By Elliot McIntire

Editor’s note: Elliot has collected some interesting statistics about the Rose Villa resident population. This is an example.

The most common given names of the 2000 people who have lived at Rose Villa have changed through time.  Looking at the total of all residents, the most common names for women are Mary (52), Elizabeth (in various forms) (48), Helen and Ruth (33 each), Dorothy (29), Margaret (28), Florence (24), Alice and Ann (23 each), Susan and Katherine (21 each).  But among current residents the most common names are Catherine (15), Susan (14), Carol (10), Patricia and Mary (9 each), and Judith (8).  Popular names in the past that have disappeared include Edna, Lillie, Gertrude, Martha, Hazel, Nellie, Mabel, Mildred, and Esther.  It is interesting that of the 21 total Susans, 14 are current residents. Clearly it became more popular around the time of World War II.

Men’s names have not changed as much. The most popular names over all are John (30), William (29),  Robert (23), Charles (19), and James (15).  For current residents the most common are Robert (7), Don (6), Bill (5), Tom (4), and Charles, David and John (3 each)