Ebony

Borrowed directly from the English word for the dense, dark hardwood, which traces through Latin and Greek back to the ancient Egyptian hbny. The word appeared as an occasional given name in the mid-twentieth century before surging in American birth registries during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The name places its bearer squarely in the prime of life. With an average age around thirty-eight, an Ebony is far more likely to be chairing a department meeting than learning to drive. It suggests a childhood soundtrack recorded onto cassette tapes and a complete lack of patience for unreliable office equipment.