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I just made an entry for this in the "user submitted names" section but thought I'd post it here too:
This very rare name is an exception to the rule that numerals are normally not allowed as part of the spelling of names in the United States. It's a creative rebus-like spelling of a slang intensive term for "tiny" found in the Southwestern United States. Most Americans would be familiar with terms like "teeny-tiny", "teensy-weensy", etc. "Teeninecy" is a rare variation of these that's found in the Deep South, and as a rare slang term it doesn't have a set spelling, with teeninesy, teeninetsy, teaninesea, and many others being found. Though a couple of other spellings have been used as names, T9C seems to be the most common in that role. It probably began in Texas in the 19th century as the earliest examples found so far are from that state.
Here is an example of a woman named T9C, T9C Phillips Dinterman, who recently died in Maryland. As you can see from the obituary article, her name was supposedly suggested by a Baptist preacher from Texas, which fits the part of the USA (Texas and Oklahoma) where most other examples of T9C have been found:
http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/obituaries/a_life_remembered/t-c-p-dinterman/article_18edafe4-cd7b-11e3-8d6c-001a4bcf6878.html
As I said in the notes to the submission, one reason I wanted to post about this name on "Behind the Name" is to counter some of the false urban legends that are already in circulation about it. It's not something taken off a can of fertilizer, it's not from a math formula, and it's certainly not the serial number of a World War II bomber because many examples are older than World War II.
I think this is a fascinating name myself as an example of something which seems to break the rules of normal spelling and yet has been accepted as an official name on more than one occasion.
This very rare name is an exception to the rule that numerals are normally not allowed as part of the spelling of names in the United States. It's a creative rebus-like spelling of a slang intensive term for "tiny" found in the Southwestern United States. Most Americans would be familiar with terms like "teeny-tiny", "teensy-weensy", etc. "Teeninecy" is a rare variation of these that's found in the Deep South, and as a rare slang term it doesn't have a set spelling, with teeninesy, teeninetsy, teaninesea, and many others being found. Though a couple of other spellings have been used as names, T9C seems to be the most common in that role. It probably began in Texas in the 19th century as the earliest examples found so far are from that state.
Here is an example of a woman named T9C, T9C Phillips Dinterman, who recently died in Maryland. As you can see from the obituary article, her name was supposedly suggested by a Baptist preacher from Texas, which fits the part of the USA (Texas and Oklahoma) where most other examples of T9C have been found:
http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/obituaries/a_life_remembered/t-c-p-dinterman/article_18edafe4-cd7b-11e3-8d6c-001a4bcf6878.html
As I said in the notes to the submission, one reason I wanted to post about this name on "Behind the Name" is to counter some of the false urban legends that are already in circulation about it. It's not something taken off a can of fertilizer, it's not from a math formula, and it's certainly not the serial number of a World War II bomber because many examples are older than World War II.
I think this is a fascinating name myself as an example of something which seems to break the rules of normal spelling and yet has been accepted as an official name on more than one occasion.
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Replies
An article from the Hagerstown Daily Mail, October 21, 1967, about T9C's husband, Raymond E. Dinterman states: "He married T9C Phillips also of Brunswick in 1943. Her unusual name was given her by a minister for no special reason, says Dinterman."
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It sounds like a Terminator... B-o
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My parents had a friend named T9C.
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Fascinating! Thanks for posting it.
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Fascinating, indeed, and thanks for the amazing explanation. When I saw the subject line it made no sense to me, but if it's good enough for a Baptist preacher, hey, why should anyone complain? ;)
I suppose there's no reason why a WWII bomber might not also have been named T9C - look at Enola Gay! Which is more recognisably human, of course.
Maybe the T9C people were premature? I once met a tall, welll-built man who must have had a name but was universally known as Boxy "because" when he was born, he was so tiny that his parents bedded him down in a shoe box. And the nickname stuck. Seems a weird reason, but it was normal to him which is what counts.
I suppose there's no reason why a WWII bomber might not also have been named T9C - look at Enola Gay! Which is more recognisably human, of course.
Maybe the T9C people were premature? I once met a tall, welll-built man who must have had a name but was universally known as Boxy "because" when he was born, he was so tiny that his parents bedded him down in a shoe box. And the nickname stuck. Seems a weird reason, but it was normal to him which is what counts.
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Oh, indeed, when I have tried to Google this name I have run across cases where the child was named T9C precisely because it was born abnormally tiny for an infant.
And the two cases so far that I've been able to check out in census records (which includes the Maryland woman whose obituary I linked to) have both been the youngest children in their families.
And the two cases so far that I've been able to check out in census records (which includes the Maryland woman whose obituary I linked to) have both been the youngest children in their families.
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