Names in the News 9.7.25

Name-inspired news and notes for your Sunday reading.

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I finally found the word for it!

This Fast Company article talks about something called priming.

The author focused on AI. In brief, words that are favored by the most common AI platforms (for whatever reason) are being heard more and more often, and they’re filtering into everyday speech.

Of course they are, because that’s been happening forever. Baby names are proof.

One of my Captain Obvious statements is this: parents have to first hear a name to consider it for their child.

It’s like ice cream. We don’t go into Ben & Jerry’s to dream up a flavor combination. We choose from the menu board.

And for most of us to consider something an option, it has to repeat. Preferably we hear it in different contexts. But that first step? It’s to notice the name in the first place, so we’re listening for it.

First there’s a television character with an unusual name. Then a friend of a friend announces it’s their new baby’s name. We overhear it in a random snippet of conversation. And then a year later, we’re naming our own baby and suddenly? Khaleesi is on the short list. Because we were primed.

It’s kind of magic, isn’t it?

ELSEWHERE ONLINE

Laura looks at how naming children has changed over 30 years thanks to The Crow. I feel like the last update is a real twist. She suggests that we’re now living in the Age of Boundlessness, where anything is a name. Do I agree? I think I mostly agree …

I’m sort of obsessed with Leandi after seeing this Insta post from HeartBabyNames. It’s never registered in the US data at all, but Lilia is Irish, so I feel like it might just not be here yet. (I mean, we’re not using Fia, and I think Fia is absolutely an overlooked gem.)

How good is the combination August Wilder Sommer? Proof that you can put the same number of syllables/same endings together in the same name. Sometimes. Name Harbour’s whole list of Wistful Summer Names is just sheer loveliness.

UPDATING & THINKING ABOUT

Denzel, because the actor recently talked about the pronunciation of his name with Jimmy Kimmel, and I was reminded how much I really like this name. (And what an interesting story it has to tell … from Cornwall to Hollywood.)

Nan, because I’ve been half-watching Apple+’s The Buccaneers and was surprised to see the is all-but-extinct. I think it deserves a comeback, but then, I’m a sucker for Nell.

Julius, mostly because I think it fits in with names like Sebastian and Oliver so beautifully, but it’s far less popular. (We almost always opt for Julian instead.)

That’s all for now. As always, thank you for reading and have a great week!