Sunday Summary: 7/3/11

Three

For those of you in the US, I hope you’re having a lovely, fireworks-filled Independence Day weekend.

First up: a quick users’ guide note: when I write a post, I try to bold any given name the first time I use it.  If the name is a (blue) hyperlink, then I’ve written about the name before – and one quick click will take you to that post.  I also try to link movies and television shows to the Internet Movie Database.

On to the news:

  • Speaking of movies, Nancy mentioned the big Pixar reveal: a female heroine called Merida, star of their 2012 feature Brave.  It’s already getting some attention with expectant parents;
  • Nameberry covered Irish Baby Names following the announcement of their official statistics for 2010.  I love Orla for a girl and Lorcan for a boy – oh, and Cathal, though I find it feminine;
  • Elea explored popular Welsh Boys’ Names, including choices like Cai and Rhys that would work perfectly in the US, too;
  • Bewitching Baby Names profiled Oregon.  It’s an unconventional choice, but fresher than Dakota;
  • Waltzing More Than Matilda posted about Australia’s answer to the Duggars: Jeni and Ray Bonnell and their fifteen kids, including newborn son Damian.  No, the older fourteen kids don’t have D names;
  • From the wayback machine: the feature name in 2008 was clunky Clarence; in 2009, the antique Ada; and just a year ago, it was the lovely, but perhaps burdensome Jocasta;
  • Is it me, or does it get easier to play Elisabeth’s Sibset Game as the posts at You Can’t Call It “It” go farther and farther up the rankings?  Some of my favorites from the 700s are Kim W’s Luka Ellis, Ingrid Frances, Elin Rosemary, Soren Lewis, and Sonia Julianne and Kailee’s Rory Conrad, Lewis Eugene, Julianne Frances, Susan “Susie” Campbell, and Corinne Rosemary.  From the 600s, I’m intrigued by Ashley’s Tomas “Tam” Sullivan Cale, Callen “Cal” Memphis Clark, Dahlia “Dolly” Phoenix Anne, Noemi “Emme” Paloma Adrienne, Isis “Izzy” Raven Amelie, and Lawson “Lars” Nash Channing.

I wrote about the first generation of eclectic Hollywood baby names for Nameberry last week.  In more recent celebrity news:

Tomorrow’s post for Nameberry is the first in another two-parter, and it features one of my favorite names for a boy: Clark.

That’s all for this week.  As always, thanks for reading and have a great week!

Baby Name of the Day: Caleb

Sable Puppies

Image via Wikipedia

How can a Top 100 boys’ name borrowed from a faithful Biblical figure be so very controversial?

Thanks to Kelly for suggesting the surprisingly complex Caleb as our Baby Name of the Day.

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Baby Name of the Day: Callahan

Four Leaf Clover 068

Image by cygnus921 via Flickr

He’s an upbeat Irish surname made famous by a fictional, hard-edged cop.

Thanks to Amanda for suggesting Callahan as our Baby Name of the Day.

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Baby Name of the Day: Calpurnia

Calpurnia Pisonis was a daughter of Lucius Cal...

Calpurnia Pisonis; Image via Wikipedia

She’s an asteroid, a shrub, a minor literary figure, and an Ancient Roman matron.

Thanks to Paul for suggesting Calpurnia as our Baby Name of the Day.

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In Reserve: Possible Names for a Second Son

Even before the pregnancy test came back positive, I had a strong sense that our second child was a girl.

Intuition didn’t stop me from discussing boys’ names with Arthur.  So much that he finally insisted that we wait until the ultrasound, at which point it was moot.  Claire Caroline WrenClio – was on her way.

Our firstborn is Alexander Arthur, after my father-in-law Alexander, my grandfather Arthur and, of course, Arthur.  There just wasn’t a clear choice for a second boys’ name.  Plus, I always feel like we flubbed his nickname – though he wears Aly fine.  Our list for a second daughter is well thought out, but a boy?

We would have figured something out.  I think.

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