	Ava
5	William	Isabella
6	Ethan	Mia
7	James	Abigail
8	Alexander	Emily
9	Michael	Charlotte
10	Benjamin	Harper
11	Elijah	Madison
12	Daniel	Amelia
13	Aiden	Elizabeth
14	Logan	Sofia
15	Matthew	Evelyn
16	Lucas	Avery
17	Jackson	Chloe
18	David	Ella
19	Oliver	Grace
20	Jayden	Victoria
21	Joseph	Aubrey
22	Gabriel	Scarlett
23	Samuel	Zoey
24	Carter	Addison
25	Anthony	Lily
26	John	Lillian
27	Dylan	Natalie
28	Luke	Hannah
29	Henry	Aria
30	Andrew	Layla
31	Isaac	Brooklyn
32	Christopher	Alexa
33	Joshua	Zoe
34	Wyatt	Penelope
35	Sebastian	Riley
36	Owen	Leah
37	Caleb	Audrey
38	Nathan	Savannah
39	Ryan	Allison
40	Jack	Samantha
41	Hunter	Nora
42	Levi	Skylar
43	Christian	Camila
44	Jaxon	Anna
45	Julian	Paisley
46	Landon	Ariana
47	Grayson	Ellie
48	Jonathan	Aaliyah
49	Isaiah	Claire
50	Charles	Violet
51	Thomas	Stella
52	Aaron	Sadie
53	Eli	Mila
54	Connor	Gabriella
55	Jeremiah	Lucy
56	Cameron	Arianna
57	Josiah	Kennedy
58	Adrian	Sarah
59	Colton	Madelyn
60	Jordan	Eleanor
61	Brayden	Kaylee
62	Nicholas	Caroline
63	Robert	Hazel
64	Angel	Hailey
65	Hudson	Genesis
66	Lincoln	Kylie
67	Evan	Autumn
68	Dominic	Piper
69	Austin	Maya
70	Gavin	Nevaeh
71	Nolan	Serenity
72	Parker	Peyton
73	Adam	Mackenzie
74	Chase	Bella
75	Jace	Eva
76	Ian	Taylor
77	Cooper	Naomi
78	Easton	Aubree
79	Kevin	Aurora
80	Jose	Melanie
81	Tyler	Lydia
82	Brandon	Brianna
83	Asher	Ruby
84	Jaxson	Katherine
85	Mateo	Ashley
86	Jason	Alexis
87	Ayden	Alice
88	Zachary	Cora
89	Carson	Julia
90	Xavier	Madeline
91	Leo	Faith
92	Ezra	Annabelle
93	Bentley	Alyssa
94	Sawyer	Isabelle
95	Kayden	Vivian
96	Blake	Gianna
97	Nathaniel	Quinn
98	Ryder	Clara
99	Theodore	Reagan
100	Elias	Khloe

2015's Top 50 Names

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

Popularity in 2015

Rank	Male name	Female name
1	Noah	Emma
2	Liam	Olivia
3	Mason	Sophia
4	Jacob	Ava
5	William	Isabella
6	Ethan	Mia
7	James	Abigail
8	Alexander	Emily
9	Michael	Charlotte
10	Benjamin	Harper
11	Elijah	Madison
12	Daniel	Amelia
13	Aiden	Elizabeth
14	Logan	Sofia
15	Matthew	Evelyn
16	Lucas	Avery
17	Jackson	Chloe
18	David	Ella
19	Oliver	Grace
20	Jayden	Victoria
21	Joseph	Aubrey
22	Gabriel	Scarlett
23	Samuel	Zoey
24	Carter	Addison
25	Anthony	Lily
26	John	Lillian
27	Dylan	Natalie
28	Luke	Hannah
29	Henry	Aria
30	Andrew	Layla
31	Isaac	Brooklyn
32	Christopher	Alexa
33	Joshua	Zoe
34	Wyatt	Penelope
35	Sebastian	Riley
36	Owen	Leah
37	Caleb	Audrey
38	Nathan	Savannah
39	Ryan	Allison
40	Jack	Samantha
41	Hunter	Nora
42	Levi	Skylar
43	Christian	Camila
44	Jaxon	Anna
45	Julian	Paisley
46	Landon	Ariana
47	Grayson	Ellie
48	Jonathan	Aaliyah
49	Isaiah	Claire
50	Charles	Violet

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

Popularity in 2014

Rank	Male name	Female name
1	Noah	Emma
2	Liam	Olivia
3	Mason	Sophia
4	Jacob	Isabella
5	William	Ava
6	Ethan	Mia
7	Michael	Emily
8	Alexander	Abigail
9	James	Madison
10	Daniel	Charlotte
11	Elijah	Harper
12	Benjamin	Sofia
13	Logan	Avery
14	Aiden	Elizabeth
15	Jayden	Amelia
16	Matthew	Evelyn
17	Jackson	Ella
18	David	Chloe
19	Lucas	Victoria
20	Joseph	Aubrey
21	Anthony	Grace
22	Andrew	Zoey
23	Samuel	Natalie
24	Gabriel	Addison
25	Joshua	Lillian
26	John	Brooklyn
27	Carter	Lily
28	Luke	Hannah
29	Dylan	Layla
30	Christopher	Scarlett
31	Isaac	Aria
32	Oliver	Zoe
33	Henry	Samantha
34	Sebastian	Anna
35	Caleb	Leah
36	Owen	Audrey
37	Ryan	Ariana
38	Nathan	Allison
39	Wyatt	Savannah
40	Hunter	Arianna
41	Jack	Camila
42	Christian	Penelope
43	Landon	Gabriella
44	Jonathan	Claire
45	Levi	Aaliyah
46	Jaxon	Sadie
47	Julian	Riley
48	Isaiah	Skylar
49	Eli	Nora
50	Aaron	Sarah

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

Rank	Male name	Female name
1	Noah	Emma
2	Liam	Olivia
3	Mason	Sophia
4	Jacob	Ava
5	William	Isabella
6	Ethan	Mia
7	James	Abigail
8	Alexander	Emily
9	Michael	Charlotte
10	Benjamin	Harper
11	Elijah	Madison
12	Daniel	Amelia
13	Aiden	Elizabeth
14	Logan	Sofia
15	Matthew	Evelyn
16	Lucas	Avery
17	Jackson	Chloe
18	David	Ella
19	Oliver	Grace
20	Jayden	Victoria

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

Popularity in 2014

Rank	Male name	Female name
1	Noah	Emma
2	Liam	Olivia
3	Mason	Sophia
4	Jacob	Isabella
5	William	Ava
6	Ethan	Mia
7	Michael	Emily
8	Alexander	Abigail
9	James	Madison
10	Daniel	Charlotte
11	Elijah	Harper
12	Benjamin	Sofia
13	Logan	Avery
14	Aiden	Elizabeth
15	Jayden	Amelia
16	Matthew	Evelyn
17	Jackson	Ella
18	David	Chloe
19	Lucas	Victoria
20	Joseph	Aubrey

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!

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 Rank Male name Female name 1 Noah Emma 2 Liam Olivia 3 Mason Sophia 4 Jacob Isabella 5 William Ava 6 Ethan Mia 7 Michael Emily 8 Alexander Abigail 9 James Madison 10 Daniel Charlotte

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

Rank	Male name	Female name
1	Noah	Emma
2	Liam	Olivia
3	Mason	Sophia
4	Jacob	Ava
5	William	Isabella
6	Ethan	Mia
7	James	Abigail
8	Alexander	Emily
9	Michael	Charlotte
10	Benjamin	Harper

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  

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.

NTMN - 3

Just two girl names this time:


Joyella -

Lloydine -

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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'

3 More for the Road

BOYS


Humberson

Naphthalim

Yelverton

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.

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

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

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.

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.

'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