The Art of Naming

To complete our week of analyzing German baby naming traditions and names , I present to you the lovely name Lorelei. It actually comes from German mythology. According to legend, a beautiful seductress lived on a rock headland on the Rhine River . The rock itself is located near St. Goarshausen, Germany and is named the Lorelei even today. It is said that the maiden, or "water spirit", lures fishermen to their death with her haunting voice and beautiful song. For this reason, Lorelei  means "luring rock" or "alluring temptress/enchantress".   It is sometimes spelled Loreley as well. The image of this deadly siren has been a part of the name Lorelei for ages. Some may view that with a negative connotation, and others may enjoy the mythic beauty of a singing mermaid seductress despite the fact that she caused many deaths. It is just a legend, after all, so it is up to you whether the association is an issue or not. Another strong association that h...

Moritzburg Castle, Germany Featured German Names: Alaric & Lorelei This month's World-Wide Wednesday features baby naming customs from Germany. Prior to the late 19th century, Germany was a vast territory that saw major differences in the way baby names were given across the land and in different time periods. Traditionally, most boys in central and southern Germany in the 1700s were named Johann or Johannes. (Hans was big in the 1600s). Sometimes they would go by a middle name to differentiate between them. Similarly, girls tended to be named Maria or Anna. In the north and northeast, children in the mid-1800s received anywhere from three to five given names. This was a sign of nobility. The more names a person had, the more important they would appear. In records, ministers would often underline the preferred name, and sometimes marriage licenses would have the names in a slightly different order than what was on the birth record. They may have even been simplified...

The awesome baby name lovers on Instagram and Tumblr have spoken! When polled about which German name I should feature for my World-Wide Wednesday segment , Alaric was the clear winner for the boys! The girl name is coming on Friday! Alaric is an Ancient Germanic name meaning "Ruler of All" or "All-Powerful Ruler".  It comes from the Gothic name Alareiks and is derived from the Germanic elements ala "all" and ric "ruler, power". In history, Alaric was the name of the king of the Visigoths who sacked Rome in the 5th century. Because of this king, the name has a very ancient and regal feel to it, but it still has the potential to be a cool, quirky and modern choice for a baby boy today. This name is still flying under the radar in terms of popularity. I've seen it discussed many times on forums but as far as actual usage goes, it is rare! It first appeared in the US in 1949 and it took another ten years to catch on regularly. A...

Ever since I began The Art of Naming, I've had a pretty firm stance against using popular names. My objective was to help parents find obscure and unusual names to use instead of going with the most common choices that everyone else is using.  While I still completely love unique names, I have a big confession to make. As many of you may know, my husband and I are expecting a daughter in August. We have chosen three names for her, a first and two middles. The kicker is, despite all of my pro-unusual name posts, two of my chosen names are within the Top 50.   [Cue the collective gasp]. We were originally planning on using a first name that ranked in the mid-200s but now we've bumped it to the middle name.  We will be using one of the more popular names as her first name because it *feels right*.  If any of you have had a child, I'm sure you can relate to the feeling of a name just being "the one". I realized it when I saw her little face in an ultrasound pic...

For your challenge today, you will be naming three hypothetical siblings! This past Tuesday, we saw a list of baby names stolen by big car companies and we learned all about the name Ford a couple days ago. In honor of "car week," I want you to think about your vehicle history when choosing the names for the challenge. If that sounds crazy, just bear with me a moment. As a visual aid, here's a short breakdown of vehicle makes and models just in case you're not sure: Make = Name of Company (Ford, GMC, Toyota, Nissan, Dodge etc) Model = The "brand" of the car. Sometimes this is just a letter or number, or a word or name. If you've never owned your own car, use that of your parents or partner.  Okay, here we go: Baby #1  If the make of your first car starts with A-L, you're having a boy! If it starts with M-Z it's a girl!  Take the first letter of the make of your car and use it for the first name of the baby. If the model of your c...

Since this is "car week", we'll look at the boy name Ford. The Ford Motor Company has been around since 1903 and was founded by Henry Ford. Clearly, the name comes from a surname but it was originally derived from a place name meaning "ford" in Old English. Nameberry says that it means "dweller at the ford". A ford is defined as "a shallow place in a river or stream allowing one to walk or drive across." That makes Ford a nature place name and a surname. Famous namesakes include the aforementioned Henry Ford, former U.S. President Gerald Ford, popular actor Harrison Ford, writer Ford Madox Ford, Pre-Raphaelite painter Ford Madox Brown and sportswriter Ford Frick. Actor Owen Wilson named his baby boy Robert Ford. In pop-culture, there's James "Sawyer" Ford from the TV show Lost , and Nathan Ford on the TV show Leverage . There's a character in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy named Ford Prefect.  This name s...

Here is a list of names (and potential name ideas) that have been used by automakers and car companies. Are there any that you would love to use as a name but feel as if it is too closely associated with the car? I think Ford and Lexus are cool but they are very obvious.  Have any of these been ruined for you or would you still use them anyway? There sure are a lot of little Bentleys being born lately! Makes: Acura Alfa Romeo Ariel [Atom] Aston Martin Audi Austin Healey Bentley Ford Kia Lexus Lincoln Mercedes [Rolls-]Royce Shelby Tesla Models: Acadia  (GMC) Allante (Cadillac) Alero (Oldsmobile) Altima (Nissan) Amanti (Kia) Apollo  (Buick) Aspen (Chrysler) Astra (Saturn) Aura (Saturn) Aurora (Oldsmobile) Avalon (Toyota) Aveo  (Chevrolet) Azera (Hyundai) Azure (Bentley) Beretta (Chevrolet) Cadenza (Kia) Camaro (Chevrolet) Camry (Toyota) Capri (Ford / Mercury) Caprice (Chevrolet) Carina (Toyota) Carrera (Porsche) Cater...