Sunday Summary: 5/8/11

Number 8  camp marker

Image by work the angles via Flickr

What a week!  Mariah’s twins receive a double dose of daffy, starbaby-certified names, and the Social Security Administration releases their 2010 data as their annual Mother’s Day gift to the world.

Speaking of Mother’s Day, I hope it is a happy one!

Elsewhere online:

  • Girls Gone Child is expecting twins, and it looks like they are both girls.  She has yet to share her name list, but I cannot wait!  Her firstborn is son Archer Sage, followed by daughter Fable Luella.  With Fable, she did something absolutely impossible: put a completely new option on the table that sounds like it has always been a name.
  • Waltzing More Than Matilda considers the idea of honoring someone with a name that is only vaguely related to the namesake’s moniker.  Apparently starbaby Flynn was inspired by Orlando Bloom’s grandmother, Evelyn – you can watch a video clip of his explanation in her post.  I’m on board with a stretch to honor a loved one; Waltzing isn’t so sure.
  • Did you take For Real’s gender-bending quiz?  She’s posted the answers.  I scored a mere 4 out of 10, but then, so did pretty much everyone else.  I wonder if the parents considered that issue before naming a daughter Lyric Ryan or a son Winter Lee?
  • I had no idea that some parents still avoid giving daughters middle names, on the assumption that someday she’ll marry and won’t need it anymore.
  • Here’s another question: Nancy asks if more babies are being named Jersey, as in the reality show?  I remember someone from the Yahoo! message boards years ago saying that she had a daughter named Jerzee.  Or was it Jurnee?
  • Haddie was one of the  Top Five brand new names at Nymbler in April.  She’s a logical successor to Maddie and Addie, boosted by a character on Parenthood.  The other four debuts were Raylan and Posey for girls, and Finch and Eisley for boys.

Here’s a quick round-up of some of the early SSA list analysis, with more to follow this week I’m certain!

In starbaby news, the arrival of Moroccan Scott and Monroe Cannon grabbed all the headlines, but we also welcomed:

Last week’s Nameberry post was Bridesmaid Names; tomorrow’s Nameberry post heads to the baby boutique for inspiration.

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

Sunday Summary: 3/13/11

Billiard

Billiard No. 13 by nemosocke via Flickr

First, an edit.  A few weeks ago, I said something along these lines: “If the kid is good looking a clunky name doesn’t matter.”  What I should have said was “if the person is confident …”  Beauty is a lottery over which we have no control.  (Though Seal and Heidi Klum’s kids are probably set.)  But confidence is something we can influence and develop.

Elsewhere online:

After last week’s trip to the Big Easy to source Mardi Gras names, I’m fishing for something different at Nameberry tomorrow.

It was a quiet week for celeb births.  The big news?  Martha Stewart is a grandmother.  Daughter Alexis welcomed a daughter of her own, named Jude.  The best comment on the Appellation Mountain Facebook page goes to C., who pointed out that Alexis “isn’t exactly a frilly traditional girl’s name, either.”

If you have yet to vote in the March Madness Quarter Finals, Girls and Boys, there’s still time.  Polls will stay open until Friday morning.

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

Baby Name of the Day: Beulah

B

Letter B by psd via Flickr

Quick: name a name you’d never give to a child.  GertrudeEthel?  Today’s choice often makes that list, but it wasn’t always so.

Thanks to Emily G. for suggesting one from her family tree.  Our Baby Name of the Day is Beulah.

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Sunday Summary: 12/12/10

Little Red Riding Hood, illustrated in a 1927 ...

Little Red Riding Hood illustration from 1927; Image via Wikipedia

I’m always surprised when I realize that Valerie remains so popular.  She ranked #138 in 2009, not too far from her peak of #60 in 1959.  Nothing against the name – I know some lovely women who answer to Valerie – but it makes me think of The Monkees.  (Though the song title is Valleri – not sure why.  Anyone know?)  She could be due for another boost in March, when the reboot of Red Riding Hood is released with Amanda Seyfriend donning the iconic red cape.  The wolf is a werewolf.  Not only does her character have a name – Valerie – but she’s more Buffy the Vampire Slayer than sweet girl en route to grandma’s house.

On to the name news:

The maternity ward at Hollywood Hospital has been relatively quiet these days, but that hasn’t stopped the star baby name stories:

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

Baby Name of the Day: Lucienne

Photo of Lucienne Bréval in the role of Salammbô.

Lucienne Bréval; Image via Wikipedia

Take the terribly current Lucy, add in some French flair and you’ll have today’s pick.

Thanks to Darja for suggesting her daughter’s middle name as our Baby Name of the Day: Lucienne.

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Sunday Summary: 9/20/09

There’s a theme to this Sunday Summary, methinks:

  • First up, Hope Edelman guested over at Nameberry about seeing a name scrawled on a mailbox late in her pregnancy, and knowing that someone (other than the graffiti artist) was sending her a sign.  Check out the whole story – Maya’s name was truly meant to be;
  • On the small screen, Mad Men’s Betty Draper had a strange hallucinatory dream while in labor and decided to name her baby boy after her dearly departed dad, Eugene.  Don doesn’t seem to be on board – tune in tonight to see what happens.  And thank your lucky stars that you didn’t give birth in the 1950s;
  • In the Names of the Future column, Laura Wattenberg considers Ily - pronounce it like Riley, without the first R.  Don’t get it?  Text ILY to your better half – I Love You.  Get it?  Kind of sweet, if terribly lightweight.  And just one-L short of an espresso maker;
  • Katherine Heigl and Josh Kelley put Nancy Leigh on the birth certificate! Schwoo!  And the baby is adorable, so if they want to call her Naleigh?  Oh well.  I understand the urge to honor loved ones while still giving your a child a name of her own.  Plus, Nancy Kelley is deliciously retro – it sounds like she should be solving mysteries in a kilt;
  • In this week’s Toronto Star column, the parents named their daughter London Elizabeth, for a few reasons – including the fun fact that the parents met in London, Ontario.

The theme?  It’s all about how we make our choices.  Often a name that seems atrocious, or just plain blah, seems different when you know the whole story.

In celeb news:

Elsewhere online, Nymbler announced their Top Ten for August. Never any surprises there: Charlotte, Ava, Benjamin, Amelia, Finn, Grace, Jack, Henry, Oliver and Claire occupy the top spots.

New debuts, on the other hand, are endlessly fascinating:

  • Khloe: How, oh how, did Khloe Kardashian konvince parents to spell Chloe with a K?  Sure, it’s defensible.  But it doesn’t seem very sophisticated.
  • Gypsy: A little bit stripper, a little bit Fleetwood Mac, a whole lotta huh? as a given name.
  • Gracen: Is this a girls’ twist on Grace – a sister for Madalyn and Addisyn?  Or an alt spelling for Grayson?
  • Bodhi:  He’s a starbaby choice, and a Sanskrit term for enlightment – could he also be the new Kai?
  • Fable: The fabulous Rebecca Woolf of Girl’s Gone Child named her second child Fable Luella.  It’s the new Story, but more obviously feminine, boosted by her similarity to Hazel and Mabel.

Lastly, please note that Sebastiane – she of the truly unusual, usually international baby names, has moved!  Legit Baby Names can now be found here.  (That’s http://legitbabenames.wordpress.com/ if you prefer to type it into your browser, old school.)  Stop by and bring your box cutter!  I’m sure  it will take some time to transfer all of her fabulous content.

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

Babes in the Blogosphere

Happy Mother’s Day!

We’ve always celebrated our kids’ rites of passage – first tooth, first step, first-time-she-brings-home-a-completely-unacceptable-boy.  

Add in one more circa 2009:  first time Mommy writes all about you in a blog post.

Yes, our children will probably be terribly, terribly unhappy about some of our overshares in twenty years.  (Or not.  Social media is a strange and fabulous thing.)  But for the moment, I find myself marveling at the many talented writers who also have a knack for choosing baby names.

Read on for some of my favorite Babes in the Blogosphere:

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Sunday Summary: 1/25/09

It’s Sunday, Sunday, Sunday.  Believe it or not, we spent yesterday afternoon at Monster Jam, watching drivers called Chad Fortune, Pat Summa and Debra Miceli steer mammoth trucks around a course at the Verizon Center.

Alexei loved it; Clio hid from the noise and fumes under my shawl; and I’m glad to be back in front of my laptop.  Okay, fine.  It was more fun than I expected.  :)

Here’s the news for the week:

  • One of my favorite bloggers, Rebecca Woolf, had her darling daughter the same day Clio was born.  Her little one wears the truly imaginative moniker Fable Luella. Follow the link to read her thoughts on choosing the name.
  • Please stop by and visit reader Emmy Jo’s new name blog, Much Ado About Naming.  A link will be up in the blogroll shortly.  Congrats!
  • The movie Coraline opens next week. It’s got that great edgy Goth vibe pioneered by The Nightmare Before Christmas.  The title character is an adventurous 11 y.o. girl.  Wonder how long it will be before her unusual name inspires some parents?
  • Next month, Dollhouse premieres on Fox.  It sounds like Alias with a sci fi twist.  The title character is called Echo.
  • You’re probably already reading Swistle, but I wanted to mention her site.  Parents write in for advice on choosing baby names, and Swistle creates polls to let readers vote.  Parents’ tastes and preferences vary widely, of course, and Swistle welcomes everyone, whether they’re into Aidan or Alberic.
  • I’ve caught new CBS crime drama The Mentalist a few times.  Star Simon Baker’s children wear the names Stella Breeze, Claude Blue and Harry Friday.  It’s an interesting mix of safe first names paired with wild middles.  Oh, and his character on the show?  Patrick Jane, but he’s called Jane.  Is there a future world where Jane is used for boys?  Quick – someone mention Firefly’s Jayne Cobb.
  • Lastly, I’ll repeat Nameberry’s question:  Is V the new Z?  Tavish received a warm welcome this week.  Pam and Linda have a great list of other V names to consider.

That’s all for this Sunday.  Have a great week!