Name of the Week: Patrick

 

Origin:

Patrick is the English form of the Roman name Patricius meaning "a patrician." The patricians were the ancient Roman elite class from which senators were usually drawn. The word itself derives from patres "fathers" because they were the families which descended from the founding fathers of Rome. In later centuries, the word patrician came to mean "nobleman." Much of the name's use is associated with, and attributed to, Saint Patrick. Patrick was a Romano-British Christian who was captured by Irish slave-traders as a teenagers, taken to Ireland, and enslaved for six years. He later returned to Ireland as a missionary and is credited with converting Ireland to Christianity.

Usage:

Patrick was in use in Britain from at least the 12th century, especially in Scotland where it was common. It wasn't very much used in the southern England, but it was well used in the north, most likely because of the cultural and geographical closeness to Scotland.  Patrick was used in a continual line for the Earls of Dunbar (from 1152 to 1369): important Anglo-Scottish magnates who held dominion over the Scottish border ("Scottish March"), were descended from the ancient Earls of Northumbria and who had married into Scottish royalty. Patrick IV de Dunbar, Earl of March (1242-1308) was even a contender for the crown of Scotland in 1291. Data from the Surname Atlas (click to enlarge) According to George Black, Patrick was "one of the most popular names in the west of Scotland in pre-Reformation times"* and Patrick was still prevalent in this area by the end of the 19th century, as data from the 1881 census shows (see image, right). Patrick's early medieval use led to the development of several diminutive forms [taken from the Anglo-Norman (Old French) tradition of adding the suffixes -in, -on, ot etc.] such as Pate, Patin, Paton and Pateman, and the surname-forms Patrick, Patrickson, Pate, Pates, Patey, Patton/Pattin, Pattinson and Patterson.  Despite the reverence given to Saint Patrick, his name was not used in Ireland until the 17th century — and even then it was probably due to Scottish settlers in Ulster. The reason for this is that the Irish Gaels considered the name to be too holy, and avoided using the names of their most revered saints. Instead, the names Giolla Phádraig "servant of Patrick" and Maol Phádraig "devotee of Patrick" were used. This taboo was also shared by the Scottish Gaels (though they had dropped the practice by the 15th century and began to use Pádraig alone) and their Celtic cousins, the Welsh, who used the similar Gwas Patrik "servant of Patrick."* Though late in use, once Patrick had been introduced to Ireland, it quickly established itself as one of Ireland's most popular names. Indeed, Patrick and the diminutive form Paddy were so common by the 18th century, that "Paddy" became a generic name for an Irishman in English.  Several Gaelic forms of the name developed in Scotland and Ireland, including Pádruig, Páruig, Páthruig, Para, Pádair and Pátair. The last two were confused with Peter, and, in Scotland, the two became interchangeable.  G. F. Black, The Surnames of Scotland p651 According to George Black (1946): "In Scotland, not only is Patrick frequently called by the endearing diminutive Peter, but Peter is often called Patrick. In fact, as it has been said, Patrick is the 'Sunday name,' Peter the everyday one."* Black also cites several examples of this in practice (see image, right).  In the 19th century, the name got a royal boost when Queen Victoria gave the name as a middle name to her son, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn who was christened Arthur William Patrick Albert in 1850. It is said that on her trip to Ireland in 1849, one woman in the crowd cried out, "Queen, dear, make one of them Prince Patrick and all Ireland will die for you." True or not, the Queen used Patrick for the first child born after her trip to Ireland.  Prince Arthur's son also bore the name — Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert (1883-1938) and one of his daughter's was named Patricia because she was born on St. Patrick's Day. The future Edward VIII (1894-1972) was also christened Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David: his four final names in honour of the patron saints of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.  Throughout the 19th and 20th century, Patrick was a top-100 staple in England and Wales, often in the top 50: 1850: #51 1860: #33 1870: #36  1880: #51  1890: #63 1900: #73 1904: #44 1914: #38 1924: #44 1934: #32 1944: #31 1954: #39 1964: #35 1974: #67 1984: #65 1994: #71 2004: #89  In 1996, Patrick ranked #66 (1039 births) in England and Wales, and from that point, it began to decline in usage, leaving the top 100 in 2006, until it reached its nadir of #127 (487 births) in 2012. It has since picked up again, ranking #117 (543 births) in 2015.  In Scotland, Patrick was #18 in 1900, #28 in 1950 and #69 in 1975 after which it slowly declined in use. It had a brief blip — going from #85 in 1997 to #103 in 1998, but back up to #81 in 1999. It then stayed in the top 100 until it fell out permanently in 2007. In 2016, Patrick ranked #129 (49 births) in Scotland.  Naturally, it's Northern Ireland where Patrick really shines. In 1997 it ranked #19 (164 births) and it has only been out of the top 30 twice since then.  In 2016, Patrick ranked #26 in Northern Ireland with 86 births.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Patrick Cary (c. 1624–1658), British poet. * Patrick Henry (1736–1799), American Founding Father.  * Patrick Pearse (1879-1916), Irish poet. * Patrick Troughton (1920–1987), British actor. Contemporary: * Sir Patrick Moore (1923-2012), British astronomer. * Patrick Swift (1927–1983), Irish painter. * Patrick McCauley (1927-2015), American journalist and author. * Patrick Lane (born 1939), Canadian poet. * Patrick Stewart (born 1940), British actor. * Patrick Swayze (1952–2009), American actor. * Patrick Jones (born 1965), Welsh poet and playwright. * Patrick Dempsey (born 1966), American actor. * Patrick Kielty (born 1971), Irish comedian and television presenter. * Paddy McGuinness (born 1973), British comedian and TV presenter. Literature and Other Media: * Patrick Jane, main character in The Mentalist. * Patrick Harper, Sharpe's right-hand man from the Sharpe book and television series * Patrick Star, character on the television series SpongeBob SquarePants.

Variants:

Pádraic, Pádraig (Irish), Pàdraig (Scottish), Padrig (Welsh), Pherick (Manx), Patrik (Scandinavian, Slavic), Patrice (French), Patryk (Polish)

Pronunciation:

PAT-rik (UK) [key]

Possible diminutives:

Paddy, Pat, Rick

Sibling Names:

Victoria     Niamh     Annie     Molly     Georgina     Abigail  Matthew     Michael     Joseph     Christopher    Connor     David

Name Lists:

Cosy Celtic   Bronte Names   Enid Blyton Names

 

If you like Patrick you may also like:   Cormac, Oscar, Malachy, Finnian, Alistair, Malcolm, Samuel, Nicholas, Dominic, Zachary

Thanks to Jess for requesting this name.