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ArchivesRe: Is Inola used as an actual name?
in reply to a message by Morgaine
I am unclear as to exactly what you are asking here.
The index to the 1940 U.S. census includes 238 persons with the given name "Inola."
22 of them are listed with the race of "Indian", and 19 of those lived in Oklahoma. The census does not give the Native American nation so one can't be sure these 19 women were of Cherokee ancestry, however.
The index to the 1940 U.S. census includes 238 persons with the given name "Inola."
22 of them are listed with the race of "Indian", and 19 of those lived in Oklahoma. The census does not give the Native American nation so one can't be sure these 19 women were of Cherokee ancestry, however.
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Replies
I’m… not sure how my question was unclear. xD; I’m just wondering if Inola would be an authentic Cherokee name, and not just a word. There is a lot of name sites out there, that just because it sounds like it will be a name, they’ll list it as one. So many name sites will copy eachother, it’s hard to tell, and BtN is the only one I trust.
Anyways thanks for the statistics from the census! Inola is the name of a city in Oklahoma, though I have a feeling that many people wouldn’t be named after (what I assume) would be a very small town, if it was even a town then.
Anyways thanks for the statistics from the census! Inola is the name of a city in Oklahoma, though I have a feeling that many people wouldn’t be named after (what I assume) would be a very small town, if it was even a town then.
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Yes, yes it is.
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Inola - a follow-up question
Great information!
I've been wondering the same thing as to Inola's "authenticity" as a Cherokee name. You know, if it's really (been) used as a traditional girls' name by Cherokee parents or if it's one of those cases where someone just plundered a dictionary and put the word inola out there as a "Native American name".
So thanks for your answer!
I have a related question, though.
Do you think it's possible that the name Enola arose as a sort of Anglicized spelling of Inola, at least in some cases?
I'm asking because I've seen Enola labeled as a "Native American name" by some sources (but, of course, none of them gave any further specifics, making their info look rather dubious). So do you think there's at least a slight possibility?
Great information!
I've been wondering the same thing as to Inola's "authenticity" as a Cherokee name. You know, if it's really (been) used as a traditional girls' name by Cherokee parents or if it's one of those cases where someone just plundered a dictionary and put the word inola out there as a "Native American name".
So thanks for your answer!
I have a related question, though.
Do you think it's possible that the name Enola arose as a sort of Anglicized spelling of Inola, at least in some cases?
I'm asking because I've seen Enola labeled as a "Native American name" by some sources (but, of course, none of them gave any further specifics, making their info look rather dubious). So do you think there's at least a slight possibility?
This message was edited 10/31/2013, 9:00 AM
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Still wondering ;)
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Enola first appeared in Enola; or, Her fatal mistake, an 1886 book written by Mary Young Ridenbaugh. An explanation of sorts is given in the passage:
"In calling me by the strange name of 'Enola,' I wonder if my dear departed parents
received a glimpse of the future life of their child in a camera, speaking to them
of her life of loneliness," mused Enola, "for truly I am alone..."
According to native-languages.org "Some sources on the Internet claim that this is a Native American name meaning "solitary." Someone must have pulled one over on them at some point, because it's an English name meaning "solitary." Look at it closely... it's the word "alone" spelled backwards. :-) It was invented as the name of the heroine of an old romance novel, and real-life Enolas, like Enola Gay, were named after the fictional heroine." You will find a lot of people claiming it is an ancestral Cherokee name however, and it's impossible to tell if Inola or Inole has been altered by association with Enola, or if they're deliberately or naively miss-representing their ancestry.
"In calling me by the strange name of 'Enola,' I wonder if my dear departed parents
received a glimpse of the future life of their child in a camera, speaking to them
of her life of loneliness," mused Enola, "for truly I am alone..."
According to native-languages.org "Some sources on the Internet claim that this is a Native American name meaning "solitary." Someone must have pulled one over on them at some point, because it's an English name meaning "solitary." Look at it closely... it's the word "alone" spelled backwards. :-) It was invented as the name of the heroine of an old romance novel, and real-life Enolas, like Enola Gay, were named after the fictional heroine." You will find a lot of people claiming it is an ancestral Cherokee name however, and it's impossible to tell if Inola or Inole has been altered by association with Enola, or if they're deliberately or naively miss-representing their ancestry.
This message was edited 6/26/2018, 6:46 AM
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