Congratulations to Kate of My Kids Eat Off the Floor on the birth of Juno Kate! The amazing Kate has already sent in Juno’s name story, so look for it soon.
So I’ve been doing more lurking, this time at Babyzone:
- Aven suggested for a boy, like Gavin without the G;
- McKelyn for a girl, but is that Makayla with an “n” or more like McHelen?
- Arayu for a girl, pronounced ah ray you to honor a grandpa Ray – only she’s not sure she’ll use it because “people tell me it sounds foreign.” You don’t say;
- Niveah, blurring the boundary between Heaven-spelled-backwards and the skin care aisle at Rite Aid.
And Babynamelover spotted a girl called Tuezdey. Shiver! I often wonder if the names I like are truly in the minority, or if there’s some dynamic at work on discussion boards. Do you only visit if your tastes run to the extreme, be it Cloelia or Haedyn? Or do you mostly lurk if you fall somewhere in between?
Names that caught my eye that I quite like this week:
- I loved Names4Real’s ABC Girls list: B is for Bellamy, I is for Imogen, W is for Wren;
- Swistle raised the idea of Middleton as a baby name. Middle can imply mediocrity, so I would’ve called it a non-starter. Except. Kate Middleton puts a whole other spin on the name. Of course, Diana never did experience the renaissance I would’ve expected;
- Since we’re on semi-celebrity news and Diana is on this list, too, check out The Frisky’s Ten Baby Names for expectant stylist/reality star Rachel Zoe. Since he’s Rodge, I wonder if they’ll stick with an R name – Romy, Rufus, Rowan, maybe?
- While I have R-names on the brain, they’re one of the 14 thought-provoking trends Namberry called earlier this week;
- Oh, and back to the royal wedding – sure, we’re skipping way ahead, but what will the next heir to the throne answer to? Paula Bernstein at Babble’s Strollerderby is thinking maybe Frederick or Matilda.
In celeb news:
- Chris Daughtry and his wife welcomed twins Adalyn Rose and Noah James, a little sister and brother for Hannah and Griffin;
- Former Bachelorette Jen Schefft welcomed daughter Mae Elizabeth. She did not meet her husband on the show.
With the end of the year just weeks away – really! – Baby Name Wizard is taking nominations for the Name of the Year. Snooki is getting some early attention, so go vote for her – or shout her down!
And having just made a Jersey Shore reference, I think I’d really better go do something productive. Maybe I’ll read some improving literature and try to pay attention to something other than the characters’ names.
Thanks, as always, for reading, and have a great week – and, if you’re in the U.S., a Happy Thanksgiving! There’s no post planned for Thursday, but I’ll be back on Friday.
Wow, so much great stuff to respond to today!
First, Kate – congrats on little Juno Kate. That’s simply adorable!
Second, I think Middleton is a cool last name, and it could work as a middle name, but it does seem rather reminiscent of Simpleton to me, which is not good. And then I got to thinking that maybe Wills and Kate could start a new royal trend of using family surnames as middle names for their children – their “issue,” if you will – with Middleton, Spencer, and Lyon topping my list for the youngest generation of Windsor’s.
Which brings me to names for the aforementioned royal offspring – goodness, can we get the wedding over with first? Anyway, there’s a thread about this over on Nameberry, and I really think that Wills and Kate will head in the traditional, no-nonsense naming direction for their future spawn. So, what tops my list for little Windsor’s? Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, Eleanor Catherine Mary, Lucy Alexandra Caroline, David Henry Charles, Frederick William George, and Joseph Michael Philip. But, there is no way I see Wills and Kate having that many children – I’ll vote two or three, considering both of them come from two-child families. As for when they will start reproducing, I think they will wait a few years – after all, Prince Edward’s wife, Sophie, had her first (Louise) at 38 and her second (James) at 43. So, I’m thinking when Wills and Kate hit 30, babies will be around the corner…
Oh, and finally, Rachel Zoe and Rodger Berman’s baby! R name, for sure. And, I think it would be cute to honor her “maiden” name, Rosenzweig, with a Rose name. My vote? Roxana Primrose Berman, called Roxy. Roxy Berman is awesome!
What do we think Pink will name her baby, then?
Re: names for Prince William and Miss Middleton’s first-born child –
There is the possibility that the succession laws will be changed by the time they have a child, so a that a first born daughter would have precedence over subsequent sons. Therefore, the child’s name should be appropriate for a future king or queen.
Keeping that in mind, here are my guesses for a first name for a future monarch:
Girls – Charlotte, Elizabeth, Victoria, or Anne
Boys – George, Albert, Charles, or Philip
There’s more room for creativity with future children, so I could see the following with a second or third child:
Girls – Philippa, Alexandra, Sophia, Eleanor
Boys – Richard, James, Michael, Arthur, Louis
That’s a good point, Estella. I remember reading – ages ago – that it was considered inappropriate to shorten William’s name, since he was the heir apparent. (Is that the right term?) But that there were no such reservations with a second son, hence Prince Harry has never been referred to as Henry.
I’m not sure what you would call William as second in line for the throne. Prince Charles is definitely the Heir Apparent right now, but should he die before Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William would become Heir Apparent. Maybe it would be appropriate to refer to William as “heir apparent” using the lower-case.
I just found this website which is apparently the family tree of Kate Middleton:
https://www.wargs.com/other/middleton.html
So maybe they’ll look to some of those names for inspiration, especially for a middle name.
Oooh … great find, British American! There are some amazing names on her tree. Go back far enough, and there’s a Peacock and a Rider!
Thanks for the congrats on Juno! I smile every single time I hear people say her name 🙂
And Matilda was my second choice for her name, so that’s my vote for the next royal baby!
Oh, and congratulations to Kate on baby Juno!
Arayu definitely sounds “foreign” to me. In India a common expression used to open a sentence is “arre”, pronounced “ah ray”. There’s not real translation, but I guess it’s sort of similar to “oh my” or “oy vey” minus the exclamation point. Anyways, “arre you” is what I hear in my head when I see Arayu.
I can’t help but feel that Prince William and Kate are going to be under a lot of pressure to produce heirs relatively soon after their marriage. It makes wonder: a) what the sexes of those offspring will be; b) how many they will have; and, most importantly, c) what names they will choose. Frederick and Matilda do sound like a good cross between classic royalty and modern favourites, except that they may feel Frederik is already taken by the Danes.