How popular is the baby name Fortune 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 Fortune.

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Popularity of the baby name Fortune


Posts that mention the name Fortune

Babies named for the Lusitania

RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania

On May 7, 1915, the British passenger ship RMS Lusitania was nearing the end of a risky trans-Atlantic voyage from New York to Liverpool when it was torpedoed by a German U-boat about 11 miles off the southern coast of Ireland.

Europe had been embroiled in WWI for nearly a year by that point. Earlier in 1915, in response to being blockaded by Britain, Germany had declared the seas around Ireland and Great Britain a war zone. This meant unrestricted submarine warfare: U-boats would attack any Allied or neutral ship — military or not — without warning.

The Lusitania sank in just 18 minutes. Of the 1,962 passengers and crew on board, nearly 1,200 perished. The casualties consisted primarily of British and Canadian citizens, but also included 128 Americans.

Judging by the records I’ve seen, hundreds of babies worldwide were named Lusitania that year. Most were born in the United Kingdom. Others were born in the U.S., Australia, Canada, and elsewhere.

Here’s a sampling of the many babies named Lusitania in the UK:

  • Lusitania May Rayson, born in England on May 4, 1915
  • Bronwen Lusitania Davies, born in Wales on May 7, 1915
  • Lusitania Southwell, born in England on May 15, 1915
  • Lusitania Mayo, born in England on May 17, 1915
  • Lusitania Cartwright, born in England in mid-1915
  • Lusitania M. Fox, born in England in mid-1915
  • Lusitania Haywood, born in England in mid-1915
  • Lusitania Ypres Heavingham, born in England on June 20, 1915
  • Lusitania Nash, born in Wales in mid-1915
  • Lusitania Walker, born in England in mid-1915
  • Lusitania Cranstone, born in England in mid-1915
  • Lusitania G. Elias, born in Wales in mid-1915
  • Lusitania Wiggins, born in England in mid-1915
  • Lusitania Hayden, born in Eng in late 1915
  • Lusitania R. Horncastle, born in England in late 1915
  • Lusitania Colbridge, born in England on December 3, 1915

And here are a few of the U.S-born Lusitanias:

  • Lusitania Looney, born in Virginia in July of 1915
  • Lusitania Vinson (married name Lusitania Kelley), born in Oklahoma in March of 1916
  • Lusitania Henselman, born in Wisconsin circa 1916
  • Lusitania Krupinski, born in Missouri circa 1916
  • Lusitania Totino, born in New Jersey in May of 1917

Though the U.S. public was outraged by the destruction of the Lusitania, president Woodrow Wilson was reluctant to get the country involved in World War I.

Several months later, in September of 1915, Germany agreed to stop attacking passenger vessels.

In January of 1917, however, Germany decided to resume unrestricted U-boat warfare. This reversal — along with the interception and decoding of the Zimmermann Telegram — convinced Wilson to ask Congress to declare war against Germany. Which it did, on April 6, 1917.

The RMS Lusitania was named after the ancient Roman province of Lusitania, located on the Iberian peninsula. The province, in turn, was named after the Lusitanians — the people who’d lived in the region before it was conquered by the Roman Republic.

Sources: FamilySearch.org, RMS Lusitania – Wikipedia, Unrestricted U-boat Warfare | National WWI Museum and Memorial, Timeline (1914 – 1921) – LOC

P.S. In 1982, divers salvaged one reel of the silent film The Carpet from Bagdad, which featured a character named Fortune, from the wreckage of the Lusitania.

Baby names for tea lovers: Camellia, Thomas, Jasmine, Grey

chai

We haven’t done a baby name brainstorm in a long time! The last one we did was for coffee lovers, so let’s follow that up with one for tea lovers.

Here are some tea-inspired baby names for all the tea lovers out there:

Camellia
The Camellia sinensis plant is our primary source of tea. The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus in honor of Czech missionary and botanist Georg Joseph Kamel (1661-1706). Here’s the popularity graph for Camellia.

Catherine, Catarina
Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza (originally Catarina de Bragança) popularized tea-drinking among the British nobility in the mid-1600s upon her marriage to England’s King Charles II in 1662. (Fun fact: The borough of Queens in New York City was named during Catherine’s tenure, so it was presumably named for her.) Here are the popularity graphs for Catherine and Catarina.

Thomas
Multiple people named Thomas are associated with the history of tea:

  • Thomas Garway was the first person sell tea in London, in 1657.
  • Thomas Twining founded Twinings of London in the early 1700s.
  • Thomas Lipton founded Lipton Tea in the 1890s.
  • Thomas Sullivan of New York inadvertently invented teabags in 1907 when he distributed tea samples in loosely woven silk bags — and people started using the bags to brew the tea.

Here’s the popularity graph for Thomas.

Robert, Fortune
Britain was obsessed with tea by the 1800s, but China controlled the tea trade. So in the late 1840s, the British East India Company sent Scottish botanist Robert Fortune to China to learn the secrets of Chinese tea production, and to smuggle tea plants and seedlings out of the country (and take them to India). Here are the popularity graphs for Robert and Fortune.

Chai
Chai is the word for “tea” in various languages. It’s also used to refer specifically to masala chai, a type of spiced tea that originated in India. Here’s the popularity graph for Chai.

Jasmine
Jasmine tea is a blend made with green tea and jasmine blossoms. Here’s the popularity graph for Jasmine.

Grey, Earl
Earl Grey tea is a blend made with black tea and oil of bergamot (a type of citrus fruit). It existed as far back as the 1880s and is thought to be named after former British Prime Minister Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey. Here are the popularity graphs for Earl and Grey.

Nanette
The famous song “Tea for Two” comes from the 1925 musical No, No, Nanette. It’s a duet sung during Act II by characters Nanette and Tom. Here’s the popularity graph for Nanette.

Dorotea, Mattea, Timotea, Teague (and others)
While these names aren’t strongly associated with the beverage, they do happen to feature the letter sequence “t-e-a.” Here are the popularity graphs for Dorotea, Mattea, Timotea, and Teague.


What other baby names with a tea association can you come up with?

Image: Adapted from Chai in Sakora by Dadhichbittu007 under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where did the baby name Eydie come from in 1954?

Singer Eydie Gormé (1928-2013)
Eydie Gormé (in 1954)

The name Eydie first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1954:

  • 1960: 27 baby girls named Eydie
  • 1959: 37 baby girls named Eydie
  • 1958: 50 baby girls named Eydie [peak]
  • 1957: 23 baby girls named Eydie
  • 1956: 11 baby girls named Eydie
  • 1955: 10 baby girls named Eydie
  • 1954: 5 baby girls named Eydie [debut]
  • 1953: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Pop singer Eydie Gormé.

She was most famous during in the 1960s: her biggest hit was “Blame It on the Bossa Nova” (1963), and she won a Grammy for “If He Walked Into My Life” (1966).

But she first came to people’s attention when she started making regular TV appearances in 1953 on the The Tonight Show, originally hosted by Steve Allen. She often performed with her husband, Steve Lawrence.

Eydie was born Edith Garmezano in New York City in 1928. (Her husband’s birth name was Sidney Liebowitz.) Her family — parents Nessim and Fortune, siblings Robert and Corene — later shortened the surname to Gormé. She adopted the stage name Edie when she started singing, but was so frequently called “Eddie” that she decided to add a Y to emphasize the correct pronunciation (ee-dee).

What are your thoughts on the name Eydie?

Sources: Eydie Gormé – Wikipedia, Winners – Best Female Pop Vocal Performance – Grammy.com, Singer Eydie Gorme dies at 84
Image: Radio-TV Mirror, Aug. 1954

Rare names in early Boston (1630-1805)

Green Dragon Tavern in Boston

Yesterday we looked at popular baby names in early Boston, so today let’s check out some rare names.

Those two books I discovered with the early Boston birth records also included lists of Boston baptisms, marriages and deaths. I scanned all of these lists to come up with the names below:

A: Admonition, Aftar, America, Amiable, Amorel/Amorill, Androse, Aniball, Angola, Annice, Anstis, Apfier, Archdale, Arimnel, Atterlanta, Avery, Avise, Azor

  • America, full name America House, was born in 1660. Could she have been the very first New World baby named America? I can’t find anything earlier…
  • Avery was a baby girl born in 1645. This could be the earliest girl-Avery I know of.

B: Bagwell, Bagworth, Bant, Barbary, Belcher, Benaniwell, Betteris, Bezaliell, Bickford, Blish, Bossenger, Boylston, Bozoun/Bozoon/Bozoune/Bozon/Boozone, Brattle, Broughton, Budd, Bulkely, Buny, Buttalph/Buttolph, Byfield

  • Bagworth‘s full name was the Hobbit-like Bagworth Endicutt.
  • One of the Belchers had the unfortunate full name Belcher Noyes.
  • The Bozoun-group refers mainly to one person: Capt. Bozoun Allen (d. 1652), an immigrant from England who was active in early Boston politics.

C: Caylance, Cazneau, Cerston, Chanterlin, Chuzziah, Civil, Cletord, Clorinda, Coneniah, Consider, Constancy, Cord, Crumil, Cumbey/Cumby, Custin/Custine, Cutting

  • Could Chuzziah be a version of Josiah?
  • Cord‘s full name was Cord Cordis.
  • Cutting‘s full name was Cutting Bean.

D: Decline, Delicia, Derlow, Dermin, Desire ye Truth, Dickery, Digory, Dinisha, Dionysia, Dixe, Dosithea, Dowsabell, Drewry

  • Desire ye Truth gave her daughter the exact same name in 1666. The “ye” here would have been pronounced “the,” as the letter y actually represents the letter thorn.
  • Here’s more on the derivation of Digory.
  • Dionysia‘s full name was the very romantic Dionysia Savage Ravenscroft. (Savage was her maiden name; Ravenscroft was her married name.)

E: Electa, Eleshaway, Eliphall/Elliphall, Ellener, Emmin, Emmorold, Estick, Ethlan, Evos, Exercise

  • Exercise‘s full name was Exercise Blackleech.

F: Fairbanck, Fathergone, Faur, Fearnot/Fearnott, Febee, Ffitz-John, Foreland, Fortescue, Fortune, Freeborn, Freegrace, Freelove, Frizzel

  • Here’s the story behind Fathergone.
  • Fearnot is a Puritan name that needs to make a comeback, I think.

G: Gartright, Gatliffe, Gedny, Gee, Gier, Goodith, Grafton, Gravingham, Griffyn, Grimstone, Grindall, Grizzel/Grizzell

  • Gartright could be a version of Gertrude.
  • Goodith is probably Judith.
  • Grimstone! I love any name that features the word “grim.” I remember Grimsley popping up in Idaho a few years back…

H: Habbakuck/Habbakuk, Habbiah, Hananeel, Hanniball, Harborne, Harbottle, Hazelelponi, Hazelpanah, Heiborne, Hennerina, Hopefor/Hoptfor, Huldy, Humilis, Humility, Huxtable

I: Ibroke, Indego, Ireland, Isanna

J: Jaleham, Jamina, Jarratt, Jeffs, Jehosebath/Johoshabeath/Josabeth/Joshabeth, Jolley, Jolliff, Joylieffe/Joyliffe

K: Kellon, Kinsman, Knight

L: Laomi, Lately, Leech, Lettysse, Lilingston, Love, Lucrana, Lucresia, Ludwick

M: Macartey, Mackworth, Mauditt, Maverick, Maybe, Meddlecot, Mehalaliell/Mahalaleel, Melatiah, Meribah, Metsathiell, Milam, Milcha, Mindwell, Minot, Mordica, Moremercy, Mungo

  • Maverick, born at the end of the 1600s, got his mother’s surname as a first name.

N: Nabby, Nebery, Neezer, Neverson, Newgrace, Niot/Nyott

  • I’m guessing Neezer was derived from Ebenezer.
  • Nyott‘s full name was Nyott Doubt.

O: Onner, Opportunity, Orchard, Oulando, Oxenbridge

  • Opportunity‘s full name was Opportunity Lane.

P: Palfrey, Palsgrove, Palti, Parnell, Parthenia, Pepperrell, Perciful, Perring, Phaline, Phesant, Philadelphia, Philippe/Philippi/Philippy/Phillipee/Phillippi, Pilgrim, Pittie, Pool, Posthumus, Pouning, Preserved, Pyam

  • Perciful looks like Percival under the influence of “merciful.”
  • A number of women had names like Phillippi, which is curious…
  • Posthumus was once kinda trendy.
  • Pilgrim, despite his name, had nothing to do with the Mayflower Pilgrims.

R: Ranis/Ragnis, Recompense, Redemption, Redigon/Redgon/Reddigan/Redigun, Reforme, Rely, Rich-Grace, Ronas, Rooksby/Rooksbey/Rooksbee/Rookby, Roop/Roope, Ryal

  • The Redigon group represents one person (female).
  • The Rooksby group represents several people, all female.

S: Salmagrave, Salphin, Sarahjah, Satisfaction, Savel/Savell/Savil, Scarborough, Scissilla, Seaborne, Secunda/Secundas, Sendall/Sendell, Shippie, Shoreborne, Shove, Shrimpton, Sibbella/Sibla, Sivil/Sivill, Skinner, Skipper, Smyth, Snell, Spiller, Story, Strange, Sucky, Supply, Sweet

  • Sucky is an regrettable rendering of Sukey, a diminutive of Susanna.

T: Tacey, Teasant, Torshel, Tregoweth, Tremble, Trine, Tristram, Trueworthy, Turfry, Tuttle

  • Tacey has the same root as Tacita: the Latin verb tacere, meaning “to be silent.”
  • Torshel was the twin of Harborne (see above).

U: Union, Unite

V: Verrin, Vigilant, Vsal

W: Waitawhile/Wayte-a-while, Wentworth, Wheelwright, Wigglesworth/Wigleworth, Winborn, Woodbery, Woodmansie, Woodward

  • Waitawhile (female) had the birth name Waitawhile Makepeace. Sounds like a 2-step process for conflict resolution, doesn’t it?

Y: Yelverton

Z: Zerubbabel, Zibiah, Zuriell/Zuryell, Zurishaddai

…So, which of the above names intrigue you the most?

Sources: Boston births, baptisms, marriages and deaths, 1630-1699, Boston births from A.D. 1700 to A.D. 1800

Image: Adapted from Green Dragon Tavern by Boston Public Library under CC BY 2.0.