I spent Saturday afternoon at a kid-friendly baby shower, trying not to grill the expectant mom about baby names.  (They’re not finding out the gender, and they’re not sharing names in advance.  Torture!)  But among the small guests?  A pint-sized Zora, named after the author.

In other name news:

• I don’t think the Mostly Cajun blogger and I have anything in common, but I enjoy his lists of some of the least appealing baby names he spots in local birth announcements – as in Bailee, Jazm’yne, Taylior.  If you need a reason to groan and roll your eyes, direct your browser towards Louisiana;
• With the next installment in the Harry Potter series set to hit the big screen soon, get ready for more articles about JK Rowling-inspired baby names.  This article from the Baltimore Sun pegs the most obvious impact of the series to date – the rise of Luna;
• How much am I loving Elisabeth at You Can’t Call It “It”s posts on Newbies?  Culled from online birth announcements, I surrender twenty minutes of my non-existent free time whenever one surfaces in my Google Reader.  There’s a Wren Elise on her most recent list.  And I continue to puzzle over Timberlyn.  Were her eco-chic parents worried she’d be lost among all the Willows?  Or is it a logical name for a logger’s daughter?  Could the parents be superfans of Justin Timberlake?  Timbaland?  Timberland footwear?  The mind reels;
• Legit Baby Names blogged about Olga recently.  Why aren’t there more Olgas?  Or am I the only one so charmed?;
• Bewilditrix turned the spotlight on Basil.  Basil Fawlty’s not so well known in the US, and I’ve noticed one or two in the birth announcements.  In fact, here my first Basil thought is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short stories.  Guess we’ll have to wait and see;
• The Toronto Star again covers an unusual baby name – but this one is actually rather appealing: Nash Anthony;
• I’ve neglected to mention Dooce, the mother-of-all-mommy blogger’s second darling daughter, Marlo Iris.  (Big sis is Leta.)  I especially love Iris in the middle spot – wonder if she’ll replace Rose anytime soon;
• Which reminds me, Babble’s Oz Spies has welcomed a second son, Jonas Eamon, little brother to Axel;
• Jason Priestly is a dad for the second time, but they’ve yet to announce the name chosen for Ava Veronica‘s little brother;
• Indy driver Scott Dixon welcomed a daughter named Poppy Davies Dixon – the middle name is mom Emma’s maiden name;
• Nancy’s post on wild Saints’ Names is fabulous.  I think we can safely say that Waltrude is not primed for a comeback;
• From the time machine – one year ago today, the Name of the Day was Saskia.

Lastly, a special (and overdue) congratulations to Bek on the birth of Eben Forrest.  (I know she’s already mentioned it in comments from another post, but it is such a fabulous name, it really deserves some more applause!)

Check back next week for Leland, Phaedra, Ferdinand, Marsann and Leora.  Thanks for reading!