Name of the Day: Liberty
For those of you in the US, Happy Fourth of July! What with all the bunting about, we couldn’t resist choosing a red, white and blue Name of the Day: Liberty.
It’s easy to see the appeal of this modern virtue moniker. A name that means “freedom” - Liberty comes from the Latin libertas via the Old French liberté - promises a great deal to a child. And while it’s a weighty concept, with names like Destiny and Trinity in the US Top 100, surely that’s not too much of a drawback.
A minor Roman goddess known as Libertas had her share of statues in antiquity. Another nation favoring red, white and blue also embraced a feminine figure initially called Lady Liberty. During the French Revolution, a symbolic female figure was often used, even replacing statues of the Virgin Mary - though over time, she’s become known as Marianne.
In the US, there’s the Statue of, the Bell, at least a dozen towns bearing the name, a WNBA franchise, a popular model of Jeep and a former First Dog, Gerald Ford’s golden retriever.
It manages to sound deeply patriotic and a bit quirky at the same time. In the 2007 film, Liberty Bell was baby sister to Juno. Welsh footballer Ryan Giggs has a daughter called Liberty - the choice made the UK’s Times Top 50 Crazy Celebrity Baby Names list last summer.
Speaking of the UK, visit London and you can shop at Liberty. It’s been a fashion-forward department store since 1875, and today stocks the priciest of the must-haves, including Prada footwear and designer denim. Liberty fabrics are still among the most interesting patterns around. Just a few days ago, style guru Simon Doonan was photographed in the New York Times wearing a Liberty of London fabric shirt patterned with tiny black insects.
Liberty also has a certain cowgirl cool about her. Sure, the name sounds like Cassidy. But that’s not it. Back in 1916, shortly before the US entered World War I, the actress Marie Walcamp played Liberty Horton in a 20-chapter Western film serial. (She’d previously played Tempest Cody in the Spur and Saddle series. One imagines she knew her way around a horse.)
In 1918 the name first cracked the US Top 1000. Blame it on the Western serial, or on an upsurge in national fervor during the war. The trend didn’t last, and by 1919, Liberty was out of the Top 1000 again. She reappeared in 1976, when more than 300 pairs of parents must’ve embraced the idea of celebrating the bicentennial with a star-spangled appellation for their little girls.
But since 2001, Liberty has appeared in the rankings annually. Today she stands at #643. It’s unusual, but no longer outlandish. And the nickname Libby - traditionally used for Elizabeth - offers an option if she’d prefer something less dramatic.
So if you’re dreaming of a name for your daughter as you watch the fireworks tonight, you might consider Liberty.
Filed under: Names for Girls, Names of the Day, Virtues |
Tags: Liberty
I don’t really like Liberty. I don’t know but it somehow makes me feel like the parents were trying too hard to find a cool name for their daughter. Well, the meaning is nice, but there are other names that can relate to freedom, or liberty. I have afriend who actually named her daughter Saoirse, which means “freedom”. That’s a much prettier way to express “liberty” without actually using the word.
One of my dear friends is a 1976 Liberty nn Libby! I’ve always found her name charming, but she loathes it. I think I was an intimate friends of hers for over a year before she finally admitted that her given name was Liberty not just Libby.
I like the idea of Liberty, but (from my experience with my friend) I don’t think it works well in real life. Just not versatile enough . . . it’s certainly not wacky but I think a tamer virtue name like Hope or Constance would serve a woman better throughout her life.
I’ve always had a sneaking affection for Liberty - I think it’s the cool, crisp sound. A friend of mine is potty about it and adores the nickname Libby but has told me in no uncertain tersm that despite this, she would never use it. Why? well, because apparently people might think she was copying a footballer and other random celebrities who bear this moniker and that would be ‘terribly downmarket’!
Joking aside though, I know what my friend is getting at and it’s the same thing that has been said above, somehow Liberty suffers the unfortunate fate of feeling like a name that is ‘trying way to hard to be cool’…
One more thing, DirtyHippy mentioned Constance above which pleases me because I adore this underused name but the snag for me is the inevitable nickname Con/Connie, any ideas how this could be avoided?
If I had even a little bit of Celtic blood, I’d be all about Saoirse. It’s a great name, and as you say, Unknown, a subtle way to get the meaning.
Funny, DH, I know a 1976, born-on-the-7th-of-July woman named Amy Erica. (Drop the “y” and you get “America” - clever, right?) She hates her patriotic moniker, too. Wonder if her parents toyed with the idea of using Liberty? I’ll have to ask.
As for Constance … there’s always Tancy. But that doesn’t wear well on a grown woman, does it? And I know what you mean about Connie. It’s just not something I could imagine calling a child.
Oy! Amy Erica! That’s got to win some sort of cheesy award. I’m off to compose an email to my friend Libby and let her know that, perhaps, she did not meet the absolute worst patriotic name fate.
I go away for the Holiday weekend and miss everything!
I have a 1976, 1st of July cousin named Liberty who doesn’t fit the Liberty mold: He’s not thrilled with his name. He goes by Bert. His mother says he’d ‘ve been Liberty if he was a girl, too. As for my thoughts on Liberty, while I think the sentiment is worthy, it’s not something I wouuld use, ever. Maybe for a cat. But then, I find most virtue names cheesy by default, they’re so bloody obvious. Libby is canned peaches and other friuts, to me, hence, not a workable nickname, even for Elisabeth (in my family by the dozens) But Amy Erica, I’m telling Bert about her! Maybe he won’t feel quite so put out by his name after knowing hers!