Liquid Names and Raindrop Names

There are so many different classifications of names. Of course you know about the most obvious ones like Classic names or "Yoonik" (Misspelled) Names. What are some of the newish classifications or trends? Here are two that I've heard about recently:

Liquid Names

These names were first classified over on The Baby Name Wizard by blogger Laura Wattenberg. She defined these as names that flow smoothly. Many, if not most of these names have every sound drawn out (long vowels) they don't require much mouth movement such as Aliya or Eliana. These names tend to have three or more syllables and there are fewer consonant sounds than syllables. Letters allowed to be used in this trend include L, R, N, Y and H.  Some examples:

Aaliyah
Arianna
Liliana
Alaina
Eliana
Aria
Elena
Aurora
Alana
Aniyah
Ariel
Alina
Elaina
Liana
Anaya

Is this a trend that you like or is it just too smooth? Some people like more crunch to their names.

Raindrop Names 

In addition to these liquid names are what Laura coined "raindrop names" that are also smooth with the same type of sounds, but they are shorter. In fact, they pack two or more syllables into four or fewer letters. Included in this trend are the letters M, L, N, R and Y.

Examples of names like these are Liam and Mia which both cracked the top 10 last year. Mila, Leo, Eli and Ayla are popular as well as Arya, Noah, Mira and Nora. Do you see the pattern? These types of names are huge right now.  In the past, a great example that was highly used is the name Mary.

Raindrop Girls:

Amy
Anna
Anya
Aria
Arya
Ayla
Ella
Emma
Erin
Isla
Lana
Leah
Lena
Lia
Lila
Lily
Lola
Luna
Lyla
Mara
Mary
Maya
Mia
Mila
Mya
Nina
Nola
Nora
Nyla
Rina
Yael

Raindrop Boys:

Alan
Ali
Amir
Ari
Arlo
Elam
Eli
Ian
Leo
Leon
Liam
Milo
Noah
Noam
Noel
Omar
Owen
Raul
Rory
Ryan

What do you think of Liquid Names and Raindrop Names? Do you like one trend more than the other? Let me know!

Name of the Day: Helena

Today's Name of the Day is Helena. This name is the Latin form of the name Helen, which has a ton of history. Most notably, there is Helen of Troy who was the daughter of Zeus and Leda in Greek mythology. She was kidnapped by Paris and was the cause of the great Trojan War. And a more modern example was Helen Keller who overcame being blind and deaf.

While Helen is a strong name, I prefer the girlier Helena. I like to pronounce it Hel-AY-na as opposed to Hel-EN-ah, but both are pretty!

This Latin name means "bright, shining one" which is a lovely meaning. Helena was used for two characters in Shakespeare's works, one in "All's Well That Ends Well" and one in "A Midsummer's Night Dream."  Another Helena was a 4th-century saint who was the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine.

The name Helena translates well around the world. In 2012, it ranked at #560 in the US, #328 in England/Wales, #194 in France and #243 in the Netherlands. It is even more popular in Austria (#30), Croatia (#35) Poland (#45) and Belgium (#55).

As for Helena's history in the US, it has always been in the Top 1000, except for 1992 when it dipped down to #1008. It has been a fairly consistent name. It's largest popularity spikes occurred in 1918 with 488 babies born, and 2006 with 595 babies born.

Source

Still, if you consider the 200-500 or so babies born every year named Helena, this name is not very popular when compared to names that spike up to 10,000+ births a year.

I would say this is is a very lovely, classic choice that is both familiar but not overly used. What do you think of Helena? How do you pronounce it? Do you prefer Helen or Ellen instead?  Let me know below!

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Catherine, Esther, Freya, Isabella, Lucille, Sophia
Brothers: Arthur, Daniel, Edward, James, Michael, Thomas

Middle Name Ideas:
Helena Simone
Helena Juliet
Helena Eve
Helena Mabel
Helena Jane

As a Middle Name:
Natalie Helena
Lucy Helena
Violet Helena
June Helena
Alice Helena

Name of the Day: Frederick

Today's blog post analyzed the name Elizabeth, so I thought I would go a bit more "classic" than usual with the "Name of the Day.'  I chose the handsome Frederick.

German meaning "peaceful ruler," Frederick is one of those old-fashioned, classic names that nearly disappeared for a while; (how many Freds do you know?)  Today, some parents are liking its solid history and classic charm and are reviving it!

Of course it hasn't really disappeared. Frederick has comfortably been hanging out in the 300-500 range of the US Top 1000 chart for the past couple decades! It was last in the top 100 in 1957.

Its largest popularity spikes occurred around 1914 and again around 1946. It was most popular in 1951 with a total of 4,982 baby boys born with the name Frederick.  It was even rarely but consistently used for girls between 1908 and 1993! Since the male popularity spikes, the name has fallen back down to respectable levels. In 2012, there were 482 babies born, which ranked Frederick at #536 on the US Top 1000 chart for boys. 

What sort of history does this name have? A very extensive one! I can't list everyone named Frederick. There are many ancient emperors and kings who held the name. Click here to view a wikipedia list of all the famous Fredericks.

The most notable Fredericks are Frederick the Great who was the King of Prussia (1712-1786), Frederick Douglass who was an escaped slave turned abolitionist (1818-1891),  and of course actor/singer Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz 1899-1987).

I had this article prepped up and then a while later I came across this article from Nameberry that was interesting. It interviews a man named Frederick and he gives his thoughts on his name and his nickname Fred. 

What do you think of the name Frederick. Would you call him Freddie/Freddy or Fred?  Would you go with another nickname like Red, Fritz, or Rick? Or perhaps Derick/Erick which are derived from the spelling? Maybe good ol' Frederick is perfect is its entirety!   Let me know your thoughts below!

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Alexandra, Elizabeth, Helena, Matilda, Victoria
Brothers: Alexander, Finnegan, Matthew, Nicholas, Theodore

Middle Name Ideas:
Frederick James
Frederick Arthur
Frederick George
Frederick Mason
Frederick Dean

As a Middle Name:
Owen Frederick
Evan Frederick
Jacob Frederick
Aaron Frederick
Oliver Frederick

Why is Elizabeth Perpetually Popular?

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't deserve to be classified as such. Rather, despite its popularity, it is somewhat one-of-a-kind.

1.) It starts with a vowel, which is appealing, but the "L" tends to get most of the sound emphasis which allows Elizabeth to flow with names that end with a vowel.

2.) The overall stress of the full name is put on the second syllable which helps to connect it to the first with a beautiful flow.

3.) The four-syllable length of Elizabeth makes it long-but-not-too-long. In many cases, four syllables is the perfect length to differentiate it from the first name before introducing you to the last name. For example, Clara Elizabeth Miller tends to roll off the tongue slightly better than a shorter middle name like Clara Leigh Miller. One might hear it incorrectly as "Claralee or Claraly." Whereas Elizabeth makes a bold but graceful stance in its own place.

4.) The name ends with a consonant sound that isn't often heard in other names. (How many can you think of that end with -th?)  Most first names used today end with -a, -e, -n, -r or -y, which pair perfectly with the different beginning AND ending of Elizabeth.

Much of Elizabeth's success is undoubtedly due to the reasons listed above. The combination of them makes this name very versatile yet unique.

If you are looking for other options instead of Elizabeth, you'd do well to examine other four-syllable names with the stress on the second syllable. Most of these will also flow very beautifully with almost any first name.Test out your favorite first names with the names below as the middle name, and then try it with Elizabeth. Which do you prefer?

Amelia
Aurelia
Bidelia
Calliope
Camellia
Cecelia
Cordelia
Evangeline
Eulalia
Hermione
Hortensia
Ignacia
Leticia
Magnolia
Natalia
Octavia
Olivia
Ophelia
Penelope
Persephone
Valencia
Veronica
Victoria
Zenobia

If you notice, the majority of these names end with A. If you refer back to my fourth point above, many feminine first names seem to end with A as well. While some parents find the rhyming to be cute, most will agree that Sarah Octavia, for example, is too much A sound. Whereas Sadie Octavia sounds much better. However, because of Elizabeth's different ending, Sarah Elizabeth and Sadie Elizabeth both work.

If you are interested in using one of the names listed above, one way to avoid the repetitious endings (like Sarah Octavia) is to end the first and middle names with different vowel sounds. For example, Stella Calliope or Lily Veronica.

Also, ending the first name with a consonant helps, like Piper Cordelia or Caitlin Amelia.  Or use a middle name that ends in a consonant-sound like Evangeline. Sophia Evangeline or Hadley Evangeline work very well!

It is clearly all up to interpretation and personal taste. Even different accents may throw this theory off. But there has to be a reason why Elizabeth has remained so consistently used over the past 132 recorded years. Elizabeth has never ranked higher than #26, and even then there were upwards of 10,000 babies who bore the name.

Very few other names in history have stats like this.

Do you like the name Elizabeth or would you opt for one of the other options instead?

Name of the Day: Alexandrina

Today's featured name is 11-letters and 5-syllables long. Perhaps that explains why it is rarely used in the US.  Did you know that Alexandrina was the real first name of Queen Victoria who went by her middle name?

While many parents would opt for Alexa or Alexandra, there is something special about Alexandrina. It has a more exotic flair than her sister-names, and would be a beautiful middle name to pair with a short first name. Ivy Alexandrina or Claire Alexandrina are lovely. As a first name, Alexandrina Eve.

As a plus, it is truly a rare name today, but it is so familiar to the ears because of all the other Alex names.

It was first used in 1914, 1915, 1920 and 1921 by a total of 23 girls.  After that, there were 5 born in 1935, 6 in 1961, and then it started getting more regular usage in 1975. However, it only sees an average of 5 births per year. Most recently, there were 9 girls named Alexandrina in 2013, which means this name ranks at #10,965.

That is far from being the #1 name in the country, but many could be drawn to it because of that. According to records, only 246 girls have ever been named Alexandrina. Talk about rare! In fact, the name wasn't used by at least 5 girls for the year from 2014-2016, meaning that it did not rank during that time. Do you know anyone with this name?

Alexandrina is a distinctive choice! It is the Greek variation of Alexandra and also means "Defending Men."  Because of its royal namesake, some people have been speculating it as an option if Prince William and Kate Middleton have a girl. It is also a great alternative to the more common royal names that get used today.

What do you think of this long, beautiful name? Are 5 syllables just too much or would you consider it?

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Emmeline, Francesca, Georgiana, Louisa, Victoria
Brothers: Christopher, Frederick, Leopold, Theodore, William

Middle Name Ideas:
Alexandrina Eve
Alexandrina Ivy
Alexandrina Blythe
Alexandrina Maeve

As a Middle Name:
Isla Alexandrina
Jade Alexandrina
Lily Alexandrina
Zara Alexandrina

Share your thoughts on this name in the comment section below!

First published: 6/15/13
Revised: 12/25/14
Revised: 5/13/17

Name of the Day: Desmond

Today's Name of the Day is Desmond, one of my favorite Irish names.

Yes, it is originally an Irish surname, but I can't help but love it for a boy's first name. It is bold but sophisticated. With the possible nicknames Des/Dez or Desi/Dezi, this name is starting to gain popularity in the US.

Desmond first appeared on 8 US birth certificates in 1904. It slowly picked up steam every year after that with its largest naming spike in 1992 when 1,067 boys were born, ranking it at #264 on the Top 1000 chart. As of 2012, there were 920 baby boy Desmonds born, putting the name at a rank of #339.

There have also been a handful of girls named Desmond almost every year since 1975. However, usage began slowing down in the 2000s, ending its female usage in 2007.

Source

Desmond comes from an Irish surname which was derived from Deas-mhumhain meaning "South Munster", originally indicating a person who came from that region in Ireland. Therefore, Desmond means "one from South Munster."

A Few Famous Desmonds:

• Desmond Bishop - American football player
• Desmond Bryant - American football player
• Desmond Dekker - Jamaican musician (The Beatles' song "Ob-la-Di, Ob,La-Da" was said to be written about this Desmond.)
• Desmond Harrington - American actor who plays "Detective Joseph Quinn" on "Dexter"
• Desmond Howard - former American football player
• Desmond Morris - English zoologist
• Desmond Tutu - South African activist
• and many others, including some with the last name Desmond.

My Favorite Desmond's are from Pop Culture:

• Desmond David Hume- character from TV series LOST
• Desmond Miles - Assassin's Creed protagonist

While I personally love this name, what do you think of this name for a baby boy? Let me know in the comments below!

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Adele, Aurelia, Elodie, Hazel, Margot, Madeleine, Rosalie, Vivian
Brothers: Beckett, Callum, Donovan, Ewan, Finnegan, Kellan, Rafferty, Teague

Middle Name Ideas: 
Desmond Grant
Desmond Marcus
Desmond Ellis
Desmond Evander
Desmond Arthur

As a Middle Name:
Asher Desmond
Arlo Desmond
Henry Desmond
Milo Desmond
Quincy Desmond

Name(s) of the Day: Melisande/Millicent

Today, you get a 2-for-1 special for the Name(s) of the Day.

I've recently had a new-found fascination with the name Millicent but it just feels a bit too old-fashioned and stiff for me to personally consider using. I decided to look at variations of it and fell in love with the French Melisande, which I would use in a heartbeat if I could get hubby on-board since he speaks French and I'm learning it.

When I went to look up the popularity stats on these names that I hear quite frequently on naming forums, I was surprised to see how little-used and extremely rare Melisande is in the US.

Check this out! The data pool that I use doesn't record a name for the year if there were not at least 5 births. So perhaps there have been 1-4 births here and there all along, but according to this data, there were 5 girls named Melisande in 2005 (ranked #18226), 6 in 1972, 5 in 1960, 5 in 1947 and that is all! A total of 21 little girls named Melisande in the US EVER! How much more unique could you get?

Yet the name sounds familiar as if you should know a Melisande or two. Millicent, however, has been steadily popular since the SSA began ranking names in 1880. There was a peak of 249 girls named Millicent in 1927 (which is its highest chart ranking of #435) and it has never reached that many since then. In 2012, there were 71 baby Millicents which ranked the name at #2539.

Source

Both names are rarely heard of today and would be refreshing and adorable! Millicent could go by Millie, and Melisande could be Mellie or Sandy or even Lissy or Andy if you go by spelling instead of sound. (Remember, it has a French pronunciation which roughly sounds like "mehl-ee-sahnd.) See the popularity of Melisande in France here.

Both names mean "Strong" or "Industrious". Melisande is French and Millicent is German. Melisande was used by Maurice Maeterlinck in his play 'Pelléas et Mélisande' (1893). The play was later adapted by Claude Debussy into an opera (1902).

What do you think of these non-ranking names? Too old-fashioned, or perfectly unique and beautiful?

Sibling Name Ideas for Melisande:
Sisters: Amandine, Anneliese, Clementine, Genevieve, Lucinda, Romilly
Brothers: Clement, Frances, Marcel, Phineas, Roman, Tobias

Middle Name Ideas:
Melisande Joie
Melisande Colette
Melisande Ramona
Melisande Kate
Melisande Elise

As a Middle Name:
Ivy Melisande
Anna Melisande
Juliet Melisande
Lily Melisande

Sibling Name Ideas for Millicent:
Sisters: Amelia, Elizabeth, Francesca, Lucille, Mabel, Philippa
Brothers: Benjamin, Elliott, Finnegan, Oliver, Robert, William

Middle Name Ideas:
Millicent Claire
Millicent Eve
Millicent Josephine
Millicent Lorraine
Millicent Grace

As a Middle Name:
Eve Millicent
Lucy Millicent
Nora Millicent
Rachel Millicent