Table of Contents
Name-inspired news and notes for your Sunday reading.
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I’ve mentioned this in interviews and on the AM Baby Names Patreon: I think we’re ready for the slow return of names with crunch and grind. Lots of consonants. All the sounds.
After all, liquid names have dominated for generations. Liam, Noah, Mia, and Elena have paved the way for all sorts of new possibilities to make the mainstream. Leilani has ranked in the US Top 100 since 2020.
After spending all this time in Hawaii, could it be that our next destination is Medieval Germany?
Maybe. Instead I think it’s more of a vibe shift. Castlecore isn’t just for Renaissance Faire enthusiasts anymore.
A generation grew up on Harry Potter, thrilled to Game of Thrones and have made high fantasy series like A Court of Thorns and Roses and Empyrean bestsellers. Hollywood gave us an updated Nosferatu and brought the world of Wicked to the screen.
As Elphaba sings, “Something has changed …”
It matches a darker national mood, but it also signals our search for heroes.
I’m looking for two things: first, the kinds of names we imagine from the Middle Ages. Were women really named Belleflor and Oriana? Some, yes. But it’s more an aesthetic. Secondly, names that really do feel straight of the Hohenzollern family tree. Frederick, Conrad, Albert. Girls’ names like Winifred, Millicent, Gertrude.
I’m not expecting Agnes and Harold to leap into the US Top 100 any time soon. But a century ago? They were both near the top of the popularity charts. If the 100-Year Rule applies, it might be their moment again, and soon.
Finds From Last Week
Let’s start out with another Name Connections. This one includes one of my favorite categories ever. (Though not my favorite name in that category. That would be this one.)
He was born in Alabama, named Dallas, and now he’s nicknamed Glaze. She went into labor during a shock southern snowstorm, and could only make it as far as the Krispy Kreme parking lot before they had to stop and wait for paramedics. You may have heard the story last month; I can’t find the link, but I just read that they’ve been calling their new little guy Glaze and I’m dying at how sweet (pun intended) it is!
Random very old-school television trivia alert. The legendary Dick Van Dyke got his start playing Rob Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show. (Back when television was still black and white.) He lived in the ‘burbs with wife Laura and son Ritchie. At one point, Ritchie asks about his middle name. And it’s Rosebud. Why? Because it combines the first initials of lots of family members. It’s a punchline kind of a name, but I think this approach has potential. (As it happens, my siblings and I? Our initials spell Kate.)
My (probably unpopular) reaction to an AITA question. This 17 y.o. doesn’t like her given name and decided to change it. She chose a new name, and has started asking people to use it. Her mom’s reaction? The request was selfish and rude. Most people replied NTA. And I think that’s basically correct, but I have two notes.
First, you can legally change your name but you can’t make anybody accept it. And you definitely can’t make others like it. That’s true for so many things in life.
Second, a legal name change is a big administrative lift. It’s not free. There’s the initial court filing, updating your school records, insurance, Social Security, drivers license, passport, and so on. It’s very doable, but it’s not easy, and I’m guessing the average 17 y.o. would need a parent’s help, if not their permission. I think a parent is completely within their rights to say, “you can pursue that as an adult, with your own money and time, but it’s not something I can support right now.” That might not feel fair, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable.
Updating and Thinking About
Sweet, complete Greta is one of those names that I think should be more popular right now. I feel like I keep suggesting it as an alternative to Margot but it’s not really sticking.
As the wave of -aiden names subsides, I have reconsidered my feelings about the sensational Jayden. It’s really a handsome name with just enough history.
Does Mabel seem like it’s going to be big? It’s got traction in my neighborhood, which is packed with early adopters. (I heard names like Arlo, Dorothy, and Sylvie on our playgrounds ages before they were climbing the popularity charts.) My guess is yes …
That’s all for now. As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week!
I got Italian boys and Names related to Margaret! Thought you was going to say that was one of your favourite categories, your favourite in it being Marguerite!
Regarding legal name changing, an advantage of doing it before you get too far into adulthood is fewer documents that will need updating (e.g. once you have a credit/financial paper trail, a professional history, etc.). OTOH, doing it right after turning 18 (if the parent doesn’t want to be personally involved in the bureaucratic process) would still offer most of those benefits.
A sidenote: This advice does not apply in cases where the name change is due to gender identity issues. In those cases (assuming both the decision to the transition and the chosen name are “final”) I think that parents should not make their transgender children wait for no reason. That is to help minimize the situations where the trans person’s deadname would appear or need to be referenced later in life – remember that for a non-trans person who simply dislikes the name given by their parents having their old name pop up would be merely annoying, but for a trans person it would result in effectively being outed (assuming the birth name is not gender-neutral).