Uniquely southern/confederate baby names

[NJGOAT]

Originally Posted by TLHUGHES1962

Some people, that's stating it mildly. I was named Lee after my grandfather as was my daughter and her daughter..Anslee. Almost was named Jeff Davis being i was borned on his birthday but my folks went with bibical and family names.Also had the honor of growing-up on a street by the name of Confederate.

Well, I was even more honored having grown up on Lincoln Avenue.

[CraigCreek]

[quote=Rae1234;42103299]Some of these people. I would love a confederate name for a child with all this flag crap going around. I'm a proud Kentuckian and I'd name my child anything to do with the south!
Girls:
Laura
Catherine
Caroline
Belle
Hazel
Magnolia
Mae
Maebelle
Connie
Jane or Janie


Boy:
Travis
Ben
Rae or Ray
Edward (my great-grandfather)
Raymond (my father)
Richmond
John
James
Alben (great uncle)
Lester (other great-grandfather)[/QUOTE

Nice names, but I do hope you are aware that Kentucky was a border state during the Civil War, and never left the Union. People of both persuasions lived in Kentucky then - often within the same family.

Genealogically speaking, I am about as Southern as you can get (and another "proud Kentuckian"), and I have no problem with naming your daughter "Magnolia" if that is what you like, but I don't understand saddling a child with a name with heavily political overtones.

Naming a child is considerably different than flying a flag (of any kind) on your own flagpole, on your own property.

[ABQConvict]

Originally Posted by Rae1234

Some of these people. I would love a confederate name for a child with all this flag crap going around. I'm a proud Kentuckian and I'd name my child anything to do with the south!
Girls:
Laura
Catherine
Caroline
Belle
Hazel
Magnolia
Mae
Maebelle
Connie
Jane or Janie


Boy:
Travis
Ben
Rae or Ray
Edward (my great-grandfather)
Raymond (my father)
Richmond
John
James
Alben (great uncle)
Lester (other great-grandfather)

Those are all good names.

I bolded ones that I think are just as common (or at the very least not unusual) in the North from my experience. Also, I think Hazel is, or was at one time, a popular name in the Midwest

[CraigCreek]

My four 19th century-born Southern g-grandmothers were all given the first name "Mary": Mary Caroline (Tennessee), Mary Jane (Arkansas), Mary Johnston (Virginia, her mother's maiden name) and Mary Frances (Virginia).

If you want to give your daughter a Southern name, try Mary Virginia, Mary Carolina or Mary Georgia. Georgia Marie sounds better, as does Carolina Marie, however, though these variations are a little "frilly" for my taste. Mary Louisiana could become Mary Lou for short. Mary Mississippi, Mary Maryland, Mary Kentucky and Tennessee Mary just don't work, nor does Arkansas Marie. I have seen Texana used. Sounds better than it looks, but still - unfortunate.

There's always Dixie Lee, who was my father's secretary back in the 1950s, the same time Georgia Lee was a family friend of my parents. Both ladies were likely born in the early 1930s. Dixie Belle was our local dairy...

Clay works for a boy - that sticky red stuff that is ubiquitous throughout much of the Old South, plus Henry Clay, Kentucky's Great Compromiser who delayed the onset of the Civil War by many years with his peace-making, middle-ground-finding skills. Jackson, with various tryndeigh spellings, is extremely popular for boys at present. Jackson, Jaxon, Jaksen...they're found in multiples in every kindergarten.

"Jefferson" would work nicely - "Jeff" for short. Both Clay and Jefferson are political names, but they are not incendiary or weird.

Tests for naming the baby (or a cat or dog, for that matter): Stand at the back door and shout, "First Name Middle Name Last Name, come into the house right this minute!" and see how it resonates. Beware inadvertent initials: Walter Oliver Williams is a nice name; WOW are not great initials. Nor is Patricia Irving Gates a good choice. Beware the impact of nicknames: Benjamin Dover sounds good, until you change Benjamin to Ben and combine it with Dover. Oops. Also don't use Kelly if your last name is Green. If your surname is a noun, choose your child's given names with extreme care. If your surname is difficult to spell or pronounce, use a simple, classic first name. No Esmeralda Iphagenia Kiekhaefers or names that sound more like Cabbage Patch Kid baby dolls than real children.

Consider how the name will serve your child over his or her lifetime. Bambi or Bunny may be cute as can be for your baby girl with those big brown eyes, but Granny Bambi may be a little burned out by it seventy years hence. Check the popularity charts, and avoid the top ten, along with those on the rise in the ten to twenty range. Give your child a formal name legally - you can use the nickname for everyday, but allow the dignity of Margaret instead of Maggie, Thomas instead of Tommy. Before using a random surname as a first or second given name, check your family tree - there are bound to be some attractive names there which actually have a connection to your family and won't confuse later genealogists who may wonder where that random surname originated.

Much to consider - but then, so is having a child, and giving that child a thoughtful, workable name is a gift that will last a lifetime. Saddling a child with an oddball, trendy, peculiar, or politically weighted name does not do that child a favor, and may well lead to significant resentment in the years ahead.

[brownbagg]

my sister name Rosielee "rose e lee" as in robert e lee