The Art of Naming

Source The term "literature" covers a grand spectrum of novels. Most of these names come from the classic masterpieces that have touched the hearts of readers for decades. While I cannot possibly list every name of every character in every book ever written, this is definitely a pretty good list to start with if you're in need of a literary moniker. Below this list, I have handpicked my favorites that I think would be darling for a modern day girl. Then I went one step further and paired them with a couple middle name ideas and listed a few potential sibling name ideas to help you decide if you'd truly want to consider adding said names to your short-list. After all, that's the whole point of a list like this: to help you find the perfect name for your child! If you'd like to join in the fun, please feel free to choose your favorite names from the list and share a few middle name options that would make you fall in love with the name as a whole. And

In the naming world, sometimes you will find names that all begin with the same few letters. This can sometimes make it difficult to choose between them. For example, I asked which of these Jul- names you would sooner use and the results are in! The options include two boys names: the popular Julian and the strong, Roman Julius. For girls, I limited it to sweet Julia, romantic Juliet and exotic Juliana. Every single one of these names comes from the same root. They come from the Roman family name ioulos which is from the Greek ιουλος meaning "downy-bearded" which implies youthfulness. The patriarch name is Iulius from which Julius was born. Following Julius's lead came Iulia and Iulianus. The Ancient Roman Iulia inspired many of the feminine names including Julia, Julitta, Yuliya, Jools, Juliet, Juliette, Julie, Juliska, Giulia, Giulietta, Julinha, and Yulia. Names like  Juliana, Julijana, Liana, Leanna, Gillian, Jill, and Uliana came from the Ancient Roman Iulia

The name Atticus may have been one of the very first Roman names to begin making mainstream waves. It has that ancient feel to it but because of the fatherly fictional character Atticus Finch in Harper Lee's 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus also feels very noble and heroic. In fact, Atticus Finch was voted in 2003 as the "Greatest Hero of American film" by the American Film Institute. Finch was iconically played by actor Gregory Peck in the 1962 film adaptation of the novel. The name Atticus is Latin meaning "Man of Attica" or "From Attica". Attica is the region that surrounds Athens in Greece. While it describes a Greek area, the name was adopted by one particular Roman man who spent much of his life studying in Athens. He loved the culture so much that he gave himself the nickname Atticus since he considered himself a man from Attica. His name was Titus Pomponius Atticus (112/109 BC – 35/32 BC). He was an ancient Roman littérateur, phil

Source I have seen many parents on baby name forums who have a great appreciation for classic literature, so much so that they are determined to use the names of their favorite characters in their child's name.  I admire their devotion and envy their knowledge of these characters. Of course, the term "literature" covers a grand spectrum of novels. Most of these names come from the classic masterpieces that have touched the hearts of readers for decades. While I cannot possibly list every name of every character in every book ever written, this is definitely a pretty good list to start with if you're in need of a literary moniker. Below this list, I have handpicked my favorites that I think would be very handsome for a modern day boy. Then I went one step further and paired them with a couple middle name ideas and listed a few potential sibling name ideas to help you decide if you'd truly want to consider adding said names to your short-list. After all, t

The name Juniper is most notably a type of evergreen shrub in the cypress family whose berries are used to flavor gin. This name joins the ranks of other tree names such as Acacia, Hazel and Willow. However, it triples as a nature name, a place name and a saint name.  Saint Juniper , or Brother Juniper, was called "the renowned jester of the Lord" and was one of the followers of St. Francis of Assisi. He died in 1258. This name is ultimately derived from the Latin word iuniperus or juniperus  which is a combination of the word junio which means "young" and parere which means "to produce". These put together equal "youth producing" or evergreen. Beyond this, Juniper could also be a derivation of the Welsh name Guinevere. Click here for even more information about this possible connection. This name has become more than just a guilty pleasure as evidenced by the way it has skyrocketed up the charts in the past five years.  Juniper first g

Modern parents today seem to love taking liberties with their daughters' names more than their sons'. You will see girls with creative names more often than boys which is why this list of unusual and quirky middle names for girls is longer than the boys list from last week.  There just seem to be so many more options for girls! Here is a list of interesting choices that you may find appealing for a spunky middle name, or maybe even a bold and different first name. Which of these are your favorites? Keep reading to view my Top 10 below.      Aberdeen           Alaska Alezae Allifair Amaranth Amaryllis Amaya Amethyst Amoret Artemis Arwen Avalon Avis Avonlea Bardot Bellamy Belphoebe Bette Bijou Blanche Blossom Bluebell Blythe Briar Briony Burgundy Calantha Calypso Cambria Canary Carlisle Cascade Caspienne Ceridwen Cerise Cerys Charis Charm Cherry Cheryth Circe Claret Cloud Clover Coral Coralie Coraline Cordelia Cosim

As a name, Caspian is relatively new. It is most notably the name of a sea between Europe and Asia that is considered the largest enclosed inland body of water on Earth. It is said that it was this body of water that inspired the name of the other notable Caspian: Prince Caspian of the children's book series The Chronicles of Narnia written by C.S. Lewis in the 1950's. Prince Caspian first appeared in the fourth book of the popular series as the rightful King of Narnia. The Caspian Sea has a complicated name history itself including a number of different names and spellings in a variety of languages in the surrounding countries. But it is said to have been named for the city of Qazvin which was named for the ancient Cas tribe, or the Caspian people. The origin of the name comes in direct relation to the Sea which is situated between Iran and Russia. Caspian is mostly just considered a place name with an unknown meaning and origin since it borders so many countries. Howev

All of us have a "guilty pleasure" list of baby names. Most of us aren't brave enough to actually use those types of names in the first name spot, but some of us are willing to slip them into the middle! After all, middle names are rarely used or known to other people in day to day life. That gives us a great excuse to throw something exciting into the middle for our own enjoyment. Here is a list of some wonderfully quirky middle name ideas for baby boys! Which of these might you actually consider? Keep reading for my Top 10 at the bottom of the list! Boy:            Alasdair   Auburn Badger Bay Baylor Bloom Calcedon Caradoc Caspian Cirrus Cloud Clove Cobalt Copper Cordovan Cove Cyprian Danger Dante Dashiell Davey Django Dodge Equinox Escher Falcon Fate Finch Forest Fox Frost Garneau Hale Harvey Hawk Hawthorn Heath Indiana Kite Knight Loxley Malachite       Marduc Maverick Mayhem Melchior Merlin Midnight Mi

I asked another popularity question recently. "Which Max name is your favorite?"  Then I listed them from the most-popular to the least. 74 votes were cast and there were three top names. Maxwell    24 Votes (32%) Max       17 Votes (22%) Maximus    15 Votes (20%) Maxim      8 Votes (10%) Maximilian   5 Votes (6%) Maxton      4 Votes (5%) Maximo      1 Vote  (1%) 32 percent of you name-artists prefer the name Maxwell and 22 percent would rather go with just plain ol' Max. 20 percent, myself included, voted for the cool Latin Maximus, and 10 percent chose to drop the -us and go with Maxim. The very-long Maximilian only received 6 percent of the vote while the made-up-sounding Maxton had 5%. Bring up the rear was the Spanish Maximo with a single vote. Let's learn more about these names. Do they all have the same root or do they differ? Maxwell is actually related to the Scandinavian name Magnus. It comes from a Scottish surname that means &q

The name Mara seems to come from a few different possible origins. Firstly, Mara is a Hebrew name that means "bitter". It was taken by Naomi in the Old Testament at Ruth 1:20.  Since it does mean "bitter" or "sorrow", she took it as an expression of her grief after her husband and sons died. As another possibility, Mara is the Hungarian variant of Maria and the Croatian and Serbian variant of Marija.  Of course Maria is the Latin form of the Greek Μαρια which comes from the Hebrew  מִרְיָם or Mary.  Marija also comes from Maria.  The name Mary comes from the Hebrew name  מִרְיָם  or Miryam which does not have a known meaning. Theories include "sea of bitterness", "rebelliousness" and "wished for child." However! There is a possibility that Mary comes from an Egyptian name that is partly derived from mry which means "beloved," or mr which means "love". Whew! Sorry about all of that technical jargon.

I have seen many families with a 4-letter name theme for their children. Others just like names that are short and sweet without nickname possibilities. Whatever your reason is for wanting a 4-letter name, you've come to the right place! Here are 300 of the best 4-letter names for girls that I could find! I'm sure there are many more but I hand-selected these ones to represent The Art of Naming's favorites!  Which of these do you like? Abby Abra Addy Aida Aila Aine Alba Alix Ally Alma Alva Anna Anne Anya Aria Aris Arya Asha Asta Aura Avia Avis Avra Ayla Azul Bess Beth Bree Bria Brie Bryn Cady Caia Cait Cali Cami Cara Cass Cate Cecy Clea Cleo Clio Cora Cori Cyra Daci Dana Dara Dawn Deja Demi Desi Dina Dora Edda Eden Edie Edna Effy Eila Eira Elba Elia Elin Ella Elle Elsa Elsy Elva Emma Emme Emmy               Enid Enna Enya Erie Erin Esme Esta Etta Eula Evan Evia Evie Eyre F

The four-letter name of the week is one that is being revived for both boys and girls. It has a modern feel to it and is certainly attractive on both genders, however I prefer it for a boy. Rémy is a French name that comes from the Latin name Remigius which was derived from the Latin remigis meaning "oarsman".  It was also the name of a fifth century saint. This name, when said in its French form, is pronounced ray-MEE . However you can get by with just REM-ee in the US, especially without the accent mark over the e. Another variant is Rémi or Remi. The Italians, Portuguese and Spanish prefer the name Remigio. The name appears on French alcoholic beverages: Rémy Cointreau is the company and they have a brandy called Rémy Martin. In pop culture, there is a band called Remy Zero ; and the main character in the film Ratatouille is named Remy. There are also a few geographical locations with this name. As for famous namesakes who have Remy as a first name or a surna

Four-letter boy names are in a class of their own! They have to be strong, bold and handsome all within a very short amount of space. It is important that these names pack a punch! Here are 460 of the very best four-letter names for boys! Which is your favorite? Abel         Adam Adan   Adin Ajax   Alai Alan Aldo Alec Alek Alex   Ames Amir   Amos Andy Aram Arch Ardo Ares Aric Arik Aris Arlo Arne Aron Arvo       Aviv Axel   Aziz Bard Bart Bear Beau Beck Bert Biel Bill Bing   Birk Blue Boaz Bode Bolt Bond Boyd Brad Bram Bran Bret Brit   Bryn Buck Burn Burt   Cade Cael Cage Cain Caio Cale Cane Carl Cary Case Cash Cato Celt Chad Chaz Chet Chip Cian Ciel Clay   Cobb Coby Cody Coen Cole Colt Cory Crew Cris Cruz Curt Cyan     Dale Daly Dana Dane Dash   Dave Davy   Dean   Dell Deon   Dion Dior Dirk Doak       Doug Drew Duke Earl Eben Eddy Eden Edge Edin Eion Elam Elan

The Girl's Name of the Week also comes from my Australian research. The name is currently ranked at #130 in Australia and gaining popularity! The lovely name is Freya. Freya is a Nordic name meaning "a noble woman". The Norse goddess of love, beauty and fertility was named Freya.  However, this is not the usual spelling in Sweden and Denmark. In those countries, it is spelled Freja and in Norway it is Frøja, but Freya is the common spelling of the goddess's name in English. This moniker has been rather popular in the UK for quite a while! It ranks at #16 in Scotland, #19 in England and Wales, #53 in Northern Ireland and #61 in the Republic of Ireland. In Victoria, Australia, Freya is currently ranked at #130. As for the United States, this name was first seen in 1931 on 5 baby girls.  It wasn't until 1939 that it saw more regular usage, however many years had single digit births or none at all. Finally in 2007 the name hit the triple digit mark with 109 b

Featured Australian Names: Rafferty  &   Freya For this month's World-Wide Wednesday, I thought I'd explore a land that is more similar to the US than the previously featured countries. I'm talking about "the land down under." In my research, I couldn't find any information about specific baby naming customs or traditions, but the continent definitely has some regulations in place.  Obviously, like most places, obscene or offensive names or words cannot be used. A name may not be exceedingly long to where it becomes impractical, nor can it contain special characters or punctuation. Any name that resembles an official rank or title like Lord, Lady, Princess, Queen, Father, Sir, Admiral or Doctor are not allowed, but one that slipped through the cracks is Duke. Click here  for a bit more information on other naming laws and regulations throughout Australia. Like the US and other English-speaking countries, Aussie children traditionally are given th

Today I'm featuring my favorite boy name that I took from my upcoming World-Wide Wednesday post that features names from Australia!  This name is also used in other English-speaking nations but it is extremely rare in the US! The name is Rafferty. I can't help but love it. I think it is adorable, and yet, it really doesn't have your typical "American" feel. I love that Australians like it though! Over there, it is ranked at #292 with a total of 17 births for the year in Victoria. It is actually an Irish surname that originates from Ó Raifeartaigh which came from  O’Raithbheartaigh. It means "Abundance" or "Prosperity Wielder". It is still very much used as a surname today. Thanks to the rough sound of Rafferty, it works better on a boy than on a girl as a first name. Some surnames could go either way, but this one has a boyish vibe to it. In fact, the term "Raffish" means "unconventional and slightly disreputable, espec

This week's name theme is food-inspired . I have previously featured two of the names that are on the list: Basil and Clementine. I thought I would choose one that is less obviously food-related and more wearable as a name: Amandine. Did you know that Amandine is a culinary term that refers to almonds that are used as garnish? It is sometimes misspelled as almondine in cookbooks in the US.  Did you also know that Amandine is the French form of the feminine name Amanda? Makes sense, right? This lovely French diminutive means "much-loved" and is a wonderfully unique twist on the previously-popular and somewhat-dated name Amanda. On that note, it would also do well to honor a relative named Amanda but still give the child a modern and unique choice. The French word for almond is amande . If you pronounce Amandine the way the French do, it would be a-mawn-DEEN. This name recently ranked at #87 in France and is occasionally used in Belgium. However, it is exceedingl

When Gwyneth Paltrow named her baby girl Apple in 2004, many people had an opinion about it. To this day it is used as an example of "weird" and "awful" celebrity baby names.  But she isn't the only one who has used food names for their children. Just last year alone Hollywood has had at least 3 foody additions to the list: Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman named their daughter Olive,  Barry Watson named a daughter Clover Clementyne, and Jason Bateman named his little girl Maple. Why is it that Apple is mocked but Olive and Clementine and Maple are not? Is Apple really that strange? I think I was one of the minority that secretly thought Apple was freakin' adorable! And Gwyneth gets to say she is the apple of her eye. Win! If you're among those who are fond of food names, here is a list of the most wearable options.  Which of these might you actually consider adding to your short list? Which do you think should never be used? Almond Amandine Ani