Sunday Summary: 7/3/11

Three

For those of you in the US, I hope you’re having a lovely, fireworks-filled Independence Day weekend.

First up: a quick users’ guide note: when I write a post, I try to bold any given name the first time I use it.  If the name is a (blue) hyperlink, then I’ve written about the name before – and one quick click will take you to that post.  I also try to link movies and television shows to the Internet Movie Database.

On to the news:

  • Speaking of movies, Nancy mentioned the big Pixar reveal: a female heroine called Merida, star of their 2012 feature Brave.  It’s already getting some attention with expectant parents;
  • Nameberry covered Irish Baby Names following the announcement of their official statistics for 2010.  I love Orla for a girl and Lorcan for a boy – oh, and Cathal, though I find it feminine;
  • Elea explored popular Welsh Boys’ Names, including choices like Cai and Rhys that would work perfectly in the US, too;
  • Bewitching Baby Names profiled Oregon.  It’s an unconventional choice, but fresher than Dakota;
  • Waltzing More Than Matilda posted about Australia’s answer to the Duggars: Jeni and Ray Bonnell and their fifteen kids, including newborn son Damian.  No, the older fourteen kids don’t have D names;
  • From the wayback machine: the feature name in 2008 was clunky Clarence; in 2009, the antique Ada; and just a year ago, it was the lovely, but perhaps burdensome Jocasta;
  • Is it me, or does it get easier to play Elisabeth’s Sibset Game as the posts at You Can’t Call It “It” go farther and farther up the rankings?  Some of my favorites from the 700s are Kim W’s Luka Ellis, Ingrid Frances, Elin Rosemary, Soren Lewis, and Sonia Julianne and Kailee’s Rory Conrad, Lewis Eugene, Julianne Frances, Susan “Susie” Campbell, and Corinne Rosemary.  From the 600s, I’m intrigued by Ashley’s Tomas “Tam” Sullivan Cale, Callen “Cal” Memphis Clark, Dahlia “Dolly” Phoenix Anne, Noemi “Emme” Paloma Adrienne, Isis “Izzy” Raven Amelie, and Lawson “Lars” Nash Channing.

I wrote about the first generation of eclectic Hollywood baby names for Nameberry last week.  In more recent celebrity news:

Tomorrow’s post for Nameberry is the first in another two-parter, and it features one of my favorite names for a boy: Clark.

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

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:

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!

Parker Lewis vs. Parker Posey

Parker has a long history of occasional use as a given name.  Originally an occupational surname for a gamekeeper or geographic name for someone who lived near parkland, he’s charted as a boys’ given name in the US most years since 1880.  In 2009, he entered the US Top 100 at #96.

Just like Larkin was a medieval diminutive for Lawrence, Parkin was a pet form of Peter.  And between Spider-man’s alter ego, Peter Parker, and 90s Fox sitcom Parker Lewis Can’t Loose, lots of parents probably view Parker in a positive light.

He’s a little bit preppy/Southern family surname: “Oh yes, my mother was one of the Providence Parkers” or “Great-great-grandfather Jebediah Parker first came to Atlanta after the War.”  But he’s also in step with occupational surnames like Archer that seem so current right now.

But what about Parker for a girl?

Indie darling Parker (Yes, it’s her birth name) Posey was named after supermodel Suzy Parker. As Posey’s star has risen, so has Parker for girls.  She first charted at #875 in 1999, and has made a steady ascent to #502 a decade later.

Two small screen uses of Parker keep me thinking of this:

  • In a recent ABC Family movie, Revenge of the Bridesmaids, Raven-Symoné played Abby and Joanna Garcia played Parker;
  • On TNT’s Leverage, Beth Riesgraf plays talented cat-burglar Parker – though her background is mysterious, and it isn’t clear if that’s her first name or last.  (And if Riesgraf sounds familiar, it is because she’s mom to the oh-so-famous Pilot Inspektor, with ex-husband Jason Lee.)

I know many readers feel strongly that boys’ names should never, ever be used for girls, but in an era when the musical Harper and Piper are popular picks for daughters, it is easy to imagine some parents digging Parker’s nature vibe and thinking she’d be pretty in pink.

Readers, thoughts?

Baby Name of the Day: Hannelore

I’ve heard she’s considered old-fashioned overseas, but she has an interesting indie edge in the US.

Thanks to Bek for suggesting Hannelore as Baby Name of the Day.

Continue reading

Sunday Summary: 1/17/10

The baby boom continues at AppMtn.  Congratulations to Emmy Jo on the birth of her son, Julius!

Have you been reading all of those press releases by this hospital or that about the most popular names of 2009?  They haven’t been terribly exciting, but I’m reading them anyhow.  This one caught my attention, not because of the Most Popular Names.  (Jack and Isabella, yawn.)  And not even so much because of the unusual names listed.  (Though Leviticus is a bit much and Minuet is lovely.)  No, it caught my eye because they listed Stella among the unusual names.  Clearly the compiler is not up on baby name trends.  Or doesn’t watch Oxygen.

I’ve been neglecting the Toronto Star baby name profiles lately.  Let’s check in on Kristin Rushowy’s latest:

From Canada to New Zealand, remember a few days ago when we were all abuzz with the birth announcement for Diammond Sparckle Zedekeyah Lilly Ann?  Turns out baby Diammond has ten big brothers and sisters.  I couldn’t find a complete list, but this article includes a few of her sibsBrandi Shyla Molly Robyn, Indego Raindrop Sapphire and the relatively ordinary Cruz Richard.  Mom Brinessa says Diammond’s name was inspired by an iPhone app.  “We just added a couple of letters to the name so it would be a bit different.”  Mission accomplished.

Also in New Zealand, the Bay of Plenty Times reports on a family determined to find a name more interesting than Jack.  They came up with Jaksyn.  Suddenly, Diammond seems like the more satisfying choice.

Elsewhere online:

Speaking of Margaret, Mark Walherg and Rhea Durham welcomed baby #4, the classically named Grace Margaret.  In other starbaby news, via Celebrity Baby Blog:

How could I top that?  As always, thanks for reading!

Those Other Disney Names

We all know that a Disney Princess can take a name from obscurity to the top of the popularity charts faster than you can say glass slipper.

But what about those other Disney names?

The Mouse has launched the careers of plenty of stars, from beachy-keen Annette Funicello to the beleaguered Britney Spears. Today Disney’s tween sensations have their own shows, instead of just blending in among their fellow Mousketeers. And their names – both their given names and those of their characters – may well inspire the next generation of babynamers. Continue reading