Theodate

Oh, the places one comes across the comeliest names! Yesterday morning I was buying flower seeds in a garden centre and couldn’t stop thinking about what an adorable middle name Anemone would make; in my English class last week I daydreamed about twins called Charmian and Iras; just this afternoon I was struck with loveliness while scrolling through a Wikipedia article about – guess what – a serial killer. H. H. Holmes, to be exact. Born in 1861 and executed in 1896, Mr. Holmes led a short and exceptionally bizarre life, over the course of which he acquired a medical degree, stole bodies from a laboratory, built and operated a fully-fledged torture castle, perpetrated Murder Most Foul (up to two hundred counts), and (most importantly) encountered some of the most intriguing names I’ve heard in some time. Born Herman Webster Mudgett, he renamed himself Henry Howard Holmes over the course of his criminal endeavours; he married women named Clara Lovering, Myrta Belknap and Georgiana Yoke, and had an affair with one named Julia Smythe; he had a son named Robert Lovering Mudgett with his first wife, and was himself the son of one Levi Horton Mudgett (the latter of which I can’t help but find adorable, despite the Good Doctor’s father’s being a rather atrocious namesake by all counts. Levi Mudgett! Levi! Mudgett!). All these charmingly nostalgic names considered and appreciated, however, it’s the name shared by the Good Doctor’s mother and daughter that has captured my attention most of all, and which I’ve seen fit to devote this entry to. Yes, gentlefolk: today we are going to be basking in the glory that is – Theodate!

From what I’ve been able to infer, Theodate (“THEE-ǝ-dayt” – like Theodore; rhymes with fate) appears to be an Anglicised form of Deodata, which is itself the feminine form of late Latin name Deodatus, meaning “God has given”. Related names include Adeodatus and Deusdedit, also of Late Roman usage, and French names Déodat and Dieudonné (and its feminised form, Dieudonnée, a perennial favourite of mine). There are several saints named Deodatus (six, in fact) – predictably enough, one might say, with the name’s meaning. It’s a name with a legitimate history, definitely, and it has a meaning with perpetual appeal (related name Dorothy means “gift of God”; Jonathan means “Yahweh has given”; list goes on).

The mother of our friend Mr. Holmes was born Theodate Page Price; her granddaughter, born to Holmes and his second wife Myrta in 1889, was named Lucy Theodate Holmes. Perhaps the most famous Theodate was Theodate Pope Riddle (1867 – 1946), one of the first female Architects in America – who was actually born Effie Pope Riddle, but who renamed herself at age nineteen to honour to grandmother (one Theodate Stackpole). A quick internet search lists quite a few British and American Theodates, most of whom appear to have been born sometime in the Victorian era, although ancestry.co.uk lists an Agnes Theodate (middle name) who died in Essex, England as recently as 1995. However, although I can find Theodore, Theodora, Theodosia and Theo (the latter for both males and females) on the SSA lists of most popular baby names between 1880 and 1889 in the United States, I find no trace of our elusive little Theodate. She is out there, but has apparently never been especially popular – established, but by no means overdone.

If you’re looking for a refined, spunkily feminine name, I really suggest you give some consideration to pretty little Theodate. She’s pleasantly antiquated and has a traditional feel without being especially popular (Catherine, Amelia, Elizabeth) or overtly frilly (Seraphina, Florentina), and she’s really grown on me quite quickly. She could easily make a charming middle name (Lucy Theodate – say what one likes about Herman Webster Mudgett, but I really can’t fault his naming taste), and I can’t imagine it would be too much of a stretch (in an era where Elizabeth, Olivia, Evelyn and Ava are sitting alongside Nevaeh and Madison in the US naming charts) to use her as a first name – not to mention the potential she has to be used as a character name (historical fiction writers, pay heed!). Nicknames could include Theo, Thea and even Tess (and, from there, Tessa/Tessie/etc).

Combo-wise, I’m currently adoring Theodate Anne, Theodate Rebecca and (yes) Lucy Theodate. Namers who appreciate vintage gems with clout (like Agnes, Beatrice, Constance and Clementine, to tackle just the start of the alphabet), Theodate could easily be your perfect match!