Image by Thristian via Flickr

We’re having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave, here in Washington DC.  It is my birthday week, which means I’ll exert slightly more influence over the name choices than usual.  Happily, many of you were good enough to request names that I was longing to write about anyhow … definitely, the greatest gift!

On to the name news:

• I loved this list at Nameberry of clunky cool names: Agatha, Ruth, Otto, Leon.  I’m hearing these in metro Washington DC, and many of you are considering using them.  Something tells me a few of these are ready for their comeback moment;
• But maybe the best part of the post was a comment from Jenny, borrowing a term from J.K. Rowling to suit our purposes – if we are “name nerds” then surely the rest of the world is made up of “name Muggles” … right?
• For Real spotted a boy named Kelci.  And a girl called Collins.  Interesting;
• Waltzing More Than Matilda caught an Australian morning show spot on a family with three daughters: Lily, Scotia, and Sappho.  I’m especially intrigued by Scotia, the Latin name for Scotland;
• Back to 1840 with British Baby Names!  Elea unearthed a boy called Story, and a girl called Arthurina, plus another girl named Crisany.  Actually, the entire list is just plain fascinating;
• Swistle asks about the name Cozette, with the possible nickname Cozy.  My take?  I agree with many of the comments.  Cosette is surprising and stylish, no matter what nickname you use.  Cozette is a little much;
• This list at Daddy Types of kids’ names spotted at the Enterprise, Utah Rodeo has me fascinated.  Want to raise a kiddo who knows his way around a horse, or who takes top honors at the chicken chasing contest?  Kanton, Kelby, Larami, Brek, Tanzee, Ramzi, Macardi, and Carli Jo all seem like safe bets.

Over on my Facebook page, I raised the question of whether there are certain traditional male names that you only like in their full, not-nicknamed forms.  A long list of replies followed.  I was thinking of Douglas, but also Stephen/Steven, a name that appears in my Monday post for Nameberry.

On to news from the famous:

• Maternity concierge and reality star Rosie Pope dished on her own kids’ names to Name Candy.  I love that both boys’ middles reflect streets where they’ve lived – Roderick and Reade.  Should they have a future child that means that their current address – Madison – is in the running for a middle;
• Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner welcomed the regally named Arabella Rose;
• Maya Rudolph welcomed son Jackson Wright, a little brother for Pearl Bailey and Lucille.

One last note for this week: I have a long, long list of unanswered requests for Baby Name of the Day posts.  I’m been looking at my Fall/Winter calendar carefully – the truth is that the number of requests now far exceed the number of days in the year, and at the same time, I have a few different kinds of posts I’d like to add into the rotation.

So … not quite sure how it will all shake out, but I appreciate your patience.

As always, thank you for reading and have a great week!

Violet pansies; Image via Wikipedia

She’s a vintage botanical in full bloom circa 2011.

Thanks to Heather for suggesting Violet as our Baby of the Name.

Violet is a shape-shifter.  Like Lily and Rose, Violet has an antique, ladylike sweetness suited to a Victorian garden.  But her vibrant V and open -o coupled with her -et ending give her a completely modern sound.  More proof?  One famous Violet has a little sis called Seraphina; another starbaby Violet shares a nursery with Harper.

Back to the flower: violet is iole in Greek and viola in Latin.  It became viole in French, and then violette.  The plant isn’t always purple, but since the fourteenth century, violet has applied to the color as well as the flower.

Some colorful figures have worn the name:

• Violet Jessop made a career as a stewardess aboard ocean liners, surviving the sinking of the Olympic.  And the Titanic.  And the Britannic, too.  Despite a trio of near-misses in just a decade, she kept on working on ships for years.  And they called Molly Brown unsinkable …
• Born Helen, but known by her middle name Violet, the Baroness Asquith was the daughter of a prime minister, a close confidante of Winston Churchill and grandmother to actress Helena Bonham Carter;
• Daisy and Violet Hilton were conjoined twins, and famous vaudeville performers in the 1930s;
• Violet Wilkey was a child star in the silent film era, appearing in dozens of films between 1913 and 1917, retiring at the age of fifteen.

The name’s resurgence has something to do with our affection for color names, for antique appellations, and for the letter V.  But children’s literature and movies also probably play a part.  A trio of noteworthy Violets has emerged in recent years:

• Violet Beauregard is the gum-chomping American girl who wins a golden ticket to tour Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory along with Charlie Buckett, only to end up as a giant blueberry;
• Violet is one of the Baudelaire siblings, older sister to Klaus and Sunny in A Series of Unfortunate Events;
• Pixar’s The Incredibles told of a pair of super-powered parents and their three equally talented kids trying to blend in to world where not superheroes are not welcome.  Firstborn Violet is a shy teenager who really can become invisible.

Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel and the 1971 film adaptation could’ve put Violet on the radar of a generation of future parents.  The Baudelaire sibs debuted in 1999.  By then, Violet had re-entered the rankings, and started her steady climb.  Then came the birth of high profile Violets like the elder daughter of Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, and Foo Fighters’ frontman Dave Grohl and wife Jordyn Blum, too.

Lest you think she lacks an edge, there’s also Milla Jovovich’s turn as sci fi warrior Violet Song in 2006′s Ultraviolet.

No wonder that Violet had reached #123 by 2010.

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:

• Thalia and Tommy Mottola welcomed a second child, son Matthew Alejandro.  He joins big sister Sabrina at home;
• Tia Mowry and Cory Hardrict welcomed a son, son Cree Taylor.  Tia and her twin sister Tamera are starring in their own reality show on Style later this summer, so we could hear much more about baby Cree;
• Denise Richards adopted a daughter, Eloise Joni.  Joni honors Denise’s mom, while Eloise was picked by big sisters Sam J, called Sami, and Lola Rose;
• Yes, it’s fake.  But it is funny to see not-Victoria and not-David Beckham ponder baby names like Gucci, Milan, and Benditlike.  (Love Elea’s quote from the Facebook page: “They could go Ancient Greek and pronounce it ben-deet-LEE-kay.”

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!

Image via Wikipedia

She’s a vibrant name with a legendary literary namesake.

Thanks to Ivy for suggesting Scarlett as our Baby Name of the Day.

One of the many tales about Gone With the Wind involves the name of the novel’s heroine.  Up until just before going to press, the story goes, Margaret Mitchell planned to call her heroine Pansy.

Mitchell had a last minute flash of inspiration, and you know the rest.

Up until then you might have met a Rose or a Hazel or an Olive; Pearl or Ruby, too.  But Scarlett was rare.  Scarlet appears as a masculine moniker on the US Census Indian rolls, especially in North Dakota.  And because Scarlett is a surname, it does appear as a given name before Ms. Mitchell’s novel debuted – though those Scarletts are sometimes male, too.

In Gone With the Wind, Katie Scarlett O’Hara is named after her paternal grandmother, Katie Scarlett.  Presumably that’s her grandma’s surname, indicating that one of their ancestors dyed or sold woolen cloth.

Scarlet cloth wasn’t necessarily red, but bright red was one of the most popular hues.  Over time, the fabric’s name transferred to the color.  The source of the word is likely the Persian saqirlat – fine cloth, from the Late Latin sigillatus – elaborately decorated clothes.  Sigillatus shares roots with sigil – a magical symbol – and signal and sign.

If sigil to Scarlett seems like a leap, it is – in between, the word became scarlata in Late Latin; escarlate in Old French and Spanish and scarlatto in Italian.

It’s a color with a past:

• In the Book of Revelation, there’s a scarlet beast and a woman wearing scarlet;
• Scarlet fever ravaged communities into the early twentieth century;
• Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter links the color to a sin once more;
• Sherlock Holmes’ first adventure was 1888′s A Study in Scarlet.  In this case, the color referred to “the scarlet thread of murder” in Holmes’ case;
• On a more heroic note, Baroness Orczy’s 1905 novel set The Scarlet Pimpernel to rescue French aristocrats from the guillotine at the height of the revolution.

Today, Scarlett remains a vivid shade of red and a dramatic name, but she’s lost her air of scandal.

As a name, Scarlett charted briefly from 1940 to 1943, and the height of Gone With the Wind.  She surfaced again from 1962 to 1963, possibly due to short-lived Canadian soap opera Scarlett Hill.

But then came 1991′s Scarlett, the authorized sequel to Mitchell’s classic, penned by Alexandra Ripley.  The novel was savaged by critics, but still topped the bestseller lists and was made into a can’t-miss-miniseries.  The name returned in 1992, but this time she stayed.  Why were the 90s different?

• Hugh Grant’s quirky red-headed roommate in Four Weddings and a Funeral answered to Scarlett;
• Young actress Scarlett Johansson – yes, that’s her real name – nabbed an Independent Spirit award nomination in 1996 and had her big breakout role in 2003′s Lost in Translation;
• Color, nature, and noun names are stylish today – even mainstream.  Violet rose at the same time.

In 2010, Scarlett ranked #114.  And why not?  She’s colorful, spirited, and stylish.  Her only downside?  She’s climbing rapidly.  If Savannah can reach #30, Miss O’Hara’s appellation surely can, too.

Image via Wikipedia

She’s a buttoned-up botanical with a pop culture link.

Thanks to Amanda for suggesting Primrose as our Baby Name of the Day.

Rose appears in many compound names, and yet Primrose is a rarity, never in the US Top 1000 and worn by a relatively small number of women compared to Rosalie or Rosanna.

Perhaps Primrose suffers from her proper first syllable.  Prim comes from the French for delicate, ultimately from the Latin primus – first.  There’s a funny little skip there – being first can imply being the best, and so our prissy prim once meant exquisite.

The flower shares the same root, but instead of delicate, the idea is that the primrose was the first rose to bloom.

Several species are known as primrose.  Together, they can be found throughout Europe, and into Africa and Asia.  The evening primrose – which is properly known as oenthera – is native to North and South America.

In the Victorian-era language of flowers, primrose means “I can’t live without you.”

It’s also a surname, derived from the Welsh words pren – tree and rhos – moor, suggesting it began as a place name.

Archibald Primrose, the 5th Earl of Rosebery served as Foreign Secretary under Queen Victoria.  The Earl was quite the popular figure.  He married banking heiress Hannah de Rothschild, the wealthiest woman in Britain.  Hannah died at the age of 39, just before her husband achieved his lifelong goal of being named prime minister.

Victorian-era politics give us a second meaning for the flowers.  They were a particular favorite of prime minister Benjamin Disraeli.  Queen Victoria sent a wreath of primroses to his funeral.  The Primrose League adopted the bloom as its symbol, signifying conservative principles, and Primrose Day is April 19, the anniversary of Disraeli’s death.

A 1918 Vitagraph film called Wild Primrose starred Gladys Leslie as Primrose Standish.  I’m not certain of the film’s plot.

Another chance for the name to catch on was a Gershwin musical – Primrose, debuted in London in 1924.  One of the characters is penning a romantic tale of a fictional Primrose.  His story mirrors the misadventures in the play.  Primrose never made it big, in part because the Gershwins’ Lady, Be Good! was on Broadway at the time.

British dramedy The Darling Buds of May ran in the early 90s.  It is best known for launching the career of Catherine Zeta-Jones, who played eldest daughter Mariette Louise Larkin.  Her younger siblings included:

• Montgomery;
• Primrose;
• Twins Zinnia and Petunia;
• Victoria;
• Oscar.

The characters were based on stories written by H.E. Brooks between 1958 and 1970; more fascinating still, the stories were based on a glimpse of a real family.

But the game-changer comes from current bestselling trilogy The Hunger Games.  Primrose Everdeen is the younger sister of Katniss, the heroine of the series.  Katniss volunteers for the Games to save her sister, though Prim eventually proves herself heroic, too.

Like Prudence or Temperance, there’s a risk to giving your daughter a good girl name.  Perhaps that’s why Primrose has never really taken off, despite her appealing sound and nature name style.  She’s an intriguing option for the middle spot.  The Hunger Games character could help reinvent her.  For now, Primrose remains a true rarity.

The Number 30 by Herman Turnip via Flickr

It strikes me that I’m now into my fourth year of writing at AppMtn.  My first post was Ava and Harlow, back on January 23, 2008.  I’d learned the mechanics of blogging for work a few years earlier; I now manage yet another blog in Real Life, and it looks like it is about to be joined by another.  Nothing I’ve written professionally has given me anywhere near the joy I’ve gotten out of writing here, and I credit that to you.  (Yup, even you lurkers.  I can’t hear you, but I can see you – and it’s nice to know that you’re here, too.)

On to the news:

• Carlton F.W. Larson of UC Davis School of Law dips a toe into our world with “Naming Baby: The Constitutional Dimensions of Parental Naming Rights.” Nancy read up on the section about numbers in given names and has a summary here. Larson himself wrote on prawfsblog about a subject that fascinates me: diacritical marks.  His take?  Many laws passed by the states to restrict naming rights are okey-dokey, but prohibiting diacritical marks might not be;
• Here’s another hot-button issue I enjoy:  I thought I invented that name, posted at BabyNameWizard. In this case, the name in question is Baylen, recently in the press as the name of Drew Brees’ firstborn, big brother to Bowen.  Wattenberg suggests that names aren’t invented – they’re discovered.  I like that concept.  Wattenberg also wrote about the phenomenon of parents choosing a name, then searching for a meaning:  “I made up this name, can you tell me what it means?”  That one always stumps me;
• Elisabeth at You Can’t Call It “It” came up with a list of twenty possible options for Nicole at Making It Lovely to consider.  So far Frederick is in front, but Hugo got my vote;
• Here’s something spotted by ForReal: Avalon is one of my favorites, but to me it is all girl.  Interesting to see it in the middle for a boy, paired with the powerful Gage;
• I’d love to know what this reader does.  Loyal Granddaughter asked the Name Lady what she thought of using all four grandmothers’ names for her daughter: Sue Mae Rose Marie.  The advice was sound – why not combine so your daughter receives all of the names in some form?  I love the idea of Susan Rosemary Mae or Rosamae Susan Marie;
• Do you read The Meanest Mom?  I must be the last person on Earth to discover Jana’s blog.  She’s not really mean, but she is wickedly funny.  And I’m crazy about her eldest child’s name, a daughter called Camber;
• I don’t read Portuguese, but I’ve just started following Nomes e mais nomes anyhow;
• From the wayback machine: in 2009, I wrote about Lunette and Arlo.  Last year, it was Clover and Jacoby;
• And here’s a look forward: in the queue for next week are Piers, Frank, Lucinda, Ulysses, and Amory.

Stop by Nameberry tomorrow where I’ll be talking about names I found while culling through the list of Oscar nominees.  (C in DC, thanks for the inspiration!)

Speaking of The Glamorous Life, please welcome the following sure-to-be-paparazzi-stalked tots to the universe:

• Mike Tyson welcomed a son called Morocco Elijah.  He and wife Lakiha also have a daughter, Milan.  Tyson’s six older children are D’Amato, Mikey, Miguel, Rayna, Amir, and his daughter Exodus, who passed away in 2009;
• No Doubt’s Tony Kanal is a new dad. He and girlfriend Erin Lokitz welcomed daughter Coco Reese Lakshmi.  The rest of the musical crew’s moppets are Kingston, Zuma, Ace, Rio, and Mason.

Which reminds me, Clio is obsessed with Gwen Stefani and Akon’s single “The Sweet Escape.”  How do you say no to a toddler who asks for “more Woo-hoo song, peeeeez?”

Speaking of requests, I’ll be doing another rerun week in April.  Should you stumble across a post that you think needs some freshening up, feel free to suggest it via email to appmtn (at) gmail (dot) com.

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

Image via Wikipedia

Looking for a floral name that’s more subtle than Lily, rarer than Rose?

Thanks to Fran for suggesting one option: the botanical Anthea.

Flora is clearly all about the blooms, what with the Roman goddess and the Latin root.  Anthea is far less well known, but her story is similar.

The Greek anthos means blossom or flower.  As for a goddess link,  Hera, Queen of the Greek pantheon, answered to Hera Antheia – Hera of the Flowers.

There’s a second mythological connection.  The Kharites, or Three Graces, were minor deities charged with life’s pleasures.  Their names vary, and occasionally their number is greater than three.  In at least some uses, Antheia appears as a goddess in her own right.

Seventeenth century English poet Robert Herrick is best known for the opening line to another poem: “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.”  He also dedicated poems to women named Corinna and Anthea.  His “To Anthea, who may command him Anything” puts a poetic, dramatic spin on the name.

Anthea has never charted in the US Top 1000, and to an American ear, she remains a decidedly British-sounding appellation.  Other uses that might ring a bell include:

• Agatha Christie used the name for one of the three sisters in her 1971 Miss Marple novel Nemesis.  The sisters are Lavinia and Clothilde and there’s also a niece called Verity;
• David Bowie played The Man Who Fell to Earth in a 1976 adaptation of an earlier sci fi novel about an alien from the planet Anthea;
• Anthea Turner hosted a show called The Perfect Housewife on BBC Three from 2006 through 2007.  As host, she visited chaotically-kept homes and ensured the lady (or man) of the house acquired the skills to keep things shipshape.  Turner is more television presenter than English Martha Stewart.  Other gigs have included everything from hosting a children’s show to appearing on Celebrity Big Brother;
• In the UK, Channel 4′s successful teen drama Skins replaces their entire cast when the kids graduate – a foreign concept in the land of Gossip Girl and 90210 – but during the first two seasons, one of the main characters had a mum who answered to Anthea.
• Beginning in 1900, Edith Nesbit created a series of stories, which grew into a novel and then a trilogy, titled Five Children and It.  The “It” is a bad news fairy called Psammead.  The five children are siblings named Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and baby brother Hilary.  Anthea answers to the nickname Panther.

At least in the US, none of these associations feel so strong as to overwhelm the name.  Anthea feels like a wearable rarity.  Her pronunciation is straightforward, and there are nicknames aplenty: Annie, Thea, Tea.

Anthea also has some weight to her.  Like Minerva or Renata, she’s not a simple, pretty name.  It makes her sound smart, but might also make her feel less fashionable than the current group of girls called Olivia, Mia, and Lily. Then again, not so long ago, Sophia and Isabella seemed out of step, too.

Bridge between Waverley Abbey house and the Abbey; Image by stephen_dedalus via Flickr

Today’s literary choice is perfectly in step with current trends, but has yet to catch on.

Thanks to Amanda for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day: Waverly.

Waverly sounds like a surname, but first appears in the historical record as the name of an abbey, constructed in 1128.  It lasted into the 1500s, when the combined forces of flooding from the nearby River Wey and Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries forced it into ruin.  Waverley Abbey’s name is tricky to trace, too.  I’d thought it might relate to the nearby River Wey, but that’s not clear.

A few references link Waverly to aspens, and that tracks with the -ley ending, which usually signified a clearing, meadow, or field.  Nearly every reference talks about “quaking aspens,” and our word waver traces back to the Old English wæfre – restless.  So Waverly picks up yet another appealing aspect – a nature name vibe.

In 1814, Sir Walter Scott scored a smash hit with his novel Waverley.  His hero is called Edward Waverley, a well-born soldier sent to Scotland during the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745.  (This makes Waverly one of the first historical novels.)  Edward falls in love with Flora, the sister of a Scottish chieftain.  This brings us back to the trees: he describes her harp playing as “the soft sigh of the evening breeze in the rustling leaves of an aspen.”

There’s much intrigue, but no happy ending.  Despite Flora’s chieftain brother Fergus springing Edward from jail, Edward marries the sensible Rose.

Some link the novel’s name to Waverly Abbey, but that might just be coincidence.  Likewise, the 64 baby girls given the name in 2009 according to Nancy are probably not linked to the novel.

What could inspire parents to choose Waverly?

• She’s a popular place name throughout the English-speaking world.  She appeared on the New York City street names blog post at Nameberry, but you can find this name on the map from Alabama to Wisconsin;
• Amy Tan’s 1989 Joy Luck Club included a character named Waverly, named for the street where her family lived in San Francisco;
• The Princess Bride was a 1973 novel, a 1987 film, and an undeniable cult classic.  Later editions of the novel contain a brief epilogue and hint at a sequel, all about the daughter of Westley and Princess Buttercup.  Her name?  Waverly;
• If you’ve seen The Disney Channel in recent years, you might’ve caught The Wizards of Waverly Place, a successful comedy about a trio of wizards-in-training who have to keep their powers secret.  The show is set in New York City’s Greenwich Village, where there really is a Waverly Place, which was named after the novel – which takes us back to the beginning.

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Waverly occasionally surfaced as a boy’s name.  But today, she sounds like a likely successor to Delaney – and undeniably feminine.  And while her name links to trees, her first syllable might remind parents of the beach.  If girls can be called Ocean and Sea, why not Waverly?

So I’ve been doing more lurking, this time at Babyzone:

• Aven suggested for a boy, like Gavin without the G;
• McKelyn for a girl, but is that Makayla with an “n” or more like McHelen?
• Arayu for a girl, pronounced ah ray you to honor a grandpa Ray – only she’s not sure she’ll use it because “people tell me it sounds foreign.”  You don’t say;
• Niveah, blurring the boundary between Heaven-spelled-backwards and the skin care aisle at Rite Aid.

And Babynamelover spotted a girl called Tuezdey.  Shiver!  I often wonder if the names I like are truly in the minority, or if there’s some dynamic at work on discussion boards.  Do you only visit if your tastes run to the extreme, be it Cloelia or Haedyn?  Or do you mostly lurk if you fall somewhere in between?

Names that caught my eye that I quite like this week:

• I loved Names4Real’s ABC Girls list: B is for Bellamy, I is for Imogen, W is for Wren;
• Swistle raised the idea of Middleton as a baby name. Middle can imply mediocrity, so I would’ve called it a non-starter.  Except. Kate Middleton puts a whole other spin on the name.  Of course, Diana never did experience the renaissance I would’ve expected;
• Since we’re on semi-celebrity news and Diana is on this list, too, check out The Frisky’s Ten Baby Names for expectant stylist/reality star Rachel Zoe.  Since he’s Rodge, I wonder if they’ll stick with an R name – Romy, Rufus, Rowan, maybe?
• While I have R-names on the brain, they’re one of the 14 thought-provoking trends Namberry called earlier this week;
• Oh, and back to the royal wedding – sure, we’re skipping way ahead, but what will the next heir to the throne answer to? Paula Bernstein at Babble’s Strollerderby is thinking maybe Frederick or Matilda.

In celeb news:

• Chris Daughtry and his wife welcomed twins Adalyn Rose and Noah James,  a little sister and brother for Hannah and Griffin;
• Former Bachelorette Jen Schefft welcomed daughter Mae Elizabeth.  She did not meet her husband on the show.

With the end of the year just weeks away – really! – Baby Name Wizard is taking nominations for the Name of the Year. Snooki is getting some early attention, so go vote for her – or shout her down!

And having just made a Jersey Shore reference, I think I’d really better go do something productive.  Maybe I’ll read some improving literature and try to pay attention to something other than the characters’ names.

Thanks, as always, for reading, and have a great week – and, if you’re in the U.S., a Happy Thanksgiving!  There’s no post planned for Thursday, but I’ll be back on Friday.

Willow tree in Magdalene College Garden, Cambridge; Image via Wikipedia

She’s a nature name gone Hollywood.

Thanks to Nicole for suggesting Willow as our Baby Name of the Day.

Girls have been named after flowers for generations.  In the twentieth century, we’ve broadened our definition of botanicals to include trees and other flora as possible appellations.

In Old English, willow was welig.  It evolved to wilghe, then wilwe before reaching its modern form sometime around the 1300s.  There’s a theory that the wel- element refers to a curve.

Today, willowy means slender and graceful.  It’s a positive association for a daughter’s name.  There’s even more symbolism to consider:

• The Jewish feast of Sukkot includes willow branches in several ceremonies, based on a verse in Leviticus;
• Buddhists associate willow branches with compassion;
• Beloved children’s novel The Wind in the Willows lends an innocence to the name;
• 1907 Algernon Blackwood short story The Willows puts an eerie spin on the trees, calling them menacing;
• Japanese and Native American traditional stories also attribute supernatural powers to the willow;
• “Willow Weep for Me” is a 1932 song since recorded by Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and Diana Krall;
• Willows are sometimes considered a source of wisdom.  Hans Christian Anderson wrote an 1853 story where children asked questions of a willow tree.  In Disney’s Pocahontas, the heroine did the same, calling the tree Grandmother Willow;
• In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia falls to her death from a willow tree.

Pop culture references have put Willow center stage:

• In the 1988 fantasy film Willow was a dwarf and unlikely hero – and a man.  JRR Tolkein had used the name for a minor male character, too;
• The grounds of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts include a tree called the Whomping Willow, which features in many a plot line.

The real fuel behind this nature name’s rise comes to us from the small screen: Buffy the Vampire Slayer debuted in 1997.  Buffy’s BFF answered to Willow.  In 1998, Willow entered the US Top 1000 at #851.

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith welcomed a daughter in 2000.  Just like big brother Jaden was named after mom, the new baby girl was named after dad: Willow Camille Reign.  As if being Hollywood royalty isn’t enough, the pint-sized fashionista has launched a career of her own, making her film debut in 2007.

There’s also:

• Sarah Palin’s daughter Willow, born in 1994, pre-Buffy;
• Model-turned-CNN correspondent Willow Bay also predates the TV show – but she was born Kristine;
• Catherine Willows is a crime scene investigator on the original CSI.  Marg Helgenberger has been nominated for Emmys and Golden Globes for her work.

All of this has propelled Willow to #315 in 2009, and she shows no signs of slowing.  With William back at #5 for boys, feminine choices like Willa and Wilhelmina are getting more attention.  And since William has never left the US Top 20, well, there are a lot of grandpa Bills out there to honor.

Willow might not be as classic as Lily or Rose, but she strikes me as one that’s here to stay – more akin to Brooke than Skye.