(no subject)

[katallison]

From time to time someone will rant a fine sulphurous rant about the goofy-ass names that people give their babies nowadays (this website often being referenced.) Should you ever feel such a rant coming on, my advice is to go to the Social Security Administration's list of top baby names throughout the decades, go to "Most Popular Names of the 1910's," and go down toward the bottom of the list. I mean, my lord; back in the sedate sane decade of 1910-20, people were naming children things like Exie, Emogene, Ozella, Delfina, Romaine (for girls), or Furman, Garnet, Waldemar, Pershing, Junious, Laurel (for boys). There's a wonderful assortment of non-Anglo names to be found, reflecting the fact that a century ago the US was still very much a nation of recent immigrants. Anyone looking to find unusual names, whether for a child or a character, might do worse than to scan these lists.

I am in general fascinated by the naming of things, and a wonderful website, if you share this interest, is here, one of those glorious weirdness of the web that allows us all to benefit from one person's obsession. Italian Profession Names, Natural Phenomena Named After Frank Zappa, Norway Farm Names, Quilt Block Names, Scottish Given Names of the 13th Century, Naming Your Homeschool, Subway Line Names, all these and a gazillion more.

Comments

[movies-michelle.livejournal.com]

I was almost named "Anastasia." My father thought it was pretty and would offer all sorts of possibilities on nicknames (Stacy, Ann, Anna, etc.), but my mother vetoed the idea.

I did have a great grandfather named Frobel. I've never quite figured out where it came from, though I think my mother once said she thought it was Dutch.

I think one of my favorite name I've ever come across was an engineer researcher named Loveday Conquest. It sounds so fake, I always thought it had to be real.