Appellation Mountain - Where every name has a story

Charles: Baby Name of the Day

February 20, 2019 By appellationmountain 37 Comments

Count Charles among the most evergreen of classics.

Thanks to Alicia and Melissa for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.

Charles: He Rules

Tally up the ten kings of France, four kings of Spain, two kings of England, one king of Portugal and Hungary each, as well as a host of powerful aristocrats, Holy Roman Emperors, and Charlemagne himself, and it’s easy to see this name as blue-blooded through and through.

Add in a half-dozen saints or more, and this name appears in nearly any history book.

But we’re just getting started …

[Read more…]

Girl Names from Initials: Ivy, Coco, Gigi + More

February 18, 2019 By appellationmountain 6 Comments

I have a soft spot for girl names from initials. Maybe it’s because my own name started out that way: Abigail came from my initials at birth, AB. Turns out that initials sometimes offer us an Intriguing way to reinvent our names. Girl names from initials can spark up a classic first-middle pairing with a […]

Sunday Summary: On Kylen and Kilyn

February 17, 2019 By appellationmountain 2 Comments

I’m watching the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy. I’ll keep this spoiler-free … but all of the kids have both numbers and names. Except for Five, who is always … Five. If you’ve seen the whole series – or read it in the original comics – don’t tell me why! I’m enjoying the mystery. We’ve […]

Name Help: Classic Name for a Fifth Daughter

February 15, 2019 By appellationmountain 31 Comments

Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, one reader’s name questions will be discussed. We’re relying on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name decisions. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight! Jill writes: My husband and I are expecting our sixth child, and fifth […]

Abby Answers: February 2019 Mailbag

February 14, 2019 By appellationmountain Leave a Comment

Time for the February 2019 mailbag. These posts offer a chance to answer questions too short for a #namehelp post, and too long to fit on Facebook. Mailbag February 2019: Do you think Riverdale will influence popular names? What a fun question! My gut response is yes. Because those kinds of shows – successful teen-ish […]

Duncan: Baby Name of the Day

February 13, 2019 By appellationmountain 22 Comments

Duncan brings to mind basketballs and doughnuts – but also Scotland and Shakespeare. Thanks to Whitney for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day. Duncan: Way Back Kings aplenty have answered to this name, as early as the 600s. An eighth century Saint Dúnchad might sometimes be recorded as Duncan, too. And then there’s King Donnchadh. […]

Names like Everly: 10 Great Alternatives

February 11, 2019 By appellationmountain 2 Comments

Looking for names like Everly? You’re not alone! Everly has gone from sometimes-heard surname to one of the hottest girl names of the moment. It combines the vintage of appeal of favorites like Ava, Evelyn, and Eva with a more modern, unisex style. Everly fits with our long tradition of three-syllable, ends-in-y names for girls […]

Sunday Summary: Expectations versus Appellations

February 10, 2019 By appellationmountain Leave a Comment

We don’t get the children we expect. That’s not a bad thing. It’s just that we tend to imagine that our kids will love what we love. Sometimes this happens; and sometimes, we end up learning about all sorts of new things – dinosaurs or basketball or musical theater – because our kid arrives with […]

Valentine Baby Names: The Ultimate List of Lists

February 9, 2019 By appellationmountain 1 Comment

Love is in the air, with Valentine baby names. Maybe you’re due on February 14th. Or maybe you’re just in love with the idea of a name that means something special. Either way, the hearts-and-flowers holiday can inspire lots of great baby name choices. From affectionate word names to historical and literary characters associated with […]

Name Help: A Brother for Townes and Rio

February 8, 2019 By appellationmountain 22 Comments

Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, one reader’s name questions will be discussed. We’re relying on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name decisions. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight! Kate writes: I’ve been following your site for years and was hoping you […]