The Art of Naming

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

After compiling a list of color names that could potentially be used as baby names, the color Cordovan caught my eye. After searching in various baby name databases, I've found that this has never been used as a name in the U.S. I was struck by Cordovan because of its similarities to names like Sullivan and Donovan and Cor- names like Cordell, Corbeau, Cormac or Corbett. Cordovan sounds like it should be a trendy, modern name. Cordovan is a Spanish name meaning "native of Cordova" which refers to a city in Spain called Cordoba. It was there that seventh century Visigoths began production of "shell cordovan leather." In this case, cordovan describes the color of the leather. It was first used as the name of a color in 1925 in English.  As a color, Cordovan is a rich burgundy color, or a dark shade of wine. If you'd like to see what color it is, the Hex number is #893F45. As for popularity, it has never been used on a child in the US since it began keep

Source You've heard of color names like gray and scarlet, sure, but have you heard of options like these? Which color name is your favorite for a potential baby name? Let me know if I missed any! Also, feel free to combine your favorite from the list below and post it as a first and middle name combination in the comments!  I'd love to know what sort of names you'd pair with these colors! :) Amaranth Amber Amethyst Aqua Ash Auburn Aureolin Azure Beige Blue Brick Brown Burgundy Cadet Capri Carmine Celeste Cerise Cerulean Chamois Cherry Citrine Citron Claret Cobalt Cocoa Copper Coral Cordovan Crimson Cyan Dove Ebony Ecru Emerald Fawn Fuchsia Ginger Granite Gray Green Greige Hazel Henna Hyacinth Indigo Iris Isabelline Ivory Jade Jasmine Jasper Jet Lavender Lilac Magenta Magnolia Mahogany Maize Marigold Mauve Moss Olive Orchid Peach Pearl Peridot Plum Poppy Rackley Rajah Raven Red R

Just like fashion is constantly changing, so too are names! Occasionally, very old names will even become new and fresh again many years later! I thought it would be interesting to see just how names have changed over the years. The data that I used comes in 30-year intervals, starting in 1892 and ending last year in 2012. 1892: Boys 1. John 2. William 3. James 4. George 5. Charles 6. Frank 7. Joseph 8. Robert 9. Harry 10. Henry 11. Edward 12. Thomas 13. Walter 14. Arthur 15. Fred 16. Albert 17. Clarence 18. Roy 19. Willie 20. Samuel 1892: Girls 1. Mary 2. Anna 3. Elizabeth 4. Margaret 5. Ruth 6. Florence 7. Emma 8. Ethel 9. Helen 10. Clara 11. Bertha 12. Minnie 13. Bessie 14. Alice 15. Annie 16. Grace 17. Ida 18. Edna 19. Mabel 20. Lillian Much like present-day England and Wales, the 1880s in America saw the use of "nickname names" or diminutives of proper names that are used as given names. Examples above include Harry a