The new Fixer Upper baby is here! At first glance, his name breaks a pattern. Crew starts with a C, not a D, like brothers Drake and Duke. But Crew shares his first initial with dad Chip. And Drake, Duke, and Crew are all short, modern boy names with a lot of swagger. So I think they actually do go together well!
In other words: Crew’s name might not fit the pattern we see, but no way will the Gaines’ youngest feel like the odd one out. And that’s exactly what we’re after when naming a new addition, right?
Elsewhere online:
- I’ve often wondered why Madalena has never caught on. The Italian Maddalena first caught my eye, but Madalena might be even more wearable. They’re romance language versions of Magdalena. Doesn’t it sound like a logical successor to Madeline and Isabella? Now Naomi, the blogger at Love Taza, has welcomed twin daughters named Beatrice and Madalena. The girls join siblings Conrad, Samson, and Eleanor. What marvelous names!
- Oh, and coincidentally? Nomes & Mais Nomes mentioned Madalena recently, too. In the US, just 21 girls were given the name in 2017; the double ‘d’ spelling was given to 28 girls. It seems like the name might be trending in Portugal, but in the US? Very much under the radar.
- SUCH good advice from Swistle! Here is what you do when one parent strongly wants to use a name and the other parent strongly doesn’t: you don’t use the name. The name is taken out of consideration.
- Does Pepper stand on its own as a given name? Duana suggests it as a nickname
for a longer name, and I tend to agree – Pepper makes a great, unexpected nickname for Penelope! - You know that meme circulating about finding your medieval name? If you’re ever wondered how legit the names are, the DMNES breaks it down. The good news? Most of the names pass muster! Oh, and I’m Joan de Biville, which is nicely authentic, but I’d rather be Millicent or Clemence.
- Retired NASCAR driver Kyle Petty just welcomed son Overton Owens. I’m intrigued by the name. It feels invented, a brother for Jaxton. But it’s clearly a real surname, borrowed from a common place name. It combines so many stylish elements – the letter O, that sharp V, the -ton ending, the slightly longer rhythm. But it’s almost completely unused – fewer than five boys were named Overton last year. Could that change? I’ll be watching …
- This article reminds me: it’s fine if you want to keep your baby’s name to yourself until the birth announcement. (Though we didn’t, and I can argue the opposite position, too.) But there has to be a better phrase than “baby name theft.” It’s just that “people we know like the same names we do” doesn’t roll off the tongue.
- Wouldn’t Tamara be an absolutely fantastic name if not for that wave of Tammys in the 1960s and 70s? I love Tamar even more, I think. And Tamsin, too. But Tammy feels a little dated … but hey, maybe in another decade or so …
- Speaking of decades, are you a child of the 1970s? (Or is your name from the age of disco?) I shared a graphic inviting you to make over your name to something more 2018.
for a longer name, and I tend to agree – That’s all for this today. As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week!
I see the sound appeal of Tamar, but there are two of them in the Bible (Judah’s daughter-in-law in Genesis and David’s daughter in II Samuel) and BOTH have terribly sad stories. For me, that association is enough to avoid the name.
The spelling and pronunciation of Maddalena likely would be confusing to some Americans. You’d get a lot of people who would want to say it with an eena ending or say Madeline (which also has multiple phonetic spellings for similar reasons.) Elena is an extremely popular name if you combine all the spellings — Alaina, Alayna, Allena, Elaina, Elayna, Ellena, etc. I’d prefer an Americanized phonetic spelling like Madelaina or Madalayna.
Good point, Andrea!