When I first moved to the South, I fell in love with all the lovely Southern names, especially all the Double names. A lot of girls in the South have two first names and you better not make the mistake of just using the first one. I did that only one time and got a big dressing down by the owner of that particular double name. I know many girls that have their mother’s maiden names as part of their double name. Southerners love their heritage and history! I do believe that many of our Modern Belles just pick double names that they like which might explain all the little ones I know named Anna Katherine, Anna Grace, Anna Kate, Emma Kate, etc.

I have also found that Southerners do not constantly shorten your name. Growing up in the North, I was always called Sue. Yuck. Despite all my attempts to get back to my given name, it was pretty much a lost cause. But here in my precious South, I am Susanne and no one has ever tried to call me Sue. My children have friends named James, Andrew, Joseph, Jonathan, Katherine and that is what they are called. But don’t get me wrong… I also know plenty of Jimmys, Billys, Rickys, and Juniors. It’s a lovely mix!

You will also find a lot of girls with names that sound like last names… generally because they are. Southerners also have a tendency to go by their middle name. This is very popular in my husband’s family (including him!) and we have continued that with my son. He was three before he actually knew his first name. I’m still not sure he can spell it. Unfortunately the practice of going by a middle name means a lot of beautiful first names are just sitting out there unused. When we were expecting our first child, I had a whole host of nieces and nephews and several had unused first names that I really loved. It was very tempting to actually use one but I was informed that this was not proper. Using a family name is definitely the appropriate route to go but when you have 12 nieces and nephews, all the “good” family names are already in use. Magnolia informed me that we were free to use Lorenzo but I politely declined.

Here is an excerpt from A Southern Belle Primer on Southern names:

When Southern belles want to join local committees and organizations, they rarely have to fill out applications forms to tell people who they are. That’s because Southern belles have names that are walking family trees. It doesn’t matter where you go in the South, because the entire South seems to be married to one another.

In some towns you can find Davis Carlyle Sotheby and her first cousin Sotheby Carlyle Davis and they are both leading tours for the local pilgrimage. They have cousins in places like Little Rock and Augusta named Carlyle Sotheby Smith and Smith Carlyle Jenkins. When cousins marry, they are likely to name their daughter Carlyle Davis Carlyle.

The use of double first names like Rebecca Ann or Jennifer Mary are also common. Double names are usually given to honor both grandmothers.

There are lots of children in the South named Rhett and Scarlett. Almost all of their families are newcomers. One belle in Savannah recalls that a magazine writer from New York once interviewed her about her hometown for an article. The writer ignored the established local Southern names and asked where in the South would he have to go to find a young girl named Scarlett.

“Well, not in Savannah,” the Georgia belle said. “And I wouldn’t bother with Atlanta either. I think you’re looking for someone you might find in southern Chicago.”

Ouch.

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