Arabella Churchill; Image via Wikipedia

Nicole requested this frilly, feminine confection ages ago – and she’s very much in the news this week.

With congratulations to Ivanka and Jared, today’s Baby Name of the Day is Arabella.

Looking at the US Top 100, you could easily declare a -belle, -bella, -ella, -elle craze among parents today.

But there must have been a similar phenomenon in medieval Scotland.  Amabel – lovable – was the first.  She also appears as Amabilia, Mabella, and Mabel.  Some parents smooshed Amabel and Anna to arrive at Annabel.  Others took Amabel, factored in the Latin orabilis – invokable, able to be called upon, as a saint – and arrived at Orabella or Arabella.

Mirabel – from the Latin for wondrous – appears in the same era, as do variants of that name.

Her lofty meaning combines with a frothy, lacy sound, and an intriguing list of figures, like:

• The well-born Lady Arbella Stuart was considered a possible heir to the English throne, a successor to Queen Elizabeth I.  Plenty of suitors vied for her hand, but Arbella married William Seymour – just two places behind her in the line of succession.  Because they married without the sovereign’s permission, the duo was arrested.  They escaped – and nearly got away.  Instead, Arbella died in prison on a hunger strike.  Some say the details of her attempted flight inspired Shakespeare’s character Imogen – like the fictional character, Arbella dressed as a man;
• The well-born Arabella Churchill – yup, the same family as future prime minister Winston – was mistress to King James II in the seventeenth century.  Their youngest child shared a name with mom – but that’s likely where the similarity ended, as young Arabella became a nun;
• In 1712, poet Alexander Pope penned “The Rape of the Lock.” It was an overnight sensation.  The second edition included a dedication to Arabella Fermor, the celebrated beauty who had, indeed, had an infatuated suitor, Robert Petre, cut off a lock of her hair – the inspiration for Pope’s work.  The Petre and Fermor families are lampooned in the poem, but apparently Arabella liked being depicted as the beautiful Belinda.

Others surface in the same era: a ship called the Arabella brought the Puritans to New England in 1630; there’s social reformer Lady Arabella Denny and famed singer Arabella Hunt; the heroine of Charlotte Lennox’s 1752 novel The Adventures of Arabella, a female version of Don Quixote.  The name never completely disappears, but by the nineteenth century, she was fading fast.  Her last appearance in the US Top 1000 was 1893.

And then came the renaissance of -bella names, fueled by celebrity babies called Isabella.

By 2005, Isabella ranked #6 in the US, and Arabella re-entered the charts.  By 2010, there’s:

• Isabella at #1;
• Bella at #48;
• Annabelle at #117;
• And Arabella at #386.

That’s leaving out quite a few variants, too.

Arabella sounds regal – quite the right kind of name for a Trump grandchild.  But she can be dressed down, with nicknames ranging from the obvious Belle and Bella to Arie or even Abby.  All My Children’s Arabella Carey Chandler is always known as Babe.

The name has been leaping up the charts in recent years, and this high profile use should give Arabella another boost.  She’s a tremendously pretty name, but perhaps a bit tough to wear if your daughter prefers Tonka trucks to tiaras.

Image via Wikipedia

He’s a famous fictional newscaster’s mother – and son.

Thanks to Kelly for suggesting Avery as our Baby Name of the Day.

Avery ranked #23 for girls born in the US last year.  She’s among other recent starts-with-A surname discoveries (think Ainsley or Aubrey), with high profile uses in recent years:

• Maybe the first Avery that comes to mind is Fern’s brother in Charlotte’s Web.  E.B. White wrote the book in 1952, but a 1973 animated movie brought the tale to a whole generation – many of whom have chosen the name Avery for a child of their own;
• Avery was Murphy Brown’s mom, and the name Murph chose for her son.  The pregnancy a huge story for the 1991-1992 season, one that made real-world waves when then-Vice President Dan Quayle challenged the character’s status as a single parent – and the show incorporated the veep’s speech into their show;
• Avery was Jerry Maguire’s girlfriend at the beginning of the hit 1996 movie – the girlfriend who dumped him when his career went south.

Avery comes from the same soup as Alfred – elf counsel.  King Alfred held off the invading Danes in the ninth century, leading to plenty of parents interested in naming their sons after the heroic figure.  Variants like Alvery and Alvere evolved, as well as the Norman French Auvery 0r Auveray.

Both Alfred and Avery have ranked in the US Boys’ Top 1000 every year since 1880.  But their trend lines are very different.  Alfred was a top 100 staple for decades, while Avery languished well above 500.  While both still rank, Avery is gaining steadily for boys – charting at #210 last year – while Alfred has fallen to #899.

And yet, plenty of parents consider Avery solidly feminine, a blend of the best elements of Ava and Emily.  While Murphy Brown’s high profile babe helped boost the name for both genders, Avery’s rapid rise for girls is clearly linked to broader trends.  While there’s no etymological connection, the similar sounds also bring to mind aviary – from the Latin word for bird.

The small screen gives us two female Averys:

• 30 Rock’s Avery Jessup is Jack Donaghy’s other half, the mother of Liddy;
• Ramona Singer on The Real Housewives of New York City has a teenage daughter called Avery.

You can also find Avery on the map across the US, in the office supply closet – they make labels and other supplies, and in the cooler – Avery Brewing Company is big in Colorado.

Avery has a crisp, preppy sound.  She’s so popular for girls that some parents might find her overexposed.  And that does make some parents avoid the name for boys.  But just like in 1991, when the unconventional Murph used her mother’s name for her newborn baby boy, this one wears well on either gender.

Image via Wikipedia

Feeling feisty?  Head to a message board and announce that you’re naming your daughter Addison.  Or Quinn.  Or Mason.

Then run for cover.

Sure, some people will respond positively.  But depending on the forum, you could also find yourself accused of thievery, trendiness, and general bad taste.

I’m sympathetic to parents who feel they can’t use a name they’d long loved, for fear that their son Delaney will be scarred by sharing his name with girls.  But I’m not sure a girl named Ryan is a sign of the coming apocalypse.

Make no mistake, this is a touchy subject.  And yet, I’m finding it easy to defend the practice of borrowing from the boys.

10.  We have a long history of borrowing our daughters’ names from boys.

Before there was Madison, there was Shirley.  Charlotte Bronte used it for the heroine of her 1849 novel, explaining that Shirley’s dad had wanted a son.  Shirley was gaining steadily for girls in the US when child star Shirley Temple became a household name.  The name peaked at #2 in the 1930s, and while she’s no longer popular, it is hard to imagine parents using Shirley for a son today.

There are countless stories like this, names that transitioned from male to female several generations back.  The average, non-name-obsessed person is only dimly aware of the switch.

9.  She’ll hate her name.

Yes, she probably will.  But only because lots of kids hate their names at some point.  Should you go the opposite route, it is possible that she’ll find her overly feminine name stifling.  (Nymphadora Tonks, anyone?)

You Can’t Call It “It” featured a story of a girl named Tyson who would have much rather been called Marie.  But for every Tyson, there’s a girl called Kyle who finds her boyish name pleasing.

8.  Many names have an ambi-gendered past.

Purists would like every name to correspond to pink or blue, end of discussion.  It is easy to believe that all names were created with a clear gender identity – Mary for girls, John for boys – and we’re the ones who have mucked it up.

Not so.

Take Evelyn, an off-cited early theft.  The male writer Evelyn Waugh was married to a woman named Evelyn.  Evelyn was a surname that caught on as a given name for boys.  The surname traces its roots back to the feminine appellation Aveline.  Aveline died out, but variant Evelina was revived in the nineteenth century.  All of a sudden, Evelyn sounded just right for a girl.  I’ve spotted at least one aristocratic family tree with men and woman named Evelyn over the generations.

There are more stories like that than you might imagine, from obscurities like Ismay to chart-topping choices like Madison.

7.  Stealing from boys isn’t fair.

Maybe.  But very often a name was scarcely used for either gender when it is first discovered by the parents of girls.  Lauren has some history as a short form of the masculine Laurence, but was decidedly obscure when Betty Joan Perske chose it as her professional name, becoming a major Hollywood star as Lauren Bacall.  Before Madison made a splash, she hadn’t charted for either gender since the 1950s.

The most common pattern is that a gender-ambiguous name will rise for both genders, at least for a few years – like Shannon or Avery.  In fact, Avery currently stands at #23 for girls, the highest ranking for girls ever – and at #210 for boys, also the highest ranking for boys ever.

6.  Plenty of families have long traditions of passing down surnames without regard to gender.

I’ve met families from the American South and New England, too, who pass on family surnames without regard to gender.  When a neighbor announced that their firstborn would receive her maiden name regardless of gender, the practice seemed nicely egalitarian.  If your maiden name happens to be Parker or Bailey, it would be a shame to never pass the name on just because you have daughters instead of sons.

5.  Why should certain family names be reserved for boys?

In response to #6, some insist that families should reserve the masculine choices for future sons, and look elsewhere for a daughter’s name.  Grandma Eleanor, maybe.

But there are compelling reasons to give these names to our daughters.  Kate Garry Hudson received her masculine middle because her Uncle Garry had passed away shortly before her birth.

Why not save it for a son?  Sometimes that makes sense.  But in an age of smaller families, it is not always realistic.  Imagine that you’re 42, and this is your first child – and almost certainly your last chance to use Cameron.  It would be a shame to forgo your favorite name in favor of something less meaningful.

4.  It isn’t parents using a name for girls that makes it feel feminine.

Some parents probably do look through the boys’ side of the baby name guide to find options for a daughter.  But most of the choices feel appropriate because of other names that are current.  Ava and Emily combined to make Avery a powerhouse.  Emerson follows Top Ten picks like Emma and Madison.

3.  Not every boys’ name used for girls “goes pink.”

In some cases, girls are borrowing a popular boys’ name, but it hasn’t diminished its appeal for boys.  Ryan has appeared in the US Top 1000 for girls since the 1970s, but that didn’t push Ryan out of the boys’ Top Twenty.  The same is true of Evan, Devon, and Jordan, to name just a few.

There are all cases where a name that temporarily seemed unwearable for a boy makes a quick recovery.  Jamie rose for girls and boys in the 1970s.  Today it isn’t especially stylish for either gender, but a growing number of boys named James or Jameson favor Jamie as a short form.

2.  In our enlightened age, it seems possible that some names will remain gender neutral.

Plenty of nouveau coinages seem almost deliberately gender neutral.  Peyton and Jayden are popular for girls as well as boys.  In other cases, spelling can signal the name’s gender.  I’d expect Rylee to be a girl, and chances are that’s correct -  Rylee ranked #102 in the US for girls in 2010.  But Rylee also ranked #723 for boys – and is climbing, just his feminine counterpart.

Depending on your perspective, Tate is either just one letter removed from Kate, or maybe a sound-alike to Jake.  If you’re open to names that are new, chances are that a certain amount of ambiguity will follow.  But there’s reason to believe that Tate Elizabeth and Tate Alexander can share the same playground.

1.  But there aren’t any good names left for boys!

The right name can be the right name, regardless of gender.  If your beloved grandfather was Courtney, you might name son after him regardless of concerns about being mistaken for a girl – even if you call him C.J.  And parents do seem to be daring to consider gender-shifting choices like Robin and Kelly for their sons.

It is true that parents have always exercised a greater degree of restraint when it comes to our sons’ names.  But that doesn’t mean that there’s not a great option out there for every boy.  The same freedom that lets us consider boyish choices for our daughters lets us pick from a wider range of options for our sons, too.  That’s a good thing  – even if does make you hesitate over some of your favorite boys’ names.

Image via Wikipedia

Even if you’re not even a teensy, eensy bit interested in the royal wedding, it would be pretty tough to avoid the topic today.  William and Kate’s wedding is an all-out media frenzy.

Chatter about royal baby names has been non-stop since the engagement was announced, and I’ve very much enjoyed dreaming up possible names for a future heir to the throne.

But here’s the big baby naming question that I’m wondering about: when commoner Kate becomes regal Catherine, will C become the new K?

In 1909, Catherine was slightly more popular than Katherine, but variant spellings muddy the picture:

• Catherine ranked #23, with Catharine at #324 and Cathryn at #719;
• Katherine was a respectable #53, but variants like Kathryn #74, Katharine #296, Katheryn #684, Kathrine #691, and Kathryne #731, probably gave a slight edge to the K spellings;
• Don’t forget Kathleen, at #135.

By 1959, the Ks had it:

• Kathy ranked #15; Kathleen #23; Kathryn #69; and Katherine #79;
• The only C-spelling in the Top 100 was Catherine, at #40.

And by 1989, a host of other Kate-names were in play:

• K outpaced C, with Katherine at #26, Kathryn #58, and Kathleen #90;
• Catherine remained a Top 100 choice at #67;
• Caitlin, the original spelling, was still most popular at #49, but variants Katelyn #76, Kaitlyn #95, and Kaitlin #100 were gaining fast;
• Katie was popular as a stand-alone name, at #45.

That brings us up to the present, our Kardashian-soaked era of kreative naming.  Looking at the 2009 stats:

• The Top 100 includes a host of vaguely Katherine-related names, all starting with K: Kaylee #29, Kayla #35, Kaitlyn #67, and Katelyn #89;
• Then there’s reality TV’s Khloe at #95, one of fastest gainers of 2009, though she still can’t catch Top Ten Chloe.

K’s grip has been strong.  Intriguing word name Cadence inevitably became Kaydence, and choices like Kassidy, Kinley, and Kenzie were big gainers in ’09, too.  But C shows signs of life:

• Caylee appeared at #263, up 250 paces in 2009;
• Classics Claire, Charlotte, and Caroline were all Top 100 gainers;
• Farther beyond the Top 100, vintage gems like Clara, Cecilia, Camille, and Cora all found favor with more parents.

The influences have been many, ranging from the tragic 2008 death of Caylee Anthony to the success enjoyed by actress Cate Blanchett.  The Office baby answers to Cece, and Cora owes a little something to celeb chef Cat Cora and something to the movie Coraline, too.

Factor in the newest member of the royal family, and I wonder: could we see more names creatively spelled – with a C?

C by fotologic via Flickr

She’s saintly, literary, and on trend.  Best of all, she’s been out of the US rankings for three decades.

Colette is a special Saturday Name of the Day for expectant mom Laura.

Cole has been in the US Top 100 for more than a decade,  and -ette is the “it” ending for girls, seen on popular picks like Violet, Scarlet, Juliet, and Bridget.  But Colette last appeared in the US Top 1000 in 1986.  What gives?

The short answer is simple: Colette peaked in 1966.  Recent generations of parents probably thought of the name as one from their era, not a choice for a child.

Except that Colette’s peak was a mere #373.  In 1966, other names with a similar ranking included Sophia, Emma, Clara, Beatrice, Georgia, and Celeste.  Those names have headed up and up and up while Colette plummeted.

Like Cole, Colette comes from the Nicholas and Nicole family.  It gives them quite an appealing meaning – the first syllable means victory, from the Greek nike.  The -las is dervied from laos – people. 

Nicolette is a diminutive form in French, which has also seen some use in the US, thanks to actress Nicollette Sheridan, better known as Knots Landing’s Paige Matheson and Desperate Housewives’ Edie Britt.

From Nicole to Nicolette to Colette is a natural progression, but one that might not be obvious.  Notable Colettes have worn the name independently for centuries.

First was Saint Colette, founder of a reformed order of the Poor Clares in the fifteenth century.  Colette sought religious life, but not just any religious life.  She lived as a hermit, eventually bringing her ascetic ideals to reform the Order of Saint Clare.  She founded new monasteries, and Colettine orders are still active today.

There’s also Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, best known for her novel Gigi, and the musical adaptations that followed for stage and screen.  In turn of the century France, her writing was scandalous; her real life, equally so.

Colette passed her surname on to her daughter as a given name.  It became quite stylish in France, peaking in 1937.  After the author’s death in 1954 – she was the first woman ever given a state funeral in France – the name enjoyed renewed popularity.

If you’ve been dutifully watching your way through the Pixar-Disney flicks, you’ll recognize Colette Tatou as Linguini’s love interest from 2007′s Ratatouille.  Janeane Garofolo voiced the no-nonsense chef.

Colette has some modest use as a starbaby name.  Actor Dylan McDermott has a daughter called Colette.  So does gymnast-turned-actress Constance Zimmer.

McDermott’s Colette has another distinction.  Her birth is captured in Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues.  Ensler and McDermott are about the same age, but Ensler was married to McDermott’s dad.  She was his stepmother, and the pair remain very close – she is considered Colette’s grandmother.  You can see the dedication from the print edition here.

McDermott reminds me of something else: I was planning to suggest Colette as an alternative for parents disappointed that Charlotte has become so popular.  But the actor and his ex-wife have two daughters.  Guess what Colette’s little sister is named?  Yup.  Charlotte.

If you’re looking for a name that is perfectly familiar, but startlingly uncommon, Colette is a great choice, the kind of name that makes you wonder “Why don’t we hear Colette more?”

c21 by TooFarNorth via Flickr

I’ve been fascinated by today’s choice ever since I found her in a 1972 novel.

Thanks to Charmaine for suggesting her own name as our Baby Name of the Day.

It’s easy to suffer from the misconception that American parents used to choose from a relatively fixed set of given names.  Sure, some of them sound dated today.  But at least, conventional wisdom goes, parents weren’t just making things up.

Ahem.

Back in 1924, Maxwell Anderson and Laurence Stallings wrote a play called What Price Glory. It’s the story of two US Marines, long-time rivals, who find themselves stationed in France during World War I, both vying for the affections of the local innkeeper’s daughter.

The daughter’s name is Charmaine de la Cognac, and it sounds French.  But could you have found a mademoiselle answering to Charmaine in France in 1924?

I’m not so sure.

There are a handful of women named Charmaine in the US Census records before the play was written.  But according to Meilleurs Prenoms, there haven’t been many Frenchwomen given the name in the 20th century – it peaked in 1992, with just four newborn Charmaines.

There are a few possible origins for the name:

• Charmion appears in the historical record as one of Cleopatra’s servants.  Shakespeare spelled the name Charmian in his 1606 Antony and Cleopatra;
• Then there’s Lorraine, a name borrowed from the French region.  Lorraine ranked in the US Top 100 from 1918 through 1948.  Elaine also ranked in the Top 100 from the 1920s into the 1950s.  By 1920, Germaine and Romaine were also in use.  The -aine ending was having a moment.

It’s not clear whether Anderson and Stalling thought they were inventing a suitable name for their charming leading lady, or whether they’d heard it elsewhere and believed it was as suitable a choice as Marianne.

What’s certain is that What Price Glory became a silent film in 1926 with the stunning Dolores del Rio playing the lovely Charmaine.  Then came the 1952 version with the Paris-born Corinne Calvet in the role.

A song composed for the first film was titled “Charmaine.”  It was originally a waltz, but you can find many different versions, both with and without the lyrics.

“Charmaine” was a hit in 1927, spending seven weeks at #1, and it resurfaced again and again over the years.  British duo The Bachelors enjoyed modest success with this version in 1963.

Image via Wikipedia

I hope you had a wonderful, magical holiday!  A few random observations from the wider world:

• Clio opened a gift from the B. You toys line to find this quote in the packaging:  “I’m going to have five children and name them Cabbage, French Toast, Table, Shower, and Chair!”  I laughed, and then noted that the quote was attributed to Skye, age 6;
• I’ve yet to see it, but the third installment in the Meet the Parents series hit the big screen earlier this week.  The Little Fockers are the sensibly named Henry and Samantha, which is, I think, what probably happens if you go through life saying, “It’s Gaylord, but please call me Greg.”
• I finally watched Easy A over the weekend, and there’s a great line about the name Olive: “My name is an anagram for I love.”

Elsewhere online:

• Does being a teacher really making choosing a child’s name harder?  Teacher friends have told me that’s so, and this post at Swistle repeats the lament. But I think Swistle’s advice is spot on:  “I think this would be a happier and easier process if you could bring yourself to avoid an insistence on the child being the only child of your acquaintance with that name … Coming to terms with a duplicate now is like getting the first ding or scratch on the new car: nice to get the inevitable over with.”
• Nameberry posted their 2010 Most Popular Lists.  On the boys’s side, Finn edged out Henry for the #1 name, but only if you exclude other Fin- names like Finnian and Finnegan.  Charlotte reigns supreme for girls, but there are some real surprises in their Top 100, like Elodie, Pearl, and Rory;
• While we’re on round-up posts, here’s Nancy’s take on Scotland’s 2010 baby name data.  Is Riley-Boy a typo, or a defensive move for parents fearing their son will be mistaken for a daughter?  Speaking of daughters, why would you call yours Chalcedony?  There must be a story there;
• The NameLady takes on the question of Calypso in “Is My Favorite Baby Name too Weird?” It goes without saying I’m on the side of the (mostly) positive comments.  I’m also surprised by the Name Lady’s comment that “the -o ending … is a tough sell for girls’ names.”  Really?  From Margo to Harlow, I feel like it is reasonably accepted, if not exactly expected;
• Speaking of -o, how ’bout naming your daughter – or son – Snow?  Sebastiane has a list of international variants;
• On a similar note, UK-based Bounty suggests that babies born during the holiday season might be named Sparkle. And you thought Calypso was different!

Among the famous and the fabulous:

• Vince Vaughn is a new dad, to daughter Locklyn Kyla;
• I enjoyed Amy Adams’ explanation of her daughter’s name, Aviana, inspired by Adams’ birthplace, Aviano, Italy. That’s a great story!

I’ve taken to putting more celeb birth announcements over at Facebook.

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

And yet, Charlotte recently mentioned Lecandro – surely the invention of a creative mama – and I found myself liking it quite a bit.

Maybe it is that I’ve found there’s a backstory for nearly any name.  Or possibly I’m far more aware that my own opinions have changed over the years.  Two decades ago, Finn would’ve been a shark reference, destined to hear the low strings of Jaws.  Today he’s among the most fashionable of names, even before Glee ricocheted him to wider notice.

And the name news:

• I’ve been meaning to post this ever since Kim sent it my way: Wee Decor posts lists of names parents have ordered on nursery wall art.  Check out their Summer 2010 list here. Dario, Allica, and Juddefrey are all gracing the name of a nursery somewhere.  But hey, if you love it enough to put it on a birth certificate, why not put it on a wall;
• Or chisel it on a stone(age) wall.  Nancy tells us that in the 1960s, some parents went prehistoric and named their daughters Pebbles shortly after the animated series adding a daughter;
• Check out For Real’s list of baby names featuring alliteration – though some of these go too far.  Alexis Alexandra and Coleton Cole both feel repetitive.  Ava Autumn is lovely, and I kind of like Elijah Ezra, too;
• Speaking of how close is too close, I’m intrigued by this post at You Can’t Call It “It” about twins named Claire Emerson and Ellis Catherine … or maybe something else entirely;
• Even if you read zero Dutch, you can pick out the names Emma posted from Benelux’s Next Top Model. I ran the page through Google Translate to confirm – there apparently is a contestant named Epiphany;
• Here’s a quick check at the box office.  Besides the animated owl sibset I mentioned on Facebook – Soren and Eglantine – there are a few other intriguing choices.  Renee Zellweger’s just-in-time-for-Halloween horror flick Case 39 includes a little girl named Lillith.  In Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, we learn that Gordon Gekko named his daughter Winnie.  And Ben Affleck’s The Town is generating buzz for other reasons, but also gives us two to consider – a criminal named James who answers to Jem, and Jem’s niece, a little girl called Shyne.

As for the starbaby round up – it’s a girl.  And a girl, and a girl …:

• This is an interesting choice: Yul Kwon, the winner of 2006′s Survivor: Cook Islands is a new dad to daughter Genevie;
• Here’s a truly lovely choice: Esai Morales and his girlfriend have welcomed a daughter, Mariana Oliveira;
• What percentage of girls called Madeline (or Madison, Madelyn, Madasyn, etc.) answered to Maddie?  And how many are Maddy?  Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus has announced his daughter-on-the-way will be called Madeline Leigh, answering to Maddy-with-a-y;
• James Van Der Beek bucked the Hollywood embrace of unusual names to choose Olivia for his newborn daughter.

Love the Sunday Summary?  Find Appellation Mountain on Facebook.

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

Image via Wikipedia

With a happy birthday to my darling daughter, today’s Baby Name of the Day is Caroline.

We think of the regal Caroline as a classic, and she has ranked in the US Top 1000 in every year since the first year data was collected, 1880.

But she hasn’t always been a popular pick, even in recent years.  In the 1950s, Caroline was eclipsed by variant spelling Carolyn, a name that reached the Top Ten in 1942.  From 1936 to 1950, Carol was a Top Ten option for girls.

The Germanic Karl is the starting point for all of these, and his meaning is usually given as simply man.  Sometimes you’ll see Caroline’s meaning listed as womanly; that’s a stretch.  Karl’s descendants range from Charles and Charlotte to Carlos and Carly.  A surprising number of them are big today, in the US and elsewhere.

Caroline is the French feminine form, but the woman who brought the name to English was a German princess.  Born Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach in 1683, she was quite the smart cookie.  Caroline refused several marriages to Catholic monarchs to make a match with King George II of Great Britain.  A new queen is enough to make any name catch on, but Caroline was especially influential, supporting writers, artists, and intellectuals.  (That’s her in the portrait.)

The royal couple passed her name on to a daughter, and well-born Carolines have been around ever since.  A second German-born Caroline was queen consort to King George IV of the United Kingdom in the early nineteenth century.  In more recent history, Caroline Bouvier Kennedy is from the famous presidential family; she was named after her maternal aunt and maternal great-grandmother.

Add it all up, and Caroline feels like a good girl – privileged, preppy, maybe even pearl-wearing.  Nameberry includes her on their Names Headed for Harvard list.

Plus, today’s parents grew up with Caroline:

• We’ve all sung along with Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”;
• Ma Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie was Caroline;
• The author of the Nancy Drew series was called Carolyn Keene – even though that was just a catch-all for a group of ghostwriters;
• Lea Thompson played a single cartoonist in Caroline in the City, which ran as part of the Friends block in the 1990s;
• But the Caroline in New York City who really made an impact was Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw.

Plenty of modern Carries wear the nickname as their full name, like country singer Carrie Underwood and actress Carrie Fisher.  Stephen King’s Carrie was born Carrietta.

There were also a host of notable Carolines in the nineteenth century, like First Lady Caroline Harrison, the wife of 23rd US President Benjamin Harrison and feminist writer and reformer Caroline Healey Dall.  There was also the aristocratic Lady Caroline Lamb, remembered for her scandalous affair with Lord Byron.

Parents are embracing Caroline for dozens of reasons today.  She’s the kind of classic name that will always rebound.  She’s nickname-rich, but doesn’t need one.

Possible pronunciation woes come with any of the -line names, but it seems to be the KARE oh line pronunciation that’s much in favor now.  Blame it on Neil Diamond – whoa, ho, ho.

But enough about that.  The big news in baby naming this week was Baby Name Wizard’s report on the fastest rising names of 2010.  As usual, the coverage missed the critical fine print: these are the fastest gaining searched names, not names being inked on birth certificates by parents.  Not everyone searching is expecting a child; not everyone searching and expecting would ever choose a daring name.  And yet, it’s interesting to see the list, and there are definitely trends to be spotting among the fastest rising.

They are as follows, girls first:

1. Tenley
2. Harper
3. Everleigh
4. Martina
5. Sookie
6. Navi - There’s been plenty of speculation about Avatar’s impact on baby naming.  Combined with actress Navi Rawat, could this be the film’s big contribution?
7. Charlotte
8. Eloise
9. Lorelai
10. Ursula
11. Briella
12. Kinley
13. Tinsley - The next Kimora?
14. Mhairi – It’s a twist on the Scottish form of Mary, but would probably be pronounced Mary in the US, so is she anything more than an impressively creative spelling?
15. Leighton
16. Maelle
17. Ever
18. Kinsley
19. Lux
20. Everly

There are some interesting picks for boys, too:

1. Castiel
2. Bentley
3. Eoin
4. Easton
5. Lucian
6. Aarav
7. Zion
8. St. John
9. Kaiden
10. Sterling
11. Callan
12. Leland
13. Harper
14. Mikah
15. Dashiell
16. Eliah
17. Dawson
18. Kayden
19. Lennon
20. Dorian

Other than the rise of the Ever- names, my real take-away is this: I suspect Charlotte is headed for the US Top Ten.  She’s gently French, literary, and feminine without being fussy.  Her nickname options are great.  She’s also climbing rapidly, without any sign of hitting a plateau.

Putting my crystal ball away, here’s the rest of the news:

• Here’s a list that’s subject to the same flaws, yet seems more likely to suggest future US name trends: Luke Eales of babynames.co.uk guest posted at Nameberry, sharing the fastest rising names on his site.  Jude and India, anybody?;
• Nymbler posted their June 2010 update. The Top Ten were the usual snooze of nice-but-oft-heard choices: Charlotte, Ava, Noah, Oliver, Owen, Amelia, Ella, Olivia, Grace, Henry. But the Top Four brand new names?  A delight as always: Saylor, Loki, Zadie and Sookie;
• Speaking of Sookie, anyone want to take the over/under on when we’ll hear of a baby girl named Snooki?  For real, that is … Jersey Shore’s Snooki was born Nicole;
• Forget New Jersey – what’s up with North Carolina?  Check out these names spotted by For Real Baby Names: Fanny Celeste Marin, Jenton Stone, River Cruz, Kwynn Patricia, Mayden Jane. There are some really unexpected combos on that list.  But she also found some lovelies: Ingrid Julieth, Emily Miranda.  If Maylee is the new Kaylee, I guess Mayden might be the next Jaidyn;
• Speaking of -ayden, check out Nancy’s tally of boys receiving -ayden names in 2009. I won’t spoil the grand tally, but there were lots.  No, really.  There are more than you think, including seven Xhaidens and six Sheadons.  All of a sudden, Castiel and Jenton sound as sensible as Joseph and James;
• This one is just for fun: Listicles posted the 12 Worst Name-Generating Websites.  My Sarah Palin baby name is Fire Patriot.  My vampire name?  Mary Maundrell.  What does it say when Twi-fying yourself produces the better result;
• File this under Only Vaguely Related:  Mr. Clean’s first name is Veritably;
• While I’m on a random tangent, here’s another, this time via Fritinancy.  The French word for weasel is belette.  I had no trouble finding Bellette listed on baby name websites;
• Let’s end where we began – remember Lennon from the Baby Name Wizard list?  If you’re a fan of the Fab Four, John, George and Paul are fair game, and Lennon and Harrison, why not?  But Ringo? Names4Real spotted a Ringo Isaac.

It was a quiet week for starbabies.  Juan Pablo Montoya – who is racing on our TV as I type this – welcomed a daughter, Manuela. The NASCAR notable is also dad to Sebastian and Paulina.

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