16 January, 2012
Lou @ Mer de noms
Sibset of the Week
Allegra, Ambrosia, Amory, Angelica, Ashley, Austen, Carmen, Conrad, Domino, Edwina, Felix, India, John, Jordan, Lorenzo, Maddison, Rowan
David Nightingale Hicks, from npgprints.com
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.
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
16 May, 2011
Lou @ Mer de noms
Name Spot of the Wek
Alexey, Amaury, Aske, Aurela, Axel, Baxter, Becky, Bliss, Christos, Danica, Dino, Duncan, Easkey, Edward, Eldar, Eric, Esben, Finn, Getter, Glen, Jaguar, John, Katalin, Kati, Khaled, Lena, Lily, Loukas, Magdalena, Maisie, Maja, Maude, Mihai, Mika, Mollie, Nigar, Pixie, Raffaele, Roman, Rybak, Sebastian, Simon, Sophio, Stella, Valeriu, Verka, Yuksek
Alexander Rybak, 2009 winner, from aardling.com
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.
Amaury (France)
Aske ‘A Friend in London’ (Denmark)
Aurela (Albania)
Axel ‘Paradise Oskar’ (Finland)
Christos (Cyprus)
Dino (Bosnia&Herzegovina)
Verka Seduchka, 2nd Place in 2007, from culch.ie
Duncan ‘Blue’ (United Kingdom)
Edward ‘Jedward’ (Ireland)
Eldar ‘Ell and Nikki’ (Azerbaijan)
Eric Khaled (Sweden)
Esben ‘A Friend in London’ (Denmark)
Getter (Estonia)
Glen (Malta)
Katalin ‘Kati’ (Hungary)
John ‘Jedward’ (Ireland)
Lena (Germany)
Loukas (Greece)
Nina, representing Serbia, from zimbio.com
Magdalena (Poland)
Maja (Slovenia)
Mihai ‘Zdob shi Zdub’ (Moldova)
Mika (Ukraine)
Nigar ‘Ell and Nikki’ (Azerbaijan)
Danica ‘Nina’ (Serbia)
Raffaele ‘Raphael’ (Italy)
Roman ‘Zdob shi Zdub’ (Moldova)
Sebastian ‘A Friend in London’ (Denmark)
Simon ‘Blue’ (United Kingdom)
Jedward, representing Ireland, from eurovisionmania.net
Sophio ‘Eldrine’ (Georgia)
Stella (Norway)
Valeriu ‘Zdob shi Zdub’ (Moldova)
Yuksek (Turkey)
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.
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 April, 2010
Lou @ Mer de noms
1920s Names
Anna, Arthur, Bernard, Betty, Catherine, Charles, Donald, Dorothy, Edward, Elizabeth, Frances, Frank, George, Gladys, Harold, Helen, Irene, Irving, John, Josephine, Katherine, Kenneth, Lillian, Louis, Mary, Michael, Norma, Norman, Opal, Oscar, Paul, Pauline, Queen, Quentin, Robert, Ruth, Sarah, Stanley, Thelma, Thomas, Ulysses, Una, Vernon, Virginia, William, Willie, Yoshio, Yvonne, Zach, Zelma
Occasionally, I find a need to peruse some data. Here is the product of just that. I looked at the Top 1000 for the USA from 1920 and created this list. Out of the Top 1000 names on the 1920 name list, this is a list of the name that appears first with each beginning letter.
A – Arthur and Anna
B – Bernard and Betty
C – Charles and Catherine
D – Donald and Dorothy
E – Edward and Elizabeth
F – Frank and Frances
G – George and Gladys
H – Harold and Helen
I – Irving and Irene
J – John and Josephine
K – Kenneth and Katherine
L – Louis and Lillian
M – Michael and Mary
N – Norman and Norma
O – Oscar and Opal
P – Paul and Pauline
Q – Quentin and Queen
R – Robert and Ruth
S – Stanley and Sarah
T – Thomas and Thelma
U – Ulysses and Una
V – Vernon and Virginia
W – William and Willie
X – N/A
Y – Yoshio and Yvonne
Z – Zach and Zelma
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