Monday, September 21, 2015

Male Pen Names

Over the centuries, many female writers have adopted male or ambiguous pen names, often to be more accepted by male readers. I'm sure this is nowhere near a comprehensive list, but I do find it fascinating what names they chose for themselves. Some were family names or after other namesakes, but others, who knows? (fun fact: all three Georges listed were writing around the same time)
Some of these are much more well-known today than others, of course, or only used a pseudonym for one or two works (I had no idea Pearl S. Buck used a male name for a few novels. I wonder why?)

  • Acton Bell (Anne Brontë)
  • Alex Kava (Sharon M. Kava)
  • Alex Stuart (Vivian Stuart)
  • Andre Norton (Alice Mary Norton)
  • Anthony Gilbert (Lucy Beatrice Malleson)
  • Charles de Launay (Delphine de Girardin)
  • Charles Egbert Craddock (Mary Noailles Murfree)
  • Christopher Crowfield (Harriet Beecher Stowe)
  • Currer Bell (Charlotte Brontë)
  • Daniel Lesueur (Jeanne Lapauze)
  • Daniel Stern (Marie D'Agoult)
  • Dell Shannon (Elizabeth Linington)
  • Ellis Bell (Emily Brontë)
  • Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter)
  • Ernst Ahlgren (Victoria Benedictsson)
  • Franz von Nemmersdorf (Franziska von Reitzenstein)
  • George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)
  • George Paston (Emily Morse Symonds)
  • George Sand (Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin)
  • Graham R. Tomson (Rosamund Marriott Watson)
  • Henry Handel Richardson (Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson)
  • Holme Lee (Harriet Parr)
  • Idris Seabright (Margaret St. Clair)
  • Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen)
  • James Tiptree, Jr (Alice Bradley Sheldon)
  • Jean Dominique (Marie Closset)
  • John Sedges (Pearl S. Buck)
  • Laurence Hope (Adela Florence Nicolson)
  • Malachi Whitaker (Marjorie Whitaker)
  • Martin Ross (Violet Florence Martin)
  • Michael Fairless (Margaret Barber)
  • Michael West (Corinne Michelle West)
  • Rhys Bowen (Janet Quin-Harkin)
  • Rohan O'Grady (June O'Grady Skinner)
  • Theunis Krogh (Stella Blakemore)
  • Victor Català (Catalina Albert)
  • Vin Packer (Marijane Meaker)
  • William Stuart Long (also Vivian Stuart)

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Popularity Equivalents

I know, we see it all the time: "Oh, I love Sophia, but it's the most popular name!" Name-nerds know of course that the popular names of today are hardly equivalent to Jennifer or Jessica from our generation, but still, that "#1" label is intimidating.
So, how popular are our kids' names really?
Obviously this will vary a bit based on region and personal experience, but here are a few "milepost" names from 2014, and their popularity equivalents for some previous years (based on percentage, since the birth rate fluctuates, and as we'll find, rankings aren't necessarily indicative ;) )


2014 name & rank
2000 equivalent
1995
1990
1985
1980
1975
1970
Noah (#1)
David (#16)
Alexander (#21)
Kevin (#23)
Steven (#24)
Thomas (#25)
Timothy (#22)
Matthew (#24)
Daniel (#10)
Noah (#27)
Christian (#28)
Adam (#32)
Aaron (#33)
Aaron (#34)
Paul (#29)
Ronald (#29)
Joseph (#20)
Hunter (#35)
Dylan (#34)
Richard (#35)
Sean (#38)
Nathan (#36)
Kenneth (#35)
Patrick (#33)
Aaron (#50)
Luis (#49)
Alex (#47)
Austin (#55)
Shawn (#55)
Edward (#52)
Bradley (#52)
Dennis (#46)
Camden / Tristan (#100)
Spencer (#98)
Isaac (#98)
Jesus (#90)
Luis (#85)
Brent (#84)
Billy (#84)
Jimmy (#86)
Jonas (#500)
Walker (#426)
Felipe (#413)
Keenan (#391)
Kent (#349)
Julius (#352)
Dan (#369)
Jonathon (#354)
Sutton / Garrison (#1001)
Khalid (#783)
Thaddeus (#756)
Uriel (#687)
Wilfredo (#632)
Heriberto (#637)
Kim (#631)
Sonny (#582)








Emma (#1)
Hannah (#2)
Sarah (#5)
Jennifer (#8)
Melissa (#11)
Michelle (#10)
Lisa (#8)
Melissa (#7)
Charlotte (#10)
Anna (#22)
Alyssa (#27)
Laura (#29)
Andrea (#33)
Shannon (#29)
Karen (#27)
Christina (#35)
Aubrey (#20)
Hailey (#35)
Olivia (#39)
Kristen (#42)
Christine (#44)
Christine (#41)
Crystal (#43)
Debra (#47)
Sarah (#50)
Makayla (#67)
Briana (#74)
Brooke (#70)
Meghan (#63)
Lindsay (#71)
Kristin (#74)
Laurie (#88)
Jasmine (#100)
Kelly (#111)
Meghan (#112)
Haley (#108)
Carrie (#96)
Sabrina (#113)
Vanessa (#115)
Annette (#128)
Evie (#501)
Taryn (#448)
Shawna (#425)
Celeste (#398)
Jackie (#388)
Melisa (#405)
Sherrie (#406)
Tabatha (#401)
Kai (#999)
Shaylee (#830)
Magdalena (#772)
Deja (#746)
Peggy (#697)
Sunshine (#703)
Sandi (#702)
Candi (#655)


So here's how it works: in 2014 Emma was given to about an equal percentage of girls as Hannah was in 2000; Sarah was in 1995; Jennifer was in 1990, and so on. You may also notice an interesting phenomenon--while the popular names today are less common than in previous generations, less popular names are actually more common. A name ranked at #1000 in 1980 would have been given to fewer children than the #1000 name today.
And unfortunately, this does not take alternate spellings into account, so a name like Aubrey, which has a few different spellings, probably actually corresponds to a slightly more common name in the past. Likewise, 2014 Sarah is only equivalent to Makayla in 2000--that doesn't include Michaela or Mikayla or Micaela.

If you wish to look up a certain name, the whole spreadsheets are here.
Yeah, I only did every 5 years, 1970-2000, because a) it's a lot of data & I'm lazy, and b) I figured most people on the internet interested in name trends were born between those years. ;)

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Taxonymy.....nymy? (Songbirds)

A while back, I went looking for taxonomic names that can work as (or already are!) people-names, starting with butterflies. Now it's time for songbirds! We already have Robin, LarkWren, & Sparrow; and I bet we can find others. :)
(all are genera, unless specified as common name)

  • Acanthis
  • Alaemon
  • Alauda
  • Alcippe
  • Alethe
  • Allenia
  • Amadina
  • Anthus
  • Arremon
  • Atticora
  • Cardellina
  • Cardinal (common name)
  • Carduelis
  • Certhia
  • Cettia
  • Chrysomma
  • Cinnyris
  • Curaeus
  • Cyornis
  • Dunnock (common name)
  • Elminia
  • Emberiza
  • Eminia
  • Estrilda
  • Euphonia
  • Finch (common name)
  • Galerida
  • Heleia
  • Hylia
  • Hyliota
  • Iduna
  • Iole
  • Irania
  • Jery (common name)
  • Junco 
  • Leonardina
  • Linaria
  • Linnet (common name)
  • Malia
  • Martin (common name)
  • Minla
  • Mino
  • Mirafra
  • Munia
  • Myna (common name)
  • Nesillas
  • Nicator
  • Oenanthe
  • Palila (common name)
  • Palmeria
  • Parus
  • Petronia
  • Pipit (common name)
  • Prinia
  • Prunella
  • Quelea
  • Regulus
  • Remiz
  • Rukia
  • Sialia
  • Sylvia
  • Tanager (common name)
  • Tersina
  • Tesia
  • Tiaris
  • Timalia
  • Verdin (common name)
  • Weaver (common name)
  • Yuhina