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Some time ago, we asked on our social media what were the most unique names in your genealogy…
Aspasia, Exuperius, Victrix, Jamette, Fleurens, very uncommon names that delight the genealogist by taking them out of the usual Marie, Jeanne, François or Jean.
A name is the ultimate identity marker, combined with the family name, it allows one to exist in a (almost) unique way in the eyes of their loved ones and every person they meet. If a name often reflects the parents' wishes, it allows the child to be part of their family history. We all know someone who was given the name of a beloved grandmother or dear uncle. The choice of name sometimes serves to honor beloved relatives.
We have carried a name and first name since the Middle Ages. Of Germanic, Christian, Latin origins, names of saints more or less recent and local… the ideas for names are many. In genealogy, the first name(s) of an ancestor can be real headaches. It is not uncommon to find a different name on several acts concerning the same person. It is therefore useful to know that at the time, the civil status name did not count as much as the name given during the religious baptism. It was during this event that, since the 17th century, the usual name was given – usually that of the godfather or godmother, but this trend has greatly diminished over time. We often find the name of the father or mother, passed down from generation to generation. It has happened to me to find three generations of Louis (Louis Patriote, son of Louis Marc, son of Louis Marc also), so much to say that confusion is easy, especially since their respective wives also had the same name: Marie-Madeleine… Also, the changing order of the two or three names carried by an ancestor can greatly lead to confusion: Alfred Ernest at birth who changes his name every five years in the population census, once Alfred, once Ernest, then again Alfred… A little prankster! The name of a child who died very young can also be given again to a brother or sister who is born later.
As we said in the title, Zela and Zozime are forgotten names. According to Geneanet, the name Zela peaked in popularity in 1916 but represented less than 0.00175% of the names given that same year. As for Zozime, it was in 1848 that this name was most given, especially in the East of France. After a quick search on various search engines on websites specializing in names of all kinds, we noticed that Zela and Zozime were both absent from the long lists of more or less recent and more or less original names.
We find modern names like Jean-Pierre at the end of the 18th century or even Zoé; or of foreign origins (as @PellePioche said with Saïs, brother of Caroline, Charles and Edmond), same thing in my genealogy with Maria Celina that we find among the Marie, Madeleine and Marthe... It is this originality that makes us remember a person or even a branch more than another among the entire tree.
The trend in names is an eternal cycle, old, rare names resurface alongside the Emmas, Louises, Hugos or Léos. If you are also looking for inspiration for an upcoming happy event, find on the great site Le Grenier de Lisette a non-exhaustive list of many old, forgotten names found in the genealogy of many participants.