Early African-American Names
- Scipio
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"staff or walking stick"Description:
This surname of an ancient Roman invader of Africa is an intriguing, undiscovered option.
- Easter
Origin:
English, from GermanDescription:
Easter has been used as a name for several hundred years, as part of the day-naming tradition; now, this rarely heard holiday celebration name would make a novel choice for a springtime baby. Background:The early Anglo-Saxon monk and scholar Bede took the name of a goddess--Eostre-- whose feast was celebrated at the vernal equinox and gave it to the Christian festival of the resurrection of Christ.
- Dorinda
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"bountiful gift"Description:
Cinderella stepsister type Victorian-valentine name.
- Jamaica
Origin:
Native American place nameMeaning:
"rich in springs"Description:
Among the least gimmicky, most appealing and colorful of all the names found in the atlas, Jamaica almost sings out the rhythms of the West Indies.
- Beach
Origin:
Nature name, English word nameMeaning:
"a shore of a body of water"Description:
With the tide coming in on a new wave of word names, this one just might catch on, especially for parents who relish sun, sand, and surf. Forest lovers can spell it Beech, like the tree.
- Pearlie
Origin:
Variation of Pearl, Latin gem nameMeaning:
"pearl"Description:
While we would think of Pearlie as a girlish pet form of Pearl today, it was a unisex name in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among males, it was disproportionately used among African Americans.
- Comfort
Origin:
Word nameDescription:
This Puritan virtue name may be unstylish, but it is also sympathetic and appealing in these largely uncomfortable times.
- Hagar
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"flight, forsaken"Description:
Hagar is an Old Testament name with an unfortunate association with comic strip character "Hagar the Horrible."
- Juba
Origin:
AfricanMeaning:
"born on Monday"Description:
Juba, a strong and resonant unisex name, belonged to an ancient African king, is a city and river name, and is traditionally given to Ashanti (of Ghana) girls born on Monday.
- Perlie
Origin:
Variation of Pearl, Latin gem nameMeaning:
"pearl"Description:
Perlie, along with Pearlie and Purlie, was one of the 21 names identified by Lisa D. Cook and colleagues in their landmark study on distinctively Black names from history.
- Christmas
Origin:
English word nameDescription:
Very occasionally given to boys born on that day; Noel is a more common name for Christmas babies.
- Pompey
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"five"Description:
Roman statesman and Caesar rival whose name, like other classical choices, was occasionally used for enslaved people. The Pompeo version could rise again.
- Phillis
Origin:
Spelling variation of Phyllis, GreekMeaning:
"green bough"Description:
The Phillis spelling of this once-popular name lives on thanks to Phillis Wheatley, the first African-American to publish a book of poetry, in the 18th century.
- Purlie
Origin:
Variation of Pearl, Latin gem nameMeaning:
"pearl"Description:
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Purlie was a distinctively Black name used primarily among baby boys. Purlie, along with alternate spellings Pearlie and Perlie, is virtually unheard of today.
- Presly