Image by Leo Reynolds via Flickr
Welcome May! After a week in Florida, and lots of name-spotting at Disney World, it is great to be back writing from my favorite spot on the couch.
Name news this week:
- The late Pope John Paul was beatified in Rome today. Beatification is the half-way mark towards sainthood. Will it catch on as a compound name for boys? I know two little John Pauls. The older answers to J.P.;
- This little story from a Louisiana newspaper is the reason I write;
- From the wayback machine: in 2009, the featured name was Somerled. In 2010, it was Ruth;
- My thoughts on the letter C aside, it was fun to see Keturah spotted in Michigan by For Real;
- Whitney spotted this weird comment on a forum: “…for twins go for matching names, such as Norah and Noah but keep the names unique please! no Cassie and Callie‘s!” The commenter’s definitions of “matching” and “unique” are baffling, but then, unique is the most routinely abused term in baby naming parlance;
- Laura Wattenberg reminds us that many stories aren’t about names, they’re about demographics. Susan isn’t more successful than Madison. She’s just much older!
- Really can’t decide on a baby name? Nancy tells us how parents in 1892 let their little girl help choose Frances Cleveland.
You might have heard about this little wedding on Friday. While the pair aren’t parents – yet – their vows were heard ’round the world, and the occasion inspired plenty of posts about royal baby names. I liked Nameberry’s list of princesses by marriage, as well as Nancy’s question about the popularity of Pippa in the US. Pippa appears on my Monday list for Nameberry, too.
And in celebrity birth announcements:
- Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon have welcomed twins, a boy and a girl, but no names have been announced as of this morning;
- Another baby boy called Journey has arrived. The Black Eyed Peas’ Taboo and wife Jaymie welcomed a son named Journey Jameson, a little brother for Jimmy Jalen and Joshua. I get the modern spiritual vibe of Journey, but can’t help wonder if the parents sing “Don’t Stop Believin” as a lullaby. Nancy tells us that 45 baby boys – including one of Jenna Jameson’s twin sons – received the name in 2009, but it is in the girls’ Top 500;
- 90210 alum Ian Ziering and wife Erin welcomed a daughter, Mia Loren. Joy pointed out that Mia and Ian share the same sounds, and the choice is pretty conventional. Still, I like this one;
- The amazing Toni Collette welcomed a son named Arlo Robert, a little brother for Sage Florence. Dad is musician David Galafassi. I think the couple did a good job of finding names that are distinctive and stand up to their long surname, too;
- Funny man Kevin James is now the father of three. He and wife Steffiana welcomed a son, Kannon Valentine. Big sisters are Shea Joelle and Sienna-Marie. Shea is indeed named after the Mets’ former stadium. Thanks to Photoquilty for pointing out that Valentine is a family name. I’m not sure there’s any explanation for Kannon.
Hungry for more name gossip all week? Check out my Facebook page.
That’s all for this week. As always, thanks for reading!
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I know a toddler John Paul. I think he’s actually Johnathan Paul plus a middle name – but they call him “John Paul”.
Looking forward to hear the new twin names from Mariah Carey! The article I just read said they hadn’t decided on names yet – rather than having decided and just not released them.
Namberry has an explanation for Kannon – though who knows whether this is what inspired Kevin James: “Kannon is also the name of the Buddhist god (and sometime goddess) of mercy and compassion, a very different image from the big gun.”
That’s three John Pauls, then!
I hope that Kannon is such a sophisticated reference …
And I’m glad to know that they’ve not yet decided. They’ve been very open about parenthood, so I’m sure they’ll tweet it … hmmm … is that a good enough reason to follow Mariah on Twitter?
I know a John-Paul, he’d be about 8 now though.
Ooh, now I will have to check Twitter too. That would be less embarrassing than Facebook “liking” her!
I am so encouraged by the babies born in my areas this week:
Sally Veronica Anne (named after her great grandmother Sarah nn Sally)
Caroline Seraphina nn Caro.
Twins:
Roger Frederick and Henry Jasper
I adore these names so much!
What truly WONDERFUL names, Sadie! Thanks for sharing.
Oooh nice! I especially like the twin’s names – though Roger is surprising for a first name pick. I’d expect Frederick & Henry, rather than Roger & Henry. Jasper is great for the middle name spot too.
Roger was her ultimate favorite name so she went with it but used Frederick in case he doesn’t like it. Roger feels kind of hipster to me.
I can’t get over what Roger is a euphemism for *snort*. I cannot help it.
It’s not hipster in NZ. More so ” old man it hurts and may it never come back”.
I love Sally Veronica Anne. It’s fantastic.
Roger is in my top 3 boys names. I think could be considered pretty hipster too-think Roger Sterling.
Arlo? I’ve been seeing that one in the Aussie birth notices with some frequency.
Pippa is relatively common here. Stand alone and as a nickname for one of my most loathed classics. Ew. I’m not typing it. You’d find Pippas of various ages.
I’m hoping for something decent from Mariah Carey. Perhaps that’s asking for a miracle but I can easily picture the gaping shock of some name nerds( who are no doubt snarking the hell out of her potential picks right now) if she went with, um, Nico and Violet. Hilarious.
I went against my better judgement and watched the wedding and while I enjoyed it for the most part, I wasn’t expecting FMDs * of that magnitude.
*Fascinators of Mass Destruction.
I’m actually expecting some decent well-thought out twin names too. Not that I actually know anything about Mariah Carey – it would just be a fun surprise to have some non-shocking names.
RE: “Joy pointed out that Mia and Ian share the same sounds”…
Ian Ziering pronounces his name as EYE-an.
Really!? Excuse me while I head over to YouTube and search on “Ian Ziering interview” – what do you know! Where have I been since 1990?
To be honest, I see him and think “oh, it’s Steve.”
I didn’t watch the show, but his name has always stuck in my mind because I adore Ian as EE-an, and I’ve always felt his pronunciation of EYE-an was “wrong.”
I remember hearing his name was pronounced EYE-an in the 1990s and finding it to be odd. I think that might be the first time I had an actual opinion about a name!
I was just visiting family in Texas, so I missed your re-run week, but I got back in time to see an announcement for the birth of Aerial Jo (and last week there was a Kaiser and a Xypher.)
I namespotted at my preschool aged nephew’s tee-ball game and heard Keiran, Holt, Barret, Judson and a girl named Parker. As well as John, Joseph and Richard.
As for matching twins names, my 7th grade niece’s lacrosse team included twins named Oakley and Hadley (plus other teammates named Marie Claire, Mary Beth and Mary Elizabeth.)
Since we’ve send our kids to Catholic School, John Paul doesn’t feel unusual to me. I know of one child who goes by the full John Paul, another whose is actually called Jack… plus siblings named John, Paul and Ben (I’m not sure if he’s actually named Benedict.)
My brother-in-law’s older brother (early-mid 20s) is a John Paul who goes by JP. However, he isn’t Catholic — John is a family name (i.e. the father’s John George and just goes by George).
Some good friends of mine in India just had a daughter and named her Chloe Hannah. Chloe has a diacretical mark over the e, but I don’t know how to do that on here. Also, in one their most recent announcements they highlighted that Hannah’s a palindrome by capitilising both h’s. I found their name choice interesting because I hadn’t realise that Chloe’s popularity had extended beyond countries like the US and France to India (the couple are Indians living in India, unlike myself: a Canadian who grew up in India).
I grew up in a predominately Roman Catholic town in north Jersey, and there were a few John Pauls in my high school – all born in the early 80s. So for me it just feels … normal.
I also attended Catholic school, moreover this was in the South, aka Land of the Double Names. So John Paul seems very safe and normal to me as well.