The Art of Naming

I decided to choose the Name of the Week from the Top 1000 baby names chart from England/Wales in 2012. My choice is #7, Alfie.  England is big on nickname names which basically means names that end with -ie and have a longer, "proper form" as well.  In this case, Alfie comes from the name Alfred. Derived from Old English, Alfred is composed of elements that mean "Elf Counsel".  This name dates back as far as Alfred the Great in the 9th-century, and probably farther. He was the King of Wessex who notoriously fought against the Danes living in northeastern England. Beyond that, he was a scholar who translated many Latin books into Old English. The name Alfred became very rare by the end of the middle ages and wasn't revived until the 18th century. Another famous Alfred was Lord Tennyson, a British poet who lived from 1809-1892. Alfred peaked in usage in the US in 1928 when 6,244 baby boys were born, ranking the name at #33. Since then it has gone downhil...

I am always fascinated by the top baby names in England/Wales too! Their population versus the population of the US is roughly 19:105. So to see such different numbers is fascinating. But even more interesting than the math is the completely different style of names that the Brits prefer.     Source. Take a look at the Top 1000 baby names that are popular in England/Wales for the 2012 birth year!:

I love questions about popularity. I am always wondering if parents choose names because of how popular (or unpopular) they are. And with that, do they also avoid certain names because they're popular or unheard of? The above poll focused on names that start with Isa-.  It is no secret that Isabella was the #1 name in 2009 and 2010 after seeming to come out of nowhere suddenly in the early 2000s. In fact, Isabella was rather obscure, not even on the top 1000 chart, between 1949 and 1990. I didn't think to include Isabelle on the poll, but she's not nearly as popular as Isabella. That -a ending makes all the difference.  Isabelle ranked at #126 in 2012, while Isabella is #3.  Alternatively, Isabel ranked right behind Isabelle at #134. I wonder how many of you would have voted for Isabelle or Isabel. What about other options that don't have a bell chained to it? The lovely Isadora is my personal favorite. I would use this over Isabella any day! And the rare and ...

See that poll above? I asked you what I thought was a very difficult question, but surprisingly, the answer was a very easy choice to make. The clear-cut favorite Em- name on The Art of Naming is Emmeline. In fact, just turn the poll upside-down to put the names in the correct order! Here are the official results: Emmeline: 19 votes  (45%) Emerald: 7 votes (16%) Emilia:  6 votes (14%) Emily:  5 votes (11%) Emma:  5 votes (11%) This was a Popularity Question. I wanted to know how many people would prefer sticking to something popular like Emma or Emily, and how many people would opt for the bolder, rarer choices like Emerald and Emmeline, with Emilia tucked safely in the middle. Emmeline is destined to be popular in the coming years and its because of the popularity of Emma and Emily, as well as the popular -line names like Caroline and Madeline. Parents love the Em- but want to be unique, so Emmeline is a great choice!  It is a French name...

They say that it takes 100 years for names to come back into fashion. They aren't wrong. When you think about all of the names that are currently at the top of the charts (or rising quickly) how many of them were previously considered "Grandma" names? Perhaps these names are now being used to honor those grandparents. Or maybe those names now belong to the great-grandparents of current baby-namers and aren't well-known or thought of as old. Just like fashion trends, names have a way of coming back around and seeming fresh again. The 100 year rule is real! To prove that, here are some names that saw popularity spikes in the 1915-1925 range. These same names have begun gaining popularity since 2010 (and sometimes earlier because of those parents ahead of the trend.) We can only assume that these names will continue to climb our modern day charts and hit their peaks around the 100-years-later mark and then decline again. Name: (Year with most births) #ranki...

Are you trying to find the perfect baby name that has history and class? Many parents find themselves looking to the past. Names that were hot for our grandmothers and great-grandmothers are now turning the corner and becoming fresh and new again despite being classified as "old lady" or "old fashioned" names before. Perhaps the perfect name for your daughter is on the list below! Take a look and see if you find any that you like. They are all wonderful options. Check out the "Naming Services" tab above if you'd like more information about a certain name or if you'd like an outsider's opinion on which you should go with! I can help you narrow down your choices statistically!  Enjoy! Ada Adelaide Adeline Agatha Alice Alma Amabel Anna Antonia Augusta Beatrice Catherine Cecily Celia Clara Cora Cordelia Dorothea Edith Eleanor Eloise Elsa Esther Etta Evelyn Flora Florence Frances Francesca Georgia Harriet Hazel ...

This amazingly informative list was originally put together by  Kelli at NameFreak!   I cannot take the credit, but I had to share. I think it is very important that expecting parents have access to this sort of thing. She called it the "Playground Analysis," which is a great way to describe it! When you are out and about and you hear a child's name, you have no idea how it is spelled. Let's say you are currently pregnant with your first boy and you are in love with the name Jackson. It honors your husband, your husband's father and grandfather, your late brother Jack, and it is your mother's maiden name too. It seems perfect!!  But popularity does concern you. According to the SSA's Top 1000 chart , Jackson ranks at #22. That is a bit too high for your usual liking, but Jackson is so perfect for your family that you commit to using it anyway and announce it to your family and friends! However, you're on the playground one day with your three yea...

Baby Profile by Vera Kratochvil When pondering classic and even regal names, there is one that almost always comes to mind: Elizabeth. This perpetually popular name surely has a good reason for remaining as such! But what is that reason? Beyond its elegance and beauty, Elizabeth tends to flow very well with many names. This is one of the reasons that it has remained within the Top 30 every single year since 1880. But why does it pair so well? Elizabeth is used for both a first and middle name. People love Elizabeth as a first name because of how versatile the nicknames are, ranging from Ellie to Liz to Betsy to Beth, and many many more in between. In this instance, we shall investigate why Elizabeth works so well as a middle name. Many people clump it in with all the other "filler" or "connector" middle names that simply fill an empty spot between the first and last names, such as Anne, Grace, Marie, Claire, etc. However, many argue that Elizabeth doesn'...

Another new naming trend that is gaining popularity this year is softer-sounding boys names. Many of these names contain the "sh" sound. Here are some of our favorites: Asher Bishop Cashel Cassius Dashiell Elisha Fisher Hamish Joshua Marshall Misha Nash Parish Sasha Shawn Shai Shane Shepherd Sheridan Sherwood Shiloh Tavish We particularly like the short but handsome nicknames/names such as Ash, Cash, Dash and Nash.  What is your favorite full name for the nickname Cash? Cashel, Cassius, Cassian, or just plain Cash? Can you think of any other names that might fit this trend? Do you like the trend? Let me know below!

Today's Name of the Day is a soft, handsome boy name from the Old Testament: Asher. This name is a Biblical Hebrew name meaning "happy" or "blessed." Asher was the son of Jacob and Zilpah, (Leah's handmaid), and he was also the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. This name is definitely a favorite with today's parents! It has been climbing up the charts quickly! A very rare name at the end of the 19th century (only 42 boys received this name between 1880 and 1895.) It wasn't heard from again until 1910 and it remained rarely used. It finally hit the Top 1000 chart in 1983 at #934. In 2000, it ranked at #579 and has shot up since then. In 2012, Asher ranked at #108 with a total of 3,514 baby boys receiving the name (and 44 girl!) Source What do you think of this handsome, biblical name? It falls into the new trend of giving boys "softer-sounding" names.  Asher is possibly the favorite of the bunch that contain the ...

Today's Name of the Day is my new favorite girl's name: Emmeline. As a big fan of Emma (but not of her popularity), Emmeline appeals to me in a big way! Unfortunately, I think many other baby-namers who feel the same way will help to make this name popular soon. It fits in with mega-popular Emma and Emily, as well as all the Madelines, Adelines and Carolines.  It's a wonder this name hasn't caught on already! In the real world, actor Christian Bale has a daughter named Emmeline; a famous English suffragette was named Emmeline Pankhurst; and there is an American journalist known as Emmeline Wells. In the fictional world, Emmeline Vance was a character in Harry Potter.  There are a couple other examples, such as Brooke Shields' character in "The Blue Lagoon" (1980). Emmeline is currently sitting just outside of the Top 1000 chart at #1078 in 2012. She has never broken onto the chart, but I think her time is coming soon!  She is ranked just slightly h...

by Vera Kratochvil Maybe you've noticed it, maybe you haven't, but there was a naming phenomenon that swept the country for the past decade until now. In 2011, more than 700,000 American baby boys had names that ended with the letter N. Maybe you haven't thought about it, but now you're able to recall all the little Aidens, Masons, Ethans and Jaydens that you know. With all the recent data released for 2012, it looks like the "era of the -n" is finally starting to wind down. The 5 fastest falling boy names last year all ended with N. Boys: 1. Jaden - Dropped by 40 ranks. (It went from #100 in 2011 to #140 in 2012.) 2.  Rylan  -Down by 33 ranks. (#146 in 2011 to #179 in 2012.) 3.  Ashton  -Fell 32 spots (#109 in 2011 to # 141 in 2012.) 4.  Hayden -Moved down 19 spots.  (#90 in 2011 to #109 in 2012.) 5. Justin - After 40+ years of popularity, it finally fell 15 ranks.  (#59 in 2011 to #74 in 2012.) Jaden has embarked on its journey down th...