I know the list Stephen found is ten years old, but I was still surprised to see relatively old-fashioned names like "Mary" and "Barbara" on the list. (My own, "Mary Elizabeth"comprises two of the top five, and I have a sister named Barbara. Guess my parents weren't very original.) But I can't remember the last time I had a "Mary," except maybe Marybeth - usually condensed into one word. Where are the Jennifers and Kimberlies? I typically have three of the former and two of the latter in just about every class.
I'd kind of go for Ardelia, myself. And there were at least two Darrells on the Bob Newhart show about their inn in Vermont. (Remember, "This is my brother Darrell, and this is my other brother Darrell"?)
Back to work...
Beth Benoit
University of Massachusetts Lowell
HEAR ME>> http://www.pagoo.com/signature/bbenoit3
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From: Stephen Black <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: TIPS <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Name frequency
Date: Sun, Oct 1, 2000, 10:05 PM
Following up my own post about the relative frequencies of the
name Fanny in the US and Britain, I found the web site I was
looking for. I can now answer one-half of this question.
The site is the US Census, 1990 (2000 is now in progress,
it seems) at:
http://www.census.gov/genealogy/names/
and it's a handy source of information on frequencies of first
and last names, whether for amusement or more serious purposes.
Name frequencies and their vissisitudes could well be items
of deep psychological and social significance.
"Fanny" comes in at a frequency of .009% and a rank of 974th out
of 4,275 female names listed. It's not the most popular,
certainly, but it's no slouch as a name, either. Unfortunately,
I can't find an equivalent British site, so the issue regarding
Fanny is unresolved.
For what it's worth, here are the top and bottom five male and
female names on the list. The male list has only 1, 219 names on
it, so there are about 3.5 times as many unique female names as
male names. Both lists were prepared from a sample of 6.3 million
names.
James
John
Robert
Michael
William
.
.
.
Elden
Dorsey
Darell
Broderick
Alonso
Mary
Patricia
Linda
Barbara
Elizabeth
.
.
.
Ardelia
Annelle
Angila
Alona
Allyn
I note the absence of the truly bizarre names favoured by rock
stars such as Moon Unit and Dweezil. This is probably because
even in a sample of 6.3 million names they're unlikely to occur
even once. Also, the census people seem to have done some data
trimming to eliminate the most infrequent from the list. My own
name scores a respectable .540%, or 34th rank. Of course, popular
names are not necessarily the best. Who, for example, would want
to be Mary in a class where everyone has this name? If you were
an Alonso or an Allyn, when you heard your name, at least you
would know the teacher meant you.
Stephen
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Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470
Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661
Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lennoxville, QC
J1M 1Z7
Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy
Check out TIPS listserv for teachers of psychology at:
http://www.frostburg.edu/dept/psyc/southerly/tips/
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