Fraser Coat of Arms; Image via Wikipedia

He’s a surname that nods to Scotland, and to the great outdoors.

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

The best guess is that Fraser – and Frasier, Frazer, and Frazier – are Scottish surnames of Gaelic origin, with enough Anglo-Norman influence that as they were whispered down the alley, the original name was lost to memory.

Regardless of where he started, Fraser is solidly established as a common Scottish surname.  There’s a Clan Fraser, and Lord Lovat is a title in the peerage of Scotland reserved for the head of the clan.  They’re present throughout much of Scottish history.

If you glance at the Fraser coat of arms, you’ll notice that there are strawberries included in the design.  Some sites list Fraser’s meaning as strawberry; it is more likely that strawberries were added to their coat of arms later, as a play on fraises - the French word for strawberry, which just happens to sound an awful lot like the family name.

Fraser sounds like an occupational surname keeping company with Archer and Miller, but it isn’t so.  But there is a profession attached to this appellation – radio talk psychiatrist, as in Dr. Frasier Crane.

Frasier first appeared on sitcom staple Cheers during season three, as a suitor for Diane, a rival to her on-again, off-again love interest, bartender and bar owner Sam Malone.  He stayed long after Diane’s departure, eventually marrying a fellow psychiatrist, the frosty Lilith Sternin.  Cheers was set in Boston.  As the series wound down, Lilith and Frasier divorced, and the stage was set for Frasier to move home to Seattle and try a career change – he’s still a psychiatrist, but now more of a pop culture self help figure on Seattle radio station KACL.

Incidentally, the only possible explanation either series ever offers for his unusual first name is this: Frasier’s mom, also a psychiatrist, named him for one of her lab rats.

The television character certainly put Frasier on the books as a possible name for a child.  Other associations include Smokin’ Joe Frazier, a former Heavyweight World Champ.  The boxer’s heyday was the 1960s and 1970s.

Choose your field of endeavor and you can almost certainly find a Fraser.  One of my favorites is Honolulu-born artist Juliette May Fraser, whose work eventually graced the Hawaii State Library.

None of these associations – not even the sitcom – was enough to boost Fraser into greater use.  Frazier appeared in the US Top 1000 a few times from the nineteenth century into the very early 20th – the only spelling to do so.  Just like any surname, there’s some limited use over the years.

Today the Fraser fir, an evergreen native to the eastern US and popular as a Christmas tree, lends Fraser a nature vibe, and a seasonal one, too.  It is easy to imagine naming a December-born son Fraser.

In fact, it is just plain easy to imagine naming a son Fraser.  With his ends-in-r construction, his vibrant ay sound, and that surname style, he’s exactly on trend.  And yet he’s virtually unused, too – a promising combination!

Nico Buwalda; Image via Wikipedia

Today’s pick is a fascinating gender neutral name with a certain sparky, international vibe.

Thanks to Findley for suggesting Nico as our Baby Name of the Day.

Originally, Nico is a Dutch version of Nicholas.  Or maybe he’s related to Nicodemus, a separate name with the same meaning, or Dominic, a saintly appellation.  Regardless, Nico is a logical short form of any name containing the nic sound – as is Nick or Nicky – and he’s also heard in German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and other European languages.

Nicholas was a wildly popular fourth century saint whose name has seen steady use over the years.  Royals and popes have answered to the name.

There are bunches of early 20th century Nicos, guys like Nico Buwalda, the Dutch footballer pictured above, or Italian crooner Nico Fidenco.  Over the course of the twentieth century, we find more and more Nicos.

Some of it may simply be better recording of personal biographies.  That’s how we know, for example, that youngest Llewelyn-Davies brother Nicholas answered to Nico.  (Along with George, John, Peter, and Michael, the brothers and their family were friends of J.M. Barrie, and the inspiration for Peter Pan.)

Llewelyn-Davis is the first English Nico I find.  But then, despite Nicholas’ steady use, he wasn’t wildly popular in English until recent decades.  In 1900, Nicholas ranked #200.  Feminine form Nicole is even more of a new arrival.  She first appears in the US Top 1000 in 1942, and stayed at the fringes until the 1960s.

All of the Nick names were on top of the world in the 1980s.  In the midst of this, in 1988, Nico debuted as a boys’ name.  He reached #591 in 2010.

Nico in La Dolce Vita; Image via Wikipedia

Nico has never charted as a girls’ name, and was given to just 39 girls last year.  But she has had some use for girls, thanks to a German singer.  Born Christa Päffgen, the lingering rumor is that her stage name was borrowed from Greek director Nikos Papatakis, also nicknamed Nico.

In recent years, Nico has been catching on :

• Actress Thandie Newton has daughters called Ripley and Nico, and Nico is said to be named after singer.
• Coldplay’s Guy Berryman has a daughter called Nico, as does the lead singer of Blind Melon, the late Shannon Hoon.
• Short-lived television series Lipstick Jungle included a character named Nico, a high-powered magazine editor.
• Then there’s singer-songwriter Neko Case.  It appears to be her given name.

In Germany and Austria, Nico is big for boys, and it is also the name of a male character in the Percy Jackson series.

She’s an alternative to the mega-popular Olivia, a classic boosted just the tiniest bit by a  sitcom staple.

Thanks to Dan for suggesting Cecilia as our Baby Name of the Day.

Cecilia’s meaning isn’t especially appealing.  She comes from the Roman family name Caecilius, derived from the Latin word caecus – blind.  The first Caeculus was the son of Vulcan in Roman myth, abandoned by his mother as a child, but eventually growing up to be a king.  The family claimed descent from Caeculus, and female members of the family answered to Caecilia.

Then along came a saint, a faultless woman of the second or third century, born blind.  A devout Christian, she went to her death for refusing to sacrifice to Roman gods.  It took many attempts to execute Cecilia – or so goes the legend.  Despite many re-tellings of her tale, like some other early saints, there is little historical evidence to support her existence.

But no matter, because Cecilia has been wildly popular over the years, enough that other meanings have attached to her name, including:

• She of the shining light, a meaning that might be a play on blindness, or might relate to an archaic French word with a similar meaning.  While I can’t confirm the word’s use, light is a common image used with reference to many saints.  Saint Therese of Lisieux used the imagery in a poem she wrote to Saint Cecilia.
• In Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the Second Nun’s Tale lists a long string of possible alternate meanings for Cecilia, including Lily of Heaven.  Scholars speculate that Chaucer might have had access to more extensive accounts of Cecilia’s story.

Speaking of her story, it is said that she sang to heaven even as she was beheaded – and so Cecilia is the patron saint of music.

Handel composed the Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day, one of many works dedicated to her.  Rome is home to the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia – one of the oldest musical institutions, founded in 1585.

Then there’s Simon & Garfunkel‘s enduring single from their 1970 album Bridge Over Troubled Water.  While the lyrics lean PG-13, it is a bouncy, upbeat song.

Other uses abound:

• Popular eighteenth century novelist Frances Burney penned a novel called Cecilia, or Memoirs on an Heiress.
• The name is big name in the royal family of Sweden.  Cecilia was believed to be name of a twelfth century queen, the wife of King Canute I and mother of King Eric X.  Other princesses have worn the name since.
• A second royal connection is Cecilia of Normandy, said to be the firstborn daughter of William the Conqueror.

The Normans brought Cecilia to England, and in the medieval era she became Cecily.  Variants abound:  Sisley, Sela, Cecilie, Cecile, even the Irish Sheila.  The Shakespearean Celia has different roots, but sounds close enough that she’s sometimes grouped with the Cecilia names, too.

In more recent years, Cecilia has been a character in novels-turned-movies The Virgin Suicides and Atonement, plus the name given to Pam and Jim’s daughter on The Office.

Overall, Cecilia is steady.  She ranked #277 in 2010, #283 in 2000, #326 in 1990, #283 in 1960, #262 in 1930, and #199 in 1900.  She’s been more and less popular over the decades, but she’s always been present.  This makes her a great choice for parents seeking an alternative to Amelia or Sophia.  Cecilia is every bit as storied, but not nearly as common.

The lady-like Irene has a tailored, retro flair.  But how about this version, closer to the original goddess?

Thanks to Sarah for suggesting Eirene as our Baby Name of the Day.

First things first: Eirene doesn’t sound like Irene.  Depending on who you ask, she’s either eye REE nee or eh REH neh or somewhere in between.  I’m partial to eye REH nee, but let’s face it – I’m just picking and choosing.  What’s clear is that Eirene is slightly different from Irene, and I think the changed first letter, combined with our general unfamiliarity with Irene as a child’s name, gives this Greek goddess a window for consideration.

After all, Phoebe and Penelope and Daphne and lots of other appellations with mythological origins are in vogue at the moment, and ends-in-e for girls has been big, from Zoe to Chloe, in the twenty-first century.

There are actually two goddesses in the pantheon.  The first is the Greek personification of peace.  Her Roman equivalent is Pax.  She’s one of The Hours, charged with all sorts of tasks.  Eirene and her sisters guard gates, usher in the seasons, and generally keep order over the natural world.  There’s more than one trio, actually – sisters Thallo, Carpo, and Auxo are associated with the seasons, while Eunomia, Eirene, and Dike dealt with order, peace, and justice.

My favorite image of Eirene is the one above.  That tot in her arms is Demeter’s kiddo, the infant Ploutus - plenty.  The harvest goddess might be the mother of abundance, but peace is his baby-sitter.  Poetic, don’t you think?

There’s a second use of the name, for one of Poseidon’s daughters.  The Greek island of Kalaureia was once known as Eirene, back several centuries BC.  A major temple to Poseidon once stood on the island.

The name was in some use in the ancient world.  Three early Christian saints, and an artist wore the name, plus a character on the BBC/HBO series Rome included a minor character called Eirene.

So if all we had to go on was the goddess name, Eirene would be a shoe-in for an obscurity that could suit daring baby namers.  The trouble is, of course, that the simplified Irene was a hit in the 1910s and 1920s.  As the hundred-year rule suggests, she’s starting to feel fresh again, boosted by the adventurous Irene Adler in the Sherlock Holmes franchise.  Nameberry put Irene on their Headed for Harvard list, along with other brainy appellations like Beatrice and Portia.

That complication aside, Eirene has an awful lot of energy.  The Slavic Irina is slightly more elegant, and Irene has a sepia-toned throwback quality that appeals.  The modern Greek Irini is intriguing, too.  But with three syllable names like Penelope and Eleni being considered by parents, maybe Eirene has enough oomph to step out of her younger sister’s shadow.

Yvonne DeCarlo; Image via Wikipedia

Over 15,000 little girls were christened Ava, with another 6,600 plus called Avery, and nearly as many answering to Evelyn in 2010 alone.  What ever happened to this vowels-plus-v choice?

Thanks to Ashley for suggesting Yvonne as our Baby Name of the Day.

The trouble with Yvonne is that she peaked in the 1930s.  If the one hundred year rule applies, that’s still a decade or so shy of sounding prime for revival.  No one is naming their girls Barbara or Shirley, either.

On the other hand, a number of 1930s staples have already started to catch the attention of parents looking for something fresh.  Don’t Dorothy, Ruth, Helen, Joan, and June all sound like names you’d find short-listed on a Nameberry forum?

Like Natalie and Audrey, there’s a Hollywood tie to this name.  Yvonne DeCarlo had a long career, attaining true leading lady status after her turn as Sephora in the Biblical epic The Ten Commandments.  The only trouble?  Today’s parents remember the lovely Ms. DeCarlo for another role – Mrs. Lily Munster in television sitcom The Munsters.

Or maybe the name conjures up the flirtatious Miss Yvonne on Pee-wee’s Playhouse.  Either way, Yvonne takes on a sort of campy, cult status that lingers.

It shouldn’t be that way, though.  She’s a medieval appellation brought to England by the Normans.  Yvonne has long been the most common feminine form of the saintly, high-fashion français Yves, a name ultimately derived from the yew tree.

Yew is not one you’re likely to hear, even as tailored tree names like Linden and Rowan find favor.  Yew wood was traditionally used for making bows, and has ties to Norse mythology and well as a reputation as a tree of sadness and mourning, customarily planted in churchyards, even in pre-Christian England.  Yvonne is a few steps removed from that backstory, though.

Variants abound.  There’s Ivo and and Yvon for men; Yvette and Ivetta for women.  If you remember 1980s Australian tennis sensation Evonne Goolagong, that’s one that might come to mind.

Madame Charles DeGaulle also wore the name, as did a number of singers and dancers and athletes and actors.  The most prominent Yvonne of our day is probably Polish-Australian actress Yvonne Strahovski, mostly recently seen on Chuck.

But back to the question of how Yvonne would fare today.  It may be that the 1930s were prime time for the letter V.  Alvin and Vivian, Vincent and Eva, Harvey and Vera were all popular.  If the vibrant v is having another moment – and she’s definitely back for girls, from Olivia to Nevaeh – then why not Yvonne?

She’s elegant, restrained, and shortens to the kid-friendly Evie.  Naming a daughter Yvonne in 2011 or 2012 could be one of those ahead-of-the-curve comebacks.  It’s the kind of name you announce and everyone says, “Huh.  You don’t hear that one much these days.”  They’d be right, too – Yvonne last charted in the US Top 1000 in 2002.

If you’re looking for the new old lady names, Yvonne could be the next Evelyn – though maybe in a dozen more years.

Mist; Image via Wikipedia

She’s a Lithuanian nature name first noticed in the US thanks to a controversial reality show.

Thanks to Macie for suggesting Miglė as our Baby Name of the Day.

Back in September 2007, we were all talking about CBS’ decision to air a reality series about kids aged 8 to 15 who were sent off to live on a New Mexico ranch with minimal adult supervision.  Would it be Lord of the Flies or would they succeed in creating a model society?  Kid Nation lasted just one season.

The 40 kids who vied for cash prizes during the series mostly answered to pretty ordinary names: Mike and Madison, Nathan and Sophia.  But there were some stand-out appellations among the cast: a boy called Pharaoh and another named Blaine.  But the most arresting girl’s name was certainly Miglė.

Pronounced ME glay, the name is Lithuanian and comes from their word migla - mist.  The sound and the meaning are both attractive – modern, unexpected, neither flimsy nor clunky.

Other names that mean mist include:

• Kasumi, from Japanese
• Noelani, from Hawaiian
• Terhi, from Finnish

Any of those would be stunningly unusual in the US.  There’s also Misty, a Top 100 pick from 1973 through 1984.  She’s since fallen completely out of favor, along with choices like Dawn and Brandy.

Back to Miglė Drąsutavičiutė, the Lithuanian-born reality star.  Her IMDb profile is mostly empty, but several of the series’ tweenaged alums have set their sites on show biz careers.  Should Miglė strike it big, we could meet more girls called Miglė and Miglea and choose your respelling, a cousin to other ends-in-e picks like Esme.

Or maybe another Miglė will make her name known in the English-speaking world.  I can’t navigate through the Lithuanian national stats site, but she seems on trend, along with picks like Ugnė – fire and Aušra – dawn.

But chances are that this will remain a rarity, a quirky international borrowing nicely suited to those seeking a heritage pick, but tough to imagine entering into general use.

Snooki; Image via Wikipedia

I can understand the stories connecting Twilight and baby names, even if they’re tremendously flawed.  Ditto all that kredit given to the Kardashians for the rise of Mason.

However, my head might explode if I read another lame attempt to connect Jersey Shore and baby names.  Jersey and Florence might both be getting more attention as potential names – Jersey has been popping up on message boards for the last few years, and Florence is one of many antiques parents are cautiously considering.  Call me when Snooki cracks the US Top 1000 and I’ll entertain the theory.

Ahem.  Elsewhere online:

• Waltzing More than Matilda posted a list of star names for girls.  The names are lovely – Lucy, Gemma, Maia.  But is it too subtle?  Stars are great in the summer and fall and spring, too.
• I like this story Nancy uncovered about a baby named Ann Macy.
• My new favorite find of the week?  Laith, in Eponymia’s Names from Jordan post.
• Or how ’bout Antigone?  Dorcas rightly points out that she’s tragic, but Nook commented that she’s also noble and brave.  I’ll add that I like her nickname options: Tig, Aggie, Annie …
• I find this spelling of Finneus confusing.  Except that, really, I find every spelling of Phineas a tiny bit confusing.
• SkyeRhyly posted his predictions for 2012, with his usual emphasis on boys’ names.  I think he’s quite right on a few of these, especially his call that this is the year Bentley and Asher make the Top 100.
• This birth announcement for Eliza Scarlet reminded me that sometimes names that just seem fine separately all of a sudden sound great in combination.
• Baby Name Wizard declared Pippa a runner-up to the Name of the Year.  Can’t wait to hear what takes the top spot … Could it be Snooki?

Let’s wrap up with my take on two dilemmas: first, Dorcas wondered if she can still use an old family name if her (possible future) sister-in-law has the same name?

My two cents: if the name is common, then use it.  They’re all used to being one of several Elizabeths.  It gets touchier the less ordinary the appellation.  If I met a family with three Zenobias, I would assume they were all named after one another.  Then again, that can make for a happy coincidence – my husband shares his name with my grandfather, making it an easy choice for our son’s middle.

Second, the Name Lady answers another question about name thievery between siblings.  I find it interesting that we name fans tend to be more generous – or at least more realistic – about these things.  Probably because we all know that everyone is already using Chloe and that’s why we’re going with Kerensa or Maud anyhow.

That’s all for this week.  As always, thanks for reading and have a great week!

e54 by TooFarNorth via Flickr

She’s an Arthurian appellation big with Baby Boomers, but she could feel surprisingly current today.

Thanks to Sarah for suggesting Elaine as our Baby Name of the Day.

Elaine was a rising star in the 1920s, peaked in the 1940s, and stayed in the Top 100 through 1957.  Today she’s fallen to a chilly #799.

She’s usually explained as a French version of Helen,   Some theorize other origins, like elain, the Welsh word for fawn.

She appears in several Arthurian tales, including:

• The Lady of Shallott is probably the most famous thanks to a Tennyson poem.
• Speaking of Lancelot, his mom was also named Elaine.
• Then there’s an Elaine that does catch the eye of Lancelot.  Together, they are the parents of Sir Galahad.
• King Arthur has a half-sister called Elaine.
• That half-sister passed the name on to her daughter, Elaine the Younger.

There are a few others, too.  Depending on which telling you’re reading, some of these characters might answer to slightly different names.  But overall, there is no denying that Elaine comes to us from myth and legend.

Her big moment came from Tennyson’s Idylls of the King.  The poet had touched on her story earlier,  It goes something like this: Lancelot and Guinevere have fallen in love, but she’s the queen, married to King Arthur and she tells him they have to be cautious.  Determined to impress his beloved, Lancelot shows up at a tournament disguised as the Lord of Astolat.  Astolat isn’t there, but his daughter is, and she falls head over heels for the imposter.  He’s taken, of course, and Elaine dies of heartbreak.  Her dying note is read aloud at court, reducing everyone to tears.

The tragic heroine’s name is barely present in the US Top 1000 before 1889.  Idylls was published between 1856 and 1885, and by the twentieth century, Elaine was on her way up, boosted by:

• 1914′s The Exploits of Elaine, a tale of a young woman who hunts down the man who murdered her father.  It was a follow-up to the successful Perils of Pauline.
• In the 1944 hit movie Arsenic and Old Lace, Cary Grant’s character is planning to elope with the girl next door, only his sweetly murderous aunts keep getting in the way of his romance with the lovely Elaine Harper.  The movie was based on an equally successful play, again, with the sweetheart answering to Elaine.
• JD Salinger published a short story titled “Elaine” in 1945.  Salinger was quite the namer – don’t forget he used Esme decades before Stephenie Meyer.  Salinger’s Elaine is growing up in the Bronx, but seems unfazed by the sordidness of her surroundings.
• We all know the famous scene from The Graduate between young Ben and the original cougar, Mrs. Robinson.  But have you seen the ending?  Ben runs off with the Robinsons’ daughter, Elaine.
• Remember the Billy Joel song “Big Shot” from 1978?  He referred to Elaine’s, a restaurant on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, fashionable from the 1960s into recent years, a place where you might spot Woody Allen or other luminaries.  Elaine Kaufman was the woman behind the eatery.

Today’s generation of parents probably think of Lady Elaine on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, or more likely, Elaine from Seinfeld.

None of this makes Elaine prime for a comeback, but here’s something that does: the rise of the short form Laney or Lainey or Lainie.  Some parents are opting for Delaney, or Alaina, or Elaina, but there’s a simple elegance to Elaine.  If you’re looking for a trend-proof name that your child will still enjoy wearing, Elaine might be exactly the thing.

B is for buried; image by WagsomeDog via Flickr

He’s a stylish surname bounding up the charts.

Beckett debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2006 at #749, and he’d raced up to #356 by 2010.  He shows no signs of slowing down, either.  At this rate, he could zip right past other boys’ -ett appellations, like:

• Garrett, #189
• Emmett, #273
• Bennett, #279
• Everett, #287
• Jett, #353

There’s also Wyatt and Elliott.  In fact, I guessed Beckett might share something with Elliott and his cousin Elliot - I expected to see Becket gaining, too, but that’s not the case.  The single t spelling is pretty rare.  You’re more likely to meet a Beck or a even a Beckham.

Both Beckett and Becket share their origins:

• Beckett is a place name, found on the map in England.  Beck is an Old English term for a stream, and that’s the most likely origin, but it might also be related to a given name combined with the word cot, shelter.
• It might have described someone with a prominent nose – a beak!  In Middle English, the word was beke; in French, bec.  Alternately, someone who gossiped could’ve been called a beke, too.

Maia, in the Pleiades star cluster; Image via Wikipedia

She’s only been in the US Top 1000 for a little over forty years, but she feels like a classic.