French Resistance baby named “Submachine Gun”?

Several days ago, French Resistance leader Raymond Aubrac passed away.

In June of 1943, he had been captured by the Gestapo. In October, with the help of his pregnant wife Lucie, he managed to escape. Their story “became one of the most celebrated triumphs of the underground and also an enduring love story of World War II.”

Why am I mentioning him here?

Because the baby that Lucie was carrying may have been given a war-related name.

The baby was born in early 1944 in London. Several sources claim her full name at birth was Catherine Mitraillette Aubrac. The French word mitraillette means “submachine gun.”

The Aubracs clearly had a daughter named Catherine — she’s mentioned in all the obituaries. But I haven’t yet been able to verify that Catherine’s middle name (if she has one) is Mitraillette.

Sources:

  • “Baby Named “Little Machine Gun”.” Army News [Darwin, Northern Territory] 31 Mar. 1944: 3.
  • Gildea, Robert. Fighters in the Shadows: A New History of the French Resistance. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2015.
  • Langer, Emily. “Raymond Aubrac, French Resistance leader, dies at 97.” Washington Post 12 Apr. 2012.

How did Nadia Comaneci influence U.S. baby names in 1976?

Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci
Nadia Comaneci

At the 1976 Summer Olympics, 14-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci became the first to score a “perfect 10” in a modern Olympic gymnastics event. (She was on the uneven bars at the time.) She ended up earning six more 10s — and winning three gold medals — in Montreal that July.

The same year, Comaneci popped up in the U.S. baby name data for the first and only time:

  • 1978: unlisted
  • 1977: unlisted
  • 1976: 9 baby girls named Comaneci [debut]
  • 1975: unlisted
  • 1974: unlisted

Comaneci (pronounced koh-mah-NETCH) is one of several Romanian surnames that refer to the Cumans, a Turkic people who migrated to the Carpathian region in the early 13th century.

The name Nadia also got quite a boost in 1976. It jumped not only into the girls’ top 1,000, but straight into the top 500:

  • 1978: 610 baby girls named Nadia [rank: 353rd]
  • 1977: 790 baby girls named Nadia [rank: 303rd]
  • 1976: 585 baby girls named Nadia [rank: 360th]
  • 1975: 86 baby girls named Nadia
  • 1974: 88 baby girls named Nadia

Nadia Comaneci’s first name was inspired by a Russian film character called Nadezhda. Nadia (also spelled Nadya) is a diminutive of Nadezhda, which means “hope” in Russian.

Comaneci now lives in the U.S. and is married to fellow Olympic gymnast Bart Conner. They have a son, Dylan Paul, who is named for Bart’s favorite musician, Bob Dylan, and Bart’s former University of Oklahoma coach, Paul Ziert.

P.S. Soviet gymnast Nelli Kim, who also earned a pair of perfect scores at the 1976 Summer Olympics, is likely behind he debut of Nelli in the U.S. baby name data in 1977.

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the cover of Time magazine (2 Aug. 1976)

The baby name Io

Jupiter's moon Io (NASA)
Io (in front of Jupiter)

Several days ago, NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day was the impressive “Io: Moon Over Jupiter,” which was taken by the Cassini spacecraft.

Jupiter’s moon Io (pronounced IE-oh) was discovered by Galileo in 1610. He named it for the mythological character Io — a nymph who was seduced by Zeus, then turned into a cow.*

The baby name Io doesn’t have a known meaning, and it’s rarely used in the U.S.:

  • 2010: 6 baby girls named Io
  • 2009: 8 baby girls named Io
  • 2008: 5 baby girls named Io
  • 2007: 5 baby girls named Io
  • 2006: 5 baby girls named Io

Nevertheless, I’ve always found it intriguing. There aren’t many two-letter girl names out there, and this is the only one I know of from Greek myth.

Do you like the name Io? Would you give it to your baby girl?

*The name of the Bosphorus, which comes from ancient Greek and means “cow passage,” commemorates Io-the-cow’s crossing of the strait.

P.S. Io backwards is Oi. :)

Sources: Io (mythology) – Wikipedia, SSA
Image: NASA

Maxwell: Boy name or girl name?

Could Maxwell become a girl name?

As of right now, it’s used almost exclusively for baby boys:

  • 2010: 2,985 baby boys and 5 baby girls named Maxwell
  • 2009: 3,068 baby boys (and <5 baby girls) named Maxwell
  • 2008: 3,050 baby boys and 5 baby girls named Maxwell
  • 2007: 2,711 baby boys and 6 baby girls named Maxwell
  • 2006: 2,789 baby boys and 5 baby girls named Maxwell
  • 2005: 2,809 baby boys (and <5 baby girls) named Maxwell

But I think that could change.

Several months ago, a minor celebrity named her daughter Maxwell Lue.

And rumor has it that singer Jessica Simpson is also considering Maxwell (nickname Maxi) for her baby girl due in a couple of weeks.

(In fact, the rumor has gotten so much press that I think the rumor itself could influence expectant parents — regardless of what Simpson actually names her baby.)

Do you think celebrities naming their baby girls Maxwell will inspire enough non-celeb parents to follow suit that Maxwell becomes dual-gender (à la Rory, Elliot, Charlie, Avery & Peyton)?

Do you like Maxwell as a girl name, or do you prefer it on boys only?

P.S. Maxwell was originally a habitational surname. It was first recorded in 12th century Scotland as Mackeswell, meaning “Mack’s spring” or “Mack’s stream.” Mack was a short form of the Scandinavian name Magnus, which comes from the Latin word for “great.”