Is Philadelphia more common than elsewhere?

[Rosinish]

Not many born in Scotland, I think 22?

I have a Philadelphia Duff b 1801 (2nd youngest of 9 kids) who all have 'normal' names such as Jean, Margaret, Alexander etc.

The only other which is a bit less common was a sis named Rachel.

I am also curious as to why such an unusual name.

I have found nothing on her apart from her baptism so possibly died pre statutory records in Scotland (1855)?

Annie

[majm]

.....
The only other which is a bit less common was a sis named Rachel.
I am also curious as to why such an unusual name.
...

Rachel is a Biblical name, see Genesis chapter 29.   

JM

[Rosinish]

Rachel is a Biblical name, see Genesis chapter 29.   
[/quote

JM,

I meant Rachel was less common than her other siblings Alexander (2 of), Elizabeth, Jean, Margaret, Janet & William (names common in Scotland) 

Annie

[lizdb]

Seems to be even more in Sussex?!

In 1881 there were 782 occurrences of the forename Phiadelphia, counting 11 variants and obvious
misspellings and/or mistranscriptions.
Of the 782 Philadelphias, almost two-thirds of them were found in Sussex (334) and Kent (181), with only four other counties (Surrey, Middlesex, Cornwall and Essex) even mustering double figures.

Switching to the districts you find an overwhelming concentration of Philadelphias around Uckfield, Hastings, Ticehurst, Rye, Lewes, Brighton, Hailsham, East Grinstead and Battle (all in
Sussex) with only Tunbridge, Kent, intruding in the Top 10.

Thanks KG. I found these stats really interesting.
When you first mentioned that there were more in Sussex than Kent, I was questioning that in mind - just because a large part of my research in the past had taken place in Sussex and I had not particularly come across the name, but more recently I have been researching in Kent and had come across Philadelphias by the dozen!  But it makes sense when I look at the stats - my Sussex research was predominantly West Sussex (Worthing, Littlehampton, Chichester sort of areas), so not particularly where the name had caught on in a big way,  but my Kent line are around Tonbridge and often just over the border into Sussex, Rotherfield and around there!  So they are all around the main "Philadelphia" area!
So your stats were really interesting, thanks.

[KGarrad]

Thanks KG. I found these stats really interesting.

So your stats were really interesting, thanks.

Much as I would like to take the credit, they aren't my stats!

In my haste to tell you, I forgot to add a link to the source - which is the same as davidft found.

So, I humbly apologise for that omission, and add it here:

https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!topic/soc.genealogy.britain/SPHC-oRYdWA

[bearkat]

I posted a query about the name Philadelphia some time ago.

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=317656.0

Stanmapstone's stats are interesting


There are 662 in the 1881 Census. These are numbers in the top six counties;
Sussex 279
Kent 154
Surrey 48
Middlesex 47
Cornwall 22
Essex 11

[ladynicotine]

I believe that not only did William Penn have a favourite aunt named Philadelphia, he also owned land in both Sussex & Buckinghamshire.  The concentration of "Philadelphia's" in Sussex could relate to people naming their children in such a way as to please the local gentry.  However, I must confess that I haven't found a similar concentration in Buckinghamshire, (I have family from both places) so there may be nothing in that!

Lady Nicotine

[robbo43]

I have three Philadelphias in my Gain & Gutsell families from Brede in Sussex, births ranging from 1829-1850. The families were all at the ag lab level & seem to have been non-comformists. Some members of the families, but none of the Philadephias, converted to the Church of the Latter Day Saints and emigrated to Utah.