# 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:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/21 "2006-10-19T20:36:21Z")
[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 have never known anyone named “Lorne.” I can think of a few famous people named Lorne, but they’re all old; the aforemention Lorne Greene, Lorne Michaels, Lorne Calvert, and there’s a writer called Lorne Gunter. I found a number of online lists purporting to cite the most popular baby names in Canada; none listed Lorne. They had all the same (often horrible) names you usually find on American lists. ---
**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, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/22 "2006-10-19T23:41:15Z")
[QUOTE=Spoons] 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. [/QUOTE] I never thought about Lorna, as the OP asked for Lorne. My elder sister is named Lorna. ---
**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 20, 2006, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/23 "2006-10-20T01:04:48Z")
[QUOTE=GingerOfTheNorth] I never thought about Lorna, as the OP asked for Lorne. My elder sister is named Lorna. [/QUOTE] Lorna, I’d guess, derives not from Lord Lorne but from the wildly popular mid-19th century romantic adventure novel _Lorna Doone_ by R.D. Blackmore. It was a bestseller for decades. I think there’s even a cookie or biscuit named for Lorna Doone. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/24 "2006-10-20T01:35:32Z")
It’s not in the [top one hundred boy’s names in Canada](http://www.todaysparent.com/pregnancybirth/becomingparent/article.jsp?content=20050617_144619_5504&page=1) for 2005 babies. ---
**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 20, 2006, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/25 "2006-10-20T01:41:06Z")
[QUOTE=Sonia Montdore] Lorna, I’d guess, derives not from Lord Lorne but from the wildly popular mid-19th century romantic adventure novel _Lorna Doone_ by R.D. Blackmore. It was a bestseller for decades. I think there’s even a cookie or biscuit named for Lorna Doone. [/QUOTE] Well, here’s what [Behind the Name]([http://www.behind](http://www.behind) the [name.com/](http://name.com/)) says about the two of them: > [@](#): > > **Lorne:** Derived from the title ‘Marquis of Lorne’, which was based on the Scottish place name Lorne, of unknown meaning. A famous bearer was the Canadian actor Lorne Greene. > > **Lorna:** Created by the novelist R. D. Blackmore for the title character in his novel ‘Lorna Doone’. He may have based it on the Scottish place name Lorne or on the title ‘Marquis of Lorne’. So both “Lorna” and “Lorne” might have the same root (Lorne, Scotland), even though “Lorna” was created by Blackmore. Lorna Doone cookies are good! ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/26 "2006-10-20T02:15:14Z")
[QUOTE=Sonia Montdore] Lorna, I’d guess, derives not from Lord Lorne but from the wildly popular mid-19th century romantic adventure novel _Lorna Doone_ by R.D. Blackmore. [/QUOTE] I’d agree. Lorna as a woman’s name isn’t unknown here. I’ve never heard of Lorne for a man here though. I don’t think we have any Australian GG-inspired names. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/27 "2006-10-20T02:17:10Z")
In the OLD days of the NHL, there were a lot of guys named Lorne (including legendary goalie Lorne “Gump” Worsley), but you don’t see it often now. It must’ve been a generational thing. Ask a young Canadian if he knows any Lornes, and he’s liable to say, “Well… my grandfather” or “One of my great uncles,” but no one he hangs out with. ---
**Author:** ![Carlyjay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Carlyjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carlyjay)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/28 "2006-10-20T13:08:50Z")
Checking in and agreeing that Lorne was a popular name maybe 30 years ago. Now, not so much. I know a LOT of Michaels, Seans, and Christophers, though. Unfortunately the trend these days is to name kids something bizarre, like Jondaphar or Tristoran or who-knows-what. ---
**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 20, 2006, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/29 "2006-10-20T14:04:11Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Related, the name of a Canadian kid on one episode of _The Simpsons_, Gordie, never fails to crack me up for some reason. [/QUOTE] My brother-is-law is called Gordie. It’s never struck me as an unusual name. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/30 "2006-10-20T17:41:10Z")
I’m putting Lorne on my list of names for the next kid. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063/31 "2006-10-20T19:06:50Z")
[QUOTE=Northern Piper] My brother-is-law is called Gordie. It’s never struck me as an unusual name. 😕 [/QUOTE] You’ve no doubt heard of Saskatchewan native Gordie Howe. A lot of people haven’t. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-is-lorne-still-commonly-given-as-a-boys-name/377063.md?page=1)