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 have to say, outside of Texas, I think I would find Tex to be an odd name. Texas is just such a brazen proud state that people either love it or hate it. Most of those who love it, seem to stay.

    Here in the state, I think it takes a certain crowd to pull it off – mainly those with loud state pride and possibly a few generations of family history invested in the state. Since moving to the state five years ago, most of the people I’ve noticed named Tex here have been middle aged + men who’ve been wildcatters in the oil industry.

    Although my son was born here, and we do love it here and hope to stay (and we hope he grows up loving his state), I would feel like a complete “poser” naming my child that. I just don’t have the geographic roots or the gumption to pull it off.

    Maybe other parents feel like me, so the name remains reserved for a select few?

  2. You know, I don’t think Buddy Bear Maurice is all that bad… Sure it’s over the top and cutesy, but that’s alright, right? Buddy is a wearable name. My dad called my brother “little buddy” all the time growing up. It’s nicknamey, but that’s not unusual in the UK. Bear and, most definitely, Maurice are not so out there, really. Oh well. I guess I’m on my own with this one 🙂

    Nicholai? Yuck. I know Paris is masculine, historically, but I know of plenty of female Parises, so it’s kind of like Kelly or Riley. But Nicholai, feminine? Not a chance! That’s a bit more like Alexander or Peter. It’s no wonder she goes by Nicky… See, now I find the Hiltons’ names somewhat more irksome than the Olivers’!

    1. I was irked even more when I read Paris’ book How to be an Heiress (sad, I know, but I was thirteen at the time). The whole thing was ridiculous, but most ludicrous of all was her suggestion to ‘have a cute name’. It was something along the lines of ‘me and my sister’s names are cute, which is essential if you want to make something of yourself; except if you’re British, as they all seem to have plain names over there’. As a Brit whos favourite names range from Elsa to Winola, from Simon to August, I found that assumption particularly annoying.

  3. I was just thinking about the name Nikita the other day. Basically, I was trying to discover whether its current use in India is simply a result of its similarity to other Indian names (e.g. Nitika), or whether it had an actual, linguistic Indian history. The results of my search were inconclusive. I did find several websites that attested that Nikita means “earth, Ganges” in Sanskrit, and a few that claimed it means “sleep”. However, I couldn’t find any verification of this on websites about Sanskrit/Hindi, nor could I find that the name was used prior to this century, where its use has been, as far as I can tell, exclusively female.

  4. Nikita is neither feminine nor masculine in Russian. Its a nickname for Nikolai and Nikolina. It us used for both genders, but it is never used as a full fledged given name. Its like the equivalent of our Nicky. It could be short for both Nicholas or Nicole.

  5. I would like Big to adopt/have a Sienna, so I can justify the fact that I picture his kids as a small fleet of cars 😉

    And they can’t do that to Daphne! Noooo! If/when we have another child, and if that child is a girl, she’ll be Daphne, and I can’t stomach having two commonly named children. *weeps*

  6. i really enjoyed this week, lots of interesting names as name of the day so thank you for that. i knew i had heard buddy relatively recently i just forgot about the clinton’s dog! (i’m a big dog person and i do usually remember the ones in the news) on a personal note; our little girl was born very early on friday morning, a bit earlier than we expected and still without a name! our front runner was penelope but it didn’t really suit her at all. she is now officially matilda winifred jane, nickname tilly, which suits her down to the ground, and was the very first name my husband said when he saw her! added to my other children’s names my closest american friend has half jokingly branded me a hipster 🙂 when i get the time i’ll send the full story to you abby. and apologies for the huge post! 🙂

    1. How sweet! Congrats on Tillie! And yeah, in the US, she’d read hipster. I think it sounds old-fashioned, fresh, and beautiful. 😉

    2. Congratulations, and welcome to the world, Tilly! What a lovely name. Hope you and yours are doing well with the new little one. 🙂

  7. Not a fan of the name Buddy. I was expecting something more nature-like, to go along with their daughters.

    Daylee – I actually know a Daley in real life, but he’s a guy. But with these kinds of names, they can go either way. Hailey and Bailey were both male at one point, now it’s reversed.

    Nikita, well I think if people adopt names from foreign countries, in this case, of eastern european origin, they should apply it to the proper gender – for Nikita its male, along with Nicola and Nicholai. Not surprised to know Nicky Hilton is Nicholai, since her sister Paris has a male name, her aunt is named Kyle, and recently a new female hilton was named Kai. Giving boy names on girls is not new, but the Hilton’s have taken it too far imo.

    1. Speaking of made up names, I met a boy named Xiley last week. It’s made up right? I know Riley and Wiley have been around for a long time, but never heard this one. Could it catch on? It has the X-factor

    2. I read on another board (I think it was You Can’t Call It “It”) a comment in which another poster pointed out that “Buddy” is closer to his sisters’ names than most of us thought- “Bud” fits right in as a flower name with Poppy, Daisy and Petal.