Digging out from under the world’s most massive list of Haitian names

I’m on the second day of editing the massive list of all the teachers in public and private schools in Haiti, and the data is still a mess. It’s taking shape, though. Some of the numbers are starting to look almost like real onomastic data.

Current Statistics

Total individuals: 67,502
Identified as male: 45,382
Identified as female: 22,120

Top Ten Surnames

I’m posting this table solely to measure progress. The top six names are all commonly hyphenated–Jean Paul, Pierre Louis–so these names are going to become far less common as I match them up with their missing halves.

WP DataTables

Most Common Male Names?

Oh hell no. That data is barely touched. It’s full of second halves of compound last names and first halves of compound first names, and right now it’s telling me that the most common name is Pierre. mmm, don’t think so.

Most Common Female Names

This data is cleaner, but still full of junk. (It says Pierre and Jean are in the top 30. Tag ends of compound last names, guys. I’m starting to hate compound names.) But! However inaccurate the details of the rankings on this list, all of these names are indeed extremely common.

WP DataTables

Most Common Female Names by Decade

This is the most exciting part of my research. The files give the people’s birthdates because apparently in Haiti, information privacy isn’t a thing. And unlike my other source of names with birthdates–child sponsorship pages–this list is of adults.

Most common names of the 50’s – 566 women

ROSE MARIE, 8
BERNADETTE, 7
MICHELINE, 6
MARIE LOURDES, 5
MIREILLE, 4
MARIE ANGE, 4

All good, classic French names, possibly a little old-fashioned by Parisian standards but perfectly presentable in society. The rest of the list is much the same, with only the occasional Delivrance, Clerzulie, or Dieula to remind you that you’re in Haiti.

Most common names of the 60’s – 2,198 women

JEANNE, 14
JACQUELINE, 14
MARIE NICOLE, 12
MARIE ANGE, 11
PIERRE, 10 (remnants of unsorted last names)
YVROSE, 9
MARIE CARMELLE, 9
MARIE, 9 (possibly compound names that haven’t been associated with their other halves yet)
MIREILLE, 8
MYRLANDE, 8
MONIQUE, 8
MARIE ROSE, 8
MARIE LOURDES, 8
IMMACULA, 8
JOSETTE, 8
JOCELYNE, 8

The quintessentially Haitian Myrlande/Mirlande makes its first appearance, but the list is still relatively conservative.

Most common names of the 70’s – 5,805 women

This list was hit hard by the particles-of-last-names phenomenon. “Jean” has 21 entries, putting it on a level with Mirlande.

In the 70’s, foreign influences made their way into Haitian names:

NADEGE, 41
CARLINE, 41
GUERLINE, 34
MARJORIE, 30
NATACHA, 28
ROSELINE, 27
GUERDA, 25
MICHELINE, 24
ADELINE, 23
JOSETTE, 22
MIRLANDE, 21

Ah, Nadege, the Jennifer of Haiti. The oldest Nadege in the sample was born in 1957, but the name hits its stride in the early 70’s and carries on strong through the 80’s and early 90’s.

Nadege–Nadejda, “hope”–is one of the Russian names that took Cuba by storm and spread to the surrounding countries. In Haiti, other popular Russian names were Nadia, Natacha/Natasha, Natalie, Tania, and Tatiana for girls, and Casimir and Vladimir/Vladimy for boys.

Guer- names first appeared in the late 50’s–the earliest in my sample is 1956–and gained steam through the 60’s. For girls, Guerline, Guerda, and Guerlande; for boys, Guersly, Guercy, Guerlin, Guerdy, Guerson, and the traditional name Guerrier. Where did Guer- come from? I have no idea, but my money’s on Cuba.

Most common names of the 80’s – 8,922 women

NADEGE, 69
GUERLINE, 60
NATACHA, 58
ESTHER, 48
NADINE, 47
CARLINE, 46
ROSELINE, 44
NADIA, 43
DARLINE, 42
NATHALIE, 40
JUDITH, 40

A lot like the 70’s, with fewer Mirlandes and a surprise appearance by Judith.

Most common names of the 90’s – 1,753 women

STEPHANIE, 16
ROSELINE, 15
ESTHER, 14
FABIENNE, 13
REBECCA, 9
NATACHA, 9
NAHOMIE, 8
WIDELINE, 7
NADIA, 7
NADEGE, 7
LOVELY, 7
DAPHNEY, 7

The Haitian invention Wideline makes its first appearance at the top of the list. This name first appeared in 1975, according to my sample, and came into its own in 1983 or ’84. According to other lists I’ve analyzed, it’s far more common among the lower classes, so its appearance here (along with the distinctly lower-class Lovely) could represent either the name’s growing popularity among the educated elite, or lower-class people’s growing success at making inroads into fields requiring education.