Babies named for Vinolia cosmetics

vinolia soap, titanic

Speaking of Icilma, here’s another name associated with a bygone English brand: Vinolia.

Vinolia scented soaps (and other products) were on the market from the late 1880s until the 1960s. I don’t know how the founders of the English toiletries company came up with the name “Vinolia,” but I do know that the company was granted a Royal Warrant as the official soap-maker of Queen Victoria in 1900. And, rather famously, a rose-scented version of soap was offered to first-class passengers aboard the ill-fated Titanic. (The “otto” part of the name refers to attar of roses.)

Unlike the name Icilma, the personal name Vinolia existed before the company was founded. (Here’s one in Texas in 1860, for instance.)

But when Vinolia products and ads started coming out, it does seem like usage of the name increased in various regions of the British empire. As an example, here’s a record for Miriam Vinolia Wilson, who was born in Saint James, Jamaica, in April of 1918:

vinolia, brand name, baby name
Miriam Vinolia Wilson, b. 1918, Jamaica

(The second-born twin was her sister Violet Maud Wilson.)

Do you like Vinolia as a baby name? Would you use it?

Source: Vinolia Company – Unilever Archives

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