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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  1. I love Onomastitrix too, but what’s up with her website right now? It says you have to be invited in order to view it! Just when my fervour for baby names has reignited!! 🙁

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  2. Oh, I’ve known plenty of conservative Christian hippie types.

    Regarding the DaddyTypes post, I”m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ve actually MET a Trayden. He came through our first grade two years ago.

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  3. Lola – Sarah isn’t heard every day? We have two here! Plus all the people my age and older. It’s heard…a LOT.
    I love Portia! It was nixed immediately, though, when I was pregnant with Ethan, so doubtful I could ever use it.

    I met a couple with a little Eva the other day. They’re New Yorkers, bored with Ava, they decided to play with it a bit. I’ve liked Eva a long time, don’t love Eve as much, and thought it was refreshing to meet a little Eva.

    I have no words for Drayken, but you can bet my eyes are rolling!

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    1. Photoquilty, Sarah? Not in my neighborhood. Really, I swear! I hear Emily far more often, I think the only Sara/h in the neighborhood is one of the Moms!

      And I too much prefer Eva to Ava. Eva feels timelessly beautiful. (I even knew one in HS), But Ava? I’d much rather Eva, myself.

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      1. Sarah is very common amongst women I know – 30-somethings – but this baby is the first little Sarah I’ve met for a while. Lola, it struck me as fresh, too. Except not fresh. And I don’t know the parents well enough to grill them about family names. ‘Round here, I’d be more likely to meet a Sadie. I think.

        I do like Eva.

        And yes, Ralphie and Lahna showed restraint (!) by going with James!

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  5. Aw, I love Portia and have it in the middle of my slightly outrageous favorite (Cleo Portia). The car doesn’t bother me, 7th grade and the inevitable “your name means PIG” ?!? does.

    The newest addition in my neighborhood is Claudia. I’m pleasantly enchanted. Echo is a huge GP for me, crisp & lovely. Athanasis is cool, Sarah is still a pretty name, especially now that it’s not heard every day.
    And shouldn’t August James (which is perfection alone) be August September, if he was following a pattern? Still, a lovely combination.

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  6. Well, I had to do it. I found the idea of a “conservative Christian hippie” so difficult to reconcile, I googled Drayken Giovanni to look at mom’s blog. Now I’m even hazier on the whole crunchy-Christian thing, and I find the fact that she refers to her husband as “the Captain” a significant stumbling block. I’m sure she’s a lovely gal, but now I’m just confused… and Drayken? Words fail me.

    The riff on Aiden names is very clever and wickedly funny. The names of Ralphie Mays’ chidren? Not so much. I thought even comedians knew that proper names shouldn’t be fodder for comic relief. Oh well.

    I love that your colleague has a daughter named Portia… a name that’s near perfection for me. Pretty and feminine, buoyed by the strength of the resourceful noblewoman from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. But, I cringed too much at the thought of anyone thinking I’d used a name for a vehicle for my daughter. Stupid German sports cars.

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