CLICK HERE FOR BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND MYSPACE LAYOUTS »

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Names and Authenticity in Historical Fiction (1960s)


This is part 2 of the Names and Authenticity in Historical Fiction, meant to be helpful posts to see if a name chosen for a novel is particularly apt or jarring for fiction set in the 1960s. The 1940s can be found here.

UK:
Popular: Susan, Julie, Karen, Jacqueline, Deborah, Tracey, Jane, Helen, Diane, Sharon, Tracy, Angela, Sarah Alison, Caroline
Emerging: Sarah, Joanne, Nicola, Michelle, Donna, Louise, Andrea, Suzanne, Lisa, Claire, Melanie, Clare, Rachel, Rebecca
Dated: Sylvia, Pamela, Joyce, Jean, Eileen, Doreen, Brenda, Dorothy, Linda, Elizabeth, Carol, Janet, Christine, Anne, Patricia, Mary, Margaret, Ann, Barbara, Kathleen, Valerie, Maureen, Joan
USA:
Popular: Lisa, Mary, Susan, Karen, Kimberly, Patricia, Linda, Donna, Michelle, Cynthia, Sandra, Deborah, Tammy, Pamela, Lori
Emerging: Jessica, Jennifer, Ashley, Amanda, Sarah, Nicole, Tiffany, Amber, Megan, Rachel, Danielle
Dated: Betty, Shirley, Dorothy, Joan, Helen, Doris, Ruth, Virginia, Marilyn, Jean, Frances, Lois, Alice, Dolores, Phyllis, Norma
France:
Popular: Sylvie, Catherine, Christine, Isabelle, Véronique, Patricia, Corinne, Nathalie, Martine, Brigitte, Laurence, Florence, Pascale, Chantal, Dominique
Emerging: Christelle, Karine, Stéphanie, Sophie, Céline, Sandrine, Virginie, Séverine, Delphine, Carole, Patricia
Dated: Françoise, Monique, Nicole, Christiane, Anne-Marie, Danielle, Jacqueline, Jeannine, Yvette, Simone
Australia (Victoria):
Popular: Susan, Jennifer, Karen, Michelle, Julie, Lisa, Sharon, Leanne, Maria, Helen, Debra, Elizabeth, Joanne, Christine, Catherine, Wendy
Emerging: Nicole, Melissa, Kylie, Rebecca, Sarah, Belinda, Samantha, Natalie, Jodie, Emma, Melanie
Dated: Margaret, Judith, Lynette, Barbara, Pamela, Lorraine, Beverley, Janice, Joan, Heather, Maureen
Norway:
Popular (peaking): Anita, Ann, Anne, Elisabeth, Ellen, Grete, Grethe, Hanne, Heidi, Hilde, Irene, Kristin, Marianne, Mona, Monica, Nina, Tone
Emerging (growing): Camilla, Elin, Eline, Hege, Kristine, Lene, Linda, Line, Lisa, Mari, Marian, Marte, Stine
Dated (declining): Agnes, Anna, Astrid, Aud, Bente, Berit, Eli, Eva, Inger, Ingrid, Jorunn, Kari, Karin, Kirsten, Liv, Marit, May, Mette, Randi, Sissel, Tove, Unni, Wenche

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Names and Authenticity in Historical Fiction (1940s)


I'm sure if anyone reads historical fiction, they will know this point of contention. A female main character born in the 1940s named Addison or a group of friends born in the 1980s called Beryl, Clara, Daphne and Doris. All names that were known in the 1980s, but the probability that there would be no Sarah, Rebecca, Laura or Gemma in sight is highly unlikely, considering they were 4 of the most popular names in 1984 in UK.
Thus I present, the 1940s (yes, hopefully the first in a series). What was emerging and would become very popular in the next few decades (and was known in that period, not names that gain sudden popularity such as Addison), what was popular (the top 10/15/20), and what was dated and gone (past popular names, now sliding down the popularity charts). Data is from where it is available. Norway, USA and Victoria, Australia are online. UK is from 'First Names' by E. Merry and my own stats for 1900s to work out dated names, and France is from 'La cote des prénoms en 2007' by J. Besnard.
UK:
Popular: Margaret, Patricia, Christine, Mary, Jean, Ann, Susan, Janet, Maureen, Barbara, Valerie, Carol, Sandra, Pauline, Elizabeth
Emerging: Diane, Angela, Catherine, Yvonne, Helen, Elaine, Jane, Lesley, Maria, Lynda, Denise, Marian, Teresa, Sally, Sarah, Julie, Caroline, Lorraine, Lynn
Dated: Mary, Elizabeth, Dorothy, Frances, Marjorie, Evelyn, Emily, Vera, Alice, Lillian, Phyllis, Doris, Florence, Ellen, Annie, Edith, Elsie, Gladys, Hilda, Ivy, Lily, Winifred
France:
Popular: Monique, Nicole, Danielle, Michèle, Jacqueline, Françoise, Jeannine, Christiane, Marie-Thérèse, Josette, Annie, Chantal, Anne-Marie, Martine, Arlette, Claude, Claudine, Éliane
Emerging: Martine, Dominique, Brigitte, Catherine, Sylvie, Patricia, Annick, Béatrice, Élisabeth, Fabrice, Florence, Ghislaine, Isabelle, Myriam, Nadine, Pascale, Sabine
Dated: Marie, Jeanne, Marguerite, Marie-Louise, Germaine, Yvonne, Madeleine, Louise, Suzanne, Marcelle, Alexandre, Alice, Camille, Joséphine, Juliette, Lucie
USA :
Popular : Mary, Linda, Barbara, Patricia, Carol, Sandra, Nancy, Sharon, Judith, Susan, Betty Carolyn, Margaret, Shirley, Judy, Karen
Emerging: Michelle, Cynthia, Deborah, Pamela, Laura, Julie, Jennifer, Angela, Debra, Teresa, Christine, Denise
Dated: Anna, Florence, Mildred, Ethel, Lillian, Gladys, Edna, Emma, Bertha, Minnie, Bessie, Grace, Mabel, Ida, Gertrude
Australia (Victoria):
Popular : Margaret, Judith, Helen, Patricia, Lynette, Barbara, Pamela, Lorraine, Beverley, Jennifer, Sandra, Elizabeth, Janice, Mary, Joan, Heather
Emerging: Robyn, Christine, Cheryl, Dianne, Karen, Vicki, Kerry, Debra
Dated: Dorothy, Valerie, Betty, June, Joyce, Jean, Lorna, Norma, Valda, Thelma, Audrey
Norway:
Popular (in this case, not necessarily the most popular names, but the names that peaked in the 1940s): Gerd, Grete, Inger, Jorunn, Kari, Karin, Kirsten, Marit, Randi, Reidun, Turid, Unni
Emerging: Anita, Ann, Anne, Aud, Berit, Eli, Elin, Elisabeth, Eva, Hilde, Marianne, May, Mette, Mona, Sissel, Tone, Tove, Wenche
Dated: Agnes, Alma, Aslaug, Borghild, Ella, Gudrun, Gunvor, Helga, Inga, Ingeborg, Ingrid, Johanne, Karen, Karoline, Klara, Kristine, Maren, Margit, Marie, Martha, Mary, Mathilde, Olga, Ragnhild, Ruth, Signe, Sigrid, Sofie, Solveig