Conventional media is still abuzz with news that Jacob and Isabella are the most popular baby names in the US for 2009.  Yawn. Luckily, the baby name blogosphere has moved on to more interesting topics.  Here are my two Big Questions of the week:

• Is the speed of change in baby name trends accelerating?  Elisabeth mentioned the possibility in her post about the Top 100 baby names of 2009 over at You Can’t Call It “It.“  We’ve certainly seen the pace pick up over the generations, but I was whopperjawed at the rise and fall of Miley.
• Is it right to correct a name’s meaning when a parent’s assertion is just plain inaccurate?  Nancy asked the question specifically about reporters, but it comes up in discussion, too – online and off.

And, of course, Time Magazine pondered Why Do Babies Have the Same Names? They called it “The Twilight Effect.”  Is it me, or did they completely miss an important point?  Sure, lots of us are naming our kids Jacob and Isabella and Emma and Ethan.  But, generation after generation, we’ve become more tolerant of diversity in baby names.  Maybe my perspective is skewed by living in a big urban area with a huge international population, but I’m most impressed by how few kids continue to receive the most common names.

In good ol’ fashioned name-spotting this week:

• Design Mom blogger Gabrielle Blair and husband Ben welcomed daughter Flora June, a little sister for Ralph, Maude, Olive, Oscar and Betty.  They’re calling her June.  Congratulations;
• Speaking of June, she’s on the Quirky Classics for Girls list at Nameberry’s Baby Names 2010: What Names are Heading This Way? In the harder to classify category are the testosterone-charged Gunner and Ace.  All this means that circa 2040, we should be seeing marriage announcements for mismatched couples like Annabelle and Colt;
• For Real brings us reports of London newborns called Myrtle, Ludovic and Albus, as well as a girl called Betzabet in Maine and another named Manhattan Rose, presumably not in New York;
• Nancy crunched the data to bring us Which Baby Name Ranked #1 in the Most States? The handful of names that the top spot in just one state are an interesting mix: Addison, Aiden, Allison, Daniel, Jose, Ryan and Wyatt;
• More data-crunching: Baby Name Wizard announced that Kaydence was the fastest rising name of the decade. The name Cadence was worn by American Pie’s band camp alum Michelle’s little sis in 2003′s American Wedding, but she was on the rise before.  Caydence is just a step behind the K-spelling;
• You give your child a nice, normal name like Richard and what happens?  Language Log tells us that Richard Smith of Carlisle, England, legally changed his name to Stormhammer Deathclaw Firebrand.  And I thought For Real spotted some truly eye-popping appellations;
• I love Julie’s description of her kids: “My children are wonderful, hilarious, terrifying little creatures. It is still mind-boggling that we have one kid, let alone three.”  Their names are nice, too: Henry, Eli and Zuzu;
• Nancy brings us a story about baby Karina, born to the wife of a Soviet scientist aboard a ship in the Kara Sea in 1933.  And that’s only part of the story;
• Ellie Kate’s mom mentions Sylvie as a possible name for a future daughter.  Well, Sylvie and Phyer.  But Ellie’s dad veto’d Phyer, so that’s out.  I found her post via Kelly’s Korner, a blog that asked parents to share lists of their kids’ names or future names – there are over 400 links!

And Claudia Schiffer has a new daughter, but if Caspar and Clementine’s little sis has a name, they’ve yet to share.  The supermodel mentioned she was struggling with name choices, so it is possible they’re still debating.  My money is on Cordelia, but I bet she’ll surprise us all.

That’s all for today.  As always, thanks for reading and have a great week!