Vol. 50 No. 2 (2002)
Research Article

Distribution of Forenames, Surnames, and Forename–Surname Pairs in Canada

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  • D. K. Tucker
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1179/nam.2002.50.2.105

Published 2002-06-01

Copyright (c) 2002 Maney

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Abstract

Using information from the 1996 INFO USA ProCD CanadaPhone, I present graphically frequency distributions of forenames, surnames, and forename-surname pairs in Canada and compare each distribution with the equivalents in the United States. Minor cultural differences between Canada and the U.S. in the use of forenames are noted. Lists of the most popular forenames, surnames, and forename-surname pairs in Canada are presented. Although the source provides more information than previously available, several deficiencies are noted, in particular the absence of diacritics does not allow all French names to be correctly rendered, and the method of listing results in a gross under-representation of female forenames.

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References

  1. Hanks, Patrick, and Kenneth Tucker. 2000. “A Diagnostic Database of American Personal Names.” Names 48: 59–69.
  2. Hanks, Patrick, and Flavia Hodges. 1988. A Dictionary of Surnames. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
  3. Ogden, Trevor. “How Rare Are Surnames?” 1998. The Journal of One- Name Studies. April. Pp. 119–124.
  4. Schwegel, Janet. 1997. The Baby Name Countdown, 4th Ed. New York: Marlowe.
  5. Tucker, Kenneth. 2001. “Distribution of Forenames, Surnames and Forename-Surname Pairs in the U.S.” Names 49: 69–96.