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ArchivesRe: Lon & Lonnie.
in reply to a message by Jörmungandr
Yes, Lonnie could have been a nickname for Lawrence.
However, for a Caucasian male born in Texas around 1943, the most likely idea would be that he was simply named Lonnie on his birth certificate. Lonnie has been very well used as an independent name in the United States since the middle of the 19th century. It is on the SSA top 1000 list for every year between 1880 and 2002. I myself have known more than one Lonnie where that was the official name.
And also, Alonzo really was not an "exotic" name for non-Hispanic Causcasians in the USA. Both Alonzo and Lorenzo were "naturalized" as regularly used given names in the United States way back around 1800. Some people think that certain characters in Shakespeare were the inspiration for this. But there have been plenty of non-Hispanic Caucasian men named Alonzo during the last 200 years in the USA. "Alonzo Bannon" would have been completely normal for a Caucasian Texas boy.
Some real-life examples:
Alonzo G. Decker, Jr., founder of the Black & Decker corporation:
http://webapps.jhu.edu/namedprofessorships/professorshipdetail.cfm?professorshipID=85
Alonzo Church, mathematician whose work is part of the foundation of computer science:
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Church.html
Alonzo Erastus Horton, early leader of San Diego, California:
http://www.sandiegohistory.org/bio/horton/horton.htm
Alonzo W. Slayback, Confederate soldier:
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/slayback.htm
Since the start of the 20th century, Alonzo has probably been considerably more popular in the African-American community than among non-Hispanic Causcasians. But it is still traditional in some non-Hispanic Caucasian families today, and is not considered a very "exotic" name at all by many Americans. :)
However, for a Caucasian male born in Texas around 1943, the most likely idea would be that he was simply named Lonnie on his birth certificate. Lonnie has been very well used as an independent name in the United States since the middle of the 19th century. It is on the SSA top 1000 list for every year between 1880 and 2002. I myself have known more than one Lonnie where that was the official name.
And also, Alonzo really was not an "exotic" name for non-Hispanic Causcasians in the USA. Both Alonzo and Lorenzo were "naturalized" as regularly used given names in the United States way back around 1800. Some people think that certain characters in Shakespeare were the inspiration for this. But there have been plenty of non-Hispanic Caucasian men named Alonzo during the last 200 years in the USA. "Alonzo Bannon" would have been completely normal for a Caucasian Texas boy.
Some real-life examples:
Alonzo G. Decker, Jr., founder of the Black & Decker corporation:
http://webapps.jhu.edu/namedprofessorships/professorshipdetail.cfm?professorshipID=85
Alonzo Church, mathematician whose work is part of the foundation of computer science:
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Church.html
Alonzo Erastus Horton, early leader of San Diego, California:
http://www.sandiegohistory.org/bio/horton/horton.htm
Alonzo W. Slayback, Confederate soldier:
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/slayback.htm
Since the start of the 20th century, Alonzo has probably been considerably more popular in the African-American community than among non-Hispanic Causcasians. But it is still traditional in some non-Hispanic Caucasian families today, and is not considered a very "exotic" name at all by many Americans. :)
This message was edited 5/1/2008, 7:46 PM
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Replies
Thank you for your elaborate post. :-)
Well, I suppose that since America is a melting pot, such names were not considered "exotic" even back then. It would've been in my country, though: there was a fixed, traditional naming pattern at the time and there was little creativity. So, I thought that it also might have been the case with America in that day and age - but I see now that it is not so. :)
By the way, when it comes to non-Hispanic names, maybe Lonnie is a nickname for Loren (I just thought of it). That name is closer to Lonnie than Laurence or Lawrence, and I believe it was used more often in the southern states like Texas than, say, Massachusetts. Yes, makes more sense to me. :)
Anyway, thank you for your input. :)
Well, I suppose that since America is a melting pot, such names were not considered "exotic" even back then. It would've been in my country, though: there was a fixed, traditional naming pattern at the time and there was little creativity. So, I thought that it also might have been the case with America in that day and age - but I see now that it is not so. :)
By the way, when it comes to non-Hispanic names, maybe Lonnie is a nickname for Loren (I just thought of it). That name is closer to Lonnie than Laurence or Lawrence, and I believe it was used more often in the southern states like Texas than, say, Massachusetts. Yes, makes more sense to me. :)
Anyway, thank you for your input. :)
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