The decade started out with the song ?Oh You Beautiful Doll.? Singer, Al Jolson was crooning ?Swanee,? and the music halls were filled to overflowing.
Meanwhile, in the background, the world was in serious trouble. The Chinese Revolution in 1911, and the Russian Revolution in 1917 were shaking the world. In 1915, German torpedoes sank the great ocean liner, ?Lusitania.? Still, no one thought of world war ? until it was upon them.
The United States entered the World War I and sent its ?doughboys,? or soldiers, overseas. The air stirred with George M. Cohan's song, ?Over There? written to a 3-note bugle call. In 1917, the great songwriter, Irving Berlin, then a soldier, wrote ?Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning.?
The 10 top baby boy names from 1910 to 1919, in order of popularity, were John, William, James, Robert, Joseph, George, Charles, Edward, Frank, and Thomas. Like the names of the past decade, they were strong, saintly names.
John (Hebrew) means ?honorable;? William (English) means ?staunch protector;? James (English) means ?steadfast;? Robert (English) means ?brilliant;? Joseph (Hebrew) means ?supported by God;? George (Greek) means ?loving the land;? Charles (German) means ?well-loved;? Edward (Anglo-Saxon) means ?defender;? Frank (Latin) is short for ?Francis? and means ?free spirit;? and Thomas (Aramaic) means ?twin.?
The baby girl names of 1910 to 1919 were filled with classical beauty. Two new entries on the list of top names were Virginia and Frances. ?Virginia? was a famous name in books and plays. ?Frances? came to us from the French and was made popular by lilting songs.
Baby girl names, in order of popularity, were Mary, Helen, Dorothy, Margaret, Ruth, Mildred, Anna, Elizabeth, Frances and Virginia.
Mary (Hebrew) means ?spiritual;? Helen (Greek) means ?beautiful one;? Dorothy (Greek) means ?gift of God;? Margaret (Greek) means ?treasured pearl;? Ruth (Hebrew) means ?loyal friend;? Mildred (Old English) means ?gentle;? Anna (Greek-Latin form of ?Hannah?) means ?loving;? Elizabeth (Hebrew) means ?beauty;? Frances (French) means ?free spirit;? and Virginia (Latin) means ?purity? and is derived from the ?Blessed Virgin Mary.?
1910 to 1919 was a decade of upheaval and the First World War. But it was also an era of passionate baby boy names and baby girl names. Everyone was looking forward to the 1920s and the happiness and peace the new decade would bring.
