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From: Bill <>
Subject: Little Egypt Heritage, 8 May 2005, Vol 4 #19
Date: Sun, 08 May 2005 20:45:16 -0400


Little Egypt Heritage Articles
Stories of Southern Illinois
© Bill Oliver

8 May 2005
Vol 4 Issue: #19
ISBN: pending

Osiyo, Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen of Little Egypt,

The BIG Headlines in my Saturday newspaper, “Thousands browse new $117M
wing to sample bargains, food, atmosphere”. Thousands? Wing? Oh, my; Oh
my!! A new shopping mall wing. This is the new corner “drug store”. But,
I just can’t get all that excited.

Much further back off the front page is an article about the names among
U.S. children. How many children in a classroom “snap” their necks when
the name “Emily” is called out? Or, Jacob? Both are the current top
names for the two genders.

For six straight years now, the Biblical name, Jacob, has taken first
count for boys. For twins, Jacob and Joshua take honors; but, Joshua
takes third place honors for the most popular name for non twin boys.
Professor Cleveland Evans of Bellevue University in Nebraska, who heads
the American Name Society, says that Biblical names are popular with
Christian and Hebrew groups.

For females, Emily has been the top name for nine straight years,
according to the Social Security Administration. Emily has a literary
association, especially with authors such as Emily Dickenson and/or
Emily Bronte. It conjures images of both beautiful and “smart”,
according to the Professor.

William, or Bill, which was very popular I thought, has risen to eighth
from eleventh. The top ten girls names, according to Social Security
applications, are: Emily, Emma, Madison, Olivia, Hannah, Abigail,
Isabella, Ashley, Samantha, and Elizabeth. For boys, they are: Jacob,
Michael, Joshua, Matthew, Ethan, Andrew, Daniel, William, Joseph, and
Christopher.

In our U.S. history many children were named after their aunts, uncles
and grandparents before they were named for their parents. It is not
unusual to find a young child in census records before 1900 with no
name. We must remember that the mortality rate was high, and often a
child was not named until the family was almost certain the child would
live.

In our Southern States, after 1840, people often used two or three
middle names, as well as a given (first or formal) name and surname. In
addition folks in the South were [and still are] often called by their
middle name--not the proper first name listed in official documents.

In Colonial New England, the first settlers bore names of three
different types: those of English origin, those of Hebew derivation and
those intended to have moral significance. Old English names, connected
with the Church of England, were not often favored by the Puritans. The
Massachusetts Puritans named their children somewhat differently than
other English-speaking settlers. Names such as Love, Patience, Fear,
Wrestling, Desire, Hate Evil, Faint Not, Maybe, and Notwithstanding are
found in early Massachusetts.

Somewhere in obscure notes I have recorded that the Mayflower Hopkins
family named a child Oceanus to commemorate a birth; and, if memory
serves she was born aboard ship. Other early settlers seemed to favor
names for their children associated with moral qualities. Among girls'
names, which were no doubt intended to incite their bearer to lead godly
lives were: Content, Lowly, Mindwell, Obedience, Patience, Silence,
Charity, Mercy, Comfort, Delight, and Thankful.

Also, in breaking tradition of naming children for other relatives, the
first names of the father and mother were given to the first-born son
and daughter, respectively.

In the Bay Colony, more females were named Mary, Elizabeth and Sarah.
Other popular girls' names were Rebecca, Ruth, Anne, Hannah, Deborah,
Huldah, Abigail, and Rachel. Prevalent boys' names included John,
Joseph, Samuel, Josiah, Benjamin, Jonathan, and Nathan.

In Virginia, biblical references were less common. Early settlers often
named sons for Teutonic warriors, Frankish knights, and English kings.
Favorites included William, Robert, Richard, Edward, George, and
Charles. Daughters received names of Christian saints and traditional
English folk names, such as Margaret, Jane, Catherine, Frances, and
Alice, along with English favorites Mary, Elizabeth, Anne, and Sarah.
First-born children were named more traditionally, for their
grandparents, and second-born for their parents.

Though not unknown for girls, a custom in most of the Colonies was the
use of surnames as given and middle names. Thus, we often look for
relevance to the female lines.

Among Quakers in Colonial Pennsylvania and Delaware, babies went through
a ritual called nomination. An infant's name was carefully selected by
the parents, certified by friends, witnessed by neighbors, and then
entered in the register of the meeting. First-born children were named
after grandparents, honoring maternal and paternal lines equally, often
with an eldest son named after his mother's father, and an eldest
daughter after her father's mother.While this practice was not
universal, it was common in the Delaware Valley. Many names came from
the Bible, with favorites for boys being John, Joseph, Samuel, Thomas,
William and George; and for girls, Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah,
Anne/Anna/Hannah, and Esther/Hester. Also popular among Quakers was
Phebe. Quakers also favored the names Patience, Grace, Mercy, and
Chastity. Imagne naming one’s eight children Remember, John, Restore,
Freedom, Increase, Jacob, Preserve, and Israel"

Naming patterns differed in the "back country"of early America, which
was heavily populated by Scotch-Irish as well as German, Scandinavian,
Irish, Scottish, French, and Dutch families. In these rural areas, many
given names were "Americanized", making it difficult for genealogists to
identify a family's ethnic origin. As a general rule, the patterns
included a mixture of biblical, Teutonic, and saints' names. Among the
most popular given names for boys were: John, Robert, Richard, Andrew,
Patrick, and David. Celtic names such as Ewan ( and variants Ewen and
Owen), Barry and Roy were often used. Also, Archibald, Ronald,
Alexander, Charles, James Wallace, Bruce, Percy, Ross, and Clyde were
often used. Again, eldest sons were often named after their
grandfathers, and second or third sons after their fathers- similiar to
patterns found in early Tidewater Chesapeake families.

One peculiar naming pattern found among the back-country settlers was
the one bestowing unusual -- sometimes made-up -- given names. From an
early date, these rugged pioneers cultivated a spirit of onomastic
individualism, a spirit still found today in this country as parents
search for a special, perhaps unique, name for their offspring. Still
others prefer to select a name from their family tree that earlier
exhibited this spirit and has been passed along for generations.

As this country becomes more and more integrated with other cultures,
other naming patterns will emerge other than the Christian-Judeo or
Biblical traditions.

e-la-di-e-das-di ha-wi nv-wa-do-hi-ya nv-wa-to-hi-ya-da.
(May you walk in peace and harmony)

Wado,


Bill
-=-


PostScript:

= = = =
http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/SOIL
http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/ILMASSAC
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/state/BillsArticles/LittleEgypt/intro.html



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