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Where every name has a story

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Baby Name Luna: Shining and Magical

May 25, 2022 By appellationmountain 21 Comments

The baby name Luna shines, a nature name with vintage charm.

It’s also the Harry Potter character name most thoroughly embraced by Muggles.

Thanks to Allison for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.

MOON GODDESS

Long before JK Rowling imagined Hogwarts, ancient Romans considered Luna the name of the Roman goddess of the moon. She’s often shown driving a chariot through the night sky.

Sometimes other goddesses, like Diana and Juno. were called Luna; at other times it’s clear that Luna was separate.

It is the Latin word for moon. But Luna also shares roots with the Latin word for light, making it a cousin to lux and lumen. 

And our words lunar and lunacy come from the same origins. As goddess names go, it’s one of the most easily understood.

That’s especially true, as Luna is simply the Spanish word for moon, too.

In Greek mythology, the goddess is called Selene.

[Read more…]

Sweet Spot Boy Names: Jonah, Malcolm, Lane

May 24, 2022 By appellationmountain 17 Comments

sweet spot boy names

Today we’re looking at sweet spot boy names. What does sweet spot mean? They’re names that we all recognize, but they’re far from the Top Ten Liam or Lucas. We’ve heard them, and might even know a kid or two with the name. But they’re not everywhere – even though some of them are gaining […]

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Names Like Carter: Walker, Calder, Briggs

May 23, 2022 By appellationmountain 5 Comments

names like Carter

Looking for names like Carter? Carter appears in the US Top 1000 for most years with data available, way back to 1880. But it soared in use beginning in 1994, thanks to the debut of smash-hit television series E.R. John Carter – almost always referred to as simply Carter – started out as a medical […]

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Baby Names that Mean Blue: Navy, Indigo, Cyan

May 23, 2022 By appellationmountain 4 Comments

Blue Baby Names

Baby names meaning blue feel optimistic and bright. Yes, we can get the blues. But there’s also blue sky, true blue, and the wild blue yonder. Bluebirds symbolize happiness. Plus, we’re wild for names inspired by color. Think Hunter and Olive, Scarlett and Rowan. But until recently, shades of blue baby names have taken a […]

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Sunday Summary: Namers Gonna Name

May 22, 2022 By appellationmountain Leave a Comment

Sunday Summary: 5.22.22

Do you name everything? I don’t think I do. A great many inanimate objects exist in my house, all free of names. (I use the toaster oven daily, but I’ve never felt the impulse to call it Greg or Bob.) But it turns out my kids are namers. The plant in the picture is a […]

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Name Help: Emerson for a Boy?

May 20, 2022 By appellationmountain 10 Comments

Name Help: Emerson for a Boy

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! Andy writes: How do you feel about Emerson for a boy? We love […]

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Downton Abbey Names: Marigold, Edith, Atticus

May 19, 2022 By appellationmountain 3 Comments

Downton Abbey names

Downton Abbey names took off from the series’ earliest days. You almost certainly know a girl who shares her name with the Dowager Countess or her American daughter-in-law. Maybe with the middle daughter’s secret child, too, or the chauffeur-turned-family-member. This post is packed with spoilers for the original series, as well as the 2019 film, but […]

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Baby Name Henry: Classic Trendsetter

May 18, 2022 By appellationmountain 54 Comments

baby name Henry

The baby name Henry proves that some choices can be both the height of tradition and the definition of stylish at the same time. Our Baby Name of the Day comes from this list of classic boy names. FAMOUS PEOPLE NAMED HENRY Fictional action hero-archeologist Indiana Jones started out life as Henry Walton Jones. England’s […]

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Sweet Spot Girl Names: Daisy, Eliza, Quinn

May 17, 2022 By appellationmountain 30 Comments

sweet spot girl names

Today we’re looking at sweet spot girl names. They’re the names that we all recognize, but don’t hear everywhere. You may know a kid or two who answers to them, because many are rising in use. But in terms of temperature they’d please even Goldilocks: neither the white-hot trendy that characterizes fast risers, nor the […]

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Fastest Rising Boy Names: Luca, Maverick, Kai

May 16, 2022 By appellationmountain Leave a Comment

fastest rising boy names

Time for the fastest rising boy names of the year. Most of the time we talk about changes in rank on the popularity charts. But this list is based on the increase in number of actual births. Why does that matter? Sometimes it doesn’t, actually. Luca is the top name on this list of the […]

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