Pilgrim Namesakes
Thanksgiving in the U.S. originated with the Pilgrims, a group of settlers that established a colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. The first names of these Mayflower passengers included...
Males:
- Bartholomew
- Christopher
- Degory
- Edmund
- Edward (6 of them)
- Elias
- Francis (3 of them)
- George
- Gilbert
- Giles
- Henry
- Isaac
- James
- Jasper
- John (15 of them)
- Joseph (2 of them)
- Love
- Moses
- Myles
- Oceanus (born en route)
- Peregrine (born en route)
- Peter
- Resolved
- Richard (5 of them)
- Robert
- Roger
- Samuel (3 of them)
- Solomon
- Stephen
- Thomas (4 of them)
- William (8 of them)
- Wrestling
Females:
- Alice (2 of them)
- Ann
- Catherine
- Constance
- Damaris
- Desire
- Dorothy (2 of them)
- Eleanor
- Elizabeth (3 of them)
- Ellen
- Humility
- Joan
- Mary (6 of them)
- Priscilla
- Remember
- Rose
- Sarah
- Susanna (2 of them)
Earlier North American thanksgivings were attributed to Spanish conquistadors Francisco Vasquez de Coronado (in Texas, in 1541) and Pedro Menendez de Aviles (in Florida, in 1565). Canadian Thanksgiving can be traced back to English explorer Martin Frobisher, who celebrated a thanksgiving in 1578.
Thankful Names
The Puritans had a well-known affinity for virtue names such as Charity, Prudence and Temperance. In fact, one name they sometimes used for females was Thankful (often spelled Thankfull).
More exotic names with similar meanings include Jadon (male, Hebrew), Shakir (male, Arabic), Taonga (unisex, Tumbuka), Temitope (unisex, Yoruba) and Tendai (female, Shona).
