Name of the Day: Georgia
She’s a nation, she’s a state, she’s a famous artist. In Japan, she’s even a coffee beverage.
Thanks to Sarah for suggesting our Name of the Day: Georgia.
Like any feminine form of a masculine, we’ll need to start with her counterpart: the regal George. Despite being worn by five kings of England, his meaning is humble: farmer, from the Greek ge - earth – and ergon - work.
The dragon-slaying Saint George was martyred under Diocletian. The lack of dragons suggests that his accomplishments have been embroidered, but he remains popular. In fact, he’s patron saint of England.
The earliest female Georgia on record is a saint herself, dating from the 400s in Auvergne, France.
Georgia is big in geography. There’s the US state, named after King George II, and the Atlantic’s South Georgia Island honoring King George III. The nation of Georgia may owe its named to Saint George, but that’s open to debate.
Famous 20th century Georgias include:
- Artist Georgia O’Keeffe;
- Theologian Georgia Harkness;
- Silent screen star Georgia Hale.
It’s a musical moniker, too. There’s “Sweet Georgia Brown,” the jazzy official song of the Harlem Globetrotters, and, of course, “Georgia on My Mind,” the official song of the state of Georgia. The latter was, apparently, written about a woman, but the lyrics are ambiguous.
Head to Japan, and Atlanta, Georgia-based Coca-Cola’s best selling beverage isn’t cola, but a coffee-flavored drink named Georgia.
Georgina and Georgiana are her friller cousins. While neither has ranked in the US Top 1000 in recent years, you’ll find both on the map – and in use. 2008′s film The Duchess was the story of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. Georgiana Darcy appears in Pride and Prejudice. There’s a current princess of Liechtenstein named Georgina; a handful of other aristocrats and minor royals have worn the name, too. TV’s Gossip Girl included a character called Georgina last spring.
Speaking of the small screen, actress Jorja Fox has appeared on CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, as well as ER and The West Wing. We thought Jorja might be foreign, but apparently she’s simply a phoentic respelling – one that does little to enhance Georgia’s charms. However, it did appear in the US Top 1000 in 2006, at #976.
Georgia herself has ranked in the US every year from 1880 on. From the 19th century through 1911, she normally appeared in the Top 100. Georgia dropped steadily until 1986, when she was #723. Since then, she’s done a slow climb, and today stands at a respectable, but not terribly common, #296.
The name is nicely feminine, with lots of nickname options. We can see Georgia answering to Gia, George, Geordie, Gigi or Georgie. She could appeal to parents looking for an alternative to Hannah or Emma, and also feels classic enough to be little sister to Julia or Amelia.
Overall, we think Georgia is a can’t miss choice.
Filed under: As Seen on TV, Mapquest, Music & Lyrics, Names for Girls, Names of the Day, Saints, Silver Screen | 10 Comments
Tags: Georgia, Georgiana, Georgina, Jorja
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I’m on the Georgiana camp. I have cousins in the state of Georgia and the Country too. Doesn’t feel like a name to me, just a location. (I don’t have the same problem with Charlotte or Virginia though!) I’d use Georgiana myself, if I could get the Mr. past Gigi, The dog his parents had when he was very little.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike Georgia. She’s just not my style. She’s lovely for anyone else! I do like her, but I’d use Georgiana before Georgia, myself. That is, if I didn’t just love George on a boy. Which actually wans’t ruined by Dubya for me (and I hate him!). George is all St. George for me, and the St. George legend has long been a favorite.
I find Georgia warm, pretty and the tiniest bit flirty which is nice for a girl name. It makes her quite appealing. Whatever you do, please don’t spell it Jorja!
I definitely agree with preferring Georgiana. How is it pronounced though? I’d always heard either George-EE-na or George-AH-na, but in the movie The Duchess it’s pronounced George-AY-na, which I had never heard and took a while getting used to in the movie, but now it’s the only one that sounds right.
I like Georgia, but prefer a little frillier names for girls, like Georgiana. I’m considering George right now for my boy… I feel like I’ve been saying that every day, but you’ve just been doing names I like over and over again!
Wow, Georgiana has always been 4 syllables to me: George-ee-ahn-ah. I could possibly make it george-EE-nah but don’t like to. And George-AH-na seems a bit, I don’t know; short? Georg-AY-nah seems to be a British thing. I have a Brit GF who says it that way, but admits the four syllable way I say it appeals to her more. I suppose simple Georgia wins in one area: unambiguous pronunciation!
The way I say it makes sense to me, as most yanks I know say Giana/Gianna with three syllables. Add the one syllable George in front and Viola! Georgiana with 4 syllables!
Crikey it just shows the difference in pronouciation across the Globe. Being British I know several Georgina’s – it’s one of those old British standards and if I wasn’t so in love with George, Georgina would definately be on my list as she strikes that great balance of well known yet under used. I’ve never even considered the possibility that Georgina has any pronounciation difficulties either as she is unequivocally pronouced George-EE-nah in the UK.
The Georgiana in Pride and Prejudice is how I first came across this name. Pronouced with four syllables: George-ee-ahn-ah – to me she feels like Georgina’s slightly frillier cousin and while I’ve never met one, she appeals in a way that overtly frilly names rarely ever do.
Back to the original topic for coversation: Georgia. I first decided that I really like Georgia whilst watching Ally Mcbeal (well I might as well be honest about these things!) prior to that I had heard precious little of her – not having the same overt associations with the name that American’s clearly do. I find her pucnhy, sassy and yes, flirty in her own old school southern way.
She’s much more well known in the UK these days, in a way that has put me off her a bit. I don’t know why, but to my mind she has lost some of her jazzy ‘Georgia on my mind’ appeal. Perhaps, this relates to an issue which I know I have prattled on about before but seems relevant here. To me, the name Georgia is intrinsically linked with the American state that bears the same name and indeed Southern culture in general (like any name who’s associations are rooted to a place). The point I’m making is that to name a child Georgia and have no links with that place/culture seems unnatural somehow and therefore a bit awkward…
For me, Georgia is all about Georgia O’Keeffe. I’ve been to Santa Fe to see the O’Keeffe museum, and I have reproductions of her work in my bedroom and our main living/dining space, too. It tempers the associations with the state for me – though I recognize that Georgia is, to many, a Southern belle.
Still, I’d use it.
As for Georgina/Georgiana? I had no idea there was a potential pronunciation issue. I’ve always heard Georgina said jor JEE nah, and assumed Georgiana would be jor jee AHN ah. But I’ve heard both very sparingly, so I feel like it’s tough to say. That’s interesting about the movie, Lyndsay – I haven’t seen it yet. I wonder if it is a historical relic or just a quirk of the woman herself?
I prefer Georgiana to Georgia. To me, Georgiana is a lovely Victorian girl. Perhaps because it has never been very popular (and my main association is with Pride and Prejudice), it sounds more sweetly-old-fashioned than dated.
I’ve known several old women named Georgia, so perhaps that ruins it for me. It was in the top 200 until 1953. It’s not horrible, but it’s not a name I get very excited about. That’s a personal thing, though. I certainly have some “old-lady” names at the top of my list. (Clara and Violet were definitely my grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s generation.)
Speaking of George, it’s my kitten’s name — that’s the name he was given at the shelter, and it suited him so well we couldn’t bear to change it. We sometimes call him “St. George” because he’s the better-behaved of our two kittens. (Bartholomew sometimes gets nicknamed “the Dragon” because he’s the wilder one.) I like George’s old-fashioned kingly feel, but the sound isn’t very appealing to me.
Georgia…. I don’t love it nor do I dislike it. Unless you spell it Jorja, that looks awful. I kind of like frillier names for girls.. so I would pick Georgiana out of the George names. I like the British pronunciation with the long A. But I would pronounce it George-ee-ah-na.
Also a huge fan of Georgia O’Keeffe. The Santa Fe museum is a must-see-in-my-life location. I’ve only read Jorja Fox’s name. I’ve never heard it pronounced. Is the pronunciation softened by the “J’ at all?
“Jorja” is a respelling, but not arbitrary. It comes from the male name “Jorge”, which is the Spanish form of “George”.
BTW, in Spanish there´s also “Georgina”.