Thanksgiving is almost here! Rather than concern myself with such trivialities as, say, cooking and cleaning, I've been looking into the fascinating world of Puritan names. What child born on Thanksgiving wouldn't love to grow up with the name Sorry-for-sin Coupard?
Sarah Marshall of The Hairpin read Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley's 1888 Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature, and rounded up the best names mentioned, for the ease of us who haven't gotten around to reading anything by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley yet. Some of my favorites are Kill-sin Pimple, Repent Durant, Battalion Shotbolt, Die-Well Sykes, and Weakly Eakins. They would all make excellent band names, actually.
I think a list of Puritan baby names would make a hilarious Thanksgiving gift for a friend who's expecting a baby (as long as they're the sort of friend who would find it hilarious), but the best application I can think of is placecards for your Thanksgiving celebration. Make sweet little place cards inscribed with Magnyfye Beard, Lively Moody, Abstinence Pougher, and Anger Bull, and let your guests decide who's who. I'm secretly hoping to get Love Appletree.
Now, I did read Sarah Vowell's excellent book The Wordy Shipmates so you'd think I'd be able to tell you exactly how Puritans and Pilgrims compare and contrast and how either/both of them relate to Thanksgiving, but sadly, I have no head for historical facts. Feel free to clear things up for me in the comments, or just join me in wishing to someday meet someone named Preserved Fish.
(Image: The First Thanksgiving by Jennie Brownscombe via the blog of the Horticultural Society of New York)
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That is such a cute idea. One day when I'm hosting Thanksgiving, I'm totally putting puritan name cards out! As for the history, I read the blog "The History Kitchen" and I thought this was a really great summary of how Thanksgiving came to be.
http://thehistorykitchen.com/2012/11/14/apple-pudding-a-recipe-from-the-mother-of-thanksgiving/
My name is Priscilla so once a year my name is cool.
I'm going to start a band called the Repent Durant and the Weakly Eakins.
I have an ancestor named Dorcas. It may be in the Bible, but to us it sounds funny.
I'd also like to point out the Pilgrims were not the same group as the Purtians. Sorry if I'm being a fussbudget, but as a decendant of Puritans, I like to keep the record straight.
When figuring out names for our children, we looked to my family's book of names that had been printed in the late 1800's. We decided against Thankful, Pious & Lowly. It was great reading!
Priscilla, oh Queen of the Desert, your name is always cool.
I had a friend in High School whose middle name was Dorcas. She didn't tell many people that.
Funny thing: here in France, people were sometimes named according to the saint of the day. Well, July 14th is "Fête Nationale" (our 4th of July), which has to be shortened in order to fit the small space beside the day in calendars. So, beside "July 14th" was written "Fet.Nat.", and some people believed that was a saint's name as well as the more common John and such. Yes. There are some Fetnat out there. I've always found that funny.
One of my foremothers was named Experience Learned. It always makes me grin.
In the 17th century there was a guy named Nicholas If-Jesus-Christ-Had-Not-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Wouldst-Have-Been-Damned Barebones or Barbons. His Dad was called 'Praise-God Barebones.'
Read about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Barbon
The entire book is actually available online for free through archive.org. I'm glad I managed to avoid inheriting my great-great-grandmother's moniker which appears there. I'm just not sure I would make a good Drusilla.
I've been to Preserved Fish's grave! It's in the marble cemetery on 2nd street in NYC.
I'm descended from a 'Thankful Walkup' as well as a 'Stallworthy Waters'...
I know someone by the name 'Dorcas' and it is something that you get used to. Besides, she's the smartest person in the room! Happy Thanksgiving, Chier O'Mancer!