So long, Hengelberth, Maolenin, Kerbert Krishnamerk, Githanjaly, Yornaichel, Nixon and Yurbiladyberth.
This post should have been entitled "Tick, Tock."
The piece linked in 1 is awesome. Also, the 'Blossom' spike is totally not where I expected it to be.
My name and Ogged's name: never popular.
To only who girl names?
"Show," of course. Most of the same letters.
I didn't realize that "John" was trending downward while "Jon" trended upwards. I had just always encountered both about equally.
It's time for Florence to make a comeback.
I knew a Florence from Switzerland who went by Flo in college. A good name. Why should 1890 have all the fun?
Speaking of Johns, Bob Herbert says take your empowerment fantasies and get into the goddamn lineup when the fuckbell rings.
My name and Ogged's name: never popular.
Not since Bitchogged won best supporting actress in 1938, anyway. Golden days.
I wonder if those are just an error in how things are coded
The FAQ addresses this. Some were common coding errors; some names were routinely abbreviated.
The name Maryjane takes a big dip right around the 1960s.
I spent a while trying to find a name that would show a graph of consistent height throughout the century, with no particular trends, but couldn't find one. Then somehow it turned out that "Benito" pretty much fit the bill, although it dropped out of the top 1000 in 2004, dammit.
"Benito" has a noticeable dip in the 40s and 50s as well.
Totally OT bleg: does anyone here have the ability to contribute some kind of Valuable Prize* for a school raffle? It's a tax writeoff, and PK's school desperately needs money.
*E.g., I am going to hassle my Apple-employed friend in SF to see if he can get us some iPods or iPhones or something.
Hillary is worth looking at. As are many Irish names, like Aidan and Liam and some other ones.
Common Hispanic names are interesting too. You can really see the changing demographics.
80 of every million babies last year was named "Xzavier"?
It's interesting to see the trends for each letter. A, E, I and O all had their nadirs during the 1960s.
Compare "Queen" to "Princess".
It's time for Florence to make a comeback.
I've long thought the same about Adelaide, and wouldn't you know it...
The name Maryjane takes a big dip
dip s/b hit
BitchPhd:
I'll donate tickets to the Wine and Garlic Festival.
17: Yes. I was wondering if there were any popular names starting with "U" nowadays. The only ones are "Ulises" and "Uriel".
It's surprising that it takes "Adolph" so long to tail off into obscurity.
Adonis is on the up and up. But Minerva, though once popular, hasn't been seen since 1980. A post-Potter bump has not appeared, maybe because too many people remember "Minnie." Harry and Herminone similarly have no presence.
I've been thinking the same about Adelaide, and wouldn't you know it...
Dammit, both "Owen" and "Evan" are trendy. There go my ideas.
The secret girls' name that I am holding in reserve hasn't reappeared on the list, though.
Interestingly, there are no boys names beginning with "Fu" apart from the long-extinct Furman.
"Ulises." Jesus wept.
The fortunes of "Unknown" are pretty curious.
"Bonnie" was a boys' name?!?
Hmm, my grandfather's name was actually equally popular for boys and girls when he was born. I thought it was only a boys' name in the old country.
Awesome! PK's name makes no appearance since the early 1920s.
"Ulises" is the Spanish spelling.
Y gives a fascinating result, with a huge proliferation of names in recent years. Also, Yoshiko and Yoshio were rising in popularity through the 20s and 30s, and then, not surprising, they vanish.
Jesus, you named your kid "Percival?"
Compare "Francis" and "Francisco" for a nice example of the changing demographics.
Finnegan
Christ. Finnegan is of course a surname. But I imagine sleep-deprived yuppie couples mumbling "Urgh ... Finneganswake" at 3:30am.
28: There's no "Fuoad?" I'm too lazy to look myself.
36: Ooh! Good suggestion for the next one, thanks!
Fabian: surprisingly popular.
Check out "Orange" and "Lemon".
I've mentioned before that my great-grandfather was named Orange. And yes, he was born in the 1880s.
Orange you glad he wasn't named Banana?
40, 42: Also, Faith. Not sure what to think about that.
Mohammad, in its various spellings, continue to rise.
40: Thanks, knew I was forgetting something. So we're big on hope and charity, but down, down, down on love and mercy.
Materialistic bastards, aren't we?
Also, Faith. Not sure what to think about that.
Probably has to do with Faith Hill. Compare "Shania."
Missy seems to have died a deserved death.
Things are not looking good for me and my fellow Thomases. A breeding program may need to be established. I'll have to start looking into grants.
OTOH, I bet Buffy's going to make a resurgence.
49: Also we no longer aspire for our daughters to be Queens or Queenies, but merely Princesses. Where's the respect for women's agency, people?
Awesome! PK's name makes no appearance since the early 1920s.
I cannot believe you named him Ernst.
I didn't realize that Lisa wasn't among the consistently popular names.
51: huh, I know somebody named that. She doesn't look like an outlier.
Y'all making fun of Princess: check the popularity of Prince.
Xander doesn't show up until 2003. Joss Whedon is an influential man.
I'll have to start looking into grants.
You're in luck, Tom. "Grant" is making a comeback.
Compare "Shania."
Did you know that her real name is Shania Langhorn Clemens?
Apparently we've devalued not only mercy and love, but also frank and earnest.
Check out "Chasity" instead of "Chastity".
Also, this informs me that the pretentious naming of boys with what should be last names is no new phenomenon. E.g. "Granville", "Furman" and "Thurston". But it does seem to be new for girls.
"Lily" has gone boom recently, too.
Ditto Piper.
Yup, my great-granddaddy invested heavily way back when -- Hazel, Hortense, Gertrude, Viola, Lovie, Prudence. He thought he had quite the diversified portfolio, all strong performers. Course, by the end of the war, he'd pretty much lost everything...
Not a single goddam Qwerty.
Ben is in fairly constant decline, though. (As is "Ben.")
Lolita apparently died right when the novel was published, but came back again until 1980. Did a movie come out then?
Ben is in fairly constant decline, though. (As is "Ben.")
Shortened forms used alone seem to have been a lot more common 100 years ago than now. Not sure if this is a reporting artifact or if it indicates a real practice.
I mean, "Ben" is on a steady decline, but look at "Benjamin." (No comment on Ben.)
(As is "Ben.")
Not true of "Benjamin". Benjiman, Benjaman, and Benjamine (and Benton and Benito) have all seen better days, though.
Ahmad, Yusuf, Mohammed, Hamza, all on the upswing. I hope M/chelle Malk/n doesn't get wind of this.
73: "Tariq" seems to be declining, though.
That many people were actually named "Bud"?
Pink, Golden, Green, Orange, Brown, all used to be men's names in the 1890s. WTF?
Curious about chicken-and-egg with popular television. Is the Emma upswing a product of "Friends," or were they just riding a pre-existing Emma trend? Same with Aidan, of SatC.
Emma, I bet, is just part of the larger resurgence in old-fashioned sounding names. See also Ella, Sophie, Chloe, etc.
Common Hispanic names are interesting too. You can really see the changing demographics.
Judging by "Ofelia", we had a big Hispanic influx in the 1920s through the 1950s, followed by assimilation.
Opal, Pearl: names of the past. Ruby: experiencing a revival. Emerald, Amber: recently hot, then not. Diamond? Surging.
79: You have to look at the absolute numbers too, not just the relative ones.
80: Along the same lines, Rose: dead. Iris, Daisy: coming back.
"Theodore" too, which is interesting because it's not as uncommon a name to begin with.
Along the same lines, Rose: dead.
My grandmother is named Rose and she isn't dead (yet).
Wow, "Simon" might be the best example of the gringo fade, hispanic surge. Assuming many of those later "Simons" are actually named "Simón".
I know a 26-year-old named Rose. She plays bass.
And here's a 22 year old.
And Alize, like the girl-drink.
I would like to have a large number of children named Janus, April, May, June, Julia/us, Augusta/us, Septima/us, etc.
Very convenient that omitting February and March makes September the seventh month again.
Meanwhile you have the gringo fade, Asian-American surge with "Grace".
Of all the names in P.G. Wodehouse, I would not have picked "Augustus" to be making a comeback right now.
Check out "Chasity" instead of "Chastity"
The shift manager at the Hardee's where I get breakfast is named Chasity.
The arc of all three of my kids' names&emdash;Keegan, Noah, and Cassidy&emdash;are recent spikes, though both Keegan and Cassidy remain fairly uncommon. Noah, on the other hand, has just exploded over the past decade. Also, Cassidy abruptly changed from a boy's name in the '90s to a girl's name in the '00s.
Russ, on the other hand? Totally out of fashion.
names—Keegan, Noah, and Cassidy—are
It's spelled "&mdash", apo.
Egbert, on the other hand, is one of those 19th century names that's disappeared.
"Asa"? What's next, "Oscar"?
(checks)
Oh yeah, that Latino thing again. "Oscar" is indeed reappearing.
Lots of boys named Helen in 1900.
Yeah, sorry. Also, I just edited your comment instead of mine by mistake.
Tom, my parents and Grandparents did their parts on increasing the number of Toms.
90: I doubt it. I think Simon's become popular with white parents of my generation again.
Taylor, Cooper, Sawyer -- so nice to see young people going back into the trades. Smith, Wright, and Miller, however, haven't been popular for a long time.
Lots of male Susans in the 40s to 70s.
107: The dip between peaks is like, D'oh!
I for one am shocked that this thing doesn't allow diacritical marks. How am I to see the trends in naming boys "Törless"?
Evelyn, for men, had its biggest peak around 1900. Waugh was among the last of his kind.
Quite surprised by the popularity of "Hattie", "Hettie" and "Fannie". I thought those were just nicknames.
Uh, except for the fact that he's from a different country than this covers.
"Jade" is coming on strong, mysteriously. And my name just took off after I was born, going from relative obscurity to a respectable level of popularity.
Far fewer Dicks than there used to be.
Nëddy: I can enter diacriticals into it just fine. There are no results for Törless, or for Çally.
90: I doubt it. I think Simon's become popular with white parents of my generation again.
I thought of that after commenting, realizing I know at least two gringo Simons. "Oscar" maybe, as Ned points out.
Ayesha shows up nowhere?
Try Iesha or Aisha
Ayesha shows up nowhere?
Try Aisha.
Alternatively, you could try Iesha.
But Ayesha is, like, literary! And quite common, I thought! Also, male Hillary/Hilary? I know, like, three.
Silvio must have been a second generation immigrant.
Friends of mine named their son Dashiell, which I'm mildly surprised not to find at all.
But Ayesha is, like, literary!
From what?
You'll be shocked that "Heathcliff" does not appear either.
And quite common, I thought!
Where? I've never seen it.
Sunny and Sunshine appear for the first time in the '70s, peak in the '80s, then disappear in the '90s. I blame hippies.
128: The late 19th-c sensation novel "She" -- "She who must be obeyed" is the nickname of the immortal white African queen Ayesha.
Tragically, Emile and Emilee are unlikely to marry.
"Jade" is coming on strong, mysteriously.
Because of Asian fetish porn, probably.
Oscar: also popular with semi-hip, semi-urban 30-something white parents.
Shockingly, "Trinity" has maintained its popularity after we thought the Matrix sequels would destroy it forever.
...who are searching desparately for a name no one else would possibly use.
How long before Seymour comes back?
Also interesting: the deaths of Johnson, Smith, and Jones as first names.
I'm willing to bet that Joaquin's huge jump owes something to hip white parents, too.
136: It's fixing for a comeback, right after "Mortimer" and "Octave".
The recent surge of "Miles": a red-state fuck-off to the metric system?
The late 19th-c sensation novel "She" -- "She who must be obeyed" is the nickname of the immortal white African queen Ayesha.
This book had a huge impact on me at a formative pre-pubescent age. H. Rider Haggard rocks.
Funny that a late Victorian author would have picked a name that seems to fit current urban black naming conventions so perfectly.
The recent surge of "Miles": a red-state fuck-off to the metric system?
An expression of old-school-hipster appreciation for the bearer of the cool.
136: It's fixing for a comeback, right after "Mortimer" and "Octave".
"Octave", "Fifth", and "Tritone"
Who'd have thought that Icie was more popular than Icy? Not me, that's for sure.
Consistently lots of female Charleses before 1980.
136: Not at all. The idea is "old-fashioned, somewhat unusual, but not completely unique." No one wants their kids name to be the next Zephyr.
(Willow: rising fast post-2003. More Whedon effect. Gaylord: abandoned post-1970, ripe for use by parents who want their kid to have a name no one else shares.)
Louise and Louis are growing old together.
Iola, Ione, and Iona were all of roughly equal popularity back in the day, but Io never shows up at all. There is a bit of Leda back before 1910, though. Nor Hera nor Heracles nor Hercules.
Madonna appears to have killed off that name, though I did know one in college.
I can't use the site on my crappy old computer. But I've always had a fondness for Roman emperor names, very few of which are used at all today. Someone shoudl revive Hostilian, it sounds badass.
My operating system is too old for me to install the Java plugin. I'm sad that I can't play.
I'm guessing no one actually named their kid 'Unknown.' Someone should.
I'm surprised "Louise" hasn't become trendy. Louise Brooks, hello?!?
An expression of old-school-hipster appreciation for the bearer of the cool.
Sure, and I suppose we're about to see an upsurge of "Hamp" in honor of Lionel Hampton.
Infant, on the other hand, must be a real name.
156: Neither Tarquin nor Superb. Shameful.
My great-uncle was one of the surge in Edisons 85 or so years ago.
It seems to be reappearing?!?
Another occupation coming back, a bit: Fletcher.
Tristan is back; the search for Isolde turned up Isom.
Marcus, you will be happy to learn that "Maximus" has made the top 1000 in the last couple years.
Miguel, I bet, is totally due to a growing Latino population, though.
More demonstration of hipster old-fashioned nameism: Hazel.
My father's name has declined all the way to less than tenth place. His middle name doesn't show up at all, though.
If I were cuckolded and had to raise another man's child, I would name him [null character] and doom him to a life of fuck ups.
Also, I predict a resurgence of "Omar" among hip white people.
Emerson is resurgent. But you knew that.
Funny that a late Victorian author would have picked a name that seems to fit current urban black naming conventions so perfectly.
Names beginning in "Bu": no longer popular. At all.
More demonstration of hipster old-fashioned nameism: Hazel.
Only for girls, though.
Cyrus is doing ok.
A huge decline in "Chin"s in the late 19th century: must be the result of exclusion.
Baby? People actually named their children Baby? Wow.
Another occupation coming back
Mason, Hunter, Tucker.
Frankly I don't know if a "tucker" was really an occupation or not. Maybe all these kids are being named after Tucker Max.
Also, I predict a resurgence of "Omar" among hip white people.
These hipsters need to give themselves a challenge, and stop using names that are popular with the gente or that one would find in novels by Henry James.
See if you can popularize "Enos" and "Laverne" for babies, then I'll be impressed.
Or could that just be kids whose parents didn't name them before leaving the hospital? I want to know where these names are gotten.
Baby? People actually named their children Baby? Wow.
Actually I was going to mention that. In my family tree there's a couple names like "Baby Watk/ns", who were children who died before their christening ceremonies or something. I thought there might be some of those in the census from 1890 or so, but no, all the "Baby"s are recent!
177: sure, like Dirty Dancing! I am going to name all my children after characters in Dirty Dancing actually.
I understand Kriston's on the rise.
The resurgence of Emerson has not helped Ralph or Waldo.
177: Nobody puts Baby in a corner.
I understand Kriston's on the rise.
Close your door, dude.
Crap, IMDB informs me that the girl in Dirty Dancing didn't have "Baby" on her birth certificate. And I had this whole plan and everything.
Mason, Hunter, Tucker.
I know someone who has children named Mason and Hunter, actually.
It's interesting to try sound combinations and see how they wane over time: Bu? Hopelessly old-fashioned. Br? Totally modern.
No worries, "Brodysattva" is a great surname no matter what you christen your children.
People had the good sense to stop using Woodie over a century ago. Woody came and went later.
People had the good sense to stop using Woodie over a century ago. Woody came and went later.
And "Boner" isn't anywhere on the list. That Growing Pains character was not popular enough, I guess.
Olive is due for a return pretty soon, I would think. And now would be the perfect time for "Drupe" to come on the scene.
O, luscious drupe!
In junior high we had an assignment that involved inventing a pretend prime time tv schedule. The teacher's were not amused that we called one of our sitcoms "Groin Pains."
And now would be the perfect time for "Drupe" to come on the scene.
Or at least "Drusilla".
The teacher's were not amused
Well, this sentence is just a self-fulfilling prophecy, isn't it.
Seriously, nothing for Marigold?
Jean and Jean share one peak, after which Jean went into decline.
Inexplicably unpopular: Screech.
Lulu and Lula will surely follow Luna.
Olive is due for a return pretty soon, I would think
See: Olivia.
"Storm" and "Stone" are both bad names.
I have relatives named McKenzie, Mackenzie, Colby, Cody, Carly, Mason, and Kirby, and that's only a selection. Sa/selgy's gf and I often play the who's-bigger-white-trash game, and those qualitatively she has me beat, quantitatively, my record is unimpeachable.
Check out the creepy surge for Nevaeh.
Lulu and Lula will surely follow Luna.
See: Lola, Lucy.
Man, fuck Olivia. Olive. Olive is where it's at.
I'm very glad to see both Celia and Cecilia doing well, and find the fact that Cecil was a girl's name in the '20s quite pleasing.
Cecil is a great name for a girl.
This is so, so true.
I would go straight for a girl named Cecil.
Lulu and Lula will surely follow Luna.
And then, Luau.
Hamp? People were named Hamp?
At least in the south, "Hamp" is a not uncommon shortening of "Hampton"--as in "Wade Hampton." I've probably known a dozen or so Hamps or Hamptons.
I'm amused that my given name and the girl's name my parents chose before I was born both peaked about the year I was born. The 'rents were nothing if not trendy.
I'm surprised that Edwin has never quite fallen out of use.
No matter whether it were pronounced Sessil or Seesil?
I'm not surprised by Hamp as a shortened name or nickname, just by Hamp as what appears to have been the full name.
The ex and I had more or less settled on Eddy as the name of a potential daughter. I don't see that surging.
I would go straight for a girl named Cecil.
Parents, you've been warned.
No matter whether it were pronounced Sessil or Seesil?
As if there's really an option.
90: I doubt it. I think Simon's become popular with white parents of my generation again.
Could be the hispanic thing again, but I think all the Edwin's I've ever met have been Puerto Rican. They've been (I assume) counted in the mix since 1898.
221: Try "Eddie." You're trendier than you think.
Capitola was a first name for girls, at one point. I know it only as a place name.
221: Try "Eddie." You're trendier than you think.
Nothing since the 60s.
Marisol: Hispanic influx, or white urban hipsters? Hard to say.
Oops. 90: I doubt it. I think Simon's become popular with white parents of my generation again.I'm surprised that Edwin has never quite fallen out of use.
I think you're overestimating the contribution of white urban hipsters to the popularity of Hispanic names, b.
228: Right, but still: novel-sounding, but actually rather old-fashioned. Welcome to urban white hipsterdom, my friend.
I would go straight for a girl named Cecil
You could be Benny and Cecil.
Neither Coelacanth nor Obedienta seem to be popular.
224: I didn't know Edwin was a Puerto Rican name. It was a common name for white men in the late 19th century.
232: How many hip white urban parents do you know, Teo? And with how many have you discussed possible baby names?
This is just how naming trends go; you just happen to know white urban hipsters.
To add to 236: Edwin was probably common before the late 19th century, too. The Edwins I've come across were all born earlier in the century.
How many hip white urban parents do you know, Teo?
Very few.
And with how many have you discussed possible baby names?
Maybe a couple.
I'm not denying that they're using these names, I just don't think there are enough of them to be the driving force behind the increasing popularity of them. Look at "Juan" and "Luis." Do white urban hipsters use those names?
There was a brief period during which Foy, Loy, and Joy, as mens' names, had all cracked 1000.
Another unexpected girls' name: Clifford.
I would not go straight for a girl named Clifford.
Juan and Luis, no. But the others, I've heard more than one young white couple propose as a "cool" name.
Anyhoo. To bed with my head cold. You may all pray for me.
It's too bad the name database doesn't go back further: There's probably a lot of classical names we're missing. And with middle names you'd probably get a better feel for the era: lots of Georges could have been George Washingtons, for example.
244: I'm going to pray you don't name a kid Percival.
244: I'm going to pray you don't name a kid Percival.
How do you feel about Percy?
How do you feel about Percy?
I'm almost 40 years old and I would still want to pick on him. Unless his last name was Sledge.
Or you could go with Roland: both a knight and a synthesizer. It doesn't get any better than that.
251: Robert Moog actually was knighted, actually.
254: I did not know that. Wouldn't have happened had he been named Percival Moog.
Actually Actually is going to be the name of a character in my next musical.
Robert Moog
I'm friends with one of his granddaughters.
Oh, man, check out Brooklyn and Romeo. Disgusting. I can only imagine the havoc this has wreaked in England.
Rexford is waiting to be revived.
Bernice Bobs His Hair could have been written about the same time as the famous story.
Cecily is similar to Cecil & would probably like her parents better.
I can't play with this site, so I'll go to the Soc. Sec. one and note that there's less state to state variation than you might think, especially among girl's names (where the thing that jumps out at me is the popularity of Katherine & Elizabeth in D.C.) In boys' names, Logan, Landon, & Hunter seem more rural, & the obviously hispanic names have more of an influence.
Actually, the same is true internationally: Sophie/Sophia/Sofia makes the list in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, Denmark, England, Germany, Ireland, & Scotland. Emma makes it in New Zealand, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, & Sweden. etc.
You do also have your Manons, Mologrots, Gradpulks, & Małgorzatas though.
Perhaps Gradpulk sounds lovely when pronounced with the right accent.
That's ridiculous. Gradpulk sounds lovely regardless of accent.
Dayton is also popular. Quick, claim Akron before it gets too cool!
Treasure is so 2004. Is there some pop cultural explanation?
I can't play with this site, so I'll go to the Soc. Sec. one and note that there's less state to state variation than you might think, especially among girl's names
Really? I thought there were some pretty noticeable regional trends; Madison and (especially) William are more common in the South, while Olivia and Matthew are more northern. There are exceptions, of course, and I haven't actually counted.
If BR is new, and BU is old, then BO is right down the middle.
Best new old name for me: Otho and Otha, both boys' names.
Yes, Otho is the guy from Beetlejuice. I thought it was made up.
See, I just always assumed Madison was southern, or certainly not Northeastern. (I assume it's not big in Wisconsin, either.) But I can't get over all those Emmas and Ethans and Jacobs everywhere.
Yes, Otho is the guy from Beetlejuice. I thought it was made up.
Nope.
I didn't know Edwin was a Puerto Rican name.
Plenty of Edwins in Puerto Rico. Not sure why. I've also encountered my fair share of Latinos named "Jhonny" or "Jhonathan." This guy's wiki claims clerical error, but I've met quite a few. Mostly from Venezuela and Colombia, actually.
271: The thing about Madison is that it's risen to its current popularity very recently, so I at least didn't have any preconceptions about it at all. It does seem to be largely a southern thing, though, and more popular there than the Emmas and Jacobs. And look at William.
273:
The unusual spelling of his first name is attributed to a clerical error on his birth certificate. He has refused to have it changed. The letter combinations "Jh" or "Gh" are sometimes used in the Spanish language to represent the English "J" sound, as the "J" in Spanish is normally pronounced as an English "H".
I've never encountered that orthographical convention myself, but then I haven't had much contact with people from South America or the Caribbean.
That wiki explanation's confusing though. Clerical error, or orthographic rendering of an English sound?
Oh, and, also, they tend to pronounce it like "YOE-nee" or "YOE-na-tan".
I once knew a woman whose maiden name was Gwendolyn Hofnagle. She married Jimmy Tymcsm,
and they hyphenated, so she became
Gwendolyn Hofnagle-Tymcsm.
273: That must explain the Edwin continuity. Thanks.
Clerical error, or orthographic rendering of an English sound?
Probably clerical error caused by the orthographic convention. That is, his parents wanted his name to be spelled "Johnny" but whoever was writing it down on the certificate spelled it "Jhonny" instead because that is a conventional way to indicate the English sound.
Or maybe two different Wiki editors added different explanations without attempting to reconcile them.
280: Are you being glib? I'm too tired to tell.
281: I'm thinking some combination as well. But I don't know of another "Jh" word.
136 How long before Seymour comes back?
Sometimes Buddy on the phone extension from the other bedroom is close enough.
Are you being glib?
No. I'm actually thanking you. But now it seems so earnest I wonder if I should be glib.
285: "Glib" has yet to make a run it seems. Just sayin'.
Or maybe "Gleb" to incorporate your current pseud.
(Sorry for the miscue.)
From my link in 1:
"I need to know how they would define those 100 names," said Jhonny Owee Milano Rodríguez, a congressman representing Cojedes State. "For example, why not 120? This seems arbitrary to me."
Mr. Milano, 55, said his first name, Jhonny, spelled as such, was inspired by the international ambience of the oil town in eastern Venezuela where he was born. Owee, he said, was erroneously entered in the birth registry instead of Oved.
I actually pulled my pseud out of the 19th century. Or maybe I did.
I should go to bed. Good night, trees. Good night, moon. Good night, blog.
My cousin claimed for years that he would name his firstborn son after the unified school district just south of where I grew up. The child would have been
Rockwell Swaledale Stone
which I think has a certain ring.
Unfortunately, my cousin remains without issue.
Damn.
In 284, Buddy s/b Zooey.
Which makes it too obvious.
"the nickname of the immortal white African queen Ayesha"
"current urban black naming conventions"
Aisha (Turkish spelling: Ayşe) is a very popular name for Muslim girls, after the favorite wife of Mohammed, the "Mother of the Believers"
Letter-to-editor writer in this morning's NYT is named "Smoot".
As a first name? Because it's an honored last name on the MIT campus.
Rooti-ti-toot for Smoot of Ut!
That is, his parents wanted his name to be spelled "Johnny" but whoever was writing it down on the certificate spelled it "Jhonny" instead because that is a conventional way to indicate the English sound.
There's a lot of Latin Americans named "Jhonny". And "Jh" to indicate the J sound for other names. Why? So they don't get pronounced "Honny", "Honathan", etc.
Check out the minor-league results for a search for "Jh" on baseball-reference.com. There's also the cartoonist Jhonen Vazquez.
I still haven't gotten an explanation for my question in 75.
Smoot Carl-Mitchell
(and his reverend occiput)
Smite, Smoot! Smite for UT!
The name "Madison" refers back to Marbury vs. Madison, the case which established judicial review. It's a subtle way of affirming the unitary presidency.
297: There's a pizza place in my (Dominican) neighborhood with a sign reading Jhon's in one place, although John's in another. I'd assumed the first was a sign-painter's error, and the second was right, but maybe not.
My two preceding generations include Albert, Edwin, Elroy, Oscar, Mabel, Emma and Leola. Further back there's a Calista , a Spink, and an Alpheus Dumbleton (Hiams).
In Splash, Daryl Hannah's mermaid names herself 'Madison' after the avenue. Pretty much no one used it as a first name before, and it's now the third most popular name for girls. It's the persuasive power of Ron Howard, not just the rejection of judicial review.
I find fantasizing about mermaid ultimately frustrating. what are you supposed to do, spawn?
304 - this issue was addressed in the Futurama episode "The Deep South".
Leola is a great name. It should become popular again. And for boys, Lititz.
There's a lot of Latin Americans named "Jhonny". And "Jh" to indicate the J sound for other names. Why? So they don't get pronounced "Honny", "Honathan", etc.
I'm coming around to thinking this might be at least partially right, but (a) I've only ever encountered the "Jh" spelling in people's names—no other Spanish words, (b) I've encountered Latinos with it spelled the "correct" way, too, and (c) examples like LB's neighborhood suggest it's not a hard-and-fast rule.
I had assumed it was an error that got propagated out, but I have no proof of that, am arguing completely ex recta, and should get back to work.
In Splash, Daryl Hannah's mermaid names herself 'Madison' after the avenue. Pretty much no one used it as a first name before, and it's now the third most popular name for girls. It's the persuasive power of Ron Howard, not just the rejection of judicial review.
This is only partially true. The real surge in the popularity of the name Madison came after 1992 when people saw how cute my daughter (Madison) was.
Lititz: A Mennonite town which makes most of the world's mousetraps.
Perhaps Anglicizing Latinos spell names Jhulio, Jhorge, etc. to indicate their intention of assimilating. But alas, the intention is only evident to Spanish-speakers, not to English-speakers. Catch-22.
It's so ugly -- doesn't look like English or like Spanish -- that I don't believe it's a 'real' orthographic rule, in the sense of having any history behind it. But I'd believe it as a kludge someone came up with to tip people off that his name was pronounced with an English rather than a Spanish J, even though the context was generally Spanish (which would explain the 'names only' thing. If it's a word, it's either English pronounced as such, or Spanish pronounced as such. You'd only get a "We're speaking Spanish generally, but drop into English for this sound" situation in a name). And then it could have taken off from there.
But I'm making shit up, I've only ever encountered it personally on one sign.
There are lots of "Jhon" and "Jhonny"s here in Chile who have never set foot in the U.S., for what that's worth. ("Jonathan" is more common and doesn't get mispronounced.)
(The only other place I've seen the "jh" combination is at Jhot Pizza near my house. I am not sure whether it's supposed to be pronounced "hot" or "jot".)
Where the hell does the name Nevaeh come from?
If I ever have a daughter, I think I'd like to name her "Joy." After Joy in the Morning, of course.
re: 309
Making shit up is a time honoured tradition. It certainly predates the use of 'Jh'. Make shit up with pride.
I've only ever encountered the "Jh" spelling in people's names--no other Spanish words
I don't see why you're so surprised by this. Since the sound in question doesn't exist in Spanish, there's no reason for it to be spelled in any manner in regular Spanish words.
oral died off a long time ago.
sending the wrong signals perhaps?
I don't see why you're so surprised by this. Since the sound in question doesn't exist in Spanish, there's no reason for it to be spelled in any manner in regular Spanish words.
I'm not surprised. I don't know exactly what's going on with "Jh", really. Doesn't seem anyone here does, though the two theories I'm seeing, (1) spelling/clerical error that spread or (2) intentional choice to avoid a "Honathan" pronunciation both seem plausible (and maybe interrelated&mdashi.e., a clerical decision to render it "Jh" to avoid confusion).
As for the sound not existing in Spanish, it seems to me that "Jh" is pronounced the same as the "Y" in Yolanda or yo, with some folks tinging it with a bit of a "J" sound. Could be my imperfect ear, though.
Yeah, "y" is pronounced with a sound similar to English "j" in some dialects of Spanish (though apparently not the ones in question here).
Since "jh" seems to be pretty common in both South America and the Caribbean, but is (afaik) unknown in Mexico, I suspect it's mainly encountered in the (few) parts of the US where the Hispanic population is not primarily of Mexican origin. I've never seen it here, for instance.
175: Cyrus is doing ok.
Posted by: ben w-lfs-n
I already knew it was much more popular a century ago than it is today. However, it's interesting to see that long steady decline until just a decade or two before I was born, and then it starts climbing again. It looks downright (relatively) common for babies today. Also interesting: my sister's name is Zoe, and its popularity mushroomed out of nowhere in 1990, just four years after she was born.
As for the sound not existing in Spanish, it seems to me that "Jh" is pronounced the same as the "Y" in Yolanda or yo, with some folks tinging it with a bit of a "J" sound. Could be my imperfect ear, though.
That's also how I've heard it pronounced, almost like the leading j in German words and names. At least, that's the pronounciation of the aforementioned Jhonen Vasquez.
I thought "Claudio' would be one of the Hispanic names on this site. Apparently not.