She’s short and strong, but undeniably feminine – even though her name comes from a word meaning “little boy.”
Thanks Mariuccia for suggesting our Name of the Day: Paige.
Once upon a time, a page was a boy preparing to become a knight. While the page was a servant, his background was rarely humble. Instead, most pages were from aristocratic families and expected to use their time in training to advance their interests and those of their families.
The term survives today. Ambitious high school juniors can apply to serve as US Congressional pages, managing phones and relaying messages. While the tasks are simple, the prestige is considerable. And, as anyone who’s tuned into 30 Rock knows, there’s a similar apprenticeship program at NBC.
Page comes from the Greek word paidion, meaning young boy. The Italian is paggio and Old French page or paige. It’s been a surname in Ireland since the 1500s and also appears in Germany and France.
While many surnames inspire parents to choose them as given names, Paige’s path is unclear. She first appeared in the US rankings in 1952. Perhaps Paige felt like an alternative to the Top Ten Patricia. But it is an unusual debut. Similar choices Brooke and Blair were still solidly in the boys’ camp throughout the 1950s.
What seems most likely is that parents borrowed the name from actress Janis Paige. Never a huge star, Paige nonetheless worked steadily throughout the years. Her movie career began in the 1940s. In 1960, she appeared in Please Don’t Eat the Daisies with Doris Day. She worked on television in the 1980s and 90s, including stints on soap operas General Hospital and Santa Barbara.
Another possibility is that Paige honors baseball legend Satchel Paige. His career was ending as the name was heating up – and choosing boys’ names for girls would’ve been quite daring until recent decades – so I’m less confident of the connection.
There’s also Patti Page, the Oklahoma-born singing sensation from the 1950s. She recorded the best known version of “How Much is that Doggie in the Window” as well as “All My Love” and “Tennessee Waltz.” The advent of rock’n’roll blunted her career, but she remains among the best-selling artists of all time.
In any case, Paige gained steadily. (Page has never charted in the US Top 1000 for girls, though it was sometimes heard in the nineteenth century for boys.) By 1990, Paige had entered the Top 100.
Then came that television show famous for removing ceiling fans across the country – Trading Spaces. Perky host Paige Davis became the host in 2001. The next year, Paige leapt from #71 to #50. The name peaked at #47 in 2003 – about the height of the show’s popularity, too.
Today, Paige stands at #89. While she’s not new, she continues to satisfy parents looking for a tailored choice that isn’t gender neutral. Her “ay” sound keeps company with Kayla, Hailey and Aidan. More adventurous parents could consider Blythe or Wren, but if mainstream is your preference, Paige remains surprisingly distinctive despite her popularity.
To me Walmart is more than jsut what Shannon said. It also denotes bigtime suburbanism. Less cosmpolitan people shop there, less sophisticated people. A few years ago, I started using the term Walmart names, then read the book Freakonomics and was surprised to see my theory about the way name trends work was supported in the book.
I don’t particularly like Paige, but I don’t see anything wrong with her, either. I think she could work on the right girl. I just wouldn’t use her, myself. But she’s pretty strong in her own right, and she makes a pretty nice middle name sometimes.
Thanks Shannon… glad we got that cleared up!
Yes Kate, that’s what’s meant by the Walmart set. Walmart has become a symbol for bad taste and low class. Don’t want to buy my clothes there, but good prices on groceries.
Paige – not among my favorites names, but not bad at all. I agree, not frilly but definitely feminine.
I see what BNB is saying, despite my overall dislike of surname style names and Paige therefore not being my thing, she does sound a lot more feminine and wearable than most. ‘Someone who isn’t afraid to go her own way’ is a great way to sum up how I would expect as Paige to be.
One quick question from a non-US citizen: Who are the ‘Walmart set’? I know Walmart is your biggest nation-wide superstore, so do I take it that this is a vaguely derogatory phrase to denote something along the lines of the ‘uneducated masses”? Could anyone advise? Thanks…
I like Paige. She feels modern despite her old origins. To me that name has always sounded more distinctly feminine, and yet, it suggests to me a bit of a Tomboy character; which is perhaps quite fitting given the entomology. Paige sounds young and independent. Someone who isn’t afraid to go her own way.
I’m not crazy about Paige. It’s not a bad name, but it seems to be used by parents whose taste is diametrically opposed to mine (though I’m not sure I’d go so far as to call them the “Walmart set”). The only Paige I know was a friend from high school — her sister was Jordan and her brother was Mac. None of them are BAD names, but none are names I’d ever choose.
I’m a Paige, obviously 🙂
When I was younger, I wanted to share my name with saints and queens like many of my friends, but I got over it as I got older. Now, I like my name fairly well.
It isn’t too common, but it’s not considered weird or awkward, either.
I like that it rhymes with “sage”, which has a nature connection as well as connotating wisdom.
That are basically my $0.02 about my name!
My cousin is Marlo Paige – she was born in 67. I think I’ve always loved the name Paige because of her. I’m a little sick of hearing it thrown around Y!A lately, but its popularity among the Walmart set hasn’t sullied its good name entirely. It would still be a name I’d consider – even though to use it would be funny to the rest of my family. We don’t reuse names in that manner – we generally use names of loved ones who have died or the same letter as their first name.
Well, my favorite Page is Jimmy Page. Guitar god exraordinaire. 😀 I’ve had a thing for him since I was 10, at least.
Paige is one that really doesn’t bother me overmuch for girls, especially with that ‘i’ in the middle. Despite the wide usage as a girls name, it doesn’t strike me a very feminine but again, I don’t find that very off-putting, funnily enough. Paige is indentifiable as a girl, kind of snappy, even. I’d never use Paige myself but I will continure to sugest her to people looking for something feminine but not frilly. She gets a solid :thumbsup: