“Then one of them shal name the childe And dippe him in the water.”
[From the Book of Common Prayer]
Two centuries of given names, diminutives, pet names and surnames of our ancestors, relatives and beyond. Underlined are the top 10 in popularity and ties
Abdalla, Ada Agatha Agnes Al Alannah Alexander Alfred Alexis Alice Allegra Allie Allen Allin Allison Amber Anastasia Andersen André Andrew Angela Angelina Anna Ann[e] Annie Art Arthur Ashton Augusta
Barnaby Barney Barbara Bart Basil Bates Baz Bazinet Becky Belton Benedict Bennett Bernadette Bernard Bernice Bernie Bertrand Bessie Beth Betty Biddington Bill Billers Billo Birtch Biz Blake Bobby Bosco Bradley Brian Brindle Brody Browne Brownrigg Bruce Bryans Bunty Burroughs Burrows Burt Buzzyw
Cack Cannings Carbone Carew Carl Carleton Carol Caroline Carpet Carrie Cashin Cassin Catherine Cathy Catty Cecilia Cecily Charles Charlotte Christopher Clancy Clappen Clara Clare Coldwell Colleen Comerford Corinne Corrie Coughlin Craig Culver
Daffyd Dahlstedt Daniel Darcy Darlene Darrell Davey David Dayv Dawe Debby Deborah Denis[e] Deshaies Dick Dita Don Donald Donna Dool Dorothy Dot Douglas Duncan Dunky Dunlap Dylan
Ed Ede Edgar Edie Edith Edward Edwin Eileen Eleanor Eli Elizabeth Ellen Ellie Elly Elva Emily Erich Erin Ethan Euan Eugene Eva Evan Evangeline Eve
Fayad Felicity Feron Finlan Fiona Florence Forget Foster Frances Francis Fran Frania Frank Fraser Fred Frederick French
Gabriel Garrett Garrison Gary Gauvin Gavin George Georgina Gerard Gerry Gifford Gillian Gimpy Ginny Glen Gloria Gordon Graham Grandfield Grant Granville Gregory Greta Grono Guy
Haley Hallisey Hanington Hanna Har Harhine Harder Harrington Harry Hart Hatheway Hayes Healy Heapy Heather Helen[a] Henry Higgins Hilla Honey Honora Hook Howard Howie Hoyt Hugh Irene Isabel Isabella Izzy
Jack James Jane Janet Jarvis Jeffrey Jessica Jessie Jim Joachin Joan Joe Johann[a] John Johns[t]on Jon Jonathan Jos Joseph Julia Jule Jürissen
Kaitlin Kate Kathleen Katie Katrin Katsina Kay Kayla Kearns Keith Kelly Ken Kenneth Kenwell Kevin Kirsten Korpi Kropolnicki Kurtis Kyla
Lana Larry Latimer Launi Laura Lavinia Lawlor Lawrence Leanne Lee Leigh Lenore Leo Levi Lewis Lieskovsky Libby Lilly Linda Lionel Lisa Louis[e] Lucie Luke Lynn
Mac MacAulay McCormack McCullough McDonagh McDonald McKenna MacKenzie MacNeil
Madeline Madeleine Mae Maguire Margaret Margarita Margot Marguerita Marguerite Mariama Marie Marion Marissa Marita Mark Martin Mary Mathew Matt Matthew Maura Maureen Maurice Melissa Michael Michell[e] Mike Miles Minnie Mona Monica Moore Mum Munro Murray
Naddy Najla Nan Napier Natalie Nathan Neil Nell Nellie Niall Nicholas Noah Nonie Nora
O’Connor Odilon Olive O’Neill Owen
Pascale Pasquale Pat Patrick Patricia Patsy Paul Pearl Peretic Peter Phil Philip Pierre Pite Poirier Polly Pup Quinn
Rae Randolph Randy Ray Raymond Rebecca Redmond Reevie Reinhildis Rhiannon Rhys Richard Riddell Rita Robbie Robert Robin Roger Rolande Ron Ronald Rosemary Rosie Ross c Roxanne Ruth Ryan Ryba Ryk
Sadler Sagmeister St.John Sam Samuel Sean Seidler Selby Shane Shannon Sid Simon Small Smith Sonny Sophie Stanislaus Stanislawa Ste Stella Stephen Steve Stuart Susannah Syd Sylvesta Sylvester Sylvia Szakowski
Tabatha Tam Tammy Taylor Teabun Terrance Thelma Theodore Theresa Therese Terry Thomas Tim Timothy Tina Tom Touma Turner
Uta Vail Victoria Vincent Vineberg
Wallace Walsh Walzak Welland Wendy Willard Willett William Wyn
Xavier Yolande Yuke
Eighteen names above are underlined rather than 10 because of ties. Our most popular woman’s name is Mary and its cluster of diminutives, although a general trend in the English world is to make Mary a second name. John is our most popular male name; but in very rapid decline now that john for toilet and incriminatory johns and john schools have spread. Margaret is waning into second names but its cluster provides alternatives. Parents remain loyal to Joseph who, note all, is patron saint of Canada.
Late professor-cum author Robertson Davies mused during a Peter Newman in-terview 1973: ”Most saints have been unbearable nuisances in life. Some were reformers, some were sages, some were visionaries, but all were intensely alive, and thus a rebuke to people who were not. So, many got martyred because nobody could stand them. Society hates exceptional people because such people make them inferior.” Well, the Roman Ca-tholic Church alone has recorded 40,000 martyrs. As for other kinds of saints, Pope John Paul II in 26 years made 482, more than all his predecessors did, and beautified 1,337. From the Vatican come hints that miracle cures may no longer be essential for sainthood because “anachronistic”. The whole process already has been speeded up somewhat. Canonization of such favoured candidates as Mother Teresa should take less time for this pope feels latter day saints can inspire even as Christianity is threatened by rival faiths and by secularism.
Once they make it to the Hereafter, there are compelling reasons for us to have saintly associations. This Catalogue of our own and previous generations is festooned with names of saints for good reason. Roman Catholics were required to provide every offspring with a saintly name at baptism. It was taught that this meant there was a per-son in Heaven who could put in a word to the Almighty for someone of the same name on earth, if asked. Sometimes, there was fencing with the priest as a favourite name was sub-mitted. I won my contest; our first child was christened Marita, thought a diminutive of Mary in Spanish. It remains gratifyingly rare.
Following 2nd Vatican Council 1962-65 obligatory saint names were required no more. Nevertheless, Catholic parents are encouraged to continue this practice and a list of worthy saints is made available for choice. However, some dilution in our current genera-tions is apparent for such reasons as “mixed” marriages and those no longer active in Holy Mother the Church. So the Marys, Catherines, Johns, Josephs and Patricks of past generations are seen less often as first or even second names.
Saints didn’t go out of style. Ten statues of great 20th century martyrs were un-veiled at Westminster Abbey 1998 in London, England. They stand in gothic niches, likenesses of men and women from different denominations and continents. Included are America’s Baptist minister and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and El Salva-dor’s Roman Catholic Archbishop Oscar Romero, both brought down by bullets. Blessed Mother Teresa’s processing for sainthood has been fast tracked due to public pressure exerted from the very day she died. A score or more of saints from the early Celtic Church of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and Brittany are described in a Catalogue section of their very own.
Death Came Soon But Now, Later
Oh name for ever sad for ever dear!
Still breath’d in sighs, still usher’d with a tear.
[Alexander Pope 1717]
Carved on a gravestone in Woodlawn Cemetery, Dartmouth, N. S., Blacksmith Andrew Albyn Shields recorded: Wife Ellen 1846
And here when aged 20 years
My firstborn’s grave was seen
Next my Euphemia bathed in tears
Was laid ere seventeen
Two Margarets infants side by side
In Halifax are left
And John my hope and James my pride
I’m of them of them both bereft
For once a grave, the stranger’s hands
In Demerara made
The other in Australian lands
His comrades weeping laid
Our Catalogue shows that forebears often suffered premature death. Of 11 chil-dren born to grandparents Tam and Polly Wallace, only four besides my father survived to adulthood. Carews, my mother’s people, fared little better. My own little sister Beth lived barely a night.
Looking far back, disease, starvation and warfare allowed an average ancient Ro-man a scant 22 years of life. By the Middle Ages life expectancy had almost doubled to 43. Little improvement came in following centuries. An average life span in North Amer-ica of 1900 was still under 50 years. My wife and I remember neighbourhoods in our hometowns usually had a house with wreath hung by the front door to warn of quarantine or death. Often one followed the other until antibiotics that we called wonder drugs became more available.
The U. N. World Health Organization reported physical well being of humankind has advanced more in the half century jut past than in the previous 5,000 years. World population has more than doubled since 1955 and is expected to reach eight billions by 2025. It had already reached 5.8 billion early ‘98. Canada is 33 million strong and its average male lasts 75 years, female 81 [not counting decimal places].
Deaths of old that we’d consider untimely these days disclose different naming patterns. For instance, parents of old were largely content to choose one name per child. And, because of the high death rate, a favourite given one who then died unexpectedly might soon go to the next birth of same sex. Now, fewer offspring possess more names – especially among francophones – plus social insurance and other number combinations. How soon alphanumerics?
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