Cover of Splash (20th Anniversary Edition)

Note:  I’d originally agreed to write about Keziah today, for Racheli.  Except when I finishing up the post, I realized it sounded eerily familiar.  Sure enough, that was because Keziah was Baby Name of the Day back in the day.  Oops, and Racheli, my apologies!

She made waves as the adopted name of a big screen mermaid.

Our Baby Name of the Day is the much-maligned Madison.

The year was 1984.  Tom Hanks was just a young actor cast in a romantic comedy about a man and a mermaid, years before he became an Oscar-winning A-lister.  His co-star, the one in the flippers, was Darryl Hannah, equally early in her career.

You probably know the clip that inspires Hanks’ character to rename his fishy friend.  They’re in a department store.  She insists her name can’t be said in English, and he replies “Then just say it in your language.”  Her high-pitched squeaks shatter the television screens.

They’re trying to find a non-glass-shattering alternative while they’re walking down Madison Avenue and, well, the rest is history.  Splash was a huge hit, and Madison was on her way to the US Top Ten, with thousands of baby girls named after a mermaid who named herself after a street.

But it isn’t that simple – or that silly.  In the 1980s, Allison and Megan were popular choices.  Madison’s sound and style fit with names that were mainstream in the moment.

But there’s more: the classic Madeline was beginning her return.  In 1978, Madeline ranked #704.  By 1984, she’d climbed to #623 and by 1986, she’d reached #288.  That’s easy to explain, of course – we were all watching Maddie and David on Moonlighting.  A long-forgotten girls’ name was suddenly fresh and interesting again.

It was a pop culture perfect storm.  Splash put Madison on the map, and Moonlighting prompted parents to consider other ways to get to Maddie.

The name wasn’t without roots.  Founding father James Madison helped write the US Constitution, then served as president for a second act. (The street is named in his honor.)  There’s also novelist Madison Smartt Bell, a novelist and one of many men to wear the name.

This brings us to one of the biggest controversies surrounding Madison.  Why, oh why, must parents steal boys’ names for girls?

I understand the frustration, but I’m not sure the logic holds.  In English, there is little custom of forming of surname to indicate “daughter of” as there is in other languages.  Pippi Longstocking, for example, has Efraimsdotter included in her extensive appellation.  Slavic languages, too, sometimes include matronymics.

But it does happen in English – and Madison just might be one of those cases.  Madison’s son clearly indicates descent from an ancestor.  That ancestor might be Matthew – Mad was a short form in medieval English, the equivalent of today’s Matt.

Or Madison could mean son of Maude – or, more broadly, Maude’s descendant.  While it wasn’t as common as taking a name from your father, if your mother’s family was especially powerful, if your father was foreign, or perhaps if your father passed away before you were born, you could take a surname based on your mother’s name.  Marriott is based on Mary or Marie; Beaton relates to Beatrice.

Madison enjoyed steady but limited use for men for years.  He peaked at #332 in 1882.  By 1953, he’d left the rankings entirely.

Parents weren’t using him for boys, but they were using tailored choices like Kristen, Erin, and Karen for their daughters.  Little wonder, then, that Madison debuted in US Top 1000 for girls at #625 in 1985.

Madison reached the Top 100 in 1994, and peaked at #2 in 2001 and 2002.  She’s fallen to #8, but that’s deceptive.  From the original French Madeleine to respellings of Madison, there is no shortage of similar names in use today, like:

• Madison
• Madelyn
• Madeline
• Maddison
• Madilyn
• Madeleine
• Madalyn
• Madisyn
• Madelynn
• Madyson
• Madalynn
• Maddilynn

It’s an epidemic.

Interestingly, though, Madison actually rose for boys after it caught parents’ attention for their daughters.  After decades spent dormant, from 1987 into 1999, Madison appeared at the fringes of the boys’ rankings, perhaps prompting those accusations of theft.  Today, a son is more likely to answer to Maddox or Madden.

Something tells me that Madison, however reviled she may be on message boards, is actually another Jennifer – a name we never considered until she was so common that the name became perfectly ordinary.  Twenty years from now, I suspect we’ll be hearing “I was one of three Madisons in my high school; I want my child to have an unusual name, like Gertrude.”

Or at least I can hope!

A by Too Far North via Flickr

She’s hidden in the history books, but if you look closely, you’ll find this intriguing medieval moniker hiding between the lines.

Thanks to Emily of In the Name for suggesting Aleydis as our Baby Name of the Day.

Aleydis is a form of Adalheidis, from the Germanic elements – adal – noble – and heid – type.  Adelaide was worn by an empress/saint in the 900s.  Thanks to another regal Adelaide from the nineteenth century, it is the most common form today – and quite stylish, too.

A long list of appellations trace their origins to Adalheidis, including:

• Alice
• Alix, easily mistaken for a feminine twist on Alexander but a valid feminine choice in its own right
• Adele
• Adela
• Alicia
• Alina
• Allison

Aleydis belongs on this list, but she’s just barely visible in the historical record and nearly gone from use today.  I’m guessing she’d be pronounced ah LAY dess, or ah lay DESS, but I’m not really sure.

Her evolution went something like this: Adalheidis was Adelheid in German and Dutch.  Aleida would’ve been the diminutive, and Aleidis or Aleydis a Latinised version of the short form.  The name was transformed by those who wrote about the saint, along the lines of Confucius (Kong Qiu until the 1600s, when Jesuits missionaries translated his writings) or Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch, born Jeroen – Jerome.

In the first half of the thirteenth century,  a Brussels-born girl entered a convent.  She eventually founded a religious order aimed at instructing poor children.  She contracted leprosy and spent the rest of her life in isolation, slowing becoming blind and paralyzed.  Today she’s know as Saint Alice, patron saint of the blind and paralyzed, but in her lifetime she was called Aleydis.

Other women have worn the name, too:

• There’s a fleeting mention of a Prussian woman named Aleydis from the 1100s;
• Val-Duchesse is a castle owned by the Belgian Royal Trust.  Once the home of Henry III, Duke of Brabant, his widow, Aleydis or Alice, turned it into a priory in the 1200s.  The place owes its name to her – the Valley of the Duchess.  It’s now the site of international conferences;
• A thirteenth century religious movement included a leader called Aleydis, but the only information I can find is that she was executed for heresy in northern France in the 1200s;
• In the 1600s, Dutch painter Vermeer gave the name to one of his daughters;
• As late as the eighteenth century, there’s a prioress of a Cistercian Abbey in Germany answering to Maria Aleydis.

An old thread at Behind the Name suggested a completely separate evolution.  It strikes me as little more than a guess, attempting to connect Aleydis to the goddess Alea, later an epithet of Athena.  The thread also mentions Aleydis was popular in Catalonia, an area known for some truly extraordinary names.  I found one medieval reference to Adalyde in Catalonia, but nothing suggests that it is a separate name.

Parents might hear Aleydis in 2003′s film adaptation of Girl With a Pearl Earring, based on Tracy Chevalier’s carefully researched – but fictional – tale of the inspiration behind one of Vermeer’s most famous works.

Overall, Aleydis strikes a nice balance between names of recent coinage and gentle antiques.  She’s lively but historic, obscure but legit.

Image by philipbouchard via Flickr

I’m fascinated by names, but equally intrigued by the process we use to arrive at a name.  You can find countless real life conversations on message boards, but here are a few I spotted on parents’ personal blogs:

• Aidan at Ivy League Insecurities has a great list going for a third daughter, but my favorite is this quote from the comments: “Naming the baby is the highlight of pregnancy!”
• At Life of a Catholic Librarian, Tiffany has been debating saintly classics like Elizabeth and Peter;
• The Bullards, Collin and Candice, are considering everything from the mainstream Jack and Emma to Asher and Francie;
• And then there’s The Lil Bee, trying to name a second daughter.  Her first is Devon Whitney.  Here’s what caught my eye about Melissa’s list – she mentioned Cleo.  And it got quite a good response.

In other news:

• Speaking of real life baby name choices, Nancy brings us the tale of a 1913 birth of a baby girl in a Pullman Car. The car’s name?  Livonia.  The baby’s name … Livonia!
• Six days ’til Christmas, and my to-do list seems to be growing.  And yet I decided that Priority #1 was figuring out how to create a Master List of every name profiled on the site.  I’m only half-way there – I finished the (shorter) boys’ list first;
• I loved Pam and Linda’s slideshow of The Best & Worst Celebrity Baby Names of 2010 at The Daily Beast. Abel and Cosima make the hit list, while Sundance and Kloey get the raspberry;
• PopSugar Australia voted Buddy Bear Maurice – also on Nameberry’s Not Hot list – the Most Memorable Celebrity Baby Name of 2010;
• ForReal Baby Names rounded up some twin names, including a pair called Lula and Stanley – love it!
• I keep hearing reports that the top baby names in Japan for 2010 are Ren and Yua. The source appears to be more like BabyCenter’s data than actual statistical records.  Still, I find Ren fascinating – highly cross-cultural;
• Here’s a fabulous family tree: Kate Coil writes in West Virginia’s Bluefield Daily Telegraph about her ancestors, including sisters named Icie, Ocie, and Dicey!

In celeb news:

• While I was at PopSugar Australia, I realized that Jackie O had her baby – she’s a popular radio host in Sydney -  Her daughter’s name is Catalina Mae, nickname Kitty.  When I stopped by about 62% had given the name a positive review in the poll.
• Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts is a new dad. Daughter Madeline Leigh shares a middle name with her mom, Allison.  It’s reported that they’re calling her Maddy;
• Country music artist Josh Turner and wife Jennifer welcomed their third son, Crawford Marion.  They’re calling him Marion.  He joins brothers Hampton Otis and Colby Lynch at home;
• The musical Hanson clan is one bigger this week. Zac Hanson and wife Kate welcomed daughter Junia Rosa Ruth, a little sister for Shepherd.

I’m announcing more and more celeb births on the AppMtn Facebook page, along with Sunday Summary-esque links and comments.

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

Image by cobalt123 via Flickr

Any name as popular as Cynthia is bound to have spin-offs.  Here’s one of the more obscure.

Thanks to Aimee for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day: Cindal.

Cynthia peaked at #7 in 1957.  That means there are a lot of grandmas called Cynthia right about now.  Besides the formal Cynthia, plenty of short forms have charted in the US Top 1000 on their own, including:

• Cindy
• Cindi
• Cyndi
• Cinda

There’s also the lovely – and unrelated – Lucinda, a seventeenth century literary invention based on Lucia, but boosted by Cindy just the same.

Today, Cindy is no more current than Marcia or Jan, and Cynthia continues to fall.

Cindal is the rarest among all of the Cynthia-related names, though like many a rarity, she’s not new.  There were at least two in the 1920 US Census, and other records suggest that there have been plenty more born since.  It isn’t clear when she first came into use, but she may have been influenced by Crystal, Coral, Opal, and a handful of other girls’ names that end in -al.

Pronounced sin DAHL or sin DEL, her sound edges close to cymbal and symbol, kindle, cinder, even sandal.  It seems like an unlikely sound for a daughter’s name.  But could Cindal serve as an update to Cindy, one that embraces our love of surname names?

Surname Kendall has become a staple for girls in recent decades, along with respellings from Kendelle to Kendyl.  With girls called Kennedy and Taylor, Cindal seems more like a tailored twist on a classic girls’ name, suited to keep company with Allison or Brooke.

Nameberry doesn’t list Cindal, but they’ve written about Cindy.  In fact, they put her in the “uncool” column of their Coolator. The Coolator indicated that Sydney was cool; Sidony even cooler.

With apologies to the good people of Australia, I don’t think there’s anything cool about the name Syndey these days.  With seven straight years of declining use, Sydney feels like a name that is past her prime.  (And since Pam and Linda are always ahead of the curve, I suspect this Coolator was written some time ago.)

If Sydney is due for an update, but Cindy is not yet ready for revival, would Cindal make for a cooler version of Cindy?  Nancy tells us that five girls were named Cyndel in 2009.

If you’re looking to reboot Cindy for this generation, Cindal makes for an intriguing option.

Thanks to Rocking Fetal for suggesting Blythe as Baby Name of the Day.

Blythe has never ranked in the US Top 1000, but she may be more familiar than some names that have ranked, thanks to:

• Gilbert Blythe, who we meet as a boy in Anne of Green Gables.  Anne and Gilbert, of course, eventually live happily ever after;
• Blythe Danner is an accomplished actress, and also mom to Oscar-winner Gwyneth Paltrow;
• All of that explains something about Gwyneth’s daughter’s name.  While everyone talks about Apple, her full name – Apple Blythe Allison – honors both grandmothers;
• While we’re in Hollywood, Drew Barrymore’s middle name is Blyth.  Just like her first name, this one was plucked off the family tree.  Maurice Barrymore, patriarch of the clan of actors, was born Herbert Blyth – he’s Drew’s great-grandfather;
• Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown is married to a Blythe;
• Long-running medical drama House follows the work of Gregory House, MD, a brilliant, but difficult, doctor.  Gregory’s parents appear in a few episodes, and mom’s name is Blythe;
• In 1972, Kenner sold Blythe dolls for just one year, but enthusiasts continue to collect and customize the big-headed dollies with eyes that change color.

It’s the Barrymore and Green Gables references that hint at Blythe’s origins.  Before she was a given name, she was a surname, derived from the word for joyful, pleasant, kind, or carefree.  Either your ancestor was the happiest man in his village, or he came from a place named Blythe.  (The River Blyth flows through Northumberland into the North Sea, and there are at least three other rivers England bearing some version of the name.)

The root in Old High German was blidi – friendly.  Blythe (and Blyth and Blithe) persisted in use until the 1500s, but ultimately fell into that catalog of words used mostly by writers.  There’s Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Blithdale Romance, and Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit.  Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem “To a Skylark” inspired the Coward play title; William Shakespeare used the word, too.  Remember the song from Much Ado About Nothing? The lyrics urge women to be blithe and bonny.

Nancy tells us that 86 girls were named Blythe in 2009; the variant spellings didn’t rank.  Blair, Brooke, Blake, Bree, and Brynn were all more popular.  Bliss comes from the same root word, and has popped up in birth announcements recently, but she seems far more daring than the subtle Blythe, and so far, she’s less popular.

Boys have worn the name in recent years, too.  Given’s Blythe’s surname status, that’s inevitable.  In the nineteenth century, it appears to have been slightly more common for men, though it was worn by both.

Blythe fits so many trends: she’s a frills-free virtue name with surname roots.  Her -th ending puts Blythe in the company of favorites from yesteryear, like Ruth, Thelma, and Ethel.  In the last decade, there’s just Elizabeth, Samantha and Katherine with the -th sound and in the US Top 100.  In the 1920s, there would’ve been more than that in the Top 25, and as many as a dozen in the Top 100.

But that’s not really a strike against Blythe.  She’s straightforward, unusual, literary, and her meaning can’t be beat!

Inspired by British PM David Cameron’s new daughter, our Baby Name of the Day is Endellion.

The littlest Cameron is actually named Florence Rose Endellion.  There’s very little chatter about her botanical first name and first middle – both fairly common in the UK and familiar throughout the English-speaking world.

But Endellion is quite the rarity, and almost certainly would never have appeared on the new baby’s birth certificate, except that Samantha Cameron unexpectedly delivered while on a pre-baby holiday in Cornwall.

If obscure saints are your thing, Cornwall is home base.  Starting in the fifth century, missionaries from Ireland and Wales came to the isolated peninsula at the south-western end of Great Britain, a place so distant the Romans barely made it there.

Historical evidence for many local saints becomes problematic.  St. Brychan is listed as the father of perhaps as many as two dozen children – all of whom are listed as saints themselves, many with villages named in their memory.  One of Brychan’s daughters wore the name Endellion.

The Camerons babymoon took them to the area near St. Endellion, also known as Sen Endelyn in Cornish.  You may have heard of the music festivals that have taken place in the area for decades. The fifteenth-century parish church is still called St. Endellion.

Endellion appears on the catholic.org list of saints, but that’s not quite the same thing as saying there’s rock solid evidence for her life.  For hundreds of years, saints were established by local custom.  Most of the process we think of for becoming a saint was added in the twentieth century.

Her name was Latinized as Endelienta, and she also appears as Endelient, Edellienta, and Endelyon.  That last one gives a clue to one of the more common pronunciations: en DEL yon.  But I’m hearing end del EE on in British news reports of the birth.

Most accounts list her as a virgin and recluse.  The stories are more fantastic from there: she was King Arthur’s goddaughter, she subsisted only on cow’s milk.  Two wells were named in her honor.

Regardless of the saint’s backstory, the world now knows much about the tiny Cornish village.  It gives Endellion an air of mystery and rugged outdoors appeal, too.  The name lands somewhere between the tailored Allison/Madison crowd and the elaborately feminine Isabella/Olivia cluster.  While Endie doesn’t make for much of a short form, Della and Delia and the boyish Lio are options.

The name had never surfaced in the US Top 1000, is not listed on most conventional baby name websites, and her origins are obscure.  (A handful of sources give her meaning as fire or fire soul, but I couldn’t confirm the derivation.)  She sounds something like the Greek shepherd of myth, oft-borrowed by poets and a Mardi Gras krewe, Endymion – but there’s no connection.

Congratulations to the Camerons.  I believe we owe them our thanks for introducing an obscure gem into circulation once more!

Thanks to Maja for suggesting Rhiannon as Baby Name of the Day.

Make no mistake: there was a mythological Rhiannon, a horse-riding princess married to Pwyll in the Mabinogion, a collection of medieval Welsh myths.  Their son, Pryderi, is the only figure to appear in all four books of the Mabinogion.  On the night of the Pryderi’s birth, Pwyll’s enemies kidnapped the babe and framed Rhiannon for his murder.  All ended well, but Rhiannon suffered mightily.  You can read a nineteenth century version of their story here.

It’s less clear how Rhiannon became considered a goddess, and the longer I look, the more responsibilities she has: fertility, horses, war, the moon, birds, creativity.  Let’s say that she’s a Welsh mythological name, but more regal than otherworldly.

Her name may’ve started out more like Rigantona.  The rig refers to royalty.  Others link her name to a word for maiden.  You wouldn’t find a  Rigantona or Rhiannon in Medieval Wales, despite widespread belief to the contrary.  The Society for Creative Anachronism’s Problem Names Project has declared Rhiannon a modern invention, though they did find a fifth century reference to a Rhieingar.

I couldn’t find a Rhiannon before the twentieth century, and there are almost none before the 1976 Fleetwood Mac song.  Stevie Nicks wrote the lyrics, but she got the name from Mary Leader’s 1973 book Triad: A Novel of the Supernatural.  I can’t find much about Leader, but she must’ve known something about Welsh mythology – the main character was called Branwen.

Nicks’ spooky lyrics suggested that she might’ve been up on her myth, and once fans pointed it out, the singer read up on the subject.  On a later album, the song “Angel” is, indeed, about the royal Rhiannon.

“Rhiannon” launched the name into US Top 1000.  She debuted in 1976 at #593, and reached #418 the year after.   But it wasn’t enough.  Rhiannon lingered until 2007, but has been unranked since.

Rhianna – almost certainly a variation on Rhiannon – charted a few times between 1998 and 2008, but has since lost out to the similar Rihanna. Fueled by the Barbados-born singer, Rihanna debuted at #529 in 2006, peaked at #312 in 2008 and retreated slightly to #388 in 2009.

It’s possible you’ll spot variants like Rheanna and Rianna, too, but the farther we venture from the original, the less likely it is a spin on Rhiannon, and the more it could link to names like Rhea or even Ryan.

While Rhiannon may not be the most satisfying Welsh heritage choice, plenty of mythological names were rarely worn by mere mortals until recently.  If Juno and Orion can be fashionable picks for our children, Rhiannon is a perfectly reasonable option.  She’s feminine and elaborate without being frilly – like Allison or Madison, but less expected.

There’s much to love about Rhiannon, but be sure you’re okay with the Fleetwood Mac song before you write this one on the birth certificate!

• 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!

Also, congrats to one of my oldest friends on the birth of his daughter, Helen Claire.  I once described Helen as dusty, and I completely take it back.

In other news:

• I’m completely in love with Basque names, thanks to Sebastiane’s post.  They’re familiar and totally unexpected all at once – Elixane, Katerin, Jakes;
• There was an Allison Adair spotted by For Real Baby Names.  I’ve long loved Adair as a girl’s name, so I’m truly delighted to see her;
• Also at For Real’s site, Aloha, Hawai’i! What wildly-named children play on your beaches.  Boys include Cashez (is that Cassius or a Cash/Cortez mash-up?) and Dezmen (Desmond rebooted or Dezi with an -en tacked on?) and a baby girl called girl Pasefika (Pacifica, or a foreign name I’m not recognizing?) plus a female Kelly Michael and a male Tracey Tamiko.  Oh, and a Hazelyn – which is strangely pretty;
• Elisabeth finishes her round-up of French BAs at You Can’t Call It “It” with Les Filles L-Z;
• More proof that Hattie is the new Sadie: the movie Babies profiles Ponijao in Namibia, Mari in Japan, Bayar in Mongolia and Hattie in San Francisco, USA;
• The Stir covers Bellamy, adding to my suspicions that Bellamy is the next Avery;
• Namberry covers names ending in -o, including a certain brand new starbaby …

The big news was, of course, Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock’s solo – and surprisingly secret – adoption of Louis Bardo.  Elsewhere among the famous:

• Surnames take center stage for newborn twins Lydon Edward and Hartley Grace, the children of Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath;
• It’s certainly not news, but did you know that Saturday Night Live’s Ana Gasteyer has two kids – daughter Frances Mary and a son, Ulysses?  Neat names.

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

Thanks to Bek for suggesting Hannelore as Baby Name of the Day.

Purists may insist that Hannelore is a four-syllable name.  They’re correct, of course.  Just like fellow Germanic compound name Anneliese sounds more like Annalisa, Hannelore might be simplified Hannalora.

Except that, much like Emmeline and Vivienne, Eleanor and Allison, there’s plenty of room for three-syllable feminine choices ending with a consonant in English.  And han eh LOR sounds slightly more current – at least to my ear.

Maybe that’s one of the reasons I think she could appeal to American parents circa 2010.  She feels like a smoosh of the popular Hannah and the modern classic Lauren, though she’s actually a mash-up of Hanne – a nickname for Johanna, and Eleonore, the German version of Eleanor.

While short names are stylish, like Heidi Klum’s Lou, longer names show no signs of surrender – think of Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck’s Seraphina or 20th century staples like Samantha.

While her usage is Germany, most notable bearers of the name are in the past.  She’s definitely not in German Top Ten, though many familiar names, including Sophie, Mia and Emma, do chart.

Notable Hannelores include:

• Hannelore Kohl, the late wife of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, born Johanna Klara Eleonore;
• Another former German first lady, Hannelore Schmidt, nicknamed Loki;
• A smattering of athletes, actresses and others.

But the most memorable Hannelore’s story makes for a grisly tale.  In October 1979, Hannelore Schmatz successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest, only to die of exhaustion on the trip down.  It’s a sad tale, but here’s the worst part: her remains were stuck, lodged along the southern route. Any climber ascending the same path would see her remains, eyes open.  At least one expedition intent on retrieving poor Hannelore failed, and the climbers lost their lives, too.