Arnold

Formed from the Germanic elements for eagle and rule. The Normans brought it to England, where it settled into parish registers and tax rolls. American parents adopted it steadily throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, treating it as an earnest, sensible choice for sons expected to show up on time.

Hearing Arnold today prompts an immediate mental image of cardigan sweaters, heavy-rimmed acetate glasses, or very thick forearms. The name had its biggest year in 1924, cracking the national top one hundred before settling into a long, quiet plateau. The average living bearer is sixty-two years old, putting him in the exact demographic to remember when iced tea and lemonade had to be ordered separately. It carries the weight of an adding machine resetting itself.