How popular is the baby name Brutus in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Brutus.

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Popularity of the baby name Brutus


Posts that mention the name Brutus

Name quotes #104: Shanaya, Bluzette, Doug

double quotation mark

Time for the latest batch of name quotes!

From Sanjana Ramachandran’s recent essay “The Namesakes“:

Shanaya Patel’s story, in more ways than one, encapsulated an India opening up to the world. In March 2000, Shanaya’s parents were at a café in Vadodara, Gujarat, when some Shania Twain tunes came on: she was also the artist who had been playing when her father saw her mother for the first time, “during their whole arranged-marriage-thing.” Finally, after eight months of “baby” and “munna,” Shanaya’s parents had found a name for her.

But “to make it different,” Shanaya’s parents changed the spelling of her name slightly. “Before me, all my cousins were named from this or that religious book,” she said. “When my parents didn’t want to go down that road, the elders were all ‘How can you do this!’—but my parents fought for it. There was a small controversy in the family.”

(Her essay also inspired me to write this post about the name Sanjana!)

About the “naming” of a Native American man who was discovered in California in 1911, from a 1996 UC Berkeley news release:

Under pressure from reporters who wanted to know the stranger’s name, [anthropologist] Alfred Kroeber called him “Ishi,” which means “man” in Yana. Ishi never uttered his real name.

“A California Indian almost never speaks his own name,” wrote Kroeber’s wife, “using it but rarely with those who already know it, and he would never tell it in reply to a direct question.”

About street names in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg, from the book Names of New York (2021) by Joshua Jelly-Schapiro:

Clymer, Ellery, Hart; Harrison, Hooper, Heyward, Hewes; Ross, Rush, Rutledge, Penn — they’re all names belonging to one or another of those fifty-six men who scrawled their letters at the Declaration [of Independence]’s base. So are Taylor and Thornton, Wythe and Whipple.

[…]

[Keap Street’s] name does not match that of one of the Declaration’s signers, but it tries to: “Keap” is apparently a misrendering of the surname of the last man to leave his mark on it: Thomas McKean of Pennsylvania, whose name’s illegibility was perhaps due to his having rather less space to scrawl it by the time the document reached him than John Hancock did.

From a 2008 CNN article about unusual names:

“At times, for the sake of avoiding an uncomfortable conversation or throwing someone off guard, I answer to the names of ‘Mary’ or ‘Kelly’,” says Bluzette Martin of West Allis, Wisconsin. At restaurants, “the thought of putting an employee through the pain of guessing how to spell and pronounce ‘Bluzette’ just isn’t worth it to me.”

Martin was named after “Bluzette,” an up-tempo jazz waltz written by Jean “Toots” Thielemans. Despite her daily problems with this name, it certainly has its perks, like when she met Thielemans in 1987 at a club in Los Angeles. “When I met [him], he thanked my mother,” she says.

(Here’s “Bluesette” (vid) by Thielemans, who was Belgian.)

From a 2009 article about Microsoft executive J Allard in Boston University’s alumni magazine Bostonia:

Allard still loves video games (his all-time favorite is “Robotron”). And even his name (legally changed from James) is an homage to computers. In the late 1980s, he explains, “it was my log-in on all of the computer systems at school, and it stuck.”

From a BBC article about Doug Bowser becoming president of Nintendo of America in 2019:

In what is surely one of the most charming cases of nominative determinism ever, it has been announced the new head of Nintendo of America will be a man named Doug Bowser.

Bowser, as Nintendo fans will know all too well, has long been Super Mario’s main nemesis — a foe who, for more than three decades now, routinely kidnapped Mario’s girlfriend, Princess Peach.

Mr. Bowser will take over in April from retiring Reggie Fils-Aime, a highly popular figure among Nintendo fans.

“With a name like Bowser, who better to hold the keys to the Nintendo castle?” Mr. Fils-Aime said about his successor in a video message posted on Twitter on Thursday.

From a 1942 item in Time magazine about ‘Roberto’ being used as a fascist greeting:

Last week the authorities ordered 18 Italian-Americans excluded from the San Francisco military area as dangerous to security — the first such action against white citizens. The wonder was that it was not done earlier: everybody heard about the goings on in the North Beach Italian colony. Fascists there used to say RoBerTo as a greeting — Ro for Rome, Ber for Berlin, To for Tokyo. Italy sent teachers, books and medals for the Italian schools. Mussolini won a popularity contest hands down over Franklin Roosevelt.

From an AP news story about the origin of Armand Hammer’s name:

Industrialist Armand Hammer often said he was named after Armand Duval, the hero in Alexandre Dumas’ play “Camille.”

But he conceded later that his father, a socialist, also had in mind the arm-and-hammer symbol of the Socialist Labor Party.

For years, people erroneously thought Hammer was connected to the company that makes Arm & Hammer baking soda.

From an essay about Island Cemetery (on Block Island, in Rhode Island) by Martha Ball:

The cemetery, our own City on a Hill, has always been a place of enchantment, holding stones lacking uniformity even within the same lot, bearing names alien to our time; Philamon Galusha, Icivilli, Darius. It is enhanced by an awareness of the sheer physical accomplishment it embodies, a steep slope terraced long before we had today’s array of earth moving equipment.

[Neither Darius Rucker nor I would agree that the name Darius is “alien to our time.” Looking over the other names at Island Cemetery, I saw all the expected Biblical entries (Peleg, Obed, Barzilla; Zilpah, Huldah, Hepzebah), plenty of fanciful feminines (Lucretia, Cordelia, Sophronia), and a few references to current events: a Martin VanBuren born in 1839, a Cassius Clay born in 1854, an Elsworth (middle name) born in 1861, an Ambrose Everett born in 1862, and a Ulysses born in 1868.]

From an article about early Soviet film director Dziga Vertov at Russia Beyond:

Vertov’s real name was David Kaufman, which unambiguously points to his Jewish origin. But the desire of the talented youth from Bialystok (at the time part of the Russian Empire, today Poland) to change his surname upon arrival in Moscow was unlikely to have been due to anti-Semitism — in the 1920s it was not as developed as in the 1950s. Vertov, like many avant-garde artists, probably just chose a new name to herald “a new life.”

In Ukrainian dziga means whirligig, spinning top, while vertov comes from the verb vertet (to spin). The two form something like “the spinning whirligig,” a name that was entirely fitting for the man who bore it.

From an article in The Economist about the unusual names of Tabasco, Mexico:

[The unusual names] impressed Amado Nervo, a Mexican poet. In every family “there is a Homer, a Cornelia, a Brutus, a Shalmanasar and a Hera,” he wrote in “The Elysian Fields of Tabasco”, which was published in 1896. Rather than scour the calendar for saints’ names, he wrote, parents of newborns “search for them in ‘The Iliad’, ‘The Aeneid’, the Bible and in the history books”. Andrés Iduarte, a Tabascan essayist of the 20th century, concurred. Tabasco is a place “of Greek names and African soul”, he wrote, endorsing the cliche that the state has similarities with Africa.

From a 2014 article in Vogue about 1950s fashion model Dovima:

Dovima, born Dorothy Virginia Margaret Juba, would have been 87 today. She hailed from Jackson Heights, Queens, and was purportedly discovered in 1949 when she strolled out of an Automat near the Vogue offices. The name Dovima wasn’t thought up by a canny publicist, if was concocted by Dorothy herself, invented for an imaginary playmate during a lonely childhood when she was bedridden with rheumatic fever.

(Dovima was the first single-name fashion model. She did legally change her name from Dorothy to Dovima at some point, according to the records, and a handful of baby girls born in the late ’50s were named after her, e.g., Dovima Marie Ayers, b. 1959, VT.)

P.S. “Louvima” is another three-in-one name I’ve blogged about…

Revolutionary baby names in France: Pomme, Jonquille, Mort aux Aristocrates

Painting of the storming of the Bastille in 1789.
The storming of the Bastille, 1789

In yesterday’s post I mentioned that, up until the 1960s, the citizens of France were forced to obey a restrictive baby name law that was enacted in 1803.

Why did that law exist?

In order to curb the very non-traditional baby naming practices that had evolved during the years of the French Revolution.

It all started in September of 1792, one day before the French National Convention abolished the monarchy. On that day, a decree was issued. The decree allowed the citizens of France to change their forenames quite easily — all they had to do was “make a simple formal declaration before the registrar of their local municipality.”

Many people took advantage of this decree and chose new names with a revolutionary flavor (i.e., names that referred to nature, to the new republican calendar*, to republican virtues, to republican heroes, or to antiquity).

And, of course, they started giving their children revolutionary names as well.

Examples of these names include…

NameTranslation/Significance
Abeille“Bee” / refers to the date Germinal 15 (Apr. 4)
Abricot“Apricot” / refers to the date Thermidor 13 (Jul. 31)
Agricola-Vialarefers to Joseph Agricol Viala, child-martyr of the French Revolution
Ail“Garlic” / refers to the date Messidor 27 (Jul. 15)
Amour Sacré de la Patrie l’an Trois“Sacred Love of the Fatherland Year III”
Armoise“Mugwort” / refers to the date Thermidor 7 (Jul. 25)
Aubergine“Eggplant” / refers to the date Vendémiaire 26 (Oct. 17)
Bararefers to drummer boy Joseph Bara, child-martyr of the French Revolution
Belle de Nuit“Four o’clock flower”/ refers to the date Vendémiaire 16 (Oct. 7)
Betterave“Beet root” / refers to the date Brumaire 4 (Oct. 25)
Bitume“Bitumen” / refers to the date Nivôse 3 (Dec. 23)
Brutusrefers to ancient Roman politician Brutus
Carmagnolerefers to the song “La Carmagnole
Carotte“Carrot” / refers to the date Vendémiaire 7 (Sept. 28)
Calasrefers to executed merchant Jean Calas
Catherine Laurier ThimCatherine “Laurier-thym,” or “Laurustinus” / refers to the date Pluviôse 6 (Jan. 25)
Citoyen Français“French Citizen”
Cresson“Watercress” / refers to the date Brumaire 17 (Nov. 7)
Décadi“Tenth day” (of the ten-day week) / refers to the day of rest that replaced Sunday
Dix-Août“10 August” / refers to the insurrection of August 10 (1792) that overthrew the French monarchy
Dixhuit Fructidor“18 Fructidor” / refers to the Coup of 18 Fructidor in Year V (Sept. 4, 1797)
Droit de l’Homme Tricolor“Right of Man Tricolor”
Égalité“Equality”
Étain“Tin” / refers to the date Nivôse 26 (Jan. 25)
Faisceau Pique TerreurFasces,” “Pike,” “Terror” / refers, at least partially, to the Reign of Terror
Fédéré“Federated”
Fleur d’Orange Républicaine“Republican Orange-Flower”
Floréalbased on fleur, “flower” / one of the springtime months of the republican calendar
Fraise“Strawberry” / refers to the date Prairial 11 (May 30)
Franchise (frahng-sheez)“Frankness” / the root word, franc, is semantically associated with both “freedom” and “Frenchness”
Fromental“Oat grass” / refers to the date Prairial 7 (May 26)
Fructidorbased on fructis, Latin for “fruit” / one of the summertime months of the republican calendar
Fumier“Manure” / refers to the date Nivôse 8 (Dec. 28)
Guillaume Tellrefers to folk hero William Tell
Helvétius Mablyrefers to French philosophers Gabriel Bonnot de Mably and Claude Adrien Helvétius
Houlette“Shepherd’s crook” / refers to the date Floréal 30 (May 19)
Humain“Human”
Isabelle Civilis Victoire Jemmapes DumouriezIsabelle, “Civil,” “Victory,” Jemmapes [sic] refers to the Battle of Jemappes, and Dumouriez refers to general Charles François Dumouriez
Jonquille“Daffodil” / refers to the date Germinal 8 (Mar. 28)
Lagrenade“The Grenade”
La Loi“The Law”
La Montagne“The Mountain” / refers to a political group
Laurent Sans-culottesLaurent “Without Breeches” / refers to the common people
Le Peletierrefers to politician Louis-Michel le Peletier
Liberté“Freedom”
Lucius Pleb-EgalLucius “Plebeian-Equality”
Maratrefers to journalist and revolutionary martyr Jean-Paul Marat
Maratinerefers to journalist and revolutionary martyr Jean-Paul Marat
Marat, ami du peuple“Marat, friend of the people”
Marat, défenseur de la Patrie“Marat, defender of the Fatherland”
Minerverefers to Roman goddess Minerva
Mort aux Aristocrates“Death to the Aristocrats”
Mucius Scaevolarefers to ancient Roman youth Scaevola
Peuplier“Poplar” / refers to the date Pluviôse 9 (Jan. 28)
Philippe Thomas Ve de bon coeur pour la RépubliquePhilippe Thomas “Go with a good heart for the Republic”
Phytogynéantropeaccording to one source, it’s “Greek for a woman giving birth only to warrior sons”
Pomme“Apple” / refers to the date Brumaire 1 (Oct. 22)
Porte-arme“Weapon-holder”
Racine de la Liberté“Root of Freedom”
Raifort“Horseradish” / refers to the date Frimaire 12 (Dec. 2)
Raison“Reason”
Régénérée Vigueur“Regenerated Strength”
Rhubarbe“Rhubarb” / refers to the date Floréal 11 (Apr. 30)
Robespierrerefers to politician Maximilien Robespierre
Sans Crainte“Without Fear”
Scipion l’Africainrefers to ancient Roman general Scipio Africanus
Seigle“Rye” / refers to the date Messidor 1 (Jun. 19)
Simon Liberté ou la MortSimon “Freedom or Death”
Spartacusrefers to ancient Roman gladiator and military leader Spartacus
Sureau“Elderberry” / refers to the date Prairial 17 (Jun. 5)
Thermidorbased on thermon, Greek for “summer heat” / one of the summertime months of the republican calendar
Travail“Work”
Tubéreuse“Tuberose” / refers to the date Fructidor 6 (Aug. 23)
Unitée Impérissable“Imperishable Unity”
Vengeur Constant“Constant Avenger”
Victoire Fédérative“Federal Victory”

Though it’s impossible to estimate just how many revolution-era babies got revolutionary names, the number seems to be well into the thousands, judging by statements like these:

  • “[I]n the winter and spring of 1794 at least 60 per cent of children received revolutionary names in Marseilles, Montpellier, Nevers, and Rouen.”
  • “[I]n Poitiers…only 62 of 593 babies born in the year II [1793-94] were named after saints in the ancien régime manner. Instead, they were given names reflecting the contrasting sources of political inspiration.”

About a decade later, however, all this creative naming came to an end.

Under Napoleon Bonaparte, the French government enacted a law that restricted French given names to “names used in various calendars” (that is, the names of Catholic saints) and “names of persons known from ancient history.” In essence, the law was meant to “put an end to citizens bearing absurd names that signified inanimate objects, forms of vegetation, membership of the animal kingdom and abstract concepts.”

….And this was the law that gave the Manrot-le Goarnic family so much difficulty when they tried to give their children Breton names a century and a half later.

*The French republican calendar, in use from 1793 to 1806, was a secular take on the Catholic Church’s calendar of saints. The months “were named after natural elements, while each day was named for a seed, tree, flower, fruit, animal, or tool.”

Sources:

Names for baby buffalo: Bosco, Rufus, Mike Byson

buffalo calves

The buffalo herd at Shelby Farms in Memphis welcomed eight calves this year.

The names of the baby buffalo, chosen via online poll, were officially announced on Saturday. The calves will now be known as Atticus, Bosco, Buckley, Cocoa, Mike Byson, Rufus, Rushmore and Spartacus. (The “overwhelming winner” in the poll was Mike Byson.)

Names that did not make the cut include Biscuit, Brutus, Conan, Echo, Otis, Rockefeller, Ruby, and Stephen Colbison.

Source: Party christens latest additions to buffalo herd at Shelby Farms

Image by Philip Brown from Unsplash