Ramsey

The name Ramsey was originally a surname. It comes from a place name meaning "wild-garlic island" in Old English. I came across this name as the name of a town on the Isle of Man. This month's World Wide Wednesday will focus on Manx names. Ramsey is also spelled as Rhumsaa in Manx.

According to Behind the Name, Ramsay is a variant of Ramsey. It is used mostly in Scotland as a surname. According to Nameberry, Ramsay is English and means "low-lying land" but Babynames.com says that Ramsay refers to Raven's Island. Clearly there are some meaning discrepancies around the internet, but despite these two names being so similar, it does appear as though they have different meanings.

The Baby Name Wizard says that Ramsay is a variant of Ramsey and that they are both Scottish surnames that originate from several different place-names. I already mentioned the town of Ramsey on the Isle of Man, but it is also said to come from either Hræm's Island, Ram's Island or Ramm's Island. If anyone has more specific information, do share!

The name Ramsey first appeared for American baby boys in 1894 with 7 births. It actually ranked at #933. It wasn't seen again until 1910 with 5 births and it became regularly used after that. Ramsey popped up on the girl's side in 1965 with 5 births and is still in use now with 55 births in 2012 for a ranking of #3059.

Boy Ramsey began gaining more popularity in the 1970s with its high point being in 1997 with 134 births and a ranking of #976. In 2012, Ramsey was given to 101 baby boys and it ranked at #1557.  It is very nearly a 2:1 boy:girl ratio. I never realized how unisex it is because I've always viewed it as a masculine name. I think Ramsey looks better for a boy and Ramsay would be cute on a girl, however there have only been 29 females named Ramsay in US history, and Ramsay is much less popular for boys than Ramsey. Just compare the two!

Which spelling do you prefer? What would you pair with this name?

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Catriona, Elspeth, Fiona, Isla, Mackenzie, Moira, Paisley, Sophie
Brothers: Angus, Calder, Duncan, Finley, Keith, Lachlan, Malcolm, Ross

Middle Name Ideas:
Ramsey Alistair
Ramsey Callum
Ramsey Douglas
Ramsey Frasier

As a Middle Name:
Ewan Ramsey
Hamish Ramsey
Kenneth Ramsey
Stuart Ramsey

Caspian

As a name, Caspian is relatively new. It is most notably the name of a sea between Europe and Asia that is considered the largest enclosed inland body of water on Earth. It is said that it was this body of water that inspired the name of the other notable Caspian: Prince Caspian of the children's book series The Chronicles of Narnia written by C.S. Lewis in the 1950's. Prince Caspian first appeared in the fourth book of the popular series as the rightful King of Narnia.

The Caspian Sea has a complicated name history itself including a number of different names and spellings in a variety of languages in the surrounding countries. But it is said to have been named for the city of Qazvin which was named for the ancient Cas tribe, or the Caspian people.

The origin of the name comes in direct relation to the Sea which is situated between Iran and Russia. Caspian is mostly just considered a place name with an unknown meaning and origin since it borders so many countries. However, the Romans referred to the people from which the name originally came as the Caspii so perhaps it could fall in the Latin category?

It is also said that the Caspii originated from a region of the Caucasus and that their name may mean "white". However there is also an association with the biblical name Cush which is an Ethiopian word meaning "dark-faced" or "swarthy". Since this is not yet fully established as a baby name, none of this type of information is clear and accurate. Take from it what you will.

Beyond these two namesakes, the romantic and cutting-edge Caspian does not have a lot of experience as a baby name. Actress Neve Campbell used it for her son in 2012 along with 54 other parents which ranks it at #2312, but this name has only been in use in the US since 1998. Right now it is at its highest popularity point ever but I expect it to continue climbing the charts.

Caspian is cool, unique, familiar and romantic! I've seen it floating around the baby naming community lately. It has even graced my own shortlist. It is similar to Casper without the ghostly reference and falls in line with all the other -ian names, like Cassian, that are gaining popularity. What do you think of it?

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Aria, Bronwen, Celeste, Emmeline, Junia, Lavinia, Seraphina, Xanthe
Brothers: Atticus, Cosmo, Evander, Hadrian, Lucian, Orion, Tristram, Zephan

Middle Name Ideas:
Caspian August
Caspian James
Caspian Oberon
Caspian Vincent

As a Middle Name:
Alistair Caspian
Henry Caspian
Julius Caspian
Timothy Caspian