# Canadians - is Lorne still commonly given as a boy's name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 19, 2006, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063 "2006-10-19T07:01:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/1 "2006-10-19T07:01:51Z")
I read in an article the other day that \*\*Lorne \*\* is a popular boy’s name in Canada, deriving from the title of a 19th century Governor-General, the Marquess of Lorne (afterwards the Duke of Argyll). This popularity is supposedly unique to Canada. The article mentioned the actor Lorne Green as an example. One example didn’t seem all that convincing to me. Is Lorne still a popular boy’s name in Canada? ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/2 "2006-10-19T07:07:53Z")
[QUOTE=Cunctator] I read in an article the other day that \*\*Lorne \*\* is a popular boy’s name in Canada, deriving from the title of a 19th century Governor-General, the Marquess of Lorne (afterwards the Duke of Argyll). This popularity is supposedly unique to Canada. The article mentioned the actor Lorne Green as an example. One example didn’t seem all that convincing to me. Is Lorne still a popular boy’s name in Canada? [/QUOTE] I’ve never heard of that GG, and I don’t know a single person named Lorne. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/3 "2006-10-19T07:08:43Z")
I have an uncle by that name, but none of my contemporaries share it. Related, the name of a Canadian kid on one episode of _The Simpsons_, Gordie, never fails to crack me up for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/4 "2006-10-19T07:16:49Z")
[QUOTE=Raygun99] I’ve never heard of that GG [/QUOTE] Here’s a Wiki reference: [John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_George_Edward_Henry_Douglas_Sutherland_Campbell%2C_9th_Duke_of_Argyll) I see that the Wiki article also talks about Lorne being used as a boy’s name in honour of the GG. It’s probably the source of the newspaper article that I read. ---
**Author:** ![overeasy4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b9bd4f/32.png) [@overeasy4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overeasy4)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/5 "2006-10-19T07:22:37Z")
Do not forget the great Lorne Michaels. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/6 "2006-10-19T09:34:46Z")
The Columbus Cottonmouths have a player (from Canada) named Lorne Misita, born 1981 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. ---
**Author:** ![solkoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@solkoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solkoe)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/7 "2006-10-19T12:34:38Z")
I know one Lorne. Not a very common name. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/8 "2006-10-19T13:53:12Z")
I met a Lorne a couple of weeks ago. He was in his fifties or sixties, and almost retired. It’s not a common name here. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/9 "2006-10-19T15:51:56Z")
I don’t know if it is still popular or even if it was ever a common boys name. I know one guy named Lorne and he would be about 40 now. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/10 "2006-10-19T16:27:04Z")
I don’t know any Lornes personally, but to my ears it seems like a perfectly normal name like David, Andrew or John. It doesn’t strike me as odd, as say, my neighbour’s great-grandchild: Ranger. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/11 "2006-10-19T16:33:13Z")
It’s not a very common name in Alberta. I have a friend called Lorne, he’s mid-30s and from Cape Breton. Perhaps it’s more common down East. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/12 "2006-10-19T16:33:28Z")
Checking in, no Lornes - except Lorne Green I guess… ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/13 "2006-10-19T16:35:06Z")
I know one Lorne nowadays. He’s about my age (mid-40s). Back in high school, I also knew a Lorna–the feminine equivalent of the name. Calgary does have the Marquis of Lorne Drive (aka Highway 22X). Seems that most of the most of the parents I know give their sons either traditional male names (Daniel, James, Michael, Peter) or names that are currently popular (Kyle, Tyler, Connor). However, there are no Lornes among the children that I know. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/14 "2006-10-19T18:21:03Z")
Is there a listing of popular Canadian names on line like the Soc. Sec list in the U.S.? By the way, Lorne has not appeared in the top 1,000 boys names in the U.S. in the last fifteen years. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/15 "2006-10-19T18:26:00Z")
A comedian called Lorne Elliot is familiar to CBC listeners. ---
**Author:** ![Stalky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@Stalky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stalky)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/16 "2006-10-19T18:36:50Z")
[QUOTE=matt\_mcl] A comedian called Lorne Elliot is familiar to CBC listeners. [/QUOTE] Yeah, he always cracks me up… It is my impression that the name is common in Eastern Canada, far more than Western and is relegated to the age group that’s about 35+. Of course, living in Alberta I may not be the best judge, though I do know at least one guy named Lorne. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/17 "2006-10-19T19:16:51Z")
the Premier of Saskatchewan is [Lorne Calvert]([http://www.executive.gov.sk.ca/min\_bios/58075.htm](http://www.executive.gov.sk.ca/min_bios/58075.htm)). ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/18 "2006-10-19T19:26:56Z")
My friend’s dad is Lorne, and so is one of my younger brother’s friends. If I had to come up with a name it wouldn’t spring immediately to mind, but it’s not super uncommon. ---
**Author:** ![Sonia\_Montdore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Sonia\_Montdore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sonia_Montdore)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/19 "2006-10-19T20:21:54Z")
There was Lorne, the night club host from an alternate dimension in the the \*Angel \*series. But I’m I’m pretty sure he was named for Lorne Greene, not for the Governor-General. Although, now that I think about it, the actor who played Lorne the night club host is openly gay, and Lorne the lord was gay, too, although not openly. So who knows? ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/20 "2006-10-19T20:29:08Z")
I know one Lorne - he’s my age (33), but no, I wouldn’t say it was common. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063.md?page=2)