The Art of Naming

In this set of birth announcements from a hospital in Pennsylvania, I found myself more fascinated by all the middle names than anything. Count with me. Ann/Anne: 5 Marie: 4 Jane/Jayne: 2 Noel/Noelle: 2 Rayne: 2 Rose: 4 Alan/Allan: 3 Andrew: 3 James: 3 Johnathan/Jonathan: 2 Joseph/Joesph: 3 Michael: 4 I started to think about middle names and how often a more common or "filler" name is chosen. I wish there was an official SSA-style list for just middle names so we could calculate the most popular ones. However, it would make a difference if these were family names or used for sentimental reasons as opposed to just filling a space. Beyond just finding repeating middle names, so many of these are classic or traditional names. I do like seeing the more unique options like Patience and Raven, Axel and Dash. However, I used Alexander for my own son's middle name and Sophia for my daughter so I understand the thought process. What are your kids' middle n

Closing out Irish Week, I present to you a very Irish girl name. The name Caoimhe is pronounced KWEE-va and sometimes just KEE-va is accepted. It has been anglicized to produce the variants Keeva and Keavy. It comes from the Gaelic caomh which means "beautiful, gentle, kind". So while it may be difficult for the non-Irish to know how to pronounce, it definitely has a lovely meaning!  It is also used in Scotland with the same spelling, meaning and pronunciations. According to the most recent stats on BehindTheName , Caoimhe ranks at #16 in Ireland and #35 in Northern Ireland. Nameberry confirms that this name has been consistently popular for quite a while, usually ranking in the Top 20 or so. In the US, Caoimhe is definitely hindered by pronunciation issues. It has only been given to girls since 1996 but it has never had more than 19 births in a single year. In 2013, there were 18 births for a ranking of #6734. Revision: As of 2016, the name only had 11 births.

Welcome to World-Wide Wednesday! Today we'll take a look at Irish baby names and naming traditions! First, let's start with a bit of trivia.  Irish babies are typically named for their relatives, especially in the past. This trend may not be as prominent today as it once was, but there is a pattern that Irish families tended to follow: First born son named after his father's father Second born son named after his mother's father Third born son named after his father Fourth born son named after his father's oldest brother Fifth born son named after his father's 2nd oldest brother or his mother's oldest brother First born daughter named after her mother's mother Second born daughter named after her father's mother Third born daughter named after her mother Fourth born daughter named after her mother's oldest sister Fifth born daughter named after her mother's 2nd oldest sister or her father's oldest sister Another fun tradi

Today is the start of Irish week! We'll explore Irish baby naming traditions on my World-Wide Wednesday segment and learn more about an Irish girl name on Friday. Right now, let's investigate one of my favorite Irish boy names: Cillian. Cillian is pronounced KILL-ee-an which is made more evident with the alternate spelling Killian. Both names are said to come from the Gaelic ceall meaning "church". Other sources suggest that its meaning has something to do with war or a warrior and strife based on the Irish c eallach instead. The name Kelly also comes from the ceallach family tree. Despite sometimes being considered a softer name in Ireland, Americans tend to view Cillian as a tougher name with its meaning and that harsh first syllable. As far as associations go, there was an Irish saint who was known as Cillian in the 7th-century. A modern namesake is that of actor Cillian Murphy today. There is also the association with the brand of beer known as George Kil

To conclude this starry, starry couple of weeks we've had, I propose a little baby naming challenge. It is a simple initial related game that should bring about a good variety of name options and fun combinations. Take a look at the three sibling sets below and decide for yourself which names you'd choose. I added my choices at the bottom. Have fun! Set of Twins: STAR Boy's initials are ST Girl's initials are AR What are their names? Set of Twins: MOON Girl's initials are MO Girl's initials are ON What are their names? Set of Triplets: PLANET Boy's initials are PL Boy's initials are AN Girl's initials are ET What are their names? My choices: Set 1: Sebastian Theodore & Aveline Ramona Set 2: Mabel Olivia & Odette Nova Set 3: Philip Lucas, Arthur Nathaniel & Ella Tamsin Which names would you go with? Share your choices in the comment section or join the chatter on Facebook!

Our celestial girl name of the week is the underrated Portia . This is the name of one of the moons of Uranus which was named after a Shakespearean character. The play "The Merchant of Venice" was written by William Shakespeare in 1596 and it involved a woman named Portia who disguised herself as a man so she could defend a man named Antonio in court. There was also another Portia in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar who was based on a historical character, the wife of Brutus. The name Portia is a variant of Porcia which comes from the Roman family name Porcius. I was a little surprised when I realized the meaning of the name, although it makes total sense based on the root of it. It has always been a somewhat classy and sophisticated name to me. As a member of the Porcius family, Portia does indeed mean "pig" from the Latin porcus . Can you see it now? If you know any other Latin-based languages, it's probably pretty obvious to you. Nevertheless, Port

Last week we saw a great selection of celestial names for baby boys. Now it is the girls' turn!  If you're looking for the perfect name for the little star in your life, perhaps you'll find it on this list! Included in the list are names of stars, constellations, planets, moons, satellites and more! It covers all things space-related. So if you're a fan of astronomy or astrology or you simply find yourself gazing up into the cosmos often, I think you'll love this list! If you're unfamiliar with any of these names, I suggest doing some research before committing to it, as with any baby name.  Which of these lovely choices do you like best? What would you pair with it? Adara                                         Adhara Adrastea Agena Alula Alya Andromeda Aquila Alhena Amalthea Ara Ariel Aries Aster Asterope Astra Atria Auriga Aurora Austrina Auva Belinda Bellatrix Betria Bianca Callirrhoe Callisto Calypso Capella Carina

I was recently asked to do an interview on another name blog, Waltzing More Than Matilda , and it was just published today! Here's a couple of the questions that I answered, but you'll have to visit their site to view the whole interview! This is a chance to get to know a little more about me! What inspired you to begin a name blog? Once I discovered that I was somewhat good at forming first and middle name combinations, (or I at least really liked doing so), I began frequenting forums to help parents find the perfect name. Then I decided to focus all of that into one place and help people on my own turf. It’s been over a year since I started the blog and I’ve helped many people, which is why I started it to begin with. What are some of your favourite names? Some of my favourites that I won’t be using include girly names like  Magnolia ,  Freya ,  Coraline ,  Esme ,  Lavinia ,  Aveline , and  Amara . For boys, I like  August / Augustus ,  Benedict ,  Caspian ,  Cons

As we look at celestial names this week, there's no better name to look at than Atlas. Atlas was the titan of astronomy and navigation in Greek mythology. After the Titans were defeated in war with the Olympians, Zeus condemned him to the western edge of Gaia, or the Earth, where he was then forced to hold the celestial spheres on his shoulders. There are many depictions of Atlas "carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders". There's plenty of history that can be learned about Atlas, but we're here to talk about the name itself. You can read more about the mythological figure here. A golden statue of Atlas As a name, some of the etymology is uncertain, however, the ancient Roman poet named Virgil was the one who defined Atlas. He regularly translated etymologies of Greek names and combined them with appropriate adjectives. In the case of Atlas, he was given the adjective durus which means "hard, enduring". Therefore, the name Atlas has

From stars, moons and planets to comets, satellites and even the names of iconic scientists, here is a wonderful list of all things celestial. If you're into astronomy or astrology or you're simply a fan of the night sky, you're sure to find inspiration from this dazzling list of baby names. However, I don't have the space to define each of these. If you're unfamiliar with one of the names, be sure to research it before writing it on a birth certificate. :)  Which of these names do you like best for a boy? Acamar                             Aegir Aquila Altair Apus Ariel Atlas Beid Brooks Caliban Cassini Castor Caelum Celestin Cepheus Cetus Copernicus Corvus Crux Daniel Donati Dorado Draco Fenrir Ferdinand Finlay Fornax Francisco Galileo Hercules Herschel Holmes Hubble Indus Jupiter Keid Kepler Leo Lupus Mars Mercury Miram Montani Naos Nash Neptune Newton Oberon Orion Pavo Perseus Phoenix Pluto Pollux