Welcome to August!
I took my twelve year old to see the new Spider-Man movie on Friday. There are so many good things about movies on the big screen: popcorn, for one. And previews! Every movie is marvelous in trailer form. Plus, it’s a reminder of all the movies I intend to see … eventually.
One that I may very well see on the big screen? Pitch Perfect 3. I know. It won’t be up for any Oscar nominations, but I get a kick out of the series. Plus, this trailer had a gift for name enthusiasts. The Barden Bellas, the a cappella group at the heart of the story, faces off against rivals who introduce themselves as Calamity, Serenity, Veracity, and Charity.
Now those are some modern word names. They’re fascinating to me because, well, I can tell you which one of those is a mainstream favorite and which is pretty much unheard of – even though they all sound equally outlandish at first.
Elsewhere online:
- Did you choose your child’s nickname first, then work backwards to arrive at a formal name? Laura Wattenberg makes the case that this is happening more and more. I agree that it happens sometimes, but I also know plenty of families who prefer to skip the formal name altogether, and there are good reasons to go that route, too.
- Speaking of nicknames, here’s good advice on how to make one stick.
- Nancy has started her list of names to watch for the year! Rumi tops my list of names likely to benefit from a pop culture boost, but she’s gathered lots of intriguing candidates.
- Speaking of names in the headlines, how ’bout Andy Grammer’s daughter’s name? The singer and his wife Aijia chose Louisiana K. Yup, like the American state. Plus the letter K. Not Kay. They’re calling her Louie, but I think I need to add Louisiana to my Getting to Lulu list.
- How excited am I that Names 4 Real is back to blogging? Here’s a great list of names from North Dakota. Sybil and Esther, Riot and Dekker. What contrasts!
- Oh, Duana. Yes, this name stuff does cause pure joy, doesn’t it?
- From the wayback machine: in 2008, I wrote about Zuleika – what a fabulous, under-used choice. The same is true for 2009’s Keturah. And on the boys’ side, there’s 2010 featured name Thorsten.
- So Jessica Alba is looking for another H name to go with Honor and Haven! It has to be a word name, not too weird, and one or two syllables. Harbor, maybe? And I really like Jimmy Fallon’s suggest of Hale, which Jessica did not reject.
- THIS! Get pregnant and you too can enjoy months of friendly inquisition, shameless speculation, unsolicited advice and familial pressure.
- Lots of buzz about Annevieve lately.
- Let’s end with a deep dive on naming, courtesy of The New Yorker – and thanks to Shannon, who sent it my way seconds after it was published! My favorite line: There are stricter and clearer criteria for naming dogs and horses than there are for naming people. Also, I love the author’s thoughts on her name – Lauren.
That’s all for this week! As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week!
I enjoyed that Lauren Collins article.
I’m so glad Names 4 Real is back too! 🙂