Appellation Mountain - Where every name has a story

Best New Baby Names 2019: Scout, Jericho, Anais, Zakai

May 20, 2019 By appellationmountain 6 Comments

Time for me to pick the best new baby names 2019! These are my favorites from the names debuting or returning to the US Top 1000 in May 2019.

Read the full lists here:

I’ve chosen exactly eight names for girls and eight for boys. They’ll advance to our annual contest, where you pick the best of the best: the New Names Showdown! This is the fourth year for the contest. Prior years’ results can be found here:

2018 New Names Showdown Winners: Wells & Marlowe
2017 New Names Showdown Winners: Shepherd & Sylvie
2016 New Names Showdown Winners: Wilder & Arden

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Sunday Summary: We’re All Amy Poehler

May 19, 2019 By appellationmountain 5 Comments

Did you see Amy Poehler’s interview with Seth Meyers? Way back in 2008, she and ex-husband Will Arnett welcomed son Archie. And now, eleven years later, it’s the latest royal baby name. Her reaction mirrored the parents of so many Penelope-pre-Kardashian, George-avant-Cambridge, Luna-before-Legend babies. It mixes pride – because you thought of that great name […]

Psalm: Baby Name of the Day

May 18, 2019 By appellationmountain 6 Comments

Psalm joins the galaxy of Kardashian baby names. Our Baby Name of the Day carries deep, spiritual meaning – but is this a name at all? Song The Greek psalmos referred to a song sung to a stringed instrument – a harp. It appears in Old English as pselam or salm. Over time, the spelling […]

New Boy Names 2019: Jericho, Justus, Zev

May 17, 2019 By appellationmountain 5 Comments

New boy names 2019 borrow from popular sounds, span the globe, and bring back some forgotten classics – it’s a little bit of everything. In May 2019, the US Social Security Administration released the new popularity data for all children born between January 1st and December 31st of 2018. 45 boys’ names ranked in the […]

New Girl Names 2019: Adalee, Promise, Scout

May 14, 2019 By appellationmountain 11 Comments

New girl names 2019 range from the retro Arlette to the nouveau Austyn, the minimalist Ann to the elaborate Giavanna. Headlines brought back Meghan; ongoing trends pushed Palmer and Bellamy onto the charts at last. And that’s just the beginning of the list. In May 2019, the US Social Security Administration released the new popularity […]

Most Popular Baby Names 2019

May 10, 2019 By appellationmountain 6 Comments

The most popular baby names 2019 update is here! The US Social Security Administration has released their name data for births between January 1 and December 31, 2018. The big stories? The Top Ten As I guessed, Emma and Liam held on to the top spots. Not because they’re still wildly popular – Emma actually […]

Archie: Baby Name of the Day

May 8, 2019 By appellationmountain 6 Comments

Archie takes center stage, in honor of the newest member of the British royal family. With congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, let’s talk about our stylish Baby Name of the Day. Archibald There’s something Scottish about Archibald, but that doesn’t quite reflect the name’s roots. It comes from Germanic name elements, the […]

Welcome Archie Harrison!

May 8, 2019 By appellationmountain 18 Comments

Baby Sussex has a name! Welcome Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. He arrived on May 6, 2019. At present, he’s seventh in line to the British throne and the future Duke of Sussex. British Boy Meghan and Harry chose a first name that’s perfectly on-trend in the UK. Casual, accessible nickname-names have defined twenty-first century boys’ names. […]

Allegra: Baby Name of the Day

May 8, 2019 By appellationmountain Leave a Comment

Musical Allegra has captured the world’s imagination. But can it overcome that whiff of pharmaceutical? Thanks to G. for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day. Cheerful This name sounds happy and upbeat, and indeed it is! The Italian word allegro means lively or cheerful, ultimately from the Latin alacrem. It’s been used as a […]

Top Ten Baby Names Predictions 2019

May 6, 2019 By appellationmountain 3 Comments

It’s time for Top Ten baby names predictions 2019! Later this week, the US Social Security Administration will release the new most popular names list. It’s like Christmas meets the Super Bowl meets my birthday. New popularity lists means plenty more prognosticating than a groundhog on the morning of February 2nd. Catch up on all […]