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Help1800s america's names rambling
I'm sure most americans in the 1800s had fairly common names, but to be honest, I'm fascinated by how creative parents were during that time. From the whole traditional "mother's-maidenname-as-given-name" schtick to arabic names on a WASP (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Othman_A._Abbott), I honestly think civil-war era american registries are a goldmine, especially for character names or even player characters in video games.
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There have always been some parents who decided an unusual name they found somewhere was the perfect name for their own child. In the 19th century people didn't have movies or television to inspire them, but they did have newspapers, history books, novels, and poetry, all of which were places for them to find names.
Today the third ruler of the Rashidun Caliphate is normally called Uthman in English, but back in 19th century his name was often spelled Othman. Ali was the fourth caliph, so in the 1840s Othman Ali Abbott's parents could easily have found the two names listed next to each other in a history book. (By the way, he was born in Canada.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashidun_Caliphate
Today the third ruler of the Rashidun Caliphate is normally called Uthman in English, but back in 19th century his name was often spelled Othman. Ali was the fourth caliph, so in the 1840s Othman Ali Abbott's parents could easily have found the two names listed next to each other in a history book. (By the way, he was born in Canada.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashidun_Caliphate
if someone had made me guess ...
I would not have guessed Othman was an Arabic name. It looks very German to me, and similar to Othmar.
I would not have guessed Othman was an Arabic name. It looks very German to me, and similar to Othmar.
You have to remember the literacy rate was pretty low overall in those days, and extremely low in certain demographics, and a lot of the time names we would think of today as creative are just the parents' best guesses as to how a name was spelled.