With their lilting rhythms and catchy rhymes, nursery rhymes have delighted successive generations of children since the first publication of Mother Goose in the 1700s — though the original meanings, some of them political, have been lost. (Who knew that “Ring Around a Rosy” referred to the Great Plague of 1665?) The names used very much reflected the small stockpot of those in current use — so a preponderance of Marys, Jacks, Georgies, Peters, Toms and Tommys, Billys and Willies — but there were a few more original names, and here are a dozen of the best.
Solomon
Chiwetel Ejiofor played Solomon Northup in “12 Years A Slave.”
Solomon Grundy,
Born on Monday.
Solomon is an Old Testament name long associated with wisdom and peace, which stemmed from the Hebrew word shalom. It’s long been neglected because of a somewhat solemn image, but that’s changing, with Solomon now at Number 424 and at 272 on Nameberry. One negative: a DC Comics zombie supervillain is also Solomon Grundy.
Margery
Natalie Dormer plays Margaery Tyrell on “Game of Thrones.”
See saw Margery Daw
Jacky shall have a new master.
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Actress Lucy Liu
Lucy Locket lost her pocket,
Kitty Fisher found it.
In English-speaking use since medieval times, Lucy is a light-filled, enduring classic — everyone loves Lucy. She’s been featured in countless books and TV shows and comics and has been chosen by a number of celebs. Lucy ranks high on Nameberry — now at Number 14 — and is 66 across the country, in fifth place in Scotland.
Gregory
Actor Gregory Peck
Gregory Griggs
Had forty-seven different wigs.
Partly under the influence of Gregory Peck, this name was in the Top 30 for many years in the 1950s and 1960s. ut there are still many baby Gregs entering the world — there were almost 1200 born in the last year counted.
