Roseblinda and Eraldgino Have Made It: Names from the December 2006 Licensure Exam for Dentists
Of the 1,188 people who took the December 2006 Licensure Exam for Dentists, 393 (33.08%) passed.
Excluding the eight whose sex I could not determine from a quick search of social media or news articles, the passers included 288 women and 97 men.
The Women
Among the women, 169 (58.68%) had only one given name, 113 (39.24%) had two, and six (2.08%) had three.
First Given Names
The most popular initials for the first given name were M (70, 24.31%), C (30, 10.42%), J (tied with C), A (24, 8.33%), and L (tied with A. No one had a first given name that started with O, Q, U, or X.
Table 1(a). Most popular first given names among women.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 13 | Ma. |
| 11 | Mary |
| 8 | Maria |
| 6 | Michelle |
| 5 | Karen |
| 4 | Kristine, Leah |
| 3 | Catherine, Lady, May, Sheila |
| 2 | Ana, Anna, Arlene, Charo, Cherrie, Claudine, Diane, Elaine, Flordeliza, Jackie, Janice, Jennifer, Joan, Kathleen, Kimberly, Marissa, Maureen, Mylene |
Table 1(b). Most popular first given names among women (combined spellings).
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 21 | Ma. (Maria) |
| 11 | Mary |
| 7 | Michelle (Meschel) |
| 6 | Karen (Kharen) |
| 5 | Diane (Dianne, Dyan, Dyann), Kristine (Christine) |
| 4 | Ana (Anna), Leah, May (Mae) |
| 3 | Catherine, Cherrie (Cherry), Jacquelyn (Jaqueline, Jackielen), Joan (Joanne), Lady, Sheila |
| 2 | Arlene, Bernadette (Bernadeth), Charo, Claudine, Eileen (Eilene), Elaine, Flordeliza, Gelyn (Jelyn), Jackie, Janice, Jennifer, Kathleen, Kimberly, Marife (Mariefe), Marissa, Maureen, Mylene, Richelle (Rechelle) |
Second Given Names
The most popular initials for the second given name were M (18, 15.13%), A (16, 13.45%), J (tied with A), G (12, 10.08%), and C (10, 8.40%). No one had a second given name that started with H, I, N, O, U, W, X, Y, or Z.
Table 2(a). Most popular second given names among women.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 11 | Grace |
| 6 | Mae |
| 5 | Ann, Joy |
| 4 | Marie, May |
| 3 | Cheryl |
| 2 | April, Christine, Fatima, Jane, Liza*, Lou |
Table 2(b). Most popular second given names among women (combined spellings).
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 11 | Grace |
| 10 | Mae (May) |
| 6 | Ann (Anne) |
| 5 | Joy |
| 4 | Marie |
| 3 | Cheryl, Joan (Jo-An, Joane) |
| 2 | April, Christine, Fatima, Jane, Kathleen (Cathlyn), Liza*, Lou |
Third Given Names
The third given names in the sample were Aleli, Aubrey, Corazon, Gabrielle, Mae, and Sharie.
Standouts
- Christinepalmer
- Flannery Jae—could be named after Flannery O'Connor
- Gemmeritz
- Mediatrix—from a title that some give to the Virgin Mary
- Roseblinda
- Wayneth
Notes
- The Flordelizas may have been named after the June 1981 movie, where Janice de Belen (the lead in Flordeluna) was Flor and Julie Vega (the lead in Anna Liza) was Liza.
- The parents of the Ladies and the variously-spelled Dianes may have been influenced by the wedding of Lady Diana Spencer. She married Prince Charles in July 1981; the ceremony was broadcast to millions of people in 50 countries. Indeed, one of the women on this list of passers was really called Lady Diane.
The Men
Among the men, 52 (53.61%) had only one given name, 43 (44.33%) had two, and two (2.06%) had three.
First Given Names
The most popular initials for the first given name were J (19, 19.59%), R (14, 14.43%), A (12, 12.37%), M (7, 7.22%), and E (6, 6.19%). No one had a first given name that started with H, Q, S, T, U, X, Y, or Z.
Table 3(a). Most popular first given names among men.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 5 | Jose |
| 3 | John, Mark |
| 2 | Carlo, Erwin, Glenn, Ivan, Jefferson, Jonathan, Paolo, Ryan, Von |
Table 3(b). Most popular first given names among men (combined spellings).
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 5 | Jose |
| 4 | John (Jan) |
| 3 | Mark, Paolo (Paulo) |
| 2 | Carlo, Erwin, Glenn, Ivan, Jefferson, Jonathan, Neil (Neal), Ryan, Von |
Second Given Names
The most popular initials for the second given name were C (15.56%), J (tied with C), A (6, 13.33%), L (5, 11.11%), and M (tied with L). No one had a second given name that started with B, G, H, O, Q, S, T, U, X, Y, or Z.
Table 4. Most popular second given names among men.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 2 | Carlo*, Jay, Kenneth, Patrick |
Third Given Names
The third given names in the sample were Alfred and Schaum.
Standouts
- Aegis Nooric
- Billy Joel
- Donille
- Eraldgino
- Ginebert
- Ma. Nieto—this is my first time seeing Maria as a first name for a man; it's usually in the second spot (ex. Jose Maria)
Numerical Suffixes
Nine men (9.28% of the total male sample) had numerical suffixes attached to their names. Eight of them (88.89%) were Jr, while one (11.11%) was III.