How popular is the baby name Nathaniel in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Nathaniel.
The graph will take a few seconds to load, thanks for your patience. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take nine months.) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.
“Dresser in Tristram Coffin House, Newburyport, Massachusetts.”
Earlier this week we talked about the original Tristram Coffyn of Nantucket, who is known to have a massive number of descendants.
He and his wife Dionis* had five children in England, then four more after relocating to the New World. Here are the names of not only all nine of their children, but also their 76 grandchildren:
Daniel, Dionis, Peter, Stephen, Judith, Susanna, Anna, Mehitable, Hepzibah, Paul
Which of the above names do you like best? Are there any you don’t like at all?
*Dionis’s name is evidently a truncated form of Dionysia, which derives from Dionysius, which originally referred to a devotee of the Greek god Dionysos. The names Dennis and Denise are also derivatives of Dionysius.
**Nantucket’s Oldest House, also called the Jethro Coffin House, was built in 1686 as a wedding gift for Jethro Coffin.
Here are hundreds of baby names that have a numerological value of “3.”
I’ve sub-categorized them by overall totals, because I think that some of the intermediate numbers could have special significance to people as well.
Within each group, I’ve listed up to ten of the most popular “3” names per gender (according to the current U.S. rankings).
Beneath all the names are some ways you could interpret the numerological value of “3,” including descriptions from two different numerological systems.
3 via 12
The following baby names add up to 12, which reduces to three (1+2=3).
“12” girl names: Aja, Fae, Abi, Bee, Abha, Bia
“12” boy names: Cace, Gad, Jb
3 via 21
The following baby names add up to 21, which reduces to three (2+1=3).
“138” boy names: Thelonious, Toussaint, Marcoantonio, Zephyrus, Oluwaferanmi
3 via 147
The following baby names add up to 147, which reduces to three (1+4+7=12; 1+2=3).
“147” girl names: Autumnrose, Tirenioluwa
“147” boy names: Khristopher, Aristotelis
3 via 156
The boy name Ifeanyichukwu adds up to 156, which reduces to three (1+5+6=12; 1+2=3).
3 via 165
The unisex name Oluwatamilore adds up to 165, which reduces to three (1+6+5=12; 1+2=3).
What Does “3” Mean?
First, we’ll look at the significance assigned to “3” by two different numerological sources. Second, and more importantly, ask yourself if “3” or any of the intermediate numbers above have any special significance to you.
Numerological Attributes
“3” (the triad) according to the Pythagoreans:
“The triad has a special beauty and fairness beyond all numbers”
“Anything in Nature which has process has three boundaries (beginning, peak and end – that is, its limits and its middle), and two intervals (that is, increase and decrease), with the consequence that the nature of the dyad and ‘either’ manifests in the triad by means of its limits.”
“They call it ‘friendship’ and ‘peace,’ and further ‘harmony’ and ‘unanimity’: for these are all cohesive and unificatory of opposites and dissimilars. Hence they also call it ‘marriage.'”
“The triad is called ‘prudence’ and ‘wisdom’ – that is, when people act correctly as regards the present, look ahead to the future, and gain experience from what has already happened in the past: so wisdom surveys the three parts of time, and consequently knowledge falls under the triad.”
“We use the triad also for the manifestation of plurality, and say ‘thrice ten thousand’ when we mean ‘many times many,’ and ‘thrice blessed.'”
“3” according to Edgar Cayce:
“Three is the strength of one with the weakness of two” (reading 261-15).
‘Three – again a combination of one and two; this making for strength, making for – in division – that ability of two against one, or one against two. In this strength is seen, as in the Godhead, and is as a greater strength in the whole of combinations” (reading 5751-1).
Personal/Cultural Significance
Does “3” — or do any of the other numbers above (e.g., 21, 57, 66, 111) — have any special significance to you?
Think about your own preferences and personal experiences: lucky numbers, birth dates, music, sports, and so on. Maybe you’re fascinated by the history of old Route 66, for example.
Also think about associations you may have picked up from your culture, your religion, or society in general.
If you have any interesting insights about the number 3, or any of the other numbers above, please leave a comment!
Source: Theologumena Arithmeticae, attributed to Iamblichus (c.250-c.330).
Here’s the next installment of rare female names — either actress names or character names — from very old movies (released from the 1910s to the 1940s).
Hagar
Hagar was a character name in multiple films, including Vampire of the Desert (short, 1913) and Code of the Wilderness (1924).
Haidee
Haidee Wright was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1930s. She was born in England in 1867. Her birth name was Ada Wright. Haidee was also a character name in multiple films, including In theSultan’s Garden (short, 1911) and Monte Cristo (1922).
Hedda Hedda Hopper was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1960s. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1885. Her birth name was Elda Furry. Hedda Nova was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1920s. She was born in Russia in 1899. Hedda was also a character name in multiple films, including A Self-Made Lady (short, 1918) and Servants’ Entrance (1934).
Hedy
Hedy Lamarr was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1950s. She was born in Austria-Hungary (now Austria) in 1914. Her birth name was Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler. Hedy was also a character played by actress Ruth Hussey in the film Bedside Manner (1945).
Henny
Henny Porten was an actress who appeared in films from the 1900s to the 1950s. She was born in Germany in 1890. Her birth name was Frieda Ulricke Porten.
Hepsabiah
Hepsabiah Hardlot was a character played by actress Zasu Pitts in the short film He Had ’em Buffaloed (1917).
Hepzibah
Hepzibah Pyncheon was a character played by various actresses (such as Mary Fuller and Margaret Lindsay) in various movies called The House of the Seven Gables, all based on the novel of the same name by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Hermia
Hermia was a character name in multiple films, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1909) and Wood Love (1925).
Hilda
Hilda Vaughn was an actress who appeared in films from the 1920s to the 1940s. She was born in Maryland in 1898. Hilda was also a character name in multiple films, including A Girl of the People (short, 1914) and The Top of New York (1922).
Hutin
Hutin Britton was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1920s. She was born in England in 1876. Her birth name was Nelly Hutin Britton.
Hyacinth
Hyacinth was a character name in multiple films, including The Headleys at Home (1938) and Dead Reckoning (1947).
We looked at the top baby name rises last month, so this month let’s look at the opposite: the top drops. That is, the baby names that decreased the most in usage, percentage-wise, from one year to the next in the Social Security Administration’s data.
Here’s the format: girl names are on the left, boy names are on the right, and the percentages represent single-year slides in usage. (For example, from 1880 to 1881, usage of the girl name Clementine dropped 68% and usage of the boy name Neil dropped 76%.)
The SSA data isn’t perfect, but it does become more accurate in the late 1930s, because “many people born before 1937 never applied for a Social Security card, so their names are not included in our data” (SSA). Now, back to the list…
I’ve already written about some of the names above (click the links to see the posts) and I plan to write about a few of the others. In the meanwhile, though, feel free to beat me to it — leave a comment and let us know why you think any of these names saw dropped in usage when they did.
Bode Miller in 2008A few weeks ago we looked at names that start with Snow-, so today let’s check out another name that many of us associate with snow: Bode.
Bode Miller is one of the greatest Alpine skiers in American history. He’s won six Olympic medals and competed in five Winter Olympics: 1998 (Nagano), 2002 (Salt Lake City), 2006 (Turin), 2010 (Vancouver), and 2014 (Sochi).
Notice how the baby name Bode debuted in the SSA data in 1998 and spiked in usage every four years thereafter:
2017: 170 baby boys named Bode
2016: 203 baby boys named Bode
2015: 264 baby boys named Bode
2014: 294 baby boys named Bode
2013: 115 baby boys named Bode
2012: 166 baby boys named Bode
2011: 190 baby boys named Bode
2010: 287 baby boys named Bode
2009: 94 baby boys named Bode
2008: 105 baby boys named Bode
2007: 143 baby boys named Bode
2006: 235 baby boys named Bode
2005: 82 baby boys named Bode
2004: 55 baby boys named Bode
2003: 60 baby boys named Bode
2002: 131 baby boys named Bode
2001: unlisted
2000: 8 baby boys named Bode
1999: 7 baby boys named Bode
1998: 8 baby boys named Bode [debut]
1997: unlisted
So how did Samuel Bode Miller — who was born and raised in rural Easton, New Hampshire — get that interesting middle name?
According to his 2005 autobiography, Bode’s name simply came from the English word bode. It “means to indicate by signs, but it was the sound of it that my mother liked.” He pronounces it BOH-dee instead of BOHD because, as he says, the “diminutive form stuck.”
And he’s not the only person in his family with an interesting name. His older sister is Kyla (no middle name, notably), his younger sister is Gennie Wren (in full: Genesis Wren Bungo Windrushing Turtleheart Miller), and his late younger brother was Chelone, nicknamed “Chilly” (in full: Nathaniel Kinsman Ever Chelone Skan).
Wren’s naming “was a family effort” said Bode:
Jo gave her the “Genesis Wren”; I called her “Bungo” after the Bungay Jar, the local wind, because it was so breezy the day she was born. Kyla gave her Windrushing for the same reason, and “Turtleheart” was the ever-present and recurring Woody-inspired turtle meme in our lives up on Turtle Ridge. The turtle may be Woody’s totem. It wouldn’t surprise me.”
(The kids called their parents, Jo and Woody, by their first names.)
And here’s how they chose a name for Chelone (chel-OWN):
My folks hiked Mount Moosilauke when my mother was good and pregnant with him and found a flower on top they liked so much that they brought it home. When they looked it up and found that it was an herbaceous perennial called chelone, also known as turtlehead, they considered it a nice omen and planted it outside the door.
Three days after he was born, my mother was headed into town with the new baby, named Thane at the time. She was going to the laundromat when she came across a turtle in the road. It was big and blocked their way, so she had to stop. As she watched the shell waddle across Easton Road, it occurred to Jo how little she like the name Thane, and how much she liked the name Chelone.
If you’re wondering about the name Skan, it’s “a Lakota term for the great spirit of the universe.” Kinsman is no doubt a reference to location: their childhood home was on the side of Kinsman Mountain. In fact, the mountain was named for early settler Nathaniel Kinsman — Chelone’s first two names.
But getting back to Bode…he has welcomed five children so far: Neesyn Dacey (daughter), Samuel Bode (son), Nash Skan (son, named in honor of Chelone), Emeline Grier (daughter, passed away in mid-2018) and Easton Vaughn Rek (son, named for Easton, NH).
So what are your thoughts on the baby name Bode? If you were going to use it, how would you pronounce it?
Here’s the next installment of rare female names — either actress names or character names — from very old movies (released from the 1910s to the 1940s).
