A few weeks ago I spent some time in Ayrshire during the Commonwealth Games, and this week’s family hails from that very part of the world and seemed a fitting way to end the unofficial ‘Scottish Week’ we’ve had going on.
Robert ‘Rabbie’ Burns is one of the most noted poets to hail from Scotland, and indeed is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland. As well as writing in English, he also wrote works in the Scots language, being one of the best known poets to do so. In 2009 he was chosen as the greatest Scot by the Scottish public in a vote run by Scottish television channel STV. His family therefore seemed an obvious choice to round off this week.
First, let’s take a look at Rabbie’s own family. He was the eldest son of William Burness and Agnes Brown:
Robert (1759-1796)
Gilbert (1760-1827)
Agnes (1762-1834)
Annabella (1764-1832) (I’ve also seen her name listed as Arabella, the Scottish form of Annabella)
William (1767-1790)
John (1769-1785)
Isabella (1771-1858)
All the names are pretty typical 18th century names, although the one that I took note of is Gilbert, since I’ve never covered the name on the blog. He’s a Germanic name that means bright pledge.
Then we have the children of Rabbie Burns who, unless noted, are also the child of Rabbie’s wife, Jean Armour.
Elizabeth ‘Bess’ (1785) by Elizabeth Paton
Robert (1786, twin of Jean)
Jean (1786, twin of Robert)
Unnamed twin daughter (1788)
Unnamed twin daughter (1788)
Robert (1788) by Janet Clow
Francis Wallace (1789)
William Nicol (1791)
Elizabeth ‘Betty’ (1791) by Ann Park
Elizabeth Riddell (1792)
James Glencairn (1794)
Maxwell (1796)
There are some pretty interesting middle names here: Nicol; Glencairn; and Riddell. I seem to recall reading somewhere that Nicol comes from a friend of Rabbie Burns’, so it could be logical to assume the same for the other two.
Maxwell is interesting to me, because he appears in several popular PC games: Scribblenauts as the primary playing character; Don’t Starve as the antagonist; and partially in the Max Payne games as the titular character. Maxwell also happens to be the codename of a Nvidia graphics processing unit (GPU).
Today I want to talk about a controversial BBC Three show thats recently finished it’s second series called Barely Legal Drivers. For those not familiar – and as the video above explains – the premise of the show is that various youngsters are lent the family car for the wee. Whilst they think they’re part of a show looking at modern life of young people in Britain, but actually they’re driving is scrutinised by their parents and ex-traffic officer Judith Roberts. There has been several cases of pretty shocking (and in more than a few, downright dangerous) driving in the series thus far (you can see some in the video), which has caused some controversy amongst the general British public.
Now, I’ve been watching the show with a bemused look on my face since I’m 20, and thus in the exact demographic for participants, however I hasten to add that unlike those on the show I do have my own little runaround (Gypsy, whom I’ve mentioned in passing before) and almost 3 years no claims bonus.
But we’re not here to snipe about others driving, but instead to look at the names, which also happen to be a look into the names of my own generation. Perhaps the most notable naming I’ve seen thus far on the show is a set of twins named Zahra and Farah. I think that it’s the first time I’ve seen the two names paired together, and I kinda loved it, despite the match-y-ness. The name Zahra (or Zara) almost certainly came into the English speaking world as an offshoot of Sarah, a name that comes from Hebrew and means princess. The name is also similar to Zahrah, an Arabic name that means blooming flower. The name Farah is Arabic in origin and means joy/delight.
Another set of twins that have appeared have less match-y names of James and Brian.
Another interesting fact is that there has been both a Chantal and Chantelle featured. The name Chantelle is a respelling of Chantal, which isn’t as modern as some may think: she comes from Old Provençal word cantal and means stone. The name Chantelle was #83 in 1994, but has fallen all the way to #750 since then. Ouch. It’s not much better for Chantal, who ranked at #571 in 1996 and now doesn’t even rank for 2013 (i.e. less than 3 girls were given the name). Clearly, the names are sadly past their best.
Another girl popped up with the name Dominique (using the nickname Dom). This is an interesting one for me to look at as I used to work with a girl my age with the same name, but at the same time the name appears to be more male-centric across the channel in France. Dominique is the French form of Dominic, which comes from Latin origins and means of the Lord. The name has fallen from #309 in 1996 to #2460 in 2013.
A young lad with the name Renaldo appears. Now, the name could be a respelling of the Portuguese name Ronaldo who ultimately comes from the Ragnvaldr (via Scottish name Ronald). The name is formed of two Old Norse elements:
regin, meaning might, counsel
valdr, meaning ruler
Many of the names on the show are what you might consider popular picks for my generation of youngsters born in the 90s, but have sadly fallen out of favour since.
Two examples of this are in Bradley and Dean. The former is a surname-turned-first name that means broad meadow. He’s fallen from #34 to #117 since 1994. Another name is Dean, who also comes from Old English and means valley. He’s had less staying power than Bradley, having fallen from #67 to #429 since 1994.
Nicknames – or what appears to be simply nicknames – appear frequently. A girl with the name Caz appears, with Caz being short for Caroline. I have a close friend who is also a Caroline nn Caz. Caroline was a Top 100 name from 1944 to 1984, but she’s fallen a long way since then, ranking at #733 in 2013. The name comes from the Karl family of names and so mean either man or woman, depending on whether you feel feminising the name means feminising the meaning.
There’s also an episode that features a Jamie and a Jessie. Now, Jessie is pretty certain to be actually a Jessica – a name that was #3 in 1994 and hasn’t strayed too far from that ranking since as in 2013 she came in at #6 in England&Wales. I might not be a fan myself, but the British public has for her to be a consistent Top 5 name for almost 20 years. That’s impressive.
The name Jessica was introduced to the British public by Shakespeare in Merchant of Venice, where he got the inspiration from a Biblical character called Iscah, who was also known as Jesca; the name means he beholds.
As for Jamie, he could actually be a James, a name that was #2 in 1994. However, Jamie ranked at #26, so it’s not so certain. The name James is Hebrew in origin and means supplanter.
A Tommy appears, and since Thomas was #1 in 1994, you could make an educated guess that he was born a Thomas – especially since Tommy didn’t enter the Top 100 until some 20 years later in 2011. The name Thomas is like Jessica in that with a 2013 rank of #6, he’s a long time keeper in the eyes of the British public; the name means twin.
Two final mentions go to Jac and Lauri, in which Jac is likely a respelling of Jack, and Lauri is most like a nickname for Laura.
Jack has been in the Top 3 since 1994, making him the ultimate male name of the past two decades in England&Wales, whereas meanwhile Jac has been hoovering around the 300 mark – and he’s currently at #350. Jack is a nickname of John and in 1984, the name John outranked Jack at #14 to #74 before Jack launched into his two decade long dominance; the names means Yahweh has favoured.
Laura was inside the Top 10 in 1994 at #9, and since then has fallen all the way to #146 with little signs of a reverse in fortune. The name comes from the Latin laurus and means bay tree. Whilst Lauri has hovered around the 3-baby-per-year mark, the spelling Laurie fares better at #910 for boys and #1360 for girls (both down from around the 500 mark in 1996).
All in all, the names are a little snapshot of the 20-somethings of today here in England&Wales, and that’s of personal interest to me as someone who grew up amongst them.
Yesterday the current Pope, Benedict XV, announced his resignation in a move that shocked many. Why so? Because he’s the first pope in about 600 years to make such a move: saying that he no longer has the ‘strength of mind and body’ needed to carry on his duties (he was the oldest man to become pope since Clement XII in the 18th century).
It’s fun to note that Benedict XVI is currently 85, being born in April 1927, whilst the Queen happens to be almost a year older than him, being born in the previous April.
But that’s an aside, because what I really want to talk about is papal names. You see, Benedict XVI wasn’t always called Benedict – indeed, he’s only gone by the name Benedict for just under 8 years, being previously known by the name Josef.
The reason? Upon accession to the papacy it has become a custom to take a papal name, with every pope since the 16th century doing so.
It hasn’t always been that way, though. Back in the early days of the Church, the bishops of Rome simply continued to use their birth names after their election. The custom of changing one’s name came circa 500 AD with the election of Pope John II, who was born with the name Mercurius. He deemed that being named after the Roman god Mercury would be a tad bit inappropriate, thus he took the name John as his papal name.
To this day, the last pope to use his birth name as pope was Marcellus II back in the 16th century.
What guides the choice of papal name is purely down to the new pope himself, and in times gone by popes have chosen names inspired by predecessors, mentors or even family members.
A notable example of this is John Paul II, who took the name of his two most immediate predecessors (John XXIII and Paul VI, respectively) as his papal name. His successor, John Paul II, chose his papal name for him, as he wished to continue the work of his predecessor who died only 33 days into his papacy.
John Paul I is also notable for being the first to be known by a double name, and he also has the distinction of being the first pope to use a ‘new’ name not previously used before since Pope Lando back in the 10th century.
So that’s the tale behind the papal names, but which names are most popularly used? It’s an interesting Top 10:
After compiling together this post, I couldn’t help but notice that in one way or another a friend was involved in each one of the inspirations.
I have a friend called Siobhan, and made a passing mention of her the other day whilst in the presence of another friend, who promptly turned around and said this:
Who is he then?
Hm.
Not sure I’ve ever come across the concept of Siobhan being a male name, but there we go. However, if you only have half an ear on the conversation, I guess it’s easy enough to mishear Siobhan as perhaps Sean.
Another friend of mine also commented this week about how happy she was to be served in a shop by a man named Edgar, because, as I quote:
you never see anyone these days with the name Edgar!
Since it’s the start of Advent Calendar season, we’re pulling out a Christmas-y themed picture to celebrate:
There are certain members of my family who happen to be obsessed with John Lewis, specifically with their uh-may-zing Christmas adverts. Seriously, who’d have thought we could all get emotional about a snowman buying a present? (although my Brosnan friend insists that last year’s offering made him cry more).
Anyway, John Lewis came up in conversation this week with a friend, and they were really rather surprised to discover from me that there was actually someone named John Lewis who kicked the whole business off.
Rather like how Cadburys was founded by John Cadbury, and Boots by John Boot.
He’s the nom de plume of Doctor Who, and he’s also the man opening the London Olympics tonight:
Well, maybe not 😉
As it so happens, the guy whose hands wave around at the beginning, and voice exclaims John Smith nearer the end is Osama from yesterday. This video was filmed by me at the technical rehearsal on Wednesday, and look out for the exploding balloons in the bottom right hand corner. I’m still impressed with my luck of getting a practically front row ticket too 🙂
The name John Smith is in theory one of the most popular names out there, given that Smith is one of the most popular surnames in the English speaking world and the name John having centuries of popularity under his belt.
Perhaps in these more modern days, here in the UK he would actually be Jack Smith instead – especially for the under 20s given that Jack reigned as the most popular name in England&Wales from 1996-2008.
The name is often used as a generic name to represent the everyday man, given the commonplace of both names.
An interesting exchange in Doctor Who sums the attitude to this name up nicely for me, when the Doctor gives his name as John Smith to a character, who retorts along the lines that nobody’s called that anymore.
One could see this as hinting towards a drive many parents have these days for a more unique name.
It’s also worth talking about the phenomena of the slightly different Alan Smithee. This was the official name used in films by directors who had disowned the film, and thus didn’t want their name in the credits. It was coined in 1968 and discontinued in 2000.
The downfall of the name has often been attributed to a film released in 1997 called An Alan Smithee: Burn Hollywood Burn. It is regarded as one of the worst films of all time, and thus brought harsh negative publicity towards the name Alan Smithee.
Other names like this include the name Joe Bloggs/Fred Bloggs, often used the the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and John Doe, the USA and Canadian equivalent. In both cases, the surnames are more distinctive, whilst the first names remain popular picks.
Other cultural versions of these names include:
Israel Israeli, israel
Jan Kowalski,poland
Jean Dupont, france
Jonas&Petras, lithuania
Luther Blissett, artists and activists in Europe and America
Matti & Maija Meikäläinen, finland
Max & Erika Mustermann, germany
Medel-Svensson,sweden
Ola & Kari Nordmann, norway
Seán Ó Rudaí (Sean O’Something), ireland
Tadhg an mhargaidh (Tadhg of the markplace), irish version of Average Joe
Tauno Tavallinen,finland
Tommy Atkins, the British army (dates from the World Wars)
I don’t suppose anyone actually knows a John Smith?
We’re looking at two generations of a family this week, because they all bear such facinating names. David Nightingale Hicks was a reknowned interior designer, who married Lady Pamela Mountbatten in 1960, and together they had three children:
Edwina Victoria Louise
Ashley Louis David
India Amanda Caroline
Then we come to the second generation, and let’s start with the eldest daughter, Edwina, who married her husband Jeremy in 1984 and together they have three offspring:
Maddison May (1994)
Jordan Anne (1995)
Rowan Michael (2001)
One can perhaps note the classics-in-the-middle, more modern choices in the front style they seem to have adopted for their names. Also, the relative gender-neutral-ness of the names – especially with the younger two children. I actual think this sibset may even be a few years before it’s time, as those kids could easily have been born in the last few years, rather than 10 to 20 years ago.
Edwina’s brother, Ashley, has worked as an author, designer and architect in his time. In 1990 he married an Italian designer named Allegra, with whom he welcomed two daughters:
Angelica Margherita Edwina
Ambrosia Maria Elizabeth
Note the matching initials, and that Ashley only named one of his daughters after one of his sisters.
Speaking of one of his sisters, we then come to India, who was a bridesmaid at the marriage of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer. India has four children with her partner, the interior designer David Flint Wood:
Felix Austen
Amory John
Conrad Lorenzo
Domino Carmen
Whilst I’ve seen both Felix and Conrad on people before, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone call their child either Amory or Carmen before – they’re certainly bold choices.
International variants of names can be a pain, can’t they? I’ve started to see quite a few girls named Isabella Elizabeth recently, which is odd given that Isabella is an international variant of Elizabeth.
This isn’t just a new thing, though. I’m relatively good friends with a 20-something lass named Megan Margaret; Megan is a Welsh diminuative of Margaret. But it could potentially be a source of annoyance for the child once they get old enough to google their name. However, some may like the fact that both their given names are essentially the same.
So, let’s combat this with a list of often heard English names and a selection of their international variants you may be less well-aware of:
Anne – Anelie, Anouk, Anoushka, Hannah, Nancy, Ninon, Ona
2010 Podium l-r Maclaren Mercedes Team Principal, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, from f1-gp.info
We’ve got a little longer to wait for the Canadian Grand Prix, since it isn’t until next weekend: 13th June. There’s been a Canadian Grand Prix on the Formula 1 race calender since 1961, bar ’75, ’87 and ’09. That’s a lot of winners, albeit, there have been 8 drivers who have won it multiple times. Some names you may recognise, some you may not, and they range from the distinctive Ayrton, to the not so unusual Peter:
1961 – Peter Ryan
1962 – Masten Gregory
1963/1964 – Pedro Roderígez
1965 – Jim Hall
1966 – Mark Donohue
1967 – John ‘Jack’ Brabham
1968 – Denis ‘Denny’ Hulme
1969/1970 – Jacques ‘Jacky’ Ickx
1971/1972 – John ‘Jackie’ Stewart
1973 – Peter Revson
1974 – Emerson Fittipaldi
1976 – James Hunt
1977 – Jody Scheckter
1978 – Gilles Villeneuve
1979/1980 – Alan Jones
1981 – Jacques Laffite
1982/1984/1991 – Nelson Piquet
1983 – René Arnoux
1985 – Michele Alboreto
1986 – Nigel Mansell
1988/1990 – Ayrton Senna
1989 – Thierry Boutsen
1992 – Gerhard Berger
1993 – Alain Prost
1994/1997/1998/2000/2002/2003/2004 – Michael Schumacher
1995 – Jean Alesi
1996 – Damon Hill
1999 – Mika Hakkinen*
2001 – Ralf Schumacher
2005 – Kimi Raikkonnen*
2006 – Fernando Alonso
2007/2010 – Lewis Hamilton
2008 – Robert Kubica
* There should be umlauts on some of the letters in their names. I can’t do them, apologies.
The Eurovision Song Contest is one of the entertainment highlights of the year for me, although I abstain from getting too tied up with the block voting that’s more or less taken away the competition part of it. What Eurovision is still great for is the names.
A mad fiddler by the name Alexander Rybak from Norway won it in 2009, and ever since I’ve had a name crush on Rybak, and let’s not forget the genius, and mostly gibberish lyrics that was Ukraine’s entry two years before, from Verka Seduchka – and for those who do click and watch his entry, he came 2nd. It’s that kind of competition.
But onto Eurovision 2011, which came with some interesting names, both in the semis and final:
Alexey (Russia) – Known as Alex Sparrow in the International Market.
As for elsewhere, I discovered this week that an aquantaince of mine, called Mollie, has two sisters: Maisie and Maude.
My sister Sophie, known to most as Dopey, announced this week that she wants to be called Jaguar, I take comfort from the fact she didn’t say Audi or Renault. She’s also recently aquired the new Jacqueline Wilson book, Lily Alone, which features siblings Lily, Bliss, Baxter and Pixie.
The last note-worthy name spot of the week comes in the form of a champion Irish surfer: Easkey Britton. Her younger sister is called Becky-Finn.
Let’s number-crunch. Courtesy of my sister, I got my hands on the class lists for her year (grade) at school. The names totalled around 150, and when we factor in the sixth form class list, who are two years older, we have a reasonably sized data covering popular baby names for catholics (catholic school) in England in the early 1990s:
The prevalence of Irish names is not taken as uncommon in a catholic school.
Jack was outnumbered by several names: Joseph, James and Thomas. He began his stay at the top of the UK Top 100 list at the end of the decade. Two of the Jacks had the same surname.
Both of the Ashley’s, born when America embraced the name as a female one, were male.
The Eugenie’s were born just after Princess Eugenie, and the Beatrice/trixes born after Princess Eugenie’s sister: Princess Beatrice.
Non of the Lucy’s were a Lucille, Lucienne etc. They were all just Lucy.
The Emma’s outnumbered the Emily.
From personal knowledge:
-None of the Philippa’s in the list shortens their name to Pippa.
-All of the Eleanor’s were nicknamed Ellie.
* In the interests of not boring you all to death with an endless list of data, any name on the class lists which appeared once, without a similar name has been omitted from the data. This accounts for around 30 names out of the roughly estimated 240 names.
Mer de Noms 