What's in Your First Name? Our Personal Names, their History and Evolution in Britain: A History of English Names, #3

By William Lewis

DISCOVER THE HISTORY BEHIND ENGLISH FIRST NAMES AND HOW THEY EVOLVED
First names are steeped in history and culture and have much to tell us about our ancestors, their lives and beliefs. Not only can parental choice be influenced by tradition and family but also by fashion.
In the 20th century new names have arisen through the media of radio, television and films. The bestselling author WILLIAM LEWIS uncovers the origins and development of first names in Britain.
This unique insight takes the reader from the names of ancient Britons in Roman times through to the modern day and the cult of the celebrity. From Aaron to Zoe 'What's in your First Name' discusses the history of over 1,500 names in common use in English, including the very latest names as well as those dating back over 2,000 years.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brazen Head
• Release date: Dec 4, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386415824

Book preview

Preface

WE ALL HAVE A PERSONAL NAME which was carefully chosen by our parents and given to each of us soon after our birth. It is always the first name with which we, as infants, become familiar and with which we quickly associate ourselves. It soon becomes a deeply intimate possession and one to which a child instinctively responds. Before long our name becomes our most personal possession.

This naming process must have a very long history indeed, surely going back several hundred thousand years to the earliest appearances of the homo species that were able to utter simple vocal sounds to each other.

Until the later Middle Ages, when the new idea of surnames (or ‘by-names’, as they became known) gradually became common, everyone would have been known to family and friends by a simple personal name – sometimes nowadays called the ‘given’ name or ‘font’ name. The new 12th and 13th century Anglo-Norman systems of civic recording, for the purposes of taxation, wills, land deeds, court trials, manorial and church records, demanded accurate identification of individuals. It was therefore clearly important that a man called Ralph, for example, who lived on the nearby hill and had been accused of theft, was not confused with the Ralph who was the village blacksmith. The scribes would readily distinguish between the men thus: Ralph atte hil and Ralph þe smið. [This latter name and title remind us that the hard –th- sound (as in ‘the’) was represented by the letter known as ‘thorn’ (þ), while the soft –th- sound (as in ‘smith’) was shown by the letter called ‘eth’ (ð). The capital letter in both cases was Đ. Sadly these two useful letters have long been abandoned.]

By the late 14th century the ‘surname’ had become an inherited name and was passed from one generation of the family to the next, but the personal name was (and still is) always wholly the choice and the gift of parents to their newly born child. If surnames can be said to recall our history, then our personal names are all about our present and our future.

We are all interested in our names, their origins and their meanings. This book will try to reveal a great deal about the histories of personal names and how our modern names have come into being.

Introduction

ONE IMPORTANT FEATURE OF PERSONAL NAMES is that most of them have been gender specific for hundreds of years. There are some exceptions, of course. Names such as Ainslie, Alva, Cory, Faron and Precious, are perhaps unusual enough not to have established themselves either way. However, ‘pet’ names (usually known as diminutives) often give us examples that are nowadays accepted as applicable to either gender: Pat, Sandy, Laurie, Lee, Val, Lou, Mel, Jacky, Billie and Sam are some familiar ones which can be applied to both boys and girls.

Over the last few decades of the 20th century, diminutives (‘pet’ names) became increasingly important as independent ‘given’ names. Formerly, a child would usually receive a recognisably traditional first name, such as Anthony, Dorothy, Alfred, Juliet, Charles or Millicent.  Family and school friends would readily reduce these names to ‘pet’ versions: Tony, Dot (and Dottie), Alf (and Alfie), Julie, Charlie (and Chas) and Millie and the original ‘given’ names would be largely reserved for official occasions, documents or more serious references. Now, in the early 21st century, there has been a further surge in the adoption of ‘pet’ names as the ‘given’, or ‘font’ names. Parents have also become more and more influenced by the catchy names of ‘celebrities’ on both sides of the Atlantic. But we now also see a different trend under way too: a liking for invented names which have no history and often no traceable meaning. The appeal of such names seems to lie first in the sound of the word; second in its spelling – especially if it can be made to include the letters K, X or Z and third, perhaps the affectionate picture of the toddler it generates in the minds of the parents.

So what does a recent list of ‘given’ names in the UK look like? Here is one based on data from the Office of National Statistics, showing the top fifty boys’ and girls’ names from 2012. I followed each name with a basic analysis of the source of the names. Centuries in brackets denote the period when the name became most familiar to the public.

Boys’ Names

Harry – Diminutive of Henry

Oliver – From 17th century 

Jack – Diminutive of John (19th century)

Charlie – Diminutive of Charles

Jacob – Old Hebrew: ‘a supplanter’

Thomas – Old Hebrew: ‘a twin’

Alfie – Diminutive of Alfred

Riley – Irish surname: ‘valiant’ (19th century)

William – Old German 11th century, ‘will helmet’

James – Old Hebrew – see Jacob

Joshua – Old Hebrew, ‘God is salvation’

George – Greek, ‘farmer’ (16th century)

Ethan – Old Hebrew, ‘constancy’

Noah – Old Hebrew, ‘peace, rest’

Samuel – Old Hebrew, ‘heard of God’

Daniel – Old Hebrew, ‘God my judge’

Oscar – Old English, ‘God spear’

Max – Diminutive of Maximillian

Muhammad – Arabic, ‘the praised one’

Leo - Greek, ‘lion’

Tyler – Occupational surname, ‘a tiler’

Joseph – Old Hebrew, ‘Jehovah adds’

Archie – Diminutive of Archibald, ‘noble bold’

Henry – Old German, ‘Heimerich’(11th century)

Lucas – A place name, ‘one from Lucania’

Mohammed – Arabic, ‘the praised one’

Alexander – Old Greek, ‘defender of men’

Dylan – A Welsh sea god (20th century)

Logan – A place name and surname. Gaelic, ‘a hollow’

Isaac – Old Hebrew, ‘laughter’

Mason – An occupational surname (late 19th century)

Benjamin – Old Hebrew, ‘of my right hand’

Jake – A Diminutive of Jacob (20th century)

Finley – Gaelic, ‘fionnlagh’ – white warrior

Harrison – Surname, ‘Harry’s son’ (19th century)

Edward – Old English, ‘prosperity guardian’

Jayden – An invented name (late 20th century)

Freddie – A diminutive of Frederic(a).

Adam – Old Hebrew, ‘man’ or ‘red earth’

Zachary – A diminutive of Zachariah

Sebastian – A place name and Old Greek, ‘venerable’

Ryan – Irish, ‘riain’ – little king

Lewis – Old German, ‘battle famous’ (19th century)

Theo – A diminutive of Theodore (late 19th century)

Luke – Old Greek place name, Lucania.

Harley – A surname and place name, ‘hare wood’

Matthew – Old Hebrew, ‘gift of God’

Harvey – Old Breton, ‘haerviu’ – battle worthy

Toby – A diminutive of Tobias, ‘God is good’

Liam – Irish diminutive of William

Girls’ Names

Amelia – Feminine of Æmilius (Latin), ‘studious’    

Olivia – Feminine of Oliver

Jessica – Old Hebrew: ‘he beholds’

Emily – Feminine of Æmilius (19th century)

Lily – A flower & diminutive of Elizabeth

Ava – Variation of Eva

Mia – Italian: ‘my’ (20th century)

Isla – Scottish river (20th century)

Sophie – Greek, ‘sophia’, - wisdom

Isabella – Italian form of Elizabeth (19th century)

Evie – diminutive of Eva and Eve. Hebrew – ‘life’

Ruby – A gem name (late 19th century)

Poppy – A flower name (late 19th century)

Grace – Latin, ‘gratia’ (19th century)

Sophia – Greek, ‘wisdom’ (17th century)

Chloë – Greek, ‘green shoot’

Isabelle – Spanish form of Elizabeth

Ella – Norman French (late 19th century)

Freya – Old Norse, ‘lady’. Goddess of love

Charlotte – The feminine of Charles (17th – 18th century)

Scarlett – Colour name, hair or clothes (late 20th century)

Daisy – A flower name, ‘day’s eye’ (mid 19th century)

Lola