Happy Sunday!
I was so very certain Kim and Kanye were going to announce their new daughter’s name was Love. Mostly because of the rumors that have been swirling for weeks, but also thanks to the Louis Vuitton image she shared on social right after her daughter’s birth. LV = Love, right?
Nope. They stunned us all when they announced their baby girl’s name is Chicago. She’s named for dad’s hometown, which prompted this wild conversation on Facebook: what would you be named if your parents had named you for their hometowns?
My dad is from Hazletown. So maybe I could’ve been … Hazel? Not so bad.
I’m musing on this question now: what do the Kardashians get right about naming? Because even though their choices aren’t always my style, I admire their ability to make choices rich with personal meaning.
Elsewhere online:
- Speaking of meaning, I liked this story about Justin Timberlake and his son Silas. Yes, there’s a good reason dad’s new album is called “Man of the Woods.”
- And another one on meaning: dig deeper into a story, and the meaning isn’t always what it seems. Check out Kate’s post on Cecilia for more.
- This is an interesting discussion at the Name Lady. I don’t think Everly Rose and Rosalie are too close for sisters necessarily, but I’d be surprised to hear them in the same family. Love her suggestion of Bellamy, and this quote is so true: “Connections between names are never just a matter of repeating sounds. A shared sense of history or origin, similar popularity graphs, and linked cultural associations all shape the ways that names resemble one another.”
- Another deep thought: It’s biblical style, rather than Biblical names per se that parents are after. Proof in this Baby Name Wizard column. It’s a good point, because it helps explain the rise of names like Castiel that share the same style, but seem to be all about pop culture.
- If you count diacritical marks, there are lots of ways to spell Chloe in Portugal. Not sure why I’m so fascinated by this – maybe it’s because the whole idea of there being one “right” spelling bothers me so much. (Yes, you can go too far. But it’s a more complicated issue than it first appears.)
- I keep meaning to watch Peaky Blinders, but I’m too busy binge-watching other things. But maybe it needs to be a priority, because BabyCentreUK gives the series credit for a wave of vintage revival baby names.
- I’m married to a Michigander. Our daughter’s name happens to be a city in Michigan – apparently, it’s a suburb of Flint. But a) it’s pronounced differently, and b) my husband didn’t mention it until our daughter was a toddler. Still, I got a kick out of these Michigan-inspired place names. Ha! Which sort of brings us back to the whole discussion about Chicago, doesn’t it?
- Let’s end with one of my favorite things: nameberry’s Invent-a-Name contest is back, and the entries are AH-mazing.
That’s all for this weekend! As always, thank you for reading – and have a great week.
If I were named for my mom’s hometown, I’d be Chicago! I think that beats Grand Rapids. Rapids might be good, but it feels like a name for a boy.
My dad’s hometown was called Rockaway- maybe a super unusual route to Roxie/Rocky? I was also born in a town called Elizabeth.
My mom’s hometown is more wearable than my dad’s (his ends in -ville): Linden. I prefer my given name but Linden isn’t terrible and feels modern and unisex while managing to remind me of Lindsay.
I love the idea of Linden! I have it on my list as a middle name to honor an aunt Linda.