The Art of Naming

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

Leonardo da Vinci There is a very large Latin presence in the United States these days. Did you know that there are several Spanish, Italian and Portuguese names for boys that rank within the Top 1000 most popular names? My favorite of the bunch is listed as the "Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Leonard" on Behind the Name. Leonardo fits all three origin categories with ease and yet it is familiar enough to English ears that it could be considered for American boys who do not have Latin origins. The part-Italian Leonardo DiCaprio has helped make the name more mainstream in America. Interestingly, his name was chosen when his pregnant mother felt him kick for the first time while his parents were viewing a painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo isn't the only name that works across all three of these cultures though.  Below are all of the Latinate names and their popularity rank for the year 2014 in the US. Let's take a look at the first half of th

To round out Italian Week, let's take a look at a lovely Italian girl name: Luciana. This name not only has Italian usage, but also Spanish, Portuguese and Ancient Roman.  It is the feminine form of the Latin Lucianus which is a Roman family name. It is derived from Lucius which comes from the Latin word lux meaning "light" . For girls, names like Lucia, Lucilla, Lucetta, Lucinda, Lucienne and Lucy are all related to Luciana. Male variations include Luciano, Lucianus, Lucius, Lucio and Lucian.  Of these, Lucia is hot in Spain. Luciana has a couple different pronunciations. The Italians say loo-CHAH-nah and the Spanish will say loo-THYAH-nah or loo-SYAH-nah. You'll probably hear the last one most in the US. In the US, Luciana has occasionally been used since 1897. It was very sporadic and with only a handful of births per year until there was a sudden boost from 1974-1977.  1976 was the biggest year with 317 births and a ranking of #546. Luciana has onl

Family is very important in Italy. So much so that there has been a very strong custom in place for how parents are expected to name their children. The first male is named after his paternal grandfather. The second male is named after his maternal grandfather. The first female is named after her paternal grandmother. The second female is named after her maternal grandmother. Any further children would then be named either for their parents, for a favorite aunt or uncle, for a saint, or for a deceased relative. There are always exceptions to this custom but this is typically the pattern that has been traditionally in use. If there was a child who died at a young age, for instance the first born son Emilio, his name would probably be reused for the next boy that was born in order to honor his paternal grandfather Emilio again. Sometimes if the first born was a girl, they'd use a female variation of the paternal grandfather's name. The pattern wasn't always follo

Welcome to Italian week! On Wednesday, we'll look at Italian baby naming traditions, and Friday will bring a lovely girls name. Today, we're looking at the Italian boy name Lorenzo. Lorenzo is actually both the Italian and Spanish form of the Latin Laurentius or Laurence . This name means "from Laurentum" which is a city in ancient Italy probably derived the Latin word laurus meaning "laurel".   In history, Lorenzo de Medici was the ruler of Florence during the Renaissance. He was known as the Magnificent and was a patron of the arts. He actually employed great artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli and others. Click here to view other namesakes in history. Lorenzo currently ranks #4 in Italy and short-form Enzo ranks at #4 in France.  Renzo is another nickname option or even Leo. This name has always done fairly well in the US too! It is one of those exotic but not too exotic choices that parents love. Since 1880, Lorenzo

The name Cara comes from an Italian word of endearment that means "beloved". In Latin, Cara means "friend" which is also true for the Irish Gaelic origination. However, the Spanish word cara means "face" and the word kara means "dark" in Turkey. On the Isle of Man, in traditional baby naming books, Cara referred to "a songster". My name is Kara and I pronounce it CARE-uh. Most people that I meet initially say CAR-uh, though, which is something to ponder. Behind the Name gives three different pronunciations for Cara: KAHR-ə (English), KER-ə (English), KAH-rah (German).  Baby Names Hub has an extensive list of comments from ladies named Cara who have shared their experience with the name and its [mis]pronunciations. Many of them also mentioned how often this name can get confused for Sara, Tara, Clara, Karen or Carol. Keep that in mind if you are considering this name. Variants of this name include Kara and Karaugh; diminutives

Leonora is the Italian short form of the name Eleonora or Eleanor. It comes from the Occitan name Aliénor which comes from the Ancient Germanic name Aenor . Its meaning is unknown. Check out the family tree to see which other names are related! With boys names like Leo, Leonard, Leonardo and Leonidas starting to gain more and more popularity, could this feminine "leo" name follow suit? She is not related to these leonine names but she does start with the same three letters. Even if Leo is more of a boy thing, Leonora could go by Leo if she's tomboyish. It could also be spelled Leanora to get the Lea nickname instead. But the adorable nickname Nora is always a great option! With Eleanor making strides, I don't see why Leonora couldn't follow! In line with this week's post about operatic baby names, Leonora is a distinctive choice. She has appeared in three major operas! She was a heroine in both Beethoven's Fidelio and Verdi's Il Trovatore. The

It is always fun to take a look at what kind of names are popular in other parts of the world. Sometimes, us American bloggers get so caught up writing about the Top US names that we forget to look around. In 2012, there were 82,164 live births in Switzerland. 39,729 were girls and 42,435 were boys. Below are the top names for the babies born to parents who speak French, German and Italian but live within Switzerland. It is so interesting that these names can come from one country and yet differ so greatly between the three languages. One thing is certain, they all tend to favor the "L" sound in many of these favorite names!  Take a look at the top 16 names for each language! French-Speaking Switzerland: Boys: 1. Gabriel 2. Luca 3. Thomas 4. Noah 5. Nathan 6. Lucas 7. Samuel 8. Theo Girls: 1. Emma 2. Léa 3. Chloé 4. Zoé 5. Lara 6. Eva 7. Charlotte 8. Clara German-Speaking Switzerland: Boys: 1. Noah 2. Luca 3. David 4. Leon 5. Leandro 6. N