Tefilin and Abimelech Have Made It: Names from the December 2002 Licensure Examination for Dentists
Of those who completed the December 2002 Licensure Examination for Dentists, 672 passed.
Excluding the seven people whose sex I failed to determine from a quick search of social media or news articles, the passers included 528 women and 137 men.
The Women
Among the women, 343 (64.96%) had only one given name, 175 (33.14%) had two, and ten (1.89%) had three.
First Given Names
The most popular initials for the first given name are M (154, 29.17%), J (61, 11.55%), C (44, 8.33%), A (39, 7.39%), and L (30, 5.68%). No one had a first given name that started with U, X, or Y.
Table 1(a). Most popular first given names among women.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 30 | Maria |
| 20 | Mary |
| 19 | Ma. |
| 14 | Michelle |
| 7 | Jennifer |
| 5 | Anna, Grace, Janice, Marie, Sheryl |
| 4 | Maricel, Ruth, Vanessa |
| 3 | Donna, Gina, Joan, Johanna, Kristine, Marites, Marjorie, Pamela, Rowena, Sharon |
| 2 | Aileen, Aimee, Alina, Amy, Ana, Ann, Annabel, Arlene, Aura, Carolyn, Catherine, Cecile, Charo, Cherry, Christy, Clarissa, Czarina, Diana, Dorothy, Emily, Gay, Glenda, Gloria, Hazel, Ivy, Jean, Jenny, Joanna, Josephine, Karen, Katherine, Leah, Maricelle, Marlene, Melanie, Myla, Pauline, Rochelle, Rona, Rosalinda, Ruby, Sheryll |
Table 1(b). Most popular first given names among women (combined spellings).
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 49 | Maria (Ma.) |
| 20 | Mary |
| 15 | Michelle (Michele) |
| 9 | Jennifer (Jennefer, Jenniffer) |
| 8 | Sheryl (Sheryll, Sheriyll) |
| 7 | Anna (Ana) |
| 6 | Janice (Janis), Maricel (Maricelle) |
| 5 | Grace, Joanna (Joana, Joannah, Joahnna), Marie |
| 4 | Catherine (Katherine), Kristine (Christine), Marites (Maritess), Ruth, Vanessa |
| 3 | Aileen (Ailyn), Ann (Anne), Annabel (Anabelle), Clarissa (Klarissa), Donna, Gina, Joan, Johanna, Marjorie, Myla (Mhyla), Pamela, Rowena, Sharon |
| 2 | Aimee, Alina, Amy, Arlene, Aura, Carolyn, Cecile, Charo, Cherry, Cheryl (Cherryl), Christy, Czarina, Diana, Dorothy, Emily, Gay, Glenda, Gloria, Hazel, Irene (Aireen), Ivy, Jean, Jenny, Josephine, Karen, Leah, Lindsay (Lindsey), Marietta (Marieta), Marlene, Melanie, Noemi (Noemie), Pauline, Rochelle, Rona, Rosalinda, Ruby, Vivien (Viviane) |
Second Given Names
The most popular initials for the second given name are C (27, 14.59%), J (tied with C), and A (25, 13.51%). No one had a second given name that started with Q, U, W, or Z.
Table 2(a). Most popular second given names among women.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 14 | Ann |
| 11 | Joy |
| 8 | Marie |
| 6 | Anne |
| 4 | Grace, Jane, Mae, Rose, Theresa* |
| 3 | Catherine, Elena, May |
| 2 | Carmela, Claire, Corazon, Cristina*, Fe, Gay, Joyce, Lee, Lou, Lyn, Lynn, Sofia, Vanessa |
Table 2(b). Most popular second given names among women (combined spellings).
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 20 | Ann (Anne) |
| 11 | Joy |
| 8 | Marie |
| 7 | Mae (May) |
| 5 | Catherine (Katherine, Katheryn) |
| 4 | Cristina (Christina, Kristina)*, Grace, Jane, Lyn (Lynn), Rose, Theresa* |
| 3 | Elena |
| 2 | Carmela, Claire, Corazon, Fe, Gay, Joyce, Lee, Lou, Sheryll (Sherryll), Sofia, Vanessa |
Third Given Names
The third given names in the sample are Angelica, Ann, Anne, Cecilia, Josephine, Lydia, Michelle, Monica, Pomposa, and Victoria.
Standouts
Some of the names that appeared only once in the sample are:
- Cellophane
- Epheta
- Herchell
- Minionette (phonetic spelling of Mignonette?)
- Princessille
- Seeress Mae
- Tefilin (in Judaism, tefillin are small black leather boxes that Jewish men wear during morning prayers. The boxes contain small parchment scrolls that have verses from the Torah inscribed in them.)
The Men
Among the men, 106 (77.37%) had only one given name and 31 (22.63%) had two.
First Given Names
The most popular initials for the first given name are A (20, 14.60%), R (19, 13.87%), and M (18, 13.14%). No one had a first given name that started with K, U, W, X, Y, or Z.
Table 3(a). Most popular second given names among men.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 5 | Erwin |
| 4 | Dennis |
| 3 | John, Mark |
| 2 | Arnel, Dexter, Eduardo, Eric, Joseph, Melvin, Michael, Rommel |
Table 3(b). Most popular second given names among men (combined spellings).
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 5 | Erwin |
| 4 | Dennis |
| 3 | John, Mark, Michael (Micheal), Ruel (Roel, Rhoel) |
| 2 | Arnel, Dexter, Eduardo, Eric, Joseph, Melvin, Rommel |
Second Given Names
The most popular initials for the second given name are J (9, 29.03%), R (4, 12.90%), and M (3, 9.68%). No one had a second given name that started with D, E, F, I, K, O, Q, S, U, W, X, Y, or Z.
Table 4. Most popular second given names among men.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 2 | Joseph, Mark, Paul |
Standouts
Some of the names that appeared only once in the sample are:
- Abimelech (the name of several characters in the Bible, and a generic term for Philistine kings)
- Chanele
- Generalissimo Guiller-Felix (the first person I associate with the term generalissimo is Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, who died in 1975. Imelda Marcos attended his funeral.)
- Jiffy
- Marvefe
- Nubbin
- Peterlain
Numerical Suffixes
Thirteen men (9.49%) had suffixes attached to their names. Of these, 11 (84.62%) were Jr, while two (15.38%) were II.
Reference
2002 December Exam by Dentist Board Exam Philippines (Blogspot)