Name of the Day: Warren « Appellation Mountain

Name of the Day: Warren

23Apr09

He’s one of those solid, not-quite-classic masculine appellations that is either hopelessly out of favor – or poised for a comeback.

Thanks to Photoquilty for suggesting Warren as Name of the Day.

Warren conjures up a host of solid citizens. There’s former California governor and Chief Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren; fellow Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger; President Warren G. Harding and investment guru Warren Buffet.

Maybe that’s why it can be tough to picture a baby Warren. The name has always charted in the US Top 1000, and while his peak was #24 in 1921, he remained in the Top 100 right through 1971. Chances are you know at least one Warren well past driving age and probably post-retirement.

Today Warren stands at #514. That’s not obscure, and he’s got history aplenty.

Warren has two possible origins. It may simply be a whisper-down-the-alley place name worn by Normans from La Varrene. Over the years, it became de Varrene. English swapped the “V” for a “W” and de Warrene eventually morphed into workaday Warren.

The other possibility is also a place name, or possibly an occupational one. The Old French warenne meant game park – an enclosed space for breeding animals. It may have derived from the Gaulish word varros – fence post – or the Germanic element war – to protect. Eventually, rabbits became the most common animals bred in warrens, and so a warren is also used to describe close living quarters. (I guess bunnies don’t need much by way of elbow room.)

Warren’s been worn as a surname and given name, and may also substitute for some imported last names, like the German Werner and the Gaelic Ó Murnáin.

Warren got his biggest boost from the election of President Warren Gamaliel Harding in 1921. This might also be the source of some of his decline. While he won election by a landslide, President Harding’s administration is not remembered as a success. (If you’re forgetting American History 101, Harding is linked to Teapot Dome scandal.)

And yet a handful of Warrens argue for the name’s revival:

During the American revolution, Joseph Warren became an early American hero. A doctor by training, he eventually became a Major General in the Continental Army. He dispatched Paul Revere on his famous midnight ride. And he’d eventually die at the Battle of Bunker Hill, reportedly after making a rousing speech to the troops;
Warren Earp was Wyatt’s brother, yet another lawman in the Wild West;
Hollywood gives us the Oscar-winning Warren Beatty. The leading man was actually born Henry Warren Beatty – he lends the name quite a bit of dash;
Not too long ago, Warren Buffett was as much of a rock star as a frugal-living investment genius could be. Banker names are out of fashion these days, but the Oracle of Omaha is also a noted philanthropist and humanitarian, accomplishments that will surely outlast any bear market;
Rapper Warren G. scored a smash hit with his 1994 “Regulate.”

With red carpet, rap star and cowboy connections, it is easy to argue that Warren should be considered an underused classic à la Walter or Calvin. If you’re stuck between Gunnar and Charles, Warren might just split the difference.

Filed under: Americana, Last Names First, Names for Boys, Names of the Day, Silver Screen, Wild West | 11 Comments
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11 Responses to “Name of the Day: Warren”

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1 Lola on April 23, 2009 said:

I adore Warren and have long thought that despite scandal & mismangement, Warren Gamaliel is the most dashing pairing I’ve ever seen.

I knew a Warren at one point. During the “clubbing” years where I’d leave the boys with a babysitter and go out with a few girlfriends on a Saturday night, run the gamut of clubs in centeral & North Jersey, end at a diner by midnight and be home by 1am. We’d do that two or three times a month. it was fun and I met Warren at a club in North Jersey. In a group of 7 or 8, we hit a diner up there only to be informed that it was closing in half an hour so the kitchen was closed. Now, being from Central NJ, where everything is open 24/7, this was bizarre to me and I think I freaked him out by being completely hysterical over this “Diner closing” thing. We talked on the phone two or three times and went to dinner & a movie once after that but that was the end of Warren. Too bad, he was handsome and sweet! I was just a bit too unusual for him, I think.

So it’s a fond memory. (Sorry about the length of that one)!

I find Warren warm, happy and charmingly dashing. A little stuffy but not too much so. I do hope he makes a comeback and doesn’t vanish forever. I like Warren a lot! His solid, fuzzy warmness gets an enthusiastic :thumbsup: from me!

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2 JNE on April 23, 2009 said:

First thought: rabbits.

But I actually like the name a fair bit. Along wiith Darren, it has that 1950s feel to me. But I’m surprised to find that an -ar- name is not really getting me all excited – it’s just a “fine” name, not something more. (Probably because the vowel here is more an “or” sound when I say it). It also doesn’t have much of anything in terms of nickname potential. For boys this isn’t a deal breaker, but it is a bummer to me. The other thing aboutt Warren is that it’s a very grown up name in my mind. There’d be something slightly humorous to me in meeting a baby callled Warren. I think it’s a solid name, but it’s one for someone else’s boy.

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3 Wrenn on April 23, 2009 said:

I don’t really like it. Probably because it does make me think of a Warren I know who is well past driving age and post-retirement age (though he still drives and works…). However, I like the similar Orrin. Wonder why that is? Is it the ‘O’ factor?

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4 photoquilty on April 23, 2009 said:

I think it’s all right. It’s not spectacular, but not awful. Definitely better than Wayne, my most hated W name. I am immediately reminded of Warren Beatty, then of Watership Down, and finally of the movie, Empire Records because of a shoplifter character who said his name was (again) Warren Beatty.
I like it, but not enough to use it. I’d be surprised if someone told me they were naming their child Warren, but less surprised if it were the middle name.

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5 Bek on April 23, 2009 said:

On an unrelated note: Lola, most diners are open 24/7 in North Jersey, but some towns have curfew laws that make them close. Mine was unfortunately one of them. But luckily we had another 5 in an 8 mile radius to hit up late at night

Now, on to Warren. Not a fan. Oddly, my first thought is of Elle’s boyfriend in Legally Blonde, a movie I don’t even remember seeing more than 2 or 3 times on TV… But he’s how I picture a Warren – stuffy, pretentious and kind of aloof. I can’t picture a down to earth kid with the name. Seems “Old Money” to me, which really isn’t my style in the least.

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6 Bek on April 23, 2009 said:

Oh, Photo, I think of Empire Records too. Love that movie

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7 photoquilty on April 24, 2009 said:

Bek, the ex-bf in Legally Blonde was Warner. Similar, but not the same.

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8 SophieGray on April 24, 2009 said:

nope, Warren’s not for me. I don’t know about his use in the US, but down here I think most Warrens are around the late 40s – 60s age.
I end up putting him in the same category as Barry and Wayne, and similar names; they kind of sound a little ‘bogan-ish’ to me (without meaning to offend!), but I have no real pretense for disliking him.

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9 valery on April 24, 2009 said:

Call me crazy, but I really like this name, and would even use it for a girl!!

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10 Bek on April 24, 2009 said:

You’re right. See, I don’t watch the movie much, haha. But still gives me the same feel…

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11 Jo on April 25, 2009 said:

Rabbit burrows and tenement housing estates. Sorry, I can’t see any appeal. It’s similarity to Wayne is also off putting. I will borrow SophieGray’s term “bogan-ish”.

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