Happy Father’s Day!  If you haven’t already, check out Nameberry’s list of famous – and intriguingly named – dads throughout the ages. Ludovico, anyone?

Elsewhere online:

• I followed a link from a link that I followed and ended up at the momblog Able Ponder.  I’m not sure about the mom’s name, but her kids are Annaliese and Caspian - gorgeous!
• Speaking of sibs, check out Elisabeth’s game at You Can’t Call It “It” – Create a Sibset.  Some interesting, off-the-wall suggestions surfaced: Nittany, Kincaid, Gaia, October, Abel and Atlas all appeared;
• I’m intrigued by ABC’s new crime drama The Gates – it sounds like Desperate Housewives crossed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, plus a dash of CSI.  I’m also strangely captivated by The Gates actress Marisol Nichols’ name for her daughter: Rain India;
• Baby name news on AccuWeather?  Why not?  Check out this video on Hurricane Baby Names;
• Nancy categorizes the unusual names given to American babies in 2009.  The most interesting part?  While I’m not surprised to learn that more than one person decided to name their son Samurai, I raised an eyebrow at the five boys called Furious.  Similarly, you knew parents were going to name their daughters Renesmee, but Reality?  Really? See the full boy’s list here and the girl’s list here;
• How’s this for an all-boy virtue name?  Valor Jacob, spotted at For Real Baby Names;
• Or if you’re looking for a compromise between Milo and Benjamin, how ’bout the saintly Benno, profiled by Sebastiane this week;
• What do you think of Minuet for a girl?  It came up in a post at Swistle, and I can’t decide if I love it or find it WAY over the top.  Or maybe both.

In celeb news:

• If you caught the season finale of Tori & Dean, you’ll know that their dear friends, Bill and Scout, were about to adopt. Their daughter has arrived: Simone Lynn.  Here’s guessing she’ll get some screen time in the next season;
• While we’re on reality television, did you spot Bethenny Frankel’s daughter’s full name?  It’s Bryn Casey.  I’d missed the middle somehow;
• Writer Emily Giffin has twin sons called Edward and George, plus a daughter named Harriet.  Great sibset;
• The Early Show’s Maggie Rodriguez welcomed Michael Tobin Rodriguez, Jr., a little brother for Daniella.

Let’s end with the controversy of the week:  As reported in the Christian Science Monitor, baby names have long-lasting effects, for better or worse. I haven’t read the study.  And while it sounds like there’s some definite academic rigor involved, what I question is this: perceptions of names change, sometimes dramatically. Trace would’ve been a girly name to give a boy in the 1970s.  Now he’s right at home with Cade.  Ashley and Madison used to be sophisticated, unusual, tomboy-ish choices for daughters.  Now they’re terribly common.  Names once found in the Top 50, even the Top Ten, fall out of favor.  So I’m wondering if the researchers addressed the ever-changing nature of names.  It’s like trying to write a thesis on hem lengths – if you haven’t allowed for the cyclical, sometimes unpredictable nature of fashion, you’ve missed part of the story.

I’m curious to read the study … if anyone stumbles across it online, please share the link!

That’s all for this week.   As always, thank you for your thoughtful comments, suggestions and, of course, for reading!