Name Madness 2013: Theme!

And the theme winner is... European Names!

The theme for Name Madness 2013 has been decided by you! Thank you to those who voted. Now it's up to you to share some of your favorite European names... boy and girl names that root in European countries or are the European version of names. Examples could include Esmé, Cillian, Catalina or Florian. Remember... I need 64 total names (32 boys and 32 girls), so please comment!

Name Madness 2013 will start in November so be on the lookout for the bracket in the next few weeks!

On Vacation... But Make Sure to Vote!

NameFreak is going on vacation! I may post on my Facebook page every now and then, but I don't think there will be a new blog post until November (save for what is mentioned next). In the meantime, think about what names you want to contribute to this year's Name Madness!!!

That's right! Name Madness 2013 is coming in November! Last year's Name Madness was a lot of fun with the theme of character names from TV, movies and books, and after several weeks of voting, the declared winners were Claire and Henry. What names will win this year? First we need to come up with a new theme! While I have some ideas - sports names, musician names, Hollywood names, celebrity baby names, European names - I cannot decide which one to do. So, over the next couple of weeks, I will be taking votes. Please take a second and vote in the poll to the right. I will try to announce the new theme around October 21, and then begin taking name suggestions for the tournament. I love something to look forward to!

See you in November!

P.S. Check out Nameberry today, where my post on The Fitzes is on the Berry Juice blog! You should also take a look at the new book, The Nameberry Guide to the Best Baby Names for Boys. It's a fabulous collection of all names blue!

We the People

Image of Constitutional Congress via Wikipedia

As the United States' government is now shut down, I cannot help but think of the law of the land. The US Constitution was the first of its kind and has been an influence on several other constitutions around the world. Think what you will about the people running the government, the law itself is pretty impressive. So, let's take a look at the names of the men who signed the law that allows something like a shutdown to happen but also still holds the country together. On September 17, 1787, 40 men signed the Constitution, and their names are:

George Washington
George Read
Gunning Bedford, Jr.
John Dickinson
Richard Bassett
Jacob Broom
James McHenry
Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer
Daniel Carroll
John Blair, Jr.
James Madison, Jr.
William Blount
Richard Dobbs Spaight
Hugh Williamson
John Rutledge
Charles Cotesworth (C.C.) Pinckney
Charles Pinckney
Pierce Butler
William Few, Jr.
Abraham Baldwin
John Langdon
Nicholas Gilman
Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus King
William Samuel Johnson
Roger Sherman
Alexander Hamilton
William Livingston
David Brearley
William Paterson
Jonathan Dayton
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Mifflin
Robert Morris, Jr.
George Clymer
Thomas Fitzsimons
Jared Ingersoll
James Wilson
Gouverneur Morris
William Jackson

There are definitely a number of traditional names in the bunch, such as George, William, James, Thomas, Daniel and John. But there are also some great standouts, like Gunning, Hugh, Pierce, Abraham, Rufus, and Gouverneur! The surnames are also wonderful to consider; my favorites are Blair, Rutledge, Langdon, Shermon, Livingston, Dayton, Morris and Fitzsimons.

If you had to use one of the signers' names, which would you choose?

O Names: Then and Now

Not including U, O is the least likely vowel to be used at the beginning of names. In fact, there have been zero U names in the Top 100 since 1880. I have already looked at I names, and putting together posts on A names and E names are a daunting task at this point, so, without further ado, the O names!

In 1880, there were three O boy names in the Top 100: Oliver, Oscar and Otto. While Otto fell out after 1898 and Oliver became sporadic from 1897 until it fell out after 1903, Oscar stayed on top through 1925. Otis also made some appearances in 1899, 1905 and 1909, but from 1926 through 2001 there were no O boy names in the Top 100. In 2002, Owen appeared and remains so currently. Oliver returned to the Top 100 in 2009 and also remains.

As for the girls, in 1880 there was only one O name in the Top 100: Olive. Ollie showed up in 1885, 1887 and 1888, but did not stick around longer than that. Olive fell out in 1904, to be replaced by Opal in the same year. Opal lasted until 1920, and from 1920 until 1990 there were no girl O names in the Top 100. Olivia then jumped in and is now, still, the only O girl name on top.

So, from 1926 until 1990... for 64 years... there were no O names in the Top 100 at all!

If we analyze the beginning sounds of the O names, there is an obvious change in preference from the "ah" pronunciation to the "oh" pronunciation. The early names were Oliver, Oscar, Otto, Olive and Ollie. Otis made some brief appearances and then Opal showed up in 1904 when only Oscar was still up there for the boys. Currently, not including Oliver's reappearance, the top O names are Owen and Olivia. I know the preference is not exclusive, but the tide is still interesting to note.

Other O names currently in the Top 1000: Oscar, Omar, Olive, Orion, Orlando, Odin, Omari, Osvaldo, Otto, and Oakley (all boys except Olive).

What is your favorite O name? Can you see Oscar, Otto, Otis, Olive, Ollie and Opal returning to the Top 100 like Oliver did?

The Fitzes

I am currently catching up on the show Scandal, which takes place in the US Capital and involves the highest political figures of the land. The fictitious president has one of the best character names I've ever heard: Fitzgerald Thomas Grant. He is called Fitz by those close to him, and I can't help but be drawn to it, especially since there are so many names that could lead to the nickname. Let's take a look at the Fitzes!

Image is the coat of arms of the Fitzgeralds of Kildare via Wikipedia

Fitz is the Anglo-Norman version of -son and means "son of." It eventually was used by the British family as a surname of the illegitimate children of kings and princes. Fitz is also a standalone surname of German origin.

There are a few Fitz names that are or have been used in the United States. In 2012, only Fitzgerald (12) and Fitzpatrick (7) were given to boys. Since 1880, the only other Fitz names given to 5 or more boys in any given year in the United States were Fitzhugh and Fitzroy. Fitz itself also has a history of use.

Fitzgerald first showed up on the SSA database in 1919, but was only used sporadically in the years after. It's popularity jumped in 1961 (from 5 boys in 1955 to a sudden 24 boys in 1961) and a steady stream of boys have been given the name each year ever since, never going below 7. We can definitely credit this respectful consideration to John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who took over the US presidency in 1961. Fitzgerald as a given name reached its peak in 1964, the year after Kennedy was assassinated. 125 boys were given the name in that year, after 52 were given the name in 1963 and before 58 were given the name in 1965. Thanks to JFK, whose middle name was his mother's maiden name, Fitzgerald is definitely the most popular Fitz name ever given in the United States.

Fitzhugh is next popular historically, with a peak year of 1898 when 28 boys were given the name. It also had a pretty steady time of use (given to 10 or more boys) from 1917 to 1932. After being given to 7 boys in 1967, it has no recorded use until 2002 when it was given to 5 boys and hasn't been recorded since.

Fitzroy was first recorded in 1964 with 5 boys given the name in that year. It peaked in 1989 with 15.

Fitzpatrick has only been given to around 31 boys all together since it's first recorded use in 1970.

And Fitz on its own has been given to 5 or more boys in a year only occasionally from 1914 through 2011, reaching its peak in 1923 when 8 boys were given the name.

Unlike its -son cousins, there have been no Fitz names given to girls. It is decidedly masculine.

The name I am shocked has not been recorded in the SSA database is Fitzwilliam. Every Jane Austen fan knows and loves the character of Fitzwilliam Darcy, but I guess parents are more apt to honor the character by using Darcy or shortening the first name to William. I wonder about its popularity in the UK though.

Other Fitzes I have come across in my research:
Fitzalan
Fitzclarence
Fitzgeorge
Fitzgibbon
Fitzgilbert
Fitzharold
Fitzhenry
Fitzherbert
Fitzjames
Fitzjohn
Fitzmaurice
Fitzrichard
Fitzsimmons
Fitzstephen

Do you have a favorite Fitz name? Would you consider using any of them, or just Fitz?

Thanks to Nancy's Baby Names for numbers help.