Rowan, Willow, Linden, and … Maple?
Yup, thanks to Jason Bateman and Amanda Anka, our Baby Name of the Day is Maple.
Baby Name of the Day: Maple
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Tag Archives: Celebrity baby names
Sunday Summary: 2/12/12
No 12 by kirstyhall via Flickr
I often have conversations about baby names with people who have no idea how I spend my free time. It isn’t something I try to do – just a place into which I stumble over and over again. Do you do this, too?
Out there in the baby name blog ‘verse, where it is safe to assume that everyone else is equally obsessed:
- Do you ever flip through Who’s Due Next at people.com? I’m thinking that Jennifer Garner’s baby name might be fairly tame, but hoping that Hilary Duff will come up with something wacky and call it “not too weird.” (Peaches Geldof, I’m looking at you and baby-on-the-way Astala.)
- The Name Lady gave a very sensible answer to two parents’ questions regarding unusual names they plan to give their due-soon daughters: Idabelle Fae and Ramona. TNL writes “It’s easy to overreact to negative responses, because they pack an emotional wallop …” and praises diversity in naming. But in the comments? They savage Idabelle Fae. Huh? What’s that noise? Oh, that’s the sound of a good point whooshing right past …
- I love a daring, even a daffy middle name. Check out this list at For Real: Henry Discretion, Wilkie Mountain, Phoebe Bluebell.
- Which reminds me: I predict that Bluebell will pop up more and more often as a middle name – as familiar as Isabel with a touch of Beyonce’s stylish and daring color name, but still plenty of room to say, “Oh, no, we weren’t influenced by Blue Ivy. We’d never use a crazy celeb baby name.”
- Speaking of speculation, Paula Kashtan might have nailed it: “Can Blue Ivy do for colors what Apple couldn’t for fruit?”
- What did Picabo Street name her kids? Her four boys are Eli, Trey, Dax, and Roen. She shares their reasoning over at Celebrity Baby Scoop.
- Cabot - as preppy as Carter, but completely unexpected without being difficult to wear. There’s a nice write-up at Bewitching Names.
- Which reminds me – I love Abbott for boys, as well as many of these from British Baby Names’ occupational surname list: Thatcher, Foster, Ranger.
- And Leif. I love Leif.
That’s all for this week. Oh, except that when my son learned that he’s getting a new classmate called Phoenix, he asked “Why is called that? Is he a magic bird?” It wasn’t a mocking question in any way – more a reminder that, at least at a certain age, a cool name really can be a badge of honor among kids. Given my son’s current preference for mythical beasts, I can see that he’d like to be called Gryphon – at least for a few more years.
As always, thanks for reading. Be sure to stop by Nameberry tomorrow for more name talk, and have a great week!
Sunday Summary: 1/1/12
Number one by charlesnikon via Flickr
Happy New Year!
First, a quick note about the 2012 schedule ’round here.
- I’m moving re-runs to Mondays.
- Tuesday and Wednesday names are usually those chosen by polls, at least starting later this month.
- Thursday names are typically chosen by me, direct from your suggestions.
- Fetching Names moves to Fridays, to allow for more conversation. (Though they’re easily the most talked-about posts here on AppMtn already!)
Sunday Summaries are, of course, sacred. Monday posts will also continue at Nameberry.
Speaking of Nameberry, tomorrow’s post is all about the names vying for the top spot at various hospitals and birth centers around the English-speaking world. I continue to obsessively collect the lists – they’re really astonishing in their tiny differences, even if the most of the names themselves are familiar.
But back to the rest of the news out there this week:
- Oh, I loved Swistle’s comments on Preferences vs. Requirements – and can that family really go wrong with naming baby #4?
- March Isabella, Bay Elizabeth Mae, Abbot Anthony – another great installemnt in the Friday Favorite series at Name Soiree!
- Georgia Geraldine and Billie Beatrice … it seems like Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart are stylish baby namers with an affection for alliteration.
- Population Registry clerks in Israeli could get much more powerful if the Israeli government creates a panel to screen baby names.
- Midwinter Names wrote about Tiamat - much edgier than Winter.
- Nook rounded up her favorite names from the Blogosphere in 2011. If you haven’t read it, you should go there – now!
- Speaking of great names, did you see this post at Waltzing More than Matilda about Aussie celebs who named their daughter Kinga? That’s a new favorite of mine.
- Agh! Spotted my first message board thread where the parents dismissed Edward because of the sparkly vampire.
- Not one, but two girls named Tymber at a Kansas hospital? I’d expect Timber to be a boy’s name, a spin on Timothy. But the word mostly conjures up one thing for me: the party scene in Breakfast at Tiffany’s where Holly calls out “Timber!” as the very tall Mag Wildwood falls.
- Lou had a fun idea – she celebrated her birthday by coming up with a list of others who share her birthday. What a great way to honor a relative in a subtle fashion. Felicitations, Lou!
- Marginamia mentioned Gala in her post about Sparkly New Years Names. I wish I could think of a formal name for Gala – maybe Gabriella?
- I wish my next field trip could be to Alaska, so I could sit on a playground and listen for names like Foxwell, Nikomi, and Velvet Vee.
- You know how we dismiss some names as being from another era? Sebastiane reminds us that Chad is one of them – but from the seventh century, not the 1970s.
- Tasker – there’s a World War I baby name from Nancy’s list that I can imagine parents reviving in 2012.
- Eponymia’s Christmas game families were such fun – I’m re-reading them for third, or maybe fourth time! Adela, Hoyt, and Beryl must be my favorite.
That’s all for today, though I’m keeping a close eye on the celebrity news – rumors are afoot that Beyonce’s baby girl is here … though so far, I think they’re just idle chatter.
Wishing you all the best in the coming year!
Starbaby News: Welcome Hattie Margaret!
Tori Spelling is now a mom to three! Daughter Hattie Margaret joins big sister Stella Doreen and big brother Liam Aaron, as well as Dean’s son, Jack.
I would never have guessed this one for the reality television couple, but it fits – Jack, Liam, Stella, and Hattie. She’s also on trend with names like Sadie, as well as the British tendency to elevate short forms to formal name status.
I’m a big fan of Harriet, and I think she’s catching on, along with other ends-in-et options like Juliet. Hattie is also the name of one of the newborns profiled in 2010 documentary Babies.
Spelling and McDermott had been choosing names that followed trends. This time I think the couple may be setting them.
Starbaby News: Welcome Tristan, Weston, and Colt!
Image by Jon Ovington via Flickr
Nope, those aren’t surprise triplets.
Instead, three well-known families announced new additions today, and it was all about the boys:
- John Rich of Big & Rich and wife Joan welcomed a son called Colt Daniel, a little brother for Cash. Only in Nashville. And yes, big brother’s name is Cash Rich.
- Which leads us to Donald Trump, now dad to three! He and wife Vanessa were already parents to Donnie – the third in a series – plus daughter Kai Madison. New son Tristan makes them a family of five.
- Jenna Fischer plays Cece’s mom on The Office. In real life, she and husband Lee Kirk are now the proud parents of baby Weston Lee.
Colt, Tristan, and Weston might not be brothers, but they sound like the kind of modern names that appeal to many parents today. Colt ranked #330, while Colton came in at #73; Tristan ranked #84; and Weston was #224. Variant spellings abound, at least for Colton and Tristan.
None of the names would sound out of place on a little cowboy, though Tristan has been spotted on a few girls, and Weston, like Elisabeth Röhm’s Easton, isn’t necessarily exclusive to Team Blue, either.
None of them are truly novel inventions, but all of them have a certain modern, unexpected feel that has become quite common. Weston appeared in the US Top 1000 as early as 1882, but has only ranked consistently since the 1970s. Tristan first charts in 1971, and Colt and Colton both debuted in 1982. Up until recent years, any one of the names would’ve been eye-poppingly unusual. Today, they’re standard on many a playground.
I’ll be curious to hear the parents comment on their choices. Were they looking for something different? Did they realize they were choosing something mainstream by 2011 standards? Or will they have backstories for their choices that have little to do with considerations of style?
Congratulations to all three families!
Baby Name of the Day: Levon
Image via Wikipedia
The name was a success for Elton John – in more ways than one, and his story is part of music lore.
Thanks to Lindsey for suggesting Levon as our Baby Name of the Day.
Sunday Summary: 9/25/11
Image by Leo Reynolds via Flickr
We were in Franklin’s General Store last night, just a few blocks from our house, the kind of place you buy microbrews and Wry Baby onesies and robot matroyshka dolls when I heard it – a mom calling her three y.o. daughter Loretta. Be still my heart.
I truly appreciate the support for the changes I announced last week. Writing Fetching Names felt almost artificial, but it also felt good to try something new. Plus, it quickly became one of the most commented articles here, and I do truly value posts that can spark a conversation.
Speaking of conversation, elsewhere in the blogosphere:
- Are you following this story about a couple in the Chicago ‘burbs who can’t choose their daughter’s name? Dad wants Emily or Madelyn, while mom prefers McKenna or Addilyne. They’ve turned to a Facebook poll to help them choose. You can vote, too, but I just can’t get excited about any of their finalists;
- Call me crazy, but I adore the name Galileo. Lou at Mer de Nomes mentioned Blur’s bass player Alex James has kids called Geronimo, Galileo, Artemis, Beatrix, and Sable. Oh, and Artemis? Is a boy!
- I love the idea of Vine, another nature name with an edge suggested by Bewitching Baby Names;
- Marginamia mentioned Warby Parker, the brand that makes me wish for flawed vision. Though I’ve no need for their spectacles, I do enjoy their product names: Thatcher, Crosby, Huxley, Mabel …
- Inspired by Reverie, Namemustsay looked into other Rev- names. Reverence, Reveille, or Revel, anyone?
- ForReal spotted a girl called Ramsi. Sorry, but there is nothing you can do to convince me that Ramsey is anything other than a masculine name;
- Did you take this quiz at Lil Sugar?
- How about the Change a Letter, Change a Gender game at You Can’t Call It “It”?
- Love this story at Nancy’s Baby Names about a girl called Strawberry.
Two celebrity birth announcements this week:
- Emily Deschanel welcomed a son, Henry. Dad is It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s David Hornsby, so kid is Henry Hornsby – now that’s total retro storybook character, a sidekick for Encyclopedia Brown or Dennis the Menace;
- Ana Oritz welcomed a son named Rafael, a little brother for Paloma Louise. She and husband Noah Lebenzon have yet to settle on a middle name.
Tune in tomorrow at Nameberry for a look back at the most newsworthy names last week!
Baby Name of the Day: Harlow
Jean Harlow publicity still from 1930; Image via Wikipedia
She’s a 21st century discovery rich with Golden Age Hollywood glamor.
Thanks to Virginia for suggesting Harlow as our Baby Name of the Day.
Baby Name of the Day: Atlas
Starbaby News: Welcome Milo Thomas!
Alyssa Milano; Image via Wikipedia
There was so much chatter about possible baby names for Alyssa Milano’s son-on-the-way that I’d actually forgotten she was still pregnant! Alyssa and husband David Bugliari have welcomed a son, Milo Thomas.
Quirky-cool Milo has been worn by other celeb kids, of course. Mel Gibson and Camryn Manheim both used the name for sons. But it was starbaby-turned-starmama Liv Tyler who really put the name on the map, when she and rocker Royston Langdon welcomed son Milo William in 2004.
Milo is very much a 21st century name. He’s another ends-in-o revival from a century back. Just like Leo or Theo, Milo wouldn’t have been much fun to wear as a kid in the 1980s, when everyone answered to Jason and Matt. Today, though, geek chic is mainstream and appellations once reserved for the offbeat – like The Brady Bunch’s cousin Oliver – are now at the forefront of style.
Balancing the current Milo with the classic Thomas seems wise. All around, I’d give Alyssa and David a thumbs up. Readers, what’s your take on Milo Thomas?
