Namenerds in the Wild

I can always spot another namenerd — even if they’re dead.

It’s not that I have psychic abilities (or do I?) just that I’m always paying attention to the names around me. And if you pay attention, you can tell who cares (or cared) about names.

Last weekend I visited my brother in Jackson, Mississippi, and we went to the Eudora Welty house. I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never read any of Welty’s work, so I was unfamiliar with the character names in her novels and short stories.

When I browsed the museum before our tour, I began to suspect Welty was a fellow namenerd. A single page of Delta Wedding featured names like Battle and Tempe, Dabney and Bluet! Childhood letters of Welty’s showed that she would sign her name “EU-🚪-A”.

My suspicions were confirmed at the end of the house tour, in Welty’s bedroom and office. “Ms. Welty loved names,” our docent said. “Next to her typewriter, she kept a list of unusual names that she overheard. She would put the best ones in her stories!”

🚨 Namenerd alert! 🚨

At this point, I obviously had to know all the names she’s ever used for characters, so I did my research. Here’s a collection of character names from Eudora Welty’s writing, some of which are remarkably ahead of their time.

Eudora Welty Character Names

Battle — Delta Wedding, 1946

Bluet (f) — Delta Wedding, 1946

Clement — The Robber Bridegroom, 1942

Dabney (f) — Delta Wedding, 1946

Easter — “Moon Lake”, 1947

Fay — The Optimist’s Daughter, 1972

Jinny Love — “Moon Lake”, 1947

Laurel — The Optimist’s Daughter, 1972

Leota — “Petrified Man”, 1939

Livvie — “Livvie”, 1943

Loch — “Moon Lake”, 1947

Maideen — “The Whole World Knows”, 1948

Phoenix (f) — “A Worn Path”, 1941

Salome — The Robber Bridegroom, 1942

Sister — “Why I Live at the P.O.”, 1941

Stella-Rondo — “Why I Live at the P.O.”, 1941

Teacake — The Ponder Heart, 1953

Tempe — Delta Wedding, 1946

And if you’re interested in more from Jackson, check out the namespotting I did in the city.

Black History Names

Another must-see in Jackson is the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, which covers the history of enslavement in Mississippi along with state events during the Civil Rights Movement. My visit inspired me to update our list of Black History Names.

Here’s a sample of some recent additions:

Blanche — Blanche as a boy name? Yes! Blanche Bruce was the first African American senator to serve a full term.

Hartman — Hartman Turnbow was a part of Mississippi's "First Fourteen", the first group of African Americans who attempted to register to vote in the state.

Hollis — Mississippian Hollis Watkins is an activist and Civil Rights Movement organizer in the 1960s.

Revels — Hiram Rhodes Revels was a Civil War-era politician and minister, and the first African American to serve in Congress.

Rosebud — Along with her husband Norman, Rosebud Clark was a member of the “First Fourteen”.

And as a reminder, distinctively Black names are not a modern phenomenon.

Island Baby Names

Island names are the trendiest subcategory of place names right now, with choices such as Capri, Rhodes, and Catalina seriously trending (and that’s not to mention Isla itself!)

This week, Brynn wrote about more island names for babies — from the Caribbean Aruba and Cayman to the Hawaiian Kauai and Maui.

More fun things

• Happy Pride! Check out our annual collection of Pride Icon Names 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

• You know Norse and Greek, but how about Baltic and Slavic mythology names? 💫

• Names with more vowels than consonants, by trich323

• The benefits of having a generationally-neutral name 👵🏼

• What are the most cottagecore names on your list? 🍄