Beatrice

Beatrice is the French or Italian form of Beatrix. According to Ask Oxford, Beatrix probably came from a combination of the Latin Viator and Beatus. Since the former meant "voyager" and the latter meant "blessed," Beatrice can be taken to mean "blessed voyager." Beatrice was a character in Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," but is probably more well known as the name of the lady with whom Dante was obsessed. Beatrice was a popular name in England during the Middle Ages, and like many other names that appeared in classic literature, was strongly popular again in the 19th century, when it was very occasionally even given to boys. This popularity continued into the 20th century; in the United States Beatrice appeared consistently in the top 100 names for girls until the 1930's. After that, the name began to be considered old fashioned and declined steadily in popularity. Beatrice has not appeared in the top 1000 in the U.S. since 2001. More recently, well-known bearers of the name Beatrice include Princess Beatrice of York, and Beatrice McCartney, the daughter of Paul McCartney and Heather Mills. Nicknames for Beatrice include Bea and Trixie.

Michelle

Michelle is simply a French feminine form of Michael. Michael means "who is like the Lord," so this can also be taken to be the meaning of Michelle. Michelle's popularity in the English-speaking world has been phenomenal. The name first appeared in the U.S. top 1000 in 1938, first appeared in the top 100 in 1954 and has consistently remained in the top 100 ever since. From 1966 through 1980, Michelle was in the top 10. The incredible popularity of Michelle over so many decades means that there are a lot of women and girls out there named Michelle. If you wonder why it is that you don't seem to personally know a ton of Michelles, try asking women and girls with which you are aquainted, "What is your middle name?" You will most likely find that you know a lot more Michelles than you realized. The extreme popularity of Michelle is no doubt partly influenced by the extreme popularity of the Beatles song "Michelle," but it could be that the extreme popularity of that song is influenced by the fact that there were so many Michelles out there who love to be sung about. Nicknames for Michelle include Chelle, Shell, Shelley, and any other variation or respelling of that second syllable you can think of, some of which have become quite popular as names in their own right.. I also have personally known one Michelle who went by the first syllable of her name, which wound up sounding something like "Meesh." Although Michelle is a relatively new entry to the name game in the English-speaking world, it is probably here to stay, and might be considered a new classic which will never go out of style.

Jocelyn

Jocelyn comes from the Old French name Joscelin, which was introduced to Britain by the Normans around the time of the Norman Conquest and was ultimately derived from the name of a Germanic tribe, the Gauts. In the days of the Conquest the name was masculine. The name fell out of use as a given name, but it had by that time spawned the surname Jocelyn, which eventually itself began to be used as a given name. This time around though, the name is nearly always feminine rather than masculine, probably because of the lyn which is equated with the feminine Lynn. In its new feminine capacity, Jocelyn began appearing in the U.S. top 1000 in the 1930's, but didn't begin to really gain popularity until the 1980's. In 2002, Jocelyn cracked the top 100, and continues to rise in popularity.

Denise

Denise is a French name; it's the feminine form of Denis/Dennis. Dennis comes from Dionysius, which was originally a word for a follower or devotee of the Greek god Dionysos. So, if you want to take the attitude that a name retains the meaning of its original form, then Denise means "follower of Dionysos." Denise is a saint name; Saint Denise lived in the 3rd century You can read her story at Wikipedia. Denise began to be used in the U.S. in the 1920's and grew quickly in popularity through the 30's and 40's. Extremely popular in the 50's, 60's, and 70's, the name is now well past its popularity peak, but is still fairly common as a name for new baby girls today.

Travis

Travis is another surname that is also used as a given name. The surname is from Norman French traverser, which means "to cross." The name designated someone who made their living by collecting tolls for crossing a bridge or a particular stretch of road. Travis was especially popular in the U.S. from the 1970's through the 1990's, and is still a regularly used name, though not as popular as it was at its peak. My personal favorite famous Travis is singer Travis Tritt.

Amable

Amable has been used for both boys and girls, in different times and places, and for different reasons. The name comes from Latin amabilis, and means "loveable." When Amable has been used for a girl it is often a re-spelling or a misspelling of Amabel. Notice that the difference here is simply the transposition of two letters, and the meaning and pronunciation are the same. Both Amabel and Amable were also sometimes given as Christian "virtue" names, and in this case were actually meant to represent the word "aimable." Amable is also a French name--same meaning, same origin-- and in this case is a masculine name. This name is one of those that have given people in the U.S. who are researching their family geneaology a few headaches. The reason for this is that names were often changed from their original French forms to English forms by census takers in the U.S., and Amable in some cases became simply Ama, and in some cases became Marble. The Marble example is known to have occurred in the U.S. 1850 census in Maine, and this might give a clue about how Amable was being pronounced. (That is simply my guess, but I'm thinking a-MAH-bul, leading to Marble. I could easily be wrong.) Amable is also a surname, though not an extremely common one, so it stands to reason that a few Amables have been given the name because it was the maiden name of their mothers. We don't see the name Amable much in the U.S., and I don't really see a rise in popularity for it in the near future. If you happen to be writing a novel that involves some French-Canadian history though, Amable is a name that might be useful.

Annette

Annette is, as all the other names sites say, a French "pet form" of Ann(e). Famous Annettes have included Annette Funicello, and Annette Bening. Although Annette is still currently in the top 1000 names for baby girls, its in the bottom 500, meaning, basically that it is in use, but not over-used. It was a much more popular name thoughout most of the 1900's, and in the 1960's was a top 100 name. This is probably why it is not so much in use today: baby girls born today might be the daughter of an Annette, or the granddaughter of an Annette, or perhaps the neice of an Annette. So my best guess would be that in most cases today that the name is given, it is as a middle name, maybe to honor the elder relative with the name. As a middle name, Annette is wonderful. Paired with either a one-syllable or three-syllable first name, it is musical. (It's not bad with a two-syllable first name, but the rule of thumb--which can, and should, be often broken-- is to give names of varying syllables--they usually just flow better. Two syllable names can follow other two syllable names more easily than one syllable names can follow one another though-- example, Katie Annette flows better than Lynn Jean. See?) Annette is definitely a name to keep in mind when naming a baby girl, just because it is such a great middle name, and because it does come with a little bit of versatility. A girl named Annette can also reasonbly claim to be Ann or Anne or Annie, or if she's feeling VERY retro she can be Nettie.

Carol, Carole

Carol began to be used as a name for baby girls in the late 19th century. It was apparently originally just a pet or short form of Caroline, or Carolina, and as such is considered a feminine version of the name Charles. Carole is the French spelling, and this spelling gained much popularity due to actress Carole Lombard (1908-42.) In the 1930's, 40's, and 50's, Carol was a top 20 name in the United States, but has been in decline ever since. Carol will probably make a comeback and regain some popularity at some point, but that may not be in the immediate future; it still seems a bit old-fashioned at the moment--there are still plenty of Carols from the name's peak around. Carol has also been used as a name for baby boys, but more often the male form is Carroll, which will be dealt with in a seperate entry eventually.

Suzanne

Suzanne is a French form of Susannah, which means "lily." For more information on that name you'll either have to look it up yourself (try Behind the Name, the link is right over there on the side of your screen,) or you can wait til I add it here. Suzanne was a reasonably popular name in the U.S. for some time, appearing in the top 100 in the 1940's, 50's, and 60's, but it hasn't appeared in the top 1000 since 1999. The name could make a comeback with the right trigger--famous super-model or fictional character, for instance. Personally I think Suzanne is a just "okay" name--because it has some versatility, but that same versatility is working against it; the obvious nicknames for Suzanne are Suzie, Sue, or (less likely) Anne. Sue and Suzie are not very high in public favor at the moment, and there are many other ways to wind up with "Anne," including simply naming a girl "Anne."

Cheryl

When I hear the name Cheryl I think of Cheryl Ladd, and that's probably a dead giveaway as to my general age group. Or, maybe not. According to one source that I have, Cheryl is an old diminutive form of the name Caroline. According to another source, Cheryl is a name that was invented in the 1920's. Behind the Name agrees that it was a 1920's invention, having possibly evolved from Cherie and stolen its spelling from Beryl. Since everyone seems to be guessing here, I'm going to suggest that it could just easily have been invented to rhyme with Carol--the Beryl spelling influence theory seems okay. According to a commenter on the Behind the Name site, though, at least one Cheryl was born in 1902. A few other internet sources--most of which I don't really trust--list the name as either English, or French. Those that say it's French give it the meaning "beloved," which suggests they're just tapping into the "Cherie" theory. I think we ought to just decide that "Cheryl" is derived from absolutely nothing and means "mystery." Popularity-wise, the name leaped out of nowhere in the 1930's, rose to a high point of 19th most popular name for girls in the 1950's, then started sinking steadily and very quickly in popularity, dropping out the top 1000 altogether after 1997. Sort of a shooting star of names, really. Will it make a comeback? On this one, your guess is as good as mine. It's not a classic, has no proven staying-power, and after all the Cheryls from the 1900's are gone and forgotten, the name could be forgotten as well. On the other hand, if a Cheryl became hugely famous, and in a good way, bringing good associations to the name that would last in public consciousness past the lifespan of that actual person, the name could see a resurgence in popularity. History shows us that it's even possible that a name like Cheryl could regain popularity through a fictional character (like Scarlett O'Hara,) or even a song (like Layla.) In any case, it's probable (or I think so anyway) that the name will be kept marginally alive for a while because of babies being named for their grandmothers or great-grandmothers. Only time will tell. Things I'd like to know for sure--or at least for probable: Where did Cheryl really come from? Why did it shoot to such popularity so fast, and why did it fall from favor so quickly afterwards (overuse, maybe.) This entire post (currently, at least) falls almost completely into the category of "notes to myself."