British Baby Names

Name of the Week: Gaia

Origin:

Gaia is the name of the personified Greek goddess of the earth — the great mother of all creation, from whom all other gods were descended. Her name literally means "earth" in Greek, and was also written as Ge or Gaea.  Her cult is an ancient one, harking back to the Bronze Age. Her worship appears to have been universal among the Greeks. She had temples or altars in many places across Greece, but in many sites her worship was superseded in the Classical Age by later gods. Her characteristic function remained as witness to oaths because she was regarded as the one who knew all that is done on earth. Gaia herself was regarded as an oracular divinity, thought of as the original holder of the oracular shrine at Delphi, as well as one of the divinities who presided over marriage as the "all-nourishing mother." Gaia is also the feminine form of the Roman praenomen (personal name) Gaius. It was, in fact, so common that in the Roman marriage ceremony, when the bride reached the bridegroom's house and was asked for her name, she would say "Gaia." Once she entered the house, she would say the ritual words Ubi tu Gaius, ego Gaia — "Where you are Gaius, I am Gaia." Some of this was attached to Queen Tanaquil (who became known as Gaia Cecilia) wife of Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king in Rome's legendary history. She was regarded as an ideal Roman matron, known as a skillful artisan and for her prophetic abilities. As Gaia Cecilia, a statue was dedicated to her in the temple of Semo Sancus. The Romans themselves linked it to the Latin gaudere "to rejoice," but this is likely folk etymology. Its true origin was likely Etruscan — the original form of the name was probably the Oscan Gavius — and therefore its etymology is lost. It could plausibly be derived from the Greek Gaia.

Usage:

Gaia came into use as a given name in the early 19th century but was always incredibly rare. So rare, in fact, that it was not registered at all in England and Wales from 1838 up until 1946, becoming more regularly used in the 1970s.  Actors Emma Thompson and Greg Wise named their daughter Gaia Romilly Wise in 1999 which gave the name more exposure.  Since 1996, Gaia has been gradually rising overall in England and Wales though with intermittent spikes.   From ranking #2096 (7 births) in 1996, it was at #1252 (18 births) in 2004, peaking at #890 (42 births) in 2014 — the only time it has been in the top 1000.  In 2015, Gaia ranked #1139 (30 births) in England and Wales and #1055 (2 births) in Scotland.  While it is rare in Britain, it has been popular in Italy for at least the last two decades, ranking within the Italian top 20 consistently since 2001 when it reached #7. In 2015, Gaia ranked #13 in Italy.

Famous Bearers:

Contemporary: * Gaia Servadio (born 1938) is an Italian writer.. * Gaia Germani (born 1942), Italian actress. * Gaia Weiss (born 1991), French model and actress. * Gaia Sanesi (born 1992), Italian tennis player. * Gaia Sabbatini (born 1999), Italian runner. * Gaia Cauchi (born 2002), Maltese singer. Literature and Other Media: * Gaea, character in the novel series The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan. * Gaia Moore, the heroine of the teen-novel series Fearless by Francine Pascal. * Gaia Bawden, character in The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling. * Gaia Silverwood, character in the Spellcaster's Cataclysm series.

Variants:

Gaea (Latin), Gaja (Polish)

Pronunciation:

GĪ-ə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Gi

Sibling Names:

Livia     Aurora     Roxana     Juno     Ginevra     Leda  Atlas     Orion     Evander     Sol     Cassian     Alastor

Name Lists:

Modern Antiquity   Gods and Goddesses   Short & Sweet

  

If you like Gaia you may also like:   Luna, Atalanta, Chiara, Camilla, Giada, Lucia, Dido, Xanthe, Hebe, Vesta

Thanks to Monia for requesting this name.

 

Name of the Week: Elodie

 

Origin:

Élodie (often written as Elodie in English) is the French form of the Spanish name Elodia.  The name is used in honour of a 9th century Spanish saint who is usually called Alodia. She and her sister were the daughters of a Muslim father and Christian mother in the Province of Huesca in Northern Spain. Both girls followed their mother's religion and were martyred for their faith during the persecutions of the ruler of Cordoba, Abdal-Rabman II.  The etymology of the name Alodia is somewhat shaky. Most commonly, it is thought to derive from the Old Germanic ala "all" and od "wealth, riches, prosperity," perhaps an inheritor of Huesca's Visigothic heritage. The main problem with this theory, however, is that this name is completely unknown and unattested elsewhere in Germanic lands. Most Germanic names can be found in multiple forms, spread across Europe, so it is very strange that no other Germanic name deriving from ala and od can be found.  If Alodia is Germanic in origin, it is more likely a form of another Germanic name. Prime contender is the prolific Helewidis from haila "whole, hale, sound" and wid "wide" which can be found in use throughout Europe in multiple forms.  Elodie is also the name of a semi-double pink lily.

Usage:

While Elodia was used in Spain in honour of the saint since at least the 15th century, the French Élodie appears to have been more regularly used from the 17th century.  Both the Spanish and French form of the name was very rare in Britain up until the 20th century when it became slightly more regular in use, but still very uncommon. A breakdown of the number of registrations in England and Wales for Elodie and Elodia per decade are as follows:   Elodie Elodia 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 1 birth 0 births 1 births 2 births 6 births 4 births 1 birth 4 births 9 births 2 births 4 births 3 births 8 births 7 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 2 births 1 birth 0 births 0 births 1 birth 0 births 0 births 1 birth 1 birth 0 births 0 births dataaddict.fr (click to enlarge) In France, Élodie was moderately popular at the turn of the 20th century, after which it began to decline. In 1901, 101 girls were given the name giving it a rank of #181. This number gradually declined, and from 1937-1961, Elodie was given to no more than 10 girls in any given year in France (according to INSEE). Its fortune turned at this point, and Élodie began to rise rapidly, peaking in 1988 with 12,087 births. It declined again from this point, but it was still in the top 100 at the turn of the 21st century, ranking #35 in 2000, #53 in 2002 and #78 in 2005, after which it fell out of the top 100 in France.  click to enlarge In England and Wales, the opposite is the case, as Elodie has been steadily rising since 1996 when it ranked #1364 (13 births).  By 2005, it ranked #509 (68 births) and was #260 (187 births) by 2011.  In 2015, Elodie ranked #162 (336 births) in England and Wales and #252 (16 births) in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Saint Alodia, a 9th-century Spanish martyr. * Elodie Lawton Mijatović (1825-1908), British author. Contemporary: * Elodie Lauten (1950-2014), French-born American composer. * Élodie Frégé, French singer. * Élodie Bouchez, French actress. * Élodie Navarre (b. 1979), French actress.  * Élodie Yung (b. 1981), French film actress. Literature and Other Media: * Élodie Bradford, title character in French police series of the same name. * "To Elodie" (1904), poem by the Irish poet John Todhunter Other: * Lilium Elodie, a semi-double, pink lily. * 10726 Elodie, a main-belt minor planet.

Variants:

Elodia, Alodia (Spanish, Italian)

Pronunciation:

EL-ə-dee [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Ellie, Ella, Edie, Dee

Sibling Names:

Ottilie     Sylvie     Lilia     Rosa     Felicity    Bonnie  Jasper     Felix    Maximilian     Rafe     Oscar     Miles

Name Lists:

Dulcet Dainties

  

If you like Elodie you may also like:   Cecily, Eloise, Audrey, Eliza, Amelie, Emilia, Dulcie, Esme, Verity, Delphine

Thanks to Gina for requesting this name.

 

60 Spring Inspired Names

 

 

Today is the first day of spring in Britain for 2017; a verdant season of lush green grass and fresh flowers. 

Here are 60 choices inspired by this season:

 

Spring – Unlike seasons Summer, Autumn and Winter in the world of names, Spring is the underdog having not ranked at all in the last 20 years. However, Hollywood actress Spring Byington proves that the name can be usable, striking a balance somewhere between temperate Jane and androgynous Sloane. 

March – The month which starts spring which has traditionally been associated with glory and victory and derived from the Roman war god Mars. March is rare as a given name, but does make a great surname-firstname crossover. 

April – Currently the highest ranking month name at #194 in England and Wales, April is associated with fertility and Easter. The month was sacred to Venus, and so the name may be a form of her Greek counterpart Aphrodite. 

May – Having long use as a given name thanks to its use as a diminutive for Mary and Margaret, May is derived from the Roman mother goddess Maia and associated with fire, flowers and green. 

Flora – The Roman goddess of spring and flowers which currently ranks at #305 in England and Wales. 

 

Green Names:

Green is a colour particularly associated with spring as plants begin to grow again and everything becomes lush and verdant. 

Apple

Beryl

Emerald

Fern

Forest 

Hunter

Jade

Moss

Olive

Sage

 

Spring Flowers:

Among the many flowers that bloom in spring, several have been adapted as given names.

Amaryllis

Azalea 

Blossom

Bluebell

Calla 

Camellia 

Daffodil / Jonquil 

Dahlia

Freesia

Hyacinth

Iris

Jasmine

Lilac

Lily

Magnolia

Marigold

Peony

Poppy

Pansy

Petunia

Primrose

Tulip

Zinnia  38

 

Other languages:

Aviv / Aviva – Hebrew “spring”

Avril  – French “April”

Chloe – Greek “first shoot” (i.e first flower of spring)

Crina – Romanian "lily” 

Ebrel – Cornish "April"

Eilir – Welsh “butterfly” and "spring"

Eirys – Welsh “iris”

Elestren – Cornish “iris”

Esmeralda – Spanish “emerald”

Gwanwyn – Welsh “spring”

Gwaynten – Welsh “spring”

Jarilo – Slavic god of springtime, from jar "spring"

Kielo – Finnish “lily of the valley”

Laleh / Lalla – Persian “tulip”

Marzo – Spanish “March”

Nari – Korean “lily”

Nevena – Slavic “marigold” 

Pranvera  – Albanian “spring”.

Primavera – Italian/Spanish “spring”

Thalia – Greek “to blossom”

Sakura – Japanese “blossom”

Viorel / Viorica – Romanian “bluebell”

 

Name of the Week: Erica

 

 

 

Origin:

Erica (or Erika) is a feminine form of Eric/Erik, the younger form of the Old Norse Eiríkr. The first element is either the Old Norse einn "one, alone, unique," or ei "ever, always, eternity" and the second is from ríkr "ruler, mighty." Erica is also the Latin for "heather". It further serves as the botanical name for the genus as well as the common name for 'winter heather'.

Usage:

The masculine form, Erik, was prolific in Scandinavia from the early Middle Ages onwards. Dating from the 9th century onwards, there were no fewer than six Danish kings, five Norwegian kings and fourteen Swedish kings to bear the name Erik.  Some of the early Viking raiders brought the name with the over to Britain — Eric Haakonsson (960s–1020s) was not only the governor of Norway, he was also Earl of Northumberland — but it saw only limited usage here, and did not survive the Norman Conquest.  It was revived in Scotland from at least the 17th century, perhaps because of the links Scotland had with Scandinavia at the time. Though it was used in small numbers before, it only came back into popular use in England and Wales in the 19th century, inspired by Frederic Farrar's Eric: or Little by Little (1858).  As for the feminine form Erika, its usage as a name came comparatively late. According to the excellent database Nordic Names, the earliest documented use for Erika in Denmark was 1686, with the 18th century being cited for Norway and Sweden.  In Britain, Erica came into use in the 19th century, especially from late 1880s when flower names became all the rage. Due to Erica being the name for heather, it seems that it owed its use at this time just as much (if not more) to its being a botanical name, as it did to being the feminine form of Eric. The letters of correspondence to The Standard newspaper in April 1892 concerning floral names mention Erica several times. One letter even recounted, "I have a dear young friend somewhere in this country who (about eleven years ago) was christened Erica [...] Her parents, it was rumoured, had plighted their troth "Out in the sunshine, over the heather."" The name may even have been promoted by Edna Lyalls novel We Two (1884) in which the heroine was named Erica.  A breakdown of the number of registrations in E&W for Erica and Erika per decade are as follow:   Erica Erika 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 3 births 0 births 6 births 10 births 37 births 122 births 138 births 177 births 349 births 440 births 998 births 1524 births 1753 births 1 birth 0 births 0 births 0 births 1 birth 1 birth 13 births 12 births 3 births 16 births 128 births  395 births 533 births Leslie Dunkling's sample for girls named Erica and Erika in every 10,000 births are as follows:   1900 1925 1935 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 Erica        2    8    4    4   12   5    2    6    -    4 Erika   -   -    -    -    -    -    2    1    -    6    2    6 click to enlarge Since 1996, both Erica and Erika have remained quite consistent in their popularity and usage in England and Wales. Erica has remained within the top 500, while Erika has maintained a rank of between #450 and #700.  In Scotland, Erica has been marginally more popular, ranking mostly in the top 400 since 1974. It's lowest rank was #799 (2 births) in 1992 and it's highest was #186 (26 births) in 1981.  In 2015, Erica ranked #350 (134 births) in England and Wales and #236 (17 births) in Scotland.  Erika ranked #461 (94 births) in E&W and #509 (6 births) in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Erika Liebman (1738–1803), Swedish poet. * Erika Voigt (1898–1952), Danish actress. * Erika Cremer (1900–1996), German physicist. * Erika von Brockdorff (1911–1943), German resistance fighter during the Second World War. Contemporary: * Erica Jong (born 1942), American author. * Erika Alexander (born 1969), American actress. * Erykah Badu (born 1971), American singer-songwriter, record producer, activist, and actress. * Erica Atkins-Campbell (born 1972), American singer. * Erica Durance (born 1978), Canadian actress. Literature and Other Media: * Erica Kane, a long-running character on the American soap opera All My Children. * Erica Hahn, a character from the television series Grey's Anatomy.

Variants:

Erika (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian), Eerika (Finnish)

Pronunciation:

E-ree-kə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Eri, Riki

Sibling Names:

Anya     Marnie     Frida     Lois     Maxine     Briony  Ralph     Anders    Craig     Philip     Glenn     Iain

Name Lists:

Scandi Familiars

  

If you like Erica you may also like:   Viveka, Heidi, Annika, Hazel, Olive, Veronica, Heather, Monica, Danica, Hope

Thanks to Joan for requesting this name.

 

Name of the Week: Bryony

 

 

Origin:

Bryony is a botanical name, given to a wild twining hedgerow and woodland plant. There are two types: white bryony and black bryony, both of which have white flowers and bear berries. The Latin name of the plant is Bryonia, derived from the Greek βρύω (bruō) "to swell, to teem with fruit, to be full, to abound," most likely referring to the plant's ability to grow swiftly and luxuriantly.

Usage:

Bryony Brooke, 1911 census (click to enlarge) The first record of the name appears in Scotland in 1877. Briony Rebe Pearl Brooke was born on the 13th April 1877 in Falkirk to an Irish father who was a rector and English mother. Her name (as written by her father in his own hand) was spelled "Bryony" on the 1911 English census. Her sisters sported the names Myrtle Katinka Carrie Honor, Avens Selena Rebecca Amy and Orpine Lucy Saurin -- all are the names of plants -- so her parents were clearly inspired by nature.  There were no other registrations for Bryony/Briony in after that Scotland until 1912.  The first registration for Bryony in England and Wales is 1897. Bryony Murray-Morgan's birth was registered in July-September 1897 and death (under the name Briony Murray-Morgan) in October-December of the same year. [There is a transcribed record of a Bryony Kerry in 1859, but other records show that this was in fact Bryan Kerry]. As there are no other records for this child, it is impossible to tell their gender.  The name was not registered again in England and Wales until 1905; the spelling Briony was first registered in 1931. A breakdown of the number of registrations in E&W for Bryony and Briony per decade are as follow:   Bryony Briony 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1 birth 4 births 4 births 13 birth 95 births 183 births 258 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 5 births 80 births 145 births 205 births The sudden upswing in the 1940s, particularly in the spelling Briony, can be explained by the character Sister Briony in Rumer Godden's 1939 novel Black Narcissus, which was made into a film in 1947. Briony is mentioned as a name inspired by film in this newspaper article from the Essex Newsman in 1948.  Leslie Dunkling's sample for girls named Bryony in every 10,000 births are as follows: 1900 1925 1935 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990   -   -    -    -    -    -    2    2    2    -   4   14 click to enlarge Both Bryony and Briony were at a peak in 1996 ranking #129 (362 births) and #346 (99 births) respectively. Both declined after that point, and by 2009, Bryony was just outside the top 500, and Briony the top 1000.  In Scotland, Bryony had been gradually rising since 1974, peaking at #176 (24 births) in 1998. After that it declined, and has been at a plateau between #600-#700 since 2009.  In 2015, Bryony ranked #1114 (34 births) in England and Wales and #1055 (2 births) in Scotland. Briony ranked  #1711 (17 births) in England and Wales. It did not rank at all in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

Contemporary: * Bryony Lavery (b. 1947), British playwright. * Briony Behets (b. 1951), Australian actress. * Briony McRoberts (1957-2013), British actress. * Bryony Brind (b. 1960), British ballerina. * Briony Williams (b. 1965), Australian actress. * Bryony Worthington, Baroness Worthington (b. 1971), British environmental campaigner and Labour life peer in the House of Lords. * Bryony Gordon (b. 1980), British journalist.  * Bryony Afferson (b. 1983), British actress. * Briony Cole (b. 1983), Australian Olympic diver.  * Bryony Shaw (b. 1983), British Olympic windsurfer. * Bryony Hannah (1984), British actress. * Briony Stewart (b. 1984), Australian novelist and illustrator. * Bryony Page (b. 1990), British individual trampolinist. Literature and Other Media: * Briony Tallis, character in Ian McEwan's "Atonement" * Briony Campbell, character on soap "EastEnders" * Briony Eddon, character in Tad William's "Shadowmarch" * Bryony, mouse character in Brian Jacques' "Outcast of Redwall"

Variants:

Briony, Bryonie

Pronunciation:

BRĪ-ə-nee [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Bry, Bree, Bee, Binny

Sibling Names:

Tamsin     Willa     Cassia     Rhiannon     Fiona     Zara  Alistair     Rowan    Lorcan     Finnian     Ellis     Tristan

Name Lists:

N/A

  

If you like Bryony you may also like:   Betony, Clover, Briar, Calla, Tamara, Robyn, Bethan, Felicity, Amara, Sidonie, Ferne

 

Thanks to Chamali for requesting this name.

 

50 Winter Inspired Names

 

 

Today is the first day of winter in Britain for 2016; a season where both the sky and the ground turn a crisp white, frost settles, snow (sometimes) falls, and there is a haunting beauty to the landscape, all of which bring to mind a whole host of fabulous names which are associated with this season.

Here are 50 choices inspired by this season:

 

Winter – Although nowhere near as popular as seasons Summer and Autumn in the world of names, elegant Winter has been marching up ranks in the last few years. Back in 2010 it ranked #2392 (10 births) and has risen ever since to #674 (60 births) in 2015. A seasonal twist on literary Harper. 

Snow – With Once Upon a Time putting Snow (a nickname for Snow White) to the forefront as a given name, it's no wonder that Snow is getting more and more usage. 

Oak – In the winter solstice, the Oak King was thought to defeat the Holly King signifying the bringing in of the lighter days. As such, the oak tree is a classic winter plant. 

Holly – A common image during winter months. In the Roman winter festival of Saturnalia, holly was sacred to Saturn. It was used to decorate halls and homes, even images of Saturn himself, and holly wreaths were given as gifts.

Ivy – An evergreen plant which has been used to decorate houses during winter-time for centuries.

Frost – A word associated with the winter months and embodied in the image of Jack Frost, the personification of ice, sleet, snow, ice

Robin – Whilst so many other British birds have migrated for the winter, robins, with their red breasts highlighted against the snow, are a familiar sight in winter yet are rarely seen in summertime when they are moulting. Their song is at its strongest at the end of December when males and females have paired up. 

Douglas / Fraser – popular varieties of pine which flourish in winter and are often used as Christmas trees.

 

Other languages:

Alban / Albus / Alba – Latin “white”

Alon/Elon / Alona – Hebrew “oak”

Ametza – Basque “oak”

Aneira – Welsh “(much) snow”

Baila – Yiddish “white”

Běla – Czech “white”

Beyza – Turkish “white”

Bianca – Italian “white”

Blanca – Spanish “white”

Blanche – Medieval French “white”

Bora – Albanian “snow”

Candida – Latin “bright white”

Celyn – Welsh “holly”

Chione – Greek goddess of snow

Edera – Italian “ivy”

Edur – Basque “snow”

Eira – Welsh “snow”

Eirlys – Welsh “snowdrop”

Eirwen – Welsh “snow white”

Endzela – Georgian “snowdrop”

Enero – Spanish “January”

Gwyneira – Welsh “snow white”

Hollis – Old English “dweller by holly trees”

Janeiro – Portuguese “January”

Kelynen – Cornish “holly”

Kerzu – Breton “December”

Lierre – French “ivy”

Li Xue / Xue – Chinese “pretty snow”

Livna – Hebrew “white”

Lumi – Finnish “snow”

Neve – Italian “snow”

Nieve – Spanish “snow”

Nieves – Spanish “snows”. From title of the Virgin Mary Nuestra Señora de las Nieves meaning "Our Lady of the Snows".

Oakley – Old English “oak field”

Whitaker – Old English “white field”

Zima – Slavic “winter”

Zuriñe – Basque “white”

 

Name of the Week: Holly

 

 

Origin:

Holly is an evergreen shrub, native to Europe, which is one of the few plants to bear fruit in wintertime. Due to this, the plant has a strong association with winter and Christmas-time.  The association dates back to the Roman festival of Saturnalia, in which the holly was sacred to the god Saturn, and was used to decorate halls and homes, even images of Saturn himself. Holly wreaths were given as gifts.  Similarly, the Ancient Celts revered the Holly King, who ruled the winter months from the summer solstice up until the winter solstice. The Winter Solstice marked the changeover from the Holly King's rule (the waning year) to the Oak King's (the waxing year).  Holly has been also used as a Christmas decoration in Britain for centuries. Today it is found most commonly in holly boughs or wreaths. In some parts of England the old custom dictated that holly be left up in the house until Candlemas in February. To take it down earlier was considered unlucky. This tradition relates back to the ancient practice of bringing evergreen plants indoors to give shelter to the spirits of nature who would bless the home. In many parts of Europe the holly's evergreen properties were thought to ward off evil spirits, and so was used to decorate doorways and window-frames.  In some traditions in Britain, certain types of holly was referred to as "he" or "she". Prickly leaves were considered to be male, while smooth leaves were female. The type of leaf that was brought into the home first at Christmastime was considered to determine whether the man or the woman would rule the home in the new year.  The common name of holly derives from the Old English holegn "holly," from Proto-Germanic *hulin-, cognate with the Welsh celyn and Gaelic cuilionn "holly." The most likely source of these is the Proto-Indo-European root *kel- "to prick," in reference to the plant's leaves.  In Victorian floriography, the holly represented foresight.  The surname Holly/Holley derives from three different sources: the habitational surname from the Old English hol and lēah meaning "dweller by the clearing in the hollow"; the descriptive hol-ēage "hollow-eye"; and also (along with Hollis, Hollins and Holling) from Old English holegn itself meaning "dweller by the holly."

Usage:

Holly was first used as a given name in the 17th century. It was unisex in use, most likely thanks to adoption of the surname Holly.  It continued to be used as a unisex name in the 19th century. However, as most births in England and Wales for Holly from 1838 were registered mostly in the Jan-Mar quarter, followed by the Oct-Dec quarter, this suggests that the inspiration for the name was increasingly the holly shrub and its strong winter associations. If a child at this time had been born at Christmas, the name would not likely have appeared in the official register until January, explaining the high number of births in the January-March quarter.  As the 19th century progressed, the name became used more and more for girls as a first name, as UK census records show: 1841: 4 male; 8 female 1851: 4 male; 5 female 1861: 4 male; 3 female 1871: 9 male; 34 female 1881: 10 male; 49 female 1891: 31 male; 113 female 1901: 50 male; 159 female Births for Holly in England and Wales show how it reached a peak in the 1890 to 1910: a period when botanical names where at the height of fashion.  1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s:  1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 4 births 1 birth 8 births 27 births 83 births 177 births 218 births 156 births 65 births 13 births 36 births 71 births 210 births This corresponds to Leslie Dunkling's sample for girls named Holly and Hollie in every 10,000 births:   1900 1925 1935 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 Holly   1   2    -    -    -    -    -    -    7    6   56   82 Hollie   -   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -   20   26 The revamp in the 1960s may well have been influenced by the film Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) staring Audrey Hepburn as iconic character Holly Golightly. Holly first entered the top 100 in England and Wales in 1984 at #59, rising to #22 in 1994 when the spelling Hollie also ranked #72.  Since that time, both Holly and Hollie have stayed in the top 100. Holly peaked in 2002 at #12 and Hollie peaked at #54 in 2012.  In 2015, Holly ranked #44 (1248 births) and Hollie ranked #94 (589 births) in England and Wales. With all the variant spellings added together, Holly et al ranked #35 overall.  Since 1996, Holly has ranked in the top 5 names in England and Wales for December: Dec 1996: #2; Dec 1997: #2; Dec 1998: #4; Dec 1999: #2; Dec 2000: #2; Dec 2001: #1; Dec 2002: #1; Dec 2003: #1; Dec 2004: #1; Dec 2005: #1; Dec 2006: #1; Dec 2007: #1; Dec 2008: #1; Dec 2009: #1; Dec 2010: #1; Dec 2011: #2; Dec 2012: #3; Dec 2013: #5; Dec 2014: #5 In Scotland, Holly was first in the top 100 in 1985 at #91 and Hollie reached #92 in 1992. Holly peaked in 2002 at #15 (320 births) and Hollie peaked in 2014 at #42 (113 births). In 2015, Holly ranked #31 (157 births) and Hollie ranked #42 (112 births).

Famous Bearers:

Contemporary: * Holly Hunter (b. 1958), American actress. * Holly Robinson Peete (b. 1964), American actress, singer and author. * Holly Black (b. 1971), American writer. * Holly Marie Combs (b. 1973), American actress. * Holly Willoughby (b. 1981), British television presenter. * Holly Valance (b. 1983), Australian actress, singer and model. Literature and Other Media: * Holly Golightly, the heroine in Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958), made into a film starring Audrey Hepburn in 1961. * Holly Short, a character in the Artemis Fowl children's book series. * Holly Kennedy, the main character in Cecila Ahern's Novel PS, I Love You (2004), later made into a film starring Hilary Swank.

Variants:

Hollie, Holley, Holli

Pronunciation:

HOL-ee [key]

Possible  longer forms:

Holliday, Hippolyta, Holda, Yolantha, Iolanthe

Sibling Names:

Lucy     Megan     Amy     Grace     Chloe     Emily  Jack     George     Luke     Adam     Lewis     Max

Name Lists:

Arboreal Names

  

If you like Holly you may also like:   Ebony, Ivy, Amber, Molly, Lily, Zoe, Bethany, Georgia, Robyn, Sophie

 

Name of the Week: Rowan

 

 

Origin:

Rowan is a name that derives from several sources: The rowan tree (or 'mountain ash') are small deciduous trees native to the temperate northern hemisphere which bear small red berries. For thousands of years rowans have been regarded as sacred and protective trees against harm or evil. The name Rowan comes from Scandinavian influence -- Norwegian rogn, Danish røn, Swedish rönn -- ultimately from the ancient Norse rėyðni-r. The likely source is the Proto-Indo-European *reudh- "red" in reference to the tree's berries, probably via the Germanic verb *raud-inan "to make red" thanks to the use of the berries and bark to dye cloth.  Rowan is also found as a surname: The English surname Rowan, Rowen, Roan, Rone derive from Rouen in France, brought over to Britain by the Normans.  The Scottish surname derives from places named Roan (Ayr, Berwick, Roxburgh), derived from the Middle English rone "thicket, undergrowth." The Irish surname is an anglicised form of O'Ruadhain, meaning "descendant of Ruadhán." Ruadhán itself (also anglicised as Rowan) derives from the Old Irish ruad "red, red-haired" with the diminutive suffix -án. St. Ruadhán / St. Rowan (d.584) is considered one of the "Twelve Apostles of Ireland".

Usage:

Rowan has been used as a given name since the 16th century thanks to the adoption of the surname as a given name. As such, it was most used for boys, though there are a handful of examples of it in use for girls, which increased in the 19th century thanks to the use of Rowena.  Data from the 1881 census shows that Rowan, Rowen and Roan were used as given names in the same areas where the corresponding surnames were in the highest use, particularly in Lanarkshire and the surrounding counties in West Scotland.  Births in England and Wales demonstrate the name's rare usage in the 19th century, but surged in use by the 1940s. It was initially predominantly masculine in use, but was used almost as much for girls as boys by the 1970s, sometimes in the feminised form Rowanne.  Registered births per decade in England and Wales: 1840s: 1850s:  1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s:  0 birth 1 birth 1 birth 2 births 3 births 7 births 9 births 10 births 21 births 27 births 121 births 213 births 324 births 543 births Since 1996, Rowan for girls has remained very steady in use in England and Wales, ranking between #450-#700 with 50-100 births per year. For boys, Rowan has been steadily rising in use up the top 200 over in the last two decades, having ranked #188 (172 births) in 1996, reaching #143 (322 births) in 2007, and #127 (502 births) by 2014.  In Scotland, since 1974, Rowan has been more common for girls in general. Initially, up until 1995, more girls were given the name each year, though it often ranked higher for boys due to the wider number of girls' names registered. For example:   Rowan Rowan 1974: 1979:  1983: 1988:  1992: 1996: #271 (4 births) #296 (3 births) #369 (2 births) #295 (4 births) #256 (7 births) #207 (12 births) #444 (4 births) #335 (8 births) #323 (8 births) #511 (4 births) #257 (16 births) #206 (20 births) Since 1997, Rowan has ranked consistently within the top 200, though popularity fluctuates. For boys, usage has been more sporadic, ranging from #364 (9 births) in 2011 to #148 (28 births) in 1998.  In 2015, Rowan for boys ranked #111 (572 births) in England and Wales and #213 (23 births) in Scotland. Rowan for girls ranked #625 (66 births) in E&W and #109 (43 births) in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * St. Ruadhán  (d.584), one of the "Twelve Apostles of Ireland". Contemporary: * Rowan Williams (b. 1950), Archbishop of Canterbury. * Rowan Atkinson (b. 1955), English actor, comedian, and screenwriter. * Rowan Blanchard (b. 2001), American actress. Literature and Other Media: * Rowan Mayfair, principle character in the Mayfair Chronicles by Anne Rice

Variants:

Rowen, Roan, Ruadhán

Pronunciation:

RŌ-ən [key]

Possible diminutives:

Row, Ron

Sibling Names:

Freya     Carys     Autumn     Eloise     Seren     Pippa  Flynn     Noah     Theodore     Finlay     Jasper     Lucas

Name Lists:

Slim Softies  Arboreal Names

 

If you like Rowan you may also like:    Roman, Jowan, Ruben, Asher, Soren, Willem, Dominic, Lachlan, Wesley, Silas

 

Thanks to Sam for requesting this post.

Name of the Week: River

 

 

Origin:

River is a name adopted directly from nature. The word river has been used in English since the 13th century, adopted from the Anglo-French rivere, Old French riviere "river, riverside, river bank" and ultimately the Latin riparius "of a riverbank." The similar Rivers comes from the surname, which ultimately derives from places in France called La Rivière. In some cases, it may have referred (in English) to someone who dwelt by a river.

Usage:

River and Rivers have been used as given names since the 18th century. In the case of Rivers, this was thanks to adoption of the surname. It was mostly given to boys, but -- as a family surname -- was occasionally given to girls. River itself was most often used by families with the surname Jordan, or Jordan was adopted as a middle name, and thus the name gained biblical connotations. In some other cases, River was paired with the surname Banks -- the Victorians really did like cliché surname-firstnname combinations. As far as I can find, only boys were given the name River in the 18th and 19th century.  Registered births per decade in England and Wales:   River Rivers 1840s: 1850s:  1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s:  1980s: 1 birth 4 births 6 births 0 births 5 births 1 birth 2 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 1 birth 1 birth 3 births 7 births 6 births 12 births 9 births 11 births 6 births 12 births 3 births 6 births 3 births 1 birth 0 births 1 birth 0 births 0 births click to enlarge Since the 1990s, River has been rising for both genders in England and Wales. Actor River Phoenix had been hot-property in Hollywood by the late 80s, and his death in 1993 took the media spotlight. For boys, River stayed consistently around the #1000 mark up until 2005 when it gradually began rising up the ranks, reaching #479 (80 births) in 2013.  For girls, River struggled to make the rankings in the 1990s and only managed to crack the top 2000 names in 2006. After that, however, it began to rose and ranked #684 (58 births) in 2013. In 2014, however, the gender usage took a switch, with River rising up to #383 (116 births) for girls but River for boys dropping down to #566 (63 births). Some of this may be down to Alex Kingston's character River Song as the wife of Doctor Who, appearing in episodes from 2008, but having particularly notable roles in 2011 and 2012.  As of 2015, River has established itself firmly as a unisex name with a mere two births between the number of boys and number of girls to receive the name. River for girls ranked #410 with 110 births and River for boys ranked #393 with 108 births.  In Scotland, River was solidly unisex from 2005 to 2013, with the name given to both boys and girls between 1-3 times per year per gender. Since 2014, it has risen for girls in use, ranking #379 (9 births) for girls and #1234 (1 birth) for boys in 2015.  Most recently, Jamie Oliver and wife Jools welcomed their youngest son whom they have named River Rocket (or River Rocket Blue Dallas Oliver in full, apparently). Will this be enough to shift River back into the boys' camp?

Famous Bearers:

Contemporary: * River Phoenix (1970–1993), American actor. * River George (b. 1987), British actress. * River Viiperi (b. 1991), Spanish-Finnish male model Literature and Other Media: * River Song, character in the television series Doctor Who (2008-2015). * River Tam, character in the television series Firefly (2002-2005)

Variants:

Rivers

Pronunciation:

RIV-ə [key]

Possible diminutives:

Rev

Sibling Names:

Willow     Hazel     Cassia     Juniper     India     Eden  Sawyer     August     Heath     Wyatt     Archer     Jesse

Name Lists:

N/A

 

If you like River you may also like:    Rowan, Forrest, Grayson, Ryker, Atlas, Caelan, Ronan, Nate, Kit, Micah

 

Thanks to Amy for requesting this post.

Name of the Week: Seren

 

 

Origin:

Seren is a Welsh name, taken from the vocabulary word seren "star." The word was adopted as a given name in the mid 20th century. Prior to that, an obscure Welsh name Saeran was borne by an early Welsh saint. Little is known of St Saeran other than he was the son of Geraint Saer of Ireland. Sear meant "carpenter, wright, artisan" in Old Welsh. With the diminutive suffix -an Saeran essentially meant "Sear the younger." Serin is also the name of a small European finch, closely related to the canary. The scientific name Serinus serinus is thought to derive from the French name for the canary, serin, which itself is thought to be a corruption of the Latin citrinus "lemon-like (coloured)".

Usage:

Despite being the name of an early Welsh saint to whom a church is dedicated in Llanynys, Denbighshire, I can find no evidence that Saeran was ever used as a given name in Wales or Britain in general.  Seren itself was first registered in England and Wales in the late 1940s. It was rare at first but gradually increased in usage by the 1990s as birth registrations in England and Wales show: 1940s: 1 birth 1950s: 6 births 1960s: 13 births 1970s: 14 births 1980s: 57 births Middle names (such as Seren Thomas in 1988 and Seren Anthony in 1989) suggest that, initially, it was a unisex name. Since 1996, Seren has ranked five times for boys in England and Wales: 1997 (3 births), 2001 (6 births), 2002 (3 births), 2005 (3 births) and 2013 (3 births). [To rank, a name needs 3 births or more that year]. click to enlarge By 1996, Seren had become an established name -- particularly in native Wales -- ranking #539 (46 births) overall. It first hit the top 100 in Wales in 1997 at #90 (37 births). In England that year, on the other hand, it only ranked #1237 (14 births), giving it a combined rank of #520.  Over he following decade, Seren raced up the charts, particularly in Wales but also as well in England though not as dramatically.  In 2007, Seren reached #7 (222 births) in Wales and #328 in England [#156 combined]. It peaked in 2009 at #3 (256 births) in Wales, and at #149 (335 births) in England in 2013.  In 2014, Seren ranked #11 (142 births) in Wales and #161 (326 births) in England [#119 combined.  In Scotland, Seren ranked #236 (17 births) in 2015.

Famous Bearers:

Contemporary: * Seren Haf Gibson (b.1988), Welsh glamour model. * Seren Bundy-Davies (b. 1994), Welsh track and field sprinter Other: * Seren Gomer, the first Welsh-language weekly newspaper. * Seren Books, a Welsh publishing house.

Variants:

Seran, Serin

Pronunciation:

SE-rən [key]

Possible  longer forms:

Serenity, Serena, Seraphina

Sibling Names:

Freya     Carys     Mali     Eleri     Nia     Lois      Dylan     Lucas     Max     Rhys     Elis     Cai

Name Lists:

Cosy Celtic

  

If you like Seren you may also like:   Megan, Sienna, Ffion, Elin, Aderyn, Briallen, Eirys, Rhian, Fearne, Bethan

 

Thanks to Amy for requesting this post.