Friends, let’s talk Brood X.
There are a gajillion cicadas in my neighborhood. They’ve gone from slowly emerging to fully brazen, landing on my sleeve, doing flybys thisclose to my head, crunching up the sidewalks and the lawns.
I tried to think of them as a miracle of the natural world. Reminded myself that cicada season is fleeting. Focused on anything but their beady red eyes.
It didn’t work.
Instead? I started naming them.
Benigna. Vincenzo. Toulouse. Philomene. Beauregard. Hildegard.
So now I stroll around the neighborhood mumbling the most dramatic, extravagant names that come to mind.
Celestino. Mondrian. Artemisia.
I sound fully insane.
But I’m coping much better with the infestation.
ELSEWHERE ONLINE:
The silent H might be the hottest name trend of our age. From traditional names like Norah to wait-what choices like Jhenesis, it’s everywhere. Laura Wattenberg chalks it up to Khloe Kardashian – and FWIW, the numbers track.
More name quotes from Nancy. I love the Mindy Kaling interview – totally appreciate where she’s coming from!
Confession: I don’t really get Mungo. I know it’s very British – after all, I spotted it in the latest British Baby Names birth announcement round-up. But unlike nearly every other o-ending option for a son, I just can’t quite wrap my head around Mungo. Convince me I’m wrong?
A fun find via Clare’s excellent Scoop.it page, Name News: Ten names you just don’t hear any more. It’s not quite spot on. I hear Gus quite a bit, and I kinda think Ethel is on the verge of a comeback. But it nails a general style of name that we’ve mostly left in the past … at least for now.
The best thing I’ve read on Lilibet so far. Of course it comes from Duana. I have SO many thoughts, but in general? I’d say that reinventing family names for future generations is perfectly valid, particularly when it allows the younger namesake to carve out an identity of their own.
I’ll talk more about Lilibet and honor names in Tuesday’s newsletter. If you don’t get it, sign up here:
