I used to spend lots of time at Yahoo! Answers, dismayed at the number of posters planning to name their triplets Maddasynne, Mykailee, and Madduxx.  Or so they said.  Now I try to stay away, but every now and again, I slip.  During my last lurking foray, I found a lengthy list of names one poster had suggested to one of those generic “What are some good baby names?” questions.  (Actually, I think it was more like “Help!!!!! I need som cute behbeh names ‘cuz me & my BF can’t decide?  LOL!”)

Usually the lists are forgettable at best, but these fascinated me.  What do you think of:

• Yorick
• Probus
• Lael
• Fabian
• Sorian
• Jeriel
• Vilas
• Dorcas (yup, on the boys’ list)

And for the girls:

• Mimosa
• Edna
• Jonquil
• Aubretia
• Zabeth
• Danessa
• Ofira

I don’t expect to see any of them in the US Top 100 – or even 1000, really – soon, but it was such an extraordinarily eclectic list, I had to share.

In real life, there’s a new kid in my ‘hood called Zephyr.  Which kicks off a whole week of eclectic, I think:

• ForReal spotted a baby girl named Fig Ava;
• Also, in Oklahoma, ForReal found a boy called Tayden, and a girl called Maebry.  I love the sound of Maebry, but the spelling feels forced.  I’m not sure what would improve it – Maybrie?  Maebrie?  Hmmm … maybe Maebry is best;
• BabyNameWizard posted a long, long list of backwards baby names. Is the world ready for twins named Kavon and Novak?  How ’bout Aric and Cira?
• Pamela Redmond Satran’s article on Baby Boy Names and gender at The Daily Beast sparked a firestorm of comments.  Even the relatively neutral were highly opinionated: “Children are best named after a beloved relative or friend, or even after a historical figure, biblical character or other admired person. We would do well to lose the baby naming books.”  Really?  Somehow I think this commenter has never named a child.  Which reminds me, my son Aly was at a class with a same-aged girl called Allie on Saturday, and the world did not end;
• Nameberry’s list of Water Names included Bay, a name that seems to surface more and more often.  Here’s one that is not on their list, possibly because it has never been used as a given name: Cascata.  It’s the Italian equivalent of cascade or waterfall.  Cascade feels a little too brand name (it’s dishwashing detergent in the US) to use for a child, but I’ve always thought Cascata had potential;
• I finally watched an episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.  The names aren’t stunningly unusual, though there’s a healthy dose of gender-bending in their choices.  Two of the Housewives are called Kyle and Taylor, Taylor’s daughter is called Kennedy, and Camille has a daughter named Mason.  But Kyle’s four daughters have attractive names: Alexia, Sophia, Portia, and Farrah.  Oh, and I think Lisa has a daughter called Pandora, but I’m not sure if I caught that right;
• Nancy wrote about babies named Celebrity. No, not babies named Lennon or Lady Gaga, but babies named Celebrity.  It has happened.
  

Celebrities were also good enough to catch the theme:

• Vera Farmiga named her daughter Gytta Lubov, a little sister for Fynn.  I’ve yet to hear the name pronounced by the proud parents, so for now, it is all speculation if she was inspired by the Sanskrit name that rhymes with Rita, or the Old Norse Gyda, which sounds more like GUH theh.  We’ll have to wait until
• Ne-Yo welcomed a daughter named Madilyn Grace. Yes, it is quite the ordinary name.  But when Dad answers to Ne-Yo and mom is Monyetta, there’s a chance the name will be equally outlandish.  Their fairly pedestrian pick is the surprise!

That’s all for this week.  If you’re craving a Sunday Summary-esque fix midweek, find AppMtn on Facebook, too.  Oh, and stand by – Nameberry is releasing their 2010 stats tonight 2011 predictions (oops – thanks for the correction, British American) at midnight!

As always, thank you for reading and have a great week!