Name of the Day: Dinah
I am Dinah Lord. My real name is Diana, but my sister changed it.
In the Katharine Hepburn film The Philadelphia Story, the kid sister introduces herself with that line. It’s always sparked my curiosity.
Thanks to Nessa for suggesting today’s Name of the Day: Dinah.
I was convinced that Dinah must’ve been fashionable at some point – the 1930s, maybe. The Philadelphia Story hit the big screen in 1940; it was based on a stage play written a few years earlier.
Plus there were two very popular songs referencing Dinah:
- “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” tells Dinah to blow her horn. It dates from the 1890s, but the Dinah lyrics might be even older.
- “Dinah” was part of the 1925 musical Kid Boots. The song was far more successful than the stage production. Everyone from Louis Armstrong to Bing Crosby to Dean Martin recorded a version.
But the name wasn’t popular at all. Dinah was in use in the late 19th century, but sparingly. In 1880, she charted at #769 in the US. By 1906, she was out of the rankings. The Philadelphia Story boosted Dinah’s popularity – in 1941, she charted at #878, her first appearance in more than three decades.
Dinah may have been out of favor because she’d become more title than given name. Just like Abigail and Bridget had their moments of downward mobility, Dinah was once used as a generic name for a house slave.
Dinah was one of the many Biblical names discovered after the Protestant Reformation. In the Old Testament, she’s the daughter of Jacob and Leah. The traditional version of her story is that she’s kidnapped and raped, prompting her brothers to go on a killing spree. Anita Diamant’s 1997 bestseller The Red Tent imagines an intelligent, capable figure and a very different interpretation.
It’s difficult to find a Dinah in real life – at least one who was born with the name. Fictional Dinahs abound, from Dinah Morris in George Eliot’s Adam Bede to Dinah Drake Lance, a DC Comics superhero known as the Black Canary. CBS’s Guiding Light includes Dinah Marler. In the 1970s, Dinah Mite was Action Jackson’s action figure sidekick.
The two most famous 20th century Dinahs were both singers. Dinah Shore was born Frances Rose; Dinah “Queen of the Blues” Washington was born Ruth Jones.
Dinah Shore’s career stretched over decades, including The Dinah Shore Show on television in the 1950s and Dinah! in the 1970s. But as a given name, Dinah disappeared from the rankings after 1966.
It was also the name of Alice in Wonderland’s pet cat and an animated dachshund in Disney cartoons.
While Dina is sometimes listed as a variant spelling, Dina is more likely to be pronounced dee na. If you’d like your daughter’s name to rhyme with China, keep the “h” at the end.
Dinah sounds like a throwback choice, and a rather refreshing one. If you’re looking for something less common than Sarah or Hannah, or even Nora or Clara, this is one to consider.
Filed under: Biblical Babes, Literary Babes, Music & Lyrics, Names for Girls, Names of the Day | 9 Comments
Tags: Dina, Dinah
-
Recent Comments
Mary on 3 Things I’ve Learned Ab… appellationmountain on 3 Things I’ve Learned Ab… appellationmountain on 3 Things I’ve Learned Ab… Julie on Baby Name of the Day: Isa… Julie on 3 Things I’ve Learned Ab…
I think Alice’s cat is what introduced me to the name, I remember watching the Alice in Wonderland TV show and loving the name Dinah. I’m so surprised at the rankings! How is it possible something so recognizable could be so unused? That’s fascinating. It’s a shame about the house slave thing, but I could get over that. I’m really surprised it’s not more common, you’d think some of the “Diana” parents would use Dinah, they do sound quite similar, but to me Dinah is so much sweeter. All in all I just love her, I’d absolutely love to meet one, but now I realize how unlikely that is! I’d certainly use her myself, and I think you’ve bumped her up a couple spaces on my list!
I love Dinah! I have a younger cousin named Deena and I can recall curling my lip at the name (I think I was 11 when she was born) and saying to my Mom “eww, why didn’t they go with Dinah”? *This is part of the cheesy ABCDE family we’ve got there*. So I’ve had a fondness for Dinah for a fair while! I think she’s lyrical; light & pretty. One of the very few names I like with that ‘h’ on the end, too. I remember Dinah Shore in the 70′s (I was betwen 3 & 12 in the 70′s) and the Dinah show was one my Mom probably watched, sparingly. That might be where I heard it first. I was not an “Alice in Wonderland” fan until I was well into High School. I hadn’t even read it until senior year (Ken still makes fun of me for that fact: “Shakespeare at 4 but Alice in Wonderland at 17? You’re weird”" So I rarely make the cat assocation. I had that Dinah Mite doll! (One of the very few I didnt blow the head off of, she had gorgeous, orangey blonde hair!) and I loved that purple jumpsuit. There’s a doll for every girl, and Dinah Mite was mine. (Funny too, my brother never had Action Jackson that I know of). Because of Black Canary (who I always forget about), she may fly past him. Any surperhero name is fair game, in this house. The more obscure, the better. (It’s how I get Arthur past him, who’s cooler than Aquaman?) :
)
Dinah’s warm & charming, soft and feminine but in just the right amount. No fluffy princess, she! I thoroughly like Dinah, she gets a huge :thumbsup: from me. Nessa, you’ve got a winner with Dinah! (and thanks Verity, this was a great read!)
Nessa, you have a Dinah, I’ll have a Jemima and together we’ll blow the lid off that “slave” thing!
I really like Diana, and Dinah is charming, and I’m a little surprised at her ratings.
I can’t help but sing “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” when I hear it though… Which, for me, makes it appear on the “I wouldn’t use it list”… I know I wouldn’t want people always singing at me, so I try to think of that (my poor friend Ronda… oh man, Beach Boys are the bane of her existence)…
Also, makes me think Diner, but that’s probably because I’m from the Land of Diners
Lola, sounds like a plan to me, let’s do it!
I can see having a problem with the “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” song, it hadn’t occured to me, but “Dinah won’t you blow, Dinah won’t you blow my horn” could be unfortunate in junior high. However, I doubt that many kids born now will even know that song, or at least it won’t be common enough that they’ll think of singing it to a little Dinah… I could be totally off base there though, I don’t know.
I first came across Dinah in Enid Blyton’s ‘The adventure series’, the characters were Philip, Jack, Dinah and Lucy-ann as I recall and I was as charmed by her then (aged 10ish) as I am now! She reminds me of Eliza or Nora and Clara as Verity has mentioned. I love how she sounds old-fashioned but is totally wearable and I also love how she is short but doesn’t for one minute sound unfinished as so many short names can.
I absolutely adore Dinah! It’s a great name!
For me, the most strong association is the song (I sing it to my daughter quite a bit). When I was looking at Lily name, Delilah briefly came up, and there’s something similar there, but Dinah is way better. (Plus I’d rather someone sing Dinah won’t you blow than Why why why Delilah anyway).
Dinah’s sassy and sweet and an altogether great name!
Oh, and I forgot to say – any association with Philadelphia Story or Katharine Hepburn is always a big plus in my book!
I think Dinah’s a very good name, and underused too. I think of Dinah Shore when I hear it, and yes, the song… the slavery image not so much. But I don’t think today’s children will have any of these associations. I know if I asked my 14-year-old about the song, he would have no idea what I was talking about and he’s probably never heard of the name. The Dinah in the Bible – don’t know if her name would be pronounced to rhyme with China or like Deena. It’s used in Israel and often written as Dina. I think usage of Dina or Deena in the US is actually not related to Dinah.. it’s sort of a nickname name (like Tina) that became an independent name.