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HelpAmerican Names
I was just thinking to myself. Are there any names that seem markedly American? I am from the US, but I know a few people here are from else where, so it would be interesting to see what your perspectives are. For some reason John and Mary seem to stick out in my mind.
Are there any typically only-in-the-US kind of names?
Maybe Bob... ^_^
WDYT?
Are there any typically only-in-the-US kind of names?
Maybe Bob... ^_^
WDYT?
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Replies
I would say Native American names are as American as it gets.
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I always think Susannah for some reason
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Susannah was quite popular in early America, like many biblical names.
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Perhaps this is why! That old song ...
O, Susanna,
O, don't you cry for me,
I've come from Alabama
With my banjo on my knee.
O, Susanna,
O, don't you cry for me,
'Cause I'm goin' to Louisiana,
My true love for to see.
I had a dream the other night
When ev'rything was still;
I thought I saw Susanna
A-comin' down the hill;
The buckwheat cake was in her mouth,
The tear was in her eye;
Says I, I'm comin' from the south,
Susanna, don't you cry.
O, Susanna,
O, don't you cry for me,
I've come from Alabama
With my banjo on my knee.
O, Susanna,
O, don't you cry for me,
'Cause I'm goin' to Louisiana,
My true love for to see.
I had a dream the other night
When ev'rything was still;
I thought I saw Susanna
A-comin' down the hill;
The buckwheat cake was in her mouth,
The tear was in her eye;
Says I, I'm comin' from the south,
Susanna, don't you cry.
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Yes
Chuck
Hank
Chad
Brad
Randy
Tyler
Joel
Jaden
Logan
Riley
Parker
Trey
Trent
Tiffany
Kayla
Amber
Crystal
Charlene
Arlene
Allison
Brooklyn
Brook
Kimberly
Brittany
Cheyenne
Dakota
Madelyn
That's not to say you'd wouldn't ever see these names in the UK, they just seem very American to me. I don't find John and Mary American, though.
Chuck
Hank
Chad
Brad
Randy
Tyler
Joel
Jaden
Logan
Riley
Parker
Trey
Trent
Tiffany
Kayla
Amber
Crystal
Charlene
Arlene
Allison
Brooklyn
Brook
Kimberly
Brittany
Cheyenne
Dakota
Madelyn
That's not to say you'd wouldn't ever see these names in the UK, they just seem very American to me. I don't find John and Mary American, though.
This message was edited 7/29/2009, 7:59 AM
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Surname names, like Taylor and Tyler, Reagan, Paige, Mallory, Peyton etc
- and especially the 'son' names, Addison, Madison, Emerson, Harrison etc - except Alison
Place names - London, Ireland, Camden, Brooklyn, Lincoln etc
Title names - Earl, Lord, Bishop, Princess
Anything with a wacky spelling or too many 'y's, like Makayla
Caitlin pronounced Katelyn, and its variants
All other spellings of Megan
Chelsea, Kelsey and variants
Names that are also words - Destiny, Autumn, Cadence, Journey, Jewel, Lyric etc
Kimberly - here it's usually Kimberley, and not very common
Older ones:
Hank, Chuck, Myron, Homer, Chad and Brad, Elmer, Randy, Eugene, Waldo, Wilbur
Marvin, Alvin, Elvin, Melvin, Irvin
Israel, Reuben, Solomon, Abram
- and especially the 'son' names, Addison, Madison, Emerson, Harrison etc - except Alison
Place names - London, Ireland, Camden, Brooklyn, Lincoln etc
Title names - Earl, Lord, Bishop, Princess
Anything with a wacky spelling or too many 'y's, like Makayla
Caitlin pronounced Katelyn, and its variants
All other spellings of Megan
Chelsea, Kelsey and variants
Names that are also words - Destiny, Autumn, Cadence, Journey, Jewel, Lyric etc
Kimberly - here it's usually Kimberley, and not very common
Older ones:
Hank, Chuck, Myron, Homer, Chad and Brad, Elmer, Randy, Eugene, Waldo, Wilbur
Marvin, Alvin, Elvin, Melvin, Irvin
Israel, Reuben, Solomon, Abram
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Oral? *blushes* That one would never be used in America, dear lol.
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Oral Roberts
Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma is named after him.
Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma is named after him.
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Wow, well I blame it on the Swiss or German settlers. Not uniquely American if it originated from the Swiss is it?
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PS...
I should have said that I'd assume anyone I met with any of the above names was American - unless they were under ten. I blame the Internet. :)
I should have said that I'd assume anyone I met with any of the above names was American - unless they were under ten. I blame the Internet. :)
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There are quite a lot of names which seem very American to me, not that they don't occur elsewhere but if I came across someone with these names, I'd assume they were American:
Chuck
Dwayne
Evan
Hank
Randy
Old Testament Biblical names like Elijah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jedediah (I'd either assume they were American or African)
surnames like: Bryce, Colt, Colby, Corbin, Gage, Hunter, Trent, Trey etc
names like Brian, Eric, Travis etc used on younger men and boys (in Britain they are very dated names).
Alyssa
Brandi
Brittani
Kristen / Kristin
Gretchen
Lori
Mary Ellen, Mary Sue, Mary Beth etc
Nevaeh / Neveah
names ending in "yn" eg Jordyn, Madelyn, Kaylyn etc
Taylor
Tyler
Chuck
Dwayne
Evan
Hank
Randy
Old Testament Biblical names like Elijah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jedediah (I'd either assume they were American or African)
surnames like: Bryce, Colt, Colby, Corbin, Gage, Hunter, Trent, Trey etc
names like Brian, Eric, Travis etc used on younger men and boys (in Britain they are very dated names).
Alyssa
Brandi
Brittani
Kristen / Kristin
Gretchen
Lori
Mary Ellen, Mary Sue, Mary Beth etc
Nevaeh / Neveah
names ending in "yn" eg Jordyn, Madelyn, Kaylyn etc
Taylor
Tyler
This message was edited 7/29/2009, 4:36 AM
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O this was interesting to see. Quite informative. That's what I was trying to get at with the biblical names thing, but it was hard for me to pinpoint exact names since I live in America and am really not sure of their popularity in other places.
My grandfather went by Hank as a nickname.
Lori makes sense because in my dialect, Laurie is more like LAR-ee. And when I see Lara, I don't know whether they want it pronounced LAA-ra or LAR-a. Either is acceptable here.
Kristen is interesting. That's my sister's name. I never knew it wasn't used in other countries.
Who the heck names their child Brittani with an i? That's not typical at all. The y ending though is very typical. I hate it. I always hope in spelling names that people would have sense enough to use their non-y original spellings, but I'm usually wrong. Caitlyn and Madelyn have been the norm for quite some time to the point where some people may find Caitlin and Madeleine a bit pretentious.
Travis here is stereotypically Southern. Few Northerners use it, though it is still used in the South. Brian and Eric here are fairly timeless names. I've seen them used on all ages.
My grandfather went by Hank as a nickname.
Lori makes sense because in my dialect, Laurie is more like LAR-ee. And when I see Lara, I don't know whether they want it pronounced LAA-ra or LAR-a. Either is acceptable here.
Kristen is interesting. That's my sister's name. I never knew it wasn't used in other countries.
Who the heck names their child Brittani with an i? That's not typical at all. The y ending though is very typical. I hate it. I always hope in spelling names that people would have sense enough to use their non-y original spellings, but I'm usually wrong. Caitlyn and Madelyn have been the norm for quite some time to the point where some people may find Caitlin and Madeleine a bit pretentious.
Travis here is stereotypically Southern. Few Northerners use it, though it is still used in the South. Brian and Eric here are fairly timeless names. I've seen them used on all ages.
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Woah there, John and Mary are by far not American.
To me an American name would be something that originated here, like the trendy junk going around (Kaylee, Jaden, etc.) or African-American names.
Then I suppose there are some names or nicknames that are/were more commonly used here, though they didn't originate here. Hank comes to mind.
To me an American name would be something that originated here, like the trendy junk going around (Kaylee, Jaden, etc.) or African-American names.
Then I suppose there are some names or nicknames that are/were more commonly used here, though they didn't originate here. Hank comes to mind.
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I can't think of any names I would consider American but there are a few names I consider British, especially Callum and Nicola.
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The La- names except for Lavinia, which isn't among them
Britney and variants
Audra
Billie Jean and such doubles
Cassidy
Hillary (but not Hilary)
Phoenix
River
Savannah
Shelby
Shiloh
Sierra
Cheryl, Holly and Marilyn - originally
The dreaded Madison, McKenzie, and variants - originally
Tayla and Tallulah - originally
Wilma
Willow - but it'scatching on elsewhere
Many surnamey first names - Porter, Parker (Lynette's boys in "Desperate Housewives")
Lois, Lucille - used more in USA than in Britain
Mallory - horrible meaning
Elmer
Hank
Harlan
Homer
Wilbur
Britney and variants
Audra
Billie Jean and such doubles
Cassidy
Hillary (but not Hilary)
Phoenix
River
Savannah
Shelby
Shiloh
Sierra
Cheryl, Holly and Marilyn - originally
The dreaded Madison, McKenzie, and variants - originally
Tayla and Tallulah - originally
Wilma
Willow - but it'scatching on elsewhere
Many surnamey first names - Porter, Parker (Lynette's boys in "Desperate Housewives")
Lois, Lucille - used more in USA than in Britain
Mallory - horrible meaning
Elmer
Hank
Harlan
Homer
Wilbur
This message was edited 7/29/2009, 1:57 AM
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I'm from Australia and I'd say not really. But some kind of stick out... I don't personally know a Gabriel (although obviously it's a Biblical name and not "American"), Chase, Addison, Neveah, Avery, Aubrey, Brooklyn (that's a possibility since it's your Country), Mackenzie (I think of that as pretty American), Aaliyah (more Arabic than American I suppose), Autumn (seeing as for us it's a season and weirder to name your child that) and Payton. And I just pulled those from the US top 100. It also doesn't mean that they're not popular in other parts of Australia or the world though.
And definatley not John, Mary and Bob. They're just common names, that's all.
And definatley not John, Mary and Bob. They're just common names, that's all.
This message was edited 7/29/2009, 12:29 AM
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Although most Americans use the word "fall" to denote the season, most Americans are also aware that another name for it is autumn. I'm just making the point that when Americans hear the name Autumn, they ARE aware that it's a season and that that is the meaning of the name. It's not a meaningless word to them. It's the same to us as naming a child Spring or Summer.
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Oh yeah I realize Americans know what it means. I just think it's prettier for them because it's more of a word-word than a season-word. It's a novelty word in a way, I think kids would think of it as a special word for Fall. It's just a little less used in America than it is here. I can't seem to put this whole "Autumn" line of thought into words very well but I hope you get what I mean. =)
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I can see what you're saying, but Summer is a fairly well-established name too. I don't think how common the word is has anything to do with the reason. Maybe the word does sound nicer to Americans in countrast with the infformal "Fall." When people are talking about the essense of the season itself, they're more apt to use Autumn, as in "Autumn is my favorite season," which could easily be followed by "I'm going back to school in the Fall." So you could be onto something in that Americans will have more nature-related connotations with Autumn rather than as a strictly practical word like Fall. It's still very much a word name though and is in our minds on the same level as Winter and Summer.
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Yes. Americans use both Fall and Autumn. They're just synonyms to us.
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Gabriel is a throw back to the American Revolutionary period, a rennaisance for uniquely American culture including naming, so that makes sense. Original naming practices that erupted during and before this time period could be considered all-American. I think Americans have always traditionally used biblical names more than any other English-speaking country, and many virtue names originated in America. Even the simple popular virtue names of today -- Faith, Hope, and Joy gained their popularity in America. These practices started with the Puritan settlers who took a more literal minimalist approach to life and regected British fashion, which was reflected in their naming philosophies.
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All that you've said is true for other English speaking countries, but not if other countries are taken into account. For example most Slavic languages have Faith and Hope in their language (Nada, Vera, Nadezda, etc) and most Catholic countries are big on Bible names like Gabriel, so they're not what I'd call 'American names'.
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Yes, but Nadezda is not the same as hope. One is in English and one is in Russian and they obviously sound very different. And your right that many other cultures use lots of biblical names, but few of them are spelled and pronounced the same way. Gabriel is one of the few that is. But it's not like we borrowed Gabriel from Mexico or something. Americans started using it from biblical inspiration on their own. It's rightfully American, just like a name like Nicephore is considered uniquely French, even though equivalents in other languages (like Nikifor) exist for this name and it was borrowed from the Ancient Greek Nikephoros. All languages are related. So you can argue this for any name. But I'm referring to actual names that occur more commonly in America than anywhere else, disregarding lingual differences. Nathaniel may be used in Mexico as Nataniel, but that's not the exact same name to me because they are pronounced differently. Nathaniel, spelled this way, is pretty trademark American in the grand scheme of things.
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Wasn't the original question 'what is a uniquely American name?'? In which case names like Gabriel or Nathaniel can hardly be seen unique when they're used all over the world and are quite popular in some other countries. That's all I meant with my post. Just because a name is popular in the US that doesn't make it 'trademark American' which is what the OP was asking for I believe.
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I am also from Australia and I would have to agree with most of your American names. I do know a Gabriel but his parents are Spanish so that may have something to do with it. Some of the others, Mackenzie, Aaliyah and Brooklyn are becoming popular in areas where I live and I know an Aubrey who is about 17 now.
Chase, Skip, Cassidy are names that come to mind when I think of purely American names
Chase, Skip, Cassidy are names that come to mind when I think of purely American names
This message was edited 7/29/2009, 1:35 AM
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There are no 'legit' names that began in the United States unless were are talking about Native American and Native Alaskan names or made up black American names like Shaniqua and DeAundre, etc. because America is such a melting pot. All of our other names have come from other countries, have derived from surnames (which originate in other countries), or are simply nicknames of names from other countries.
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Even Carter is an English name.
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...but it's an English surname, not a first name. You'd have to look really, really hard to find a boy here called Carter, and he'd probably have at least one American parent.
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true..
I didn't really think about it until I clicked the link and read its origin.
Memphis
Indiana
Arizona
and the like are very american
I didn't really think about it until I clicked the link and read its origin.
Memphis
Indiana
Arizona
and the like are very american
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Memphis
Memphis is a woman in Greek mythology. At least that's the english / British version of the Greek name.
Memphis is a woman in Greek mythology. At least that's the english / British version of the Greek name.
This message was edited 7/29/2009, 3:37 PM
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I don't think John and Mary are very American..they are kind of an old throw back to the English in the Americas. They were very popular named decades and centuries ago.
Names that seem "American" to me are, unfortunately, the totally off the wall and made-up spelling names...like Addysen and Haze and Jackelynn.
Names that seem "American" to me are, unfortunately, the totally off the wall and made-up spelling names...like Addysen and Haze and Jackelynn.
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Agreed
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