How Well Did My Sibsets Match from My "Statehood Initial Challenge" Series? [Part Two of Two]

Finally, after three and a half years, the long-running Statehood Initial Challenge series has finished! In this series, I took the two-letter abbreviations of each state in the USA, and challenged you to use those two letters to name a boy and a girl. I played right along with you. After we covered 25 states, I listed all the sets of twins that I named throughout those two years of posts and found that I had repeated several of the names multiple times. I tried to avoid repeats for the 2nd half of the challenge, so let's see how I did.

I posted these states in the order in which they gained official statehood, which means Delaware was first, Pennsylvania came next, then New Jersey and so on until we finally reached the 50th state of Hawaii.  Here's the first 25, which I previously posted here:

1. DE -  Dante Evander & Dahlia Emmeline
2. PA -  Pierce Averill & Posey Augusta
3. NJ -  Nash Julian & Nova Jessamine
4. GA - Gregor August & Gesine Abigail
5. CT - Calvin Thomas & Cora Tamsin
6. MA - Maximus Alexander & Madeline Alice
7. MD - Malcolm David & Minerva Dawn
8. SC  - Stetson Cole & Sable Cressida
9. NH - Nicolai Harris & Nova Helene
10. VA - Vadden Alexis & Vienne Augusta
11. NY - Nathaniel York & Natasha Yve
12. NC - Noble Carlisle & Nova Caroline
13. RI - Rafferty Iwan & Rowan Isabelle
14. VT - Valor Thaddeus & Vella Temperance
15. KY - Killian Yannick & Kensington Yve
16. TN - Tristram Noel & Tabitha Nell
17. OH - Oscar Hadrian & Olive Hettienne
18. LA - Leopold August & Lavinia Aveline
19. IN - Isadore Noel & Isla Natalie
20. MS - Malcolm Silas & Mabel Sabrina
21. IL - Irving Lawrence & Ida Laurel
22. AL - Alexander Lincoln & Augusta Lily
23. ME - Marlon Elliott & Mavis Eleanor
24. MO - Miles Oliver & Maisie Octavia
25. AR - Asher Ramsey & Avara Raine

The first half of the challenge was spread out over 2 years and I chose them spontaneously with each post. I didn't go back to see what other names I had used previously. I simply went with what I liked at the time. As a result, there were a few repeats.

This time around, I kept track of everything and triple-checked that I had not already used a name before choosing it. There should be zero repeats in the second half.  Let's take a look at the second half of the challenge:

26. MI - Milo Indigo & Morganna Ivy
27. FL - Finnegan Louis & Fiona Liesel
28. TX - Tobias Xavier & Thora Xanthippe
29. IA - Ivander Ash & Iliana Apple
30. WI - Wim Iverson & Wren Isadora 
31. CA - Cassander Aloysius & Cordelia Avienne
32. MN - Murphy Nolan & Maia Nicolette
33. OR - Odin Richard & Ophelia Ruby
34. KS - Kellan Scott & Kaia Sylvie
35. WV - Willoughby Vance & Wren Victoria
36. NV - Ned Vincent & Nadine Verity
37. NE - Neo Edmund & Nerissa Edith
38. CO - Caius Octavian & Camilla Olivine
39. ND - Norman Daniel & Naomi Diana
40. SD - Sebastian Dominic & Seraphina Delaney
41. MT - Martin Timothy & Mildred Theodora
42. WA - Warren Arlo & Willow Amelia
43. ID -  Ian Darius & India Darling
44. WY - Ward Yvander & Winslet Yvonne
45. UT - Ulysses Theodore & Ulyana Terese
46. OK - Otis Kelvin & Opal Kathleen
47. NM - November Mason & Nyx Magnolia
48. AZ - Ambrose Zachariah & Amara Zooey
49. AK - Atlas Korbin & Audrey Kate
50. HI -  Heath Idris & Hermione Iris

Since certain letters were used more often, it became increasingly difficult to find names that I actually like. The letter N is not my favorite letter and it forced me to choose names that I wouldn't normally choose, like Norman, Ned, Nadine and Naomi. 

The letter I was also challenging to find attractive options. While I did not repeat anything, I did end up with Ivy, Irving, Iverson and Ivander which all sound similar.  I did toss in an Yvander, but since the spelling is different, I didn't count it as being the exact same name as the previously used Ivander.

In the first half of the challenge, I noted that there were several unusual names like Hettienne, Gesine, Vadden, Averill, Cressida, Vella and Avara.  In the second half, I went with bold choices like Xanthippe, Apple, Wim, Willoughby, Nerissa, Caius, Darling, Winslet, November, Nyx, and Hermione. 

But I also went for some old-fashioned names too. In the first half, we saw Irving, Gregor, Marlon, Mavis, Malcolm, Mabel, Lawrence, Ida and Laurel. In the final set of names, I opted for some Louis, Aloysius, Richard, Edmund, Edith, Mildred, Ward, Ulysses, Opal, and Ambrose.

Don't forget the more classic names! Previously I had used things like Oliver, Alexander, Thomas, Lily, Caroline, Abigail and Isabelle. The second time around, I added Scott, Victoria, Vincent, Daniel, Timothy, Theodore, and Kathleen.

Overall, this was a very fun challenge to continuously be apart of week after week. I can't believe it lasted three and a half years but here we are finally at the end of it! What do you think of my many choices? Do any of them stand out as absolute favorites? Are there any that you cannot stand? Share your thoughts in the comments and thanks for following!

Did you play along with this series? If not, we always have name games like this on our Instagram page!

How Well Did My Sibsets Match from My "Statehood Initial Challenge" Series? [Part One]

Way back in January 2015, I began a little series on Instagram that featured the two-letter abbreviations of states within the USA.

I started with Delaware, the very first state that was given official statehood, and then I continued on from there. This has been a very long and slow series, but finally, two years later, we've reached the halfway point.

With each post, I would ask you to name a boy and a girl using those initials as the basis. And each time, I would also post my name choices for those letters.

Let's take a look back and see how my impulse naming panned out. Over time, did I actually create a family tree of names that might match nicely? Or did those names vary greatly with each state? How many times might I have repeated a name? I'm willing to bet that my general naming style fluctuated greatly, but, if you've followed my blog since the beginning, perhaps you'd find me somewhat predictable.

If you'd like to play along with this name game, you can either browse through my Instagram posts, or visit this album on Facebook.

1. DE -  Dante Evander & Dahlia Emmeline
2. PA -  Pierce Averill & Posey Augusta
3. NJ -  Nash Julian & Nova Jessamine
4. GA - Gregor August & Gesine Abigail
5. CT - Calvin Thomas & Cora Tamsin
6. MA - Maximus Alexander & Madeline Alice
7. MD - Malcolm David & Minerva Dawn
8. SC  - Stetson Cole & Sable Cressida
9. NH - Nicolai Harris & Nova Helene
10. VA - Vadden Alexis & Vienne Augusta
11. NY - Nathaniel York & Natasha Yve
12. NC - Noble Carlisle & Nova Caroline
13. RI - Rafferty Iwan & Rowan Isabelle
14. VT - Valor Thaddeus & Vella Temperance
15. KY - Killian Yannick & Kensington Yve
16. TN - Tristram Noel & Tabitha Nell
17. OH - Oscar Hadrian & Olive Hettienne
18. LA - Leopold August & Lavinia Aveline
19. IN - Isadore Noel & Isla Natalie
20. MS - Malcolm Silas & Mabel Sabrina
21. IL - Irving Lawrence & Ida Laurel
22. AL - Alexander Lincoln & Augusta Lily
23. ME - Marlon Elliott & Mavis Eleanor
24. MO - Miles Oliver & Maisie Octavia
25. AR - Asher Ramsey & Avara Raine

What are your thoughts about my choices? Remember, these are spread out over 2 years and I chose them rather spontaneously with each post. I didn't go back to see what other names I had used previously. I simply went with what I liked at the time. As a result, there are a few repeats.

Repeated Names:

Augusta: 3 / August: 2
Nova: 3
Alexander: 2
Malcolm: 2
Noel: 2
Yve: 2

What these names show me is that some weeks I was feeling bold, so I would pick something more unusual like Hettienne, Gesine, Vadden, Averill, Cressida, Vella or Avara.

Other times, I was in a bit of an old-fashioned mood so I went for names like Irving, Gregor, Marlon, Mavis, Malcolm, Mabel, Lawrence, Ida and Laurel.

And sometimes I would play it safe and go for something common and classic, such as Oliver, Alexander, Thomas, Lily, Caroline, Abigail and Isabelle.

If I had to choose one name that does not belong here, it would be Kensington. It's much more trendy than the rest and isn't usually my kind of name. I might also toss Stetson in the same category.

Overall, if there weren't any repeats, I'd say this would be quite an interesting family tree to be part of. What do you think? Did I choose any that catch your eye? Are there any that just don't belong?

Whenever the statehood series is finally concluded, (even if its another two years from now), I will post that set of 25 twins and see how they match up. Hopefully I won't repeat any from here on out but I can't guarantee it! Stay tuned!

Baby Naming Challenge! - Month Edition

This is the ultimate initial challenge! I do have to admit that I borrowed the idea from my friend over at nameddict.  I came across it at the perfect time since I was just about to post Tuesday's blog about month names. I found this challenge to be a genius idea that I hadn't seen before, and it is fun!  Imagine you have twelve babies to name and give it a try!

Using the three-letter abbreviations for each month, come up with the perfect baby name using those letters as a first/middle/middle combo. There's a Y and 3 U's that will make it a bit tricky!  I will post my names below. Feel free to share yours in the comment section or on Facebook!

My names:

JAN: Johanna Adelaide Nell
FEB: Frederick Evan Benedict
MAR: Marius Alexander Rafferty
APR: Amabel Penelope Rose
MAY: Matilda Alice Yvonne
JUN: Julius Ulrich Nathaniel
JUL: Josephine Uma Lenore
AUG: Alistair Ulysses George
SEP: Sebastian Evander Paul
OCT: Octavia Claire Tamsin
NOV: Nadia Olive Valentina
DEC: Dante Everett Cole

Johanna, Frederick, Marius, Amabel, Matilda, Julius, Josephine, Alistair, Sebastian, Octavia, Nadia & Dante. 6 girls and 6 boys!   What names would you choose?