Earl

The use of Earl as a first name comes from two related sources which both come from the same source themselves--the noble title Earl, as in the Earl of Sandwich. First, several titles were used, mainly in the U.S., as nicknames: Earl, Duke, King, Prince, Princess, Queen, etc., and then the nicknames migrated to become used as given names. The other source is the common practice of using a surname, such as the mother's maiden name, as part of a child's given name. Earl is a surname which also began as a nickname or descriptive term given to someone who worked in the household of an Earl. Although Earl held a place in the top 30 names for boys in the early 1900's, its use has declined steadily, and it had nearly dropped out of the top 1000 by 2004. The name has been returned to popular consciousness recently by the television show "My Name Is Earl," but I'm doubting that many new parents will be naming their sons after the lead character in that show. One well-known Earl is banjo player Earl Scruggs, who helped to define a sound with Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys that would eventually become the musical genre bluegrass.