Here’s a #namespotting question. Is Jackson John too repetitive? They’re both forms of the same name, and both can be called very popular indeed. Or is this the kind of thing that only the name obsessed among us would ever notice?
Something tells me that it’s the latter.
Elsewhere online:
- Cue the nostalgia. This post got me thinking about Cabbage Patch Kid names. Once the initial craze faded, and you could actually walk into a store and buy one off the shelf, I remember standing there, reading all the birth certificates. And by “remember,” I should clarify that I’ve done that as recently as last year, I think. I’m not sure if their first-middle name combinations are still unique, but back in the day, creator Xavier Roberts sourced them from a 1930s-era baby name book.
- Though that got me thinking – there were baby name books in the 1930s? Reference books of some sort, I’m sure. But would parents have actually picked them up to find a name for their child? Anyone know? The one my parents used dated to 1963, and was updated periodically for at least twenty years. My mom bought some re-issue of it sometime in the 1970s and kept it while naming four children over the course of a decade.
- I have a minor obsession with one-syllable, distinctive names, partially because I think they make such smashing middles. My latest find? Swyn, courtesy of British Baby Names’ latest birth announcement post. Elea tells us that it comes from a Welsh word meaning spell or charm. Pretty sure it rhymes with Finn, which makes it quite wearable. (Though it might be more of an ‘uh’ sound in Welsh – anyone know for sure?)
- Also recently spotted as a middle: Praise. Love this one, too, especially as a spiritually meaningful choice.
- Love Sophie’s celebrity baby names predictions? Here’s a new batch.
- More boy names like Miles and Brooks, from Baby Name Wizard. Love Ives, Rhodes, and Gates.
- Great suggestions from Duana for naming a sister for Eleanor and Hazel, but I’m mostly intrigued by the parents’ problem: did you go into the hospital with a shortlist of names, only to find that none of them were quite right? If so, how did you proceed?
One more thing before we go: I’ve added two new services to my Private Baby Name Consulting practice, aimed at helping more families with their big decision. Please visit the page here, and if you have any questions, drop me a line at appmtn (at) gmail (dot) com.
That’s all for this week. As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week!
