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ArchivesMy column on Ian
Here is the link to today's column.
https://omaha.com/lifestyles/cleveland-evans-exotic-ian-found-american-popularity-after-the-1960s/article_e9b065f2-e1bf-11ec-a43d-9ba23c71b6fc.html
I was a bit surprised myself to see that there was only one Ian in the 1851 census of Scotland. It's another example of how attitudes toward translation and names have changed. Before the late 19th century, since most names then used in all European cultures were drawn from either the Bible, the saints' calendar, or well-known ancient Greek and Roman figures, people thought of names as translatable words and foreign language versions of a name were automatically translated when shifting from one language to another. Not only did any Scottish men who were called Ian when Gaelic was spoken become "John" in English, but immigrants to the USA made the same sort of shifts. When I did research in the U.S. census records in Michigan years ago, Immigrants who were Carl or Karl in Germany almost all called themselves Charles in Michigan. There was a time around 1880 when the name Carl was just becoming fashionable with native-born Americans when most of the Carls in Michigan were young boys without German ancestry while the German immigrants were still listed as Charles! Then in the 1900 census some of the German-born men who had been Charles in earlier censuses reverted to Carl, evidently having realized it was now "acceptable" in the USA.
https://omaha.com/lifestyles/cleveland-evans-exotic-ian-found-american-popularity-after-the-1960s/article_e9b065f2-e1bf-11ec-a43d-9ba23c71b6fc.html
I was a bit surprised myself to see that there was only one Ian in the 1851 census of Scotland. It's another example of how attitudes toward translation and names have changed. Before the late 19th century, since most names then used in all European cultures were drawn from either the Bible, the saints' calendar, or well-known ancient Greek and Roman figures, people thought of names as translatable words and foreign language versions of a name were automatically translated when shifting from one language to another. Not only did any Scottish men who were called Ian when Gaelic was spoken become "John" in English, but immigrants to the USA made the same sort of shifts. When I did research in the U.S. census records in Michigan years ago, Immigrants who were Carl or Karl in Germany almost all called themselves Charles in Michigan. There was a time around 1880 when the name Carl was just becoming fashionable with native-born Americans when most of the Carls in Michigan were young boys without German ancestry while the German immigrants were still listed as Charles! Then in the 1900 census some of the German-born men who had been Charles in earlier censuses reverted to Carl, evidently having realized it was now "acceptable" in the USA.
This message was edited 6/5/2022, 9:27 AM
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Even when settled here, immigrants seem to have sometimes switched between names depending on the context--a native-language name in their community; an English translation in the English-speaking world. My grandmother was born in Chicago in the 1890s to German immigrants. Her christening and confirmation certificates (which are entirely in German), give her names as Minna Helena; her marriage certificate as Minnie Helen.
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Interesting!
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