Nameberry of the Day: Bessie
April 30
American aviator Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman — the first African American woman as well as the first Native American person to hold a pilot license — passed away on April 30, 1926 at the age of 34 years old.
Bessie was born in Texas, working in her early years on a cotton plantation alongside her family. As there were no pilot training opportunities available to African Americans, Native Americans, or women in the US at the time, Bessie remarkably saved enough money to travel to France for flight school.
Bessie — a diminutive of timeless Elizabeth — was most popular in the late 1800s. However, for many decades Bessie become strongly associated with cows.
Originally, this common-place cow nickname was Bossie, from the Latin word for cow, bos — eventually evolving into Bessie.
Today, however, we are ready for Bessie to leave the pastures and re-entering the naming world. As once-dated Betty becomes stylish again, especially since used by Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds for their young daughter, Bessie is not far off the table.
In case you missed these Nameberries of the Day:
Nameberry of the Day: Zebulon
American explorer Zebulon Pike, for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado is named for, passed away on April 27, 1813. Pike is famous for leading two military expeditions through the Louisiana Purchase. His first, which took place in 1805-1806 took him north, following the Mississippi River. In 1807, he explored west, to the border of Spanish-occupied Texas and Ne…
Nameberry of the Week: Nanala
This week’s Name of the Week was nominated by @SimiNova! If you would like to nominate a name yourself, you can head over to the name of the day thread on our forums. Weather is warming and flowers are blooming — a reminder that summer is just around the corner.