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definitely_not_cylon t1_iw1ao8l wrote

Reply to comment by mbelf in The effect of the First World War on names, in France [OC] by bjco

That was my first guess but the effect seems a little too fast-- the uptick occurs immediately after the declaration of war. My guess is that mothers starting the name after men who were at this point just deployed or soon to be deployed. Many of whom would end up dead later, of course.

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mbelf t1_iw1ayuj wrote

Oh yeah, they were definitely hedging their bets.

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kanakopi t1_iw276b1 wrote

Unlike to WWII, important battles started about a week after after the declaration of war. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Frontiers

The first months of war were notably the bloodiest ones. The death rate was an order of magnitude above the average of the rest of the war. Trench warfare made the people forget this fact a little.

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