My son’s new orthodontist is named Brandon.
Yup, Brandon. Statistically likely, since name entered US Top 100 in the 1970s. Then came Beverly Hills 90210 with good guy Brandon, and the name eventually entered US Top Ten.
But I think of Brandon as a teenager – my daughter’s BFF has a teenaged brother called Brandon. It’s not the name of a responsible adult who I will pay large sums of money to give my son movie star teeth, just in time for them to be re-arranged by ice hockey.
And yet, all names do grow up. It takes a while for us to make the shift, and it’s an imprecise process. Wouldn’t it be nice if our brains automatically updated like that? Because Kayla, Brittany, Corey, and Cody are all grown-ups now.
Elsewhere in name news:
- An excellent point from The Name Lady: name etiquette comes down to caring about other people. Because if we want every name to be a name that our child will never share with another person, well … that’s going to be a tall order!
- Another newborn Coco! This would only ever be a nickname in my family, but I do think it’s starting to feel more like an independent given name. Thank you, Courteney Cox.
- Instant family – what a sweet story! And, oh, a boy called Brando. I like that one an awful lot. Maybe I just have a thing for names that end with ‘o’?
- A look at First Nations surnames, and all sorts of complications.
- Luella Bird might be the coolest baby name I’ve heard, ever. Also, I think Bird is the new Blue – the edgy middle name of the moment.
- Of course, Bird is downright ordinary compared to Riot Legacy, Edge, Divinity, Rhyme, Immaculate, or the other unexpected middles.
- I could cheerfully name triplets from this list.
- The Atlantic looks at baby names, and our desire for an unusual name – with a link to my story about the rise of the #1 names. Thanks!
- Brilliant post from The Baby Name Wizard – which fandom inspires the most baby names? Harry Potter is in the lead, but just barely. Still, as Laura notes, the fanbase for Harry Potter is younger, and many are not yet naming children – meaning it might have a considerable advantage over Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Hunger Games.
- Name news from Australia, including some interesting thoughts on Atticus.
- They’re looking for a common Irish first name that’s easy to say and spell, a Japanese middle. I’m so with Duana on this one: Ronan. It’s perfection.
- Love the names paired with Nova in this post from The Art of Naming.
That’s all for this week! As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week!
Well, you know *I* like the middle name Bird. It’ll be interesting to see if we meet any others who’ve used it!
That seems so strange to me. I’m almost 50, and I’ve known Brandons all my life. I have a very good friend from college named that, and I would have put it in the “dated/grandpa” category. Seems like Brandon morphed into Brendan into Braden.
I met a teacher in his 20s named Blade at a high school swimming carnival, and one of my colleagues is an Ava in her 30s.
Funnily enough, my husband once demanded I come up with a baby name at the drop of a hat, and I said Luella Bird. He wasn’t impressed. Still not sure what it was meant to prove – anyway, I like it!
Thanks for the mention: so far the poll is very clear – Atticus will be temporarily out of favour this year because of “Go Set a Watchman”, but it will be business as usual once it’s no longer a news item.
I actually know a two year old Brandon (he has a younger brother named Matthew) I found it weird at first but it fits him well. The only other Brandon I know would be 20 or so and was the dux of his prestigious private school. I suppose being younger Brittany, Kayla, Corey and Cody all seem like the names of someone my age or a little bit older I can’t imagine them on a baby except maybe Kayla. I actually struggle to see Jayden on a baby since the only Jayden I know is17 and spells in Jaidyn but it’s a top 100 name still and more common now then it was then.