Lucy
After the Norman Conquest brought Latinate names to England, their "a" endings were replaced with a "y". One such name was the saintly Lucia, from which Lucy emerged.
During the Middle Ages, Lucy was common among girls born at sunrise. That's because Lucia, its Latin form, comes from "lux", which means "light". Even though girls named Lucy are no longer born only in the morning, its meaning can still inspire lifelong optimism.
In England, Lucy continued its popularity long after the Middle Ages ended. It was consistently popular until the early twentieth century. Lucy even brought its popularity with the pilgrims to the American Colonies. Notable Lucys born before the end of the American Revolution include Thomas Jefferson's sister and Paul Revere's daughter.
By 1880, the first year American name records are kept, Lucy ranked outside the top 50. It left the top 100 by 1925. However, Lucy was probably a retired evergreen classic rather than a dated 'Mom name' back then. Census records from GalbiThink.org suggest that Lucy ranked among the top 20 names through 1860, after which it started declining.
Lucy declined until it hit its low point in the 500s in 1978. It probably felt a little plain for parents like Mary and Anne do now. Or else, I Love Lucy made the name clownish. Afterward, Lucy slowly regained its freshness. It returned to the top 100 in 2010, around forty years after its return in England. Since 2019, Lucy has once again ranked in the top 50.
Lucy feels both classic and vintage. While it followed the popularity curve of vintage charmers, Lucy never completely disappeared. Besides, there were still famous Lucys born around the time of its lowest rank. These include actress Lucy Liu and comic artist Lucy Knisley. Saint Lucia, also known as Saint Lucy, makes the name saintly as well. A few more saints from the 1600s and 1700s adds to the feel.
The one problem Lucy has is that some people fear it won't age well. That's because it's structurally similar to nicknames like Abby and Katie. However, Lucy was common long before the "ie" suffix was used to create nicknames, which was around the fifteenth century. Besides, there have always been women named Lucy. Thus, there is no reason why Lucy can't still fit both a little girl and an adult. While Lucy becomes capable on a woman, though, it remains cute on a child.
NICKNAMES:
Lu, Lulu
VARIANTS:
Lucia, Lucie
STYLES:
SISTERS:
Alice, Clara, Emma, Jane, Lila, Molly, Nora, Phoebe, Rose, Sadie
BROTHERS:
Arthur, Charlie, Ezra, Felix, Henry, Jack, Leo, Oscar, Simon, Toby
ALTERNATIVES:
Betsy, Dulcie, Louise, Lula, Marie, Nancy, Phoebe, Polly, Ruthie, Trudy
Click here for more names inspired by Lucy
FURTHER RESOURCES:
"Lucy." Names, Behind the Name, 2 July 2008, https://www.behindthename.com/name/lucy.
"Lucy." Names, Nameberry, 2023, https://nameberry.com/babyname/lucy.
Nickerson, Eleanor. "Lucy." Names of the Week, British Baby Names, 1 Apr. 2020, https://www.britishbabynames.com/blog/2020/01/name-of-the-week-lucy.html.
"Popular Given Names US, 1801-1899." Given Names Frequency Project, Galbithink, 2024, https://www.galbithink.org/names/us200.htm.
Comments
Post a Comment