July 10 - Happy Birthday, Ima Hogg

Posted on July 10, 2021

Key Points

This is an update of my post published on July 10, 2010:

Who would name their daughter “Ima Hogg”?

Well, the people who did the unthinkable were a prominent and rich couple—Ima’s dad, James Hogg, even became Governor of Texas!

All of Ima Hogg’s life she had to put up with jokes and questions about her name. She never married, so of course she couldn’t take a husband’s last name, but we might imagine that she would want to change either her first or her last name, at some point—yet she never did. Eventually, near the end of Hogg’s life, she chose a middle name, Imogene: Ima Imogene Hogg.

One of the most persistent questions and rumors was that Ima had a sister named Ura.

(She didn’t. She had no sisters at all.)

Hogg used her prominent position in society and her money to do good things for others. For example, she began the Houston Child Guidance Center to help children with emotional or mental disturbances and, along with her brother, the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health. Hogg served on the Houston School Board and worked for art education and also to gain pay equity for women and minorities employed by the school district.

Houston Symphony Orchestra

Hogg was a furniture and art collector, and she began the Houston symphony orchestra. She restored her father’s plantation (after his death) and eventually donated it to the state for use as a museum. She was considered the “First Lady of Texas” and received many recognitions for her philanthropy (charity).

Bad Baby Names?

According to the blog “badbabynames,” celebrities often name their children odd names. For example, famed TV chef Jamie Oliver named his children Daisy Boo, Poppy Honey, and Petal Blossom Rainbow. Those names are pretty cute for babies…but what about for middle school-to-adults (in other words, almost all of their lives!!!)?

Other unfortunate names are Justin Case, Barb Dwyer, and Stan Still. On the more positive side are Rose Bush, Ivy Plant, and Daisy Picking. I believe that all these examples are from England.

Good Character Names!

Innovative, meaningful, or funny names are good for a characters in a fiction book. J. K. Rowling is especially good at using names to tell us about a character. Think about these names: Severus Snape, Neville Longbottom, Fleur Delacour, and Professor Sprout. What does each name tell us about the owner?

Check out this fantasy name generator – or this character name generator for different languages / nations, for gods, for medieval characters, etc.