Name of the Week

 

A quirkily vintage petname that certainly isn't ordinary, 
but, next to current revivals Betsy, Elsie and Nancy 
and the like, it doesn't seem wholly outlandish.

 

Origin:

Bunty started life as a term of endearment in both England and Scotland. One popular theory is that it derives from a dialect name for a lamb, taken from the Middle English bunt meaning "to butt." There is stronger evidence, however, that the name derives from buntin, a term in both English and Scottish dialect that means "plump," better explaining the name's prevalent use in Scotland. The name Bunting was used properly as the name of an adorably chubby species of bird (which is most likely why it got its name), but also as an affectionate name for children. The Oxford English Dictionary describes bunting as "a term of endearment", derived from a dialect adjective (dated 1570-1599) meaning "swelling, plump." Similarly, Jamieson's Dictionary of the Scottish Language lists buntin as an adjective meaning "short and thick" (object), or "a plump child." The most illuminting source is The Dictionary of the Scots Language which lists both buntin and buntie/bunty as related terms. Buntin is an adjective meaning "plump" or "stout," while Buntie is "a short, plump person" which is "often used as a nickname". Furthermore, it cites “Wee buntie” as a term applied to a child.  There is a strong possibility that the word buntin, or bunting, originally derived from the Old French bon "good" with the double diminitive suffixes et and in / on (Bon + et + in). The surnames Bonnetin and Bonneton are still in use in France, while the surname Bunting has been in use in England and Scotland since at least the 12th century. We could assume that the transformation from 'good little one' to 'plump child' is in an implicated meaning of a 'good healthy baby' or 'dear little one.' The well-known nursery rhyme Bye Baby Bunting, dating back to at least 1760, shows the longterm use of the name as an affectionate pet-name. Sir Walter Scott, (in his Familiar Letters) also wrote in 1817 "James has got a little buntin baby" when he describes a proud new father.  Thus, Bunty seemingly has much the same history and usage as Bonny — also a pet-name-turned-first-name, taken from a Scots and English dialect word, ultimately derived from the French bon "good".

Usage:

We can find early evidence of the surnames Buntin and Bunting from the 12th century onwards but examples as first names are rare. We do however have an intriguing female character mentioned in The Coventry Mysteries in the 15th century by the name of Bontyng the Brewster.  There are a four boys named Bunting recorded in the England and Wales Birth Index from 1852 to 1859, which may have been influenced by the publication of the lullaby Bye Baby Bunting in The Mother Goose: Containing All the Melodies the Old Lady Ever Wrote (1850). The first time we find Bunty registered as a formal name in Scotland is 1910, and 1912 in England. This date coincides perfectly with the highly popular comic play Bunty Pulls The Strings (1910/1911) in which the main character was a plucky young woman named Bunty Biggar. The play, written by Scottish playwright Graham Moffat, was a huge hit in London's West End and later in New York's Broadway. The play was made into a silent film in 1921. From 1902 to 1992, 99 Buntys were registered in England and Wales, spread evenly across the decades. In Scotland there were 27 births registered during that period.  Since 1996, the name has only appeared on the England and Wales data once, when 3 births were registered in 2008. This is due to only names of more than three births being released. Birth records show that Bunty has been registered 1 or 2 times each year, and has further use as a middle name.  These figures may suggest that you are unlikely to meet a Bunty in Britain — but that just isn't so. Many more examples can be found of Bunty used as a petname in Britain. I say petname because, much like Bonnie, Queenie, Lucky, Buddy and Junior, Bunty is not an established nickname for any particular name. The many examples I have found of women named Bunty have sported formal names of Agnes*, Ivy*, Lilian**, Ruth**, Theresa and many others.  The petname has also been used in aristocratic circles. Katherine Elizabeth "Bunty" Tottenham was the wife of the 8th Marquess of Ely, Katharine Margaret "Bunty" Johnston was the former Lady Dunpark, and Kathleen Louisa Isabel "Bunty" Bellamy was the daughter of the Hon Sir Alfred George Lascelles. The Bunty of British fashion label "Belle & Bunty" is designer Hannah Coniam-Thompson.  Writing a letter to the Daily Mail in 2005, one Mrs Bunty Cambell from Wallasey explains how she came about the nickname: "When I was a little girl we had Baby Bunting dolls to play with, just like little girls nowadays have Barbie dolls. I was called Bunty because I was like the Bunting dolls....I am still called Bunty and have had the name all my life, although my real name is Jessica." In rare cases, Bunty has also been used as a pet-name for men (such as cricketer Bunty (Edmund) Longrigg and Canadian politician Bunty (Gilbert) Hutton).

Famous Bearers:

Contemporary: * Ethel Elizabeth "Bunty" Gee (1914—1984), a member of the Portland Spy Ring. * Bunty James (b.1933), television presenter best known for the children's programme HOW in the 60s and 70s.  * Carolyn "Bunty" Avieson (b. 1962), Australian journalist and novelist. * Theresa "Bunty" Bailey (b.1964), English model and actress. Literature, Stage and Other Media: * Bunty Pulls The Strings (1911), popular comic stage play by Graham Moffat.  * Bunty Pulls The Strings (1921), silent film based on the popular play. * Bunty, a very popular comic for girls throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s. It featured the comic strip of "Bunty—A Girl Like You" each week as well as several other short comic-strip stories, letters pages, competitions, puzzle pages and cut out dolls and clothes.

Variants:

Buntie

Pronunciation:

BUN-tee  [key]

Possible  Longer Forms:

Bunty has long been used as a pet-name for a wide variety of unrelated names. For something a bit more obvious, consider names with the B, N or T sound prevalent: Beatrice, Beatrix, Betony, Bettany, Berenice, Bernadette, Benedict, Benita, Bridget, Birgitta, Elizabeth, Roberta, Tabitha

Sibling Names:

Mitzy     Clara     Etta     Margo     Ferne     Effie  Angus     Kit     Ralph     Archie     Fergus     Peter

 

If you like Bunty you may also like:   Bonnie, Tillie, Nesta, Betsy, Letty, Betsan, Birdie, Pippa, Biddy, Betrys

 

Thanks to Hannah for requesting Bunty as this week's NotW.