Canadian Names (English Language Names)

[Team J and B 2]

Hello all!

I have another burning question and topic for discussion. Seems lately I'm full of interesting ideas for VJ's Canada forum.

Have you ever noticed that Grant or Gordon are very "Canadian" names? I believe there are a few more, and I'm sure you all have a few on your minds, too.

I would think that in bigger cities like Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, NYC, Houston, etc. people's names would be similar (I'm NOT taking into account ethnic names).

But so many times I've looked at someone's name and thought, "Andrea. She might be Canadian." If she wasn't, then she was named by her Canadian aunt/Gramma/teacher. I'd say I'm correct 75% of the time.

Is there really such a thing as a more Canadian name and a more American name? To me, British names are more obvious (Kate, Edward, Anne), etc.

Of course, this is all generalizing. But it's an interesting look at culture. We are so similar (in major cities) yet things like a first name might give a clue as to where that person is from.

Some very Canadian names I can think of:

Grant

Gordon

Andrea

Sylvia

Angela

Albert

Discuss.

Edited March 19, 2008 by Team J and B

[Team J and B 2]

Ding dang yall!

I misposted this.

Please move to Canada forum.

Thank you.

[Autumnchik 6]

Interesting. I am fascinated with names, especially now as we are trying to pick one for our baby to be.

As the American, I have to say that I have known several Andreas or Angelas who do not have any Canadian ties. Grant for some reason has always struck me as a Canadian name. Hubby had several friends growing up named Grant, it seemed like a popular name there, but was not such a popular name where I grew up in the States. Another name that I have heard more in Canada is Sheldon.

[DavidsPrincess 1]

Andrea and Angela are very common where I live (Illinois) as is Grant. But I'd say Gordon, Albert, and Sylvia definitely are not. The only people I've met with those names are from Canada I have a cousin named Sheldon. But he's the only one I know. Are there a lot in Canada?

Edited March 19, 2008 by DavidsPrincess

[rhymeswithcandi 0]

I agree that Grant and Gordon are very Canadian names...

Corey comes to mind too.

[Carlawarla 1]

I'd like to add a few names that I haven't heard here:

Nathan

Malcolm

Elliott

Elizabeth

Sarah

Eva

Glyness

I think like most things in the US, and Canada...these are maybe regional.

[Reba 2]

Sylvia is actually a Germanic name. I have a cousin Sylvia. Her father is German, her mother (my Aunt) is English.

Elizabeth is an English name, after the Queens. I had probably 4 Elizabeths in my class at elementary school, 2 were English, 2 were Canadian. I have a wo-worker here in NC who is an Elizabeth, born and bred American.

I've never met a Canadian Malcolm or Albert, but I know several who are English.

I know 2 Evas and they're both Polish.

I've never known a Grant or a Gordon personaly, but I know of a Grant (Ghost Hunters on SciFi) and he's American of Irish descent. The only Gordon I can think of is Gord Downey of the Tragically Hip. Definitely Canadian. But then there's Gordon Liddy, very definitely American.

I'd hazard a guess that names are very similar, as the 2 countries were settled by immigrants from the same countries in Europe. I personally have not noticed any oddities. Mostly all the names are the same. I mean heck, we've got so many James' in our family we've got them numbered now! I have 2 Uncle Jims (one is English, the other Canadian of Irish and American descent), a cousin James (English), my sister also married a James (Canadian, son of Polish immigrant Father and French Canadian mother), my own husband James, (American) and another cousin who married a James, whom I have not met, but he's Canadian.

If you happen to visit a catholic school or church, you'll likely find an abundance of Marys and James' and Matthews and Johns (New Testament names). If you happen to visit an immigrant neighbourhood of say Italians, you'll find lots of Anthonys and Marias and such. But I also know Anthonys who have no Italian connections, and Marys who are not Catholic or Italian.

[Krikit 1,165]

Out of all those names I only think of "Grant" as Canadian. I believe it's your psychic powers that are netting you the 75% accuracy rate, Team.

[warlord 73]

Oh man we actually have more Sarah's here at work then any other name. And all are pure blooded Americans.

I personally haven't noticed any names that fit into being more one then another. There's a lot of Grants here, Malcom's, Nathans, Gordon's etc. In fact I've known more people with those names here in the US then I knew in Canada (well never met a Malcom anywhere, but you know "Malcom in the Middle").

So no, I haven't seen any name that's more one or another at all. All of our english names pretty much seem to have derived from the same European sources I think...

[DeadPoolX 9]

I don't see any of those names as being inherently Canadian or American.

Most of our names originated somewhere in Europe and since both Canada and the United States were created and settled by Europeans (mostly the British), it makes sense that many of our names would be similar.

Let's take my name, for instance. It's Michael (although I prefer Mike). How many families with at least some European heritage have at least one Michael in there somewhere? Probably most of them and they're likely scattered all throughout the world. So if we have a Michael in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Germany, and Australia (I just picked those countries randomly; there's no hidden meaning behind it), does that mean Michael is inherently American or Canadian or British or German or Australian?

No. It just means that the name has some similar European ties that connect the countries mentioned.

There are a few select names that could be considered more nationalistic. Nigel, as an example, is very much a British name. You'd be hard pressed to find someone native-born to a country like Mexico, Saudi Arabia or Japan with that name. It just wouldn't fit in with their culture. But overall, many names do overlap within nations of relatively similar cultures (which is why there would be little difference between the names of Americans and Canadians).

[SonoranSongbird 3]

My sister is an Andrea. Well, granted, we lived quite near the border growing up, but otherwise no ties to Canada. The only person I know named Grant is from New Zealand.

I tend to think era might bring about more variations than anything else. I do not know anyone with my name born before 1964.

[Caladan 19]

Elizabeth isn't a name given to Americans? Or Sarah? Or Katherine?

I realize it's a lot of fun to find out cultural differences, but this seems like a stretch to me if we're excluding Quebec. I'm sure there's some trends, but I'd be willing to bet they're swamped by generational/pop culture trends that both countries share.

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

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QUOTE(Team J and B @ Mar 18 2008, 07:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hello all!

I have another burning question and topic for discussion. Seems lately I'm full of interesting ideas for VJ's Canada forum.

Have you ever noticed that Grant or Gordon are very "Canadian" names? I believe there are a few more, and I'm sure you all have a few on your minds, too.

I would think that in bigger cities like Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, NYC, Houston, etc. people's names would be similar (I'm NOT taking into account ethnic names).

But so many times I've looked at someone's name and thought, "Andrea. She might be Canadian." If she wasn't, then she was named by her Canadian aunt/Gramma/teacher. I'd say I'm correct 75% of the time.

Is there really such a thing as a more Canadian name and a more American name? To me, British names are more obvious (Kate, Edward, Anne), etc.

Of course, this is all generalizing. But it's an interesting look at culture. We are so similar (in major cities) yet things like a first name might give a clue as to where that person is from.

Some very Canadian names I can think of:

Grant

Gordon

Andrea

Sylvia

Angela

Albert

Discuss.

I know one Grant. He has not Canadian relatives beyond our Acadian ancestors. He's a crackhead, really.

I know one Andrea. I doubt she had any Canadian relatives, though.

Sylvia is a fairly common name, not like Sarah and Jill, but there are plenty of Sylvias here.

Angela is another common one, I've known several.

Not sure about Albert, but Fat Albert certainly wasn't canadian.

As for Gordon, I've always thought it was a British thing.

[Sprailenes 47]

There are Canadian names and Canadian last names. Sometimes at work I can go on the computers and I can tell which guests are Canadian. I wow my co-workers every day with my mad skillz.

[DavidsPrincess 1]

I would have to agree with the statement that if you exclude quebec, all the names are probably equally as common in both countries. Quebec has all the crazy french names