Wishing a joyful Easter to all who celebrate!
Something I’ve been thinking about lately: how much economic/professional benefit is there to having a truly great name?
I was booking my dog’s most recent grooming appointment online, where the only information I have available? The names of the staff.
Our usual groomer was away. So my eye was drawn to Fiona and I clicked the reservation box with confidence.
Now no one is getting rich grooming my 60-pound rescue dog who prefers mud puddles to spa days. And Fiona was marvelous – patient, kind, and no-nonsense enough to make our pooch look respectable. But did my eye skip over someone with a less appealing name? Would I have clicked through to another day’s worth of appointments if the names didn’t catch my eye?
My guess is probably not. (Our dog really needed some TLC!) But a name like Fiona made it easy.
In other name news …
LEONORA CALLED LENA, CLIO + WATSON CALLED SONNY
Plus more great names in this round-up of birth announcements from Nameberry.
ISN’T ABILENE KIND OF AMAZING?
Nancy delved into the question of why Abilene debuted in the US data in 1964. I need to update my post on the name to reflect what she’s uncovered. I think it’s a great mix of Abigail and Savannah.
I KNOW I’M THE LAST PERSON TO SEE NETFLIX’S THE GRAY MAN …
But in the movie, Ryan Gosling plays a character know as Six. (The movie is based on a series of books written by Mark Greaney.) It turns out this is a little bit like referring to James Bond as “double-oh-seven.” Six has never appeared in the US name data, but after watching the movie? It sounds like it could be a name. If number-inspired names continue to grow in influence, could it debut?
SPEAKING OF MOVIES & NUMBERS, HOW ‘BOUT CINCO?
We went to see Luca on the big screen and I spotted something I’d missed at home: one of the screenwriters was named Cinco Paul. Was it a nickname? Nope. Paul was born on Cinco de Mayo – the Fifth of May, anniversary of an important Mexican military victory and now widely known in the US. (Though Americans tend to confuse May 5th with Mexican Independence Day, which actually falls in September.) A tiny number of boys have been named Cinco in recent years, and I think it sounds like a real possibility – even more than Six.
Oh, and if you missed the full list of Luca production babies? Find them here.
WELCOME TO THE WORLD, FLORA JO!
Something else that slipped my mind: Instagram star (wait, should I call her a farm-fluencer?!) Hannah Neeleman of Ballerina Farm and husband Daniel welcomed baby eight in January. Their boys are Henry, Charles, and George; their girls are Frances, Lois, Martha, and Mabel, and their new arrival, Flora Jo. I love the homespun quality of their daughters’ names. While I’ve had this list of homespun boy names forever, I really ought to work on the girls’ equivalent … all five of the Neeleman daughters would make the list, I’m sure …
That’s all for this week. As always, thank you for reading + have a great week!
