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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  1. I’m wondering about Lola, too – anyone? She hasn’t posted in days.

    And Kat, 11 weeks! That’s so exciting! (And the pressure is on, isn’t it?)

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  2. I guess I go against the grain – choosing a girl’s name has proven excruciating for us, whereas we had a boy name all ready to go way before we found out the sex of the baby. We are staring down the final 11 weeks and still waffling between four names, knowing that at any moment a dark horse entry from the first month or something will come barreling out of nowhere and completely upset the proceedings. 🙁

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  3. Actually I read an interview in which Kendra Wilkinson said that if she has a girl her name will be either Arianna or Kianna.

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    1. Interesting, SMN – the Kaleigh bit was picked up all over the place. Guess we’ll have to wait and see!

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  4. Kayleigh is a perfect name for Kendra to name her daughter. Let her have at it.

    As for the reason more girls’ names are searched than boys’? It’s probably because girls are doing the searching, and girls like girls’ names. Go onto Y!A and there are far more questions about girl names there, too. And – let’s face it – many, many, many of the people doing the searching aren’t pregnant, aren’t mommies, aren’t adults – you get it. That’s the only explanation I can come up with.

    I’m surprised Elmer is so often searched. That’s an odd one!

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    1. PQ, you’re probably right about the girls’ names.

      It may also be a function of *how* parents approach naming children. Maybe, if we’re determined to stick to the classics for boys, we’re less likely to search at all. Instead, we sit there saying “There’s Grandpa William, Uncle Jack or let’s just name him Jason Jr.” while with girls, we consider more possibilities.

      Of course, for us it is reversed. We know what we’d name six more daughters, but sons? Yikes. But that’s only because we’re out of family names. (The last two we’d consider are “reserved” by my sibs. And women FAR outnumber men in my family, while my husband’s family in Poland has mostly names that don’t work in English. I adore Uncle Zbigniew, but I’m not handing down his name. Well, maybe in the middle?)

      Anyhow, it is not a problem for us.

      And it may be that Elmer is oft-searched for his relation to one of the characters I mentioned – probably Bugs Bunny? – as opposed to as a baby name. But I do know of a fashionable mama who named her tot Earl, so …

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  5. Hal… so very 2001: A Space Odyssey. Hmmm.

    I do like Ivy, though…

    You know, despite the reasons for the names of their kids, I don’t really mind Angus Raymond Mercury or Madelyn May or even Heath. Shea and Cheyenne are not so much my kind of names. Kashmir would have been a bit overkill though, but with Angus and Madelyn, it’s not super obvious that the names derive from mom and dad’s album collection. (Yes, Mercury is a little ‘unique’ but Freddie isn’t the first thing that jumps to mind when I hear the name, nor does Angus scream AC/DC.) The stadium and the state capitol, not so impressive.

    Kaleigh? Um. Hope it’s a boy.

    Ah, Lorelei, I love it and would go for it, but it just is so Gilmore Girls to me… hangs out on the long list… maybe I’ll get more ballsy over the next 7 months. Interesting to know it’s such a popular search, though!

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    1. Seven months!? CONGRATS!

      And I agree about Heath, Madelyn May and Angus Raymond Mercury. Shea is meh. Cheyenne is one of those names that I actively dislike, but I guess she fits with plenty of place names like Savannah and Dakota.

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    2. I completely agree with you that Gilmore Girls took Lorelei from being a quirky, educated choice to being a trendy, TV-fan choice. I love the name, too, but I’d never use it.

      Ivy Lola is pretty. I’m not sure it flows, but then most celebrities don’t seem too worried about how their kids’ names flow, do they? Both names in isolation are fabulous.

      And speaking of Lola, has anyone seen Lola recently? I miss her.

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