How can it possibly be August? Of 2009!?
As I marvel at the date on the calendar, why don’t you hop in the wayback machine to 2008 when August was Name of the Day? It’s still one of my favorites for a boy.
Here in my RL, I’ve got a few new babies to report:
- Elizabeth Violet, nn Elle – classic, but not dull;
- John Paul – not sure if he’s John-Paul or even Jean Paul, but parents definitely use both names together;
- Did I mention I met a Polly? IMHO, the world could use a few more Pollys.
Also in RL, but in ones far more glamorous – or at least visible – than mine:
- Jude Law, known for his great taste in baby names, is apparently expecting #4 avec model/actress Samantha Burke. He was stepdad to Finlay and has three kids with ex-wife Sadie Frost: Rafferty, Iris and Rudy. Turns out that Sadie was the stylish namer of the duo, apparently – the baby-on-the-way is slated to be known as the classic-but-common Sophia;
- Actress Kathryn Hahn welcomed daughter Mae, a sister for Leonard;
- Dancer Ashly Costa embraces the obscure-but-wearable Biblical baby names category, welcoming son Enoch Daniel. Enoch was Name of the Day back in June. Big brother is Ammon Michael. Wonder if they’re planning on any more kiddos? Because on their current path, they could be the family forced to resort to Habakkuk;
- Speaking of lots of kiddos, everyone’s favorite mega-family, the Duggars, announced that their first grandchild will be known as Mackynzie Renée. I think it is lovely that they’ve opted to stick with M in honor of matriarch Michelle. I also think it is too bad that Meredith didn’t make it to the top of the list, as they’d joked with morning talk’s Meredith Vieira during their reveal-the-gender television appearance.
And in the blogosphere:
- Jill’s post on NameShame? Rocks.
- Speaking of naming regrets, the mom blogger at Kicky Boots wrote about deciding to rename their toddler. Karenna Jolie is, I must say, a lovely choice for their daughter. Who cares it if it took a few months post-utero to settle on it?
- During our discussion of Cinderella, Sebastiane mentioned that she’s heard of it on Cajun women. There is something fascinating happening in Louisiana, isn’t there? Nancy did a post on Cajun names from the Civil War, including Justilien and Dazincourt;
- Did you check out the Nameberry Faves post – Beatrix, Penelope and Clementine are their Top Three. Beatrix is clearly a favorite here, too. Wonder if we’ll see that reflected in the US rankings in a few years?
- Xanthe Linnea wrote about Cedric. Anyone else think that the Harry Potter/Twilight connection might make Cedric an unlikely choice in, say, a decade and a half? Edward Cedric, anyone?
- Bewildertrix spotted Asher on a girl; Elisabeth reports a girl called Archer. Asher doesn’t surprise me, what with Ashley/Ashlyn/Ashtyn. But Archer? Knock me over with a feather;
- I loved Bewildertrix’s post on villain names like Regan, Judas, Iago, Jezebel, Hannibal … whenever I ding Regan, I can expect a few angry comments. But I’m with her on this one – Regan wasn’t much of a role model to begin with, and the fact that the name caught on post-Exorcist? Scary. Even better, her comment on Lucifer – “Sound wise it’s magnificent. To use it? Cruel.”
- A pair of Canadian parents insist they are angst-free over their decision to name their daughters Shade Star Pirate and Styles Knight Mansion. I respect the amount of thought they put into their choices. But I can’t help think that somewhere in there, they could’ve given their daughters a less aggressively unusual name, just in case the girls grow up to have interests other than their parents’ professions, Star Wars and attractions at Disney World;
- Let’s end on a high note – Sebastiane featured a truly classic girls’ name over at Legit Baby Names – Martha, Marta, Marthe.
In semi-name news, I’ve been coveting my neighbors’ gas-sipping, eco-chic SmartCar for months now. I was charmed to learn that the forerunner of today’s Smart wore the lovely name Isetta. Hey, if girls can be named Camry. And Shade …
Thanks for reading!
“Because on their current path, they could be the family forced to resort to Habakkuk;”
LOL!!!
I like Polly, though I don’t know if we’d use it because it seems too nickname-y by itself. I especially like that it reminds me of the intrepid, industrious, hilarious waitress Polly in the Fawlty Towers series.
We’re three weeks away and still have no name decided on…only five contenders that all seem to be equally liked. Yikes!
oh – make that four weeks. I was almost induced early due to kidney stones, so I get confused now as far as how much time we have left.
The blogger you mention just has to be a punk rock fan, specifically the Clash, with a kid named Strummer!! Wow. And I thought my husband and I were fans.
So sad about the Duggars naming the baby such a silly name with a silly spelling. Meridith would have been SO much nicer, classier, oh just better. There are many many much prettier M girl’s names out there! Oh well.
Been a fan of naming for ages, glad to find another naming blog to check in with!
Thanks 🙂
My dad wanted to name me Lucifer, and call me Lucy. I hate the name they did end up giving me, but I prefer it to Lucifer!
I was watching The Princess Bride for the 100th time last week, and the name Iago makes me think of the Inigo Montoya character. I always thought that was an interesting name with lots of possibility. Maybe do Inigo for NOTD sometime, Abby?
JNE, I’m so excited for you! Does Imogen have an opinion? Aly wanted a sister … something I’m sure he might not find so funny in the future.
Thanks, Abby! Immy has yet to express an opinion on gender. Lately she doesn’t want to hear about the baby (whereas before she would lift my shirt to ‘hug the baby’). She’s 21 months, so she can change her mind 15 times in 3 seconds. She also seems to think “Julia” (her little cousin’s name) is the only name in existence for a baby. (Me: “Do you like Beatrix or Eleanor?” Immy: “Julia!”) Should be an interesting ride!
I wanted Imogen or Eleanor (or Honora) for a girl, but my husband wanted Beatrix, so neither of us got our first choice[s]. I shudder to think about what will happen if our next one’s a girl and Roseanna’s big enough to get involved in the discussion.
I remember that when my little sister was born the only name that I didn’t deem “stupid” was Alice. For some reason I was convinced that I was going to be allowed to name my cousin — born a few months before my sister — and when that didn’t happen I was determined to have a hand in my sister’s fate. Emily Alice, as she came to be called, is now expecting her own child. I haven’t asked her what her name preferences are, but I’m very curious to find out.
Oh, I’ll have to check out Bewildetrix’s post on villianous names – a close friend’s cousin just bestowed Iago on her son. I was kind of horrified (as was the friend). I mean, I’m no Shakespeare buff (heck, I avoided taking any lit courses that were not absolutely required of me), but I could not avoid Othello, and who could forget Iago after that?! (Incidentally, Desdemona is a GP of mine, but I’d never actually go there, it’s just a fabulous soudning name in my ears.)
Mackynzie? Oh well. The four year old on the corner is also a Mackyznie (I do not know how she spells it), and all I think of when I see her is, did mom never hear of the Kinsey reports? It is always the first flash in my mind. Sweet little girl, though. Meredith Renee would be so much prettier IMHO.
Shade and Styles, eh? Well… during my three months in Argentina as a study-abroad student, my host family could not pronounce “Jade” and I was frequently called “Shay” or “Shade” – it wasn’t so bad. Good luck to those girls!
Finally, I’m both excited and slightly taken aback about how much fanfare Beatrix receives, but she’s currently hanging in the top spot if we end up having a little girl again.
Do you know the name Kinsey fairly consistently ranks in the top 1000 for girls? I always think about the same thing you do!