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This named charted for quite a few years on the US, does anyone know the meaning? Is it just initials or just a mistake?
https://www.behindthename.com/name/wm/top
When everyone goes home, you're stuck with yourself - Layne Staley
https://www.behindthename.com/name/wm/top
When everyone goes home, you're stuck with yourself - Layne Staley
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Yes, like Sophia said, it's an abbreviation for William. Social Security didn't exist prior to 1935, so any data from 1880-1934 all came from applications typically submitted by the bearer of the name (rather than their parents as is done today)-- so if, say, a William Benjamin Jones submitted an application and he wrote his name down as Wm Benj Jones, Wm is what would go into the data, even though it's not his "real name".
Here is a list of other abbreviations. A few others made the charts as well, but are less noticeable because they look more like nicknames/real names (Chas for Charles, Geo for George, Robt for Robert):
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Abbreviations_for_English_given_names
Here is a list of other abbreviations. A few others made the charts as well, but are less noticeable because they look more like nicknames/real names (Chas for Charles, Geo for George, Robt for Robert):
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Abbreviations_for_English_given_names
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That's interesting, thank you for that
Do you know why names were often abbreviated like that? I've never seen that before. Was it a common normal practice in America pre-1935?
Do you know why names were often abbreviated like that? I've never seen that before. Was it a common normal practice in America pre-1935?
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It was indeed very common. If you look at the signatures on the Declaration of Independence, a large number of them were written as abbreviations: Wm, Robt, Geo, Thos, Step, Jam, Benj, Abra, Jn or Jno. Thomas Jefferson signed as "Th Jefferson."
As for why, I speculate that since everything was written by hand in those days, people just got tired of writing out whole names when it wasn't necessary. Many names were so common, everyone understood what the abbreviations stood for.
As for why, I speculate that since everything was written by hand in those days, people just got tired of writing out whole names when it wasn't necessary. Many names were so common, everyone understood what the abbreviations stood for.
This message was edited 12/7/2019, 11:39 AM
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This is reminiscent of the classical Romans, who had only a handful of given names and very commonly abbreviated them.
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