Calendar Number 16 (Photo credit: Leo Reynolds)
I’m beginning to realize that I can guess the baby names that people will shortlist for kiddo #2 (or #3 or #4), even if I only know the person casually. But I still can’t even begin to guess what someone will name their first child. We reveal a tremendous amount about ourselves with our choice for our first child’s name. Do you have that same experience?
Time for the weekly round-up of all things baby naming.
- Spotted via Project Nursery: a girl named August Claire. I’m in love with this site for namespotting. As much as I love August Claire on a girl, I think I might like August Clare for a boy even more. Thoughts?
- That reminds me, I occasionally nip over to Pinterest and re-pin names spotted on Project Nursery, Etsy, or out in the wild. The link at the top of my site isn’t working (yet), but you can find me here.
- I love variants more obscure variants of Elizabeth and Isabella, like Isabeau and Elisabetta. What do you think of Elizabella? Too much?
- Ava, Juno, and Rex is one of my favorite sibsets, ever.
- Solomon – not just for villains or kings. Or modern-day polygamist families featured on reality TV.
- I thought I loved this name at Nomes e mais nomes. Except I want to pronounce Caio like Kai with an o, or Cairo without the r. Turns out it is more like the television character Caillou, according to the pronunciations at Forvo.
- Let’s hear it for quirky.
- Anna and Stephen, we’re so excited about your twins! Hope everyone is doing well, and we can’t wait to hear their names. Really can’t wait …
- Are we afraid of short names for boys? Are parents really so eager for a formal version of Levi that they’ll consider Leviticus and Leviathan? I’m on board with elaborate, nickname-rich appellations, but those would not make my personal shortlist.
- Speaking of nicknames, I stumbled on this one in a Nameberry member’s signature: Jethro, nickname Jet. Does it work?
That’s all for this week. As always, thank you for reading and have a great week!
P.S. Did you know that when a name is highlighted – in this post or any other post here at AppMtn – it links to the Baby Name of the Day profile on that name? Happy surfing!
Of course, I think August Clare/Clair for a boy is fabulous!
Caio was definitely KYE-o whenever I’ve heard it. I think it’s one of those where the off-glide on the last syllable can seem to change the pronunciation, but doesn’t really.
For me Leviathan is a monster on Supernatural, and a beast in the Bible — not really a proper name for a child.
Jet does work for Jethro, seeing as the original Hebrew form doesn’t have the /th/ sound at all, just a /t/. My mom worked with a Jethro who was called Jeff — think of the stereotypical “lower-class” pronunciation of /th/ as /f/ — that doesn’t really help the image of Jethro IMO.
✵ I don’t think I’m very good at guessing what other people will pick, whether it’s for child #1 or #4. However, I’m usually not too surprised. My SIL mentioned Adelaide and Adeline for future baby #3, which seems like something she’d pick.
✵ I’m with you on August Clare for a boy, though I might prefer Augustus Clarence even more.
✵ I love Isabeau and Elisabetta, but Elizabella is entirely too much. I also love Elsa, Ilsa, Bettina, and Isadora.
✵ Ava is pleasant, but Juno and Rex are fabulous together; great names for twins.
✵ When I worked in a church nursery we had a baby Solomon. I love the name, but while it’s somewhat cute it’s also perhaps a bit weighty. However, Solly as a nickname does make it more wearable. I also took care of babies Lauren, Ally, Mally, Riley, Griffin, Cooper, and brothers Will and Clay. Loving the name Griffin a lot at the moment.
✵ I like Caio a lot. Read the name recently in one of my novels I was reading. Also dig the related Caius.
✵ I like a lot of quirky names, but I LOVE Leonie.
✵ My favorite boy name is Levi, and I’ve considered both Leviticus and Leviathan. And while I do like both of those, I prefer simply Levi.
My consideration of Leviticus and Leviathan I believe has less to do with a fear of short names (second and third faves are James, not Jameson, “Jame/Jack/Jems” and Miles “Milo”) and more to do with my love of longer names with cute nicknames (Theodore “Teddy”, Jeremiah “Remi”, Penelope “Poppy”, Elizabeth “Elsa”, etc).
Of the two I prefer Leviathan, which brings up thoughts of Milton’s Paradise Lost (Satan’s size is likened to that of the Leviathan) and legendary creatures, which puts Leviathan as a name possibly in the same class as Phoenix, Griffin, and Drake (possibly even Roc).
✵ Finally, I think Jethro “Jet” works great. I quite like Jethro too, but then that might be the effect of watching a lot of NCIS.
Yes, Caio is pronounced more like Cai-oo, at least by the Brazilian I know by that name.
Leviathan is such a fun word to say, but I can’t imagine using it on a child.
Some may say it’s too frilly, but I actually think Elizabella is really pretty 🙂
I miss your old site. I don’t come here nearly as often anymore because I never have a single visit where every link works. I don’t mean to sound rude or mean. I just really love everything you write and collect and this site does not seem like an upgrade….it’s like Trader Joe’s- you get all addicted to something and then they pull it. Sometimes they bring it back “improved,” but it’s never as good as it originally was. 🙁
Hetta, I’m sorry you feel that way. If you leave a comment, I’m always happy to fix the specific link.
I know adult twins called Jethro and Spike (hippy parents). Also, I’m totally fluent in Portuguese and I can guarantee you that Caio is pronounced like you originally thought, i.e.: “Cai” (like sky) + o (emphasis on the Ooo sound). There’s a big difference between Continental Portuguese pronunciation and Brazillian pronunciation. Like UK and US English, some words sound better in one dialect or another. 🙂
How grand that Caio really is Kai with an o! Thanks for sharing. And you’re right, of course. There should be differences between Brazilian and Portuguese pronunciation, but I didn’t even think about that for a second …
Jethro and Spike, huh? That is the wildest set of twin names I’ve seen … um, ever, I think!
I think Jet totally works for Jethro. I think Elizabella is a bit much, but I tend to dislike girls names with 4+ syllables.
Your “quirky” link doesn’t work either. 🙁
It’s fixed, Tia!
Abby your link about Anna Paquin/Stephen Moyer’s twins doesn’t work! I’m really curious as to what they will be named…hopefully something quirky and British!
Care to hazard some guesses, based on Billy and Lilac? Please?!
The link is fixed! As for names, well … Lilac and Billy are his kids pre-Anna Paquin. There’s nothing to suggest what her naming style might be. Add in their backgrounds – between them, they really cover the English-speaking world, and it makes it almost impossible to guess. We’ll just have to wait and see …
Jethro nn Jet definitely works.
I agree! My husband is a fan of Jethro Tull, so I think I must have suggested the name at one point. I like that Jet would take the name away from the hillybilly stereotype. Though I do like the name on its own too – “o” is a good sound. 🙂