If the Jordan River, can inspire parents for generations, why not this one?
Thanks to Annelise for suggesting Afton as Name of the Day.
Just like Jordan’s roots are deeper than you might imagine – he’s been used as a given name since the Crusades – Afton is no newcomer.
In the US, she first charted as a girls’ name all the way back in 1907. She disappeared after 1921, but resurfaced in 1982 and 1983. That’s over 360 twenty-something Aftons.
You’ll find Afton on the map in at least two dozen states, Canada and the UK. In Minnesota, you can even ski the Afton Alps. But the granddaddy of them all is the River Afton in Ayrshire, Scotland.
Robert Burns, Scotland’s favorite son and a native of Ayrshire, immortalized the river when he penned Sweet Afton in 1791. The poem inspired many of the place names and at least some parents, too. But it’s worth noting that the only given name in Sweet Afton is Mary:
My Mary’s asleep by thy murmuring stream,
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.
Just like many of Burns’ works, the poem is often set to music. While there have been other compositions over the years, you can simply sing it to the tune of Away in a Manager.
There’s a second musical link, this one far more modern. Afton Down is located on the Isle of Wight. In 1970, the annual Isle of Wight festival at Afton Down drew more attendees than Woodstock. With The Who, The Doors and Jimi Hendrix among the acts, it’s little wonder that crowds of at least half a million music lovers swarmed the tiny island.
Modern parents are rediscovering Afton thanks to Nickel Creek, an acoustic trio of mandolin, fiddle and guitar that’s been described as “newgrass.” They’ve got a playful sense of humor – they’ve even covered Britney Spears. (Don’t believe me? Check out this You Tube video of Nickel Creek covering Toxic.) Or, if you prefer, you can listen to their version of Sweet Afton here. Blogger Lori over at The Real Cruze family chose the name for their fifth child (wow!) because of their affection for the song.
While Afton is a common place name, and sometimes appears as a surname, there’s no good information on the origins of the name itself. I won’t hazard a guess.
There’s one other reference to Sweet Afton that you might stumble across. Irish cigarette manufacturer PJ Carroll & Co. uses the name for one of their brands. It’s not exactly like naming your kid Marlboro, though – the upscale smokes were said to be the favorites of philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.
Afton is an interesting one. While she sounds like masculine picks like Ashton or Alton, her use is almost exclusively female. She’s as tailored and frills-free as trendy choices like Addison or modern classics like Allison, but far more distinctive. And it’s a nice way to nod to your Scottish heritage, too.
I just can’t get beyond the surname-y feel to Afton or its similarity to the boy names mentioned in the post. And while I like that it has a link to the Isle of Wight (which we could see from our home in England and a photo of which hangs in my home), I’m not quite able to get excited about it as a name for a little girl. I *do* like that it is “no-frills” – it just doesn’t hit quite the right chord for me. I think of other words when I see it (‘often’ and ‘caftan’ both popped into my head rather randomly when I saw this post). Having said that, I don’t find it awful or offensive. I certainly wouldn’t mind meeting and Afton; it’s far more interesting than another Addison.
Jethro Tull was at that particular Isle of Wight festival as well.
I have video a cousin took who went (I was 3 at the time).
Afton is one of those few place name names that I actually like. She’s almost too plain for me, but I would admire her greatly on someone else’s girl. I adore Nickle Creek! Didn’t know about the cover of Sweet Afton but I’ll dig it up somewhere. Absolutely love them!
Afton gets a :thumbsup: from me. I wish more parents would search out this sort of name, beats yet another Madison!
I never thought about this name much, but when you mentioned it being a place name, I realized we could use it to honor family! Hubby’s great-grandmother still lives on the over 100-year-old family farm in Afton, WY. His grandfather (who married us) was born there. Hmmm…putting it on the list as a potential middle now. Thanks!
I recently found this name on a Macy’s clerk. She’s in her mid 20s, I’d guess. To me it’s an eye-roller type of name. It’s very WASPy soudning, very pretentious. I don’t love it. It sounds like the type of name Bret Easton Ellis would pick for one of his yuppie characters.
Afton is really not my usual style–place namey, surnamey, gender ambiguous. But I always loved the folk song “Sweet Afton” and the poem, which elevate Afton above the Ashton/Alton/Anniston/Addison crowd, to me at least. I still don’t think I’d ever use it because it doesn’t feel like “my kind of name.” But it’ll remain a guilty pleasure, something I’ll suggest to others and a name I’d be happy to hear on someone else’s child!
What a great catch-all name with its place naminess and surname feel. I don’t usually like this sort of thing, but it’s very refreshing and kind of pretty. Definitely one I will suggest to the Delaney-Madison set. But I think it also works for people with more refined taste. I could see Afton and Romilly as sisters, or Bryony and Afton. Good job Annelise and Abby!
I went to school with one of those now-20-something Aftons. She was a “punk”, she had a pet snake, was in the choir, and loved marilyn manson. She was an awesome girl all around, and rather edgy. She’s the only Afton I’ve ever heard of, so to me it’s not WASPy or trendy sounding at all. I’ve always thought it was a nice name. She always got tons of compliments on it.
Could I suggest the name Pannonica (Pannonique in French)? Knowing the meaning would be useful for a literature essay I’m writing!
“Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes…”
Ah, I love this poem. I have considered using Afton as a name before — but it surprises me that everyone sees it as a girls’ name! The “-ton” ending and surnamey feel sound very masculine to me. Good to know people are using this on their daughters before I try to go use it on a son!
I live next to a popular lake in my area that is named Lake Afton, so that is all I think of when I hear this. I don’t hate it, but would never use it. I do like it better than Aspen though, which gets a lot of love, but to me…all I hear is ASS-pen. Not a word I’d want in my name!
Ohhhh I adore this song. I’ve long been a fan of Nickel Creek, and this song was always one of my favorites. The name Afton has kind of been on my radar, but I actually find it too surnamey too (and my daughter has a surname-name). It would be sweet to sing the song to a slumbering babe, though… Not sure how I’d feel singing it to a screaming one, when they aren’t quite as sweet
In general, though, I do find it more feminine, probably because of the song. It’s a soft, sweet song, and has no masculine feel to it…
There was a character called Afton Cooper (played by Audrey Landers) on the TV show _Dallas_ in the early-mid ’80s. I’d wager a lot of twentysomething Aftons had parents who picked it up from there.
Ah, TC that must be it! Thanks for clearing up the mystery.