Baby names from Egyptian gods

Recent posts have mentioned both Isis and Anubis, and these names made me wonder — which other ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses are hiding in the U.S. baby name data?

After some searching, here’s what I came up with:

  • Aker, a god of the earth and underworld.
  • Amun or Amon, king of the gods; later combined with the sun god Ra to become…
  • Amunra (Amun-Ra), chief deity of the Egyptian Empire.
  • Amunet, a primordial goddess.
  • Anat, originally a Semitic war goddess.
  • Ash, the god of oases and vineyards.
  • Aten, a solar deity represented by “the solar disk emitting rays terminating in human hands.”
  • Atum, a god of creation.
  • Horus, the falcon-headed god of the sky; symbol of kingship.
  • Imhotep, a priest of Heliopolis who was later deified.
  • Khepri, the scarab-headed god of the morning sun.
  • Maat (Ma’at), the goddess of truth, justice, and cosmic order.
  • Meret (meaning “beloved”), a goddess associated with rejoicing.
  • Osiris, the (often green-skinned) god of fertility; ruler of the underworld.
  • Ptah, a god of creation.
  • Ra, sun god.
  • Set or Seth, god of storms, disorder, warfare — “in general, a trickster.”
  • Shai, a god of fate.
  • Tayt, goddess of weaving.

Which Egyptian god/goddess name makes the best baby name, do you think?

Sources: List of Egyptian Deities, Egyptian Gods – The Complete List, Aton – Egyptian god – Britannica, Seth – Egyptian God – Britannica

Thankful & Grateful

Happy Thanksgiving!

In honor of the holiday, I present to you a mother and daughter with an appreciative pair of names: Thankful and Grateful.

These two were part of the late-18th century Gould family of Winchester, New Hampshire. The family consisted of husband Thomas Gould (born in 1753), wife Thankful Gould (b. 1751), and their three children: Grateful Gould (b. 1783), Thomas Gould (b. 1785), and Sylvia Gould (b. 1789).

I don’t know why their first daughter was named “Grateful” as opposed to “Thankful,” but I’m grateful she was, because I had fun spotting these names in the records. :)

Sources:

Where did the baby name Keely come from in 1957?

Keely Smith's album "I Wish You Love" (1959).
Keely Smith album

At a time when Kelly was bounding up the baby name charts, we see the debut (and quick rise) of the very similar Keely:

  • 1959: 119 baby girls named Keely
  • 1958: 84 baby girls named Keely
  • 1957: 7 baby girls named Keely [debut]
  • 1956: unlisted
  • 1955: unlisted

Keely debuted the year Virginia-born jazz vocalist Keely Smith had her first big solo hit, “I Wish You Love.” The next year, she and her duet partner/husband Louis Prima scored another hit with the song “That Old Black Magic.” In fact, the song won ‘Best Performance by a Vocal Group or Chorus’ at the very first Grammy Awards, in May of 1959.

Keely Smith, born Dorothy Jacqueline Keely, had spent much of the ’50s performing in Vegas with Prima. He had originally wanted to call her Dottie Mae Smith (Smith being her stepfather’s name) but, as she later said: “I was no Dottie Mae.” They settled on using her Irish surname as her first name instead. (The surname means “descendant of Caollaidhe,” with “Caollaidhe” being a male personal name derived from caol, meaning “slender.”)

Which name do you prefer, Keely or Kelly?

Sources:

Popular baby names in Slovenia, 2019

Flag of Slovenia
Flag of Slovenia

According to Slovenia’s Statistical Office, the most popular baby names in the country in 2019 were Zala and Luka.

Here are Slovenia’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2019:

Girl Names

  1. Zala, 272 baby girls
  2. Ema, 224
  3. Mia, 213
  4. Julija, 176
  5. Sara, 164
  6. Ela, 163
  7. Lara, 161
  8. Eva, 160 (tie)
  9. Hana, 160 (tie)
  10. Zoja, 149

Boy Names

  1. Luka, 282 baby boys
  2. Filip, 241
  3. Jakob, 233
  4. Nik, 232
  5. Mark, 231
  6. Tim, 177
  7. Jan, 171
  8. Jaka, 164
  9. Oskar, 162
  10. Žan, 156

In the girls’ top 10, Ela, Hana, and Zoja replaced Nika, Maša, and Lana.

(The top girl name, Zala, is a short form of Rozalija, the Slovene form of Rosalia. The other Z-name on the girls’ list, Zoja, is the Slovene form of Zoe.)

In the boys’ top 10, Oskar replaced Lovro.

In 2018, the top names were Ema and Luka.

Sources: Top Baby Names – Republic of Slovenia Statistical Office, Zala – Behind the Name

Image: Adapted from Flag of Slovenia (public domain)