British Baby Names

Name of the Week: Caspian

 

Origin:

Caspian was created as a given name by C.S. Lewis for his 1951 children's novel Prince Caspian; the second in his The Chronicles of Narnia series. Lewis may have created it as a blend of Casper or Cassius with Crispian or Cassian, or he may have taken the name directly from the Caspian Sea. The Caspian Sea itself takes its name from the tribe who lived in the region in antiquity, who were known as the Kaspioi to the Greeks. Caspian is the anglicised version of this.

Usage:

The first Caspian to be registered in the England and Wales Birth Index (dating from 1834) was in 1967. The second, in early 1968, was film screenwriter Caspian Tredwell Owen. That this was sixteen years after the publication of Prince Caspian it can perhaps be assumed that the parents who chose the name in the late 60s were drawing on a beloved book character from their childhood.  Caspians were registered in the following years in England and Wales: 1967 1 birth 1968 3 births  1971 4 births 1972 4 births 1973 3 births 1975 1 birth 1977 2 births 1978 2 birth 1980 1 birth 1981 1 birth 1982 1 birth 1984 2 births 1985 1 birth 1986 2 births 1987 2 births 1988 2 births 1989 3 births From 1996 onward, Caspian saw a slow increase in usage, though remained below the top 1000. It began a more marked and steady rise from 2008 thanks to the film adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian starring Ben Barnes in the title role.  Caspian first entered the top 1000 in 2013 at #954 (30 births) and has been rising ever since.  In 2018, Caspian reached #535 with 72 births in England and Wales: its highest number ever recorded.  Since 1974, Caspian has only been registered in the following years in Scotland, most of them following the release of the film adaptation of Prince Caspian: 1998 1 birth 2012 1 birth 2013 2 births 2014 2 births 2015 1 birth 2016 1 birth 2017 1 birth 2018 4 births In 2018, Caspian ranked #595 with 4 births in Scotland—also its highest rank to date.

Famous Bearers:

Contemporary: * Caspian Tredwell-Owen (born 1969), British screenwriter.  * Caspian Feild (b. 2012), son of actors Neve Campbell and JJ Field. Literature and Other Media: * Prince Caspian, a character in C.S.Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. * Caspian Vander, character in the Sleepy Hollow Trilogy by Jessica Verday. * Caspian, a character on TV's Highlander: The Series.

Variants:

Kaspian (Scandinavian)

Pronunciation:

KASP-ee-ən [key]

Possible diminutives:

Cass, Kip

Sibling Names:

Athena     Verity     Emmeline     Henrietta     Sylvia     Vivienne Orion     Atlas     Dorian     Atticus     Orlando     Xavier

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance

 

If you like Caspian you may also like:   Cassian, Tarquin, Cassius, Tristram, Cedric, Montague, Edison, Percy, Maximilian, Crispin

Thanks to Anne for requesting this name.  

 

Name of the Week: Percy

Origin:

Percy is an English surname derived from Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. The surname came to Britain with William de Percy (d.1096) who came to England just after the Conquest. He was the ancestor of a powerful feudal family who later became the Earls of Northumberland and then Dukes of Northumberland.  The surname Percy may also have been reinforced by the surname Pearcey, Piercey, Piercy which derives from the Old French percher "to pierce" and haie "hedge," possibly used to refer to a hedge protecting a forest or military work. The surname may perhaps have been given to a poacher, or perhaps a 'warrior renowned for forcing his way through fortifications'.* Percy has also long been used as a short form of Percival, a name thought to have been invented by Chretien de Troyes for the hero of his 12th century Grail Romance Percevale. This, he derived from the Old French perce "pierce" and val "the valley."  George Redmonds* also points out that, as a given name, Percy has a much-overlooked separate origin to the surname: that of diminutive of Piers (Pers, Peris) itself the English vernacular form of Peter (see below for examples).

Usage:

The Percy family were one of the most powerful and wealthiest aristocratic families in Britain from the time of the Norman conquest. Alnwick Castle in Northumberland has been the family's seat since 1309.  The 4th Baron Percy, Henry Percy (1341-1408) was a of Henry III on his mother's side. He was made Warden of the Marches by Edward III and later went on to support Richard II who made him the first Earl of Northumberland. However, when Richard elevated his rival Ralph Neville to Earl of Westmorland in 1397, Henry Percy supported the rebellion of Henry Bolingbroke, who later became King as Henry IV. Henry IV later appointed him Constable of England and granted him the lordship of the Isle of Man. Both Sir Henry Percy and his son, Sir Henry/Harry "Hotspur" Percy were immortalised as major characters in Shakespeare's Richard II, Henry IV, part 1, and Henry IV, part 2. Thomas Percy (1560-1605) was a member of the group behind the famous Gunpowder Plot. He was a distant relation of Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland who appointed him constable of Alnwick Castle and made him responsible for the Percy family's northern estates. It is generally agreed that Percy was first adopted by families connected to the Percy family. One of the earliest example often cited is Lord Percy Seymour (1696-1721) son of the 6th Duke of Somerset and Lady Elizabeth Percy, the sole Percy heiress. His sister, Lady Catherine Seymour also used the name for her second son, Percy Wyndham-O'Brien, 1st Earl of Thomond (c. 1713–1774). However, an even earlier example is that of Percy Herbert, 2nd Baron Powis (1598–1667) whose maternal grandfather was Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland. One of the most famous bearers is English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1882). E.G.Withycombe points out that the "connection between the Shelley and Percy families was very remote: the poet's grandfather married (as his second wife) the heiress of the Sidneys, Earls of Leicester, and the 2nd Earl had in 1615 married Dorothy Percy, daughter of the 9th Earl of Northumberland. She was mother of Algernon Sidney, 'the patron saint of the Whigs', and it may have been Sir Timothy's Whiggism rather than his snobbishness which made him call his son Percy."* However, despite this clear use of Percy in the 17th century as a direct adoption of the surname Percy, George Redmonds has found even earlier examples of Percy in use as a given name which is unconnected to the surname, but rather a variant of Peter: "There is no doubt that Percy sometimes derives from the surname but it has a quite separate origin which never seems to be mentioned, and that is as a diminutive of Peter or Piers. The direct evidence for the diminutive goes back to the year 1600 when 'Percy alias Peter' Stanley of Womersley died: a later example is 'Percy or Pearce' Tempest of Tong in 1653. In other cases the evidence is not explicit. For example Percy Watson of Newholme in Lythe (1657) was almost certainly the Peter Watson baptised in 1635. A much later example is the baptism in 1730 of Parcy, the son of Thomas Beadel of Drypool.[...] A will for John Percy of Scarborough, a rich merchant who died in 1500, is worth quoting in this context. His family had a long connection with the town, at least back to the reign of Edward III when Peter Percy was the Scarborough MP. A footnote to the will traces several generations of Percys, ending with another Peter Percy of Scarborough who was buried in 1517. The references to these individuals are interesting. For example, in his will John Percy referred to his brother Peter three times, once as 'Peyrs Peyrse', once as 'Perse Percy' and finally as 'the whiche Peyrse': his own son and grandson were both named as 'Petyr Percy'. It is difficult to know what to say about this except that it identifies Petyr and Peyrs as alternative forms of the first name, but it seems also to confirm that Peter and the surname Percy were connected in the mind of the testator. If that were true it would suggest that the use of Percy as a diminutive of Peter may go back earlier than the examples I have quoted."* Redmonds has even noted early examples of Percy in use as a girl's name, pointing out the baptism in 1598 of Percye, the daughter of Henry Farrer of Beverley—which he attests to "a branch of the Percy family [having] lived in the town from 1597"—and also the Hampsthwaite parish burial register contains the names of Piercie Holm, widow (1728) and Percival Holm, spinster (1743). This last entry, he thinks, suggests that Percy as a girls' name may also have been a familiar form of Percival, especially as it was in this part of Lower Wharfedale that Percival as a boys' name was quite popular in the sixteenth century. Despite it's earlier use, Percy only really became established as a given name in the 19th century. At this time, other aristocratic surnames such as Stanley, Sidney, Neville and Clifford became fashionable, and perhaps Percy's connection to the medieval world—especially thanks to Shakespeare's Harry "Hotspur" Percy—may have been fuelled by the Victorian's love of medievalism.  Percy grew significantly in use in the mid-19th century, reaching the top 100 by the late 1850s in England and Wales. Data from the 1881 census (see image, right) shows that it was most common in the South East of England, with little use in Wales and Scotland. It is unsurprising, then, that Percy did not rank at all in the top 100 in Scotland in 1900 while in England it was in the top 25 from 1880 to 1904.  Birth rankings for Percy in the England and Wales Birth Index: 1840: 1850:  1860:  1870:  1880:  1890: 1900: 1904: 1914: 1924: 1934:  #180 #132 #76 #32 #25 #22 #23 #29 #44 #67 *out of the top 100* Like most late Victorian favourites, Percy fell out of favour by the mid-20th century.  In recent years though, Percy has been showing signs of a revival. From barely ranking at all in the late 1990s, Percy saw a modest rise over the beginning of the 21st century, reaching the top 1000 again in 2011.  Since then it has continued to rise, reaching #439 with 96 births in 2017.  Regional data from 2017, however, shows that Percy (which ranked #439 overall) actually varies wildly in usage across the country. It is most common in the south of England and least popular in London and the North East: N. East N. West Yorkshire E. Midlands W. Midlands East London S. East S. West Wales --  #453  #602  #631  #555  #296  #996  #307  #227  #568 In Scotland, the name is much rarer. Since 1974, it has been registered for one boy in the years 1986, 1989, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2015 and 2016 only and for 2 boys in both 2017 and 2018.  In 2018, Percy ranked #897 in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Percy Herbert, 2nd Baron Powis (1598–1667), English writer and politician. * Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), English poet. * Percy William Justyne (1812-1883), English artist. * Lieutenant-General Sir Percy Egerton Herbert (1822–1876), British army officer and politician. * Percy Gardner (1846-1937), English classical archaeologist. * Percy French (1854-1920), Irish songwriter, entertainer and painter. * Major-General Sir Percy Cox (1864-1937), British administrator and diplomat. * Percy Addleshaw (1866-1916), English barrister and writer. * Percy Grant (1867-1952), Royal Navy admiral and Chief of Navy of the Royal Australian Navy. * Percy Fawcett (1867-?), British soldier, archaeologist and South American explorer. * Percy Noble (1880-1955), British Second World War admiral. * Percy Williams Bridgman (1882-1961), Nobel Prize winner in physics. * Percy Grainger (1882-1961), Australian-born composer and pianist. * Percy Abercrombie (1884-1964), Australian rules football player. * Percy Helton (1894-1971), American actor. * Percy Faith (1908-1976), Canadian-born bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor. Contemporary: * Percy Heath (1923-2005), American jazz bassist. * Percy Adlon (born 1935), German film and television director, writer, and producer. * Percy Sledge (1940-2015), American R&B and soul singer. * Percy Montgomery (born 1974), retired South African rugby union footballer. Literature and Other Media: * Sir Percy Blakeney, the Scarlet Pimpernel in Baroness Orczy's 1905 novel of the same name and various related works. * Perseus "Percy" Jackson, the main character in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians book series. * Percy Weasley, a character in the Harry Potter series. * Percy Sugden, a character in the British soap opera Coronation Street from 1983-1997. * Lord Percy Percy, two related characters in the popular British sitcom Blackadder. * Percy the Small Engine, a character in Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. * Sir Percy "Black Knight", a Marvel Comics character.

Variants:

Persie

Pronunciation:

PURS-ee [key]

Possible longer forms:

Percival, Perseus

Sibling Names:

Olive      Jemima      Flora      Lois      Agnes      Etta Barney      Casper      Hugh      Bertie      Walter      Sidney

Name Lists:

Funky-Clunky Names

 

If you like Percy you may also like:   Dougie, Remy, Lenny, Rudy, Vincent, Ernest, Cedric, Lionel, Wilbur, Clifford

Thanks to Rose for requesting this name.  

 

Name of the Week: Cora

 

Origin:

Cora is the Latinised form of the Greek name Kore — literally meaning "maiden, daughter," — an alternate name of the Spring Goddess Persephone. Persephone was referred to by the name Kore specifically in reference to her role as the goddess of spring's bounty and as the daughter of Demeter, the mother goddess of agriculture. As wife of Hades, the Queen of the Underworld, she took her other name, Persephone, as the protectress in the after-life. Kore was one of the chthonic gods of Greek religion — her dwelling was the earth rather than the ouranic (sky) gods who dwelt on Mount Olympus. As such, her cult was closely associated with agriculture, the earth, and afterlife, and is certainly pre-Greek, likely very ancient. Alongside Demeter, Kore was worshipped in the ancient Eleusinian Mysteries, one of the most important, sacred religious rites of ancient Greece —reenacted for thousands of years — which promised initiates happiness in the afterlife. According to her most famous legend, Kore was once playing in a meadow with her nymph companions when Hades carried her off in his chariot to the underworld to be his bride. Her mother Demeter despaired, searching the world for her daughter, and was furious to find out that Zeus had conspired with his brother Hades. In retribution, Demeter refused to let the earth fruit until her daughter returned.  Faced with perpetual winter and famine, Zeus agreed to Kore's return and forced Hades to agree. A reluctant Hades capitulated, but, because Kore had eaten pomegranate seeds in the underworld, she was bound to the underworld for eternity. In compromise, it was agreed that she would spend half the year with her mother (as Kore), and the other half in the underworld (as Persephone). When she was with her mother, the flowers would bloom (Spring/Summer), and when she left for the underworld, her mother would morn (Autumn/Winter).  Alternatively, another theory is that the myth represents the time when the Greeks stored their grain underground for part of the year in order to protect it from summer heat. The seeds were sown in the autumn and quickly germinated to grow throughout the winter time.  During summer months, Kore, the grain-maiden, was in the underground (Hades' realm) where she was fused with Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld. At the beginning of Autumn, when the seeds of the old crop and the new were laid on the fields, she ascended and was reunited with her mother Demeter (the old and the new crop meeting). In this version, Kore's rise to the upperworld happens in Autumn/Winter rather than Spring/Summer, which matches up to the Eleusinian Mysteries which were celebrated in September.  Mama Cora Ocllo is also the name of the Incan fertility and Mother Goddess. The asteroid, 504 Cora, was named after the Incan goddess in 1905.  Corah is also a surname. It is a habitational Scottish surname from a, now lost, village.

Usage:

Cora didn't see proper use as a given name until the late 18th century when it appeared in literature and opera. In some cases, it may have been influenced by Corinna which was a popular literary favourite earlier in the 17th and 18th centuries.  Etienne Mehul used the name for his 1791 opera Alonzo and Cora, and James Fenimore Cooper used it for his main female character in his best-selling novel The Last of the Mohicans (1826). Cora gradually began to rise in use in England and Wales over the course of the 19th century. In a few early cases, it is recorded as Corah, which perhaps represents the surname in use as a given name, or could simply be a spelling variant. By the end of the century, Coral, Coralie and Coraline also grew in usage.  Despite its growing use, it continually ranked below the top 200, ranking #230 in 1860, #250 in 1870, #251 in 1880, #290 in 1890 and #220 in 1900.  The name peaked at the turn of the century and was overtaken by Coral by the 1930s.  Records for Cora as a first name in the England and Wales Birth Index: 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 42 births 105 births 165 births 338 births 432 births 754 births 1188 births 1172 births 876 births 442 births 274 births 200 births 154 births 174 births Up until 2012, Cora ranked below the top 400 in England and Wales but has been on a steady rise since. By 2014, it reached the top 300, putting it on a par with its late 19th century ranks.  In 2017, Cora rose even further to #209 with 251 births in England and Wales.  From September 2010 to November 2015, ITV aired six series of period drama Downton Abbey. The matriarch of the family, Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham, was a principle character and featured in every series. In 2011, the fantasy series Once Upon a Time also had a character named Cora (2011-15), as did the soap Eastenders in the same year. In Scotland, Cora has also been rising in recent years to even greater success. Up until 2008, Cora had no more than 10 births in any given year. It began rising after 2008, reaching the top 200 in 2011 at #181 (25 births).  It saw a brief dip to #254 (16 births) in 2013, but has recovered since.  Its peak so far in Scotland was in 2016 when it ranked #103 (45 births).  In 2017, Cora ranked #129 with 37 births in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Cora Linn Daniels (1852-?), American author. * Cora Coralina (1889-1985), pseudonym of Brazilian poet Anna Lins dos Guimarães Peixoto Bretas. * Cora Cané (1923 – 2016), Argentine journalist. Contemporary: * Cora Waddell (born 1989), Filipino actress, fashion model, and video blogger. Literature and Other Media: * Cora Munro, fictional heroine of The Last of the Mohicans (1826), by James Fenimore Cooper. * Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham, character from the series Downton Abbey.  * Cora Cross, character from the soap EastEnders (2011;2015-2017). * Cora Mills, character from the fantasy-drama series Once Upon a Time (2011-15). * Cora Cartmell, a character from the 1997 film Titanic.

Variants:

Corah; Kora

Pronunciation:

KOR-rə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Corey, Corie

Sibling Names:

Alba     Hazel     Iris     Willa     Stella    Margot  Reggie     Hugo     Rex     Ezra     Otis     Jude

Name Lists:

Vintage Names   Ripe Renovations   Guys and Dolls   Short and Sweet

 

If you like Cora you may also like:   Lara, Orla, Esme, Lena, Thea, Lois, Penny, Honor, Iona, Flora

Thanks to Kirstie for requesting this name.

Name of the Week: Lyra

 

 

Origin:

Lyra derives from the Greek lýra (λύρα) meaning "a lyre." Similar to a small harp, the lyre was an important instrument in Ancient Greece. It was used to accompany recitations of lyric poetry (the word lyric literally meant "singing to the lyre" in Greek) and was considered to have been invented by the god Hermes from a tortoise shell. Hermes gave this first lyre to Apollo (in some versions, it was in exchange for Apollo's cattle) who in turn gave it to, and taught, the great musician Orpheus whose music was so beautiful it could charm even inanimate objects.  Since the at least the 2nd century AD, Lyra is the name given to a small constellation which is thought to look like a lyre. The Greeks and Romans considered this to be Orpheus' lyre and the Arabs regarded it as an eagle carrying a lyre. In Wales, it was traditionally known as King Arthur's Harp (Talyn Arthur).

Usage:

The Lexicon of Greek Personal Names has record of two instances of the name Lyra/Lura (Λύρα) used in Antiquity alongside other rare names such as Luragia/Lyragia, Lurakos/Lyrakos, Luranias/Lyranias, Lurimachos/Lyrimachos, Luris/Lyris and Lur/Lyr. It was not an established name, and these two examples perhaps indicate a nickname -- perhaps for a musician.  The Greek letter upsilon (υ) can either be transcribed as a u or y in English, thanks to its having been filtered through Latin, hence the two spellings of Lyra and Lura. The letter was pronounced like oo in early Greek and was later shortened to the French-style u. The spelling Lyra, however, especially with regards to the constellation, has been standard in English since at least the mid-17th century.  As a given name, Lyra dates from the 19th century in Britain. It was always rare, but does appear to have been almost exclusively female in use. HMS Lyra is the name of four ships of the Royal Navy, named in 1808, 1821, 1857 and 1910, and may have given some exposure to the name. 1857 is the only year that Lyra was used from 1850-1872, and there were three Lyras registered in 1910.  Records for Lyra as a first name in the England and Wales Birth Index: 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 1980s: 2 births 1 birth 0 births 4 births 1 birth 1 birth 5 births 6 births 1 birth 3 births 2 births 1 birth 4 births 6 births 1 birth Lyra only seen regular usage as a given name in the last two decades.  This usage was kick-started by the author Philip Pullman when he used the name for the main character in His Dark Materials trilogy (1995-2000). It has continued to rise thanks to its being short, having two syllables and punchy vowel sounds. Lyra Belacqua is Philip Pullman's plucky young heroine in his award-winning trilogy. The first novel, Northern Lights, was first published in 1995 and was followed by The Subtle Knife in 1997 and The Amber Spyglass in 2000. It was after the publication of the final book, that Lyra began to rise in earnest in England and Wales.  Pullman followed up the series with Lyra's Oxford in 2003 and she also features in Pullman's latest trilogy, The Book of Dust, the first book of which was published in 2017.  The series was adapted by the London Royal National Theatre in 2003-04 and New Line Cinema released a film adaptation of Northern Lights, named The Golden Compass (after the US title of the book) in 2007.  Lyra entered the top 1000 in England and Wales in 2005 at #790 (36 births) and rose to #510 (76 births) by 2008 and had doubled in use the following year at #304 (152 births) in 2009. In 2017, Lyra ranked #183 with 293 births in England and Wales. In Scotland, Lyra did not rank at all until 2003, when it was registered once. Since then, it has also been on the rise, reaching its first peak in 2013 at #344 (11 births), falling slightly to #413 (8 births) by 2016 in Scotland, followed by a huge leap to #178 (26 births) in 2017.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Lyra Taylor (1894–1979), New Zealand social worker and lawyer. Contemporary: * Lyra Virna (born 1981), Indonesian actress. Literature and Other Media: * Lyra Belacqua, the main character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. * Lyra Erso, a character in the Star Wars universe.

Variants:

Lyrah; Lira (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian)

Pronunciation:

LĪ-rə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Ly, El (L), Lyre

Sibling Names:

Maia     Nova     Orla     Ayla     Cleo     Eden  Arlo     Otis     Hugo     Roman     Theo     Kit

Name Lists:

Short and Sweet

 

If you like Lyra you may also like:   Luna, Lyla, Ayra, Delta, Vaila, Alaia, Liora, Vega, Calla, Leia

Thanks to Lisa for requesting this name.

Name of the Week: Ramona

 

 

Origin:

Ramona is the feminine form of Ramón, the Spanish form of the Frankish Raginmund, from which we also get Raymond in English. Raginmund was composed of two prevalent name-elements. The first, ragin, translates roughly as "might" or "counsel, advice". The second element is mund, a common Germanic, Old English and Norse name element, meaning "protection." The original meaning was more "guardian, handler," ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European *man- "hand."

Usage:

Ramona dates in use in Spain and Spanish-speaking countries from at least the 16th century. It was first used in Britain in the 18th century, but these were confined to Spanish families. Curiously, there were little concentrated pockets of these Spanish families in Knarsdale, Durham and Redmarshall, Northumberland. On the whole, however, the name was rare in Britain.  1884 saw the publication American author Helen Hunt Jackson's novel Ramona which centred around a Scots-Native American orphan girl, Ramona, as she is brought up within a Mexican household.  The novel was a huge success in America, selling more than 15,000 copies within the first 10 months.* It also led to the creation of Ramona-related tourist attractions in California and "ultimately inspired a romanticised false past for the region."* The immediate impact of the novel cannot be seen in British birth records. Ramona was in small usage in England and Wales right up until the late 1920s, as records from the Birth Index shows: 1840s: 2 births 1850s: 1 birth 1860s: 0 births 1870s: 4 births 1880s: 2 births 1890s: 2 births 1900s: 2 births 1910s: 8 births 1920s: 77 births 1930s: 62 births 1940s: 17 births 1950s: 48 births 1960s: 95 births In fact, Romana's usage saw a marked leap in the last quarter of 1928 in England and Wales. This coincides with the release of the 1928 Hollywood silent film adaptation of Ramona, starring Dolores del Río in the title role, and the tile song for the film, Ramona, which became a huge hit that year.  A breakdown of these births are as follows: Jan-Mar 1925: 0 Apr-Jun 1925: 1 Jul-Sep 1925: 0 Oct-Dec 1925: 1 Jan-Mar 1926: 0 Apr-Jun 1926: 0 Jul-Sep 1926: 0 Oct-Dec 1926: 0 Jan-Mar 1927: 0 Apr-Jun 1927: 0 Jul-Sep 1927: 0 Oct-Dec 1927: 1 Jan-Mar 1928: 0 Apr-Jun 1928: 0 Jul-Sep 1928: 0 Oct-Dec 1928: 16 Jan-Mar 1929: 23 Apr-Jun 1929: 14 Jul-Sep 1929: 14 Oct-Dec 1929: 5 click to enlarge From 1996 to 2007 in England and Wales, Ramona ranked consistently in each year but with no more than ten births in any given year. The name saw more of a pronounced rise from 2010 when it reached #1472 with 20 births. Since then, Ramona has continued to have more than than 20 births each year, peaking at #1098 with 32 births in 2013.  In 2016, Ramona ranked #1525 with 21 births in England and Wales.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Ramona Davies (1909−1972), American cabaret singer and pianist. Contemporary: * Ramona Lofton (born 1950), better known by her pen name Sapphire, is an American author and performance poet. * Ramona Bădescu, a Romanian-born Italian actress, singer, model, and politician. * Ramona Badescu, Hungarian-French children's author. * Ramona Mallory Lambert, American actress. * Ramona Marquez (born 2001), British actress. * Ramona Sarsgaard (b. 2006), daughter of actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard. Literature and Other Media: * Ramona, main character in the 1884 Ramona novel by Helen Hunt Jackson. * Ramona Quimby, main character in the Ramona series of children's stories by Beverly Cleary. * Ramona Victoria Flowers, one of the protagonists in the Scott Pilgrim series. * Ramona Ortega, a main character in the 2002 Esperanza Rising novel by Pam Munoz Ryan. * Ramona Ramirez, Spanish nanny in the British TV series Cold Feet. * To Ramona, song by Bob Dylan. * Ramona, song by the Ramones.

Variants:

Raymonde (French), Raimunde (German), Raimonda (Italian)

Pronunciation:

rə-MŌ-nə  [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Remy, Romy, Ray, Mona, Money

Sibling Names:

Tamsin     Loretta     Monica     Lorna     Greta     Gianna  Xavier     Valentin     Dante     Maxim     Inigo     Quentin

Name Lists:

Names of Roses

 

If you like Ramona you may also like:   Paloma, Romola, Selma, Bryony, Romilly, Roxana, Leonor, Bonita, Isadora, Bronwyn

Thanks to Alice for requesting this name.

 

Name of the Week: Sylvia, Sylvie

 

 

Origin:

Sylvia is the modern spelling (in English, Scandinavian and German-speaking countries) of the Latin name Silvia, the feminine form of Silvius. Sylvie is the French form of the name.  Both Silvia and Silvius derive from the Latin word silva "a wood" and was notable in Rome's founding story. According to the Romans, the Trojan hero Aeneas settled in Italy and founded a Trojan-Latin colony named Alba Longa. His grandson (sometimes son) Silvius became king and established the "Silvian Dynasty." Legend has it that Silvius was born in the woods which was how he came by his name.** His son was named Aeneas Silvius, and grandson Latinus Silvius. From that point, Silvius became a cognomen of all the kings of Alba Longa.  It is by this means that the last king of Alba Longa, Numinor, came to have a daughter named Rhea Silvia who in turn was the mother of Romulus and Remus — the legendary founders of Rome.

Usage:

Though it wasn't prolific, Silvius can be found as a nomen (given name) in inscriptions from Roman Britain.** Records for women in the Roman world are far scarcer, but we can presume that Silvia was in use as a feminine form as per Roman tradition.  Saint Silvia, or Sylvia, (c.515–c.592) is venerated by the Catholic church as the mother of St. Gregory the Great which indicates that the name survived into Late Antiquity.  Silvia came into use in Italy during the Renaissance and it was during this period that the name appeared occasionally in British literature. Renowned Italophile Shakespeare used Silvia for The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1589-93).  In Britain, Sylvia was in regular use by the 18th century, and remained constant through to  the mid-19th century. It particularly grew after the 1860s which may be have been helped a little by Elizabeth Gaskell's 1863 novel Sylvia's Lovers, set in the 1790s. Below is a breakdown of the birth rankings for Sylvia in England and Wales and a comparison of the births per decade of the variant forms Sylvia, Silvia and Sylvie: Birth rankings:   Births per decade:   Sylvia     Sylvia Silvia Sylvie 1850:  1860:  1870:  1880:  1890: 1900:  #213 #212 #205 #179 #169 #137   1840s:  1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 180 278 316 666 1036 2270 4836 68 46 52 64 93 118 143 1 0 7 8 3 12 31 click to enlarge In France, Sylvie was in moderate use in the first part of 20th century, ranking #159 in 1900, #200 in 1910, #188 in 1920 and #200 in 1930. It rose in the 1940s, reaching #100 in 1945. Only ten years later, in 1955, it has risen to #12 and was in the top 10 from 1956 to 1972. Sylvie was at #1 for four consecutive years from 1961 to 1964. Sylvie steadily declined in France during the 1970s. It was out of the top 100 after 1985 and out of the top 500 by 2000. It is still in use in France, but has from 2009, has only had between 10 and 30 births per year.   click to enlarge Having risen to #137 in 1900, Sylvia first broke into the top 100 in England and Wales in 1914 at #82. It grew quickly from then on, peaking at #18 in 1934.  It was last in the top 100 in 1954 at #64 after which it fell out.  By 1996, Sylvia was consistently around the #1000 mark (averaging around 20 births per year). Both Sylvie and Silvia were in consistent use as well, though less common.  From 2004, Sylvia began to make a steady increase in usage. This is also the time, however, that Sylvie overtook Sylvia, rising from #1026 (23 births) in 2003 to #558 (63 births) in 2006. In 2016 in England and Wales, Sylvie ranked #458 with 95 births; Sylvia ranked #693 with 59 births and Silvia ranked #2367 with 11 births.  In 2016 in Scotland, Sylvie ranked #502 with 6 births; Sylvia ranked #675 with 4 births and Silvia ranked #1028 with 2 births.  Sylvia also ranked in the top 50 Telegraph births of 2017.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Sylvia Pankhurst (1882–1960), British artist and suffragette. * Sylvia Ashton-Warner MBE (1908–1984), New Zealand writer, poet and educator. * Sylvia Plath (1932–1963), American poet, novelist, and short-story writer. Contemporary: * Silvia Pinal Hidalgo (born 1931), Mexican actress, producer and politician. * Sylvia Syms (born 1934), British actress. * Sylvia Siddell (1941–2011), New Zealand artist. * Queen Silvia of Sweden (born 1943), the spouse of King Carl XVI Gustaf. * Dame Silvia Cartwright (born 1943), New Zealand jurist who served as the 18th Governor-General of New Zealand. * Sylvie Vartan (born 1944), French singer. * Sylvia McNair (born 1956), American opera singer. * Sylvia Constantinidis (born 1962), Venezuelan-American pianist, conductor and composer. * Sylvie Guillem CBE (born 1965), French ballet dancer. * Sylvie Testud (born 17 January 1971) is a French actress, writer, and film director Literature and Other Media: * Sylvia ou La Nymphe de Diane, a classical ballet with music written by Léo Delibes in 1876. * Sylvia Costas, Assistant District Attorney in the American television drama NYPD Blue. * Sylvie, a character in Charlotte Brontë's The Professor (1857).  Other: * Sylvia, a genus of warbler bird.  * 87 Sylvia, an asteroid.

Variants:

Sylvia (English, Scandinavian, German), Silvia (Roman, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese), Sylvie (French), Silvija (Slavic), Sylwia (Polish), Silvie (Czech)

Pronunciation:

SIL-vee-ə / SEEL-vee [key]

Possible  Diminutives:

Silla, Sivi, Vee

Sibling Names:

Vivienne    Willa     Aurelia     Emmeline     Beatrix    Ottilie  Laurence     Jasper     Rex     Benedict     Felix     Wilfred

Name Lists:

Sylvia: Vintage Names   Victorian Darlings   Saintly and Stylish    Sylvie: Vintage Names   Ripe Renovations   Dulcet Dainties     Silvia: Resonant Roman  Shakespearean Names   Demi-Gods and Mortals of Mythology

 

If you like Sylvie/a you may also like:   Genevieve, Ophelia, Theodora, Cecily, Adeline, Dulcie, Octavia, Theresa, Flora, Viola

Thanks to Jess for requesting this name.

 

Name of the Week: Alice

 

Origin:

Alice is a younger form of the Old Germanic name Adalheidis, from the word adalheit "nobility" — literally adal "noble" and heit "sort, kind, type."  Adalheidis was such a prolific name that it was used in multiple forms and variants. By the early Middle Ages, it became Adelaide and Adeliza (Adelisa, Adelise, Adelais) and the latter was further shortened to Aliz (Alis, Aalis) in Old French, later becoming Alice.

Usage:

Adeliza and Adelaide were brought over to Britain by the Normans in the 11th century. Adeliza of Louvain (1103-1151) — also known as Adelaide, Adelais, Aleidis and Alice —  was Queen of England from 1121 to 1135, as the second wife of King Henry I. The figure of Bele Aaliz or Bele Aelis "Fair Aelis" was a common theme in medieval courtly romances and chansons. As Sylvia Huot puts it: "Beautiful, amorous, and inclined to song, Fair Aelis appears in numerous pieces; her behaviour generally involves rising early, getting dressed up in her finery, and going outside to gather flowers or meet her lover." Fair Aelis was a common subject for both popular and courtly dance-singers* and, in one of his sermons, Stephen Langton (d.1228), Archbishop of Canterbury interpreted Bele Aelis allegorically as the Virgin Mary.* Perhaps it is not surprising then that it was the most successful and popular girls' name of the Middle Ages. Redmonds' survey of 1000 names from ten English counties 1377-81 puts Alice at #1 and it was still in the top 5 by the early 16th century, as Smith-Bannister's rankings show below: 1538-49: #4; 1550-9: #3; 1560-9: #4; 1570-9: #5; 1580-9: #7; 1590-9: #7; 1600-9: #5; 1610-9: #7; 1620-9: #5; 1630-9: #6; 1640-9: #6; 1650-9: #7; 1660-9: #8; 1670-9: #9; 1680-9: #9; 1690-1700: #12. By the 13th century, Alice had emerged as the standard English vernacular form, but was most commonly Latinised as Alicia in official documents. As spelling was not standardised at this time, Alys, Ales and Alis are also frequently found. By the 16th century, the short form Alse (Alce, Als, Allse) is also prevalent in records.  Unsurprisingly, Alice gained several diminutive forms using the French diminutive suffixes -el, -in, -on, -ot etc. The surname Allott and Allettson come from adding the -et/-ot suffixes, and Alison and Ellison comes from Alis + on. The hypochoristic form Nalle was also used as a pet-name.  This popular usage continued throughout the following centuries and had only declined slightly by the 18th century. According to Leslie Dunkling's ranks, Alice was #11 in 1700 and #19 in 1800.  In 1843, Queen Victoria reclaimed the name for royalty when she named her second daughter Princess Alice Maud Mary. Writing to her uncle, King Leopold I, in May 1843, she said: "Our little baby, whom I am really proud of, for she is so very forward for her age, is to be called Alice, an old English name, and the other names are to be Maud (another old English name and the same as Matilda) and Mary, as she was born on Aunt Gloucester's birthday." Princess Alice proved herself to be an admirable and practical woman. She nursed her father in his final months, acted as secretary to her mother, championed women's causes and nursing, managed field hospitals during the Austro-Prussian war and scandalised her mother by breastfeeding her children herself.  One of her nieces, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (1883-1981), was named for her, as was one of her granddaughters, Princess Alice of Battenberg (1885-1969), who married Andrew of Greece and Denmark and is mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The latter seems to have inherited her grandmother's passion for nursing and good works. She devoted herself to charity works in Greece, particularly the Red Cross, organised shelters for orphans and soup kitchens, sheltered Jewish refugees during WWII, and later founded an Orthodox nursing order of nuns. By 1860, perhaps thanks to the influence of Princess Alice, the name had risen to the top 10 in England and Wales. It rose further, to #4, in 1870 after the publication of Lewis Caroll's popular Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 1865 which was a publishing sensation, beloved by children and adults alike (including Queen Victoria) and to this day, it has never been out of print.  Birth rankings in England and Wales: 1850: #13 1860: #8 1870: #4 1880: #3 1890: #5 1900: #5 1904: #8 1914: #13 1924: #30 1934: #66 After so many centuries barely out of the top 10 in England, Alice began to decline in popularity in the 1920s and was out of the top 100 by 1944. In Scotland, Alice had earlier been less popular than in England and Wales (ranking #21 in 1900) but this perhaps helped its longevity, as it was still #53 in 1950, falling put by 1975. Interestingly, Scotland was also early to embrace Alice's medieval diminutive form, Alison. In 1900, Alison ranked #66 in Scotland while it was barely scraping into the top 300 in England and Wales. By 1950, Alison was #40 in Scotland and, in 1975, Alison was #17 and Allison #93.  In England and Wales, Alison began to grow in popularity once Alice had waned first entering the top 100 at #53 in 1954 and rising to #14 in 1964, #21 in 1974 and #54 in 1984, after which it left the top 100. And, in a reversal of roles, just as Alison waned, Alice itself began to rise again, reaching the top 100 once again at #83 in 1984 and rising sharply in popularity to #18 in 1994.  click to enlarge From this point, Alice fell gradually each year until it reached #50 (1212 births) in 2009. From this point on, however, its fortunes reversed and Alice began to rise once again, reaching #24 (2006 births) in 2015.  In Scotland, Alice returned to the top 100 at #85 (72 births) in 1992. Its popularity fluctuated in the bottom half of the top 100, never ranking higher than #72, up until 2013.  It rose to #48 (98 births) in 2015 and #46 (106 births) in 2016.

Famous Bearers:

Royalty: * Alice of Champagne (c. 1193–1246), Queen consort and later regent of Cyprus. * Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (1843-1878), Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine; third child of Queen Victoria. * Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (1883-1981), granddaughter of Queen Victoria.  * Princess Alice of Battenberg (1885-1969), granddaughter of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (above) and mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. * Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (1901-2004), wife of Prince Henry. History: * Alice Cary (1820–1871), American poet. * Alice Bunker Stockham (1833-1912), American suffragist and the fifth woman to become a doctor in the United States. * Alice Mary Smith (1839-1884), English composer. * Alice Meynell (1847-1922), British suffragist and poet. * Alice Duer Miller (1874-1942), American author and poet. * Alice Wilson (1881-1964), Canada’s first female geologist. * Alice Roosevelt Longworth (1884-1980), American writer and prominent socialite; daughter of Theodore Roosevelt. * Alice Brady (1892-1939), American actress. * Alice Calhoun (1900-1966), American silent film actress. * Alice Faye (1915-1998), American actress and singer. * Alice Babs (1924-2014), Swedish singer and actress. Contemporary: * Alice Adams (1926-1999), American author. * Alice Munro (b.1931), Canadian author and Nobel Prize winner. * Alice Malsenior Walker (b. 1944), American novelist and activist. * Alice Cooper alias Vincent Furnier (b. 1948), American rock musician. * Alice Coote (b. 1968), British opera singer. * Alice Evans (b. 1971), British actress.  * Alice Roberts (b. 1973), British anatomist, osteoarchaeologist, anthropologist, television presenter, and author. * Alice Eve (b. 1982), British actress. Literature and Other Media: * Alice, the eponymous heroine of the Lewis Carroll novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). * Alice, lady-in-waiting to French princess Katharine in Shakespeare's Henry V (1599). * Alice Tate, main character in Woody Allen's film Alice (1990), portrayed by Mia Farrow. * Alice Cullen, vampire character in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series.

Variants:

Alis, Alyce, Alys, Alissa, Alyssa (English), Alys (Welsh), Ailis (Scottish), Ailís (Irish), Alicia (Latin), Alix (French), Aalish, Aelish (Manx)

Pronunciation:

AL-is [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Ali, Liss

Sibling Names:

Charlotte     Lucy     Grace     Emily     Isabel     Eleanor  Edward     George     William     Nicholas     Oliver     Matthew

Name Lists:

British Royalty   Medieval Favourites   Terrifically Tudor   Gorgeously Georgian   Victorian Darlings   Shakespearean Names   Jane Austen Names   Dickensian Names    Tennyson Names   Operatic Appellations

  

If you like Alice you may also like:   Matilda, Florence, Evelyn, Sophie, Rose, Elsie, Iris, Beatrice, Eloise, Harriet

Thanks to Kaela for requesting this name.

 

Name of the Week: Fenella

Origin:

Fenella is an anglicised form of the Irish Gaelic name Fionnuala. The Old Irish form was Finnguala, made up of the elements finn "white, fair, blessed" and guala "shoulder," which later became Fionnghuala and Fionnuala.  In Irish legend, Fionnuala is the name of one of the children of Lir who, along with her brothers Fiachra, Conn and Aodh, were turned into swans by their jealous stepmother and cursed to spend three hundred on Lake Derravaragh, three hundred on the Straits of Moyle, and three hundred more on the Isle of Inish Glora. The endings vary according to tradition, but in all versions the children are eventually transformed back into humans (usually thanks to the coming of Christianity to Ireland), age quickly and join their father and mother in heavenly peace.  Fenella has gained the reputation as being a "Scottish" form of Fionnuala, though this is not wholly accurate. Strictly, the spelling Finella was more prevalent in Scotland up until the 1940s, while Fenella dominated in England and Wales, and Finola in Ireland. The attribution of Fenella to Scotland is probably in part thanks to famous Scotsman, Sir Walter Scott, using Fenella for the name of a character in Peveril of the Peak (1823) which did much to popularise the name.

Usage:

According to Ó Corráin and Maguire, Finnguala was an "extremely popular" name in Ireland in the later middle ages; the most popular feminine name after Mór, Sadb and Gormlaith.* Fionnghuala MacDonald "Ineen Dubh" (c.1550-1608), a Scoto-Irish queen of Tyrconnell who ruled in her husband's stead, is a famous example.  It all but died out by the 18th century, but the short form Nuala (which was established in the 13th century) remained in use, as did the anglicised form Finola.  When looking for evidence of Fionnuala in use, the water is somewhat muddied by the standard practice in Ireland and Scotland of rendering Gaelic names into "English" ones. Penelope was used as an English form of Finnuala in Ireland, while Flora was adopted in Scotland.  Fenella itself can be found in 'standalone' use from the 18th century. The majority of the early use of both Fenella and Finella was in Scotland (particularly Caithness), though Fenella was also used in England at this time. Indeed, some of the earliest examples of Fenella that I have come across come from England in the 17th century. Scottish minister and antiquarian Rev. John Jamieson used the name Fenella for his heroine in his 1791 literary ballad Congal and Fenella, set during the reign of Macbeth. His contemporary and friend Sir Walter Scott may have been influenced by this when he used the name Fenella for his longest novel Peveril of the Peak (1823). This was one of Scott's "English" novels, set in Derbyshire, London and the Isle of Man around 1678. The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company used the novel as inspiration for the successful SS Fenella, built in 1881. [A younger sister-ship was named SS Peveril]. The ship was the subject of many newspaper articles in the 1880s, which perhaps explains the small rise in the name in England and Wales in the 1880s.  Of the three main anglicised forms of Fionnuala — Fenella, Finella and Finola — Fenella was the more prevalent form in England and Wales while Finella was more common in Scotland up until the 1940s, as births per decade show:   England and Wales   Scotland   Fenella Finella Finola   Fenella Finella Finola 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 2 births 6 births 4 births 17 births 43 births 25 births 23 births 27 births 26 births 36 births 74 births 154 births 312 births 107 births 2 births 0 births 1 birth 2 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 4 births 0 births 4 births 7 births 10 births 6 births 3 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 1 birth 2 births 0 births 3 births 2 births 3 births 8 births 17 births 50 births 91 births 46 births 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 1980s: 1990s: 2000s: 2 births 2 births 2 births 1 birth 2 births 2 births 2 births 6 births 13 births 11 births 23 births 4 births 6 births 9 births 11 births 0 births 1 births 3 births 8 births 5 births 6 births 5 births 7 births 10 births 3 births 2 births 2 births 1 birth 1 birth 1 birth 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 1 birth 1 birth 1 birth 1 birth 1 birth 7 births 2 births 2 births The 1950s saw the name Fenella feature in several novels and newspaper serial romance-novels such as The Master of Machada (1955) by Kathryn Blair in the Dundee Courier and The Strange Story of Pippin Wood (1956) by Irene Byers. Added to this was the fame of actress Fenella Feilding (born. 1927), whose performance in Sandy Wilson's musical version of Valmouth made her a star in the late 1950s.  Enid Blyton used the name Fenella several times in her novels: for her lovable heroine in Come to the Circus! in 1948; for the character Princess Fenella in The Yellow Fairy Book (1936) and Fenella Thornton, Head Girl in the Malory Towers series (1946–1951), all of which saw several reprints and editions from 1950-2000 and perhaps also helped bolster the name's use in England and Wales during its peak in the 1950s and 1960s.  Fenella also featured as the eponymous subject of the "Fenella in ..." children's books by David Gentleman in the late 60s.  For children of the 80s-90s, Fenella had further literary clout in children's fiction from the character Fenella Feverfew in Jill Murphy's Worst Witch series (1974-2007) and Fenella "Fen", one of the principle characters in Ann Bryant's Cafe Club series (1996-98).  From 1997-2016, Fenella has ranked in nine out of 20 years in Scotland, peaking at #793 (3 births) in 2008. In 2015, it was #1584 (1 birth), but it did not rank at all in 2016.  In England and Wales, Fenella was consistently just above and below the top 1000 from 1996 to 2003 with between 17-26 births per year. It has declined moderately since.  In 2016, Fenella ranked #2328 with 11 births in England and Wales.

Famous Bearers:

Contemporary: * Fenella Feilding (born. 1927), British actress.  * Fenella Fudge, BBC Radio newsreader. * Fenella Woolgar (born 1971), British actress. * Fenella Kernebone (born 1976), Australian radio and TV presenter. * Fenella Smith, British illustrator, ceramic and tableware designer and owner of Fenella Smith. Literature and Other Media: * Fenella, heroine of Enid Blyton's Come to the Circus! (1948). * Princess Fenella, a character in Enid Blyton's The Yellow Fairy Book (1936). * Fenella Thornton, Head Girl in Enid Blyton's Malory Towers series (1946–1951). * Fenella, a character in Walter Scott's Peveril of the Peak (1823). * The heroine of Auber's opera La Muette de Portici (1828), who was inspired by Walter Scott's Fenella. * The eponymous subject of the Fenella in ... children's books by David Gentleman. * Fenella Melford, a character in Diana Wynne Jones's The Time of the Ghost (1981).  * Fenella the Kettle Witch, a character from Chorlton and the Wheelies.  * Fenella Feverfew, character in Jill Murphy's Worst Witch series (1974-2007). * Fenella "Fen", one of the principle characters in Ann Bryant's Cafe Club series (1996-98).

Variants:

Finella, Finola

Pronunciation:

fen-EL-ə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Fen, Fenny, Nell, Ella

Sibling Names:

Merryn     Bronwen     Lorna     Tamsin     Ramona     Bryony  Douglas     Malcolm     Ewart     Angus     Patrick     Philip

Name Lists:

Cosy Celtic   Enid Blyton Names

  

If you like Fenella you may also like:   Fiona, Flora, Juniper, Ferelith, Lowenna, Penelope, Fiorella, Melissa, Belinda, Dinah

Thanks to Amanda for requesting this name.

 

Name of the Week: Hamish

 

Origin:

Hamish is an anglicised form of Seumas – the Scots Gaelic form of James – which is, itself, the anglicised form of Jacob (Latin Jacobus / Hebrew Ya'aqov).  Seumas is pronounced SHAY-məs. Given that James was pronounced with two syllables during the Middle Ages, and Gaelic does not have the letter J, we can see a clear transition from one to the other.  Strictly, Hamish is actually the anglicised spelling of Sheumais – the vocative form of Seumas. In Scots Gaelic, Sheumais is pronounced HAY-mish as we can hear in the Scots Gaelic names for Jamestown and James River in Canada (audio in link).

Origin:

James has been in use in Britain from at least the 12th century. It was initially in infrequent use in England, but caught on quicker in Scotland, where it was borne by several Scottish Kings. The first King James was born in 1394 and from him was a continual succession of monarchs named James in Scotland up until King James V (1512–1542). His grandson, James VI (1567–1625), then became James I of England. King James I and his successors were known by the Scots Gaelic form, Seumas, in Scotland. While names don't change with case in the English language, they do in Gaelic, and so Seumas becomes Sheumais when the sentence is in the vocative case. This can be seen, for example, in the title of the Jacobite poem Do dh'Arm Righ Sheumais ("To King James' army"). Once rendered into English however, Hamish became a "fixed" form. Hamish was itself adopted in Scotland with the development of Scottish English in the 18th century. From the time of the Union of Parliaments in 1707, the official written language of Scotland became English. Standard English was therefore used as the language of government, religion and education and became adopted by the aspiring middle classes for social prestige.* Sir Walter Scott used the name Hamish for one of his characters in Chronicles of Canongate (1827), and William Black (1841-1898) used the name several times in his novels. The most notable is Macleod of Dare, published in 1878 (and reprinted in 1883), which was the inspiration for the poem The Revenge of Hamish by American poet Sidney Lanier in 1878. Black's novels were incredibly popular in their day, so it seems little coincidence that this is same period that Hamish grew in use across Britain.  The name Hamish was rare in Scotland in the early part of the 19th century. It was marginally more frequent in England and Wales -- perhaps used as an anglicised Scottish family heritage choice -- but it was still very uncommon. After the 1880s, most likely thanks to Black's popular novels, the name took off in Scotland, and grew slowly in England and Wales as birth registrations show:   Scotland England and Wales 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s:  1940s: 0 births 0 births 1 birth 29 births 40 births 87 births 240 births 380 births 591 births 6 births 4 births 9 births 13 births 15 births 21 births 38 births 78 births 147 births Though it did not rank in 1900, Hamish was in Scotland's top 100 in 1950 at #86 but had fallen out again by the next point of data in 1975. From 1975 to 1995, Hamish consistently ranked between #107-#185 in Scotland. It reached #87 (74 births) in 1996, but them fell just below the top 100 again until 2003. For the next decade, Hamish steadily bobbed just above and below #100 each year (peak year: #90 (67 births) in 2004; lowest point: #113 (62 births) in 2008). In the last few years, Hamish has seen a rise in Scotland, reaching #81 (84 births) in 2015 and #57 (117 births) in 2016.  In England and Wales, Hamish is much less common. Since 1996, it has remained consistently below the top 200, but always within the top 500. It peaked at #222 (138 births) in 1998, and was at its lowest at #481 (74 births) in 2010.  In 2015, Hamish ranked #399 with 106 births.  In Australia however, where Scottish names have a long history of use, Hamish has been well used, ranking in the top 100 in South Australia since 1994.*

Famous Bearers:

History:  * Hamish MacCunn (1868–1916), Scottish composer, conductor and music teacher. Contemporary: * Hamish Imlach (born 1940), Scottish folk singer. * Hamish McAlpine (born 1948), Scottish footballer. * Hamish Stuart (born 1949), lead singer of Average White Band. * Hamish Bowles (born 1963), European Editor-at-Large for Vogue. * Hamish Clark (born 1965), Scottish actor. * Hamish Carter (born 1971), New Zealand triathlete and Olympic gold medalist. * Hamish Blake (born 1981), Australian comedian and radio presenter. Literature and Other Media: * John Hamish Watson, Sherlock Holmes's closest companion in Conan Doyle's classic detective series. * Hamish Macbeth, detective in series of novels and television adaptation starring Robert Carlyle as the eponymous hero. * Hamish MacLeod, a character in the Ian Rutledge novels by Caroline and Charles Todd. * Hamish and Dougal, comedy characters from Radio 4 series I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.

Variants:

Seumas

Pronunciation:

HAY-mish [key]

Possible diminutives:

Hay, Haymie, Mitch, Hitch

Sibling Names:

Bonnie     Iona     Alexandra     Ailsa     Flora     Honor  Angus     Hugo     Barnaby     Fergus     Murray     Fraser

Name Lists:

Clunky Celtic

 

If you like Hamish you may also like:   Hector, Alistair, Doolish, Calvin, Douglas, Duncan, Harris, Lyle, Tavish, Kit

Thanks to Chamali for requesting this name.  

 

Name of the Week: Oliver

 

 

Origin:

Oliver is the anglicised form of the Old French Olivier which became famous thanks to the 11th century epic La Chanson de Roland, in which Oliver was Roland's closest friend and one of Charlemagne's twelve peers. The origin of Oliver is much debated. Traditionally, it has been derived from the Latin olivarus "olive tree," a symbol traditionally associated with peace and divine wisdom. It is possible that the form of Olivier was altered to reflect this meaning, but, given that Charlemagne's paladin was most likely Teutonic, a Germanic origin seems more likely. One theory is that the name originates from the same source as Olaf via the Old Norse Anleifr -- anu "ancester" and leifr "heir, descendant, legacy, inheritance." Others link it to the Middle Low German Alfihar (alf "elf" and hari "army), cognate with the Old English Ælfhere which later bacame Alvar.

Usage:

Olivier was brought to Britain by the Normans. An Oliverus features in the Domesday Book as a landowner in Devon in 1086 and it was in good use from that point on. It was never wildly popular (in fact, it seems to have been more of a "well known but not popularly used" name), but was in decent enough use to be the source of the surname Oliver, Olivier and Ollivers etc, and create the short-form Noll.  Perhaps the most famous bearer of the name in Britain before the 20th century was Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), military and political leader and Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland (1653-1658). He is most famous for being a key figure in the Civil War, being both a commander in the parliamentary army and one of the MPs who opposed King Charles I and signed his death warrant. Still, to this day, he is a controversial figure: sometimes vilified as a military dictator, and other times heralded as a paragon of liberty. A popularist theory, propagated by E.G.Withycombe*, is that Oliver was moderately common in the Middle Ages up until the 16th century but became rare during and after the Restoration due to Oliver Cromwell's fall from favour. However, as George Redmonds* points out, this claim is unsubstantiated in the data. In fact, the popularity of Oliver saw very little change from the 15th to the 18th century. It does not appear in Smith-Bannister's top 50 name rankings from 1538-1700*, and my poll of the top 100 names in Elizabethan Norfolk has only two instances of Oliver, and only five instances in Restoration-era Norfolk.  In short, the name Oliver was consistently used from the Middle Ages in Britain but remained an uncommon choice both before and after Oliver Cromwell's reign as Lord High Protector.  It wasn't until the 19th century that Oliver came into more popular use. Names from chivalric medieval romances were all the rage during this period, and some of this success may also have been thanks in some part to the serial publication of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist (1837-1839).  Oliver had reached the top 100 of England and Wales by the mid-19th century, falling out after 1904: 1860: #63 1870: #64 1880: #68 1890: #71 1900: #90 The name did not return to the top 100 in England and Wales until 1974 when it ranked #83. Oliver Twist may once again have played a part in this given that the hit musical film Oliver! was released in 1968, winning six Oscars. The film also starred actor Oliver Reed (1938-1999) who, by 1974, was starring in several major Hollywood films.  By 1984, Oliver ranked #48, was #23 by 1994 and #7 by 2004, joining the top 5 the following year. It has taken the number one spot every year since 2009, with the exception of 2011 and 2012.  In Scotland, Oliver first reached the top 200 in 1975 (#167) but didn't rank in the top 100 until 2000 (#83) It has been rising ever since, reaching #10 in 2011 and #4 in 2013.  In 2015, Oliver ranked #1 (6941 births) in England and Wales and #2 (448 births) in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), military and political leader and Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland. * Saint Oliver Plunkett (1625–1681), Irish Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, last martyr of the Popish Plot * Oliver Goldsmith (1730–1774), Irish novelist, playwright and poet. * Oliver Evans (1755–1819), American inventor. * Oliver Heywood (1825–1892), English banker and philanthropist. * Oliver Lodge (1851–1940), British physicist and writer. * Oliver W. F. Lodge (1878-1955), English poet and author. * Oliver Wallace (1887–1963), British composer and conductor. * Oliver Hardy (1892–1957), American comic actor famous as one half of Laurel and Hardy. Contemporary: * Oliver Reed (1938–1999), English actor * Oliver Knussen (born 1952), British composer and conductor * Oliver Hudson (born 1976), American actor. Literature and Other Media: * Oliver de Vienne, character in the 11th century epic La Chanson de Roland. * Oliver Twist, the protagonist of Dickens' novel Oliver Twist (1837-1839)

Variants:

Olivier (French), Oliwier (Polish), Oliviero (Italian)

Pronunciation:

OL-ə-və [key]

Possible diminutives:

Ollie, Olly, Lev, Noll

Sibling Names:

Amelia     Isabelle     Ella     Charlotte     Ava     Sophie  George     William     Theo     Henry     Joshua     Alexander

Name Lists:

Victorian Darlings   Dickensian Names

 

If you like Oliver you may also like:    Edward, Oscar, Finlay, Frederick, Toby, Jude, Gabriel, Elliott, Louis, Max