The Art of Naming

There are so many lovely 4+ syllable names for girls ; narrowing it down to one was difficult but I decided on beautiful Seraphina. Seraphina is the feminine form of the Late Latin male name Seraphinus . This name comes from the biblical, Hebrew word seraphim meaning "fiery ones" and referring to an order of angels that had six wings each. The Seraphim were described by the prophet Isaiah in the bible.  Seraphina was also the name of a 13th century saint from Italy who was known for making clothing for the poor.  As a name, Seraphina was never really favored in the past. However, it is starting to take off as an usual but pretty name. Actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner named their second daughter Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck in 2009 which put the name on people's radars more, but yet it still remains mostly unused. The celebrity endorsement bumped Seraphina from having only 50 births in 2008 to having 88 in 2009 and 107 in 2010. How

In the past, I wrote an article about Elizabeth and her consistent popularity since 1880: she has always ranked within the Top 30 as a first name. As a middle name, she's also a popular choice because of how extremely well Elizabeth flows with most first names. I listed four specific reasons why Elizabeth has remained so popular and works so well with other names. I also listed other 4 syllable names that might also work well as a middle name. If none of those strike your fancy, you're sure to find a great selection in the following list of 4+ syllable girl names. Which of these are your favorite? Share your thoughts in the comment section below! Abilena           Abriana Abrianna Abriella Abryanna Acadia Acelina Adelaida Adelia Adelina Adelita Adriana Adrianna Aemilia Afrodite Agostina Agustina Albertina Alejandra Alejandrina Aleksandra Alessandra Alessia Alethea Aletheia Alexandra Alexandrea Alexandria Alexia Alexxia Alicia A

After looking at all of the 4+ syllable boy names available, I wanted to pick one that was legitimately 4 syllables on its own as opposed to a name that earned 4 syllables by adding an -o to the end of a name that is usually 3-syllables. With this criteria, it was actually rather tough to find a good one that hasn't already been featured. I settled on the biblical Jeremiah. Jeremiah comes from the Hebrew name יִרְמְיָהוּ ( Yirmiyahu ) meaning "Yahweh has uplifted". In the bible, he was one of the major prophets in the Old Testament who wrote the Book of Jeremiah as well as the Book of Lamentations. He lived in the 6th century BC during the time of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem. In England, the Protestant Reformation brought about the usage of a lot of names that were later carried to Colonial America with the pilgrims. Jeremiah was one of those names. However, the shorter variation Jeremy was sometimes used since the 13th century in England. Over

Say you're looking for a long name for your baby boy and you can't think of much beyond Alexander or Maximilian. Fear not! Let this be your handy resource for long boy names! Every name on this list is 4 syllables long or more. There are definitely plenty of interesting, unusual choices and some international ideas borrowed from origins around the world. Which of these names are your favorites? Can you think of any that could be added? Share your favorites in the comment section below! Abelardo                     Adalberto Agapito Aleczander Alejandro Aleksander Alessandro Alexander Alexandro Alexzander Amadeo Amadeus Ambrosio Anacleto Ananias Aniceto Antonino Antonio Apolinar Archimedes Aristides Arsenio Bartholomew Bartolomé Bartolomeo Calogero Candelario Casimiro Catarino Cayetano Celestino Cipriano Ciriaco Constantino Constantinos Cornelius Damarion Deangelo Demetrius Dionisio Domitilo Dumisani Ebenezer          

Names that are "short and sweet" are often very desirable for a girl, especially in the middle name spot to complement a long first name. What are some viable names that only have one-syllable? I'm sure you can think of a few, but how many are full names and not nicknames? Let's see if we can list as many one-syllable full-names as possible! Let me know if I have missed any or if any should be removed because they are just too nicknamey. Although some may double as a nickname and a stand-alone name. This is where it gets tricky! For instance, you can be just "Gwen" but that could potentially be a nickname for Gwendolyn. I will include it anyway. Here is a short list of girl names for those who want the more common choices pointed out among the more unusual names on the list: Anne, Bea, Belle, Beth, Blanche, Blythe, Bree, Brooke, Claire, Dawn, Elle, Eve, Faith, Fawn, Faye, Gail, Gwen, Hope, Jade, Jane, Jean, Jill, Joy, June, Kay, Lane, Leigh, Lux, Mae

What are some viable names that only have one-syllable? I'm sure you can think of a few, but how many are full names and not nicknames? Let's see if we can list as many one-syllable full-names as possible! Let me know if I have missed any or if any should be removed because they are actually a nickname. Although some may double as a nickname and a stand-alone name. This is where it gets tricky! For instance, you can be just "Abe" but that could potentially be a nickname for Abel or Abraham. I will include it anyway. These are names that would work on a boy, whether they're masculine or unisex. You can find the list of one syllable girl names here,  but there may be duplicates on both lists. Short list of semi-common names for those of you that don't want to browse through so many options:  Blaine, Blake, Boone, Brant, Brent, Brice, Brock, Cade, Cane, Chance, Charles, Chase, Clarke, Craig, Dean, Drake, Dwayne, Earl, Finn, Ford, Gage, Graham, Grant, Gr

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'