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ArchivesUS State names as given names
I noticed the question about US state names as given names came up on the Opinions board a week or so ago. I have spent several hours today on Ancesty.com tracking down people with the same first names as states so I can verify that most of the US states have indeed had children named after them.
The only two states where I can't find any evidence on Ancestry.com of people with their names as first names are Massachusetts and North Dakota. There was a child born in Minnesota in the 1990s named "Dakota North" as first and middle names, and there have been people with Massachusetts as a middle name.
I do not have complete verification of people named South Carolina. Though there are several examples of women named South Carolina in US census records, so far I haven't been able to figure out for sure that two different records of such women belong to the same person, and given the problems with census records, we therefore can't be certain that was a real name without a bit further evidence.
South Dakota and New Mexico are "probables". There was a boy listed as South Dakota when he was 4 in 1910 who is listed as "S.D." in the census records of 1920 when he was 14. And there is a girl listed as New Mexico (living in Pike County, Kentucky) in 1920 who is listed as "Mexico" in 1930. However, she had an older sister called Nebraska, so her parents seem to have been into state names.
There seems to be definite evidence for all 45 of the other states. There weren't any repeats in the census records of people named Hawaii, but I have found recent birth records of children given that name. A woman named North Carolina is listed in two successive censuses of Polk County, Florida. A girl called New Hampshire (who had an older brother named Vermont) lived in Mississippi in 1910 and 1920. A woman named Rhode Island is listed in the 1870, 1880, and 1900 censuses of Indiana (most of the 1890 census was destroyed.) A man named New York lived in North Carolina in 1900 & 1910. A man named New Jersey lived in Arkansas in 1910 and in 1920 had moved to Colorado. Several girls were named West Virginia in that state during the 1860s, probably as a sort of patriotism when the state was created from Virginia during the Civil War. A woman named Colorado, born in Alabama, was living in Texas in 1900 & 1910.
You can find multiple examples of all the other states in the census records.
The only two states where I can't find any evidence on Ancestry.com of people with their names as first names are Massachusetts and North Dakota. There was a child born in Minnesota in the 1990s named "Dakota North" as first and middle names, and there have been people with Massachusetts as a middle name.
I do not have complete verification of people named South Carolina. Though there are several examples of women named South Carolina in US census records, so far I haven't been able to figure out for sure that two different records of such women belong to the same person, and given the problems with census records, we therefore can't be certain that was a real name without a bit further evidence.
South Dakota and New Mexico are "probables". There was a boy listed as South Dakota when he was 4 in 1910 who is listed as "S.D." in the census records of 1920 when he was 14. And there is a girl listed as New Mexico (living in Pike County, Kentucky) in 1920 who is listed as "Mexico" in 1930. However, she had an older sister called Nebraska, so her parents seem to have been into state names.
There seems to be definite evidence for all 45 of the other states. There weren't any repeats in the census records of people named Hawaii, but I have found recent birth records of children given that name. A woman named North Carolina is listed in two successive censuses of Polk County, Florida. A girl called New Hampshire (who had an older brother named Vermont) lived in Mississippi in 1910 and 1920. A woman named Rhode Island is listed in the 1870, 1880, and 1900 censuses of Indiana (most of the 1890 census was destroyed.) A man named New York lived in North Carolina in 1900 & 1910. A man named New Jersey lived in Arkansas in 1910 and in 1920 had moved to Colorado. Several girls were named West Virginia in that state during the 1860s, probably as a sort of patriotism when the state was created from Virginia during the Civil War. A woman named Colorado, born in Alabama, was living in Texas in 1900 & 1910.
You can find multiple examples of all the other states in the census records.
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Replies
This is astonishing ... and such fun! Who would have thought it? What we all assumed was a modern trend has been going for as long as some states. Well researched!
The one that amazes me most is New Jersey. Part state, part article of clothing ... and no obvious nickname.
I haven't noticed any province names being used as given names in South Africa: lots of girls are named Natalie, but it's not because of the province of Natal (now Kwa-Zulu Natal). No Free State, no Gauteng, no Limpopo. Perhaps it's early days: I'll keep looking. (We destroy our census records. Oh dear.)
The one that amazes me most is New Jersey. Part state, part article of clothing ... and no obvious nickname.
I haven't noticed any province names being used as given names in South Africa: lots of girls are named Natalie, but it's not because of the province of Natal (now Kwa-Zulu Natal). No Free State, no Gauteng, no Limpopo. Perhaps it's early days: I'll keep looking. (We destroy our census records. Oh dear.)
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