The Art of Naming

This categorization of names is admittedly limited and unusual but it may strike a chord for certain parents seeking a specific sound.  Continuing our series that has already featured -ay, -by, -cy, -dy and -ey names, I present the interesting short list of -fy and -gy names. Since the list is so short, I combined the two and included -fie and -gie names as well. Many of these might actually be considered nicknames more so than given names. Most Americans are not big fans of this style of names, however in England and Wales, names like Effie and Alfie are considered full, stand-alone names and rank fairly well on the popularity charts. Girl names ending with -fy and -fie: Buffy Effy Saffy Sofy Taffy Tiffy Effie Elfie Safie Sofie Wolfie Boy names ending with -fie: Alfie Wolfie -- Girl names ending with -gy and -gie: Margy Peggy Tiggy Aggie Angie Georgie Maggie Margie Peggie Reggie Vangie Vergie Virgie Boy names ending with -gy and -gie:...

Today's featured name comes from our list of names that end with the letters "-ey" . There were many to choose from but Harley was the winner. Harley comes from a surname which was derived from an Old English place name meaning "hare clearing", taken from hara meaning "hare" and leah meaning "clearing, meadow". If you name your child Harley, you could definitely get away with rabbit decor.  This is a unisex name. In the US, it ranks higher for females. In England and Wales, it ranks highly for males. In Australia and New Zealand, it is only male.  If we look closer at the popularity statistics in the US, we'll find that Harley has been on record for boys since records began in 1880. It has consistently kept up as the population grew, still ranking within the Top 1000 all these years. In 2015, there were 386 boys named Harley which ranks the name as the 663rd most popular name in the country. Girls, on the other hand...

We've explored letters A-D so far in this "ends with -y" series. Today's list is perhaps one of the most plentiful. It was difficult to narrow it down to only the best options that end with the letters "-ey". The names below all have their endings in common, but they differ greatly in terms of style and popularity. Let's play a little game with these names. Let's suppose that you are having triplets and you have your heart set on cutesy rhyming names for them. Choose three that you like most, and give them their own middle names. You can choose either the gender combinations.  Have fun! Girls: Adley Abbey Ainsley Ansley Ashley Aubrey Audrey Bailey Briley Brinley Britney Carley Casey Courtney Delaney Destiney Finley Gracey Greenley Hadley Hailey Haley Harley Hayley Jacey Journey Kailey Kaley Karley Kasey Kayley Kelsey Kenley Kiley Kinley Kinsley Lacey Lainey Laney Lindsey Linley Macey Marley McKinle...

Taken straight from our list of names that end with the letters -dy, is the lovely Melody. This name is also an English word with which you're no doubt already familiar. Melody is derived from the Greek melos meaning "song" and combined with aeido meaning "to sing", which forms the name Melodia. Via Late Latin and Old French, you get the name Mélodie. After that, it winds up as the English word and name Melody.  Google defines it as "mel·o·dy -ˈmelədē. noun: a sequence of single notes that is musically satisfying." This musical name has been around in the US on record since 1914, but it wasn't until 1942 that the name arrived on the scene. It joined the Top 1000 in that year and continued to climb in popularity until it peaked in 1960 at #153 with 2,757 births. Its numbers declined a bit through the 1980s and 1990s, but since the start of the aughts, Melody has started climbing up the charts again.  In 2015, there were 2,168 girls given tha...

Up until now, we've discovered names ending with the letters -ay, -by and -cy. Now it is time to explore -dy ending names. It's sometimes difficult to do specific searches for names with specific criteria so I thought I'd compile some of the best -dy names that I could find. Can you think of any others? Girls: Addy Biddy Brandy Cady Candy Carmindy Cassidy Cindy Goldy Haddy Haidy Heidy Hildy Indy Jody Judy Kady Kandy Kassidy Kennedy Lady Liddy Lindy Maddy Mady Mandy Melody Mindy Randy Rhapsody Rudy Sandy Teddy Trudy Wendy Windy Zandy Boys: Andy Brady Brody Buddy Cassidy Claudy Cody Eddy Freddy Gennady Grady Hardy Huddy Indy Jody Jordy Kassidy Kennedy Kody Mardy Randy Roddy Rowdy Rudy Sandy Teddy Woody Do you spot any new favorites from this list? Would you use any? <-- Names ending with "-cy"  |||   Names ending with "-ey"  -->

Today's featured boy name is pulled from the list of names ending with the letters -cy. Percy is is male given name that comes from an English surname. There is a commune in Normandy in Northwestern France called Percy-en-Auge from which the surname was derived.  The House of Percy (or Perci in Old French) was one of the most powerful noble families in northern England. There are still members of the Percy family to this day who are Dukes of Northumberland. Their surname comes from the manor of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy which was their home during the Norman Conquest. The name Percy started out being used as a given name in their honor. The Greek Perseus is similar in sound and could be assigned the nickname Percy. It means "to destroy" in Greek and was the name of a mythological hero who killed Medusa and founded the ancient city of Mycenae. Percy can also be considered a short form of the name Percival. The name Perceval, with this spelling, was created by a...

This is a very specific series. We are taking the time to look for names ending in specific letters. We already looked at "-ay" names and "-by" names. Now we are going to investigate all the possible names ending with the letters "-cy".  There could be more out there in other languages around the world but these are some of the best options for an American kid. Which do you like best?  Can you think of any others that could be added? Girls: Cecy Clancy Clemency D'Arcy Dacy Darcy Delancy Jacy Kacy Lacy Lucy Macy Marcy Mercy Nancy Quincy Stacy Tacy Tancy Tracy Valancy Boys: Chancy Clancy Cy Darcy Delancy Ignacy Jency Legacy Percy Piercy Quincy Stacy Tracy Yancy Share your thoughts on these names in the comments below! Take a look at our other articles: <--- "-by" names ||| "-dy" names --->

From our new series, Darby is today's featured "-by" name. Darby is both a masculine and a feminine name. It originally comes from the name Derby which is an Old Norse name meaning "deer town". Derby is the name of a town in England which lent itself to becoming an English surname as well. That's where Darby comes from. There is an interesting proverbial phrase used by the British called "Darby and Joan" which refers to a married couple who are celebrated for their mutual devotion to one another. It is used to describe a couple that are content to share a quiet life together. This saying was first mentioned in print as a poem by Henry Woodfall in 1735 which featured John Darby and his wife Joan as the main characters. Another poet named St. John Honeywood wrote something similar as well shortly after. These two poems aren't the only mentions for Darby and Joan since it is a common phrase. As a name, Darby was first used in the US o...

We previously featured names that end with the letters -ay. Now we'll continue on to -by names in this new mini-series that dives into name endings. There is something so adorable about these names that end with the letters "-by". Many of these are unusual which is perfect for those seeking something special for their child. Take a look and see if you don't agree with me about their adorability factor: Girls: Abby Ashby Baby Catesby Colby Darby Debby Effaby Gabby Kelby Kirby Kolby Libby Maeby Quenby Ruby Shelby Tabby Interestingly, there are more -by names for boys than for girls: Boys: Alby Ashby Barnaby Bartleby Bixby Bobby Coby Colby Corby Crosby Darby Digby Gatsby Gibby Herby Jacoby Joby Kelby Kirby Koby Kolby Rigby Robby Roxby Saxby Selby Toby Willoughby Can you think of any more that could be added? Which are your favorites?! Be sure to view the rest of this series as it is published using the links ...

Today we're featuring the name Finlay to go along with our recent post about the best names ending with "-ay". Finlay is the anglicized form of the Gaelic name Fionnlagh. It means "white warrior" from the elements fionn "white, fair" and laogh "warrior". It was originally a masculine given name and also a surname. Alternatively, the name can also be spelled Finley, which is the more common spelling. Recently, Finley ranked #36 in England/Wales while Finlay ranked #99. Finlay was #12 in Scotland. The spelling Finley has always been in use in the US since records began in 1880, but it was far from common. It wasn't until 2006 that the name even entered the Top 1000 at #890. As of 2014, it ranks at #374 for boys. Additionally, it is considered unisex in America. There were also girls given the name Finley for a rank of #223. This is the more common spelling for both genders. Finlay has only been used for a boy in the US since 199...

Welcome to a new mini-series featuring specific name endings. This list will explore the various names that end with the letters "-ay". The next article in the series will take a look at "-by" names, followed by "-cy" names, etc. If you are searching for a specific sound and cannot find all that many options, allow me to assist you. This list of names ending with '-ay" is as neatly comprehensive as possible with only the most usable names on it.  There many be other spellings that lend to a similar sound but we are focusing primarily on the spelling. Can you think of any names that I may have missed? If not, tell me which of these you like most. Girls: Bay Chardonnay Day Fay Finlay Friday Gray Halliday Holiday Holliday Islay Ismay Janay Jenay Kay Lindsay Lyndsay May Saray Shay Sunday Tueday Wednesday Boys: Ajay Barclay Bay Callaway Carvay Cejay Chay Clay Conway Deontay Dontay Findlay Finlay Gray Jay ...