Baby Name of the Day: Ella

[Portrait of Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie,...

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.

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In Defense of Riley Anne and Evan Marie: Ten Reasons Boys’ Names on Girls Are Not a Sign of End Times

Boy and girl posed, three-quarter length, stan...

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.

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Sunday Summary: 6/19/11

No 19 - blue paint

No 19 - blue paint by Kirsty Hall via Flickr

Happy Father’s Day!

Thanks to a gap between the end of the school year and the start of summer camp, we headed for Rehoboth Beach (Delaware, on the Atlantic) this past week.  We finally met our friends’ darling daughter Helen Claire, and there were a few interesting name spottings – Allaire, Harlow, Amalia, and a bitsy girl called Birdie.  But mostly I was amazed at how consistently I heard the exact same names, over and over: Emma, Ava, Abby, Noah, Taylor, Alex, Jake, anything that ends in -aden.  Nothing wrong with choosing a popular name, but I found myself thinking about how very refreshing it is to hear something even a little different - Beckett or Abel or Tate, Ivy or Luna or Ruth.

So in the spirit of surfacing options that are just a little bit different:

  • Any name from Waltzing More Than Matilda’s 1930s list would be quite stylish in 2011: Iris, Alma, Josephine;
  • Nymbler’s May 2011 most popular names list included the following five new debuts: Lake, Makai, Maple, Shia, and Reef.  Water names seem especially seasonal, but the inclusion of Maple makes me think that parents are really branching out into ever-more adventurous nature and noun choices;
  • The comments on this NameLady post are fascinating.  Parents expecting twin sons want to give them subtle, baseball-themed names.  Is Ty too obvious?  Are parents really naming twins Clark and Addison after the address of Wrigley Field?  My favorite suggestion: Homer and Fielding – literary and sportif, all at once;
  • Take the names of the reigning Swedish monarch, Carl Gustaf, and his family, translate them into Portugeuse, and you get this list from Nomes e mais nomes: Madalena, Doroteia, Ingride, Bertil;
  • My favorite nymph name has always been Io, but this list from British Baby Names includes more than you can imagine;
  • Could Dax be the next big thing?  For Real just spotted him in Alaska.  He’s part-Dexter, part-Max, but very modern, too;
  • The list of birth announcements at Nameberry was just so much fun.  I spotted Caspian three times!

In celebrity news, both Natalie Portman and Josh Duggar welcomed sons this past week, and both declined to reveal their newborns’ names.  In Natalie’s case, it may be because she and husband Benjamin Millepied are adhering to the Jewish custom of first sharing their child’s name at his bris, eight days after birth.  As for the Duggars?  They’re hoping to lure us in for the big name reveal during tonight’s episode of their reality show.

Speculation about both families’ choices has been nonstop:

  • For young master Millepied, will it be AnakinOr maybe Alef?  Elisabeth guesses that it will likely be an A-name, which tracks with Jewish custom – Natalie’s dad is Avner, and while names are rarely repeated, initials often are;
  • On the small screen, Josh and Anna have announced that all of the grandduggars will wear M-names.  Big sis is Mackynize, so options suggested range from Michael to Maddox.  Or Maddyx.

Other notable birth announcements from the week include:

Last week’s Nameberry post was how to name a boy, Pinkett-Smith style; this week, it is the girls’ turn.  One of my favorite categories of names has to be unconventional ways to honor your loved ones, so this was really a thrill to write.

That’s all for this week.  As always, thank you for reading – and commenting!  The conversations here and on Facebook never fail to surprise and delight.

Baby Name of the Day: Annora

Wenceslas Hollar - Holme Pierrepont

Image via Wikipedia

She’s a medieval rarity that would be right at home in today’s Top 100.

Thanks to Christina for suggesting Annora as our Baby Name of the Day.

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Baby Name of the Day: Imelda

Shoes

Image by hartlandmartin via Flickr

She brings to mind a shoe-shopping politician’s wife, but her roots are far deeper.

Thanks to Christina for suggesting Imelda as our Baby Name of the Day.

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Baby Name of the Day: Akira

A Japanese poster for Akira Kurosawa's Seven S...

Image via Wikipedia

Expecting a little samurai?  Looking for a name that suggests artistic genius?

Thanks to Sarah for suggesting one choice that combines both qualities.  Our Baby Name of the Day is Akira.

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Baby Name of the Day: Colette

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.

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Baby Name of the Day: Emrys

A welsh dragon. Found a very similar one on a ...

Welsh dragon; Image via Wikipedia

Emmett is big for boys.  Rhys, Reese, and Reece are on the rise for both genders.

Here’s an obscure option that combines the best of both.  Thanks to Shelby for suggesting Emrys as our Baby Name of the Day.

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Sunday Summary: 2/13/11

Clio + Aly, February 2011

I took the kids to get their hair cut at our local Cartoon Cuts, which isn’t local at all – it requires a drive on the Beltway to Rockville Pike.  While the kids were being coiffed, I flipped through a rack of personalized hair barrettes.  The selection included the predictable Emma and Elizabeth, but also some out-there picks like Ayriel, Divany, and DarleneAriel has been in the Top 100 as recently as 1992, so okay.  But Ayriel?  Are there faithful salon customers with those names who buy a set every six weeks?

It was a good week for unusual name spotting.  Over on the Facebook page, I mentioned seeing a boy called Sovereignty in the local media, and Sarah spotted a bride-to-be on Say Yes to the Dress called Duvae.  Get this: the parents chose it so she “would be a comfort in their lives.”  Hokay.

Beyond Sovereignty and Duvae, there’s been another round of chatter about unusual names – are they over in Hollywood, are they anything new, and so on.  I’ll round up a few of the articles at Nameberry tomorrow.

In the meantime:

Amongst the fashionable and famous:

One more thing: from time to time, I have a question about the site’s direction, and it would be really helpful to get readers’ opinions before I make a decision and put anything live here.  So I’m forming a tiny little AppMtn Advisory Board.  (Dare I call you the Mounties?)  If you’re willing to get a VERY occasional email from me, please let me know by sending me a message at appmtn (at) gmail (dot) com.  I truly value your feedback, and it would be fun to get it before I try new things every once in a while.  It doesn’t matter if you’re a diehard lurker, occasional visitor, or regular commenter – just drop me a line, and you’re in the club!

That’s all for this week.  As always, thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Sunday Summary: 1/23/10

23-01

23 by cobalt123 via Flickr

Have you ever been someplace where you were supposed to be thinking about something entirely different, but your mind wandered and you found yourself pondering names instead?

Please tell me I’m not the only one.

I was at a memorial service for a lovely man on Saturday, a man whose life was jam-packed with adventure and achievement.  And yet, there was a minute where the afternoon sun caught the stained glass windows, gorgeous pieces dating from the late 1800s and early 1900s, with their benefactors’ names included in their designs.

I redirected my attention to the service, but not before I’d spotted Sidell, Ellis, Alice, and Laura, beloved wife of Alfred.

Back to places where it is okay to look:

Over at the Nameberry blog, I’m presenting my best evidence yet that Americans really are embracing a greater diversity of given names.  (Yes, I’ll be wearing a visor that reads “Master of the Obvious,” too.)

As for new starbabies in the universe this week, here’s a round-up on what I posted on the AppMtn Facebook page this week:

That’s all for this week!  As always, thank you for reading, commenting, and sending all of your fabulous suggestions my way.