Abram Called To Be a Blessing; Image via Wikipedia
He’s part Biblical patriarch, part Gothic novelist.
Thanks to Lindsay for suggesting Abram as our Baby Name of the Day.
Baby Name of the Day: Abram
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Tag Archives: Cooper
Baby Name of the Day: Danica
Danica Patrick at the 2006 Indianapolis 500; Image via Wikipedia
She’s a Slavic goddess driven to success.
Thanks to Fran for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day, Danica.
Baby Name of the Day: Annina
Alphabet 1 by Brenda-Starr via Flickr
She’s an operatic elaboration, instantly transforming Ann from straightforward classic to exotic appellation.
Thanks to Emily for suggesting her childhood friend’s name for our Baby Name of the Day: Annina.
Sunday Summary: 3/13/11
Billiard No. 13 by nemosocke via Flickr
First, an edit. A few weeks ago, I said something along these lines: “If the kid is good looking a clunky name doesn’t matter.” What I should have said was “if the person is confident …” Beauty is a lottery over which we have no control. (Though Seal and Heidi Klum’s kids are probably set.) But confidence is something we can influence and develop.
Elsewhere online:
- This NameCandy article on favorite MomBlogger baby names is great! She included a few of my favorites, like Girls Gone Child’s Rebecca Woolf’s Archer Sage and Fable Luella;
- I was tickled to see Krickit at For Real Baby Names. My friend C. often says that if she had a late-in-life child, she’d name the baby Cricket. Based on the names of her (nearly grown) kids, I’m sure she’s joking. But Cricket has become a favorite of mine anyhow. This spelling takes a cutesy name and makes it look more like the opening cry of a Beastie Boys song – Kick it! I can’t say it is an improvement;
- Spotted in Iowa BAs – they’re not my style, but I think Gage and Cooper make for a good sibset;
- Could you really name a child Kabuki? Despite the appealing sound, comic book character, I think it probably crosses a line. Kateri, on the other hand, I can understand;
- Speaking of crossing lines, Nancy tells us about marathoner Susan Olsen. She crossed a finish line – then delivered the appropriately-named John Miles;
- I spotted Carmindy again. Is she catching on? Can it be stopped?
- Will Louella, Calix, and Imre have to share their names? They’re among those on the rise at Nameberry;
- I first stumbled across Libba Bray when I wrote about Philippa, and finally had a minute to devour A Great and Terrible Beauty. It’s packed with great girl names: Pippa, Felicity, Gemma. In another book, she named a punk rock angel with spray painted wings Dulcie.
After last week’s trip to the Big Easy to source Mardi Gras names, I’m fishing for something different at Nameberry tomorrow.
It was a quiet week for celeb births. The big news? Martha Stewart is a grandmother. Daughter Alexis welcomed a daughter of her own, named Jude. The best comment on the Appellation Mountain Facebook page goes to C., who pointed out that Alexis “isn’t exactly a frilly traditional girl’s name, either.”
If you have yet to vote in the March Madness Quarter Finals, Girls and Boys, there’s still time. Polls will stay open until Friday morning.
That’s all for this week. As always, thanks for reading!
Baby Name of the Day: Betty
139/365 To thine own self B true by Myki Roventine via Flickr
She’s gone full circle, from buxom pin-up girl to grey-haired granny, and back again to the nursery.
Thanks to Claire for suggesting Betty as our Baby Name of the Day.
Baby Name of the Day: Camden
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.
Sunday Summary: 11/28/10
Things for which I am grateful: name blogger Xanthe Linnea is back with the story of her son’s name, Leo Nathaniel. And Emmy Jo shared Julius Arthur‘s name story, complete with absolutely adorable photos! They make for great reading. Plus, be on the lookout for another Reader Baby Name Story here next Saturday!
Another thing that fills me with joy: your boundless creativity, as seen in the Holiday Baby Name Game: Thanksgiving Edition. The suggestions were fabulous – I’ve winnowed it down to a few choices for the polls. Vote for your favorites below!
I’ve been putting more and more Real Life name spottings over at Facebook, but here are a few I couldn’t resist:
The first two sets run afoul of my How Close is too Close? tests. And while I’ve defended alternate spellings, Emett makes me want to backspace. I wonder if there’s a reason?
Elsewhere online:
- Nameberry raised the question of cool names we’ve spotted. The comments were amazing – North, Cosmo, Padget for boys, and Posie, Lulabelle, and Persia for girls – and that’s just a sample;
- Speaking of cool names, For Real spotted boys called Fox and Zen, plus a Wallace Gannon, which I kind of love;
- This was pure fun: Nancy’s round up of Happy Days-inspired baby names like Fonzie and Chachi. Really!
- Speaking of odd names, I’ve often said that being named Dweezil could not have been the strangest thing about growing up with Frank Zappa for a dad. Evidence that parents with unusual outlooks and vocations choose names accordingly: at DaddyTypes, Kenny Scharf designed this wild crib for his daughter in the 1980s. Her name? Zena;
- It goes the opposite way, too. Also via DaddyTypes, CPC Designs features super-cute, super-preppy little jumpers and such, made by a trio of friends. They have five kids between them: Charlie, Teddy, Paige, Cooper, and Madeleine.
The big Hollywood news was the birth of Benjamin Travolta. But with Pink among the currently expecting celebs, we can only expect a bumper crop of fabulous baby names in 2011.
Hope you had a great week, and for those in the US, a fun Thanksgiving.
Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
Baby Name of the Day: Cora
Baby Name of the Day: Archer
Image by Valerie Everett via Flickr
He’s a nineteenth-century rarity, newly returned to the Top 1000 in 2009.
Thanks to Rachel for suggesting Archer as Baby Name of the Day.
Sunday Summary: 8/29/10
My week at the beach was spent listening for names (well, there was ice cream and sand and a giant waterslide called the Hippo) but I didn’t hear much. There was a Veronica nicknamed Vera, but mostly it was the pleasant Top 100 assortment of Ethan, Dylan, Emma, Riley, Noah, Chloe, Caleb, Jackson, Zachary, Ellie, and the like. I also heard a girl called Cooper and another girl named Gracen or Graycen or maybe Gracyn. Thanks for checking out Rerun Week while I was slathering on sunscreen!
In the meantime, a new neighbor has arrived and her kids names? Be still my heart: Nella and Arlo. I haven’t actually met them (she joined a listserv for local moms) but I might hug her.
Also in the real world, the incredibly talented Brooke at Dinkypopsnomore is now mom to two! The incredibly photogenic, more-stylish-at-3-than-I-am-at-37 Temperance is big sister to Verity Blythe. See the post about her name here.
Elsewhere online:
- Here’s something you don’t know about me: I rarely drive. I have a license, but we’ve arranged our lives so most of the time, our car stays parked. And I plain like mass transit. So Nancy’s recent post about a baby named Queenie after a bus company? That could be me;
- I understand Ever and Everly. A kid called Eternity would not be a surprise. But Never? ForReal spotted one, and it just seems off;
- Did you see the great Nameberry post on TV character names? Ask a parent if she’d be willing to name a child after a TV character and you’ll often get a refusal, maybe a snicker. But they do filter into wider use. So get set for birth announcements reading Landry, Horatio, Brick, Remy, Cricket, and Astrid. One not on the list: Dwight, Jason Lee’s character on his new show, Memphis Blue. Rainn Wilson’s salesman/beet farmer on The Office has put a dent in Dwight – he left the US Top 1000 in 2004 – wonder if Lee can revive him?
- The Globe and Mail has an essay by a parent who really can’t decide what to name son #3. It’s a common struggle, but what’s particularly interesting is the drama caused by their common surname: Jones. Nearly any popular choice has a notable bearer: George Jones, Tom Jones, and so on. After naming firstborn son Jack they learned that Jack Jones sang The Love Boat theme song. I always thought it was the long, unusual surnames that posed problems, but I guess it goes both ways;
- Here’s a fun list of model names from Babble columnist Ceridwen Morris. But Nameberry did it first, and even compiled a list of super-stylish names supermodels gave to their offspring (before, we assume, slipping back into some fabulous get-up for a photo shoot with baby on hip like a designer bag.) Yannick or Mingus, anyone?
- I haven’t checked in with the Toronto Star’s Kristin Rushowy in months. A few recent posts: a boy called Timo Wolf, a girl named Tanys Aurora Alexandra Piia, and a cautionary tale about pronunciation issues when you name your cute Canadian kid after a Hindu goddess.
In starbaby news:
- Let’s hear it for the double palindrome power of Ava Katherine Otto, a new daughter for country singer James Otto and wife Amy;
- Actor Matt Walton – he plays Eli on One Life To Live – has an Ava, too, plus a brand new son called Greyson James. Greyson is the new Jayden. Add up all the boys called Greyson and Grayson, plus the girls wearing a variant of sound-alike Gracen, and you have the formula for a gender-neutral, hard-to-gauge usage name that every parent thinks is uncommon. Too bad, because I do love Gray;
- Army Wives’ Catherine Bell has a new son called Ronan, a little sister for Gemma. That’s a nice sibset, a pair of names that are underused, but not outlandish;
- And the big news is the birth of Florence Rose Endellion, a daughter for UK Prime Minister David Cameron, his wife Samantha, and three older siblings: the late Ivan, plus Nancy, and Arthur Elwen. For a humorous and insightful look on place names popping up on birth certificates, there’s this News & Star column. Capri and Dublin, yes. St. Bees Flimby Pie? Probably not;
- Lastly, the best use of Twitter for baby naming since Erykah Badu live-tweeted the birth of her third child and claimed she was calling her Twittymilk surely goes to Neil Patrick Harris’ twins teaser. That’s an instant sibset I can’t wait to learn.
As always, thanks for reading!
