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ArchivesHistorical Revival of Old English Names in the USA?
I'm writing to ask if anyone can tell me anything more of something I've noticed regarding an apparent revival of Old English given names in America, in the Nineteenth Century, and perhaps a little earlier.
We are all familiar with Elmer (Aethelmaer) Fudd, on both sides of the Atlantic, but why was such a name taken? I'm told that in this particular case there was a surname of two Revolutionary War brothers that provided the model, but there do seem to be other similar names turning up at the same time.
Alvin, for instance, from Aelfwine, or Alden/Alwyn (Ealdwine), and various others that don't immediately come to mind.
Was this a conscious practice, reviving the old pre-Norman names, or was it just a bundle of coincidences in the early Nineteenth Century?
We are all familiar with Elmer (Aethelmaer) Fudd, on both sides of the Atlantic, but why was such a name taken? I'm told that in this particular case there was a surname of two Revolutionary War brothers that provided the model, but there do seem to be other similar names turning up at the same time.
Alvin, for instance, from Aelfwine, or Alden/Alwyn (Ealdwine), and various others that don't immediately come to mind.
Was this a conscious practice, reviving the old pre-Norman names, or was it just a bundle of coincidences in the early Nineteenth Century?
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Replies
Many thanks for the responses (I posted the original question before my registration had fully completed) - lots of good points made there. :o)
Can anyone add to the list of OE names that have, one way or another (as surnames of personal heroes and role-models from politics and religion, or via literary associations or Gothic romanticism), found renewed popularity?
Can anyone add to the list of OE names that have, one way or another (as surnames of personal heroes and role-models from politics and religion, or via literary associations or Gothic romanticism), found renewed popularity?
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The Victorians on both sides of the Atlantic had a "medieval revival" that brought back names from medieval times. Most of these names weren't Old English, though, but were brought by the Normans to England after the Norman Conquest and so were more "Middle English" in terms of their linguistic associations.
Many popular authors used such names for their characters in books written during the first six decades of the 19th century, and the general public then took them up. It was a conscious revival on the part of the authors, but probably wasn't conscious on the part of most of the parents who gave the names to their real children. They were merely using names they found in the literary works.
Emma, Clara, Ida, Bertha, Edith, Maude, Mabel, Gertrude, Ada, Ethel, Blanche, Mildred, and Alice are female examples of such medieval revival names. Harold, Walter, Roland, Guy, Alfred, Herbert, Harvey, Ralph, Edgar, Edwin, Hugh, and Arthur were male examples.
Alvin is sort of tangentially related to the medieval revival. It seems, though, to have been mostly taken up by Americans who thought of it as a "different but not too different" alternative for Calvin, which had become popular as a first name in the USA to honor theologian John Calvin.
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elbowing is right to point out how in the 19th century many ancient and medieval names began to be revived in the Western World. An easy way to spot this is to look at names of royalty during this period.
However, in the case of American names like Elmer and Alvin, I think it has more to do with the common practise of using surnames as given names (originally to honour family members or historical/religious figures and later as ordinary names). Many surname names became popular in this period — looking at this site's popularity charts for the 1880's, you find plenty of surname names like Clarence, Grover, Chester, Sidney... It just happens that some of those surnames are derived from old given names that have died out or become obscure. Often their vernacular forms and were only preserved through surnames.
So it's an interesting evolution of given name to surname back to given name.
See also Tiffany (Theophania), Stacy (Eustace / Eustacia), Eliot (Elias), Bennett (Benedict), Wyatt (Wigheard), Avery (Alfred), Aubrey (Albert / Albreda), Evelyn (Aveline), Ellery (Hilarius / Eulalia) for more contemporary & popular examples.
However, in the case of American names like Elmer and Alvin, I think it has more to do with the common practise of using surnames as given names (originally to honour family members or historical/religious figures and later as ordinary names). Many surname names became popular in this period — looking at this site's popularity charts for the 1880's, you find plenty of surname names like Clarence, Grover, Chester, Sidney... It just happens that some of those surnames are derived from old given names that have died out or become obscure. Often their vernacular forms and were only preserved through surnames.
So it's an interesting evolution of given name to surname back to given name.
See also Tiffany (Theophania), Stacy (Eustace / Eustacia), Eliot (Elias), Bennett (Benedict), Wyatt (Wigheard), Avery (Alfred), Aubrey (Albert / Albreda), Evelyn (Aveline), Ellery (Hilarius / Eulalia) for more contemporary & popular examples.
This message was edited 1/10/2014, 12:07 PM
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