I had to look at the calendar twice to be sure – this is really the fiftieth week of the year! But of course, it must be! I’ve already run my Best Celebrity Baby Names of 2015, and reviewed last year’s predictions, too. That just leaves predictions for 2016 – coming up this Friday – and a look back at the most popular posts of the year, plus my revised name watch list.
And then … 2016!
For now, let’s take a look at the baby name news, some seasonal and year-ending, but most of it just plain fun:
- So #stormdesmond was trending in the UK because there was a storm named Desmond causing flash flooding. But it was happening at the same time the world was awaiting the name of Kim and Kanye’s new baby. And so … some assumed that the new celebri-baby was called Storm Desmond West. Honestly? I kind of love that name.
- While we’re talking about Saint West, did you see this? Dear Saint West: I Too Once Had an Unusual Name. I’m sure plenty of people with names ahead of their time can relate.
- And one more on that theme – I’m so curious to see which unusual word names at Waltzing More than Matilda are voted most liked. At this moment, Bear is in the lead.
- Because I love twin names – a list from Germany, via the always fun Name News!
- A long list of names that mean light from Sophie, inspired by Chanukah.
- Thoroughly enjoying this look at Cosmo’s name predictions, courtesy of BabyNameObsessed.
- Speaking of predictions, here are the Baby Name Wizard’s list, and Nameberry’s too. I contributed to the latter list, and now I’m really struggling to come up with my own list for this week!
- Now this is a fascinating question, and Duana has the so-exactly-right answer. Can you have a boy named Sioux?
- Nancy has a list of Ever- names for boys – there are more wearable options that you might’ve guessed!
- What preschoolers think their teacher should name her new baby. Casting my vote for Racecar Rooney if it’s a boy, and Wanda Strawberry if it’s a girl.
- But Rooney could be great. It’s one of many possibilities on this list at The Art of Naming.
- Because if you deliver a baby in a cab, obviously you have to name Uber, right?
- We took our kids to see A Christmas Carol today, and it has me thinking: is Marley an unexpected Christmas name?
That’s all for this week! As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week!
Storm Desmond is better than what they actually picked! The sad thing is that every single article I read headlined (in so many words) I Know Better Than the Wests What to Name Their Kid was correct – everyone did a better job than the actual parents. I do think they painted themselves into a corner with North though, as meaning (to them) “the best” – the next one will have to be Messiah, which is now almost boring.
Loved the article by Logan Hill, so clever and correct for his own name, but I don’t think Logan 40 years ago and Saint now are comparable.
I agree with Duana but was surprised she didn’t discuss the history of the name Sioux. Even though the name has somewhat tangled origins, it still seems awfully presumptuous for parents not belonging to the Sioux nations to name their child that (and I assume if they did belong, they would mention it). It’s not like naming a child with a name from France when you’re not French, or even after a country like Holland–the history of interaction between American Indians and almost all other Americans is just too bloody. I’m even more troubled by it because they don’t seem to have even considered this aspect of the name. It’s almost as if they wanted to name a white American child Hiroshima–not in any attempt to pay tribute the the dead there, but because it’s got a nice sound. Given the protests around using native names and likenesses for sports teams and mascots, we also know that a great many American Indians feel deeply belittled by having their names used in ways they don’t control. So I say if they must name their boy Sue, they need to just go ahead name him Sue (or Sux, or Su, or Sou or Oliver-Sue), and not try to give it masculine plausible deniability (it’s not deniable) by appropriating the name of people who had generations of their children systematically stolen in an attempt to eradicate their culture.
It’s a good point, Borealis. Given the popularity of Cheyenne & Dakota, I’m not surprised to see another tribal name under consideration. And it does add yet another layer of controversy. “Your name is Sue?” “Yeah, but it’s S-I-O-U-X, like the Native American tribe.” “Oh! Are you Sioux?” “No …”
FWIW, my first thought was Siouxie Sioux.
Wasn’t Jacob Marley a hateful miser? Even though he points Scrooge towards his path of redemption, I think he’s a terrible namesake, Christmastime or no.
You might be right – though I think his efforts to save his friend from the same fate could be seen as redemptive. Then again, I referred to Jacob Marley as “Bob Marley” before the play started. So I’d guess *most* people would assume that name referenced the musician, not the holiday …