What Happened to Norton?

Easton, Weston, & Sutton are all up-and-comers, after all. Is it the anti-virus software? I have a vague "nerdy!" association, but I have no idea why.
Anyway, the rise of the directional-town names made me wonder what other direction-surnames are a possibility. I wouldn't necessarily recommend these all on human babies, but they are fun to say. ;)
Enjoy (or cringe)!

East:

• Astbury (burgh, "fortress")
• Aston (ton, "town")
• Eastby, Easterby, Esseby (by, "farm")
• Eastham (ham, "village")
• Eastley, Astley, Easley (ley, "field")
• Eastway, Eastaway (weg, "way, road")
• Eastwell, Estwell (well, "stream, spring")
• Estcott, Escott (cott, "cottage")

North:

• Norbury
• Norcliff
• Norcott
• Norcross
• Norledge, Northage (weg, "way, road")
• Norley
• Norman
• Norris
• Northall (hall, "hall"; or holh "small valley")
• Northam
• Northey (ea, "river", or eg, "path, road")
• Northway, Noraway
• Norwell
• Norwood

South:

• Southall
• Southam, Sotham
• Southard, Southward, Suthard (worth, "farm")
• Southby, Sotheby, Sutherby
• Southcott, Sothcott
• Southway
• Southwell
• Suston
• Sutcliff, Sutliff
• Sutherland, Sunderland
• Sutherley
• Suthren, Sotheron ("southerner")

West:

• Westall, Wessell, Westell, Westoll
• Westbury
• Westby, Westerby, Westaby
• Westcott, Wescott
• Westman, Westerman
• Westmore (mere, "lake")
• Wesley, Westley
• Westoff, Westover ("to the west")
• Westrey ("westerner")

Chanel. *blows kiss*

A friend of mine was surprised recently--her top baby name is a new lipstick color! I didn't even know lipstick lines used human names, so of course I had to check it out! What I found was a fascinatingly eclectic mix of names, male and female.

• Adrienne
• Antoinette
• Arthur
• Catherine
• Cécile
• Dimitri
• Edith
• Elise
• Emilienne
• Erik
• Étienne
• Gabrielle
• Ina
• Jean
• Jeanne
• Julia
• Louise
• Maggy
• Marie
• Misia
• Olga
• Suzanne
• Vera

Random Fact of the Day:

In Middle English, there was a feminine occupational suffix--ster.
Although occupations that women could be known for were relatively few, and getting that form passed down to descendants was proportionally rare compared to males (and both male & females forms were also eventually used interchangeably for both genders), there are still a few that survived to Modern English:

Baxter--orig. Bakester, a female baker
Brewster--a female brewer
Dexter--orig. Dyster, a female dyer
Huckster--a female travelling merchant
Sangster--a female singer
Tapster--a female bartender or tavern keeper
Walkster--a female clothmaker
Webster--a female weaver

Names, Initially

It occurred to me the other day just how many great writers go by initials. I wonder why? Do they just have a more acute understanding on how words can affect biases? In the past, of course, many women were advised to publish under initials (or a male pseudonym) to attract readership, but I was surprised how few female writers I found that still might be recognized today.
Anyway, I'm sure I've missed some literary greats, so I look forward to your comments. ;)

• Abbott Joseph--A.J. Liebling
• Alan Alexander--A.A. Milne
• Alfred Edward--A.E. Housman
• Antonia Susan--A.S. Byatt
• Archibald Joseph--A.J. Cronin
• Archie Randolph--A.R. Ammons
• Carolyn Janice--C.J. Cherryh
• Catherine Lucille--C.L. Moore
• Cecil Scott--C.S. Forester
• Cleo Virginia--V.C. Andrews
• Clive Staples--C.S. Lewis
• David Herbert--D.H. Lawrence
• Edgar Lawrence--E.L. Doctorow
• Edith--E. Nesbit
• Edmée Elizabeth Monica--E.M. Delafield [Dashwood]
• Edward Estlin--E.E. Cummings
• Edward Morgan--E.M. Forster
• Elwyn Brooks--E. B. White
• Eric Rücker--E.R. Eddison
• Francis--F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Gilbert Keith--G.K. Chesterton
• Harold Lenoir--H.L. Davis
• Henry Louis--H.L. Mencken
• Herbert Ernest--H.E. Bates
• Herbert George--H. G. Wells
• Hilda Doolittle--H.D.
• Howard Phillips--H.P. Lovecraft
• Isidor Feinstein--I.F. Stone
• James Graham--J.G. Ballard
• James Matthew--J.M. Barrie
• James Patrick--J.P. Donleavy
• Jean-Marie Gustave--J.M.G. Le Clézio
• Jerome David--J.D. Salinger
• Joan--J. California Cooper
• Joanne Kathleen--J.K. Rowling
• John Boynton--J.B. Priestley
• John Davys--J.D. Beresford
• John Maxwell--J.M. Coetzee
• John Millington--J.M. Synge
• John Ronald Reuel--J.R.R. Tolkien
• Letitia Elizabeth Landon--L.E.L.
• Lyman--L. Frank Baum
• Mary Frances Kennedy--M.F.K. Fisher
• Navarre--N. Scott Momaday
• Pamela Lyndon--P.L. Travers
• Patrick Jake--P.J. O'Rourke
• Pelham Grenville--P. G. Wodehouse
• Philip Dey--P.D. Eastman
• Phyllis Dorothy--P.D. James
• Rafael Aloysius--R.A. Lafferty
• Robert Lawrence--R.L. Stine
• Ronald Stuart--R.S. Thomas
• Shira Judith--S.J. Rozan
• Susan Eloise--S.E. Hinton
• Terence Hanbury--T. H. White
• Theodore Francis--T.F. Powys
• Thomas Stearns--T.S. Eliot
• Vidiadhar Surajprasad--V.S. Naipaul
• William Edward Burghardt--W.E.B. Du Bois
• William Edward Butterworth--W.E.B. Griffin
• William Butler--W.B. Yeats
• William Henry--W.H. Davies
• Winfried Georg--W.G. Sebald
• Wystan Hugh--W.H. Auden

Vintage Cinema

I love watching the credits of old movies. Although they definitely skew masculine, there're still lots of forgotten names to find for both genders! So, I went through popular, high-grossing, & award-winning films from 1917 all the way to 1950, and pulled out some fun and/or interesting vintage names. :)

Characters:

• Addison (m)
• Dale (f)
• Della
• Justyn (f)
• Lewton (m)
• Melisande
• Sabra
• Tira

Actresses:

• Alida
• Almeda
• Almira
• Alyn
• Amelita
• Amzie
• Argentina
• Arlette
• Beryl
• Deannie
• Dulcie
• Elvida
• Enid
• Ethelreda
• Fern
• Gale
• Gene
• Greer
• Hallene
• Jobyna
• Joyzelle
• Leopoldine
• Leota
• Lianella
• Lorna
• Maidel
• Marcelle
• Marlyn
• Medea
• Minna
• Minta
• Movita
• Myrna
• Spring
• Tanis
• Teala
• Theda
• Vivia
• Willia
• Yola
• Zeffie

Actors:

• Barton
• Bryn
• Elgin
• Erskine
• Esmond
• Franchot
• Grandon
• Howland
• Kenner
• Lowell
• Margarito
• Marius
• Mauritz
• Milton
• Noble
• Philo
• Pomeroy
• Regis
• Selmar
• Sterling
• Tammany
• Tully
• Winter

A Month's Worth of Names (Part 2)

As I mentioned a few days ago, I've not been completely idle these last few months; I've been looking at names on parenting sites (among other things) . This time around, I'm looking at the names below the Top 1000 taken from one month of online birth announcements--a very interesting mix.

• Adence
• Alando
• Annora (2!)
• Ansel
• Arwen
• Brand
• Dallin
• Devereaux
• Domenico
• Elizabelle
• Ethel
• Everlyse
• Ezéchiel
• Gita
• Idris
• Indiana
• Jazaeyah
• Joyanna
• Karlo
• Kip
• Lazarus
• Legion
• Lightning
• Lorraine
• Lourdes
• Lyris
• Maeva
• Marvel
• Matida
• Meta
• Murron
• Nabeeha
• Neo
• Nerissa
• Nyota
• Rafe
• Rayce
• Rosewood
• Seville
• Silvius
• Swarnika
• Sylvan
• Treyton
• True
• Tylerann
• Vaevictis
• Wyla
• Zarianna

For a bit more nerdery, there were also 462 reported middle names. The most common--

Boys:

• Alexander (11)
• James (11)
• Joseph (10)
• Michael (7)
• John (5)
• Alan (4)
• Dean (4)
• Matthew (4)
• Anthony (3)
• Charles (3)
• David (3)
• Patrick (3)
• Paul (3)
• Robert (3)
• Roy (3)
• Thomas (3)

Girls: 

• Rose (18)
• Grace (17)
• Mae (14)
• Marie (12)
• Jane (10)
• Elizabeth (8)
• Anne (7)
• Faith (5)
• Abigail (4)
• Nicole (4)
• Hope (3)
• Jean (3)
• Violet (3)

Both:

• Ray/Rae (6 boys; 2 girls)
• Lee/Leigh (2 boys; 4 girls)
• Lynn (1 boy; 5 girls)
• Rene/Renee (1 boy; 3 girls)

Interesting how the middles (especially the boys') tend towards "dad" and "grandpa" names. Too bad the SSA doesn't track middle names; it'd be fascinating to see if that holds in general: one generation's common first names becoming subsequent generations' common middle names--honoring family, presumably. ;)

A Month's Worth of Names (Part 1)

Due to the arrival of #4, I've been spending more time than I really should on my compy. On one parenting site I frequent, users can announce their new little one; it's divided into months.
People listing names? Don't mind me!

Now, I'm not going to list all 568 names (282 boy, 286 girl), but I did find it pretty interesting which names repeated.
(some of the spellings are rather...unique, so I'm only listing the most common)

Boys:

• Alexander (7)
• William (7)
• Elijah (6)
• Henry (6)
• Jackson (5, + 1 Jack & 1 Jaxton)
• Ian (5)
• Mason (5)
• Thomas (5)
• Asher (4)
• Gavin (4)
• Isaac (4)
• Liam (4)
• Oliver (4)
• Jacob (3, + 1 Jacoby)
• James (3, + 1 Jameson)
• Michael (3, + 1 Micah)
• Benjamin (3)
• Caleb (3)
• Charles (3)
• Daniel (3)
• Jace (3)
• Joshua (3)
• Logan (3)
• Noah (3)
• Brandon (2, + 1 Brand)
• Cameron (2, + 1 girl Cammie)
• Dominic (2, +1 Domenico)
• Lucas (2, + 1 Luke)
• Nicholas (2, + 1 Nico)
• Andrew (2)
• Barrett (2)
• Bennett (2)
• Brayden (2)
• Connor (2)
• David (2)
• Dimitri (2)
• Eli (2)
• Elliott (2)
• Joseph (2)
• Julian (2)
• Julius (2)
• Killian (2)
• Levi (2)
• Lincoln (2)
• Maddox (2)
• Malcolm (2)
• Matthew (2)
• Maverick (2)
• Parker (2)
• Ryker (2)
• Simon (2)
• Theodore (2)

Girls:

• Olivia (6)
• Isabella (5, + 1 Isabelle)
• Riley (5)
• Grace (4, +1 Gracie)
• Emily (4)
• Madelyn (4)
• Scarlett (4)
• Liliana (3, + 1 Lillian & 1 Lily)
• Addison (3)
• Callie (3)
• Hailey (3)
• Harper (3)
• Hazel (3)
• Hope (3)
• Isla (3)
• Molly (3)
• Victoria (3)
• Violet (3)
• Lyla (2, + 1 Layla & 1 Lyra)
• Abby (2, + 1 Abigail)
• Adelyn (2, + 1 Adalina)
• Annabelle (2, + 1 Annabella)
• Aubrey (2, + 1 Audrey)
• Eva (2, + 1 Ava)
• Everly (2, +1 Everlyse)
• Mia (2, + 1 Maya)
• Nora (2, + 1 Nova)
• Aislinn (2)
• Alaina (2)
• Annora (2)
• Azalea (2)
• Carly (2)
• Caroline (2)
• Carter (2)
• Charlotte (2)
• Cheyenne (2)
• Clementine (2)
• Eliza (2)
• Ellie (2)
• Emery (2)
• Emma (2)
• Hadley (2)
• Kaylee (2)
• Leah (2)
• Lola (2)
• Lydia (2)
• Mila (2)
• Sophia (2)
• Vivian (2)
• Zoey (2)

Both:

• Avery (2 boys; 4 girls)
• Aiden (4 boys; 1 girl)
• Kai (2 boys; 1 girl, + 1 Kaia)
• Cruz (2 boys; 1 girl)
• Rylan (1 boy; 1 girl, + 1 boy Ryan)
• Hayden (1 boy; 1 girl)
• Joey (1 boy; 1 girl)

The most common boys' names, Alexander & William, were each given to about 2.5% of the boys reported, and Olivia, the most common girls', to about 2%. Interestingly, that's actually about 2x as high as we'd expect--the most common names on the SSA charts are usually given to about 1% of boys/girls. Not sure why there's such a discrepancy, but I imagine it'd be ironed out with multiple months' data.
Either that, or parents who give certain names are more likely to report it on the internet. ;)

Next time: middle names, as well as names below the Top 1000.