ALL ABOUT JOE! - March 27th is National Joe Day

March 27th is considered National Joe Day! From a "cup of Joe", to Sloppy Joes to the Average Joe; from Joe DiMaggio, to Joe Jonas, to Joe Biden, there are a ton of Joes to celebrate! So today we will take a closer look at Joseph, Josephine, Joe and other similar names.

According to Behind the Name, Joseph comes from From Ioseph, the Latin form of the Greek Ιωσηφ (Ioseph), which was from the Hebrew name יוֹסֵף (Yosef) meaning "he will add". Since it his Hebrew in origin, of course it is a biblical name. In the Old Testament, Joseph was the son of Jacob and Rachel.

Joseph is one of those names that translate well across a variety of languages and cultures around the world:

Yousef, Youssef, Yusef, Yusuf (Arabic) Youcef (Arabic (Maghrebi)) Hovsep (Armenian) Yusif (Azerbaijani) Joseba (Basque) Ioseph, Ioses (Biblical Greek) Yosef (Biblical Hebrew) Ioseph (Biblical Latin) Jusuf (Bosnian) Yosif (Bulgarian) Josep (Catalan) Ghjaseppu (Corsican) Josip, Joško, Joso, Jozo (Croatian) Josef (Czech) Josef (Danish) Josephus, Jozef, Jef, Joep, Joop, Joos, Joost, Jos, Sjef, Zef (Dutch) Jozefo, Joĉjo (Esperanto) Joosep (Estonian) Jooseppi, Juuso (Finnish) Xosé (Galician) Ioseb, Soso (Georgian) Iosif (Greek) Yosef (Hebrew) Josephus (History) József, Jóska, Józsi (Hungarian)

Seosamh (Irish) Giuseppe, Beppe, Peppe, Peppi, Peppino, Pino (Italian) Iosephus (Late Roman) Jāzeps (Latvian) Juozapas, Juozas (Lithuanian) Josif (Macedonian) Hohepa (Maori) Josef (Norwegian) Josèp (Occitan) Yousef, Yusef (Persian) Józef (Polish) José, Zé, Zezé (Portuguese) Iosif (Romanian) Iosif, Osip (Russian) Seòsaidh (Scottish) Josif (Serbian) Jozef (Slovak) Josip, Jožef, Jože (Slovene) José, Josepe, Pepe, Pepito (Spanish) Josef (Swedish) Yusuf (Turkish) Ýusup (Turkmen) Yosyp (Ukrainian) Yusup (Uyghur) Yussel (Yiddish)

There is also a handful of feminine forms of the name:

Jody, Josepha (English), Josée, Josèphe, Joséphine (French), Josepha (German)

And you can't forget the diminutives and "nickname" options:

Jo, Joe, Joey, Jojo (English), Jo, Sepp, Seppel (German)

As you can see, the various translations are quite unique and interesting. I'm sure we have all known a Joseph/Joe, but have you ever known anyone with one of these other, more cultural names? 

Now, Nameberry has quite an extensive list of famous Josephs. It is far too long to repost here, but I encourage you to take a look. 

As far as popularity goes, Joseph has always ranked very well. It has never ranked lower than #22, which happened in 2011. It has ranked as high as #5!  It ranked at #20 in 2016 and will probably linger within the Top 100 for a very long time to come.

Just "Joe" by itself even ranks well. Up until 1970, it was within the Top 100 in the US. Even now, as of 2016, Joe still came in at #618.

The lovely Josephine experienced a high popularity peak of 8,682 births in 1918. It declined after that, but is currently ticking upward. In 2016, there were 2,766 girls given the name which ranked it at #114 in the US.

If you're a Joe fan, here are some ideas for sibling names and middle names:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Amelia, Caroline, Elizabeth, Isabelle, Lucy, Margaret, Sarah
Brothers: Benjamin, Isaac, Michael, Nathaniel, Simon, Vincent, William

Middle Name Ideas:
Joseph Alexander
Joseph Elliott
Joseph Martin
Joseph Riley
Joseph Thomas

Josephine Amelia
Josephine Claire
Josephine Grace
Josephine May
Josephine Rose

Joe Edward
Joe Harrison
Joe Julius
Joe Theodore
Joe Zachariah

As a Middle Name: 

Adrian Joseph

Carter Joseph

Gabriel Joseph

Maxwell Joseph

Tyler Joseph

Anna Josephine

Clara Josephine

Lily Josephine

Morgan Josephine

Wren Josephine

Benjamin Joe

Everett Joe

Henry Joe

Lincoln Joe

Timothy Joe

What do you think of these Joe names? Which would you choose? Have you already used one?

Cool, Slightly Unusual, Somewhat Exotic but Definitely Interesting Boy Names [Part Two]

If you are searching for a less-than-common name for a boy, this list has plenty of interesting and wearable options. We previously explored similar names from A-M.  The list below continues with the letters N-Z.

If you're willing, choose 5 names from this list and pair them with a middle name of your choice to create an interesting sibling set! Post the results in the comment section below.


Nash

Nemo
Nero
Nico
Niles
Noam
Noble
Nova
Nye
Oberon
Odin
Olivander
Orion
Oslo
Otto
Ozias
Pace
Pasqual
Pavel
Pearce
Penn
Peregrine
Philo
Pippin
Ptolemy
Quade
Quarry
Quest
Quill
Quimby
Quixley
Rafael
Ragnar
Rasmus
Remi
Revere
Rocco
Rockwell
Rolf
Rune
Sanders
Sayer
Severin
Skandar
Slater
Soren
Stark
Stellan
Sutton
Tate
Tavish
Teague
Thanos
Thayer
Theoden
Thorsten
Tobias
Tomas
Tyrion
Ulrich
Ulysses
Upton
Urban
Usher
Uziah
Valentin
Valor
Vance
Viggo
Vulcan
Ward
Weston
Whittier
Wilder
Wim
Wolfe
Wray
Xanthus
Xerxes
Yale
Yannick
Yardley
York
Zaid
Zaffre
Zebulon
Zen
Zenith
Zeppelin
Zoltan

Which of these names stands out to you the most? Share your thoughts in the comments below! And don't forget to check out Part One by clicking to the previous page.

From Augusto to Augustina: The Many August Names

As we reach the end of the month of August, let's take a moment to look at the related Aug-/Ag- names that could be used on a person today. Generally, these names all come from the Latin augere meaning "to increase", but other meanings came to include "great" and "venerable". Augustus was a title that Octavian, the first Roman emperor, was given. He was the adopted son of Julius Caesar.

There are many options available for both boys and girls. Some are more popular than others, but these are mostly rather uncommon here in the US.  Are there any that you would use?

By Unknown Till Niermann (Own work)
 [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0  or CC BY-SA 2.5],
via Wikimedia Commons

Agostina  (Italian form of Augustinus - feminine - zero births on record for 2015 in US)

Agostino  (Italian form of Augustinus - masculine - 5 births on record for 2015)

Ágúst (Icelandic form of Augustus - masculine - zero births in 2015)

Agust (Swedish form of August - masculine - zero births in 2015)

Agustin (Spanish form of Augustinus - masculine - 223 births in 2015)

Augustina (Ancient Roman form of Augustinus - feminine - 14 births in 2015)

Augie/Auggie (English diminutive of August - unisex - 7 male births for Augie and 6 for Auggie in 2015. Zero female births on record for either name.)

August (German, Polish, Scandinavian and Catalan form of Augustus - unisex - 2,059 male births in 2015 for a rank of #195. 242 female births for a rank of #1072.)

Augusta (Feminine form of Augustus - 48 births in 2015.)

Auguste (French masculine form of Augustus, and the German feminine form of Augusta - 20 male births in 2015, zero female.)

Augusten (Alternate spelling of Augustin - masculine - 16 births in 2015)

Augustin (French, Czech, Romanian and Croatian form of Augustinus - masculine - 75 births in 2015)

Augustina (Feminine form of Augustinus - 14 births in 2015)

Augustine (Masculine English form of Augustus, and the feminine French form of Augustinus. - 26 female births in 2015, and 273 male births for a rank of #820)

Augusto (Spanish, Italian and Portuguese form of Augustus - masculine - 29 births in 2015)

Augustus (Ancient Roman / Latin - masculine - 643 births in 2015 for a rank of #467)

Augustijn (Dutch form of Augustinus- masculine - zero births on record in US)

Augustyna (Polish of Augustina- feminine - zero births on record in US)

Avgust  (Russian, Slovene, Ukrainian form of August - masculine - zero births on record in US)

Aukusti (Finnish form of Augustus - masculine - zero births on record in US)

Guus (Dutch diminutive of Augustus - masculine - zero births on record in US)

Gus (Short form of Augustus - masculine - 163 male births in 2015)

Then there's Austin, a Medieval contraction of Augustine. Austin is by far the most popular name on the list. It ranked as high as #9 in 1996 and 1997 for boys. Currently it earned 5,767 births for a rank of #69 in 2015. There were also 151 female births.

Austin has some variants such as:

Austen (unisex - 119 male births and 61 female births in 2015)

Austyn (unisex - had more male use in late 1990s to early 2000s, now has more female use. 103 male births and 242 female births in 2015.

Awstin (Welsh form of Austin - zero births on record in the US for either gender in 2015.)

-

Now that you've browsed through this list, can you think of any that I may have missed? Otherwise, which is your favorite form? Would you use it?

Potentially Hyphenated Names Used for Boys in the US

Have you ever met someone with a double-barreled first name? Two first names strung together by a hyphen? It happens often enough to be a thing, but yet it is still somewhat rare depending on where you live.

There could be a number of reasons why parents would opt for a hyphenated name. Perhaps they couldn't narrow down their favorites and decided to use them all. Perhaps they'd like to honor two people in one name. Or maybe they just like how the two names sound together. Hyphenated names do get used often, even here in the US, however none of them have managed to get enough births per year to rank all that high. The majority of the names on this list have less than 20 births per year.

Since the SSA's data doesn't account for any hyphens and writes it all as one name, it is impossible to know how these names are truly intended to be written. Perhaps the name was meant to be written as one, or maybe the child received two first names rather than a first and a middle.

There could be some that were written with spaces. For example, it is unlikely that Juandedios or Angeldejesus are one word or hyphenated, but that's how it came up in the data. These are probably listed as Juan de Dios and Angel de Jesus in the "first name box".

Again, the data isn't clear. These could be one name. These could be hyphenated. Or these could be spaced as two+ first-names.  Also, I probably missed quite a few of the more foreign ones, but I included a few of them below that seemed most intuitive. Here is what I compiled:

John-Paul  (164 births)

Abdul-Aziz (97 births)
John-Luke (46 births)
John-Michael (35 births)
Abdul-Malik (31 births)
John-David (27 births)
King-James (20 births)
Jesse-James (19 births)
Muhammad-Ali (16 births)
John-Thomas (15 births)
Abdul-Kareem (14 births)
John-Anthony (13 births)
John-Henry (13 births)
John-Patrick (13 births)
King-David (13 births)
John-Carlo (12 births)
John-Carlos (12 births)
Jon-Paul (12 births)
Marc-Anthony (12 births)
Mark-Anthony (11 births)
Michael-Anthony (10 births)
Abdul-Karim (9 births)
Ethan-James (9 births)
Jay-Mason (9 births)
John-Mark (9 births)
John-Robert (9 births)
Jon-Luke (9 births)
Sir-Charles (9 births)
Jay-Anthony (8 births)
John-Daniel (8 births)
John-William (8 births)
Jon-Carlo (8 births)
Jon-Carlos (8 births)
Sean-Patrick (8 births)
Aiden-James (8 births)
James-Michael (7 births)
Joe-Anthony (7 births)
John-Ryan (7 births)
Jon-Michael (7 births)
Joshua-James (7 births)
King-Michael (7 births)
King-Solomon (7 births)
Liam-Gabriel (7 births)
Liam-James (7 births)
Liam-Matthew (7 births)
Liam-Michael (7 births)
Chris-Angel (6 births)
Elijah-James (6 births)
James-Ryan (6 births)
John-Joseph (6 births)
King-Charles (6 births)
King-Elijah (6 births)
Michael-Gabriel (6 births)
Sean-Michael (6 births)
Tyler-James (6 births)
Andrew-James (5 births)
Billy-Joe (5 births)
Carter-James (5 births)
Christian-James (5 births)
Christopher-John (5 births)
David-James (5 births)
Jacob-Anthony (5 births)
James-Dean (5 births)
James-Patrick (5 births)
John-Gabriel (5 births)
John-Wesley (5 births)
Jon-David (5 births)
King-Anthony (5 births)
King-Joseph (5 births)
Lee-Andrew (5 births)
Liam-Alexander (5 births)
Matthew-James (5 births)
Noah-Gabriel (5 births)
Paul-Anthony (5 births)
Prince-Charles (5 births)
Ryan-Paul (5 births)
Sir-William (5 births)

Latin Combination names (Spanish, Italian, even French):
These could be one name. These could be hyphenated. Or these could be spaced as two first names. It is hard to tell from the data. How do you imagine the following names would be written?

Gianluca (158 births)
Miguel-Angel (110 births)
Juan-Carlos (89 births)
Juan-Pablo (87 births)
Jose-Luis (86 births)
Jean-Carlos (75 births)
Michelangelo (74 births)
Jeancarlo (48 births)
Michaelangelo (42 births)
Jose-Manuel (35 births)
Luis-Angel (35 births)
Giancarlos (34 births)
Jose-Angel (33 births)
Juan-Diego (28 births)
Juan-Jose (28 births)
Gianmarco (26 births)
Jose-Maria (23 births)
Jose-Miguel (22 births)
Gianfranco (21 births)
Jean-Paul (21 births)
Jose-Antonio (21 births)
Jean-Pierre (18 births)
Juan-Manuel (16 births)
Marco-Antonio (16 births)
Juan-Antonio (14 births)
Gianlucas (11 births)
Jose-Carlos (10 births)
Jose-Juan (10 births)
Juan de Dios (10 births)
Angel-Gabriel (9 births)
Gianlucca (9 births)
Juan-Angel (9 births)
Juan-Daniel (9 births)
Juan-David (8 births)
Luis-Antonio (8 births)
Gianluigi (7 births)
Jiancarlo (7 births)
Jose-Julian (7 births)
Juan-Luis (7 births)
Luis-Fernando (7 births)
Angel de Jesus (6 births)
Carlos-Daniel (6 births)
Jorge-Luis (6 births)
Jose de Jesus (6 births)
Juan-Andres (6 births)
Luis-Daniel (6 births)
Luis-Enrique (6 births)
Luis-Mario (6 births)
Don-Juan (5 births)
Giankarlo (5 births)
Gianmichael (5 births)
Jose-Daniel (5 births)
Luis-Carlos (5 births)
Luis-Manuel (5 births)
Victor-Hugo (5 births)
Victor-Manuel (5 births)

I suspect that many of these are double first names rather than actually hyphenated, but since we can't know for sure, they have been included here.  Which do you like? Are there any that you think do not flow well together?

Stay tuned for the list of potentially hyphenated girls' names. It is SO much longer than this list!

Zoey

Our final featured name for this alphabetical name series is the female name Zoey. Did you get a chance to view the final list of The Very Best Z Names for Boys and Girls earlier this week?

The name Zoey is actually a variant of Zoe. Interestingly, while Zoe has been in use in the US since before 1880, Zoey has only been around since 1967. Despite that, Zoey is the more popular spelling today. Both names are currently ranking within the Top 40 though.

Zoey joined the Top 1000 chart in 1995 and entered the Top 100 in 2008. Now, as of 2014, Zoey is the 22nd most popular name in the country with over 7,300 female births.

Zoe peaked quicker, entering the Top 1000 in 1983. By 2000, Zoe was the 82nd most popular girl name. Even though Zoey has surpassed Zoe, Zoe still ranks at #32 in 2014 with over 5,800 births.

After breaking down those American popularity statistics, which name do you prefer?

If you're not sure, let's take a closer look at the names. Zoe is a Greek name that means "life". According to Behind the Name, Zoe was historically considered a translation of the name Eve by Hellenized Jews.

There are two early Christian saints named Zoe, both were martyred in their day. In the Byzantine Empire, Zoe was actually a commonly used name for women including an empress in the 11th century.

There are plenty of variations of Zoe, including the one we are featuring today, Zoey. There's also Zoie and Zowie. The Dutch like the spelling Zoë, the French use Zoé, the Polish go with Zoja, while Russians and Ukrainians prefer Zoya.

Then of course there's the spelling Zooey which is popularized in Hollywood by actress/singer Zooey Deschanel. While she pronounces her name the same as Zoey or Zoe, the name Zooey is better known as a masculine nickname for Zachary or Zechariah. Author J.D. Salinger used the name Zooey for a male character in his book "Franny and Zooey". Deschanel was named after that character.

Believe it or not, the name Zoe has broad international appeal. In recent years, it has ranked within the Top 100 in at least 17 countries around the world including The Netherlands (#7), Hungary (#9), and France (#11). Click here to view a complete list of recent popularity rankings.

Are you considering using the name Zoe or Zoey? Here's some suggestions for middle names and sibling names:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Alyssa, Esme, Keira, Lila, Mara, Olivia, Tessa, Violet
Brothers: Damian, Finn, Gavin, Isaac, Levi, Max, Tyler, Zachary

Middle Name Ideas: 
Zoey Abigail
Zoey Colette
Zoey Harper
Zoey Madeline
Zoey Roxana
Zoey Taylor

As A Middle Name:
Amelia Zoey
Catherine Zoey
Evelyn Zoey
Lorelei Zoey
Magnolia Zoey
September Zoey

Thanks for following this series for the past year! Tell me in the comments which name you prefer and what middle name you'd pair with it!

The Most Popular Arabic Names in the US in 2014

Have you ever really taken a look at the names in the United State's Social Security Administration's Top 1000 most popular names chart? I mean, have you really looked at it?  I decided to fish a little bit and I found a ton of Arabic names swimming right at me. Had I really never noticed these names before? Sure, I'm not an ethnic match for any of them but not all of them stand out as foreign.

Just take a look at the female names! Many of them aren't obviously Arabic and they are no doubt being used on girls of a variety of races all across the country. For example, the highest ranking name is Layla at #29 and it has so many variants that are very fashionable today such as Lyla, Laila, Lila, Leila and Lilah which all rank within the Top 1000.  Then there's the Aaliyah sisters with a similar story.

Let's start with the male names. There are four spellings of Muhammad and also variants like Ahmad that rank in the Top 1000. Somehow, though, the masculine names strike me as more ethnic and foreign-sounding than any of the female names do.  Why do you think that could be? Take a look:

Boys: Amir #212 Omar #214 Ali #333 Malik #376 Muhammad #399 Mohamed #427 Ibrahim #455 Khalil #465 Mohammed #498 Ahmed #549 Nasir #551 Yahir #564 Ayaan #570 Ahmad #571 Mohammad #588 Yusuf #589 Rayan #606 Hamza #620 Abdullah #634 Omari #707 Kareem #751 Samir #757 Hassan #759 Jamal #764 Yousef #766 Jamir #820 Rashad #913 Mustafa #916 Ameer #940 Khalid #953 Ayan #991

Girls: Layla #29 Aaliyah #45 Lyla #140 Laila #149 Aliyah #168 Lila #183 Alina #192 Leila #241 Nyla #301 Lilah #312 Fatima #328 Amina #408 Zara #422 Aleah #423 Nylah#430 Imani #503 Zariah #535 Aisha#559 Mariam #568 Maryam #597 Amani #647 Alia #729 Farrah #759 Yamileth #794 Zaria #860 Aliya #865 Salma#878 Yasmin #904 Yaritza #992

The feminine names are all so beautiful. They have a certain elegance about them that no doubt is the reason they are so appealing cross-culturally.

What do you think of this list? Have I missed any? Share your favorites in the comments below!

Ignatius

The list of The Very Best I Names for Boys and Girls offered plenty of interesting choices.  This week is the boys turn for a featured name and the options were hard to choose from. In the end, Ignatius was the victor.

The name Ignatius comes from the Roman family name Egnatius. Originally, Egnatius had an unknown meaning from the ancient Etruscan origin. As time went on, the spelling was altered so it would be similar to the Latin word ignis which means "fire". Because of this, the Etruscan Egnatius became the Latin Ignatius and inherited itself a meaning.

There were several saints named Ignatius. The most well-known St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) was the founder of the Jesuits. Interestingly, his birth name was Íñigo which is sometimes regarded as a form of Ignatius, but it is probably just because of its association with this saint.  (Inigo was also one of our featured I names that I nearly chose. It is Spanish but comes from the name Eneko which is derived from Basque elements. It doesn't seem to actually relate to Ignatius.) Inigo is a great alternative, though, if you like Ignatius but think it is a bit too big of a name for your tastes.

Now that Ignatius means fire, it is certainly a red-hot choice for bold namers. It has several variants in other languages including the Spanish Ignacio, the Italian Ignazio, the German Ignatz, the Portuguese Inácio, the Dutch Ignaas, the Russian Ignatiy and more.  Iggy, Nate or Natius (nay-shus) seem to be popular nicknames for Ignatius while the Spanish Ignacios can sometimes be called Nacio or Nacho for short.  There's also Ignacia for a girl who could potentially go by Nancy.

How does this international name rank in the US? Ignatius has been steadily in use since 1885.  It had the most usage in terms of births per year in 1920 when the name was given to 97 boys. It declined in usage after that, not even ranking in 1980 at all.

However, Ignatius is slowly climbing back up the charts, possibly receiving a tiny revival along with other more popular Latin -us names like Atticus or Maximus. Ignatius was given to 40 boys in 2014 for a ranking of #2896. So it isn't in the Top 1000 names but it is being used. It would be a unique choice for a modern boy!

What do you think of this name? Do you like Ignatius or one of the variants better?  If you're considering this name, here are some ideas for siblings and middle names:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Aurelia, Clementina, Juliana, Olympia, Serena, Sybil, Valentina
Brothers: Augustus, Casimir, Dominic, Florian, Octavian, Roman, Virgil

Middle Name Ideas:
Ignatius Benedict
Ignatius Joseph
Ignatius Matthew
Ignatius Vincent

As a Middle Name:
Arlo Ignatius
Henry Ignatius
Jonathan Ignatius
Robert Ignatius

This name is a bit difficult to pair up but it seems to work best as a middle name with a 2 syllable more-traditional first name. Henry Ignatius and Robert Ignatius are my favorites. However I couldn't resist going with Ignatius Benedict despite how very saint/pope it is. What would you pair Ignatius with?  Share your thoughts below!

Valentina

Since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, I chose to feature the lovely name Valentina today! What else would have been more appropriate?

This feminine name comes from the Roman Valentinus or Valens meaning "strong, vigorous, healthy" in Latin. Already this name has a great meaning! What about namesakes?

The masculine Valentine was a 3rd century saint and martyr whose feast day corresponded with a fertility festival, thus forever linking Valentine's day with love. A modern day bearer of the name Valentina is that of Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova. You may know her as the first woman to ever visit outer space in 1963. There is also Valentina Cortese, an Oscar-nominated actress, and a few celebrity children with the name.

In the US, Valentina is doing very well in the popularity department. It first appeared on record in 1897 but it wasn't regularly used until about 1910. It wasn't until 1994 that it entered the Top 1000. Now in 2013, there were 2,542 girls named Valentina with a ranking of #129.

If you map out the popularity of this name based on the number of births per year, you'll see the line go straight up starting in the 1990s. Something tells me that this name will continue climbing upwards and could possibly join the US Top 100 soon.

This name has usage in Italian, Spanish, Russian, Romanian and more which means that it has ranked fairly well around the world in recent years including #4 in Chile, #11 in Austria, #40 in Spain, #202 in the Netherlands and #340 in England/Wales among others.

What do you think of this name? Would you use Valentina for a girl or do you like Valentine more? What about Valentino for a boy? What would you pair with it? Here are a few ideas regarding siblings for Valentina and some middle name options:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Anastasia, Camilla, Emmeline, Lucia, Milana, Sabrina, Tatiana
Brothers: Augustus, Benedict, Dominic, Maximilian, Roman, Sebastian, Vincent

Middle Name Ideas:
Valentina Claire
Valentina Faye
Valentina Grace
Valentina Pearl

As a Middle Name:
Audrey Valentina
Hazel Valentina
Lily Valentina
Scarlett Valentina

Don't forget to vote for your favorite and share your thoughts in the comments below!

Which Valent- Name Would You Sooner Use?

Valentine (boy)

Valentine (girl)

Valentino

Valentina

Bridget

Original post: 2/6/15
Revision: 5/14/17

The latest article featuring The Very Best B Names for Boys and Girls had such a great collection that it was difficult to choose just one. In the end, today's featured name is Bridget.

Anglicized from the Irish name Brighid, Bridget means "exalted one".  It has also been suggested that Brighid could be derived from the Irish brigh meaning "strength".

Other spellings include Brigid, Bridgette, Brigit, and Bedelia. Variations in other languages include the Danish Britta, the Dutch Brigitta, the Finnish Riitta, the French Brigitte, the Italian Brigida, the Manx Breeshey, the Polish Brygida, and the Welsh Ffraid among many others.  Were you aware that Bridget was so internationally used?

In Irish mythology, there was a goddess of fire, poetry and wisdom named Bridget or Brigid. It was also the name of Saint Brigid in the 5th century, a patron saint of Ireland.  This saint was so esteemed in Ireland that the name was viewed as sacred and was not used for children. It wasn't until the 17th century that it gained usage, and when it did, it was insanely popular, so much so that its short form Biddy became the generic name for an Irish any-woman. The Scandinavian version Birgitta became common because of the 14th century saint of Sweden by that name.

These days in America, Bridget has been in constant use since before 1880. It began gaining an increase in usage in the late 1940s and climbed even higher up the charts in the 1960s. Bridget peaked in 1973 when the name was given to 2,763 baby girls for a ranking of #112.

Since then, the name has declined in popularity. Bridget ranked at #523 in 2013 with only 564 births for the year. This isn't a bad thing though. If you love the name Bridget, you'll be glad to know that it is growing more and more unique every year and that your daughter would be less likely to have another girl with the same name in her class.

Revision: As of 2016, Bridget ranks at #594 for a total of 506 births.  That is a decrease from the previously mentioned statistics above.

Bridget is a spunky and cute name for a modern girl. Since it is less popular and was never truly overly used in a past decade, it isn't considered "dated". It would still be lovely and refreshing to hear it on the playground today.

Nicknames could include Bee, Biddy, Britt, Bridie, Bridey, Jet, Jetty, Bridgie, Birdie or Bree.  What would you name a sibling for Bridget? Or what middle name would you give her? Here are some ideas for you if you're considering this name:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Claire, Erin, Jessica, Katherine, Megan, Molly, Sarah, Vanessa
Brothers: Brendan, Christopher, Daniel, Jacob, Kevin, Michael, Patrick, Shawn

Middle Name Ideas:
Bridget Alaina
Bridget Genevieve
Bridget Juliana
Bridget Maeve
Bridget McKenzie
Bridget Riley

As a Middle Name:
Amelia Bridget
Caitlyn Bridget
Emma Bridget
Isla Bridget
Lillian Bridget
Shayla Bridget

What do you think of the name Bridget? Or do you prefer a different spelling or variation? Don't forget to vote for one below!

Which variation is your favorite?

Bridget

Bridgette

Brigid

Brigitte

Brigida

Birgitta

Britta

Alistair

Did you pick your favorite male A name from the previous post about The Very Best A Names for Boys and Girls? I did. And I will be featuring it right now. 

Alistair is the anglicized form of the name Alasdair which is the Scottish version of Alexander. See the similarities between the three names?  There are other brother-names drawn from Alexander like the Arabic Iskandar, the Finnish Aleksanteri, the Irish Alastar, the Russian Aleksandr and the Ukrainian Oleksander among many others. 

Alexander itself comes from the Greek Alexandros which means "defender of men". Of course, Alexander is a Greek mythology name (another name for the hero Paris) and a biblical name (found in the New Testament). The most famous bearer in history was Alexander the Great. It has also been used by kings of Scotland, Poland and Yugoslavia, emperors of Russia and eight popes. 

However, the English Alistair doesn't have any big namesakes. There are many modern people who wear the name though, which you can read about here.  Alistair can also be spelled Alastair, Alasdair or Alister. It can be pronounced either al-uh-STARE or AL-iss-ter. Interestingly, there is a Scottish Clan MacAlister which is another cool name option. 

The featured spelling, Alistair still ranks outside of the Top 1000 names in the US. It was first used in 1956, then 1964 and not again until 1969. It has had a small increase in usage since the late 2000s and currently ranks #1305 in 2013 with 131 births.  However, it ranks fairly well in England and Wales.

Alister gained usage in 1982 and was given to 57 boys in 2013.  Alastair popped up in the US as early as 1922 but it didn't gain regularity until 1969. It remains the least-popular anglicized spelling with only 27 births in 2013 even though it was first used earlier than the other spellings.  The Scottish Alasdair is even rarer, popping up for the first time in 1989 before being inconsistently used. Only 20 boys received this spelling in 2013.

Overall, whichever spelling you prefer, Alistair is a rare name in the US which is a nice alternative to the ever-popular Alexander which ranks at #8 in 2013.  Alistair is very handsome and unique. What middle name would you pair with it?  Here's a few ideas:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Amelia, Cressida, Elizabeth, Fiona, Madeline, Rhiannon, Rosalind
Brothers: Bennett, Colin, Declan, Lachlan, Quentin, Tristan, William

Middle Name Ideas:
Alistair Caspian
Alistair Graham
Alistair James
Alistair Noble
Alistair Tavish

As a Middle Name:
Finley Alistair
Henry Alistair
Max Alistair
Robert Alistair
Vincent Alistair

Don't forget to vote for your favorite and share your thoughts in the comments below!:

Which do you like most?

Alistair

Alastair

Alister

Alasdair

Alexander

MacAlister

Beyond Alexander: 4+ Syllable Boy Names

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                   Eleazar Eliseo Emanuel               Emiliano Emmanuel Epifanio Espiridion Estanislao Eugenio Evaristo Everardo Ezekiel Federico Feliciano Filiberto Florencio Florentino Fortunato Gamaliel Geronimo Guadalupe Heriberto Hipolito Horacio Horatio Ildefonso Inocencio Isidoro Jedidiah Jeremiah Jeronimo Joselito Josemaria Juventino Leonardo Leonides Leopoldo Liborio Macallister Malaquias Marcelino

Margarito Mauricio Maximilian Maximiliano Maximillian Maximino Moctezuma Napoleon Natividad Nehemiah Nicodemus Obadiah Octavian Olajuwan Oleander Omarion Patricio Policarpo Porfirio Primitivo Refugio Rigoberto Rosalio Rosario Salvatore Santiago Saturnino Silverio Teodoro Teodulo Thelonius Theodoric Theophilus Tiberius Timoteo Valentino Victorino Vittorio Zacarias Zachariah Zebediah Zechariah

If you're looking for some shorter names too, I got you covered! Here are some One-Syllable Boy Names as well as some Four Letter Boy Names!  Next week, we'll explore long girl name possibilities!

World-Wide Wednesday: Scandinavian Baby Names

This edition of World-Wide Wednesday focuses on the baby names of Scandinavia. This includes the three kingdoms of Norway, Denmark and Sweden. These three countries are also categorized as Nordic countries along with Finland, Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe islands. There is plenty of overlapping influence between the countries that sometimes is translated into their baby names. Most baby name sites group all of these together as one overall "origin" called Scandinavian names.

In general, surnames, or "heritable family names", weren't used often in Scandinavia until rather recently in comparison with some other countries. In Denmark, an act was passed in 1526 that made families of nobility have to begin using a heritable name. High class people followed suit during the next few centuries and finally everyone else did later. They followed a patronymic naming tradition that gave the father's name to the children with the suffix "-sen" added to the end. For example, the son of a man named Jens would be given the surname Jensen. 

There have been many naming acts passed since 1771, that made citizens have to give up traditional primary patronymics in favor of choosing a single patronymic surname to use as their heritable family name. What resulted was an overwhelming dominance of a few specific surnames. About one-third of the Danish population have one of the ten most common surnames. More than two-thirds of people have a patronymic name that end with -sen. However, in 2005, Denmark ruled that people could once again use patronymic surnames as a replacement for or in addition to traditional surnames. 

In Norway, the most common surnames were also patronymic and usually ended with either "-ssen", "-sson", "-sdatter", or "-sdotter" with the first two referring to a son and the last two referring to a daughter. For example, the daughter of Jon would be given the surname Jonsdotter while her brother would be called Jonsson. In more recent times, the extra S is often dropped: Hansen instead of Hanssen. 

In 1923, a law was passed that made each Norwegian family choose a single, hereditary last name. Any surname that is derived from a place name usually originated as a farm name that was sometimes taken instead of a patronymic one. However today, place names are much more common than a patronymic name. The popular farm names tend to include either Bakke/Bakken meaning "hill or rise", Berg/Berge meaning "mountain or hill", Haugen/Daugan meaning "hill or mound", Dahl/Dal meaning "valley", Lie meaning "side of a valley", Moen meaning "meadow" or Rud meaning "clearing". Since 2002, the option of using patronymic surnames was once again available.

Swedish surnames are originally patronymic with the most common ending being "-sson". However, in 1901, an act was passed that abolished the practice of handing down patronymic names. Everyone one had to have a specific family surname that was inherited by each generation. Swedish families tend to like names that have to do with nature. A few examples include Lind meaning "linden", Berg meaning "mountain", Dahl/Dahlin meaning "valley" or Alström/Ahlström meaning "alder + stream".  They sometimes build into the family name information about where the family came from. For example, the Strindberg family came from Strinne. There are also some family names that have to do with war such as Skarpsvärd meaning "sharp sword" or Sköld meaning "shield". Since 1982, they've been allowed to use patronymic names again.

In Iceland, they still use patronymic surnames almost exclusively. There are a few heritable surnames passed down, but nearly all Icelanders follow the patronymic method of naming. This includes giving sons the suffix -son and daughters get the suffix -dóttir.  Iceland is very specific and picky about which names parents are allowed to use. There is a Naming Committee that must approve names, especially new ones that have never been used in the country before. The names must be easily used in the Icelandic language and use their alphabet, and they have to be gender specific. Nearly everyone has their father's name incorporated into their last name, but occasionally, matronymic names are used instead. This occurs when the child is to have no social tie to the father or if the mother wishes to make a social statement.

Now that we've covered how naming traditions generally work now and in the past, let's take a look at some examples of Scandinavian baby names.

The following names are somewhat anglicized and therefore a little easier for American children to wear:

Girls: Annika                                Annelise Astrid Axelia Brigitta Cilla Dagny Elin Elsa Erika Freya Greta Heidi Helga Ingrid Johanna Kaia Kirsten Liv Magda Milla Novalie Oletta Selma Signy Sigrid Siri Sylvi Thora Tilda Tyra Ulrika Viveka

Boys: Anders Anton Ari Axel Bo Carl Casper Claus Erik Finn Gunnar Gustav Hans Hendrick Ivor Jannick Jensen Johan Kai Lars Leif Magnus Odin Otto Ralph Rasmus Sander Soren Stellan Thor Torsten Ulrik Viggo

If you're looking for some names that are very heavily influenced by the countries and languages of Scandinavia, here is a nice collection starting with the girls first:

Abelone                              Aili Aira Alfhild Anneli Arnhild Arvida Åse Asta Astri Aura Beata Bryndis Brynhild Brynja Dagmar Dagrun Ebba Edda Eila Eira Ellevi Ellisif Embla Eydis Fideli Frigg Gudrun Gyda Hallgjerd Hedda Hedvig Henrika Hildur Hillevi Hjordis Hulda Inari Ingeborg Ingegerd Ingvild Kaisa Kajsa Karelia Katri

Kjersti Lærke Lemmitty Lillevi Liva Lova Lumi Lykke Mæja Maiken Maila Merete Meri Metta Mieli Minea Moa Nemi Pernilla Ragna Ragnhild Saga Salla Sella Senni Sigrid Sigrun Silja Sini Sóley Solveig Sunniva Suvi Svea Synnøve Taina Tarina Tella Tordis Torny Tova Vanja Veslemøy Vigdis Ylva

And the boy names:

Åke                                     Albin Alrik Alvi Andor Ansgar Arne Arnfinn Arni Aro Arvid Asger Asker Audun Auvo Balder Birger Bjarte Dagfinn Eigil Einar Eivind Elof Emund Erlend Erling Esben Folke Freystein Geir Greger Gregers Gudmund Gunvor Hakon Haldor Halsten Halvar Hemming Henrik Ingemar Ingo Ingvar Jarl Jens

Jerrik Joar Jokum Karsten Keld Kjartan Kjell Kolben Konsta Magnar Melker Mika Mio Morten Njord Ordin Orvar Orvo Øystein Ragnar Ravn Reidar Rein Runar Rune Seved Sigurd Sigvid Solen Stein Stig Sven Tage Taran Thorfinn Thorvald Toivo Tollak Torben Torun Tyke Ulf Valo Vebjørn Yngve

If you're wondering what the most popular names per country are, I have that information too! For the year 2012, these were the Top 10 names per gender per country:

Top 10 Girl Names in Scandinavia in 2012:

Denmark         Sofia Ida Freja Emma Isabella Sofie Maja Laura Clara Mathilde

Sweden           Alice Elsa Julia Ella Maja Ebba Emma Linnea Molly Alva

Finland   Ella Sofia Emma Aada Aino Venla Helmi Emilia Siiri Sara

Norway Nora Emma Sofie Linnea/Linea Sara Emilie Ingrid Thea Leah Sofia

Top 10 Boy Names in Scandinavia in 2012:

Denmark    William Lucas Victor Noah Oscar Liam Frederik Emil Oliver Magnus

Sweden William Oscar Lucas Hugo Elias Alexander Liam Charlie Oliver Filip

Finland     Onni Elias Eetu Leo Aleksi Niilo Veeti Oliver Joona Eino

Norway Lucas Emil Mathias Jonas Alexander William Oskar Magnus Markus Oliver

What do you think of Scandinavian names? Do you have a favorite? Share your thoughts in the comments below!!

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[Note:] I am not Scandinavian and I've never been to that part of the world. If any of this information is incorrect or lacking, contact me so I can adjust it.