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HelpRe: Regional names in the US
in reply to a message by Martha
There are of course more regional differences in the USA (and probably in most other countries) the further back you go in time. If you go all the way back to colonial times, names like Mindwell and Submit began in Puritan New England. Specifically French forms would be more common in Louisiana. The frequent use of Travis as a given name started in Texas, and regular use of Duane as a given name began in New York, because they honored public figures in those states.
There are fewer regional differences the last 50 years but certain things do turn up. Meredith for girls has been much more common in North Carolina than elsewhere, probably because of Meredith College. Ansley has been especially popular in Georgia. Back in the late 1980s Michaela was particularly common in Nebraska, and I still haven't been able to figure out the reason. (Some people in Omaha tell me it's because an obstetrician here had a daughter named Michaela and suggested the name to his patients, but that doesn't seem to account for all of it to me.) Names connected with the Latterday Saints (Mormon) faith like Ammon, McKay, McKayla, Jarom, etc. are of course especially common in Utah.
There are also some regional avoidances -- Madison is least common in Wisconsin, Trenton least common in New Jersey, and Hudson least common in New York, because the local reputation of those place names is much less positive than the national image of them.
There are fewer regional differences the last 50 years but certain things do turn up. Meredith for girls has been much more common in North Carolina than elsewhere, probably because of Meredith College. Ansley has been especially popular in Georgia. Back in the late 1980s Michaela was particularly common in Nebraska, and I still haven't been able to figure out the reason. (Some people in Omaha tell me it's because an obstetrician here had a daughter named Michaela and suggested the name to his patients, but that doesn't seem to account for all of it to me.) Names connected with the Latterday Saints (Mormon) faith like Ammon, McKay, McKayla, Jarom, etc. are of course especially common in Utah.
There are also some regional avoidances -- Madison is least common in Wisconsin, Trenton least common in New Jersey, and Hudson least common in New York, because the local reputation of those place names is much less positive than the national image of them.
This message was edited 8/31/2022, 7:50 PM
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