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ArchivesRe: Alternate origin for Darlene
in reply to a message by Shaymin
So this is what I have found thus far. I don't pay much mind to the U.S. records of people who immigrated because I don't know if that is the person's birth name.
It may be a creation out of Darling, but it seems to have an older use than the 20th century.
But what is Hungarian Darlene's origin?
British Records (all female)
Derlen (1551)
Direlyne (1588)
Dearling (1624)
Doroline (1629)
Darlin (1680)
Darling (1680)
Dearlin (1798)
Durlin (1788)
US Records (all female)
Darline (1769)
Darling (1733 (it appears a middle name) 1780 appears as a first name numerous times)
Darlin (1788)
Darlene (1791, 1799, 1804)
Daralin (1800)
Derlina (1809)
Doraline (1809)
Dorlin (1782 & 1799)
Durlin (1808)
1 male Darling from 1747
Canadian Record
Derlina (1794)
Hungary
Darielem (1738, 1749)
Darlene (1752 and 1789)
Dérlen (1788)
Darling (1795)
Denmark
Tarline (1755)
France
Darlhine (1748)
Immigrants to the U.S.
Darlin (b. in Ireland 1809, census date 1870)
Darlene (date of immigration 1848, from Linfu (don't know where that is) dob 1809)
Darlene (b. in 1809 in Bavaria, census date 1870)
It may be a creation out of Darling, but it seems to have an older use than the 20th century.
But what is Hungarian Darlene's origin?
British Records (all female)
Derlen (1551)
Direlyne (1588)
Dearling (1624)
Doroline (1629)
Darlin (1680)
Darling (1680)
Dearlin (1798)
Durlin (1788)
US Records (all female)
Darline (1769)
Darling (1733 (it appears a middle name) 1780 appears as a first name numerous times)
Darlin (1788)
Darlene (1791, 1799, 1804)
Daralin (1800)
Derlina (1809)
Doraline (1809)
Dorlin (1782 & 1799)
Durlin (1808)
1 male Darling from 1747
Canadian Record
Derlina (1794)
Hungary
Darielem (1738, 1749)
Darlene (1752 and 1789)
Dérlen (1788)
Darling (1795)
Denmark
Tarline (1755)
France
Darlhine (1748)
Immigrants to the U.S.
Darlin (b. in Ireland 1809, census date 1870)
Darlene (date of immigration 1848, from Linfu (don't know where that is) dob 1809)
Darlene (b. in 1809 in Bavaria, census date 1870)
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Replies
What are the 1791, 1799, and 1804 records from the USA where you think you have found "Darlene"?
In the census records available on ancestry.com, there are several supposed early instances of "Darlene" in the index that turn out to be something else when I examine the handwriting in the original records. The earliest sure instance of Darlene in the census seems to be Darlene Stevens of Bureau County, Illinois. Even she is somewhat problematical -- she is "Darlene" in the 1880 census, "Darleen" in the 1870 census, but "Caroline" in the 1860 census when she's two years old.
Handwriting in old records is often hard to interpret and I'm afraid people often assimilate what they see to names they are familiar with instead of what the name really was. Two of the oldest instances of Darlene in the index of the US census turned out to be African-American women listed as "Darkus" when I examined the original records, which comes from the census taker writing down phonetically the pronunciation of Dorcas that he heard.
In the census records available on ancestry.com, there are several supposed early instances of "Darlene" in the index that turn out to be something else when I examine the handwriting in the original records. The earliest sure instance of Darlene in the census seems to be Darlene Stevens of Bureau County, Illinois. Even she is somewhat problematical -- she is "Darlene" in the 1880 census, "Darleen" in the 1870 census, but "Caroline" in the 1860 census when she's two years old.
Handwriting in old records is often hard to interpret and I'm afraid people often assimilate what they see to names they are familiar with instead of what the name really was. Two of the oldest instances of Darlene in the index of the US census turned out to be African-American women listed as "Darkus" when I examined the original records, which comes from the census taker writing down phonetically the pronunciation of Dorcas that he heard.
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dér in Hungarian means "hoarfrost" and len means "flax." Not sure if that was the original intention though.
1
A quick search brings up "dara" meaning "semolina" in Hungarian.
I'm wondering if perhaps we're dealing with an elaboration or a name involving a "Dara-" stem, or a combination of Daria and the "lena" ending (Daralena or Darialena). This is of course assuming that the Hungarian Darlene is recorded accurately and is not a corruption of another name.
I'm wondering if perhaps we're dealing with an elaboration or a name involving a "Dara-" stem, or a combination of Daria and the "lena" ending (Daralena or Darialena). This is of course assuming that the Hungarian Darlene is recorded accurately and is not a corruption of another name.
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