Tag Archives: Ruth

Sunday Summary: 7/24/11

Posted on
17
Number 24

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!

Baby Name of the Day: Estée

Posted on
18
Estee Lauder in Ceaser's Hotel Las Vegas July 2009

As the search for appellations français continues, here’s a rarity that just might appeal.

Thanks to Photoquilty for suggesting Estée as our Baby Name of the Day.

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Sunday Summary: 6/19/11

Posted on
26
No 19 - blue paint

No 19 - blue paint by Kirsty Hall via Flickr

Happy Father’s Day!

Thanks to a gap between the end of the school year and the start of summer camp, we headed for Rehoboth Beach (Delaware, on the Atlantic) this past week.  We finally met our friends’ darling daughter Helen Claire, and there were a few interesting name spottings – Allaire, Harlow, Amalia, and a bitsy girl called Birdie.  But mostly I was amazed at how consistently I heard the exact same names, over and over: Emma, Ava, Abby, Noah, Taylor, Alex, Jake, anything that ends in -aden.  Nothing wrong with choosing a popular name, but I found myself thinking about how very refreshing it is to hear something even a little different - Beckett or Abel or Tate, Ivy or Luna or Ruth.

So in the spirit of surfacing options that are just a little bit different:

  • Any name from Waltzing More Than Matilda’s 1930s list would be quite stylish in 2011: Iris, Alma, Josephine;
  • Nymbler’s May 2011 most popular names list included the following five new debuts: Lake, Makai, Maple, Shia, and Reef.  Water names seem especially seasonal, but the inclusion of Maple makes me think that parents are really branching out into ever-more adventurous nature and noun choices;
  • The comments on this NameLady post are fascinating.  Parents expecting twin sons want to give them subtle, baseball-themed names.  Is Ty too obvious?  Are parents really naming twins Clark and Addison after the address of Wrigley Field?  My favorite suggestion: Homer and Fielding – literary and sportif, all at once;
  • Take the names of the reigning Swedish monarch, Carl Gustaf, and his family, translate them into Portugeuse, and you get this list from Nomes e mais nomes: Madalena, Doroteia, Ingride, Bertil;
  • My favorite nymph name has always been Io, but this list from British Baby Names includes more than you can imagine;
  • Could Dax be the next big thing?  For Real just spotted him in Alaska.  He’s part-Dexter, part-Max, but very modern, too;
  • The list of birth announcements at Nameberry was just so much fun.  I spotted Caspian three times!

In celebrity news, both Natalie Portman and Josh Duggar welcomed sons this past week, and both declined to reveal their newborns’ names.  In Natalie’s case, it may be because she and husband Benjamin Millepied are adhering to the Jewish custom of first sharing their child’s name at his bris, eight days after birth.  As for the Duggars?  They’re hoping to lure us in for the big name reveal during tonight’s episode of their reality show.

Speculation about both families’ choices has been nonstop:

  • For young master Millepied, will it be Anakin?  Or maybe Alef?  Elisabeth guesses that it will likely be an A-name, which tracks with Jewish custom – Natalie’s dad is Avner, and while names are rarely repeated, initials often are;
  • On the small screen, Josh and Anna have announced that all of the grandduggars will wear M-names.  Big sis is Mackynize, so options suggested range from Michael to Maddox.  Or Maddyx.

Other notable birth announcements from the week include:

Last week’s Nameberry post was how to name a boy, Pinkett-Smith style; this week, it is the girls’ turn.  One of my favorite categories of names has to be unconventional ways to honor your loved ones, so this was really a thrill to write.

That’s all for this week.  As always, thank you for reading – and commenting!  The conversations here and on Facebook never fail to surprise and delight.

Sunday Summary: 5/1/11

Posted on
20
Bingo Number 1

Image by Leo Reynolds via Flickr

Welcome May!  After a week in Florida, and lots of name-spotting at Disney World, it is great to be back writing from my favorite spot on the couch.

Name news this week:

  • The late Pope John Paul was beatified in Rome today.  Beatification is the half-way mark towards sainthood.  Will it catch on as a compound name for boys?  I know two little John Pauls.  The older answers to J.P.;
  • This little story from a Louisiana newspaper is the reason I write;
  • From the wayback machine: in 2009, the featured name was Somerled.  In 2010, it was Ruth;
  • My thoughts on the letter C aside, it was fun to see Keturah spotted in Michigan by For Real;
  • Whitney spotted this weird comment on a forum: “…for twins go for matching names, such as Norah and Noah but keep the names unique please! no Cassie and Callie‘s!”  The commenter’s definitions of “matching” and “unique” are baffling, but then, unique is the most routinely abused term in baby naming parlance;
  • Laura Wattenberg reminds us that many stories aren’t about names, they’re about demographics.  Susan isn’t more successful than Madison.  She’s just much older!
  • Really can’t decide on a baby name?  Nancy tells us how parents in 1892 let their little girl help choose Frances Cleveland.

You might have heard about this little wedding on Friday.  While the pair aren’t parents – yet – their vows were heard ’round the world, and the occasion inspired plenty of posts about royal baby names.  I liked Nameberry’s list of princesses by marriage, as well as Nancy’s question about the popularity of Pippa in the US.  Pippa appears on my Monday list for Nameberry, too.

And in celebrity birth announcements:

  • Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon have welcomed twins, a boy and a girl, but no names have been announced as of this morning;
  • Another baby boy called Journey has arrived.  The Black Eyed Peas’ Taboo and wife Jaymie welcomed a son named Journey Jameson, a little brother for Jimmy Jalen and Joshua.  I get the modern spiritual vibe of Journey, but can’t help wonder if the parents sing “Don’t Stop Believin” as a lullaby.  Nancy tells us that 45 baby boys – including one of Jenna Jameson’s twin sons – received the name in 2009, but it is in the girls’ Top 500;
  • 90210 alum Ian Ziering and wife Erin welcomed a daughter, Mia Loren.  Joy pointed out that Mia and Ian share the same sounds, and the choice is pretty conventional.  Still, I like this one;
  • The amazing Toni Collette welcomed a son named Arlo Robert, a little brother for Sage Florence.  Dad is musician David Galafassi.  I think the couple did a good job of finding names that are distinctive and stand up to their long surname, too;
  • Funny man Kevin James is now the father of three.  He and wife Steffiana welcomed a son, Kannon Valentine.  Big sisters are Shea Joelle and Sienna-Marie.  Shea is indeed named after the Mets’ former stadium.  Thanks to Photoquilty for pointing out that Valentine is a family name.  I’m not sure there’s any explanation for Kannon.

Hungry for more name gossip all week?  Check out my Facebook page.

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

Sunday Summary: 12/19/10

Posted on
8
Pram Parade - Melbourne

Image by philipbouchard via Flickr

I’m fascinated by names, but equally intrigued by the process we use to arrive at a name.  You can find countless real life conversations on message boards, but here are a few I spotted on parents’ personal blogs:

In other news:

In celeb news:

I’m announcing more and more celeb births on the AppMtn Facebook page, along with Sunday Summary-esque links and comments.

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

Sunday Summary: 10/10/10

Posted on
7
Baby-global

Image via Wikipedia

I’m not sure exactly what’s going on upstairs as I write – I can hear both children laughing, and the Dora Halloween special is definitely on television.  My husband must be in the room with them, but I kind of think the toddler is in charge.

Beyond describing my background noise, I say that because I’ve often wondered if the name Dora will catch on years from now.  I doubt that many parents named their daughters in honor of Olivia Newton-John, but having spent their formative years singing along to Grease, is it really a surprise that they later embraced the name?  Sometimes a public figure just raises awareness of a name, subtly adding it to the menu of possible options.

Then again, I’ve yet to meet a little Ernie, and we all grew up with Sesame Street.  So I’m not certain we’ll all have granddaughters named Dora.

On to the name news:

In celeb news:

That’s all for this week, but if you’re starved for Sunday Summary-esque commentary the other six days of the week, you can find me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/AppMtn.  It’s a great place to post names that you’ve spotted elsewhere – I’m starting to keep an informal list in the discussions area.

As always, thanks for reading!

Baby Name of the Day: Blythe

Posted on
17

She’s as cheerful as Felicity, as brief as Blair.

Thanks to Rocking Fetal for suggesting Blythe as Baby Name of the Day.

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A to Z: Single Syllable Names for Girls

Posted on
26

Confession: I play name games.  When stuck cooling my heels waiting for something, or in a meeting so deadly dull I think my soul might leave my body, I find my pen scrawling names.

Here’s a recent one – an A-to-Z list of Single Syllable Names for Girls.  I stalled out on a few letters.  Any ideas?

Continue reading →