View Message

This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

Re: Dominic
in reply to a message by )(
My source for this is A Dictionary of First Names by Hanks and Hodges, where they say "It is used mainly by Roman Catholics, in honour of St Dominic".
vote up1vote down

Replies

I would assume that when Hanks and Hodges make a statement like that they are referring to the United Kingdom, where they live, unless they specifically mention another country.It is hard to get statistics by religion, but I would think the majority of men and boys named Dominic in the United States still come from a Roman Catholic background. The exception to that would be, as an earlier post states, its use in the African-American community. African-Americans are actually more religious on average than White Americans are, but of course the percentage of them who are Roman Catholic is much smaller. Only about 6% of Black Americans are Roman Catholic though that' still double the 3% who are Muslim -- a great many Black Americans who have been given Muslim names are not Muslim themselves.
vote up3vote down
I feel like the same holds true for Bethany too. It's listed as primarily Catholic in the database but in the United States Bethany seems to be pretty common on non-Catholics too.
vote up1vote down
Yes, Bethany does not have a Roman Catholic stereotype in the United States at all. However, it is NOT a name that's often been used by African-Americans.
vote up1vote down
Thank you!
vote up1vote down
I wonder if that bit should be removed from the submission, seeing as how that likely isn't the case anymore. I have known many Dominics and none of them were religious. I have seen it used a lot amongst black Americans without any religious background.
vote up3vote down
I will revisit this. I should at least remove the word "primarily", since that is perhaps not true.
vote up1vote down
Thank you, I guess there is no reference how the get that.
vote up1vote down