Usage
It is a name that has been well-used in recent years for Native African men.
The name is traditionally masculine in the Anglosphere. However, the name has increased in usage for girls due to a character in the 2009 movie The Blind Side . [3] Collins has been among the 1,000 most popular names for girls since 2012 in the United States, and among the top 250 names for girls since 2022. It was among the 1,000 most popular names for boys in the United States at different points until 1915, after which it declined in use for boys. In 2021, the name was used for 47 American boys. There were 55 newborn American boys given the name in 2022, and 62 American boys given the name in 2023. [4] [5] The name was among the 1,000 most used names for newborn girls in Canada in 2021, ranking 627th on the popularity chart with 45 uses for Canadian girls that year. [6]
Mavis is a feminine given name, derived from a name for the common Old World song thrush. Its first modern usage was in Marie Corelli's 1895 novel The Sorrows of Satan, which featured a character named Mavis Clare. The name was long obsolete by the 19th century, but known from its poetic use, as in Robert Burns's 1794 poem Ca' the Yowes ; and in the popular love song "Mary of Argyle" (c.1850), where lyricist Charles Jefferys wrote, "I have heard the mavis singing its love-song to the morn."
Charity is an English feminine given name derived from the English word charity. It was used by the Puritans as a virtue name. An earlier form of the name, Caritas, was an early Christian name in use by Romans.
Florence is usually a feminine given name. It is derived from the French version of (Saint) Florentia, a Roman martyr under Diocletian. The Latin florens, florentius means "blossoming", verb floreo, meaning "I blossom / I flower / I flourish". Florence was in the past also used as a translation of the Latin version Florentius, and may be used in this context as a masculine given name.
Eden, as a given name is most often given in reference to the Biblical Garden of Eden, meaning delight; It is given to girls and boys. The first recorded use is from ancient Israel in the book of Genesis. As an English girl's name, it also originated as a diminutive form of the name Edith that was in use in Yorkshire in the 1400s. As a boy's name, it might be a variant of the name Aidan or be derived from the surname Eden, which was derived from the Old English word elements ēad, meaning wealth, and hún, meaning bear cub. The older form of the name was Edon or Edun.
Darlene, also spelled Darleen or Darline, is an English feminine given name coined in the late 19th century. It is based on the term of endearment darling in combination with the diminutive suffix -een, -ene, or -ine in use in other names popular during that period such as Arleen, Charlene, Claudine, Irene, Jolene, Josephine, Marlene, Maxine, and Pauline. The greatest use of the name has been in North America. Darla is a variant.
Ashton is a gender-neutral given name of English origin. It is derived from the surname, itself a place name meaning 'ash tree town'.
Kennedy is a unisex given name in the English language. The name is an Anglicised form of a masculine given name in the Irish language.
Shirley is a given name and a surname originating from the English place-name Shirley, which is derived from the Old English elements scire ("shire") or scīr and lēah. The name makes reference to the open space where the moot was held. The surname Shirley became established as a female given name in 1849 due to its use in Charlotte Brontë's novel Shirley, in which the character explains that her parents had intended the family surname for a son. It was further popularized in 1851–52 by its pseudonymous use by California Gold Rush writer Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe. It was eventually brought to its highest popularity, in the 1930s, by the fame of child star Shirley Temple.
Mensah is a Ghanaian surname. It is the most common surname in Ghana, with one in 55 people having this name. There is a Mensah in every tribe in Ghana. Notable people with the surname include:
Salome is a feminine name derived from the Hebrew word shalom, meaning "peace".
Goldie is a nickname or given name used in reference to an informal English diminutive word for gold or an English version of the Yiddish name Golda or Golde, also meaning gold. It was often used as a pet name for a girl with blonde hair. It is also used as a nickname for formal names such as Marigold. It has a “vintage vibe” for some parents who have considered it. Other commentators note that the name has risen in use for girls along with other names of a similar style that all exude cuteness and promote enjoyment, perhaps in reaction to serious times. The English expression good as gold is often used to describe people who act virtuously and, in the case of children, are well-behaved.
Palmer is a given name of English origin that is a transferred use of a surname meaning palm bearer or pilgrim. Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land traditionally carried the palms.
Gideon is a masculine given name and surname of Hebrew origin which translates to "feller" or "hewer" in Hebrew. It can also be interpreted as "One who has a stump in place of a hand" or "One who cuts down". The name originates with the Biblical judge and leader Gideon, who impressed Calvinist groups like English Puritans and French Huguenots with his martial skill and utility. They then adopted it as a Christian name. The given name was first used in the 16th century when it became common to use 'Old Testament'-derived names. The Huguenots used the surrogate variation Gédéon. The name soon lost popularity in the 20th century as it declined to a low of four recorded newborn births in Great Britain during the 1930s with this name. Alternate spellings of this name include Gideone, Guideon, and Gidieon.
Cataleya is a feminine given name, a variant spelling of Cattleya, a genus of orchid named in honor of English botanist William Cattley. The surname Cattley is said to be a transferred use of Catley, a one-time English place name in both Hertfordshire and Lincolnshire. The place name was ultimately derived from the Old English words catte, meaning cat and leah, meaning meadow or clearing, giving the meaning “from the meadow or clearing where wildcats dwell.” Another name for the Cattleya orchid is cat orchid. Others have made a connection between the name and cats because of the name’s starting syllable.
Raya is a given name with multiple, unrelated origins in different cultures.
Dutton is an English surname and given name derived from a place name in England. It might ultimately be derived from a combination of the Old English name Dudda, a nickname that might have been given to a man who was fat, and town or from Old English words meaning hill town.
Primrose is an English feminine given name given in reference to the flower. The common name for the flower comes from the Latin phrase prima rosa, or first rose. It is also an English or Scottish surname. As a given name, it was occasionally used as a transferred use of the surname for both boys and girls. It came into vogue in the Victorian era and first part of the 20th century, especially in the United Kingdom, along with other plant and flower names for girls. More attention has been given to the name in the Anglosphere due to a character in The Hunger Games books by Suzanne Collins and the movies based on the books.
Sloane or Sloan is a given name, a transferred use of the Irish surname O Sluaghadhán, meaning "descendant of Sluaghadhán". Sluaghadhán is an Irish diminutive form of the Irish name Sluaghadh, which means expedition or raid. The name has associations with the Sloane Rangers, a British subculture referring to the tastes and preferences of the stereotypical British upper middle class woman who lived at Sloane Square in West London.
Jewel is an English given name often given in reference to the English vocabulary word meaning gemstone. The word jewel comes from the Old French word jouel, meaning toy or delight, and was ultimately derived from the Latin term jocus. The name might have originated as an affectionate pet name or been inspired by other gemstone names also in fashion in the Anglosphere during the 19th century. The name is also sometimes a transferred use of the surname Jewel or Jewell, which comes from the Breton surname Judicaël. Some parents might have named their children after John Jewel, a 16th-century Bishop of Salisbury.
