Unusual baby name: Zelute

Here’s an interesting name I spotted a few months ago: Zelute. It belonged to Miss Zelute B. Cheever (1796-1873) of Lynn, Massachusetts.

The name apparently comes from a Greek word — more often transliterated as zeloute — that’s used several times in the Bible. It means something along the lines of “desirous,” “covetous,” or “earnestly seeking,” but also “jealous” or “envious,” depending upon the context.

It’s related to the more familiar words zealous and zeal. (Zeal has begun popping up in the data lately, btw.)

What are your thoughts on the name Zelute? (How about Zeal?)

Baby name battle: Piper vs. Pippa

Piper and Pippa have a lot in common: both are 2-syllable p-names, and both debuted in the SSA data in the 1950s thanks to the influence of famous actresses.

Since the ’50s, though, their paths have diverged. Piper has become popular, and now sits inside the top 100. Pippa, on the other hand, has yet to reach the top 1,000.

Piper comes directly from the surname, which was originally an occupational name for a pipe player.

Pippa, short for Philippa, can be traced back to the ancient Greek name Philippos, meaning “fond of horses.”

If you were having a daughter, and you had to name her either Piper or Pippa, which would it be? Why?

A tale of two Q(u)adrees

football field

Qadree Ollison was born in New York on September 8, 1996. Quadree Henderson was born in Delaware just four days later, on September 12. Both of their first names are pronounced kwah-dree.

Just to give you an idea of the rarity of these names in the U.S., here’s the popularity graph for Qadree:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Qadree in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Qadree

And here’s the graph for Quadree:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Quadree in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Quadree

Both Qadree Ollison and Quadree Henderson ended up becoming talented football players. Both also decided to attend the University of Pittsburgh. So, by a curious twist of fate, they found themselves on the very same college football team.

Here’s how Ollison described the experience:

I don’t know if you’ve ever met somebody with the same name as you, but it was kind of awkward, where you’re like, ‘What’s up bro, I’m Qadree’ and he’s like, ‘What’s up bro, I’m Quadree.’ And it’s like you’re talking to yourself kind of, hearing somebody else say the same name right back to you.

Here’s how Henderson described the confusion:

If me and Qadree are standing next to each other and the coach says, ‘Quadree’ we’ll both turn back and have to make eye contact with the coach and he’s like, ‘Not that Quadree, the other Qadree.’

Another fun quote from Henderson:

I always make fun of him, and tell him he needs a ‘u’ in his name for the ‘qua’ part. I tell him I’m the real Quadree because I have a ‘u’ in my name.

Where did their unique names come from? Ollison’s mom “just wanted something different,” while Henderson’s mom “said [the name] comes from Muslim descent, and it means warrior, strong and not scared of anything.”

(This makes me think their names are based on the Arabic name Qadir, which means “capable, powerful,” and — along with Hakeem, Kareem, etc. — is one of the 99 names of Allah.)

These days, Qadree Ollison is playing for the Atlanta Falcons (NFL) and Quadree Henderson is playing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL).

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Image: Adapted from New Meadowlands Stadium: Mezz Corner (cropped) by section215 under CC BY 2.0.

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. :)

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