Yup. A baby girl born in New York in 1814 was named Encyclopedia Britannica Dewey.
Her father was a minister named Timothy Dewey. With his first wife, Anne, he had a baby boy who got a traditional name (George Robert Dewey). But with his second wife, Beulah, he had at least 10 kids, all of whom got more distinctive names:
- Anna Diadama Dewey, b. 1802
- Philander Seabury Dewey, b. 1803
- Franklin Jefferson Dewey, b. 1804
- Armenius Philadelphus Dewey, b. 1805
- Almira Melphomenia Dewey, b. 1807
- Marcus Bonaparte Dewey, b. 1808
- Pleiades Arastarcus Dewey, b. 1810
- Victor Millenius Dewey, b. 1811
- Octavia Ammonia Dewey, b. 1812
- Encyclopedia Britannica Dewey, b. 1814
The most notable name of the bunch is certainly Encyclopedia Britannica. Like Prockie, she didn’t use her full name in everyday life but went by a modified form of her middle name: Britannia.
Would you consider giving any of these names to a child nowadays? If so, which one(s)?
Source: Rev Timothy Dewey (1771-1850) – Find A Grave Memorial
Image: Adapted from Old school knowledge by Joi Ito under CC BY 2.0.
