Name News
About Names: Bertram never caught on in U.S. but rings loud in Shakespeare lore
Bertram “Bertie” Wilberforce Wooster (played by Hugh Laurie)
Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his July 2nd column, he looks at the history of the name Bertram.
The name Bertram is derived from ancient Germanic beraht-hramn, or “bright raven.” In Germanic myth, ravens were sacred to the god Odin. The first famous Bertram was St. Bertram of Ilam, a hermit living near Stafford, England, in the early eighth century. Later legends claim he was a Prince of Mercia who fell in love with an Irish princess, becoming a hermit after she and their infant son were devoured by a pack of wolves.
Bertram was regularly used in medieval England. Surnames Bartram and Buttrum derive from it. Bertram became rare after 1400, retaining some use in Northumberland, England’s northernmost county. The Victorian era love for medieval names revived Bertram. It was much more common in Britain. By 1910, there were 6,401 Bertrams in the U.S., while England’s 1911 census found 21,819. England’s population at that point was 36 million; the U.S. had more than 92 million people.
In 1880, when Social Security’s yearly baby name data starts, Bertram ranked 405th in the U.S. At its 1923 high point, it had risen slightly higher, to 394th. Bertram fell from the top 1,000 names in 1971.
Want to know more? Read on to find out more about Bertrams in history!
Nearly every country on Earth is named after one of these four things
Ever wondered how England got its name? As with countless other countries, it’s all down to a tribe of early settlers (in this case the fifth century Angles).
In fact, almost every country in the world is named after one of four things: 1) a tribe; 2) a feature of the land; 3) a directional description; or 4) an important person. That’s according to Quartz, which analysed 195 countries listed in the Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names.
The name given to the somewhat obscure study of place names itself is toponymy, and here you may find a selection of countries in each of the four categories, and how they got their monikers.
About Names: Despite ties to traitor, Benedict has enjoyed a long, blessed history
Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange
Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his July 19th column, he looks at the history of the name Benedict.
Benedict is from Late Latin Benedictus, “blessed,” used as a name by early Christians. It became famous through St. Benedict of Nursia (480-550). As a young man, Benedict became a pious hermit near Subiaco, Italy. He attracted followers, becoming so admired that a jealous priest tried to kill him. A raven snatched poisoned bread out of his hands.
Sixteen Popes have been named Benedict, the first reigning from 575-579. The name became popular in medieval England, though in everyday use it was usually pronounced “Bennett.” That’s why Bennett is a common surname, ranking 86th in the 2010 United States census.
Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), the American revolutionary general who plotted to turn West Point over to the British, made “a Benedict Arnold” a synonym for “traitor” to Americans. It might then seem surprising that Benedict was actually 10 times more common in America during the 19th century. Only 94 Benedicts are listed in Britain’s 1851 census, while 1,068 are found in the 1850 United States census, when the total populations were equal.
Want to know more? Read on to find out more about Benedicts in history!
Soon a new name for Brussels Airport?
This is, in any case, the dream of Kurt Ryon, the mayor of Steenokkerzeel, who would like the airport renamed, like in many other major cities. Paris, New York or Rome, for example, have chosen to give their airport the name of a famous character: Charles De Gaulle, John F. Kennedy or Leonardo da Vinci respectively. As part of the airport is located on the territory of his municipality, Kurt Ryon suggests renaming Brussels Airport and calling it “Bruegel International Airport” in the future.
Pieter Bruegel (1525?-1569) is widely regarded as the 16th century’s greatest Netherlandish painter. Brussels and Bruegel are inextricably linked. Not only did the most important part of his life took place in Brussels but he is also buried here and we can still admire an important part of his oeuvre in Brussels’ finest museums.
Decree Puts New North Macedonia Name on Army Uniforms
North Macedonia’s president says he has signed a decree renaming the army to correspond with the new name the country took in February to end a decades-long dispute with neighboring Greece. President Stevo Pendarovski said on Thursday 5 July 2019 the decree specifies that army uniforms will now bear the name “Army of the Republic of North Macedonia.”
Pendarovski serves as supreme commander of the armed forces as part of the largely ceremonial presidency he assumed in May 2019. The governments of Greece and what was then Macedonia agreed last year to add “North” to the younger country’s name in exchange for Greece dropping its objections to its northern neighbor joining NATO and the European Union.
Workshop “Aboriginal Place Names”, July 16 2019 (Mildura, Australia)
The workshops “Aboriginal Place Names – Our Language Matter – First People Of The Millewa-Mallee Aboriginal Corporation” will provide opportunities for Traditional Owners to promote the importance of local Aboriginal languages in the place naming of roads, geographic features and localities. By Traditional Owners, they understand a descendant of the tribe or ethnic group that occupied a particular region before European settlement, especially when that occupation is recognised by Australian law. Importantly, participants from Local Government Areas and emergency services, in addition to planners and surveyors will be supported to explore ways for establishing strong professional relationships with Traditional Owners to enable future collaborative naming activities.
Day and time: JULY 16, 2019 9:00 AM – JULY 16, 2019 3:30 PM
Address: Alfred Deakin Centre, 190 Deakin Avenue, Mildura, Australia
Chinese Ministry calls for prudence in rectifying improper place names
The Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republic of China asked local authorities to act prudently and appropriately in a campaign against improper geographic names. Relevant regulations and guidelines of the campaign should be strictly observed to prevent the campaign from being expanded in an arbitrary manner, said the ministry.
The focus of the campaign is names of newly built residential areas and major projects, which had a negative social impact and stirred strong public reactions. Launched in December 2018, the campaign mainly targets four types of improper toponyms, including those featuring exaggeration, unrelated foreign elements, strange vulgar words and repetitive names. The campaign is an important measure to improve the management of geographic names and promote the fine cultural tradition embedded in such names.
Changing School Names to a Different “Lee”
This Wall Street Journal article looks at the trend of Southern American schools changing their name from “Robert E. Lee” to, well, any other “Lee” or similar name.
Many school districts are wrestling with sometimes contentious debates over being named for Confederate figures, while also facing tight budgets. The solution, they are finding, can be picking someone with a similar name. Districts began naming schools for Confederate figures after the Civil War, with an uptick in the 1950s and 1960s. Several dozen school districts have dropped Confederate school names in recent years.
In the Houston Independent School District, officials changed a school named for Confederate soldier Sidney Lanier to the late Bob Lanier, a former mayor of the city. The Austin school district’s Robert E. Lee Elementary is now Russell Lee Elementary, named for a Depression-era photographer.
Oklahoma City Public Schools wasn’t sure whether its Lee Elementary was even named for Robert E. Lee, because the school never carried the full name. But after the 2017 discovery of board minutes from the early 1900s that listed a portrait of Robert E. Lee as a gift to the school, officials figured the school must be named for the Confederate general. It changed the name to Adelaide Lee, after an Oklahoma philanthropist, in 2018.
Want to know more? Click through to read the rest of the article!
About Names: ‘Days of Our Lives,’ ‘Twilight’ helped Isabella regain its crown
Isabella Rossellini at Cannes in 2015
Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his June 18th column, he looks at the history of the name Isabella.
Occitan is a Romance language spoken in southern France. In medieval times, Elisabel appeared there as a variation of the biblical name Elizabeth. Though linguists explain that “th” or “t” don’t normally end Occitan words, that “bèl” means “beautiful” in Occitan surely helped. Elisabel shortened to Isabel, which quickly became the normal form of Elizabeth in Spanish and Portuguese. Isabel spread to northern France, and was introduced into England by the Normans.
Isabel was hugely popular in medieval England because of three queen consorts. Isabella of Angoulême (1186-1246) was wife of King John and mother of Henry III. Isabella of France (1295-1358) was Edward II’s wife and regent for her son Edward III. Isabella of Valois (1389-1409) was the child bride of Richard II.
The hit book series about high school student Isabella “Bella” Swan and sparkly vampire Edward appeared in 2005. Author Stephenie Meyer, who has only sons, gave her character the name she was saving for a future daughter. The first “Twilight” film, starring Kristen Stewart as Bella, premiered November 2008. In 2009, over 25,000 Isabellas were born, ranking the name No. 1.
Want to know more? Read on to find out more about Isabellas in history!