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Archivespopular names 1880-1920
I've been looking at the SSA's top names for the 1880s-1920s... I've come across some strange -er names for girls, such as
Eller/Ellar
Ader
Anner
Dellar
Emmer
Etter
Eular
Ever
Leaner
Vader (!)
etc.
These names follow exactly the names Ella, Ada, Anna, Della, Emma, Etta, Eula, Eva, Leana, Vada etc. in popularity. All are dispersed over several years.
Are they some kind of vernacular spelling of the -a names, or are they just "copycat" names (much like Lacy and Macy followed the popularity of Tracy and Stacy etc.)?
I ask because -er names in general seem pretty rare for girls (only Amber, which follows the nature name trend and Esther, which is biblical seem to show up with any regularity).
If they are dialectical spellings, what about Ether? There is a name Etha that was popular around the same time, but it wasn't terribly common-- were there really girls named Ether? How about Lear/Leah?
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Eller/Ellar
Ader
Anner
Dellar
Emmer
Etter
Eular
Ever
Leaner
Vader (!)
etc.
These names follow exactly the names Ella, Ada, Anna, Della, Emma, Etta, Eula, Eva, Leana, Vada etc. in popularity. All are dispersed over several years.
Are they some kind of vernacular spelling of the -a names, or are they just "copycat" names (much like Lacy and Macy followed the popularity of Tracy and Stacy etc.)?
I ask because -er names in general seem pretty rare for girls (only Amber, which follows the nature name trend and Esther, which is biblical seem to show up with any regularity).
If they are dialectical spellings, what about Ether? There is a name Etha that was popular around the same time, but it wasn't terribly common-- were there really girls named Ether? How about Lear/Leah?
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1
Replies
-er and -a are virtually identical in most parts of England, too. Those sorts of phonetic spellings happen in England even now, and I'm pretty sure they're not deliberate. Quite recently I saw a girl in the paper listed as 'Natasher'.
I just searched Victorian birth records for England & Wales and found several 'Lear's with female middle names. Also, several Ethers, and a couple of 'Etherline's and 'Etherlinder's, which suggests an etymology.
I just searched Victorian birth records for England & Wales and found several 'Lear's with female middle names. Also, several Ethers, and a couple of 'Etherline's and 'Etherlinder's, which suggests an etymology.
1
I've seen these spellings as well, and they are almost certainly dialectal variants / misspellings. Remember that in many dialects to this day, words ending with the "er" sound are pronounced as though they end with "a." (For example, in Australia Taylor and Tayla are indistinguishable). And in a few dialects, words ending in "a" can sound like they end with "er" (in New England you might hear "idea" said as "idear.")
Add up all the confusion and it's easy to see why some possibly less educated parents of the time would write these names with an "-er" ending.
In regards to Leah/Lear and Etha/Ether, I think they are certainly possibly, but I gave a cursory look at the SSA data and didn't see either. I think Ether is unlikely because Etha itself was such an unusual name (only 9 occurrences in 1880). For Leah, the fact that it is a biblical name and would have been familiar to many people in that precise spelling (with the -ah ending that makes it clear there is no R there!), would make it less liable to variation.
Add up all the confusion and it's easy to see why some possibly less educated parents of the time would write these names with an "-er" ending.
In regards to Leah/Lear and Etha/Ether, I think they are certainly possibly, but I gave a cursory look at the SSA data and didn't see either. I think Ether is unlikely because Etha itself was such an unusual name (only 9 occurrences in 1880). For Leah, the fact that it is a biblical name and would have been familiar to many people in that precise spelling (with the -ah ending that makes it clear there is no R there!), would make it less liable to variation.
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