Name of the Day: Eleanor

I'm hoping to make this a regular, though certainly not daily, feature. I'm mulling over title options but "Name of the Day" is the working title.

Today's name is Eleanor. An easy pick for obvious reasons. Its a good name for discussion as its origins are disputed. Hotly. You won't believe that if you're not "one of us" but its true. Here are the points on which most experts agree:

1. The name Eleanor started life as the name Aliénor or Alienor.
   

You'll notice that there are not a lot of points of agreement.

There are opposing schools of thought as to the origin of the name Alienor which was born most famously by Eleanor of Aquitaine who lived during the 12th century. So, what are these schools? They are:

1. Alienor is a Provençal version of Helen/Helena.
2. Alienor is a Occitan (langue d'oc) form of the Germanic name, Aldenor.
3. Alienor is an Occitan invention created by Eleanor's parents.
4. Some combination of (2) and (3)
   

So, is Eleanor is a Provençal form of the name Helène which is the French form of the Greek name Helen. The argument is that all of these names share the "ele" element which is Greek for "light". The mythical Helen and Helena, the mother of Constantine, would have been well known historical figures in medieval Europe. Linguists argue that this is an unlikely origin because of the significant changes that Helena would have to make to become Aliénor. First, losing the 'h'. It is known, however, that the Romance languages such as Occitan, the language of Aquitaine, often silence the aspirate 'h'. And vowel shifts from a to e or back are not uncommon in the time before standardized spelling had any importance. But, there is no similar pattern of name development to mirror that of Helena to Aliénor. Furthermore, there is no documentation of anyone referred to as Helena/Aliénor in an age when different spellings of the same person's name would have been common and expected and recorded.

The first known usage of Alienor predates Eleanor of Aquitaine by 100 years. This early Alienor had a granddaughter who is listed in documents as Alienor, Aenor and Adenor which has led to the assertion that Alienor has a Germanic origin. How? Well, if one observes the transformation of the German name Adalhaid to Aaliz in France it seems plausible. Here's the pattern(I omit some steps):

• The Germanic name Adalhaid becomes Adaliz becomes Aaliz.

• The Germanic name Aldenor becomes Adenor become Aenor -OR-

• The Germanic name Aldenor become Alenor/Alienor.
  

In all cases one observes the loss of the intervocalic /d/ which is a known phenomenon in Occitan (langue d'oc), the language of Aquitaine, and related languages (Portuguese and Catalan).

Still others assert that Aliénor's name was distinctly Occitan and peculiar to her. It further states that she was obviously named for her mother, Aenor, as "alia Aenor" would have meant "the other Aenor" in Occitan. Notice also that Aliénor contains the word "alien" meaning "other" which is supposed to further support this theory. This camp is further split into those who believe her given name to be Aliénor and those who believe it to have been simply Aenor with the name Aliénor developing as a result of the child being constantly referred to as "the other Aenor". This camp sometimes admits that the meaning and origin of Aenor are unknown to them. It also ignores or isn't aware of or discounts the previous documented use of Alienor.

My own feeling is that Eleanor has no connection to the name Helen but is often cited as such because of its similarity to legitimate forms of Helen such as Elena and Ellen. Frankly, I dismiss the connection outright as sloppy scholarship.

There is very little documented use of Alienor, and to my knowledge, no use of the name Eleanor prior to Eleanor of Aquitaine. Since her time, the name Eleanor has seen consistent usage with peaks and valleys of popularity. It is currently ranked 277th on the 2006 Social Security Administration's list of most popular names for babies. It is ranked 42nd in England and Wales.

Interesting tidbit: Eleanor's grandmother, Aenor's mother, had the very saucy name of Dangereuse and managed to live up to her name.

Classic Classic: The Sub-Categories

I've identified two sub-categories of Classic Classic. The "Elastic Classic Classic" and the "Also Rans".

There is a certain kind of name that has two or more variations all of which have enjoyed great popularity but not necessarily at the same time. Bounces in popularity from one form to another can usually be accounted for by the name fashions of the time. The important thing is that the name, in some form, has remained in near constant and regular use for a long time but with no one variation being able to claim itself a Classic Classic. The category does not include boys names as no male name fits the criteria.

Here are the Elastic Classic Classics:

• Juliana/Julia/Julie
• Anna/Ann(e)
• Christian/Christiana/Christina/Christine

The Also Rans are names that would have made the Classic Classic list but for falling out of regular usage for some short, but not totally insignificant, period of time. Many of these names are experiencing a current loss of favor but have been otherwise immensely popular throughout history. Some have been popular for much of the current era but experienced a lull in some previous time. Even during their lulls these names continued to be used albeit quietly.

Here are the Also Rans:

• Rachel
• Laura
• Rebecca
• Alice
• Margaret
• Eleanor
• Emma
• Victoria
• Lucia/Lucy
• Isabella
• Grace
  

• Andrew
• Daniel
• David
• Edward
• Henry
  
• George
• Charles
• Matthew
• Paul
• George
• Richard
• Adam
• Alexander

There are more classic names for boys than for girls in all sub-categories. This is because naming trends for girls tend to change more frequently and people are more creative when naming girls. There seems to be less pressure to give girls family names freeing people to use less traditional names.

Feeling at liberty to exercise some creativity is great but its a far different thing than taking liberties while naming a girl. Feeling at liberty = Daisy. Taking liberties = Misty (or Mysteigh as it would likely be spelled today). Unfortunately, there's a school of thought that teaches that while boys need names that sound masculine and traditional and respectable, when it comes to girls you can use any thing that strikes you no matter how childish, silly or unsophisticated. But that's another entry.

The Classic Classics

I wanted to do an entry about the "Possible New Classics" which are names that seemed like they were part of a hot trend but may be able to make the leap to being a "New Classic". However, before I addressed the topic of the Possible New Classics I had to deal with the issue of the "Classic Classics". These are names that have remained enormouosly popular for a long time. How long? I don't know. Long. Since at least medieval times but let's not ruin this by getting too attached to numbers. They are names you find time and again used for royalty of yore as well as for biblical and other important literary and historical figures.

In order to be a Classic Classic a name has to be more than old. Something about Classic Classic names keep them from feeling dated which means that a name may be classical and yet not qualify as a Classic. Irene, for example, is a classical name but definitely feels a little musty (which actually makes it perfect for a modern child but that's another entry). The Classic Classics may not cause your pulse to race with excitement but rarely will they invite negative feelings based solely on the name alone (names cannot be held responsible for any personal associations you may have with them).

If these names were an item of clothing they'd be a white shirt; not flashy but always appropriate; not a runway showstopper but always in style. Another defining characteristic is that you probably know of several people in every age group with these names.

So, here is my list of the Classic Classic Names. It does not account for the many spelling variations that exist for each name:

• Sarah
  
• Elizabeth
• Catherine*
• Mary

• James
• John
• William
• Thomas
• Robert

You could argue in favor of a lot of names that aren't on this list but I think that based on my criteria these are the only ones that have transcended time without ever falling out favor. Henry, for instance, certainly has been used repeatedly for royalty and has been attached to any number of literary characters, sports figures, actors, heads of state etc. Henry, however, fell very much of out favor in the middle portion of the 20th century and is only recently experiencing a bit of a revival.

But I'll field any arguments in favor of other names that you feel deserve a spot on this list. Usage is usually confined to the English speaking world.

Popularity of names in the modern era were taken from the Social Security Administration's web site which lists popularity charts of names by decade.

*Catherine on its own often looks deceptively low (too low to be considered "enormously" popular though still high enough to be considered popular) on some popularity lists of the modern era. However, if you combine it with Katherine and Kathryn the name shoots up...usually to the top 10.

The Case Against Junior: Part II or The Case Against Junior, Jr.

The father of Courteney Cox of "Friends" fame is Richard Cox. Richard. Cox. Okay. Not his fault. Sometimes in this life you draw the short straw.

But what could possibly explain Courteney Cox having a brother named Richard Cox?

Nothing but hubris and pure, uncut stubborn. Say what you will about Richard Cox, Sr. but this is a guy who was clearly very firm rigid well, he stood up for his beliefs er, he was a man who believed in stuff and kept believing in them even in the face of certain ridicule.

The very fact that I am ridiculing a man that was very possibly a wonderful person...probably a million and one times better than I could ever hope to be...is my attempt to further prove that it doesn't pay to be overly prideful when naming our children.

I can hear the reasons, "Its not like we'll ever call him Dick!" I'm sure the same thing was said by the adoring parents of Richard Hunt from my school days. But no matter how many times the diminutive Master Hunt quietly suggested that he preferred to be called "Ricky" the kids refused to comply. Some kids are like that. Especially the ones that are kids.

"We can't make decisions based on the juvenile behavior of others." Noble but then its always easy to be noble when someone else has to bear the burden of our cause.

"Its tradition and we are strong! We're the Family Cox! We can take a lic We can perservere. Its what we do."

I'm all for tradition. I even observe a few traditions of my own. But not at any cost and not at the cost of my child's self-esteem. Because, even with a name that doesn't invite teasing, life is "nasty, brutish and short". Life will test them and give them obstacles to overcome without my help. Isn't part of our job as parents to help smooth the way for our children? I'm not saying we should get down and iron the road so its completely flat but maybe just not throw bits of broken glass down onto the path. And then hide their shoes. Just saying.

If, in your own childhood, you had fallen out of tree in such a way that it caused your nose to take a wicked dog-leg left that led the other kids to call you names and just generally poke fun...and if you managed to overcome that and live a happy and fulfilling life...would you then look at your infant son and say, "Son, I love you. I want you to be all that you can be. My horribly disfigured nose made me the man I am today. The kind of man I want you to be. So, you're probably not going to like this but just hold still while I..."

No. You wouldn't do that.

But Richard Cox, Sr. might.

Whatever the surname, Richard Sr. and Richard Jr. present a troubling twist on the problems of Jr. addressed in my last post. Old Dick and Young Dick? Big Dick and Little Dick?

I knew a man named Dick Skinner. This is a real story and not an urban legend like Ura Hogg (though there was an Ima Hogg), or Nosmo King or Placenta. I had a feeling that this might not be as uncommon a name as I would hope it to be so I (foolishly, very foolishly) googled the name.

I don't recommend doing that.

The Case Against Junior

I'm not a fan of Junior. Here's why:

1) Two people, one house, one name. Confusing. There are plenty of names to go around. They're completely free so there's no need to economize.

2) Two people, one house, one name. Nicknames! Big Jim and Little Jim. Old Susan and Young Susan. You want to be big and old or little and young? You pick.

3) Great expectations. He will be just like me only smaller. Or better. Or never quite as good. Or never quite as rich. Or handsome. Or smart. He'll be just like me but he won't make the mistakes I made because I'll make sure he doesn't. Or else.

4) This is my son, Junior. This is my other son, What's-His-Face.

5) This is my son, Junior. This is my daughter, the Girl.

6) This is my son, Junior. I wanted to name him something else but there was a lot of pressure to name him Junior. Maybe I'll have another son someday and I'll be able to give him a name I like.

I have ranted on message board upon message board about these very things for years. Years. Ranted. So, that being said. What did I do? I, Suzanne, named my youngest daughter...wait for it...Susannah.

No, I really did.

It really didn't have anything to do with my name being Suzanne. That is, I didn't name her that to honor myself in any way. Which is not to say that I didn't realize that Suzanne and Susannah are variations on a theme. I obviously knew that and I did give it a lot of thought before finally greenlighting the name for which Rick and the kids were campaigning. Would it bother me if people thought I was naming her Suzanne, Jr? Yeah, probably. How much? Just a little.

Still, even though I didn't actually name her after me I don't think it would be very self aware to suggest that her name being a variant of mine is just a coincidence. Surely some deep and secret desire to have a namesake didn't factor somewhere into the decision.

And, my brother and sister-in-law are about to bring an 8th generation William G into the world. The G changes. Some of these William G's have gone by Will. Some by their middle name. Some, like my brother, by an unrelated nickname. I should be opposed (from an abstract perspective and not from a having-any-say-in-the-matter perspective, natch) to their choice of William G based on the reasons stated above but I'm not. I think its nice. I love that they are going to call him Will; a return to a nickname of 4 generations ago. I like that they aren't using the same G that's been used for the past 3 generations.

Am I a hypocrite then? A scofflaw making a mockery of my own self-imposed rules of naming?

Ralph Waldo Emerson wouldn't think so. He tells us in one of his many famous quotes, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of litte minds". Of course, this sounds to me to be an awful lot like moral relativism but...that's a different blog altogether.

And Ralph Waldo Emerson? Son of Rebecca Waldo Emerson? His four children? Waldo, Ellen, Edith and Edward Waldo.

You Don't Need Double Talk, You Need...

to watch this clip.




This was followed by the funniest thing ever said on television:

"We're not here to talk nonsense to Bob Loblaw."

Peanut Allergies are Not Funny

I know that. I do.

But when I took Henry to soccer tonight I walked by the lunch tables at the school where he practices and there were two tables upon which the phrase "NUT-FREE TABLE" was written boldy and frequently. There wasn't a better name for that table? Maybe, "SAFE TABLE"? I'm guessing that no one actually thought of the slightly more humiliating "NO-NUTS TABLE" or they would have gone with that.

If you're a 10-year old boy with a peanut allergy do you really need the additional burden of being one of the "No-Nuts"? I keep thinking that some poor kid is risking anaphylaxis everyday just to avoid having to sit at that table. Shrinking into himself in an attempt to disappear when the cafeteria monitor shouts out, "Are all of the NUT-FREE students at the proper table?"

Maybe I'm not giving today's youth the benefit of the doubt. I suppose its possible that kids today are more tolerant of the differences among them and they could be more sympathetic to their peers than were the children of my generation but I don't buy it.

For one thing, I know their parents.

I went to school with them.