First, he was a Hollywood leading man. Then he was Superman’s mild-mannered alter ego. Then along came the candy bar and the Griswolds …
In honor of my dear dad, our Baby Name of the Day is Clark.
Baby Name of the Day: Clark
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Tag Archives: Finn
Sunday Summary: 7/17/11
Image via Wikipedia
What a week! First there was Harper Seven Beckham, and chatter galore about the name. (Mainstream sites dismissed Harper as weird, while we name fans more accurately pegged Harper as far more ordinary than her brothers’ names.) Then Kate Hudson, mom to Ryder Russell Robinson, welcomed a son she’s calling Bing, short for Bingham Hawn Bellamy. So very exciting, and both sets of parents were kind enough to reveal their thinking, too.
Elsewhere online:
- Nancy explores baby names inspired by the Spanish-American War. I know a little Maceo – great name!
- I’ve come across this sibet before, but if you haven’t, check out Mer de Noms post about the Taylor family – Columbus, Cassius, Eloise, and Estella;
- ForReal spotted a Syndle. Is it another spin on the ever-so-rare Cindal?
- Are you following Nook’s series on Harry Potter names? She mentioned two minor characters with great names here – Orion and Hesper;
- Bewitching has been profiling Harry Potter names, too. Loved this post on Firenze;
- Mer de Noms also translated some popular nature names into French, with appealing results: Lis, Laurier, Vrai;
- In her Friday digest, Elea at British Baby Names mentioned the cluster of boys named Doctor in the nineteenth century – and at least one girl named Doctoressa. Interesting;
- Nancy’s list of top baby name debuts in fascinating;
- Niki was kind enough to share this map: Most Popular Names by European Country. I’m not certain about the data set, but it is worth a look;
- Big debuts at Nymbler in June were Aleph (no surprise), Tyla, and Suomi. My head whipped around at that last one. Suomi is Finnish for Finland – and seems like an implausible baby name, no matter how popular Finn might become.
For last week’s Nameberry post, I wrote about the workaday identities of superheroines. They’ve worn some great names when they’re not in their capes and tights – Natasha, Kitty, Tandy, Tessa, Selina. Tomorrow’s post is another one for the girls, but with far more exotic appellations on deck.
Let’s end where we started, with just a few more tidbits from the rich and famous:
- Maternity concierge and reality TV star Rosie Pope’s boys are called J.R. and Wells, short for James and Wellington. I’m intrigued by Wells and Wellington – I wonder if Rosie has a story about choosing those names?
- Have you read this commentary regarding Natalie Portman‘s choice of Aleph for her firstborn? It’s from Deborah Kolben, editor of Kveller.com, a parenting website and resource for Jewish parents;
- There was lots of talk about the name Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr chose for their son, Flynn, but Kerr recently revealed that Flynn’s middle is equally meaningful – Christopher, after her high school boyfriend who was killed in a car accident;
- Jewel and husband Ty Murray welcomed son Kase Townes Murray. I don’t love Kase, but if your dad is a professional bull rider, it seems appropriate. And he’s definitely one of those little cowboy names that is quite popular these days.
That’s all for this week. As always, thank you for reading and have a great week!
Sunday Summary: 5/29/11
Image via Wikipedia
I was recently trailing a just-pregnant-enough-to-need-maternity-wear friend through the mall when I spotted a baby names book. Moth to a flame, I flipped through the pages.
And I was horrified. The definitions weren’t just wrong – there’s room to quibble about the origins of many names – they were absolutely uninformed. Cleo meant “Egyptian queen” as did Cleopatra. (Wrong.) Julie was listed as an American name, Juliet as Italian, and Juliette as French. One out of three is … pretty pathetic.
I stopped short of telling the clerk they really needed to stock Beyond Ava and Aiden. And I must say, I have a renewed sense of how hard it is for the non-name-obsessed to get good information.
Speaking of which, there was quite a lot of great conversation this week:
- All the buzz was about Girl’s Gone Child’s list of names she’s not using for their twin daughters. My favorites from her list: Season, Blythe, and Nova;
- Check out Chanara’s list of possible names for Rosy’s little sister or brother. Alice Cordelia is my favorite, but she’s not made the final cut;
- For Real spotted a Madalina – pretty, but loses something thanks to all of those little Madelines and Adalyns;
- British Baby Names has a list of families from the Edwardian era that rival the Duggars for matchiness;
- Did you see this list at Nameberry of double names? I’ve long loved Coco, Gigi, Mimi, and Lulu – and never noticed that they shared a pattern;
- What do you think of Eisley for a girl? A Swistle reader has it on her short list;
- As if Glee wasn’t enough, Cars 2 features a British secret agent car called Finn McMissile;
- While we’re looking at animated characters, Nickelodeon is about to import an Italian series about fairies at a Hogwarts-esque academy. The main character of Winx Club is called Bloom. I get a very Producers/grocery store vibe from Bloom, but I like it anyhow.
If you follow AppMtn on Facebook, you heard me shouting “Noooooo!” when David Schwimmer’s daughter’s name was announced last week. Even more strange? A New Zealand news site said this of Cleo Schwimmer: “After several weeks of bizarre celebrity baby names, it’s refreshing to find someone who has given their newborn the best chance of a normal life.”
H’okay. I’m not saying Cleo is especially weird, but it isn’t exactly Anne.
Speaking of celebrity names, Oprah inspired last week’s post at Nameberry. There’s no post here tomorrow thanks to the Memorial Day holiday, but my list at Nameberry is super-season appropriate and very much fun.
As always, thanks for reading and have a great week!
Baby Name of the Day: Callahan
Image by cygnus921 via Flickr
He’s an upbeat Irish surname made famous by a fictional, hard-edged cop.
Thanks to Amanda for suggesting Callahan as our Baby Name of the Day.
March Madness 2011: The Victors!
Trophy by ilovememphis at Flickr
It’s official. The trophies go to Louisa and Nathaniel!
In the final round of play, Louisa bested Elodie, 229 to 140 votes, or 62%.
The boys’ round was more interesting. Nathaniel, you’ll recall, was wrongly ousted in the Semi-Finals. He was returned for the Finals, leaving us with a three-way contest.
And wouldn’t you know it? Nathaniel came out on top, with 157 votes, or 43% of the total. Archer was in second with 115, or 32%. Finn finished up in third with 92 votes, or 25%.
Very few of the names profiled here rank in the US Top 100, but the winner of March Madness for the boys came in at #76 in 2009. In fact, he’s been in the Top 100 since 1978, making him something of a staple.
Louisa is less surprising as a favorite. She left the US rankings after 1969 and has yet to return. But with her fashionable first letter and her oo sound, she’s definitely on trend.
Thanks for playing! And what do you think of the outcome?
March Madness: Boys’ Final
Basketballs by Hakan Dahlstrom via Flickr
There’s been controversy. There’s been heartache. I’m not sure if we’ve had a Cinderella story. But it has been great fun to watch the names advance.
In last week’s action, Nathaniel beat Tobias, 54% to 46%, or 198 votes to 170.
Finn was the clear winner over Cian, 70% to 30%, or 257 votes to 108.
We’re down to the final round, but unlike your typical basketball match-up, there are three contenders for the title: the Colonial Nathaniel, the sharp Archer, the friendly Finn. Please see the controversy link above if you’re wondering why Nathaniel is making a re-appearance!
Voting stays open until next Friday, and the winners will be announced a week from today.
March Madness: Boys’ Semi-Finals
Basketball - score by j9sk9s via Flickr
It’s the Final Four!
A few of my favorites have been knocked out. (Au revoir, Huxley!) But some of the matches were just impossible – at least for me. I’m sad to see Dashiell fall, but Archer is great, too.
For the boys, there were no upsets in the last round. But then, neither were there any close calls. All four matches had a clear victor.
Something tells me that this will make the next round really agonizing … ready?
It’s the battle of the new, hot ending: the -er of Archer versus the ends-in-s of Tobias
It’s a Celtic match-up: Finn versus Cian
Baby Name of the Day: Grainne
Image by arbyreed via Flickr
She’s a daring pirate queen, and a mythological princess, too. Why haven’t more parents considered her?
Thanks to Claire for suggesting Gráinne as our Baby Name of the Day.
March Madness: Boys’ Quarter Finals
1905 Basketball Team from paukrus via Flickr
Thanks to everyone who voted in the first round of March Madness. The results were fascinating! We’ve gone from sixteen to eight.
The closest match-ups? Liam lost to Archer by just three votes. The biggest trouncing was Eamon, with 83% of the vote compared to St. John’s measly 17%. My biggest disappointment was that Gray failed to make it out of the opening round.
But all that is in the past. Vote now and help us whittle it down to just four!
The dashing Dashiell (1) versus the pointed Archer (8)
It’s the Celtic showdown: cheerful Eamon (2) versus friendly Finn (10)
Two rarities-on-the-rise face off: Huxley (3) versus Cian (6)
Possibly the most conservative names on the list: Tobias (13) versus Nathaniel (12)
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.
