Zona Gale; Image via Wikipedia

She’s a blast from the past, a once common name worn by a famous writer.  Today, she’s all but unknown – and not likely to return.

Thanks to Beth one from her family tree for our Baby Name of the Day: Zona.

Zona literally translates to girdle in Greek.  Plenty of ancient mythologies considered them garments of great power – Aphrodite’s could ignite love and passion.  Ishtar’s girdle kept the world fruitful and multiplying.  They could be borrowed and stolen, and men wore them, too – Odysseus had a magic one that was part-life vest, and Thor stored his weapons in one.  They’re little more than a belt.

Since then, girdles evolved to a sort of women’s foundation garment, something to cinch in the waist, and then changed once more, to something also as obsolete as a petticoat.

Zona is also the source of our word zone – a geographic belt.  The sense has expanded until zone is synonymous with area.

I’m not clear if the given name is related to the Greek word.  But here’s what I do know: Zona ranked in the US Top 1000 from 1880 through 1941.  A few possible origins include:

• Other -ona names were big in the era – Nona, Ona, Lona, Leona, Dona, Mona, Iona, Arizona, Winona, Ramona, Verona, and Frona all ranked in the Top 1000.  And short, seemingly invented Z-names were in favor, too, including Zella, Zula, Zora, Zelma, Zola, Zetta, Zilpha, Zada, Zettie, Zelda, Zoa, Zelia, and Zana.
• Zona has Serbian roots, too, though I can’t pin down a specific origin.  A 1906 novel was titled Zona Zamfirova, and it was successfully adapted for the big screen in 2002.  In the story, a rich man’s daughter – Zona – falls for an ordinary Joe.  All ends happily.

Speaking of literature, Zona Gale was born in Wisconsin in 1874, became a writer, and eventually the first woman to the win the Pulitzer Prize for drama.  Gale was well-educated – she earned a master’s degree – and worked as a journalist in New York before returning home to devote herself to fiction.  Her stage adaptation of her bestseller Miss Lulu Bett would win her the Pulitzer in 1921.  In the story, Lulu strikes out on her own, leaving an unappreciative family and a failed marriage.  Besides her literary triumphs, Gale was a suffragette and activist.

There’s another nineteenth Zona, and her story is very sad.  Zona Heaster was murdered by her husband in 1897.  The crime might have gone undiscovered, but shortly after Zona’s funeral, her mother claimed that her daughter’s ghost appeared and explained that her death was no mere accidental fall, but murder.  Her mother successfully campaigned to have her daughter’s body exhumed, and an autopsy performed.  Sure enough, Zona had met a bad end, and her husband spent the remainder of his days in prison.

All of this makes Zona feel like an intriguing forgotten name with a modern sound.  And yet there is one almost insurmountable problem.  In Hebrew, Zona translates to prostitute – and that’s a gentle translation.  In our ever-so-connected world, this fact would be readily discovered by a daughter.

If you have Zona on your family tree, she’s a lovely choice for the middle spot, with her subtle connection to mythology and her literary pedigree.  But as a given name, it seems likely to prove challenging.  There are many other Zo- names from the same era without baggage.  Then again, I’m not certain how widely known zona is as an insult in the US.  Have you heard it?  And is it a deal-breaker?

Photo by me and the sysop via Flickr

Looking for name that is both a literary and a Biblical heavy hitter?

Thanks to Marlene for suggesting one that fits the bill.  Our Baby Name of the Day is Ishmael.

Ishmael has a distinctive sound, one that isn’t found in too many names.  (Alicia and company are the glaring exception.)  But the -ael ending is fairly common.  Michael and Raphael both spring to mind, and other popular names, like Gabriel, Samuel, and Nathaniel are similar, too.

If not the sound, could it be the meaning?  Nope.  Ishmael comes from the Hebrew for God will hear, or maybe God has heard – and this child is the answer.  After all, the Old Testament Ishmael is the much-longed for son of Abraham.

Oh, wait – maybe that is the problem.  After all, Abraham has another son – Isaac - afterwards, and Isaac is the one who inherits, making Ishmael the also-ran, eventually sent away.

Depending on your history, Ishmael became the father of the Arabs, including eventually the prophet Muhammad, making him a big deal in Islam.  He’s slightly less significant in Judaism – there’s speculation that Ishmael got the boot for living large, not just for offering a rival to Isaac.

But in Christianity, Ishmael seems to be largely synonymous with outcast, with emphasis on his dismissal.  And this leads us to the most famous bearer of the name, the fictional narrator of Herman Melville’s classic fish tale Moby-Dick.

Published in 1851, Moby-Dick is the story of Captain Ahab and the whale he seeks.  The narrator introduces himself with the memorable opening line “Call me Ishmael,” but we never learn if it is his real name.  He’s highly educated and keenly aware that going to sea was a sort of self-imposed banishment, not unlike the Biblical figure.  It’s led to speculation that the narrator’s phrasing “Call me …” was intentional, since he reveals little about himself.

The story’s success wasn’t enough to make American parents embrace Ishmael, though he’s long hovered at the edge of the Top 1000, making his most recent appearance in 1998.

The Spanish version of the name – Ismael - tells a different story.  Ismael ranked #362 in the US last year, a steadily used name.  In Spain, Ismael was quite popular just a few years ago, and still hovers near the Top 50.  He’s still on the rise in France, nearing the Top 100.

Ismael’s success might be attributed to Spanish or Islamic influence, though the ordinary spelling in most Arab languages is Ismail or sometimes Esmail, worn by rulers and politicians, athletes and actors.

All of this leaves Ishmael at sea.  He sounds very religious, the kind of Old Testament appellation non-believing parents often avoid.  But if you are looking for a name from the Judeo-Christian tradition, you’ll only use Ishmael if the story of his exile isn’t a concern – and that’s less likely.  Ismael and Ismail have an appealing sound, but probably only work for families considering them as heritage choices.

A young adult novel and a work of philosophical fiction also bear the name, but they have not changed our perceptions.

And so Ishmael remains on his own.  This makes him either the choice you’ve been looking for – the literary, Biblical name that isn’t as popular as Noah and Elijah - or one whose story puts him on the not-quite list.

She’s the princess-ogre in Shrek, an Irish(ish) option with an appealing sound.

Thanks to Melissa for suggesting Fiona as our Baby Name of the Day.

Fiona is one of the first names I ever wrote about, before Names of the Day were a feature here at AppMtn.  She’s an intriguing appellation, with less history than some, but more story than most.

Some connect her to Fionnuala, a name from Irish myth, Anglicized as Fenella or Fionala or Finola.  But Fiona isn’t heard until the eighteenth century, when James Macpherson interpreted the old legends to create a wildly popular series of writings, starting with Fragments of ancient poetry, collected in the Highlands of Scotland, and translated from the Gaelic or Erse language in 1760.  Despite the ring of authenticity, evidence suggests that Macpherson invented more than he translated.

Debates about the stories’ origins raged, even as Macpherson’s work became an international sensation, widely read and translated into most European tongues.

Irish hero Finn McCool appears in Macpherson’s writings, as does Fiona.  Fiona appears to be a feminine form, based on the original spelling of Finn – Fionn.

This gives Fiona an appealing meaning – fionn means fair.

Despite the success of Macpherson’s writings, Fiona takes a while to appear in use.  The name doesn’t appear in the US Top 1000 until 1990, though there are Fionas in Census records far earlier.

Parents might have heard the name:

• Scottish writer William Sharp wrote many of his best-known works under the pen name Fiona Macleod in the late 1800s.
• In the musical Brigadoon, Fiona is a resident of a mysterious, unchanging Scottish village that appears to outsiders for only one day every century.  A pair of visitors from New York stumble upon the village, and set events in motion.  The musical debuted in 1947, with a film adaptation ten years later, and a television movie in the 1960s.
• In 1965 James Bond film Thunderball Fiona Volpe was one of the bad guys, an  assassin sent to take down 007 – though things don’t go exactly that way.
• Lois Lowry’s 1993 novel The Giver is chock full of ahead-of-the-curve character names, including Jonas, Asher, Lily, Gabriel, and yes, Fiona.

By the early 1990s, Fiona started to edge into the US Top 1000.  She’d reached #460 by 2000.  And then along came Shrek.  Cameron Diaz voiced the lovely princess with a secret.  Princess Fiona ultimately decides to embrace her part-ogre heritage and go green, all the time.  Not only was Shrek was a smash hit, it was also the genesis for a successful franchise.

Fiona has gradually inched up the popularity rankings ever since, rising to #257 in 2010.  On sound alone, she’s right at home with Sophia and other stylish choices.  It may be that parents hesitate to let their daughters share a name with an ogre – though it is clear that character is admirable, as worthy a namesake as animation offers.

Beyond Shrek, there were characters in 1994′s Four Weddings and a Funeral; and USA Network’s Burn Notice, plus Grammy-winning singer Fiona Apple.

She’s feminine but not flimsy, current but not at all overused.  There are reasons aplenty to consider Fiona for a daughter.

If Story is a name, why not this poetic choice?

Thanks to Kaela for suggesting Sonnet as our Baby Name of the Day.

A sonnet is a type of poem, a form with specific rules.  There are three major types, and then a bunch that break the rules but still count.  The average person might not be able to recite much after Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?, but would likely recognize Sonnet as a literary reference akin to Poem, Poet, or Fable.

The word itself comes from the Italian sonetto – little song, ultimately from the Latin sonus - sound.  The term first appears in English in the sixteenth century, but sonnets had been written in Italian since the 1200s.

With girls answering to Cadence and Harmony, perhaps literary terms were the logical next frontier.  Actor Forest Whitaker has a daughter called Sonnet, fitting right in with his other word-named children: Ocean, True, and Autumn.  Flickr co-founders Caterina Fake and Stewart Butterfield have a daughter called Sonnet Beatrice.

Despite these high profile uses, the name has never cracked the US Top 1000 – in fact, Sonnet is in sparing use, given to just eight girls in 2010.

But there have been Sonnets in the past, and many of them have been men.  I suspect that they’re wearing a family surname.  The late sixteenth/early seventeenth century French poet Thomas Sonnet de Courval came from a minor noble family.  There are Sonnets and Sonnetts in the US, too.

It could come from a lost Saxon name, Sinod, the origin of the surname Sinnott.  Sonnet is close enough to be related.  The elements sige – victory and nod – brave – were popular in many given names, and still survive in Siegfried and Leonard, though Sinod is long gone.  Or the -et ending could signal a diminutive form – though that’s really just a guess.  Sonnerie is the French word for ring, as in the ringing of the bells, but I’m still not sure if that’s a coincidence, another musical association.

Alternate origins or not, Sonnet has been almost exclusively female since its reintroduction sometime in the 1960s or 1970s.  Since the numbers have always been so small, it is nearly impossible to gauge – but there are a handful of women by the name who are all grown up now, suggesting that Sonnet was discovered by a few parents back in the day.

After all, word names aren’t really new.  Heather and Crystal seem ordinary, even dated, today.  But they were the height of style in the 1970s.  2010′s Top 100 includes Lily, Grace, Jasmine, Destiny, Brooke, Trinity, Faith, Autumn, Serenity, and Genesis.  From the traditional to the nouveau, word names have always had a place in the dictionary and on our daughters and sons.

Thanks to her similarity to Violet and Scarlett, Sonnet feels like a very wearable choice – poetic, frills-free, and different, but not difficult to spell or pronounce.  If you’re looking for an ahead-of-the-curve rarity, Sonnet is one to consider.

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.

L20 by toofarnorth via Flickr

Every once in a while a request comes in that seems impossible.  It’s as if the name was invented, and used just that once.  Until you look just a little deeper, and it becomes apparent that the name isn’t invented, but merely long forgotten.

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

Ladusky pops up in genealogies at a fairly steady clip.  She was in use in the early nineteenth century, exclusively for women, throughout the US, and she’s never completely disappeared.

Before we get to her origins, here’s more proof that the name was a bona fide appellation in the nineteenth century: Frances Hodgson Burnett penned a novel called Ladusky in 1877.  This was a few years before her success with Sara Crewe and Little Lord Fauntleroy, but some years after she’d established herself as a writer.  Ladusky wasn’t a hit, and I can’t find it – or a plot summary – anywhere.

Still, we know this much – Burnett was a daring namer.  Editha, Esmerelda, Feather, Stefan, and Cedric are among her characters.  So it isn’t a surprise to find a gem like Ladusky among her works.

While the name has never ranked in the US Top 1000, she was fairly common in the earlier part of the nineteenth century.  Where does she come from?  Hold on to your hat – Ladusky appears to have evolved from Louise.

If Louise to Ladusky feels like a leap, it helps to look at some of the Northern European variants of the name:

• Ludwika
• Liudvika
• Alojzia
• Lovisa

You can imagine that none of these would be simple to wear in American English.  I suspect it is a combination of a changed pronunciation of Ludwika and company, paired with the diminutive form -ka.  (Think of Mariska or Madlenka.)  And so we start to find names like Laduska and Loduska in use, and Ladusky, too.

There are even forms like Ladieska, and I wonder if it helps explain the handful of girls named Lady in the late nineteenth century.  But that’s just a guess – it could just as easily be the equivalent of naming your son Earl.

Another temptation is to link the use of other forms of Louis within the same family tree.  While it is true that Ladusky and Louis or Louisa do sometimes appear over the space of a generation or two, I suspect that they were quickly seen as different names, the equivalent of Jacob and James today.

While notable Laduskys are limited to Burnett’s fictional heroine, there was a Christian missionary who cared for those with leprosy and the wounded in Japan during the Russo-Japanese war.  Her name was Loduska Wirick.

Ladusky eventually became a surname, too, presumably from similar roots.

From Clovis and Aloysius to Ludovica and Ladusky, Louis might be the appellation that has generated more variant forms – and more surprising variants – than any name.

Tamora Pierce's Alanna; Image via Wikipedia

Alan is a classic, with a history of use stretching back centuries.  But this feminine form feels surprisingly modern.

Thanks to Kerry for suggesting her daughter’s name, Alanna, as our Baby Name of the Day.

Not every feminine form of a masculine moniker has deep roots.  Joseph may have been around since Biblical times, but Josephine wasn’t well-known until Napoleon‘s bride brought the name to international attention.  Samantha is a twentieth-century innovation.

Alanna falls somewhere in between.  Adding in spelling variants Alana and Alannah, she’s still relatively novel.  I can’t find her much before the twentieth century.  Alana – the most popular of the three – debuted in the US Top 1000 in 1944.  Alanna first appears three decades later, in 1974.  Alannah first arrived in 1990, but then quickly disappeared, only to re-appear in 2007.

All of this makes Alanna elusive compared to the far steadier Alan.  He first surfaces in the ninth century as a Duke of Brittany, and came to England with the Norman invasion.  Alan charted in the Top 100 from 1938 through 1971.  That makes him something of a dad name today – or even older, since some of the most famous bearers are of an age to be grandfathers now.  There’s actor Alan Alda – born Alphonso - and astronaut Alan Shepard.  He’s gentle and restrained, but not as a soft as many a modern moniker.

He’s also the logical place to start looking for a meaning for Alanna, but unfortunately, that’s not clear.  Possibilities include:

• Handsome
• Rock
• Deer

It could also connect to the name of a tribe – the Alans or the Alani – nomads who appear in the historical record from the early first century into the early middle ages.

But there are several arguments that Alanna is an independent name, unrelated to Alan:

• The Irish term of endearment a leanbh can be the source of Alanna – and likely explains her popularity in Ireland.
• The French masculine spelling is Alain.  Some connect Alanna to Alaina – and so to Elaine and Elena and a host of similar names.
• There’s also a Hawaiian word meaning awakening that has inspired greater use of the name – she charts in that state’s Top 100.

So all the evidence suggests that Alanna is truly a modern name, but she doesn’t feel that way.  Maybe that’s because of Tamora Pierce’s heroine Alanna of Trebond, a well-born young lady in a vaguely medieval fantasy world where girls most certainly do not become knights.  So Alanna masquerades as Alan and goes on a series of adventures.

Other famous Alannas include:

• 80s pop stars The Thompson Twins consisted of future husband and wife Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie.
• Canadian songstress Alanna Myles scored a mega-hit and a Grammy – for her 1989 single “Black Velvet.”
• Alana de la Garza has appeared in both the Law & Order and CSI franchises.
• Model-actress Alana Hamilton Stewart is the former wife of rock star Rod Stewart, as well as actor George Hamilton.

There are plenty of other Alannas, fictional and real, from a minor character on That’s So Raven to several accomplished athletes.

Overall, Alanna is something of surprise.  She feels appropriate for a medieval heroine, though she’s clearly more modern.  And her many possible origins and meanings mean that she’s a shapeshifter, fitting families from nearly any background.  If you’re looking for a name that feels familiar while remaining relatively uncommon, Alanna is a contender.

He’s a saintly Irish appellation and a sci fi warrior.

Thanks to Violet for suggesting Conan as our Baby Name of the Day.

It is tempting to add “the Barbarian” to this name auotmatically, but Conan has oodles of history before he was re-invented by a 1930s writer.

In Old Irish, cú referred to a dog or maybe a wolf.  The -an is that ever familiar diminutive form, so Conan is a pup or a little wolf.  Animal names have a long history of use, making Conan pretty ordinary.

Except the first Conan was extraordinary – a semi-legendary figure who gets credit for founding Brittany.  Geoffrey of Monmouth references him, but he’s not the only source.  Several Breton families trace their roots to Conan, including the powerful Rohan family.  He also features in medieval politics, as a claim to such an ancient ruler would’ve helped with machinations as leaders tried to claim rights to various thrones.

There’s also a warrior in Irish myth called Conan mac Morna, a friend and ally of Finn McCool.

Then along came:

• Saint Conan, an Irish missionary and early Bishop of the Isle of Man from the sixth century or so.  At least two other minor saints share the name.
• In the tenth century, Conan became Count of Rennes and later Duke of Brittany.  At least three of his descendants wore name into the 12th century.

This takes us into the modern era.  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is remembered as the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories, another enduring character.  Conan is sometimes mistaken as part of his surname – Conan Doyle – but it appears to be one of his three given names, Arthur Ignatius Conan, and a nod to his godfather’s surname.

Then in the 1930s everything changed.  Robert E. Howard invented the character Conan the Cimmerian, a hero from a fictional world not unlike ours, but rich with magic.  Conan had strength aplenty, brains, and a serious way with the sword.  He started out in pulp fiction.  After Howard’s death others wrote Conan tales, and over the years the character appeared in books, comics, video games, television series, and, of course, movies.

The big moment for Conan was 1982, when the future governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, starred in the title role.  Conan the Barbarian was a hit, combining elements from different Conan tales.  A 1984 sequel followed, and a trilogy planned, but the third movie was never made.  In 2011, Jason Momoa hefted the sword as a new Conan, but the reboot was not successful.

The very Irish Conan O’Brien emerged in the same time, helping return the name to its roots.  The Harvard alum worked as a writer for Saturday Night Light and The Simpsons before getting his first late night talk show in 1993.  He’s been on television ever since, with the exception of a contract dispute with NBC for a few months.  Unlike many a high-profile controversy, the comedian came away with his integrity intact, and proof of a devoted fan base.  O’Brien can now be seen on TBS.

Overall, this makes Conan a weirdly perfect name.  He’s never been in the US Top 1000, even as Irish names from Ryan to Aidan have caught fire.  Conan is familiar to all and easy to spell.  He’ll fit with aggressive boy names like Slade and Cannon, but he also blends in with literary, legendary picks like Arthur.  If you can live with the occasional question about whether you’re big fans of the Governator, this might be one to short list for a son.

Jules Verne lights in Amiens, France by ninasaurusrex via Flickr

He’s a literary French spin on an ancient appellation.

Thanks to Maia for suggesting her son’s name as our Baby Name of the Day: Jules.

Julius Caesar was an emperor; Julio Iglesias, a legendary Latin crooner.  The first reads hyper-masculine; the second, almost meltingly romantic.  The first is ancient but familiar – Julius ranked #335 in 2010.  Julio came in at #339 last year – equally common, and no less well known.

Julio is simply the Spanish form of Julius, while Jules is the French variant.  But he has a very different vibe than the first two versions of the name.

The best known Jules suggests that this name would split the difference between the emperor and the recording artist.  Jules Verne was a writer, credited with creating the sci fi genre.  It is the kind of literary reference many parents embrace for their children.

Jules’ sound should appeal, too, putting him in the company of all those preppy ends-ins options: Keats, Ames, Yates, Gates, Brooks.

Instead, parents likely hesitate thanks to another trendlet: girls named Julia (or any version of that evergreen appellation) answering to Jules.  There was Demi Moore’s character in St. Elmo’s Fire.  Now there’s Courtney Cox’s Jules on Cougar Town, model-turned-journalist-turned-author Jules Asner and celeb chef Jamie Oliver’s wife (and partner in extreme baby-naming), Jools.  It has put a certain feminine stamp on Jules, one that probably gives parents pause.

Jules hasn’t charted in the Top 1000 in the US since 1961, but he’s gaining rapidly in France, and Meilleurs Prenoms ranks him as quite stylish.

Notable Jules are almost exclusively French:

• First, there’s Jules Verne, the towering nineteenth literary figure who imagined forms of travel not yet invented with Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Around the World in Eighty Days.  Adaptations abound, and even if you’ve never read his books, you almost certainly recognize their titles – and his name.
• At about the same time, Jules Breton was painting the French countryside.
• And Jules Massenet was composing operas like Werther.
• French explorer Jules d’Urville made it all the way to Antarctica in the 1830s.
• Jules Maigret is a fictional police detective created by Belgian author Georges Simenon.  Between the 1930s and 70s, he penned dozens and dozens of novels and short stories, many of which have been adapted for television.
• The current generation of parents met Jules when Samuel L. Jackson donned the name for Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 blockbuster Pulp Fiction.  Jackson was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.

Add an o, and joules becomes a scientific term – a unit of energy named in honor of nineteenth century physicist James Prescott Joule.

Overall, Jules has a certain vibrant, modern sound that works well for a 21st century child without sacrificing all of that lovely history and depth.  If you don’t mind the possibility that this will be viewed as a unisex name, Jules has an awful lot to offer – uncommon and distinctive, but definitely on the right side of familiar, too.

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.