With his mix of indie cool and athletic can-do, why isn’t this name faring better?
Thanks to Liliane for suggesting Rudy as Baby Name of the Day.
Baby Name of the Day: Rudy
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Tag Archives: Ruby
Reader Baby Name Story: A Botancial, Literary Choice
Today’s story comes to us from Elisabeth. It’s a great example of how you can know exactly what you want – but it might still take a little work to find it!
Name of the Day: Gertrude
Once worn by queens and saints, today she’s oft-cited as the name you’d never give your girl.
Thanks to Jillian for suggesting Gertrude as Name of the Day.
Name of the Day: Vita
A trio of starbaby sightings combined with that fashionable V calls the question: is this name the new Ava?
Thanks to Photoquilty for suggesting Vita as Name of the Day.
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:
- Somewhere between the overexposed Alexander and the up-and-coming Max falls the brief-yet-familiar Lex. As in Luthor. Who has been kinda-sorta redeemed on Smallville, I suppose. The baby’s full name is Lex Noah Atticus, and I’ll admit – super villain or no, I kind of love it;
- There’s also a story about a couple with four kids: sons Hunter and Connor and twin daughters Kerrilyn Lane and Bella Nicole. Kerrilyn honors grandma Kerrin. The mom had this to say: “Nobody – including family – can spell it properly. It’s pronounced Carolyn.” I can see why Kerrilyn seemed like the right choice, but wow – that’s a lifetime of introducing yourself as “Kerrilyn – K-E-R-R …;”
- Let’s leave Canada on a high note with this story of the first baby of the new year, the appropriately named Eva.
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 sibs: Brandi 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:
- Sebastiane covers international variations of the classics William and Sara/Sarah; plus the Estonian version of Winter, the appealing Talvi;
- Names4Real spotted a boy called Cipher Bash. When he keeps secrets in high school, don’t be surprised. She also found a birth announcement for a girl named Couture Beauty. And I thought that Jolie was a lot to put on a kid;
- Bewildertix spotted a Belladonna. Terribly pretty, and irresistible with all the Isabellas out there. Also the predictable and not-nearly-so-attractive Anastyn, Adelayde and Wyit. I think that’s a respelling of Wyatt, but I can’t fathom why that seemed like the thing to do. Someone please tell me Wyit is a traditional Maori name or maybe a surname worn by a distinguished Aussie statesman;
- Nameberry discusses names popular in 1910 that have yet to return. Abner and Kitty, anyone?;
- Vast Public Indifference tabulated the Hot Baby Names of 1710. Fabulous! Whatever happened to Mehitabel, Jerusha and Bethia, Ephraim and Ebenezer? And while you’re there, take her quiz: 18th Century Connecticutian or Muppet? I bombed, but here’s a hint: Big Bird has cousins;
- The best argument EVER for using a formal name comes to us from Namberry guest blogger Greta Goss. When she outgrew Peggy she simply looked for a more appealing diminutive of her name, Margaret.
Speaking of Margaret, Mark Walherg and Rhea Durham welcomed baby #4, the classically named Grace Margaret. In other starbaby news, via Celebrity Baby Blog:
- HGTV’s Vern Yip has welcomed a son, Gavin Joshua Mannox;
- Flight of the Conchords’ Rhys Darby has welcomed a son Theo, little brother for Finn;
- ‘NSYNC’s Joey Fatone and wife Kelly announced the birth of daughter Kloey Alexandra, a little sister for Briahna. Kloey is a mash-up of her parents’ names – not sure if there is a story behind Briahna’s spelling;
- Yes, Dash and Cash are catching on. But if your last name was Rich would you call your kiddo Cash Rich? Country singer John Rich, half of duo Big & Rich, did just that;
- How many celebs have chosen Rocco for a son in recent years? Add one more to the list. Jillian Barberie Reynolds has welcomed a son, Rocco Rio, a little brother for Ruby Raven;
- Fatboy Slim has apparently been happily married for a decade. He and wife Zoe have a son called Woody and just welcomed a daughter, Nelly May Lois. And ’round the house, Fatboy answers to Norman.
How could I top that? As always, thanks for reading!
Name of the Day: Enid
Is she hopelessly musty or an undiscovered gem?
Thanks to Sara for suggesting Enid as Name of the Day.
Name of the Day: Fuchsia
There’s Scarlet and Violet, Ruby and Jade. But if you seek a truly daring color name for a daughter, this could be one option.
Thanks to Imogen for suggesting Fuchsia as Name of the Day.
Elsewhere Online: Momentum and Baby Names
How many times have you heard the parent of a small child say something like this: “We didn’t realize Isaiah was getting so popular!”
“I really hope Ruby doesn’t take off! I hated being one of three Jennifers in my class.”
Or even: “I chose Ava for a girl and then my neighbor/co-worker/sister-in-law stole it!”
My theory is this: the more we hear a name, the more likely we are to consider it for our own children. It’s why names like Damien and Regan can pop even after they’re used for children that we hope ours won’t emulate. Ditto name elements – Miley owes some of her success to Billy Ray’s Disney daughter, but more to her similarity to Riley and Kylie.
You and I hear parents’ laments about Ava and Ruby and Isaiah and think: names embraced by celebs/last popular 100 years back/borrowed from the Bible are likely to rise. We’re not surprised. But hey, if you’re here, you’re probably more into names than the average person naming a baby right now.
Which is why I think you’ll be pleased as punch to know that NYU psych professor Todd Gureckis and Indiana U’s psych/brain sciences professor Robert Goldstone have researched this very topic. Their results can be read in the scholarly journalTopics in Cognitive Science.
Read the summary here: Recent ‘momentum’ influences choices of baby names, NYU, Indiana psychology professors find.
I haven’t read the original article – and I’m not sure I have the academic chops to completely digest it – but their finding is this: at least since the 1980s, parents have shown a preference for names that are rising. Therefore, those names rise. And so parents continue to show a preference for the rising names. And so they continue to rise …
It isn’t the whole picture, of course, but it’s an interesting piece.
Sunday Summary: 9/13/09
Ah, September. The leaves change color, apples of every possible variety can be found in stacks at the Farmers’ Market and me?
I’m glued to the television:
- Okay, not really. I missed the debut of the rebooted Melrose Place the other night. (Though I was sorry to miss Bronx‘s mom in action.) This edition includes an Ella and a Violet, as well as a female Riley. On the masculine side, there’s Auggie and Jonah;
- Also on TV, I hear that Glee’s characters include Finn (a boy) and Quinn (a girl). Of course they’re dating;
- Before there was Twilight, there was The Vampire Diaries. Now a series on the CW, Elena is torn between blood-sucking centuries-young, suntan-challenged brothers Stefan and Damon;
- Technically this is big screen news – So You Think You Can Dance alum Kherington Payne has a lead role as Alice in the big screen remake of Fame. But will Kherington catch on for girls? Or the Dynasty-esque original, Carrington?
Also on the big screen, there’s Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. Stand by for boys called Aldo, after Brad Pitt’s hyper-masculine hero. (The character was named after a real-life tough guy actor from the 50s and 60s, Aldo Ray.) There’s also the heart-breaking Jewish-French Shosanna, a name memorably yelled by the creepy Nazi Sicherheitsdienst officer Hans Landa, and her alias Emmanuelle.
Onto starbaby news:
- Yup, Nicole Richie and Benji Madden named their boy Sparrow. He’s sure to fly to the top of worst celeb baby name lists. Some rumblings suggest that Sparrow was inspired by a Simon & Garfunkel song, but the parents have yet to confirm the theory;
- Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans welcomed a daughter named Ella Betsi Janet. Ella is fine and I adore Betsy. Janet is engagingly retro. But Ella Betsi together seems like a deconstructed version of Elizabeth. What’s next? Ella Noor? Nia Cole? The mind reels;
- Country music’s Zac Brown and wife have welcomed a daughter named Georgia Sloan, little sister to Lucy and Justice – both girls, too;
- Katherine Heigl has confirmed that she is about to follow in a family tradition and adopt from Korea. (Hat tip to Photoquilty.) The baby on the way is to be named Naleigh. It’s a smoosh of family names – mom Nancy and sister Leigh. It’s a lovely thought, but all of a sudden, Sparrow seems perfectly reasonable.
Should you find yourself in a pediatrician’s office this month, pick up the current issue of Parents Magazine – there’s an extensive article on baby naming. For true name aficionados, it is not exactly news. (Though the report of one couple’s use of a name consultant was interesting and it was among the better coverage I’ve seen in a mainstream publication.) But the big takeaway? Laura Wattenberg contributed her Top Ten picks for the most popular names of 2019:
GIRLS: Lila, Peyton, Lucy, Violet, Aubrey, Amelia, Piper, Ruby, Juliet and Harper.
BOYS: Miles, Rowan, Lincoln, Eli, Jude, Cooper, Wyatt, Ryder, Lucas and Henry.
I’ll have to do some thinking about her lists – some strike me as spot on, others … maybe not so much. But seriously, if Laura Wattenberg is touting them as the likely hot names of 2019? That alone might be enough to make it so.
Thanks for reading!
Name of the Day: Topaz
It’s a hummingbird, a Hitchcock film and a gemstone. Could this also make for a dazzling baby name?
Thanks to Alicia for suggesting Topaz as Name of the Day.
