British Baby Names

UK Birth Announcements 30/4/18 - 6/5/18

 

A round-up of names from birth announcements announced in British newspapers in the last week.

Sources include a national paper (The Telegraph) and a broad range of local newspapers from across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Sibling names are in brackets. 

 

Boys:

Angus Fitzwilliam Rupert (Hector)

Charles Hugh Alexander

Elliot William (Oliver & Harris)

Forrest Jack

Frank William (Sidney Stopford)

Frederick William Charles (Katinka Alice)

Henry Arthur Dowling (Frederick Christopher Peter "Freddie"

James Ernest (Evie Rose)

Joshua Albert (Ella & George Edward)

Joshua Benjamin

Joshua John Martin

Lorcan John Wilfrid

Matthew Alan Michael

Maxwell James

Moses Jonas (Izabel "Izzy" & Florence Andreya)

Olly George 

Rafferty Michael Galwey

Reginald David "Reggie"

Rory Joseph (Patrick John)

Theo Ryan (Olivia, James & Gracie)

Theodore Franz

William Louis Henry (Beatrice Serena Mary & Flora Isabella Minette)

 

Girls: 

Eleanor Valerie

Elena Iris (Elizabeth Rosie)

Evie Grace

Flora Mary Elizabeth (George Frederick Stewart & Harry John Stewart)

Freda Mencia

Jasmine (Leila)

Jemima Eleanor

Noa Habou

Sofia Elizabeth (Ben & Max)

 

Twins:

Aubrey Mae & Marcy Grace

Jude Alexander & Lydia Victoria

 

 

Name of the Week: Edwin

 

 

 

Origin:

Edwin derives from the Old English name Eadwine, composed of the elements ead "'prosperity, riches, fortune, inheritance, property" and wine "friend."  A Nordic cognate of the name – Auðun – was used as a byname for the Viking chief god Odin (who was worshipped as Woden by the Anglo-Saxons).

Usage:

The name Eadwine was a common one in Anglo-Saxon England. The Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE) has over fifty pre-11th century examples while the 1066 Domesday entries have a hundred more. The Nordic cognates were also in use in the Danelaw, leading to the Anglo-Scandinavian variants Oðin and Ouðen (Othin) being recorded on the Domesday Book, too.  Notably, Eadwine was not uncommon among royal Saxon families. Edwin of Northumbria (c. 586-633) was King of Deira and Bernicia in the 7th century whose conversion to Christianity led to his being venerated as a saint. Later royals include a son of King Edward the Elder (son of Alfred the Great). This fit a family pattern: his siblings included Æthelstan, Ælfweard, Æthelhild, Eadgifu, Eadflæd, Eadhild, Eadgyth, Ælfgifu, E(a)dmund, Eadred and Eadburh which shows just how prolific Ead-, Ælf- and Æthel- names were amongst Saxon nobility. By 1066, Edwin, Earl of Mercia (d. 1071) and Edwin, Abbott of Westminster* were among the top 20 landowning lords in England according to the Domesday Book. After the Norman Conquest, most of the land formerly belonging to lords named Edwin was in the hands of Norman lords.* This political and social upheaval saw the decline of many Anglo-Saxon names, but Edwin – perhaps because of its prolific and royal use – was one that didn't completely disappear.  The surnames Edwin, Edwing and Edwyn, all of which derive from the given name Edwin, have been in use since the 13th century. Much like Alfred (another Anglo-Saxon royal powerhouse), Edwin was not in enough use to make Smith Bannister's rankings of top 50 names from 1538 to 1700 in England, or Leslie Dunkling's top 50 in either 1700 or 1800. Both however, saw a huge revival in popularity in the 19th century, most likely thanks to the Victorian Gothic Revival which swept the nation.  However, Edwin's lack of prominence from the 15th to 18th century did not mean the name was not still in use in England and, though small in number, we can find plenty of records** for Edwin throughout this period.  click to enlarge By the mid-19th century, Edwin had rocketed in popularity, as birth records in England and Wales (see table below) show. Data from the 1881 census (see image, right) also shows that Edwin's popularity was mostly in England and Wales (especially the south of England), but was not nearly as common in Scotland.  1850: 1860: 1870: 1880: 1890: 1900: #18 #20  #23  #26  #30  #38 click to enlarge In the first half of the 20th century, Edwin remained in the top 100 though it gradually declined over the period – down to #54 in 1924, #74 in 1934 and #89 in 1944, falling out of the top 100 by 1954.  Since 1996, Edwin has ranked (with the exception of 1997) below the top 400. However, over the last two decades, Edwin has been gradually increasing in use.  In 2016, Edwin ranked #493 with 82 births. Regionally, it ranked highest in Yorkshire and the Humber at #355 (11 births), followed by Wales at #391 (5 births).  In Scotland, Edwin has had no more than 6 births in any given year since 1979.  In 2017, Edwin ranked #532 with 5 births in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Edwin of Northumbria (c. 586-633), King of Northumbria and Christian saint. * Edwin (died 933), son of King Edward the Elder. * Eadwine of Sussex (died 982), Ealdorman of Sussex. * Eadwine of Abingdon (died 990), Abbot of Abingdon. * Edwin, Earl of Mercia (died 1071), brother-in-law of Harold Godwinson. * Edwin Sandys (1519–1588), Archbishop of York. * Edwin Booth (1833–1893), Shakespearean actor. * Edwin M. Gardner (1845–1935), American painter. * Edwin Alfred Rickards (1872–1920), British architect. * Edwin Hubble (1889–1953), American astronomer for whom the Hubble Telescope is named. * Edwin Howard Armstrong (1890–1954), American inventor. Contemporary: * Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (born 1930), American astronaut. * Edwin McCain (born 1970), American musician. * Edwin Jackson (born 1983), American baseball player. Literature and Other Media: * Edwin Drood, Main character in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, final unfinished novel of Charles Dickens. * Edwin Jarvis, fictional Marvel Comics supporting character.

Variants:

Edwyn; Edvin (Scandinavian), Etvi (Finnish)

Pronunciation:

ED-win [key]

Possible Diminutives:

Ed, Eddie, Ned, Denny, Win

Sibling Names:

Camilla     Henrietta     Claudia     Sybil     Lavinia      Elspeth  Walter     Francis     Calvin   Sidney     Victor     Otto

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance   Dickensian Names

 

If you like Edwin you may also like:   Richard, Edgar, Winston, Basil, Oswin, Dorian, Reginald, Gwilym, Darwin, Gethin

Thanks to Alex for requesting this name.  

 

Name Musings: April 2018

 

 

April! Definitely a Spring month of new beginnings. I've known several lovely people get married this month — including my gorgeous sister! — and also lots of new babies — even a little Louis who was born a week before the new prince. 

It's been such a busy month, so not much chance for name-diving (what I call my explorations through records) but there does seem to be an C-E theme going this month.

 

Cerula

As regular readers will probably know by now, I'm a big history geek and love watching history documentaries whenever I get a bit of down-time. One I particularly enjoyed this month was Channel 4's Jesus’ Female Disciples: The New Evidence by Bible historians Helen Bond and Joan Taylor. 

My name-radar picked up when they investigated the catacombs of San Gennaro, Naples, where they saw the 5th century image of a woman named Cerula, showing her surrounded by open, flaming Gospel books, which some think are symbolic of the role of a bishop (though some historians - naturally - dispute this). Either way the discovery is both fascinating and important and sheds new light on the roll of women in the early Christian church. 

Curiously, the word cerula in Latin means "small piece of wax" or possibly "candlestick" or even "red crayon."* It seems that the Romans would "strike out exceptionable passages in books"* or make critical remarks* using small red wax crayons (cerula miniata), so we can at least take a guess at the symbolic meaning behind this Cerula's name.

Cerula has never ranked in the official stats for England and Wales (which needs to have 2 babies or more of the same gender to qualify).

 

Doron

And it's not just serious historical documentaries I like. I've very much enjoyed Charlie Brooker's BBC mocumentary series Cunk on Britain, the most interesting name from which was that of computing historian and engineer, Doron Swade. 

Warning for language on video. 

Like Dorothy, Dorothea, Theodore and Theodora, Doron comes from the Greek word δωρον (doron) meaning "gift". And, while I love Theodore, Dorothea and the like for their elegance and grandeur, I think I love Doron's swift and strong simplicity that still retains its ancient allure.

Since 1996, Doron has only ranked once in the official stats for England and Wales (2+ boys) when, in 2009, it ranked #4527 with three births. 

 

Eldra

You may have noticed that the last set of Birth Announcements featured a little girl named Eldra Aur Dafydd. Her birth announcement is below:

Aur (pronounced EYE'R to rhyme with 'tyre') is the Welsh word for "gold" but Eldra intrigued me as it's a name I'd not come across before — at least not in Wales! A quick foray on the internet lead me to information about Eldra Jarman (1917-2000) who was a Welsh harpist from a Welsh Romany family. A Welsh-language film Eldra, based on her life, was released in 2003 and won several awards. 

From 1838 to 1980, the name was used only 14 times as a first name in England and Wales, most in the late 19th century. 

Eldra has never ranked in the official stats for England and Wales (2+ girls).

 

Elmerice

Another name which caught my eye in an April birth announcement was featured in the BA of little Sidonie Zita Elizabeth whose mother's name is Elmerice. Turns out that mum is actually Countess Elmerice Karoline Sidonie Elisasbeth von Habsburg-Lothringen. I can, however, find little on the name Elmerice, other than it was the name of the heroine of German romance novel St Roche (1839) by Henriette von Paalzow. I have once come across Almerice in use in the Middle Ages, so I'm going on this as a variant. My investigations continue. 

Elmerice has never ranked in the official stats for England and Wales (2+ girls) in any year.

 

Enissa

I've recently come across Iranian-German comedienne Enissa Amani. 

Though I can't find anything definitive, Enissa appears to be an Iranian form of (or at least, inspired by) the Arabic name Anisa, the feminine form of Anis which means  "friendly" or "friend." The Turkish form is Enise, while the Bosnian is Enisa.

Enissa has never ranked in the official stats for England and Wales (2+ girls) in any year. However, Enisa has ranked three times since 1996 (3 babies in 1999, 2006 and 2015) and Anisa has consistently been in use, falling steadily from #296 (125 births) in 1996 to #703 (58 births) in 2016.