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Help[Opinions] Regional names in the US
I’ve heard a lot about Southern (US) names, but not much about what sorts of names are, for example, New England names or Midwestern names, etc.
Do you have any names you consider typical of a certain US region?
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Do you have any names you consider typical of a certain US region?
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There are of course more regional differences in the USA (and probably in most other countries) the further back you go in time. If you go all the way back to colonial times, names like Mindwell and Submit began in Puritan New England. Specifically French forms would be more common in Louisiana. The frequent use of Travis as a given name started in Texas, and regular use of Duane as a given name began in New York, because they honored public figures in those states.
There are fewer regional differences the last 50 years but certain things do turn up. Meredith for girls has been much more common in North Carolina than elsewhere, probably because of Meredith College. Ansley has been especially popular in Georgia. Back in the late 1980s Michaela was particularly common in Nebraska, and I still haven't been able to figure out the reason. (Some people in Omaha tell me it's because an obstetrician here had a daughter named Michaela and suggested the name to his patients, but that doesn't seem to account for all of it to me.) Names connected with the Latterday Saints (Mormon) faith like Ammon, McKay, McKayla, Jarom, etc. are of course especially common in Utah.
There are also some regional avoidances -- Madison is least common in Wisconsin, Trenton least common in New Jersey, and Hudson least common in New York, because the local reputation of those place names is much less positive than the national image of them.
There are fewer regional differences the last 50 years but certain things do turn up. Meredith for girls has been much more common in North Carolina than elsewhere, probably because of Meredith College. Ansley has been especially popular in Georgia. Back in the late 1980s Michaela was particularly common in Nebraska, and I still haven't been able to figure out the reason. (Some people in Omaha tell me it's because an obstetrician here had a daughter named Michaela and suggested the name to his patients, but that doesn't seem to account for all of it to me.) Names connected with the Latterday Saints (Mormon) faith like Ammon, McKay, McKayla, Jarom, etc. are of course especially common in Utah.
There are also some regional avoidances -- Madison is least common in Wisconsin, Trenton least common in New Jersey, and Hudson least common in New York, because the local reputation of those place names is much less positive than the national image of them.
This message was edited 8/31/2022, 7:50 PM
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Interesting, thanks for replying!
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I found a website that has a lot of interesting statistics on names! I mean a lot! It's names.org
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I grew up in Colorado and new several girls named Aspen. Haven’t really heard it much outside that state.
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I'm a little late to the party, I think, but being from the Midwest... the amount of Brandons that I've met throughout my life is ludicrous. And I don't think it's such a common name in other parts of the country.
Meanwhile, when I went to New England for college, I met a ton of young women from the northeast named... Annabelle. Always spelled that way, too. Haven't met any Annabelles since - and the name didn't even chart nationally until 4 years after the youngest were born! Made me think the name was used mainly by east coast families who could afford private university tuition for their daughters, if you catch my drift.
Meanwhile, when I went to New England for college, I met a ton of young women from the northeast named... Annabelle. Always spelled that way, too. Haven't met any Annabelles since - and the name didn't even chart nationally until 4 years after the youngest were born! Made me think the name was used mainly by east coast families who could afford private university tuition for their daughters, if you catch my drift.
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A lot of names that are ubiquitous in the Midwest were also popular elsewhere during the time.
Donna, Lisa, and Debbie (Deborah) are the office ladies in their 60s. Every institution has an efficient handyman/building manager named Steve (probably really Stephen) who is on the brink of retiring.
Among older men (98-60) in my corner of the Midwest, Don (probably short for Donald) seems to have been popular. There are even more men named John and Robert and William, but they're perennials all over. Don is every 10th grandpa it seems. According to statistics, Donald had a run of popularity in the USA, but I'm guessing that half of the men contributing that statistic were born somewhere in the Midwest. Old ladies in nursing homes have in their eucre or hand-and-foot group a Mary, Mary Alice, Helen, or Margaret (Peggy or Margie) and a friend named Dorothy who just passed.
There seem to have been a crop of men born sometime in the 1960s with one syllable names that include but are not limited to Glen, Dale, Lane, and Craig. It is suspected that their parents were hippies. They may have a sister named Dawn.
Women born during the 90s will have at least one friend named Kate, Katherine/Kathryn, Katelyn/Caitlin, Kayla, one named Jessica, and former classmates named Sara(h) and Rachel (Rachael). 90s kids were on a soccer team with a Brice, Brock, or Blake or all three plus a Nathan.
Donna, Lisa, and Debbie (Deborah) are the office ladies in their 60s. Every institution has an efficient handyman/building manager named Steve (probably really Stephen) who is on the brink of retiring.
Among older men (98-60) in my corner of the Midwest, Don (probably short for Donald) seems to have been popular. There are even more men named John and Robert and William, but they're perennials all over. Don is every 10th grandpa it seems. According to statistics, Donald had a run of popularity in the USA, but I'm guessing that half of the men contributing that statistic were born somewhere in the Midwest. Old ladies in nursing homes have in their eucre or hand-and-foot group a Mary, Mary Alice, Helen, or Margaret (Peggy or Margie) and a friend named Dorothy who just passed.
There seem to have been a crop of men born sometime in the 1960s with one syllable names that include but are not limited to Glen, Dale, Lane, and Craig. It is suspected that their parents were hippies. They may have a sister named Dawn.
Women born during the 90s will have at least one friend named Kate, Katherine/Kathryn, Katelyn/Caitlin, Kayla, one named Jessica, and former classmates named Sara(h) and Rachel (Rachael). 90s kids were on a soccer team with a Brice, Brock, or Blake or all three plus a Nathan.
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"There seem to have been a crop of men born sometime in the 1960s with one syllable names that include but are not limited to Glen, Dale, Lane, and Craig. It is suspected that their parents were hippies. They may have a sister named Dawn."
Nobody back in the 1960s thought of these as "nature names" so they definitely weren't give by parents who were "hippies." The stereotype of "hippy names" is always things like Rainbow and Sunshine, but these were actually rare. Glen (or Glenn), Dale, Lane, and Craig are surname transfer names which were already well-used back in the late 19th century -- especially Glenn. Dawn also began to be used in the late 19th century. The bestselling early 20th century novelist Edna Ferber's first novel, published in 1911, was titled "Dawn O'Hara, The Girl Who Laughed". :)
Nobody back in the 1960s thought of these as "nature names" so they definitely weren't give by parents who were "hippies." The stereotype of "hippy names" is always things like Rainbow and Sunshine, but these were actually rare. Glen (or Glenn), Dale, Lane, and Craig are surname transfer names which were already well-used back in the late 19th century -- especially Glenn. Dawn also began to be used in the late 19th century. The bestselling early 20th century novelist Edna Ferber's first novel, published in 1911, was titled "Dawn O'Hara, The Girl Who Laughed". :)
This message was edited 9/1/2022, 2:43 PM
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I'm sure there are names that I could associate with US regions according to their culture (particularly Texas, Pacific NW, or Minnesota for me, and maybe Maine, if I avoid SE) but not many come to mind automatically.
Kari would be an example of a Minnesota type name. Partly because I did see it there a lot in a way that seemed disproportionate; it also makes sense culturally.
Eta: And Maple reminds me of New England, whether it's used there or not.
Kari would be an example of a Minnesota type name. Partly because I did see it there a lot in a way that seemed disproportionate; it also makes sense culturally.
Eta: And Maple reminds me of New England, whether it's used there or not.
This message was edited 9/1/2022, 6:37 PM
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at the risk of seeming very obvious ...
And I'm sure you already know about this but I'll point it out just in case:
The Social Security Administration has top 100 name lists for each state beginning in 1960. Those earlier pre-internet lists might give you an idea of how names vary in popularity according to region/state. A lot of French male names not only in Louisiana, as CKE mentioned, but in places like Vermont and Maine, where there is a sizable French-Canadian population.
Here in Delaware, among old men, there seems to be a disproportionate number of Laytons. To old to be on the SSA's lists, anyway. Oftentimes it's actually a cliche used in funny "How to know if you're a Delawarian" type books/websites. No idea why Layton was so popular.
For the ladies, the cliche name is Margaret Ann, pronounced slurred together like Margurdann. A friend of mine actually has three great-aunts on different sides of his family named that. One went by the full name, one by Marg, and one by Martannie. Oh wait, there was actually a fourth one, but she was always called Tootsie.
Of course Margaret Ann is probably as common as dirt all over the country, but it seems especially so around here. In Oklahoma, where I grew up, the closest thing was Norma Jean.
And I'm sure you already know about this but I'll point it out just in case:
The Social Security Administration has top 100 name lists for each state beginning in 1960. Those earlier pre-internet lists might give you an idea of how names vary in popularity according to region/state. A lot of French male names not only in Louisiana, as CKE mentioned, but in places like Vermont and Maine, where there is a sizable French-Canadian population.
Here in Delaware, among old men, there seems to be a disproportionate number of Laytons. To old to be on the SSA's lists, anyway. Oftentimes it's actually a cliche used in funny "How to know if you're a Delawarian" type books/websites. No idea why Layton was so popular.
For the ladies, the cliche name is Margaret Ann, pronounced slurred together like Margurdann. A friend of mine actually has three great-aunts on different sides of his family named that. One went by the full name, one by Marg, and one by Martannie. Oh wait, there was actually a fourth one, but she was always called Tootsie.
Of course Margaret Ann is probably as common as dirt all over the country, but it seems especially so around here. In Oklahoma, where I grew up, the closest thing was Norma Jean.
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I was really just looking for anecdotal evidence, because I think this could create an interesting conversation. I'm looking more for conceptions of names not actual raw data. Like people always say Annabelle sounds like a southern name, but it's not especially popular in the south. Same for Susannah. I do know how to use the SSA site though, thanks.
This message was edited 9/1/2022, 9:52 AM
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Annabelle doesn't sound Southern to me, though maybe it's the belle that does for others? It sounds old English children's book more than anything else to me.
Susannah does sound Southern, probably because of the song O Susannah. But it also sounds Puritan-era New England.
Susannah does sound Southern, probably because of the song O Susannah. But it also sounds Puritan-era New England.
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