Tag Archives: Ian

Sunday Summary: 5/1/11

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Bingo Number 1

Image by Leo Reynolds via Flickr

Welcome May!  After a week in Florida, and lots of name-spotting at Disney World, it is great to be back writing from my favorite spot on the couch.

Name news this week:

  • The late Pope John Paul was beatified in Rome today.  Beatification is the half-way mark towards sainthood.  Will it catch on as a compound name for boys?  I know two little John Pauls.  The older answers to J.P.;
  • This little story from a Louisiana newspaper is the reason I write;
  • From the wayback machine: in 2009, the featured name was Somerled.  In 2010, it was Ruth;
  • My thoughts on the letter C aside, it was fun to see Keturah spotted in Michigan by For Real;
  • Whitney spotted this weird comment on a forum: “…for twins go for matching names, such as Norah and Noah but keep the names unique please! no Cassie and Callie‘s!”  The commenter’s definitions of “matching” and “unique” are baffling, but then, unique is the most routinely abused term in baby naming parlance;
  • Laura Wattenberg reminds us that many stories aren’t about names, they’re about demographics.  Susan isn’t more successful than Madison.  She’s just much older!
  • Really can’t decide on a baby name?  Nancy tells us how parents in 1892 let their little girl help choose Frances Cleveland.

You might have heard about this little wedding on Friday.  While the pair aren’t parents – yet – their vows were heard ’round the world, and the occasion inspired plenty of posts about royal baby names.  I liked Nameberry’s list of princesses by marriage, as well as Nancy’s question about the popularity of Pippa in the US.  Pippa appears on my Monday list for Nameberry, too.

And in celebrity birth announcements:

  • Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon have welcomed twins, a boy and a girl, but no names have been announced as of this morning;
  • Another baby boy called Journey has arrived.  The Black Eyed Peas’ Taboo and wife Jaymie welcomed a son named Journey Jameson, a little brother for Jimmy Jalen and Joshua.  I get the modern spiritual vibe of Journey, but can’t help wonder if the parents sing “Don’t Stop Believin” as a lullaby.  Nancy tells us that 45 baby boys – including one of Jenna Jameson’s twin sons – received the name in 2009, but it is in the girls’ Top 500;
  • 90210 alum Ian Ziering and wife Erin welcomed a daughter, Mia Loren.  Joy pointed out that Mia and Ian share the same sounds, and the choice is pretty conventional.  Still, I like this one;
  • The amazing Toni Collette welcomed a son named Arlo Robert, a little brother for Sage Florence.  Dad is musician David Galafassi.  I think the couple did a good job of finding names that are distinctive and stand up to their long surname, too;
  • Funny man Kevin James is now the father of three.  He and wife Steffiana welcomed a son, Kannon Valentine.  Big sisters are Shea Joelle and Sienna-Marie.  Shea is indeed named after the Mets’ former stadium.  Thanks to Photoquilty for pointing out that Valentine is a family name.  I’m not sure there’s any explanation for Kannon.

Hungry for more name gossip all week?  Check out my Facebook page.

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

Guest Post at Nameberry: Spy Girls

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Confession: I love James Bond.  Not the character, exactly – more the universe.  Back in undergrad, I dissed the superspy to a (male) classmate, who insisted I’d never really seen the movies.  He was right.

One Bond marathon later, I was hooked.

So when I researched the Baby Name of the Day post for Vesper, I was impressed that Ian Fleming based Vesper Lynd on real-life spy Krystyna Skarbek.  I’ve been collecting names of female spies ever since, and you can see my collection in a guest post at Nameberry today.

The list could be longer, but for simplicity’s sake, it’s limited to the women of World War II – and I’m sure I’ve missed more than a few.

Thanks to Linda and Pam, as always.  Please stop by and check it out!

Sunday Summary: 1/24/10

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Before I move on to the weekly sum-up, one quick piece of business:  I only approve comments written in English, regardless of whether or not I understand the comment.  (Make that especially when I don’t understand the comment.)

On to the names:

  • I’ve finally spotted it on Yahoo!Answers – the dreadful, but inevitable marriage of Ryan/Riley and Wyatt: Ryatt.  All of a sudden, Rylan sounds as classic as James;
  • Then there’s this post:  What about the baby name Reznor?  Yikes;
  • ForReal Baby Names spotted a Brewer. Sure, Brewer’s an occupational surname name a la Archer and Carter.  But this one seems hard to wear – or maybe too easy to wear around the college years;
  • Also via ForReal:  if Erykah Badu can have name her daughter Mars Merkaba, why not Aries Antonia?
  • Thanks to Sebastiane for pointing out that Liv is more than just a short form of Olivia – she’s an Old Norse name with a different derivation;
  • Nancy wrote a thoughtful post on Chinese names.  They’re about to limit names that can be bestowed upon a child – and get this, it will be retroactive!
  • Guest blogger Jill Barnett wrote about Colonial names at Nameberry.  Her lists are interesting, but there’s also a fun literary fact in her post.  Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women were inspired by her and her sisters, as were their names.  Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy were actually Anna, Louisa, Elizabeth, and Abigail May, called May.  I find Amy/May anagram especially intriguing;
  • Speaking of fictional sibsets, the trio in Jackie Chan’s new comedy, The Spy Next Door are Nora, Ian and big sister Farren.  Not sure if the movie gives a reason for bestowing a Karen/Fallon mash-up on the firstborn.

In starbaby news, all via Celebrity Baby Blog:

Lastly, one year ago today I wrote about Isabeau.  And two years ago today?  Well, January 23 was the first ever post at AppMtn: Ava and Harlow.  

So thanks to each and every one of you for the past two years!

Sunday Summary: 5/3/09

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If there were any doubt that I’m deeply shallow, here’s a random thought that crossed my mind as I was monitoring the swine flu outbreak for my day job:  Hmmm … wonder if this will hurt Olivia’s standing in the rankings when the 2010 stats come out?

 

  • While I’m still on my wildly inappropriate streak, here’s a list of famous pigs compiled by a porcine booster in the UK.  I suppose Petunia and Noelle might also take a hit;
  • And one more – I’ve often enjoyed some of the names from Ian Falconer’s Olivia books.  Besides her brothers Ian and William, her family has a dog named Perry and a cat called Edwin.  Friends include Francine and Julian.  Ever since Peregrine was Name of the Day, Perry has really been growing on me;
  • Here’s a question that plagues me:  when does a name become a name?  I thought Rielle was a one-off appellation best thought of Franglais for “this generation’s Donna Rice.”  But a Canadian couple quoted in the Toronto Star’s column  chose it for their daughter.  And wow, is their kid cute!  The proud parents landed on the name after watching a documentary about female Canadian fighter pilots – including one named Riel.  I still wasn’t sold until the mom mentioned that, when reversed, the name becomes elle rit – she laughs – en français.  Which I’ll admit, has some appeal;
  • Speaking of games to play with names, I keep forgetting to ask:  after the Astrid Name of the Day post, Emmy Jo and Photoquilty weighed in on the proper term for the type of mistake discussed in the post.  (Astrid was famously misinterpreted as Astird on TV’s The Office.)  Besides running through all the available terms and coming up short, I found myself wondering if any terms (malapropism, eggcorn) are ever properly applied to personal names.  If you know, please leave a comment!
  • Elisabeth at You Can’t Call It “It” did a great post on The Sweet Spot – you know, names that are fashionable without being trendy, familiar without being common?  It’s a great article, and I’m over the moon that she included my screen name, Verity;
  • A few starbabies to report:  CBS’ Worst Week star Erinn Hayes welcomed a daughter named Lilah Grace;
  • Boston Bruins’ captain Zdeno Chara welcomed a daughter called Elliz Victoria.  He and his wife are Slovak, but I couldn’t puzzle out if Elliz is related to Elizabeth or Alice;
  • Speaking of Alice, Patton Oswalt – Remy from Ratatouille – welcomed a daughter named Alice;
  • Over at Nameberry, there’s a fun post on Gone with the Wind names – besides spotting Eulalie on the list (I had forgotten, too, Lola!) I was pleased to see Clark Gable making another appearance.

 

That’s all the name news for the moment.  And despite my fanciful reaction to the flu epidemic, I really am hoping that you and yours stay safe.