Quick – list the Twelve Apostles. There’s Matthew, Mark, Luke, John … and Bartholomew.
Thanks to Christina for suggesting our Name of the Day.
We don’t know much about Bartholomew’s life. He was an Apostle and was probably martyred in Armenia. Scholars speculate that he’s the same figure as the New Testament Nathaniel, though the names are unrelated.
Bartholomew is a Greek translation of the Aramaic for “son of Ptolemy.” He’s sometimes linked to Thomas, but that’s incorrect. Others contend that his name means furrows, making Bartholomew a farmer.
Some suggest that Bartholomew was among the more common names for European men. There are plenty of Medieval and Renaissance bearers of the name, including:
- Explorer Bartholomew Columbus, brother to Christopher;
- The Portuguese explorer Bartholomew Dias, first to sail around the Cape of Good Hope;
- Bartolomeo Cristofori, the Italian harpsichord maker generally considered the inventor of the piano;
- Fifteenth century Italian painters Fra Bartolomeo, Bartolomeo Vivarini and Bartolomeo Montagna;
- A lengthy list of sculptors, historians and other notables from the 1200s onward.
Then there are the bad guys:
- There’s the Welsh pirate Black Bart, almost certainly the wealthiest pirate in the early 1700s;
- Gentleman bandit Charles Bolles was known as Black Bart while robbing stagecoaches in the American West in the 1870s and 1880s;
- Gambino crime family member Bartholomew Boriello, who was usually known as Bobby.
Thanks to the saint, the name translates into most European languages and has remained reasonably familiar, if not frequently heard. Odds are he came to England following the Norman invasion. He may have fallen out of use thanks to the 1572 Saint Bartholomew’s Day massacre, a turning point in the French wars of religion. In a twist over an impending royal marriage, Catholics attacked Protestants and the death toll may have reached as high as 30,000.
While plenty of medieval monikers were rediscovered by the Victorians, Bartholomew never regained his status near the top of the popularity charts.
He was in steady use in the nineteenth century, but fell out of favor after 1900. (His last appearance was 1974, at #986). Short form Bart has fared better in recent years. He peaked at #249 in 1959. But he, too, left the US rankings after 1987.
Bart’s departure from the rankings coincides with his first appearance on the small screen. The Simpsons started as a short on The Tracey Ullman Show back in 1987 and landed their own show two years later. It is now the longest running sitcom in American television history, but only fans know that Bart’s full name is Bartholomew JoJo Simpson.
Modern parents might also think of the hero of Dr. Seuss’ 1938 The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins and 1949 Bartholomew and the Oobleck.
Bartholomew offers the obvious nickname Bart, but also the interesting Bate and Baty – forerunner of surnames Beatty and Beattie. If you’re hoping for an unusual choice that will be recognized but rarely shared, Bartholomew is an intriguing option – assuming you can overlook the animated character.
This name to me is very upper class snob sort of name. Nickname bart also doesnt entice me to like it but it has got an interestign history… i guess thats something
I like Bartholomew! It has such a soft, kind sound. I’m not sure how well it works, though, because of its lack of appealing nicknames. I actively dislike Bart, and I’m not sure I could get behind Bate or Baty. My grey kitten goes by “Mew” or “Mew-mew” for short, but those wear much better on kittens than they would on a human child.
Since the stress in the name falls on the second syllable, I wonder if you could make a nickname from that syllable. (Kind of like how Elizabeth shortens to Liz or Lizzie more easily than Elle or Ellie.) Bartholomew could yield… Thol? Tol (pronounced like “tall”)? Tolly? Hmm… not sure those work so well either.
Yeah, take that little yellow wonder, Bart Simpson, into account and there is absolutely zero chance of my ever using the name Bartholomew. Also, Bart rhymes with fart. Thanks for the info, though!
I like Bartholemew in full only and that means he’s middle only. I mean, who shortens their middle name(s)? Yep, even all those Good Bart’s can’t make modern folks forget about that little yellow freak who really ruined a perfectly good name. (See Photoquilty, we don’t always disagree! )
But yeah, I think he’d make a fabulously offbeat middle! (Now if I didn’t have a nasty, weird cousin named Bartholemew (who goes by Tolly, Emmy Jo!) I’d think about it myself, for a middle. It’s got the sort of dramatic feel I generally like on my boys. Too bad about the cousin, and that yellow freak.
When I was younger, I knew a Bartholomew who attended my church – it was right around the time when The Simpsons were getting popular – he was a few years younger than I was, but I always wondered what effect that had on him. In any case, I don’t dislike Bartholomew, I kind of like it. But I’ll second Photoquilty – Bart rhymes with fart. Not good. Bate… eh. It’s more of a “nice in theory” name to me than a practical one.
I like the full name Bartholomew, don’t care for any of the nicknames. It’s a recognizable name and I would love to see someone famous carry it off so that perhaps somebody uses the name for a little one.
It IS a long name, but I love its sounds.
Sorry, I’m with photoquilty on this one – he SCREAMS Bart Simpson to me, and I really dislike that show, so he’s not for me.
He just seems a bit too scarily formal to me, as well – like a creepy old cathedral type thing.
I don’t think I could personally ever name a child “Bartholomew” — a pet, yes, a child, no. That being said, I don’t think it’s a distasteful name in and of itself, I just don’t see a modern child wearing it well.
Incidentally, the Biblical Nathanael/Nathaniel has historically been considered to be another name for the disciple Bartholomew since: a) it was very typical for men at the time to go by more than one name, and b) in the gospels Matthew, Mark, and Luke Bartholomew is always mentioned in the company of Philip and in John Nathaniel is mentioned with Philip.
I love Bartholomew, one of my first name loves actually. I actually really like Bart and Bartie, and wouldn’t mind having a son named Bart in the least. It sound really sweet and cool. My father’s name is Arthur, nn Art, and having his name rhyme with fart has not hurt him in any way. I used to know a Bartholomew nicknamed Bard, another cool nickname.
This is belated, but I love Bartholomew! It’s friendly and quirky and classic all at the same time. Everyone knows it, but no one has the name. That’s a great combo.
It’s actually crawled up my short list of boys’ names because of the jaunty nickname “Ollie.” Tolly is also a wonderful contender. And if either of those become too juvenile for him, he could always switch to Art or Artie as a grown up. I agree that Bart fills me with unpleasantness, but people will generally start calling him what he calls himself. And if for some reason he grows to like Bart, well, I suppose I could make do. As his mother, I’d reserve the right to refer to him however I want!
I think I like the Italian “Bartolomeo” better. I can see lots of possibilities with this name. Nicknames like Tolly, Ollie, Bard, and Milo make it more user friendly. I’ll have to see how it grows on me with time
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