WhitePages Offers Lighthearted Look at Meaning and Popularity Behind Most Followed Names on Twitter

SEATTLE, WA, Oct 29 (MARKET WIRE) --
As actors, musicians and politicians continue to expand their famous
personas to Twitter, competing for followers and the accompanying "buzz"
that comes with the engaging use of an account, WhitePages
(www.whitepages.com) decided to take a lighthearted look at the meaning
and popularity rank of some of the most "followed" famous names on
Twitter. Using newly released features for its WhitePages Names product,
WhitePages found that Jimmy Fallon's first name (James) means "heel
grabber" and that while 50 Cent's real first name, Curtis, can be a
nickname for someone who is "courteous", it is also Middle English for
curt "short" and hose "leggings" or "short leggings".

"There's so much in a name, whether it be the surname that provides
visibility into ones family history, or a first name that gives us insight
into what our parents aspired us to be," said Keela Robison, VP of Product
at WhitePages. "As celebrities continue to engage their fans on Twitter,
we thought it would be fun to share the name meanings and origins behind
some of the most famous people on Twitter."

WhitePages Names gathers its information based on a database of over 200
million US adults and is the only site with name popularity ranking for
all names, common and uncommon, as well as the popularity ranking for
first and last name combinations. Since most name sites only reference
popularity based on the Social Security Top 1,000 names data, WhitePages
Names is the place to go for those seeking information on unusual name
combinations, like Al Gore, for example.

In looking at the meanings and rankings of the names behind the
celebrities dominating Twitter, WhitePages discovered that Al means
"noble, bright, and famous" and Gore means "a triangular piece of land".
While there are 66,040 people with the first name Al, and 21,145 with the
last name Gore, there are only five people in the US. with the full name
Al Gore, making it the 4,909,343rd most popular name in the United States.

Below is an exploration of the name meanings, history, and popularity
behind some of the most followed Twitter users.

-- 50 Cent (real name:
Curtis Jackson): Curtis, a nickname for someone who is "courteous". Also
means "short leggings" Jackson, a long form of Jack which was a pet name
for the last name John which means "may Jehovah favor (this child)".
There are 657 people in the US with the name Curtis Jackson, making it the
11,806th most popular full name. Twitter name: @50cent.

-- Lance Armstrong: Lance "land, territory" Armstrong "strong in the arm".
There are 55 people with the name Lance Armstrong in the US, making it
the 408,968th most popular full name. Twitter Name: @lancearmstrong.

-- Mariah Carey: Mariah, an elaborated spelling of Maria, which is a
Latin form of Mary, is a new testament form of Miriam and means "drop of
the sea" (Latin stilla maris, later altered by folk etymology to stella
maris "star of the sea") Carey "dark, black". There are five people with
the name Mariah Carey in the US, making it the 5,655,168th most popular
full name. Twitter Name: @MariahCarey.

-- Sean "Diddy"Combs: Sean, the Irish equivalent of the first name John
"God is gracious" Combs, a variant of Coombs, a plural version of Coombe,
which means "short, straight valley". There are 46 people with the name
Sean Combs in the US, making it the 505,832nd most popular full name.
Twitter Name: @iamdiddy.

-- Jimmy Fallon: Jimmy, short for James, which is a form of Jacob "heel
grabber" Fallon "leader". There are nine people in the US with the name
Jimmy Fallon, making it the 2,902,266th most popular full name. Twitter
Name: @jimmyfallon.

-- Al Gore: Al, short for Albert, is derived from Adal "noble" + Berht
"bright, famous" Gore "triangular piece of land". There are five people
in the US with the name Al Gore, making it the 4,909,343rd most popular
full name. Twitter Name: @algore.

-- John Mayer: John "God is gracious" Mayer "greater, superior". There
are 679 people in the U.S. with the name John Mayer, making it the
11,162nd most popular full name. Twitter Name: @johncmayer.

-- Demi Moore: Demi, "short for Demetria, the feminine form of Demetrius,
the follower of Demeter, the classical goddess of fertility" Moore "area
of uncultivated land". There are four people in the US with the name Demi
Moore, making it the 6,555,937th most popular full name. Twitter Name:
@mrskutcher.

-- Britney Spears: Respelling of the name Brittany. Mainly North American:
modern coinage, taken from the traditionally Celtic-speaking region of
north-west France, known in medieval Latin as "Britannia" Spears,
patronymic from Spear, or a nickname for a "tall, thin person, or else
for a skilled user of the hunting spear". There are four people in the US
with the name Britney Spears, making it the 6,317,588th most popular full
name. Twitter Name: @britneyspears.

-- Ashley Tisdale: Ashley, originally a male name, but now an increasingly
popular given name for girls, this is a transferred use of the surname,
der Old English aesc 'ash' + leah 'wood'" Tisdale, a variant of the name
Teesdale, mean "named for the river Tees (named with Old English (ge)twis
'forking', 'river fork') + Old English dael 'valley'". There are 15
people with the name Ashley Tisdale in the US, making it the 1,653,745th
most popular full name. Twitter Name: @ashleytisdale.

People interested in using WhitePages Names' free etymology capabilities
to look up the history and meaning of their own name can visit
http://names.whitepages.com/. A name search also offers similar names and
nicknames, the most common last names associated with that name, and a
look at the distribution of that name across individual states and
throughout the entire US. In addition, a name search provides search
history for each name which includes total number of searches on the name
and a breakdown of daily search numbers. With the new WhitePages Name
Badge, anyone can share the popularity and meaning of their name on their
website or blog.

About WhitePages

As the largest and most trusted online directory, WhitePages offers a
suite of free mobile and Internet services that makes it easy for people
to find and immediately connect with anyone in the U.S. Only WhitePages
offers one-click access to more than 200 million adults and powers more
than 2 billion searches on over 1,300 partner sites including Verizon,
AOL, United States Postal Service, and MSN. For more information, please
visit www.whitepages.com or check out the WhitePages blog at
blog.whitepages.com.

WhitePages and their respective logos are trademarks, registered
trademarks, or service marks of WhitePages. Other products and company
names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective owners.

Media Contacts:

Liz Powell
WhitePages
206-973-5144
Email Contact

Michele Mehl
Buzz Builders for WhitePages
425-205-9444
Email Contact

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