Sunday SummaryA few years ago, I left home without my grocery store loyalty card.  It was one of those stock-the-pantry trips, so when I reached the register sans card, I hated to check out without it.  The cashier handed me an application, and in a moment of whimsy, I filled out another name: Cordelia Chase.

She’s a creation of Joss Whedon’s on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.  She’s one of my favorite fictional character names, but I still can’t explain why I settled on Cordelia and not, say, Blair Warner or Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Somehow, my original card never surfaced and I now use Cordelia’s card exclusively.  I was reminded of that yesterday, when after a quick trip through the express lane, a polite young cashier named Demetrius said, “Thank you, and have a nice day, Mrs. Chase.”

It’s fun to have another name sometimes, even at the Safeway for a few seconds.

Back to the baby name news:

  • Oooh, I love Ledger and Sea.  Except Sea’s middle name?  Too cutesy.  I can appreciate a daring middle, but this one feels like a punchline.  Here’s hoping there’s a story …
  • Is name regret really this headline-worthy?  I think this mom was a little bit indecisive.  It’s not like she changed her kids’ names from Orchid and Nehemiah to Mary and John, or from Mary and John to Skylee and Slayde.
  • I’d change my name if I were Melanie.  Er, MilaneeMilahni.  Gosh, I’m stumped.  How would you solve her dilemma?
  • Ancient Greek names for girls might be my favorite category of name, hands down.
  • Neve and Garnet are my favorites from this list of winter names.
  • Why do I feel like this Colorado family is minutes away from their own show on TLC?  Nancy has the rundown on their kids’ names.  Check out #11.  Oh, and yes – I’d almost certainly tune in.
  • Seriously, Whitaker might be my new favorite surname baby name.  It has an Oscar tie this award season.
  • Fascinating thoughts about how the internet impacts our perception of names, courtesy of the wise Laura Wattenberg.  The question is whether this will intensify as we spend more of our lives online – or not.  And whether the potential for negative stereotyping will push parents to choose names that are different … hmm …
  • Sweet little story of the royal-baby-on-the-way.  Pssst … Faye, your name is pretty great, too!
  • Speaking of royal, a girl named Princess.  Plus 48 other names.  I’d drop ’em all except for Iris or India.
  • It’s hard for me to imagine Philadelphia as a girl’s name, but it once was.
  • I remember reading this blog when her girls were babies.  Love the names Esther and Isla.
  • From the wayback machine.  In 2009, I wrote about Marian.  2010 featured Laszlo, and 2011 was Ulysses.  Last year, it was Names Borrowed from the Beatles.

That’s all for this week!  As always, thank you for visiting and have a fabulous week.

About Abby Sandel

Whether you're naming a baby, or just all about names, you've come to the right place! Appellation Mountain is a haven for lovers of obscure gems and enduring classics alike.

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6 Comments

  1. Ancient Greek names for girls is my favorite girl category, too! And I saw under the list of winter names Carolina Wren. Abby, did that inspire you for your daughter Clio’s name?

    Poor Melanie…..although I think Milani makes the most sense, as most of us know how to pronounce Milan correctly. I do think Milani is more glamorous of a pronunciation than the U.S. pronunciation of Melanie.

    I, too, like Whitaker. When I saw the movie Flight, I thought, What a great name! However, I don’t like any of those Colorado kids’ names. Neither the full name or the nicknames. I just don’t like names ending with ‘n’! It is so overused!

    1. Kaeli, we realized that after we settled on the name but before she was born. Last summer we went to an Urban Nest Watch event – they tag and track birds in the little strips of nature left in big urban areas – and one of the birds they caught and released that morning was a Carolina Wren. Pretty cool. But Wren comes from my sister – her nickname since high school has been Bird. In fact, I recently quizzed my 8 y.o. about their aunts’ real names, and I was delighted? surprised? to realize they don’t know them.

      Milani IS a good suggestion – I instantly pronounce Milani as poor Melanie’s parents intended …

  2. I love the idea of having a new name just for the supermarket! I’m seriously tempted to try that now. I think food shopping would feel so much more glamorous if I were, say, an Ariadne or a Eugenia.

  3. The hook on that 12 kids from Colorado piece is that they end with a Y…but the more interesting part to me is that they ALL end with an N but have Y ending nicknames. That’s some planning for sure!

  4. Oh goodness! I have a love for multiple middles, but 139 and 49 names seem excessive even to me. I’d scrap a lot of those listed. Elizabeth Appolonia Jane or India Suzanne Rosa would be lovely though.

    Then while Ledger James is handsome, Lilah Chanty Faye and Senya Hartley also caught my eye. Chanty? Whitaker “Whit” is also a handsome name. And Madigan Grace and Rowden Vincent are seriously cute. An RV full of kids sounds crazy, but fun. I’d watch that show.