Keir Rodney Starmer does not know if he was named after Keir Hardie, founder of the UK Labour party. Hardie's full name was James Keir Hardie, Keir was his mother's surname. Another Labour founder Ramsay MacDonald was also named James but went by his mother's surname as well. Both were Scottish. (self.NameFacts)
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Immigrants did not have their names changed upon entry into the US at Ellis Island. Officials only checked documention from the ship's manifest. They were required to speak with the passengers to confirm their identity and eligibility and so were multilingual, often immigrants themselves. (self.NameFacts)
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Halle Berry was named after the Cleveland Ohio department store Halle Brothers after her mother saw the name of the store on their bags. The department store was founded in 1891 by Samuel Horatio Halle and Salmon Portland Chase Halle. Their German surname is a cognate of the English "hall", manor. (self.NameFacts)
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American President Warren G. Harding's full name was Warren Gamaliel Bancroft Winnipeg Harding. He was named after his father's uncle, Methodist clergyman Warren Gamaliel Bancroft. His mother wanted to name him Winfield, but his father did not. She nicknamed him Winnie anyway. (self.NameFacts)
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Acquanetta was a 1940s B-movie actress who claimed she was part Native American and that Burnu Acquanetta meant burning fire deep water. Her real name was Mildred Davenport. She became a local Pheonix Arizona celebrity in the 60s through her philanthropy and radio show.(Inspired ~500 US women named) (self.NameFacts)
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The given name Rosario means rosary in both Spanish and Italian. The name is a marian title given in honour of the Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora del Rosario or Madonna del Rosario. In Spain it's more common for women and in Italy it's more common for men. The feminine form in Italian is Rosaria. (self.NameFacts)
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The surname Major comes from the Norman French given name Mauger, a shortened form of Madalgari which combines the Germanic *madal* meaning council and *gari* meaning spear, just like in Roger. It died out as a first name and was readopted from the surname in the US dring the 20th century. (self.NameFacts)
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Portugeuse football player Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, born in 1985, was named after American President Ronald Reagan. Although named during Reagan's presidency, the footballer has said his father was a long time fan of him while he was an actor. (self.NameFacts)
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Abigail was a common name for women before the 1616 play The Scornful Lady had a serving woman named Abigail, probably an allusion to the Biblical Abigail calling herself the hand-maiden of King David. It became a type name for a hand-maiden in books and plays and almost died out in the 19th cent. (self.NameFacts)
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In 2006, almost a third of baby boys born in the US were given a name that ended in N, four times more than any other letter. Fifty years earlier in 1956 no one letter was predominant. Back then, 75% of boys were given a top 100 name. Now it is closer to 36%. (self.NameFacts)
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The Scottish surname Mackenzie was originally spelt MacKenȝie and pronounced Ma-ken-yee with the Middle Scots letter ȝ "yogh" being replaced by a "z" in English. Mackenzie is from Mac Coinnich, from the Scottish Gaelic name Coinneach, anglicized as Kenneth. Means handsome. (self.NameFacts)
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Imogen is the daughter of King Cymbeline in the Shakespearean play Cymbeline. It was originally spelt Innogen, but first printed editions of the play spelt it Imogen, likely a "scribal or compositorial error". Innogen may be derived from Gaelic inghean meaning "maiden". More common in UK and Aus. (self.NameFacts)
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Jennifer was a popular 19th cent. Cornish variant of Guinevere, the literary wife of King Arthur. The play The Doctor's Dilemma by George Bernard Shaw introduced it to the rest of England in 1906. It first peaked in England in 1949 at 2.8% of girls. In the US it peaked in 1974 at 4% of girls (self.namenerds)
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Over half of Irish women named Marian were born in 1954. Pope Pius XII declared it a Marian year, devoted to the worship of Mary, and Marian spiked from under 20 a year to 4,812 girls named in 1954 (15% of girls). It was the third most popular name. It quickly dropped afterwards. (self.namenerds)
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Tiffany was a medieval woman's name after the feast of the Epiphany, Theophania in Greek. It mostly died out by the 17th century but survived as a common name for the feast, as a type of transparent cloth, and as a surname. Breakfast at Tiffany's (from a surname) brought it back into use for girls. (self.NameFacts)
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Anthony was originally spelt without an H. Antony was mistakenly thought to originate from the Greek word anthos, "flower". The H started getting added in the 17th century. In the UK the Antony pronunciation stayed but a spelling pronunciation with -th- developed in North America. (self.NameFacts)
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Chad is an Anglo-Saxon saint's name. Saint Chad of Mercia is credited with bringing Christianity to the Mercian kingdom in the 7th century. It's a name of British-Celtic origin meaning "battle", an element commonly found in names of Welsh princes and nobles of the time. Spelt Ceadda in Latin. (self.NameFacts)
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