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HelpRe: Colonial names
in reply to a message by Princess_Shireen
If we are talking about English speaking colonies in North America before 1776, many of these would work, but some of them just weren't there.
There's a tendency to think all "quality names" were in use in colonial New England, but that's not true. Chastity was so rare in colonial America as to be almost non-existent -- and the few real examples I have seen have been Quakers in Pennsylvania, not Puritans in New England. Virginia was rare and confined to Southern colonies. It's not a name Puritans would have used -- "virginity" per se was identified by Puritans with Catholic saints and so was a word they weren't fond of. All of the early examples of Modesty in Ancestry.com are from Caribbean islands, not from North America. Clarity is for the most part a modern invention -- Ancestry.com has only two possible early examples, both slaves in Barbados. Most reports of "Clarity" from early records are probably misreadings of bad handwriting for Charity. Felicity, Fidelity, and Verity also were mostly post-colonial, with early examples of Felicity in North America mostly occurring among non-English immigrant communities.
Mercy, on the other hand, is an excellent idea, as it was one of the most common quality names in colonial New England, along with Patience and Thankful. Silence, Remember, and Temperance were also used in colonial New England, though the first two were rare. Temperance was more common and was also found in the Southern colonies as well as in New England.
There's a tendency to think all "quality names" were in use in colonial New England, but that's not true. Chastity was so rare in colonial America as to be almost non-existent -- and the few real examples I have seen have been Quakers in Pennsylvania, not Puritans in New England. Virginia was rare and confined to Southern colonies. It's not a name Puritans would have used -- "virginity" per se was identified by Puritans with Catholic saints and so was a word they weren't fond of. All of the early examples of Modesty in Ancestry.com are from Caribbean islands, not from North America. Clarity is for the most part a modern invention -- Ancestry.com has only two possible early examples, both slaves in Barbados. Most reports of "Clarity" from early records are probably misreadings of bad handwriting for Charity. Felicity, Fidelity, and Verity also were mostly post-colonial, with early examples of Felicity in North America mostly occurring among non-English immigrant communities.
Mercy, on the other hand, is an excellent idea, as it was one of the most common quality names in colonial New England, along with Patience and Thankful. Silence, Remember, and Temperance were also used in colonial New England, though the first two were rare. Temperance was more common and was also found in the Southern colonies as well as in New England.
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Replies
Thank you, clevelandkentevans, for providing some history of usage. Your feddback is very insightful, well-researched, and interesting.
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NT
This message was edited 9/12/2019, 6:53 PM
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actually ...
He is exactly that.
He's forgotten more about names than all the rest of us know put together.
You just made yourself look really crass.
He is exactly that.
He's forgotten more about names than all the rest of us know put together.
You just made yourself look really crass.
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Edit
This message was edited 9/10/2019, 6:51 PM
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NT
This message was edited 9/12/2019, 6:53 PM
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NT
This message was edited 9/12/2019, 6:53 PM
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Thanks to you and every one else for your support. I will confess your comment about my forgetting more about names that the rest of you know made me laugh. :) That's what I get for being 68 now and having been interested in and actively researching given names for 60 years.
It doesn't mean I can NEVER be wrong -- I would hope that if someone has evidence they've found that corrects a mistaken impression I have about any name they'd politely point it out. With the internet there is a lot more data out there to look at the history of names than was available just a few years ago and I am constantly learning new things myself. For example, a few years ago when writing a column on the name Leanne I was very surprised to see from census records that it's been around since the early 1800s as a variation of Leanna, which goes back to the 1600s itself.
There is always more to learn, and I'm sure that includes things about American colonial names and "abstract quality" names.
It doesn't mean I can NEVER be wrong -- I would hope that if someone has evidence they've found that corrects a mistaken impression I have about any name they'd politely point it out. With the internet there is a lot more data out there to look at the history of names than was available just a few years ago and I am constantly learning new things myself. For example, a few years ago when writing a column on the name Leanne I was very surprised to see from census records that it's been around since the early 1800s as a variation of Leanna, which goes back to the 1600s itself.
There is always more to learn, and I'm sure that includes things about American colonial names and "abstract quality" names.
This message was edited 9/10/2019, 12:00 PM
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Leanna goes back to the 1600s? Really?
That is really cool.
That is really cool.
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You're welcome! I find those little fsnippets pretty darn interesting. (I always think of Leanne as an early 1970s name, since I seem to have run into a disproportionate number of Leannes in just that age range.)
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He kinda is.
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Eh? This was meant honestly. Cleveland does a lot of research — more than most people here. Personally I would be grateful for this kind of feedback if I was trying to create characters from certain demographic points in history. It’s good to know what actually was common in certain periods and doesn’t just seem like it would be.
I recognize I might have missed something earlier that your comment is also addressing, but this comment on Colonial American names is very interesting, informative, and an excellent response imo.
(Edited one sentence for clarity)
I recognize I might have missed something earlier that your comment is also addressing, but this comment on Colonial American names is very interesting, informative, and an excellent response imo.
(Edited one sentence for clarity)
This message was edited 9/9/2019, 11:01 PM
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NT
This message was edited 9/12/2019, 6:54 PM
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NT
This message was edited 9/12/2019, 6:54 PM
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Dude...no one was attacked.
This is so weird.
This is so weird.
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Cyber-bullying(?) - perhaps, even if only in its germinal form.
This would be the only reason I responded at all.
This would be the only reason I responded at all.
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No.
jfc
jfc
This message was edited 9/11/2019, 4:51 PM
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see troll below
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Are you okay?
You don't seem like yourself. :/
You don't seem like yourself. :/
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Thank you for asking
I'll use this opportunity to explain.
I despise all forms of pretense--in that, "blah blah person attended blah blah university"--or boasts of some or other honor, and that, accordingly, is more qualified than anyone else. It also manifests into economic classes--in few places more than in the US.
Everyone knows something or can do something that others cannot; or others have greater difficulty developing this gift; it also happens that specific people are unaware of what such a gift may be - and, that as a natural nurturer--such is where my empathy abounds.
So when I see people boast or flaunt specific accomplishments, perhaps, but not necessarily, to the "implied subordination" of another (or others) - I often react defensively; but, externally, this might seem as an aggression on my part; but my intent is merely to "face the bully".
I'll use this opportunity to explain.
I despise all forms of pretense--in that, "blah blah person attended blah blah university"--or boasts of some or other honor, and that, accordingly, is more qualified than anyone else. It also manifests into economic classes--in few places more than in the US.
Everyone knows something or can do something that others cannot; or others have greater difficulty developing this gift; it also happens that specific people are unaware of what such a gift may be - and, that as a natural nurturer--such is where my empathy abounds.
So when I see people boast or flaunt specific accomplishments, perhaps, but not necessarily, to the "implied subordination" of another (or others) - I often react defensively; but, externally, this might seem as an aggression on my part; but my intent is merely to "face the bully".
This message was edited 9/12/2019, 5:46 PM
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lmao people aren't trolls just because they say things you don't like
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F2F ...
That stands for "Failure to Fawn." To the Barbaras of the world, it's trolling and bullying.
That stands for "Failure to Fawn." To the Barbaras of the world, it's trolling and bullying.
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Are you OK?
You might like to seek some help.
You might like to seek some help.
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Mike C has control of this database as long as I allow it.
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This user account is being banned. There is this thread, several previous complaints by other users, and threats directed at the website itself.
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Cyber-bullying(?) - perhaps, even if only in its germinal form.
This would be the only reason I responded at all.
This would be the only reason I responded at all.
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as someone in "The Green Mile" said ...
Aint he the swollen, badly infected testicle?
Aint he the swollen, badly infected testicle?
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Troll
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???
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Only she wasn’t “attacked”
Someone who an actual expert on names corrected her, in a way that was informative and not aggressive.
Someone who an actual expert on names corrected her, in a way that was informative and not aggressive.
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Perhaps--but if the info were initiated rather than an attempt to "correct", I would not have been likely to respond at all.
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I am also curious as to what you did not understand when you criticized my post last year about the name "Pamela".
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Of course I will & do.
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agree ...
There was nothing in CKE's post to warrant such an obnoxious and ignorant response from Barbara. I've been on this site for 13 years and I've never seen CKE post in any way that wasn't professional and polite.
There was nothing in CKE's post to warrant such an obnoxious and ignorant response from Barbara. I've been on this site for 13 years and I've never seen CKE post in any way that wasn't professional and polite.
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