Sunday Summary: Last of February 2017

I’m a fan of Sirius radio, and I often listen to First Wave. Because, well, I remember hearing all of those 80s bands on the radio back in the day. The other night, DJ Richard Blade played a string of songs with one thing in common. Women’s names!

Obviously, I couldn’t leave the car until I’d heard every. single. one. of the five songs.

Also, I guessed most of them. You probably can, too. So – what were the five most iconic 80s(ish) new wave/alternative songs with a woman’s name in the title?

I’d love to tell you, but when I tried to write them down, I could only remember four:

• “Come on Eileen,” Dexy’s Midnight Runners
• “Valerie Loves Me,” Material Issue – my personal favorite!
• “Alison,” Elvis Costello
• “Letter to Elise,” The Cure

Any ideas for number five?

Elsewhere online:

• Would you change the spelling to make the pronunciation more obvious? Often I say no, but this question at Swistle makes me less certain.
• Amber Tamblyn made headlines with what might just be the best celebrity birth announcement. Except that there’s no way her daughter is named Dauphinoise Petunia Brittany Scheherazade Von Funkinstein Mustard Witch RBG Cross Tamblyn-Bey jr. Also, I am now wildly curious about the baby’s real name.
• I so very much agree with Laura Wattenberg – flexible names are a positive, and I’m sorry that we’re not more open to them in 2017. A comment on the Appellation Mountain Facebook page really hit home: someone mentioned that it’s especially important for young people who are struggling with their identities. Being able to try out a new name can help. She wrote that “Names are such a powerful affirmation …” very true.
• There should be more boys named Jayne.
• Looking for culture-spanning baby names? Some excellent suggestions here.
• Love this exercise from Roses & Cellar Doors: which names from 1970 have pretty much disappeared? Let’s bring back Winfield and Trudi!

Lastly, I’ve mentioned a few times that I have a great new tech support provider on board. They’ve been working through a bunch of issues, but it took a while to figure out the biggie. Thanks to all of your wonderful support, the site has officially outgrown its current host! We’ll be migrating shortly. I don’t think it will cause any disruptions on your side, but please bear with us if it does.

As always, many thanks for reading – and have a great week!