Monthly Archives: September 2010

Sunday Summary: 9/18/10

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18
Castle square with the United Buddy Bears

Image by hansco via Flickr

Let’s begin with a random, rag-tag assortment of thoughts sparked by the arrival of a boy called Buddy Bear Maurice:

  • Bewildertrix listed a bunch of possible names for the littlest Oliver, including Tex.  I was just musing that Tex (and Texas and Texan) don’t seem to pop up much as baby names, despite their -x factor, don’t-mess-with-me rugged appeal, and iconic place name status.  Dixie Chick Emily Robison did give the middle name to her daughter, Julianna Tex, back in 2005.  Nancy tells us that 10 boys were called Tex in 2009, plus another 11 named Texas.  Dallas, on the other hand, has appeared in the Top 1000 every year since 1800;
  • But back to Buddy, the given name of the new arrival.  Yes, we know that the English have been busy naming their kids Alfie and Charlie, and plenty of American parents have embraced the nickname trend, too.  But most famous Buddys were born something else.  Comedian Buddy Hackett was born Leonard.  Rocker Buddy Holly was Charles.  And Buddy Ebsen, who went from The Beverly Hillbilles to Barnaby Jones, was born Christian;
  • Will Farrell’s character in Elf, however, was Buddy.  So was Bill Clinton’s dog while he was in office;
  • And let’s close with the Buddy Bears – peace, love, and understanding through ginormous bear sculptures painted to represent all the countries recognized by the U.N.  They’re on exhibit in Helsinki now, if you’re eager to see them in person.

It’s not as if I expected Jamie and Jools to call their new kiddo Edward, but this one sparked more hmmm … than the usual unusual starbaby name.  At least for me.

Let’s continue with the celebrity news:

Elsewhere online:

  • If you go into labor at a fish and chips joint called Harry Ramsden’s, then naming your son Harrison seems logical, right?
  • I’ve written about the rise of Maylee before, but ForReal spotted a Daylee Katherine. And a Haddilee Rose, which must be a Hadley/Natalie mash-up;
  • I don’t always agree with Swistle, but her analysis of Evelyn and commentary on name popularity is spot on;
  • Sebastiane mentioned Thelma a few days ago. Despite the road-trip-gone-awry-girl-power of blockbuster buddy flick Thelma and Louise, Thelma seems more moldering than antique, but I do think she’s underrated;
  • Kate of My Kids Eat Off the Floor made a very smart comment on nicknames.  She was specifically thinking of the perils of Persephone, but I do think her 1% guideline is a good one for any parent attempting to bestow a longer moniker without using a nickname;
  • New ABC drama No Ordinary Family includes a teenaged daughter called Daphne.  If the show is a fraction as successful as Michael Chiklis’ last venture, this could cement Daphne as the new Zoe;
  • Speaking of television, will the latest version of assassin Nikita’s tale convince parents to adopt it for their daughters?  Despite Nikita’s masculine origins, in English, the name is inevitably viewed as feminine.  Make that in French, too – Luc Besson’s 1990 film kick-started the juvenile delinquent-turned-secret-agent franchise.  Elton John had a hit single about another female Nikita in 1985.  Nicole has been on the decline for years.  Incidentally, Paris Hilton’s little sis Nicky is actually named the even-more masculine Nicholai.

Lastly, I haven’t checked to see if it is on the shelves at my local Target, but I’m wondering if Temple St. Clair’s jewelry collection for the mega-retailer will boost the unusual name’s usage.

That’s all for this week, but as always thank you for reading, commenting, and name-spotting along with me!

Reader Baby Name Story: The Name Felt Right

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8
Cashel Joseph

Cashel Joseph

You’ve waited all summer for the return of the stories.  They’re back!  Today’s Reader Baby Name Story comes to us courtesy of Kristin.

Our son’s name is Cashel Joseph – he’ll be one this month!  I’ve made random lists of baby names for years, so when we finally found out I was pregnant after several years of struggling with infertility, I was so excited to be able to think about it in concrete terms rather than abstract.   I immediately pulled out my lists and baby name books and spent a LOT of time looking up names online.  My husband wasn’t as interested, but always happy to give me a thumbs up or down, which was pretty much the extent of his involvement the whole time.  He endured a lot of random “What about this one?” questions driving in the car, getting ready for bed, or other not-always-convenient times.  My mom was also a great sounding-board for me, and pretty much the only one besides my husband that I talked names with in detail.

We definitely had specific criteria: I prefer names that are more unusual (I’m a Kristin born at the height of the name’s popularity) but didn’t want it to be too tough to spell or pronounce, and meaning was important to us.  It also needed to go with our last name which starts with a D and has a British heritage.  “K” names were out since my husband is a Karl and we didn’t want to do the all-K thing, and “D” names were out because of the last name.  We didn’t want a made up name, one with a crazy spelling, or one that was too wacky.  We knew we wanted to use Joseph as a middle name in honor of my husband’s father who passed away several years ago.  The most surprising factor, I think, was how right or wrong a name felt with this specific little baby I was carrying – I wasn’t expecting it to be so clear to me that he wasn’t a Rainer or Jasper even before he was born!

I think the first time I saw the name Cashel was just before I became pregnant, in reference to a writer’s nephew who was described as a creative, spunky, brave little guy.  I loved it right away.  It felt strong and fresh; honored my Irish heritage, could give us the cool nickname Cash, and went well with our last name.  It’s usually said to mean “fortress,” and we thought that was perfect for a boy, especially combined with Joseph, which means “God will enlarge.”  By the time we found out that he was a boy (something I was sure of all along) I knew his name was Cashel.  My husband wanted to wait to meet him before it was really official, but I don’t think there was ever a doubt – we didn’t even have a back-up name picked.  It just felt like it fit this active, kicking little kiddo I was already so in love with.  And although I didn’t realize it until after he was born and I was saying both names together, I also love that Cashel and Karl have similar sounds, without him being a “Jr.”  The fact that my mother really loved the name was extra confirmation, since she passed away from cancer three weeks before he was born.  It means a lot to me to know that she knew her grandson’s name, even if she didn’t get to meet him.

I don’t have any regrets – I love his name, and I hope he does, too.  If he ever wants to be more traditional, he can go by C. Joseph D***worth, or just Joseph, and I can totally see Cash when he’s in high school… as an athletic soccer or lacrosse player?  A musician?  On the debate team?  To me, it works for any type of kid.  We have gotten a few problems with pronunciation, since a surprising number of people seem to want to pronounce it cash-ELL rather than CASH-el, but I’ve spent my whole life getting Kristen, Kiersten, Christine, Kris, etc. and spelling my name all the time and it hasn’t scarred me yet, so hopefully he won’t mind either.  And if he does, “Cash” is pretty hard to misspell/pronounce!  I think one of the things I love most is that since it’s such an unusual name, he’ll have the chance to define the name – for good or bad – for everyone he meets.  So, world, here’s Cashel Joseph!

Thanks so much for sharing, Kristin, and congratulations on celebrating Cashel’s first birthday – it’s a milestone for the whole family!

I think you hit on something really important about unusual names – they often do give our kids the chance to define the name themselves, as opposed to “Oh, I knew an Emily.”  And Joseph is a great family name to put in the middle spot.

Who’s next?  If you’d like to submit a story, email me at appmtn@gmail.com.  You can see the “Name Stories” page for inspiration.

Announcing the Winner

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7

Thanks for all of the comments on my celebratory Give-Away. I could fill up another year writing about all of the great ideas!  (Seriously, you rock!  It took everything I had not to comment back and add them to the calendar immediately.)

But for the moment, let me announce the winner who gets to fill up a week.  As selected by the random number generator at Random.Org, the winner is commenter #18: Liz, who suggested Leonie or Lark.  Liz, I’ll be in touch via email so we can talk about your five picks!

If you’re having trouble figuring out how Liz was #18, this was my method:  I wrote down everyone’s name in the order they made their first comment, ignoring the friendly chatter that resulted in additional posts.  Once I had a list of the true entries – 42 very creative ones in all! – I used the Random Number generator to pick a winner.

This was so much fun, we might have to do it again!

Baby Name of the Day: Wenzel

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Good King Wenceslas Portrait

Image by Telstar2000 via Flickr

Good King Wenceslas lives at the holidays in the English-speaking world, but in plenty of places, variants remain viable – even popular – names for a child.

Thanks to Rea for suggesting her son’s middle name as Baby Name of the Day: Wenzel.

Continue reading →

Baby Name of the Day: Zipporah

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29

There’s Zoe and Zachary, Zadie and Zane.  But this Z-name has been overlooked.

Thanks to Charlotte for suggesting the name of her niece as Baby Name of the Day: Zipporah.  (Great minds think alike: Kelly suggested it just a few days later!)

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Baby Name of the Day: Blythe

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17

She’s as cheerful as Felicity, as brief as Blair.

Thanks to Rocking Fetal for suggesting Blythe as Baby Name of the Day.

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Baby Name of the Day: Inara

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11

You might know her as a passenger aboard sci fi cult classic Firefly, but this goddess name’s roots run deep.

Thanks to Fran for suggesting Inara as Baby Name of the Day.

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Baby Name of the Day: Jeremy

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Along with Jeffrey and Jason, he’s more likely to be the dad than the newborn today.

Thanks to Meredith for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day: Jeremy.

Continue reading →

Sunday Summary: 9/12/10

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Let’s start a handful of picks from pop culture: first, True Blood’s werewolf Alcide.  He joined the cast in Season Three and will be back in Season Four.  If Sookie recently attracted attention, how about this romantic French spin on the Greek Alcaeus?

I’m also intrigued by Katniss, the heroine of the bestselling young adult trilogy The Hunger Games.  Her name is taken from the name of an edible plant, not just in her distopian fictional universe, but here on Earth, too.  Stephen King panned the name in a review, but I find Katniss pretty clever.  And what’s more, I can imagine Katniss catching on – she’s almost a blend of all those Kate names and the vintage, ends-in-ess choices, like Frances and Alice.

And let’s not forget TLC’s latest entry about families with lots of kids.  This one has lots of wives, too – yup, they’re profiling a polygamist family in Sister Wives.  The faces in their very crowded family portrait belong to:

  • Dad Kody;
  • First wife Meri and her daughter Mariah;
  • Second wife Janelle, and her kids Logan, Madison, Hunter, Garrison, Gabriel, and Savanah;
  • Third wife Christine and her kids Aspyn, Mykelti, Paedon, Gwenelyn, Ysabel, and baby-on-the-way Truely;
  • Fourth wife-to-be Robyn, who brings three kids to the bigger-than-Brady bunch: Dayton, Aurora, and Breanna.

It’s interesting to see that you can share everything, and still have very different taste in baby names.

Elsewhere online:

  • Speaking of family names, Laura Wattenberg’s article about A New World of Namesakes challenges readers to imagine the feminine form of today’s most popular boys’ names.  Will Connor’s granddaughter be called Connie?  Connorine?  The mind reels.  Apparently Joshlyn is already surfacing;
  • A comment in that post led to these addicting Sporcle games.  Maybe I’m a geek, but I nearly didn’t get the laundry done thanks to these;
  • Sebastiane’s post on Gregory includes a long list of feminine variants, including Jorina. Which gives me hope that we won’t be meeting girls called Connorine;
  • Spotted in Montana: Huxley.  ON A GIRL.  For Real reports a Huxley Isabella was born in Big Sky Country;
  • This one is for Claire.  During our discussion of Endellion, she wrote: “What if we dropped the ‘n’? Endellia is nice.”  Guess what popped up in the new names at Namipedia just the other day?  Wait for it – Endelia.  She may or may not stay there – Wattenberg has some criteria for determining which names can be listed – but other people are thinking the same way;
  • Check out the Class Rosters list at You Can’t Call It “It.” I was traveling for work when her post came out, so I couldn’t put my hands on our lists, but the biggest surprise I’ve heard so far?  Aly has a classmate called Ovid.  I’m not sure if I’m misunderstanding a foreign name or if he really is named after the poet.

In starbaby news, besides Winnie Cooper’s baby dragon, there’s:

Lastly, I was curious to see the upcoming Easy A for tons of reasons – it’s a spin on The Scarlet Letter, Malcolm McDowell plays the principal, the reviews have been great.  But best of all?  The heroine’s name is Olive!

That’s all for this week.  If you haven’t already, leave a comment on this post for a chance at choosing the five names to be featured the week of December 27!  Thanks for reading.

A Give-Away

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UPDATE:  Thanks for all of the comments – I could fill up another year writing about all of the great ideas!  But for the moment, let me announce the winner who gets to fill up a week.  As selected by the random number generator at Random.Org, the winner is commenter #18: Liz, who suggested Leonie or Lark. Liz, I’ll be in touch via email so we can talk about your five picks!

I’ve been thinking of how to celebrate my 1,000th post.  Have you all over for brunch?  Wouldn’t work – I don’t have that many forks.

But then I remembered back in the day, when MTV would be “taken over” by Duran Duran or Britney Spears for a few hours.  The pop star in charge would choose the playlist, which would look something like the regular rotation anyhow, but would always have a few surprises.  I was a tweenaged MTV junkie, so I remember eagerly anticipating some of those mini-thons.  I always thought about what I’d play, because hey, who doesn’t want to be in charge?

Now’s your chance to take something  over, and that would be the Baby Names of the Day list for the week of December 27 – the last week of the year.  You can choose five names, any five names, from classics like Elizabeth and William, to the wackiest appellations under the sun.  Want me to write about Nevaeh?  I’ll do it – if you win!

Enter by leaving a comment here with one of the names that you might choose.  I won’t hold you to it!  The winner will be chosen by random drawing using the widget at random.org and announced next Saturday, 9/18.

If it is your first comment, your comment won’t appear immediately.  But I’d be delighted to hear from you, too.  :)