British Baby Names

Name of the Week: Rupert

 

 

Origin:

Rupert is the English form of Ruprecht which is itself the German form of Robert. Both derive from the Old High German name Hrodberht, from hrod- "fame, glory," and -berht "bright."

Usage:

Ruprecht itself can be found in use in Germany from the early Middle Ages, and like Robert in Britain, it was a fairly common name borne by saints and royalty. The latinised Rupertus can also be found be found alongside Robertus in French documents in the 11th century.  Two notable German saints to bear the name were Saint Rupert of Salzburg (c. 660–710) and Saint Rupert of Bingen (712–732), while Rupert of the Palatinate (1352–1410) was King of Germany.  Despite these namesakes, and its common use in Germany, the name never picked up use in medieval Britain. Why would it? We were happily using the cognate Robert which had been brought over by the Normans where it reinforced the Old English Hreodbeorht.  It wasn't until the 17th century, and the arrival of Prince Rupert of the Rhine (1619–1682) to our shores, that Rupert began to pick up use in Britain. Named after the 14th century King Rupert, Prince Rupert was the son of Frederick V, Elector Palatine and Elizabeth Stuart, sister of King Charles I. Rupert was a true Renaissance man: general, admiral, scientist, sportsman and colonial governor. He was, and still is, most famous for his prominent role as a Royalist commander during the English Civil War and was considered a Royalist icon. The name was used by his many admirers.  click to enlarge Even in 1881, we find that Rupert was most common in areas where Prince Rupert had had some involvement, such as Staffordshire and Buckinghamshire, where Rupert is known to have had military involvement during the Civil War. It was rare in Scotland and Wales which, for obvious reasons, didn't have the same links to the English Civil War. The name was never wildly popular,  however. Robert -- a name by which was also known by his contemporaries -- continually remained the dominant form in Britain. During the late 19th century, Rupert consistently ranked in the third quarter of the top 200 in England and Wales: 1860: #226 1870: #194 1880: #124 1890: #140  1900: #147 Registered births per decade in England and Wales: 1840s: 1850s:  1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s:  116 births 187 births 272 birth 659 births 1470 births 1556 births 1538 births 1145 births 674 births 310 births 334 births 604 births 1728 births 1395 births Throughout the 20th century, one of the most enduring images for the name is that of Rupert Bear, a children's comic strip character created by the English artist Mary Tourtel in 1920 that later became the subject of many children's books from 1928 onwards and four television series (1967-77; 1985-88; 1991-97; 2006-08).  Jilly Cooper gave the name a rakish quality when she gave the name to the central character of her Rutshire Chronicles series (1986-2016). From 1996 to 2002 in England and Wales, Rupert gradually declined from #335 (71 birth) in 1996 to its lowest point of #586 (34 births) in 2002. Since then it has been steadily rising however, taking a big leap from #500 in 2008 to #366 in 2009 and joining the top 200 again in 2014. Some of this may be thanks to the notability of several British actors on the scene during this period named Rupert such as Rupert Everett, Rupert Grint, Rupert Penry-Jones and Rupert Friend.  In 2015, Rupert ranked #143 (396 births) in England and Wales and #529 (5 births) in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Saint Rupert of Salzburg (c. 660–710), first bishop of Salzburg.  * Saint Rupert of Bingen (712–732), regarded as patron saint of pilgrims. * Rupert of the Palatinate (1352–1410), King of Germany.  * Prince Rupert of the Rhine (1619–1682), noted soldier, admiral, scientist, sportsman and colonial governor. * Rupert Brooke (1887–1915), English poet. * Rupert Davies (1916–1976), English actor. Contemporary: * Rupert Keegan (born 1955), English Formula One driver. * Rupert Everett (b. 1959), English actor. * Rupert Graves (born 1963), English actor. * Rupert Penry-Jones (born 1970), English actor. * Rupert Friend (born 1981), English actor. * Rupert Grint (born 1988), English actor. Literature and Other Media: * Rupert Bear, a cartoon bear created by Mary Tourtel. * Rupert Campbell-Black, the central character in the Rutshire Chronicles series by Jilly Cooper. * Rupert Giles, watcher on the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".

Variants:

Ruprecht (German), Roopertti (Finnish)

Pronunciation:

ROO-pət [key]

Possible diminutives:

Rue, Rhett, Rep

Sibling Names:

Felicity    Arabella     Jemima     Aurelia    Edith     Philippa  Edmund     Barnaby     Angus     Felix     Monty     Wilfred

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance  Victorian Darlings   European Royal Names  Gilbert and Sullivan Names

 

If you like Rupert you may also like:    Hugo, Ralph, Bertram, Oscar, Hector, Benedict, Rufus, Percival, Hamish, Leonard

 

Thanks to Emma for requesting this post.

Name of the Week: Clementine

 

 

Origin:

Clementine is a feminine form of Clement, an anglicised form of the Latin Clemens. In Latin clemens meant "merciful, gentle, mild" and is the basis for the word clement in English. The Romans personified clementia "calmness, gentleness" as their goddess of clemency, leniency, mercy, forgiveness and salvation. She was often depicted with her sister Justitia "justice." Clementine is also the name of a citrus fruit -- a cross between a mandarin orange and a sweet orange -- said to have been named for Father Clement Rodier, who found the species in the garden of his orphanage in Algeria.

Usage:

Clementina is attributed to an early saint -- one of the eleven thousand maidens who travelled, and were martyred, with Saint Ursula on pilgrimage to Rome. However, her name is very hard to find in most lists of saints.  We do find Clementina in use in small numbers in the Middle Ages on the Continent (particularly by royalty), but this was more likely thanks to the popularity of the cult of 1st century pope St Clement during the Middle Ages, resulting in more than forty churches being dedicated to him.  In fact, the most common feminine form to be found in medieval records in Britain was the Latin Clementia or Clemencia, but in actuality these women would have been known by the vernacular form Clemence. In George Redmonds rankings for 1377-81, comprising 1000 names from 10 English counties, Clemence ranks at #44 which he categorises as "infrequent."  Both Clement and Clemence gave rise to a bevy of derivative surnames, including Clem (a medieval pet-form), Clemm, Clemence, Clemans, Clemons, Clemmans and Clemmens.  The name Clemence continued in use right up until the 17th century. It appears in six out of sixteen decades in Smith Bannister's rank of top 50 names from 1538 to 1700 in England: 1550-9: #14; 1560-9: #22; 1570-9: #17; 1580-9: #32; 1600-9: #35; 1610-9: #39. After this date, it no longer appears in the rankings.  Clementina began to pick up usage in Britain in the 18th century. Writing in 1863, Charlotte Mary Yonge tells us that it was "rendered popular for a time in honour of the Italian lady in Sir C. Grandison." The History of Sir Charles Grandison is an epistolary novel by Samuel Richardson first published in February 1753. This may have had some impact on the name, but there are plenty of baptism records for Clementinas in Britain earlier in the 18th century.  More likely, Clementina was adopted thanks to Maria Clementina Sobieska (1702-1735), a Polish princess and wife of James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite pretender to the British throne. Certainly, even in the 19th century, we find Clementina (and Clementine) in high concentration in Scotland which had strong Jacobite links.  click to enlarge Clementine itself came into use during the 19th century, adopted from the French Clémentine, which was also in some use among European royalty. It was not as common as Clementina, as data from the 1881 census shows (right). Clementine peaked in the 1880s and contemporary newspapers at the time would suggest that this was influenced by Princess Clémentine of Orléans (1817–1907) and Princess Clémentine of Belgium (1872–1955) as they were both featured in several articles during this decade.  Births for Clementina and Clementine in England and Wales:   Clementina Clementine 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s:  1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 286 births 387 births 389 births 366 births 319 births 283 births 175 births 121 births 59 births 15 births 14 births 15 births 26 births 65 births 76 births 85 births 81 births 92 births 79 births 62 births 79 births 32 births 9 births 21 births 8 births 14 births One notable Clementine born at its peak was Clementine Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill (1885–1977), the wife of Sir Winston Churchill who was a peeress in her own right thanks to her charitable works.  Though the name Clementine had all but died out by the 1930s, the small revival in the 1940s was most likely thanks to her.  The pronunciation of Clementine is up for debate -- those -ine names can be tricky. Some pronounce Clementine to rhyme with Josephine, in the French style ("een"), while others rhyme it with Caroline (like "line" and "fine"). In general, it is pronounced KLEM-ən-teen (rhyming with Josephine) in Britain after the French, and was the pronunciation used for Baroness Spencer-Churchill. In America, however, it is commonly KLEM-ən-tīn (rhyming with Caroline), as seen in the America folk song "Oh My Darling, Clementine." Since 1996, Clementine has been steadily rising from its lowest point of #946 (22 births) in 1997. It broke the top 500 in 2010 and by 2014 ranked #415. Clementina, on the other hand, is now rare and has been given to no more than 6 babies in any given year since 1996, well below the top 3000.  In 2015, Clementine ranked #395 (116 births) in England and Wales and #806 (3 births) in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Princess Clémentine of Orléans (1817–1907), princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. * Clementine Augusta Spencer-Churchill (1848 - 1886), daughter of the sixth Duke of Marlborough and great-aunt of Winston Churchill.  * Princess Clémentine of Belgium (1872–1955), daughter of King Leopold II of Belgium. * Clementine Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill (1885–1977), the wife of Sir Winston Churchill and life peer in her own right. Contemporary: * Clémentine Célarié (b. 1957), French actress. * Clementine Ford (b. 1979), American actress. Literature and Other Media: * Clementine, the heroine of a series of children's books by Sara Pennypacker. * Clementine Kruczynski, character played by Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. * Clementine, a Muppet character on Sesame Street.

Variants:

Clemence, Clemency; Clémentine (French), Clementina (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese), Klementyna (Polish), Klementina (Slavic)

Pronunciation:

KLEM-ən-teen / KLEM-ən-tīn (English) klem-on-TEEN (French), KLEM-ən-tee-nə (German) [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Clemmie, Clem, Citty/Kitty, Mena, Minnie, Tina

Sibling Names:

Marguerite     Rosalie     Iona      Beatrice     Arabella     Margaux    Sebastian     Gabriel     Barnaby     Hugo     Maximilian     Lucian

Name Lists:

Vintage Names  Upright Elegance

  

If you like Clementine you may also like:   Evangeline, Genevieve, Vivienne, Emmeline, Christabel, Ottilie, Cosima, Letitia, Seraphina, Albertine

 

 Thanks to Lottie for requesting this name. 

Name of the Week: Diana

 

Origin:

Diana is the name of an ancient Roman goddess who presided over hunting, wild animals, women and the moon, and was associated heavily with the Greek goddess Artemis.  The name most likely comes from the same sources as Zeus, Deus and Deva: the Proto-Indo-European *deywós "(a) god," which ultimately comes from the root *dyeu- "to gleam, to shine, sky, heaven."

Usage:

Diana came into general use as a given name in Europe during the Renaissance, when a fascination with the classical world was prevalent. One famous early bearer was Bl. Diana d'Andalo (1201-1236), one of the first Dominican nuns who was born to a wealthy family of Bologna. She fought against great opposition from her family to take her vows and eventually founded a convent for her order dedicated to Saint Agnes. The name became fashionable in Europe in the late 15th and 16th century. Diane de Poitiers (1499-1566) was a renowned beauty of the age who wielded great power -- even becoming the most powerful woman in France -- as the favourite of Henri II. She became a popular subject for artists who were quick to depict her as the embodiment of the goddess Diana. As Kathleen Wellman puts it: "Diane came to embody Diana, the goddess of hunting, and to epitomize the artistic glory of the French Renaissance[...] Diane remains an especially evocative figure; she has been used to romanticize Henry II, his reign, and the French Renaissance."* In Britain, Diana was first used from the mid-16th century. Some of this may have been inspired by the fashions set by the French court and some may have been inspired by Jorge de Montemayor's pastoral romance Diana (1559) or The Seven Books of the Diana, which was a 16th century bestseller and seminal work, known to have been used as inspiration by Shakespeare.  The name appears in the most popular names of Elizabethan Norfolk at #50 and later during the Restoration Period at #35.  The name became well established among the British aristocracy, and has remained so ever since. Lady Diana Cecil (d. 1658), the daughter of the 2nd Earl of Exeter who married Henry de Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford is an early example, but she is one a litany of ladies in history answering to the title "Lady Diana." It is particularly famous for having been used generation after generation in the preeminent aristocratic Spencer family. There have been three notable Lady Diana Spencers born to this family:  * Diana Russell, Duchess of Bedford (1710–1735), wife of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford. * Lady Diana Beauclerk (1734–1808), artist and socialite, famous for her unhappy first marriage.  * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. The name was well used in the 18th and 19th century, though never wildly common. Data from the 1881 census shows that the name was well distributed across England and Wales, with interesting pockets of popularity in North-East Scotland.  By the mid-19th century, Diana began to decline in use, as births for England and Wales show: 1860: #158 (70 births) 1870: #174 (75 births) 1880: #216 (56 births) 1890: #230 (55 births) 1900: #273 (46 births) The name remained in good use among the peerage at the turn of the century, and it is perhaps thanks in part to this that the name was popularly revised in the 1930s. Lady Diana Manners (1892–1986), was a glamorous socialite who was a part of the famous intellectual  group known as the Coterie. Not only did she turn her hand to newspaper editing and column writing, she also acted on the stage, and even starred in several silent films, including the first British colour films. Her fame in the 1920s and 1930s may well have influenced new parents of that period.  In England and Wales, Diana shot to #80 by 1934, peaking at #51 in 1944 and then dropping to #79 in 1954. By 1964, Diana was out of the top 100. The French form Diane was hot on its heels when it hit the top 100 in the 1940s, surpassing Diana's success when it peaked at #9 in 1964.  Since 1996, Diana has been gradually rising in the rankings. From ranking #661 (36 births) in 1996, the name briefly spiked to #409 (77 births) in 1997 and #396 (79 births) in 1998 in the aftermath of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in August 1997.  In 2014, Diana reached #304 with 154 births, and looks set to rise further if Marvel's Wonder Woman films are a success.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Bl. Diana d'Andalo (1201-1236), one of the first Dominican nuns. * Diane de France (1538– 1619), illegitimate daughter of Henry II, King of France who was much respected in the courts of both Henri III and Henri IV.  * Lady Diana Cecil (d. 1658), Countess of Oxford. * Lady Diana Russell, Duchess of Bedford (1710–1735), wife of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford. * Lady Diana Beauclerk (1734–1808), artist and socialite, famous for her unhappy first marriage.  * Lady Diana Manners (1892–1986), socialite, actress and author. * Diana Dors (1931–1984), British actress. Contemporary: * Diana Athill OBE (b.1917), British literary editor, novelist and memoirist. * Dame Diana Rigg (b. 1938), British actress.  * Diana Ross (1944), American singer and actress. * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. * Dianna Agron (b. 1986), American actress. Literature and Other Media: * Diana Capilet, a character in Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well (1604/5). * Diana Rivers, a character in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (1849). * Diana Parker, heroine of Jane Austen's final unfished novel Sanditon (1817) * Princess Diana of Themyscira /Diana Prince, the name of Marvel superhero 'Wonderwoman' * Diana, 1559 pastoral romance by Jorge de Montemayor. * Diana, a British comics series targeted at young girls, published by D. C. Thomson & Co. from 1963 to 1976. Other: * 78 Diana, an asteroid. * Diana, a crater on the Moon

Variants:

Dianna, Diane (French), Dijana (Slavic)

Pronunciation:

dī-AN-ə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Di, Didi, Dee, Anna, Annie, Danni

Sibling Names:

Helena     Sylvia     Arabella     Julia     Marianne     Louise  Richard     Martin     Stephen     Francis     Andrew     Patrick

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance  Gods and Goddesses  Gorgeously Georgian  Jane Austen Names  Bronte Names  Gilbert & Sullivan Names  Names of Roses

  

If you like Diana you may also like:   Araminta, Dinah, Athena, Dido, Bianca, Clarissa, Lavinia, Cecilia, Dhyana, Cynthia

 

 Thanks to Arabella for requesting this name. 

Name of the Week: Antonia

 

Origin:

Antonia is Latin name -- the feminine form of Antonius -- originally given to women born to the Roman gens Antonia, a family which grew to prominence in the first century BC. The origins of the name are not clear. Traditionally the gens derived their descent from Anton, a son of the demi-god Hercules, attributing to themselves a divine ancestor -- a common move in the aspiring families of Republican Rome. However, most likely, Antonius derives from the place of Antium, a great city in Latium south of Rome, which was written as Antion (Άντιον) in Ancient Greek. Alternatively, it may derive from the Latin ante "before," perhaps originally referring to a premature child.

Usage:

Being such a prominent gens, bearers of the names Antonius and Antonia is ancient Rome are numerous. The most famous member of the family is Marcus Antonius -- or Mark Antony to us -- who propelled the influence of the family to the rival the Julii. Mark Antony himself had no fewer than three daughters named Antonia: Antonia Prima, Antonia Major ("the elder") and Antonia Minor ("the younger"). All three women made influential marriages, becoming the grandmothers of emperors and queens.  The influence of the gens led to Antonius becoming a common name during the Roman Empire and later Byzantine Empire. It was borne by numerous saints, the most famous of which was Saint Antony the Great (251-356) who became much venerated in the Middle Ages from the time of the Crusades and was the popular subject of art and much invoked for healing.  This veneration launched the use of the name in Britain in the Middle Ages, augmented by the popularity of St. Anthony of Padua (1195 - 1231), who was a favoured disciple of St. Francis of Assisi.  Antony (or Anthony from the 16th century) was not very common at first, though it did lead to the surnames Anthony, Anthoney and Anthonies. It grew much more common in the 16th century, however; Smith-Bannister's top 50 rankings for 1538-1700 has Anthony ranking within the top 30 consistently throughout this period, peaking at #10 in the 1580s.  During this period, the feminine form of Anthony (or Anthonye) was not Antonia, or even the French Antoinette; the vernacular form of Antonia in Britain was Anthony. This puts Anthony in the same company as Philip, Julian and Nicholas -- late medieval unisex names in which the masculine and feminine vernacular forms were the same. Baptism records for Antonia in the 16th and 17th century are most often Latinisations or daughters born to European-immigrant (often Spanish or German-speaking) parents.  The form Antonia didn't come back into use in the 18th century in Britain. It featured as the name of the heroine in Matthew Lewis' widely popular Gothic novel The Monk (1769) and was in use among the royal houses of Europe -- Marie Antoinette (a Prussian princess born 'Maria Antonia') was one of the most famous examples.  Despite this however, the name was uncommon throughout the 19th century, as birth registrations per decade in England and Wales show: 1840s: 21 births 1850s: 40 births 1860s: 49 births 1870s: 47 births 1880s: 54 births 1890s: 86 births 1900s: 138 births Antonia continued to be used under the radar for much of the 20th century. However, curiously, short-from Toni took on a life of it's own and became moderately popular as Dunkling's data for the number of children registered with the name Antonia in every 10,000 births in England and Wales demonstrates:    1900 1925  1935  1950  1955  1960  1965  1970  1975  1980  1985  1990 Antonia     -    -     -     1     -     -     4     1     -     2     4    2 Toni             2     2    12     8     -     6    18   22 Though Antonia became more common during the 1980s, it never broke into the top 100. Toni, however, ranked at #100 in both 1984 and 1994. Tony for boys had been in the top 100 individually since 1944, but fell out after 1984.  Since 1996, Toni has been on a steady decline. Less popular Antonia, also declined, but less rapidly and has actually succeeded Toni as the more popular form since 2002.  In 1996, Antonia ranked #190 with 234 births. From that point it gradually (and slightly sporadically) fell to its nadir of #538 (74 births) in 2010. Since then it has been gradually rising, reaching #315 (147 births) in 2014.  In Scotland, Antonia ranked #318 (12 births) in 2015.

Famous Bearers:

Royalty: * Antonia of Balzo (1355–1374), queen consort of Sicily. * Antonia of Württemberg (1613–1679), princess of the Duchy of Württemberg. * Marie Antoinette / Maria Antonia (1755–1793), Archduchess of Austria and Queen of France. * Antónia of Portugal (1845–1913), Infanta (princess) of the House of Braganza. * Antonia of Luxembourg (1899–1954),the last Crown Princess of Bavaria. * Antonia of Prussia (b. 1955), Duchess of Wellington, Duchess of Ciudad Rodrigo, Princess of Waterloo. History: * Julia Antonia (104 BC-after 39 BC), mother of Mark Antony. * Antonia Prima (b. 50 BC) daughter of Mark Antony. * Antonia Major (b. 39BC), daughter of Mark Antony and grandmother of Roman Emperor Nero. * Antonia Minor (b. 36 BC), daughter of Mark Antony and mother of Roman Emperor Claudius. * Antonia Tryphaena (10 BC - 55), a Princess of the Bosporan, Pontus, Cilicia, Cappadocia and a Roman Client Queen of Thrace. Granddaughter of Antonia Prima.  * Blessed Antonia of Florence (1401-1472) * Antonia Maury (1866–1952), an American astronomer. * Blessed Antonia Mesina (1919-1935) Contemporary: * Antonia Fraser (b. 1932), British historian and novelist. * Dame Antonia  Duffy, DBE (b. 1936), an English novelist, poet and Booker Prize winner, known as A. S. Byatt. * Antonia Kidman (b.1970), Australian journalist. * Antonia Thomas (b. 1986), British actress. * Antonia (Iacobescu) (b.1989), popular Romanian singer. Literature and Other Media: * Antonia, heroine in the Gothic novel The Monk (1769). Other: * 272 Antonia, an asteroid.

Variants:

Antoinette (French), Antonella, Antonietta (Italian diminutives), Antonie (Czech), Antónia (Portuguese, Slovak, Hungarian)

Pronunciation:

an-TŌ-nee-ə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Annie, Anna, Nia, Noa, Toni, Tonya, Tia

Sibling Names:

Valentina     Helena     Sabina     Tatiana     Alexandra     Claudia  Maximilian     Felix     Augustus     Magnus     Oscar     Casper

Name Lists:

Resonant Roman   Upright Elegance  Operatic Appellations  Butterfly Names

  

If you like Antonia you may also like:   Aurelia, Victoria, Marina, Renata, Clarissa, Octavia, Cecilia, Livia, Regina, Eulalia

 

 Thanks to Lottie and Bree for requesting this name. 

Name of the Week: Emma

 

Origin:

Emma is an Old Germanic name, originating as a hypocoristic form of names containing the first element ermin "whole, universal," such as Ermintrude, Ermingard and Erminhilt. Emma, and variants Imma and Ymma, quickly established themselves as given names in their own right by the tenth century.

Usage:

An early bearer of the name from the 7th century is Emma of Austrasia (d. 642), daughter of Theudebert II and wife of the Anglo-Saxon king Eadbald of Kent. The most notable early Emma -- for Britain at least -- was Emma of Normandy (c.985–1052), twice English queen consort to both King Aethelred, and his Danish successor, King Cnut. Emma was born in Normandy in around 985, the daughter of Richard I, Duke of Normandy. Her mother, Gunnora, was Richard's mistress and, later, his second wife; his first had also been named Emma -- Emma of Paris (943–968) who died childless many years before Emma's birth. It is hard for us in modern times to reconcile the idea of having the same name as your father's deceased first wife, but it clearly didn't bother the medieval mind, and is perhaps testament to how common the name was for the Normans. When she arrived in England to be married to Aethelred, however, Emma was promptly given the "English" name Aelfgifu. Confusingly, it just so happened that Aelfgifu had been the name of Aethelred's first wife, and one of his daughters (yet again Emma received the name of a former wife). Although there were no etymological links between the names, "Aelfgifu" was as common to the English as "Emma" was to the Normans.  Emma and Cnut present a cross to Hyde Abbey. The lettering says ÆLFGYFV REGINA and CNVT REX Emma bore Aethelred three children and, though Aethelred already had at least nine children by his first marriage, Emma fought like a lioness to get her children good positions. This was a period of heavy raiding from Scandinavia and Aethelred struggled to keep hold of his kingdom under the Viking onslaught. In 1015, Cnut the Great, a Danish prince, invaded England and the English just couldn't hold out against his armies. Aethelred died in April 1016, and his eldest surviving son Edmund became king (despite the efforts of Emma to have her eldest son, Edward, made heir). However, Edmund died that November after being defeated comprehensively by the Danes, leaving Cnut as king.  As Cnut was keen to have all rival claimants to the throne removed, Emma stepped in to protect her children by marrying Cnut herself, ensuring her children's safety in Normandy. Through her marriage, Emma was once again Queen of England, and later Queen of Denmark and Norway. When, Cnut died, Emma once again stepped in to promote her children. She ensured that her son with Cnut, Harthacnut, became king of Denmark, and acted as regent of Wessex on his behalf in England. She also invited her eldest son, Edward, over from Normandy in an attempt to oust power away from her step-son Harold Harefoot. Needless to say, after much political wrangling, Emma succeeded in instating both her son Harthacnut as king of England, followed by her son Edward, whom we now know as Saint Edward the Confessor.  It is difficult to assess the impact that Emma herself had on the name Emma in England, as all the citations for the name in common use date from after the Norman Conquest when Emma''s great nephew, William the Conqueror, established the widespread dominance of Norman culture and language in England.  Also, for much of her time as Queen Consort, both to Aethelred and Cnut, Emma was known as Aelfgifu (see image right). The Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE) have 52 citations for Emma's recorded name. Of those, only 18 are spellings are of Emma/Imma/Ymma and most of these come from Emma's own biography Encomium Emmae Reginae which she commissioned herself after Cnut's death. The rest are all spellings of Aelfgifu or "Aelfgifu Emma." It may be that being known as Aelfgifu Emma helped pave the way for the name before the Norman Conquest. Equally her impact may have been very little, and the name subsequently became common thanks to the influx of Norman noblemen who flocked to England after the conquest. The Domesday Survey shows that by 1086, 48.5% of English land was in the hands of Norman barons, with only 5.5% owned by English lords.  What we can at least argue is that, without Emma, the Norman invasion may never have happened. It was actually thanks to Emma that William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy had a claim to the English throne -- something which is often overlooked in the history books. Emma was William's great aunt and therefore he was Edward's first cousin once removed. So, if only in a roundabout way, we can credit Queen Aelfgifu Emma with bringing the name Emma to Britain.  A cousin and close friend of William I, William FitzOsbern, became one of these great Norman magnates. His daughter Emma de Guader, Countess of Norfolk (1059 -1096) is also known for her strong character, having defended Norwich Castle when it was under siege for three months while her husband was away, negotiating safe passage for herself and her troops when the castle was eventually seized. Later she accompanied her husband of the First Crusade.  Redmond puts Emma at #7 in his rankings from ten English counties in 1377-1381, which he classifies as "Very Popular." During this period, the vernacular English form appears to have been Em/Emm/Emme* (with Emma/Imma as the Latinised form). This gained the diminutive ending -ot creating Emmot, which was not an uncommon name during the Middle Ages (often interchanged with Emma itself), and led the the creation of the surname Emmett.  Smith Bannister's rank of top 50 names from 1538 to 1670 in England shows Emma/Emme ranking in 9 out of 16 decades:  1538-49: #30; 1550-9: #24; 1560-9: #29; 1570-9: #23; 1580-9: #42; 1590-9: #32; 1600-9: #47; 1610-9: #44; 1640-9: #43.  Emmat, separately, also ranks twice in this data: 1550-9: #33; 1590-9: #36.  Emma was also the 31st most common name in Elizabethan Norfolk and the 27th most common during the Restoration Period.  Moving into the 18th century, latinised forms became more popular. Maud gave way to Matilda, Joan to Joanna and Emm to Emma. Many sources credit Matthew Prior's poem Henry and Emma (1709) with reviving the name. This was perhaps a factor in increasing its use, however, Dunkling's rankings for England and Wales shows that Emma ranked at #40 in 1700 and again a century later in 1800, showing a consistency of the name's use both before and after the poem's publication.  The name maintained its popularity right through the 19th century, gradually declining by the end of the century. This article from 1892 mentions the decline in "good old family appellatives" such as Amelia, Charlotte, Caroline, Emma, Harriet, Julia and Matilda which had previously been Georgian and Regency favourites.  Data from the Surname Atlas (click to enlarge) Data from the 1881 census shows that Emma was most common in England, particularly in the South, but had limited use in Scotland.  Rankings for the name Emma in England and Wales were as follows: 1850: #7 (according to Lesie Dunkling's ranks) 1860: #6 1870: #9 1880: #14 1890: #21 1900: #36 1904: #51 1914: #79 **Out of the top 100 for six decades** 1974: #4 1984: #4  1994: #10 After falling out of the top 100 after 1914, Emma made a dramatic comeback in the 1970s, when it ranked #4  in both 1974 and a decade later in 1984. It is very difficult to believe that Emma wasn't #1 at least once between '74 and '84, but unfortunately there is no official data for us to be completely sure. Leslie Dunkling's data for the number of girls registered with the name Emma in every 10,000 births in England and Wales, however, has the name peaking around 1980, and actually lists it with the highest number for all girls that year (suggesting it was, in fact, #1):  1900 1925  1935 1950 1955 1960  1965  1970  1975  1980  1985  1990   67     8     2    2    -    -     20   114   283   362   246   266 This data also shows that the name began to rise in the mid 1960s. Some of this may be thanks to the popularity of the television show The Avengers which featured Diana Rigg in the role of feisty pin-up Emma Peel from 1965-68.  click to enlarge Having been in the top 10 in England and Wales from 1974 to 1994, Emma has been on a steady decline since, falling out of the top 50 in 2013.  In Scotland, Emma was a little later to take off. It was only #76 there in 1900 and had fallen out of the top 100 by 1950. By 1974 (when it was #4 in England), it had risen to #41. It grew from strength-to-strength after that, however, reaching #5 in 1981 and was #1 in 1990-93, 1996-97 and 2003-04. After 2010 it fell back out of the top 10 once more.  In 2014, Emma ranked #57 (1071 births) in England and Wales. In 2015, Emma ranked #16 (224 births) in Scotland and #20 (104 births) in Northern Ireland.  Emma is also popular around the world ranking #1 currently in America, Belgium, Denmark, France and Norway; #2 in Canada, the Netherlands and Switzerland; #3 in Ireland; #4 in Austria and Italy; #5 in Finland; #6 in Hungary and Iceland.

Famous Bearers:

Royalty: * Emma of Austrasia (d. 642), daughter of Theudebert II and wife of Eadbald of Kent. * Emma of Normandy (c.985–1052), twice Queen consort of the Kingdom of England by marriage. * Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1858–1934), Queen consort of William III of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. * Emma of Hawaii (1836–1885), queen consort of King Kamehameha IV. History: * Saint Emma of Gurk (c. 980–1045) a noblewoman and founder of religious houses in Austria. * Emma de Guader (1059 -1096), Countess of Norfolk.  * Emma Willard (1787–1870), an American women's rights activist who dedicated her life to education. * Emma Sandys (1843–1877), a 19th-century British painter. * Emma Lazarus (1849–1887), American poet. * Emma Churchill (1862–1957), founder of the Salvation Army in Newfoundland. Contemporary: * Emma Bonino (b. 1948), Italian politician and human rights activist. * Emma Thompson (b. 1959), award-winning British actress and screenwriter * Emma Bunton (b. 1976), British singer and a member of the Spice Girls. * Emma Willis (b. 1976), British television and radio presenter. * Emily "Emma" Stone (b. 1988), American actress. * Emma Watson (b. 1990), British actress. * Emma Roberts (b. 1991), American actress and singer. Literature and Other Media: * Emma Woodhouse, principle character in Jane Austen's novel Emma (1815). * Henry and Emma, a 1709 poem by Matthew Prior. * Emma Peel, fictional spy played by Diana Rigg in the British 1960s television series The Avengers. * Emma Swan, protagonist in the Once Upon a Time television series. * Emma Frost, Marvel comic book character. * Emma Pillsbury, a character in American television series Glee. Other: * HMS Queen Emma, a troopship of the Royal Navy during the Second World War

Variants:

Ema (Spanish, Portuguese, Slavic)

Pronunciation:

EM-ə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Em, Emmy

Sibling Names:

Charlotte     Lucy     Alice     Isabel     Amelia     Grace  Matthew     Jack     Luke     Harry     Samuel     Daniel

Name Lists:

Medieval Favourites  Terrifically Tudor   Gorgeously Georgian  British Royalty   European Royalty  Jane Austen Names  Dickensian Names  Bronte Names  Names of Roses

  

If you like Emma you may also like:   Matilda, Harriet, Lydia, Emily, Sarah, Eden, Amy, Sophie, Louise, Emilia

 

 

Name of the Week: Ernest

 

Origin:

Ernest is the English form of the German given name Ernst, derived from the Old Germanic Ernust ""seriousness, firmness, vigour" cognate with the English word earnest.  As a surname, however, Ernest is a derivative of Ernis (Latin Ernisiu/Arnisius) which was brought over by the Normans in the Old French form Ernais, Erneis, Arneis, Hernais, Hernays. It was used up to the end of the Middle Ages, but died out after, remaining only as a surname. Ernais itself came from the Germanic Arn(e)gis. The first element represents the Old High German arn "eagle." The second -- gis -- is either derived from the Proto-Germanic *gīsila "pledge, hostage," or *gaisa "spear."

Usage:

Ernust (later Ernst) has been used in Germany since at least the 10th century. Ernest the Brave (1027–1075), was the Margrave of Austria and Saint Ernest (d. 1148) was the abbot of the Benedictine Zwiefalten Abbey,Germany who participated in the Second Crusade.  The name was little used in Britain, though there are a few examples. Arnost of Bec (d. 1076) was a Bishop of Rochester. He had been a monk at Bec Abbey in Normandy, but was probably Germanic by birth.  Ernest can be found in small numbers in the 16th and 17th century in Britain. This most likely represents adoption of the surname Ernest, or -- in the case of Earnest -- use of the name as a virtue name alongside Truth, Thankful and others.  The German Ernst was well used in (what is now) Germany, Austria and Prussia through the Middle Ages into the early modern period, and thanks to its prolific use by German royalty, it made its way over to Britain with the Hanovarians. Ernest Augustus (Ernst August), Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1629-1698) was father of George I. His younger son, also Ernst August, took on role of leader of Brunswick-Lüneburg when George moved to London a king and was later instated as Duke of York, Albany and Earl of Ulster when he moved to England.  The name really kicked off when George III gave the name to his fifth son in 1771. Prince Ernest Augustus later became king of Hanover when Salic law prevented his niece, Queen Victoria, from ascending the Hanoverian throne.   In England and Wales, Ernest grew rapidly in popularity over the course of the 19th century, reaching #30 by 1860, #19 in 1870, #13 in 1880, #12 in 1890 and #14 in 1900.  click to enlarge It remained popular at the beginning of the 20th century, but was out of the top 100 after the 1940s: 1904: #10 1914: #13 1924: #23 1934: #47 1944: #72 It was less popular in Scotland initially, reaching #42 by 1900. However, it lasted longer in the top 100, still ranking #79 in 1950.  Since 1996 when it ranked #1337 (9 births), Ernest has been gradually rising in England and Wales. It peaked in 2012 at #382 (109 births). In 2014, Ernest ranked #397 (102 births) in England and Wales; #855 (2 births) in Scotland but did not rank at all in Northern Ireland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Ernest the Brave (1027–1075), Margrave of Austria. * Saint Ernest (d. 1148), abbot of the Benedictine Zwiefalten Abbey,Germany who participated in the Second Crusade.  * Ernest of Bavaria-Munich (1373-1438), Duke of Bavaria. * Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553-1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. * Ernest Augustus (1629-1698), Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg. * Ernest Augustus, Duke of York and Albany (1674–1728), younger brother of George I. * Ernest Augustus I of Hanover (1771–1851), King of Hanover, son of King George III of England. * Prince Ernest Augustus, 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale (1845–1923). * Ernest Troubridge (1862–1926), British naval officer. * Ernest Hornung (1866-1921), English author and poet. * Sir Ernest Shackleton (1874–1922), Anglo-Irish explorer. * Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961), American writer. * Ernest Borgnine (1917–2012), American actor. * Ernest Walton (1903-1995), Irish physicist and Nobel laureate. * Ernest Wiseman aka Ernie Wise (1925–1999), British comedian. Literature and Other Media: * Ernest Worthing, main character in The Importance of Being Earnest, a play by Oscar Wilde. * Ernest Perriclof, one of the main characters in Alexandra Adornetto's The Strangest Adventures series.

Variants:

Earnest (UK), Ernst (German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish), Ernesto (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese), Erno (Finnish)

Pronunciation:

ER-nəst [key]

Possible Diminutives:

Ernie, Ern, Enzo, Ned

Sibling Names:

Agnes     Sylvia     Elspeth     Nora     Hester     Marnie       Edwin     Chester     Wilbur     Ralph     Emmett     Reginald

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance  Funky-Clunky   Gorgeously Georgian  Victorian Darlings  Dickensian Names  Gilbert and Sullivan Names

 

If you like Ernest you may also like:    Everett, Oscar, Eugene, Clifford, Winston, Emrys, Byron, Ewart, Edgar, Eustace

 

Thanks to Winter for requesting this post.

Name of the Week: Henrietta

 

Origin:

Henrietta is the Latinised form of Henriette, a French feminine form of Henri (or Henry in English).  Henri itself derived from Henricus, the Latinised form of the Old Germanic name Heimerich, composed of the elements heim "home" and rīhhi "ruler."

Usage:

Henriette was first used in France in the 16th century as a feminine form of Henri. It was famously borne by Princess Henriette Marie of France, daughter of King Henry IV of France and Marie de Medici. Her marriage to Charles I in 1625, and accession to the throne of England, Scotland and Ireland, brought the name to Britain, where it was latinised as Henrietta Maria.   After 1625, several members of the public (especially those in the peerage) were keen to name their daughters in honour of the new queen, and as such we find several Henrietta Marias during the queen's lifetime. Examples include Lady Henrietta Maria Howard (b.1628), Lady Henrietta Mary Stanley (b. 1630), and Lady Henrietta Maria Blount (b. 1632). George Redmonds notes that this double name became more popular after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, particularly among the gentry, but generally across all classes. He also argues that this may have set a precedent for the general adoption of two names by members of the gentry and aristocracy.* It is interesting to note that, while Henrietta was the Latinised form of Henriette, the familial vernacular form in Britain was Harriet. Evidence suggests that at first Henrietta and Harriet were interchangeable. Baptism and marriage registers recorded Henrietta, but familiarly they were 'Harriet' to their friends and family. This was certainly the case of Lady Henrietta Cavendish (later Countess Granville), daughter of 5th Duke of Devonshire and the famous society beauty Lady Georgiana Spencer, who was known as Harriet (or "Harryo" to her family). She was named after her maternal aunt Henrietta Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough who was also known as Harriet. Other examples from the peerage abound, making it difficult to distinguish between the two forms.  With Harriet firmly established, Henrietta came back into use in its own right in the 19th century.  Some of this may have been due to Henrietta's adoption by the Jacobites in honour of Henry Benedict Stuart, the last male heir of the Stuart line.  The three names James, Charles and Henry were common names for Jacobites to give their sons, as were the feminine forms Jamesina, Jacobina, Carolina, Charlesina and Henrietta. After Henry Stuart's death in 1807, the Jacobite claim to the throne then passed to the senior heir of King Charles I, descended from his youngest daughter Henrietta Anne -- yet another Jacobite link to the name Henrietta.  The Surname Atlas - click to enlarge In the 19th century, Henrietta became a top 100 staple in England and Wales: 1860: #53 1870: #60 1880: #69 1890: #81 1900: #95 Data from the 1881 UK census shows -- when population is evened out per 100,000 people -- that Henrietta was especially popular in the Highlands of Scotland (where Jacobite names still held sway) and also in the south of England.  Though Henrietta reached a low of #95 in England and Wales by 1900 (and fell out of the top 100 soon after), it was still strong at #55 in Scotland in that year, though it had fallen out of the Scottish top 100 by 1950. Henrietta's popularity in England and Wales declined across the 20th century as shown by the number of birth registrations per decade: 1910s: 3418 births 1920s: 1709 births 1930s: 569 births 1940s: 310 births 1950s: 280 births 1960s: 529 births 1970s: 291 births Though it generally declined over the century, there was a noticeble spike in the 1960s. This may have been inspired by Henrietta Tiarks, "the best-known debutantes of the Fifties" who became a society 'It-girl' and model, appearing in the prestigious Country Life in 1960. She married the then Marquess of Tavistock, in 1961 and later became Duchess of Bedford. Since 1996, Henrietta has, on average, been registered between 40-60 times per year (ranking between #500 and #700).  In the last four years however, Henrietta has seen a rise in usage, reaching #427 in 2014 with 102 babies.  In Scotland, however, Henrietta has been registered no more than three times in any given year since 1975. In 2014, Henrietta ranked #1534 with 1 birth in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Queen Henrietta Maria of France (1609–1669), queen consort of England, Scotland, and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I. * Princess Henrietta Anne of England (1644–1670), daughter of King Charles I of England. * Henrietta Godolphin, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough (1681–1733), a princess of the Holy Roman Empire and a Princess of Mindelheim * Henrietta "Harriet" Leveson-Gower, Countess Granville (1785–1862), British peeress and society hostess. * Henrietta "Jetty" Treffz (1818-1878), well-known Austrian mezzo-soprano. * Henrietta Hooker (1851–1929), an American botanist. * Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868–1921), an American astronomer. Contemporary: * Henrietta Russell nee Tiarks (b.1940), Dowager Duchess of Bedford and former fashion model and society belle.  * Dame Henrietta Louise Moore  (b. 1957), British social anthropologist. * Henrietta Ónodi (b. 1974), an Olympic gold medal-winning Hungarian gymnast. Literature and Other Media: * Henrietta (1758), a novel by Charlotte Lennox. * Henrietta Musgrove, a character in Jane Austin's novel Persuasion (1818). * Henrietta Petowker, a character in Charles Dickens' novel Nicholas Nickleby (1839).

Variants:

Henrike (German, Scandinavian), Enrica (Italian), Henriikka (Finnish), Hendrika (Dutch)

Pronunciation:

hen-ree-ET-a [key]

Possible  diminutive:

Hen, Henny, Hetty, Ettie, Etta, Hattie, Ren, Retta, Rena, Henry, Harriet, Harryo, Jetty, Hero

Sibling Names:

Florence     Arabella     Verity     Caroline     Alexandra     Cecilia      Sebastian     Fergus     Rupert     Barnabas     Roderick     Louis

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance   Latinate Lovelies   Gorgeously Georgian   Victorian Darlings   Royal British Names   Jane Austen Names   Dickensian Names   Enid Blyton Names   Inspirational Women of Science

 

If you like Henrietta you may also like:   Georgiana, Cordelia, Rosalind, Theodora, Cassandra, Ophelia, Clementine, Juliana, Philippa, Letitia

 

Thanks to Minnie for requesting this post. 

Name of the Week: Augustus

 

Origin:

Augustus is a Latin word meaning "venerable, majestic, magnificent, noble." It was a religious term originally, though either to derive from augur -- a religious official in ancient Rome who foretold events by interpreting omens -- or the Old Latin *augos "increase" i.e the 'augmentation of that which is religious'. Augustus first became a name when it was bestowed upon Caius Octavius as an honorary cognomen (an epithet or nickname) by the Roman Senate on January 16, 27 BC after his victory at the battle of Actium. He therefore became Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus [Imperator = Commander; Caesar Divi Filius = Divine Son of Caesar; Augustus = The Venerable] and by 12 BC the sixth month of the Roman calendar (Sextilis) was renamed Augustus (August) in his honor. Afterwards, the cognomen Augustus was adopted by other emperors, and came to mean something akin to "His Majesty" in today's terms. Augusta was similarly bestowed upon women of the Julian line and came to become a title for an empress.

Usage:

As a titular name, Augustus was used by emperors and rulers through the Roman Empire, through the succeeding Byzantine Empire and even into the Middle Ages -- Philip II of France (1165–1223) was known as Philip Augustus, while Sigismund II of Poland (1520–1572) was similarly Sigismund Augustus.  As such, it is difficult to pin down when Augustus was actually used as a given name and not as a title. There is a St Augustus of the sixth century, a friend of St Germanus of Paris, who was abbot of Bourges. It isn't clear whether Augustus was his given name, however, as he is also called Aout -- the French name for the month August -- so Augustus may simply have been a latinisation.  One of the earliest examples we have of Augustus being used as a given name as opposed to a titular name is for Augustus, Elector of Saxony (1526–1588), the son of Henry IV, Duke of Saxony. There are a few other examples of Augustus used in the early 16th century in Britain -- usually in the East of England in Norfolk, Essex and Lincoln -- but overall it was rare at first, gradually gaining more use in the 17th century.  Augustine on the other hand was not uncommon at the time thanks to two warly saints. The name itself was the English form of the Roman name Augustinus meaning "belonging to Augustus" and as such was early on used in Antiquity. Saint Augustine of Hippo (354–430), a Doctor of the Church, was a theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity. His fame and veneration helped spread the usage of the name across Europe. In Britain, Augustine was furthered by the popular veneration of Saint Augustine of Canterbury (d. 604), the first Archbishop of Canterbury who is regarded as "Apostle to the English." Augustine became quite a popular name in the Middle Ages, the vernacular for of which was Austin.  The name Augustus was given a significant boost in the 18th century by the new Hanovarian dynasty. When George I succeeded to the British throne in 1714 his son George Augustus became Prince of Wales and later George II.  George II (1683-1760) himself was likely given this second name in honour of his paternal grandfather Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover (1629-1698). The Hanovarians were fond of reusing names, so Augustus (along with George, William, Frederick and Henry) were well used along the royal line.  George II named one son William Augustus [Prince William, Duke of Cumberland (1721–1765)] and also had a grandson with the name: Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of York and Albany (1739-1767).  George III was particularly fond of the name. Five of his nine sons had the name: 1. George Augustus Frederick, Prince of Wales (1762-1830), later King George IV; 2. Frederick Augustus, Duke of York (1763-1827); 3. Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent (1767-1820); 4. Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1771-1851), later King Ernest of Hanover; 5. Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773-1843). With this royal seal of approval it is little wonder that by 1860 Augustus ranked #83 in England and Wales. It remained steady in the middle of the 19th century, ranking #78 in 1870. By the latter half of the century, the name began to wane. It was tied to the Hanoverian age, was no longer being used by royalty and, as with all names, fashion moved on.  Augustus ranked #94 in 1880, #116 in 1890 and #139 in 1900. The name contined in similar use in the first half of the 20th century, but fell into sharp decline by 1940. Only 44 boys were given the name across the whole of the 1940s in England and Wales, a figure which fell to 27 in the 1950s.  Since 1996, Augustus -- having picked up a little use -- has sat steadily between 10 and 30 births per year in England and Wales. Its lowest rank during that period has been #1828 (11 births) in 2008. Its peak was #850 (27 births) in 2005, which coincided with the release of Tim Burton's film adaptation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, featuring the character Augustus Gloop.  In Scotland, Augustus has only been registered three times since 1974: once in 2000, 2001 and 2005. Similarly, in Northern Ireland, the name was only registered once in 1998 and 2005.  In 2014, Augustus ranked #1486 (16 births) in England and Wales.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Augustus (63 BC–14 AD), the first Roman emperor. * Augustus (1526–1588), Elector of Saxony. * Augustus the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1579–1666), Duke within the Holy Roman Empire. * Augustus II the Strong (1670–1733), King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. * Augustus III of Poland (1696–1763), King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. * Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773–1843), son of George III. * Sir Augustus Wall Callcott (1779–1844), British landscape painter. * Augustus De Morgan (1806–1871), British mathematician. * Augustus Pugin (1812–1852), British architect. * Augustus Volney Waller (1816–1870), British neurophysiologist. * Augustus Thomas (1857–1934), American playwright. * Augustus John (1878–1961), Welsh painter.  Literature and Other Media: * Augustus Waters, a character from John Green's novel The Fault in Our Stars (2012). * Augustus Gloop, a character from Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964).

Variants:

August (German, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Catalan), Auguste (French), Augusto (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese), Avgust (Russian, Ukrainian)

Pronunciation:

or-GUS-təs / ə-GUS-təs [key]

Possible Diminutives:

Augie, Gus, Austin

Sibling Names:

Clementina     Honoria     Thomasina     Seraphina     Henrietta     Rosetta        Maximillian     Tarquin     Constantine     Roderick     Montague     Bertram

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance   Funky-Clunky   Saintly and Stylish   Resonant Roman  Gorgeously Georgian   Victorian Darlings  British Royalty   Dickensian Names  Jane Austen Names  Bronte Names

 

If you like Augustus you may also like:    Augustine, Ferdinand, Algernon, Eustace, Ambrose, Archibald, Cornelius, Octavius, Cassius, Julius

 

Thanks to Kitty for requesting this post.

Name of the Week: Albertine

 

Origin:

Albertine is a French, Swiss and Dutch feminine form of Albert.  Albert itself derives from two cognate names: the old Germanic Adalberaht (Adalbert) and the Anglo-Saxon Æðelbeorht (Ethelbert). The former was introduced to Britain by the Normans where it largely replaced its Old English counterpart. Both names were descended from the Proto-Germanic elements *athala- "noble" and *berhta- "bright."

Usage:

Prince Frederick Henry and his wife Amalia of Solms-Braunfels and his three youngest daughters From the 17th century as a name among Dutch, German and later French and Swiss nobility. Albertine Agnes of Nassau (1634-1696), was a daughter of the Dutch ruler Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange who became regent of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe in her own right. She is pictured (right) with her parents, holding the hand of her sister Henriette Catherine (1637-1708) who married into German nobility, and whose own eldest daughter was Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Anhalt-Dessau (1683-1742). Though it wasn't particularly prolific, there are several other examples of the name being used in German and Dutch nobilty. Some of them like Albertine Agnes of Nassau -- such as Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach (1683-1742) and Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1713–1761) -- acted as regents for their provinces.  It was also influentially borne by Albertine Necker de Saussure (1766-1841), the daughter and wife of noted Swiss botanists, who campaigned and wrote extensively about women's rights to education. Her principal work, L'Education Progressive (1828), was a long and influential study on educational theory and the education of women and was influential in nineteenth century England in reforming educational policy. It is now acknowledged as an educational classic.  Beyond the elite, Albertine can be found in baptism records across Germany, Prussia, Belgium and the Netherlands from the mid-17th century. A few early examples in Britain, such as this baptism for a Susanne Albertine Carle in 1697 in London, shows that it was used primarily among French Hugenot families and largely was confined within London. Despite its Anglo-Saxon heritage and reinforcement by the Normans, Albert itself had been little used in Britain until the marriage in 1840 of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819-1861). The impact on the name Albert was marked. Albert went from not appearing in Dunkling's top 50 names fro either 1700 or 1800, yet by 1860 it was #19 and was #9 by 1890. As the Victorians loved to used feminised forms of names for their daughters, Albertine and Albertina became much more established names in Britain during the 19th century thanks to the success of the masculine Albert. Albertina was the more popular form (as the births below show) as the Latinised -a ending was a more common convention in Britain. Births in England and Wales: Albertine Albertina 1840s: 12 births 1850s: 15 births 1860s: 15 birth 1870s: 18 births 1880s: 20 births 1890s: 20 births 1900s: 21 births 1910s: 25  births 1920s: 3 births 1930s: 5 births 1940s: 6 births 1950s: 3 births  1960s: 3 births 1840s: 60 births 1850s: 76 births 1860s: 106 birth 1870s: 87 births 1880s: 84 births 1890s: 74 births 1900s: 45 births 1910s: 50 births 1920s: 16 births 1930s: 2 births 1940s: 11 births 1950s: 2 births  1960s: 15 births The name was quite consistent in use up until the 1920s when it saw a sharp decline. By the 1940s, many examples of the name Albertina are for children born to Italian immigrant  parents.  Albertine is also a very literary name.  In 1886, Norwegian author and artist Christian Krohg wrote a novel Albertine about the life of the unmarried seamstress Albertine, who is eventually forced into prostitution after being assaulted due to the social system of the time. The book caused great controversy, and was immediately confiscated by order of the Supreme Court of Norway leading to a demonstration, held outside Prime Minister Johan Sverdrup's office in January 1887, which gathered 5,000 protesters. Thanks to the novel and the debate that followed it, public prostitution in Norway was soon after abolished.  Another influential literary charcter is Albertine Simonet, the most important character in Marcel Proust’s seven-volume novel In Search of Lost Time (1913-1927). The same character is also the basis for Jacqueline Rose's novel Albertine (2001) and the 2003 musical My Life With Albertine by Ricky Ian Gordon.  The character was also the inspiration for the name of the Albertine rose, a wichuraiana rambler bred in France in 1921 by one of the Barbier brothers.  The Albertine is one of the most popular roses of all thanks to its strong sweet perfume, coppery pink colour, and full and hardy bloom. Since 1996, Albertine has only ranked three times in the official England and Wales name data: #3409 (4 births) in 2002; #5876 in 2012 (3 births); and #4684 (4 births) in 2014.  This is not the name's only use however, as the data only lists names given to three or more babies in any given year. Birth records show that there was one birth in each year in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005 and also several examples as a middle name.  Albertina is less common, and hasn't ranked in the data at all. Neither form of the name has been registered in Scotland from 1974-2014.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Countess Albertine Agnes of Nassau (1634-1696), a regent of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe, daughter of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. * Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Anhalt-Dessau (1665-1706), daughter of John George II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau and Henriette Catherine of Orange-Nassau. * Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach (1683-1742),  Countess of Erbach-Erbach by birth and  Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen by marriage. She acted as regent for her son after her husband's death. * Princess Albertine of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1712-1750), wife of Victor Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg. * Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1713–1761), a Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She served as regent for her son after the deaths in 1752 of her husband. * Albertine Necker de Saussure (1766-1841), Swiss writer and women's education pioneer. * Albertine Thackwell (1863–1944), a British archer who competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. * Albertine, baroness Staël von Holstein (1797–1838), daughter of Madame de Staël. * Albertine Morin-Labrecque (1886-1957), a Canadian pianist, soprano, composer. * Albertine Sarrazin (1937–1967), French author. Contemporary: * Viv Albertine (born 1955), British singer and songwriter. Literature and Other Media: * Albertine (1886), a novel by Norwegian author and artist Christian Krohg. * Albertine Simonet, a character in Marcel Proust’s novel In Search of Lost Time (1913-1927). * Albertine (2006), an album by New Zealand singer-songwriter Brooke Fraser. * My Life with Albertine (2003), a musical with music and lyrics by Ricky Ian Gordon based on Proust's novel. Other: * Albertine, a popular sweet-smelling rambling rose. * Albertine owlet, a species of owl found in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.

Variants:

Albertina

Pronunciation:

al-bə-TEEN [key]

Possible  diminutive:

Allie, Albie, Aline, Bertie, Tina, Beattie, Bettie, Rose, Rosie

Sibling Names:

Edwina      Corisande      Lavinia     Eglantine     Clotilde     Dolores  Gilbert     Emmanuel    Ambrose    Silvester    Ferdinand   Algernon

Name Lists:

Names of Roses

 

If you like Albertine you may also like:   Augusta, Thomasina, Ghislaine, Wilhelmina, Ernestine, Alexandrine, Eugenie, Clarinda, Roberta, Angelica

 

Thanks to Prue for requesting this post. 

Name of the Week: Philip

Origin:

The Anglicised form of the Ancient Greek name Philippos, composed of the elements φιλος (philos) "friend, dear, friendly" and ‘ιππος (hippos) "horse." The second element of "horse" denotes high status in Ancient Greek nomenclature and is found in many aristocratic names. Horses were an extremely important part of Greek society and were represented frequently art and mythology. They were highly prized and cherished animals: representing wealth, as only the rich could afford to keep them, and were essential for many "upper-class" activities such as hunting, chariot riding or horse racing.

Usage:

The name Philippos was well used in Antiquity, especially among the elite. The Lexicon of Greek Personal Names has well over a thousand instances of the name from written sources, showing its good use. The most famous bearer of these men is undoubtedly Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. Known as a great commander, he built a formidable army, with which his son was later able to consolidate an empire, and conquered most of Greece under Macedonian rule during his reign.  The name Philip was then passed among the rulers of the Hellenic world, passing on to a Roman emperor -- Philip the Arab (c. 204–249) -- and other Roman aristocrats, as well as a Byzantine emperor. Even more influentially, the name Philip was borne by two biblical figures of the New Testament -- St Philip the Apostle and St Philip the Evangelist -- regarded as major Christian saints. Thanks to them, the name was common in the Middle Ages, borne by several Frankish kings from the 11th to 14th century, and spreading to noble houses throughout Europe.  In his rankings of records from 10 English counties in 1377-81, Redmonds puts Philip at #17, next to Gilbert and Reginald, categorising it between "quite popular" and "infrequent." This frequency of the name's usage can be attested by the many surnames it produced, such as Phelps, Phillips, Phillipson, Philkin, Philcox, Phipps and Philson. Though Philip was quite common for men, it was also used for several women as well. Though Philippa was the official Latin form recorded for these women, they were actually called Philip in everyday life. Queen Philippa of Hainault is recorded as Phelip, Philippe, and Phillip; while a Nottinghamshire will in 1532 refers to "Fillipe my doughter" [sic]. By the 16th century, Philip was firmly established as a royal name on the Continent, being borne by kings of France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Burgundy. It became an English regnal name in 1554 when Philip II of Spain (1527-1598) married Mary I and became co-ruler. During his reign, Spain reached the height of its influence and power and its colonies were numerous, including the Philippines which were named in his honour.  However, on the death of Mary in 1558, Philip lost his right to the throne of England and Ireland. Elizabeth I was now on the throne, and the former regime was very much out of favour. Philip tried to oust Elizabeth when he sent the Armada in 1588 but proved unsuccessful. The impact of this change can be seen in Smith Bannister's rank of top 50 names from 1538 to 1670 in England, which shows a dip in the name after the 1560s:  1538-49: #18; 1550-9: #13; 1560-9: #14; 1570-9: #25; 1580-9: #23; 1590-9: #26; 1600-9: #32; 1610-9: #25; 1620-9: #22; 1630-9: #27; 1640-9: #28; 1650-9: #29; 1660-9: #21; 1670-9: #25; 1680-9: #26; 1690-1700: #32. Its rank remained quite consistent over the following centuries; in Dunkling's rankings for England and Wales, Philip ranks #25 in 1700 and #24 in 1800.  It was clearly common enough for Philip, or the short for Phip, was given as a vernacular name for the dunnock bird.  Data from the Surname Atlas (click to enlarge) Throughout the 19th century, Philip ranked within the top 50 of England and Wales:  1860: #38 (Phillip #106) 1870: #42 (Phillip #134) 1880: #43 (Phillip #174) 1890: #48  1900: #48 click to enlarge It remained fairly steady around the #50 mark until 1944 when it moved up to #32. Ten years later in 1954 it peaked at #16 -- a move which may have been promoted by the marriage of Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark to Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) in 1947. It remained in the top 30 until the 1980s, after which it gradually declined. By 1994, Philip ranked #79; two years later, in 1996, it had dropped sharply out of the top 100 to #103.  The name saw a further decline after that until it plateaued around the #300 mark after 2004. In Scotland, Philip was more moderately popular, ranking #57 in 1900, #45 in 1950, #60 in 1975 and #86 in 1990. It fell out of the top 100 in 1992 and has been on a steady decline as in England and Wales.  In 2014, Philip ranked #288 (160 births) in England and Wales and #336 (11 births) in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

Royalty: 5 kings of Macedon. 6 kings of France. 6 kings of Spain. 3 kings of Portugal. 7 Dukes of Burgundy. 1 king of Sweden. * Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (b. 1921), consort of Elizabeth II.  * Felipe VI of Spain (b.1968), King of Spain. * Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland (b. 1979), King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and third in line to the Swedish throne. History: * Philippus of Croton (c. 6th century BC) Olympic victor and legendary hero. * Philip (4th century BC), general of Alexander the Great. * Saint Philip the Apostle (d. c. 80 AD), one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. * Saint Philip the Evangelist (1st century AD), christian evangelist of the New Testament. * Philippus of Thessalonica (1st century AD), epigrammatic Greek poet and compiler of an Anthology. * Philip the Arab (c. 204–249), Roman emperor. * Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586), English poet. * Philip Larkin (1922–1985), British poet. Contemporary: * Philip Pullman (b. 1946), British novelist. * Phil Collins (b.1951), British singer and drummer, formerly of Genesis. Literature and Other Media: * Philip "Pip", a character from Charles Dickens' Great Expectations (1861). * Prince Phillip, a character from Disney's film Sleeping Beauty (1957). * Philip Banks aka 'Uncle Phil', a character from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Variants:

Phillip; Philippe (French), Philipp (German), Felipe (Spanish), Filippo (Italian), Filipe (Portuguese), Filippos (Greek), Filip (Hungarian, Macedonian, Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene), Pilib (Irish), Filib (Scottish)

Pronunciation:

FIL-əp [key]

Possible Diminutives:

Phil, Pip, Phip

Sibling Names:

Julia     Susannah     Ruth     Bridget     Caroline     Louise  Peter     Laurence     Niall     Robert     Francis     Ralph

Name Lists:

British Royalty   European Royalty  Popular Biblical Names   Medieval Favourites   Gorgeously Georgian  Victorian Darlings   Shakespearean Names  Austen Names   Dickensian Names   Bronte Names   Enid Blyton Names  Disney Names

 

If you like Philip you may also like:    Winston, Nicholas, John, Martin, Hugh, Michael, Richard, Anthony, Paul, Jonathan

 

Thanks to Kinyonga for requesting this post.