“Naming is fiendishly difficult.” – River and Wolf
A reader question sent me looking for information on how creative agencies think about naming businesses and products. I’m still reading – and thinking – about the topic. But that quote leapt out at me. So simple, and so true. (If you’d like to read more from the fabulously named River and Wolf, the agency’s website is here.)
Elsewhere in naming news:
- ICYMI: Kylie, the youngest Kar-Jenner sibling, named her daughter Stormi. And said it has nuthin’ to do with butterflies, which creep her out. (Which I get. But am I the only one sad that she didn’t name her daughter Mariposa, nickname Posie? Because that would have immediately skyrocketed to My Most Favorite-est Kardashian baby name ever.) But what I’m pondering: is the 100-year rule dead? More on that to come …
- A great perspective on not waiting to reveal your baby’s name, found via Nancy’s most recent round-up of fascinating name quotes.
- Celebrity birth announcements this week: Minnie Theodora (daughter of Jack and Lisa Osborne) and Betsy Mack (daughter of Lady Antebellum singer Hillary Scott, and twin sister to Emory JoAnna.) Loving both of those combinations!
- Does Patton make you think General? If so, is that a bad thing? Kate tackles the question, and I agree with her completely.
- Are these the next big names in cities in the English-speaking world?
- Love these romantic boy names! Fitzgerald might be my favorite, and I do think it could work …
- I feel like Annabella keeps popping up – and here it is, again, on the British Baby Names birth announcements with Annabella Beatrice Mary. How lovely!
- Love the nickname, but not so much the formal name? Make a new match. Great examples from the Baby Name Wizard blog. My favorite = Billie for Abilene. I feel like we were just talking about this!
- I’ve seen a bunch of Valentine’s Day class lists circulating in name groups lately. Duana points out that they’re a great way to get a feel for what makes a “normal” name in 2018. She’s working on a post based on the lists, too – can’t wait!
- Ack! I’m working on a list like this one, so I just glanced at the post. But the fact that we’re all writing them? It’s because parents are looking for strong names for girls.
- Sage is taking off, so why not Paprika or Nutmeg? Or, seriously, lots of other options on this list.
- Some great finds on this list of rare H names. Homes, Hutch, Hobbes, Holder, Horatio, Holt, Hale! And that’s just from the boys’ part of the list.
- It’s early in all things Olympics. I was watching the name Mirai, but with Red Gerard’s gold medal win in snowboarding, I think that’s my new top name to track coming out of the games. After all, we love Ruby and Scarlett for girls.
That’s all for this week! As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week!
I love scouring the Olympics for interesting names! Did you see Red Gerard’s real name is Redmond? I love that.
Saw Red Gerard win gold and thought, “You know, Red would be a pretty sweet name for a little guy. One syllable, a color, easily recognizable, uncommon… yeah… Red.”
One of my sons entered the room and asked in a rush, “Did we win?!”
We were all nodding and cheering when he demanded incredulously, “Wait! His name is RED?!”
A short moment and a shrug… then he appraised, “That’s a cool name. Don’t you think so, Mama?”
Kids are so open to new names! (Granted Red isn’t actually new, but it was new to my son). Parents who are worried that their kids will get beat up or won’t fit in might benefit from a visit to an elementary school. Last year, I saw a bulletin board for a Kindergarten class that included an Alan. Alan! I wondered aloud at the choice, but my kids couldn’t understand why it was a big deal. “Alan’s a rad name, Mama,” was their response.
This epiphany has been an unexpected bonus to the Olympics for me.
I totally agree! My daughter’s kindergarten class has lots of names that are so rare they aren’t even included in the Nameberry database (Gerron, Jaxxen – a girl, Safiatou, Leol, Hannia), and she doesn’t know any different.
Abby, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had an idea for a post, only to discover that you’ve written one on the same topic! Material for name articles is endless, but I think certain events and trends prompt us to all think of the same topics at the same time. I can’t wait to read your take on strong girl names!
Ha! I’ve recently written a fighting girls’ name post too:
https://onomastica.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/fierce-fighting-names-for-girls/
Not as original as we’d all hoped, then…
But hey, there need to be more lists like this out there! I’m really hoping that the tide is turning and that 2018 is going to be a great year for the girls!