Onomastics, the study of names, has long been a hobby of antiquarians, genealogists, and literary men and women...
The founders of New England introduced a distinctly Puritan naming pattern that
differed radically from old English customs. Those differences may be observed in
a comparison of given names at Roanoke (1587) and Plymouth (1620). In the first
Virginia settlement, feminine names included Agness, Audrey, Emma, Elyoner,
Margery, and Winifred — a selection from the Saints' Calendar and traditional
English favorites. Among Roanoke males, most of the common names were Teutonic
— William, Robert, Richard, Roger, Henry, George.
See Table of most common
Forenames from the Roanoke and Plymouth passenger ships.
In Roanoke, 28% of names were biblical; in Plymouth, 64%. Compiled from ship lists
in D.B. Quinn, ed., The Roanoke Voyages, 1584-1590, 2. vols. (London, 1955)
1:5339-43; and William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation, ed. S.E. Morison
(New York, 1952) 441-48.