Baby name story: Norvell Shapleigh

Illustration of the Norvell-Shapleigh Hardware Co. building in St. Louis, Missouri
Norvell-Shapleigh Hardware Co.

Cybill Shepherd‘s maternal grandfather, Norvell Shapleigh “Cy” Shobe, was born in Missouri in 1906. His father was a poultry farmer.

Where did he get those unusual first and middle names? Here’s how Cybill explained it:

My grandfather was named for the hardware store where his father earned the money for the chicken farm.

Indeed, the Norvell-Shapleigh Hardware Company operated out of St. Louis from 1901 to 1918. (The company actually existed from the 1840s to the 1960s, but it underwent a number of name-changes over the years.) “Shapleigh” referred to Augustus F. Shapleigh, founder of the company, and “Norvell” to Saunders Norvell, who served as president in the early 1900s.

(In case you’re wondering, Norvell inherited the nickname “Cy” from his father, Cyrus.)

Sources:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.