About Abby Sandel

Whether you're naming a baby, or just all about names, you've come to the right place! Appellation Mountain is a haven for lovers of obscure gems and enduring classics alike.

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23 Comments

  1. Hello —
    I’m late to this party, but couldn’t believe that you posted this on my birthday — January 8th.
    My nickname is Nona, because my first name and middle name, Mary Farquhar, have been passed down from mother to oldest daughter for 9 generations. I’ve been called Nona since the moment I was born because my father didn’t like my “real” name, and there were several Marys on both sides of the family already.

    Thanks for sharing the Nona Plum story.

  2. Abby, can you post the story of Kristen’s second child? I can’t wait to hear another excellent name story!

  3. I actually stumbled on this while looking up the name Rin. My husband and I have been stuck for weeks between deciding on Rin or Magnolia. I couldn’t believe it when I scrolled down and saw that Magnolia was a name you were also considering.

  4. It’s a beautiful sounding name. But I did raise an eyebrow when I first saw it because I’m half Italian American. In my culture Nona means “grandma.” I didn’t know that it was also the name of a goddess. Interesting.

  5. It’s a lovely name with a lot of meaning for you, I can see. My head wants to keep twisting it to Nom de Plume.

    I think it’s a name that will grow well with your daughter. My HS Spanish teacher’s name was Nona.

  6. one more thing– so excited! Charmine, thanks for reminding me of this book! I just did a search on it to see if I could find out more about the content, and I discovered that it’s actually an older book, AND I found a beautiful vintage copy on Etsy, which will look beautiful in Nona’s room! Even if it’s not content appropriate right now, I think it will be a very nice touch to her room! thanks again!