Obituaries and names
I'd like to confess that I love reading obituaries.
First, I like to look at the name of the deceased as related to the person's age. Always interesting.
Then, I find it fascinating to see the names they chose for their children.
If the names of grandchildren and great-grandchildren are listed, all the better. You get to see how the names evolved in a family over the generations.
Sometimes one branch of the family chose names of a definite type, while another branch chose a completely different type.
(Son Joseph had daughters Persephone, Octavia and Daylily, while son John had sons James, Mark and George.)
Very entertaining.
Am I the only one? Anyone else like this?
First, I like to look at the name of the deceased as related to the person's age. Always interesting.
Then, I find it fascinating to see the names they chose for their children.
If the names of grandchildren and great-grandchildren are listed, all the better. You get to see how the names evolved in a family over the generations.
Sometimes one branch of the family chose names of a definite type, while another branch chose a completely different type.
(Son Joseph had daughters Persephone, Octavia and Daylily, while son John had sons James, Mark and George.)
Very entertaining.
Am I the only one? Anyone else like this?
Replies
I read the announcement pages of my local papers all the time, its where I find a lot of interesting rarely used names,
I am very interested in Genealogy and find it fascinating the way naming trends affect different families
I am very interested in Genealogy and find it fascinating the way naming trends affect different families
I am the same way. I never realized that other people also liked to read the obituaries, too! It's nice to know that there is! LOL!
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
~~~ John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
~~~ John 3:16
I do this sometimes too, though I don't read the paper every day. I also find it fascinating (I haven't seen any family's like Joseph's though!). The other place I like to find family names is on the wedding pages. That's really my favorite. The bride, the groom, their parents, their sibs, their friends, even the minister's names. In and around Houston the papers don't publish birth announcements, so I don't have that source to refer to and compare usage generationally.
Plus I like to look at the gowns! ;) Around here the girls all wear strapless wedding dresses year round, even in winter. Modesty is dead, I fear!
And going even further off-topic (OT) for a moment, I'd like to say hello to you personally. I'm Lillian, I'm 38, you can read more about me in my profile (click on my blue name in the "Authenticated as..." line at the top of the post). I saw in roll call that you're also in Texas. There are quite a few Texans here, oddly enough. Also, I note that you're older than I am; I hope you won't mind my pointing that out, I only do so because there are only a very few here who are! You've probably noticed most posters here are in their teens or early twenties. So it will be nice to hear a mature voice amid the cacophony, hehehe! :) I see that you are posting as a guest. Do you have an account and a profile yet?
~Lillian~
Proud daughter of Ann and John
Proud sister of Lauren and Leah
Proud wife of David
Proud mother of Alexander, Scarlett, Sophia, and Gideon
Plus I like to look at the gowns! ;) Around here the girls all wear strapless wedding dresses year round, even in winter. Modesty is dead, I fear!
And going even further off-topic (OT) for a moment, I'd like to say hello to you personally. I'm Lillian, I'm 38, you can read more about me in my profile (click on my blue name in the "Authenticated as..." line at the top of the post). I saw in roll call that you're also in Texas. There are quite a few Texans here, oddly enough. Also, I note that you're older than I am; I hope you won't mind my pointing that out, I only do so because there are only a very few here who are! You've probably noticed most posters here are in their teens or early twenties. So it will be nice to hear a mature voice amid the cacophony, hehehe! :) I see that you are posting as a guest. Do you have an account and a profile yet?
~Lillian~
Proud daughter of Ann and John
Proud sister of Lauren and Leah
Proud wife of David
Proud mother of Alexander, Scarlett, Sophia, and Gideon
Lillian! I am in the Houston area also! Yes I've noticed the wedding gowns here -- and I also like to check out the weddings for names. For some reason the names of the bridesmaids, best man, groomsmen and so forth are especially interesting to me. Everybody's usually about the same age, so that's part of it.
And no, I'm not in the least bothered by you pointing out my age. I could very possibly be the oldest here, which I kind of enjoy.
No, I have no account/profile.
And no, I'm not in the least bothered by you pointing out my age. I could very possibly be the oldest here, which I kind of enjoy.
No, I have no account/profile.
You should go ahead
and register. Mike Campbell, who owns and operates this site as a hobby, does not ask for any invasive personal info, you just need an Email account. If you register as a user, then you can edit your own posts when you want to add or change something, and you can send and receive private messages with other registered users. No spam, guaranteed. I have very much enjoyed the short time I've been here, and I really like the private message (PM) perk.
I'm not sure if you're the oldest, I don't know his exact age but I think it's very close to yours: there is a poster here named Cleveland Kent Evans, a professor of psychology at a university in Nebraska, he's the current president of the American Name Society. He's astoundingly knowledgeable about names, as you would expect. He's fun to talk with. You and he are of an age, I think.
I don't think I have it listed in my profile, but actually my husband David is 54. All my life most of my friends have been older than me.
Anyhoo... Nice to meet you! *shakes hands firmly-but-not-too-much* I'm sure we'll run into each other on the boards, I'm here more often than I should be, haha! CKEvans posts frequently on the Facts board, along with a very cheeky, funny Greek fellow named Pavlos, he's a card but brilliant. Check out the Lounge board too; it can be very entertaining... ;)
If you ever have a question, check the Help/FAQs page, and if you're still not sure, ask everyone in a post. There are tons of helpful, friendly folk here.
~Lillian~
Proud daughter of Ann and John
Proud sister of Lauren and Leah
Proud wife of David
Proud mother of Alexander, Scarlett, Sophia, and Gideon
and register. Mike Campbell, who owns and operates this site as a hobby, does not ask for any invasive personal info, you just need an Email account. If you register as a user, then you can edit your own posts when you want to add or change something, and you can send and receive private messages with other registered users. No spam, guaranteed. I have very much enjoyed the short time I've been here, and I really like the private message (PM) perk.
I'm not sure if you're the oldest, I don't know his exact age but I think it's very close to yours: there is a poster here named Cleveland Kent Evans, a professor of psychology at a university in Nebraska, he's the current president of the American Name Society. He's astoundingly knowledgeable about names, as you would expect. He's fun to talk with. You and he are of an age, I think.
I don't think I have it listed in my profile, but actually my husband David is 54. All my life most of my friends have been older than me.
Anyhoo... Nice to meet you! *shakes hands firmly-but-not-too-much* I'm sure we'll run into each other on the boards, I'm here more often than I should be, haha! CKEvans posts frequently on the Facts board, along with a very cheeky, funny Greek fellow named Pavlos, he's a card but brilliant. Check out the Lounge board too; it can be very entertaining... ;)
If you ever have a question, check the Help/FAQs page, and if you're still not sure, ask everyone in a post. There are tons of helpful, friendly folk here.
~Lillian~
Proud daughter of Ann and John
Proud sister of Lauren and Leah
Proud wife of David
Proud mother of Alexander, Scarlett, Sophia, and Gideon