In this final installment of "one-hit wonder names" (see parts, 1, 2 and 3) we take a names-eye-view tour through history.
Baby names act as a cultural mirror, reflecting the mood and obsessions of every age. Sometimes it's a whole style, like the girls given boyish names (Frankie, Tommie) in the 1930s. Sometimes it's personality driven, like the Shirley surge in that same decade. And sometimes a specific historical moment is memorialized in names. The one-hit wonder names are a treasure trove of these cultural moments. Some of the moments were momentous, others pop-culture trifles. A few were completely unknown to me until the names themselves led me to them, and a few frankly shocked me as name inspirations. Check them out yourself in this arbitrary, capricious One-Hit Timeline of History.
1895: Trilby
George du Maurier's novel Trilby, first published serially in 1894, was a popular sensation. Filled with romance, horror, plucky heroes and supernatural villainry, Trilby became one of the most popular books (and later plays) of its time. The novel's longest-lasting contribution to our language comes from its villain, the all-powerful Jewish hypnotist Svengali, but during the book's heyday the beautiful Irish heroine Trilby made her naming mark as well.
1898: Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone was one of the leading political forces of 19th-century England, serving several terms as Prime Minister between 1868 and 1894. The "gladstone bag" and "gladstone carriage" took their names from him. Gladstone died in 1898.
1898: Schley
The 1898 Battle of Santiago de Cuba was the largest naval engagement of the Spanish-American War. The destruction of the Spanish fleet was a milestone in the decline of Spanish influence in the Americas. The United States squadron was commanded, somewhat controversially, by Rear Admiral Winfield Scott Schley.
1900: Goebel
William J. Goebel was a controversial figure in Kentucky politics. Goebel was a populist, a foe of big business and an advocate of civil rights, and the consummate practitioner of machine politics. In 1895 he killed political adversary John Sanford in a duel, but plead self-defense and was acquitted. In 1899 he won a disputed election to become governor of Kentucky. On January 30, 1900 Goebel was shot in the chest by an assassin; the next day he was sworn in as governor; two days later he was dead. He remains the only U.S. state governor to be assassinated in office.
1918: Foch
Ferdinand Foch was a distinguished general of the French Army and Marshal of France. In the Spring of 1918 he was named Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, leading the international armies which turned back the last major German advance of WWI. Foch accepted Germany's surrender on November 11, 1918.
1954: Rahn
In 1954 the German soccer team was unseeded entering the World Cup tournament in Bern, Switzerland, the first World Cup they were permitted to compete in after World War II. In the finals against heavily favored Hungary, Germany trailed until Helmut Rahn scored both tying and winning goals. Rahn became a national sporting legend and the game came to be known as the "Miracle of Bern," a turning point in post-war German identity.
1964: Destry
The TV Western "Destry" which premiered in 1964 was a spinoff of the classic film Destry Rides Again. It didn't last a full season.
1972: Jabbar
In 1971 basketball great Lew Alcindor, who had led the Milwaukee Bucks and UCLA Bruins to championships, changed his name to the Arabic Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem debuted on the popular name charts in 1972 at #407 and has become an African-American standard. Jabbar was propelled to popularity the same year but quickly faded.
1977: Amin
In 1976 Ugandan president Idi Amin allowed a hijacked airplane originating from Israel to land at the Entebbe airport. The event turned international attention toward his violent regime which was blamed for hundreds of thousands of deaths. By 1977, Amin was a global larger-than-life villain. As other nations broke off diplomatic ties he bestowed extravagant titles on himself and attracted a swirl of rumors of personal atrocities.
1977: Kunta, Kinte
The 1977 miniseries "Roots," based on the novel by Alex Haley, was a cultural phenomen. An overwhelming popular and critical success, "Roots" turned a generation of Americans--especially African-Americans--toward the study of geneology and family history, and helped encourage a trend toward African-styled baby names. The lead character, Kunta Kinte, was a Mandinka boy in Gambia who was kidnapped by slave traders and taken to America. Both Kunta and Kinte made the 1977 name charts.
Comments
Thanks, name-list-posters. Interestingly, Anonymous/Laurie Anne's list from fairly large Southern city is probably the most similar to baby names here in western New York state. Even though I know "Benjamin" remains quite popular in the English-speaking world, I was irrationally thrilled it didn't appear on any lists. I don't want our boy to go through life surrounded by duplicate names...At least now he has the choice to use a highly distinctive nickname which he likes.
Just don't want you to feel lonesome, kristin dawn. I embrace what are commonly thought of as "Midwestern values" and am extremely grateful for the so-called red states!
In my mind, Tamar has a not-so-good connotation. The biblical Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute so she could procreate with her father-in-law, Judah.
I can't see naming a child Tamar for the same reasons I would never name a child Cain.
I guess that goes back to the top 3 reasons why you would (or wouldn't) give your child a name...and it looks like a main one for me is connotation and meaning.
Rats, since I wrote the above, out came Danielle's list with an inevitable "Benjamin". Sigh...
It's weird that Cain has got a mention as I noticed there was a Cain in my local birth announcements this week - which I thought was a bit peculiar to say the least!
A top naming requirement of mine (that I don't think anyone else has mentioned) is the consideration of possible nicknames. I would never call my child a name prone to a nickname that I can't stand. Example: A friend has called her daughter Madeleine but gets quite indignant if anyone dares to calls her Maddie...
Equally, I wouldn't choose a name I wasn't that fond of just to get the nickname I love. Example: A friend told me the other day she has decided that she would call a girl Fiona. She's not in love with the name, but thinks the nickname 'Fi' would be lovely. Hmm...
I've known a Davine. She'd be about mid to late 40'ish now I think. She pronounced it as Dave-eene. A feminine form of David was what her mother was going for.
Katharine, very interesting observation. I'm with you on the nicknaming thing.
I brough up Cain because I have known of numerous Cains/Kanes that I have taught in school or who were born to people I know or know of. It seems to be fairly popular lately, especially the Kane spelling.
I assume the Agent Kane on CSI: Miami is part of keeping that name familiar....
See, now I like the biblical character Tamar--she's always been presented to me as a strong woman who did what exactly the law required to get justice for herself in a harsh world. The biblical David did plenty worse than Tamar, but nobody avoids that name because he had his lover's husband killed.
So all the lists inspired me to look up some of my local hospitals. I was looking at this one thinking that they aren't that bad. Not all to my taste, but nothing really cringe worthy. Until I got to the last one....
Aiden, Ella, Ethan, Hayley, Will,Asher, Gabriella, Logan, Adeline, Dane,Joshua,
Aamiyah, Eva, Landon, Noah, Riki-Lynn,
Autumn, Emma, Nicholas, Payton,Ireland,
Jazlynn, Zander,Amber, Ashley, Connor,
Nicholas, Pumkin,
Pumkin, huh? Oh, because it's October, right! And of the various possible creative spellings, I'd have preferred Punkin, myself.
Trilby Gobble, point taken. My dad's name is David, I might add. I also thought it was interesting to see the name Uriah (Bathsheba's husband whom David killed) on one of the above lists. You don't see that one too often.
However, I stand by what I said about Tamar. She's a fairly minor character who is only known for a few actions, one of which is seducing her father-in-law. Trilby, I appreciate your view coming from another direction.
Pumkin reminds me of the woman in my local obituaries whose first name was Halloween. I'll give you 365 guesses as to what her birthday was.
I just wanted to provide some insight into Tamar. It means "date" (the food) in Hebrew and is a very common name in Israel now, especially in farming communities. So there are many different associations in different places...
Oh, I like Pumkin, especially the spelling. (hee hee) My due date is not long after Thanksgiving, so one of our working names is Yam Cranberry. (We share only our joke names before the baby is born, thus the Anonymous for my name when I was posting our real list.) Unfortunately for Pumkin, though, it violates my 5 Dog Rule: I can't know more than 5 dogs, or cats for that matter, with the name. I don't know a single dog named Rex, for the poster who was wondering about that nickname earlier. Go for it. :)
Eo, I hate to tell you but I know three little Benjamins who are the same age as my son (almost 4). Still, Benjamin would have been on my short list if this new baby were a boy. I really like that name and it fits well with my son's name (Aaron) too.
Re Tamar -- I know a Tamara and never thought twice about her name other than it being a little unusual. Wonder if it's a Tamar variation.
Here are the names of the babies born in our local hospital from August through the current date. I live in a small college town/dairy farming community in central NY State. The population is 18,970, overwhelmingly white and the median household income is $26,478. The city is mostly working class, except for the college professors who are upper middle: there isn't much in between. A full quarter of the population live below the poverty line.
Taiya
Kyle
Evan
Reiley (girl)
Jordin
Keegan
Nina
Jessica
Alana
Lucas (2)
Mia
Ava
Alexander
Eli
Katilyn
Mackenna
Kassandra
Alexis (girl)
Cloey
Logan
James
Emily
Trinity
Izaiah
Cameron
Gavin
Jeremie
David
Lacey
Hannah
Alan
Diamond
Michael
Abree
Lucian
I suppose this is getting off topic, but Tamar's situation in the Old Testament is really nothing like Cain's. This is a woman who is living in a society where to be a childless widow is to be completely irrelevant and oppressed. After her husband died, her father-in-law was supposed to by law have given her to another son as a wife. He refused, so she tricks him into impregnating her so she can have a son, which is the only way in that culture that she could have any sort of respect. It was the father-in-law who was in the wrong here. You can't equate what she did with "sexual immorality" in modern culture.
The other main Tamar is the Bible is a daughter of David who is raped by her half-brother Amnon. In Biblical terms, the negative connotation of Tamar is that the characters are women who are exploited sexually by powerful men, not that they are immoral in any way themselves.
I think almost every one of those lists has a Cameron on it. I wonder if they are boys or girls?
I think Plaxico is a wonderful name.
Didn't mean to imply that Tamars are bad...just that *my* reaction to the name is negative. You know, a knee-jerk type thing. And I definitely wasn't comparing Tamar's actions to Cain's, just that in my mind I have a negative reaction to both names. That's all.
I wouldn't name a child Tamara because she was the Queen of the Goths in Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus." Maybe THAT'S why I don't like the name Tamar either...and it doesn't have anything to do with biblical connotation.
Wow! Thanks all for posting the lists. The one name that stood out to me the most from Kristin Dawn's list is Courvoisier. Isn't that some kind of cognac? Why would you name your child after an alcoholic beverage? Perhaps there's another meaning I'm not aware of... To me it just says, "I was drunk when I conceived this child!"
Well, you've gotta give them credit for spelling it right I guess.
This isn't the first time I've seen Courvoisier as a child's name. Right now there are quite a few girls being named Chardonnay and Alize, too.
I don't care for alcoholic beverage names myself. But like anything else, if they become common people quit making the automatic association. No one seems to object much to Brandy anymore. :)
A member of my extended family is named Chivas (as in Regal). I think his parents were young.
With Alize, especially, I think it could be a case of the brand just putting the sound out there. It also sounds like a twist on already existing girls' names like Alisa and Liza.
I know, I know, Anonymous/Laurie Anne. Banks has another Benjamin in his class, and there are two more close in age (under 8) in the school. We do try to concentrate on our reasons for choosing it- historical and family-- and the fact that a short form of it was close to his birth name and therefore when he was freed for adoption before the age of two, the new name blended seamlessly. (Can't get more specific than that, sorry it sounds confusing....)
To anyone who wishes to be "judgmental" (horrors-- how old fashioned!) of the Biblical Tamar because of distaste for her actions, I say, go right ahead. You have as much right to your reactions as someone who wishes to see her as an oppressed heroine...
For positive associations, there is a brilliant writer and "think tank person", who appears occasionally on C-Span, by the name of Tamar Jacoby, I think...
The Tamar I know has such a bizarre naming story I just have to tell it. She is her parents fifth child and by the time she came along her mum had totally run out of ideas (some people have no imagination!) Anyway, staring out of the hospital window hoping that inspiriation would hit an idea suddenly struck her mum - why not name this daughter after the river outside?! (I guess Tamar should be grateful for small mercies that the hosptal didn't overlook the Thames!)
It should be noted that the Tamar in question is a rather kooky women who's name suits her perfectly. In turn, this seems to fit with what a previous poster was saying about how an unusual name can either enhance a person's popularity or add to their peculiarity.
C & C's Mom--You know, I just assumed that the Cameron on my list was a boy; are there girls named Cameron now? Anyway, I went back to the website to check if the baby was dressed in pink or blue. However, little Cameron was wearing very gender-neutral clothing, so I guess it will have to remain a mystery!
As to "alcoholic" names, there is also Sherry (or Sherri). I know one.
I gotta tell ya I went through those list pretty carefully and there were no Ronan's. I am not being a name snob and saying no one else will ever use my sons name. But being one of many Jessica's in school and my DH who is 10 yrs older being one of many many Davids in school it is nice to know chances are our son wont have an initial following him around all through grade school.
Kristin Dawn - You wrote, "Many people are going to react negatively to a name that seems to be a deliberate attempt at one-upsmanship." What do you have in mind in terms of names that are a deliberate attempt at one-upsmanship? I don't think you're referring to creative spellings or to names like Pumkin, so I just wondered what you had in mind. Hollywood baby names, like Pilot Inspektor? Phineas?
Sharon - we considered Cameron four our daughter (she's Campbell instead) and there is Cameron Diaz so I think Cameron for girls is becoming more popular. I do think a lot of girls use a spelling like Camryn.
Regarding Courvoisier: I went to grammar school with a girl named Brandy. I didn't think anything of it until I found out her little sister was named Sherry.
Where are people finding this great hospital name list feature on growingfamily.com? I go there and all I see is a way to track one particular baby's photo at a given hospital in the US. Please advise -- I want to get in on the regional name-list fun!
After you click on web nursery (on the top right of the main page), you can scroll down the page and search by state and hospital.
C & C's Mom--I didn't even think of Cameron Diaz! Thanks for pointing that out. Although I don't usually go for the last-name-as-first-name trend, I like Campbell a lot. Adorable on a little girl, but grows up nicely, too. Does she have a nickname or do you only use the full name?
Cameron is still used by more boys than girls, but there are lots of girls with some variation of the name.
For boys:
Cameron #52
Kameron #284
Camron #345
Camren #579
Kamron #668
Camryn #929
Kamren #980
For girls:
Camryn #216
Kamryn #275
Cameron #289
Sharon - we generally call her Campbell with Cam and Cami thrown in occasionally.
I know of a Campbell, nn Camp.
Just been skipping through these comments really fast. I just had our baby boy 5 days ago & it's funny to see so much discussion on the 2 names we came down to: Oliver & Henry. (I posted several weeks ago, needing a brother name for Rose.) I didn't want to pick my DH's favourite of Samuel, so he was good enough to choose from my list. So now we have Rose & Henry. Henry is getting popular in our area, moreso than Oliver, but DH thought Oliver was more teasable & I wasn't so keen on the nn Ollie. So Henry wins. :)
Congratulations, Rose and Henry's Mom!
Congrats on the baby! I love Rose and Henry- what great names!
On Kristin Dawns list of "heart skipping" names, I do like Caspian. In addition to the sea, I think of Prince Caspian from C.S. Lewis' books. I also like the idea of the nickname Caz.
On a different note, way up on the page I mentioned a new baby girl named Kensington in my wealthy neighborhood. I found out the sister is named London. I should have guessed that ! :)
Tirzah, there is a child in my daughter's school with your name! I saw her name on a piece of art work in the hall.
Here are the names of the kids on the soccer team, ages 5 and 6, in North Carolina:
Alayna
Noni
Joey
Matt
Cesar
Sebbi
Macey
Mason
Natalie
Joshua
Gabriel
Jaden
Katie
Sarah
Andrew
Dylan
Congratulations Rose's Mom! Personally, I love the name Oliver (nn Ollie) and have it picked out in case our next baby is a boy. (Henry is also a favorite of mine and my husband's, but is out ecause it doesn't work with our ln.) However, I have to agree with you that Henry is a better match for Rose than Oliver. They both have a lovely old-fashioned charm that I adore. All the best to you as your family grows!
I meant to chime in before that I like Caspian too!
Tirzah, "Kensington" and "London" are amusing! They do seem pretentious, but in an "innocents-abroad" kind of way. We all have our little vulnerabilities. I wonder why these names seem unacceptable to me, but the place names from more remote, rugged and rural corners of the British Isles-- like Scotland and Ireland-- seem more romantic and plausible? "Stornaway", maybe, or "Cavan" or "Anglesey" or "Brechin", or even "Banchory". Is it just that they're less hackneyed? There's my own little snobbery showing!
But also perhaps because they seem less likely to represent a proven "brand", if that makes sense...
Of course, no self-respecting Brit would countenance such a name. To some in the New World though, perhaps they sing?
I was reading the latest issue of Good Housekeeping, and there isan article about a military wife who redecorated her living room before her husband came home from Iraq. The kids' names are Thayne, Cedar, and Skylyn.
That's not as unusual as some of the names on lists from above posts, but it did stick out for me in light of our many discussions about uncommon or creatively-spelled names. Thayne and Skylyn seem to fall in the creatively-spelled category (although Skylyn is maybe more of a mixture - they liked Sky and Kaitlyn and decided to blend them?) But Cedar? I know nature names are in, but...!
What do you all think of the name Linus? Is it still hopelessly bound up with security blankets, or is this a generation that would not immediately associate it with Peanuts?
Jane, Linus is VERY fashionable in some circles, along with tons of other "us" names like "Titus", "Cassius" etc. I like most of them (not Brutus, though!). Use of it partly depends, I suppose, whether someone would mind seeming "trendy" in their naming style...
I also suspect that most people who love Linus would not be much bothered by the "Peanuts" connection, but I could be wrong.
Don't forget Angus.
Yes, I think the Linus connotation is lovable, albeit a little "wimpy." I mean, he does carry around his blanky with him everywhere he goes...
I think Linus will be associated with the Peanuts character for years to come in the USA. I wouldn't use it myself. (Sorry!) It's just too unusual a name to have any other associations -- not like Charlie or Lucy, which people are familiar with in other contexts.
Congratulations, Rose's Mom! Great name choices! I know a little Henry, and I think that name goes really well with Rose. How have you liked the name Rose now that you've lived with it a while? (Well, your daughter has, but you know what I mean.) My husband just informed me that he doesn't like two of my choices (Jane and Lucy) but he did like Rose the last time he was making a list.
And not to hijack (yet again) but if anyone has any good ideas for sister names for an Aaron, last name 2 syllables starting with W, classic names preferred, please share. :) Still on my list are Amelia, Claire, Catherine, Anna Grace (or Anna Claire or Anna Kate), and maybe Sarah if I can get over its being popular and sounding like Aaron. Thanks!
Kelly, in my search for nature names (that's what we like), I came across multiple name lists that include Cedar. I don't like it myself, but I can appreciate someone choosing it, if that makes sense. Another one I tried to like was Clover, but it just seemed too new-agey to me, even though it's not. Also, I think it sounds a little harsh.
Linus is Peanuts to me, without a doubt--I don't know if that's true for today's little kids, though. I don't love it personally (I think it sounds too medical, like sinus or penis), but I could see it being sweet on a little boy, if only *because* of the Peanuts association.
Elizabeth T: How is Noni pronounced--short o or long o? Do you know if it is short for something? Is it "ethnic?"
Eo: Yeah, I think something like London is immediately recognizable as the place whereas I have never heard of some of the other places you're mentioning so they don't have such a direct meaning. More of a connotation.
re: Thayne: I know a Thane too! On my nephew's baseball team. So they are about eight years old I think. I figure it is a variation on Shane even though I think it was a place or title or something in Macbeth also.
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