Does your name date you?

[BlueTrain]

One of the characteristics of a period is the names. When I was little, the women in our neighborhood had names like Beulah, Audrey, Virginia or Ruth. Those were popular names around the time they were born (between about 1910 and 1930, to give a broad range). Men's names were Thomas, Theodore, Basil, Roy and so on. And when I was little, the other kids had names like Billy, Bobby, Paul, Tracy (I knew one with that name), Julie, Susan, Barbara and Deborah. Earlier and later, other names were more popular.

Among my wife's ancestors was a Bushrod and a Nicholas. In her family, names get used over and over again but for some reason, those two were not used again. Nicholas, at least, isn't so bad.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I seem to remember a previous thread covering this.

 

[BlueTrain]

You mean there's someone else named Bushrod?

 

[2jakes]

Names like Peggy Sue, Betty Jo, Buddy, or Moose
would place me at a certain time frame when I went to school.

This was the uniform of the day.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

You mean there's someone else named Bushrod?

In novelist Steve Frazee's "Many Rivers to Cross" set in the late 18th century, the hero's name is Bushrod Gentry.

 

[kaiser]

My Grandfathers name was Aldrie, not common today. He was born in 1890 by the way.

 

[filfoster]

My grandmothers were Della and Myrtle.

 

[tonyb]

My maternal grandparents we're Leo and Hulda; on the paternal side, Josephine and Joseph.

All long gone now.

 

[BlueTrain]

For some reason, a lot of the good guys in B-movies and serials in the 40s and early 50s were named "Steve." Nice name, though, as in "Steve Canyon." Has there ever been a good guy or hero named Herb or Harold or Horace (H names are just popping up for some reason)?

 

[EngProf]

Names can mean a lot when it comes to the impression that they give, and Hollywood knows it.
If you were in trouble, would you want John Wayne, Roy Rogers, and Kirk Douglas coming to to your rescue, or Marion Morrison, Leonard Slye, and Issur Danielovitch?

 

[Stearmen]

No men under at least 50 have my name! But, on an interesting note, I know several young ladies with the name, Grace and Lidia. When I was a kid, the only women with those names were old maids!

 

[Fading Fast]

Some names seem to be always in general use - maybe less or more popular, but some meaningful segment of the population from all generations have them.

In the US, to name a few,

For boys - Mark, John, Tom, Robert, Joe, Mike, Andrew

For girls - Susan, Jane, Kate (struggling a bit on the girl names)

Thoughts?

 

[scotrace]

When my grandfather, Clarence, was born in 1898, that name was popular. By the time I was born it had fallen far from favor. My name, Scott, was given me at the peak of its popularity. Today, "Scott" is the Clarence of our time, with very few babies given that name today. When we named my daughter Grace, it was really unusual and old-fashioned. Now it's fairly common again.
Names, outside John or William or Robert or Michael, or Elizabeth or Michelle or Mary, which seem to always be fashionable, date you within a decade.
There are so many Sierras, Ashleys, etc., now.

 

[HudsonHawk]

No men under at least 50 have my name!

Bushrod?

 

[BlueTrain]

The Bushrod I had in mind when I mentioned the name was Bushrod Washington, who was George Washington's nephew and who inherited Mt. Vernon when Martha died. When Bushrod died, it went to John Augustine Washington III, who eventually sold the estate to the Mt. Vernon Ladies Association of the Union in 1858. He moved to Fauquier County but went off and got himself killed in the Civil War. John Augustine Washington was my wife's grandmother's grandfather. Bushrod was originally someone's last name. Most of the so-called first families of Virginia are distantly related and my wife is also a direct descendent of George Mason. Believe it or not, I knew nothing of this about my wife when we got married. I still don't have it straight after over 35 years.

 

[LizzieMaine]

When my grandfather, Clarence, was born in 1898, that name was popular. By the time I was born it had fallen far from favor. My name, Scott, was given me at the peak of its popularity. Today, "Scott" is the Clarence of our time, with very few babies given that name today. When we named my daughter Grace, it was really unusual and old-fashioned. Now it's fairly common again.
Names, outside John or William or Robert or Michael, or Elizabeth or Michelle or Mary, which seem to always be fashionable, date you within a decade.
There are so many Sierras, Ashleys, etc., now.

The only "Grace" I ever knew was my first grade teacher, born in 1912. I approve of its comeback.

I've had three different Kelseys at the theatre in the past eleven years, but each one spells it differently. I actually don't mind this, because it's easier for me to remember names that way.

 

[MisterCairo]

As a child of the 60s, Sean was uncommon, regardless of spelling. But I went to school with tons of Bobs, Richards, Mikes and Daves. Girls were Wendy, Tracy/Tracey, Kim, Debbie, and so forth.

In our family, we often re-use family first and middle names, introducing new ones as well. On my father's side there is a tradition of two middle names, which allows for more inclusion of historic names.

As for modern diseases like Maddison, Michaela and MacKenzie, I'd point out a friend of my wife's, who named her three kids Maddison, Michaela and MacKenzie.

Two are girls, one boy. Ugh.

 

[ChiTownScion]

I traced my paternal line back to the 1600's of what is now Germany, and the names Lorenz (Lawrence) and Johann (John) seem to pop up in every generation. My Dad was John, as was his dad.. but he felt that laying that on me was not acceptable. Mom's brother wanted to name me Terry after then (1954) Notre Dame football coach Terry Brennan... but Mom felt that "Terence" hit too close to "Clarence" (In retrospect, had they actually named me Clarence with the middle name "Darrow," that could have worked: call me "C.D." as a kid and given me a decent nomme de guerre for a career as a criminal defense attorney?), so that never flew.

The year I was born, ND went 9-1, so it definitely would have dated me: by '56, the Domers were 2-8, worst season in their history.

"Thomas" was chosen to honor Thomas Aquinas: ironic, when you figured that I ended up a Presbyterian. Mom wanted a deep scholar... and she got me. Middle name is "Jude:" cops and hopeless causes. I considered changing it to "Jefferson" over the years (to ditch the Irish- Catholic-y presumption, and to honor a man I deeply admire).. but it stays.

BTW... had I been named Lawrence? I had a cousin Larry already, but had I been named Larry also, this would have haunted me:

 

[Shangas]

My grandmother and her sisters were raised Christians in Singapore in the 1910s and 1920s. As a result they gave all their children (my father, my aunts and uncles), which were all born between about 1945-1955 - Christian names, as well as Chinese ones.

They were...

Lawrence (uncle), John (uncle), Henry (dad), Henry (another one. My uncle), Felicia (aunt), Michael (uncle) Joyce (cousin), Lucy (aunt), Mark (uncle), Nancy (aunt), Noni (aunt)...and god knows, probably a few others I don't remember.

The only one there which wasn't a strict Christian name was my aunt, whose Western name was Noni.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

hen I was a boy there seemed to be a lot of boys named John and Pete. When I visited my California family in Pasadena there was me (John), my uncle Pete and my cousin Pete, across the alley the brothers John and Pete Dorn, next door to them the brothers John and Pete Todd. When moms started yelling for their kids there was much confusion.