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I was curious about one of the deadest male names, Isadore, so I looked it up. It's of Greek origin and it turns out the female counterpart, Isadora, is the ni
by was_hellbanned 12y ago
I was curious about one of the deadest male names, Isadore, so I looked it up. It's of Greek origin and it turns out the female counterpart, Isadora, is the ninth most popular name for baby girls in Chile in 2006. The website linked from the article indicates that it's never ranked in the top 1000 in the US. Interesting how a shared, ancient name could be so wildly divergent in usage.
- cafard 12y agoUsually I see the male version as Isidore. Isadora I've only ever heard of with Isadora Duncan.
- officemonkey 12y agoKirk Douglas was known as Isadore Demsky when he grew up in Amsterdam NY in the early 20th Century. Apparently it was a popular male name for immigrants and first generation children in the early 20th Century. It was often shortened to "Izzy." There was a social trend in America during the middle of the 20th Century to "anglicize" names. For example, I have uncles who changed their birth name in the early 50s from "Wozniak" to "Wagner." Even Izzy Demsky became Kirk Douglas when he grew up. Let's take for example, the children in "the Godfather" books, The older children have "old country" names (Santino, Fredo) and the younger children have "new world" names (Michael, Connie.) It's almost as if the older kids "Americanize" the family when they go to school. Anyhow, names are funny things when taken in aggregate.
- cookiecaper 12y agoMy immigrant grandparents named my mother an anglicized version of their intended name after pressure from the older children, who said, "In America you say ____, not ____". I think there is probably something to the theory that the family gets more Americanized as the older children are raised in American culture and "correct" some of their parents' old world ways.