21 February, 2012
Lou @ Mer de noms
Name Themes/Styles, Name Trends
Alice, Bonnie, Cal, Celia, Clay, Connie, Cora, Cy, Cyrus, Effie, Eli, Freddie, George, Grady, Hattie, James, Jamie, Jimmy, Jools, Jules, Kitty, Leo, Lottie, Molly, Nina, Petal, Poppy, Rupert, Sid, Susie, Tilly, Vera, Willa
Nothing is more homely than a good brew, snapped by me in Covent Garden.
Not content with having a gazillion different blogs to read new posts on a regular basis, I’ve recently taken a delve into vlogs as well.
One video that really caught my eye was by littlelunaful, who is a northern lass a few years younger than me. She talked about what she described as homestyle names, defining them as being comforting, familiar, informal and simple. I must say I found myself really liking some of the names she placed in this category. The names she selected for her list included:
Girls:
Bonnie
Celia
Cora
Effie
Kitty
Lottie
Nina
Tilly
Vera
Willa
Boys:
Cal
Clay
Cy
Cyrus
Eli
Grady/Gradie
Leo
Admittedly, I found the male names a more eclectic list than the female one, but it’s a good collection of names nevertheless. Of course, I couldn’t resist coming up with my own ideas of names which one could consider homestyle:
Alice
Connie
Hattie
Molly
Petal
Poppy
Susie
Freddie
George
James/Jamie – Jimmy?
Jools/Jules
Rupert
Sid
Anyone care to suggest others?
13 February, 2012
Lou @ Mer de noms
Sibset of the Week
Eric, Ernie, Florence, James, Vita, Walter
Mel Giedroyc, from bbc.co.uk
I’ve mentioned The Great British Bake Off more times than really healthy on this blog, heck, I mentioned it in last week’s Sibset post. So, we’re going to slightly rectify that by again talking about two families, with one having no relation whatsoever to the aforementioned show.
But, let’s start with it. The show was presented by comedy duo Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc. We’ve previously mention another half of a female comedy duo, Jennifer Saunders, in this feature in November 2011. Her set of three daughters had a rather sweetly vintage feel to them, as does Mel’s own two daughters with husband Ben Morris:
Florence
Vita
We’re sticking with the slightly vintage feel, but swapping to boys names with our second sibet. Both parents, Richard Lumsden and Sophie Thompson, are in the acting game. To the international audience, Sophie is probably best known for either playing Lydia in Four Weddings and a Funeral or Mafalda in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. To her home audience, her part as Stella Crawford in Eastenders will likely be your first thought – if you watch soaps that is (and I don’t).
Either way, they couple have two sons:
Ernie James
Walter Eric
I couldn’t help but wonder if the nod to comedy duo Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise was intended. I’d certainly like to think so.
4 January, 2012
Lou @ Mer de noms
Boy Names, Girl Names
Celina, James, Jasmine, Madison, Maud, Morny, Peregrine, Selena, William
Chatsworth House, from toffsmen.com
You’d think, given that I’ve spent the last fortnight in the USA that I’d want to talk more about American names. It seems not because Chatsworth House is on my mind, which is one of the closest stately homes to me. It also happens to be home to the 12th Duke of Devonshire and some of the fascinating names you’d expect from the aristocracy.
First, a moment to mention that no, I haven’t quietly moved south. Chatsworth House is in North Derbyshire, but like many rich families, the Cavendishs bought the title Duke of Devonshire in 1616 from James I. The first, William, reportedly paid in the region of £10,000 for it.
But, back to the modern day crop of the family and we’ll start with the eldest living tier. Or, we would do, except Nook has already spoken about the Mitford sisters of which the youngest, Deborah ‘Debo’, is the mother of the current Duke. With Andrew Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire, she actually had several offspring, including:
- Mark
- Emma
- Peregrine
- Victor
- Mary
- Sophia
Since Mark died shortly after birth it is her second son who is the current (12th) Duke of Devonshire: Peregrine Andrew Morny. He took the title in 2004 following the death of his father. Deborah, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire is still around, though.
The name Peregrine comes from Latin and means traveller – rather setting me on the thought train of ‘Wow! Wouldn’t Beatrix and Peregrine work well together?’. Those feeling in the dark, Beatrix could come from the Late Latin name Viatrix which means means voyager, albeit with influence from the Latin word beatus, meaning blessed.
Morny is an interesting choice, with aristocratic links. French ones, though, as there was once a Duc de Morny. It’s after him that the horse race, Prix Morny, is named since he was a great lover of the sport.
As for Peregrine, Duke of Devonshire, he married a lady named Amanda on 28 June 1967 and together they have three children:
William ‘Bill’
Celina
Jasmine
The youngest, Jasmine, was born in 1975, a whole 17 years prior to Aladdin being released in 1992 – a film often associated with the popularity of the name. Then we have Celina, which isn’t all that dissimilar to a rather more modern-day Disney-associated name: Selena, as in, Selena Gomez whom appears in Wizard of Waverley Place - she herself was named after the Mexican singer.
As for their third child, should William become the 13th Duke of Devonshire, he’ll be the 8th Duke to bear the name William. Infact, it was an unbroken chain of Williams from the 1st to the 7th, a pattern broken by Spencer, 8th Duke of Devonshire. This is because his elder brother, William, died young. The 10th Duke’s eldest son was also called William, but he was killed in WWI before the death of his father, hence stopping him from becoming the 11th Duke of Devonshire, which then passed onto the aformentioned Andrew.
Moving onto the youngest generation, William currently has two children with his wife, Laura:
Maud is certainly one of those names I can see more and more people using – the popular name Madison means son of Maud (Maud as a nickname for Madison? Probably too different in style – no?). Maud herself is a medieval form of Matilda. Personally, I feel myself leaning towards Maud with an e: Maude and I love the idea of using her with something overly girly: Maude Eulalie; Maude Felicity; Maude Cecily, to name just a few.
20 December, 2011
Lou @ Mer de noms
Boy Names, Girl Names
Anne, Catherine, Henry, James, Jane, John, Margaret, Mary
Think Twice, from becstables.com
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 surname. 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
Catherine – Caítlin, Cato, Catriona, Hecate, Kaia, Karen, Kayley, Kasia, Kateri, Kit, Reina
Henry – Enzo, Kendrick, Perry, Rico
James – Diego, Hamish, Jacob, Seamus
Jane – Gia, Hannelore, Ivanka, Johanna, Nina, Siobhan
John – Bevan, Eoin, Evan, Ian, Ivan, Ivo, Sean, Shane, Yannick
Margaret – Gretchen, Magali, Maisie, Maret, Marit, Meta, Rita (Pearl)
Mary – Maia, Manon, Maureen, Mieke, Mirele, Miriam, Mitzi, Moira, Molly, Polly, Ria, Romy
1 June, 2011
Lou @ Mer de noms
Sport Names
Alain, Alan, Ayrton, Damon, Denis, Denny, Emerson, Fernando, Gerhard, Gilles, Jack, Jackie, Jacky, Jacques, James, Jean, Jenson, Jim, Jody, John, Kimi, Lewis, Mark, Masten, Michael, Michele, Mika, Nelson, Nigel, Pedro, Peter, Ralf, René, Robert, Thierry
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.
2011 – Jenson Button
3 March, 2011
Lou @ Mer de noms
London Telegraph Names
Alasdair, Alexander, Alexandra, Alice, Amélie, Amelia, Angharad, Archie, Arthur, Beau, Bruce, Caspar, Celia, Charlotte, Clément, Darcey, Dhanlaxmi, Ellen, Florence, Florian, Freddie, George, Griffyd, Gursel, Happy, Heber, Hector, Henrietta, Henry, Honor, Hunter, Iona, Iris, Isis, Isla, Isobelle, James, Jasper, Jemima, Jenkyn, Jonquil, Katinka, Lawrence, Leonidas, Liberty, Lochlann, Louisa, Love, Luigi, Luke, Mair, Marinho, Marnie, Martha, Mary, Maud, Minnie, Molly, Nancy, Octavia, Oscar, Ozanne, Patti, Peel, Plum, Raffles, Raphael, Rudy, Sadie, Sherlock, Soma, Sunshine, Tarka, Tessa, Thady, Thomas, Tiberius, Tobias, Vaughan, Wilbur, Willa, Wood, Zinnia
Let’s indulge ourselves with a litte name spotting in the London Birth Announcements, notable names are in bold, siblings in brackets:
Alexandra Charlotte Ozanne, (Isabelle)
Alice Dhanlaxmi
Amelia Jonquil Angharad
Amélie India Lucy, (William)
Beau Vivienne, (Ada Rose)
Celia Jane Vanessa, (Dougal)
Charlotte Carol Jane, (Oscar)
Darcey Carmen Rose, (Theo)
Ellen Andrea Maria
Florence Iona Emily Peel, (Isla and Willa)
Isla Aris
Henrietta Philippa Rose, (Annelies and Martha)
Iona Kathryn, (Imogen May)
Iris Arabella, (Katinka)
Isla Katherine
Isobelle Susannah
Jemima and Willa, twins
Katinka Alice Belsham, (Bella and Freddie)
Katinka Lily
Liberty Valentina Vaughan
Louisa Jane, Alistair
Mair ‘Polly’ Elisabeth Patricia, (Florence)
Marnie
Martha Maud, (Guy)
Martha Sophie Poppy, (Tilly and Olive)
Mary Beatrice Rose
Mary Constance, (Elsa and George)
Molly Elizabeth Sarah
Molly Juliet
Nancy Rebecca, (Lily)
Nancy Rose
Octavia, (Claudia)
Sadie Francesca
Soma Isis, (Seth and Saul)
Tessa Charlotte Jane, (Isabelle and Eliza)
Tessa Honor Bruce, (Tamsin and Jemima)
Willa Victoria Joanna Rees, (Hamish)
Zinnia Alice Victoria
–
Alasdair James Dudley
Alexander George Walter Halley, (Serena)
Archie Geoffrey
Arthur John Christopher, (Thady)
Caspar Anthony Wallace
Freddie Samuel, (Jack and Georgia)
George Alfred Beresford
George James Sherlock
George Raffles Tyndale
Griffyd Hunter Heber
Hector David
Henry Arthur Bromhead, (Jenkyn)
Henry Leonidas Tiberius, (Mark and Rupert)
James Luigi Wood, (Johnny)
Jasper Florian
Lawrence Happy John Owen, (Minnie Love and Heidi Sunshine)
Luke Christopher Æneas, (Angus, Orlando and Cosmo)
Oscar Gürsel
Oscar Jack Peter, (Kit and Jemima)
Peter Jack, Angus
Raphael Willam, (Isabella Flora and Lochlann James)
Rudy Felix James, (Olly and Chloe)
Tarka Alexander Arthur
Tobias Tarquin
Thomas Douglas Marinho
Wilbur Clement, (Patti Plum)
My favourite sibset? It has to be Lawrence Happy, Minnie Love and Heidi Sunshine.
8 January, 2011
Lou @ Mer de noms
Real Babies
Aidan, Aiden, Alexa, Alexander, Alexandra, Alice, Alicia, Alisdair, Alistair, Amy, Ana, Andrew, Anne, Ashley, Beatrice, Beatrix, Ben, Benjamin, Bryn, Cara, Caroline, Catherine, Chloe, Christopher, Clara, Clare, Connor, Conor, David, Eleanor, Eliza, Elizabeth, Ellen, Emily, Emma, Esme, Esther, Eugenie, Finn, Frances, Freddie, Frederick, Hannah, Hayley, Helen, Helena, Hugh, Hugo, Huw, Jack, Jacob, Jakub, James, Jennifer, Jessica, Joanne, Joe, John, Jonathan, Joseph, Joshua, Karolina, Kathryn, Katie, Laura, Lauren, Leanne, Liam, Lila, Lilia, Lillian, Lily, Lucy, Maria, Marie, Matteaus, Matthew, Michael, Mollie, Molly, Natasha, Olivia, Rhian, Roxanne, Ryan, Sara, Sarah, Sasha, Sophie, Theo, Theodore, Thomas, Vanessa, William
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:
British Babies Born Circa 1990-1994
BOYS – ALPHABETICALLY
Aidan +Aiden
Alexander x3 +Alistair +Alisdair
Andrew x2
Ashley x2
Benjamin x2 +Ben
Bryn +Finn
Christopher x2
Connor +Conor
David x4
Hugo +Hugh +Huw
Jack x5
Jacob +Jakub
James x7
John +Jonathan
Joseph x7 +Joe
Joshua x2
Frederick + Freddie
Matthew x2 +Matteaus
Michael x4
Ryan x2
Theodore +Theo
Thomas x7
William x2 +Liam x2
BOYS – NUMERICALLY (3 or more)
Joseph et al = 8
James = 7
Thomas = 7
Daniel = 6
Alexander et al = 5
Jack = 5
Michael = 4
William et al = 4
Benjamin et al = 3
Hugo et al = 3
Matthew et al = 3
GIRLS – ALPHABETICALLY
Alexandra x2 +Alexa
Alice x2 +Alicia
Amy x2
Ana + Anne +Joanne +Leanne +Rhian +Roxanne
Beatrice +Beatrix x2
Cara +Clare +Clara
Caroline +Karolina
Chloe x3
Eleanor x3 +Ellen x2 +Helen x2 +Helena
Elizabeth +Eliza
Emma x2 +Emily
Esther +Esme
Eugenie x2
Frances x2
Hannah x2
Hayley x2
Jennifer x3
Jessica x3
Kathryn +Catherine +Katie x2
Laura x5 +Lauren
Lucy x4
Lily x2 +Lila +Lillian +Lilia
Maria x2 +Marie
Molly +Mollie
Natasha +Sasha x2
Olivia x3
Sarah +Sara
Sophie x3
Vanessa x2
GIRLS – NUMERICALLY (3 or more)
Eleanor et al = 8
Ana et al = 6
Lily et al =5
Kathryn et al = 4
Lucy = 4
Alexandra et al = 3
Beatrice et al = 3
Cara et al = 3
Chloe = 3
Emma et al = 3
Jennifer = 3
Jessica = 3
Natasha et al = 3
Olivia = 3
Philippa = 3
Sophie = 3
MALE/FEMALE
Daniel x6 +Danielle
George x2 +Georgina
Harry +Hattie +Harriet
Phillip +Philippa x3
Valentino +Valentina
THE IRISH GANG
Sean x2 +Shaun +Sian
Sinead +Seamus +Roisin +Bronagh +Lorcan +Ciara x2 +Niall
Patrick x2
THE NOTABLES
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.
26 May, 2010
Lou @ Mer de noms
1930s Names
Alice, Arthur, Betty, Billy, Catherine, Charles, Donald, Dorothy, Edward, Elizabeth, Frances, Frank, George, Gloria, Harold, Helen, Ira, Irene, James, Joan, Kathleen, Kenneth, Lois, Louis, Marvin, Mary, Nancy, Norman, Opal, Oscar, Patricia, Paul, Queen, Quentin, Robert, Ruth, Shirley, Stanley, Thelma, Thomas, Ulysses, Vernon, Virginia, Wanda, William, Yvonne, Zane, Zelma
Fry's Dainties, from pzrservices.typepad.com
Following on from our 1920s name list, here are the top names for each letter in the US Top 1000 of 1930.
A – Arthur and Alice
B – Billy and Betty
C – Charles and Catherine
D – Donald and Dorothy
E – Edward and Elizabeth
F – Frank and Frances
G – George and Gloria
H – Harold and Helen
I – Ira and Irene
J – James and Joan
K – Kenneth and Kathleen
L – Louis and Lois
M – Marvin and Mary
N – Norman and Nancy
O – Oscar and Opal
P – Paul and Patricia
Q – Quentin and Queen
R – Robert and Ruth
S – Stanley and Shirley
T – Thomas and Thelma
U – Ulysses. No female.
V – Vernon and Virginia
W – William and Wanda
X – none.
Y – Yvonne. No male.
Z – Zane and Zelma
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