Name of the Day: Constance
We talk about categories of names being hot. Grace is all the rage, as is Ava. And yet here’s a classic, virtuous name with a Hollywood pedigree – and she’s barely used.
Thanks to Corinne for suggesting the neglected Constance as Name of the Day.
Constance fits three categories, all currently in vogue:
- She means steadfast – as in the Latin constantem – stable. She’s as much a Puritan virtue name as Mercy or Faith;
- The old Hollywood link is Constance Bennett, a 1930s star. Her big role was 1937 blockbuster Topper, opposite Cary Grant;
- Lastly, it is hard not to think of Constance as an enduring classic, a sister for Eleanor (#256) or Sophia (#7).
While virtue names like Amity and Felicity have come and gone, Constance has been in use for centuries:
- William the Conqueror’s daughter wore the name;
- In the late 1100s, Constance of Penthièvre succeeded her father, Conan IV, as Duchess of Brittany;
- The Norman kings of Sicily used the name, too. Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, married Constance of Sicily in the mid-110os;
- Constance Hopkins sailed on the Mayflower and settled in Colonial America. Some records list her as Constanta;
- Mozart’s clever wife was Constanze, born in the mid-1700s;
- In 1941, socialite Jessica Mitford chose the name for her younger daughter, Constantia Romilly;
- Television gave us The George Lopez Show’s Constance Marie, as well as HGTV designer Constance Ramos;
- Lake Constance is found at the foot of the Alps, touching Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Her steady use continued into the twentieth century. Constance peaked at #99 in 1932, dropped for a while, then climbed again, reaching #82 in 1949.
Since 1999? Constance has gone unranked.
Blame it on Connie. She was once more popular than her formal version, peaking at #35 in 1955.
Some Baby Boomers called Connie may have been named in honor of songstress Connie Frances. Born Concetta – actually the Italian version of the Marian name Concepción – she warbled chart-toppers like “Who’s Sorry Now?” and “Where the Boys Are.” Today, her music seems gentle, even naive – neither antique nor current.
Of course using your given name in full isn’t so unusual. Plenty of girls are Beatrix, not Bea or Charlotte, not Charlie, thanks very much. Constance could simply use her full name.
But Constance is a bit stiff for a small child. If you’re the nicknaming sort, look to the second syllable for an appealing, kid-friendly option: Tancy.
The Ancient Greeks grew tansy; you can find the yellow flowers throughout Europe. Now that Daisy is a flower-power name, and more Americans are adopting Poppy, Tansy could emerge as an uncommon botanical choice. (One of the kids on HBO’s Big Love wears the name.) Neither the -s or -c spelling has ever charted in the US Top 1000.
If you’re looking for an underused classic, a name that everyone will recognize but almost no one will share, a name that sounds perfect for a Nobel prize winning scientist but still wears well on the playground? Constance just might be your girl.
Filed under: Americana, Little Ruler, Medieval Monikers, Names for Girls, Names of the Day, Silver Screen, Virtues | 9 Comments
Tags: Amity, Ava, Beatrix, Charlotte, Concepcion, Concetta, Connie, Constance, Constanta, Constantia, Constanze, Daisy, Eleanor, Faith, Felicity, Grace, Mercy, Poppy, Romilly, Sophia, Tancy, Tansy
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The way you describe Constance you’ve practically convinced me to use it! Tansy – I like that.
I have always liked Constance, she is strong and down to earth. I wish to see more of her. I love the nn Stanzi.
Constance is OK, but not for me. It comes across very Catholic girl to me. Tansy is a very cute alternative to Connie, but I don’t love the sound of the full name, Constance (it’s that ’stihns’ at the end with a very closed/nasal sound I’m not fond of). Also, as a virtue, ’stable’ is generally something you hope your child will be, but not exciting or anything (it’s not as desirable to me as a wish for my child as grace, hope, truth, friendliness, or patience – the final of which is something I lack, so I worry my kids will too). In all, my ear leans toward Constanta, Constanze, or Constantia variants, which at least add an open sound to the end of the name and lighten up that ending.
Love it. Although it can’t be first name material for me. Conor and Constance (Connie)? And not to mention my daughter goes by Bonnie much of the time. I’d be cast down into Naming Neaveh for that one. *slap, slap, slap*. I’d want to use Annie as nickname over anything else. Non intuitive I know.
I’ve long thought Tansy attractive but it looks just like the crappy Ragwort weed. I lived on a dairy farm for few years as a child and spent many hours pulling tansy ragwort out of the cow paddocks when it was in bloom lest the cows nibble it and die later. Not cool.
Tansy kills cows? You see – this is the knowledge you miss living amongst buses instead of barns. Were I ever left out in the wilderness, I’d be a goner.
Naming Nevaeh…naming hell?
LOL, I think it’s called tansy in some places but I believe ragwort isn’t truly a tansy or so many sources cite. Visually, it’s almost identical to me. I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. I wonder if if smells as bad as ragwort did?
I know tansy has been used medicinally for generations so don’t let a little bovine poisoning throw you 
It harms horses too although sheep avoid any real problems.
I figure that if Nevaeh is heaven spelt backwards, that makes it heaven awry and technically a Hades of some description, photoquilty.
Constance reads very Catholic school girl to me too. I think this is probably because I went to high school with a Constance (who went by Connie) in a very Catholic town (though it was a public school).
I like Constance but always balk at the unfortunate Connie. I think I dislike Connie even more than the much-hated-upon Ethel, Thelma, and Bertha (which all have a pleasant soft “th” sound in them), and only a little less than Nevaeh.
Actually, I think that if it weren’t for the Archie connections Ethel would be very close to, if not actually in, my top ten.