The biggest plus side to being on the Today Show? My day job is no longer a secret. Not that I intentionally kept quiet about it before – but it just doesn’t come up on the playground/at the school fundraiser/at the ice hockey game.
It turns out that if you appear on national television, people will see it. And so I’ve had some amazing conversations about names in the past few weeks. Because everybody wants to talk about names, right?
One mom told me about choosing names on the drive to the hospital, which sounded so stressful to me – but it worked for them! I met the loveliest 60-something Marjorie who told me she’d never loved her name, and would rather have been Karen. One of the women I most admire told me her almost-name – Tiffany! – and how grateful she was that someone talked her mom out of it. Another dad told me about the inspiration behind his twins’ names, and admitted that he was That One Dad who was really into names. (I assured him he was not alone.)
So if you’re reading this because you’re completely fascinated by names? Know that you’re not alone.
Time for my favorite thing – let’s talk about some great name stories from the week that was:
- This list from South Dakota made me say wow! From Alta Grace to Zyleigh Joanne. My favorite? Has to be Elwood Joseph, though Pippa Louise makes a close second.
- There’s a Constance in this week’s British Baby Names birth announcements! Love the name Constance.
- A book about four girls all named Guinevere, with the nicknames Gwen, Ginny, Vere, and Win = a must-read. It’s astonishing how many books I’ve read, and television series and movies I’ve watched just for the names. Or at least it starts out that way …
- Duana helps a family struggling to name daughter #2. I love the way she describes choices like Dinah and Flora and Zelda as “short full names.” I think that’s an important distinction, as opposed to names like Tessa that can feel like short names for something longer.
- Perfect timing, then, for this list: 62 Full Names that Sound Like Nicknames.
- This list of names without alternate spellings is brilliant! There really aren’t that many.
- I find lists of storm names captivating. Here’s the new British list. It starts with Angus!
That’s all for this week. As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week!
