Category Archives: Baby Names from Religion

Popular and Unique Names in England and Wales, 2008

Don’t get too excited — these aren’t the top names for 2009. (If only!) Why am I posting old news? Because I recently found a more complete version of the 2008 list that goes all the way down to baby names used in England and Wales just three times. So, the top-ranked names may be [...]
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Baby Names in the Catholic Church

Ever wonder about the Catholic church’s stance on baby names? Here’s what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say about a baby’s baptismal name: This can be the name of a saint, that is, of a disciple who has lived a life of exemplary fidelity to the Lord. The patron saint provides a model [...]
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Wikipedia’s List of Unusual Personal Names

Once upon a time, Wikipedia had a List of Unusual Personal Names. That list was deleted a few weeks ago. It had been deleted before, but it always managed to come back. This time I think the deletion might be permanent. So I’ve decided to reprint much of the list here. Not because I want to [...]
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Popular Baby Names in 17th- and 18th-Century New England

Caitlin GD Hopkins posted about historically popular baby names in Boston, MA and Windsor, CT at her blog Vast Public Indifference earlier today. Using a book of birth records for Boston, she came up with the top male and female names given to babies born in Boston in 1710: Mary Elizabeth Sarah Abigail Susanna John William Thomas James Samuel Then she used church records from 1635 [...]
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Sweden Bans the Baby Name Allah

The Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) has decided that a two-month-old boy from Skåne may not be named Allah. It ruled that “the name can be seen as objectionable for religious reasons.” Skatteverket representative Lars Tegenfelt stated: “God or Allah or the Devil is offensive to the public. Not me personally, but there are religious people who [...]
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Top Posts of 2009, or, You Guys Really Like Female Saints

My most popular blog posts of 2009 were the five posts in the Unique Female Saint Names series. Here they are, from most to least popular: Unique Female Saint Names – Belina, Genoveva, Maura, Savina Unique Female Saint Names – Alodia, Carina, Flaviana, Saula Unique Female Saint Names – Anthia, Gemma, Melosa, Zita Unique Female Saint Names – Emmelia, [...]
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Names that Make Me Smile

Something fun for the end of the week! The following names never fail to brighten my day. Archibald Constable (1774-1827), publisher from Scotland. Dr. Cotton Tufts (1734-1815), physician from Massachusetts. Endicott Peabody (1920-1997), politician from Massachusetts. Fabiana Bravo, opera singer from Argentina. Fritz Zwicky (1898-1974), astronomer from Switzerland who later moved to the U.S. Gillespie Montgomery (1920-2006), politician from Mississippi. St. Gonzaga [...]
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