Yesterday I unveiled my predictions for the coming year, and that was going to be all I had to say about the year’s close. Except that I found myself hypnotized by a video of old-school clocks from Etsy’s Vimeo channel. Time really does slip by so quickly. (Next month, I’ll enter my fifth year of blogging here at Appellation Mountain. What?) And so here’s a quick look back at 2011.
January 2011
- I started writing a regular Monday post for Nameberry. I still pinch myself every time I see my name on the site. Thanks to Pam and Linda for their encouragement!
- Amoret was featured as Baby Name of the Day. In September blogger Rubyellen of Cakies welcomed daughter Glow Amorette. I truly do love this name.
February 2011
- I loved writing about Elsinore, which isn’t exactly a given name, but certainly could be.
- Then there’s a draft of an article I never finished, which I’ve dredged up to dust off and post in 2012, one about my personal experience naming human beings.
March 2011
- March Madness was a great run, with Louisa and Nathaniel claiming the top spots.
- I also wrote about the poetic, starbaby pick Tennyson, a choice that has really grown on me this year.
April 2011
- I adore the cowboy-cool and carefree Irish style of Callahan, and my obsession with The Hunger Games fuels by continued interest in the lovely Primrose.
May 2011
- We welcomed Nick and Mariah’s tots, Moroccan and Monroe, and it was official: sometimes celeb baby names are just too cool for their own good.
- And, of course, the 2009 Social Security statistics came out. I had a few things to say about that.
June 2011
July 2011
- I always choose some of the names profiled during my birthday week, and 2011 was no exception. I considered Clark, Katniss, and Coco.
- Then came the birth of Kate Hudson’s baby Bingham – the kind of name I end up loving because it is so rich with significance about the family.
- My favorite post of the year probably goes to this one.
August 2011
- Tina Fey’s daughter Penelope Athena joined the world, as did lots of other little Penelopes.
September 2011
- I was mocked on Gawker. Turns out that this is great for traffic.
- Girls Gone Child blogger Rebecca Wolfe gave her daughters the memorable appellations Reverie Lux and Boheme Shalom.
- I launched the Fetching Names names series – and it quickly became the most-commented-on series here.
October 2011
- The talented Kate at My Kids Eat Off the Floor hosted a give-away from her Etsy shop.
- Tori Spelling welcomed a daughter named Hattie Margaret.
November 2011
- Reruns started, and while some comments lamented that I wouldn’t be moving forward, I’ve really enjoyed reworking those early posts. Four years is a long time, and some of them have changed.
- I also started relying on polls to narrow down the names to feature here. It has been a big help for me, and they’ll be returning early in the new year.
December 2011
- One of my favorite lists in ages has to be Fetching Names: The Hermiones, Part I. I still owe you a sequel!
And that brings us to today, the very last day of the year. It seems impossible that this could be the case, but I can hear the kids getting the noisemakers ready downstairs.
Thanks for being part of the ride! Wishing you a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2012.






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