During the late 1800s - early 1900s a cute craze existed for
floral baby names, sometimes several in the one family. For some, fun and
pretty nature-inspired names must have been a creative breath of fresh air
after the rigid naming conventions of earlier generations. However, as with
most things, flower-names had their critics. Here is a snippet of an opinion
piece from a 1901 Catholic publication weighing in on the trend:
And I had only ever thought flower names were just lovely fun.
Plenty of people did have fun with flower names -with games, wedding themes and
embroidery from handkerchiefs to
lingerie:
Certainly it was a lot of fun to uncover an example of a
“floral family” tucked away in my own family tree, hidden quietly behind my
Great Grandmothers classic traditional name, Ada Maude Alice. It was a great surprise
to discover her big sisters were Holly, Ivy and Violet.
The first two Morris girls were doubly embraced with the floral
trend- Holly May and Ivy Myrtle. May did
not refer to the month of May, it was actually a well-liked flower name of Victorian
times referring to the May blossom, which we know today as Hawthorn.
Then came Violet Mary Sarah, followed by Gladys Margaret
Edith. I’m not convinced Gladys is a
flower name but it seems very close to Gladiolus. It does exist as a variety
name for roses and other flowers. Maybe Gladys was intended as a flower name for
Ada’s sister and maybe not. In any case,
the floral trend was definitely over for her parents by the time baby Ada came
along.
Whilst I love any kind of creative or nature-inspired names,
I love family names too, like Ada. Ada’s
mother, Mary Elizabeth, had many siblings, including two sisters named Ada and
Maude, and an Aunty called Alice. It
seems likely that my Great Grandmother Ada Maude Alice was named after these
women. Surely, only someone who really loved their family would wish to name a
child after them, and I believe this was the case for Ada. Here is a little further proof of the love
behind the name -Ada’s namesake Aunts make a public memoriam tribute to their sister
one year after her early death:
I believe the choice of their children’s names provide
insight into the Morris family. By using
trendy floral names the Morrises of Sydney were enjoying their own era, they
were a modern family in a modern city, embracing changing cultures and trying
new things. Flower names are good fun and the Morrises had fun naming their children
as it pleased them, yet also choosing tradition, again when it pleased them, for
Ada.
References
1901 'Our
Girls' Silly Names.', The
Catholic Press (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1942), 28 December, p. 18. , viewed 05
Jun 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104514702
"EMBROIDER YOUR
LINGERIE" Sunday Times
(Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954) 1
July 1934: 3 (Second Section). Web. 5 Jun 2017
<http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61198279>.
"Family
Notices" The Sydney
Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) 12
April 1928: 10. Web. 3 Jun 2017
<http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16456635>.
