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. […]
READ MORE >>SUNDAY SUMMARY
Sharing all the baby name news from the week!
Every Sunday, the Summary rounds up the most newsworthy name-related stories, along with the occasional blast from the past. We'll examine trends and themes, surprising celebrity choices, and names in the headlines, too.
Sunday Summary: AA and OO
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 […]
READ MORE >>Sunday Summary: Rowdy, Kendrick, Boudicca
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 […]
READ MORE >>Sunday Summary: 6 + 3 = 9
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, […]
READ MORE >>Sunday Summary: Familect Names
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, […]
READ MORE >>Sunday Summary: Year of the Rabbit
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 […]
READ MORE >>Sunday Summary: Tradition is Just Peer Pressure from Dead People
I can’t find the original source for this quip: “Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people.” But we should talk about it. Because in this week’s #namehelp and in a recent Swistle post, questions related to family naming customs came up. My take on family names comes down to this: You are never under […]
READ MORE >>Sunday Summary: Construct Creative Constraints
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 […]
READ MORE >>Sunday Summary: Happy New Year!
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 […]
READ MORE >>Sunday Summary: The Next Big Names
As the end of the year draws near, it’s time for plenty of 2022 retrospectives, along with lots of prognostications for the year ahead. Thanks to Caroline for featuring my thoughts on the Next Big Names of 2023, along with some other really talented namers! You can read my full lists of the Best Names […]
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