SUNDAY SUMMARY

It’s a little bit of a riddle: how do you name your kid after yourself without actually naming your kid after yourself? Recent weeks have given us two stand-out examples. Paris Hilton, who used to say she planned to name a future daughter London, instead welcomed son Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum with husband Carter Reum. […]

There’s something about repeating letters. Sometimes they offer visual appeal – think Scarlett or Everett. Jenn might’ve added an extra N in a bid to stand out in a crowd. Other times, they indicate an appealing sound, or might even emphasize a preferred pronunciation or tie to a particular heritage. There’s no doubt about how […]

Are you watching the Super Bowl tonight? Football isn’t for me, but we’ll be tuning in for the halftime show featuring the incomparable Rihanna. Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty in Barbados, she’s been known only as Rihanna since she released her first studio album in 2005. (Though her other endeavors, including the trend-setting beauty line, are […]

But so does 5 plus 4. And 7 plus 2. Also 8.1326 plus .8674. You get the idea. The same is true in naming: there’s more than one way to think about things. Your way is right for you; someone else’s way works for them. That’s not to say that 6 plus 4 makes 9, […]

Do you have a familect? Chances are good that you do. It’s a set of words or phrases that only make sense in your small group. Even though I’ve known that my family – both the home I grew up in, as well as my own household – has a complicated, convoluted familect for years, […]

I don’t follow astrology. But I do notice it, particularly around the Lunar New Year. So yes, I have rabbits on the brain this week. As fictional creatures go, there are quite a lot of them – which seems right. And while some of them – sorry, Flopsy and Mopsy – probably shouldn’t inspire your […]

Here’s something that I’ve noticed as I’ve worked with families over the years: the temptation is to add to our lists. Making it longer, longer … and longer still. We feel like we just haven’t found the right name yet and one more search will get us there. I’m a huge fan of discovering new […]

Happy 2023! As the old year drew to a close, I spent time looking back at the most popular posts. Some of it is just housekeeping. After all, the lists of the Most Popular Girl Names on the Site and the Most Popular Boy Names on the Site will fuel the March Madness Baby Names […]