What Say You, Sigbert?
Q.
Fictional Eloises are not here to dot your i’s and cross your t’s. There is young Eloise of the Plaza – ‘I am a nuisance in the lobby. Mr. Salomone said so. He is the Manager.’ Add eleven years and we have Eloise Bridgerton – ‘If I’m forced to escort Eloise,’ brother Colin bemoans, ‘I may have to swim back to London. She’s been a wretch ever since she attained the age of fourteen.’
Perhaps we should not be surprised to learn that ‘Eloise’ has roared back in baby name popularity. What are some popular English baby names of the past that are having a resurgence? And what meanings did people ascribe to those names back in the day?
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A.
According to Spring 2024 research by Nameberry, the most popular Vintage baby names are…
Top 12 Vintage Baby Names. 2024
i. Eloise
ii. Aurelia
iii. Silas
iv. Theodore
v. Clara
vi. Hazel
vii. Eleanor
viii. Oliver
ix. Arthur
x. Oscar
xi. Evelyn
xii. Jasper
🍼
We look to T. Nickle Nichols’ 1859, London-published ‘What’s in a Name’ for some early interpretations. These are based, the secondary title tells us, on ‘Popular Explanations’ of the time.
Now, this is not an un-opinionated book.
What does T. Nickle Nichols think of people who name their children after rich relatives, or just because they like the sound of a name? ‘The former,’ he writes, ‘is – to say the least of it – but a mercenary practice; and the latter may be regarded as a grossly absurd one.’
TNN’s Index of Name Significations includes:
• ‘Cesarean operation, born by’
Scroll to the indicated marginal number, and you’ll find: ‘Caesar – ‘brought into the world by the cesarean operation: otherwise, born with a head of hair’… Sorry, Julius
• ‘Illustrious, and awful’
That’s poor ‘Awdry – ‘She who is illustrious and awful’
• ‘Bastard, not’
Words cannot.. This is ‘Osborn – ‘the child of a house or family – not bastard, not illegitimate’
🤕
Do we dare see what meanings the 19th Century T. Nickle Nichols (and should we question why he doesn’t include his own first name?) attributes to these 12 baby names with renewed, 2024 popularity?
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TNN On Name Signifiers. 1859
i. Eloise
🙃 What?! T, how could you? Well, Nameberry tells us that Eloise means ‘healthy; wide.’ 👀 Meanwhile, our author does have meanings for Ethelreda (‘She who counsels in an excellent or a noble manner’), who should certainly not be confused with Etheldreda (‘She who is noble and awful.’)
ii. Aurelia
‘She who is gold-like – excellent, valuable. As the sun – brilliant, and glorious.’
iii. Silas
🙃 For his better or worse, Silas is not included. We do, however, find Sigismund – ‘He who fights for peace, or obtains peace by victory: otherwise, he who defeats by good words or argument.’
iv. Theodore
‘He who is the gift of God.’
v. Clara
‘She is fair, innocent; or, brilliant, famous.’
vi. Hazel
🙃 Nope. But hats off to Hortensia – ‘A lady-gardener.’
vii. Eleanor
She who is pitiful, compassionate. Deduced from Helena – she who is very fruitful.’
viii. Oliver
‘He who is an emblem of peace; or unfading, long-lived.
ix. Arthur
‘A strong man; a hero; or, he whose strength is as formidable as that of a bear’
x. Oscar
🙃 Sorry, Oscar. You’re not included either. T. leaps straight from not bastard Osborn to Osmond (‘He who is the peace of his household; a domestic peace maker; an adjuster of family broils.’)
xi. Evelyn
🙃 Alas. We do, however, find Eve – ‘She who conceives, or is life-giving. A mother’, and Evagore – ‘She who is well-educated, polite, refined.’
xii. Jasper
‘He who is as the jasper – precious and beautiful.’
🕵🏼♀️
Some low-stakes PI work reveals that T. Nickle Nichols’ first name is Thomas. And how does he translate his own moniker?
Thomas
‘A twin, or the twin; he who is connected or united.’
The plot thickens…
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• Sigbert – ‘An illustrious conqueror, or he who is famous for gaining victories.’
Header Art: Gerard van Spaendonck. Flower Still-life with an Alabaster Vase. 1783
• Gerard – ‘He who is always honoured or respected. Learned, skilful.’
