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.

You May Also Like:

What do you think?

21 Comments

  1. Catching up on things around here … first off, happy birthday to the little one! Second, I just now read the Gawker piece. I admit, there are plenty of names I turn my nose up at, but one of the things that make your site great is the *lack* of snark about names and name choices. Can’t say that about the vast majority of name-related sites out there. Keep up the great work.

  2. Happy 3rd birthday Clio!!

    I caught the Swistle post on Annabelle Leigh; I didn’t like that the poll didn’t also include the option “yes it reminds me of Poe, but that’s not a bad thing”. I personally think even Annabel Lee is ok, a real old-fashioned Gothic vibe mixed with modern 🙂

    Anyway, thanks for a great week and a great response to Gawker!

    1. Thanks, Sarah – and YES, you’re totally right – there should be “like that’s a bad thing?” option on the Poe poll!

  3. Happy birthday to Clio! Third birthdays are so special — especially as they are usually the first birthdays people can remember having.

    1. True! She’s been sacked out on the couch since 5:30, clutching a pillowcase with her name embroidered on the border.

  4. Annabelle Leigh makes me think of Annabelly and that some parent some day will go there….

  5. Happy Birthday to Cilo!

    I really hope no celbs. use Cordelia. I love love love that name and don’t want it to become uber popular.

  6. Oh, gosh, Abby! So much fun stuff on today’s roundup! First off, three cheers for Clio on her third birthday – how fun!

    I’m gonna go ahead and say Calvary is not a great choice for a name, no matter how much you love Cali as a nickname. But, on the bright side, at least it’s more attractive in sound than Golgotha! Guinevere Lux is divine. Glorious! I had a love affair with the name Guinevere a few years back – Guinevere and Arabella, I think, actually – but I should really throw her back on the list. Modern Antiquity. Not sure that’s my style as British Baby Names defines it – odd, since I would consider vintage-modern-quirk to be my style – but that doesn’t mean I don’t like Atlas, Leon, Clio, Eulalia, Juno, Leda, Livia, and Rhea.

    But, really, this post would not be complete without commenting on Marginamia’s “Pairs of Lovely Loves.” Yes, they have great names, but those dresses! Can we take a moment to appreciate that fine fashion? Ros’ dress? Amazing. Silvia’s dress? Faerie-chic. But, Roanne’s dress! Hair bow or not, that dress alone is worth a post – so sweet, yet so sophisticated. Kesh has a really cool bouquet, too, though I do love Ros’ hydrangea bunch. Oh, right, back to the names – Max and Margaux are a darn cool set of names for a couple.

  7. For some reason I’m having trouble posting at the minute 🙁

    Happy Birthday Clio! I hope she has a great day and enjoys the new bike

    I actually adore Cordelia. It’s definitely on the top of our list should we have another one, nickname Cora. It’s also part of my fantasy all girl twin and triplet sets along with Rosamond nn Romy and Penelope nn Nell.

    Have a great week