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ArchivesThe amazing rarity of Aidan
I usually don't link to my own column on this board, but this was one where I was so shocked by my own findings that I thought it was worth posting it here.
I certainly knew Aidan was rare until recently, but just how rare it was amazed me. Since it does have a historical origin, I assumed there would always have been a few out there since St. Aidan's time. It amazed me that there was not a single Aidan in the entire US census of 1880. So this name went from nonexistent to #1 status in 125 years. I think that's rather incredible.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20110308/LIVING/703089967/-1#cleveland-evans-aidan-s-rise-to-began-in-1988
I certainly knew Aidan was rare until recently, but just how rare it was amazed me. Since it does have a historical origin, I assumed there would always have been a few out there since St. Aidan's time. It amazed me that there was not a single Aidan in the entire US census of 1880. So this name went from nonexistent to #1 status in 125 years. I think that's rather incredible.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20110308/LIVING/703089967/-1#cleveland-evans-aidan-s-rise-to-began-in-1988
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I think that it's probably due to the fact that most Irish names were ignored by Irish people during the 1800s, Aidan included. In those days, Irish people generally used English names. Aidan was not considered English until fairly recently. Only in the 20th century was there a real revival of Irish names.
This message was edited 3/8/2011, 1:38 PM
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Thanks for sharing that. Definitely interesting!
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