Image by Ed Yourdon via Flickr
He’s a literary Russian option, nearly unknown in the US.
Thanks to Jennifer for suggesting Arkady as our Baby Name of the Day.
Baby Name of the Day: Arkady
12
Tag Archives: Avalon
Sunday Summary: 5/15/11
Door Number 15 by cogdogblog via Flickr
Since I’ve starting writing AppMtn, I’ve learned that I can usually tell you why a name rose – hindsight is 20/20 – but I cannot tell you, with any certainty, which names will make the US Top 1000 in the year 2020.
I can say, with some confidence, that the majority of the names in the Top 100 will likely still be there in another decade. It takes years for popular names to wane: Jennifer reached #1 in 1970, but didn’t leave the Top 100 until 2009. Jason reached #2 in 1972, and he still came in at #69 last year.
The Freakonomics 2015 predictions at Baby Name Garden reflect the power of momentum. It is easy to imagine that Avery and Jackson would rise, but nearly impossible to guess which names would enter the Top 1000. They identified stylish choices like McGregor and Eleanora – not bad for baby naming rookies – but it takes more than that to make a popular name. There’s also this Business Insider article, suggesting that Griffin and Adele are among the ones to watch.
So I’m always in awe of the annual po0l winners at Baby Name Wizard. They seem to have a crystal ball, or maybe just a really sharp sense of how trends impact statistics.
Elsewhere online:
- Still I try – could Meridian be the next big thing? Spotted her at You Can’t Call It “It” and For Real Baby Names this week;
- British Baby Names sourced some sibsets from the 1900 and 1911 census data. Lottie Lily Louisa, Kenrick, Rufus Theodore … proof that inventive baby naming is nothing new;
- You’d expect indie musicians to pick cool names for their kids, and Elisabeth’s list at You Can’t Call It “It” does not disappoint. Panda, anyone?
- I loved Waltzing More Than Matilda’s list of Sydney suburbs that could double as baby names. Avalon is a long-time favorite of mine.
- Is this post at Swistle a good example of why so many parents are drawn to surname names? She describes Landon and Brady as “English gentlemen” and “strong” sounding. I don’t agree with her descriptions, but I am curious if that makes me the odd one out.
In starbaby news:
- Alicia Silverstone almost managed to take the focus off Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon’s twins by issuing a birth announcement of her own. Alicia’s cub was named Bear Blu;
- Except not really, because Nick Cannon gave an interview explaining the names and insisting “I think we did a good job on the names. They ain’t gonna be mad at us when they grow up.” Okay. I hope so, too;
- Kings of Leon’s Matthew Followill is a new dad to son Knox Cameron Patrick;
- How did I miss this? David Boreanaz and wife Jamie had everyone talking when they named their daughter Bardot Vita. Only they never called her Bardot. They call her Bella, and apparently have made the change legally, too. (Though it looks like they added Bella, so she’s Bella Vita Bardot.) Hat tip to M for mentioning it on the Nameberry post about Modern Hero Names.
Last week at Nameberry was all about names borrowed from the labels of kids’ designers. This week I’m off in a different direction. Think fjords + comic books + popcorn + the ancient world.
That’s all for this week. As always, thanks for reading and have a great week!
Sunday Summary: 1/30/11
The Number 30 by Herman Turnip via Flickr
It strikes me that I’m now into my fourth year of writing at AppMtn. My first post was Ava and Harlow, back on January 23, 2008. I’d learned the mechanics of blogging for work a few years earlier; I now manage yet another blog in Real Life, and it looks like it is about to be joined by another. Nothing I’ve written professionally has given me anywhere near the joy I’ve gotten out of writing here, and I credit that to you. (Yup, even you lurkers. I can’t hear you, but I can see you – and it’s nice to know that you’re here, too.)
On to the news:
- Carlton F.W. Larson of UC Davis School of Law dips a toe into our world with “Naming Baby: The Constitutional Dimensions of Parental Naming Rights.” Nancy read up on the section about numbers in given names and has a summary here. Larson himself wrote on prawfsblog about a subject that fascinates me: diacritical marks. His take? Many laws passed by the states to restrict naming rights are okey-dokey, but prohibiting diacritical marks might not be;
- Here’s another hot-button issue I enjoy: I thought I invented that name, posted at BabyNameWizard. In this case, the name in question is Baylen, recently in the press as the name of Drew Brees’ firstborn, big brother to Bowen. Wattenberg suggests that names aren’t invented – they’re discovered. I like that concept. Wattenberg also wrote about the phenomenon of parents choosing a name, then searching for a meaning: “I made up this name, can you tell me what it means?” That one always stumps me;
- Elisabeth at You Can’t Call It “It” came up with a list of twenty possible options for Nicole at Making It Lovely to consider. So far Frederick is in front, but Hugo got my vote;
- Here’s something spotted by ForReal: Avalon is one of my favorites, but to me it is all girl. Interesting to see it in the middle for a boy, paired with the powerful Gage;
- I’d love to know what this reader does. Loyal Granddaughter asked the Name Lady what she thought of using all four grandmothers’ names for her daughter: Sue Mae Rose Marie. The advice was sound – why not combine so your daughter receives all of the names in some form? I love the idea of Susan Rosemary Mae or Rosamae Susan Marie;
- Do you read The Meanest Mom? I must be the last person on Earth to discover Jana’s blog. She’s not really mean, but she is wickedly funny. And I’m crazy about her eldest child’s name, a daughter called Camber;
- I don’t read Portuguese, but I’ve just started following Nomes e mais nomes anyhow;
- From the wayback machine: in 2009, I wrote about Lunette and Arlo. Last year, it was Clover and Jacoby;
- And here’s a look forward: in the queue for next week are Piers, Frank, Lucinda, Ulysses, and Amory.
Stop by Nameberry tomorrow where I’ll be talking about names I found while culling through the list of Oscar nominees. (C in DC, thanks for the inspiration!)
Speaking of The Glamorous Life, please welcome the following sure-to-be-paparazzi-stalked tots to the universe:
- Mike Tyson welcomed a son called Morocco Elijah. He and wife Lakiha also have a daughter, Milan. Tyson’s six older children are D’Amato, Mikey, Miguel, Rayna, Amir, and his daughter Exodus, who passed away in 2009;
- No Doubt’s Tony Kanal is a new dad. He and girlfriend Erin Lokitz welcomed daughter Coco Reese Lakshmi. The rest of the musical crew’s moppets are Kingston, Zuma, Ace, Rio, and Mason.
Which reminds me, Clio is obsessed with Gwen Stefani and Akon’s single “The Sweet Escape.” How do you say no to a toddler who asks for “more Woo-hoo song, peeeeez?”
Speaking of requests, I’ll be doing another rerun week in April. Should you stumble across a post that you think needs some freshening up, feel free to suggest it via email to appmtn (at) gmail (dot) com.
That’s all for this week. As always, thank you for reading!
Baby Name of the Day: Ava
From 1954's The Barefoot Contessa; Image via Wikipedia
She’s Biblical, saintly, international, Hollywood-glam, and nature-themed, too. Is it any wonder she has become one of the most popular names of our time?
Thanks to Meredith for suggesting Ava as Baby Name of the Day.
Sunday Summary: 5/30/10
For those of you in the US, Happy Memorial Day weekend! There will be no Baby Name of the Day on Monday, May 31.
But never fear! There’s news aplenty to occupy your quiet hours:
- This post at Swistle raises one of my favorite questions: how close is too close? Can you name your daughter Dorothy and your son Theodore? It seems awfully close to me, and it would be nearly impossible to name a third child. But both names are great;
- Speaking of my favorite questions, The Stir raised the question of misspelled baby names. Comments ran the gamut from those who hate, hate, hate them to the mother of four kids named Corynne, Caleb, Caidy and Cayleigh. They raised the question thanks to a rant at CafeMom prompted by a birth announcement spotted for a Madicyn. I think there’s a lot going unsaid in these conversations, but mostly, I find myself leaning more and more towards defending variant spellings;
- Which reminds me – I didn’t realize Cyndi Lauper had kids, much less a tween son called Declyn;
- For Real spotted a birth announcement for Sweden Piper. It’s a far more inventive place name than Brooklyn or Savannah and I guess they can call her Swedie – Sweetie – for short. Whether that makes the name extra fabulous or seriously problematic, I cannot say;
- I stumbled across this post from a mom of ten (soon to be eleven!) who listed all of her kids’ first and middle names. It’s an interesting assortment: Morganne Natalia, Brennan Geoffrey, Lliam Donal, Bonny Dianne, Gavin Xavier, Dierdre Marie, Ronan Wainwright, MacKenna Elyse, Grayse Dawn and Avalon Noelle. I’m particularly impressed by Wainwright – it’s a reboot of the family name Wayne;
- Which reminds me – this is one of my favorite lists of all time is Linda’s Rubes, Hayseed and Bumpkins at Nameberry. The range from nearly mainstream choices like Gus and Jasper to up-next picks like Chester, Rufus and Silas to wow, out there options. I can’t quite picture a baby named Floyd;
- I’m not suggesting you give your child an Inuit name inspired by the beluga whales at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. But it is an interesting list, and if Maya is so popular, maybe Naya could catch on. Just don’t tell your daughter about the connection until she grows up to be a marine biologist;
- I lived in Western Pennsylvania for years, not so very far from the West Virginia border. Laura Wattenberg’s post on the name Dreama struck a chord – I did, indeed, know a Dreama and she was from WV and named after her mother. No idea why, though … I once asked Dreama and she wasn’t sure how her grandmother settled on the name, either;
- ABC Family’s latest show about the secret life of American teenagers is Pretty Little Liars, based on a series of young adult novels. The characters’ names? Hanna, Emily, Aria and Spencer. Spencer is played by an actress called Troian. If the show is successful, it could have an impact on baby names in 2010;
- I’m a huge fan of the name Rebecca L of Girl’s Gone Child chose for her daughter, Fable. Sebastiane gives us the intriguing Estonian equivalent, Valme;
- Sebastiane also rounded up some of the most intriguing names for saints from across the globe. If truly unusual but not invented is your wish, this is the list for you. I can just hear it now: meet my sons Fragan, Malo, Ot and Lot, and their sister Elined;
- In the wake of the rankings announcements, CNN attempts to put a fresh spin on the name conversation by asking Does Your Name Shape Your Destiny? They trotted out some reliable experts and some solid facts, but the important point they missed, I think, is that our perceptions of specific names are not fixed. Barbara and Linda were once the height of fashion, today’s Olivia and Ava. Now they’re your aunt’s names. Someday, they may be back in style right in time for you to do a double-take when your daughter announces her name for a daughter.
In starbaby news:
- The big noise was about Claudia Schiffer’s Cosima Violet, a name that seems to be getting mostly good reviews;
- There’s also Monica Bellucci’s new daughter, Léonie, a little sister for Deva;
- ABC correspondent Andrea Canning also welcomed daughter #2: Charlotte Brewster, a little sister for Anna Katherine;
- And a very, very special thanks to British American for posting the link and excerpt from the Kerri Walsh interview explaining her choice of Sundance’s name – and SarahinJune’s video clip that shows us why we might meet more baby Sundances!
Next Saturday we kick off our Reader Baby Name Stories. I’m SO excited to share what you’ve shared!
Have a great weekend, and see you on Tuesday. Thanks for reading!
In Reserve: Possible Names for a Second Daughter
I doubt we’ll ever have a third child. There are dozens of practical reasons.
And one reason that’s trivial for him, dead serious for me: we could never agree on a name.
We do have a few candidates, scraps from the cutting room floor. I’ve mentioned them in comments from time to time, but I thought a round-up was in order.
Our girls’ list is first; I’ll post the boys’ list later.
Substitute: Ava
If you love the name Ava, you’re not alone. Nearly than 50,000 parents have chosen Ava for their daughters since 2005.
And what’s not to love? It’s simple, it’s glamorous, it’s feminine without being frilly. Ava pairs well with a variety of last names, too.
But now that it is well installed in the Top Ten, plenty of parents are looking for an alternative to naming their daughter Ava, too. Read on for a few ideas.
Alphabet: A is for Girls
A is for Apple. As in Apple Blythe Allison, big sister to Moses Bruce Anthony and firstborn of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin.
If that’s too out there for you, consider these slightly less exotic choices, all featuring the letter A:
