Popular Saint Name – Monica

Today is the feast day of St. Monica. She was a 4th century woman of Berber descent and is perhaps best known for being the mother of St. Augustine. She also had two other children, Navigius and Perpetua.

As with several other saint names (like Theresa, Katherine, Anthony, Ignatius and Casilda) no one knows for sure what Monica means. Author Garry Wills believes “its proper form is Monnica, related to the old Libyan god Mon, who was worshiped in nearby Thibilis.”

According to Ask Oxford, “in the early Middle Ages [Monica] was taken to be a derivative of Latin monere ‘to warn’, ‘counsel’, or ‘advise’, since it was as a result of [St. Monica's] guidance that her son was converted to Christianity.” This is similar to the way Veronica, a form of Berenice, later became associated with the Latin phrase vera icon, ‘true image.’

Monica is “the only Berber name commonly used in English,” according historian Michael Brett and archaelogist Elizabeth Fentress. It was among the top 100 baby girl names in the U.S. from the mid-1960s through the late 1990s, but began to fall out of favor right around the time of the Lewisky scandal. Currently, Monica is ranked 340th.

The double-N version, on the other hand, has always been extremely rare. Monnica’s best showing was in 1976, when a whopping 10 baby girls were given the name.

Sources:

  • Brett, Michael and Elizabeth Fentress. The Berbers. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 1997.
  • Wills, Garry. Saint Augustine. New York: Viking, 1999.
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Jockey Names Daughter After Horse

On 7 February 2010, with over 20,000 people watching, Irish jockey Richard Hughes won the McDowell Signature Indian Derby at Mahalaxmi Race Course in Mumbai. He was riding a filly named Jacqueline.

After the race, he was quoted as saying:

“You know what, my wife gave birth a couple of days back and I named the baby Phoebe Jacqueline. I knew she was going to win today. It’s so special. Jacqueline is now a part of my life.”

Reminds me of Bindi Sue, daughter of the late Steve Irwin (a.k.a. The Crocodile Hunter). She was named after both a crocodile (Bindi) and a dog (Sui).

Sources: Hughes win for Shroff, Jacqueline it is!, Jacqueline takes McDowell Signature Indian Derby

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Baby Named After Ship’s Doctor and Captain

The SS La Guardia left New York on 30 May 1950 for a month-long trip to the Mediterranean under the command of Capt. Hugh L. Switzer. About a week before it returned to New York, Mrs. Gertrude Segelman of Spring Valley, NY, gave birth to a baby boy with the help of the ship’s surgeon, Dr. Roy Littlehale. The baby was named Roy Hugh, after both the doctor and the captain.

(Isn’t Littlehale a great surname for a doctor? Too bad the “hale” part actually refers to a hollow, not to health.)

Source: “Ship Ends Eventful Trip.” New York Times 29 Jun. 1950: 59.

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How Many Babies Have Been Named Sephora?

Sephora, the French cosmetics store, opened its first U.S. location in New York in 1998. By late 1999, close to 40 Sephoras had opened. Today there are over 250 Sephora stores and over 200 “Sephora inside JCPenney” stores in the U.S.

How many U.S. babies have been named Sephora in the last couple of decades? Let’s check it out:

  • 1990: fewer than 5 baby girls named Sephora
  • 1991: 5 baby girls named Sephora
  • 1992: 7 baby girls named Sephora
  • 1993: 7 baby girls named Sephora
  • 1994: 5 baby girls named Sephora
  • 1995: 8 baby girls named Sephora
  • 1996: fewer than 5 baby girls named Sephora
  • 1997: 14 baby girls named Sephora
  • 1998: 7 baby girls named Sephora
  • 1999: 11 baby girls named Sephora
  • 2000: 11 baby girls named Sephora
  • 2001: 20 baby girls named Sephora
  • 2002: 18 baby girls named Sephora
  • 2003: 17 baby girls named Sephora
  • 2004: 15 baby girls named Sephora
  • 2005: 17 baby girls named Sephora
  • 2006: 30 baby girls named Sephora
  • 2007: 24 baby girls named Sephora
  • 2008: 37 baby girls named Sephora
  • 2009: 37 baby girls named Sephora

Nearly 250 baby Sephoras since 1998. That’s almost a baby per store. (Makes me wonder if any of these Sephoras have brothers named MAC.)

According to the company, its name is a blend of Zipporah and sephos, an ancient Greek term for “pretty.” I’m not so sure about that second part, though. I know of sophos, “clever,” and psephos, “pebble,” but I’ve never come across sephos before. I’d be curious to know if the word even exists…

Sources: About Sephora, Looks Matter

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Baby Named Queenie After Bus Company

Queen City Trailways BusOn 5 June 1950, Myrtle Melvin of North Carolina gave birth to a baby girl in the back seat of a Queen City Trailways bus. She kept the baby wrapped in seat covers until the bus arrived at its destination, Fayetteville. Myrtle later decided to name the baby Queenie “in honor of the bus company.”

Sources:

  • Hall, Douglass. “Baby Born on Bus With Waitress Acting as Midwife.” Washington Afro-American, 13 June 1950: 12.
  • “Negro Baby Born on Bus Named ‘Queenie’.” Rock Hill Herald 7 Jun. 1950: 2.

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Baby Named Westbury After Rest Area

I’ve posted about baby names inspired by a street sign, a freeway and a highway exit, but this is the first rest area-inspired baby name I’ve seen:

On 8 April 2009, Kate Flello of Gloucestershire, England, went into labor a month early. Her partner Brian Sterry began driving her to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital via A48, but they never made it. The baby boy was born in the Westbury-on-Severn lay-by (rest area).

What was he named? Toby Westbury. According to Kate, “We wanted to call him something appropriate and Toby Westbury is better than Toby Astra.”

Sources: Roadside birth baby named after layby, Layby baby’s early arrival

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6 New Catholic Saints in October, 2010

The mention of St. Endelienta in my last post reminded me that there are some canonizations coming up. In two months, we’ll have six new saints:

  • Mary MacKillop (1842-1909), who will be the very first Australian saint.
  • André Bessette (1845-1937), founder of Saint Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal.
  • Stanisław Sołtys (1433-1489) of Poland.
  • Cándida María de Jesús (1845-1912) of Spain.
  • Giulia Salzano (1846-1929) of Italy.
  • Camilla Battista da Varano (1458-1524) of Italy.

The canonization is scheduled for 17 October 2010.

The last canonization, in October of 2009, included Father Damien of Molokai.

Sources: Brother André, Mary MacKillop, among 6 new saints to be canonized in October, Canada, Poland and Australia among nations to have new saints

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British PM Cameron Names Daughter Endellion

British Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife, Samantha, welcomed a baby girl on Tuesday (Aug. 24). Their fourth child was born a month early while the Camerons were on vacation in Cornwall.

Regarding the baby’s name, Cameron was quoted as saying, “It was very exciting having a baby in Cornwall. We’ll have to have something Cornish in there somewhere.”

And indeed they did get something Cornish in there. The baby was named Florence Rose Endellion. Endellion is in honor of St Endellion, a village in north Cornwall. The village name is based on the name of a 6th century Cornish saint, St. Endelienta.

The Camerons’ older children are named Ivan, Arthur and Nancy. (Ivan passed away in 2009 at age 6.)

Source: British PM announces new baby’s name, Cameron ‘proud dad’ after wife Samantha has baby girl, Camerons reveal daughter’s name

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Unisex Baby Names – Even Splits of 2009

Hundreds of unisex names were given to both baby boys and baby girls last year. But only 65 were split evenly between the two genders, according to SSA data.

Name Boys Girls Total
Michel 55 55 110
Michal 48 48 96
Storm 43 43 86
Haydyn 32 32 64
Avry 27 27 54
Adi 26 26 52
Indiana 26 26 52
Kemani 26 26 52
Clarke 22 22 44
Riyan 20 20 40
Samar 17 17 34
Amori 16 16 32
Bradie 13 13 26
Carlisle 12 12 24
Oluwadamilola 12 12 24
Angell 11 11 22
Eaden 11 11 22
Maika 11 11 22
Nur 11 11 22
Chelsey 10 10 20
Dacoda 10 10 20
Mattia 10 10 20

Fewer than 20 babies total: Agam, Aidynn, Amadi, Armahni, Arrington, Ecko, Elim, Elyah, Grae, Jarae, Jasyiah, Jiayi, Keighan, Kumari, Lakshya, Lanny, Lean, Mako, Marcelle, Money*, Nyel, Oluwanifemi, Oluwatomisin, Omega, Phynix, Psalm, Qamar, Rayen, Reyhan, Ryian, Santanna, Shadow, Shyler, Siah, Sinclair, Skiler, Starling, Stellar, Thanh, Ugonna, Windsor, Yali, Yareth

*I’m pleased that Money made the list. There may be a gender-based income gap in the U.S., but at least men and women are named Money in equal measure. That has to count for something, right?

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Baby Named Friday February Eleven

Mike and Georgina Biddle of Surrey, England, were having trouble thinking of a name for their daughter, born on Friday, Feb. 11, 1977. So they named her Friday February Eleven.

Reactions to the name were mixed, according to Mike:

Some of my friends think it’s a brilliant idea. Others think I’m mad.

And the name caused confusion, Georgina admitted:

When I fill in a form with Friday’s name, I get it back with comments like, ‘You seem to have filled in the date of birth twice.’

But it looks as though Friday is now a lawyer in London, so her odd name certainly didn’t stand in the way of her success.

Source: “A date they won’t forget.” Modesto Bee 24 Mar. 1977: C-2.

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