Category: Historic Names
They chose surname names for their first two sons. Now they’re considering Edison for a third boy. Is it just the right mix of science and style? Or is there a better name out there?
Olivia writes:
I am due in May with our third boy. Our other sons are named Lincoln and Sullivan. We wanted something that fits nicely with that sibling set, preferably a surname as a first name, and preferably with a science “flavour” to it. Our surname ends in “er” which rules out nearly all names ending in “er” as it sounds too rhyme-y.
After scouring Nameberry for hours and then whittling down our list (including amazing names like Huxley and Forest) we have settled on Edison. We both love it, but I can’t help feeling like there is a better name out there. I never had this niggling feeling with my first two son’s names!
I am slightly concerned that having three names ending in “n” could be a bit cheesy. Am I overthinking? I feel like I need permission to stop looking, or some assurance that we haven’t missed a hidden gem and Edison is indeed the most perfect name for us.
Please help!
The Name Sage replies:
By Linda Rosenkrantz
In the past, a narrow number of Old Testament girls’ names have been in the US Top 1000 every single year on record: Deborah, Esther, Hannah, Judith, Leah, Naomi, Miriam, Rachel, Rebecca, Ruth and Sarah. Some of them actually reached the Top 5— Ruth was #3 in 1893, Judith #4 in 1940, Deborah up at #2 in 1955, Hannah # 2 from 1998 to 2000, and Sarah #3 in 1993.
But why do we usually stop there?
There are many other Old Testament female figures—granted some of them much more minor ones—whose lovely but neglected names have the same religious resonance. For example:
April showers bring May flowers. In this second month of Spring, nature is in bloom and so we take name inspiration from one of the friendliest of flowers, from those life-sustaining showers, plus the celebration of Easter, and some notable namesakes with April ties. Find a name for your April baby in this eclectic bouquet of appealing and resonant names.
By Emma Jolly
I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t obsessed with names.
Growing up in the English countryside, I entertained myself by making lists of names from all my favourite books. Each of my toys was named only after due consideration. I also used to write stories, usually spending more time on my characters’ names than on plots. Thinking ahead, I had full names planned for each of the nine children I intended to have. After having two real, noisy, hungry children, I decided that nine might be too many, and had to return to naming imaginary people in my fiction writing.
In my day job as a professional genealogist, I come across many interesting names. Some are useful in that they fit into a naming pattern or contain an ancestral surname that can provide clues to their family history. Others indicate a religious family, or perhaps one that is socially ambitious. Many parents in the 19th and early 20th centuries named children after family members or used fashionable options. In 1911, for example, parents opted for contemporary choices: the most popular girls names in England and Wales were Edith, Doris, Florence, Elsie and Gladys.
Those that most trigger my curiosity, however, are the names that suggest a passion of the parents for something literary, artistic, musical, or political.
By Linda Rosenkrantz
Continuing our series on you-don’t-have-to-be-youneek-to-be-unique names, here are 25 vintage appellations for boys that are hardly heard today.
Since boy names tend to stay on the popularity lists, these names are quite unusual in that, unlike vintage classics like William and James, most of them were in common use at one time but then slid into obscurity. See which ones you think are ripe for revival.