Violet pansies; Image via Wikipedia
She’s a vintage botanical in full bloom circa 2011.
Thanks to Heather for suggesting Violet as our Baby of the Name.
Baby Name of the Day: Violet
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Tag Archives: Daisy
Baby Name of the Day: Adair
Sunday Summary: 3/6/11
Nature's Number 6 by CarbonNYC via Flickr
First, a question for a friend: let’s say you were expecting a daughter. Not only is she going to be your last child, you’re the youngest sibling, so this baby is probably the last in her generation. You’d love to pass on your maiden name. Trouble is, your maiden name sounds exactly like a popular name, but with a totally different spelling.
For argument’s sake, let’s say the name is Reily. It looks like a creative respelling of a popular name, but it isn’t – it’s the most meaningful name you can imagine. You could respell it to Riley. But you’d rather not.
What would you do? Use Reily, knowing there’s no name more meaningful? Accept the less meaningful Riley in an attempt to save your daughter spelling hassles? Or are there so many girls called Rylee that you have to spell everything anyhow?
Opinions appreciated!
Elsewhere online:
- I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Harry’s Law, the new Kathy Bates show on NBC. The character’s name is Harriet, one of my favorites. Harriet left the US Top 1000 after 1970, and since then the only high-profile bearer of the name was the shrewish Mrs. Oleson on Little House on the Prairie. I keep expecting to see her make a comeback. Nickname option Hattie seems like a logical successor to Maddie and Abby;
- This post at Swistle discusses the name Hazen, for a boy. For the parents, it’s the name of a favorite place, a state park in Vermont. But it also sounds like the kind of invented boy name we continue to hear. A friend of mine mentioned she knows a newborn boy named Vallen;
- You Can’t Call It “It” skims the London Telegraph birth announcements. It’s always a great read, but my favorite was Hero Genevieve Tallulah, a sister for Gus, Daisy, Archie, and Conrad. I’d love to know the older kids’ full names;
- Look at this middle name, spotted by For Real: Roman Starling. It’s a great combination of the very masculine and the completely unexpected;
- I try to read Voornamelijk, despite the fact that it is in Dutch. Her recent report on reality TV from Europe turned up an intriguing list of contestants: Dilara, Lois, Meron, and Zira;
- Word is out that the most popular names in Germany for last year were Sophie and Maximilian. Despite being known for their restrictive laws regarding given names, quite a few unusual choices made it through, including Kix and Belana;
- I love this story about a baby named after chorus girl Evelyn Nesbit at Nancy’s site.
I am absolutely bursting with excitement over my post at Nameberry for Monday. The names range from Amoret to Sedley, Lucien to Arthemise.
Hollywood gave us just two announcements this week, but oh, what names!
- We learned that Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher named Olive’s little sister Elula. There’s a good analysis of the name’s style up at NameCandy and Elisabeth at You Can’t Call It “It” is reporting that Elula’s full name is Elula Lottie Miriam;
- Gretchen Mol chose Winter Morgan for Ptolemy’s little sister. I like Winter just fine, but I was expecting something far more daring – Yseult or Persephone, maybe.
Which reminds me – do you know the most popular season name? This article at Babble reads “We all know at least one Summer, right? And Autumn isn’t unheard of. But Winter? That’s a first.” Actually, Autumn is in the US Top 100, while Summer has never ranked that high. And can Winter really be called a first when Nicole Richie’s Harlow Winter Kate is so visible? Nancy tells us that 259 girls received the name in 2009, meaning that Winter ranked just a few spots beyond the Top 1000.
As for Spring, there’s always Oscar-nominated actress Spring Byington.
Speaking of spring, remember that voting for March Madness preliminaries for both Boys and Girls is open until Friday morning.
Thanks all for this week. As always, thanks for reading!
Sunday Summary: 12/12/10
Little Red Riding Hood illustration from 1927; Image via Wikipedia
I’m always surprised when I realize that Valerie remains so popular. She ranked #138 in 2009, not too far from her peak of #60 in 1959. Nothing against the name – I know some lovely women who answer to Valerie – but it makes me think of The Monkees. (Though the song title is “Valleri“ – not sure why. Anyone know?) She could be due for another boost in March, when the reboot of Red Riding Hood is released with Amanda Seyfriend donning the iconic red cape. The wolf is a werewolf. Not only does her character have a name – Valerie – but she’s more Buffy the Vampire Slayer than sweet girl en route to grandma’s house.
On to the name news:
- Speaking of werewolves, what’s with the stories about parents naming their kids after werewolves? I suppose it is just another attempt to link baby name stories to Twilight. If Alcide makes the US Top 100, I’ll believe it. Until then … not so much;
- Nancy rounds up the total number of babies named after Aeon Flux, and ThunderCat Cheetara. The answer? More than you’d guess;
- Speaking of strange inspiration, ForReal spots a boy called Kindle Paul;
- You’ve probably already seen this amazing sibset at Nameberry: Tallulah Daisy, Beatrix India, Juniper Bronte, Hawthorne Wilde, and newborn Crewe Lennox but read the thread anyway for some of the best names collected in a single thread – possibly ever;
- The crowd-sourced, chosen-by-Facebook-poll Canadian baby name is Melania. Apparently the parents engaged in a smidge of gamesmanship, encouraging votes for the name.
- I mentioned Luella in a post as one of those names that it takes some courage to use, because it is different from everyone else’s picks. As if on cue, here’s a post at Swistle: “Our first choice is Luella, nickname Lulu, but … I’m worried that there’s something about this name that makes it unpopular that I’m not seeing.”
- The Baby Name Wizard’s Name of the Year is … The Situation. Laura Wattenberg notes that this is NOT a prediction that we’ll be meeting kids called Situation Smith. It’s about handles rather than names; “an emblem … for an age of empty celebrity.” As one commentor wrote: “It’s enough to make me long for the days of Kaydence.”
- As for names parents will actually use, how about Greta? It appears on A Mountain Bride’s short list, along with Hazel, Amelia, Piper, and Cora.
The maternity ward at Hollywood Hospital has been relatively quiet these days, but that hasn’t stopped the star baby name stories:
- Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey continue to generate buzz about their baby-on-the-way. The first rumor was the baby would be a junior; then Cannon mentioned the name Cleophis in an interview;
- If it isn’t werewolves, it’s booze. I’ve been resisting Pink’s comment about the name Jameson. It is pretty clear that Jameson is based on family names, and the whiskey connection is, well, a bonus;
- Mike Dirnt of Green Day welcomed a daughter, Ryan Ruby Mae. Based on the AppMtn Facebook page comments, the reaction is definitely mixed. His other kids are son Brixton and daughter Estelle. Green Day drummer Tré Cool has kids called Ramona and Frankito; Billie Joe Armstrong is dad to Joseph and Jakob.
That’s all for this week. As always, thanks for reading, and have a great week!
Baby Name of the Day: Dacia
If boys can be Bentley and girls can be Kia, why not this Romanian automotive appellation?
Thanks to Elta for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day: Dacia.
Sunday Summary: 6/13/10
So the Glee baby was named Beth. And Nikki Blonsky has a new series on ABC Family called Huge, apparently set at a summer weight-loss camp. Her character’s name caught my eye: Willamina, though I believe she’ll be answering to Will.
In other, completely random news:
- If you’ve got World Cup fever, you’ve probably been glued to the television of late. But even if you’ve never heard of a vuvuzela, you might want to check out Elisabeth’s post on names inspired by the 2010 World Cup. We’ll have to see how Landon and Donovan fare, but she’s quite right – it wouldn’t be a surprise if both rise;
- Regardless of how you feel about a 54 year old woman giving birth to twins, I suspect you’ll want to know their names: Asa and Imogen. Parents Karen and Roger have eight other kids: Daniel, Scott, Amy, Jemma, Aiden, Bethany, Joseph and Willow;
- I love this trio from ForReal’s Arizona post: Trek Larson, Ramona Bean and Jersey Rose. They all sound more like fictional characters than newborn babes;
- Remember all those lists we all made of possible future children’s names ages before we were ready to have kids? Teenagers today are posting them online. Tristan Bellamy on a girl has a certain appeal, but I suspect The Girl With Too Many Converse (great blog title!) will probably change her mind before the big day comes;
- I’m not familiar with Suite101, but the article seems to be thoroughly researched, and I found their list of Etruscan Baby Names interesting. Tanaquil is really growing on me;
- Then there’s this one from Nancy: a baby girl named Elora, after a gorge in Ontario;
- From ancient Etruria to modern Sweden, here’s Sebastiane’s review of Swedish baby names, complete with a round-up of Swedish birth announcements. Axel is just grand, I like Maja, and I can see Emmalisa catching on in the US;
- Speaking of compound names, do you ‘spose Rylejean is pronounced Riley Jean? (Once again, the intriguing find comes from ForReal.)
And then there’s the biggest discovery of the week: Nancy posted the Social Security Administration’s lists of Names outside the US Top 1000 that were given to 100 or more newborns in 2009. You can check out the girls’ list here and the boys’ list here. You’ll finds lots of variant spellings – Alexandrea, Jurnee, Olyvia and Kooper, Mykel, Trever - as well as some lovely surprises – Constance, Juniper, Honor and Thatcher, Perry, Gibson. And were more than 100 little girls really called Halo? And were the 177 baby boys called Major inspired by the Novogratz family?
Since the birth rate in Hollywood was a disappointing zero this week, I’ll leave you with Nameberry’s Will Maisie be the next Daisy? It’s a fascinating list, and it suggests why it is so very hard to find a name that is just a little bit different.
Have a great week, and, as always, thanks for reading!
Sunday Summary: 3/28/10
Yesterday morning was The Great Magruder Park Egg Hunt in our town. The kids were there for candy; I was there to listen for names: Jonah, Nora, Dorothy, Caroline, Clara, Seamus, Ellis, a pair of Abigails, Zora, Micah, Carsten, Jackson. There was also a mom toting an Orla Kiely bag, but I seem to recall that her kids’ names aren’t quite as surprising.
Speaking of Orla and surprises, here’s a new one: I wrote about Orla a few days ago. The post felt familiar, but that happens sometimes. This has never happened: I’d actually written an entire Orla post in September 2008. It’s pretty much the same … except not.
In other news:
- We all know about Miley Cyrus’ impact on baby naming, with her nickname-turned-legal-name-turned-name-for-babies-everywhere. But Hannah was already a hit when she took to the small screen. Now she’ll be in theaters as Veronica, called Ronnie in The Last Song. Ronald is in fashion limbo for boys, but maybe we’ll be meeting a whole bunch of little girls named Ronnie, sisters to all those girls named Charlie.
- Right on schedule, Nameberry has a post on boyish nickname names for girls.
- For Real has spotted a Boe Amelia. Is that two syllables, like Zoe and David Bowie? Or a feminine version of Beau/Bo? I find it strangely appealing as a single-syllable name, but I just can’t guess.
- Galaxie Nirvana, on the other hand … let’s just say it seems perfectly reasonable to see it listed by For Real. Ditto Harlaquinn Isabelle.
- Down in North Carolina, there’s a baby boy saddled with the name Laettner Keanu Locklear. Laettner because dad’s a Duke alum and hoops fan; Keanu because mom got to choose the middle. It’s a daffy combination, but not the daffiest.
- Just in time for Easter, babynamelover reports a Pascale Lily Louise.
- Are there more girls out there named Temperance than I would’ve guessed? And is it all abut Bones? I just stumbled across another blog – Brooke is mom to Temperance, with another daughter on the way. Can’t wait to hear what they name her!
- I love it when parents set out to choose an unusual name and manage to actually pull it off, instead of just re-spelling Emily. This week’s Parent Central Canada profile of new baby Idris Eaton, nicknamed Eider, is exactly that – a blend of family names and personal experiences that makes for an intriguing appellation.
- Nancy picked up a great story about a Ghanaian man who immigrated to Italy, had a baby boy and named him Silvio, after the Italian prime minister.
- Far more original than Brooklyn, Nameberry has a list of New York street names, including Crosby, Delancey, Waverly, Hester and Minetta.
- The average Lithuanian baby name might not import to the US very well, but I’m intrigued by this one from Legit Babe Names: Dautara.
- Down in Tuscaloosa, a group of locals put together a book commemorating the now-closed Sarah A. Jarman Memorial Hospital’s maternity ward, including a list of babies born there. This set of triplets from 1936 caught my eye: Lelia Juanita, Loretta May, and Louise Ellen.
In starbaby news, all via Celebrity Baby Blog:
- Did you know that all three of Jamie and Jools Oliver’s flower power daughters have three names apiece? The girls are Poppy Honey Rosie, Daisy Boo Pamela, and Petal Blossom Rainbow. With a fourth on the way, I wonder how they’ll round out their bouquet.
- The Early Show’s Erica Hill welcomed a son, Sawyer Steven, a brother for Weston Robert.
- Oliver Hudson’s son is called Bodhi Hawn, a little brother for Wilder Brooks. Grandma Goldie Hawn (that still sounds weird) had announced his birth, but it took a few days for the name to be released.
Think it is weird to name your kid Kimora? Nancy tells us that back in the 1930s and 40s, at least a few dozen parents named their kids in honor of Kay Kyser, bandleader and radio host. Kyser responded by sending out a commemorative gift. Hmmm … if I named my daughter Orla, would I be able to snag one of those bags?
That’s all for this week. As always, thank you for reading!
Sunday Summary: 3/7/10
First, thanks to Pam and Linda at Nameberry for running my guest post on Movie Award Names: Looking beyond Oscar. Lilia, Magali, Denholm, Tahar … I could’ve gone on for pages.
Speaking of winners, whilst channel surfing earlier this week, I caught an episode of Toddlers and Tiaras featuring BFFs turned rivals, Jacee and Mayce. I like Macy, but find Jaycee a touch too civic to wear. But here’s the thing – neither of those spellings immediately suggests the correct sound. I think I’d say JAH see and mace, like the weapon, except that I can guess what they’re meant to be. Maycee, sure. Jaycie, okay. But Jacee and Mayce, IMHO, fail some essential test about phonetic transparency.
Not that that’s anything new.
And of course, I watched the two-part special episode of The Office just to hear the baby’s name. Pam and Jim Halpert are now parents to Cecilia Marie. Cecilia ranked #270 in 2008, and seemed to have plateau’d. I suspect she’ll rise in 2010, because even though Nancy’s advice to Turn Off Your TV When Choosing Bad Names is sound, pop culture is powerful.
Elsewhere online:
- Momlogic posted their list of 8 illegal baby names. Most of them are international violations of various codes – I suppose you could name your baby Metallica in the US. Heck, someone probably already has;
- Speaking of illegal names and heavy metal, a bitsy Québécois baby gets to keep her umlaut. New mom Kriystal – not a typo – decided that she wanted to make #19 name Zoé more unique with a gratuitous diacritical mark. So she called her newborn babe Zöé and ran afoul of those crazy Canadian authorities who think that diacritical marks should indicate how to pronounce a name, not simply be strung on like so many Mardi Gras beads. Kriystal won, and can look forward to years of explaining to the insurance company and school registrar precisely how to spell Zöé;
- Also in Canada, parents settled on the name Porsha, but insist it isn’t for the Shakespeare or the car. The spelling Portia was dismissed because “it looked like a witch name.” Here’s hoping Porsha grows up to be a lit major and discovers that Portia is actually the quick-witted woman who saves Antonio’s life when everyone else falls short – and a worthy namesake if ever one was;
- Nancy asks how similar should twin names be? I voted, then visited the Social Security Administration’s Top 100 list of twin names. Most strike me as on the edge of being too close: Jacob and Joshua, the #1 combo, are fine. But #5 pair Taylor and Tyler, #25 pair Christian and Christopher and #75 duo Heaven and Nevaeh all seem much too much. I prefer sets like #33 Benjamin and Samuel or #35 Abigail and Emma - the names have similar styles, but it is clear that each child is an individual, not one half of novelty salt’n'pepper shakers;
- For Real Baby Names spots a lot of interesting names, but here’s one that baffles me: Gossip Anthony. There must be a story there. The girl name Loyalty Justice – also spotted this week – seems tame by comparison;
- If you prefer meaningful names with a more subtle style, Sebastiane brings us the lovely Honorine. Also the Russian Lara;
- Road trippers might appreciate this one – For Real spotted a boy saddled with the name Soul-Ryder Prescott, to be called Ryder, which isn’t so unusual. But his brother’s name? Truck;
- All of a sudden, I love Aidan. At least for this couple. Dad Daniel and mom Ailene settled on Aidan because it combines the first syllables of their names. Clever;
- Nymbler stats are out for February 2010! No surprises in the Top Ten favorite names: Charlotte, Ava, Amelia, Grace, Ella, Audrey, Oliver, Jack, Benjamin and Henry. But the four brand new names quite eye-popping:
- Siri – An intriguing twist on Sigrid and Signe, but where did she come from? I’m missing something!
- Baylor – Are there really that many Bears alumni out there? Or is this a riff on Taylor?
- Emersyn – Okay, this one isn’t a shocker. She fits with Addisyn et. al.;
- Wednesday – As in Addams?
Here’s the starbaby news, via Celebrity Baby Blog:
- Country Music’s Little Big Town Band members Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook are new parents to a son, Elijah Daniel;
- Jenna Elfman welcomed a second son, Easton Quinn Monroe, a little brother for Story Elias;
- Joey Lawrence welcomed new daughter Liberty Grace, a sister for Charleston;
- Keyshia Cole welcomed a son named Daniel Hiram, Jr.;
- Christina Milian and The Dream welcomed their daughter, Violet Madison;
- Jamie Oliver and wife Jools are expecting baby #4. With three daughters called Poppy Honey, Daisy Boo and Petal Blossom Rainbow, well … let’s just say I am eagerly expecting their new arrival!
Drumroll please! It’s time to enter the 5th Annual Baby Name Wizard 2009 Baby Name Pool! Guess three fastest rising and three fastest falling names and win bragging rights. Serious bragging rights. Entries are due April 15.
That’s all for this week – thanks for reading!
In Reserve: Possible Names for a Second Daughter
I doubt we’ll ever have a third child. There are dozens of practical reasons.
And one reason that’s trivial for him, dead serious for me: we could never agree on a name.
We do have a few candidates, scraps from the cutting room floor. I’ve mentioned them in comments from time to time, but I thought a round-up was in order.
Our girls’ list is first; I’ll post the boys’ list later.
