Sunday SummaryWe finally saw Inside Out this weekend, and wow! I was prepared to like it, but I loved it. I mean, I was in tears loving it most of the time. Part of it was the main character, Riley. She’s an 11 y.o. ice hockey player. Since my oldest is a 10 y.o. ice hockey player, some of it really hit home.

It was a Pixar movie, and so, naturally, I was among the last in the theater, reading the credits obsessively. Accounting, Craft Services, and finally – yes! – production babies. But they went by so fast. Way too fast! I noticed at least four Olivers and more than one Wyatt. Did anyone namespot any great names?

I may have to go see it again just to get a good look at the list!

Elsewhere online:

  • Speaking of Oliver, Names in Trend says that the name is unstoppable, based on the numbers. I think I’m beginning to agree …
  • After all, Anna reminds us that Oliver is huge in Australia in this post about the life cycle of the most popular boy names.
  • There’s a Stormie Rayne in a recent For Real Baby Names post. I think Rain – spell it as you like – is a fine middle name choice. But I’m not wild about first-middle combinations that seem like they’re too cute, too much parts of a whole. Do you think I’m being too harsh?
  • Have you heard about Mayhem, the pint-sized Instagram star famous for the couture-worthy creations she and her mother make from paper? Mayhem is a nickname – I don’t believe they’ve never shared her real name. Is it possible we’ll see Mayhem used more often as a given name? Six boys were called Mayhem in 2014. I’ll be watching the 2015 data like a hawk …
  • I love the idea behind this list: Five Badass Baby Names For Girls That Should Be Rising Faster Than Elsa. And I agree that Ruth and Ruby and Maya are great names, but they’re all much more common than Elsa. As for Bree and Hillary, I think they’re both great names, but maybe a little dated. Could it be time for a list of The Elsas, like the lists of Katniss names (Parts One and Two) and the Hermiones (Parts One and Two)? Maybe so …
  • Okay, I’m binge-watching Empire. It is just too good! Do you think Lola will catch on? It was at #236 and sliding in 2014, but maybe the show is just enough to reverse the slide? Another unusual Empire-inspired possibility: Leviticus, the name of the club owned by Lucious Lyon where much of the action takes place. (And, of course, a book of the Old Testament and the Torah, though it has a different name in the latter.) Leviticus was given to 54 boys in 2014. Put it on the watch list, right next to Mayhem.
  • Sarah’s thoughts on Medieval versus ‘Medieval’ Names are fascinating. Towards the end of the post, she notes that people wouldn’t have necessarily had a fixed and unchanging form of their name. She also notes that plenty of people would adjust their name according to the circumstances. It reminds me of when the Spanish teacher refers to Joe and Grace as Jose and Gracia in class, or when royal brides would choose a new form of their names in their husband’s countries. It’s amazing to hear academics weigh in on these topics. Yet another reason to love the DMNES!
  • Sophie has some great, underused English names for girls.

That’s all for this week. As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week!

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?

3 Comments

  1. Regarding Sophie’s list, we have a nearly 2-year-old Ouida! We never planned on using nicknames for our Louisa but our then 2.5-year-old son had other plans. He began calling her Ouisa and Ouida shortly after her birth. It has stuck among family, but we’ll see if it carries through to her school-age years. I much prefer either to Lou or Lulu. People tend to think it’s charming.

  2. I’m not a big fan of the Stormie Rayne type names, although I know some people love them to bits (and people with Stormie Rayne type names usually love having them too).

    I do like a name where the name combination “means” something greater than the sum of its parts though, where the meaning (or associations) of the two names tell a little story. And I think that’s what the Stormie Rayne crowd are aiming for as well.