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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: chinakay on Friday 15 December 06 20:25 GMT (UK)
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....and I'm not the least bit sorry ;D In my travels around the various censuses and PRs I've discovered a few women's names that seem to have disappeared completely:
Frizes
Dousabell
Effane
Dionesse
Emot
Thomasin
Phenenna
Volentyne
Lettice
I wondered if anyone could add to this list, especially with men's names...don't seem to be any of those. (I had a couple more but I can't find my notes...a familiar story ;D)
Cheers,
China
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I came across a girlie one I love
Therza
All my men seem to be Thomas, but no plum in the mouth Thomas' these are Welsh men ;D
Wendi
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I,ve got a "Comfort" in my tree, born 1810-ish, with a neice given same name!! :D
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whoops forgot Elphelet!!! Herbrew, so the internet, tells me!! ::)
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In the male department I've come across:
Theophilius
Ham
Alonzo
Pleasant
Titus
Jabez
Elijah
Jill
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Thomasin...my grandmother's middle name was "Thomasine", named after her father whose name was Thomas. My cousin, to her great disgust, was given Thomasine as a middle name too! She detests it, but I actually quite like it :)
I've seen variants on Thomasin such as Tamzin and Tamzen. I suppose it lives on today, as when I was growing up there seemed to be a few Tamsins around :)
A few ladies' names in my tree that I don't think have made it to the 21st century:
Emella
Jackett
Jacquid
Loveday
Dorcas
Cat
Fortunata
Mally
Jenfer
Ellezzabet
Alse
Tryphena
:D
Prue
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Well I've got a few in my tree, especially where the family name HAD to be carried on and ended up as a first name...
boys
Purchas
Denchfield
girls
Parnel
Parnella
Blandina
Darnigold
Thirza
Mahala
They don't make em like that these days, folk! :D
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I have an Enos in my OH's tree, thankfully the only one. OH also has an Ethel, who I always feel sorry for her as sisters all had much nicer names, ie Lucy, Victoria and Alice.
He has aunts Maud and Nellie not surprising they've gone out of fashion. ::)
My lot were a bit more adventurous with a Lois, Loanda, Mercy and Charity thrown in among the Mary's and Elizabeth's. :)
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No one calls their new daughter Myra anymore probably because of Myra Hindley
Pennine
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A valid point pennine.
I don't think I would want one of those in the family.
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I have
Pleasance
Temperance
Patience
Constance
and their brother Praise-Be.
Karenlee
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I think Daktari single-handedly killed off Clarence as an acceptable boy's name!
Rambler
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I had two uncle Harold's but you don;t see that anymore Harry yes Harold no. When I was about 8 I used to have a children's comic called Playhour and in it there was a cartoon strip featuring Harold Hare.
Pennine
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Just thought of another, Hilda, Margaret Thatcher's middle name. The meaning of Hilda was appropriate for her, it means Battle maiden.
Pennine
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My g-g-g-aunt was Wilhelmina Petronella. Surname Smith ;)
Sula
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Twin friends of my youth were named Annabella and Fenella.
I sometimes wonder where they are today.
As I cast my memory back to childhood I think that period was almost totally devoid of Sarahs and Janes at least as commonly used names. I recall the popular names of the times seemed to include a fair number of Janets and Gillians for girls but I have not heard of any new models being gifted with these for some time.
Many male old testament names seem to be in fairly frequent use but I haven't heard yet of a contemporary Obadiah.
Beth
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Fanny. Nobody dares use it now! ;)
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Hi All,
I have a mans name 'TOWNLEY' in my tree, also a 'CHARLTON' although that's not unusual with there being a famous actor.
Regards
Jayne ;D
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My great x's 4 grandfather was Abijah Ruggles Ferris and my great great Grandmother was Melsine Wilhelmina Rackebrandt. You just never see those anymore. I love the name Melsine but my husband says no if we ever have a girl. ::)
Also in my tree-
Dugald
Alonzo
Gertrude Georgiana
Lutilda
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Theres a couple of Philadelphia's in my tree, including my favourite name in my tree which is Philadelphia Pennyfold, and a Priscilla Direnda Winchester, who later went by the name Priscilla Carendo Winchester
Also a Barbary, Lettice, Mercy, Rejoyce, and on the male side there are Mihel (apparently a very old Brighton fishing name), Staning, and Obed
Glen
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The old fashioned girl's names like Sarah, Emma - really popular in 80's, 90's and probably still are today.
Popular in the past, I guess up till the 70's, but there are not many little boys called John these days. Or Edward .... not in Australia at least.
I'm sure I will think of more.
This is fun but not sure of it's accuracy:
http://babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html
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A couple of very simple names - Doris, my mother's name which even tho it was (according to the above link) ranked no 8 when mum was born, she hated it! Another name you don't see much of - Arthur. Got quite a few of those.
I also have a few Maud, Mabels and Vernice. Oh yes and a Harriet.
Sallysmum
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Greetings! My first post here.
Regarding men's names I have an Abel with a brother and a son Harrop and a father Elihu.
Wendi and PaulaToo mentioned Therza and Thirza -
I have a cousin Thirza, so that name has happily made it to recent times.
Roobarb's post (reply #16) reminds me of one I came across on a search site with the surname... oh, I'll let you guess. ;)
No offence intended btw.
regards
Treebeard
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Another one .... Elizabeth - uncommon these days. And Gregory, my brother's name - rare these days I should think. Forenames often give away a person's age. My mother was a wake up to this and gave me a name that no one had heard of, but is common these days, in the hope that I wouldn't show my age, but I sure don't look 18!!!
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Welcome to Rootschat Treebeard!
I have a Thirza and an Abel in my tree.
I also have a Zebulon, Xenophon and Columbineae!!!!
Since doing my family tree I really favour some of the old fashioned names like Harriet, Dorcas (I have a friend Dorcas and I love the name) and Esther.
Not so such about Philadelphia though, I have a few of them in Sussex in my tree.
Kerry
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Hi Kerry,
Thanks for the welcome!
Names often make a comeback after falling out of favour for a while and I tend to think that the upsurge of interest in family history will cause the reappearance of many from our collective pasts.
I have a few Harriets and an Esther in my tree too. 8)
Treebeard
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I wonder how many Kylies, Chardonnays and such like our descendents will find when looking through their family histories ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Kerry
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A lot of Gandalf's, apparently, too! :D
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The most unusual male name in my tree is Salathiel and the most unusual female name is Lorzey. Thank goodness my parents were unaware of that!
Linda
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Treebeard, welcome to Rootschat.
Kerry,
Dorcas. I had never heard the name before until I found a 9X great grandmother Dorcas Ann Mickelwright. I thought I'd name my next cat that.
And I too have know a Thirza. In my tree, I don't have a lot of odd names, but I do have a Marzolf, which was almost solely an Alsatian last name, except in my case, and it makes it easier tracing my ggg grandfather. And I have an Inez, which might be common in Spanish-speaking countries, but for a Jersey girl (and that's New Jersey ;))in 1910, not so much. I have the odd Harriet, Viola, Miriam, Gertrude, Muriel, Gladys, Lavinia. And for boys, I've got Herbert, Norman, Maylin. And then my share of German, Alsatian, and Jewish names, common to those cultures but odd-sounding to me. You dont' see many Wilhelminias or Gustavs around here.
It would be interesting to see what names are common in England, but not so much in America (where I am) or Australia, Canada, etc. For example, my son is Liam, and he's the only one in our town. And I have a niece Maeve, which is very uncommon here, but probably not so in Ireland.
Kath
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Kath, there are probably lists of popular names in various countries - try a google search.
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Dorcas still in use today ...
PrueM ..you mentioned Dorcas .. my 9 year old Grandaughter has it as her middle name and it was after her Great Grandmother :)
Matty
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Hi
Kerry I know a Zebulon - he is about 19 now - his sister and brother have unusual names as well. Must admit I had never heard of Zebulon until I met this one.
In my tree I have an Eloisa which I think is a really pretty name which I have not met again then or now, but is far too long to go with my surname, so no good for my daughter. Both my grandmothers had names that were unheard of in my generation, but which have now come back - Florence and Phoebe.
Helen
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Helen
I never thought I would meet anyone who actually knew a Zebulon!!!
Mine was born in the 1850s.
Phoebe - another favourite of mine, a very pretty name!
Kerry
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So far in my tree i have.
Females:
Keturiah
Rosetta
Tryhennia
Loveday
Jestina
Clementina
Males:
Lancelot
Athol
Calvert
Ezekiell
Loads of biblical names that you don't really see anymore like Noah and Isaac.
Kev.
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Man, there's some real beauties, aren't there? I think I feel a family history scrapbook page coming on... ;D
Some of the names are Biblical, including Dorcas and Zebulon. They're out of style in most of the world, but not all. Some of these wonderful names may make a comeback...there are a few very beautiful ones, like Tryphena. Not so sure about Xenophon... :D It would make a change from all those Ashleys and Kimberleys and Britneys and Jasmines... ???
Cheers,
China
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Oh, and we have a Noah and an Isaac in our church, both of them children. Just to balance them out, though, we also have a Joe :D
C
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Off topic but
a children's comic called Playhour and in it there was a cartoon strip featuring Harold Hare.
I had that comic too! Harold had friends Dickie Dormouse and Happy Hedgehog...it was my favourite story and do you know I can't remember anything more about that comic :(
Suey
ps an aquantance has just named her baby boy Albert! after his paternal grandpa.
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Hi
I have an Enoch ........ the only other I know is Enoch Powell
There is also an Elphinstone ???... goodness knows where this came from
My granny was Violet Agnes .... not many young Agnes's around today
Cal 8)
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I have....
Boys:
Manasseh
Featherstone
Thompson
Elijah
Enos
Telfar/Telford (changes like the weather!)
Elisha
Jonas
Girls:
Martha
Clara
I have far too many Elizabeths, Janes, Margarets and Marys!!
Legs
xxxx
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I have a Tamar, which I'd never heard before,but since trawling through the censuse's Iv'e seen quite a few.
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These are my most unusual names I found on my tree
Female
Tryphena
Mercie
Male
Bromley
Milburga
Abel
Enoch
Jabez
Emmanuel
Johnson
Josiah
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Zachary isn't a mans name you hear these days
Wendi :)
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My grandmother was Adelina Isabella. I wanted to call our daughter Adelina. She is a Quested and of course the most famous (fictional) Quested is Adela in A Passage To India.
So Adelina was vetoed as a) it would look as if we were making some reference to the fictional Quested, and would not wish to have something nasty happen to her in the Malabar Caves, and b) she would be mocked.
Old names are coming back. My Great-nieces are Olive and Eliza.
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And what about Comfort in Casualty?
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Yes it's a lovely name, sheronb mentioned it in her family used in 1810's!
That reminds me of another male name used in my family for 4 generations:
Ambrose
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I always felt sorry for my grandmother's cousins who were named Elto Eunice (girl) and Cupid Cornelius (boy).
Other names in my tree that are out of the ordinary.....
Girls....
Malvina
Hepzibah (lots of those)
Rennie
Gesina
Zenobia
Damaris
Elvina
Jessamine
Boys......
Elam
Aquila
Elwyn
Garrod
Bletsoe
Dyker Algernon
and lots of Valentines
.....dee
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Dee
What Fab names :) where did they get those from ??
In modern day my great niece is called Heaven and we all thought that was odd :-\
Cal 8)
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Hi
Interesting to note that out here in the Colonies [Australia] where the English influence is still strong in many sectors , some of the names you mention as less usual are quite common.
As a teacher, I encounter a lot of ....
Zachary
Elizabeth
Olive and Oliver
Eliza [got one of my own]
Harriet
Edward
Isla
John
Many, many girls with belle and bella at the end
Met a Euphemia aged 5 the other day!
The Wendy's, Susan's and Glenda's of my day are rare.
I wonder if Elsie will make a come back.
Sue
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There's some great names here. Good thing we're not planning on any more kids in this little family!
Anyway, here's my contribution from my family annals:
Boys
Shadrach (Which in these days would be shortened to Shady - I think not, somehow!)
Earn (a number of these, as I assume an alternative to earnest)
Nehemiah
Girls
Kezia
Jemima (but watch for this to come back with a Beatrice Potter film on the way)
Honor
Sabina
Pena
This is fun but not sure of it's accuracy:
http://babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html
Definitely fun, and shows the following of my family first names took a dive over the last 40-50 yaers
Elma
Millicent
Agnes
Vera
Blanche
Adelaide
Clementine
Rosina
gertrude
Walter
Hubert
Ambrose
Bertram
But confirmed for me that
Ezekiel
Cornelius
Zachary
Silas
were making a strong comeback
JULIAN
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Just read an article today which said that Ethan, Noah and Sienna are popular in NSW:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20940817-36398,00.html
My sister is a teacher and named her son Zachary because she had never taught a Zac. Now every other kid is Zac.
I love names. My daughter was still "baby" at three months because we couldn't agree/decide on a name. After all that time I'm still not happy with my choice.
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This is a very interesting topic!!
As a teacher i see lots of
Bethany
Jack
Thomas/Tom
good sensible names i think
BUT i have a middle name Jean named after my grandmother and ive yet to meet any other person with that name!!
I have a friend with middle name Frances which she detests ;)
I hardly ever see William anymore so if im lucky enough to have a son in the future William it is!!
The most unusual in my tree would have to be SMYRNA, middle names of both my late grandpa and his second cousin.
During my school years there was a girl named Marijuana ::) id hate to have that name!!
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Philadelphia !
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Easter
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Alexandriena (sp?)
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Christmas!
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True !
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In my tree I have one family with many generations of Hercules. My husband has a Neighbour (male) – never seen that one anywhere else – and I have a Lessey (female) which doesn't seem too common.
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Hercules - I love it 8) 8) 8)
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Most of mine are just the boring Mary or Elizabeth for girls and John and Thomas etc. for boys.
The most unusual girl's name I have in my tree is Argentine and boy's name is Augustus Hiram.
Some names have surprised me. I had always thought of Susan as a 1950s name but have one in my tree born in 1827.
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Miss Marple - Hercules Poirot - Tanja - is there a link ? :D
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We might be slightly off topic here Newfy ;D but I have an immoderate love for names like Sampson, Hercules, Achilles, Zeus, Ulysses et al
(I struggled to find a father for any of them however - well, nearly succeeded with Ulysses but the child wasn't to be a boy, hey ho !!)
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Anyway back to topic ;) ;)
I've just been going through my tree and picked out some unusual ones - Sylvan, Trayton, Eden, Avann, Tilden and Mirab and a mirad of biblical names such as Soloman, Isaac and Orpah.
What is interesting is that I noticed that with some of the unusual names such as Sylvan once a child had been called that, in successive generations they start to crop up amongst cousins children. Either it has a family significance or they were creating favourite and popular name trends of their own!
Kerry
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What is interesting is that I noticed that with some of the unusual names such as Sylvan once a child had been called that, in successive generations they start to crop up amongst cousins children. Either it has a family significance or they were creating favourite and popular name trends of their own!
Same here, Kerry. Earn was everywhere on my Barritt offshoot. He was the father/grandfather/great grandfather (and in some cases great uncle). He did have a large farm, so maybe it was about keeping in touch with the money!
JULIAN
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;D ;D ;D ;D ;D LOL Earn - keeping in touch with the money!!!!
Seriously though perhaps it was about successful relatives. Another line of investigation maybe!!!
Kerry
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I love to see the tradition of names staying in a family and sad to see them die out. My gg grandmother named one of her sons Selden, the surname of a man she worked for and who did a lot for the family. Funnily, her half brothers, whom she helped raise, carried on the name, but none of her direct descendants. Maybe I need to name another cat that. :D
Kath
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My friend and her mum are both called Merle, which i think is french for blackbird.
And my auntie is called Jeanne but it is always pronounced Shan when shes being posh ;D ;D
Kev.
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Maybe I need to name another cat that. :D
;D ;D ;D
Another boys one, I came across on the Armed Forces board just now
Ezra
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I named my daughter BROMLEY, she is 6 years old. After she was born, my sister found it in a name book for BOYS. Ah well, it is a pretty name for a pretty girl *s*
These are my most unusual names I found on my tree
Female
Tryphena
Mercie
Male
Bromley
Milburga
Abel
Enoch
Jabez
Emmanuel
Johnson
Josiah
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I have quite a few FLOWERS in my tree, all from girls born a Flowers naming there first son. The last is in 1890 though.
Darren M Flowers
Australia
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Now that reminds me of the Darling Buds of May - Primrose, Violet and other flower names for girls.
Daisy
Rose
Ivy
etc
You don't see those anymore
Kerry
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daughter
Now that reminds me of the Darling Buds of May - Primrose, Violet and other flower names for girls.
Daisy
Rose
Ivy
etc
You don't see those anymore
We thought of Ivy for our daughter's middle name but ended up with Mae.
My neighbor is thinking of naming her daughter (due in February) Vivianna. Different and pretty. Hmmmm.
Kath
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I ws due on Valentine's Day and my Dad apparently wanted to call me Valentine. I decided to come 3 days late! ::) ::) ::) Well would you want to be called Valentine!!!!! :D :D :D :D
Kerry
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Oh Kerry, good for you for holding out. My daughter was due around Valentine's day also and I was so worried what my mom would do with all of that, but she decided to come 3 1/2 months early, so those concerns disappeared.
Kath
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Hey, letter in the Guardian today on this vey topic!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,,1974362,00.html
Is this one of us?
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Interesting read. Aren't we a timely bunch. I wonder if the author is a Rootschatter? ??? ???
Kath
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Here is an unusual name.
DIEHAPPEY BADGER born 1860 (Mar qrt.) W. Bromwich
I wonder if she did die happy?
Makes me think of a poor badger crossing the road. :'(
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I have twins Noah and Pharoah
also male names
Eustace
Moses
Sylvester (his mother's surname)
Ebeneezer
female names
Adelaide
Selina (transcribed as Salome by the IGI and Suellen on the census.)
Ales (old spelling of Alice)
Virtue
and my grandmother was Mabel Getrude,
Anne
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Hi I have Valentine for boys, ;) someone in my tree has that as their middle name. So does that count ???.
I thought Ezekiel was unusual til I searched on that other site ( genes) shhh now I have changed my mind on that one, & apparently it is coming back into fashion !!!! :o
Coppernob
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My grandmother's uncle was a boat designer and named 2 daughters after boats he was involved with- Ailsa Craig and Edith Reliance. Her father was a sea captain and older sister born at sea on J.H. Dexter had Dexter as a middle name.
I've also got great-grandfathers named Blanchard, Valentine and Elias. My grandmother was Viola with sisters Otilda, Clara Frances, Henrietta, Alta Daisy and Arvilla Millicent.
Lots and lots of other unusual names like Orinda, Zaidee, Lurana, Theodosius as well as Biblical ones like Jabez, Ebenezer, Abraham, Zebulon.
At school there were lots of Susans, Debbies, Karens, Lisas, Michaels, Roberts but also Atherine, Noah and Ezra.
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I thought Ezekiel was unusual til I searched on that other site ( genes) shhh now I have changed my mind on that one, & apparently it is coming back into fashion !!!! :o
I have a Ulysses (middle name Grant) on my tree and I did an Ancestry search of just Ulysses G and no last name for the time period and many many names came up. Even back then, people named after famous people, or followed some kind of trend.
Kath
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I used to have an aquaintance called Thomasin (female)
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I used to call my brother Tom Thomasina when I wanted to tick him off. :D :D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Kath
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Hi there,
In my husband's family there are Penuel and Phanuelina both for girls.
I also have a couple of Ebenezers - you don't see many of them.
I have also found a clutch of -inas - it was common in Scotland anyway to give a girl a boy's name and stick ina on the end so we get Edwardina and Wilhelmina.
Christian as a girl's name is one you don't see now - tends to be used only for boys.
Cheers,
Clare
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Loved reading all the different names. Make all my family seem so boring, all being Thomas, William, Alexander, John!
I do have a Cornelius and a Reliness.
I have a Tamar, which I'd never heard before,but since trawling through the censuse's Iv'e seen quite a few.
My cousin named his daughter Tamar when she was born last year. I understand it is pronounced "tame her" - hope he doesn't need to do that much when she's older! (don't quote me on the pronounciation - my granny told me that but she also got Tamar's name wrong several times!).
Sharon (I understand mine to have originally a male name!)
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Some of the unusual ones in my tree have already been mentioned here:
Girls - Loveday, Thirza Merhalia, Charity, Bartha, Agese, Robina, Petronella, Lavinia, Christian, Tamar, and my very favourite - Sybella. There is also an Eliessbeth and a Julchen, but they were German so probably not that unusual.
Boys - Emmanuel, Cornelius, Elisha, Jabez, Job, Hay, Michaud (French). My husband's ggrandfather apparently had a sibling called Seppelt.
Unfortunately none of these people are in my Smith line. No, they're all Johns and Freds and Bills and Charlies. Impossible!!
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I've just found 2 Ethelberts (uncle and nephew) who were related to my gggrandmother. Rather a grand name for a railway guard and a grocer's warehouseman! Don't think it will make a comeback.
:D :D
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Clare
I've got a Christiana, I've just remembered, tho she was called Christian on the cencuses.
Helen
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I've got a couple of Christianas in my tree too, Helen ;D
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Not to go off topic but as a kid I always complained that my name was common. There were 5 of us in my class of 100 kids. (Name is Kristin). My parents always said no one had the name in the early 1970's when they picked it out.
Well, I have repeated history. I named my son Nicholas last year when he was born. I never hear that name anymore well at his day care and at the doctors office, I have met at least 4 other kids with the same name born this past year. He is going to say the same thing to me that I did to my parents. Why did you use such a popular name?
Back on topic. A firend of mine named her daughter Mary. That is one you never hear anymore. Simple and nice.
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I did exactly the same Nutkin. I called my baby Gemma 21 years ago - had only met 1 before. I must have been moving in the wrong circles. A little 3 year old called Gemma informed me she had 4 Gemmas at her preschool!! when I took new baby to clinic ::)
Helen
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Don't you think thats goes for most things in life though,as soon as you have something, the world and his wife seem to have it also, we bought a brand new car last year, I choose a colour which I had hardly seen before and bingo, now every other one is the same as ours. ::) ::) ::)
I was looking yesterday at the top names for boys and girls, neither of mine are on it but then they go in fads.
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The fads tend to where you live also. When my son was born, we named him Liam -- not very common in the States but not unheard of. I personally didn't know anyone named that. Bam, there were two or three babies named Liam. We moved to another state and he is the only one here with that name.
When we had our daughter, we picked Molly. Didn't know anyone with that name. Last year, in her small prek class, there was another one, plus 2 more in the nursery school. And there is one down the street from us and two grown ladies in our town called that. I still love it, though, so quite happy with my choices. :) :)
Kath
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Thats the most improtant thing, ;) I wonder if there are many if any that do regret the names they chose for thier children ??? we have a rellie that has a Molly too. ;)
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Oh we Rootchatters are such trendsetters! ;D
meles
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I wonder if there are many if any that do regret the names they chose for thier children ???
If Liam had been a girl he was going to be Cassidy. I am so glad he wasn't a girl. I think I would have regretted that. It seems so trendy to me now.
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I always wanted a girl but it was not to be, if I had, I would have called her Zoe Emily still love those now even now.. :) :)
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One of my Grandfathers brothers was named Aeldred,sounds like a Saxon name :D :D
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It is, Oonah.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ailred_of_Rievaulx
meles
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Thanks Meles,
You are a font of knowledge :D....did you notice what he was the Patron Saint of????
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No I didn't! My patron saint!
meles
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LOL ;D ;D ;D
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My earlier post of naming m daughter BROMLEy. She has the middle name of MOLLY. Actually her other middle name is VICTORIA, not that common nowadays is it?
What the heck, here are my kids ames:
BROMLEY VICTORIA MOLLY
DECLAN MONTGOMERY JOSEPH
URIAH MALAHY AINSLEY
So there are a few unusual nameees in that lot.
Cheers,
Darren M Flowers
Lismore NSW
Australia
The fads tend to where you live also. When my son was born, we named him Liam -- not very common in the States but not unheard of. I personally didn't know anyone named that. Bam, there were two or three babies named Liam. We moved to another state and he is the only one here with that name.
When we had our daughter, we picked Molly. Didn't know anyone with that name. Last year, in her small prek class, there was another one, plus 2 more in the nursery school. And there is one down the street from us and two grown ladies in our town called that. I still love it, though, so quite happy with my choices. :) :)
Kath
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maybe I should check my spelling before posting, sorry about that
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Hi, here are some of the names/spellings in my tree that I don't hear of anymore, some I have never heard of! Although I would imagine there to be at least one person in the world with them, a lot are very biblical.
Girls
Orinthea
Tegworth
Maree
Breda
Veronica
Rosa
Rosetta
Eunice
Vera
Octavia
Inez
Euphemia
Emmie
Bloomah
Cecilia
Mahalah
Leonora
Dorothea
Margretta
Lavinia
Leticia
Minnie
Ludmilla
Dora
Belinda
Daisy
Nesta
Bessie
Nellie
Hester
Beatrix
Mildred
Christiana
Clara
Blodwen
Eveline
Eveland
Eveling
Lena
Alma
Millicent
Augusta
Rhoda
Nathalli
Vrina
Rosanna
Eda
Prudence
Bertha
Faith
Rosina
Honour/Honor
Rosamund
Tryphena
Adelaide
Simha
Lilia
Thirza/Thurza
Elspeth
Lucinda
Dinah
Celia
Cordelia
Emaline
Betsey
Lynfa
Katrena
Charity
Leny
Agness
Benedicta
Gertrude
Teresa
Thomasin
Boys
Baptist
Eric
Royden
Emrys
Brinley
Ephraim
Horace
Woolf
Simeon
Lipman
Marian
Noah
Percy
Cecil
Hubert
Granville
Sidney
Ivor
Meshach
Shadrack (except on Emmerdale)
Josiah
Bisto (must have been after the gravy)
Isidore
Preston
Ivan
Isiah
Franklin
Emanuel
Hebert
Griffith
Melville
Bertram
Blumer
Heber
Asher
Solomon
Isaac
Ralph
Augustus
Esmond
Levy
Luther
Bertie
Willoughby
Clifton
Tobias
Silas
Lucifer (bit unfortunate!)
Eli
Ebenezer (that time of year!)
Jacob
Orlando (except for Mr Bloom)
Howell
Caleb
Aquilla
Montague
Adolphus
Israel
Elias
Enoch
Lewthwaite
Kingsley
Rowland
Gersham
Reuben
Job
Zadok
Elon
Desimus
Judah
Amos
Abraham
Its not until you do something like this that you notice how unusual some of the names in your family tree are, some of them are really nice as well.
Merry Xmas Everyone!
Kate ;D
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Hello
I have a
Thirza
Keturah
Zalpah in my tree.
Merry Christmas to you all
Elaine
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What a great list, buttonmoon, I savoured every one of them :)
BBC article today says Lilly, Ruby and Archie are making a comeback
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6196035.stm
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I didn't expect to take up so much room! ;D
Kate
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Octavia - now there's a great name!!!!
Kerry
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BBC article today says Lilly, Ruby and Archie are making a comeback
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6196035.stm
Our cat's called Archie - she's a girl cat but she's definitely an Archie!!
RuthieB
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I have a neighbour called Tasie, which I have always thought was a lovely, unusual name. Turns out she was christened Anastasia, which she absolutely loathed so she shortened it to Tasie! A much nicer name, I have to agree.
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RuthieB, this is the absolute truth, a friend in Switzerland has a cat called BUMFACE :o :o :o but he does not look like that at all, hes lovely, we have never been able to get her to explain how he got the name.
(http://www.websmileys.com/sm/animal/1228.gif)
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I wasn't prepared for Thurza, until I found it in my ancestry. Her last name was Thomas. She was born abt. 1873 in Cornwall. I thought all the "cool" names came from there until I got into the family lines in the 1600's in the US.
Male: Return, Ebenezer (an oft-used favorite in the family evidently), Eleazer, Pelatiah, Gideon, Jedidiah (with a 'd' not a 'b'), Treat (a mother's maiden name), and Elisha, and Isaac.
Female: Esther, Dorcas (named after her mother), and Abigail. Al very Biblical and traditional. This was in CT when it was a colony of GB.
Two hundred years later another family didn't do their women any favors with: Penelope, Laurene, Erie Anna, Ariadna, Alsinda Millissa; or their men either: Samuel Finley, Gregory Nazian, Josiah, or Herman Gustavos.
But some of the 'doozies' chosen today won't stand the test of time like Peter, Michael, John, Stephen, James and David. Many of these names were used along with Return and Ebenezer in my family. RedFox :D
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After reading through some of the great names here, I stopped to work on one of my family lines. Two names hit me -- big time -- I can't even guess if they were male or female.
Zalmon (does it rhyme with salmon?)
But this one really got me: Zerviah. The baby was born in 1719-1720 and died about six years later. Soooo, the family had to name a second child Zerviah in 1727-1728. This child died within days.
This from a related family who used Peletiah and Jedediah! And Gershom who named his daughter Amasa.
Who ever said genealogy isn't fun, didn't spend much time in research. Happy hunting everyone. I got one lead back tonight from my many feelers. Thanks scarbro. RedFox :D
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I think it was a macabre practice to name another child after a deceased one, they seem to do it all the time back then. my gt grandfather Samuel was named after his deceased older brother, he only had 2 boys from his first marriage called one of the Samuel and he died also. :(
Thanks goodness no more were called Samuel. :)
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Patrish,
I agree. It is almost like some kind of jinx or bad omen. I have some of that in my family, mostly on the Alsatian side. But then a ggg grandfather Christopher and his son Christopher both got hit by a train and died and I was surprised no one named a child after them, especially as the three remaining sons had loads of kids. I think maybe they saw it as some kind of bad-luck thing.
Kath
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We used to have a Hamser called Catfood. Does that count? :) He lived to just past his 3rd birthday, which i have been told is very old for a hammy. He was a beautiful white long haired Hamster and very gentle with everyone, including the cat. ;)
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What a dreadful name for a hamster ;), almost as bad as Bumface my friends in Switzerland cat. Yes 3 is a good age for a hammy, we had two one pure white called Snowy, yes I know very original :P : and another called Copper after the Disney film the Fox and Hound, he lived a long time in the end we had to have him put to sleep. :'(
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I was really bothered when I ran into the first incidence of having a child named for a deceased sibling. The first time I ran into it was on my mother's side with her maternal great-grandfather.
But I began to see it often in hers and other family lines, although mostly in the 1600 - 1900 time span; probably before also but haven't got there yet. I've learned through genealogical chat rooms it was done because the family wanted to honor the person whose name was used originally - like naming a child after his paternal grandfather.
However, I agree with patrish and KathMc, I would be uncomfortable with it because each child is, or should be IMHO, an individual. RedFox :)
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Hi there,
I have seen the reuse of names in various branches of my tree, which I am still not sure how I feel about. I guess we have to remember that deaths of children was much more common pre-1900, than it is today. I am not suggesting that it was any less devastating than it is today, but society dealt with things in a very different way. While it seems utterly incomprehensible to most of us today that a child's name be reused, it seemed to be a matter of course for some families. In Scotland, there was a common naming pattern, where children were named after grandparents, then parents in a specific order. The cases in which I have seen names being reused have been in the families where this pattern was used most rigorously - I would guess that the reasons for these are linked somehow - along the lines of what RedFox was saying.
Clare
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The author of Ancestral Trails tells a story of a family in his own tree that was so determined to have a son named James that they named all five of their boys James. In an age when there was up to about 40 infant mortality it seems like a good insurance policy, but the strange thing is that all five lived to marriage age. And then their author descendant had to try to sort them all out.
How confusing can that be?
Merry Christmas everybody!
Cheers,
China
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Sounds like the family with five boys named James was badly in need of middle names. Also sounds like they knew my maternal grandfather's ancetors. They seemed to have a thing about all using the same names.
For four successive generations, they alternated James and John -- boy was that confusing! That didn't stop them from using both names in each family either. There were at least three brothers (James, William, & Robert) who used the same names: since their father's name was Robert, they threw that in as well. Fortunately, my grandfather's father stopped doing that and had three girls; he named his sons Clarence and Frank!! Do you think he was rebelling (he was a John himself)? RedFox :) :) :)
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A friend of mine has a great-grandfather named Heman. I'm sure it's meant to be Hernan and been misspelled, but on both index entries (birth and marriage) it's definitely typed "m" rather than "rn", so as far as official records go, Heman it is. My friend's a big comic/cartoon fan though, so thinks it's cool 8)
Haven't come across a Shera yet ;)
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Here's a quote from a thread on the BBC board:
" Saw this marriage FHS mag yesterday
Canterbury marriage licence issued 29th August 1896
Mabel Helmingham Ethel Huntingtower Beatrice Blazonberrie Evaneline Vise de Lou De Orellana Plantagenet Toedmag Tollemache of South Witham Lincoln sp to William BRYANT bach of Folkestone to marry at Folkestone"
They don't make names like that any more! The mother had about 4 names
and there were 4 children with about 10 each then Annie, who had to make do with a measley 5 names
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Someone has already mentioned Mary as a name that has died out for girls. When I was at school Mary & Ann(e) were the most common middle names for girls - Ann also seems to have disappeared for both middle & first names now.
Some of the older names in my tree now rarely seen -
Elsie, Lilian, Fanny, Ethel, Doris, Joan, Jean, Doris, Dorothy, Hilda, Phyllis, Minnie
Frank, Albert, Ernest, Robert, John, Leonard, Percy
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Has anyone mentioned Amorias yet ?
We have one who was the brother of Elisha and Luke Wolstencroft
DS :)
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I gave my partner an interesting little book called Wun't be druv for Christmas all about Sussex dialect. It talks about some of the non conformist babies born in 1600s such as Flee Fornication born in Waldron.
In 1588 just after the Spanish Armada two boys were born in Warbleton, Be thankfull Durrant and Preserved Holman.
Some of the other names found are:
Accepted
Churchyard
Comfort
Craven
Fight the good fight of faith
Freegift
Killsin
Laud on high
Obydyence
Refraine
Repent
SinDeny
Soryforsine
Standfastonhigh
Temperance
Perhaps Kylie and such like are not so bad!!!!
Kerry
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Wow Kerry there are sure some unusual ones there. :o :o
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Patrish
I reckon a lot of them are the result of baseborn children!!! ;D ;D ;D
Kerry :D :D :D
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I reckon a lot of them are the result of baseborn children!!! ;D ;D ;D
Refraine
Repent
SinDeny
Sound as though they might be ;D
JULIAN
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Hello Julian
Can you imagine calling for them in the playground!
"Soryforsine" ;D ;D ;D ;D
Kerry
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Hello Everybody,
hope you've all had a very good Xmas.
I've had a good laugh over some of the names on the board,and thought i'd put my 2 pennorth in.
My granddads cousin's were Venus and Western (males) and
Carmen and Amythist (females).
These cousins were born in 1930's Wales-----I often wonder what
their schoolmates thought of them!
Wishing you all a Happy New Year
MM
boys
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Most of the names in my tree are pretty normal - kings and queens for example, but I do have a couple of Abrahams and a Rawling on the male side. On the female side I've got a Janetta Angus!
I once worked with a girl called Maud which is rare these days, she was married to Gamaliel, lucky girl.
From searching various census declarations, I have found that Haddock was not an unusual Christian name in Victorian times, what were they thinking about?
Although I've tried I haven't yet found an Orson Cart in the lists.
Happy New Year to all.
Pete
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My 6 g grandmother was named Returne ...
Its documented that she "received the name on account of happy coming from England of her father in 1662 before her birth with royal rescript for lenity to the Quakers".
Two of her siblings were named Retire, and Patience.
Haven't seen the names since.
yn9man
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I had a Return born abt. 1671 but it was a 'he' - I think. I can't find a Patience in my line, but have a Prudence in 1676 and several Roswell's (both male).
There were several women named Patience in the 1600's in the William Brewster line. I researched his lineage as a diversion last night; it was interesting to read about the people. They lived about the same time as my son's ancestors.
It gave me a propective on the lifestyle. as well as the outside influences (church, king, etc.). So many times when gaining the basic information on my ancestors, that prospective escapes me in researching my family. It helps to have an understanding of their life then and how it influenced those following.
Happy new year - best of luck to everyone next year with their research. RedFox :) :) :)
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It gave me a propective on the lifestyle. as well as the outside influences (church, king, etc.). So many times when gaining the basic information on my ancestors, that prospective escapes me in researching my family. It helps to have an understanding of their life then and how it influenced those following.
Happy new year - best of luck to everyone next year with their research. RedFox :) :) :)
Well stated RedFox.
Trying to understand their lives is one of the main reasons I enjoy researching my family history. The outside influences on their lives must have been tremendous. Imagine naming your children after significant events in your life.
yn9man
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Elsie, Lilian, Fanny, Ethel, Doris, Joan, Jean, Doris, Dorothy, Hilda, Phyllis, Minnie
Frank, Albert, Ernest, Robert, John, Leonard, Percy
mshrmh has just reminded me of a name we dont see often anymore here Ernest, but funnily enough its my brothers name only he has the spanish version Ernesto :o needless to say he dislikes it so much he much prefers everyone to call him Ernie ;D
Also just remembered ( ::) ) my mums name is Carmen another we dont see often except there were that many Carmen in her family when she was growing up she was always called by her second name Liliana
Happy New YEar people!!
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Liliana is a beautiful name. And my gg grandfather's middle name was Ernest. It made it easier to find him. He and his sister were the only ones with middle names, and I can't find two of his brothers partially due to the lack of middle names. >:(
Kath
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True, Kath. It is only with the help of a middle name that I'm able to identify some my ancestors, along with other family members, year of birth, etc. But the middle name is vital. Happy New Year to y'all. Red Fox
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I have a female second cousin called Zoidic, not a name I have found anywhere else.
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Some names from my family:
Male Names
Noble
Axel Leopold
Newton
Cornelis Antonieuos
Douglas
Female Names
Mrya
Alma
Ina
Meggy
My Grandmother was;
Ferdinanda Sophia Fredericka
My Children
Stephen Corrie
David Kennard
Rebekah Marie
Paul Thomas
Grand Children
Amelia Mary
Leah Ann
and me
Carol Anne
Happy New Year
Carol
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My neice has a girlfriend called Innica. I have never come across that before
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On my list are:
Cleana
Increase
Eudora
Elihu
Theodosia
Herman
Mehitable
Mahala
Epaphroditus
Francelia
Francena
Horace
Horatio
Luverne Angenette
Philena
Sylvester
Sophronia
Deliverance
Eliphaz
Hepzibah
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So far in my tree i have.
Females:
Keturiah
Rosetta
Tryhennia
Loveday
Jestina
Clementina
Males:
Lancelot
Athol
Calvert
Ezekiell
Loads of biblical names that you don't really see anymore like Noah and Isaac.
Kev.
Kev,
I beg to differ.....My son will be 3 in march....His name Isaac Byron
My daughters names are
Dana-Elise 6yrs
Adaline Rose 20wks
:)
Julie
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I've just found a Jabez!
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How about this bunch
Girls:
Achsah
Bathsheba
Cybelia
Hagar
Keturah
Vine
Boys:
Ambrose
Bland
Elah
Ephraim
Inkerman
Issachar
Jephthah
Leland
Levi
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According to http://babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html
Levi is making a comeback - 149th in UK in 2005.
JULIAN
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I was reminded today of a name that was in our family that I actually quite like because of a TV series
Hepzibah!!!
Anyone remember Carrie's War in the 1970s??
Kerry :) :)
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Carrie's War......that takes me back! I used to watch it with my sons.
Nanny Jan
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The title rings a bell but I cant remember what is was about. ;D ;D
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Two children from London evacuated to Wales, end up with a couple in a sweet shop and they are not allowed to walk on the stair carpet during the week!
Meet a strange lady who lives in the woods called Hepzibah who has a disabled brother I think.
Kerry
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Thanks Kerry , must have seen the title but not the series, dont recognise it. :-\
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I used to work with a Dorcas. Then there was a Major, it took me long enough to realise that this was his given name and not his title! Then there was also a guy called Friend.
My best friend at schools' grandfather was called Verdun, which I think was after the battle in WW1. In my family tree I have been amazed by names from the 1800s that I thought were relatively modern to the present day,
Caroline, Julia and Joy. There is even a Zac amongst lots of James, William, Richard and Joseph. Mary, Jane, Sarah and Elizabeth are also prevalent.
Other names that I like are Alice and Letitia. My most sympathetic name has to be Cordelia Clutterbuck. She married a guy called Bright in the late 1760's and boy must she have been glad to become Codelia Bright.
Pennine
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One of the ancestors I've researched is a Major, although I'm not sure if it's his name or rank. But his middled or first name is Philo. Seems to be a popular name in the family. Reminds me of a flaky dough! RedFox
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[quote
One of the ancestors I've researched is a Major, although I'm not sure if it's his name or rank. But his middled or first name is Philo. Seems to be a popular name in the family. Reminds me of a flaky dough! RedFox
Wasn't Clint Eastwoods character in Every Which Way But Loose called Philo Bedoe? Or something like that - it was one of the films with the Orang Otang.
Pennine
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pennine - I think you're right about the name of the film. Without checking, the name of the character sounds right too. Red Fox
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I have just been searching the births indexs and found these unsual names
Emblen and Kerenhappuch and on the IGI a marriage of a Fortunatus!
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Hi, like most people, my family have the same old names repeated every generation - kings of England for the boys and common biblical names for boys and girls. So when there's an exception it leaps out at you. Early on I have Imri and Enoch.
Imri is biblical and so rare in this country (not abroad, how about footballer Imre Varadi?) that you can search Ancestry on christian name alone and not get many hits. It turns out ours was pinched from a local squire, but I don't know where he got it from. A nephew got the same name and gets transcribed as Lurri, Envi....
Enoch is commoner but unknown in our family until William Enoch Skelcey. His mother died giving birth to him and he was brought up by his aunt Elizabeth Enock (sic) and seemingly was given that middle name for that reason. He seems to have gone by the name Enoch to distinguish himself from all the other William Skelceys in Cubbington.
Which brings me to this question: if Enock is a surname it ought to be a patrionymic which means the name Enoch must have been around during the times when surnames were evolving. And so must other, commoner patrionyms.
Yet I'm struck by the almost complete absence of certain names in my (and as far as I can tell) other trees throughout most of the C19th. The most obvious is Peter - why should that be? - but also Michael (found only in Irishmen) Stephen, Phillip, Paul, Christopher, Roger, Matthew, Neil and others that became popular enough from the 1880s onwards. Yet they must have been popular during the surname formation period - not just the obvious names but Perkins, Mitchell, Hipkins, Kitson, Hodges, Dodgson and so on tell the story.
After about 1880 my family start to get more inventive. My youngest three great aunts were Mabel, Rosa and Lois - new names for the family, and elsewhere appear Sybil, Wilhelmina, Cecil, Cyril, Gladys - old-fashioned names now but then perhaps quite trendy!
Beware mistranscription as always. I was sure "Silly Corbett" was wrong - even in the days of "be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever" that surely couldn't have been one of the virtues? True, she was "Sibly" on another census and "Sybil" at birth - they couldn't spell.
Chris
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Hi Chris
I have one family where Peter carried on through the generations in the C19th. I do have a family with Enochs too.
I think it is just fashion - I knew no little Victorias when I was growing up - all Susans and Rosemarys, then there were thousands.
Helen
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Having just indulged in an Inspector Morse repeat on ITV reminded me of the great Detective's name - Endeavour. Now there's a name you don't see often!!!!!
Kerry
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One of my ancestors had 11 children:
William, George, Mary, Charles, Kate, Henry, Jane, Frances, Sarah and John
The 11th was called Samuel Lorenzo! :o
He was born in 1853.
I have Googled "Samuel Lorenzo" and the only one I can find of note was Samuel Lorenzo KNAPP, an american author.
Why would someone in 19th England name their son after an American author or is there some other explanation?
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Any clues from where they lived or what the occupations were? Have you looked for Lorenzos elsewhere in your tree?
Sounds intruiging!
Nanny Jan
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The family lived on the southern edge of The New Forest, near Lymington. His father, Charles, was an Ag. lab. and later a fisherman.
The older brother Charles had the middle name Samuel. In the 1861 he is called Samuel - I presume to so he wouldn't be confused with his father and to save even more confusion Samuel was called Lorenzo. ::)
I have not found any other Lorenzos around.
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Wonder if the English fisherman met a foreign fisherman?
Not a mis-read name is it?
Nanny Jan
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He's Samuel Lorenzo in the parish register but transcribed as Lorenza on the 1861 census.
I suspect he will remain one of life's puzzles.
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Don't have my tree handy but from memory I have a Levi (boy) and a Mercy (girl)
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In the IGI there is a girl named Hannah Headache Tabor
Makes you wonder!!
Alf
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I also have an Angle (girl)...I'm assuming they meant to write Angel :-\
Caz
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I have Gaius (boy), Cornelius (boy), Milo (boy) & Zilpah (Girl) :)
Dolly
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My Flexeney family of Oxfordshire often used Merlin or Marlin as a girl's name
Steve
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I have Gaius (boy), Cornelius (boy), Milo (boy) & Zilpah (Girl) :)
Dolly
Dolly my great great grandfather was Gaius and I have to confess I really like the name now. :)
I came across Retornes today (girl), very odd name!
Kerry
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I have Levi (boy) Valentine (boy) and Alethea (girl)
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This is a great thread! :)
Here are some given names from my husband's & my trees that I never hear:
- Absolom (spelled several different ways, including Ablsom), Addie, Adelaide, Adelia, Adoniram (spelled several different ways), Albion, Alfreda, Alma, Almeda, Alvah (male), Amos, Aquila, Atkins, Augusta
- Bartholomew, Beauchamp, Beecham, Bertha, Bertram, Beulah, Blanche
- Carvell, Charity, Chester, Cecil, Clifton, Clyde, Constance, Cora, Cornelius
- Delice, Delphene
- Effie, Elbridge, Elisha, Elmer, Elsie, Elvira, Ethel, Ewart
- Flora, Forest, Foy
- Geneva, Gertrude
- Hattie, Hazen, Henrietta, Herman, Hiram, Honor, Horace
- Inglis
- Seakons and Sampson as middle names
- Kingsley
- LaVonne, Lester, Levi, Lida, Lizetta, Lucretia, Luella
- Mariner (popular in a family of master mariners), Marvel, Maynard, Mervin, Milton, Mina, Minard, Moses, Muriel, Myrtle
- Nareva
- Oren, Orr, Ozro
- Percy or Percival, Preston
- Queenie
- Reuben, Robley, Rosanna, Roscoe, Rosella, Rosetta, Rosina
- Solomon or Saul, Sophronia, Stannes, Sumner, Susannah
- Tabitha (born 1853), Thelma
- Verna
- Ward, Webster, Wellington, Wesley, Willard, Winfield, Winifred
My 4th-g-grandfather was named Barnett Barnett.
A highschool friend's middle name was Petronella. Her parents were from Holland.
One of my favourite names is Sydoney / Sidoney. I read it in a book and then met someone with that name a few years ago. I don't know where it came from or if it's old.
Regards,
Josephine
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I have a Mildon in my family - still not sure of the sex as it was a surname that was passed down!
Other than that they're all the run of the mill Sarah, Elizabeth, Mary, John and Davids!
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I haven't ploughed through the whole of this thread, so excuse me if any of the following have already been covered.
Philadelphia was quite a common name, particularly in Sussex.
Keziah also seemed a popular name, particularly in country areas. A name that seemed to have died out, I have suspected for a while that it will make a comeback with so many people taking an interest in their family history. There is now a character with that name in "The Bill". It is apparantly the hebrew name for the senna bush.
I have a work colleague called Comfort.
I am suprised a teacher has not come across any Williams - I know umpteen children by that name. There must also be a fair few young men so-named who were born shortly after Prince William.
My grandmother was called Maud. It has always struck me as an ugly, hard-sounding name. An old lady's name. But I now know of little girls called Ruby, Elsie, Edie... None called Doris or Ivy yet. When my eldest son started school some ten years ago, I was surprised to meet a little boy called Stanley. I haven't come across any little Alberts, Bertrams or other Berts, yet. Or Percys.
Dimps
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Dimps - I was especially interested to see the name "Percy" as my father, his uncle, and grand-uncle were all named Percival. In fact, using names is one of the ways I know if I was looking for the right family or not. Dad was called Percy as a youngster (1920 census). Don't know if he had his name changed legally or not. Also, haven't figured out when he started going by his middle name - Arthur - but was known as Art or Red for most of his life (he was a redhead). He started losing his hair at age 19! He looked 70 when he died at age 53. RedFox
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Keziah also seemed a popular name, particularly in country areas. A name that seemed to have died out, I have suspected for a while that it will make a comeback with so many people taking an interest in their family history. There is now a character with that name in "The Bill". It is apparantly the hebrew name for the senna bush.
Hmmm! I take it she has no problem in the toilet department then ;D
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In My Hubbys and My Family Tree There Are a
(Boys Names)
Jonas
Walton
Caleb
Roger
(Girls Names)
Phoebe
Martha
Harriett
and Lots of James William and Marys
Regards
Iria
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Most of the "weird" name (to us anyway) in our family seem to reside in my son's family history. Since they came to CT abt. 1622, guess that is only natural. However, there is one line I had no information on until last night. The man's name was Amasa Farrington Kinne (obviously, the middle name was a family name). He went by the initials A.F. - which I can understand. A.F. may have had family that went back to the 1600's, but he was born in 1813 in Vermont and died in 1894 in MI. I'm just pleased to have been able to crumble one more brick wall. RedFox
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There's an Amasa in my distant tree, too, but I think he went by his first name, which was Claire. I think he was born in Maine in the 1800s.
Regards,
Josephine
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but I think he went by his first name, which was Claire. I think he was born in Maine in the 1800s.
I met a male Clair (this spelling) in Nebraska on a family history research visit in 2006. He was aged about 30. Amazed that this is still being used for boys in the US (or was until as recently as the 1970s).
Anna
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I absolutely love all the names you have found. Some are downright hysterical.
My grandmother was Maud Martha (sounds so old and cold) and I have a few 2 Enoch and 2 Eustace, but otherwise they are the usual Elizabeth, Eliza, Mary, Anne, Grace but lots of John, Richard and heaps of William. I even came across a Louisa and that was unusual in those days. The other one I noticed was Eleanor (my second name) and I love it.
I was searching the UREN baptisms and came across Horatio Hornblower Uren - I couldn't stop laughing. ;D
The there was another one (not my line so I left it alone - the middle name was Piddle and I was grateful it was not a Uren ::).
What will our future descendants be saying about the new names, Sky, Moon, Wind, Storm, Chastity etc etc. I have a few of these in the family already :o
In my next life I want to be an Eloise ............. my favourite girlie name and I want to marry a Richard. Hahahahahahaha ;D
Keep them names rolling !!!!!!!!!!
CP
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A friend of mine has a great-grandfather named Heman. I'm sure it's meant to be Hernan and been misspelled, but on both index entries (birth and marriage) it's definitely typed "m" rather than "rn", so as far as official records go, Heman it is. My friend's a big comic/cartoon fan though, so thinks it's cool 8)
Haven't come across a Shera yet ;)
I have a Hori in my family tree. Apparently it is a biblical name. In the bible, Hori had a brother called Hemam.
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Josephine, do you think they might have been any relation? I need to take my information to the library to use their subscription to Ancestry.com to try and find out more about the family. Amasa is such an unusual name, I shouldn't think there are that many. But who knows? If I find any leads to Maine or a Claire Amasa, I'll let you know through a personal message. I got started in genealogy because my son is an only child. It would be fun to find more "distant counsins", especially here in the States. Most of the ones I've found so far are in England. Red Fox
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Red Fox,
His last name was Boobar. He married into my Riley family although not my direct line.
I think he had an Amasa Snow as an ancestor but I can't remember.
Amasa Clair(e) Boobar and Emma (nee Riley, first married name Rediker) were both from Maine but ended up in Minnesota. He and Emma were buried in Calais, Maine.
Yes, let me know if you ever find a connection. :)
Regards,
Josephine
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Thanks, Josephine. I'll note the info. Boobar - now that is unusual name. I seem to remember seeing a first name just as unusual someware along my mother's line. Not even sure I can find it right now. Will let you know what I find. Sounds like you've already done a study of the couple. Red Fox
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The most unusual name in my wife's maternal line is Cruce Barracliffe Launders - variously transcribed/recorded on birth/census documents as Kruce, Cruice B., etc., but I read it as Cruise. There doesn't appear to be any Barracliffes in the family line so it isn't a 'handed down' surname.
He died aged 18 of Phthisis (TB or Consumption).
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Regarding the recent past enthusiasm for names such as Sky, Wind, Rainbow, etc. I find it interesting that now, at a time when they should be entering adulthood, their names do not seem to appear in current marriage and birth announcements.
Have they retired their trendy name or is it a reflection on the social conventions of a part of society?
Beth
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Good point, Beth. One has to wonder if they changed their names to something like John, William, Thomas, Susan, or Elizabeth. Elizabeth and Margaret are my two favorite names for girls - If I'd been lucky enough to have a girl, her name would have been Margaret Elizabeth or something similar. As it was I picked two very common but special names for my son. Both Margaret and Elizabeth appear frequently in my family tree. Several grandmothers named Margaret but also an Aunt Elizabeth. RedFox
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When the Geldofs named their daughter Fifi Trixibelle, I always maintained that it was just a publicity stunt and they really called her Susan at home!
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If I might reverse the idea of this thread slightly - I've noticed that a very common name of today 'Michael' was rarely used in Victorian times. Is it a 'modern' name? Enter 'Michael' without a surname in most search facilities and you get very few returns. Does anyone agree, or am I just looking in the wrong places?
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I found no English Michaels in my tree - but a couple of Irish Michaels married in. That's how it might have got more popular in the C20th.
Still, I mentioned earlier in the thread that I had (amongst others) no Peters in my tree, but this is probably because mine didn't use it because it wasn't in their family, and they were conservative about names for most of the C19th. Other people's trees have generations of Peters, though it wasn't common - likewise I find Kezias and Thirzas amongst neighbours, but not in mine.
As I think I wrote before, if a name has given rise to a *surname* then it must have been common at the time surnames were formed - so Mitchell indicates descent from a Michael, Perkins from Peter. Perhaps Michael was seen as a Catholic name and fell from grace amongst Protestants.
Finally, when I come across a name like "Headache" my first thought is "mistranscription". I found a "Silly" - I know girls were named after virtues, and the saying "Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever" implies hte dangers of education, it turned out to be "Sibly" by someone who couldn't spell "Sybil".
Chris
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Well blow me! I hadn't noticed that. Now you mention it....
I haven't got any Michaels either. :D
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I do have a Michael in my tree he was born around 1800. I guess he is the exception.
For further discussion are all Keiths now aged around 55-60?
Linda
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What an interesting thread....some very obscure names :o
I have one or two unusual ones...Thankfull, Providence, Lucilla and Agusta and the men are Jonas, Azariah and Nelson....keep 'em coming! :D
T.T.
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I have a Michael born about 1833 in Canada; his parents were Irish Catholic.
Regards,
Josephine
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Did we have Michaels before the Reformation, when we were all Catholics?
Churches on a hill were often dedicated to St Michael (and All Angels, usually)
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Interesting about Michael. Looking at my tree, I see all my Michaels come from the Irish lot. My English tended toward common or biblical names, thus I have a few Jobs and a Josiah in there. Although, Josiah's son Josiah, who was born in America, went by Joseph in adulthood.
Kath
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According to http://babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html Michael was the most popular boys name in the 1960s/1970s, but only started "taking off" in the 1930s.
JULIAN
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julianb - that is the greatest and most fun website I've seen in a long time. Thanks for adding it to our discussion of names. Now if someone is thinking of naming their new baby, they can get some interesting info. RedFox
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I hadn't noticed the absence of Michaels from our English sides until I read this thread. There are two - both Prebbles in 1701 and 1768 then none until ~1945 and only two since then.
Lots of Irish ones though!
Pete
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Great site Julian. It has actually gotten me pondering names in my tree more than ever, as I input some of them. One that we thought interesting that cropped up around 1910 was Inez, but inputting the name, it was very popular then.
Kath
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On my Dad's side, the most unusual female name is Kezia(h), which I think is very pretty.
I found an 'Anaseth', when seeking out my maternal grandfather's ancestry.
My maternal grandmother had Greek ancestors, so we find Caliope, Cleopatra, Stimati, Emanuel, Agostina, Demetrius. Constantine, Aristadis, Lazaros.
A female relative is called Valentine.
Some names, which others have considered quite unusual, are quite popular around here ~ specifically Harriett.
I also know little-ones called Noah, Ezra, Oscar ~ which are unusual.
And there are, indeed, nationality differences. A French girl stayed with us for a while, when my eldest son was little. She was amazed that we should call a baby by an old man's name: Richard. She and her brother had modern names, she said: Muriel and Eric. I told her that I would consider those names too old fashioned for a child. Another French friend has a young nephew called Cyril & a cousin named Agnes.
Family names can tell us a fair bit about time & place, I think.
Have you read this book?
'Christian Names in Local and Family History ' by George Redmonds.
'Surnames have always provided key links in historical research. This groundbreaking new work shows that first names can also be highly significant for those tracing genealogies or studying communities.'
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Christian-Names-Local-Family-History/dp/190336552X/ref=sr_1_3/202-7956033-3736626?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174561070&sr=8-3
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My husband's line has two sisters named Repentance and Charity. Their surname was Knight.
Repentance married Elijah/Elisha ::)
Gadget
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I'm sure I saw one the other day in the 1600's as I was searching for one of my lot called Redemption. There were a lot of non conformists in the area.
Kerry
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I have just tonight found an Abednego in my family, perhaps this name has been mentioned before but this thread is soooooo long I haven't bothered to check :-[.
I am still looking to see if he had siblings Shadrach and Meshach ???.
Sue
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I have a great uncle Abednego - well I did have until he died. His parents were staunch Methodists. The next brother was an Ira. The girls had 'nice' names like Laura and Eva :)
He was known as Ben and it was only when he died that the truth seems to have come out ::)
Gadget
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A quick Ancestry census search tells Abednego was not such an uncommon name, glad it wasn't passed down my line though ;D
Sue
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It is amazing when you do a search on Ancestry of just a first name and find out names you thought were very unusual were very common. Had a relatives Ulysses Grant Channell, named after the president, and when you do a search for that name, many pop up for the time period he was born in.
But I dont' find too many Marzolfs. ;D ;D My one really unusual first name.
Kath
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I've just posted a message on Caernarvon enquiries re several females named Sydney - a variant on Sidonie? They go back til at least the early 1800s
Steve
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The mention of Welsh names, reminds me of one of my ancestors, Sina(h) Jones nee Sandland (b.c. 1708) There were quite a lot of Sina(h)s in North Wales at one time.
Gadget
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for Sue in Aust
I came across this family while searching recently, so if your Abednego came from Wales, you could have the full set
1841 Beaufort, Breconshire HO107/1366/14 folio 58 pg 7
Charles & Ann Davies with sons Shadrach 13, Mesach 9 and Abednego 7.
;D
Can't see him after 1861, so perhaps he emigrated?
;D
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Thanks osprey
My Abednego was born in Cheshire in 1814 to parents with the very pedestrian names of William and Elizabeth Fenner and so far I have only found a baptisim for one sibling, Thomas born 1812.
I haven't looked for the family in a census yet, so who knows I may still get the full set. ;D
Cheers ;D
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I just found:
Garibaldi Beetlestone
Not a relative, but the father of the bride of one. Perhaps he was known as Gary?
Chris
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He did make nice biscuits though ;)
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I was thinking of those biscuits. We used to call them dead fly biscuits. Then I noticed his surname.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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G a bit like Eccles Cakes ;D Dead fly cakes or where they 'beetles' ??? ;D
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Stoned beetles, by the looks of it. Only question is, were they stone ground or pickled in alcohol?
The mind boggles............... :D
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But what a fab name though I love it ;D ;D
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I have a Haddock (male) in my tree and I've heard of a Posthuma, so called because she was born after the death of her father.
Someone earlier in this thread mentioned Enoch - that was my grandfather's name, and Wendi mentioned Ambrose as a first name. Ambrose was a surname in our family, which was then used as a first name by members marrying and wanting to continue the name.
I know a Mercy and a Jolly!
I know a baby called Noah, which is unusual these days, and recent new babies in the Telegraph births column are Calypso (female) and Falconer (male).
The Telegraph often has unusual names for new babies, it's well worth a look!
Bev. ;D
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Has anyone else got a Bezaleel? It was my great grandad's name - no wonder everyone knew him as Basil ;D
Angela
(That's him in the picture, by the way....)
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I have aunties called Blodwen and Eilonwy - good Welsh names, but out of fashion now.
Bev.
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There is a little Noah in our family.
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Noah is a very popular name here in America. I know many young children with that name.
Kath
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I have a Sanderson Cornelius (surname Dannatt) in my tree!
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Names you don't see anymore...well in my case never seen this one before;
Ferinda...there are three in my family :-\ , and I still can't find out where it comes from.
Someone had called their boy child Woodbine ;D on one of the census....well that's what the enumerator wrote down anyway ::)
We also have a few Manships as a middle name, girls and boys ::)...well they were Mariners.
Far too many Eliza's and Elizabeth otherwise.
Ambers
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Came across a REDPATHINA a girl.
19th Cent. North of scotland.
I am becoming quite attached to Isy Effy and Betsy
Too many Catherines, Annes and Marys
Peter, Johns and Williams
wini
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Easter
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Two names that were common in Cornwall any years ago - Allarina (Helston area) and Tallent (Tintagel area).
Fizzy
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How about Maudlin, Maudling and Maud (mother and daughters) Agnes. Dulce and Persis and Etheldreda.
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Blimey - Maud Maudlin Maudling sounds like one of those latin learning verb things like amo amas amant....
Fizzy
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Had forgotten about this thread but last night I was adding more details to my family tree and remembered this family:
Theodosius married Jane and had: Esther, Leander Starr, Eldridge, Alonzo, Adaniran Judson, Alfred. Leander and 2nd wife Augusta had: Charles, Jane, John, Gertrude. Somehow I wonder if 1st wife Jane isn't to blame for some of those names.
Among Jane's relations there are girls: Angelina, Agnes Dunvegan (named after the castle on the Isle of Skye), Lillis, Ermyn, Ilda, Orinda, Garnet, Zaidee, Lillian Minerva, Hepzeba, Selena, Druscilla, Seretha, & Brasileira Faith (born in Brazil) and boys: Zenas, Basil Primrose, Ashton, Brenton, Waldron, Osborne, Zoheth, Cyrus, Horace, Enos & Crofton Uniacke.
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Basil primrose -- do you think that was being used for a boy or a girl ?
Fizzy
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I have a couple of Friends in my tree (male) then there are Agbert and Abner and i haven't seen many Cicelys, Kezias or Berthas (female) of late how about Ephriam? i have a really weird very distant relative called Galielmus and Jacobus i geuss a variant of Jacob. then there are the Jabez's and Cornelius and finally Annesley
i also have some Horace's and Agnes' but didn't think they wer unusual i geuss it is nowdays though. and an Alfred Albert Augustus but he didnt klike that name he preferred to be known as Albert Alfred Augustus!
one of my relations alled all their children after poets! so i have Milton, Byron, Abner, William (Wordsworth) Reuben after the father and Ephriam
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Researching my son in law's tree found a Sidonia. I'd not come across that one before.
Ellen
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Basil primrose -- do you think that was being used for a boy or a girl ?
Fizzy
Basil Primrose was a boy!
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Galielmus
'Gulielmus' is Latin for 'William'
I bet poor Basil had to keep quiet about the 'Primrose' bit at school
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We had WARDROBE as a Christian name, couldn't believe it but it's in two census years.
Ray
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Angusina, Colina, Alickina.
We have a William Primrose Henderson!
caroline
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My ggggAunt was named Sebarah
I have not seen another yet
Alf
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Fascinating topic!!
Names in my tree that seem to be unused now:
Female: Parthena, Keziah, Mehitable, Electa, Leaffie, Celestia, Freelove, Damaris, Azubah, and Jerusha.
Male: Hopestill, Zaccheus, Ebenezer, Philo, Pliny, Truman, and Nathan
It seemed to be common for two sons in a family to name their sons for their father. The many Ebenezers are examples of that. I really like the name Parthena, maybe because she was my first 'find' in the old tree.
Kathleen
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Hosea
Not certain that he's actually in my tree, but in the course of my research I have come across not one, but TWO of them!
Easington near/in Patrington, from the International Genealogical Index
[li]1735 22 Jun Hosea Bird **ADULT CHRISTENING**, so born some years earlier[/li]
[li]1773 19 Sep Hosea Bird, son of Elizabeth Bird[/li]
[/list]
Never come across it before, and wondered if it might be a corruption of Joseph?
Roger ;)
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Hosea
Not certain that he's actually in my tree, but in the course of my research I have come across not one, but TWO of them!
Easington near/in Patrington, from the International Genealogical Index
[li]1735 22 Jun Hosea Bird **ADULT CHRISTENING**, so born some years earlier[/li]
[li]1773 19 Sep Hosea Bird, son of Elizabeth Bird[/li]
[/list]
Never come across it before, and wondered if it might be a corruption of Joseph?
Roger ;)
Hosea is a name in it's own right. He was a minor prophet and it is the name of one of the books of the Old Testament in the Bible. If you go to Google and just type in the word 'Hosea' lots of information comes up.
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Hosea
Not certain that he's actually in my tree, but in the course of my research I have come across not one, but TWO of them!
Easington near/in Patrington, from the International Genealogical Index
[li]1735 22 Jun Hosea Bird **ADULT CHRISTENING**, so born some years earlier[/li]
[li]1773 19 Sep Hosea Bird, son of Elizabeth Bird[/li]
[/list]
Never come across it before, and wondered if it might be a corruption of Joseph?
Roger ;)
Hosea is a name in it's own right. He was a minor prophet and it is the name of one of the books of the Old Testament in the Bible. If you go to Google and just type in the word 'Hosea' lots of information comes up.
I wonder if it gave rise to a patrionymic - Hoseason?
(It exists, not just a holiday firm)
Chris
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HOSEASON 13 24 14 11 11 13 12 12 11 13 13 29
(21821)
R1b; Shetland Aboriginal - (Western Norway); Patronymic; None recorded; Hosea ROBERTSON born 1743, Aywick, East Yell, son of Robert HOSEASON; The YHRD database indicates that this participant's haplotype is the most frequently occuring R1b signture in Western Norway. There are 16 exact matches in the FTDNA customer database. The only exact matches in the Haplogroup Database are Iceland (4) and Shetland (4). As the number of mutational steps begin to increase there are matches with a host of countries from Portugal to the Ukraine. At the one step level there are 3 matches with Norway; Although this participant's surname is HOSEASON, and his ancestral roots in the male line are linked to East Yell, he is not a direct descendant in the male line of the SJOVALD below (23271), but is a descendant in another line.
This DNA report suggests Hoseason was indeed a name given in patronymic style to a son of Hosea.
Anna
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I wonder if it gave rise to a patrionymic - Hoseason?
(It exists, not just a holiday firm)
Chris
I bet you're right!
And here's another belter I came across recently!
Sir Thomas POSTHUMUS Hoby, M.P. for Scarborough in 1559.
I bet he was a barrel of laughs ... ;D
Roger ;)
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I wonder if it gave rise to a patrionymic - Hoseason?
(It exists, not just a holiday firm)
Chris
I bet you're right!
And here's another belter I came across recently!
Sir Thomas POSTHUMUS Hoby, M.P. for Scarborough in 1559.
I bet he was a barrel of laughs ... ;D
Roger ;)
But was he born after his father died? That was the usual reason for this name being given. Chris
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Following on from Hosea - my gggrandfather, Hosea Sealey was variously known as Uzziah and Azias. I can't decide whether it should have been Uzziah or Hosea since they're both valid Biblical names and he was illiterate so it was always spelled phonetically ;D His brother was Uzziel .....
Angela
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Keziah is a pretty name I hope to find one in my family.
I am content to at the moment to a living person named Keziah in the form of my hairdresser, a young girl in her 20's.
Her Mother liked the name and thought it was different -- not into genealogy I guess.
:) ;)
Coppernob
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Yes, Keziah is a pretty name. There are several in my ancestry -- one married Moses.
Also, the name Silence (women!) was quite frequently used 'way back when'.
There is also a man with the middle name of Og.
Kathleen
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Ah - Og, King of Bashan, from the Bible. Anyone found Ur or Onan yet?
Silence is one of the "virtue" names - I collect these: Faith Hope Charity Verity Joy Constance Patience Prudence. Chastity isn't really one, more a C20th invention. I suppose back in those days women were supposed to be seen and not heard!
Men's virtue names tend to be adjectival - Ernest Constant Clement Christian and, if you like, Frank. Endeavour an exception - or just made up by the Morse author?
Chris
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I do have an Ernest as a middle name in my tree, and the funny thing about it is, of the 5 children in the family, he is the only one with a middle name. ::)
Kath
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There are two men with the name of Experience in my list.
Kathleen
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Adding to the virtue names - one of my ggg grandmothers was Mercy and her sister was Truth. Think I'd rather be saddled with Mercy - fancy having to live up to Truth ;D Temperance is another name I keep coming across too.....
Angela
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Angela :)
I see your counties are the same as OH's - he had a Temperance Knight.
Only one though ::) ::) ::)
Gadget
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Gadget
Just saw your post and happened to have a large glass of chilled wine in my hand at the time. Failed completely on the Temperance front......... ;D
Angela
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I don't think I will see a 'Temperance' either as a loy of mine where Wine merchants (oh how much money that woud save me today ;D )
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A name I came across this week in one of my families was Shammuah. Apparently it was a biblical name which would explain why it occured three times in the family, they were dissenters.
Kerry
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Two Generations ago a favourite name for ladies was Phoebe
I have not seen many of that name lately
Alf
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I guess my mother's name would have to be included in this
Alma
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Fascinating topic!!
Names in my tree that seem to be unused now:
Female: Parthena, Keziah, Mehitable, Electa, Leaffie, Celestia, Freelove, Damaris, Azubah, and Jerusha.
Male: Hopestill, Zaccheus, Ebenezer, Philo, Pliny, Truman, and Nathan
Lots of Nathans in my son's school and even a Nathaniel. Lots of Zacks - not usually short for Zaccheus though.
Everything old is new again.
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;D we have a
tobias
albion
cornelius
reginald
edwin
antonnette agnes
joan
honour
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i went to school with an edwin - just a few years ago - i had the hots for him lol
The names that Iv found that just arent around anymore are:
Fanny - obvious reasons!
Hephzhiba - jewish
Levinnia
cant think of any ens names that are unusal in my tree - all john's and james'
Alison
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In my tree:
Constance (my grandmother)
Celestine (my grandfather)
Queenie
Millicent
Job
Gladys
Betsey
Elijah
Amos
Neville
Dave
OK, maybe the last one isn't odd :D
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I have a Grahame in my tree, nothing strange about that you might say.
Grahame was my GT. Gt. Grandmother.
I also have an aunt called Emmaline.
Michelle :)
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My father was Aubrey.
These days the Aubreys I see in Birth Announcements tend to be female.
I don't think it is a particularly rare name but he is the only real live person I have ever known to be called that.
Beth
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;D just came accross some good ones
frezider...a girls middle name
francis betsey...a boys name :'( bet he got gip for that
bartholomew
theodosia
poor kids they all came from the same family :o
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I was doing a look up for someone yesterday and came across Aquilla (male), not seen that before and Francella (girl) although I think the transcription may have been a little out as it looked more like Priscilla to me!
Legs
xxxx
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Hi Legs
Acquilla and Priscilla were a couple of church members in the Christian New Testament who came to a bad end for lying (and fraud?). Pretty names but I'm not sure I'd want my kids saddled with that legacy ;D
Angela
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Ohhh no me either, didn't know that. Although I do quite like Aquilla, but I don't think I could name a child that, maybe my next pet!!! :)
Also found a Pharoah (male) today too.
Legs
xxx
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One of my older ancestors is called Wilhelmina Adilla and she called her daughters
Gladys Augusta Lewis-Woodcock!!
Adilla?? ANyone any ideas?
Alison
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Another ordinary name I have is Clare - but he's a boy!
Some of these names seem unique, others seem pretty everyday to me. I think it depends on the era. There were hardly any Gertrudes before the 1890s, then it became popular, then it more or less died out. Perhaps it sounded too German.
I don't think you should try this too often on what is obviously a volunteer site, but have you tried putting a rare forename in FreeBMD *on its own*? I found a ship's record where there was a listed "Joy" born about 1905. I thought this sounded a bit early for what is very much a mid-20th century name, and so it proved: very few records before 1912. She turned out to be an "Ivy" - easy mistranscription with the rounded "v", and a common enough name at the time.
Similarly, I had a Merrill (spelling varied) who was widowed and remarried a man who already had a daughter named - Merrill! I thought this was an odd coincidence, because the name proved to be exceptionally rare in the mid C19th. I thought - maybe an earlier, illegitimate daughter of hers, but no. It all made sense when I found out she'd got married to her late sister's widower - the girl had been named after her own aunt!
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I also found a lad called German yesterday....
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I also found a lad called German yesterday....
German is not uncommon in Spanish speaking countries. Pronounced Herrman
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What would you name a new son as ?
After Isaac, Richard and Thomas as older brothers, we have found one family who created a unique name – the family name was Funnell…… so they named the third son…… Llennuf (and no, they were not welsh !)
Now think of the names some families could invent .... has any found any Senoj, Rekab, Notlaw ??
Al & Al
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I know a SENGA named after her great-aunt AGNES.
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I knew of someone who called themself Senga when her actual name was Agnes!!
Ellen
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My husband has:
Audine, Augustus, Britannia, Caleb, Cicely, Claud, Clorine, Constance, Cornelius, Cushi(?), Dora, Ephraim, Etheldereda, Etheline, Eustace, Gertrude, Henrietta, Hephzibar, Herbert, Hester, Honor, Josiah, Nelson, Norah, Patience, Queenie, Ruby, Sybil, Theodore, Theophilus, Violet, Walter, Wilfred, Winnifred and Zebedee!
I have Abraham, Alphonse, Alphonso, Angelina, Barnabus, Bertram, Bessie, Betsey, Cecil, Celia, Cissy, Cuthbert, Daphne, Doris, Edgar, Edith, Edmund, Elias, Etho, Genevieve, Jesse, Jonah, Jonas, Kerrenhappuck, Mavis, Mervyn, Mildred, Millicent, Miriam, Myrtle, Nancy, Octavius, Olive, Ramage, and Reginald.
These all seem to have disappeared but in their time sat very well amongst the Williams and Elizabeths etc.
Lynnck
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I am very jealous of you having a Myrtle. Wish I had ;D
I've got a few Shadracks though.
JULIAN
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Anyone remember the Pontipee brothers?
Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frank(incense) and Gideon?
From Seven Brides for Seven Brothers?
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Well, bless their beautiful hides, of course I do...
All good Bible names...
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Cal
There is also an Elphinstone ???... goodness knows where this came from
My granny was Violet Agnes .... not many young Agnes's around today
Cal 8)
Cal, I'm interested in more info on your Elphinstone.
I've got 12 of them in my tree, plus another couple that I haven't quite tied in yet. It also recurs as a middle name further down the line.
Also got a Violet and numerous Agnes'
Dave
PS, is this more appropriate for a PM?
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Hi Dave :)
Cal and I are cousins (fourth I think!) and the Elphinstone person is a sibling of my great-great-grandfather (Cal's great-grandfather). As far as we know he was not given the name Elphinstone by his parents - he seems to have adopted it later in life (after he left home, basically!). His full name was Alfred Elphinstone INGRAM.
I wonder what possessed him to take on the name? I had a quick look on Google and found info about the Lords Elphinstone, from Scotland, but the Ingrams didn't have a connection to Scotland as far as we are aware. Maybe Alfred was a fan of one of the Lords' politics or something?
Prue
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Certainly an unusual name to adopt.
Strange people out there, weren't there. ::)
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i have a cousin -a young boy called ephraim and i teach a 14 year old girl called genevieve so there are still a few knockin around!
Alison
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I digress, I know, but it was the speculation on the origin of Elphinstone! My uncle was known to all and sundry as 'Chiozza' (pronounced chozzer) As a young man he had been an admirer of a politician called Sir Leonard Chiozza-Money. This gent became involved in a scandal (how unusual!) and was disgraced, but my uncle's nickname remained throughout his life.
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Here some I have in my tree, or that I've heard of elsewhere:
Female:
Mildred
Maude
Mona
Mabel
Frances
Flora
Tryphena
Male:
Larne
Larse
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We have a Mahalah as well! I though we were the only ones.
Anyway we have
Uriah
Jeremiah
Uzziel
Herbert
Horance
Bazeel
Fanny
Florance
We seem to have the corner on unusual middlenames as well. They include.
Woodbridge
Enwood
Eareswood
Maunder
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I have two Mahalas and two Thirzas both around the early 1800s.
I also have several ladies called Frances...one got me into trouble on another site...
She is entered on the 1851 census by the friendly version of her name...
I copied off...
Fanny Bartlett...etc...
When I tried to post the message I was told I could not, because there was a word in the message that could give offence... :o
You've got to laugh, haven't you...... ;D
Um, haven't you? :-\
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I have two Mahalas and two Thirzas both around the early 1800s.
I also have several ladies called Frances...one got me into trouble on another site...
She is entered on the 1851 census by the friendly version of her name...
I copied off...
Fanny Bartlett...etc...
When I tried to post the message I was told I could not, because there was a word in the message that could give offence... :o
You've got to laugh, haven't you...... ;D
Um, haven't you? :-\
Yes, Paula, you have to laugh. It's quite f*nny, really.
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I have an 1845 Mahala Green and two Thirza's.
My most recent joy was a Hephzibah (with a 'ph').
My favourite was the discovery of three children in baptism records whose father was Humphrey. The entries for his name read:
Humphrey
Umphrey
Oomfry
Just read those with a 'Darzet' accent and you'll see why it made me smile.
Paul
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I have an Athaliah, Aramantha, Adelina, and three Berthas
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Forgot Zephia, Zillah, Dorcas, Lettice and, wait for it .....Custard!! (A derivation of Constance, I think!)
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Talking of Fannys - my great grandfather's second wife was named Fanny Tufft!!!
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Now if I tried to tell them about that on the other side, I think I would be banned for life, oldtimer...
What a name to conjure with... :D
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my gggrandmother was named Frances and named her daughter Florence Fanny.
Jody
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A bit off topic but isn't it annoying when a father names his son after himself, and then, to make things worse, this son carries on the tradition so that there are over 5 people with the same name?
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My brother and I have our father and mother's names. ???
About 35 years ago when my father's Scottish nephew visited, there were 3 of them with the same name.
Kathleen
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I don't know if I dare say this, but some other rootschatters will remember this with a great deal of laughter, but we spent an entire evening once trying to find a Fanny Bush!! I'm serious!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Caz
PS I found an Easter, but I guess it really should have been Esther but you never know!
Caz
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Easter Bush? That's like a Christmas tree, only with eggs on it?
Cheers,
China ;D ;D ;D
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I have an Easter who on marriage became Easter Le Mare
Jody
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I don't know if I dare say this, but some other rootschatters will remember this with a great deal of laughter, but we spent an entire evening once trying to find a Fanny Bush!! I'm serious!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Caz
PS I found an Easter, but I guess it really should have been Esther but you never know!
Caz
Heh heh my g g g g grandmother was Fanny HOOKER
Sarndra
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