For months now I’ve checking the daily postings on the “Vast Public Indifference” blog – here. It’s a blog where Caitlin GD Hopkins indulges her fascination with history and old graveyard tombstones by posting a photo and description of her “Gravestone of the Day” with an emphasis on the names of the interred as well as the  artistry of the symbols and inscriptions. Occasionally, she drops in a quiz. Baby names are a current interest so she has been searching “name”  lists and has been soliciting suggestions. Some popular suggestions seem more like nicknames – Jack, Annie or Maggie. This prompted her to create a quiz for  readers to try to match a list of traditional names with their traditional nickname. It’s a challenge – try it here.

Check out the whole site – it has some good history links and other site links.

Note: The Social Security Administration publishes and annual list of the most popular male/female names for the year – here are the top 10 for 2009:

 

Rank	Male	Female
1	Jacob	Isabella
2	Ethan	Emma
3	Michael	Olivia
4	Alexander	Sophia
5	William	Ava
6	Joshua	Emily
7	Daniel	Madison
8	Jayden	Abigail
9	Noah	Chloe
10	Anthony	Mia