Greatel and Claper Have Made It: Names from the June 2008 Licensure Exam for Dentists
Of the 818 people who took the June 2008 Licensure Exam for Dentists, 356 (43.52%) passed.
Excluding the four whose sex I could not determine from a quick search of social media or news articles, the passers included 275 women and 77 men.
The Women
Among the women, 136 (49.45%) had only one given name, 122 (44.36%) had two, and 17 (6.18%) had three.
First Given Names
The most popular initials for the first given name are M (67, 24.36%), J (31, 11.27%), A (25, 9.09%), R (22, 8.00%), and C (21, 7.64%). No one had a first given name that started with O, U, X, or Z.
Table 1(a). Most popular first given names among women.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 19 | Maria |
| 12 | Ma. |
| 7 | Mary |
| 5 | Kristine |
| 4 | Marie, Michelle |
| 3 | Abigail, Aileen, Catherine, Grace, Karen |
| 2 | Ana, Camille, Cherry, Christine, Clarissa, Elaine, Ethel, Evangeline, Janelle, Joanna, Joanne, Joyce, Kathleen, Mae, Melissa, Portia, Shiela |
Table 1(b). Most popular first given names among women (combined spellings).
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 31 | Maria (Ma.) |
| 8 | Kristine (Christine, Khristine), Mary (Merry) |
| 4 | Catherine (Cathrine), Marie, Michelle |
| 3 | Abigail, Aileen, Ana (Anna), Grace, Janelle (Janel), Joanne (Joan), Karen |
| 2 | April (Apryl), Camille, Cherry, Clarissa, Cristina (Kristina), Elaine, Ethel, Evangeline, Jacqueline (Jackelyn), Joanna, Joyce, Kathleen, Liezl (Leizel), Mae, Melissa, Portia, Rachelle (Raechelle), Rebecca (Rebeca), Rochelle (Rochell), Shiela |
Second Given Names
The most popular initials for the second given name are A (24, 17.27%), M (20, 14.39%), C (16, 11.51%), L (tied with C), and J (11, 7.91%). No one had a second given name that started with O, Q, U, V, X, or Z.
Table 2(a). Most popular second given names among women.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 9 | Ann |
| 8 | Mae |
| 5 | Anne, Joy, Marie |
| 3 | Jane, Lourdes, Lyn, May, Rose |
| 2 | Camille, Christine, Cristina*, Eliza*, Frances, Lynn |
Table 2(b). Most popular second given names among women (combined spellings).
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 14 | Ann (Anne) |
| 11 | Mae (May) |
| 5 | Joy, Lyn (Lynn), Marie |
| 4 | Christine (Cristine, Kristine), Jane (Jhaine) |
| 3 | Lourdes, Rose |
| 2 | Camille, Cristina*, Eliza*, Frances |
Third Given Names
The third given names in the sample were Arabella, Bernadine, Cristina, Francesca, Grace, Jacquelene, Lane, Layah, Loraine, Micaela, Michelle, Nicole, Rosario, Sarah, Seline, Socorro, and Tricia.
Standouts
Some of the names/name combinations that appeared only once in the sample were:
- Anjelexie
- Greatel
- Keisserie Lor
- Libertine—did her parents choose the name because or in spite of its meaning?
- Rudelyn
- Whimple—one letter off from wimple, a headdress worn by medieval women (picture here)
The Men
Among the men, 51 (66.23%) had only one given name, 24 (31.17%) had two, and two (2.60%) had three.
First Given Names
The most popular initials for the first given name are J (17, 22.08%), M (12, 15.58%), R (8, 10.39%), A (7, 9.09%), and E (tied with A). No one had a first given name that started with P, Q, S, U, X, Y, or Z.
Table 3. Most popular first given names among men.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 5 | Mark |
| 3 | Michael |
| 2 | Eduardo, Jasper, John |
Second Given Names
The most popular initials for the second given name are J (7, 26.92%), M (3, 11.54%), and R (tied with M). No one had a second given name that started with D, F, N, O, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, or Z.
Table 4. Most popular second given names among men.
| Bearers | Name |
|---|---|
| 3 | John |
Third Given Names
The third given names in the sample were Anthony and Felix.
Standouts
Some of the names/name combinations that appeared only once in the sample were:
- Claper
- Errolflyn—like the actor
- Hihervon
- Jackyvi
- Nestle Jing
- Todds—not a typo
Numerical Suffixes
Nine men had numerical suffixes attached to their names. All of them were Jr.