I have met five people called Trish in the last week, all
of them nurses and hospital support staff; all of them around forty. I don’t
think . . . I cant think out of the scores and scores of women and girls I have
employed in my life, of a single Patricia. Perhaps there was one, just cant
remember.
It’s the second most popular girls name in the USA [still].
But in 1974 – 1978 which would be the birth years for my five it was number 84
or 87 in the UK, behind names like Heidi and Georgina. Never known a Georgina
either but my friend had a girlfriend called Heidi. It is so weird: five
Trishes all in the same couple of weeks.
According to Wikipedia, its roots are Latin although when
we lived in Italy I never met a Patricia; obviously Patrick is the male
denomination.
Interesting that they all styled themselves Trish. Just
because you are born with a name doesn’t mean you have to answer to it, I
suppose. It does suggest that it is one of those names that people want to
disown if they can and since Pat isn’t much improvement, they opt for Trish.
Famous Patricias? Not many: [Patricia] Rooney Mara. Pat
Nixon; one or two American actresses.
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