Sunday Summary: AA and OO

There’s something about repeating letters. Sometimes they offer visual appeal – think Scarlett or Everett. Jenn might’ve added an extra N in a bid to stand out in a crowd.

Other times, they indicate an appealing sound, or might even emphasize a preferred pronunciation or tie to a particular heritage. There’s no doubt about how to say Meena, but Mina is open to debate. Una feels Latin, while Oona is unmistakably Irish.

Creative spellers often opt for “ee” at the end of names. Over 2,700 girls were named Rylee in 2021, along with hundreds more called Jaycee, Hadlee, Aubree, Oaklee, Journee, and Novalee – to name just a few.

But not all double letters behave the same.

Nancy rounded up a list of OO names, from former favorite Brooklyn to current staple Cooper to rare-in-the-US Rooney.

With a few exceptions – changing June to Joon, maybe? – the “oo” is expected and familiar, even when the name is not.

But Laura mused about the rise of AA names. And that’s a very different story. Aaron, of course, has roots. Then along came Aaliyah. And over the following decades, names like Aaden and Aarianna have increased in use. She also notes that Indian names – Aarav, for example, are traditionally spelled with “AA.”

Most of us probably don’t notice double letters. But could they appeal to some families? I’ve come across a few cases where a parent is, say, Kaylee, and chooses to name her daughter Everlee to continue to pattern.

Are there any names you like because of the double letters? Or only if they’re spelling with a double letter?

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This list of Old Vintage Names (that are new again) was mostly what you’d expect. Think Betty, Benedict, Oliver, Ida … but watching it, a few took me by surprise. Milton? Grover? I’m here for it, but are we really there yet?

This story is about something else, but my take-away is this: you can be a superfan of something, and choose a name that’s obvious to you but completely under-the-radar to everyone else. In brief, a mom lamented the closing of Disney’s Splash Mountain – soon to be re-themed – because her daughter is named after the ride. (No, she’s not called Splash. Her name is Briar. IYKYK.)

Here’s a new vocab word: isogram. The Well-Informed Namer is covering names where no letters repeat. Her C list is here. They’re not necessarily short, either – Christobal and Corisande make the list!

Virginia released their 2022 name data. Which isn’t all that fascinating, except that they release data by race and ethnicity. Nancy has the breakdown here. Liam is a top Hispanic name; Noah, Elijah, Josiah, and Micah’s are extremely popular with Black parents. The most popular names repeat across race and ethnicity, but others seem to be more specific.

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As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week!