UNUSUAL NAMES.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume IV, Issue 163, 22 June 1936, Page 8

UNUSUAL NAMES.

Girl Galled Easter Daifodil. WHAT OF GUDRON? Unusual Christian names for girls are much in fashion, says a Daily Mail correspondent. The second daughter of Viscountess Tarbat has been christened Gillean Francis; Gillean spelt in this way being a name particularly popular just now. An April bride was called Easter Daffodil Clifton. Many people must wonder how these beautiful if uncommon names originate. For there is more in names than meets the eye, especially if you are a woman. Our great-grandmothers, of early Victorian days, had names that have an oldfashioned fragrance: Caroline, Adelaide, Charlotte, Augusta, Sophia-names that were as often as not those of the royal ladies of the House of Hanover. There are few of them to-day; and they are a delicate reminder of lavender and old lace. The Victorian age advanced, and settled down into the grim Puritanism with which wc always associate the sixties anc l seventies. And women had plain. sensible, practical names—names with no nonsense, names built to stand hard wear: Emily, Ellon. Sarah. Agatha. Towards the end of the century we got a vogue for Ethel. Mabel. Gladys. Grace -and these were closely followed by gem and flower names, such as Pearl, Ruby, Rose, Lily, Violet. In Edwardian d.?ys came the great crop of Joans and Bettys—they're in their middle twenties now. And with 'he growing emancipation of women rnme many boyish names like Pa l and Bobbie. They may have been christened Patricia and Roberta, but one seldom used their names in full, I

The Great War fortunately spired girls being called Ypres or Passchendaele or Cambrai. [nstead, perhaps by way of reaction. •we had more fanciful names, such as Pamela, Cynthia, Lois, and Diana. To-day there is a strong trend towards, on the one hand, stark simnlicitv ■md. on (he other, the franklv bizarre. Jane. Jean, and Ann are immensely popular: but so are Gloria and Jov. Sonia. Nsd ; "*\ D n -i""" A>-i~<+->. Mavis. Oh the whole, fashions in names go f 1 cycles. In years to come we snail tie able to place the Janes and Anns as being of the 15)30-36 vintage. What will be the names of the future? Perhaps the lime has come for us 1o look back to our Saxon ancestors and to call our daughters Gudrun or Torfrida or Swanhild.