Baby Name of the Day: Indie

INDIE

INDIE by marksdk via Flickr

It’s a versatile nickname, likely to bring to mind a fictional daredevil archeologist.

Thanks to Carrie for suggesting her daughter Ingrid’s nickname.  Our Baby Name of the Day is Indie.

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Baby Name of the Day: Conrad

Bye Bye Birdie (film)

Image via Wikipedia

He’s been worn by a German saint, a famous hotelier, and a fictional pop star – and he’s showing the faintest signs of revival for newborn boys, too.

Thanks to Annabel for suggesting Conrad as Baby Name of the Day.

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Baby Name of the Day: Augusta

 

Cropped from Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess o...

Augusta, Princess of Wales; Image via Wikipedia

 

Is this regal appellation due for a revival?

Thanks to Annabel for suggesting Augusta as Baby Name of the Day.

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Sunday Summary: 6/26/10

Tiny nation Monaco is set to expand their royal family by one. What do you think of Queen Charlene?  Actually, her title will be Princess, just like Prince Albert’s mom, a name you might recognize – the late Grace Kelly.  We’ll have to see if the appellation of the South African swimmer turned serene highness will inspire parents.  And, of course, the royal couple may very well have kids of their own, to join Albert’s two from previous relationships: Alexandre and Jazmin.

Speaking of marriage, Laura Wattenberg raised the question of changing your first name when you marry. It’s actually something that I did, so I’m curious to read the comments.

In other news:

Besides Sofia Coppola’s Cosima – who will apparently be known as Cosima M. in Hollywood, to keep her separate from Claudia Schiffer’s Cosima V. – we welcomed Luc Laurent, a son for Sean Patrick Thomas and wife Aonkia Laurent Thomas.  Luc joins big sis Lola Jolie at home.  Is it me, or does Luc & Lola remind anyone else of soap opera super couple Luke & Laura?

Maybe it’s just me.

Thanks for reading, and as always, have a great week!

Name of the Day: Mae

She’s small but mighty, packing a surprise amount of style into a mere three letters.

Thanks to RockingFetal for suggesting Mae as Name of the Day.

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Name of the Day: Fergus

Fretting that Finn has become too popular?  Still looking for an authentic Celtic choice that wears well in the US?

Thanks to Corinne for suggesting one that would fit the bill.  Our Name of the Day is Fergus.

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Sunday Summary: 12/27/09

If you celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a very merry holiday!

In non-jingle bell news this week:

In celebrity news, while Johnny Knoxville welcomed a son named Rocko:

Check back this week.  In addition to the usual Names of the Day, I’ll be posting the Top Names of the Day of 2009.  Thanks for reading!

Sunday Summary: 8/2/09

How can it possibly be August?  Of 2009!?

As I marvel at the date on the calendar, why don’t you hop in the wayback machine to 2008 when August was Name of the Day?  It’s still one of my favorites for a boy.

Here in my RL, I’ve got a few new babies to report:

  • Elizabeth Violet, nn Elle – classic, but not dull;
  • John Paul – not sure if he’s John-Paul or even Jean Paul, but parents definitely use both names together;
  • Did I mention I met a Polly?  IMHO, the world could use a few more Pollys.

Also in RL, but in ones far more glamorous – or at least visible – than mine:

And in the blogosphere:

  • Jill’s post on NameShame?  Rocks.
  • Speaking of naming regrets, the mom blogger at Kicky Boots wrote about deciding to rename their toddler.  Karenna Jolie is, I must say, a lovely choice for their daughter.  Who cares it if it took a few months post-utero to settle on it?
  • During our discussion of Cinderella, Sebastiane mentioned that she’s heard of it on Cajun women.  There is something fascinating happening in Louisiana, isn’t there?  Nancy did a post on Cajun names from the Civil War, including Justilien and Dazincourt;
  • Did you check out the Nameberry Faves postBeatrix, Penelope and Clementine are their Top Three.  Beatrix is clearly a favorite here, too.  Wonder if we’ll see that reflected in the US rankings in a few years?
  • Xanthe Linnea wrote about Cedric.  Anyone else think that the Harry Potter/Twilight connection might make Cedric an unlikely choice in, say, a decade and a half?  Edward Cedric, anyone?
  • Bewildertrix spotted Asher on a girl; Elisabeth reports a girl called Archer.  Asher doesn’t surprise me, what with Ashley/Ashlyn/Ashtyn.  But Archer?  Knock me over with a feather;
  • I loved Bewildertrix’s post on villain names like Regan, Judas, Iago, Jezebel, Hannibal … whenever I ding Regan, I can expect a few angry comments.  But I’m with her on this one – Regan wasn’t much of a role model to begin with, and the fact that the name caught on post-Exorcist?  Scary.  Even better, her comment on Lucifer – “Sound wise it’s magnificent.  To use it?  Cruel.”
  • A pair of Canadian parents insist they are angst-free over their decision to name their daughters Shade Star Pirate and Styles Knight Mansion.  I respect the amount of thought they put into their choices.  But I can’t help think that somewhere in there, they could’ve given their daughters a less aggressively unusual name, just in case the girls grow up to have interests other than their parents’ professions, Star Wars and attractions at Disney World;
  • Let’s end on a high note – Sebastiane featured a truly classic girls’ name over at Legit Baby Names – Martha, Marta, Marthe.

In semi-name news, I’ve been coveting my neighbors’ gas-sipping, eco-chic SmartCar for months now.  I was charmed to learn that the forerunner of today’s Smart wore the lovely name Isetta.  Hey, if girls can be named Camry.  And Shade …

Thanks for reading!

Sunday Summary: 6/28/09

The big news from the week was the birth of the SJP/Matthew Broderick twins.  Elisabeth at You Can’t Call It “It” pegged Marion Loretta and Tabitha as Mid-Century Modern – and rightly pointed out that many recent Names of the Day suggested by AppMtn readers are in the same mode.  The trends, they are a-changin’ …

Enough about the most recent starbaby arrivals for now – on to news elsewhere in the blogosphere:

  • Over at NameCandy, the NameLady has penned an article featuring a few potential breakout names from this summer’s movies. They range from Esther to Ryden – both for girls;
  • Please welcome the newest member of the Blogroll, Sebastiane’s Legit Baby Names.  A few of her features from the past week include: Shayna, Arolilja, Oceane and Selyf. What will she turn up next?; 
  • Then there’s Onomastitrix, with her keen eye on birth announcements everywhere.  The big a-ha from her most recent post?  Esme spelled Esmae.  I’ve seen Esmee, too – the Esmae spelling is perhaps an inevitable consequence of the “may” versus “mee” pronunciation debate;
  • Another reason to love Onomastitrix?  She reminds me that Americans don’t hold the monopoly on super-cutesy names.  From her recent posts, find a Saffron Frankie Bear, as well as more than one Bunty and Jinty;
  • The Toronto Star’s daffy unusual names column serves up another doozy, though I’ll admit I rather approve of this one: Bazeltine Jones Kirkham McGriskin.  The first name is plucked right off the family tree – and it is quite cool, right now to the possible nickname Baz.  The last two  choices represent both parents’ surnames, which is fine.  But Jones?  They just tossed in Jones.  Which seems like an odd pick, even paired with Bazeltine;
  • I spotted a fascinating combo out there on the interwebs:  Drayken Giovanni.  Mom – a self-described conservative Christian hippie – says that her kid’s name means “Lord of the Dragons” and “God is Gracious.”  H’okay.  Giovanni honors grandmother Joan Yvonne.  I haven’t linked to her site because, well, I’m just blown away by how much I admire and loathe the name all at once;
  • Nancy’s Baby Names has a list of Two-Hit Wonders that start with E and F and G, including Echo, Elick, Floretta, Glennis, Gaines and Grayling.  There’s gotta be a story behind each one of those;
  • Over at Nameberry, there’s a fun post on ten Classic Names You Never Thought Of.  Love their picks, though I’d probably call the Faerie Queen’s Amoret and the Irish Lorcan undiscovered gems.  In my mind, a classic is more like Elizabeth or David – something in long use.  But what a great list anyhow;
  • Just for laughs:  over at the fabulous DaddyTypes, a post on baby names prompted this riff on the Aiden phenom.  The Chinese kid would be Madein; the Hilton kid would be Staydin, the used car salesman’s kid would be Tradein … it goes on and gets snarkier;
  • Also funny, only real: welcome August James May, son of comedian Ralphie May and wife Lahna Turner.  He joins – wait for it – big sis April June at home.  I didn’t think August May was particularly comical, but when April June May grows up to be an accountant?  Oy vey;
  • The Florida Sun-Sentinel included a list of exotic place names for babies: from the starbaby Java to the please-don’t-do-it Bimini.  Then again, I long threatened to use Aruban place name Casibari for a daughter’s middle name.  Maybe in my next life …

Speaking of life, a few names from my RL:

  • The Greek diner in the college town a mile up the street has been announcing the birth of Athanasis for a few weeks now;
  • The newest addition to our neighborhood?  Sarah.  And I recently learned that one of my colleagues has a fabulous tween daughter called Portia.

From the wayback machine – one year ago, the Name of the Day was Cosmo.   And, lastly, if you’re thinking that my calendar has been off slightly?  That’s because I completely muffed it up about three weeks ago, whilst attempting to switch from a low tech pencil’n'paper calendar system to an app on my nifty little handheld.  Big mistake.  Huge.  I double-booked names throughout late June/most of July.

I’m back to my low tech system, and have managed to squeeze in every single name – but if you’re thinking that I should’ve written about Iolanthe days ago?  Yup.  I should’ve.  My apologies.

Predictions for 2009

With just hours left in 2008, here are the official ApMtn baby name predictions for 2009.

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