How popular is the baby name Napoleon 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 Napoleon.
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There were two famous Frenchmen commonly known as Sadi Carnot.
The most recent was statesman Marie François Sadi Carnot (b. 1837), who served as the President of France from 1887 until his assassination in 1894.
He was named after his uncle, mechanical engineer Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot (b. 1796), who is often described as the “father of thermodynamics.”
The older Sadi Carnot was named by his father, mathematician Lazare Carnot (b. 1753), after thirteenth-century Persian poet Saadi Shirazi.
Why?
[Saadi’s] poems, most notably the Gulistan (or Rose Garden), were popular in Europe in the late eighteenth century. It seems likely that Lazare chose the name to commemorate his association, in the 1780s, with the Société des Rosati, an informal literary society in Arras in which a recurring theme was the celebration of the beauty of roses in poetry.
Speaking of names…Lazare, who participated in the French Revolution alongside Napoléon, is one of the 72 men whose names are engraved on the Eiffel Tower.
Sources:
Carnot, Sadi. Reflexions on the Motive Power of Fire. Translated and edited by Robert Fox. New York: Lilian Barber Press, 1986. (Originally published in French in 1824.)
In yesterday’s post I mentioned that, up until the 1960s, the citizens of France were forced to obey a restrictive baby name law that was enacted in 1803.
Why did that law exist?
In order to curb the very non-traditional baby naming practices that had evolved during the years of the French Revolution.
It all started in September of 1792, one day before the French National Convention abolished the monarchy. On that day, a decree was issued. The decree allowed the citizens of France to change their forenames quite easily — all they had to do was “make a simple formal declaration before the registrar of their local municipality.”
Many people took advantage of this decree and chose new names with a revolutionary flavor (i.e., names that referred to nature, to the new republican calendar*, to republican virtues, to republican heroes, or to antiquity).
And, of course, they started giving their children revolutionary names as well.
Examples of these names include…
Name
Translation/Significance
Abeille
“Bee” / refers to the date Germinal 15 (Apr. 4)
Abricot
“Apricot” / refers to the date Thermidor 13 (Jul. 31)
“Poplar” / refers to the date Pluviôse 9 (Jan. 28)
Philippe Thomas Ve de bon coeur pour la République
Philippe Thomas “Go with a good heart for the Republic”
Phytogynéantrope
according to one source, it’s “Greek for a woman giving birth only to warrior sons”
Pomme
“Apple” / refers to the date Brumaire 1 (Oct. 22)
Porte-arme
“Weapon-holder”
Racine de la Liberté
“Root of Freedom”
Raifort
“Horseradish” / refers to the date Frimaire 12 (Dec. 2)
Raison
“Reason”
Régénérée Vigueur
“Regenerated Strength”
Rhubarbe
“Rhubarb” / refers to the date Floréal 11 (Apr. 30)
Robespierre
refers to politician Maximilien Robespierre
Sans Crainte
“Without Fear”
Scipion l’Africain
refers to ancient Roman general Scipio Africanus
Seigle
“Rye” / refers to the date Messidor 1 (Jun. 19)
Simon Liberté ou la Mort
Simon “Freedom or Death”
Spartacus
refers to ancient Roman gladiator and military leader Spartacus
Sureau
“Elderberry” / refers to the date Prairial 17 (Jun. 5)
Thermidor
based on thermon, Greek for “summer heat” / one of the summertime months of the republican calendar
Travail
“Work”
Tubéreuse
“Tuberose” / refers to the date Fructidor 6 (Aug. 23)
Unitée Impérissable
“Imperishable Unity”
Vengeur Constant
“Constant Avenger”
Victoire Fédérative
“Federal Victory”
Though it’s impossible to estimate just how many revolution-era babies got revolutionary names, the number seems to be well into the thousands, judging by statements like these:
“[I]n the winter and spring of 1794 at least 60 per cent of children received revolutionary names in Marseilles, Montpellier, Nevers, and Rouen.”
“[I]n Poitiers…only 62 of 593 babies born in the year II [1793-94] were named after saints in the ancien régime manner. Instead, they were given names reflecting the contrasting sources of political inspiration.”
About a decade later, however, all this creative naming came to an end.
Under Napoleon Bonaparte, the French government enacted a law that restricted French given names to “names used in various calendars” (that is, the names of Catholic saints) and “names of persons known from ancient history.” In essence, the law was meant to “put an end to citizens bearing absurd names that signified inanimate objects, forms of vegetation, membership of the animal kingdom and abstract concepts.”
….And this was the law that gave the Manrot-le Goarnic family so much difficulty when they tried to give their children Breton names a century and a half later.
*The French republican calendar, in use from 1793 to 1806, was a secular take on the Catholic Church’s calendar of saints. The months “were named after natural elements, while each day was named for a seed, tree, flower, fruit, animal, or tool.”
I’m not 100% sure, but I think I’ve got a decent theory.
Let’s start with Grace Kelly. In April of 1956, she was married to Prince Rainier in a lavish wedding that got worldwide press coverage.
Later the same year, in November, two engagements were announced:
Prince Henri of Orleans, to Duchess Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg, and
Princess Hélène of Orleans, to Count Evrard of Limbourg-Styrum.
Henri and Hélène were the 2nd and 3rd children of the Count of Paris, claimant to the long-gone throne of France. Henri, importantly, was the eldest son.
Newspapers claimed Henri’s upcoming marriage would be “THE Wedding of 1957,” and “[t]he most important marriage to be celebrated in France since Napoleon III wed Princess Eugenie.” They said that “as far as European royalty is concerned it will make that Rainier-Kelly wedding in Monaco last spring look like a musical comedy.”
And all the announcements were sure to mention that both couples would marry in the royal chapel in the town of Dreux, located in north-central France.
Hélène and Evrard wed in January:
Henri and Duchess Marie-Thérèse wed in July:
My only reservation regarding this theory is that place names highlighted in the news don’t typically turn into baby names. That said…Dreux in an American accent sounds a lot like Drew, the nickname for Andrew, so perhaps that’s the key here.
What are your thoughts on Dreux as a baby name? (Do you have any alternate theories about where this one might have come from?)
Sources:
“France Preparing for Royal Wedding Early Next Summer.” Bend Bulletin [Bend, Oregon] 22 Nov. 1956: 13.
“Royalty All Set for THE Wedding of 1957.” Indiana Evening Gazette [Indiana, Pennsylvania] 23 Nov. 1956: 12.
The godfather of Gothic fiction, Edgar Allan Poe, was born 202 years ago today.
He may have been master of the macabre, but he wrote widely — far beyond horror. His other works fall into genres such as humor/satire, science fiction, detective fiction, and adventure fiction.
To celebrate Poe’s birthday, let’s check out some of the character names he used in his short stories, poetry, and longer works:
Girl Names
Ada, from the poem “Tamerlane” (1827)
Alessandra, from the play Politian (1835)
Annabel Lee, from the poem “Annabel Lee” (1849)
Annie, from the poem “For Annie” (1849) and the short story “Landor’s Cottage” (1849)
Arabella, from the short story “The Man That Was Used Up” (1839)
Berenice, from the short story “Berenice” (1835)
Camille, from the short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841)
Eleonora, from the short story “Eleonora” (1842)
Ermengarde, from the short story “Eleonora” (1842)
Estelle, from the short story “The Mystery of Marie Roget” (1842)
Eugenie, from the short stories “The Spectacles” (1844) and “The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether” (1845)
Eulalie, from the poem “Eulalie – A Song” (1845)
Evangeline, from the poem “Evangeline” (1848)
Fanny, from the poem “Fanny” (1833)
Grettel, from the short story “The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall” (1835)
Helen, from the poems “To Helen” (1831) and “To Helen” (1849)
Ianthe, from the poem “Al Aaraaf” (1829)
Isabel, from the poem “Fairy-Land” (1829)
Jacinta, from the play Politian (1835)
Jane, from the unfinished novel The Journal of Julius Rodman (1840)
Kate, from the short story “Three Sundays in a Week” (1841)
Kathleen, from the short story “The Man That Was Used Up” (1839)
Lalage, from the play Politian (1835)
Lenore, from the poems “Lenore” (1843) and “The Raven” (1845)
Ligeia, from the poem “Al Aaraaf” (1829) and the short story “Ligeia” (1838)
Madeline, from the short story “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839)
Marian, from the short story “The Oblong Box” (1844)
Marie, from the short story “The Mystery of Marie Roget” (1842)
Miranda, from the short story “The Man That Was Used Up” (1839)
Morella, from the short story “Morella” (1835)
Pauline, from the short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841)
Psyche, from the short story “A Predicament” (1838)
Rowena, from the short story “Ligeia” (1838)
Stephanie, from the short story “The Spectacles” (1844)
Tabitha, from the piece “How to Write a Blackwood Article” (1838) and the short story “The Man That Was Used Up” (1839)
Ulalume (rhymes with tomb), from the poem “Ulalume” (1847)
Una, from the short story “The Colloquy of Monos and Una” (1841)
Zanthe, from the poem “Al Aaraaf” (1829)
Boy names
Adolphe, from the short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841)
Adolphus, from the short story “The Spectacles” (1844)
Alberto, from the short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841)
Alexander, from the unfinished novel The Journal of Julius Rodman (1840)
Alexandre, from the short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841)
Alfonzo, from the short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841)
Andrew, from the unfinished novel The Journal of Julius Rodman (1840)
Angelo, from the poem “Al Aaraaf” (1829)
Arthur, from the novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) and the short story “Some Words with a Mummy” (1845)
Auguste, from the short stories “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841), “The Mystery of Marie Roget” (1842), and “The Purloined Letter” (1844)
Augustus, from the novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) and the short story “A Tale of the Ragged Mountains” (1844)
Baldazzar, from the play Politian (1835)
Barnabas, from the short story “Thou Art the Man” (1844)
Benito, from the play Politian (1835)
Charles, from the short story “Thou Art the Man” (1844)
Cornelius, from the short story “The Oblong Box” (1844)
Dirk, from the novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838)
Egaeus, from the short story “Berenice” (1835)
Emmet, from the novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838)
Ernest, from the short story “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” (1845)
Ethelred, from the short story “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839)
Fortunato, from the short story “The Cask of Amontillado” (1846)
Frank, from the unfinished novel The Journal of Julius Rodman (1840)
Frederick, from the short story “Metzengerstein” (1832)
Gordon, from the novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838)
Hans, from the short story “The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall” (1835)
Henri, from the short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841)
Isidore, from the short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841)
Israfel, from the poem “Israfel” (1831)
Jacques, from the short story “The Mystery of Marie Roget” (1842)
James, from the unfinished novel The Journal of Julius Rodman (1840)
John, from the short story “The Man That Was Used Up” (1839) and the unfinished novel The Journal of Julius Rodman (1840)
Jules, from the short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841)
Julius, from the unfinished novel The Journal of Julius Rodman (1840)
Jupiter, from the short story “The Gold-Bug” (1843)
Meredith, from the unfinished novel The Journal of Julius Rodman (1840)
Napoleon, from the short story “The Spectacles” (1844)
Paul, from the short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841)
Pedro, from the short story “The Oval Portrait” (1842)
Peter, from the novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) and the short story “The Business Man” (1840)
Pierre, from the short story “Bon-Bon” (1832), the unfinished novel The Journal of Julius Rodman (1840), and the short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841)
Poindexter, from the unfinished novel The Journal of Julius Rodman (1840)
Politian, from the play Politian (1835)
Prospero, from the short story “The Masque of the Red Death” (1842)
Richard, from the novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838)
Robert, from the novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) and the unfinished novel The Journal of Julius Rodman (1840)
Roderick, from the short story “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839)
Rupert, from the play Politian (1835)
Tamerlane, from the poem “Tamerlane” (1827)
Theodore, from the short story “The Man That Was Used Up” (1839)
Toby, from the unfinished novel The Journal of Julius Rodman (1840) and the short story “Never Bet the Devil Your Head” (1841)
Ugo, from the play Politian (1835)
Victor, from the short story “The Spectacles” (1844)
William, from the short stories “William Wilson” (1839), “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841), and “The Gold-Bug” (1843)
Zoilus, from the short story “Shadow – A Parable” (1835)
Though they aren’t character names, Raven and Poe could be added to this list as well, as both are closely associated with Edgar Allan Poe. And both are bird-related, incidentally: the surname Poe can be traced back to the Middle English word for “peacock.”
Which of the above names do you like best? Which would you considering using in real life?
Mckinley, Richard. A History of British Surnames. New York: Routledge, 2013.
[Latest update: 10/2022]
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