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What drives the names we notice?
It’s delightfully random, isn’t it? This week, for me and maybe for you, too: Artemis, because how much is the NASA story the one we all needed right now? Reeve, because we’re going to see The Great Gatsby on Broadway. (The rare moment that my mom and daughter are completely aligned on an activity.) And more because … I heard a song on Sirius XM. Or I met someone at my Pilates class. Or, or, or …
As I often say, “in order to choose a name, you have to hear it first.” And this is SO obvious, right? Except it’s also not. Because it’s pure serendipity, the names that filter into the corners of our mind, in our busy, overloaded, too-much, all-the-time lives.
Which reminds me: 43 girls have been named Serendipity since the year 2000.
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Can you guess the six names – five boy, one girl – that have never left the US Top 50? It’s a very short list. Also worth noting: only about 70 names have reached the US Top Five over the least century. I’ll update the list when the new data is released next month, but it’s sort of jaw-dropping.
I read the new novel Yesteryear pretty much the second it was released, and I’m dying to know: was the main character’s youngest really named Junebug? A brief (spoiler-free) recap: a tradwife influencer finds herself transported back to the actual 1855. Author Caro Claire Burke chose pitch-perfect names for her character’s kids: Clementine, Samuel, Stetson, Jessa, and Junebug. But … really Junebug or June or Juniper or some other June name?
Speaking of short lists and days gone by … what is the oldest written girls’ name still in use? (Facebook reel.) The Bible is too new. Lots of other documents predate the Bible, but don’t include names we’d recognize in the United States today. But Greek records, dating back to 1275 BCE, turned up two names in the current US Top 1000: Alexandra and Theodora.
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Artemis because first I couldn’t stop turning my gaze toward the sky, and now that they’re back on solid land, I’m even more captivated by their story.
Noa because it’s such a misunderstood name, and so very perfect for our moment, too.
Reeve is such a sharp, strong option … and so overlooked!
That’s all for now. As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week!
