New York City lawyer and businessman Isaac Leopold Rice is best remembered as the founder of the Electric Boat Company, which built the first modern submarine commissioned by the U.S. Navy (in 1900).
Before he did that, though, he had a family. He married his wife Julia in 1885, and the wealthy couple welcomed six children in the late 1880s and early 1890s. All six went by nicknames, and all four of the girls had rhyming nicknames:
| Name | Nickname |
|---|---|
| Muriel | Dolly |
| Dorothy | Polly |
| Isaac Leopold, Jr. | Tommy |
| Marion | Molly |
| Marjorie | Lolly |
| Julian | Baby/Babe |
Dorothy and Marion both went on to become aviators (among other things).
What are your thoughts on these names/nicknames?
P.S. In the 1930s and ’40s, actor Don Ameche similarly had six kids with (mostly) rhyming nicknames…
Sources:
- Isaac Rice – Wikipedia
- “Mrs. Rice, Anti-Noise Leader, in Her Home.” Sun [New York] 3 Feb. 1907, Second section: 7.
- Smith, Peter Andrey. “The Society for the Suppression of Unnecessary Noise.” New Yorker 11 Jan. 2013.