# Didja Ever Notice.... (An Observation About Peoples' Names) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 3, 2001, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didja-ever-notice-an-observation-about-peoples-names/91320 "2001-11-03T16:37:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Genseric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Genseric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genseric)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didja-ever-notice-an-observation-about-peoples-names/91320/81 "2001-11-06T04:00:51Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by The Sonoran Lizard King \* \*\* > [@](#): > > You run accross any name books that tell us our name means “A Small Rocky Hill”? \*\* Haven’t seen that one. I seem to remember hearing it means “wise little one” Pretty funny considering I’m 6’3" 230 lbs. ---
**Author:** ![zoogirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b9bd4f/32.png) [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didja-ever-notice-an-observation-about-peoples-names/91320/82 "2001-11-06T05:48:04Z")
I guess I should 'fess up. Ann is actually my middle name. My first name is Lesley, which my mom picked out as a teenager. There was an actress named Joan Lesley, and she just really liked the name. Then she met my dad, whose name was, you guessed it, Leslie. They decided to go for it anyway, with the spelling difference, but I have never been called Lesley. For some reason, Mom thought that an Ann would turn out to be tall, calm and ladylike. Well, one out of three… What she got, of course is a snake-toting, bike-riding, leatherjacketed juvenile delinquint. And that’s now! You should have seen me in my pre-Christian days! At least I’m relatively tall! Oh, yeah, the boy’s names. Well, Joshua got two. Christopher, because my mom liked it and Randol, because Mr zoogirl wanted to have at least one named after him, but refused to stick the kid with Randolph. Danny got, um, James. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![modro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@modro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/modro)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didja-ever-notice-an-observation-about-peoples-names/91320/83 "2001-11-06T06:46:59Z")
Donald here, surprisingly uncommon too. I have met more female Dawns than I have male Don’s I go by Don, but get called pretty much every imaginable variation of it. What really was a pain was growing up in the New Kids on the Block years, with everyone calling my Donny (no IE!) [sub]_shudders_[/sub] Unfortunately that one stuck for a little bit longer than I cared for. My middle name is Patrick, but I never use it. Most of my nicknames now are variations of my last name. I must say, I have never seen anyone else not in my family with the last name Modro It leads to a lot of interesting nicknames though. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didja-ever-notice-an-observation-about-peoples-names/91320/84 "2001-11-06T06:58:57Z")
[Here](http://geography.miningco.com/library/misc/blnames.htm) are some links to some interesting sites about name frequency. I don’t think my name was ever popular. On the site with name frequency by decade it was in the low 200s when I was born, moved into the 300s in the '80s, and in the '90s it’s in the low 600s! It appears to becoming less popular with time…hmm…yeah, peaked in the 180s in the '60s, you have to go back to the 1930s to find a time when it was less popular than it is now. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didja-ever-notice-an-observation-about-peoples-names/91320/85 "2001-11-06T13:24:54Z")
Hmm. Mine must be making a comeback. I’m at 21 on the 2001 list! ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didja-ever-notice-an-observation-about-peoples-names/91320/86 "2001-11-06T13:50:59Z")
Lee checking in. You tend to see it used more as a middle name. My daughter’s name is Lilly (short for Lillian), and she’s not 70 years old. I think its a beautiful name for a stunningly attractive, wonderful, fabulous, captivating, charming, and all around fan-fucking-tastic kid. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didja-ever-notice-an-observation-about-peoples-names/91320/87 "2001-11-06T13:59:30Z")
**Sonoran** – my older brothers are named Erin, Daene, and Devin. My grandmother had a horrible time not mixing the names up, and when she asked my parents what they were thinking of naming me, they said, “Darrin.” Grandma woulda had a stroke. So they chose Colin. Of my kids, brothers, parents, aunt, grandparents, and inlaws of that level of relation, the only name on the list from the OP is my father, Brian. ---
**Author:** ![sidle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@sidle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidle)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didja-ever-notice-an-observation-about-peoples-names/91320/88 "2001-11-06T14:51:46Z")
- I am Sarah, but have always gone by Sally. This is a pretty common nickname for Sarah in certain parts of the South, but many people dont get that. - My sister’s first name is Farrow-Dads middle name and family name. Never met another one. The odd thing is that I have a common name, she a totally uncommon. Generally, a family’s going to stick within a given range. Its rare to hear something like “Rick if its a boy, Nefartiti if its a girl”. But it happened in my family. -Ever noticed tha certain-especially female-names-have a redneck/white trash connotation? I’m not going to mention any, because I’m scared to! , but some of you probably know what I’m talking about. Anyway, I was reading this nurse’s biography last month, and one of the obstetrical RN’s said they could tell by the patients first name on the chart whether she would be unmarried, uninsured, smoking-and-God-knows-what-else-while-they-were-pregnant, types before they even met her. The short list she provided as an example contained all the names I’d always thought sounded…icky…for that very reason. Odd, huh? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didja-ever-notice-an-observation-about-peoples-names/91320/89 "2001-11-06T15:13:38Z")
Well, my (maternal) family has fairly common names for boys, but once my female cousin was born, they started giving uncommon names to the babies(all the babies born since then are female). I was the second strange name, and it was my cousin’s name plus one syllable. My paternal side has common names for the boys, common/uncommon\* for the girls, I am the only uncommon name. \*common/uncommon Those that you listen now and then and know they exist as names, but are not so frequent as others. ---
**Author:** ![lurkernomore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didja-ever-notice-an-observation-about-peoples-names/91320/90 "2001-11-06T15:34:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shirley Ujest \* > \*\* > Joan is steadfast, reliable and loyal and passed over for the Katherine’s, Elizabeth’s and the unholy trinity of **B** rittany, **T** iffany and **A** mber’s every Saturyday night. But that is ok, while the BTA Coalition of Slutdom were out giving head, Joan was making beau coup dinero ( in the world of a teenager) working and has always been the ‘go-to’ person in every job she’s held. > \*\* ``` Just want to warn you, **TruePisces** (Amber) is out looking for you with a chainsaw. :D Look at the stereotypes - (then) blonde, from Florida, with Polish ancestry, named Amber.... who could POSSIBLY be the butt of more airhead jokes..... ``` ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didja-ever-notice-an-observation-about-peoples-names/91320/91 "2001-11-07T01:38:55Z")
Oh, my, a chain saw in the hands of Amber. (snort) Pardon me while I file my nails. Heh. [sub](just kidding, and I did not mean to imply that all women named Brittany, Amber and Tiffany are card carrying sluts, just the ones I’ve met.)[/sub] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didja-ever-notice-an-observation-about-peoples-names/91320.md?page=4)