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Happy Sunday!

I’ve just read Matthew Dennison’s Queen Victoria: A Life of Contradictions.  And I learned this:

The future Queen Victoria was christened Alexandrina Victoria.  But her parents had planned to name her Victoire Georgiana Alexandrina Charlotte Augusta.

It was changed at the last minute by the Prince Regent, the future King George IV.  By removing Charlotte, he lessened the connection between the new baby and the crown.  (George’s daughter Charlotte, the former heiress presumptive, had died in childbirth not long before the birth of Victoria.)  Victoria is for her mother, the Duchess of Kent, and, at the time, the name was considered very un-English and decidedly un-royal.

Well, up until June 1837 or so.

Alexandrina honored the future queen’s most important godparent, Alexander I of Russia.  It also led to her childhood nickname, Drina.

Now let’s zig and zag between the serious and the fluffy for the rest of the name news:

  • Yet another reason why my mother is the best – on a recent toy store outing with the grandkids, she stopped and read every Cabbage Patch Kid name off while I frantically took notes.  The following were on the shelf: Stella June, Lola Scout, Maddie Isabella, Shantay Laila, Alexandra Angeline, Nikki Alanna, Scout Kristie, Rileigh Karine, Scout Macy, Cali Sailor, Avery Dani, Harlow Sophia, Spencer Alexa, Isabelle Stephanie, Maddie Ava, Jaelyn Paris, Isabelle Paris, Kait Madelyn.
  • Which prompts this thought: has the database of Cabbage Patch Kid names become more narrow?  I remember the CPKs always having wacky, clunky names mixed in – Wanda and Esther and Inez and Eunice.
  • Or how ’bout any of the names from 1920 that are not currently back in favor?  The Art of Naming’s list includes picks like Mildred and Gertrude, Thelma and Geraldine.  Stylish?  Not quite.  But they scream “Cabbage Patch Kid” name to me.
  • A random thought only a name-aholic could have: what would Ashton and Demi have named a baby?  Bruce and Demi’s daughters have such delightfully daring names: Rumor Glenn, Scout LaRue, and Tallulah Belle.  And then Bruce and second wife Emma Hemming have Mabel Ray and Evelyn Penn, choices that seem much safer and less inventive.  So we can assume that Demi was the edgy trendsetter of the pair.  (Or has Bruce’s style just stayed frozen in time?  Mabel would’ve been pretty out there in the 1980s.)  Still, I cannot see Demi choosing something like Wyatt Isabelle.
  • Just when I think I’ve seen all of the names, along comes Winterfylleth.  Which is the Old English name for the month of October.  (Timely, right?)  And is actually spelled WinterfylleÞ, just to make it much more complicated.  I agree with NamesDaily – a killer middle possibility, but with the ‘th’ instead of the rune.
  • Speaking of October-inspired names, did you see this list at Baby Name Pondering?  Could mythical creatures actually inspire baby names?  At first I thought nope, crazyville.  Except Griffin and Phoenix are totally wearable and quite mainstream today.  Brooke made a great case for names like Roc and Leviathan, too.
  • From British soap opera Hollyoaks comes a daffily named fictional baby – daughter of Theresa and Dodger, Myra-Pocahontas Regina Madonna.
  • I’m intrigued by Calaire.  And tempted to add Calaire to the list of Claire- names.
  • Loved this bit from Simcha Fisher on how expecting your tenth baby is different than your first.  With your first:  I really want the baby’s name to be attractive but unusual, and it should express how cherished this child is … Now, according to Nameberry, the name “Frostina” is actually fairly popular in some parts of Sweden, and is long overdue for a surge in popularity in the states. I think we can … add it to our list of possible third middle names, don’t you? By baby #10: Come on, now, think! There must be some names left.  Ha!  Though I think I could happily name ten girls.  With boys, I struggle after four or five name combinations.Sunday Summary
  • Here’s what I know about Diwali – it is the festival of lights, and everything about it sounds positive and uplifting and wonderful.  Plus, lanterns! I love a good lantern.  All of this is to say that I’m not sure if these 20 Baby Names Inspired by Diwali would really be a good fit – and I’m quite certain the meanings given are a smidge off – but I’m passing the list along anyhow.
  • Oh, Sophie – you put Kahlo on a list!
  • Elea features Aurora this week.  So timely, as Disney has recently re-released Sleeping Beauty in a collector’s edition.
  • Ruby Kiss and Daisy Darling – not twins, but aren’t they sweet?  Maybe too sweet.  Though Darling is definitely growing on me, what with the Peter Pan association and all.
  • It is now possible to buy Kelli Brady’s Name-alytics via Paypal!  Use this link and AppMtn can still get it for just $2.99 through October 31st.

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.

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5 Comments

  1. I laughed at the part about naming your tenth child. We’re trying to name our seventh (due Christmas day) and having the exact same problem! Actually, I think we’re mostly settled on Annabel Mildred, but it sounds a lot more frou-frou to me than my other girls’ names and so I can’t completely commit. My other girls are Miriam, Emeline, and Harriet. I was leaning more toward Olive or Beatrice (once my hubby vetoed my top pick of Flannery), but hubs prefers Annabel. See–SO HARD WITH THE SEVENTH CHILD!!!

  2. WinterfylleÞ makes me smile, because in Tolkien’s Middle Earth, Winterfilth was the tenth month of the calendar in The Shire – the equivalent of October.

    I can’t get stop reading it as ending in -filth, which is a real deal-breaker for me.

  3. I’m shocked that even a soap opera in Britain would name a baby Myra – a real slap in the face to the families of the children so cruelly murdered by the evil Myra Hindley. Her name has been avoided, like Adolf. Ian, the name of her partner in crime, is not similarly under a stain, no doubt for two reasons: it’s been too widely used to be associated with one person, and the fact that Hindley was female makes her crime, being against children, all the more unnatural and repellent.

  4. I really liked that list of 1920s names- My grandmother and her sisters are all on it!
    Gertrude, Trudy
    Maxine
    Bernice

    I think I find old sib sets more interesting than new ones… My maternal grandmother and her sisters for good measure who weren’t on the list.
    Jean
    Rhoda
    Muriel

    My daughter was named Trudy for Gertrude and I’ll be naming for Muriel with my next one g-d willing. I’m finding M a more fruitful letter than G was.

  5. I find new names all the time. I don’t think it is possible to know them all. Like Calaire.
    I was intrigued by the name too. I looked it up, but all I could find was that it was a city in Honduras.

    Darling is one of my guilty pleasure middle names. I like it for the same reason as you – Peter Pan.

    Have a good week!