The Art of Naming

I recently got the idea to browse through hospital birth announcements to see what kind of interesting names are actually being used on real babies. It was harder to find this information than I thought. I found a list of a few hospitals in California that I pulled this information from. Apparently newspapers don't publish names anymore (or if they do, I couldn't find anything online.) But anyway, the following photo contains all of the names that I hand-picked from the long lists. The lists included births from April-June 2013. These names all made the cut for either being interesting (whether that's good or bad) or being something I found attractive and different from the norm. Yes, they are all mixed together so you can form your own opinions! :) Which names do you like the most? Which are just terrible? Let me know! More names of real babies can be found using the links below: Birth Announcements: Penelope Hazel   Sullivan Rhys  Copelynn Eleanor

The Girl Name of the Week is Adelaide. I chose this name off of my latest blog post "Old-Fashioned, Vintage Girl Names." The name Adelaide has been around since the SSA began recording names in 1880. It comes from the German "Adalheidis" which is composed of the elements "adal" meaning "Noble" and "heid" meaning "kind, sort, type."  Some variations that stem from the same root word as Adelaide are Alicia, Alice, Heidi, Alix, Alise and Allison. Diminutives include Ada, Addie, Addy, and Della. The name Adelaide was borne in the 10th century by Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto the Great. She was known as "a marvel of beauty and goodness." In the 19th century, the name became common in Britain due to the popularity of the German-born wife of Britain's King William IV, "Good Queen Adelaide." The city of Adelaide, Australia was named in 1836 after her.  So this name not only

Are you trying to find the perfect baby name that has history and class? Many parents find themselves looking to the past. Names that were hot for our grandmothers and great-grandmothers are now turning the corner and becoming fresh and new again despite being classified as "old lady" or "old fashioned" names before. Perhaps the perfect name for your daughter is on the list below! Take a look and see if you find any that you like. They are all wonderful options. Check out the "Naming Services" tab above if you'd like more information about a certain name or if you'd like an outsider's opinion on which you should go with! I can help you narrow down your choices statistically!  Enjoy! Ada Adelaide Adeline Agatha Alice Alma Amabel Anna Antonia Augusta Beatrice Catherine Cecily Celia Clara Cora Cordelia Dorothea Edith Eleanor Eloise Elsa Esther Etta Evelyn Flora Florence Frances Francesca Georgia Harriet Hazel

The Boy Name of the Week is Edmund! It was recently featured on my list of old-fashioned, vintage boy names. Edmund is a cool and classic choice that would be handsome on a little guy today. It is a sophisticated English name meaning "fortunate protector." I like the spelling Edmund more, but there is also the French form Edmond. I do like the Irish variation Eamon as well. Not very many names have a popular, historical quote written about them, but Edmund does. In Jane Austen's book "Mansfield Park," the character Fanny says "There is nobleness in the name of Edmund. It is a name of heroism and renown; of kings, princes, and knights; and seems to breathe the spirit of chivalry and warm affections."  And the poet John Keats once said, "Had my name been Edmund, I would have been more fortunate." I would say that is a mighty fine testament to the name! If you're considering naming your little prince Edmund, you may want to know mor

Today, the new trend is to find old-fashioned, grandma-era names for girls. Many names that were previously thought of as fusty and unusable are now very popular today. What about grandpa names? Does the popularity of old-fashioned boy names compare to that of the girls? Boys have always had more classic and traditional names at the top of the charts. Names like Michael, William and John have always been popular. Do you think any of the following names might make a comeback if they aren't already? Abraham Alfred Alvin Amos Arnold Arthur Asa August Barnaby Calvin Cecil Clarence Chester Clyde Dewey Edmund Edwin Emmett Ernest Eugene Franklin Frederick George Gilbert Gus Harold Henry Herbert Homer Howard Humphrey Irving Isaac Isaiah Jasper Julius Leopold Lester Lionel Lloyd Louis Martin Marvin Maurice Melvin Milton Montgomery Murray Nathaniel Norman Oscar Orville Otto Percy Philip Raymond Roman Samuel Sebastian Silas Sta

Image: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, by  Featureflash  /  Shutterstock.com Soon, England will have a brand new heir to the throne. Prince William and Kate Middleton are expecting a royal offspring soon and bets are flying as to the gender and the name. A bookmaking firm in the UK are even taking bets on what the child's future profession might be and what their hair color would be.  (Click here to view all the odds.) Some people are beginning to wonder if these bookmakers know something that we don't. William and Kate have stated that they do not know the gender of the child and are not going to find out until it is born, but the bookmakers have the odds set at 2-7 for a little princess, and only 11-2 for a prince. This may be based on a slip-up from Kate where she very nearly said "my daughter." The girl name with the best odds is Alexandra at 5-2. This seems to be the most popular choice all around and it happens to have been my first choice before I e

This amazingly informative list was originally put together by  Kelli at NameFreak!   I cannot take the credit, but I had to share. I think it is very important that expecting parents have access to this sort of thing. She called it the "Playground Analysis," which is a great way to describe it! When you are out and about and you hear a child's name, you have no idea how it is spelled. Let's say you are currently pregnant with your first boy and you are in love with the name Jackson. It honors your husband, your husband's father and grandfather, your late brother Jack, and it is your mother's maiden name too. It seems perfect!!  But popularity does concern you. According to the SSA's Top 1000 chart , Jackson ranks at #22. That is a bit too high for your usual liking, but Jackson is so perfect for your family that you commit to using it anyway and announce it to your family and friends! However, you're on the playground one day with your three yea

In light of my most recent list of names, today's Name of the Day is a feminine virtue name: Verity. This name is Latin meaning "truth." If you know some Latin-based languages, you would recognize the root of the word. Verdad in Spanish, Vrai or Vérité in French, Vero or Verità in Italian, etc, which are also sometimes used as names. Or you could always straight-up go with the name "True" if you wanted. However, of all these, I think Verity has the prettiest sound, especially if you live in an English-speaking country. (If you have Latin roots, by all means, use one of the options above.) The name Verity is one of the virtue names that originated with the Puritans in the 17th century. They put such value and importance on the meaning of names that they began giving these virtue words as names. Other popular ones are Grace, Hope, Joy and Faith. However, I like to find the more unusual ones. While Verity currently ranks at #360 in England/Wales, it is rarel

Virtue names are usually accredited to the Puritans for their earliest, most-frequent usage. However, names that had powerful and important meanings were also popular with Ancient Greeks and Romans. Around 1590, the Puritan movement developed as a sect of the Church of England. They began using the names of saints and martyrs instead of virtue names by order of the Catholic Church. Then the Puritans fled to America to escape religious persecution. It was then that they freely used their virtue names, as well as phrase names and scriptural names such as "Fight the good fight of Faith" as a name. While these long phrase names didn't catch on, many of the virtue names did and are still in use today. Here is a list of both popular and not-so-popular virtue names for boys and girls: Girls:  Amity Charity Clarity Clemency Comfort Constance Faith Felicity Fidelity Grace Honor Hope Joy Mercy Merritt Modesty Patience Prudence Remember Sage Serenity Since

Today's Name of the Day is the boy name Everett. This is an English variation of the German name Eberhard meaning "brave as a wild boar." This is a name that is quickly climbing back up the popularity charts. If you go by rank alone, Everett was at its peak in 1906 with a ranking of #81. In 2012 it ranked at #214 which is up from #534 in 2005. If you go by the number of babies born each year, there are two notable peaks in usage. The first is in 1912 when the name shot up with 424 births more than the previous year. Then it really spiked, averaging 1,500 or more babies every year from 1914 until the early 1930s. Then it started to decline until it started gaining momentum again in the mid 2000s. Its new highest peak is in 2012 when there were 1,724 boys named Everett. Source This name has cute nickname options such as Ever or Rhett. I believe Everett's rise in popularity in the past few years is because of similar trendy girl names Eva and Ava and their

There are so many different classifications of names. Of course you know about the most obvious ones like Classic names or "Yoonik" (Misspelled) Names. What are some of the newish classifications or trends? Here are two that I've heard about recently: Liquid Names These names were first classified over on The Baby Name Wizard by blogger Laura Wattenberg . She defined these as names that flow smoothly. Many, if not most of these names have every sound drawn out (long vowels) they don't require much mouth movement such as Aliya or Eliana. These names tend to have three or more syllables and there are fewer consonant sounds than syllables. Letters allowed to be used in this trend include L, R, N, Y and H.  Some examples: Aaliyah Arianna Liliana Alaina Eliana Aria Elena Aurora Alana Aniyah Ariel Alina Elaina Liana Anaya Is this a trend that you like or is it just too smooth? Some people like more crunch to their names. Raindrop Names   In additi

Today's Name of the Day is Helena. This name is the Latin form of the name Helen, which has a ton of history. Most notably, there is Helen of Troy who was the daughter of Zeus and Leda in Greek mythology. She was kidnapped by Paris and was the cause of the great Trojan War. And a more modern example was Helen Keller who overcame being blind and deaf. While Helen is a strong name, I prefer the girlier Helena. I like to pronounce it Hel-AY-na as opposed to Hel-EN-ah, but both are pretty! This Latin name means "bright, shining one" which is a lovely meaning. Helena was used for two characters in Shakespeare's works, one in "All's Well That Ends Well" and one in "A Midsummer's Night Dream."  Another Helena was a 4th-century saint who was the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine. The name Helena translates well around the world. In 2012, it ranked at #560 in the US, #328 in England/Wales, #194 in France and #243 in the Netherlands. I

Today's blog post analyzed the name Elizabeth, so I thought I would go a bit more "classic" than usual with the "Name of the Day.'  I chose the handsome Frederick. German meaning "peaceful ruler," Frederick is one of those old-fashioned, classic names that nearly disappeared for a while; (how many Freds do you know?)  Today, some parents are liking its solid history and classic charm and are reviving it! Of course it hasn't really disappeared. Frederick has comfortably been hanging out in the 300-500 range of the US Top 1000 chart for the past couple decades! It was last in the top 100 in 1957. Its largest popularity spikes occurred around 1914 and again around 1946. It was most popular in 1951 with a total of 4,982 baby boys born with the name Frederick.  It was even rarely but consistently used for girls between 1908 and 1993! Since the male popularity spikes, the name has fallen back down to respectable levels. In 2012, there were

Baby Profile by Vera Kratochvil When pondering classic and even regal names, there is one that almost always comes to mind: Elizabeth. This perpetually popular name surely has a good reason for remaining as such! But what is that reason? Beyond its elegance and beauty, Elizabeth tends to flow very well with many names. This is one of the reasons that it has remained within the Top 30 every single year since 1880. But why does it pair so well? Elizabeth is used for both a first and middle name. People love Elizabeth as a first name because of how versatile the nicknames are, ranging from Ellie to Liz to Betsy to Beth, and many many more in between. In this instance, we shall investigate why Elizabeth works so well as a middle name. Many people clump it in with all the other "filler" or "connector" middle names that simply fill an empty spot between the first and last names, such as Anne, Grace, Marie, Claire, etc. However, many argue that Elizabeth doesn'

Today's featured name is 11-letters and 5-syllables long. Perhaps that explains why it is rarely used in the US.  Did you know that Alexandrina was the real first name of Queen Victoria who went by her middle name? While many parents would opt for Alexa or Alexandra, there is something special about Alexandrina. It has a more exotic flair than her sister-names, and would be a beautiful middle name to pair with a short first name. Ivy Alexandrina or Claire Alexandrina are lovely. As a first name, Alexandrina Eve. As a plus, it is truly a rare name today, but it is so familiar to the ears because of all the other Alex names. It was first used in 1914, 1915, 1920 and 1921 by a total of 23 girls.  After that, there were 5 born in 1935, 6 in 1961, and then it started getting more regular usage in 1975. However, it only sees an average of 5 births per year. Most recently, there were 9 girls named Alexandrina in 2013, which means this name ranks at #10,965. That is far fro

Today's Name of the Day is Desmond, one of my favorite Irish names. Yes, it is originally an Irish surname, but I can't help but love it for a boy's first name. It is bold but sophisticated. With the possible nicknames Des/Dez or Desi/Dezi, this name is starting to gain popularity in the US. Desmond first appeared on 8 US birth certificates in 1904. It slowly picked up steam every year after that with its largest naming spike in 1992 when 1,067 boys were born, ranking it at #264 on the Top 1000 chart. As of 2012, there were 920 baby boy Desmonds born, putting the name at a rank of #339. There have also been a handful of girls named Desmond almost every year since 1975. However, usage began slowing down in the 2000s, ending its female usage in 2007. Source Desmond comes from an Irish surname which was derived from Deas-mhumhain meaning "South Munster", originally indicating a person who came from that region in Ireland. Therefore, Desmond means "

Today, you get a 2-for-1 special for the Name(s) of the Day. I've recently had a new-found fascination with the name Millicent but it just feels a bit too old-fashioned and stiff for me to personally consider using. I decided to look at variations of it and fell in love with the French Melisande, which I would use in a heartbeat if I could get hubby on-board since he speaks French and I'm learning it. When I went to look up the popularity stats on these names that I hear quite frequently on naming forums, I was surprised to see how little-used and extremely rare Melisande is in the US. Check this out! The data pool that I use doesn't record a name for the year if there were not at least 5 births. So perhaps there have been 1-4 births here and there all along, but according to this data, there were 5 girls named Melisande in 2005 (ranked #18226), 6 in 1972, 5 in 1960, 5 in 1947 and that is all! A total of 21 little girls named Melisande in the US EVER! How much more

Today's Name of the Day might raise your eyebrows at first. The Greek boy name Basil means "Regal" or "King" and is a quirky choice! The most famous bearer of this name is Basil Rathbone who portrayed the very British Sherlock Holmes in 1939. And of course, many of you probably already thought of the basil herb. It is usually pronounced Baz-uhl rather than Bays-uhl like the herb. Let's try to see it from a different perspective than the above: From the Greek name Βασιλειος (Basileios) which was derived from βασιλευς (basileus) meaning "king".  There were many Byzantine Empire rulers named Basil, as well as some Eastern Orthodox saints. Saint Basil the Great was a 4th century bishop who helped to found the early Christian church. Basil is rich in history. Despite its past-bearers, this name is definitely unique today. It has been used very steadily since 1880. It was most popular from 1912-1969. It fell off the Top 1000 chart in 1970 an

Another new naming trend that is gaining popularity this year is softer-sounding boys names. Many of these names contain the "sh" sound. Here are some of our favorites: Asher Bishop Cashel Cassius Dashiell Elisha Fisher Hamish Joshua Marshall Misha Nash Parish Sasha Shawn Shai Shane Shepherd Sheridan Sherwood Shiloh Tavish We particularly like the short but handsome nicknames/names such as Ash, Cash, Dash and Nash.  What is your favorite full name for the nickname Cash? Cashel, Cassius, Cassian, or just plain Cash? Can you think of any other names that might fit this trend? Do you like the trend? Let me know below!

Today's Name of the Day sounds like it should be popular but it actually is not.  For those parents who love the name Isabella but hate its popularity, have you ever considered the name Isadora? This name has always been around but it hasn't been on the Top 1000 chart since 1900 when it ranked in at #992.  The highest rank Isadora has ever received is #654 in 1882, however that only accounted for a total of 9 births. Last year, 2012, there were 148 little Isadora's born. The name just fell shy of ranking, coming in at #1497 which is the highest it has ranked since 1915.  In fact, Isadora wasn't used at all from 1958-1968. Source So why does this name hardly get any attention when cousin-name Isabella is mega-popular? Perhaps parents just prefer the "Bella" nickname to that of a possible little "Dora." Or perhaps pop-culture influence really is strong, (i.e. Bella Swan vs Dora the Explorer.) Putting that aside, Isadora is a beautiful and

Today's Name of the Day is a soft, handsome boy name from the Old Testament: Asher. This name is a Biblical Hebrew name meaning "happy" or "blessed." Asher was the son of Jacob and Zilpah, (Leah's handmaid), and he was also the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. This name is definitely a favorite with today's parents! It has been climbing up the charts quickly! A very rare name at the end of the 19th century (only 42 boys received this name between 1880 and 1895.) It wasn't heard from again until 1910 and it remained rarely used. It finally hit the Top 1000 chart in 1983 at #934. In 2000, it ranked at #579 and has shot up since then. In 2012, Asher ranked at #108 with a total of 3,514 baby boys receiving the name (and 44 girl!) Source What do you think of this handsome, biblical name? It falls into the new trend of giving boys "softer-sounding" names.  Asher is possibly the favorite of the bunch that contain the

Today's featured name is Clementine. It originates as the French feminine form of the male name Clement, which is derived from the Late Latin name Clemens or Clementius , meaning "merciful," "gentle" or "mild." If the "Oh my Darlin'" association is too strong for you, try pronouncing it as Cle-mahn-teen instead as the French do. Alternatively, try Clementina. This spelling originates with Italian, Late Roman, Portuguese and Spanish.  The Polish Klementyna is neat too if you have Polish roots! Personally, I think Clementine would make a lovely middle name. (i.e.  Amelia Clementine or Ivy Clementine). It has the beautiful, French flair and is still rather unique! Clementine was a darling on the charts in the 1920s-1950s. 1921 was Clementine's best year for number of births. There were 160 girls born which ranked the name at #567 at the time. It went up and down on the charts for a while and actually had a few years in the 70s

Today's Name of the Day is the Latin boy's name Augustus. For years, this name was considered somewhat fusty, or even pretentious. Today, parents are seeing it differently. Like my own son's name, Maximus, Augustus was originally a title meaning "Great," "Magnificent" or "Venerable." It was given to the first Roman Emperor, Octavius, who was the adopted son of Julius Caesar. He kept Augustus as his name.  The month of August was also named in honor of him. The number of babies given this name has gone down, up, down and way back up again over the years, starting in 1880 until now. As far as chart ranking goes, it hit as high as #175 in 1880 (a total of 74 babies).  In 2012, it ranked at #697 with a total of 337 little boys named Augustus.  It remained steadily in the Top 1000 from 1880-1968 when it fell off the chart. It jumped back on in 1991 at #874. (Remember that the charts vary because of the population differences and the vast

We have all heard of names that were originally masculine but slowly became taken over by the girls.  Classic examples are Shannon, Kelly, Tracy, Stacy, Leslie, Ashley, Aubrey, Meredith, Dana, Caroll, Shirley, Shelby and so on. One of today's naming trends that I personally dislike is "boy names on girls" but I realize that this is not a new thing. Girls have been stealing names for decades! It is a wonder there are any legitimate boy names left! While there is nothing necessarily wrong with bending the gender rules, I think it only leads to confusion for children. Possible identity issues, and having to correct people who assume the wrong gender based on the written name, etc. I mean no disrespect to those of you who enjoy this phenomenon, but I personally like gender-specific names more than the gender-neutral names. That being said, I thought I would list some more modern examples of names that switched sides or can be considered a "gender-bender" in w