If there were any doubt that I’m deeply shallow, here’s a random thought that crossed my mind as I was monitoring the swine flu outbreak for my day job:  Hmmm … wonder if this will hurt Olivia’s standing in the rankings when the 2010 stats come out?

• While I’m still on my wildly inappropriate streak, here’s a list of famous pigs compiled by a porcine booster in the UK.  I suppose Petunia and Noelle might also take a hit;
• And one more – I’ve often enjoyed some of the names from Ian Falconer’s Olivia books.  Besides her brothers Ian and William, her family has a dog named Perry and a cat called Edwin.  Friends include Francine and Julian.  Ever since Peregrine was Name of the Day, Perry has really been growing on me;
• Here’s a question that plagues me:  when does a name become a name?  I thought Rielle was a one-off appellation best thought of Franglais for “this generation’s Donna Rice.”  But a Canadian couple quoted in the Toronto Star’s column  chose it for their daughter.  And wow, is their kid cute!  The proud parents landed on the name after watching a documentary about female Canadian fighter pilots – including one named Riel.  I still wasn’t sold until the mom mentioned that, when reversed, the name becomes elle rit – she laughs – en français.  Which I’ll admit, has some appeal;
• Speaking of games to play with names, I keep forgetting to ask:  after the Astrid Name of the Day post, Emmy Jo and Photoquilty weighed in on the proper term for the type of mistake discussed in the post.  (Astrid was famously misinterpreted as Astird on TV’s The Office.)  Besides running through all the available terms and coming up short, I found myself wondering if any terms (malapropism, eggcorn) are ever properly applied to personal names.  If you know, please leave a comment!
• Elisabeth at You Can’t Call It “It” did a great post on The Sweet Spot – you know, names that are fashionable without being trendy, familiar without being common?  It’s a great article, and I’m over the moon that she included my screen name, Verity;
• A few starbabies to report:  CBS’ Worst Week star Erinn Hayes welcomed a daughter named Lilah Grace;
• Boston Bruins’ captain Zdeno Chara welcomed a daughter called Elliz Victoria.  He and his wife are Slovak, but I couldn’t puzzle out if Elliz is related to Elizabeth or Alice;
• Speaking of Alice, Patton Oswalt – Remy from Ratatouille – welcomed a daughter named Alice;
• Over at Nameberry, there’s a fun post on Gone with the Wind names – besides spotting Eulalie on the list (I had forgotten, too, Lola!) I was pleased to see Clark Gable making another appearance.

That’s all the name news for the moment.  And despite my fanciful reaction to the flu epidemic, I really am hoping that you and yours stay safe.