Here at AppMtn, it isn’t so very unusual to receive an outraged email or comment after I’ve said something less than flattering about a name. The longer I write, the more keenly I think about the fact that these names are worn by real human beings.
So it is doubly thrilling when I write something and the parents are happy to discover the post. Better still, they write about it on their blog. Which brings us to adorable baby Estelle over at The Emperor’s New Crib. Thanks to her parents, I now know that frikadelle means meatball in Danish.
A bunch of other random thoughts:
- I like Anneliese. I can understand respelling her Annalise or Annalisa. But Analyse? Yup, I’ve just spotted a baby Analyse. I don’t think her parents are psychiatrists;
- Anyone think True will catch on as a first name? It’s sort of like a virtue name on steroids – far bolder than the established Grace and Faith, stark compared to the gently old-fashioned Felicity or Amity. Actor Forest Whitaker has a daughter called True Isabella Summer. True Jackson, VP is a Nickelodeon show ’bout a super-stylish teen who ends up heading up a line at an honest-to-goodness fashion label. (And no, her mom’s name isn’t Kimora.) The show is in season #2 and now airs on Nick UK an Nick Latin America;
- Nicole Kidman is about to return to the big screen as Claudia in the musical Nine. If it is half the hit of Moulin Rouge, the sadly neglected Claudia could finally get a boost. After all, the devilish Satine still surfaces on message boards;
- I keep meaning to mention the compound name of my favorite project runway finalist – Carol Hannah. I’m not wild about either name, but I find the combination strangely appealing. Or is it too close to Poltergeist’s tragic Carol Anne? I also heard a prospective model’s name mentioned during casting for the contestants’ shows – Drielle, which sounds a too much like a French power tool to be pretty;
- Nancy mentions strangely appropriate names – as in, a retail analyst named Tiffany Co. I recently met a cantor named Aria and while chasing the kids around the Bass Outdoor Extravaganza Warehouse Winter Wonderland, I heard a camouflage-clad dad call his son Hunter;
- Bewildertrix spotted a Juno Alexandra Zénaïde, little sister to Hugh. I agree with her – what a fabulous combo;
- Digital Spy talked with Emmerdale (it’s a UK soap) star Charlotte Bellamy about the names she and partner Mungo Denison chose for their three kids: sons Sunnie and Herbie and daughter Teddie Boo Florence;
- She’s not here yet, but Joey Lawrence tells Celebrity Baby Blog that Charleston’s little sister will be called Liberty Grace.
A few noteworthy posts you might’ve missed:
- Did you catch the Nameberry post on Old Lady Names? It’s interesting to see how trends evolve – they report on the granny chic picks they’ve mentioned in each edition of Beyond Jennifer & Jason, now rebooted as Beyond Ava & Aiden. They’ve definitely caught on in the DC ‘burbs – I can think of Ida, Mabel, Hazel and Elsie all in my ‘hood. Funny to think that someday Cynthia, Barbara and Deborah will all sound fresh again, too;
- It’s no longer fashion limbo. They’re now outlier names. Celebrity Baby Blog interviewed Nameberry’s Pamela Redmond Satran about names like Paulina, Bronwyn and Helena;
- Lastly, Xanthe Linnea has a great list of one-syllable names for boys. I love Bram, Clark, Heath and Rhys.
Speaking of one-syllable boys, a year ago I was writing about Rex.
Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
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Liberty is a guilty pleasure of mine. Liberty Grace is a little overkill, but it’s nice enough if that’s your thing.
Analyse is just awful. Awful.
Double names can really make two names that aren’t that great sound really cool. It can also make two nice names sound even fresher. I don’t really like them for boys, but if I ever have a girl I will definitely consider using a double name. I love Mary Scarlett and Dinah May.
Oooh … Mary Scarlett! And I like Dinah on her own, May or not.
Charleston and Liberty? Urp. No. Can I just say I’m not surprised what comes from Joey Lawrence?
Paulina’s catching, on, hm? Might I remind you that I suggested that for NotD a looooong time ago? Always fashion forward, I am…except with boys’ names, apparently.
Carol Hannah. I feel like that H will be swallowed way too often.
Analyse. Dumb.
About your posts that upset people? I thought you had an awesome comeback to that Nancy who didn’t like what we had to say about her name. You kept your cool a lot better than I’d be able to.
Lovely weekly round-up, as usual.
Thanks, Photoquilty! I usually find that while I’m working on a post I do end up liking the name – regardless of how I might’ve felt initially.
And you can claim credit for Paulina.
I’m a seventeen year old who loves Cynthia, Barbara and Deborah- eek! Do you think they’ll be getting trendy in a half a decade or so when I want to become a mother? I just simply cannot imagine it!
Ps. Great post
LOL, Elizabeth – that’s great! I know a great 50-something Cynthia and a lovely 40-something Barbara … so I guess they will be grandmotherly when you’re starting a family. You might be on the leading edge of granny chic, 2030 edition!
Carol Hannah is a favorite of mine too! I’ve been fascinated with her name since the season began – never being able to decide if I like it or not. Part of the problem is that some people say Carol HA-nuh, while others use the more traditional pron. of Hannah. So that makes a difference, I think. But I did realize this week that I am kind of digging Carol on her.
Yay for Carol Hannah fans! I think she’s the fan favourite at present, but I’ll be very surprised if she wins since: a) she’s sick at the finale, and b) apparently she, Logan, and Epperson are opening a store together. Personally, I think her name really suits her — especially when pronounced HA-nuh, which is how my grandma pronounced it — but I wouldn’t use it myself.
The name Irina is forever ruined for me.
Bek, did you notice her sister seems to be named Rachel? Just Rachel? I thought that was curious.
And Charlotte, amen to Irina. Some of her designs are fabulous, but she seems needlessly mean.
Carol Hannah, Logan & Epperson are opening a boutique? That might just be road-trip worthy. Though I’m probably more of the Carol-Hannah-for-Target collection customer.
I hate to say it, but I’ve spotted far more Analyses than I have Annelieses. I can’t comprehend the appeal.
I love double names (minus the hyphen) but we rarely use my daughter’s, Isla Scarlet, and stick with Isla and a middle, Bonnie. Carol Hannah is unexpected.
I don’t mind True. It’s virtue-esque but I dislike when the E is left off.
Hazel is semi popular here in NZ, but Ida, Elsie and Mabel are nowhere to be seen. I plan at present to use a very crusty old blue rinse name for this child if a girl and I’m stuck on Dulcie. I obviously want to birth a 94 year old but the appeal of Dulcie and Bonnie is too great.
Dulcie and Bonnie is a lovely sibset! Dulcie brings to mind Dulcinea, the Toad the Wet Sprocket album … and Don Quixote, of course. Quite pretty.
Hey, thanks, I value your opinion.
My grandmother, “honorary” mother really, wasn’t all that impressed but she was the same with Ivy and some other granny-chic choices. “That’s an old lady’s name!”. She offered Cheyenne instead
Bless her. A name she desired to use on my Aunt back c.1960. My Nan was ahead of the trendy curve there although she reverted to the mainstream Cheryl in the end but added another R thinking that was how Lana Turner spelt her daughter’s name. Nope. She didn’t mind Juniper though. My first middle name idea. Her name and my middle is June.
I forgot to mention that I’m surprised you receive any “outraged” feedback given you are very diplomatic. It does feel wonderful to get a happy parent pass on some thanks. I had a Telegraph dad of a Dulcie recently quite chuffed over a few comments I made. It greatly offset the negative I had about the same time regarding the name Parayse (Paris)
Ha! We spotted Drielle too and immediately thought of our at-home in-between dry-cleaning product, Dryelle. Also made me think of my friend’s cousin, Lilette – she is from Mauritius, but living in the UK, where Lilette is the equivalent to o.b. or kotex. It’s a shame. Products and names sometimes do not mix well… although I have to say Drielle is not doing it for me in terms of sound, even without the strange brand association in my head.
Love Anneliese, but can’t wrap my head around Analyse. No no no no no no!
I love Claudia on her own, but when I bring the meaning into the equation, just can’t do it.
Carol Ann is my 60 y/o mother’s name… maybe due for a comeback, but I’m going to give it another 20+ years to sound fresh again.
I actually like Cynthia, but I hate Cindy. It was actually on my short list, but the bad nickname killed it. Don’t mind the full Deborah, either.
My cousin named his daughters Precious Joy and Tru Serenity. [Their mother's middle name is Joy and they called the first girl "precious" while in utero. Tru is after the show Tru Calling, and Serenity is from the show Firefly. They are 6 and 5 now, respectively.] While I appreciate some themes, what makes me question this one is that Precious and Tru’s brother is named Antonie Allen — totally different type of names [my cousin's middle name is Allen and Antonie is after an Antony on the family tree]. I would think that a boy in that set would be named something like Constant Verity.
So while I like the name True, I only like this spelling, and I prefer it for a boy.