Table of Contents
Name-inspired news and notes for your Sunday reading.
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A sure sign of aging: people expect me to be dismissive of new trends in naming.
The reality? The older I get, the more I’m delighted/thrilled/over the absolute moon about the ever-increasing freedom and creativity parents feel around choosing names for their children.
What does make me sad? The intense pressure we can put on ourselves to get it exactly right. (Not just names. Everything related to parenting.)
But back to the good part: over a lifetime of name obsession, I’m seeing more and more people embrace true diversity in naming. Names can reflect our values, our life stories, the things we love best.
Sometimes that leads to choosing a name that’s quite popular or even downright traditional. But we’re also welcoming children named for video game characters and that place we once vacationed, a song lyric or a running back.
And I am here for it.
Finds From Last Week
Ever wondered about the most influential Disney princess name of all time? It’s Ariel, hands (fins?) down. Laura has the numbers to prove it. Plus some thoughts on why.
Which reminds me: can we talk about Sirencore? Because Sea Witchery is captivating, and I’m wondering if any of these names will get a lift courtesy of this trend.
Bronte, Dagny, and yes, Astrid … this list from Sweet Shining Names leapt out at me because I keep hearing just a little more crunch in the names we’re discovering for our daughters right about now.
Did you see this story about a new dad who gave his baby the one name his partner absolutely could not accept? There’s a lot to unpack here, but this line from Greg Lavallee is gold: Hashing out big decisions right after having a baby when you are both pumped full of endorphins and one of you is (potentially) on a lot of meds is a bad idea.
On a lighter note, here’s the latest edition of Name Connections.
Updating & Thinking About
Since I’ve officially converted to Dog Person status, Caleb hits different.
Absolutely astonished that I’m still adding names to this list of choices inspired by numbers, but yeah … opened the list to add Quinta, as in Brunson. (And yes, she really is the fifth of five children!) Ended up adding a few more names with Japanese roots, too.
As I finished this post, I realized that it’s the seventeenth anniversary of this site’s founding. How can I ever say thank you enough for all of these amazing years together? Grateful to you!
Congratulations on your site being SEVENTEEN!!
It’s been a joy to read all these years. You’ve helped with seven of my own kids. So thank you!
Please keep doing an amazing job because your kind attitude and optimistic perspective are making a difference.