More on names . . . Who were the women of your grandmother's generation?

[BamaTanya]

My grandmothers were Ethel and Arcenia. Their sisters and s-i-l's were Ida, Mabel, Bessie, Alice (I like that one!), Bobbie, Grace, Lora, Vera, Effie, Rubenia, Mildred . . . One generation before were Victoria and Emma. Seriously. Aren't those among the very most popular now? And dh's grandmothers were Anne and Suzanne. Aren't those lovely?

I didn't name any children after any of them, but there ARE some pretty ones in the bunch. Most people in our family have unique, individual, not-named-after-anyone-else names -- so we didn't really consider them. But I wouldn't be disappointed if my children decided to shake names out of the family tree for their children someday!

[Melissa in Australia]

my grandmother is Gweneth, her mother was Aida. All of my children are named after relatives, except my daughter, she has her MIL's name as a middle name, Jutta just didn't appeal to me as a first name.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Both my Gma's names were Patricia.

[Sandra314]

My maternal grandmother's name was Sarah. My Paternal grandmother's name was Maria.

My mom is 72 and her name is Olga.

 

My great Aunts were Lucille, Angelina, and Josephine.

 

My great grandmother was full blooded Apache and I can't recall her name. It is difficult to pronounce. My Dad is half Apache and half British. I wish I knew more about the women in our family.

[Stacia]

Bessie and Syble.

 

Their sisters: Lona Belle, Pauline, Edna, Georgia (called Joy), and Dorothy (called Dot).

 

My grandfathers' sisters: Stacia (hence my name, lol -- not so much after her, but because my mom thought it was a pretty name), Rachael, Ruth, Louise, and Alice

 

In one of the families, using state names or colors was popular. Some of the kids were named Brown and Blue. My grandmother & her sisters all had a state as part of their name (usually the middle name); my grandmother's middle name was Missouri.

[LizzyBee]

My mom is 76, so she fits in the grandmother generation for a lot of people here. Her name is Myrtle Marie, and her sisters are Lenora, Bessie, Ethelene, Marjorie.

 

My dad would be 89 this month if he were living. His sisters were Virginia Elizabeth (who I am named after), Alfreda Mae, Savilla, and Anna.

 

My maternal grandmother was Nora Catherine. Her sister was Ethel.

 

My paternal grandmother was Maria Mathilda. I'm not sure how many sisters she had, but one of them was named Effie.

 

One of my great-grandmothers was Margaret Victoria and she went by Maggie. She died when I was about 12, so I still remember her well. My youngest dd's middle name is Margaret, because my great grandmother was one of the very few people in my mother's life who made her feel loved.

[Guest Katia]

My grandmother's generation were Myrtle, Mary, Caroline and Pansy.

 

My mother's generation were Wanda, Marie, Esther, Helen, Vera, Amanda, Gladys, Eva, Ermaline, Twila, and Irene.

 

Aren't names fun!

[happygrrl]

Growing up in rural Texas (farmland) I knew some lovely names... Arvona, Dicey, Zilpha, Effie, Waldeen...

On my father's side double names were (and still are!) the thing. People here in Oregon don't believe me when I start rattling them off: Emma Lee, Jo Etta, Dana Jo, Jamie Jo, Ruthie Pearl.. and that's just the ladies.

[nmoira]

Lois, Ida, Pearl, Margaret, Ethel, Katherine

[Jean in Newcastle]

grandmother's generation: Beulah, Alice, Flossie, Isabel

 

mother's generation: Miriam, Esther, Adelaide, Mary

 

My dd is named after my mother. But she uses her middle name for every day. (We planned it that way.)

[Mrs Mungo]

Winifred Ethzelda. Annetta. Tempa. Elu. Hazel.

 

The men's names were even stranger. Clarence, Oscar, Waldo, Rudoph, Evert, Eilert.

 

I actually LIKE the name Clarence, but I just...couldn't...do it.

 

Heh...my dad is Clarence. His middle name is even worse...and he was the third.

[elbac]

Audrey and Grace.

 

It never occurred to me before I had the kids to really carry on any family names, since it's not been a tradition in the family.

[Teddi]

My grandmothers were Lizzie and Alice. Yuk!

[nancypants]

Margaret, Ione, Gladys, Ruth, Lois, Martha, Elsie, Eleanor

[Lorna in the boonies]

My grandmothers were Roberta and Louise.

 

My great-grandmothers were Ollie, Dollie (I'm not kidding! Ollie's son married Dollie's daughter), Stella, and Lillian.

[Kay in Cal]

My grandmothers, both still living, are Marge and Mildred, the three great grandmothers I know offhand were Bertha (who was called Maimi), Margaret and Dorothy.

 

My dh's grandmothers were named Inez and Dorothy.

 

Play with this to see how common your name is/was and when:

http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager#prefix=&ms=false&sw=m&exact=false

[Rich with Kids]

My grandmothers names are Hilda and Alice. What's funny is my Nanny Hilda's sisters all went by nicknames and I don't know their real names!?! I know her sisters as Pud and Mink. My aunt Patricia goes by Noonie. On the other side, I have Selma, Phyllis and Ana Sophia. All very Swedish.

[fivetails]

Growing up in rural Texas (farmland) I knew some lovely names... Arvona, Dicey, Zilpha, Effie, Waldeen...

 

There's a lady - probably about late thirties - working at a store here with "Effie" on her nametag and I'd always assumed it was a nickname or short for something...until i asked and was told nope....I've never EVER heard it - but it's cute! :)

[fivetails]

Maternal grandmother = Teresa

Maternal grandfather = Norman

Maternal stepgrandmother = Helen

 

Paternal grandmother = Arlene

Paternal grandfather = not sure (I think it was Stanley)

 

Stepmaternal grandmother (um, proper designation for my stepmother's mother?? LOL ) = Emma

Stepmaternal grandfather = not sure

[Julie Herbster]

My grandmothers: Olive Lois and Sarah Hazel

 

Their sisters and peers: Florence, Esther, Rebecca, Glenna

 

Great grandmothers and peers: Pearl, Lois, Mabel, Ada

 

Mom and peers: Gladys, Genette, Linda Joy, Debbie, Brenda, Sandy

[tonya in sc]

Ethel and Loretto. Loretto had sisters named Margaret and Ruth. I actually named my 1st dd after Loretto, but used her middle name, Cecelia. My dh's gmas were from Cuba. Their names were Juanita and Eugenia, stepgma was Olga. Someone way back on his side was named Cipriana. I think that's a beautiful name, but have been told it's considered very "country" there. Interesting thread.

[Plaid Dad]

Wow, my family has really dull names! My grandmothers were Jane and Mary.

[elegantlion]

Grandmothers: Oleva, Mildred, Eva, Ethyl, Katharine,

 

I had a great grandfather named Lois, yes, spelled like a woman's name.

[Laura Corin]

I have the same problem. My grandmother and her sister went by Babs and Sissy, so I don't know their real names. My other grandmother was named Maud and her sister was Margaret. My mother and her sister (both in their eighties) are named Rosalind and Patience.

 

Laura

[Julie Herbster]

I had a great grandfather named Lois, yes, spelled like a woman's name.

Interesting. It seems like Ashley and Beverly were also considered to be men's names in bygone eras.

[Kathleen in VA]

At the Social Security website, there is a list of the top twenty baby names going back as far as 1880. I was just recently perusing it to see what names were popular during certain years. Mary was the top girl's name from 1880 until 1962!!! It slowly moved down the list until in about 1975 when it disappeared from the list altogether. I found that to be very interesting since Mary is obviously a Bible name. All the recent popular girls' names seem to just be "cute" without any reference to a specific inspirational person or character.

 

My mom and her twin (born in 1934) were Barbara Virginia and Beverly Patricia, respectively.

 

My grandmothers were Zelda Mae and Anna Amalia (Hungarian). Anna read the book "Anne of Green Gables" when she was about 12 and unofficially changed her name to Anne with an "e". It stuck.

 

Zelda (who went by "Zee") had sisters named Edna, Mildred and Alice. Her mother's name was Calista Opal.

 

I'm really curious where these names came from (Zelda, Edna and Mildred, particularly). I haven't read them in books that I know of. What inspired these moms to give their daughters such unfeminine names (at least in my estimation)? Especially, Zelda??? What is up with that? Were they trying to build character (like the "Boy Named Sue")?

 

 

Kathleen in VA

www.homeschoolblogger.com/lavendersblue.com

[Rhonda in TX]

Delilah (yes, really) and Alice. Alice had a sister named Lou. (Lou is still alive - 105 years old.)

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

My Grandmothers were Sarah, called Sally, and Emma. I had a great Aunts Dotty and Mabel.

[Hoggirl]

Her sisters were Ruby, Clara, Ada, and Phine! Aunt Phine lived to be 103 and outlived 4 husbands! Until she was about 96 or 97 she rode an exercise bikee 30 minutes per day. She was probably around 4'6" when she died. She shrunk a LOT! She really did well until she broke her hip by jumping up and down in a trash can trying to pack in more leaves that she had raked!!!

[jkwynn]

Great-Grandparents Gen:

Forest

Alma

Newt

 

Grandparents' Gen

Myrtle Aileen

Joyce Vivian

James Rabon

Sylvia Faye

James Allen

Everett Buford

Ruth

Dorothy

Hyson

Roy

Barbara

 

Parents' Gen:

Phyllis

Stevon Lynn

Cindy

Donna

Michael

Curtis

[RoughCollie]

Jessie, Gladys, Virginia

[JFSinIL]

Edith and Margaret. I have a picture of five-yr-old Edith with her family - ahhhh! Grandma was a sweet little girl. This was about 1894.

[Soph the vet]

Myrtle, Sophie, Anna, Ethel, Gladys, Fanny, Ruth, Evelyn.

I love older names.

[Sarah in FL]

Lucy and Genevieve.

 

My sister named her dd Lucy, and I was going to name my 4 mo Genevieve, but he was a boy and we named him after my dad, who was named after his dad, who was named after his dad.

 

I love it when there are beautiful names in the family tree that are used over and over!

[MomofSeven]

Anne, Anna, Margaret, Doris, Hazel, Myrtle, Rae and Hannah

[percytruffle]

My grandmothers' names were Julia and Viola Daisy. I had a great aunt Dot and great aunt Elizabeth (called Lizzy), don't remember the rest. My Parents were older and probably in the generation of many of your grandparents. Mom was Myrtle and she had sisters Bernice (aka Barney), Pat, Linda, Ida Louise, and June.

 

My dad was Elmer Mathias, his twin was Urban Emil. My grandfather on that side was Joseph.

 

Dh's parents are older too, though they are still with us as mine are not. His parents are Nora Marie and Lawrence Beverly (I know, it is a girls middle name. It was also a last name somewhere along the line). His grandmother's name was Grace. I don't know about any of the others. One of his mother's brothers is Angus.

[Marie in Oh]

Abigail Marie (she went by Marie) and Nellie.

 

Nellie's sisters were: Amelia, Nora, Edna, Estella, Margaret, Marie, and Freda.

 

Abigail's Sisters were: Ruth, Mary, and Elma

[mommaduck]

Ours were Hortense, Janet, Mary, Winona, and Virginia.

Great grands were Sivia, Corine, Thelma, Ethel (don't know the others)

[Mama Lynx]

Kathy and Olive. Kathy's mother's name was Alma, and Olive's mother's name was Annie. My Grandfather's sisters were named Mildred and Florence.

 

I think my dh's grandparents were named Murray and Ruby Maybelle.

[Robyn]

My grandmother's names were Margarita(seriously) and Katherine Hazel.

My greats were Nettie May, Marjorie, Anna Agnes, and Minnie Iola.

[newsong]

My grandmothers were Elvira (called Peggy because her g-ma, who raised her, didn't like her given name) and Daisy Mae. Grandpas were George and John (called Jack) and a step grandpa called Rashy!

 

Sandy

[RebeccaC]

Ivy Belle (Iveybell,) Lilly Belle, Ellie, Myrtle, Grace Ann and Grace Marie. Middle names were always said with the first name. My grandmother called me Becky Jane (BeckyJane) or Rebecca Jane if I was in trouble.

 

Elmer, Homer, Loyd, Earl, Ralph, Virgil, Theodore, Royal, ect...

 

There are a ton of Norwegian names that I do not know how to spell correctly.

 

My fathers parents were born in the late 1800s and my mothers just at the turn of the century 1904 being the youngest.

[PrairieAir]

My maternal grandmother's name was Geraldine. She went by Jerry. Her sisters were Jane and Janis. My paternal grandmother's name was Ruth and she was an only child. 11yodd is Naomi Ruth after my Gram.

 

The men's names are more interesting, but I wouldn't want to pass any of them down. My Pop (paternal) was Carl William which is kinda boring, but Grandaddy (maternal) was Naron Alton and his brothers were Warren Earl and Mancill James. Grandaddy's family was from Vardemon, Mississippi and it is a southern tradition to use family names for first names. Naron, Mancill, and Warren are all last names somewhere in the family tree, and I believe their middle names are all after specific family members.

[Jenny in Atl]

My Grandparents were, Robely "Bart" Vargas (Dutch German) and Virginia (don't know her middle name), Roselia (but I think she spelled it with a z?). My dad is Richard and Mom, Sandra (Sandy).

 

On dh's side there was Seaborn Lamar and Jessie, Jeanette, Dupont, Ondia, & Allen. Don, Janet, Marie and Rickie (his folks divorced and remarried).

[kalanamak]

GGM's Abigail (Abby) with a sister Jenny (always calls Aunt Jenny Post or Jenny Post ( a last name, to distinguish her from another Jenny in the family) (USian), Anna (Germany), GGGM Barabara (Germany)

[HollyDay]

My grandmothers were Lilia and Bertha. Their sisters and peers were: Stella, Myrtle, Louise, Lillian, Mamie, Erma Lee, Florence, and Ellen. There were probably more, but that is all I can remember!!

[amy g.]

My paternal grandmother's name is Maudie Ethel. I did give my baby, Louisa Maudie for a middle name.

 

My maternal grandmother's name was Mamie Wirt. Too bad I never cared for her, because I'd really like to name a daughter Mamie.

[Valerie in MI]

n

[rockermom]

Mother (she's a great-grandmother, so I thought I'd add her in):

Ellen Marie (I always wanted to use the name Elena Maria for a dd, which I don't have).. her sisters are Doris Jean and Patricia Ann

 

Maternal GM: Mary Margaret (West Virginia - she goes by either name)

others from this side of the family were Alfie, Alma, Avolene

 

Paternal GM: Maria Isabel (Puerto Rican - went by Isabel)

others from this side of the family were/are Ingo, Mercedes, Carmen, Milagros, Glenda

 

Unfortunately, I only know surnames beyond that.

 

On a side note, my baby boy is a III (third)... but his paternal GGF had the same first name and my father and grandfather have/had the same first name... so we definitely use a family name.

[OnTheBrink]

My paternal grandmother was named Georgia Mildred and her sister was Marie. I don't know her middle name (they had a falling out when I was born that had something to do with the fact I had red hair. Marie made fun of it and that was the final straw for my grandmother. They never, ever spoke after that. Sad, isn't it?)

 

Anyway, my maternal grandmother was Frances Mildred, her sisters were Marsolee and Bessie and I can't remember the others. This grandmother died before my mother was married to my dad, and she never allowed me contact with the family, except for her aunt Marsolee.