The Art of Naming

The Boy's Name of the Week is the bold and playful Felix.  Beyond "Felix the Cat," this is a Latin name that means "happy and fortunate". Felix has been the name of four popes and a whopping 67 saints! A biblical Felix was the governor of Judea who imprisoned Saint Paul.  In Ancient Roman times, General Sulla adopted the name Felix because he felt as though the gods blessed him with luck and fortune. Felix has been all over various literature and films, too many to list. There are also many modern day examples and a couple celebrity babies. If you zoom out and look internationally, the name Felix is very diverse! It works well in Spanish, German, Austrian, Russian and Polish. It is also quite popular in England/Wales, Denmark, France, The Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Here in the U.S., it is definitely picking up steam! It ranked at #316 in 2012 when 1,025 boys were born. There were even 15 female births, but Felix comes across as an all-boy name to

The Boy Name of the Week is the strong and bold Benedict. I prefer this choice over the more-common Benjamin and Bennett. Benedict is a Latin name meaning "blessed." It is also the name of Saint Benedict, an Italian Monk who formed the Benedictine Order in the 6th century. Additionally, a whopping sixteen popes have worn the name. Benedict hit England in the 12th century and became insanely popular. The alternate spelling, Benedick, probably won't fly for a modern baby but it was used for a character in the Shakespeare piece Much Ado About Nothing. Of course there will always be that link to the infamous traitor Benedict Arnold, but he died in 1801 so I'm willing to look past that now, are you? To switch gears, a modern day Benedict is a new rising star. The British stage, film and TV actor named Benedict Cumberbatch is gaining popularity in the States now. Let's look at the popularity stats of Benedict. It recently ranked at #420 in England/Wales, bu