Patches of Names

When one thinks of Anglo-Saxon girls' names, only Audrey and Edith come to mind. Several of the other names of the origin have been forgotten. Aldith is one such name. She is the Middle English form of the Anglo-Saxon Ealdgyò, meaning "old battle." Such a meaning suggests her similar ending-sound to Edith, which means "rich in battle," is no surprise. Unlike Edith, though, Aldith fell out of use by the 14th century.  Of course, Aldith spawned multiple namesakes throughout her brief run. First, there was the daughter of Uhtred the Bold, Earl of Northumbria. Aldith (Ealdgyth) has also been worn by the wife of Sigeferth and king Edmund Ironside, the daughter of Earl Ælfgar, and the wife of thane Morcar. Finally, there was Ealdgyth of Wallingford, who lived during the eleventh century.  Spelled Aldyth, she saw usage for at least five girls only twice: in 1917 and 1923. Today there are no real-life Aldiths, and a few even in fiction (a Team Plasma member in the anime...

Traditional naming practices are, of course, different from modern naming practices. Laura Watternberg described traditional naming practices in her May 2022 article on Namerology: "Traditional can refer to the naming process, which depending on your culture might involve asking the lama to name your baby or checking on the date on the calendar of saints. It could mean naming children after their grandparents, or simply choosing from the same pool of classic names that your family and community have used across the generations." Such traditional practices give names more meaning. For instance, being named Brigid on February 1 connects her to the saint's feast day. Being named after a grandparent on their birthday or death anniversary also adds significance to the name. Plus, traditional practices offer built-in role models. For instance, naming a child after a Biblical figure, saint, or family member passes down their virtues.  In addition, many Biblical figures themselve...

Early in John's long history as a name (the Middle Ages), international variants emerged. One variant rhymes with John himself, despite his spelling.  As the Irish form of John, Sean (anglicized from Seán) has the same meaning: "God is gracious." Even though he became established as an Irish given name during the Middle Ages, it took much longer for Sean to achieve mainstream use in the English-speaking world, let alone the United States.  Sean did not establish himself in the United States until the twentieth century, probably under the influence of Irish immigration. Sean was first used for at least five American boys in 1925. Eighteen years later, he entered the American top 1000. Sean continued to rise as he entered the top 100 in 1965, peaking at #33 in 1972. He remained a top 100 favorite through 2009. Sean was popular around the same time in all other Anglophone nations. He was an English top 100 star between the 1960s and 2008 and an Australian star between 1963 a...

In the naming world, the terms "antique" and "vintage" have been used interchangeably. Even "retro" has been used for nickname-style names with similar qualities, even though it's mostly reserved for the recent past. There's still a need to distinguish "antique" and "vintage," though. Abby Sandel wrote about the topic for her Sunday Summary post in July 2020. In her post, she points out that, unlike furniture, "names aren't produced." That explains why it's difficult to distinguish between "antique" and "vintage" names the same way we do for furniture. However, Sandel also wrote, "And I often use "antique" to refer to names that aren't quite back in favor. (Otherwise, they'd be vintage, right?)"  I agree that most "antique" names are not yet back in favor, compared to "vintage" names. However, I will reference the Merriam-Webster dictionary for...