Ella Fitzgerald; Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr
Hello, Ella. Where did you come from?
Thanks to Ivy for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day – the short, sweet Ella.
Baby Name of the Day: Ella
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Tag Archives: Cinderella
Sunday Summary: 10/24/10
Is there a baby names arms race?
I happen to be writing from New York City, just a week after the Health Department released their 2009 stats proclaiming Isabella and Jayden top of the charts. Yawn.
But then the Wall Street Journal’s Metropolis blog interviewed Baby Name Wizard’s Laura Wattenberg on the results. Two things stood out: first, Wattenberg is a master of linguistic analysis. She declares that today’s parents prefer names lacking “two consecutive voiced consonants.” Buh-bye Robert and Alfred, Nancy and Betsy.
But this quote grabbed me: “Individuality has become a prized virtue and there’s a kind of competitive landscape — a baby name arms race — where parents are determined to make their child stand out.”
It is true that even the most common given names are given to fewer children with every passing year, whether that name is Mary or Isabella or Ava, John or Jacob or Jayden. But I’m not sure that we’re intentionally competing for a stand-out name for our kids … more in a future post.
Elsewhere online:
- Speaking of standing out, here are a few rarities mentioned in the NYC Health Department press release: Nava and Zeidy for girls; Pinchus, Orion, and Drake for boys. Not sure about all of them, but those last two? I imagine we’ll hear a few more Orions and many more Drakes in future years;
- And back to the arms race: apparently, friendships really do end when two expectant mothers land on the same name. I’m with ParentDish UK’s Tamsin Oxford on this one: “So what if you’re going to call him Sam, it’s not like he’s going to be the first child with that name, and there’s no way he’s going to be the last. Surely what counts is the fact that he is your Sam?”
- Here’s an often-heard pheonomenon: I don’t like made-up names, but I like this one I made up. Swistle weighs in on Junuh, which I think she rightly concludes feels both feminine and invented. The respelling Junah might hold up better, but it would never have the masculine appeal of Cannon or Gunnar. Or even Greg;
- Nancy asks whether more of us will name our children Kindle. It’s a hop, skip, and a jump from Kendall to the e-Reader. She also tells us that 24 girls received the name in 2009. And don’t forget surname picks like Kinsey and Kinley, both of which are heard more and more;
- On the AppMtn Facebook page, I mused about the sibsets of the future: Buster and Minka, anyone?
- Can’t get enough of wacky celebrity names? Here’s another slideshow. Call me jaded, but I’m finding it harder and harder to be surprised by any baby name, chosen by anyone. Okay, well maybe Audio Science still seems extreme. Well … and Jagger for a girl. And … okay, I lied. It’s an inexhaustible subject;
- Which reminds me, what do you name your child when your name is Beyonce? That’s one Nameberry contest I can’t wait to enter;
- Here’s a cheerful name: ForReal spotted a Pollyanna Nell. Plus girls called Laurette, Odette, and Isla Antoinette in Washington. Are the -ettes ready for a comeback yet?
- DaddyTypes gives us a list of Footloose-inspired baby names – with Ren and Lulu on the list, it isn’t as outrageous a suggestion as it appears;
- One of Swistle’s posts resulted in a daughter named Felicity, nicknamed Fliss. Love that nickname!
- If there a baby names arms race, here’s the finish line. (Though I don’t think this post is legit.) What should she name her triplets, gender TBA? Current options are, boys first: Mystique Mariah, Blueberry Love, Disney Cinderella, Raven Superman, Dave Superman, Clandestine Superman.
In celeb news, I was so busy speculating about Egypt catching on, and what Beyonce might name her maybe-baby, and how crowd-sourcing works because second-born Bowen Brees has a much better name than elder son Baylen … well, I missed the arrival of Lance Armstrong’s daughter, Olivia Marie, a little sister for Luke, Isabelle, Grace, and Max.
And, of course, Matt Damon and wife Luciana welcomed daughter Stella.
Celine Dion has also welcomed her twins – two boys! – but names have not yet been released. Please leave a comment if you hear anything!
That’s all for this week. As always, thanks for reading!
Sunday Summary: 8/2/09
How can it possibly be August? Of 2009!?
As I marvel at the date on the calendar, why don’t you hop in the wayback machine to 2008 when August was Name of the Day? It’s still one of my favorites for a boy.
Here in my RL, I’ve got a few new babies to report:
- Elizabeth Violet, nn Elle – classic, but not dull;
- John Paul – not sure if he’s John-Paul or even Jean Paul, but parents definitely use both names together;
- Did I mention I met a Polly? IMHO, the world could use a few more Pollys.
Also in RL, but in ones far more glamorous – or at least visible – than mine:
- Jude Law, known for his great taste in baby names, is apparently expecting #4 avec model/actress Samantha Burke. He was stepdad to Finlay and has three kids with ex-wife Sadie Frost: Rafferty, Iris and Rudy. Turns out that Sadie was the stylish namer of the duo, apparently – the baby-on-the-way is slated to be known as the classic-but-common Sophia;
- Actress Kathryn Hahn welcomed daughter Mae, a sister for Leonard;
- Dancer Ashly Costa embraces the obscure-but-wearable Biblical baby names category, welcoming son Enoch Daniel. Enoch was Name of the Day back in June. Big brother is Ammon Michael. Wonder if they’re planning on any more kiddos? Because on their current path, they could be the family forced to resort to Habakkuk;
- Speaking of lots of kiddos, everyone’s favorite mega-family, the Duggars, announced that their first grandchild will be known as Mackynzie Renée. I think it is lovely that they’ve opted to stick with M in honor of matriarch Michelle. I also think it is too bad that Meredith didn’t make it to the top of the list, as they’d joked with morning talk’s Meredith Vieira during their reveal-the-gender television appearance.
And in the blogosphere:
- Jill’s post on NameShame? Rocks.
- Speaking of naming regrets, the mom blogger at Kicky Boots wrote about deciding to rename their toddler. Karenna Jolie is, I must say, a lovely choice for their daughter. Who cares it if it took a few months post-utero to settle on it?
- During our discussion of Cinderella, Sebastiane mentioned that she’s heard of it on Cajun women. There is something fascinating happening in Louisiana, isn’t there? Nancy did a post on Cajun names from the Civil War, including Justilien and Dazincourt;
- Did you check out the Nameberry Faves post – Beatrix, Penelope and Clementine are their Top Three. Beatrix is clearly a favorite here, too. Wonder if we’ll see that reflected in the US rankings in a few years?
- Xanthe Linnea wrote about Cedric. Anyone else think that the Harry Potter/Twilight connection might make Cedric an unlikely choice in, say, a decade and a half? Edward Cedric, anyone?
- Bewildertrix spotted Asher on a girl; Elisabeth reports a girl called Archer. Asher doesn’t surprise me, what with Ashley/Ashlyn/Ashtyn. But Archer? Knock me over with a feather;
- I loved Bewildertrix’s post on villain names like Regan, Judas, Iago, Jezebel, Hannibal … whenever I ding Regan, I can expect a few angry comments. But I’m with her on this one – Regan wasn’t much of a role model to begin with, and the fact that the name caught on post-Exorcist? Scary. Even better, her comment on Lucifer – “Sound wise it’s magnificent. To use it? Cruel.”
- A pair of Canadian parents insist they are angst-free over their decision to name their daughters Shade Star Pirate and Styles Knight Mansion. I respect the amount of thought they put into their choices. But I can’t help think that somewhere in there, they could’ve given their daughters a less aggressively unusual name, just in case the girls grow up to have interests other than their parents’ professions, Star Wars and attractions at Disney World;
- Let’s end on a high note – Sebastiane featured a truly classic girls’ name over at Legit Baby Names – Martha, Marta, Marthe.
In semi-name news, I’ve been coveting my neighbors’ gas-sipping, eco-chic SmartCar for months now. I was charmed to learn that the forerunner of today’s Smart wore the lovely name Isetta. Hey, if girls can be named Camry. And Shade …
Thanks for reading!
Name of the Day: Cinderella
Jasmine, Ariel and Aurora have all been popular picks for girls. And Belle is quite the sensation. So why is this fairytale princess name off limits?
Thanks to Photoquilty for suggesting Cinderella as Name of the Day.
Name of the Day: Cynthia
She’s a sophisticated epithet for a moon goddess, but ever since the 1970s, this name is more likely to conjure up The Brady Bunch.
Thanks to Toni for suggesting Cynthia as Name of the Day.
