Baby Name of the Day: Camden

Camden Town

Image via Wikipedia

Cross Cameron with London and you’ll end up with this rapidly rising choice.

Thanks to Tracy for suggesting the only name her husband likes.  Our Baby Name of the Day is Camden.

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Sunday Summary: 7/11/10

Just when you think every name has been imagined, every option exhausted, pop culture surprises us.

First, Cecily von Ziegesar’s novel Cum Laude tackles the lives of privileged college students (as opposed to the privileged high school students in her Gossip Girl franchise.)  One of the main characters is a girl called Shipley, and a minor character who answers to Tragedy.

On a similar note, there’s a Disney Channel original movie set to air in August called Den Brother.   The characters are the predictable Alex and Emily, but they’re played by child actors Hutch Dano – born Hutchings Royal Dano – and G. Hannelius.  Ten year old G. was born Genevieve.  Den Brother also includes a girl character called Matisse.  It’s not, say, Harry Potter, but I can imagine Hutch catching on.

Elsewhere online:

  • Swistle attempts to tell Aidan, Ava and Jasper‘s mom how to avoid choosing a trendy name for her daughter, due later this month.  It’s an intriguing question, and the advice is sound, but I’m not sure there lists of names is quite there yet.  If you have some spare time, you might want to stop by and make some suggestions;
  • Nameberry  has published this quarter’s most-searched Baby Names list for Boys and Girls.  Could Mary be making a comeback?  Will we really be meeting lots of baby boys called Orion?  The lists make for fascinating reads, as always;
  • Here’s a cute story from La Buena Vida about baby names suggested by siblings-to-be.  Tinkerbell, Rainbow Lemonade and Sweetie Pie made the list, but unlike last week’s Lady Gaga story, I don’t believe any of them were seriously under consideration at press time;
  • Crazy suggestions from dads, however, are totally fine.  I piped up with a pro-Leia comment on this post at You Can’t Call It “It” – a friend of mine actually used Leia for his daughter’s middle name.  With Leah and Lily so popular and Lila rocketing up the charts, Leia seems only a tiny bit out there;
  • Here’s a wacky name that has caught on: AbcdeNancy has the rankings from recent years to prove it.  On sound alone, I get the appeal.  If Abcidy or Absiddy were found in the listings of early Puritan settlers in America, it might catch on;
  • Please tell me this is a joke:  Did someone really name their kid Vuvuzela?;
  • Here’s an appealing, never-heard (at least in the US) choice: the Latvian Everita, featured by Sebastiane at Legitimate Baby Names;
  • For Real Baby Names spots a Bette Mabel. How stylish!  She also found a Kezlei and a Kaydea.  Yawn;
  • Did you catch the guest posts on Portuguese names at You Can’t Call It “It”?  Check them out there: Part I and Part II. Even the workaday John becomes the zippy João, and Madalena would fit right in in the US;
  • Emma was kind enough to send this link, about a British’s family’s set of sextuplets.  Parents Vicky and Andy Lamb and firstborn daughter Grace welcomed sextuplets in May:  Layla Pauline, Eric Andrew, Pippa Willow, Matthew Dennis, Ellen Diana and Rose Annabel.  Sadly, Matthew died shortly after the babies’ birth.

In Hollywood news:

Let’s end with what just might be The Best Baby Naming Advice Ever.  Nancy’s post on writing out the stories behind each baby name could help you choose between your top options, narrow down a lengthy list to a few finalists, or even get un-stuck and start thinking about your choices in the first place.

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

Sunday Summary: 2/7/10

I usually don’t pre-post my Sunday Summaries.  (I do schedule my Name of the Day posts, sometimes weeks in advance.)  But a record-setting snow is descending on Metro DC, and as you read this, I may be huddled ’round a Maglite with a 5 y.o. who really wants to watch Team Umizoomi now and doesn’t care about downed power lines.

Let’s hope not.

But just in case it really is the Snowpocalypse, here’s the news through, er, Friday night Saturday morning.

  • Charlotte remains top dog at Nymbler in January, followed by Ava, Ella, Amelia, Audrey, Jack, Benjamin, Finn, Grace and Addison.  Jack and Addison are both making their debuts in the Nymbler Top Ten;
  • The always-more interesting new names include Tenley (Influenced by The Bachelor or nostalgia for Winter Olympics past?), Finnigan, Huck, Ryden, Jovie and Bently.  On MTV reality show Teen Mom, one of the couples named their son Bentley.  Either way, I guess it is slightly more subtle than Lexus;
  • Bewildertrix spotted a Nixon.  Yes, in Australia, so maybe it doesn’t have the same politically charged meaning on the other side of the world.  And he’s a little brother for Reid, Cruz and Rourke, so it seems like the parents were going for an “underused surname” vibe rather than a “disgraced US president” thing;
  • Nancy’s Bad Tattoos and Baby Names should be required reading for all expectant parents considering bestowing a cross-cultural name on their child;
  • Speaking of names from other cultures, have you seen Nameberry’s post on French baby names?  It’s a guest post from Stephanie Rapoport, the founder of  Meilleurs Prenoms.  I love Hugo and find Lilou intriguing.  A few others on her hot list surprised me – the Italian Enzo, the Irish Kylian (it’s Cillian en français) and Louane, which reads 1950s to me, but might be quite charming on a jeune fille;
  • Speaking of Enzo, Elisabeth at You Can’t Call It “It” spotted one in her most recent Ohdeedohkey post.  Plus a Bijou, which yes, is a French word.  But search it on Meilleurs Prenoms and it will tell you: Le prénom bijou n’existe pas;
  • With the debut of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland just weeks away, the Baby Name Wizard wrote Names on the Verge: Alice, asking whether the name really is headed for the top of the charts;
  • Sebastiane covers Agatha at Legitimate Baby Names. That’s one that is really growing on me, and with all the little girls called Abby and Addie, wouldn’t Aggie fit right in?  Elisabeth Shue has kids called Miles, Stella and Agnes, so something tells me we might hear more of both Ag- names.  Sebastiane also covered Disa, which is far more wearable than the related Dis;
  • I need to stay away from Yahoo!Answers, but I followed a thread about the name Madden and stumbled on this quote about the best spelling for Kayden:  “I have always liked that name Caden, but i prefer it spelled Caden with a “C” and with out extra y’s because i think it looks less trashy and made up.”  I don’t get it.  Wait, I do – I understand that Caden looks restrained compared to Kaydyn.  But it still is a name of recent coinage – attractive, maybe, but undeniably trendy.  Spell it as you like, but it still isn’t William;
  • Speaking of names of recent coinage, 4Real spotted a Wolverine Collin Christopher and a Featherlee Blossom.  Words fail me.

It’s been a light starbaby week, but Busy Phillips explained daughter Birdie’s name at Celebrity Baby Blog.  Apparently the actress – born Elizabeth Jean – was intent on choosing a nickname-proof name, because she disliked explaining her name.  Ten bucks says that Birdie calls her kid Margaret.  And so the cycle continues …

The only other celeb birth this week was Brothers & Sisters’ Sarah Jane Morris welcomed a son, Emmett Andrew.

Thanks for reading!  And if you’re also snowed in, I’m sending warm thoughts your way!

Special Report: Boys’ Top 100 Revised

We’ve tallied.  We’ve clustered.  We’ve grouped and ungrouped.  We’ve stewed.

And while we still think there’s room for improvement, we’ve decided that our Revised 100 is ready to meet the world.

You can download the files from the box.net widget in the right hand column, or read on for some insights.

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