Jenel Lehua and Jedrek Lenci Have Made It: Names from the June 2007 Licensure Exam for Dentists
Of the 802 people who took the June 2007 Licensure Exam for Dentists, 264 (32.92%) passed.
Excluding the two whose sex I could not determine from a quick search of social media or news articles, the passers included 193 women and 69 men.
The Women
Among the women, 94 (48.7%) had only one given name, 89 (46.11%) had two, nine 4.66% had three, and one (0.52%) had four.
First Given Names
The most popular initials for the first given name were M (37, 19.17%), A (22, 11.40%), J (19, 9.84%), R (tied with J), and K (16, 8.29%). No one had a first given name that started with N, O, W, X, Y, or Z.
Table 1(a). Most popular first given names among women.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 7 | Maria |
| 5 | Mary |
| 4 | Michelle |
| 3 | Abigail, Katherine, Kristine, Ma. |
| 2 | Arlene, Cherry, Christina, Irene, Iris, Joanna, Karla, Kristel, Marie, Marilen, Pamela, Pauline, Rowena, Sheila |
Table 1(b). Most popular first given names among women (combined spellings).
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 10 | Maria (Ma.) |
| 6 | Mary (Merry) |
| 5 | Kristine (Christine, Khristine) |
| 4 | Michelle |
| 3 | Abigail, Christina (Cristina), Joanna (Joana), Katherine, Sheila (Shiela) |
| 2 | Ana (Anna), Ann (Anne), Arlene, Cherry, Danna (Dannah), Irene, Iris, Johanna (Djohanna), Kristel, Krystal (Krystle), Liezl (Leizel), Marie, Marilen, Pamela, Pauline, Rowena |
Second Given Names
The most popular initials for the second given name were J (18, 18.18%), A (16, 16.16%), M (10, 10.10%), L (8, 8.08%), and C (7, 7.07%). No one had a second given name that started with O, Q, U, W, X, Y, or Z.
Table 2(a). Most popular second given names among women.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 8 | Ann, Joy |
| 3 | Grace |
| 2 | Angeli, Cecilia, Joyce, Katherine, Kristine, Lou, Lynn, Mae, Marie, Regina |
Table 2(b). Most popular second given names among women (combined spellings).
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 9 | Ann (Anne) |
| 8 | Joy |
| 5 | Mae (May, Maye, Mei) |
| 3 | Grace, Kristine (Christine), Lynn (Lynne) |
| 2 | Angeli, Cecilia, Elaine (Ellaine), Joyce, Katherine, Lou, Marie, Regina |
Third Given Names
The third given names in the sample were Christina, Eimee, Lenor, Lyn, Mari, Marie, Rita, Rosario, and Sylvia.
Standouts
- Anisferre
- Chummy Starr
- Evert Jasmine—could be named after Chris Evert, who won at Wimbledon in 1981 and other tournaments besides. That said, I can't prove that Filipinos back then were watching foreign tennis matches on local TV.
- Geminesse Grissette
- Jenel Lehua—the second name is also an island in Hawaii.
- Krsna—not a typo.
- Reniter
Notes
- Krystle (this spelling) may have been influenced by Dynasty, which first aired in January 1981. However, I don't know if it was broadcast in the Philippines.
The Men
Among the men, 41 (59.42%) had only one given name and 28 (40.58%) had two.
First Given Names
The most popular initials for the first given name were J (15, 21.74%), M (tied with J), A (5, 7.25%), and M (tied with A). No one had a first given name that started with B, G, O, Q, U, X, Y, or Z.
Table 3(a). Most popular first given names among men.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 4 | Ryan |
| 2 | Christian, Christopher, John, Mark, Ronald |
Table 3(b). Most popular first given names among men (combined spellings).
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 4 | Ryan |
| 3 | Christian (Kristian), Mark (Marc) |
| 2 | Christopher, John, Ronald |
Second Given Names
The most popular initials for the second given name were A (6, 21.43%), J (tied with A), and M (3, 10.71%). No one had a second given name that started with D, E, F, H, I, K, O, Q, S, T, U, W, X, Y, or Z.
Table 4. Most popular second given names among men.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 2 | Anthony, Paul |
Standouts
- Aschel Borne
- Delrico
- Flintwalter
- Irish Anthony—this is my first time seeing Irish as a man's name
- Jedrek Lenci
- Rhant
- Vencer
Numerical Suffixes
Eight men (11.59% of the total male sample) had numerical suffixes attached to their names. Of these, six (75%) were Jr, one (12.50%) was II, and one (12.50%) was III.