July 4th – Patriotic Names

Happy Independence Day, everyone!  As we celebrate the original Brexit, let’s take a look at some names that are reminiscent of that Declaration and subsequent Revolution which gave U.S. our freedom and autonomy from that monarchist island across the pond. 😉

A few of the signers had very interesting or unusual names:

• Caesar Rodney (Delaware)
• Button Gwinnett (Georgia)
• Carter Braxton (Virginia)
• Elbridge Gerry (Massachusetts)
• Lyman Hall (Georgia)
• Abraham Clark (New Jersey)
• Josiah Barlett (New Hampshire)

Then there are the American ‘virtues’:

Independence – Perhaps the most obvious name for the 4th, it’s also perhaps the rarest.  Just 5 baby girls were named Independence in 2015. 

Liberty – One of the most popular American virtue names, this ranked #558 last year.  Liberty has a very interesting, sporadic usage history.  This was briefly popular at the end of World War I and was popular again at the bicentennial in 1976.  Liberty next reentered the top 1000 (this time staying) in 2001, after 9/11. 

Justice – As a name, Justice has only been popular since the 1990s.  It currently ranks #451 and #521 for boys in the U.S.

Felicity – Perhaps a bit of a stretch, but doesn’t the Declaration proclaim everyone’s right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?”  Felicity is a synonym for happiness.  This name ranked #359 in the U.S. last year. 

Miscellaneous:

Columbia – 10 baby girls in 2015.  Columbia is the female personification of America, much in the way that Britannia represented Britain.

America – 280 girls were named America last year.  Whether they’re named after the country, America Ferrara, or some combination of the two, this is the ultimate American name.

Amerigo – The two continents of the ‘New World’ derive the name America from Amerigo Vespucci.  

Philadelphia – This name hasn’t appeared in SSA data in over 20 years, but I occasionally see her on lists of colonial names. 

Sam – as in, Uncle Sam.  Sam ranked #553 last year, but there are probably a lot more of them that have it as a nickname for Samuel (#23).  Samson (#622) is also growing in popularity.

Do you have a favorite patriotic name?  What do you think of these?

Sources for popularity data:

• http://www.behindthename.com/top/
• https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/limits.html (information in zip file)