Once, maybe back in 2008 when I first started this site, I imagined I’d catalog every name. At least every name plausibly in use in English. It seemed ambitious, yes, but not impossible.
I am delighted to report that I will fail.
I’m even more charmed to suggest that nothing can ever complete this task. No AI instrument or future technological advance will succeed, either.
Language changes constantly. We invent it deliberately. We accidentally misunderstand. Names, especially, shift in uniquely human, unpredictable ways. Even after spending hour after hour, day after day, thinking about names, I keep discovering new-to-me finds.
This week’s finds:
- Selavi, also spelled Celavie, from the French phrase c’est la vie, via Haitian Creole. The phrase literally translates to “that’s life.” It can suggest resignation and acceptance, but also resilience. It seems to be more of the latter in Haitian, possibly explaining how it became a given name.
- Çandreinn and Çandrett, both feminine forms of Alexander used in Gallo, a dialect (or possibly full-blown language) spoken in western France, mainly in Brittany. Çandreinn is basically Sandrine, spelled in Gallo. So that makes Çandrett … Sandrette? I’m intrigued, but with only around 28,000 speakers, this one is obscure.
- Candor, which I wrote about for a reader. And she was kind enough to leave a comment sharing more about their experiences with the name.
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ELSEWHERE ONLINE
Nancy wrote about Infiniti the other day. It started out as Nissan’s luxury division. That prompted me to wonder if talented actress Chase Inifiniti was named for the car. No, but the story is even better. Chase comes from a character Nicole Kidman played in 1995’s Batman Forever. As for Infiniti? It came from Buzz Lightyear’s catchphrase in the Toy Story movies: To infinity and beyond! It’s actually her middle name; she uses it as her surname professionally. The question now: will the actress’ success boost either of her names in the 2020s? The answer is no … so far.
Small Names, Big Personality is such a great list. Because there is some subtle difference between small names that still make a big impact and those that just sort of fade into the background, isn’t there? Otis, Tilda, and Mack are just so memorable.
Actor Dylan Sprouse and model Barbara Palvin named their daughter Sylvie. I feel like this name is headed for the US Top 100.
UPDATING & THINKING ABOUT
Maren always seemed like a name that was destined for the top of the charts, too, but as of now? It’s stalled out, barely in the top 500. Could that change? I love the way it sounds like so many current surnames, but has much deeper, traditional roots, too.
Walker has been steadily boosted by a can’t-stop/won’t-stop fictional character, but it has the right style regardless. It’s more restrained that Maverick, a little more rough and tumble than Carter.
Tuesday has never quite caught on, but I love it for the whole unexpected word name vibe.
That’s all for this week. As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week!
