Clio + Aly, February 2011

I took the kids to get their hair cut at our local Cartoon Cuts, which isn’t local at all – it requires a drive on the Beltway to Rockville Pike.  While the kids were being coiffed, I flipped through a rack of personalized hair barrettes.  The selection included the predictable Emma and Elizabeth, but also some out-there picks like Ayriel, Divany, and Darlene.  Ariel has been in the Top 100 as recently as 1992, so okay.  But Ayriel?  Are there faithful salon customers with those names who buy a set every six weeks?

It was a good week for unusual name spotting.  Over on the Facebook page, I mentioned seeing a boy called Sovereignty in the local media, and Sarah spotted a bride-to-be on Say Yes to the Dress called Duvae.  Get this: the parents chose it so she “would be a comfort in their lives.”  Hokay.

Beyond Sovereignty and Duvae, there’s been another round of chatter about unusual names – are they over in Hollywood, are they anything new, and so on.  I’ll round up a few of the articles at Nameberry tomorrow.

In the meantime:

• Aussie notables Simon Marshall and Sally Burke have named their daughter Shugar.  The parents say that Shugar’s name “could be a world first for all that we know.”  Shugar certainly isn’t likely to catch on any time soon, but I found more than a dozen people called Shugar in the 1880 US Census.  At least one of them was a he!
• Here’s an unusual name that could stand out in all the right ways – Orchid, as profiled at Bewitching Baby Names.  There’s a hint of the “Lily was taken, so we looked elsewhere in the garden” about Orchid, but she’s an intriguing choice anyhow.  Just don’t focus too much on her Greek origins;
• For Real spotted a birth announcement for Paul Wager.  Is Wager a family name, or is it the new Chance?
• In Arizona, For Real spotted a girl named Calexia Lavae Marie and a Johntavia Dashey;
• I love these lists so much I’m imagining mash-ups between Windy City Baby Names and Geek Baby Names: Linus Comiskey and Waldo Caray, anyone?
• Nancy asks what you would name an 11-11-11 baby? Dearest’s suggestion of Ellevine – a traditional Norweigan name for the eleventh child – is my favorite, but there was no shortage of clever:  C in DC’s Prime, Julie’s Undine, Nikki’s names with the initials XI, as in Xandria Isabel;
• There’s a birth announcement for a little Juniper over at Swistle, but I’m fascinated by some of the other choices they considered for a daughter: Albany, Winslet, Ottilie, Hermione;
• Back in 2009, I wrote about Angus.  And in 2010, it was Sasha;
• Coming up this week: Lovett, Antoinette, Elsinore, Albert, and Flint.

Amongst the fashionable and famous:

• Two Top Chef families expanded this week: Richard Blais and wife Jazmin welcomed daughter Embry Lotus, who joins big sister Riley Maddox, and Tania Peterson’s new daughter Zuzu Audrey, the first child for Tania and husband Phil;
• Cynthia Nixon and Christine Marinoni welcomed a son, Max Ellington;
• And we think we know the name of Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz’ son: Leo.

One more thing: from time to time, I have a question about the site’s direction, and it would be really helpful to get readers’ opinions before I make a decision and put anything live here.  So I’m forming a tiny little AppMtn Advisory Board.  (Dare I call you the Mounties?)  If you’re willing to get a VERY occasional email from me, please let me know by sending me a message at appmtn (at) gmail (dot) com.  I truly value your feedback, and it would be fun to get it before I try new things every once in a while.  It doesn’t matter if you’re a diehard lurker, occasional visitor, or regular commenter – just drop me a line, and you’re in the club!

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