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Names from Western Australia, 1841-1849 (girls)
I'm working on developing data for names registered in Western Australia from when records began in 1841. This is the first batch!There were 650 named births and 122 different names.Names used more than once:
Mary - 101
Elizabeth - 60
Sarah - 47
Jane - 27
Amelia - 19
Eliza - 19
Emma - 19
Anne - 17
Ellen - 16
Ann - 14
Catherine - 13
Emily - 13
Fanny - 13
Hannah - 13
Margaret - 13
Maria - 13
Charlotte - 11
Louisa - 9
Martha - 8
Matilda - 8
Caroline - 7
Frances - 7
Alice - 6
Susanna - 6
Annie - 5
Harriet - 5
Julia - 5
Sophia - 5
Anna - 4
Cecilia - 4
Jessie - 4
Laura - 4
Rebecca - 4
Susannah - 4
Ada - 3
Agnes - 3
Christiana - 3
Esther - 3
Georgiana - 3
Grace - 3
Helen - 3
Henrietta - 3
Lucy - 3
Rosa - 3
Selina - 3
Susan - 3
Adelaide - 2
Amy - 2
Christina - 2
Clara - 2
Eleanor - 2
Flora - 2
Hellen - 2
Hester - 2
Honoria - 2
Janet - 2
Kate - 2
Lydia - 2
Marion - 2
Mercy - 2
Priscilla - 2Names used once only:
Adeline
Agness
Alecia
Ame
Asenath
Augusta
Betsey
Blanche
Bridget
Celia
Clarissa
Clementina
Comfort
Cora
Diana
Dinah
Eleonora
Elinor
Elisabeth
Ellenor
Emely
Eth
Eulalie
Eunice
Eveline
Faira
Florentine
Gestina
Harriett
Harriot
Isabella
Issabella
Jane-Maria
Jean
Jenet
Jennet
Jessy
Julian
Lenor
Lois
Margrett
Marian
Mildred
Naomi
Nesbeth
Phillis
Phoebe
Ricarda
Robinna
Rose
Rosea
Roseanna
Roseannah
Selena
Stella
Theodosia
Theresa
Vasy
Virtue
Zelia
Zillah

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Replies

Nesbeth is ... astonishing. It's always tricky, isn't it - deciding whether to group spelling variants together or separately. Anne and Ann, together, would be 4th, but then you'd be up against Anna and Annie! I was delighted to see some Matildas.
Oooh, there's some hidden gems in here. Faira is stunning, and I love Rosea (assuming it's pronounced row-ZAY-uh), Zelia, and Zillah. Jessy is a much better spelling than Jessie, too.
Very curious what "Vasy" is supposed to be.
Not a clue. Her full name was given as Vasy Leshenqe Vince in her birth registration, and Vasy Lestrainge Vince at her death registration (she only lived for a week, poor thing). Parents were Henry Vince and Ann nee Froste. No idea where the names arose from.
The only two that really stood out to me were Eth and Gestina.
Eth just sounds awful. There was a fairly famous children's author here in the US called Eth Clifford. I think one of her most famous books was "Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library!"
That poor woman's full name was Ethel Clifford Rosenberg. (For anyone who doesn't know/remember, Ethel Rosenberg was executed along with her husband Julius as a traitor in the 1950s)As for Gestina, well, someone probably had in mind (if they had anything particular in mind) Justina, but doesn't Gestina sound like pregnancy-related?
I also think Gestina is supposed to be Justina. It was a tiny colony back then, and even the people creating the records may not have been particularly literate.