Remember the Yea or Nay posts? It’s been a while since a name was put up for a vote.
Riley is your kid’s classmate. Bradley is Riley’s dad.
Smoosh ‘em together, and you get Radley, a surname worn by To Kill a Mockingbird’s recluse, Arthur “Boo” Radley.
Could Radley catch on as the next big thing in last names? Tell us – Yea or Nay?
I’m taking the Fourth of July holiday off, but here’s a name that’s been on my mind lately: could Judy make a comeback?
Formal version Judith was once a Top Ten choice. Judy reached the Top 20 in the 1940s. Today the animated Judy Jetson makes her a futuristic retro pick, and Dame Judi Dench gives her some strength. And if Oona and Luna, Lucy and Tallulah are fashion-forward, her oo sound fits right in.
So what say you readers: Judy, Yea or Nay?
There’s no Baby Name of the Day today, but there is a name that’s been on my mind: Beth.
She’s a nickname for the evergreen Elizabeth, but if you’re under thirty, you’re more likely to answer to a different diminutive. I’ve met Elizabeths called Libby, Ellie, Elle and even the retro Betsy, but all of the Beths I know are Boomers.
Beth peaked in the 60s, was immortalized in a 1976 Kiss ballad and then left the rankings after 1997. But the recent Glee rendition of Beth, coupled with last year’s teen flick I Love You Beth Cooper, has me wondering if Beth will make a comeback.
And so I ask readers: Beth, yea or nay?
Anyone else spot this post at Swistle? The couple is looking for a name for baby #2, a little sister for Adelie, nicknamed Addie.
It’s a name I’ve heard once or twice of late, and I’ve been wondering about Adelie. My favorite Adel- name is Adelaide, but it’s a huge category, from surname Addison to sweet Adeline to the inevitable Adalyn. Just Ada or Addie are options, too, and Adalie certainly owes something to the popularity of the unrelated, but similar-sounding, Natalie.
Back to Adelie. The parents of Adelie describe the name as “classic and sophisticated.” Swistle perceives Adelie as “a modern invented name.” Both Nameberry and Meilleurs Prenoms associate Adelie with Adele, though Behind the Name doesn’t list Adelie at all.
And so I ask, Adelie: Yea or Nay?
She’s as Southern as Savannah, worn by actress Selma Blair and possibly related to the masculine – and saintly – name Anselm.
Of course, she’s also Norway’s answer to the Loch Ness monster. And a creepy, cross-dressing polygamist wife on HBO’s Big Love.
Mexican actress Salma Hayek wears a similar, but unrelated Arabic name.
Selma hasn’t charted in the US Top 1000 since 1956, but she regularly charted in the Top 200 during the late nineteenth century. Could she make a comeback today – yea or nay?
In the 1980s, she became less Mrs. Washington and more MTV veejay, thanks to diminutive, bib-overall wearing Martha Quinn. Today, she could fit right in with Emma and Hannah.
But after decades in the Top 100, today she’s nowhere to be seen. She charted at #617 in 2008 and has fallen steadily since the 1960s.
And so I ask – Martha, yea or nay?
At the end of December, cast members of The Young and the Restless welcomed two nicely named babies. (Georgia and Natalia – see the Sunday Summary here.)
Anyhow, it sent me scanning through the extended cast member list and I discovered Princeton alum-turned-soap star Vail Bloom. It appears to be her real name.
Vail brings to mind a veil of tears, a bridal veil and the word valley, with the idea of descent implied. She also reminds me of Gail, a name that got a better reception here that I’d have predicted.
But mostly I think of Colorado. And I wonder what your reaction is – Vail: Yea or Nay?
She’s a literary invention and a shortbread cookie. Her most popular year was 1941, when names like Barbara and Judith, Shirley and Geraldine were all the rage.
She reminds me of names like Norma and Edna, but somehow I find her lighter. Maybe it’s RD Blackmore’s 1869 romance, complete with mistaken identities, a lost heiress, the bad getting their comeuppance and true love conquering all.
Or maybe it is the cookie.
In any case, I thought our Week of Boys could benefit from at least some discussion of a girl’s name.
So I ask you, readers: Lorna, Yea or Nay?
Monday’s reaction to Lark for a girl was lukewarm. But Larkin for a boy seemed to attract some interest – and a comment from a mom who had already bestowed the name on her son!
It’s a surname choice and an old school diminutive for Laurence. If parents are cautiously reconsidering Robin for their sons, why not this one?
And so I put it to you, dear readers: Larkin, Yea or Nay?
I can’t remember where I first spotted Belsante, but she sometimes appears among rare medieval variants for Isobel. I’d venture to guess she started out as a diminutive, though I’ve also stumbled across Belsante as a surname.
She’s certainly elegant, even dramatic, isn’t she? And yet, Belle and Bella are accessible – and overwhelmingly popular – nicknames.
With parents seeking an alternative to mega-hit Isabella, choices like Annabel and Arabella are on the rise. So are rarities like Maribel – a family name JLo used her daughter Emme’s middle – and Mirabel, as well as surname spins like Bellamy.
Worrisome suggestions abound on discussion boards: Harry Potter villain Bellatrix, Biblical bad girl Jezebel and Disney Tinkerbell. (For the record, JM Barrie’s character is actually Tinker Bell. And I’m fairly certain that suggestion came from someone not really naming a baby. I hope.)
So what say you to Belsante – yea or nay?
