The Art of Naming

Today I'm featuring my favorite boy name that I took from my upcoming World-Wide Wednesday post that features names from Australia!  This name is also used in other English-speaking nations but it is extremely rare in the US! The name is Rafferty.



I can't help but love it. I think it is adorable, and yet, it really doesn't have your typical "American" feel. I love that Australians like it though! Over there, it is ranked at #292 with a total of 17 births for the year in Victoria. It is actually an Irish surname that originates from Ó Raifeartaigh which came from  O’Raithbheartaigh. It means "Abundance" or "Prosperity Wielder".

It is still very much used as a surname today. Thanks to the rough sound of Rafferty, it works better on a boy than on a girl as a first name. Some surnames could go either way, but this one has a boyish vibe to it. In fact, the term "Raffish" means "unconventional and slightly disreputable, especially in an attractive manner."  It makes me think of a badboy with shades and motorcycle that all the girls are crazy about; or a rough-and-tumble toddler playing in the mud. It has a certain charm to it as well.

However, despite the meaning of raffish and the fact that it might make you think of riff raff, Rafferty does have a great meaning. I would say it is rather upbeat and edgy, a cool option for a boy. However, most of America has not fallen in love with this name yet. Jude Law's son was born in 1996 which gives this name a bit of star power.

The name first appeared on records in 1989, 1990 and 1992. Not again until 1998 and then 2002, all with 5 births per year. By 2004, the name gained some regular usage. There was a record-high of 13 births in 2005, 2006 and 2008.  AS of 2016, there were only 10 boys given the name Rafferty in the US, so if you happen to know one, he's very unique!

There were 2 born in Scotland in 2012, ranking it at #1106.  There were 106 born in England and Wales in 2011, ranking it at #378; and in 2016, there were 181 male births for a rank of #280.

 In Australia, I already mentioned that the name is ranked at #292 but I'm told by Australian Baby-Name Expert, Anna Otto, that names starting with Raf- are "currently quite big" in Australia. Rafferty in particular  honors iconic Australian screen legend “Chips” Rafferty. Because of his fame, the name Rafferty has become a favorite celebrity baby name.

I think something short and sweet would be great in the middle name spot, especially if it also has an Irish background. Raff or Rafe are both great nicknames, or even RJ if you used a J middle name!  What would you pair it with? What do you think of it?  Let me know!

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Ashling, Bridgit, Ciara, Freya, Genevieve, Iris, Keeva, Maeve, Saoirse, Willow
Brothers: Atticus, Cashel, Digby, Emory, Flynn, Gilroy, Jarvis, Ossian, Pruitt, Sebastian

Middle Name Ideas:
Rafferty Aiden
Rafferty Cormac
Rafferty Hayes
Rafferty Malone
Rafferty Quade
Rafferty Sullivan

As a Middle Name:
Brennan Rafferty
Donnel Rafferty
Keegan Rafferty
Logan Rafferty
Tavis Rafferty
Seamus Rafferty

What would YOU pair with Rafferty?

Original: 11/18/13
Updated: 5/17/18

This week's name theme is food-inspired. I have previously featured two of the names that are on the list: Basil and Clementine. I thought I would choose one that is less obviously food-related and more wearable as a name: Amandine.

Did you know that Amandine is a culinary term that refers to almonds that are used as garnish? It is sometimes misspelled as almondine in cookbooks in the US.  Did you also know that Amandine is the French form of the feminine name Amanda? Makes sense, right?


This lovely French diminutive means "much-loved" and is a wonderfully unique twist on the previously-popular and somewhat-dated name Amanda. On that note, it would also do well to honor a relative named Amanda but still give the child a modern and unique choice.

The French word for almond is amande. If you pronounce Amandine the way the French do, it would be a-mawn-DEEN. This name recently ranked at #87 in France and is occasionally used in Belgium. However, it is exceedingly rare in the US.

Actor John Malkovich named his daughter Amandine in 1990 which may have caused the very first record of the name being used in the US: there were 6 births in 1991. After that, there were 6 girls born with the name in 1996, 5 in 1999, 34 between 2002 and 2008. There were 5 born in 2013 with this name for a ranking of #16,594. (Of course the records require at least 5 births for the year so there could have been a few more Amandines born in between then that were not recorded.)

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Alessia, Beatrice, Camille, Eugenie, Juliette, Melisande, Nicolette, Rafaella, Vivienne
Brothers: Alexandre, Basil, Bastien, Florian, Jourdain, Lawrence, Mathieu, Olivier, Percival

Middle Name Ideas:
Amandine Belle
Amandine Colette
Amandine Elise
Amandine Faye
Amandine Giselle
Amandine Matilde
Amandine Noelle

Middle Name to Avoid:
Amandine Joie (essentially Almond Joy, a candy bar.)

As a Middle Name:
Claire Amandine
Isabelle Amandine
Natalie Amandine
Sophie Amandine

What middle name would you pair with Amandine? Do you have any more suggestions for a good sibling name? Let me know in the comment section!

When Gwyneth Paltrow named her baby girl Apple in 2004, many people had an opinion about it. To this day it is used as an example of "weird" and "awful" celebrity baby names.  But she isn't the only one who has used food names for their children. Just last year alone Hollywood has had at least 3 foody additions to the list: Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman named their daughter Olive,  Barry Watson named a daughter Clover Clementyne, and Jason Bateman named his little girl Maple.

Why is it that Apple is mocked but Olive and Clementine and Maple are not? Is Apple really that strange? I think I was one of the minority that secretly thought Apple was freakin' adorable! And Gwyneth gets to say she is the apple of her eye. Win!

If you're among those who are fond of food names, here is a list of the most wearable options.  Which of these might you actually consider adding to your short list? Which do you think should never be used?

Almond
Amandine
Anise
Apple
Banana
Barley
Basil
Berry
Cayenne
Cerise
Chai
Cherry
Cinnamon
Citron
Clementine
Clove
Coriander
Crispin
Fennel
Ginger
Honey
Huckleberry
Kale
Lemon
Maize
Maple
Mango
Mirabelle
Olive
Peaches
Pepper
Plum
Quince
Rosemary
Saffron
Sage
Yarrow

If you do have a craving for any of these names, what would you pair with it? Are you bold enough to use one of these in the first name spot or would you safely tuck it away in the middle?  Post your pairings in the comment section!

After compiling a list of color names that could potentially be used as baby names, the color Cordovan caught my eye. After searching in various baby name databases, I've found that this has never been used as a name in the U.S. I was struck by Cordovan because of its similarities to names like Sullivan and Donovan and Cor- names like Cordell, Corbeau, Cormac or Corbett. Cordovan sounds like it should be a trendy, modern name.


Cordovan is a Spanish name meaning "native of Cordova" which refers to a city in Spain called Cordoba. It was there that seventh century Visigoths began production of "shell cordovan leather." In this case, cordovan describes the color of the leather. It was first used as the name of a color in 1925 in English.  As a color, Cordovan is a rich burgundy color, or a dark shade of wine. If you'd like to see what color it is, the Hex number is #893F45.

As for popularity, it has never been used on a child in the US since it began keeping record in 1880. I managed to find Cordovan used as a surname in many death indexes and marriage records after a simple search. I also found one woman named Cordovan Denise R. from North Carolina. I wasn't able to track down any birth records in other countries.

Since Cordovan has a strong association with leather, it has a masculine image behind it. Cute nicknames could include Cory, Cord, Cordy, Cordo or Van. What would you pair with this fantastic color name? What do you think of it?

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Brielle, Capri, Claret, Esme, Finlay, Hazel, Olive, Raven, Saffron, Scarlett, Wisteria
Brothers: Adler, Beckett, Cashel, Fletcher, Griffin, Jasper, MacAllister, Roan, Sterling, Zaffre

Middle Name Ideas:
Cordovan Blake
Cordovan James
Cordovan Lee
Cordovan Tate

As a Middle Name:
Andrew Cordovan
David Cordovan
James Cordovan
Parker Cordovan

You've heard of color names like gray and scarlet, sure, but have you heard of options like these? Which color name is your favorite for a potential baby name? Let me know if I missed any!

Just like fashion is constantly changing, so too are names! Occasionally, very old names will even become new and fresh again many years later!

I thought it would be interesting to see just how names have changed over the years. The data that I used comes in 30-year intervals, starting in 1892 and ending last year in 2012.

1892: Boys 1. John 2. William 3. James 4. George 5. Charles 6. Frank 7. Joseph 8. Robert 9. Harry 10. Henry 11. Edward 12. Thomas 13. Walter 14. Arthur 15. Fred 16. Albert 17. Clarence 18. Roy 19. Willie 20. Samuel

1892: Girls 1. Mary 2. Anna 3. Elizabeth 4. Margaret 5. Ruth 6. Florence 7. Emma 8. Ethel 9. Helen 10. Clara 11. Bertha 12. Minnie 13. Bessie 14. Alice 15. Annie 16. Grace 17. Ida 18. Edna 19. Mabel 20. Lillian

Much like present-day England and Wales, the 1880s in America saw the use of "nickname names" or diminutives of proper names that are used as given names. Examples above include Harry and Willie for boys, Minnie, Bessie and Annie for girls.

The majority of the male names are considered classic or traditional and still see plenty of usage, with the exception of Clarence and Fred which are not currently in the top 1000 anymore.  The female names have some classic choices, some vintage chic choices and some choices that might never come back in style.  Florence, Ethel, Bertha, Minnie, Bessie, Ida and Edna are nowhere near the top 1000 and of those, I cannot see Bertha ever being fashionable again, and I'd be surprised to see Bessie making waves. The others have a shot to rejoin the top 1000 but not all at once.

1922: Boys 1. John 2. Robert 3. William 4. James 5. Charles 6. George 7. Joseph 8. Edward 9. Richard 10. Frank 11. Thomas 12. Donald 13. Harold 14. Paul 15. Walter 16. Raymond 17. Henry 18. Jack 19. Arthur 20. Albert

1922: Girls 1. Mary 2. Dorothy 3. Helen 4. Margaret 5. Ruth 6. Betty 7. Virginia 8. Mildred 9. Elizabeth 10. Frances 11. Doris 12. Anna 13. Evelyn 14. Marie 15. Alice 16. Marjorie 17. Irene 18. Florence 19. Lillian 20. Jean

John and Mary continue to reign while Dorothy suddenly appears at #2. Many of the boys names are similar but the chart has an overall new crop of names on it compared to 1892.  The boy's list is pretty solid and full of classic names that don't waver much; in fact, all of these top 20 boy names are still on the present-day top 1000.

The girl's list feels like the wildcard here. Names like Betty, Mildred, Doris, Marjorie and Jean are new to the list but are not names we hear often in present day. Other choices like Margaret, Ruth, Elizabeth, Anna, Evelyn, Marie, Alice and Lillian are still rather popular today!

1952: Boys 1. James 2. Robert 3. John 4. Michael 5. David 6. William 7. Richard 8. Thomas 9. Charles 10. Gary 11. Steven 12. Joseph 13. Donald 14. Larry 15. Ronald 16. Kenneth 17. Mark 18. Dennis 19. Paul 20. Daniel

1952: Girls 1. Linda 2. Mary 3. Patricia 4. Deborah 5. Susan 6. Barbara 7. Nancy 8. Karen 9. Debra 10. Sandra 11. Kathleen 12. Carol 13. Donna 14. Sharon 15. Brenda 16. Diane 17. Pamela 18. Cynthia 19. Janet 20. Christine

Now things start to really change! 30 years can make such a difference. Mary and John are dethroned, replaced by James and Linda. Dorothy is nowhere to be seen and has been taken over by fresh choices like Patricia and Deborah. Actually, Mary is the only female name to last from 1922 to 1952, even Elizabeth fell.

So many of the boys names seem unshakable but we do see new options like David, Gary, Steven, Larry, Ronald, Kenneth, Mark, Dennis and Daniel.  Interesting to think about how this batch of baby names now belongs on grandparents.

1982: Boys 1. Michael 2. Christopher 3. Matthew 4. Jason 5. David 6. James 7. Joshua 8. John 9. Robert 10. Daniel 11. Joseph 12. Justin 13. Ryan 14. Brian 15. William 16. Jonathan 17. Andrew 18. Brandon 19. Adam 20. Eric

1982: Girls 1. Jennifer 2. Jessica 3. Amanda 4. Sarah 5. Melissa 6. Nicole 7. Stephanie 8. Elizabeth 9. Crystal 10. Amy 11. Michelle 12. Heather 13. Tiffany 14. Kimberly 15. Rebecca 16. Angela 17. Ashley 18. Amber 19. Christina 20. Erin

The 80's bring about an entirely different set of names.  There are a few boy's names that remain from 30 years earlier like Michael, David, James, John, Daniel, Joseph, and William, but there are no survivors on the girl's side from 1952 to 1982.

Many of you probably have these types of names as the current generation of parents, whether you are brand-new or a bit experienced. I grew up with plenty of classmates with these names. The boy's names feel so traditional to me that I don't have much to say about them and the girls names feel rather dated to this time period, even if a few are classic like Elizabeth and Sarah.

2012: Boys 1. Jacob 2. Mason 3. Ethan 4. Noah 5. William 6. Liam 7. Jayden 8. Michael 9. Alexander 10. Aiden 11. Daniel 12. Matthew 13. Elijah 14. James 15. Anthony 16. Benjamin 17. Joshua 18. Andrew 19. David 20. Joseph

2012: Girls 1. Sophia 2. Emma 3. Isabella 4. Olivia 5. Ava 6. Emily 7. Abigail 8. Mia 9. Madison 10. Elizabeth 11. Chloe 12. Ella 13. Avery 14. Addison 15. Aubrey 16. Lily 17. Natalie 18. Sofia 19. Charlotte 20. Zoey

These are the names that the 80s kids are now giving to their children. They are much different than the names we were familiar with on our friends as we grew up, and they're not the names of our parents either. There are a few exceptions like Emma, Abigail and Elizabeth for the girls that may have been the names of our grandmothers or even great-grandmothers.

The boys see a few "modern" choices sneak in among the traditional choices. There's Liam, Jayden and Aiden that seem different to me than all the others that are either biblical or very, very old. I am aware that Liam comes from William, but in this case, it's its own name.

In a way, these lists have changed dramatically, and yet, we see some of the same favorites repeat year-after-year. The only two boys names that have lasted the test of time are James and William.  None of the girls names last throughout all 5 lists. Elizabeth is on four of them, and would have been on all five had she not fallen to #22 in 1952. Elizabeth is the only female name to perpetually be in the top 30 since records began in 1880.

While I prefer older names to the modern and trendy choices of today, I think I would choose a name off of the 2012 list before any of the others, except for the oldest one 1892.  Which list is your favorite?

Purple Primroses

I got this week's featured name from the list of Colonial names that I posted on Tuesday! It was apparently used back then but it sure is rare now!

There are many "Rose" names out there. Beyond just Rose, there are Rosa, Rosalie, Rosamund, Roseanne, Roselyn, Rosemary, Rosetta, Rosemarie, etc. I have never been a huge fan of any of these. And then I found Primrose. 

It switches the "rose" to the end of the name and is an entirely different flower altogether than a rose, which I like! I'm one of those odd girls that do not like roses just because everyone else does. The primrose is very lovely, though, and comes in many colors!  (Don't let the name fool you! The Primrose flower comes from the family Primulaceae and is not closely related to the rose family Rosaceae.)


This name was originally used as a Scottish surname but it ultimately derives from the Latin "prima rosa" which means "first rose". And as its name indicates, it has the word "prim" in it which lends to the saying "prim and proper." Many people view this name as somewhat uppity but I think it is uniquely cool.

Primrose has been used in several British novels and TV series so it does have a British air about it that may not work as well in America. But despite the general vibe that it gives, it is definitely a bold and attractive choice! It is a great alternative to other popular flower names like Lily and Daisy and Rose itself!

The most recent Primrose that may be familiar today is the character Primrose "Prim" Everdeen in the Hunger Games trilogy, who is of course the younger sister of Katniss.  I think that it was that exact character that influenced the 16 births of girls named Primrose in 2012.

Before 2012, there were no girls being given this name for 30 years! There were 5 born in 1982, 6 in 1973, 5 in 1960, 7 in 1940 and a total of 66 Primroses born between 1914 and 1932. Basically, this name is a rare gem! If you are looking for something pretty and unique, this is it! It has the beautiful image of flowers to back it up and she can still be called Rose or Rosie as a nickname. Win win!

I would pair this name with something somewhat classic or traditional since it is a very unique choice. Something short and sweet!  What do you think of this name? What would you pair with it?

[Sidenote: I had to choose Primrose after I chose Peregrine last week. They are my two favorite P-names and they just sort of "go together" in my mind. I would love to meet boy/girl twins named Peregrine and Primrose! Both super unique and rare and nature related! Pip and Prim or Perry and Rosie.  Just my thoughts!]  :)

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Amity, Cordelia, Everly, Honora, Junia, Lavinia, Magnolia, Octavia, Pearl, Verity
Brothers: Amadeus, Declan, Emmett, Faustus, Hawthorne, Merritt, Peregrine, Theodore, Ulysses, Vincent

Middle Name Ideas:
Primrose Eve
Primrose Hope
Primrose Kate
Primrose Lucille
Primrose Susanna

As a Middle Name:
Anna Primrose
Claire Primrose
Hester Primrose
Lydia Primrose
Tabitha Primrose