# Where did these names come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 30, 1999, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277 "1999-10-30T22:05:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 1999, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/21 "1999-10-31T15:22:00Z")
Kaitlyn and Brianna: Vaguely Irish-sounding. Would appeal to people who think all things Celtic are cool. Emily, Sarah, Hannah: Sweet, old-fashioned, and unlikely to go out of style any time soon. Emily has nice literary associations; Sarah and Hannah probably appeal to Jewish parents who want a name that reflects their roots. They all sound like they’d be popular with the upper-middle-class, college-educated crowd. (Being an incurable snob, I adore these names.) Ashley, Alexis, Taylor, Madison: Some combination of the trend toward giving girls androgynous names, and the trend toward naming kids after TV characters. (Being an incurable snob, I HATE these names – they sound too trailer-trashy for words. But maybe that’s just me.) Samantha: Haven’t a clue. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 1999, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/22 "1999-10-31T16:00:00Z")
I wonder how they figure out which is the most common? They must scan school records to do that. Sure wouldn’t want people looking into our records. Folks give the kids the names, so try that generation for an explanation. Last names must stay pretty much the same these days, right? 1. Johnson ? ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 1999, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/23 "1999-10-31T16:03:00Z")
I checked the top 100 lists, and the two names I have picked out for babies aren’t on either of them! Woohoo! Audrey for a girl, Neil for a boy. I just hope people don’t start latching onto them before I have children, if I ever do. They’re both very cool sounding, they age well, and they work with the Justice rule. I am worried, though. I LOVED the name Caitlin in the 7th and 8th grade, back when nobody else had ever heard of it. I was shocked as hell the first time I saw it on a top 10 list. With my luck, the two I’ve picked out will hit the top ten right around when I’m actually ready to use them myself. ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 1999, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/24 "1999-10-31T16:24:00Z")
Another thing I’ve noticed is that certain names (“Kaitlyn” in particular, though not to offend anyone of that name) seem intended for small children rather than adults. I just can’t picture an adult Kaitlyn. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 1999, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/25 "1999-10-31T16:33:00Z")
The names of my High School Buddy’s kids: 1. Ashley 2. Brooks 3. Whitney 4. Olivia Sweet, funny kids, I have to say. I hold their mother responsible for the first names. * * * **R** anger **J** eff \*The Idol of American Youth \* [Riders In The Sky](http://www.ridersinthesky.com) ---
**Author:** ![NanoByte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@NanoByte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NanoByte)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 1999, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/26 "1999-10-31T17:06:00Z")
Drain Bead: Guess you better get those names registered: [Audrey.com](http://Audrey.com) and > **[Get an email address at neil.org. It's ad-free, reliable email that's based...](http://Neil.org)** > > With RealNames, your email address is your name. You get email without ads that works with your favorite email program, in your web browser, and on your mobile phone or tablet. Maybe that first one, though, should be [AuDrey.com](http://AuDrey.com). If these aren’t available, you may just have to settle for those old standbys, Abagail and Ebenezer. No matter, ‘z’ or ‘s’, people are going to come up to Izabella and ask her for some money to take a trip. Ray ---
**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 31, 1999, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/27 "1999-10-31T17:20:00Z")
The Chief Justice rule is a good one. I think if I had to name a baby I’d throw trendiness to the winds and name it something euphonious - and easy to spell! (We McLauchlins have enough trouble as it is.) I think something in a classical name might be nice. Cassandra, Cynthia, Lydia? Or maybe other goddess names (Brigid, Lucia?) Perhaps if we wanted to be a bit more creative we could try some of the less common ones (Demeter, Artemis?) I wonder if there’s a reason we put more thought into girls’ names than boys’. When I was born, my mom thought she’d be original and creative by naming me “Matthew”. She was wheeled into the waiting room where she ran smack into five or ten other Matthews. Oh well. Incidentally, I have my great-great-grandfather (or rather, my great-great-great-grandmother) to blame for my middle name, Wesley. Eww. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 1999, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/28 "1999-11-01T06:25:00Z")
Just wanted to be pedantic and point out to the OP’er that “Kaitlyn” isn’t the Gaelic spelling of Kathleen, as there are no k’s or y’s in Gaelic. It’s Caitlin. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 1999, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/29 "1999-10-31T21:38:00Z")
My great uncle from Kentucky has three sisters named (drum roll, please)…Fleeny, Flonny (twins) and Purney Jane. It will come as no great shock that these women were spinsters all their lives. My grandmother’s brother took all the first letters of his relative’s names and created names for his three daughters: Leadi (pronounced Leah Dee), Doralia, and Gerilee. These women will tell you that they wished for a name like “Amy” growing up. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 1999, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/30 "1999-10-31T21:45:00Z")
The “most popular” name lists come from two sources: 1) a sampling of birth certificates throughout the country or 2) a sampling of Social Security number applications throughout the country. Nationwide, I don’t know what the reliability of the data is. In Los Angeles, the County Recorder does an actual count of all births in Los Angeles County in a year. In 1998, I forget what the most popular girl’s name was, but the winner among boys was Jose. Also, some surveys combine variations of names while others don’t. We’ll never know exactly how many people are named Chris or Kris or Catherine or Katherine or even more permumations unless you want to put in the effort. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Flowers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecccb3/32.png) [@Dead\_Flowers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Flowers)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 1999, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/31 "1999-10-31T22:04:00Z")
What really cheeses me off about all this “creative naming” bullshit is how pissed off the moms get if you mispronounce their baby’s name. Like I’m supposed to know how to say some imaginary creation full of q’s and apostrophies, let alone try to deduce the baby’s gender. Jaq’won. Qwidell. Qweshandra. And don’t let me get started on Latrina and Po’sha. ---
**Author:** ![tatertot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@tatertot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tatertot)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 1999, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/32 "1999-10-31T23:46:00Z")
I named my son Nicholas because I thought it was a classic name that you don’t hear too often. When I was in school, there was always one Nicholas, but not too many like Michaels or Christophers. Of course, now the poor kid can’t go to the playground without hearing his name every five minutes. Most of the boys in my neighborhood have either a trendy name (Hunter, Tanner, Cody, Jaden) or Old Testament names (Issac, Levi, Benjamin, Isiah). In fact, now that I think of it, I don’t know very many little boys named Michael or John. And every little girl seems to be named Kayla or Brittany. ---
**Author:** ![Neil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/839c29/32.png) [@Neil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neil)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 1999, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/33 "1999-11-01T00:17:00Z")
There are, however, three girls named McKenna in her elementary school, so perhaps it’s just the area. }} Drain Bead Is McKenna a common name in some places now? I think I’ve seen it twice. I hadn’t heard it until I started high school. (Two years ago.) I met a girl with that name, although it was spelled Mackenna. For a while, I (and others) assumed it was McKenna and people were just calling her by her last name. Her friends often just shorten it to Kenna when talking to her. The other person named McKenna I saw was some baby girl in the newspaper 'cause she needed some special medical treatment. What are the origins of the name? It’s kind of like McDonald, or McDouglas, except it sounds feminine. I haven’t seen anyone with the first name McDonald or McDouglas. Neil ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 1999, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/34 "1999-11-01T01:14:00Z")
Neil– Nice name. 🙂 They live in Sun Valley, Idaho, which from what I’ve heard is the land of all pretentiousness. Quite a few celebrities have homes there. That may have something to do with it, but I’m not sure. I’ve never actually met anyone named McKenna, but I was amazed that there were three of them in such a relatively small place. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 1999, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/35 "1999-11-01T02:47:00Z")
> [@](#): > > These women will tell you that they wished for a name like “Amy” growing up. Except that it would have been spelled “Aimee” or something like that. * * * Your Official Cat Goddess since 10/20/99. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 1999, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/36 "1999-11-01T03:40:00Z")
Just my 2 cents - there is a series of baby name books out there called “Beyond Jennifer and Jason”, I have the first one in paperback. The author goes into all of this in great and excrutiating detail, chapter after chapter with titles like “so out they’re in”, “grey flannel diaper babies”. lists of macho and superfeminine names, etc. etc. Delightful reading! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 1999, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/37 "1999-11-01T03:55:00Z")
The girl who rang up my groceries the other day was named _Jaime_. That’s the misspelling that was used for ‘The Bionic Woman’!! What a weird world we live in. * * * “Vyvyan! Where did you get that Howitzer?” “…I found it.” [The Legend Of PigeonMan](http://www.hotkey.net.au/~guanolad/pigeonman/) - updates every Wed & Sat ---
**Author:** ![Valerieblaise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@Valerieblaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valerieblaise)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 1999, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/38 "1999-11-01T04:05:00Z")
nanobyte said > [@](#): > > Blaise > and > Sloane. > I’d say that kind of naming of females originated in feminist quarters. Mmmmm, is there a PROBLEM with the name Blaise? 🙂 I love having it as a middle name, and I actually like it more than I do my first name. Of course, it’s not as common in my age group as it probably will be now. My cousin is very pregnant (due this week, actually) and she and her husband have decided that Tyler is a good name for their daughter. Yikes. I guess THAT name isn’t going away anytime soon. ---
**Author:** ![Jorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@Jorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jorge)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 1999, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/39 "1999-11-01T05:49:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Another thing I’ve noticed is that certain names… seem intended for small children rather than adults. I just can’t picture an adult Kaitlyn… Which reminded me… what happens to people named Todd after high school ? (I know, I know, besides Todd Rundgren) ---
**Author:** ![NanoByte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@NanoByte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NanoByte)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 1999, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277/40 "1999-11-01T06:01:00Z")
No problem except that I believe it’s a French name for a _ **male** _. Raymond (Teuton all the way home.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-these-names-come-from/11277.md?page=3)