Girl Name of the Week: Maeve

The Girl Name of the Week is a short and sweet Irish name in honor of the one-syllable girl names post from yesterday. This name belonged to a legendary ancient Irish queen: Maeve. Today, it is starting to come back into favor with modern parents for both a first and middle name.

Maeve is the anglicized form of the Gaelic name "Medb" which means "intoxicating". In Irish legend this was the name of a powerful, warrior Queen of Connacht. Her fight against Ulster and the hero Cúchulainn is told in the Irish epic "The Cattle Raid of Cooley."

In Ireland, the Irish spelling Meabh is used more frequently. It is in the top 100 names there, but that spelling isn't recommended for usage in the US. Meabh actually comes from  "Medb" which is the original Irish form of Maeve. Other variants include Meadhbh, Mave, Maive, Mayve, Maeva and Meave. However, Maeve is my favorite.

It is gaining popularity in the US. It has the lovely nickname Mae/May as well as the stylish V sound. Maeve did not appear on [recorded] US birth certificates until 1940 when 8 girls bore the name. It has been rarely but steadily used since then but did not start to gain momentum in usage until the early 90s. Maeve landed in the top 1000 in 1997 at #955, which accounted for 207 births.  It gradually climbed the ranks and sits pretty at #484 in 2013, which equals 620 births.  In Ireland, Maeve ranked at #147 in 2011 with just 15 births.

Source

What do you think of Maeve? If you like it, here are some sibling and middle name ideas:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Bridget, Erin, Fiona, Julia, Molly, Tessa
Brothers: Aiden, Connor, Finn, Jack, Patrick, Sean

Middle Name Ideas:
Maeve Alexandra
Maeve Carrigan
Maeve Kathleen
Maeve Sheridan

As a First Name:
Caroline Maeve
Enye Maeve
Kiley Maeve
Saoirse Maeve (seer-shah)

What name would you pair with it? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

One-Syllable Given Names for Girls

Names that are "short and sweet" are often very desirable for a girl, especially in the middle name spot to complement a long first name. What are some viable names that only have one-syllable? I'm sure you can think of a few, but how many are full names and not nicknames?

Let's see if we can list as many one-syllable full-names as possible! Let me know if I have missed any or if any should be removed because they are just too nicknamey. Although some may double as a nickname and a stand-alone name. This is where it gets tricky! For instance, you can be just "Gwen" but that could potentially be a nickname for Gwendolyn. I will include it anyway.

Here is a short list of girl names for those who want the more common choices pointed out among the more unusual names on the list:

Anne, Bea, Belle, Beth, Blanche, Blythe, Bree, Brooke, Claire, Dawn, Elle, Eve, Faith, Fawn, Faye, Gail, Gwen, Hope, Jade, Jane, Jean, Jill, Joy, June, Kay, Lane, Leigh, Lux, Maeve, Maude, May, Moon, Naomh, Niamh, Paige, Pearl, Rae, Raine, Rose, Ruth, Sage, Shea, Skye, Snow, Tess, True, Wren, Wynne

These are names that would work on a girl, whether they're feminine or unisex. Click here to view the list of one-syllable boy names! However, there may be duplicates on both lists.

Ames                           Ann Anne Ash Aure Bay Banks Bea Belle Bern Bess Beth Blaine Blair Blaise Blake Blanche Blaze Bliss Blue Blythe Bree Brett Bridge Britt Bronx Brook Brooke Bryce Brynn Cade Cael Cain Cane Case Claire Clove Coeur Coy Crane Cree Dawn Drew Elle Eve Faith Fauve Fawn Faye Fern Fleur Fran Gail Gene Gift Glenn Greer Grey Gwen Hilde Hope Ives Jade Jan Jane Jax Jean Jem Jiles Jill Jin Joan Joss Joy Joyce Jules June Kade Kai Kate Kay Keane Kern Kerr Kieve Kit Kris Kyle Lane Lee Lei Leigh Len Lis Liv

Locke Lorne Lux Luz Lyle Lynn Lyre Madge Mae Maeve Maine Mair March Mare Marge Mars Maude Mauve May Mayes Mead Merle Mills Milne Mint Mist Moon Mose Myrrh Naomh Neith Neve Niamh Nile Noor North Nowles Nox Oakes Page Paige Park Pax Paz Pearl Pier Quinn Rae Raine Rea Reed Reese Reign Ren Rhodes Rome Rose Rue Ruth Sage Sean Shae Shane Shay Shea Shields Sky Skye Snow Sol Star Storm Tait Tate Teal Tess Thais Thane Trace Tress Trish True Twain Tyme Tyne Vail Voss Wren Wynne Yale Yates Yule Zane Zeal Zen

Let me know if I have missed any or if some should not be included (and why!) If you're interested in short names, you may also love this list of 3-Letter Names or this list of 4-Letter Names for girls!

If you need help coming up with first and middle name combinations that flow well, take a look at some of the naming services I currently offer!

Boy Name of the Week: Flynn

In honor of my "One-Syllable Boy Names" post from yesterday, I chose a one-syllable name to feature.  This Boy Name of the Week has had a very sharp increase in usage from one year to the next. The name is Flynn.

You probably already know why it is suddenly more popular.  The Disney movie "Tangled" was released in November 2010 starring a cool character called Flynn Ryder. In 2011,  the name landed on the Top 1000 chart for the first time at #940 (up from #1806) with a total of 210 baby boys born (up from just 86 in 2010.)

Actor Orlando Bloom and his model wife Miranda Kerr recently named their son Flynn, which may or may not have had a lasting influence.

Flynn is an Irish surname. It is an anglicized form of "Ó Floinn" meaning "descendant of Flann." It is also said to mean "son of the red-haired one."  Flynn has a casual charm to it with a very handsome appeal.

In 2012, the name ranked #692 which is its highest ranking ever!  It originally appeared on US babies in 1913 when 5 of them were born. It remained very sporadically used with 5 babies here, none there, 7 here, etc. until it began ranking every year in the 50's. Only in the past decade has it gained popularity.

Click Image to View it Larger.  Source

Since Flynn is originally a surname, there are many famous people who have the last name Flynn. I'd like to see this name used more regularly in the first name spot.

However, there is a slight downside by association. The infamous Errol Flynn wore it as a surname and may be the most popular Flynn. Born in 1909, he was an Australian-American actor known for his romantic swashbuckler roles as well as his over-the-top playboy lifestyle. There were some allegations of sexual misconduct against him before and after his early death.

The phrase "In like Flynn" is a slang phrase meaning "having achieved a goal or gained access as desired". However, some believe it was in reference to Errol Flynn because of his reputation for womanizing.  He died in 1959 so it has been a long time since his name was in public thought.

Does this bother you or would you use Flynn despite the association?

What do you think of the name Flynn? Do you prefer one of the Finn variants instead? Let me know!

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Charlotte, Emily, Lauren, Paige, Ruby
Brothers: Ashton, Ethan, Liam, Noah, Rowan'

Middle Name Ideas:
Flynn Oliver
Flynn Walter
Flynn Silas
Flynn Henry
Flynn Alexander

As a Middle Name:
Sawyer Flynn
Thomas Flynn
Emmett Flynn
Eli Flynn
Lucas Flynn

One-Syllable Given Names for Boys

What are some viable names that only have one-syllable? I'm sure you can think of a few, but how many are full names and not nicknames?

Let's see if we can list as many one-syllable full-names as possible! Let me know if I have missed any or if any should be removed because they are actually a nickname. Although some may double as a nickname and a stand-alone name. This is where it gets tricky! For instance, you can be just "Abe" but that could potentially be a nickname for Abel or Abraham. I will include it anyway.

These are names that would work on a boy, whether they're masculine or unisex. You can find the list of one syllable girl names here, but there may be duplicates on both lists.

Short list of semi-common names for those of you that don't want to browse through so many options: 

Blaine, Blake, Boone, Brant, Brent, Brice, Brock, Cade, Cane, Chance, Charles, Chase, Clarke, Craig, Dean, Drake, Dwayne, Earl, Finn, Ford, Gage, Graham, Grant, Gray, Hayes, Heath, Hugh, Jack, James, John, Jude, Keane, Keith, Lance, Lee, Luke, Kyle, Max, Miles, Nash, Neil, North, Page, Paul, Pierce, Quinn, Ray, Reece, Reid, Rex, Rhett, Rhodes, Ross, Scott, Seth, Shawn, Sloan, Stone, Tate, Thorne, Todd, Troy, Vaughn, Wade, Wolf, Yale

Have fun browsing through the rest of them and let me know if there are any that you'd like me to add or delete.  

Abe         Ace Ames Arch Ash Aure Baird Banks Bart Bash Bay Beale Bear Beau Beck Berne Bert Birch Blade Blaine Blair Blaise Blake Blaze Bliss Blue Bond Boone Booth Boyce Boyd Bram Brant Breck Brent Brett Brice Brick Bridge Brit Brock Bronx Brook Brooks Brown Bruce Bryce Brynn Burke Burt Butch Buzz Byrd Byrne Cade Cael Cain Cale Cane Carl Carr Case Cash Chad Chance Charles Chas Chase Chaz Chet Cid Clark Claude Claus Clay Cleave Clem Cliff Clint Clive Cloud Clove Clyde Coeur Cole Colt Coy Craig Crane Creed Crew

Cruz         Curt Cyd Czar Dale Dane Darth Dash Dax Dean Dirk Doug Doyle Drake Drew Duane Duke Dunn Dwayne Dwight Earl Falk Field Finn Fionn Fisk Flint Floyd Flynn Forbes Ford Fox Frank Franz Fred Fritz Frost Gael Gage Gale Garth Gates Gene Geoff George Gil Giles Glenn Graham Grant Gray Greer Grey Gregg Gus Guy Haines Hank Hayes Heath Herb Holt Howe Huck Hugh Hume Ives Jace Jack Jacques Jake Jam James Jan Jarl Jase Javes Jax Jay Jazz Jean Jem Jett Jiles Job John Jon Jones Joss Juan Judd

Jude Judge       Juke Jules Kade Kael Kai Kale Kane Karl Keefe Keane Keith Ken Kent Kern Kerr King Kipp Kirk Kit Klaus Knox Knute Kris Kurt Kyle Laird Lance Lane Lee Leif Lev Link Lisle Lloyd Locke Lorne Luce Luke Lux Luz Lyle Lynn Lyre Mace Maine March Mark Max Mayes Mead Merle Miles Mills Milne Mitch Mitt Moon Mose Nash Neal Neil Niles Noor North Nowles Nox Nye Oak Oakes Orde Page Park Patch Paul Pax Paz Penn Perth Pier Pierce Platt Price Prince Quade Quinn Rafe Rain Ralph Ray

Reece Reed Reese Reeves Reid Reign Ren Rex Rhett Rhodes Rhys Rock Rogue Rolf Rome Ross Roy Royce Rush Sage Saul Scott Scout Sean Serge Seth Shae Shane Shaun Shaw Shawn Shay Shea Shields Sky Slade Sloan Smith Spence Sprague Stone Storm Strom Sven Sain Tadhg Tate Tave Teague Teal Teige Thai Thane Thor Thorne Todd Trace Trent Trey Tripp Troy Twain Tyme Tyne Vail Vance Vaughn Verne Vlad Voss Vox Wade Ward Wayne Webb West Wolf Woods Worth Wright Wynn Xan Xarles Yale Yates York Yule Yves Zane Zeal Zeus

If it is short and sweet names that you're looking for, you may also like this article: The Very Best 4-Letter Boys Names!  If you need help coming up with first and middle name combinations that flow well, take a look at some of the naming services I currently offer!

Real Names from Real Babies

I recently got the idea to browse through hospital birth announcements to see what kind of interesting names are actually being used on real babies. It was harder to find this information than I thought. I found a list of a few hospitals in California that I pulled this information from. Apparently newspapers don't publish names anymore (or if they do, I couldn't find anything online.)

But anyway, the following photo contains all of the names that I hand-picked from the long lists. The lists included births from April-June 2013. These names all made the cut for either being interesting (whether that's good or bad) or being something I found attractive and different from the norm. Yes, they are all mixed together so you can form your own opinions! :)

Which names do you like the most? Which are just terrible? Let me know!

More names of real babies can be found using the links below:

Birth Announcements:
Penelope Hazel 
Sullivan Rhys 
Copelynn Eleanor
Caius Michael 
Lily Raphaella 
Austin Ford 
Gabriella Pearl 
Owen Frederick 
Helena Mae 
Tristan Samuel
Norah Bailey
Wyatt Arthur

Girl Name of the Week: Adelaide

The Girl Name of the Week is Adelaide. I chose this name off of my latest blog post "Old-Fashioned, Vintage Girl Names."

The name Adelaide has been around since the SSA began recording names in 1880. It comes from the German "Adalheidis" which is composed of the elements "adal" meaning "Noble" and "heid" meaning "kind, sort, type."  Some variations that stem from the same root word as Adelaide are Alicia, Alice, Heidi, Alix, Alise and Allison. Diminutives include Ada, Addie, Addy, and Della.

The name Adelaide was borne in the 10th century by Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto the Great. She was known as "a marvel of beauty and goodness."

In the 19th century, the name became common in Britain due to the popularity of the German-born wife of Britain's King William IV, "Good Queen Adelaide." The city of Adelaide, Australia was named in 1836 after her.  So this name not only means "noble" but it has two historical figures who were widely regarded as "good."

Let's look at the numbers! Before the name's modern spike in popularity, the year with the most number of births was 1917 with 537 births which ranked the name at #268 on the Top 1000 chart of its time.  Adelaide has only had two popularity spikes, the first starting around 1912 and lasting until it declined in the mid 1920s.

From the 1950's to the 1990's, Adelaide was rarely used. It ranged from 9-70 births a year, but spent a lot of time in the 20-30 range.   However, starting just before the year 2000, Adelaide gained more usage. In 2005, it landed in the top 1000 (#901) for the first time since 1948.  The n ame has been climbing in popularity over the past few years, reaching a high of #258 in 2016! That amounts to 1,227 births for the year!

I suspect that Adelaide name will continue gaining popularity. The nickname Addy has been extremely popular for other names like Addison. Adelaide is a great alternative if you wish to use that nickname.

What do you think of Adelaide? Or perhaps one of the other variants that I listed that come from the same German root?

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Caroline, Daphne, Evangeline, Lydia, Sophia, Victoria
Brothers: Andrew, Benjamin, Daniel, Jasper, Oliver, William

Middle Name Ideas:
Adelaide Grace
Adelaide Sylvia
Adelaide Delphina
Adelaide Louise
Adelaide Eve

As a Middle Name:
Lily Adelaide
Matilda Adelaide
Katrina Adelaide
Elsie Adelaide
Zelda Adelaide

Share your thoughts on this name in the comments below!

First published: 6/28/13
Revised: 12/25/14
Revised: 5/13/17

Old-Fashioned, Vintage Girl Names

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
Helena
Henrietta
Ida
Imogen
Iris
Ivy
Josephine
Lavinia
Leonora
Louise
Lucille
Mabel
Mae
Matilda
Maude
Mercy
Millicent
Miriam
Myrtle
Olive
Pearl
Penelope
Priscilla
Rosemary
Ruby
Ruth
Sophia
Tessa
Theodora
Violet
Vivian
Wilhelmina
Winifred

Some of these are obviously more popular today than others. What do you think of the list? Are there any more names that you'd like me to add?  Don't forget to check out the list of Old-Fashioned, Vintage Boy Names too!