Earlier this year, I started sharing images on my Instagram titled Lately I’m Loving. They weren’t necessarily name combinations that I would choose for a real-life child, but they were name combinations that had captured my fancy.
I looked back on them this week, and realized I’d created a pretty fabulous fictional sibset!
Just for fun, what would you name a sister or brother for:
- Frederica Valentine
- Esther Pavonine
- Mary Mavis Jonquil
- Jeremiah Harvest
Now, on to the baby name chatter from elsewhere online:
- Apparently there’s some kerfuffle about Teen Mom cast members and baby name theft. The name in question is Remington for a girl. I tend to see name duplication as accidental, the way that you and a friend might own the same pair of sneakers or love the same hit song. But it’s caused plenty of hurt feelings in real life, so I’m not quite sure how to think about it. Do you think there’s an etiquette behind using a name that someone you know has already given to a child?
- Yes, there are fresh flower
names for boys. - The year’s most popular names in Japan were just released. Is Frozen fever gripping Japan, too? Seems like Elsa and company have influenced the most popular names.
- From Japan to Israel, where Tamar and Ori are tops.
- Ouch! Facebook bans a woman who is actually named Isis because her name is actually Isis. The social media giant figured out its mistake and restored her account.
- Which reminds me – Baby Name Wizard is taking suggestions for Baby Name of the Year. The name that immediately came to mind is Isis. It fits the criteria well, representing a dramatic change in the name’s usage/social meaning. And yet, I hesitate to put the name front and center.
- More proof, via the New York Times.
- This is the kind of pop culture question that can consume me: What is the name of Finnick and Annie’s son in the Hunger Games universe? The answer is that Suzanne Collins never tells us, but it hasn’t stopped fans from speculating. I still think Finnick could be the Luna of this series.
- Duana suggests Djuna and Eleni and I swoon.
- Love this poll at Waltzing More than Matilda about whether grandparents should have any say in their grandchildren’s names. I agree with the majority here – feel free to make suggestions, but don’t have any expectations that they’ll be followed. (I may need to file this away for twenty years or so, and then revisit – assuming I’m lucky enough to ever have this problem!)
That’s all for this week! As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week!
Ooh, imaginary siblings. I love this game. Iris Appolonia. Louisa Linden. Albert Hawthorn. Peter Peregrine.
I think if I’m lucky enough to become a grandmother, I will try to keep name suggestions to myself unless they’re asked for. It’s too easy for motherly “suggestions” to end up feeling like family pressure for some people.
My own mother didn’t make any suggestions, but let it be known she wasn’t particularly impressed with any of her grandchildrens’ names, without going into specifics. As we’ve all chosen fairly “normal” names that don’t seem very challenging to cope with, I asked what kind of names she wished we’d chosen. Apparently she was hoping we’d pick names from the Top 20, as all her friends have grandchildren with names like Lily, Ava, Sophie, William, James, and Jack!
Sister for Mary Mavis Jonquil: Agnes Alyssum.
Brother for Jeremiah Harvest: Abner Oakes.
Love Abner Oakes!