Is your name unusual or unique?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

I have been working with Lisa through her database for the 1911 Melksham census today ... the most popular girl's names were Sarah, Edith, Elizabeth and - top of all - Mary (162 of them). The most popular boy's names were Henry, George, Frederick, and there were no less that 314 Williams.

Unique female names - Isabella, Gerty, Eveline, Rebecca, Mollie, Winnifred, Ethelwyn, Evelene, Mercy, Adria, Leslie, Frederica, Zadia, Phillis, Talitha, Freda, Celia, Naomi, Angelina, Awdry, Elvira, Marianne, Ettie, Lulu, Ernestine, Ina, Emmeline, Queenie, Mercia, Maggie, Margary, Annette, Millie, Victor, Francis, Aimee, Cissily, Cecilia, Kitty, Lotta, Alfred, Rosalie, Laurie, Lettice, Hettie, Sara, Emmiline, Sybella, Ernie, Jenny, Helene, Dulcis, Adelene, Blanch, Rosanna, Roma, Ophelia, Lilly, Hebe, Susie, Maude, Vando, Roberta, Guida, Arabella, Lilyian, Violetta, Lillie, Milly, Mervyn, Helena, Rita, Joyce, Ira, Sabina, Cordelia, Selena, Cicely, Alicia, Jessica, Netta, Erina, Gertie, Sissie, Betsey, Monica, Christiana, Isabell, Eileen, Constance and Jemima.

Unique male names - Joey, Reggie, Lloyd, Ida, Israel, Winter, Ernie, Kerwin, Oswald, Kirwin, Elisha, Desmond, Moses, Josiah, Jethro, Mager, Winship, Aeneas, Leonare, Archelaus, King, Stafford, Denis, Guy, Ephram, Jerry, Allan, Jabez, Bertrand, Heber, Putt, Zenas, Ottridge, Raymond, Harrold, Adolphus, Llewellyn, Oscar, Fredrick, Abel, Meredith, Alonzo, Lambert, Ford, Rex, Laurence, Theodore, Louis, Simeon, Silas, Elam, Angus, Jasper, Rodney, Egbert, Phineas, Steven, Grace, Randolph, Amos, Valentine, Ediss, Harvey, Vincent, Wilmot, Ted, Lewin, Leamon, Norval, Bygad, Dan, Seymour, Aylesbury, Iris, Agnes, Matthew, Wodehouse, Philip, Elihu, Ettose, Duncan, Graham, Jeremiah and Luther.

I see I appear in the list (!) - does anyone else here?

[Surrey 455]

Lots of names that wouldn't be considered unique today, but some of those unique girls names would today perhaps be unique boys names- Ernie, Alfred, Victor, Mervyn etc

[grahame]

Lots of names that wouldn't be considered unique today, but some of those unique girls names would today perhaps be unique boys names- Ernie, Alfred, Victor, Mervyn etc

Indeed.  We spent some time checking these on the database and there really does appear to have been a habit of christening a girl with a boy's name - followed by one or more clearly feminine middle names.

[Thatcham Crossing]

I see I appear in the list (!) - does anyone else here?

Nope, but I have a first name that is rarely used these days. Not a rare name, but one you are unlikely to have if you're under 50.

And no, it's not Gary!

[Western Pathfinder]

Tarquin.?..

[CyclingSid]

When I spent a lot of time working with personal data you got to the point where you had a pretty good idea of peoples decade of birth by their names. Tended to be more so with the ladies than with the gentlemen.

[stuving]

When I spent a lot of time working with personal data you got to the point where you had a pretty good idea of peoples decade of birth by their names. Tended to be more so with the ladies than with the gentlemen.

I would have picked Walter, Ernest, Albert, and Frederick (in full) as boys' (i.e. expected to be male) names that have almost died out - but according the the nso (the definitive way of checking, as it's based on registrations not journalism) the last two have renaissed in the last few years. Which just shows how fickle fashion is.

With girls' names the choice is bigger, and "let's pick a pretty name for a pretty girl" enters the reckoning, and I think the fashion cycle is a bit more evident. But Edith, Ethel, Gladys, Mildred, etc. don't seem likely to come back any time soon the way Emma, Matilda, Abigail etc. did.

[Thatcham Crossing]

Tarquin.?..

Nope, far more "normal" than that!

[Phil]

Tarquin.?..

Nope, far more "normal" than that!

Arthur?

[stuving]

Another, perhaps surprising, disappearance is Christopher. It was big in the 1950s (I knew loads of Chrisses ay school), having been rare before, and remained popular until an even higher peak in the 1980s before vanishing.

[Thatcham Crossing]

Tarquin.?..

Nope, far more "normal" than that!

Arthur?

Nope, again. To (hopefully) stop the guessing, I will say that my name was mentioned in a song by The Undertones, and a gerbil was named after me in a well-known kids TV^▸ (Thames Valley, or TeleVision, depending on context) show of the 1980's! 

[johnneyw]

Tarquin.?..

Nope, far more "normal" than that!

Arthur?

Nope, again. To (hopefully) stop the guessing, I will say that my name was mentioned in a song by The Undertones, and a gerbil was named after me in a well-known kids TV^▸ (Thames Valley, or TeleVision, depending on context) show of the 1980's! 

"Kevin" perchance?

[Bmblbzzz]

Tarquin.?..

Nope, far more "normal" than that!

Arthur?

Nope, again. To (hopefully) stop the guessing, I will say that my name was mentioned in a song by The Undertones, and a gerbil was named after me in a well-known kids TV^▸ (Thames Valley, or TeleVision, depending on context) show of the 1980's! 

"Kevin" perchance?

Dunno, Jackie and Jimmy are both fairly unusual nowadays, while not being unusual names in themselves; unless Jimmy is actually "Jimmy Jimmy"!

[patch38]

I'm in the unique list.

Excellent. 

[Oxonhutch]

... unless Jimmy is actually "Jimmy Jimmy"!

Could be My Favourite Cousin