Matt Damon and his wife Luciana welcomed their new daughter, Gia Zavala, yesterday. Mom and baby are both doing well. Thanks to Another for the news alert!
Gia joins big sister Isabella, as well as Alexia, Luciana’s daughter from a prior marriage. No word yet on the thinking behind the name. It’s less conventional than her siblings’ names, but also much shorter. While Gia is a traditional diminutive for Gianna and Giovanna, Zavala has really thrown us for a loop!
We’ll have to see what they say in interviews, but it’s always nice to know the name.
Zenaida – great suggestion! Look for her as NotD on 11/3.
What about Zenaida as a Name of the Day? It was my grandmother’s name. My 24 year old daughter LOVES it and has it on her list for potential children down the road.
Glad to oblige! Remus is dear to me these days. I’m finding him incredibly appealing. It helps that I knew one in HS (with a twin brother, Roland!) I’ve noted when they’ll be up (especially Remus) and I’ll be thrilled to see what you come up with!
I had Edward Vladimir/Edgar Vladimir but he, like you thought “too bloodthirsty” even in the middle! And it was yet another of my Great Uncles. ( My Babci had 12 brothers: Pavel, Branimir, Rafael, Pyotr, Bern
WAHOO! What a list!
You’re right – this could fill up the calendar until Christmas! For now, I’ll pluck a few and fill up the empty spots in mid-September.
9/11 Vaughn
9/13 Hector
9/15 Theron
9/17 Remus
9/19 Malcolm
9/21 Xavier
9/23 Vladimir
What a list! We kept toying with the idea of Vladimir if #2 was a boy, but I don’t think we’d have actually used it in the first place – too blood-thirsty. But I *do* love it!
Alright, here’s the few floating at the top of my brain these days (I haven’t checked to see if you’ve covered them or not, so pardons there)
Edward/Edmund/Edgar/Edwin (I love me my Ed-names!)
Dean
Dominic
Harold/Hal
Arthur
Theodore
Malcolm
Julian/Jolyon
Blaise
Vladimir
Xavier
Constantin/e
Vaughn
Jonty
Francis/Frank (thanks to Sinatra & a favorite Uncle, and my Mom [Frances] This one’s a favorite)
Felix
Isidore
George
MalachyLaszlo
Valentine/Valentin
Gabriel/Gavriil/Gavriel
Roland
Angus
Louis (not Lewis!)
Jasper/Casper/Caspar
Barnaby
Judah
Phineas
Graham
Stanley (his dad & my uncle)
Lucius
Remus/Remy
Cormac
Ivo/Ives/Yves
Cornelius
Alban/Albert
Theron
Cassius/Cassian
Hector
Simon/Simeon
Prosper
That should be enough for a short while, at least!
That’s right – Linus Larrabee! And one of the early Popes, too, so he fits your accidental theme nicely, Lola. 😉
And yes, suggestions for girl NotD always outpace boys’ names slightly, so feel free to write in with some masculine monikers!
Ooooh, You’ve got a fan in Linus! Me! Humphrey Bogart/Harrison Ford, Linus Pauling & Lucy’s little brother! (and yes, Ocean’s 11, 12 & 13). can’t wait to see what else you dig up on Linus. Want more boys? I can give you loads. I love boys names andhave such an easy tie with them. Girls give me fits!
Yup, Leonie, Zuma is a beach in Malibu, California. Much surfing takes place there – it was one of my brother-in-law’s old haunts before they traded LA for Brooklyn.
It’s a bit of a stretch, but since a) I’m not sure Gia holds up as a name of the day; b) there’s not enough out there on Zavala and c) I’m way short of boys’ NotD, I’ve decided to make Linus NotD on 9/7 – in honor of Matt Damon’s character Linus Caldwell from the Ocean’s Eleven franchise.
Someone said Zuma’s a beach in CA?
Anyway, I agree that Gia seems to come up a bit short in that sibset. Zavara is intriguing but I reckon it’s probably just a variation on Zahara. It also reminds me of that British actress Julia Sawalha (sp?) for some reason.
*sigh* Oh Gwen… I thought Kingston was cool but Zuma? Zuma Nesta Rock? I really hope they say “for Jacob Zuma, not “Neil Young Album” And I’m hoping (praying) that Nesta is for Bob Marley (Born Nesta Robert Marley). I can buy the musical links but Zuma’s still not as cool as Kingston. Nesta rocks, hard. 😉
New celebrity baby news: Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani had another boy today:
Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale
What do you think?
Zavala feels very much like Zahara to me – very celeb styley cool… I’m not into any of their name choices either, but that said they’re a lot better than most celebrities! Isabella is positively normal compared to the likes of Shiloh, Suri, Sunday and co!
Oops … Alexia is actually Luciana’s daughter from a previous marriage. I need to correct the original post!
In any case, Alexia and Isabella feel like sisters to me, but Gia does seem a bit … short. I know sisters called Genevieve and Giovanna – Genna and Gia. (The family is very Italian – not sure how a French name snuck into the mix, but they have a cousin called Cheyenne, so who knows?) I’ve always liked Gia as a diminutive.
I’ll keep digging on Zavala. I don’t know any Argentines – Luciana’s home country – but there is a Zavala County, Texas, named after 19th century Mexican politician Lorenzo de Zavala. He was also a published author and vice president of the Republic of Texas. Hmmm … wonder if it’s a family surname? I agree – Zavala is quite cool.
Indeed, my first thought seing it today (I was offline most of yesterday) was, huh? Alexia, Isabella and nickname Gia? Huh? Alexia’s a disease to me too. Isabella’s fluffy and Gia’s nicknamey. Know what? Glad I don’t have to wrangle names with this dude. I love him but not his naming style! 🙂
I am completely intrigued with Zavala though. It sounds like part of a spell from HP, almost magical. I wonder at it’s legitimacy and can’t wait to hear where/wat it’s from, if they ever do say, I don’t recall if they announced Isabella’s middle either and Alexia slipped under the radar. But yeah, Gia’s not my thing and am tired of correcting folks: Gianna, not gee-ann-ahgee-ahn-ah, try John-ah) I have a “cousin” with that name who is driven mad by people saying Gee-ahn-ah.
Zavala’s cool sounding, feels rather magical and I loe tha zippy Z!
Hey Verity, did you ever manage to finish crunching the boys list? I’d love to see it if you did! (Or, I’d love to see it when you do! 😀 )