Aly + Clio @beach Aug11
Aly+Clio@beach, AUG11

Happy third birthday to my darling daughter, Clio! In another hour, I’m walking down the street to pick up her assembled big girl bike from our local bike shop. She’s sharing her party with our neighbor, Ronan, who turned four last week. We’re hoping it doesn’t rain!

It’s been an insanely busy week here at AppMtn headquarters. There was the whole Gawker thing, and then Mike Myers named his bouncing baby boy the uber-macho Spike. The traffic that comes as a result of such activity is lovely, but what I really, truly appreciate is how many of you stick around, day after day, even when I’m writing about Levon and Carmela and just going about business as usual.

Speaking of business as usual, here are the posts that caught my eye this week:

  • Nancy wrote about the name Cobina, a creation of the former Esther Cobb, better known as gossip columnist Cobina Wright. She passed the name on to her daughter, and a few other parents picked it up, too. Interesting – if you find it hanging on your family tree, you’d likely think it was a feminine form of Jacob, a la Jacobina;
  • Dorcas covered Calvary. Pretty sound, but hey, that’s an awful lot of name to put on a child. Then again, so are Trinity and Neveah;
  • Nameberry’s post on Celebrity Baby Names and why some catch on, while others, well, don’t, kicked off a flurry of coverage and commentary;
  • Did you see this question at Swistle? Yes, Annabelle Leigh gives me a definite Gothic, tragic vibe – but interestingly, it isn’t an instant reference for everyone.
  • Guinevere Lux just my be my favorite name ever spotted by Names4Real!
  • Speaking of Guinevere, how about Primeveire? It makes me think pasta, but not in a bad way;
  • British Baby Names has a great post about a class of names she calls Modern Antiquity – it is packed with some of my favorites, from Atalanta to Ismene to Zephyr;
  • Some of these stylish couples will certainly have children, and I fully expect their kids’ names to be stunning;
  • Speaking of stunning, I’d be thrilled if Tori Spelling named her daughter Cordelia, but I don’t think that’s terribly likely. Still, the Babble post on baby names from Buffy the Vampire Slayer is good fun.

That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading, and have a great week!Happy third birthday to my darling daughter,

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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21 Comments

  1. Primavera or Printemps or any other variation on the springtime theme – interesting concept, but not one I could use. I don’t even like “Spring” as a name (and I’m lukewarm on using the other seasonal names too.)

  2. Belated Happy Birthday, Clio!

    I spoke to a couple of people at church today about their name choices. One said that they chose C@yden for the meaning. . .right. . . I wonder what website they went to to get the meaning. They also didn’t want a name out of the top 100. Fair enough, I guess? Another chose the lovely and unusual Andelina after first hearing it on another family’s daughter.

    Cobina does indeed somehow sound like a name with a legitimate history via Jacob, but Primeviera makes me think first of pasta and then of prime ribs, not of onomastics. Somewhat tangential, but the other night I randomly dreamt of a university friend whose middle name I’ve always loved: Jacoba, pronounced ya-COBE – ah.

    1. Oh wow, Andelina is gorgeous! That could be a nice way to honor an Andrew 🙂 I have a friend named Analena and I think it’s one of the prettiest names I’ve ever heard.

  3. Happy Birthday to your wee girl!

    Calvary doesn’t even sound female to me; to me, Calvary always sounds like Calgary in Canada, where they have the big rodeo. Sounds like a religious cowboy to me – nickname, Cal.

  4. Happy Birthday Clio! It’s my Henry’s 4th birthday in a couple of weeks and I’m liking the October birthday thing – beautiful trees and Halloween candy for the pinata. 🙂

    So I feel bad that I have a degree in English and American Literature and I don’t know ‘Annabelle Leigh’. :/

    Cobina misread as Cobain, as in Kurt, in my brain.

    I know a church named Calvary, so it doesn’t read “person name” to me, but I don’t hate it.

    1. Oh and my 20ish year old cashier at Walmart today was a lady named Laken. That was a new one to me.