Who is Tempy?

Subject: Who is Tempy?
From: Richie
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 04:25 PM

Hi,

I was wondering about the song "Mole in the Ground." Who is Tempy?

Is Tempy a real girl's name? It's also Kippy, Tempie and other similar names.

Is it a mondegreen? Is there any girl's name it could have been mistaken for?

Just wondering.

Richie

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 04:43 PM

Interesting question. In the version I know the girl is called Campie!

Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: Arkie
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 04:55 PM

All I know is that her hair style includes bangs.

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: peregrina
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 04:57 PM

I have wondered this too. Is Tempy ever attested elsewhere as a name?

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 05:11 PM

The name I know in this song, Kempie (or Kempy), I believe I've read is a real Southern girl's name.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 05:15 PM

I Googled Kempy or Kempie, and found the following at a site called Namelab:

First name origin & meaning:

Middle English: Champion

First name variations: Kem, Kemper, Kemplen, Kempson, Kemp

There were a number of other findings in the Google, but I didn't want to take the time to go through. But it is, evidently, a real name, as set out above.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: peregrina
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 05:21 PM

But is the middle English a man's name or a woman's?

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 05:29 PM

Many's the "man's name" that's feminized by the addition of the diminutive "-ie" or "-y".   And of course "-ette", "-etta", "-ina" and so on.

As I say, there may well have been specific female applications that I didn't get to in the Google results.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: peregrina
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 05:48 PM

I may be wrong but I really don't think there's enough of a continuous history of attestations to have the female name Tempy/Kempy in the song descend from the ME Kemp-name forms; they do sound masculine, too. I don't doubt that either Kempy or Tempy could be a name, but I would like to know more.

Usually words are corrupted in transmission into an easier or recognizable form (and there's no shortage of two syllable female names that end in -y). So it's intriguing to have what seems to be an obscure form here.

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: peregrina
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 05:57 PM

here

intrigued but not convinced

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 06:15 PM

And at zelo.com:

Gender:         Female
Origin:         English
Meaning:         Violent Storm

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: skipy
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 06:32 PM

This is a cut & paste from Yahoo:-

What do you think about this Girls name?
My cousin just learned on Friday she is expecting another daughter. They did pretty well naming their oldest daughter - Elinor Rose (they call her "Nora Rose"). The name they have chosen for the new baby is Temperance Belle. They plan to call her "Tempy" - I could cry! I think it's awful. What is your opinion?


Skipy

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 06:44 PM

I once met a woman called Tempe - which is also the name of a suburb here in Sydney. The suburb was named after an early property, Tempe House, which was named after a legendary location in Greece. I can't find Tempe as a baby's name so don't know if it's from the same Ancient Greek source.


sandra

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 06:44 PM

I think it should be a criminal offense for a pregnant woman to name an upcoming baby!

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 07:00 PM

I think it should be a crime to use teh word "upcoming" in that way!

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 07:03 PM

Okay, a "downgoing baby", or maybe an "outcoming baby". Is that better?

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 07:05 PM

what about fathers - wasn't it Major Major Major's father who named him? And there was a recent news article about the father who named his child after 2 politicians.

I also knew a teacher who had trouble finding a name for her child as she had taught so many kids.

To stop frivolity or cruelty, maybe babies could be named by a committee of unrelated folks!

sandra

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: Richie
Date: 20 Oct 08 - 09:21 PM

I know Lunsford called her Tempy. Since he recorded the first version and it was learned in 1905 I assume it's not a mistake or mishearing.

It's clearly a woman but not a common name or nickname anymore.

Maybe that's the way he learned it.

Richie

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: peregrina
Date: 21 Oct 08 - 03:04 AM

Lunsford trumps!

So... are there any Appalachian records (census, genealogy, court etc) on line that would tell whether this was familiar well attested name or a mondegreen of some kind that Lunsford transmitted?

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: Little Robyn
Date: 21 Oct 08 - 06:33 AM

Apparently Temperance was one of the virtue names adopted by the Puritans in the 17th century.
There are a few of them here.

Robyn

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: peregrina
Date: 21 Oct 08 - 06:42 AM

Very plausible--but was it current in Appalachia?

Subject: RE: Who is Tempy?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 21 Oct 08 - 03:03 PM

I'd have sworn that I had a Bascom Lunsford recording that called her "Kempie". If it was not he, I must have heard "Kempie" from someone else and sort of "heard it into" what Lunsford sang.

I'm going to have to dig out that disk.

Dave Oesterreich