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Name-inspired news and notes for your Sunday reading.
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First up: you know the Irwins, right?
Conservationist Steve Irwin rose to fame on wildlife documentary The Crocodile Hunter. After his death during filming, Steve’s widow, Terri, and their children, Bindi and Robert, remained in the spotlight. The family continues to operate Zoo Australia, and both children have also starred in wildlife-based programming, as well as other ventures.
Robert is currently competing on Dancing With the Stars, and so this story made the rounds again:
It’s incredibly sweet. Apparently, she still calls him Brian all these years later.
Did your older child/children have any nicknames for a younger sibling that lasted?
ELSEWHERE ONLINE
Texas mom Kailee Zak went viral when she announced her baby-to-be’s name: Lukacey. The inspiration for the unusual name? Her pink Lucchese cowgirl boots. The people of the internet have opinions. I’ll say this: their older son is Kayson. It’s an original name, but it’s built from bits and pieces that lots of parents already borrow from to name children. (For more about the Italy-meets-Texas company, read their story here.)
Laura is back with an excellent primer on the memory cycle … or why your mom thinks you shouldn’t name your baby Mabel.
Soap operas were SUCH an engine of name trends. Nancy’s recent post on the (pre-Little Mermaid) rise of Arielle was a good reminder. As a kid, I remember first hearing the name Kayla on General Hospital. It’s an ever starker example of how daytime television drove name trends for years.
UPDATING & THINKING ABOUT
Zohran is all over the news lately, thanks to New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. A general rule of thumb? Politician names don’t influence what we name our children. But there are some exceptions, and I think this could be one.
Vienna is a rising city name, now that Savannah and London are waning. One driver? Billy Joel’s 1977 song that slowly became a fan favorite in the 2010s.
Blue is a popular color theme for names – Indigo, Navy. But just Blue remains relatively rare as a first. It might be the just-daring-enough middle you’re after, though.
That’s all for today. As always, thank you for reading and have a great week!
