Baby Name of the Day: Frank

Frank Sinatra at Girl's Town Ball in Florida, ...

Frank Sinatra; Image via Wikipedia

Zappa.  Sinatra.  Gehry. Baum.  Does this pick guarantee your son will be destined for creative genius?

Thanks to Jane, aka the Foxymoron, for suggesting Frank as our Baby Name of the Day.

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Baby Name of the Day: Amoret

A scarlet letter

A scarlet letter by Monceau via Flickr

Take one part Juliet, add a dash of popular picks from Amy to Amanda to Amelia and you’ll arrive at this poetic rarity.

Thanks to Heather for suggesting Amoret as our Baby Name of the Day.

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Baby Name of the Day: Danna

Letter "D" for PCAGOE Project

Image by Jenn and Tony Bot via Flickr

She’s been quietly rising since 2002.  What’s behind this intriguing appellation?

Thanks to Samantha for suggesting her mother’s name, Danna, as our Baby Name of the Day.

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Sunday Summary: 11/21/10

Congratulations to Kate of My Kids Eat Off the Floor on the birth of Juno Kate!  The amazing Kate has already sent in Juno’s name story, so look for it soon.

So I’ve been doing more lurking, this time at Babyzone:

  • Aven suggested for a boy, like Gavin without the G;
  • McKelyn for a girl, but is that Makayla with an “n” or more like McHelen?
  • Arayu for a girl, pronounced ah ray you to honor a grandpa Ray – only she’s not sure she’ll use it because “people tell me it sounds foreign.”  You don’t say;
  • Niveah, blurring the boundary between Heaven-spelled-backwards and the skin care aisle at Rite Aid.

And Babynamelover spotted a girl called Tuezdey.  Shiver!  I often wonder if the names I like are truly in the minority, or if there’s some dynamic at work on discussion boards.  Do you only visit if your tastes run to the extreme, be it Cloelia or Haedyn?  Or do you mostly lurk if you fall somewhere in between?

Names that caught my eye that I quite like this week:

In celeb news:

With the end of the year just weeks away – really! – Baby Name Wizard is taking nominations for the Name of the Year. Snooki is getting some early attention, so go vote for her – or shout her down!

And having just made a Jersey Shore reference, I think I’d really better go do something productive.  Maybe I’ll read some improving literature and try to pay attention to something other than the characters’ names.

Thanks, as always, for reading, and have a great week – and, if you’re in the U.S., a Happy Thanksgiving!  There’s no post planned for Thursday, but I’ll be back on Friday.

Baby Name of the Day: Willow

Willow tree in Magdalene College Garden, Cambr...

Willow tree in Magdalene College Garden, Cambridge; Image via Wikipedia

She’s a nature name gone Hollywood.

Thanks to Nicole for suggesting Willow as our Baby Name of the Day.

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Baby Name of the Day: Spencer

Spencer Tracy in a screenshot from the trailer...

Screenshot from Broken Lance; Image via Wikipedia

Today’s choice is the given name of a Hollywood titan, and the surname of real life royalty.

He’s also quite the popular pick for a boy.  Thanks to Emma for suggesting today’s Baby Name of the Day: Spencer.

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Baby Name of the Day: Inara

You might know her as a passenger aboard sci fi cult classic Firefly, but this goddess name’s roots run deep.

Thanks to Fran for suggesting Inara as Baby Name of the Day.

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Baby Name of the Day: Sloane

Sometimes it takes a while for a name to catch on.  We first heard this one in the 80s, but could 201o be her year?

Thanks to Christy for suggesting one of the names from her list as our Baby Name of the Day: Sloane.

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Baby Name of the Day: Deborah

She’s a Baby Boomer staple with a surprisingly steady history of use.

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

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Sunday Summary: 7/11/10

Just when you think every name has been imagined, every option exhausted, pop culture surprises us.

First, Cecily von Ziegesar’s novel Cum Laude tackles the lives of privileged college students (as opposed to the privileged high school students in her Gossip Girl franchise.)  One of the main characters is a girl called Shipley, and a minor character who answers to Tragedy.

On a similar note, there’s a Disney Channel original movie set to air in August called Den Brother.   The characters are the predictable Alex and Emily, but they’re played by child actors Hutch Dano – born Hutchings Royal Dano – and G. Hannelius.  Ten year old G. was born Genevieve.  Den Brother also includes a girl character called Matisse.  It’s not, say, Harry Potter, but I can imagine Hutch catching on.

Elsewhere online:

  • Swistle attempts to tell Aidan, Ava and Jasper‘s mom how to avoid choosing a trendy name for her daughter, due later this month.  It’s an intriguing question, and the advice is sound, but I’m not sure there lists of names is quite there yet.  If you have some spare time, you might want to stop by and make some suggestions;
  • Nameberry  has published this quarter’s most-searched Baby Names list for Boys and Girls.  Could Mary be making a comeback?  Will we really be meeting lots of baby boys called Orion?  The lists make for fascinating reads, as always;
  • Here’s a cute story from La Buena Vida about baby names suggested by siblings-to-be.  Tinkerbell, Rainbow Lemonade and Sweetie Pie made the list, but unlike last week’s Lady Gaga story, I don’t believe any of them were seriously under consideration at press time;
  • Crazy suggestions from dads, however, are totally fine.  I piped up with a pro-Leia comment on this post at You Can’t Call It “It” – a friend of mine actually used Leia for his daughter’s middle name.  With Leah and Lily so popular and Lila rocketing up the charts, Leia seems only a tiny bit out there;
  • Here’s a wacky name that has caught on: AbcdeNancy has the rankings from recent years to prove it.  On sound alone, I get the appeal.  If Abcidy or Absiddy were found in the listings of early Puritan settlers in America, it might catch on;
  • Please tell me this is a joke:  Did someone really name their kid Vuvuzela?;
  • Here’s an appealing, never-heard (at least in the US) choice: the Latvian Everita, featured by Sebastiane at Legitimate Baby Names;
  • For Real Baby Names spots a Bette Mabel. How stylish!  She also found a Kezlei and a Kaydea.  Yawn;
  • Did you catch the guest posts on Portuguese names at You Can’t Call It “It”?  Check them out there: Part I and Part II. Even the workaday John becomes the zippy João, and Madalena would fit right in in the US;
  • Emma was kind enough to send this link, about a British’s family’s set of sextuplets.  Parents Vicky and Andy Lamb and firstborn daughter Grace welcomed sextuplets in May:  Layla Pauline, Eric Andrew, Pippa Willow, Matthew Dennis, Ellen Diana and Rose Annabel.  Sadly, Matthew died shortly after the babies’ birth.

In Hollywood news:

Let’s end with what just might be The Best Baby Naming Advice Ever.  Nancy’s post on writing out the stories behind each baby name could help you choose between your top options, narrow down a lengthy list to a few finalists, or even get un-stuck and start thinking about your choices in the first place.

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