Image via Wikipedia
How can a Top 100 boys’ name borrowed from a faithful Biblical figure be so very controversial?
Thanks to Kelly for suggesting the surprisingly complex Caleb as our Baby Name of the Day.
Baby Name of the Day: Caleb
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Tag Archives: Jacob
Baby Name of the Day: Esau
Esau and Jacob presesnted to Isaac; Image via Wikipedia
His twin brother’s name has been on top since 1999. So why is Esau an also-ran?
Thanks to Christina for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
Baby Name of the Day: Judah
J by nickton via Flickr
He’s a Biblical obscurity now rising fast.
Thanks to Racheli for suggesting Judah as our Baby Name of the Day.
Baby Name of the Day: Sarai
Dressmaker's S by Takoma Bibelot via Flickr
Sarah is a sensible name, worn by the perpetual good girl, found in enduring young adult novels . But the Biblical original started out as a far more glamorous appellation.
Thanks to Heather for suggesting the shimmering Sarai as our Baby Name of the Day.
Baby Name of the Day: Rachel
R40 by Too Far North via Flickr
She rocketed into the US Top Ten thanks to a sitcom, but this Biblical choice has far more staying power than many pop culture hits.
Thanks to Kelly for suggesting Rachel as our Baby Name of the Day.
Baby Name of the Day: Grant
Grant Memorial; Image via Wikipedia
He’s a strong, masculine, single-syllable name with an almost virtue-name vibe. Why isn’t he more common?
Thanks to Nicole for suggesting Grant as Baby Name of the Day.
Sunday Summary: 10/24/10
Is there a baby names arms race?
I happen to be writing from New York City, just a week after the Health Department released their 2009 stats proclaiming Isabella and Jayden top of the charts. Yawn.
But then the Wall Street Journal’s Metropolis blog interviewed Baby Name Wizard’s Laura Wattenberg on the results. Two things stood out: first, Wattenberg is a master of linguistic analysis. She declares that today’s parents prefer names lacking “two consecutive voiced consonants.” Buh-bye Robert and Alfred, Nancy and Betsy.
But this quote grabbed me: “Individuality has become a prized virtue and there’s a kind of competitive landscape — a baby name arms race — where parents are determined to make their child stand out.”
It is true that even the most common given names are given to fewer children with every passing year, whether that name is Mary or Isabella or Ava, John or Jacob or Jayden. But I’m not sure that we’re intentionally competing for a stand-out name for our kids … more in a future post.
Elsewhere online:
- Speaking of standing out, here are a few rarities mentioned in the NYC Health Department press release: Nava and Zeidy for girls; Pinchus, Orion, and Drake for boys. Not sure about all of them, but those last two? I imagine we’ll hear a few more Orions and many more Drakes in future years;
- And back to the arms race: apparently, friendships really do end when two expectant mothers land on the same name. I’m with ParentDish UK’s Tamsin Oxford on this one: “So what if you’re going to call him Sam, it’s not like he’s going to be the first child with that name, and there’s no way he’s going to be the last. Surely what counts is the fact that he is your Sam?”
- Here’s an often-heard pheonomenon: I don’t like made-up names, but I like this one I made up. Swistle weighs in on Junuh, which I think she rightly concludes feels both feminine and invented. The respelling Junah might hold up better, but it would never have the masculine appeal of Cannon or Gunnar. Or even Greg;
- Nancy asks whether more of us will name our children Kindle. It’s a hop, skip, and a jump from Kendall to the e-Reader. She also tells us that 24 girls received the name in 2009. And don’t forget surname picks like Kinsey and Kinley, both of which are heard more and more;
- On the AppMtn Facebook page, I mused about the sibsets of the future: Buster and Minka, anyone?
- Can’t get enough of wacky celebrity names? Here’s another slideshow. Call me jaded, but I’m finding it harder and harder to be surprised by any baby name, chosen by anyone. Okay, well maybe Audio Science still seems extreme. Well … and Jagger for a girl. And … okay, I lied. It’s an inexhaustible subject;
- Which reminds me, what do you name your child when your name is Beyonce? That’s one Nameberry contest I can’t wait to enter;
- Here’s a cheerful name: ForReal spotted a Pollyanna Nell. Plus girls called Laurette, Odette, and Isla Antoinette in Washington. Are the -ettes ready for a comeback yet?
- DaddyTypes gives us a list of Footloose-inspired baby names – with Ren and Lulu on the list, it isn’t as outrageous a suggestion as it appears;
- One of Swistle’s posts resulted in a daughter named Felicity, nicknamed Fliss. Love that nickname!
- If there a baby names arms race, here’s the finish line. (Though I don’t think this post is legit.) What should she name her triplets, gender TBA? Current options are, boys first: Mystique Mariah, Blueberry Love, Disney Cinderella, Raven Superman, Dave Superman, Clandestine Superman.
In celeb news, I was so busy speculating about Egypt catching on, and what Beyonce might name her maybe-baby, and how crowd-sourcing works because second-born Bowen Brees has a much better name than elder son Baylen … well, I missed the arrival of Lance Armstrong’s daughter, Olivia Marie, a little sister for Luke, Isabelle, Grace, and Max.
And, of course, Matt Damon and wife Luciana welcomed daughter Stella.
Celine Dion has also welcomed her twins – two boys! – but names have not yet been released. Please leave a comment if you hear anything!
That’s all for this week. As always, thanks for reading!
Baby Name of the Day: Liam
Image via Wikipedia
Once upon a time, all of those boys called William answered to Bill, but now it is the second half of the name in the spotlight.
Thanks to Melissa for suggesting Liam as Baby Name of the Day.
Baby Name of the Day: Santiago
He’s a chart topper in Buenos Aires, and he graces the map throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
Thanks to Kristine for suggesting the dashing Santiago as Baby Name of the Day.
Sunday Summary: 8/16/10
Can the end of summer really be so near? It feels like just yesterday, Washington DC was digging out of the February snowstorms.
Speaking of the February snowstorms, we were at the city’s summer concert series on Friday night and we’re anticipating A LOT of November babies. One expectant mom was kind enough to tell me they’re naming their baby-on-the-way Maxwell, but mostly I’m looking forward to a pre-Thanksgiving wave of birth announcements.
Speaking of waves of BAs, there were so many Hollywood births in the past week that I’m putting them first:
- Annie Wersching, of 24 fame, welcomed a son, Freddie;
- Songwriter/producer Ryan Tedder and wife Genevieve are new parents to son Copeland Cruz;
- General Hospital’s Rebecca Herbst is now mom to three. New son Emerson Truett joins Ethan and Ella Bailey at home;
- Singer Luke Bryan also announced the birth of a son, Tatum Christopher, called Tate. Tate joins big brother Bo – Thomas Boyer;
- And the sole girl to make her debut this week was Chaplin Haddow, a daughter for Ever Carradine.
Is it me, or are gender-neutral names truly staying neutral? Conventional wisdom was that once a name had “gone girl” it would never be considered for a boy. But many of these celeb names are solidly ambiguous – and still used for sons.
Which reminds me:
- For Real Baby Names spotted a boy named Addison Alex;
- Nancy uncovers the true story of Johnny Carson’s name-changing sons: Christopher kept his name, but Kim Arthur, distressed that he was meeting so many girls with his given name, became Richard. Son Barry became Cory, apparently just because he liked it better;
- Legitimate Baby Names gives us Laine – a two-syllable feminine appellation in Estonia, but this side of the Baltic, inevitably mistaken for a respelling of single-syllable gender-neutral Lane;
- The Name Lady weighs in on whether you can honor a beloved brother by naming his niece Jacob. Well, not exactly – they want to put Jacob in the middle spot. The Name Lady says yes, and for once, I find her answer absolutely wonderful and agree completely;
- But if you want to be sure your son is all boy? For Real reports that Georgia parents went with Remington Colt for their little gunslinger. In the same list you’ll find Dusty Phideles. Could it be a play on “Adeste Fideles,” better known in English as “O Come All Ye Faithful” – could it!?
- Equally unthinkable, brought to us from the Yahoo! Answers community – is Twitter a good name for my daughter? – via That’s Crazee;
- Babynamelover has a sweet little list of less common girls’ names that end in -a, from the exotic (Svea, Raja) to the throwback (Ida, Flora) to the new (Gala, Vega) and everything in between;
- I spotted a tweenager reading one of these books the other day and kept meaning to Google it, but Laura Wattenberg beat me to the punch – check out her post on Theodosia.
I dragged a very reluctant Aly to shop for school shoes today and was delighted to overhear a father calling out Hasting. It was in the Nordstrom’s at the Annapolis Mall – you sort of had the impression the kid might’ve been Something Hasting Something IV. It’s possible I misheard, and he was Hastings, as in the Battle of, raising the possibility that his parents are experts on the Norman Invasion.
That’s all for this week. As always, it wouldn’t be worth writing if you weren’t here. Thank you!
