Last year, Elisabeth at You Can’t Call It “It” noted that we’d moved beyond hipster baby names to hickster baby names. Think Jethro and Ethel, Beulah and Zeke.
Australian actress Nicole Kidman married New Zealand-born country crooner Keith Urban, and they named their second daughter Faith Margaret – “that Southern double name.”
Hang out on a city playground, and you’ll hear kids answering to Hank and Daisy, names that once would have been at home down on the farm, not in the middle of the metropolis.
What explains our affection for good ol’ boy baby names?
I have a theory.
Back in 1975, Gy Waldron – a native of Lexington, Kentucky, born Gyneth Markley Waldron – was the writer/director of a forgettable B-movie called Moonrunners. A few years later, the concept was sanitized for prime time television and reborn as the smash hit series The Dukes of Hazzard.
Hazzard County was pure fiction, and the names worn by the characters were style misfits when the show debuted in 1979. Some of them – Cletus, Enos, Cooter, I’m looking at you – remain stuck in the sticks. But a surprising number of The Dukes of Hazzard names are at the height of fashion a quarter century after the series ended.
The Duke Boys weren’t the first to bring this style to the television. Westerns have long been a small screen staple, and the cast of The Beverly Hillbillies was rich with possibilities: Elly May and Pearl, Jed and Jethro. But the current generation of parents grew up with Bo and Luke Duke outwitting the corrupt Boss Hogg in re-run. Over the series’ eight seasons, many a visitor to Hazzard answered to a great name. Some of these appellations were worn by bit characters and bad guys, naturally, but they’re stylish nonetheless.
Good Ol’ Boy Names from The Dukes of Hazzard
Abel – Sure, he’s Biblical. But so is Luke.
Ace
Amos
Avery – Some of the names worn by Southern men are now topping the charts – for girls.
Beauregard – The full name of main character Bo Duke.
Blaine
Bo
Brodie – Spelled Brody, this name ranked #999 in 1979. He’s be on the rise ever since.
Cale – Guest star and NASCAR legend Cale Yarborough played himself in two separate seasons. Yarborough’s birth name was William Caleb. In 1979, Cale ranked #900.
Carter
Cash – Unranked in 1979, white hot in 2012.
Cassius
Charlie
Clayton
Cowan – Cowan isn’t actually catching on, but I’d guess he’s pronounced exactly like the popular – and ever so controversial – Cohen.
Coy
Davis
Dempsey
Emerson
Emery
Flint – Part of me finds Flint an implausible choice for a son. But there’s Finn and Flynn, so why not Flint?
Floyd
Garrett
Hank
Henry
Jack
Jacks – The ancestor of Jax?
Landry
Luke – The other Duke cousin, Bo’s constant companion. The Biblical Luke has been in steady use over the years. Luke Skywalker arrived in 1979, boosting the name. He ranked #110 when the series debuted. Today, he’s a solidly established pick for a son.
Homer – Is he a classical reference or the bumbling Simpsons patriarch? His appeal probably has more to do with his hickster status.
Hudson – Unranked in 1979, and #112 in 2011, this New York City river was the given name of a visitor to Hazzard County.
Hughie – Okay, Hughie and Huey aren’t style stars. But Hugo is very on trend.
Hurley
Jeb
Jonas
Mason – A character called Mason Dixon was on the show back in the day, when Mason ranked a frosty #455. Today he’s #2 – and poised to overtake the top spot.
Max – Add up all the popular ways to get to Max, and no wonder he’s heard everywhere today.
Miller
Milo
Otis
Parker
Rafe
Rocky
Rosco
Roy
Sam
Simon – He’s Biblical, brainy, maybe a little bit British. And back when he was in style limbo, Simon made an appearance in Hazzard County.
Slade
Tex
Vance
Wade
Zack
Southern Belles from The Dukes of Hazzard
Anna Lisa – This was a double name on the show, but isn’t she very close to the quickly rising Anneliese?
Annie
Clara
Daisy – Another main character, Daisy Duke was a mix. Yes, there are the too-short shorts, but she could also be quite fearless and excelled at things like repairing engines. Daisy went from #520 in 1979 to #166 today, so maybe there is a link …
Delilah – Doesn’t she seem perfectly suited to a Southern belle?
Dixie – Okay, Dixie is Daisy’s Jeep, not exactly a character.
Dorothy
Emma
Esther
Floralee
Flossie
Lucinda – Already vaguely folk-country in a very cool way, thanks to Lucinda Williams.
Lulu – There are oodles of formal options to get to this charming nickname.
Helen
Maybelle – Mabel is sweetly vintage. Maybelle is definitely hickster.
Rose Ellen – Southern doubles were big on the show, ranging from the expected – Mary Kay, Mary Lou, Sue Ann – the less conventional, like Mandy Jo. Rose Ellen is easily my favorite.
Sadie
Trixie – Before there was Knuffle Bunny, Trixie was at home in the rural South, not Park Slope.
I love love love the name Emery for a boy.
They’re all so trendy these days! (With exception to Flossie and Floyd, which I’m not seeing much in my neck of the woods – thought I’d throw in a down south cliche, in honour of the post!)
I am another big fan of the Southern double name. In fact my 5 month old daughter is named Martha Rose and we call her both names. They are both family names and we felt it married the English sound of our last name with some good old Southern charm.
Martha Rose is lovely!
To me, Cowan is said with a KOW sound rather than a KOH sound. But I’ve noticed quite a few Jewish families have Anglicised their surname from Cohen to Cowan. I’m not sure whether that de-controverses it or not.
I grew up with a lot of these names. Then again, I grew up in the foothills of the Appalachians. I must say, I have a soft spot for all of them. My best friend is considering a double first for her daughter that comes off as rather hickster. It’s perfect for her family, though.
One note: In my former neck of the woods, Cowan is pronounced cow (the animal)-an.
And I totally think Beaulah needs a comeback, and Homer is so much more than just a Simpson!
LOVE this line: “Homer is so much more than a Simpson!” Agree totally! 🙂
YES! I agree completely! I’m an avid defender of Homer myself. Has Homer ever been profiled as a Name of the Day?
Thanks! I second Homer for NotD!
I’ve been thinking about it, and I think, were it not for the Simpsons, Homer would be seeing a rise in popularity right now. It has the long o so popular, the -er ending, and literary ties. Sort of if Holden and Archer had a baby.
*Beulah. Really need to start proofreading before I hit submit!
this is how I pronounce Cowan also. similar to the second part of the name McGowan, except a C instead of G.
they’re not all ‘hickster’ names to me, but I like these from the list:
Abel, Amos, Charlie, Clayton, Davis, Emerson, Garrett, Hank, Henry, Jack, Leo,
Luke (you mentioned Star Wars contributing to the rise for this name, but really, the Dukes of Hazzard had a much broader appeal at the time), Hudson, Jasper, Jeb,
Jesse, Jonas, Jude, Max, Miller, Milo, Rafe, Sam, Simon, Zack
Anna Lisa (I might like this more than Anneliese), Annie, Clara, Daisy, Delilah, Dixie, Dorothy, Emma, Esther, Lucinda, Helen, Mabel, Maybelle, Molly, Rose Ellen, Sue Ann,
Ruth, Sadie, Trixie
wow, quite a few. My friends and I and my whole family loved this show. No doubt influenced how I see some of the names. I had more of a crush on Luke than Bo, though. And wanted an uncle that looked like Santa Claus.
I think Beau can stand on its on but there is something charming about Beauregard. I love, love, love double names. Mandy Jo? Bring it on!
I have known lots of Beaus from my hometown in the South! It definitely works as a stand-alone.
Ps never a dukes fan, although I saw the appeal of Bo.
Yeah Faith Margaret doesn’t sound as Southern double as say Maggie Fay might, it’s doubleness seems fancier. And I am a huge fan of the southern double. With my girls I went for a short englishy first plus a middle that could serve as a southern double, to honor a lot of their heritage.
I think some of those names were “out of fashion” in the “Debbie” and “Terry” seventies, but weren’t necessarily hick, and now, they are coming back, not as “hick” names in style, but as Downton Abbey era names back in style. Pearl, Simon, Henry, Clara, Helen, Lucinda? These are all names that would not be out of place in an Edith Wharton novel about rich New Yorkers.
And if “Faith Margaret” is hick, we’re in trouble.
That’s a nice point about Faith Margaret!
I didn’t realize how “Dukes of Hazzard” my taste in names is.