Madonna Lily by Dmitry Baranovskiy
Susie is a Boomer staple; Susannah her stylish colonial cousin.
Today’s Baby Name of the Day takes that familiar appellation in a far more exotic direction: Azucena. Thanks to Lea for the suggestion!
If you saw box office smash Inglorious Basterds, you heard fictional Nazi bad guy Hans Landa call out this name in a grisly, memorable opening sequence.
If Stella is a star, why not Shoshanna? Thanks to Serenity for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
Plenty of Old Testament choices have gone mainstream in recent years, but this one? Not so much.
Thanks to Photoquilty for suggesting Hadassah as Baby Name of the Day.
As if Chicago’s bad girl Roxie Hart didn’t taint her, the Police’s chart-topping single nearly did her in. Can she regain her rightful place as a culture-spanning classic?
Thanks to Photoquilty for suggesting Roxana as Name of the Day.
Would you name your daughter Sue – just Sue? In the Netherlands, plenty of parents are opting for a related nickname name.
Thanks to Kelleita for suggesting Sanne as Name of the Day.
It’s August 16, and that means Mad Men’s third season debuts tonight. Check out the Mad Men Names list over at Nameberry. Midge might not make a comeback any time soon, but Joan, Peter and Betty all sound fresh to my ear. Bewildertrix has spotted Betty in a few birth announcements recently.
Speaking of television – I never miss 18 Kids and Counting, even though Arthur rolls his eyes/leaves the room/threatens to cancel cable. While it isn’t the life I’d choose, I envy them one thing – they got to name 18 children! In recent episodes, the 20 Duggars (parents Jim Bob and Michelle, plus Josh, Jana, John-David, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy Anna, Jeremiah, Jedediah, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johanna, Jennifer and Jordyn) have been visiting the Bates family.
The Bates have a mere 16 children, with one on the way. I had to go to Google their names, and here they are: Gil and Kelly are parents to Zachary, Michaela, Erin, Lawson, Nathan, Alyssa, Tori, Trace, Carlin, Josie, Katie, Jackson, Warden, Isaiah, Addallee and Ellie. The Addallee spelling is wacky, and Warden? But other than that, nicely normal names.
Then again, they started with a Z. That’s a much tougher letter for naming a big batch o’ babies than J. (And even the Duggars resorted to Jinger.) Speaking of unconventional names:
I mentioned the Duggars earlier. Another first-initial-sharing reality television family is also expecting their first grandchild. Kourtney Kardashian is about to make Kris a grandma, and Kim, Khloe, Kendall and Kylie aunts. (There’s also uncle-to-be Robert, a junior named after Kris’ first husband.) Kourtney has stated that the baby will not have a K-name.
Or any sense of privacy.
Since I’m on a television spree, may I mention my pet peeve? When writers get the names wrong. This usually happens when a writer names a 30-something Addison. Sure, it could happen. But she’s probably Melissa – her daughter is Addison. Anyhow, Drop Dead Diva, a cute little comedy with a twist, named their 20-something aspiring model Debbie. Why not Ashley or Nicole – or if they were going for alliteration overkill, Danielle?
More names coming to the small screen this Fall – hat tip to Parents Magazine’s September 2009 preview:
Not terribly exciting, except for Axel, Brick and Sue. I like Axel, fret about Brick and would be happy to see a revival of Susannah or Susan.
What with all that weirdness and blandness, here’s a link to a list that will lift your spirits – Elisabeth of You Can’t Call It “It” reports on genteel names for the alumnae of two Southern girls’ schools.
A year ago today, I wrote about Aloysius. Little surprise, he remains underused!
That’s all for now – thanks for reading and have a fabulous week.
In French, sosie means double – as in on dit que tout le monde a un sosie. (They say everyone has a twin.)
But Sosie Ruth Bacon, daughter of Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, is all-but-one-of-a-kind. Born in 1992, Sosie’s starbaby status failed to launch the name into general use – Sosie has never appeared in the US Top 1000.
I’ve found a few references to a French Saint Sosie from the 300s, a victim of the Diocletian persecutions. She also sounds like a logical diminutive for Shoshannah, the Hebrew forerunner of Susannah.
With Sophie and Sadie so popular – and Sedgwick and Bacon so steadily in the public eye – I can’t help but wonder: Sosie, yea or nay?
The big news this week was, of course, the new addition to Kimora Lee Simmons’ family, her son with actor Djimon Hounsou, Kenzo Lee. The self-proclaimed model-mogul-mom also has two daughters/reality starlets, Ming Lee and Aoki Lee.
In other starbaby news:
Elsewhere online, you don’t want to miss:
I think it goes without saying that sibs’ names should have something in common. The question that plagues me is what to do when your partner has a child from an earlier relationship. If his first two kids are Kaylie and Jayden, do you try to match the style? Or do you stick with Oliver and Eleanor? Or try to split the difference with something like Matthew and Avery? It’s not a challenge I’ve faced personally, but every time I hear a much-married celeb’s list o’ kids – like Bobby Brown’s quintet – I wonder.
It’s springtime, and our family tree is blooming! My brother-in-law tied the knot last week, meaning that I now have a sister-in-law with the lovely name Solange. (She’s pretty fabulous, too.)
On the other side of the Atlantic, Alexei’s godmother, Paulina, is now engaged to Bartholomew. I haven’t met him yet, but I did learn that he has a niece named Ala. (They’re in Poland, so name trends are more than a little different.)
Now, on to the news!
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading!
While Susan seems dated circa 2008, we are charmed by this frillier elaboration, which just happens to hew closer to the original version of the name, too.
Thanks to Kim for suggesting today’s Name of the Day: Susannah.
