Baby Name of the Day: Annora

Wenceslas Hollar - Holme Pierrepont

Image via Wikipedia

She’s a medieval rarity that would be right at home in today’s Top 100.

Thanks to Christina for suggesting Annora as our Baby Name of the Day.

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Baby Name of the Day: Antonella

Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua (Italian: S...

Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua; Image via Wikipedia

Anthony is a saintly staple.  Antoinette was a doomed queen.  How would this Italian spin wear today?

Thanks to Christina for suggesting Antonella as our Baby Name of the Day.

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Baby Name of the Day: Silvana

Silvana Mangano

Silvana Mangano; Image via Wikipedia

Silver is a metal, Sylvester is a cat.  How would this similar-sounding name wear on a daughter?

Thanks to Christina for suggesting Silvana as our Baby Name of the Day.

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Baby Name of the Day: Brietta

Pegasus, as the horse of Muses, was put on the...

Image via Wikipedia

This might be the most unusual name inspiration featured here yet … and that’s saying something!

Thanks to Colleen for suggesting Brietta as our Baby Name of the Day.

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Name of the Day: Bryony

She’s a botanical choice with a literary edge.

Thanks to Laura for suggesting Bryony as Name of the Day.

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Sunday Summary: 2/15/09

Happy Valentine’s weekend.  We’ve had a bumper crop of starbabies this past week:

In other news:

  • If you haven’t already checked it out, go review the Valentine-themed names at Nameberry.  I thought they might be joking when they mentioned Jetadore.
  • Then I checked out Nancy’s Baby Names and her list from Alberta, Canada.  Sure enough, there’s a Jetaime!  Also a (male) Gonzo and a (female) Harloquinn.  Shudder.
  • Speaking of shuddering, the six older Suleman kids names are:  Elijah Makai, Amerah Yasmeen, Joshua Jacob, Aiden, Calyssa Arielle and Caleb Kai.  Elisabeth did a nice job explaining the octuplets’ names, but Bek gets points for being the first to post them in a comment – thank you!  The six boys are Jonah, Jeremiah, Josiah, Makai (or is it McCai?), Isaiah and Noah; the two girls are Nariah and Maliah.  I’m not sure, but the girls’ names might be spelled NaRiah and MaLiah.  (I’ve been squinting at the website.)  Guess we’ll know for sure when they get a book deal;
  • A piece of site news – I’ll continue to post Names of the Day seven days a week through April 30.  After that, I’m cutting back to Monday through Friday.  As the site grows, keeping up with comments and email takes up more and more time – and frankly, it’s the most fun!  I hate looking at comments and realizing that I’ve missed out on great conversations.  :)  Plus, this will give me more space to work on some draft articles that are gathering dust.

Speaking of other articles, visit Nameberry on Friday.  (As if you don’t visit all the time anyhow.)  I’m scheduled to guest blog!

    The Myth of the Normal Name

    Visit nearly any baby name forum and it’s amazing how often you’ll hear variations on one comment:

    Give your kid a normal name!

    What’s more dazzling is that this criticism can be in response to nearly any choice – from a chart topper like Ava or Aiden, to standards like Henry or Beatrix.

    I’d like to put forward a simple tenet of baby naming: there is no such thing as normal.

    The definition of normal is regular; conforming to the common type. The best measure of this then, must be the Top 20 – or perhaps 50 – names, and thanks to the Social Security Administration, data on “normal” names is readily available.

    Scan it for a few minutes, and I’m sure you’ll agree: just like hemlines have always varied, baby names have come in and out of vogue. With the exception of a very few names – mostly for boys – the Top 50 are far from a stable list. Continue reading