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He’s a surname choice with playful literary associations, as well as a tie to engineering.
Thanks to Jen for suggesting Kipling as our Baby Name of the Day.
It is almost a rule that any surname will have a few uses in first spot, and it is surprising how many surnames owe their roots to a given name. In Kipling’s case, there are a handful of men who have worn the name in the twentieth century. It is impossible to say how many answered to Cybbel, Kipling’s Anglo-Saxon forerunner.
The exact history of Cybbel is difficult to trace, but several sources suggest that it means club or cudgel, and could have been given to someone who made clubs, someone who used clubs, or someone who just happened to have a short, stout, club-like appearance.
Cybbel influenced two place names, both in Yorkshire. The first became Kiplin, a tiny dot of a place famous because of Kiplin Hall. The Calvert family built Kiplin Hall in the seventeenth century; you might recognize the name George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, founder of Maryland.
The second is Kiplingcotes, home to England’s oldest horse race, the Kiplingcotes Derby.
The most famous Kipling’s father hails from Yorkshire, but Rudyard Kipling – the Nobel Prize-winning author of enduring favorites like The Jungle Book – was born in distant Bombay.
The year was 1865 and Joseph Rudyard Kipling’s parents, John Lockwood and Alice Macdonald Kipling were recent arrivals in India. Their son’s unusual name came from Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire, where the couple met and fell in love. I’m not sure why they used the given name Joseph, but John Lockwood also apparently preferred his middle name, so perhaps there was a family custom.
Lockwood Kipling was an artist – a sculptor, arrived in Bombay to teach at a school of arts and industry. Alice, too, had a reputation as a creative, vivacious woman. No wonder, then, that Rudyard would be both incredibly popular and artistically successful – a tough combination.
Kipling brings to mind Mowgli dancing with Baloo in the Disney adaptation of his most famous work, or maybe the fearless Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. But he’s also a poet, conquering more serious issues as in 1892′s Gunga Din.
If you happen to be an engineer, there’s another reference. Back in 1922, seven past presidents of the Engineering Institute of Canada took part in a conference in Montreal. The assembled felt that their profession required something different – a ceremony to impress upon new members the importance of their craft, and to reinforce their shared responsibilities. One of the seven past presidents wrote to Rudyard Kipling, and Kipling – who had praised the work of engineers in some of his writings – agreed to write the words of the obligation. An American equivalent exists, too, and all members may wear an iron ring.
There’s also the luggage, known for the attached monkey charm. The line is indeed named after Rudyard Kipling; their site affectionately refers to him as Rudy.
Rudyard, then, isn’t such a stretch as a given name. But what about Kipling? He seems more sophisticated than many a K-name, and his -ing ending is unusual without being strange.
Kipling conveys a certain adventurous spirit, but he remains surprisingly wearable. Nickname Kip is friendly and upbeat. Kipling’s parents may have to explain their choice, but chances are they’ll never regret it.
British people have the bonus association of Mr. Kipling, a baking company. They make lovely cakes but I think it would rule it out over here. Still, in another country I could see it working.
(Also Huxley + Kipling = very interesting imaginary sib-set)
Count me as a Kipling fan, both of his works & his name. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi was my favorite story when I was 4. Easily. It still is among my very favorites. My Mother used to complain to my Father “Why do you let her read anything at all?” And he would reply “Because she can.” Drove her bananas! My Mother hated that I read as much as I did. She’d rathered I sewed, knit, sang or anything else. Spent all her life trying to get my nose out of books, to no avail.
So while Kipling absolutely appeals to me and I’d love to use it, it strikes me as a slap for Mom. So maybe I’d hide it in the middle.
Kipling sounds so upbeat & happy. I can’t NOT like him. And Kip is all sorts of appealling as a nickname. Yes! I really like Kipling. I hope someday I meet one!
Oh, and I like the hypothetical sibset of Huxley & Kipling too! Lovely!
Fantastic post! I learned a lot about Kipling.
But yeah, it just reminds me of the Mr Kipling brand. And kippers.
Also the ancient joke about, “Do you like Kipling?” “I don’t know, I’ve never kippled before.”
This almost seems like it might go down better in Maryland, where they have a vague link with it.
HA! I’m sitting in Maryland. Actually, I’m writing from Plato’s Diner, on Baltimore Avenue, a stone’s throw from the University of Maryland’s main campus. Though, strictly speaking, this is inner-beltway DC, so we’re less Maryland and more metropolis.
Kipling would, I think, go over well here, but not necessarily because the reference is well known. More because it is the kind of thoughtful, academic choice that we tend to like.
Wow! and Yay! Thanks for doing this one!!
I keep thinking about this name, for future use. I’m just not sure I’m brave enough! But it would really be fitting- I want literary or musical names (Ophelia’s my favourite name EVER) and he’s an engineer. “Kipling” for him was a ceremony, a ritual, a right of passage… but also a final night of fun and celebration with his friends before heading out into the real world of engineering.
Much love for this one, and if I don’t use it, I hope to meet one some day. Is the general preference for Kipling/Kip over Rudyard/Rudy? (I do have a very close and dear niece named Ruby already!)
*rite of passage…
How interesting. I was going through my google reader feed and this was the post that came after a birth announcement for a baby Kipling. He is a rainbow baby for another babyloss mama.
I had no idea of its history, just the association with Rudyard Kipling. Your posts are always so thoughtful and informative.
Out of the two I definitely prefer Rudyard to Kipling. The syllables in Kipling sound too similar to those in “pickled kippers” for my taste.
Having grown up in India, I have conflicted feelings about the famous author bearing this name (undoubtedly a genious). I LOVED the Just So stories when I was younger, and grew to love The Jungle Book tales as well. However, I still haven’t made up my mind about “The White Man’s Burden”; I simply don’t know whether I should be taking the poem seriously or not.
The information you provided about The Engineering Society of Canada was very interesting. I have a number of engineering friends and relatives who wear their rings with pride. Academically at least, I never felt like we had much in common since I’m clueless about engineering and most of them rather detest the study of literature. Now I have a topic of conversation we might both be interested in.
One of my earliest memories is seeing Disney’s Jungle Book and I loved the Just-So stories, especially “The Elephant’s Child.”
Other the other hand, I knew a guy in college who was called Kip/Kipling (I’m not sure about his real name… maybe Charles?) Anyways, he was the preppy, frat boy back when most guys were trying to emulate Kurt Cobain or Eddie Vedder. Kipling just feels like the name of an East Coast, upper class “WASP” (not that’s a bad thing, I just described my brother’s FIL.)
I can’t help but read this name and think “Crippling.”
I think I prefer Rudyard/Rudy over Kipling. I know that Kipling is male, but the only Kip I know is female. Kip is the 60 year old hippie woman who was my mother’s head midwife at my twin sisters’ home births 20 years ago. So despite Rudyard Kipling, ‘Kip’ will always be a warm hearted woman to me
Very interesting! I named my son Kipling. He is almost 14 months now. We live on the east coast. Most people we tell the name to really seem to like it. We have always loved the name. Didn’t use it because of Rudyard, we just really liked it. I don’t regret using it…it’s so fitting! We love it!
Glad to hear Kipling wears so well!