For those of you in the US, I hope you had a firecracker of a holiday!
The big starbaby news of the week was the reveal of Tobey Maguire’s son’s name: Otis Tobias, little brother to Ruby Sweetheart.
Other celeb news:
- Cobie Smulders of How I Met Your Mother welcomed a daughter, Shaelyn Cado;
- Baywatch/Playboy alum Gena Lee Nolin posed in a bikini for PEOPLE magazine with baby Stella Monroe. Stella is the new Ava – everyone in Hollywood has one;
- Kelli O’Hara, of Broadway fame, welcomed a son named Owen James;
- Country music’s Josh Turner welcomed a son named Colby Lynch.
Elsewhere in the blogosphere:
- Looking for an Independence Day appellation? Check out Xanthe Linnea’s Patriotic Names post; Legit Baby Name’s post on Eleftheria and her post on Liberty; and my post on Liberty from 2008;
- Onomastitrix mentioned that Bruce seems to be rising down under. Could it be a Batman-influenced revival? Or, as she suggests, a simple fact of the many grandfathers named Bruce inspiring a next generation? Hmmm … ;
- Inspired by the rise of Keaton – a “unique” name that was actually percolating in our collective cultural well for years and now stands at #371 – Swistle has been discussing possible names from the same mold: two candidates she’s mentioned recently are Brando and Schroder;
- For pure, LOL joy, check out Teresa Strasser’s rundown of her Top Five baby names. That’s Nameberry’s Pamela Redmond Satran in the name expert role, giving Shane the big thumbs down;
- Nymbler posted the Top Ten June search names. No surprises there, but I always enjoy the Top Five Brand New Names. Last month, it was Aveline, Milly, Cedar, Jordanne and Odette. Fascinating!
Next, a few things on my mind:
- The following question keeps popping up in searches leading to this site: Can I name my daughter Kylie and my son Kyle? Yes, yes, you can. But you just flat out should not do so. It’s too close, too cutesie and if you ever had a third child, you’d be forced to choose from a very small list of names indeed. (I think she’d have to be Kyla or Skyla, and he’d be Kyson or Kyler. Or feel horribly left out.);
- My vocabulary keeps expanding, thanks to name sites. I’ve recently discovered the Aussie slang word bogan, the equivalent of the British chavvy or American trashy. I think. Apparently, phonetic spellings like Taylah for Taylor are a thing, or so blogs a Doc Down Under during her pediatric rotation;
- A UK blogger mentioned that a BBC3 documentary on a 14 y.o. mum called Kizzy mentioned that she named her son Kaylib. Not Caleb, not Kaleb, but Kaylib. As if having your childhood immortalized on reality TV wasn’t bad enough;
- Could the name Merlin make a comeback? That’s right, a comeback – he appeared in the US Top 1000 regularly from the 1890s through the 1960s. It first crossed my mind while watching Bravo’s The Fashion Show, with the Honduran Merlin. Even if he doesn’t strike it big in the design world, there’s the BBC’s Merlin, now showing on NBC this summer. If Arthur can make a comeback …
- Another Bravo-influenced thought, couldn’t they have found better-named kids for their real-life-Gossip Girl, NYC Prep? The cast includes PC, Sebastian, Kelli, Taylor, Jessie and Camille. I realize you can’t rename full-grown human beings, but I’ll take GG’s Rufus, Lily, Serena and Blair anyday;
- Lastly, a look back – on July 5, 2008, the Name of the Day was Jasper.
That’s all for this week! Tune in next week for Flannery, Dahlia, Gregor, Brisa and Clifford.
I know of a real-life baby Merlin. An acquaintance’s brother chose it for his son about a year ago.
…and by the way, the girl who was telling me about Tayla was named Caryn. Nope, it’s pronounced ca-RIN, almost like Corinne. Incredible!
Ahahahaha! Too funny. Cobie (a name that screams WTF) named her daughter Shaelyn? I’m sorry, but I can’t think of a trashier name. Well, there’s always Nevaeh…
As for Tayla, this is not a new trend. I’m from Brooklyn. Waaaaay back in 1994, when I was 16, I had a friend who was telling me all about her niece Taylor. First off, let me explain that I don’t have a Brooklyn accent. Never did. Secondly, I thought it was mighty weird to name a girl Taylor. I had a GF named Jordan, and in the 1990s, this was way ahead of her time. But Taylor? That’s crazytalk! LOL Anyhoo, I kept asking her questions about Taylor, and she kept telling me things about Taylor, and this went on for a while, maybe a week (the kid had just been born) and finally, she corrected me. Yes, corrected me. The baby was actually named Tayla! Aw, that’s too bad. She’s about the same age now that we were then, come to think of it. Wow, I’m old. LOL
Otis Tobias. Two of my least favorite traditional boys’ names. And Otis doesn’t go with Ruby. Not even a little bit!
Also, I’m kind of over Stella. Can we move on, people?
Cobie’s a nickname. Her full name is Jacoba Francisca Maria.
There’s something I like about Jacoba, but if it were my name, I’d be Cobie too.
Corinne, thanks for that factoid! And Jacoba is cool – though I suppose it really does require a nn.
Taylor in the early nineties? I’m thinking not so weird, maybe. Hop in the wayback machine with me to 1988, and you’ll see tacky ass, big-haired Taylor Dayne all over records stores and MTV. Combine it with another tryndee name, Kayla, and presto/chango, you’ve got the worst of both worlds!
I had a hamster named Otis in sixth grade. Better suited to him, methinks.
A hamster named Otis! How sweet. My cat was Mercutio. 😉
And yes, I’m in the time machine with you. “Tell it to my heart …”
Interesting, Photoquilty. I think, in the US, Tayla usually rhymes with Kayla or Jayla, while Taylor should rhyme with Sailor. I’m not up on my down under accents, but would Sailor sound like Saylah?
I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for an accent – so much so that I tend to forget that there are class divisions in the UK and Australia and New Zealand, too.
It was pronounced more like TAIL-ah. LOL
I noticed that Otis and Ruby both appear on the Nameberry Hipster Baby Names list – I do think they have the same vibe, if not quite the same style. (Does that make any sense?)
I sure wish Otis didn’t sound so awkward w/ Tobias; you sure can’t dance to it. A poor sounding flow like that would be a deal-breaker for me, especially for a boy (tho’ I kind hope someday my girl will take a cue from me and *not* change her name). Bronx Wentz springs to mind, but that’s just all around unfortunate.
Thanks for turning me on to Teresa Strasser’s blog, she’s a hoot!
“Couldn
I haven’t met any Stellas as of yet. I wouldn’t worry about its popularity until it actually becomes popular. I have seen far more Violets and Rubys in the birth announcements this week, which is too bad, because those are nice names and I’d hate to see them get overused. I agree that Stella Ruby rocks!
The term bogan is used in both Australia and New Zealand with equal gusto. There’s a bit more to it than just being the equivalent of chavvy but used in a naming sense, it’s much the same.
Re: phonetic spellings. Our non-rhotic accents have led us to such horrors as Connah and Tylah (like Doc Down Under mentioned). -ah is the bogan naming accessory du Jour. It’s lazy. Oh, along with superfluous Rs e.g Nartarsha. I see that Taylah is dropping given the latest Aussie top 100 stats. Most excellent!
I was surprised to see some Bruces pop up lately. Perhaps it can overcome it’s rather severely bogan dual old man dated stereotype in Australia (and NZ). This is what it makes me think of. Python rocks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f_p0CgPeyA All that aside, I don’t dislike it, it’s just not for me.
I love these Sunday Summaries. I’m behind on all the celeb baby names.
After thinking about Otis, I find I rather like him, especially as a brother for Ruby. Not liking the flow of Otis Tobias, but can like the thought behind that. 🙂
I rather like Stella, and don’t mind hearing it, I like it better than Ava, annyway and if I have to hear something a hundred thousand times a day, I’d rather hear what I like to hear. Owen too. I firmly like Owen. But Shaelyn & Colby? Blech.
I have to ask, has anyone heard anything about Simon Pegg & Maureen McCann’s kid? She was supposed to be due in June. Am I the only one dying to see what they name it?
As someone who narrolwly avoided being “Rainbow MacK”, I dislike those sort of “hippy names”. I don’t mind nature names, ala flowers, trees or stones but the abstracts or weather bother me big time.
Bruce is rising again down under? Interesting. I am definitely in the “I love Bruce” camp, but it seems I’m alone here in the States.
I prefer the original GG names too, but don’t mind Sebastian &
Camille. Ran into a little Camille the other day at Special Olympics (I have friends with a Down’s daughter, she was participating. We went to root). Sadly, the little Camille said her name oddly: Ca-milly. Poor girl. It’ll be mangled a lot.
I hate that Stella is the new Ava! Unfortunately I love both, but I can’t stand Stella’s up-and-coming popularity!
Still, it’s better than most kreeatyf names 😉
Discovery’s show Mythbusters has a lady named Kari on it. She just had a little girl, Stella Ruby. So cute, but getting so common!
Kayt, thanks so much for reminding me! My husband LOVES Mythbusters – and I’m in awe of Kari and how she keeps it together in the midst of such let’s-blow-stuff-up testosterone! Plus, Stella Ruby? Rocks.
Except that Stella really is the new Ava, isn’t she?