Sterling Price Sterling Price was an officer in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He was born into a family of slave-owning planters in Virginia, and moved (with his family) to Missouri as a young man. He entered politics in the 1830s, fought in the Mexican-American War in the 1940s, and served a four-year term as governor of Missouri in the mid-1850s. During the Civil War, he was initially the commander of the Missouri State Guard. He joined the Confederates as a Major-General in early 1862. In terms of namesakes, I found a smattering born in the 1850s, and hundreds more bor ..read more

Flag of Wyoming While we wait for the latest batch of U.S. baby name data from the SSA, let’s check out Wyoming’s 2023 rankings (which were released about a week ago). Last year, the Equality State — the 10th-largest state in terms of area, but the 50th-largest in terms of population — welcomed 5,989 babies. What were the top names among these babies? Evelyn and Henry, according to the Wyoming Department of Health. Here are Wyoming’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023: Girl names Evelyn Amelia Olivia Harper Charlotte Hazel Eleanor Lainey Oakley Aurora Boy names Henry Jack (tie ..read more

Michael Jackson’s Jheri curl The Jerry-like name Jheri appeared regularly in the U.S. baby name data from 1980 until the mid-1990s: 1996: unlisted 1995: 7 baby girls named Jheri 1994: 11 baby girls named Jheri 1993: 10 baby girls named Jheri 1992: 8 baby girls named Jheri 1991: 12 baby girls named Jheri 1990 9 baby girls named Jheri 1989: 8 baby girls named Jheri 1988 10 baby girls named Jheri 1987 12 baby girls named Jheri 1986: 9 baby girls named Jheri 1985: 13 baby girls named Jheri (peak usage) 1984: 8 baby girls named Jheri 1982: 12 baby girls named Jheri 1981: 8 baby girls named Jheri 1 ..read more

In the U.S., most of the names given to baby girls end with a vowel sound. And many of the remaining names end with an N-sound. So, what about girl names that end with other sounds? Below is a selection of girl names that end with an S-sound, regardless of last letter. The names are ordered by current popularity. Grace From the English vocabulary word. Here’s the popularity graph for Grace. Genesis An Ancient Greek word meaning “origin, creation.” Here’s the popularity graph for Genesis. Iris The Ancient Greek word for “rainbow,” as well as an ancient Greek goddess (the personification of the ..read more

Is your name Jeremy? Do you live in (or near) Boston? If so, you can attend a Kentucky Derby party for free tomorrow afternoon. The Sporting Club — a bar located at Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport — is hosting its 3rd annual Kentucky Derby party from 3 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 4. This year, to honor the racehorse “Lucky Jeremy,” who has a 500-1 odds of winning the top prize in U.S. horse racing, any person with the name Jeremy can enter free of charge and be treated like a VIP with complimentary food, The Sporting Club said. People who are not named Jeremy can buy tickets online (while t ..read more

Shelby Lynne album According to the U.S. baby name data, usage of the name Shelby increased sharply among baby girls (and moderately among baby boys) from 1989 to 1991: Girls named Shelby Boys named Shelby 1992 9,396 [rank: 34th] 453 [rank: 474th] 1991 10,219† [rank: 33rd] 524† [rank: 427th] 1990 3,517 [rank: 100th] 354 [rank: 525th] 1989 1,203 [rank: 229th] 205 [rank: 694th] 1988 881 [rank: 284th] 184 [rank: 691st] †Peak usage That surge of over 6,700 baby girls from 1990 to 1991 was the biggest raw-number increase of the year. (The next-biggest jump was made by Mariah.) Here ..read more

Flag of Poland Last year, the European country of Poland welcomed approximately 272,000 babies. What were the most popular names among all these babies? Zofia and Nikodem. Here are Poland’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023: Girl names Zofia, 4,968 baby girls Zuzanna, 4,800 Laura, 4,602 Hanna, 4,565 Maja, 4,461 Julia, 4,254 Oliwia, 3,846 Pola, 3,692 Alicja, 3,593 Maria, 3,137 Lena, 2,966 Antonina, 2,912 Emilia, 2,785 Amelia, 2,759 Klara, 2,660 Michalina, 2,644 Iga, 2,563 Liliana, 2,561 Wiktoria, 2,531 Helena, 2,511 Marcelina, 2,351 Gabriela, 1,883 Aleksandra, 1,878 Nela, 1,768 Ko ..read more

LaBradford Smith The long name Labradford, which first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1987, saw its highest usage in the late ’80s and early ’90s: 1993: unlisted 1992: 7 baby boys named Labradford 1991: 18 baby boys named Labradford 1990: 17 baby boys named Labradford 1989: 13 baby boys named Labradford 1988: 14 baby boys named Labradford 5 born in Kentucky specifically 1987: 5 baby boys named Labradford [debut] 1986: unlisted Where did it come from? College basketball player LaBradford Smith. From 1987 to 1991, the Texas native attended the University of Louisville, where he “wou ..read more

Henry Ossawa Tanner Henry Ossawa Tanner, who was born in Pittsburgh in 1859, became the first African-American artist to achieve international recognition. Where did the painter’s unusual middle name come from? His parents, Benjamin and Sarah Tanner, coined it to commemorate the 1856 Battle of Osawatomie, during which white abolitionist John Brown tried to defend the Kansas town of Osawatomie from pro-slavery “border ruffians.” John Brown’s heroic struggle symbolized for black people their quest for freedom. Thus, for Benjamin and Sarah, Ossawa embodied the hope for emancipation. The town’s ..read more

Oveta Culp Hobby (c. 1953) According to the U.S. baby name data, the rare name Oveta saw its highest usage during the 1950s: 1955: 11 baby girls named Oveta 1954: 12 baby girls named Oveta 1953: 14 baby girls named Oveta (peak usage) 1952: 7 baby girls named Oveta 1951: unlisted Why? My guess is Texas-born government official Oveta (pronounced oh-VEE-tuh) Culp Hobby. In April of 1953, she was appointed by Dwight Eisenhower as the first secretary of the newly formed U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. This made Oveta the second woman to hold a U.S. Cabinet position. (The first ..read more