The Chinese zodiac says it’s the year of the snake, and my day planner insists it is now 2013.
But here, as of this week, it is Year Five.
The first blog posts at Appellation Mountain went live on January 23, 2008. It was a very different moment in my life – I had one toddler, was new in town, and was only working a few hours a week. My husband, on the other hand, had a new gig where he was all but sleeping at the office.
The Jolie-Pitts only had four kids. The Duggars? A mere seventeen.
I was bored, bored, bored, and spent an awful lot of time on baby name forums. It occurred to me that I was repeating myself, and I really ought to round up all of those oft-repeated thoughts and put them in a blog.
And so Appellation Mountain was born. I now have two school-aged kids, and a sometimes very demanding day job. Happily, my husband now comes home at a predictable hour, so it all works out.
So in celebration of five years, I decided to reboot a few of my earliest posts:
- Ava and Harlow: Hollywood Baby Names
- Alternagirl, now Ruby, Elise & Sheena: Girls Names from Alt Rock
- Avalon & Astoria: Unusual A Names for Girls
They were rougher than I thought. I also remembered that they were published at a time when I had zero readers. Or very nearly zero – there are a handful of people I’d met back on the forums who were kind enough to visit in the early days. Some of you are now friends in real life, too, and that’s an unexpected bonus.
It’s sort of de rigeur to add in these posts that you never expected all of this when you started blogging. There’s some truth to that, of course. But what really surprises me is this: it is so exciting, so completely joyful when someone you know welcomes a new child. Writing about baby names allows me – all of us, really – to share in some of that happiness.
When I was walking my kids home from school in the snow the other night, I found myself wondering: Will I be blogging about the names of my grandchildren? Maybe. I supposed that depends on my kids’ opinions, as well as technology and all of that. But lately it feels like I could be in this space for years to come, and I hope you’ll be here, too.
Thank you!
Wow, five years! Congratulations on the milestone! Thank you for so many inspiring and insightful reads.
Congratulations on 5 years!
I love reading your blog – it’s always inspiring, not just because of the names you look at but also as an example of a truly great blog 🙂
Happy Anniversary!
Happy Anniversary Abby! Thank you for an amazing five years!
Happy anniversary! I came over from Y!A back in the day as a childless name nerd. Two kids later, I’m so glad to have you as a friend, and one of my favorite blogs.
Abby, congratulations! I love your blog and your opinion really matters to me! Keep up with the excellent job!
Congrats! It has been a pleasure reading your blog and I love referring people here. Looking forward to many more posts.
Happy Anniversary, to you and to Appellation Mountain! May you have many, many more!
There was so much I could relate to here (I suppose most people start blogs when they’re at a bit of a loose end, for example), but most of all the life-affirming joy which comes from new babies. It’s by far the best part of name blogging. 🙂
“Life-affirming joy” – exactly, well said!
Happy Blog Birthday! Keep writing!!!
Happy Anniversary!
I’m a fairly recent reader…well, a person only recently willing to acknowledge and indulge their interest in names to be honest. I have enjoyed going back in time and reading your earlier entries as well as the latest 🙂 I got so much insight into my name choices thanks to this blog and I love them even more as a result! Keep it up and happy anniversary to you!
Happy Anniversary ! I love reading your blog
Happy Anniversary! I look forward to many more years of reading enjoyment.
Happy Anniversary! I hope you continue for a long time to come.
Sarah