English: Rosamund Pike at the 2010 Toronto Int...

I don’t see a lot of non-kid movies in the movie theater.  Big Hero 6?  Penguins of Madagascar?  Check and check.  But Gone Girl?  Sadly, no.

And so I have yet to see the lovely Rosamund Pike play the scheming Amy.  But when the Golden Globes nominations came out, I found myself mulling over the potential of her unusual name.

Rose names are on the verge.  Rosalie got a boost thanks to Twilight, we all fell for The Hunger Games’ Primrose, and Rose is the go-to middle that’s finally on the upswing as a given name.  (Thanks, Scarlett and Romain!)

My personal favorite is Rosemary, but I’m also fond of Rosalind, and, yes, Rosamund.

What’s your favorite Rose name?

Speaking of polls, I was interested to see the results from last week’s post. Well over half of you – 61% plus at last count – didn’t share your children’s names until they were written on the birth certificate!

That’s not us at all – but I’ve definitely seen a lot of families wait until the last minute to make the final decision, and others who just prefer to announce after it’s too late to change.  Good reasons abound to go this route!

Elsewhere online – and screen:

  • Elsa comes to Once Upon a Time on ABC.  If this name doesn’t zoom up the popularity charts, I will be stunned!  Then again, Frozen didn’t debut until the end of 2013 – will we have to wait to see an Elsa effect?
  • Speaking of ABC and fairytales, there’s a quirky, musical extravaganza coming to ABC.  It’s called Galavant, and two character names stood out to me – Madalena and Valencia. Valencia is one of the names I wrote about back when this blog was brand new, and Maddalena is the Italian form of Madeleine.  I think both could catch on … assuming Galavant is a success.
  • From British Baby Names’ recent birth announcements: a pair of girls named Eleanor, another two called Isabelle … and two named Isadora!  Could this name be catching on at last?
  • Yes to this quote from Duana: “Don’t be afraid of all the names we don’t use.”  So often we cross names off our lists too quickly, because we’re not used to hearing them on children.  Except if our goal is to find a name that stands out, well … almost by definition, it’s going to be a surprise.  At first.  If you can avoid an automatic rejection, you might fall in love.
  • Whoa – a baby Gladys in Texas!  That’s not a name I expected to hear.  I’m picturing her parents as tattooed Austinites who also shortlisted Baxter and Dinah, but worried that those were too mainstream …
  • Speaking of names that aren’t coming back, this 1916 list found by Nancy is an interesting split – from the currently stylish (Evangeline and Hazel) to the impossibly obscure (Calpurnia and Bertha).
  • Meanwhile, in Australia, parents are naming their babies Tex.
  • Here’s a totally different approach to naming a baby: in South Korea, families consult a sort of fortune teller.  In Los Angeles, there’s a Korean-American expert in something called saju – the four pillars of destiny – continues the tradition.
  • Winter botanicals – I have a soft spot for Ivy, and Garland intrigues me.  I cannot imagine Poinsettia as a given name, but many a middle?  And Evergreen … I like that idea as a middle, too.
  • Buttoned-up girls’ names – how excited am I to hear Ruth and Esther back in fashion?
  • I’m a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, so I’m binge-watching my way through this season of Elementary.  Sherlock has a new sidekick called Kitty Winter, and I just looked up the name of the actress – Ophelia Lovibond!  And yes, it appears to be her real name.
  • Swistle gives great advice over family names.
  • Royal twins in Monaco, and 13 other sets of twins born to kings and princes.

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

Spotted any great names lately?

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.

You May Also Like:

What do you think?

23 Comments

  1. I’m so glad someone took the plunge and went with Gladys! We have a lovely young woman (of Mexican heritage) named Beatrice as an intern at work. A daring choice 18 years ago! I love it when other cultures appropriate the names we native English speakers have abandoned.

  2. Gladys! How gorgeous is the name Gladys Blythe?! If we’d gone in a different naming direction with our girls, one of them very well may have been a Gladys. We knew an elderly Gladys years ago, and her husband of 65+ years always called her “Gladdie”… darling people.
    I really enjoyed Rosamund Pike in Pride and Prejudice as Jane Bennet. And she’s a name nerd, too! Her older boy is named Solo, and I’m curious what her younger son’s name is!

  3. I am currently mulling over Rose names, as I’m pregnant and would like to name a daughter after my Italian grandfather, Rosario.
    I love Rosalie/Rosalia, Rosa, and have been considering Rosannah – love the -h ending!
    Question: any ideas for a male equivalent of Rose? There’s Ross (which I’m so-so about), and of course my grandfather’s original name, Rosario, but I don’t think I could use that on a boy in Canada, also, not my style.
    (This of course is all pending my husband’s agreement, which I’m not sure if I’ve got, but I’d love to hear your thoughts!)