Talk:Desmond (name)

Research

Some research is needed on how this became a surname and a given name.

• the earliest use as a surname I could find dates to the later 19th century
• it is possible (plausible) that the name was assumed by some Irish immigrants to the US in the mid 19th century
• but the surname also seems to have existed in Ireland itself by the early 20th century, see Dan Desmond
• in 1907, "Desmond" was chosen as a pseudonym by a German dancer and nude model, no doubt because the name was felt to have an "exotic" ring to it in Germany
• in the 1940s, US popular musicians chose "Desmond" as their stage name, apparently also because the name was somehow felt to be euphonic, but not necessarily "exotic", more likely in the US it was felt to suggest Irishness(?)
• at some point, it also became a "black" ("African-American") name. Viola Desmond (née Davis) became known as a civil rights activist in Canada in the wake of an incident in 1946. She got the name Desmond from her husband, Jack Desmond. Now I am not sure about this, but I suppose she would not have been able to marry an Irishman in the 1940s (anti-miscegenation laws?) so Jack Desmond would be evidence that Desmond had become a surname of certain black families already by c. 1920? Or perhaps he was Irish after all?
• Desmond became popular as a given name in the US only after 1960 (relatively, it was never popular, but rose from nought to 0.05% during 1960 to 1990, behindthename.com). I have the impression that it has the dual connotation of "Irish-American" and "African-American" in the US. Desmond Tutu could have had an influence on African-American name choice only from the mid 1970s (and a peak is indeed visible in the late 1970s). I also note that all pop culture characters we list are white, so the name is clearly not overwhelmingly suggestive of race.
• Desmond Tutu is an example of the tradition among black South African Christians to combine a "Christian" name with a Bantu one. Desmond Mpilo Tutu, son of Zacheriah Zililo Tutu. Choice of the "Christian name" is often rather eccentric, so presumably there doesn't need to be a "reason" for the choice of Desmond there.
• Desmond seems to have existed as a given name in the UK well before the 1950s, see Desmond Llewelyn. It would be interesting to trace this, but it also appears to have been rather rare. Apparently, it was in use in Jamaica by the 1940s (Desmond Dekker) as well as in Ireland (Des Lynam), i.e. some 20 years before it saw noticeable use in the US.
• By the 1960s, the name had become well-known enough that, even though still rare, it could be used by anyone without raising any eyebrows. US usage steadily increased during 1960-1990, but did not rise above 1-in-2000. --dab (𒁳) 09:15, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

It is not uncommon for a British or Irish place name to become both a given name and a surname, mostly via a peerage title. This happened with Lindsay (name). It is mostly the case, I think, that the mechanism for this is name choices in late 19th century United States. This is what happened with Lindsay as a male given name (the female variant arises only with 1970s pop culture), and Desmond seems to have a similar history, but it may be more complicated than it seems at first sight. --dab (𒁳) 08:46, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

There are Desmonds which came over as Desmond and did not decide to "take" the name as the article implies, it goes way back. For example, there are Irish gravestones form the 18th century. I am going to delete that idea from this page.