Hello, Irene
What's in a name? A whole lot of statistics.
The Social Security Administration has put all its baby-name data up online, and it's a trasure-trove for a history geek like me.
Let's start with the most popular boys' and girls' names for babies born in the U.S. in 2004:
Jacob is the Old Testament patriarch's name, a Latinized form of Hebrew Ya'aqobh, which means literally "one that takes by the heel" (Gen. xxviii.12), a derivative of 'aqebh "heel." Emily, on the other hand, is Roman, via French from the feminine form of Latin Aemilius, name of a Roman gens, from aemulus "imitating, rivaling" (related to emulation and ultimately to imitate and image.)
One of the cool things about the site is you can look for the most popular birth-names from any year, back to about 1880.
For instance, here are the top 20 American birth-names of 1904:
Names come and go over time, and girls' names come and go more often and more rapidly than boys'.
Just looking at the most popular names from my birth year (1960) is like opening the high school yearbook. When I was in school, it seemed I was surrounded by Susans and Sues and Susies (it was the number two girls' name in 1960). In the generation just being born, though, Susan will be the new Mildred. It ranks a mere 565.
My sister was the only Megan we had ever heard of when she was born in 1969. My mother was chagrined when Megan got to school and found herself among a sea of others. It's an example of how a girl's name can burst on the scene: Megan didn't even register in the Social Security list until 1952; its popularity exploded in the 1970s and got as high as the number 10 girl's name, but now it is fading.
Another Celtic name that boomed in the late 20th century was Jennifer -- not even on the chart until 1938 -- which held the number one spot from 1970 right through to 1984. It's since fallen to number 38. Jennifer is from Welsh Gwenhwyvar, from gwen "fair, white" and (g)wyf "smooth, yielding."
That's one of the other cool things you can do with the Social Security site: track the popularity of any given name over time.
My name, Douglas, is more unpopular than it's ever been in the past 100 years. It's been declining steadily since 1962. The year I was named it was the 30th most popular boy's name. Its peak of popularity was 1942, when it was 23rd. I think a fellow named MacArthur had something to do with that.
My son's name, Luke, has been climbing out of the cellar since the mid-50s. The popular "General Hospital" character gave the name more of a blip than a boost, and it actually seems to have set the name back a few points, since, after a spike in 1980, Luke was less popular in the late '80s than it had been in 1979. It was on the decline when I chose it for my son in 1990, but since then it's been moving up with a bullet ever since, from the 118 position in 1990 to number 42 last year.
My wife's name, Amy, was fairly popular in the mid-19th century, but it almost fell from use in 20th century, then roared into the top 10 from 1969 to 1982. It's not unusual for girls' names to fade and be resurrected like this. The current number 5 Hannah shows a similar trajectory to Amy, but with a later come-back.
Abigail, now at number six, only cracked the top 1,000 three times between 1904 and 1948. I'm not sure how to account for the come-back, except that a popular biography of Abigail Adams, by Janet Whitney, was published in 1947.
Abigail is an Old Testament name; Abigail the Carmelitess was a wife of David. It comes from Hebrew Abhigayil, literally "my father is rejoicing," from abh "father" and gil "to rejoice." It used to be the generic name for a lady's maid, from the character of that name in Beaumont & Fletcher's popular play "The Scornful Lady." The waiting maid association perhaps begins with I Sam. xxv, where David's wife often calls herself a "handmaid."
Samantha, too, was essentially dead from 1903 to 1963. Now it stands at number nine. There's no mystery to that rebirth, though. The TV series "Bewitched" debuted in 1964 starring Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens. The show's producers reached back to echoes of the Salem Witch Trial era for many of their witch character names -- Samantha, Esmeralda, Clara, Tabitha, and yes, even Abigail.
But girls' names, much moreso than boys, often appear out of thin air. Of the current reigning top 10, Madison did not register on the Social Security chart not before 1985, and Ashley not before 1964.
After spending some time plugging in dates and watching names go up and down in popularity, I realized stock market players and dog track addicts ought to be able to figure out a formula to predict the next hot names. I've even got a prediction of my own: Irene.
It was my grandmother's name, and my aunt's name. I've always liked the sound of it anyhow, and though it's a strong name that resounds with "iron" it really represents Greek eirene "peace."
It's a name redolent of the early 20th century; the original "Gibson girl" was Irene Langhorne, wife of Charles Dana Gibson. Irene was the 28th most popular name for girls when my grandmother got the name in 1903. It was in the top 20 from 1915 to 1925, and has been doing a slow fade ever since and now stands at 541.
[There was one blip of revival in 1950, when it jumped up 19 places on the list, only to give them all back and more in 2 years. Why? Maybe because Irene Dunne got a Best Actress Oscar nomination for "The Mudlark" that year, or because of Ernest Tubb and Red Foley's "Goodnight Irene" which was number one on the jukebox in September and October.]
But that's some upward movement from 2003, when it stood at 583. I think we're due for an Irene revival.
The Social Security Administration has put all its baby-name data up online, and it's a trasure-trove for a history geek like me.
Let's start with the most popular boys' and girls' names for babies born in the U.S. in 2004:
1 Jacob Emily
2 Michael Emma
3 Joshua Madison
4 Matthew Olivia
5 Ethan Hannah
6 Andrew Abigail
7 Daniel Isabella
8 William Ashley
9 Joseph Samantha
10 Christopher Elizabeth
Jacob is the Old Testament patriarch's name, a Latinized form of Hebrew Ya'aqobh, which means literally "one that takes by the heel" (Gen. xxviii.12), a derivative of 'aqebh "heel." Emily, on the other hand, is Roman, via French from the feminine form of Latin Aemilius, name of a Roman gens, from aemulus "imitating, rivaling" (related to emulation and ultimately to imitate and image.)
One of the cool things about the site is you can look for the most popular birth-names from any year, back to about 1880.
For instance, here are the top 20 American birth-names of 1904:
1 John Mary
2 William Helen
3 James Anna
4 George Margaret
5 Robert Ruth
6 Charles Elizabeth
7 Joseph Marie
8 Frank Florence
9 Edward Mildred
10 Henry Dorothy
11 Thomas Ethel
12 Walter Lillian
13 Harry Alice
14 Willie Gladys
15 Arthur Edna
16 Albert Frances
17 Clarence Annie
18 Fred Rose
19 Paul Grace
20 Harold Bertha
Names come and go over time, and girls' names come and go more often and more rapidly than boys'.
Just looking at the most popular names from my birth year (1960) is like opening the high school yearbook. When I was in school, it seemed I was surrounded by Susans and Sues and Susies (it was the number two girls' name in 1960). In the generation just being born, though, Susan will be the new Mildred. It ranks a mere 565.
My sister was the only Megan we had ever heard of when she was born in 1969. My mother was chagrined when Megan got to school and found herself among a sea of others. It's an example of how a girl's name can burst on the scene: Megan didn't even register in the Social Security list until 1952; its popularity exploded in the 1970s and got as high as the number 10 girl's name, but now it is fading.
Another Celtic name that boomed in the late 20th century was Jennifer -- not even on the chart until 1938 -- which held the number one spot from 1970 right through to 1984. It's since fallen to number 38. Jennifer is from Welsh Gwenhwyvar, from gwen "fair, white" and (g)wyf "smooth, yielding."
That's one of the other cool things you can do with the Social Security site: track the popularity of any given name over time.
My name, Douglas, is more unpopular than it's ever been in the past 100 years. It's been declining steadily since 1962. The year I was named it was the 30th most popular boy's name. Its peak of popularity was 1942, when it was 23rd. I think a fellow named MacArthur had something to do with that.
My son's name, Luke, has been climbing out of the cellar since the mid-50s. The popular "General Hospital" character gave the name more of a blip than a boost, and it actually seems to have set the name back a few points, since, after a spike in 1980, Luke was less popular in the late '80s than it had been in 1979. It was on the decline when I chose it for my son in 1990, but since then it's been moving up with a bullet ever since, from the 118 position in 1990 to number 42 last year.
My wife's name, Amy, was fairly popular in the mid-19th century, but it almost fell from use in 20th century, then roared into the top 10 from 1969 to 1982. It's not unusual for girls' names to fade and be resurrected like this. The current number 5 Hannah shows a similar trajectory to Amy, but with a later come-back.
Abigail, now at number six, only cracked the top 1,000 three times between 1904 and 1948. I'm not sure how to account for the come-back, except that a popular biography of Abigail Adams, by Janet Whitney, was published in 1947.
Abigail is an Old Testament name; Abigail the Carmelitess was a wife of David. It comes from Hebrew Abhigayil, literally "my father is rejoicing," from abh "father" and gil "to rejoice." It used to be the generic name for a lady's maid, from the character of that name in Beaumont & Fletcher's popular play "The Scornful Lady." The waiting maid association perhaps begins with I Sam. xxv, where David's wife often calls herself a "handmaid."
Samantha, too, was essentially dead from 1903 to 1963. Now it stands at number nine. There's no mystery to that rebirth, though. The TV series "Bewitched" debuted in 1964 starring Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens. The show's producers reached back to echoes of the Salem Witch Trial era for many of their witch character names -- Samantha, Esmeralda, Clara, Tabitha, and yes, even Abigail.
But girls' names, much moreso than boys, often appear out of thin air. Of the current reigning top 10, Madison did not register on the Social Security chart not before 1985, and Ashley not before 1964.
After spending some time plugging in dates and watching names go up and down in popularity, I realized stock market players and dog track addicts ought to be able to figure out a formula to predict the next hot names. I've even got a prediction of my own: Irene.
It was my grandmother's name, and my aunt's name. I've always liked the sound of it anyhow, and though it's a strong name that resounds with "iron" it really represents Greek eirene "peace."
It's a name redolent of the early 20th century; the original "Gibson girl" was Irene Langhorne, wife of Charles Dana Gibson. Irene was the 28th most popular name for girls when my grandmother got the name in 1903. It was in the top 20 from 1915 to 1925, and has been doing a slow fade ever since and now stands at 541.
[There was one blip of revival in 1950, when it jumped up 19 places on the list, only to give them all back and more in 2 years. Why? Maybe because Irene Dunne got a Best Actress Oscar nomination for "The Mudlark" that year, or because of Ernest Tubb and Red Foley's "Goodnight Irene" which was number one on the jukebox in September and October.]
But that's some upward movement from 2003, when it stood at 583. I think we're due for an Irene revival.
Labels: names
