Image via Wikipedia

He’s a famous fictional newscaster’s mother – and son.

Thanks to Kelly for suggesting Avery as our Baby Name of the Day.

Avery ranked #23 for girls born in the US last year.  She’s among other recent starts-with-A surname discoveries (think Ainsley or Aubrey), with high profile uses in recent years:

• Maybe the first Avery that comes to mind is Fern’s brother in Charlotte’s Web.  E.B. White wrote the book in 1952, but a 1973 animated movie brought the tale to a whole generation – many of whom have chosen the name Avery for a child of their own;
• Avery was Murphy Brown’s mom, and the name Murph chose for her son.  The pregnancy a huge story for the 1991-1992 season, one that made real-world waves when then-Vice President Dan Quayle challenged the character’s status as a single parent – and the show incorporated the veep’s speech into their show;
• Avery was Jerry Maguire’s girlfriend at the beginning of the hit 1996 movie – the girlfriend who dumped him when his career went south.

Avery comes from the same soup as Alfred – elf counsel.  King Alfred held off the invading Danes in the ninth century, leading to plenty of parents interested in naming their sons after the heroic figure.  Variants like Alvery and Alvere evolved, as well as the Norman French Auvery 0r Auveray.

Both Alfred and Avery have ranked in the US Boys’ Top 1000 every year since 1880.  But their trend lines are very different.  Alfred was a top 100 staple for decades, while Avery languished well above 500.  While both still rank, Avery is gaining steadily for boys – charting at #210 last year – while Alfred has fallen to #899.

And yet, plenty of parents consider Avery solidly feminine, a blend of the best elements of Ava and Emily.  While Murphy Brown’s high profile babe helped boost the name for both genders, Avery’s rapid rise for girls is clearly linked to broader trends.  While there’s no etymological connection, the similar sounds also bring to mind aviary – from the Latin word for bird.

The small screen gives us two female Averys:

• 30 Rock’s Avery Jessup is Jack Donaghy’s other half, the mother of Liddy;
• Ramona Singer on The Real Housewives of New York City has a teenage daughter called Avery.

You can also find Avery on the map across the US, in the office supply closet – they make labels and other supplies, and in the cooler – Avery Brewing Company is big in Colorado.

Avery has a crisp, preppy sound.  She’s so popular for girls that some parents might find her overexposed.  And that does make some parents avoid the name for boys.  But just like in 1991, when the unconventional Murph used her mother’s name for her newborn baby boy, this one wears well on either gender.

Corylus avellana flowers; Image via Wikipedia

Depending on your perspective, she’s either a nouveau spin on current favorites, or a medieval rarity prime for a comeback.

Thanks to Kayleigh for suggesting Aveline as our Baby Name of the Day.

Her sound is incredibly current:

• Ava ranked #5 in 2010, with Avery at #23, and variants like Averie, Averi, and Avah in use;
• Ends-in-line options include the Top 100 Madeline and Caroline, as well as up-and-comers like Adeline and Evangeline;
• Don’t forget Ev- choices like Evelyn and Eva.

It is inevitable that some parents would invent Aveline.  But she has more history than you might expect, tracing back to Norman England.

Aveza is a Spanish verb, a very rare given name in the US, and possibly an early Germanic feminine name, too.  She’s considered the root of medieval appellations like Avice and Avis, and possibly Averil, derived from avi – desired.

Avis brings to mind rental cars – and birds.  The Latin avis refers to all thing avian.  In our age of Sparrow and Robin and Wren, it is likely that some parents will find her fine-feathered associations pleasing.  Daniel Baldwin has a little Avis Ann.

Other names share the avi element, including Avela and Avila.

Avila takes us in a very different direction, to Spain.  Teresa of Ávila was a sixteenth-century mystic considered a Roman Catholic saint.  She’s also a Doctor of the Church – someone whose work has had a significant impact on the shaping of Catholic doctrine and theology.

Ávila is the name shared by the Spanish province and the capital city.  Today, it is just a day trip from Madrid, but for centuries, it was an imposing fortress of a town.  You can still see the walls of the old medieval city.  Ávila was established by the Vettones, a Celtic tribe, probably by the fifth century BC.  They called the place Obila – high mountain.

Visit Ávila today, and you might notice the pronunciation emphasizes the first syllable – AH vee lah.  Odds are that any American English speaker would favor ah VEE lah.

Aveline and Avelina may have developed as diminutive forms.

There’s one more possible origin for Aveline: some list it as the French word for hazelnut.  If that’s true, she keeps company with other edible appellations like Pomeline and Clementine.  But the word typically used in French for hazelnut is noisette.  A nineteenth century French-English dictionary lists avellana as the English word; aveline and noisette as the French.

It’s a bit tangled, but it makes sense: corylus avellana is the scientific name of the common hazel, derived from avellana nux sylvestris – wild nut of Avella – a term used to describe hazelnuts dating to a sixteenth century botanical guide, and referenced by writers as far back as Virgil.

1980s British television series Bread focused on the Boswell family of Liverpool, including only daughter Aveline.  But she’s never made the US Top 1000.  Choose the name today, and confusion could follow:

“Meet my daughter, Aveline.”

“Madeline?”

“Aveline!”

“Oh, Adeline.”

“No, with a v, like Eve.”

“Oh, Evelyn.”

And yet, she’s undeniably attractive, and works well for families seeking  a name that isn’t too closely tied to any one culture.  I found a lovely baby Aveline on this blog, written by a globe-trotting mama.  If you don’t mind repeating your child’s name, Aveline might be a perfect just-a-little-different option.

No 19 - blue paint by Kirsty Hall via Flickr

Happy Father’s Day!

Thanks to a gap between the end of the school year and the start of summer camp, we headed for Rehoboth Beach (Delaware, on the Atlantic) this past week.  We finally met our friends’ darling daughter Helen Claire, and there were a few interesting name spottings – Allaire, Harlow, Amalia, and a bitsy girl called Birdie.  But mostly I was amazed at how consistently I heard the exact same names, over and over: Emma, Ava, Abby, Noah, Taylor, Alex, Jake, anything that ends in -aden.  Nothing wrong with choosing a popular name, but I found myself thinking about how very refreshing it is to hear something even a little different - Beckett or Abel or Tate, Ivy or Luna or Ruth.

So in the spirit of surfacing options that are just a little bit different:

• Any name from Waltzing More Than Matilda’s 1930s list would be quite stylish in 2011: Iris, Alma, Josephine;
• Nymbler’s May 2011 most popular names list included the following five new debuts: Lake, Makai, Maple, Shia, and Reef.  Water names seem especially seasonal, but the inclusion of Maple makes me think that parents are really branching out into ever-more adventurous nature and noun choices;
• The comments on this NameLady post are fascinating.  Parents expecting twin sons want to give them subtle, baseball-themed names.  Is Ty too obvious?  Are parents really naming twins Clark and Addison after the address of Wrigley Field?  My favorite suggestion: Homer and Fielding – literary and sportif, all at once;
• Take the names of the reigning Swedish monarch, Carl Gustaf, and his family, translate them into Portugeuse, and you get this list from Nomes e mais nomes: Madalena, Doroteia, Ingride, Bertil;
• My favorite nymph name has always been Io, but this list from British Baby Names includes more than you can imagine;
• Could Dax be the next big thing?  For Real just spotted him in Alaska.  He’s part-Dexter, part-Max, but very modern, too;
• The list of birth announcements at Nameberry was just so much fun.  I spotted Caspian three times!

In celebrity news, both Natalie Portman and Josh Duggar welcomed sons this past week, and both declined to reveal their newborns’ names.  In Natalie’s case, it may be because she and husband Benjamin Millepied are adhering to the Jewish custom of first sharing their child’s name at his bris, eight days after birth.  As for the Duggars?  They’re hoping to lure us in for the big name reveal during tonight’s episode of their reality show.

Speculation about both families’ choices has been nonstop:

• For young master Millepied, will it be Anakin?  Or maybe Alef?  Elisabeth guesses that it will likely be an A-name, which tracks with Jewish custom – Natalie’s dad is Avner, and while names are rarely repeated, initials often are;
• On the small screen, Josh and Anna have announced that all of the grandduggars will wear M-names.  Big sis is Mackynize, so options suggested range from Michael to Maddox.  Or Maddyx.

Other notable birth announcements from the week include:

• Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition trainer Chris Powell has welcomed a son, William Cash;
• 311′s Nick Hexum welcomed daughter Maxine, a little sister for Echo.

Last week’s Nameberry post was how to name a boy, Pinkett-Smith style; this week, it is the girls’ turn.  One of my favorite categories of names has to be unconventional ways to honor your loved ones, so this was really a thrill to write.

That’s all for this week.  As always, thank you for reading – and commenting!  The conversations here and on Facebook never fail to surprise and delight.

Image via Wikipedia

I was recently trailing a just-pregnant-enough-to-need-maternity-wear friend through the mall when I spotted a baby names book.  Moth to a flame, I flipped through the pages.

And I was horrified.  The definitions weren’t just wrong – there’s room to quibble about the origins of many names – they were absolutely uninformed.  Cleo meant “Egyptian queen” as did Cleopatra.  (Wrong.)  Julie was listed as an American name, Juliet as Italian, and Juliette as French.  One out of three is … pretty pathetic.

I stopped short of telling the clerk they really needed to stock Beyond Ava and Aiden.  And I must say, I have a renewed sense of how hard it is for the non-name-obsessed to get good information.

Speaking of which, there was quite a lot of great conversation this week:

• All the buzz was about Girl’s Gone Child’s list of names she’s  not using for their twin daughters.  My favorites from her list: Season, Blythe, and Nova;
• Check out Chanara’s list of possible names for Rosy’s little sister or brother.  Alice Cordelia is my favorite, but she’s not made the final cut;
• For Real spotted a Madalina  – pretty, but loses something thanks to all of those little Madelines and Adalyns;
• British Baby Names has a list of families from the Edwardian era that rival the Duggars for matchiness;
• Did you see this list at Nameberry of double names?  I’ve long loved Coco, Gigi, Mimi, and Lulu – and never noticed that they shared a pattern;
• What do you think of Eisley for a girl?  A Swistle reader has it on her short list;
• As if Glee wasn’t enough, Cars 2 features a British secret agent car called Finn McMissile;
• While we’re looking at animated characters, Nickelodeon is about to import an Italian series about fairies at a Hogwarts-esque academy.  The main character of Winx Club  is called Bloom.  I get a very Producers/grocery store vibe from Bloom, but I like it anyhow.

If you follow AppMtn on Facebook, you heard me shouting “Noooooo!” when David Schwimmer’s daughter’s name was announced last week.  Even more strange?  A New Zealand news site said this of Cleo Schwimmer: “After several weeks of bizarre celebrity baby names, it’s refreshing to find someone who has given their newborn the best chance of a normal life.”

H’okay.  I’m not saying Cleo is especially weird, but it isn’t exactly Anne.

Speaking of celebrity names, Oprah inspired last week’s post at Nameberry.  There’s no post here tomorrow thanks to the Memorial Day holiday, but my list at Nameberry is super-season appropriate and very much fun.

As always, thanks for reading and have a great week!

Linda McCartney; Image by Antoon's Foobar via Flickr

She skyrocketed from obscurity to the #1 spot in the US.

Thanks to Kelly for this suggestion.  With a happy birthday to Nameberry co-founder Linda Rosenkrantz, our baby name of the day is Linda.

Up until 1947, there was a constant in the US Top 1000: Mary occupied the top spot, year after year after year.

If you checked the rankings, the name would eventually unseat Mary was there, too.  Linda hovered in the 200s or 300s most years.  And then she started her climb:  #97 in 1936, #15 by 1939, and #1 in 1947.

Linda stayed at #1 through 1952 and  remained in the Top Ten until 1965.  Not only was she wildly popular, she was wildly popular during the post-World War II baby boom.  There are a LOT of Lindas.

What explains her rise?  I suspect it is mostly music:

• In 1931, Al Bowlly recorded “Linda.”  The lyrics “Linda, I’m in love with you, Linda … Linda, do you love me, too?” must have stuck with parents.  It wasn’t Bowlly’s biggest hit, but the crooner was wildly popular in his day.  He died in London during the Blitz.  You’ve almost certainly heard his songs, as they’ve been used in everything from the soundtrack for The Shining to EastEnders;
• Opera gives us Linda di Chamounix, an 1842 work by Donizetti, first performed by the Metropolitan Opera in 1934 and 1935.  Lily Pons – a big star in her day – sang the lead soprano role of Linda;
• In 1945, The Story of G.I. Joe scooped up a handful of Oscar nominations, including Best Original Song, for Ann Ronell’s “Linda;”
• Then came 1946′s “Linda,” written by Jack Lawrence and first performed by Buddy Clark.  The song hit #1 in 1947 – as did the name.  Plenty of recordings followed, including Jan and Dean’s, which added the le-le-le-le-linda refrain.

There’s a fascinating backstory here.  The song had been written years earlier, but never recorded.  As Lawrence tells it, he was asked by his friend, Lee Eastman, to record a song for his young daughter Linda.  Mrs. Eastman – Louise – had a popular song bearing her name; so did their firstborn, Laura.  Linda felt left out.  Could Lawrence – then in charge of oodles of musicians entertaining the troops – help out?

It is no wonder that the Eastman family ended up with a Linda – apparently, they wanted to continue the “L” theme.  But it is surprising that they’d never discovered Al Bowlly’s song.

But my favorite part of Lawrence’s story is this: apparently, he was urged to change the name of his single:

Most of them like everything about the song but the name Linda. “Why Linda?” they would ask. “That’s not a popular name”. One guy said: “Call it Ida — after my mother-in-law and I’ll publish it” … Another maven suggested the name Mandy. He felt that had a more musical ring than Linda.

Just like new parents today are often surprised to learn that Ava is a top ten name, neither Lawrence nor the publishers he approached realized that Linda was exactly the right song title.

There’s more, of course.  Linda Eastman grew up to marry Paul McCartney.

There are two possible origins for the name.  First, names like Rosalind contain the Germanic element linde – tender.  In Spanish, she means pretty – and that’s the meaning that the Buddy Clark recording references.

The list of famous Lindas is too long to include here, but most of them are grown-up.  In 2010, Linda ranked a relatively obscure #624, even as parents embrace names like Adalyn.

Odds are Linda will be back in baby naming vogue in another generation or two – and you’ll have your choice o charming, retro lull-a-byes.

West Frisian flag; Image via Wikipedia

She’s a Top 20 pick in the Netherlands, and popular in Belgium, too.  But how would this one wear in the US?

Thanks to Emily of All in the Name for suggesting Femke as our Baby Name of the Day.

I’m a huge fan of Elke, and so no wonder I’m fascinated by other ends-in-ke choices.  There’s Imke and Silke and Lieke, too.  But while Elke would be a little different in the US, some of the other choices feel less accessible.

File Femke somewhere in the middle.  There are two possible origins for the name:

• She’s a diminutive of names like Friederike, and so shares a meaning with the first element of Frederick – peaceful;
• There’s a Frisian word meaning “little girl.”  It’s something like naming your daughter Nina.

That first one makes sense, and fits with other ends-in-ke diminutives I’ve come across.  I’ve checked a few Frisian dictionaries, and I can confirm that famke surfaces as the Frisian word for girl.

What I can’t gauge is whether she’s a perfectly ordinary name, or almost too cutesy.  I’m reminded of the discussion following another Baby Name of the Day: Miette.  Then again, Frisian is more obscure than French.

A more likely headache is the pronunciation.  You can hear the correct pronunciation here: something like fem KUH.  In the US, I imagine you’d often hear fem KEE.

Speaking of fem, that first syllable could conjure up the feminine hygiene products aisle in the drugstore, but then there’s Dutch model-turned-actress Famke Janssen.

Janssen has had a long career as a villainess.  She was bad Bond Girl Xenia in GoldenEye, the manipulative life coach Ava on Nip/Tuck, and the X-Men’s troubled Jean Grey/Phoenix. There’s a great retrospective in this interview – you can also marvel over her fluent French.  Her next role is the evil witch Muriel in a sort of Hansel & Gretel reboot.

Neither spelling has ever charted in the US Top 1000, but they do appear in Census records.

If you’re looking for a choice that is truly different while nodding towards Dutch roots, Femke and Famke make for a viable option for the truly daring parent.

Verona by sminky_pinky100 (In and Out) via Flickr

It’s the fair city of Romeo and his Juliet.  How would it wear as a daughter’s name?

Thanks to Fran for suggesting Verona as our Baby Name of the Day.

Before you dismiss Verona as another nouveau place name along the lines of Brooklyn, it is worth a glance at the US Top 1000 circa 1900.  Verona appeared most years from the 1880s into 1930s, peaking around 1905.

Was it a Shakespearean place name craze?  Probably not.  Instead, lots of starts-with-Ver names were in vogue:

• Virginia and Vera appeared in the Top 100;
• Verna, Virgie, and Veronica weren’t too far behind;
• Other Top 1000 choices starting with the same sound include Verda, Vernie, Verdie, Vernice, Vergie, Verlie, Vira, Versie, and Verla;
• Search for -ver in the middle and there are even more: Laverne, Lavera, Elvira and Elvera, Alverta, Alvera, and Beverly.

Virgil and Vernon were correspondingly big for boys.

V is back circa 2011, from super-popular picks like Ava to the traditional Victoria to Hollywood’s batch of lively girls called Vida and Vita.

Parents who chose Verona today are almost certainly thinking of the Italian city made famous by the Bard of Avon in his enduring drama, as well as the comedy Two Gentleman of Verona, usually considered Shakespeare’s very first play.

The origin of the Italian city’s name is open to debate.  In fact, there’s a debate about the origins of the city itself, with several ancient tribes competing for the title of founder.  Verona first appears in the historical record in the sixth century BC, and has been figuring in world events pretty much ever since.

Possible sources of the name include:

• Several sources credit the Etruscans with the name;
• An intriguing possibility is that a Gallic chieftain called the place Vae Roma – accursed Rome – and over the years, it stuck – and became Verona;
• Others link it to the Latin word for spring – ver – but that feels like even more of a stretch than the Gallic theory.

Besides the fictional doomed lovers and the real life genius, Verona was home to the poet Catullus in the first century BC, and to St. Peter Martyr in the 1200s.  Nancy added Verona to a list of place names with saintly ties, along the lines of Avila and Siena. Perhaps the best known resident was Leonardo da Vinci.

There are place names aplenty inspired by the Italian city, but the name hasn’t been much used in recent decades.  I did find:

• A minor German celeb called Verona Pooth, notable mostly for her son’s name – San Diego;
• In 2004′s Van Helsing, the three brides of Dracula are named Marishka, Aleera, and Verona;
• In 2009, indie flick Away We Go featured Maya Rudolph as expectant mom Verona.  (Dad is played by The Office’s John Krasinski.)

It’s a bit of a jumble, and maybe that’s why Verona hasn’t caught on in 2011.  She has all the makings of a stylish name, but she’s still the tiniest bit clunky.  Maybe it is her -ona ending, though Ramona shows signs of making a comeback.

That could make for the ideal opportunity, of course – Verona could be a name that will strike everyone as just a little bit different, the one that they never considered – but can’t imagine why!

27 by Cappellmeister via Flickr

First, I’m incredibly excited to see who wins March Madness!  Thanks to everyone who voted so far, and if you have not, please remember to weigh in: Boys’ Final and Girls’ Final.

I thoroughly enjoyed compiling Rock’n'Roll Baby Names for Nameberry last week.  This week’s list is equally edgy.  Here’s a hint: Buffy is on the list.

Elsewhere:

• I haven’t seen Just Go With It, but I’m fascinated by the names.  Nicole Kidman plays a not-so-nice character called Devlin.  Brooklyn Decker plays a girl named Palmer.  The 2011 film is based on a 1969 movie, which was based on an American adaptation of a French play.  Up until now, Palmer’s character called was Toni.  I’ve no idea why they opted for such an unconventional choice in the remake;
• Swistle posted a reader question about the name Story.  Comments suggested Astoria as a formal name.  I’m torn – Astoria is an undeniably pretty sound, but have you been to Queens?  Then again, a less-than-idyllic setting hasn’t hurt Brooklyn;
• Which leads us to Nancy’s note about baby boys named Travolta.  More than you’d think, less than you’d fear;
• From Nomes e mais nomes: which do you prefer Carolina or Catarina?  It’s the kind of question that makes me want to say “twins!”
• Step into the Wayback Machine.  In 2009, the featured name was Lana.  Last year, it was Orla;
• I always enjoy her birth announcements, but this one really surprised me: For Real spotted an unusual combination, which just happens to be my cousin’s name;
• She also spotted Jaxlen McCade, Riggen Joseph, Brawk David, and Dash Ayden.  Oh, and a Dollie Michelle.  I adore Dolly as a nickname for Dorothy, but I think it would be tough to answer to Dolly at 25.

On to Hollywood.  There’s been much chatter over Rachel Zoe’s new son’s name, Skyler Morrison.  It’s not the stylish choice I would have expected, but what really stunned me was a comment in New York Magazine.  The writer congratulated Rachel & Rodger on their healthy baby boy and “also for naming him normally. Baby names shouldn’t be trends.”

I’ll be curious to hear Rachel’s explanation for choosing the name.  Maybe she’ll have the kind of backstory that makes me regret every snarky thought I’ve had about her choice.

In other starbaby news:

• The conversation of the week should really be this: How did Luca and Matteo become the sibset of moment?  Top Chef’s top chef Tom Colicchio and wife Lori welcomed a son, Mateo Lev.  Mateo joins big brothers Luka Bodhi and Dante at home.  Impeccable Italian heritage picks, right?  Masculine without going overboard, classic but not plain.  Last month, E’s Kristin Dos Santos welcomed a son, Matteo Tomaz, a little brother for Luca Alexander.  And Colin Firth and his wife Livia Guiggioli are parents to Luca and Mateo, too;
• TLC’s Design Star Vern Yip welcomed a daughter, Vera Lillian Beatrix.  He and partner Craig Koch are also parents to son Gavin Joshua Mannox;
• Quarterback Eli Manning is a first-time dad.  He and wife Abby welcomed a daughter, Ava Frances.

If you’re looking for more talk of celebrity births and general name talk, check out my Facebook page.

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

Image via Wikipedia

From a ninth century monk to a 21st century television show, with pit stops in Hollywood and the White House, this name has history aplenty.

Thanks to Paul for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day: Humphrey.

Back in the 800s, in a little German town called Prüm, there lived a monk called Hunfrid.  Hunfrid eventually became a bishop, and is remembered as a saint.

In his lifetime, Hunfrid’s Latin name would’ve been Hunfridus.  But today, look him up in official church records, and he’s St. Humphrey.

Hun comes from a Germanic element meaning something along the lines of bear, or possibly strength.  You’ll recognize -frid from Frederick; the element means peace.  The Normans brought him to England, but found him waiting there, too, as Hunfrith.

The n-to-m switch wasn’t unusual.  Humbert took a similar path.  And many a name appears with both ph and f spellings.

In various forms, Humphrey had a good run in Medieval England.  King Henry IV of England gave the name to his youngest son, the 1st Duke of Gloucester.  He wasn’t the first well-born Humphrey; the royal Humphrey was named after his maternal grandfather.  The 2nd Earl of Buckingham answered to the name, too.

By the late nineteenth century, Humphrey was only in sparing use.  His last appearance in the US Top 1000 was in 1894.  Hollywood legend Humphrey Bogart – yup, that’s his given name – was born on Christmas Day, 1899.

Despite Bogart’s privileged Upper West Side upbringing, he fell in love with acting.  First came Broadway, then Hollywood.  He graduated from tough guy to romantic lead.  He’s remembered best as Rick in Casablanca, heroically giving up the woman he loves.  His career flourished from the 1940s into the 50s, when he won a Best Actor Oscar.

Today Humphrey might strike most as a surname.  Possibly that’s thanks to Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr., vice president under Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s.  His son, Hubert Horatio Humphrey III, has also had a career in Minnesota politics.

If not a surname, then Humphrey might give you more of a zoological vibe.  Animals aplenty have answered to Humphrey, including:

• A cat in residence at 10 Downing Street, jokingly referred to as the Chief Mouser.  He was named after Yes, Minister character Sir Humphrey Appleby;
• A pair of bears.  The first is a staple on Australian kids’ television, the star of Here’s Humphrey.  The second is a minor Disney character who starred in shorts in the 1950s and 60s;
• In last year’s animated wolf movie Alpha and Omega, Humphrey is the underdog.  He’s thrown together with alpha wolf Kate, and through a series of unlikely events, they fall in love.

Humphrey’s hopes for a renaissance come not from the animal kingdom, but from the small screen.  TV’s Gossip Girl features the Humphrey family – aspiring writer Dan, his former rock star dad Rufus, rebellious little sister Jenny, socialite stepmama Lily.  Dan is often referred to by his last name, and somehow it starts to sound just right.

With playgrounds filled with screen legends like Natalie, Ava, and Audrey, a little Humphrey might fit right in.

Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire; Image via Wikipedia

He’s a Hollywood legend, but his first name is a little fishy.

Thanks to Jennifer C. for suggesting Marlon as our Baby Name of the Day.

The first one Marlon springs to mind is almost certainly the late Marlon Brando, known for bellowing “Stella!” and making you an offer you can’t refuse.  He was named after his dad, Marlon Brando, Sr.  The elder Brando was born in 1895.

Marlon Brando, Jr. started his career on stage in the 1940s and rocketed to fame in 1951′s film adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire.  He was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his turn as the brutish Stanley Kowalski.  Three years later, he won the award for On the Waterfront, where he uttered the immortal line “I coulda been a contender.”

When Brando won again in 1972, as the unforgettable Vito Corleone in The Godfather, he turned down the award.  (Read more about that here.)

The fish that bedeviled Santiago in Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea was a marlin.  The fish gets his name from a tool used by sailors in ropework: the marlinspike.  A marlin’s spear-like snout resembles the tool.

Marlin was the name of the nervous father fish who rescues his son in Pixar’s 2003 hit Finding Nemo.  There’s also Marlin Perkins, host of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom for more than two decades.

Despite his zoological overtones, Marlin appears to have a longer history of use than Marlon.  Marlin first appears in US Top 1000 in 1884, and ranked every year from 1900 to 1990.  Marlon only pops up in the US Top 1000 beginning in 1950.

As surnames, Marlon and Marlin are both considered variants of Merlin.  Merlin takes us back to the sea once more.

Geoffrey of Monmouth took Welsh legends about a prophet and historical figure called Myrddin, and merged them with the tales of King Arthur.  Myrddin probably lived in the sixth century; Monmouth wrote in the twelfth.  Ever since, we’ve combined the tales of a powerful sorcerer with the stories of the legendary ruler.  Monmouth transformed Myrddin into Merlinus or Merlin.  The Welsh name referred to a sea fortress.

Merlin charted in the US Top 1000 every year between 1901 and 1969.  Merlin Olsen, the NFL player turned actor, was apparently named after his mom, Merle – which takes the name in yet another direction, ultimately connecting to Muriel or Miriam.

Other Marlons include:

• Part of the original Jackson 5, Michael’s brother Marlon;
• Marlon Wayans, a member of another successful family in the entertainment industry;
• Since 1996, UK soap Emmerdale has included character Marlon Dingle.

Marlon is surprisingly international.  He’s big in Germany, and you might hear him in Latin America or the Philippines, too.

Despite the success of Ava, Natalie, and Audrey for girls, Hollywood screen legends have not been a major influence for boys.  With his two-syllable, ends-in-n sound, Marlon ought to sound stylish.  Instead, he seems dated, possibly because a cluster of 1970s-born Marlons make him sound like someone’s dad.

Boys’ names tend to hold on for generations, so Marlon will likely remain in use.  Whether he’ll be fashionable once more is hard to say, but his story is rich.