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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Kent => Topic started by: phenolphthalein on Wednesday 09 November 16 14:32 GMT (UK)
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Is the female forename Philadelphia more common in Kent in 1800s than elsewhere in the UK?
If so what is the reason for this?
Thank you for any help
phenolphthalein (who is not same person as Pheno)
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I dont know the answer to your question - but I guess a hunt on FreeBMD would answer it fron 1837 onwards. However I would comment that I have found a whole host of Philadelphias in Kent, whereas had not particularly come across it elsewhere before!!!!
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Seems to be even more in Sussex?! ;D
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.
From the name of a city in Asia Minor mentioned in Revelation in the New Testament.
It means "Brotherly Love".
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Thank you to both KGarrad and lizdb for their kind replies.
I guess the trend would be the same in the late 1700s, early 1800s but why?
Was Penn (of Pennsylvania fame) from one of those regions?
or a particular preacher or religion?
Thank you. I knew I would find a statistician or two. Well done.
phenolphthalein
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A long thread that may be of interest
https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!topic/soc.genealogy.britain/SPHC-oRYdWA
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Thank you for that thread. will save the link
Summary of it
Religious name -- city of Brotherly love -- as most know
Possinilities:
Penn
Quakers
Puritans -- James I reign -popular Sussex and Kent
Hugenots
Aping popular gentry
after a boat
was popular Sussex and Kent in 1600s too it seems.
Thank you
phenolphthalein
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Was Penn (of Pennsylvania fame) from one of those regions?
or a particular preacher or religion?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Penn
The above link has a great deal of info about William Penn.
It notes he was born in 1644 at Tower Hill, London, the son of English Admiral Sir William Penn, and Margaret Jasper, from a Dutch family, previously the widow of a Dutch captain, and the daughter of a rich merchant from Rotterdam and it gives info about his conversion to Quaker.
Google is a handy tool.
JM
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A long thread that may be of interest
https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!topic/soc.genealogy.britain/SPHC-oRYdWA
Thank you David
My own family has 2 Philadelphias. 1 born Philadelphia Shadwell in Bexhill Sussex in 1822. The odd thing is that the rest of the family has ''traditional'' names . Mary,Thomas, Ann , Henry and George all pre-born to Philadelphia the baby.
Philadelphias grand-daughter was also named as such in Australia Philadelphia Muirhead Munn b Apsley Vic 1884 m Robe SA 1905
Thank you
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The fact that it is a Biblical name and the locations listed suggest Hugenots, but I haven't investigated further.
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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
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.....
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
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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) ;D
Annie
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Seems to be even more in Sussex?! ;D
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.
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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
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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
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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
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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.