The unwieldy name Westmoreland was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data in 1917:
- 1919: unlisted
- 1918: unlisted
- 1917: 6 baby boys named Westmoreland [debut]
- 1916: unlisted
- 1915: unlisted
Why?
Because that’s the year Westmoreland Delaware “Morely” Davis was elected 48th Governor of Virginia in late 1917. He served from 1918 to 1922.
But the early SSA data only accounted for a portion of the U.S. population, so the actual number of Westmorelands born that year is higher. For instance, according to records I’ve seen, at least 7 Westmorelands were born in Virginia alone in 1917:
- Westmoreland Ackiss
- Westmoreland D. Byiers
- Westmoreland Davis Duncan
- Westmoreland D. Eastwood
- Westmoreland Snead
- Westmoreland Swann
- Westmoreland D. Wynkoop
The name Westmoreland comes from an English surname that originally referred to “the land of the people living west of the moors.”
Sources:
- Westmoreland Delaware Davis – Dictionary of Virginia Biography
- Hanks, Patrick. (Ed.) Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
- SSA
Image: Westmoreland Davis (LOC)