Category Archives: Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary: 2/19/12

Posted on
7

Number 19 by Moe via Flickr

I’ve mentioned a few times that I live just outside of Washington DC, but it strikes me that I probably take the staggering diversity in my community for granted.  I was reading the honor roll at a local middle school and while there were a few kids called Jacob or Emily, they were definitely in the minority.  From the list: Zierra, Christmene, Tu, Blissful, Elvis, Vitelio, Joseline, Edith, Abner, Lilibeth, Davino, Octavia, Paola, Favour, Judith, Elida, Galilea, and Giselle, plus a few first-middle combos: Sofia Sabrina, William Lisandro, Oscar Alexi, Michael Courtney, Celestin Georgia, Norma Elisabat, and Maya Antoinette.  If you live in a large urban area, I’m inclined to say that anything goes.

  • Forget Washington DC, every time I read one of For Real’s London posts, I have the urge to trade one city for another, if only so I could stalk expectant mums and ask if they which extra middle names they were considering for their little Horatio or Faris.
  • I kind of like Ryu, one I’d never considered until I read this profile from Isadora.
  • J’adore Jette and Jetta, Volkswagon reference aside …
  • What’s your favorite from Nook’s Artistic Names of Artists list?  I’m partial to Cassatt, but there are some really wearable options here.
  • I’m endlessly fascinated by how we classify names.  This comment at Swistle is a great example: “For first names we tend to like longer, three syllable names, kind of old fashioned or elegant but not REALLY out-there old fashioned (i.e. I like Meredith but would probably not consider anything like Gertrude or Winifred).”  On the one hand, the comment reflects Meredith’s slight edge in the popularity contest.  She ranked #603 in 2010, while the other names were unranked in recent years.  And yet Meredith is falling, while the other names might be closer to making a comeback.  Just like Beatrice or Eleanor felt hopelessly fusty a few years back and are now rather stylish, popularity rankings aren’t fixed conditions – but we treat them as if they are.
  • Did you see this study?  I agree.  Riley re-spelled Rhylea is more of a problem than Pilot, and plenty of names have multiple valid spellings.
  • Design Mom’s series Living With Kids continues to inspire – not only are the houses always gorgeous and often DIY’d, the kids have such great names.  This week’s entry includes brothers named Henry and Conrad.  I am irrationally happy to see a Conrad!
  • Did you see Waltzing More than Matilda’s list of Girls Names of Australian Aboriginal Origin?  Fascinating list.
  • Let’s end with a name Swistle mentioned: Patton.  She’s right – he should be going gangbusters.  He’s a modern spin on classic Patrick, and Patton Oswalt – named after General Patton – keeps the name in the spotlight.

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

Sunday Summary: 2/12/12

Posted on
18
No 12 - elegant curves

No 12 by kirstyhall via Flickr

I often have conversations about baby names with people who have no idea how I spend my free time.  It isn’t something I try to do – just a place into which I stumble over and over again.  Do you do this, too?

Out there in the baby name blog ‘verse, where it is safe to assume that everyone else is equally obsessed:

  • Do you ever flip through Who’s Due Next at people.com?  I’m thinking that Jennifer Garner’s baby name might be fairly tame, but hoping that Hilary Duff will come up with something wacky and call it “not too weird.”  (Peaches Geldof, I’m looking at you and baby-on-the-way Astala.)
  • The Name Lady gave a very sensible answer to two parents’ questions regarding unusual names they plan to give their due-soon daughters: Idabelle Fae and Ramona.  TNL writes “It’s easy to overreact to negative responses, because they pack an emotional wallop …” and praises diversity in naming.  But in the comments?  They savage Idabelle Fae.  Huh?  What’s that noise?  Oh, that’s the sound of a good point whooshing right past …
  • I love a daring, even a daffy middle name.  Check out this list at For Real: Henry Discretion, Wilkie Mountain, Phoebe Bluebell.
  • Which reminds me: I predict that Bluebell will pop up more and more often as a middle name – as familiar as Isabel with a touch of Beyonce’s stylish and daring color name, but still plenty of room to say, “Oh, no, we weren’t influenced by Blue Ivy.  We’d never use a crazy celeb baby name.”
  • Speaking of speculation, Paula Kashtan might have nailed it: “Can Blue Ivy do for colors what Apple couldn’t for fruit?”
  • What did Picabo Street name her kids?  Her four boys are Eli, Trey, Dax, and Roen.  She shares their reasoning over at Celebrity Baby Scoop.
  • Cabot - as preppy as Carter, but completely unexpected without being difficult to wear.  There’s a nice write-up at Bewitching Names.
  • Which reminds me – I love Abbott for boys, as well as many of these from British Baby Names’ occupational surname list: Thatcher, Foster, Ranger.
  • And Leif.  I love Leif.

That’s all for this week.  Oh, except that when my son learned that he’s getting a new classmate called Phoenix, he asked “Why is called that?  Is he a magic bird?”  It wasn’t a mocking question in any way – more a reminder that, at least at a certain age, a cool name really can be a badge of honor among kids.  Given my son’s current preference for mythical beasts, I can see that he’d like to be called Gryphon – at least for a few more years.

As always, thanks for reading.  Be sure to stop by Nameberry tomorrow for more name talk, and have a great week!

Sunday Summary: 2/5/12

Posted on
22
Circled Subway 5

Circled Subway 5 by Rob Nguyen via Flickr

First, drumroll please … the winner of Nook’s Book is Elizabeth W.  (I’ve already sent an email to your gmail address, Elizabeth!)

Have I ever mentioned that I have this strange and obsessive habit of naming all-girl octuplets?  I’ve been doing it for so long that I don’t recall what initially inspired me.  But I stumbled across a list from 2008 – written after Alex was born, but well before Clio arrived.

I also have a list I wrote more recently – funny how different the two are.

My list in 2008 was:

  1. Clementine Alexandra or Clementine Octavia
  2. Eloise Katharine Wren
  3. Tallulah Madeleine Kate
  4. Persephone Anneliese
  5. Hester Genevieve Rose
  6. Verity Elisabeth Linden
  7. India Christian Beau
  8. Leocadia Maren Wynne

I suspect that I was trying to reach the nicknames Cleo and Elke with the first two names, but I can’t guess on the rest.  And I have dashes after some, making me think that I meant to go back add a second middle name for all of them.  And while I know why I chose most of the names, I’m surprised to see Madeleine and Wynne on the list.

Elsewhere online:

  • Is Aggie the next Abby/Addie?  After reading Nook’s post on Agatha, I want it to be so!
  • Love this post from Names4Real: Dimity & Diesel – a delicate. lady-like little girl and a turbo-charged rough and tumble boy.  There’s also a Lalita Rose on the list – I’m not sure Lalita is enough removed from Lolita to be comfortable.
  • Grove, Dune, Caldera, Wave … lots of great choices on Elea’s Non-Floral Nature Names list.
  • Eponymia published the third and final installment in her Rare Dutch Girls series.  Isaloe, Suze-Roos, Lio, Marisanne.  Loved these lists!
  • Speaking of Dutch, are double names the newest trend in the Netherlands?  Marie-Lou, Ella-Noor, Emma-Sophie and Lola-Lily have all been heard in recent months.
  • The Toronto Star baby name profiles are addictive.  This one, about finding a name for daughter #5, really drew me in.
  • I enjoyed the Baby Name Wizard’s musings on completing the sibling lists.
  • Oh, Philine - the perfect middle name to honor a Philip or a Phyllis!  Thank you, Sebastiane.
  • Anna spotted brothers named Reef and Bede – let’s hear it for adventurous single syllables.
  • Which reminds me, is Rooke too close to crook?  Or too taken-from-the-chessboard?  NameSoiree spotted a Rooke Hudson.  Of course, that’s also awfully close to Rock …

That’s all for this week.  The next installment in the Annai to Zen series is up tomorrow, plus thoughts on baby names borrowed from the gridiron at Nameberry!

Sunday Summary: 1/29/12

Posted on
16
the one about 29

Photo by debaird via Flickr

First, thanks for the warm response to Aly/Alexei/Alex‘s story from yesterday.  I actually drafted it more than a year ago, when we were in the midst of the whole drama.  (Who knew eye-rolling sets in at the age of six?)  But it didn’t really have an ending so I set it aside for a while.

Next, I’m tearing my way through The Hangman’s Daughter, which features compelling characters named Jakob, Simon, and Magdalena.  The story is set in seventeenth-century Bavaria, so the names are period-appropriate – I think.  Magdalena, especially, is growing on me.  On paper I don’t think I would ever name a child after a fictional character, but in fact, I can completely imagine being stumped for a name and then finding one in the pages of a book.

Elsewhere in the ‘verse:

  • I’d never heard of the concept of First Faces until Kate mentioned it on her blog.  Knowing a term from the fashion industry makes me feel a smidge more with it, and best of all?  The First Face pictured had the improbable name Arizona Muse.  Love it!
  • Oh, how I love this mysterious name Sebastiane discovered – Laïs.  Only trouble?  She’d be called Lace in the US.  Lou mentioned Lace this week, too.  Maybe in the middle spot …
  • I can’t decide what I love more – the pictures of the family riding camels, or their kids’ names, Mary Deane and Clark.  She’s a dazzling photographer.
  • Dreyden, Kenry, Kitelyn, Jazmond, Matteson, Skyden, Timberlyn, Thayton.  Every time I feel completely at peace with invented names, even the more awkward of the nouveau coinages, I see a list like this one – from For Real’s post today – and my head throbs a little.
  • Which reminds me – did you see Nancy’s post on avoiding low-status baby names?  Few names can tolerate more than one “exotic” letter.  So yes to Max, but no to Maxx.
  • Nook makes a good point about the origins of word names.  Plus I like the idea of Bevel and Abbot.
  • I’m also in love with Thales, or maybe just Thallo, and Severin, as well as Kathryn Severina.
  • Did you see Aidan’s post at Ivy League Insecurities, a request for help naming her sister’s baby girl?  The suggestions are fabulous: Clea, Finola, Elspeth, Averil, Seneca.
  • Lastly, did you see Elea’s list of Arabic names?  There are so many crossover possibilities for girls, and more than I expected for boys.

That’s all for this week, but check back tomorrow for something truly exciting!

Sunday Summary: Fourth Birthday Edition

Posted on
24
English: Traditional Devil's Food Birthday Cake

Image via Wikipedia

Four years ago I wrote my very first post ever here at AppMtn.  I didn’t have a plan or a goal – just an obsession that I thought a handful of other people might share.

I’m working on something special for tomorrow, but for now, here are a few things that caught my eye this week:

  • I love the name Bastian – far more than Sebastian, even, for its similarity to the word bastion, as in fortress.  A soft-sounding boy’s name with the same power as Cannon.
  • Along the same lines, there’s this one from Anna’s post on Second Fleet Names: Traverse.
  • Ginko as a girl’s name – not one I’d have ever thought of, and I’ll admit that it strikes me as wonderfully weird.  But Ginko Luelle nicknamed Koko does have a certain charm.
  • Did you catch the kids’ names in this Design Mom post?  Drake, Ella Rose, Duke, and Emmie Kay.  Deliciously Southern.
  • Speaking of unexpected appellations, what do you think of Ledger?
  • I’m obsessed with Eponymia’s list of Rare Dutch Girl names.  Leonike, Everdine, Ameline - gorgeous!
  • Fascinating post at Baby Name Wizard on the perils of punctuation and the tyranny of databases.
  • Liz has a nice write-up of the oft-discussed Anchor Rule.  In brief, Elizabeth Snow is a gorgeous combination with just the right amount of surprise.  Zea Snow is pushing it, but not unwearable.  But Zeandria Sno-Belle is over the edge.  Or is it?  Let’s say that more people could embrace the first than the last.
  • A baby named Amen!
  • Nook is up to the letter P, and on her surnames list I found Prescott.  It’s the kind of super-preppy choice I secretly love, even though it isn’t me at all.

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

Sunday Summary: 1/15/12

Posted on
12

Number 15 by Lincolnian via Flickr

Earlier this week, a provocative article titled “What Your Child’s Name Says About You” was posted at Yahoo! Shine earlier this week.  There have been some great responses like Isadora’s at Bewitching Baby Names, but I thought I’d chime in here, too.

Simply put, it is very difficult to categorize a name.  The article assigns Homer, Tabitha, and Agnes to the old-fashioned category; Harlow, Kelley, and Mason to the unisex group.  But I don’t buy Mason as unisex, and I don’t think Tabitha really counts as old school – at least not when she’s in the company of names that peaked decades before Tabitha ever appeared in the US Top 1000.

If you happen to know the parents’ motivations for choosing a name you might be able to glean something about them.  But I’ve heard Charlotte described as old-fashioned and trendy; Jayden described as different and too ordinary.  How parents have you heard say, “Oh, we wanted something easy to spell so we went with Hayley … something different so we went with Landon … something traditional so we went with Kevin …”  Their description of the name speaks far more than the name itself.  It’s why I love Reader Baby Name Stories - rarely is the motivation what I might have guessed.

Elsewhere online:

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

Sunday Summary: 1/8/12

Posted on
9
Murano Number 8

Murano Number 8; KLMircea via Flickr

Last week my daughter came home from school with a marvelous paper chicken, feet dangling from orange ribbon, wings fashioned from red tissue paper.  She announced, proudly, that her chicken’s name was Sammy, spelled C-M-I-N-O.  At 3, she grasps that everything has a spelling, but doesn’t understand the rules.

In the meantime, Aly’s friends have invented a game that involves code names – Nelvis, Cookie, and Fluffy.  My kid is Cookie.  I don’t understand it, but I love it anyway.

I tell the stories because the more time I spend thinking about names, the more I realize that naming things is really part of the human experience – something we do throughout our lives.  Paper crafts and children’s games fade, but for some of us, the fascination remains.

  • It seems like the rumors about Blue Ivy are true!
  • While we’re on color names, did you see Dantea’s list?  Tyrian is daring, and Jasper is now established as a go-to choice for the stylish.
  • The Herald Sun mentioned Axl.  So did Laura Wattenberg.  and I spotted a microbrewery in Michigan selling brews named Axl and Brik - inspired by The Middle, maybe?  More signs that we’re less conservative with our sons’ names than ever.
  • I’ve long loved Seth, a name on his way out.  But could the Dutch Sem replace him?  He combines the sound of Sebastian with the brevity of Max – plus he’s #1 in the Netherlands.
  • Helix for a boy – part-Felix, part-Henry, completely over-the-top.
  • Speaking of Felix, he’s one of the big climbers in New Zealand.
  • Clotilde, Ulrike, Bruno - Zeffy’s post makes me want to be a Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
  • What do you think of Calixto?  I love it for a girl.  Rowan is right about the 1970s, I think – there’s lots there, from Ilse to Jolyon.
  • With as many times as I’ve been to Disney World, I didn’t realize that the murderous bride in The Haunted Mansion is named Constance.  But Lou did!  That’s it – Constance is officially in the top eight for my fictional octuplet set …

That’s all for today.  As always, thank you for reading.  And be sure to stop by Nameberry tomorrow for more, including lots of talk about celebrity names!

Sunday Summary: 1/1/12

Posted on
12
Number one

Number one by charlesnikon via Flickr

 

Happy New Year!

First, a quick note about the 2012 schedule ’round here.

  • I’m moving re-runs to Mondays.
  • Tuesday and Wednesday names are usually those chosen by polls, at least starting later this month.
  • Thursday names are typically chosen by me, direct from your suggestions.
  • Fetching Names moves to Fridays, to allow for more conversation.  (Though they’re easily the most talked-about posts here on AppMtn already!)

Sunday Summaries are, of course, sacred.  Monday posts will also continue at Nameberry.

Speaking of Nameberry, tomorrow’s post is all about the names vying for the top spot at various hospitals and birth centers around the English-speaking world.  I continue to obsessively collect the lists – they’re really astonishing in their tiny differences, even if the most of the names themselves are familiar.

But back to the rest of the news out there this week:

That’s all for today, though I’m keeping a close eye on the celebrity news – rumors are afoot that Beyonce’s baby girl is here … though so far, I think they’re just idle chatter.

Wishing you all the best in the coming year!

Sunday Summary: Christmas Day Edition

Posted on
10
Number 25, Bisceglie

Number 25, Bisceglie by Jolyon Russ via Flickr

Merry Christmas!  If you’re celebrating today, here’s wishing you a happy, peaceful holiday. 

But just in case you’re not … or let’s say you are, but you’ve officially overdosed on reindeer-shaped cookies and sparkly gift wrap … I thought I’d focus on non-holiday name news this morning.

Yes, there’s plenty!

  • Oh, I do like Landry.
  • How about Emblem?  It sounds like a modern word name, but Zeffy spotted her in Cornwall between the seventeenth and early nineteenth centuries.
  • Reality television influence alert: For Real spotted a baby girl Sutton Rose.
  • Oh, I do hope this couple goes with Andromeda instead of shortening it to Andi.
  • The Adventures in Babywearing blogger, Stephanie, has a daughter called Ivy LaRue.  Love the combination!
  • Speaking of girls’ names, there’s a rumor floating around that Lily Allen has named her daughter Ethel Mary.  It inspired Nomes e mais nomes to mention a few similar names from Portugal: Etel, the direct translation, as well as Etelca and Elca.  I’m fascinated by Etelca, which is related to Attila via a German medieval epic.
  • Kio for a boy – I kind of love the idea from Waltzing More than Matilda’s post on star names.
  • Nancy Friedman’s article on The Wrong Names gets it exactly right.  I can’t count the number of times I’ve been horribly distracted by a poorly-named character.
  • Speaking of characters, Dolly Parton returns to the big screen in January’s Joyful Noise, a feel-good tale of a little choir that could.  Her character’s name?  G.G. Sparrow.
  • How ’bout this happy word for a middle name?

That’s all for this week!  As always, thanks for reading.  I’m off to bake more cookies!

Sunday Summary: 12/18/11

Posted on
5

#18

#18 by DJ-Dwayne via Flickr

Christmas is just a week way, and I’m thoroughly enjoying Elea’s Advent Calendar.  In less-specifically-festive name news:

  • I do like Anna’s suggestion of Vega, really for any time of the year.  And Talitha – wow, I adore Talitha!
  • Look – For Real found a Nicodemus!  And a Mathias Blade.  Add that middle name to the list of Other Than Danger …
  • The antidote to every claim that unusual names and varied spellings are a 21st century phenomenon: Zeffy’s list of seventeenth century marriages in Cornwall.  Joane, Jone, and Paciens all make the brides’ list, as well as Applyn.  As for the grooms?  Oates, Madren, and Hercules all appear.
  • Nook is trying to help a couple name Peregrine’s siblings-on-the-way, genders unspecified.  They only need two for their twins, but you could name the incoming class of Hogwarts with these appealing choices: Ptolemy, Rufus, Rafferty, Amable, Ianthe, Estrella.
  • Speaking of lovely lists, Eponymia visits the 1960s and finds Imre and Minna waiting.
  • On another note, this is a quandary – your first child’s name honors a loved one.  Now you’re expecting #2, and you want to match the same style – or at least not clash terribly – even though it means limiting your list.
  • At Nameless No More, Kate is taking the text files from the Social Security Administration and compiling some lists.  From her 5000 to 5100, I’m most intrigued by Austen, Zabrina, and Belicia.
  • Even more daring: Lou’s suggestion of Libellule, the French word for dragonfly.  It does sound like a wearable risk.   Plus, you could use Lulu as a short form.
  • Baby Name Wizard declared Siri the Name of the Year.  She made Nameberry’s list, too.

That’s all for this week!  As always, thank you for reading.