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There’s no Baby Name of the Day post today, and normally I’d just link up to a bunch of the best holiday-inspired baby name posts in Sunday’s Summary.
But then I spotted Nameberry’s cool Thanksgiving Baby Names post, complete with slideshow.
And I remembered this post, from last year’s holiday.
So I’m asking: if you had to name a baby today, and you absolutely had to incorporate the holiday your child’s name, what would you choose?
Feel free to play along even if you’re not in the US … actually, you’ll probably have more free time.
I’ll choose a handful and run a poll in the Sunday Summary so we can vote for our favorite. Winner gets bragging rights!
So bring ’em on: girl or boy, what would you name a Thanksgiving-born child? Mercy? Myles? Tom? I can’t wait to read the comments!
NOTE: I’ve closed comments, since the polls are already up in this week’s Sunday Summary. Feel free to leave another idea there – and vote!
Jasper Tom (a name I’d like even before the Thanksgiving connection!) & Ceres Grace
Autumn Grace for a girl, which may not be hugely imaginative but it’s pretty and I like both halves.
I’d go the pilgrim route for a boy — Myles Jasper.
If forced, I would go with John Alden or Priscilla Grace, after the first couple married in Plymouth.
Happy belated Thanksgiving, everyone!
My own mother’s name, Teresa, has a lovely Thanksgiving-related meaning: to harvest. For both her and the holiday, I think I would choose Teresa Plum for a little girl. Boys are a bit harder, but I think I like the ring of Peregrine Clove 🙂 I liked the thought of using food-related middles!
Theresa Plum is beautiful. I like quirky fruit names for middles, too.
Honor Apple & Jasper Mint!
Hmmmm…
Thankful Remember or Remember Thankful for a girl (I really love Remember, and Thankful sounds so Puritan-y)
Noble William (I really like virtue names, and this one for a boy is wonderful)
Abby, you have to tell us what YOU would name a Thanksgiving child.
Right you are, Emmy Jo! If Arthur would EVER go for it, I’d name a Thanksgiving girl Thursday. It’s a little Jasper Fforde, but I have a real weakness for day names.
Boys are tougher – maybe William Alden. William Bradford wrote the only surviving account of the journey, and John Alden was one of the crew. But it doesn’t feel like a very zippy name, does it?
It’s not zippy, but it’s handsome.
And I’m with you on your love for day names. I feel like I really shouldn’t like them, but I do.
Thursday! Wow!~ Who is Jasper Fforde?
Fforde wrote these interesting novels where fictional characters are real, and literature is as valued as, say, professional sports or reality TV. Thursday Next is his heroine, a detective who needs to solve the kidnapping of a beloved character … it grew into a whole series:
http://www.amazon.com/Eyre-Affair-Thursday-Novels-Penguin/dp/0142001805/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1290893101&sr=8-4
Alice Pomona – Alice was on the nameberry list of people on the Mayflower, and Pomona was a goddess associated with the harvest. If I remember correctly, she was the Roman goddess of apples. I love Pomona! She’s just so lively and fun. I pronounce it puh-MOAN-uh, like Ramona put with a P.
Arthur Peregrine – I just love both names! I couldn’t decide between Arthur or James Peregrine or Isaac Peregrine.
Other Thanksgiving names I really like but didn’t use are Amity, Verity, Temperance, Susanna, Lydia, Hester, Jasper, Miles, Isaac, and James. I find Remember and Oceanus interesting.
More love for Hester! Thank you. 🙂
Boy: Ephraim Bennett — Ephraim means “fruitful,” and that seems appropriate for a holiday that takes place at harvest time. Bennett is a medieval form of the name Benedict (“blessed”). Incidentally, Bennett would also honor my father-in-law, Ben. We’re set on using family middles — I’m glad I found a family middle that was Thanksgiving-y. (The runner up for a boys’ name was Jethro, which means “abundance.” I seem to have a thing for uncommon biblical names tonight.)
Girl: Beatrice Demetra — Beatrice originally meant “voyager, traveler” but over time became associated with the Latin word meaning “blessed.” The name is thus very appropriate for a holiday celebrating the Pilgrims, as they were blessed travelers. Demetra comes from Demeter, the goddess of agriculture. As a bonus, Demetra is a family name on my mother’s side — my husband isn’t too keen on it, but I bet if we were being forced to use a Thanksgiving-y middle name for a child, I’d be able to talk him into Demetra.
I love how you connected the meaning of Beatrice to the pilgrims! That’s genius. 🙂
Now those are truly thoughtful names!
Peregrine Margaret (today would have been my Great-Grandma Maggie’s 97th Birthday)
Fabulous, and what a lovely way to honor your great-grandma!
I dream of having a child born on or close to a major holiday and have middle names ready and waiting for this to happen!!! I think middle names can be fun, and my Thanksgiving baby would be very fun.. for a girl mn: Cinnamon or Cranberry … yah thats right, laugh it up.. but I am blessed with 2 middle names, so my daughter shall be, so why not have fun with one and a family name for the other. She would be something like Lucy Cranberry Marie or Phoebe Cinnamon Marie. I wouldnt be so daring with the first name, but I think one fun middle name would be spunky.
Love Cinnamon as middle name. Creative. 😀
They sound crazy on their own, but they sound AMAZING in the combos – Phoebe Cinnamon Marie and Lucy Cranberry Marie are both great.
My first thought was Peregrine, which is a name I really like. However, since I’m a vegetarian, maybe Mercy would be the most appropriate choice for a Thanksgiving name!
Ha! That’s great, Holey!
This is a hard one! i love virtue names and i think that many of them could play tribute to this holiday not only because of names worn by the Pilgrims but also in their meaning for Thanksgiving.
My favorite virtue names are Liberty, Merritt, Hope, Temperance, Honora, Amity, and Verity.
However, i think that my choices would have to be:
Dahlia Carys (Dahlia means “fate, luck” and is also the name of a flower, bringing me to mind of “Mayflower”; Carys means “love” and i believe love is a large part of this holiday.)
or
Hugh Bennett (Hugh means “heart, mind, spirit” ;Bennett means “blessed”; together they list things that i feel blessed for – healthy heart, mind, and spirit.)
Strictly because of meaning:
Benedict Palmer (blessed; pilgrim.)
Frida Beatrix (peace; voyager, blessed.)
Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!
Ooh, I love Benedict Palmer!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! Hope you have a great day! ^__^ <3
From: Laney and the rest of the McDonald/Robinson/Modell clan.
For a girl, Melora Constance (Melora means “Golden Apple” and Constance was the name of a passenger on the Mayflower) and for a boy Bartholomew Aurelius (Bartholomew was a passenger and Aurelius means “Golden”)
Ooh … those are great pairs!
Pilgrim names for girls I would think Grace, Temperance, and Patience, but if I actually had a kid born on Thanksgiving, I’d be more creative by considering Gracias, Merci, or Grazie for girls. I think Merci or Grazie would look adorable on a little girl. 🙂
When I think of Thanksgiving, I usually think of wild animals being hunted: deer and turkeys. So I would probably consider boys’ names to be Archer, or Hunter. Courage would also make a nice middle name. 😀
Very creative!
I agree with Anya. Definatly Hope.
Oooh! Fun Game!
For Boys: I’m sad that Myles seems to be growing in popularity. Hands down that would be my first Thanksgiving baby name of choice. Also, Abraham (nn Abe) or Lincoln would be in consideration as he started the holiday.
For girls: Although I honestly know very little about the the pilgrim women, I do like some of the character-quality names they used for girls – Grace (nn Gracie) would be the top of our list, although I really like Constance too.In keeping with their Bible-naming trends, I also might choose Ruth (nn Ruthie). It’s my mother’s middle name. After all, she’s worked very hard to make most of MY Thanksgivings very special. I realize that might be a stretch for this game, but true for my life!
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Well, I actually just thought a little more about Constance. I would need a different last name to use her. Our last name starts with Con.
But if not for that, Constance is a great name, and heard so rarely today!
I found names I liked but not very many names I really liked. Rose and Elias are good. Joan and Hope and Francis and Samuel are all good too.
I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, out of respect and remembrance for the treatment of Native Americans. Even though my husband’s family is Cherokee and a bit of Sioux, if I *had* to name my child for this day, I’d choose a Native name from the era/area. Perhaps Samoset for a boy, Shenandoah for a girl.
That’s a nice thought, Panya, and they are lovely names.
I feel similarly, Panya. I thought of Honor for a Thanksgiving name, as a hope for understanding and respect between cultures.
I suppose I might use Peregrine or Giles, since they are my ancestors. I also like Mercy and Remember. Thankful is not too bad either.