Posted on 02/03/2011 12:49:03 PM PST by Alex Murphy
Washington D.C., Feb 3, 2011 / 03:04 am (CNA).- A new analysis shows that although Biblical and saint names are still popular among parents, the use of Mark and Mary as baby names has sharply declined over the decades.
Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) tracked the popularity of baby names in America from 1910 to 2009 with data from the Social Security Administration website.
A Jan. 20 post on the center's research blog showed that from 1910 to 1965, Mary was either the top or second most popular name for girls in the U.S.
In 2009, however, the name Mary dropped out of the top 100 for the first time and is currently listed as number 102. The name Joseph has remained consistently popular, however, coming in at number 16, it's lowest rating since since 1910.
Similar to Mary, the name Mark has decreased in use over the years. A top 10 name from 1955 to 1970, Mark fell below the top 100 in 2003 and is now listed as number 154.
CARA researchers have previously documented how Mass attendance increases the likelihood of parents choosing Catholic names for their children.
In their 2004 study Don't Call Me Ishmael, featured in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, researchers Paul Perl and Jon Wiggins stated that worship attendance does increase Catholics' likelihood of choosing specific names that are disproportionately common within their tradition.
This suggests that committed Catholics perceive certain names as 'Catholic' and represents one instance in which names do retain religious connotations for believers, they added.
The importance of parents choosing Christian names for their children was recently addressed by Pope Benedict at a Mass at the Sistine Chapel on Jan. 9, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
During his homily, he underscored that every baptized child acquires the character of the son of God, beginning with their Christian name, an unmistakable sign that the Holy Spirit causes man to be born anew in the womb of the Church.
A name, he explained, is an indelible seal that set children off on a lifelong journey of religious faith.
The worst of the worst are “Destiny,” “Trinity” and “Chastity.” Mostly found in the white trash ghettos, born to chain smoking tattooed 18 year old tramps.
Bob (Robert) has gone from 4 in 1958 to 49 in 2008. Another example of the secularization of America...just not as many folks named after Saint Bob as there used to be.
The Top 5 male names in 2008? Jacob, Michael, Ethan, Joshua and Daniel. Not a good biblical name in the bunch...
Pop cultural, to some degree. Gertrude Stein, Maude (Bea Arthur as a nasty liberal) and Irene (Ryan, Granny of Beverly Hillbillies fame.)
I had an aunt who was born in 1910, and her first & middle names were Eunice Estelle. By the time she was old, she was able to laugh about it...
stayathomemom, one of my great-grandmothers was a Mary Lenore.
All got biblical names. Hers is the only New Testament name in the bunch.
Cute. All five of my kids have simple, Biblical names. Two are named Mary and Joseph. And yes, I’m serious.
I actually know a woman named Candy Cain.
My husband says she didn't mind. Besides, I had decided I wanted to use the name Lenore for a daughter was I was a young girl. However, my oldest daughter has my mother's name for a first name, so we used the derivation of my MIL's name twice! At which point, my mother said, "I think you should take credit for something." So my younger daughter has two middle names, the first is a derivation of my middle name and the second is Lenore.
Certain names just get tagged as “old” for some reason, and once it starts, it snowballs downward.
“Mary” is clearly beginning that slide - it’s not to Gertrude or Thelma levels, yet, though.
“Mary” is too simple and pleasant-sounding a name to ever fall as far out of fashion as Gertrude or Thelma. My daughter Mary (b. 2002) has several classmates at her Catholic school with the same name or a variation (Marion, Maryanne).
My Mom’s first name was Irene; my wife’s middle name is Irene, too! So it was natural to use Irene for our first daughter — Michelle Irene. My sister got “Lenore” for a middle name. But we couldn’t find a way to use “Gertrude” — it just doesn’t roll off the tongue nicely.
Yet one more indelible seal ...personally I think the only seal that matters is the seal of the Holy Spirit when I was saved
Some older names make a comeback, like Hannah and Abigail. I didn’t know any girls with those names when I was in high school (91-95). Now they are in the top 10.
What the article doesn’t mention is variations of Mary - Marissa, Moira, Marie, Mariah, Maria, Marianne, or Maureen. Some of those are still quite popular.
Funny that Maud sounds old but Mod sounds futuristic, yet they sound the same. Names sometimes return. Lots of people now use Grace, Olive, Violet - names that would not have been used 20 years ago.
Molly is also a celtic variation on Mary.
Some of the names I see in the paper lately look like their parents just tipped over a scrabble board and picked up the first four or five tiles and tried to put them into some kind of order.
Elizabeth and Christine here.....good, classic names.
I have one of those, too. ;)
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