The Nine Types of Unusual Baby Names

January 5, 2013

I’m fascinated by the use (and abuse) of the word unique in baby name talk. Unique is a superlative.  It means one of a kind – just one.  It is impossible to be “kind of unique” or “somewhat unique” or “a little bit unique.”  You’re either the only one, or you’re not. But if I [...]

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Baby Name Predictions for 2013

December 30, 2012

2012 is slipping away, and that means a new year of baby names is just around the corner. This year’s baby name predictions range from some very specific names on the rise to sounds we like to broader changes in how we think about names. What’s likely to be hot in 2013?  Surprises abound, but [...]

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2012 Baby Name Predictions: Recap Edition

December 29, 2012

It’s the end of the year, and it just hit me that I never looked back at my Baby Name Predictions for 2012. My first crack at Baby Name Predictions was back in 2008.  I rated my original prognostications a B-, mostly because they were so vague that it was impossible to say if I [...]

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From Annai to Zen: Thoughts on the Ever-Deepening Pool of Given Names, Part III

February 27, 2012

While I can’t prove this statistically, it appears that there are more given names in use circa 2012 than ever before, at least in the English-speaking world. And while I can’t tally the total number of names in use, anyone can see that the number of children receiving the most popular names – be they [...]

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From Annai to Zen: Thoughts on the Deepening Name Pool, Part II

February 6, 2012

As I mentioned in the first installment of this series, I am truly fascinated by novel names. Every generation has them, and while it feels like we have more than ever, we can’t really know if that’s true. In part one, what we have less of in 2012. There’s less pressure to Anglicize a name, [...]

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A Boy Named Sue, or Baby Naming Seven Years Later

January 28, 2012

If you’ve been reading for a while, you might know that I refer to my firstborn as Aly, short for

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From Annai to Zen: Thoughts on the Ever-Deepening Pool of Given Names, Part I

January 23, 2012

I’m fascinated by new baby names – names that have virtually no history of use as English-language given names until now. And I’m equally intrigued by how we perceive them. Anneliese is a fast-rising import that I’ve heard called vintage. (Maybe in Berlin, but in the US? Not so much.) Caliber is a modern noun [...]

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Year in Review: 2011

December 31, 2011

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 [...]

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12 Baby Name Predictions for 2012

December 30, 2011

Back in 2008, I made a raft of prognostications for the coming year. Overall, I’d rate my crystal-ball gazing a B-. It isn’t that they didn’t come true – at least in part – it is that they were so vague that I could declare victory no matter what happened. Part of the puzzle is [...]

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In Defense of Riley Anne and Evan Marie: Ten Reasons Boys’ Names on Girls Are Not a Sign of End Times

July 2, 2011

Feeling feisty? Head to a message board and announce that you’re naming your daughter Addison. Or Quinn. Or Mason. Then run for cover. Sure, some people will respond positively. But depending on the forum, you could also find yourself accused of thievery, trendiness, and general bad taste. I’m sympathetic to parents who feel they can’t [...]

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