The Art of Naming

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...

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...

In 2014, I posted a series of Birth Announcements pulled from real births in real hospitals around America. We explored the most common middle names for boys earlier this week. Similarly, I also collected together the twenty most common middle names for girls. Disclaimer: This is very limited data. The following featured names appeared the most often in my small collection of birth announcements which can be found on the name lists page.   Of course, I would much rather have official data. If the Social Security Administration made a list of the most popular middle names, things would be easier and namers across the country would rejoice.  Since they don't seem to compile that data, I had to come up with my own. What I noticed is that many of these names are fairly traditional. Not quite to the same extent as the male options, but the females may also receive names that honor a relative or an ideal such as grace or faith. This list will probably not come as a surpris...

In 2014, I posted a series of Birth Announcements that were taken from real hospitals across the US. After combing through all of the names and tallying them up, I came across the twenty most commonly recurring middle names for boys. Disclaimer: This is very limited data.  The following featured names appeared the most often in my small collection of birth announcements which can be found on the  name lists page.    Of course, I would much rather have official data on that. If the Social Security Administration made a list of the most popular middle names, things would be easier and namers like me would be thrilled. Since they don't compile that data, I had to improvise. What I noticed, though, is that we tend to like our male names to be on the traditional side. It may be that many parents use the middle name spot to honor male relatives. Many may simply favor solid, classic choices above the more modern and trendy, while others pair a trendy first name ...

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 na...

Our final boy name of the A-Z series is Yannick. It comes straight from the list of The Very Best Y Names for boys and girls. Yannick  is a diminutive of the name Yann which is the Breton form of the name John. Yann is well-used by the French, recently ranking at #113. Yannick is a bit more unusual but it did rank at #288 in The Netherlands recently. Nameberry says that Yannick is "not likely to appeal to many American ears," but I disagree. It may never be popular but it isn't strange either. It could even be unusually refreshing to meet a little Yannick. There have been many names ending with -ick over the years. In the 1960s in particular, names like Derrick, Erick, Dominick, Frederick and Patrick ranked well. They all declined in usage after that but they are all ticking upward again today. Add to that list Maverick and Kendrick too for more modern options. Perhaps, though, they are referring to the "yann" part rather than the "ick". Y N...

The name Xanthe is brought to you today in honor of a previous article featuring The Very Best X Names for Boys and Girls. This name is Greek and is derived from ξανθος (xanthos) meaning "golden, yellow" or "fair hair". While this is a very beautiful name, there can be some annoying pronunciation issues that go along with it. Fortunately, the overwhelming consensus that I've found among typical English speakers is that they pronounce it ZAN-thee . ZAN-tha is another possibility. Some claim that it is pronounced more like ZAN-they or KSAN-thee. If you'd like to read a discussion about it, click here. For the purposes of this article, I will be assuming the pronunciation ZAN-thee. Xanthe is a name used twice on the planet Mars. Once for the Xanthe Montes which is a mountain range, and once for a region referred to as Xanthe Terra. Additionally, there is an asteroid called 411 Xanthe. There were also a few minor mythological characters with this nam...

This featured name is brought to you by the letter W and  the very best W names for boys and girls . We recently talked about how one of the biggest boy name trends is to use surnames as first names . As an English surname, Wesley is no exception. It fits right in with other surname names for boys. As a name, Wesley could be considered more on the gentle side of boy names. This could be partly because many of the other -ley names are rather unisex like Bailey or conquered by the girls like Ashley. However, there are many who also consider Wesley to be a tough guy name due to pop culture associations such as actor Wesley Snipes. Another major association is John Wesley, an 18th century theologian who founded the evangelical movement known as Methodism. Wesley  is short for "Wesleydale" which is Anglo-Norman in origin. The "wes" part refers to the direction "west" while "lea" is an open grassy area. Therefore, Wesley refers to a wester...

One of The Very Best V Names around is Viola, of course! Taken from our previous article, this name is still a rarity but could potentially gain popularity in the coming years. The name Viola means "violet" in Latin. If Violet is too popular for you (it ranked #67 in 2014), try Viola. It is very similar in sound but it is ranking well below the Top 1000 chart. As you may know, the viola is a bowed string instrument. Wikipedia says that "it is slightly larger than a violin in size and has a lower and deeper sound than a violin. Since the 18th century it has been the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello."  This would be a great name choice for musical parents, specifically ones who may actually play this instrument. The Viola is also a genus of flowering plants within the violet family of Violaceae . The name Viola would please not only musical parents, but those with an appreciation for nature. Additionally, literature love...

Names that start with the letter U  aren't always favored very highly but Ulysses is a great exception that deserves more usage. The masculine name Ulysses is the Latin form of the excellent Greek mythological name Odysseus. Odysseus is said to be derived from the Greek οδυσσομαι ( odyssomai ) which means "to hate, wrathful". While that isn't the greatest meaning ever, both of these names are strong and interesting. In Greek legend, Odysseus was a hero of the Trojan War. Homer's The Odyssey, follows Odysseus's journey back to his kingdom and his wife Penelope. As for the name Ulysses, it was used as the title of a book written in 1920 by Irish author James Joyce. This story was loosely based on The Odyssey and was adapted into a movie in 1967. The most famous man named Ulysses in American history is Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), the commander of the Union forces during the American Civil War. He later became the 18th President of the United States f...

Inspired by our list of The Very Best T Names for Boys and Girls is the beautiful and unique name Tallulah. Tallulah is a Native American name but there is a bit of discrepancy about its true origin and meaning. It is typically said to mean "leaping waters" in the Choctaw language but some argue that it actually means "town" in the Creek language . Perhaps both of them are accurate. This name is pronounced tə-LOO-lə. The alternative spelling Talulla is actually a different name. Talulla is Irish and comes from the Gaelic name Tailelaith . It is derived from the Irish elements tuile meaning "abundance" and flaith meaning "princess". There are two early Irish saints by the name Talulla. Neither name is popular or even common. The Irish Talulla has only been given to 10 girls total according to the SSA's records: 5 births in 2011 and 5 in 2013 in the US. As for Tallulah, the name has been on record since 1917 in the US but it was only...

Taken from the list of The Very Best S Names for Boys and Girls is the interesting masculine name Soren. Let's learn more about it. Soren is a Scandinavian name that's starting to catch on with American parents today. There are three different ways to spell Soren . First, there's just the anglicized Soren which is typically pronounced Sorr-en. If you venture into Scandinavia, there's also the Danish and Norwegian form the name spelled Søren and pronounced more like SUU-ren. Derived from that is the form that the Swedes and Germans tend to prefer: Sören , also pronounced SUU-ren or ZUU-ren. No matter how it is accented, the name originally comes from Severinus which is a Roman family name derived from Severus meaning "stern" in Latin. This name has been well-used in Denmark. Just take a look at the long list of mostly Danish famous people on Nameberry.   What about its popularity in America? Soren first appeared on record in the US in 1912 but it ...

Based on this week's list of The Very Best R Names for Boys and Girls , I've chosen the vintage, gem name Ruby. Ruby is derived from the Latin word ruber which means "red". As you might know, it is the name of a precious stone with a red hue that serves as the birthstone of the month of July. Along with other gem names, Ruby was first used as a name in the Victorian Era. As a baby name, Ruby gained usage in the 19th century. It has been in use since name records were first kept in the US in 1880. Ruby was particularly well-used in the early 1900s, peaking from 1918-1924 with over eight thousand births each year. Vintage names like Ruby that were popular around 1920, declined in usage and then began climbing the charts again in recent years are fashionable now. There are many that follow this same pattern that's sometimes called the 100 Year Rule which basically states that once-popular names tend to come back in style after about 100 years have passed....

Quincy was hand-chosen from our article that featured The Very Best Q Names for Boys and Girls. We'll take a closer look at it now. Quincy is a surname that came from the place name Cuinchy which is a village in France. Cuinchy was originally derived from the Ancient Roman praenomen, or given name, Quintus which means "fifth" in Latin. Typically, Quintus was only given to the fifth born son but this isn't a necessary requirement for a modern boy named Quincy. Perhaps the most famous bearer of this name is the sixth president of the United States, John Quincy Adams, who happened to be born in the town Quincy, Massachusetts which was named after his mother's grandfather Colonel John Quincy. This interesting, quirky name has been in regular usage since name records were first kept in 1880 in the US. It was never all that popular until the mid 1970s. At its peak, Quincy ranked at #273 in 1977 with a total of 717 male births. Usage has now fallen to a steady 4...

Today's featured girls' name, Phoebe, is brought to you by our previous article, T he Very Best P Names for Boys and Girls. Phoebe was Latinized from the Greek name Phoibe (Φοιβη) which means "radiant or bright". It is pronounced FEE-bee. There was a Titan named Phoibe in Greek mythology who was associated with the moon. One of Saturn's moons is named Phoebe after this Titan whose granddaughter was the moon goddess Artemis. Occasionally, Phoebe is considered as a synonym for Artemis. Biblically, the name Phoebe appears in the New Testament and refers to a female minister from Cenchrea, mentioned by the Apostle Paul in the book of Romans. Spelled Phebe, there was a shepherdess by this name in Shakespeare's As You Like It, published in 1623. The name Phoebe gained usage in England after the Protestant Reformation which ended in 1648. In the US, the name Phoebe has been in use since records began in 1880. It has very slowly gained more and more usage...

Pulled from our previous list regarding The Very Best O Names for Boys and Girls is the interesting male name Oberon. Pronounced O-bər-ahn, this name is a variant of the name Auberon which is the Norman French derivative of the Germanic name Alberich. Alberich means "elf power" and is also the father name of Aubrey. A similar and relatively well-known literary name is Oberyn which was created by author George R. R. Martin for a character in the popular book series A Song of Ice and Fire and the television adaptation Game of Thrones. Oberyn may have been inspired by Oberon even though the two are pronounced slightly differently. Oberon is also a literary name but it dates back much further than Oberyn. Oberon was the King of the Fairies in Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream  in 1595. In honor of that character, Oberon is also the name of one of the moons of Uranus which makes Oberon a celestial name as well. Despite all of these associations,...

Inspired by our list of The Very Best N Names for Boys and Girls , I present the name Nova. Nova comes from the Latin word novus which means "new". A nova is also a space term for when there is a cataclysmic nuclear explosion on a white dwarf planet. It causes a sudden brightening of the star. A nova is slightly different than a supernova which is a stellar explosion that briefly outshines an entire galaxy with as much energy as the sun before fading. As a name, Nova has been in use for girls since 1885 in the US but it was never popular until it exploded within the past 5 years. It ranked below the Top 1000 at #1133 in 2010. By 2013 it was up to #529. As of 2014 Nova ranked way up at #287 with 1,121 births for the year. It also ranks well in the Netherlands and Sweden. Nova has recently spiked for boys, too. It has always been given to males here in the US but not regularly until 1996. In 2014 there were 102 boys named Nova for a rank of #1553. Do you like this n...

Our featured boy name is Milo. It comes to us from our previous article that featured The Very Best M Names for Boys and Girls. The origin of the name Milo is not fully known. Milo has been listed as being both Latin and Old Germanic. Sometimes it is said that it is a form of Miles, but it seems more likely that Milo came first. According to Behind the Name, it's possible that Milo came from the Medieval Slavic name Milu from which names like Milan, Milena, Ludmila, and Miloslav come. It makes sense that Milo would be related to these names but apparently it isn't certain. What we do know is that the name Miles came from the Germanic name Milo which was introduced to England by the Normans. The confusing part is that Milo is listed as the "Old Germanic form of Miles as well as the Latinized form." So according to Behind the Name, Milo gave rise to Miles which gave rise to Milo. Either way, this name dates back to the Middle Ages where it was found bein...

Taken straight from our list of The Very Best L Names for Boys and Girls is the lovely name Luna. While Luna is usually listed as either Italian, Spanish or both, it originates as a Latin name meaning "the moon". According to the ancient Roman mythology, the goddess Luna was considered the divine embodiment of the moon and was often portrayed as driving a white chariot through the sky. Her Greek counterpart is the goddess Selene. As a baby name in the US, Luna dates back to the start of our modern records in the year 1880. Luna has been used on and off over the years, encountering a bit of a dry spell in the mid-60s. It was never popular until recently when it joined the Top 1000 names in 2003. It has been steadily rising on the popularity chart since then. 2,314 baby girls were given the name in 2014 for a ranking of #143. At this rate, it should continue to rise in popularity. Luna is short and sweet. It carries beautiful imagery with it as it evokes peaceful vibes...

Today's featured name comes from the list of The Very Best K Names for Boys and Girls. This one actually happens to be unisex these days but it will be mainly presented for males in this article, (hence the blue below). The Kai that I'm most familiar with is the Hawaiian name that means "sea". This is the one being featured here.  Other possible meanings for this name include "forgiveness" in Japanese, "food" in Maori and "willow tree" in Navajo. Kai is also considered a diminutive for names like Gerhard, Nicolaas, Cornelis and Gaius/Caius. It is also a feminine variant of Kaja which comes from Katarina. Internationally, Kai ranks well! It is actually doing better in other countries for boys than it is in the US. However, we're the only country that has a ranking for this name as a feminine one. This is how Kai ranked in the US: Boy: 2,387 births (#177) Girl: 262 births (#1000) This means the name's unisex ratio i...