We baptized our daughter this morning. I mention this for two reasons: first, even though our priest has baptized plenty of Jaydens and Ashleys without complaint, I’ll admit it was nice to have a saints’ name for our daughter’s baptismal certificate.

Second, my daughter’s godmother is named Sheryll. As soon as the priest handed over the baptismal certificate to check for typos, her eyes immediately went to her name – she knew it would almost certainly be spelled wrong. (And it was. Even though I’d carefully spelled it for the church secretary.) The year she was born, Cheryl ranked #49 and Sheryl #246. But Sheryll is pretty unusual.

I can only imagine how all those little McKaylas and Mikaylahs are going to feel in twenty years.

On to the round-up:

  • First, file this under fun games to play: Elisabeth at You Can’t Call It “It” has a post called Complete the Celebrity Sibset inviting us to imagine what expectant star couples will name their next. It’s a diverting list. I mean, how will Kimora Lee Simmons follow up her two daughters’ names? Will Nicole Richie and Joel Madden name Harlow’s little sister or brother something surnamey, too? Alicia’s guesses in the comments are worth reading, too;
  • Laura Wattenberg’s Namipedia allows users to add new baby names. Now she’s also going to occasionally allow users to vote yea or nay – not to indicate whether we like the submissions, but whether we consider them legitimate. It’s an interesting puzzle. I could name a child Lorvornyxia, but does it really belong in a baby name book if I just made it up? The only catch is that you’ll have to sign up for Twitter to vote;
  • In an interview, Martin Sheen referred to his new grandsons as Max and Robert – yes, Robert, not just Bob! I’ll admit that I’m relieved for baby Bob;
  • Real World: New Orleans alum Melissa Howard Beck and her husband Justin welcomed a daughter named Shalom Mazie. I like the sound of Shalom – and the meaning peace – but I can’t shake the idea that it is a smidge like naming your baby Hello;
  • E! News correspondent Kristin Dos Santos is running a poll about her baby-to-be’s gender and date of arrival. Apparently she and her husband are still undecided about the baby’s name, too, so you can make suggestions in the comments;
  • Daddy Types ran a list of names heard at the zoo, including a girl called Beckett – and another named Rainbow Bright. Really;
  • I’ve never watched soap opera Guiding Light, but actor Daniel Cosgrove has an appealing baby naming style. He and his wife have just welcomed Finnian Jack, and the couple also has Lily, Esme Rose and Ruby Willow.

That’s all for this week! Thanks for reading.

    About Abby Sandel

    Whether you're naming a baby, or just all about names, you've come to the right place! Appellation Mountain is a haven for lovers of obscure gems and enduring classics alike.

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    8 Comments

    1. wow. mama bear in me coming forward to say my daughter is named after two grandmothers that have passed. shalom has evolved to mean something specific to us in our relationship, a name chosen many moons ago when we first started dating and something we solidified on our honeymoon in israel. to each her own. also, shalom is primarily a boy’s name which explains why my orthodox jewish pediatrician accidentally keeps saying “he” in reference to her. but whatever. oprah’s mom never had to sharpie marker her name into all her belongings and look at what she’s become. my baby is no emma sophia madison isabella hannah. she is a shalom in presence and demeanor. loving google.

    2. OMG! Rainbow Bright? That poor girl! Beckett for a girl is bad too, but my eyes are rolling around in their sockets at Rainbow Bright. At least they can go by Becky and Rain if they wanted to.

      Shalom as a name is terrible although its sound is a bit appealing. Mazie isn’t much better. I can’t imagine someone naming their baby a greeting name either, no matter what language it is. You don’t see me naming my child Ohayo (‘good morning’ in Japanese) or Moshi-moshi (‘hello’ over the phone). lol If I wanted a name like that, I would have gone with Shizuka which means “peaceful” or “tranquil”.

      I love Ruby though and Esme Rose is cute. If only Ruby wasn’t getting so popular. Robert is alot better than Bob. Bob reminds me of a family friend’s husband. It sounds too old for a little kid.

    3. Happy Baptism day, Clio! How wonderful. Wish you could post pictures.

      The Celebrity Sibset game is a fun one– thanks for mentioning it, Abby. I’m still working mine out, and you’re right: Alicia hit the nail on the head with most of hers.

      I actually know young sisters named Ruby and Esme. Guess they’re just the kind that go hand-in-hand. Darling names, that do feel very “now” to me.

      Shalom appeals to me actually. Should it not? It’s very Shilohesque, but I prefer it to Shiloh. Rainbow Brite does not appeal, but I betcha’ anything it’s a nickname! Could be a safety precaution actually for places just like the zoo. You might not want predators to hear your child’s real name. Not a bad idea, actually– but I realize I’m reading a lot into this!

    4. My mothers name is Cherryll. Everyone always spells it wrong and pronounce it wrong. We have to say Cherryll 2 r’s and 2 l’s and with a C also. and with a ch. It shouldnt be that hard but its as if people set out to pronounce and spell it wrong 😀

    5. Yes, I was thinking the same thing as Lola. Hopefully Rainbow Brite is simply the child’s whim of the day, and not the name chosen by her actual parents. (I can imagine a little preschooler named something perfectly innocuous like Lily insisting she won’t respond unless you call her Rainbow Brite. Except that kids don’t really know about Rainbow Bright anymore. Which scares me, since that means it was probably the parents’ choice. Yikes!)

      Max and Robert are charming names for boys. I do so love Robert, and I’m glad that’s his full name.

      I actually don’t think Shalom sounds that strange. It means “peace”, so that makes it an appealing choice, provided the child doesn’t travel through a country that uses Shalom as their greeting. But what is it with celebrities naming their babies combos that just don’t flow? Shalom Mazie sounds about as strange rhythmically as Zuma Nesta Rock. I know it’s good to get away from filler middles, but choosing a middle that doesn’t sound nice (at all) offends my sense of aesthetics.

    6. I wish I could play Elisabeth’s Celebity baby name game, but alas, I have a hard enough time with mine! And some of them are so off the wall, I couldn’t begin to imagine what they might use! 🙂

      One of my favorite kids to babysit (when I was a kid) was a Cheryl, she turned out pretty wicked cool actually: https://www.byz.org/~sev/
      And I know of several Sheryls of varying ages but I have to admit, Sheryll, now that’s an original alright!
      Rainbow Bright makes me want to weep, could it be a nickname? My Mom used to call me Lucy (or if I was being particularly irritating: Pollyanna. So I can hope, right?

      Nice roundup! Thanks!

    7. One comment on Ruby Willow…I have this personal rule not to use more than 1 word-name in a name. My husband would love to pick something like Misty Dawn, but something about double word names drives me buggy. Rainbow Bright certainly isn’t any better, LOL.

    8. Daniel Cosgrove is H-O-T, hot – I only know him from the original 90210. Glad to see he has “name appeal”, too.
      Shalom Harlow is/was a model – I wonder if they were influenced by her name. To me, the name Shalom goes with Aleichem. Sholem Aleichem is a traditional Jewish greeting, plus it was the pseudonym of a grand old-timey Jewish storyteller. It just isn’t a baby girl’s name, in my eyes.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sholem_Aleichem