The Art of Naming

It's that time of year again. Nearly every doorstep is currently occupied by pumpkins, cobwebs and skeletons. Halloween is days away! You are no doubt finalizing your costume for the big party on Saturday or to take your little ones trick or treating. What about a horror movie marathon? Are you planning one of those? There are many great horror films out there so I decided to browse through a few in search of great character names. Whether you would ever use one of these names for a child or not is up to you but surely you can appreciate these monikers and their counterparts. Girls: Addison (Saw II) Blair (Blair Witch Project) Carrie (Carrie) Casey (Scream) Dana (The Cabin in the Woods) Elvira (Elvira: Mistress of the Dark) Erin (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) Gale (Scream) Iris (30 Days of Night) Jules (The Cabin in the Woods) Katie (Paranormal Activity) Laurie (Halloween) Lila (Psycho) Marion (Psycho) Minnie (Rosemary's Baby) Regan (The Exorcist) Ripley (Ali

I chose to feature the name Casper this week because of its well-known association with "the friendly ghost" who is an animated character that's actually been around since 1939. It felt appropriate since today is Halloween and ghosts are a spooky staple of the holiday. Beyond the ghostly association, though, resides a really fabulous family of names.  Casper is the Dutch and Scandinavian form of the name Jasper which comes from the ancient Hebrew word Gizbar meaning "Treasurer". Gaspar was traditionally the name of one of the wise men who were said to have visited the newborn Jesus Christ.  Other related names include Caspar, Kasper, Jesper, Gaspard, Gaspare, and Gazsi. Casper is not an unfamiliar name to the ear in the US. However, it isn't being used all that often. It has been consistently used since records began in 1880, but it has never been popular. It was once ranking in the bottom half of the Top 1000 chart, but it fell off of it in 1933. Th

If you are expecting a baby this week and you still aren't settled on the perfect name, perhaps one of these timely choices will jump at you. From the sweet and sugary candy names to the spooky, ghoulish and bewitched options, you're sure to love this list, especially if Halloween is your favorite holiday. Some of these may not be very obviously tied to Halloween, but upon inspection of their meanings or their associations to certain legends or myths, it will all make sense. Some of these names may be a bit on the questionable side of things so I'd recommend doing your research before signing the birth certificate! Girls: Autumn Blair Buffy Candy Carrie Cat Circe Coco Elvira Endora Eve Glinda Harlow Hazel Hermione Isis Lilith Lolly Luna Maeve Morrigan Morticia October Oriole Persephone Raven Reese Regan Rosemary Sabrina Samantha Selene Tabitha Tarot Tempest Trixie Tootsie Wanda Wednesday Wendy Zena Boys: Addams Bram Cas