I have a new name crush, though I think it might be unwearable. Laura Andersen’s The Boleyn King is an alternate history – a what if? approach to Tudor England told through the experiences of a fictional character called Minuette. She explains her name this way:
My full name is Genevieve Antoinette Wyatt. It was Elizabeth who first called me Minuette. I was born more than a month before I was expected, and the first time she saw me, Elizabeth thought me too little for the name my French mother had given me. She attempted to call me Mignonette – meaning dainty and darling – but her three-year-old tongue did not pronounce it properly. i have been Minuette to my friends ever since.
It’s a great re-imagining of Tudor England, and I’m completely charmed by Minuette.
Elsewhere online:
- Fiora – another great find from Blue Juniper. I’ve heard Fiorella and Fiorello before, but Fiora is a little less elaborate, more forceful.
- Not sure I’d call all of these names hipster, but I do like all eight of them.
- I had planned to avoid all Kimye references, but Elea’s irresistible list of phrase names over the years is fascinating. I know a family with the last name Hunter – the grandmother recently quipped that she hoped her kids would consider the first name Bounty.
- Can you get teased for your middle name? I know a couple considering a very unusual middle for their baby on the way, and another friend was warning them off the name. It has rich family significance, so you know which side I was on …
- I’ve been following Greg at Daddy Types since 2004, and he’s uncovered many a great baby name story. This one – about Aaralyn on America’s Got Talent – has me thinking. If Aaralyn and big brother Izzy succeed in the competition, can’t you just imagine Aaralyn, Aralyn, Aaralynne and so on joining Adalyn and Aria in the rankings?
- Isn’t Duarte handsome? Nomes me mais nomes reported on a celeb who chose this name. It’s the Portuguese form of Edward. Dashing!
- From the wayback machine: in 2008, our featured name was Lucretia. 2009 brought us Enoch, and 2010 was all about Arezoo. The popular Caleb was Baby Name of the Day on 2011, and last year we looked at Eugene.
That’s all for this week! As always, thank you for reading, and have a great week.
I know a real life Minette. Also, Minuet was a one-time character on Star Trek: Enterprise https://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Minuet. The name worked really well.
Not Enterprise. The Next Generation.
Fiora is a name crush of mine of many years ago. I still think it’s lovely; the only hesitation I have is practical – it looks a LOT like Flora in many fonts, and a lot like Fiona in some other fonts or when printed by hand. I don’t think that’s a reason not to use it, but something to consider.
I think the list of hipster names is pretty good, actually – it’s not to say that everyone who uses those names is automatically a hipster, or that it’s a comprehensive review of all hipster naming trends and styles, but I do think the author has tapped into at least a piece of what appeals to a certain crowd. I think now that the ‘old lady chic’ trend is going increasingly mainstream, parents in search of something offbeat are going in a few different directions, and who knows? Maybe some exciting new trends will emerge!
Aaralyn does nothing for me, but I liked her brother’s full name, Isaiah, and don’t hate Izzy. I had always favoured Isaac for mainsteam and Issachar for – let’s say less so – but Isaiah could tread a nice middle ground.
Let’s pretend I spelt “mainstream” correctly.
🙂
Now that it has finally gotten warm out, we have finally met our new neighbors and their little boy, Axel. I love his name, but what’s really amazing is that previous family’s son was named Aksel. When Aksel was born, (6-7 years ago) I was gobsmacked by what felt like a affected, hipster name and now it feels commonplace. I’m always amazed how my attitude change towards names…
IE hipster names, Auden is a variant spelling of my mom’s maiden name. I briefly considered it for Peter’s middle name, but we know a female Auden and almost every baby name site listed it as female…so my husband nixed it. While I’d like to say today’s kids don’t get caught up on differences, but Hubby was bullied when he immigrated to the US in the 80’s and his bully was particularly merciless when he learned Hubby’s middle name is Rudolf.
Interesting re: Rudolf. I can see that one would be tough to wear.
Auden strikes me as feminine, too, but that’s because of a character in a Sarah Dessen novel.
I remember looking over rankings for baby names in The Netherlands not long ago, and there were countless spellings of the name Vajen ranked for girls. Apparently there was a girl named Vajen on the children’s version of The Voice in The Netherlands, and as far as I can tell she pretty much single-handedly caused the name and its alternate spellings to be all over the rankings for baby names in The Netherlands. I think it’s a made up name, but I’m not entirely sure.
Aaralyn = The U.S’s Vajen?
Maybe – let’s see how well Aaralyn does in the competition!
There was a Minuet in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708668/ I believe I laughed when she said her name. I will say that it is a cute, creative nickname.
Bounty Hunter would be quite the name. I have never heard of anyone called Bounty, but I think it could be considered a virtue name, no?
Oh, and Duarte is a fabulous name!