Spelling surnames backwards to create first names

Did you know that a handful of people out there are named Zerimar Ramirez?

Zerimar is simply Ramirez spelled backwards.

Names like Zerimar Ramirez are rare, as few surnames can be flipped into something that could pass for a first name. (And few parents are eager to give their kids palindromic full names in the first place.)

But certain surnames look and sound pretty good when spelled backwards. For instance…

  • Allen -> Nella Allen
  • Davis -> Sivad Davis
  • Diaz -> Zaid Diaz
  • Harris -> Sirrah Harris
  • Hayes -> Seyah Hayes
  • Morales -> Selarom Morales
  • Oliver -> Revilo Oliver
  • Rivera -> Arevir Rivera
  • Salazar -> Razalas Salazar
  • Sullivan -> Navillus Sullivan

When you flip your surname, what’s the result? Could it be used as a first name?

P.S. I found an Onurb Bruno in Brazil…

Baby born in the Saar, named Saarfried

Saar stamp, 1934

A German baby boy born in the Saar on January 13, 1935, the day of the Saar plebiscite, was named Saarfried “out of sheer patriotic joy.”

The registrar “raised no objection” to the baby’s made-up name, a combination of the name of the territory and the name-element fried, meaning “peace.” This element is also found in traditional German names like Siegfried and Gottfried.

The outcome of the plebiscite? Over 90% of those who voted were in favor of the Saar returning to Hitler’s Germany. (Not too peaceful for those who then had to flee, including the mother of France.)

Source: “New Name Coined by Saar Plebiscite.” Los Angeles Times 10 Mar. 1935: 7.

Image: Adapted from DR 1934 544 Saarabstimmung

Baby name story: France

In January of 1935, residents of the Saar, which had been governed by France and Britain since 1920, voted to reunify with Hitler’s Germany.

Those who feared the coming Nazi regime were forced to flee the territory.

Weeks later, Saar refugee Anna Serf gave birth to the first refugee baby in Toulouse, France. The baby girl was named France Marie Louise.

Source: “Saar Refugee Baby Named After France.” Pittsburgh Press 26 Feb 1935: 18.

Baby born aboard Cunard ocean liner, named Cunard

Part of a Cunard poster
Cunard poster

On September 6, 1927, the Cunard liner Aurania left Queenstown, Ireland, and started heading toward New York.

Two days into the journey, an 8-pound baby boy was born to passengers Alice and John Raftice of County Kilkenny.

The baby was named John Cunard Raftice.

(The British cruise line Cunard was founded in 1840 by Samuel Cunard.)

Source: “Stork Flies Over Ship; Boy Born 2 Days Later.” New York Times 16 Sept. 1927: 8.