Little Red Riding Hood illustration from 1927; Image via Wikipedia

I’m always surprised when I realize that Valerie remains so popular.  She ranked #138 in 2009, not too far from her peak of #60 in 1959.  Nothing against the name – I know some lovely women who answer to Valerie – but it makes me think of The Monkees.  (Though the song title is “Valleri“ – not sure why.  Anyone know?)  She could be due for another boost in March, when the reboot of Red Riding Hood is released with Amanda Seyfriend donning the iconic red cape.  The wolf is a werewolf.  Not only does her character have a name – Valerie – but she’s more Buffy the Vampire Slayer than sweet girl en route to grandma’s house.

On to the name news:

• Speaking of werewolves, what’s with the stories about parents naming their kids after werewolves?  I suppose it is just another attempt to link baby name stories to Twilight.  If Alcide makes the US Top 100, I’ll believe it.  Until then … not so much;
• Nancy rounds up the total number of babies named after Aeon Flux, and ThunderCat Cheetara.  The answer?  More than you’d guess;
• Speaking of strange inspiration, ForReal spots a boy called Kindle Paul;
• You’ve probably already seen this amazing sibset at Nameberry: Tallulah Daisy, Beatrix India, Juniper Bronte, Hawthorne Wilde, and newborn Crewe Lennox but read the thread anyway for some of the best names collected in a single thread – possibly ever;
• The crowd-sourced, chosen-by-Facebook-poll Canadian baby name is Melania. Apparently the parents engaged in a smidge of gamesmanship, encouraging votes for the name.
• I mentioned Luella in a post as one of those names that it takes some courage to use, because it is different from everyone else’s picks.  As if on cue, here’s a post at Swistle: “Our first choice is Luella, nickname Lulu, but … I’m worried that there’s something about this name that makes it unpopular that I’m not seeing.”
• The Baby Name Wizard’s Name of the Year is … The Situation. Laura Wattenberg notes that this is NOT a prediction that we’ll be meeting kids called Situation Smith.  It’s about handles rather than names; “an emblem … for an age of empty celebrity.”  As one commentor wrote: “It’s enough to make me long for the days of Kaydence.”
• As for names parents will actually use, how about Greta?  It appears on A Mountain Bride’s short list, along with Hazel, Amelia, Piper, and Cora.

The maternity ward at Hollywood Hospital has been relatively quiet these days, but that hasn’t stopped the star baby name stories:

• Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey continue to generate buzz about their baby-on-the-way.  The first rumor was the baby would be a junior; then Cannon mentioned the name Cleophis in an interview;
• If it isn’t werewolves, it’s booze.  I’ve been resisting Pink’s comment about the name Jameson.  It is pretty clear that Jameson is based on family names, and the whiskey connection is, well, a bonus;
• Mike Dirnt of Green Day welcomed a daughter, Ryan Ruby Mae.  Based on the AppMtn Facebook page comments, the reaction is definitely mixed.  His other kids are son Brixton and daughter Estelle.  Green Day drummer Tré Cool has kids called Ramona and Frankito; Billie Joe Armstrong is dad to Joseph and Jakob.

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