The Art of Naming

This series takes a closer look at a very limited set of names. If you're searching for a particular sound or spelling at the end of the name, this series may be for you. We've already considered names ending with -ay, -by, -cy, -dy, -ey, -fy, and -gy. All of these posts can be found here.   The only names that I could find ending with "-iy" are Andriy, Arkadiy, Arseniy, Bryliy, Dmitriy and Yuriy. I didn't find them common enough or appealing enough to earn their own post. We'll skip ahead to "-hy" names since there's a few more options available. Girls: Abernathy Amadahy Cathy Dorothy Dorthy Kathy Marthy Murphy Ruthy Sophy Stephy Boys: Adahy Joshy Malachy Murphy Timothy Would you ever use one of these? Which is your favorite?

If you're reading this, you've made it to part five in this series featuring barely-used girl names. We are well below the #1300s now, which makes these names rather uncommonly used in the US. Harriet (179 births - #1314)  Harriet is the feminine form of Harry, and a sister name to Henriette. These all come from Henry which, of course, comes from the German Heimirich and Heinrich meaning "home ruler". Harriet has been in use in the US since 1880 on record. It was in the Top 1000 until 1971. While it declined for a while, it is inching back up the chart. Clover (178 births - #1319)  This quirky name comes from the wild flower. It is derived from the Old English clafre . While unusual, this name dates back to 1897 in the US for women. It has never been close to ranking in the Top 1000, but it is inching upward now. Would you consider it? Roxanne (178 births - #1324)  Roxanne is the French and English form of the Greek Ρωξανη (Roxane) which was taken from the Pe...

For our fifth article in this series, we will take a look at 10 interesting boy names that are currently not ranking within the Top 1000 chart. This chart maps out the most popular names according to Social Security data every year. The year we're focusing on is 2015. As you know, the more articles there are, the further down on the charts we explore. We've hit the 1,200s now. These names are getting more and more rare as we go! So let's get started! Murphy (148 births - #1225) -  Murphy comes from an Irish surname, Ó Murchadha, meaning "descendant of Murchadh".  Murchadh comes from the Gaelic elements muir meaning "sea" and cadh meaning "warrior". In the US, Murphy has been around since the 1880s. It has never had more than 100 births per year until recently. Since 2010, the name has started inching upward for boys. Since 1987, it has been given to girls too. Brighton (147 births - #1228) -  Brighton is said to be an English surname...

This interesting name comes from our list of names ending with the letters "-gy" . There are not many -gy names. In fact, there were only two decent options for boys, Iggy and Ziggy. I chose to learn a bit more about Ziggy. Have you ever heard of this name before? Perhaps in the pop culture world, you've heard of the late Bob Marley's musician son named Ziggy. Where does the name come from? For Ziggy Marley, it's a nickname. His real name is David Nesta Marley. According to Bob Marley, Ziggy is just a nickname he gave his son meaning "little spliff".  He may have been inspired by David Bowie's album "Ziggy Stardust". Ziggy Stardust, of course, was David Bowie's alter ego. Bowie was quoted in Rolling Stone Magazine as saying that Ziggy was "one of the few Christian names I could find beginning with the letter Z". Later, he also said he was inspired by a tailor shop called Ziggy's. It is possible that Ziggy doesn...

Today's featured name comes from our list of names that end with the letters "-fy" . There weren't a ton of choices, but I picked out one of the most interesting names on that list. Buffy is one of many diminutives of the name Elizabeth. From the Hebrew name Elisheva , Elizabeth (and therefore Buffy) means "my God is an oath" or "my God is abundance". Elizabeth is known for its abundance of nicknames, short forms and diminutive options, which makes it very versatile if used in full. It has been extremely popular over the years, consistently being used as both a first name and a middle name for girls. However, Buffy is definitely one of the more obscure options as a nickname for Elizabeth. As a stand-alone full given name, Buffy is almost non-existent. It first appeared on record in the US in 1951. Nearly overnight between 1965 and 1966, Buffy caught on for a brief stint. It popped onto the Top 1000 chart at #793 in 1967, and climbed as h...

This categorization of names is admittedly limited and unusual but it may strike a chord for certain parents seeking a specific sound.  Continuing our series that has already featured -ay, -by, -cy, -dy and -ey names, I present the interesting short list of -fy and -gy names. Since the list is so short, I combined the two and included -fie and -gie names as well. Many of these might actually be considered nicknames more so than given names. Most Americans are not big fans of this style of names, however in England and Wales, names like Effie and Alfie are considered full, stand-alone names and rank fairly well on the popularity charts. Girl names ending with -fy and -fie: Buffy Effy Saffy Sofy Taffy Tiffy Effie Elfie Safie Sofie Wolfie Boy names ending with -fie: Alfie Wolfie -- Girl names ending with -gy and -gie: Margy Peggy Tiggy Aggie Angie Georgie Maggie Margie Peggie Reggie Vangie Vergie Virgie Boy names ending with -gy and -gie:...

The record of Kings and Queens of Scotland dates back to the year 843. Over the centuries,  there were many different houses that ruled including the House of Alpin,  the House of Dunkeld, the Canmores , the Balliols , the Bruces , and the Stewart/Stuarts. There were also points in history that Scotland, Great Britain and Ireland all fell under the same rule rather than running their countries separately. This happened in the time of the  Hanovers followed by the currently reigning Windsor house. Let's take a look back in history at the names of the rulers of Scotland in specific. I chose Scotland and this time period because of the variety of interesting names of their rulers. Now, this isn't going to be a history lesson. I won't pretend to be well versed in European History. This is strictly about the interesting names. House of Alpin: 843-858 Kenneth MacAlpin ( Cináed) 858-862 Donald I 862-877 Constantine I 877-878 Aedh 878-889 Eochaid 88...