The longer I write, the less judgmental I become about names.  Don’t get me wrong – many still astound me.  While researching the upcoming Tate, I stumbled across Tatelyn, a name that seems appropriate only for the firstborn daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head.

And yet, Charlotte recently mentioned Lecandro – surely the invention of a creative mama – and I found myself liking it quite a bit.

Maybe it is that I’ve found there’s a backstory for nearly any name.  Or possibly I’m far more aware that my own opinions have changed over the years.  Two decades ago, Finn would’ve been a shark reference, destined to hear the low strings of Jaws.  Today he’s among the most fashionable of names, even before Glee ricocheted him to wider notice.

And the name news:

• I’ve been meaning to post this ever since Kim sent it my way: Wee Decor posts lists of names parents have ordered on nursery wall art.  Check out their Summer 2010 list here. Dario, Allica, and Juddefrey are all gracing the name of a nursery somewhere.  But hey, if you love it enough to put it on a birth certificate, why not put it on a wall;
• Or chisel it on a stone(age) wall.  Nancy tells us that in the 1960s, some parents went prehistoric and named their daughters Pebbles shortly after the animated series adding a daughter;
• Check out For Real’s list of baby names featuring alliteration – though some of these go too far.  Alexis Alexandra and Coleton Cole both feel repetitive.  Ava Autumn is lovely, and I kind of like Elijah Ezra, too;
• Speaking of how close is too close, I’m intrigued by this post at You Can’t Call It “It” about twins named Claire Emerson and Ellis Catherine … or maybe something else entirely;
• Even if you read zero Dutch, you can pick out the names Emma posted from Benelux’s Next Top Model. I ran the page through Google Translate to confirm – there apparently is a contestant named Epiphany;
• Here’s a quick check at the box office.  Besides the animated owl sibset I mentioned on Facebook – Soren and Eglantine – there are a few other intriguing choices.  Renee Zellweger’s just-in-time-for-Halloween horror flick Case 39 includes a little girl named Lillith.  In Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, we learn that Gordon Gekko named his daughter Winnie.  And Ben Affleck’s The Town is generating buzz for other reasons, but also gives us two to consider – a criminal named James who answers to Jem, and Jem’s niece, a little girl called Shyne.

As for the starbaby round up – it’s a girl.  And a girl, and a girl …:

• This is an interesting choice: Yul Kwon, the winner of 2006′s Survivor: Cook Islands is a new dad to daughter Genevie;
• Here’s a truly lovely choice: Esai Morales and his girlfriend have welcomed a daughter, Mariana Oliveira;
• What percentage of girls called Madeline (or Madison, Madelyn, Madasyn, etc.) answered to Maddie?  And how many are Maddy?  Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus has announced his daughter-on-the-way will be called Madeline Leigh, answering to Maddy-with-a-y;
• James Van Der Beek bucked the Hollywood embrace of unusual names to choose Olivia for his newborn daughter.

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That’s all for this week.  As always, thank you for reading!