Fans of Game of Thrones, rejoice! The series returns on July 16th. I’m not watching the series – I half want to, but oh, the violence – not sure I can handle it. But I am watching Khaleesi, along with everyone else in the name world. Nancy first covered the name way back in 2012. […]

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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 […]

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Happy Father’s Day to everyone celebrating! The world’s most famous father  – at least for 2017 – has to be Jay Z. Last night, People reported that he and Beyonce welcomed their twins in recent days. While there’s no official word on the new arrivals’ genders, speculation continues. The latest? Barack Obama’s remarks at the […]

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If my mom had named me Allison, this blog might not exist. My fascination with names stems from an awareness that my given name was powerfully popular. Epidemic, even. And that I could have – might have – had a different name. When I pulled the baby name dictionary off my parents’ bookshelf and discovered dozens […]

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Welcome to June! With the rising heat and all this sunshine, I have summer names on the brain. I wrote this post way back in 2008, but it still speaks to me today. Though I left my favorite Leo- name off the list: Leocadia. And really, I’ve always been attracted to the idea of remaking it into Leocadie. While […]

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I have a theory. Popularity can be a good thing in some cases. Names that feel bold, even outlandish, transform as they become more familiar. There’s a sweet spot in the process. For some names, there comes a moment when it feels fresh and unusual – but is popular enough that a great many people […]

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Could this be the year that Pippa really hits it big? The name soared in use after the world met Philippa Charlotte Middleton, the world’s most famous bridesmaid. Now Pippa has married hedge fund manager James Matthews, with a lavish, headline-grabbing wedding. Of course “soared in use” still puts it around 100 births a year. 101 in 2016, […]

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By now, you’ve almost certainly heard the news. The US Social Security administration has released the new most popular baby names data, and we’ll be talking about it … well, really until next Mother’s Day. You can watch some of my first reactions to the list here, and some quick observations on the Top Ten are here. And, […]

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Is it summer yet? The weather has turned cool and rainy, but the calendar says it’s time to start thinking about sunscreen and beach trips. And so, here’s my latest: What’s your mermaid name? I’m Ariel Sandbar, which sounds a little bit like a mermaid accountant. Elsewhere online: Oh, how I love Swistle’s comments in […]

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Here’s a theory: when it comes to on-trend names, any use that increases our familiarity with the name tends to bolster the name’s use. I’m not the first to think it. Nancy has covered the phenomenon of tragedy inspiring name choices. The OJ Simpson trial translated to more babies Kato and Kaelin. Plenty of obscure pop culture references translate […]

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