Patches of Names

Popularity, as with durability, is a dividing issue in the realm of first names. There are plenty of articles advising against using popular names, but there are also sources that discourage abandoning a name just because it's "too popular." Too Popular? Popularity is a subjective matter regarding names; what's "too popular" for one person might not be so for others. Some parents only seek to avoid the top 10 while for others, it's the top 20, 50, or 100. There are even those who want to escape the top 500 or 1000, or perhaps use a fully unused name. What parents view as "too popular" is often influenced by their own experiences. For example, those who grew up with popular names tend to prefer more unique choices (especially if they grew up around multiple same-name people). Yet, there are also parents who didn't mind having a common name and those with unique names who want to pass down their experience.  At Patches of Names, I mark the to

In the Biblical Old Testament, Jacob and Leah had a son who lent his name to a tribe. That tribe, the Levites, formed the priestly Israelites. It is not surprising, then, that Levi means "joined" or "attached" in Hebrew.  In the English-speaking world, Levi has been used in Britain since the late 1500s and became more common in the 19th century. Perhaps it ranked in the English top 100 in 1860 and 1870; other Biblical names such as Amos and Enoch were also popular in Victorian England, justifying Levi's popularity.  As an American name, Levi has ranked in the top 1000 every year since 1880. It first peaked outside the top 100 in 1881 before falling out of the top 200 in the mid 1890s, during which Levi's jeans became more popular. After hitting its low point in the 700s in 1965, Levi began rising again. It returned to the top 200 in 1987 and entered the top 100 for the first time in 2009. Since 2020, Levi has been a top 20 hit.  Within the English world, Lev

Latin Maria has been popular in America for most of its history, as has the English Mary. Yet, the same cannot be said about the equally classic French form. Marie, which has the various meanings of Mary ("bitter," "sea," etc.), has endured in France, if not in the English world, from the Middle Ages. Many namesakes emerged throughout the name's long history, including Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), the last French queen, and Marie Curie (1867-1934), who lived in Paris even though she was born Maria in Poland. Marie has only left the French top 100 in 2021.  In the English-speaking world, Marie emerged during the nineteenth century. It was a top 100 name in the United States through 1957, ranking within the top 10 between 1894 and 1914. Maire has also been popular in England between 1904 and 1984, Australia until 1965, and New Zealand until 1982.  Marie may no longer be a common name, but it remains in the top 100 in several European nations besides France. These