Baby name story: Egedah

buses

In 1938, a woman identified as Mrs. Aaron Stricker gave birth to a baby girl while riding an Egged bus to the Beilinsohn Hospital near Tel Aviv.

She and her husband decided to name the baby Egedah (or Eggedah) in honor of the bus line.

The Egged Transportation Company, in turn, presented the baby girl with a free lifetime bus pass.

The name of the company, egged, is Hebrew for “union.”

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Where did the baby name Diron come from in 1965?

Football player Diron Talbert
Diron Talbert

The name Diron first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1965:

  • 1967: 7 baby boys named Diron
  • 1966: 8 baby boys named Diron
    • 5 born in Texas
  • 1965: 9 baby boys named Diron [debut]
    • 6 born in Texas
  • 1964: unlisted
  • 1963: unlisted

Why?

Because of college football player Diron Talbert.

Diron, a defensive tackle, played at the University of Texas from 1964 to 1966. He was a letterman all three years.

After college, he played in the NFL for fourteen seasons — four with the Angeles Rams, ten with the Washington Redskins. (In fact, in the 1970s, “Diron” popped up in the Washington, D.C.-specific baby name data a couple of times.)

What are your thoughts on the baby name Diron?

Sources: Diron Talbert – Wikipedia, Diron Talbert (2005) – Hall of Honor – University of Texas Athletics, SSA

The Lamar family of Georgia

Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar I (b. 1797)
Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar I

John and Rebecca Lamar married in the mid-1790s and lived on a 1,000-acre cotton plantation near Milledgeville, Georgia. They welcomed a total of nine children, four sons and five daughters, whose names were…

  1. Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus (b. 1797)
  2. Mirabeau Buonaparte (b. 1798)
  3. Thomas Randolph (b. 1800)
  4. Evalina (b. 1803)
  5. Jefferson Jackson (b. 1804)
  6. Amelia (b. 1807)
  7. Louisa Elizabeth (b. 1807)
  8. Mary Ann (b. 1814)
  9. Loretto Rebecca (b. 1818)

The boys were named by their paternal uncle, Zachariah — a self-taught bachelor who also lived on the plantation and who,

like many of the men in the old plantation times, gave himself up to the ideal world of literature and history […] So when son after son was born to the head of the house this bookish enthusiast claimed the privilege of naming his infant nephews after his favorite of the moment, and the amiable and doubtless amused parents consented. Thus Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus, Mirabeau Buonparte, Jefferson Jackson, Thomas Randolph, and Lavoisier Legrand (a grandchild) indicate how his interest shifted from history to politics, and from politics to chemistry.

Oldest son Lucius (named for Roman statesman Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus) went on to become a judge. Two of his own sons — Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II and Jefferson Mirabeau Lamar — had careers in law as well. In fact, Lucius II served on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1888 to 1893.

Second son Mirabeau (named for the Comte de Mirabeau and Napoleon) also went into law initially. Later he got into politics, and ended up becoming the second president of the Republic of Texas. (He was also the first vice president, under Sam Houston.)

I couldn’t find anyone in the family’s third generation named “Lavoisier Legrand,” but one of Mary’s sons was named Lucius Lavoisier (middle name in honor of French chemist Antoine Lavoisier).

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What gave the baby name Nairobi a boost in the 1980s?

Screenshot of the CBS promo for the TV movie "Nairobi Affair" (1984).
CBS promo for “Nairobi Affair”

Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, takes its name from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nairobi, which means “cold water.” It refers to the river that flows through the city.

In the 1970s, the city name began popping up as a boy name in the U.S. baby name data. This isn’t surprising, given African-Americans’ growing interest in baby names associated with Africa during that decade (e.g., 1971, 1973, 1977).

In 1984, though, Nairobi saw a small spike in usage — as a girl name. The spelling variant Nairoby also emerged.

Nairobi usageNairoby usage
19865 baby girls5 baby girls
19857 baby girls6 baby girls
198413 baby girls11 baby girls [debut]
19835 baby girlsunlisted
1982unlistedunlisted

Why?

Because of a television movie called Nairobi Affair. It was filmed in Kenya and aired on CBS in October 1984. (Coincidentally, another African place name, Etosha, was also given a boost by a show that aired on CBS in 1984.)

Advertisement for the TV movie "Nairobi Affair" (1984).
1984 “Nairobi Affair” ad

The film starred Charlton Heston, who played “the owner of a Kenyan safari camp who [was] having an affair with his estranged son’s former wife.” The former wife was played by former Bond girl Maud Adams.

What are your thoughts on Nairobi as a baby name?

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