How popular is the baby name Lorraine in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Lorraine.
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Tuesday’s post about the Victorian-style Tylney Hall Hotel reminded me of a list of Victorian-era names that I’ve had bookmarked forever.
The list was created by amateur genealogist G. M. Atwater as a resource for writers. It contains names and name combinations that were commonly seen in the U.S. from the 1840s to the 1890s. Below is the full list (with a few minor changes).
| Victorian Era Female Names | Victorian Era Male Names |
|---|---|
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Which female name and male name do you like best?
On June 27, a long-time Joslin Diabetes Center patient gave birth to a baby girl.
The baby’s name? Joslin Marie.
“I decided to name my daughter Joslin because of the care I received at Joslin,” explained Elizabeth. “More specifically because of one appointment I had with Dr. Eyiuche Okeke. When I was about 21 years old I had a regular, routine appointment and at that point, my diabetes was so out of control.
“With an A1C of 10 or 11, Dr. Okeke flat out told me ‘if you were to get pregnant right now, your baby would have a 65 to 80 percent chance of having birth defects.’ Being a young adult, I knew that I always wanted to have children. I couldn’t help but cry that day, but more importantly, reevaluate my lifestyle,” she said.
And that’s not all — I know of another baby named Joslin after the Joslin Diabetes Center.
Hannah Joslin Fascione was born to Lorraine Fascione of Newington, CT, in March of 2000. Lorraine, who suffered from gestational diabetes, was treated at a Joslin-affiliated diabetes center in Connecticut.
So where did the Joslin Diabetes Center get its name? The Boston-based organization grew out of the private practice of Dr. Elliott P. Joslin (1869-1962), the first U.S. doctor to specialize in diabetes.
And where does the surname Joslin come from? It was originally a personal name, brought to England by the Normans in the 11th century. Early spelling variants include Goscelin, Gosselin and Joscelin.
In most cases, Joslin can be traced back to the Germanic name Gauzelin, which was a pet form of Germanic names that included the name element Gaut (of unknown meaning).
In other cases, Joslin was a pet form of the Old French name Josse, a version of the Breton name Iodoc/Jodoc, which was based on the Breton word iudh, meaning “lord.”
Do you like the name Joslin?
Sources:
In 1919 — years before radio broadcasting became a means of popularizing music — the song “Dardanella” was published as sheet music with lyrics. The song tells the tale of a “lonesome maid Armenian” named Dardanella. Here’s the chorus:
Oh sweet Dardanella, I love your harem eyes,
I’m a lucky fellow, to capture such a prize,
Oh Allah knows, my love for you,
And he tells you to be true,Dardanella, oh hear my sigh, my Oriental,
Oh sweet Dardanella, prepare the wedding wine,
There’ll be one girl in my harem when you’re mine.
We’ll build a tent, just like the children of the Orient.Oh, sweet Dardanella, my star of love divine.
“Dardanella” became so trendy that it inspired dozens of expectant parents to name their baby girls Dardanella in the early 1920s:
In fact, Dardanella was the top debut name for baby girls in 1920. The spelling variants Dardenella (a one-hit wonder) and Darnella also surfaced on the list that year.
The name in the song is derived from the word Dardanelles, which is one of the Turkish Straits that separates European Turkey from Asian Turkey. The word Dardanelles can be traced back to the mythological figure Dardanus, son of Zeus and Electra.
It’s feasible that the Dardanelles Campaign of WWI was lyricist Fred Fisher’s direct inspiration. After all, several years earlier, in 1917, he’d helped create the song “Lorraine (My Beautiful Alsace Lorraine).” (And a few years before that, in 1910, he’d scored a big hit with “Come Josephine in My Flying Machine.”)
If you’d like to hear “Dardanella,” check out this 1920 recording by Gladys Rice and Vernon Dalhart [vid]. A version by Selvin’s Novelty Orchestra that was released in late 1919 became “the first pressing ever to sell more than a million copies.”
What do you think of the name Dardanella? Usable nowadays?
Source: “From ‘Dardanella’ On A Stroh To Stacked Tapes.” New York Times 13 Dec. 1964: 24.
If you’ve ever seen the movies Goodfellas or Medicine Man, or followed the tv show The Sopranos, then you probably remember actress Lorraine Bracco.
She has two daughters, Margaux (b. 1979) and Stella (b. 1985), and in an interview last year she revealed the origin of Margaux’s name:
IgoUgo: What are your favorite wines, and where are they from?
Lorraine Bracco: I’m a big Bordeaux girl—I even named my daughter Margaux after the first Chateau Margaux I ever had. And of course, I love the Italian wines—the Brunello di Montalcino and Primitivo are two favorites.
What do you think of the name, and of the story behind it?