The Art of Naming

While everyone will have differing opinions about which are The Very Best J Names for Boys and Girls, I'm sure many can agree that Juno is an interesting and unique choice! The feminine name Juno is very mythological. The ancient Roman goddess was a daughter of Saturn, the wife (and sister!) of the Jupiter and the mother of Mars and Vulcan. She was the goddess of marriage and childbirth and often looked after the women of Rome. Juno was also the Queen of the Gods, known as "Regina" which means Queen. Her Greek equivalent is the goddess Hera. The meaning of the name Juno is generally thought to be unknown but some speculate that it is related to an Indo-European root word that means "youth".  Juno is a variation of the Roman name Iuno. Other related names are Iunius, Junius, Iunia, and Junia. As a name, Juno isn't very used in the US. It randomly charted way back in 1919 with 6 births and it wasn't heard from again until 1996. This name re

The feminine name Aurora is the Latin word for "dawn" so naturally Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morning. She has two siblings, a brother (Sol, the sun) and a sister (Luna, the moon). It is said that she would renew herself in the morning and fly across the sky to announce the rising of the sun.   In Astronomy, the northern lights are also known as the Aurora Borealis. It is a natural light display in the sky mostly seen in high latitudes.  They named this celestial phenomenon after the goddess. Beyond astronomy and mythology, though, Aurora has one of the longest Wikipedia pages that I've ever seen for a name. Aurora has so many associations across a variety of subjects like colleges, all sorts of entertainment from films to novels to song titles, fictional characters like the Disney princess from Sleeping Beauty, geographical locations all around the world, sports and forms of transportation. If you're considering this name for a daughter, I would re

The thing about mythological names is that they are flush full of history. Whether past namesakes were a part of a tragedy or a utopian rulership, these names are bound to offer an abundance of strength. This list mostly contains Greek and Roman deities and legends, but there are mythological figures from various other origins as well. These names may have a beauty and a unique freshness to them in today's society but be sure to research these names before committing to one. Make sure that you like the namesake!  Let me know which of these names you like the most! Would you ever consider using it?       Acantha Althea Andromeda           Antheia Aphrodite Ariadne Artemis Astra Atalanta Athena Aurora Brigid Brunhild Calliope Calypso Camilla Cassandra Cerelia Ceres Chandra Clio Cybele Cynthia Daphne Delia Demeter Diana Echo Enid Eos Etain Fauna Flora Fortuna Freya Gaia Grainne Halcyon Hebe Hera Hermione           Hero Hestia Iant

The name Atticus may have been one of the very first Roman names to begin making mainstream waves. It has that ancient feel to it but because of the fatherly fictional character Atticus Finch in Harper Lee's 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus also feels very noble and heroic. In fact, Atticus Finch was voted in 2003 as the "Greatest Hero of American film" by the American Film Institute. Finch was iconically played by actor Gregory Peck in the 1962 film adaptation of the novel. The name Atticus is Latin meaning "Man of Attica" or "From Attica". Attica is the region that surrounds Athens in Greece. While it describes a Greek area, the name was adopted by one particular Roman man who spent much of his life studying in Athens. He loved the culture so much that he gave himself the nickname Atticus since he considered himself a man from Attica. His name was Titus Pomponius Atticus (112/109 BC – 35/32 BC). He was an ancient Roman littérateur, phil

The Girl's Name of the Week is a beautiful choice that often gets overlooked: Antonia. Antonia is the feminine form of the Roman family name "Antonius" from which the male names Antony, Anthony, Antonio, etc also come. All of these names unfortunately do not have a known meaning . In the 17th century, names like this were confused for having origins from the Greek word "Anthos" which means "flower" and resulted in the letter "h" being adding to names like Anthony. Some websites will claim meanings for these names, but none have been proven to be true. I have seen meanings listed for Antonia such as "priceless," "beautiful," or "praiseworthy." If you wish to use one of these meanings for your daughter, that is fine with me, just remember they haven't been proven as the true meaning based on the root name Antonius, which has an unknown meaning. Antonia and its variant forms such as Antoinette and An

Minerva Many vintage names are coming back into style today but there are also plenty of ancient gems out there that very few people are considering. It begs the question, what makes certain names desirable and others not?  Here are 10 perfectly viable names with history and beauty that are being virtually ignored for modern babies: Aveline This name originated as a French surname that was introduced by the Norman French to the British. It became very rare after the Middle Ages. I found it listed as a surname for some famous people dating back as early as 1656. Unlike most surnames, this one is actually very feminine and would be beautiful on a girl. It follows the popular Ava trend and is similar to all the other -line names.   It has very rare usage in the US (the first record being in 1923) and it ranked at #3678 in 2013 with 41 births. Unlike some of the other Av- names, this is not associate with birds. Aveline is said to come from "Avila," a town in Sp