Georgia Appalachian Trail Club Marker; Image via Wikipedia
There’s the evergreen Benjamin, Teen Mom‘s luxury brand babe Bentley, and the literary Bennett. Why not this one?
Thanks to Jillian for pointing out not only the name, but his connection to the Appalachian Trail, too! Our Baby Name of the Day is Benton.
Things for which I am grateful: name blogger Xanthe Linnea is back with the story of her son’s name, Leo Nathaniel. And Emmy Jo shared Julius Arthur‘s name story, complete with absolutely adorable photos! They make for great reading. Plus, be on the lookout for another Reader Baby Name Story here next Saturday!
Another thing that fills me with joy: your boundless creativity, as seen in the Holiday Baby Name Game: Thanksgiving Edition. The suggestions were fabulous – I’ve winnowed it down to a few choices for the polls. Vote for your favorites below!
I’ve been putting more and more Real Life name spottings over at Facebook, but here are a few I couldn’t resist:
The first two sets run afoul of my How Close is too Close? tests. And while I’ve defended alternate spellings, Emett makes me want to backspace. I wonder if there’s a reason?
Elsewhere online:
The big Hollywood news was the birth of Benjamin Travolta. But with Pink among the currently expecting celebs, we can only expect a bumper crop of fabulous baby names in 2011.
Hope you had a great week, and for those in the US, a fun Thanksgiving.
Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
This name isn’t a surprise – it was announced a few weeks ago – but I wanted to share the news that John Travolta and Kelly Preston’s son Benjamin has arrived!
It is interesting to see how their naming style has changed over the years. Their firstborn was apparently named after John’s love of aviation, hence Jett. And daughter Ella Bleu has a name that’s somewhere between traditional and daring. Both names were ahead of the curve and inspired other parents. But Benjamin ranked #20 in 2009 – his most popular ever. No word yet on their name choice – I’ll be curious to hear if they comment on their inspiration.
Congratulations to the family.
Image via Wikipedia
With a happy birthday to my darling daughter, today’s Baby Name of the Day is Caroline.
Today’s Reader Baby Name Story comes to us from Angel. Catch up with her on her personal blog here, where you can also find snapshots of her darling daughter.
Today’s Reader Baby Name Story comes to us courtesy of Fran, the mother to four beautifully named children.
But this is the story of her youngest – the most difficult to name!
She’s a Baby Boomer staple with a surprisingly steady history of use.
Thanks to Kelly for suggesting Deborah as Baby Name of the Day.
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:
In celeb news:
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!
Today we kick off a new series at Appellation Mountain. They’ve been an absolute delight to read, and I look forward to sharing all of them.
A very special thanks to Sara for being the first guest blogger to share the story of her child’s name: Titus Whitfield.
Happy Mother’s Day! I spent the morning indulging in an M-Day brunch at Max Brenner and then listening for kids’ names at the Union Square playground near my sister’s new Manhattan apartment. I heard Ezra and Sophie at Ladybird Bakery in Park Slope – near sister #2′s place – the morning before, but mostly the Big Apple was a big letdown in terms of name spotting. I was too busy to really listen. (But, no, dear sisters, that’s not why I come visit you in the Big City.)
As usual, the real Mother’s Day gift comes from Uncle Sam. The Social Security Administration has released the Top 1000 baby names for babes born the year prior. It’s pretty much impossible to collect all of the interesting commentary on the topic, but here are a few highlights:
In non-statistical news:
Our only celeb birth of the week is author Sophie Kinsella, mom to four boys: Freddy, Hugo, Oscar and Rex William.
I’m off to unpack luggage and wrangle overtired into their pajamas. Hope you had a fabulous Mother’s Day and thank you for reading! See you next week.
