A by Jutta via Flickr

She’s another feminine twist on Alexander, and while she’s quite rare, is there any steam left in this appellation?

Thanks to Renee for suggesting Alexine as our Baby Name of the Day.

From the current US Top 1000, there are no shortage of Alex- names for girls, including:

• Alexis (#16)
• Alexa (#50)
• Alexandra (#64)
• Alexandria (#205)
• Alexia (#242)

Alix is a Medieval French variant of Alice, reasonably popular in modern France.  Alexine sounds French, too, but she’s not terribly common.

Still, there have been women who have answered to the name.  I’m often bewildered by the idea that there’s one one valid, set-in-stone, feminine version of evergreen male monikers.  It simply isn’t true – just a century ago, we can find options like Tomasa, Albertine, and Hermina at the outer edges of the Top 1000, while others, like Samantha, are yet to take hold.  I’m guessing, but I suspect Alexine may have evolved from Alexandrine.

While Alexine has never appeared in the US rankings, there are some fascinating figures who have worn the name.

My top choice for an inspiring Alexine is nineteenth century explorer Alexine Tinne.  Miss Tinne, a Dutch heiress of significant wealth, spent her early 20s exploring the Nile and then the Sahara, accompanied by her mother and aunt.  Alexine’s explorations were extraordinary for the time, and she met with quite a bit of success, before meeting her death en route to Lake Chad.

Other figures include:

• Alexina Louie is a celebrated contemporary Canadian composer.  She recently completed an opera based on the life of former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney;
• In the role playing game Sudeki for Xbox, characters are called Ailish, Alexine, Nico, and Tal – not bad for a video game;
• There’s a New York City public school in Brooklyn called Alexine Fenty, but I can’t uncover a bio of Ms. Fenty;
• On a totally different note, I found a nineteenth century nun called Sister Alexine, known for establishing a girls’ school in Lagrange, Illinois in 1900.

The picture that emerges is a patchwork.  Alexine defies categorization.  She’s not nouveau, like Alexus.  While she’s vaguely French, that’s not as clear an identity as, say, Alessandra is Italian.  She shows up in France, but also among non-French speaking Americans in the mid-nineteenth century.

Perhaps the simplest explanation is this: like Samantha, Alexandra was rare until the twentieth century.  The name first appears in the US Top 1000 in 1915, but remains unusual until the 1980s.  Alexander was more steadily used, and so it isn’t surprising to find multiple feminine forms.

Today Alexine remains different, but her nickname options are well-worn: Allie, Lexi, Alexa.  The repetition robs Alexine of a certain fresh, crisp style that she should be able to claim.  However, in the middle spot I can endorse Alexine with enthusiasm.  She’d be an absolute delight to discover instead of a more predictable middle moniker.

Image via Wikipedia

She’s a vibrant name with a legendary literary namesake.

Thanks to Ivy for suggesting Scarlett as our Baby Name of the Day.

One of the many tales about Gone With the Wind involves the name of the novel’s heroine.  Up until just before going to press, the story goes, Margaret Mitchell planned to call her heroine Pansy.

Mitchell had a last minute flash of inspiration, and you know the rest.

Up until then you might have met a Rose or a Hazel or an Olive; Pearl or Ruby, too.  But Scarlett was rare.  Scarlet appears as a masculine moniker on the US Census Indian rolls, especially in North Dakota.  And because Scarlett is a surname, it does appear as a given name before Ms. Mitchell’s novel debuted – though those Scarletts are sometimes male, too.

In Gone With the Wind, Katie Scarlett O’Hara is named after her paternal grandmother, Katie Scarlett.  Presumably that’s her grandma’s surname, indicating that one of their ancestors dyed or sold woolen cloth.

Scarlet cloth wasn’t necessarily red, but bright red was one of the most popular hues.  Over time, the fabric’s name transferred to the color.  The source of the word is likely the Persian saqirlat – fine cloth, from the Late Latin sigillatus – elaborately decorated clothes.  Sigillatus shares roots with sigil – a magical symbol – and signal and sign.

If sigil to Scarlett seems like a leap, it is – in between, the word became scarlata in Late Latin; escarlate in Old French and Spanish and scarlatto in Italian.

It’s a color with a past:

• In the Book of Revelation, there’s a scarlet beast and a woman wearing scarlet;
• Scarlet fever ravaged communities into the early twentieth century;
• Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter links the color to a sin once more;
• Sherlock Holmes’ first adventure was 1888′s A Study in Scarlet.  In this case, the color referred to “the scarlet thread of murder” in Holmes’ case;
• On a more heroic note, Baroness Orczy’s 1905 novel set The Scarlet Pimpernel to rescue French aristocrats from the guillotine at the height of the revolution.

Today, Scarlett remains a vivid shade of red and a dramatic name, but she’s lost her air of scandal.

As a name, Scarlett charted briefly from 1940 to 1943, and the height of Gone With the Wind.  She surfaced again from 1962 to 1963, possibly due to short-lived Canadian soap opera Scarlett Hill.

But then came 1991′s Scarlett, the authorized sequel to Mitchell’s classic, penned by Alexandra Ripley.  The novel was savaged by critics, but still topped the bestseller lists and was made into a can’t-miss-miniseries.  The name returned in 1992, but this time she stayed.  Why were the 90s different?

• Hugh Grant’s quirky red-headed roommate in Four Weddings and a Funeral answered to Scarlett;
• Young actress Scarlett Johansson – yes, that’s her real name – nabbed an Independent Spirit award nomination in 1996 and had her big breakout role in 2003′s Lost in Translation;
• Color, nature, and noun names are stylish today – even mainstream.  Violet rose at the same time.

In 2010, Scarlett ranked #114.  And why not?  She’s colorful, spirited, and stylish.  Her only downside?  She’s climbing rapidly.  If Savannah can reach #30, Miss O’Hara’s appellation surely can, too.

Image by jcoterhals via Flickr

She’s an intriguing rarity – easy to pronounce, with hints of a medieval past, and a very attractive meaning.

Thanks to Clio for suggesting Kerensa as our Baby Name of the Day.

Kerensa has a straightforward definition: she is literally the word for love in Cornish, putting her in the company of choices like Amy and Carys.

But is she a relatively modern coinage, or a long-standing appellation?  The exhaustive Glossary of Cornish Names, compiled in 1871, fails to mention Kerensa, or any name with similar roots.  Elea calls her “traditional” in her list of Cornish Baby Names at Nameberry, but traditional isn’t a precise term.

My first assumption was that Kerensa was probably an early 20th century invention, something like Brooke or the Welsh Seren – around long enough to feel familiar, but lacking centuries of use.  You can rent a vacation cottage called Kerensa in Cornwall, but mentions of women wearing the name are rare.  This tracks with US records – pre-1900, there’s just one Kerensa mentioned, and there’s some doubt as to whether her name was recorded properly.

Except that there is a medieval song called Na Carenza, written in Occitan, a romance language spoken in Southern France and neighboring parts of Italy and Spain.  The authors call themselves Alais or Alaisina and Iselda; Carenza is the older woman they praise and question.  It’s a fragment, preserved through happenstance, probably dating to the twelfth century.  There’s debate as to the song’s meaning and purpose – and, of course, it is possible that the names are not the names of real people at all.

Carenza also appears as an Italian surname, and occasional first name, too.  Carenza Lewis is an archeologist known for her appearances on Time Team, a Channel 4 production showcasing archeological digs in the UK.

Other spellings are possible – Kerenza surfaces from time to time.  All are exceedingly rare in English, never appearing in the US Top 1000, and it is unclear if they’re related, or just a fluke.  Emphasis is on the middle syllable: keh REN sah or ker EHN sah.

If you can live with Kerensa’s uncertain roots, she’s a stunningly different choice for a daughter.  And she’s practical, too:

• Some might interpret her as an elaboration of baby boomer staple Karen.  Though they’re not related, Kerensa feels like an appropriate update;
• Kerensa could also serve as a formal name for parents attracted to trendy choices like Kenzie;
• With feminine-but-strong choices like Alexandra and Samantha popular in recent years, Kerensa feels right at home.

Besides Kenzie, nickname options include Kera, Keri, Kenna, and Ren.  Take some liberties with the spelling, and Carensa could lead to Casey, too, though you sacrifice the Cornish legacy and certain meaning.

If you’re after a versatile rarity that fits right in while standing out, Kerensa is one to consider.

Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua; Image via Wikipedia

Anthony is a saintly staple.  Antoinette was a doomed queen.  How would this Italian spin wear today?

Thanks to Christina for suggesting Antonella as our Baby Name of the Day.

Check the US Top 100, and you’ll find no shortage of elaborate feminine forms of evergreen masculine names:

• Samantha (#15)
• Brianna (#29)
• Victoria (#32)
• Gabriella (#33)
• Alexandra (#64)
• Natalia (#98)

Antonella fits perfectly, not just for her feminissa style, but for her potential nicknames.  She shares her -ella ending with Gabriella and the chart-topping Isabella.  Other short form options include Nell and Annie, as well as the obvious – if dated – Toni.

Anthony has been a steady Top 100 pick since before 1900.  He’s a truly ancient appellation, with this roots stretching back to the ancient world.  The Roman general Marcus Antonius – better known as Marc Antony – had a good run before losing a definitive battle to the future Emperor Augustus.  His story, and the tale of his suicide with his ally and lover Cleopatra, were immortalized by none other than William Shakespeare.

The name endured, and was worn by a handful of early saints.  The thirteenth-century Saint Anthony of Padua was born in Portugal, but lends the name his Italian style.

In English, Anthony picked up his -th thanks to an error: at some point, it was assumed that Anthony was related to anthos – flower.  That’s not the case, and even in Medieval English, you would find men called Antony.

The feminine forms tend to omit the -h.  There’s the literary Antonia, the French Antoine and Antoinette, as well as the more elaborate Italian options Antonina and Antonella.  Spelled Antonela, you can find her in Croatia, too.

Most famous bearers in recent years have been Italian:

• Olympic athletes including Antonella Confortola, a cross-country skier, and Antonella Bellutti, a cyclist;
• Hollywood gives us Oscar-nominated costume designer Antonella Cannarozzi;
• Actresses include Antonella Lualdi, who made it big in French cinema during the 1950s, and named her daughter Antonellina, as well as Antonella Costa, and Chile’s Antonella Rios.

Ms. Rios may be the reason the name has enjoyed a burst of popularity in Chile in recent years.

In 2007, Antonella Barba competed on American Idol.  She didn’t make it as far as the top twelve, though, so her name remains relatively obscure.

Yet overall, Antonella seems like the kind of name we should hear more.  She fits with stylish options from Isabella to Francesca, and has more nickname options than many a frilly, feminine choice.  If you’re heartbroken that every other girl in your ‘hood is answering to Olivia, this is one choice that is both completely different and perfectly in step.

For those many families with an Anthony or three to honor, she’s also an option that takes the traditional Italian favorite in another direction.

T44 by Too Far North via Flickr

Tammy is stuck in the 60s, but this unrelated import could wear well in 2011.

Thanks to Fran for suggesting Tamsin as our Baby Name of the Day.

Tammy typically comes from Tamar and Tamara, names with Hebrew and Sanskrit roots.  Tammy and Tamara had their moment in the sun in the 1960s, propelled by a series of films starting with 1957′s Tammy and the Bachelor.  The cinematic Tammy was actually short for Tambrey.  There was also a short-lived television adaptation, and actresses like Debbie Reynolds and Sandra Dee made their names as the Southern-fried good girl looking for true love.

Even if Tammy hadn’t been a Top Ten pick from 1966 through 1971, the pop culture reference is enough to make her feel dated.

Tamsin shares a first syllable, but has a totally different story.  She’s a contracted form of the equally rare Thomasina.

Given all the men named Thomas over the years, it isn’t surprising that there’s a feminine form. Thomas comes from the Aramaic word for twin.  Saints and other notables have made him a classic.  Girls have answered to names like Tomasa and Tommie; the latter is almost certainly the most popular feminine form in the twentieth century.

In Thomas Hardy’s 1878 Return of the Native, one of the main characters is Thomasin, often called Tamsin.  The name picks up a literary vibe thanks to the novel.

When you go looking for women named Tamsin or Thomasina, they’re almost always found in the UK.  Or, possibly, they are cats.  In 1964, Disney’s The Three Lives of Thomasina adapted a 1957 novel about a rather special cat and her family.

L21 by Too Far North via Flickr

She’s a literary elaboration of Lucia.  In the Age of Isabella, here’s one that would wear quite well on a daughter.

Thanks to Jennie, aka British American, for suggesting Lucinda as our Baby Name of the Day.

Saint Lucia was martyred back in the 300s.  Her gory story was popular, and she has a long history of use throughout Europe.  Variant Lucy appears in Medieval England.  There are plenty of elaborations for Lucia, including:

• Lucilla, in use in the third century;
• Lucetta, used by Shakespeare in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and later, Thomas Hardy in The Mayor of Castlebridge;
• Hardy’s Lucetta also went by the French Lucette;
• The equally French Lucienne and Lucille are options, too.

It isn’t until the 1600s that we find Lucinda in use, and her first appearances are fictional:

• In Cervantes’ Don Quixote, Lucinda is a beautiful woman caught in a love triangle;
• Molière penned Le Médecin malgré lui a few years later, naming his mock doctor’s patient Lucinde.

Both works were successful, and resulted in plenty of adaptations.  But Lucinda’s name didn’t always carry over.  Henry Fielding adapted Molière’s play in the eighteenth century, changing Lucinde to Charlotte.  And while Don Quixote remains widely read, the popular stage and screen adaptations omit the story of Lucinda, Cardenio, and Ferdinand.

Lucinda filtered into general use.  In the late nineteenth century, she ranked in the US Top 200.  But she’s fallen out of favor since then, despite many reasons that she could’ve, should’ve caught on.  She enjoyed some success as an alternative to Cynthia in the 1950s and 60s.  There’s also been:

• As The World Turns featured the machinations of the ambitious Lucinda Walsh for more than three decades;
• Singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams has been recording since the late 1970s, bridging folk, country, and indie rock;
• Peter Carey’s 1988 novel Oscar and Lucinda was adapted into a 1997 film starring Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett.  Blanchett’s turn as the rebellious Australian heiress-turned-glass-entrepreneur launched her career.

The list also includes actresses, athletes, politicians, and plenty of other accomplished women.

Lucinda left the US Top 1000 entirely after 1987, and yet she’d fit right in with Isabella, Gabriella, Samantha, Savannah, Alexandra, and Vanessa – the super-feminine names of the Top 100, most with some claim to history, but all well-used by now.

If you’re after a truly unusual name, Lucinda might have a flaw: logical nickname Lucy is racing up the charts, landing at #101 in 2009, up more than 250 spaces in a decade.  She could follow Lily into the Top 20.

Or that could make for the best of both worlds – a perfectly ordinary nickname, coupled with a literary, distinctive given name perfect for formal occasions.

Madonna Lily by Dmitry Baranovskiy

Susie is a Boomer staple; Susannah her stylish colonial cousin.

Today’s Baby Name of the Day takes that familiar appellation in a far more exotic direction: Azucena.  Thanks to Lea for the suggestion!

If you managed a respectable B in Spanish 101, you can probably sound out Azucena.  Depending on the dialect, even native Spanish-speakers disagree: ah soo SEH neh and ah thoo THE neh are both valid.  Since an early use was in an Italian opera, you’re forgiven if you pronounce her ah zoo CHE na, too.

An azucena is a Madonna lily, a lovely flower, one with a long history of use as a girl’s name in English.  Her meaning links her to Susan and company, though I suspect that’s a connection that’s been made relatively recently.

Azucena is a relative newcomer as a baby name.  Verdi’s Il trovatore is based on a play by Spanish Romantic Antonio García Gutiérrez.  Most of the names are changed slightly from the play to the opera – Leonor became Leonora; Manrique, Manrico.  But Azucena, the gypsy woman who is both victim and instigator of the ensuing drama, is unchanged.  Il trovatore had a successful debut in Rome back in 1853, and has been in the repertoire of opera companies ever since.

Here’s the super-simplified version: Count di Luna’s younger son is sick, and he suspects a gypsy woman.  He orders the gypsy burned.  Her daughter, Azucena, a new mother herself, swears vengeance.  In a hyper-dramatic switch that could only happen in opera, Azucena kidnaps the baby, intending to throw him on the flames of her mother’s funeral pyre.  But, in her grief-stricken state, she kills her son instead.  Azucena flees with the baby and raises him as her son, Manrico.  Years later, Manrico is in love with the aristocratic Leonora – and so is Manrico’s older brother, the current Count.  It all ends in more tragedy, and Azucena has her revenge.

Then came the 1984 Venezuelan telenovela Azucena.  A girl from the wrong side of the tracks is in love with the wealthy Rodolfo.  His parents object to the match, and the lovers reluctantly part ways, but a few dozen episodes later, the couple lives happily ever after.

As Azucena traveled from Spanish drama to the international medium of Italian opera, back to Latin America via a successful telenovela, the name entered into gradual use.  She appears in US Census records in the early twentieth century.  A few notable uses include:

• Tango’s Azucena Maizani;
• A 1939 movie from The Philippines titled Azucena, starring then-famous Arsenia Francisco;
• There’s also Argentina’s Azucena Villaflor, born in 1924.  She co-founded Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a human rights organization dedicated to finding victims of forced disappearance during the Dirty War.  Her son was one of the victims; after starting a series of demonstrations and taking newspapers ads, Villaflor shared his fate.

With names like Isabella and Alexandra wildly popular, Azucena isn’t unwearable.  But her history of use is dramatic, and might be a bit much for anyone to live up to.  Then again, there are nicknames aplenty – from the plain vanilla Sue to Zuzu or Azu.

If you’re looking for a dramatic botanical with Spanish heritage roots, Azucena is a possibility.

Image by J.E.S. via Flickr

There’s something tremendously upbeat about this Irish surname.

Thanks to Kelly for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day: Sullivan.

Sullivan is instantly recognizable as an Irish surname.  There’s general consensus that the name translates to something like “little dark eyed one.”

But if you have any familiarity with musical theater, chances Sullivan brings to mind The Pirates of Penzance or The Mikado or any of the tremendously popular Gilbert & Sullivan operettas from the Victorian era.  W.S. Gilbert wrote the lyrics; Arthur Sullivan, the music.  The rest is history.

The surname appeared in the US Top 1000 a few times in the nineteenth century, but Sullivan’s real climb is recent – and fueled, at least in part, by a blue, furry monster.

Pixar‘s Monsters, Inc. was the studio’s fourth feature film, released in 2001.  Mike Wazowski – a one-eyed green ball with legs – and James P. Sullivan, called Sulley, report to work every day at Monstropolis’ power plant.  They sneak into kids’ bedrooms, scare them, and bottle the screams to power the city.  Things go whopper-jawed when a child they call Boo sneaks into Monstropolis, and discovers that Sulley is a loveable goofball, not a scary beast.

Sure enough, Sullivan entered the US Boys’ Top 1000 in 2002.  He’d climbed to #651 by 2009.

It’s not just the friendly monster raising Sullivan’s profile:

• In 2007, Patrick Dempsey welcomed twin sons Darby Galen and Sullivan Patrick.  He’d already shown a preference for Irish appellations when he and wife Jillian welcomed daughter Talula Fyfe in 2002;
• Sullivan fits with the tide of popular Irish names, from Ryan to Riley, but his three-syllable pattern is more akin to newcomers like Donovan;
• Fictional characters have worn the surname, like Third Watch’s John Sullivan – known as Sully – and Clark Kent‘s BFF on Smallville, Chloe Sullivan;
• The three kids on Everybody Loves Raymond were played by real life siblings: big sister Madylin, and twin brothers Sawyer and Sullivan – though on the show, they were the more ordinary Alexandra, Geoffrey, and Michael.

Nickname Sully has a few advantages.  He’s a great choice for parents who fret that their boy Bailey will be mistaken for a girl.  Pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger earned his place in history when he successfully landed a disabled aircraft – a commercial flight with over 150 passengers on board – in New York’s Hudson River in 2009.  It lends the name a vaguely heroic vibe.  So does the fictional hero of Avatar, wounded Marine Jake Sully.

Sully is also a common place name in France, and there was a prominent duc de Sully.  If you’re looking at a map, there’s also Sullivan’s Island in South Carolina, the site of the former Fort Moultrie.  Edgar Allen Poe was stationed there, and it inspired his writing.  Pat Conroy also set a novel there.

It all makes for a friendly name, one that is thoroughly Irish, quite current, and wearable for a child or a grown-up.  While Sullivan is stylish, he’s not yet so common that you’d expect to hear him everywhere.  It’s an appealing combination for parents distraught to realize that Aidan has long since ceased to sound original.

And yet, Charlotte recently mentioned Lecandro – surely the invention of a creative mama – and I found myself liking it quite a bit.

Maybe it is that I’ve found there’s a backstory for nearly any name.  Or possibly I’m far more aware that my own opinions have changed over the years.  Two decades ago, Finn would’ve been a shark reference, destined to hear the low strings of Jaws.  Today he’s among the most fashionable of names, even before Glee ricocheted him to wider notice.

And the name news:

• I’ve been meaning to post this ever since Kim sent it my way: Wee Decor posts lists of names parents have ordered on nursery wall art.  Check out their Summer 2010 list here. Dario, Allica, and Juddefrey are all gracing the name of a nursery somewhere.  But hey, if you love it enough to put it on a birth certificate, why not put it on a wall;
• Or chisel it on a stone(age) wall.  Nancy tells us that in the 1960s, some parents went prehistoric and named their daughters Pebbles shortly after the animated series adding a daughter;
• Check out For Real’s list of baby names featuring alliteration – though some of these go too far.  Alexis Alexandra and Coleton Cole both feel repetitive.  Ava Autumn is lovely, and I kind of like Elijah Ezra, too;
• Speaking of how close is too close, I’m intrigued by this post at You Can’t Call It “It” about twins named Claire Emerson and Ellis Catherine … or maybe something else entirely;
• Even if you read zero Dutch, you can pick out the names Emma posted from Benelux’s Next Top Model. I ran the page through Google Translate to confirm – there apparently is a contestant named Epiphany;
• Here’s a quick check at the box office.  Besides the animated owl sibset I mentioned on Facebook – Soren and Eglantine – there are a few other intriguing choices.  Renee Zellweger’s just-in-time-for-Halloween horror flick Case 39 includes a little girl named Lillith.  In Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, we learn that Gordon Gekko named his daughter Winnie.  And Ben Affleck’s The Town is generating buzz for other reasons, but also gives us two to consider – a criminal named James who answers to Jem, and Jem’s niece, a little girl called Shyne.

As for the starbaby round up – it’s a girl.  And a girl, and a girl …:

• This is an interesting choice: Yul Kwon, the winner of 2006′s Survivor: Cook Islands is a new dad to daughter Genevie;
• Here’s a truly lovely choice: Esai Morales and his girlfriend have welcomed a daughter, Mariana Oliveira;
• What percentage of girls called Madeline (or Madison, Madelyn, Madasyn, etc.) answered to Maddie?  And how many are Maddy?  Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus has announced his daughter-on-the-way will be called Madeline Leigh, answering to Maddy-with-a-y;
• James Van Der Beek bucked the Hollywood embrace of unusual names to choose Olivia for his newborn daughter.

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That’s all for this week.  As always, thank you for reading!

In the meantime, a new neighbor has arrived and her kids names?  Be still my heart: Nella and Arlo.  I haven’t actually met them (she joined a listserv for local moms) but I might hug her.

Also in the real world, the incredibly talented Brooke at Dinkypopsnomore is now mom to two!  The incredibly photogenic, more-stylish-at-3-than-I-am-at-37 Temperance is big sister to Verity Blythe.  See the post about her name here.

Elsewhere online:

• Here’s something you don’t know about me: I rarely drive.  I have a license, but we’ve arranged our lives so most of the time, our car stays parked.  And I plain like mass transit.  So Nancy’s recent post about a baby named Queenie after a bus company? That could be me;
• I understand Ever and Everly.  A kid called Eternity would not be a surprise.  But Never?  ForReal spotted one, and it just seems off;
• Did you see the great Nameberry post on TV character names? Ask a parent if she’d be willing to name a child after a TV character and you’ll often get a refusal, maybe a snicker.  But they do filter into wider use.  So get set for birth announcements reading Landry, Horatio, Brick, Remy, Cricket, and Astrid. One not on the list: Dwight, Jason Lee’s character on his new show, Memphis Blue.  Rainn Wilson’s salesman/beet farmer on The Office has put a dent in Dwight – he left the US Top 1000 in 2004 – wonder if Lee can revive him?
• The Globe and Mail has an essay by a parent who really can’t decide what to name son #3.  It’s a common struggle, but what’s particularly interesting is the drama caused by their common surname: Jones.  Nearly any popular choice has a notable bearer: George Jones, Tom Jones, and so on.  After naming firstborn son Jack they learned that Jack Jones sang The Love Boat theme song.  I always thought it was the long, unusual surnames that posed problems, but I guess it goes both ways;
• Here’s a fun list of model names from Babble columnist Ceridwen Morris.  But Nameberry did it first, and even compiled a list of super-stylish names supermodels gave to their offspring (before, we assume, slipping back into some fabulous get-up for a photo shoot with baby on hip like a designer bag.)  Yannick or Mingus, anyone?
• I haven’t checked in with the Toronto Star’s Kristin Rushowy in months.  A few recent posts: a boy called Timo Wolf, a girl named Tanys Aurora Alexandra Piia, and a cautionary tale about pronunciation issues when you name your cute Canadian kid after a Hindu goddess.

In starbaby news:

• Let’s hear it for the double palindrome power of Ava Katherine Otto, a new daughter for country singer James Otto and wife Amy;
• Actor Matt Walton – he plays Eli on One Life To Live – has an Ava, too, plus a brand new son called Greyson James.  Greyson is the new Jayden. Add up all the boys called Greyson and Grayson, plus the girls wearing a variant of sound-alike Gracen, and you have the formula for a gender-neutral, hard-to-gauge usage name that every parent thinks is uncommon.  Too bad, because I do love Gray;
• Army Wives’ Catherine Bell has a new son called Ronan, a little sister for Gemma.  That’s a nice sibset, a pair of names that are underused, but not outlandish;
• And the big news is the birth of Florence Rose Endellion, a daughter for UK Prime Minister David Cameron, his wife Samantha, and three older siblings: the late Ivan, plus Nancy, and Arthur Elwen.  For a humorous and insightful look on place names popping up on birth certificates, there’s this News & Star column. Capri and Dublin, yes.  St. Bees Flimby Pie?  Probably not;
• Lastly, the best use of Twitter for baby naming since Erykah Badu live-tweeted the birth of her third child and claimed she was calling her Twittymilk surely goes to Neil Patrick Harris’ twins teaser. That’s an instant sibset I can’t wait to learn.

As always, thanks for reading!