Another one here via spotlight.

[opalgirl28.livejournal.com]

So, are you sick of us yet? :P

I'm 22, female, hailing from Atlantic Canada. No kids and none on the way, but I'm a writer and I love naming (and seeing the patterns that occur).

Would you like a list of some of the names in my family? I think you would. Our ancestry's a bit of a European mish-mash, mostly Scots and English, with Acadian on my father's side.

 Maternal:

My grandparents were Kendall Claude and Mattie Laurena (mum's parents) and Wilmot Henry and Eileen Marie (Dad's parents), respectively.

My parents are Annette Marie (b. 1961, named for Annette Funicello, according to my grandmother) and Ronald Lawrence (b. 1961, called "Ron.")

Then there's me, Valerie Dawn. I arrived unexpectedly, in a bit of a hurry, when my parents had yet to really consider names, and Dad told my cousin, who was putting together a list of first and middle names, that "Valerie" had to be there somewhere.

Aunts and uncles include: Randall Boyd (b. 1958, called "Randy"), Kimberly Ann (b. 1963), Paula Claudette (b. 1965; her middle name is the feminine version of my great-grandfather's first name), Gary, David, Marion (female), Deborah, Martin (called "Marty"), and Richard (called "Rick").

Too many cousins to list include: Ashley May, Ryan Boyd, Jenna Blayre ("Blayre" is her father's middle name), and Tessa Marie.

Great-aunts and uncles include/included names like: Wilmot Rodger, Delbert Dalton (called "Dalton"), James Eldridge (called "Eldridge"), Emma Rebecca (called "Beckie*"), Velma, Annie May (called "May"), Ray, Kenny, Reginald, Lloyd, Ethel, Jacqueline, Donna, and William.

*Great-Aunt Beckie is 86; it still does seem a bit odd to see what I'd consider a "modern" name on a woman her age, but she was named after her grandmothers.

Great-Grandparents on all sides included: Viola Belle, Florence Avona, Claude, Evangeline, Dorothy, Ervin, and William.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/___heyvanity/]

As per usual, I love the oldest names... Viola Belle, Florence, Evangeline, Dorothy and William.

It's interesting seeing Wilmot. I had a friend in middle school who was Leslie Wilmet (f) but liked Wilmet better so she changed it to that.

[opalgirl28.livejournal.com]

The Internet (I'm not sure just how reliable it might be) tells me that "Wilmot" is an old, very uncommon English man's name. That it occurred twice in my family tree--on separate sides--always takes people aback.

If I do ever have a daughter, I'm very tempted to call her Viola Belle, after Great-Grandma (not only because it's a pretty name, but because Great-Grandma Viola was awesome).

[silverwind.livejournal.com]

Offtopic: I <3 your icon. ;)

[how-obscure.livejournal.com]

Wilmot is interesting. I kind of like Boyd. Tessa is cute. I like James and William quite a lot.

[heatherpantss.livejournal.com]

Yes.

[downshefalls.livejournal.com]

Seeing Kendall on a male is fascinating. I'm also rather fond of David, Ryan, Tessa, Dalton, James, Emma, William, Florence, and Evangeline.

[opalgirl28.livejournal.com]

Really? Where I live (although Granddad called himself "Ken", which led to him being called "Kenneth" by people who didn't know his full name), it seems more common for men--I don't think I've ever actually *met* a female Kendall.

[summerhotel.livejournal.com]

I always thought of Kendall as a masculine name but I've only ever met one, a female.

Also: I am from Atlantic Canada as well! Hello there!

[opalgirl28.livejournal.com]

It's not a common name by any stretch--it wasn't even common around the time my grandfather was born, according to stats--but as my grandmother can attest, it lends itself to bellowing *quite* well.

I'm down in Nova Scotia. ;)

[chillinbabejodi.livejournal.com]

I LIKE:
Laurena
Henry
James
May
Belle - as a nn
Evangeline
Dorothy - its fast becoming a fave of mine :)

[opalgirl28.livejournal.com]

Laurena is my grandmother's middle name--we're not sure where it came from, as a friend of the family named her. (After the elder six kids--three of them girls--Great-Grammie was running out of relatives to name them after).

I love how "classic" names are coming back in, and Evangeline has a bit of a history in my part of the world--it's not just a pretty name.