The prompt for week 3 is ‘Unusual Name’. I’ve come across a lot of names that I’ve considered unusual when I first came across them, eg. Myrtle, Magdalena, Ester. But when I think of it, I realize that while they are a little unusual, I have come across the names in other places. But one name I’d not come across in other places is Permilia. Permilia Jane Farthing was the mother of Susie Bierman Knicker Kolk, the wife of Centralia George. (We met Centralia George last week!) Susie also has a sister named Permelia. (Susie's obituary spells her mother's name with an 'i' and her sister's name with an 'e'. Her marriage record to George shows her mother as 'Pernelia, with an 'n'.)
I’ve not researched either Permilia to any extent, and I don’t really plan to, at least until I have established that Centralia George is definitely part of my family tree. Instead, I did a little research on the name of Permilia. While at first I thought it was a bit, um…’different’….the more I learned about it, the more the name grew on me.
According to Think Baby Names, Permelia is a form of Pamela, and means ‘with sweetness’. Already, the names is sounding more pleasant to me! Nameberry states that the name may be a combination of Pearl and Amelia. While Permelia was never really a popular name—it never broke the top 1000 list— it was used relatively frequently in the late 1800s. It seems that currently a lot of names from earlier centuries are making a comeback. I wonder if Permilia will be one of those?
To learn more about 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow, visit her website here.
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