The Art of Naming

When you think of warm weather and outdoor activities, perhaps a body of water comes to mind. Whether you enjoy the pool or the ocean, water is a huge part of summertime. Since we're discussing summer names this week and next, I thought I'd feature the name River for my boy name choice even though I'm aware of how unisex it is.


Of course, River comes from the English word that refers to a flowing body of water. Many people enjoy rafting down a river during the summer or camping near one. Ultimately, the word river is derived from the Latin ripa meaning "riverbank". As a name, River was considered masculine first but the girls staked their claim on it fairly quickly. It is still more popular for boys though.

As a nature name, River offers a great tranquil vibe, but also one of adventure. Pluralizing it as Rivers is also an option but it doesn't receive as many births per year as the singular River. There have been a few celebrities who have used this name for their children in recent years. There's also pop-culture ties to the late River Phoenix; and Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo.  For the females, there was a character on Doctor Who named River Song; and singer Kelly Clarkson recently gave her daughter the name River Rose.

River first appeared on the baby name record in 1971. It wasn't used regularly each year until 1986 for boys. It increased in usage around 1994 and has slowly been climbing upward since then. There were 815 males named River in 2013 for a ranking of #372.

The girls jumped on the bandwagon in 1988 but didn't have as much of an increase in births per year as the boys. They began catching up around 2006. As of 2013, there were 480 females named River, ranking the name at #588 on the girl side of the US Top 1000 chart.

What sort of name would you pair with River? Would you stick to the nature path? Would you find another 5 letter name? Perhaps another name with a V in it? Maybe something else entirely! Here's a few ideas that I came up with to help you out:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Aurora, Brooke, Hazel, Ivy, Lotus, Olivia, Summer, Willow
Brothers: Archer, Forest, Hunter, Jasper, Miles, Sawyer, Talon, Tyler

Boy Middle Name Ideas:
River Campbell
River James
River Sinclair
River William

As a Middle Name:
Florian River
Paxton River
Sebastian River
Vincent River

Girl Middle Name Ideas:
River Clementine
River Emilia
River Katherine
River Sophia

As a Middle Name:
Audrey River
Hannah River
Penelope River
Stella River

Do you like River more for a boy or a girl? What names would you choose to pair it with? Share your thoughts in the comment section or on Facebook!

Summertime officially began at the end of June! Next, we'll get to watch the fireworks light up the summer sky! After that, it's time to start pondering more about that baby name you're looking for. Your summer baby will be arriving soon! If you're having trouble narrowing down the right name for your little guy, perhaps one of these timely choices will best suit him! Take some of that warmth and sunshine and happiness associated with summer and apply it directly to naming and you'll have yourself the perfect moniker! Check out this list for ideas:

August
Augustine
Augustus
Azul
Bay
Beach
Birch
Bodhi
Brody
Cain
Calder
Dax
Dune
Dylan
Field
Finn
Julian
Julio
Julius
July
Junius
Junot
Kai
Lake
Leaf
Leo
Marlin
Marino
Murphy
Ocean
Pacifico
Ray
Rip
River
Sandy
Shade
Sheldon
Somerset
Storm
Sumner
Sunny
Tanner
Theros
Thunder
Tide
Tripp

Which of these names could you see yourself using for your baby boy? Don't forget to take a look at the list of Summer Names for Girls too! Also, Autumn Names for Boys and Autumn Names for Girls.

These baby names were pulled from birth announcements at a hospital in Oregon since the start of the year, (January-April 2014). I picked out the ones that I liked or thought were interesting. Which of these do you like best?

Girls: 

Amiyah Rose
Ariana Renee
Aspen Jolee
Aubrielle Kinzie
Audrianna Taylor
Ava Penelope
Avery Gabriella
Beatrice Aveah-Dawn
Callie Elizabeth
Cecelia Opal
Charlotte Marie
Delilah Jane
Elayna Jade
Ellanie Rose
Evia Shay
Francesca Vail
Hallee Christine Roseann
Hannah Rogue
Harmony Clair
Ily Mae-Joan
Ivy Sophia Ann
Isabella Faith
Jasmine Faye
Jessica Lynn
Jinevieve Nicole
Julia Carmen Annalise
Julianna Lynn
Khloe Elise Lisa
Khloe Sophia Alexandria
Kylea Nicole
Layla Josephine
Leila Mae
Lilly Marie
Lola Anne Marie
Maddilyn Dawn
McKinley Nichole
Melony Angel
Nola James
Peyton June
Remington Lane
Ruby Jean
Savannah Rose Lynn
Stella Jo
Sylvie Kate
Temprence Gail Francis
Trinity Joy


Boys:
Aleczander Lawrence
Andrew Paul
Apolo Leonardo
Atreyu Ainsley
Bentlee Lucas
Braden James
Bryson Boyd
Caden Eugene
Camden Timothy
Cole Lewis
Connor Vaughn
Corbin Wayne
Dimitri James
Donovan Clark
Easton Anthony
Elias Malcolm
Emmett Brannick
Emerson George
Fabian Thanos Von
Gabriel Alexander
Gabriel Tyler
Grant Christopher
Hunter Jack
Hunter Patrick James
Ian Thomas
Ivan Alexander
Jeramiah Arthur William
Kale Matthew
Liam Edward
Logan Bradley James
Micah Everett
Orion James
Paul Wesley
Riggs Matthew
Rowan Gerard
Ryder Gage
Ryland Thomas
Stark Richard
Sullivan Rhys
Titan Daniel
Tristan Bobby
Tyrion James Freddie
Wesley Ray
William Roy
Wyatt Louis
Zane Forrest

Twins:
Emberley Quinn & Lakin Avery (girls)
Bryson Luke & Dillon John (boys)
Adam Isaiah & Conner James (boys)

To complete our week of analyzing German baby naming traditions and names, I present to you the lovely name Lorelei.


It actually comes from German mythology. According to legend, a beautiful seductress lived on a rock headland on the Rhine River. The rock itself is located near St. Goarshausen, Germany and is named the Lorelei even today. It is said that the maiden, or "water spirit", lures fishermen to their death with her haunting voice and beautiful song. For this reason, Lorelei means "luring rock" or "alluring temptress/enchantress".   It is sometimes spelled Loreley as well.

The image of this deadly siren has been a part of the name Lorelei for ages. Some may view that with a negative connotation, and others may enjoy the mythic beauty of a singing mermaid seductress despite the fact that she caused many deaths. It is just a legend, after all, so it is up to you whether the association is an issue or not.

Another strong association that has been around for a while is that of a gold digger in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She was portrayed by the late Marilyn Monroe.

However, the most recent association around today comes straight from pop-culture. In fact, many people will think of these two Loreleis first upon hearing the name. On the TV show The Gilmore Girls (2000-2007), a young mom named Lorelei decided that her daughter would be a junior and named her Lorelei as well, but she went by Rory. They spelled it Lorelai but pronounced it the same: LORE-uh-lie. Their middle names were Victoria and Leigh.

Other nicknames beyond Rory may include Lori, Lora, Lorel, Lore, and possibly even Lola, Lila or Lolly if you stretch it.

Lorelei was first used as a baby name in the US in 1916. It gained more regularity in 1925 with a small spike in 1938 of 121 births. It did well in the 1950s and early 60s but tapered off again until it got a boost in 2002.  It has been trending upward since then, climbing to a peak of 594 births in 2013 which ranks it at #501.

Interestingly, the spelling Lorelai, used in Gilmore Girls, was not used at all until 2001, coinciding with the show.  It has also climbed up the charts and had 336 births in 2013 for a ranking of #800.

Which spelling do you like better? Lorelei or Lorelai? Perhaps something else?  Here are some ideas for sibling and middle names if you're considering using this name for your child!

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Adelaide, Alexis, Amelia, Daphne, Elodie, Minerva, Rebecca, Scarlett
Brothers: Alaric, Elliott, Garrett, Gideon, Liam, Matthew, Theodore, Warren

Middle Name Ideas:
Lorelei Adele
Lorelei Charlotte
Lorelei Geneva
Lorelei Johanna

As a Middle Name: 
Ava Lorelei
Elsa Lorelei
Katrina Lorelei
Minna Lorelei

What do you think of the name Lorelei. Does the German myth bother you? What middle name might you pair with Lorelei? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below or on Facebook!

Moritzburg Castle, Germany Featured German Names: Alaric & Lorelei

This month's World-Wide Wednesday features baby naming customs from Germany.

Prior to the late 19th century, Germany was a vast territory that saw major differences in the way baby names were given across the land and in different time periods. Traditionally, most boys in central and southern Germany in the 1700s were named Johann or Johannes. (Hans was big in the 1600s). Sometimes they would go by a middle name to differentiate between them. Similarly, girls tended to be named Maria or Anna.

In the north and northeast, children in the mid-1800s received anywhere from three to five given names. This was a sign of nobility. The more names a person had, the more important they would appear. In records, ministers would often underline the preferred name, and sometimes marriage licenses would have the names in a slightly different order than what was on the birth record. They may have even been simplified or spelled differently.  Surnames weren't regularly used until the 1500s.

Up near Denmark in a place called Schelswig and a place called the duchy of Holstein, it was popular tradition to use patronymic names through to the 18th century. This means that most children were named for their fathers or grandfathers. For example, if a father was named Peter, his sons and daugthers would use the surname Petersen (and occasionally girls who were very near Denmark would follow those traditions and use Petersdatter as a surname instead). It wasn't until 1771 that this got to be rather confusing and a law was passed that required children to take a set surname, usually the same one their father had instead of basing a new one on his first name.

In Ostfriesland, which is in the northwestern corner of modern Germany, people followed a patronymic pattern that was very similar to that of their Dutch neighbors to the west. Instead of adding -sen or -datter to their father's name, boys and girls would simply add an -s. The confusing part about this tradition is that back in Schleswig most wives would take their husband's name and add -s to it. Depending on where you lived, your name would indicate whether you were the wife of Peter (in Schleswig and Denmark) or the daughter of Peter (in Ostfriesland).

As you can see, different areas had different customs that drew great influence from neighboring countries. Another example is that of the people of Westfalen which borders Hannover, Rheinland. Since medieval times, they had an entirely different naming method.  Surnames were called Hofname or "farm-names". The family living on that particular farm would take that particular surname. If a daughter inherited the farm and married, her husband would change his name to that of her farm. His old name would be listed with his new surname with a phrase such as genannt, vulgo, modo, sive, or alias listed between them meaning he had one surname but was called by another.

Today, there are still some faint remnants of these patronymic systems but they don't tend to form a child's official name. Names consist of one or several usually gender-specific given names and a set surname. Women traditionally adopt their husband's surname and hyphenate it with their own.

Most first names in the past were very traditionally Germanic, or they were biblical. Examples include:

Boys:                                       Carl Karl Wilhelm Otto Heinrich Friedrich Paul Hans Gustav Max Walter Walther Hermann Ernst Werner Heinz Curt Kurt Günter Günther Herbert Gerhard Helmuth Peter Claus Klaus Uwe Jürgen Dieter Horst Manfred Wolfgang Bernd Andreas Frank Stefan Jörg Torsten

Girls: Anna Martha Frieda Bertha Emma Maria Margarethe Erna Elsa Gertrud Hertha Käthe Elisabeth Hildegard Ilse Irmgard Gerda Lieselotte Elfriede Ursula Edith Helga Gisela Inge Ingrid Ingeborg Karin Renate Elke Monika Brigitte Angelika Sabine Martina Ute Keike Petra Birgit Anja

It is only since the 1970s or so that Germans have adopted more Westernized names such as:

Boys:                                       Thomas Michael Marcus Christian Oliver Matthias Sebastian Daniel Martin Dennis Alexander Tobias Patrick Marcel Philipp Lucas Ben Finn Jonas Maximilian Felix Leon Louis

Girls: Nicole Claudia Stephanie Andrea Susanne Julia Melanie Sandra Nadine Christina Sabrina Sarah Jennifer Lisa Katharina Jessica Laura Leah Hannah Michelle Lara Lena Mia Sophia Leonie

There was a bit of a pattern that many parents followed in order to properly honor saints and relatives in their children's names. Take a look at this chart for an example:

Source

If there were duplicate names in the pattern, they'd usually skip to the next name in the pattern. If a child were to die in infancy, their name would be reused for the next child of the same gender.

When the children were baptized, they were most often given one first name that was a spiritual name honoring that special saint or relative, and they'd receive a middle name or a "call name." They would go by this call name most often. Often, children were all given the same first name such as the very popular Johann. Three brothers might have the following names:

Johann Heinrich Schmidt
Johann Wilhelm Schmidt
Johann Gustav Schmidt

They would be known as Heinrich, Wilhelm and Gustav. Girls would have a similar situation but most commonly with the first name Anna or Maria. This occurrence did not always happen though. It did depend on the family and when and where they lived.

There is no official statistics for baby names in Germany but Knud Bielefeld (publisher of firstnamesgermany.com) has analysed approximately 182,300 German birth notifications and compiled a list of the most popular baby names in 2013. Borrowing graciously from him, here are the Top 10:

1. Ben                                         2. Luca / Luka 3. Paul 4. Jonas 5. Finn / Fynn 6. Leon 7. Luis / Louis 8. Lukas / Lucas 9. Maximilian 10. Felix

1. Mia 2. Emma 3. Hannah / Hanna 4. Sofia / Sophia 5. Anna 6. Lea / Leah 7. Emilia 8. Marie 9. Lena 10. Leonie

What do you think of the baby naming customs of Germany? Do you have any German relatives with names like these? Which traditionally German name is your favorite? Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section below or on our Facebook page!

Source | Source | Source | Source

[Note: I do have German blood but I've never been to Germany and don't speak German. If any of this information seems incorrect, please let me know so I can fix it!]

The awesome baby name lovers on Instagram and Tumblr have spoken! When polled about which German name I should feature for my World-Wide Wednesday segment, Alaric was the clear winner for the boys! The girl name is coming on Friday!


Alaric is an Ancient Germanic name meaning "Ruler of All" or "All-Powerful Ruler".  It comes from the Gothic name Alareiks and is derived from the Germanic elements ala "all" and ric "ruler, power".

In history, Alaric was the name of the king of the Visigoths who sacked Rome in the 5th century. Because of this king, the name has a very ancient and regal feel to it, but it still has the potential to be a cool, quirky and modern choice for a baby boy today.

This name is still flying under the radar in terms of popularity. I've seen it discussed many times on forums but as far as actual usage goes, it is rare!

It first appeared in the US in 1949 and it took another ten years to catch on regularly. Alaric is just now coming into its prime! It hasn't had much love until recently with 88 births in 2012 and a record-high 116 births in 2013 for a ranking of #1414. I think Alaric could potentially break into the Top 1000 in the next decade. It seems to be a growing favorite!

Alaric is a bold and strong name on its own, but it also has the nickname possibilities of Al, Ric, Ricky, Lars, Alec, Alar and Aric. It is typically pronounced AL-er-ic, just like it looks, but this name is used on the TV show The Vampire Diaries and is pronounced as uh-LAR-ik.  I definitely prefer the typical pronunciation.

What do you think of this name? What sort of middle names and sibling names would you pair with it? Here are some ideas that I came up with:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Adelaide, Elsie, Ingrid,  Lorelei, Mathilda, Wilhelmina
Brothers: Caspar, Edsel, Jaegar, Kiefer, Otto, Warren

Middle Name Ideas:
Alaric Charles
Alaric Ferdinand
Alaric Johan
Alaric Leonardo
Alaric Theodore

As a Middle Name:
Diesel Alaric
Henry Alaric
Joseph Alaric
Lucas Alaric
Matthew Alaric

I tried not to only pair other German names with it, but it was a bit tricky to get decent flow. What do you think? Which names would you use?

Ever since I began The Art of Naming, I've had a pretty firm stance against using popular names. My objective was to help parents find obscure and unusual names to use instead of going with the most common choices that everyone else is using.  While I still completely love unique names, I have a big confession to make.

As many of you may know, my husband and I are expecting a daughter in August. We have chosen three names for her, a first and two middles. The kicker is, despite all of my pro-unusual name posts, two of my chosen names are within the Top 50.  [Cue the collective gasp].

We were originally planning on using a first name that ranked in the mid-200s but now we've bumped it to the middle name.  We will be using one of the more popular names as her first name because it *feels right*.  If any of you have had a child, I'm sure you can relate to the feeling of a name just being "the one". I realized it when I saw her little face in an ultrasound picture.  You can't hate me too much for falling in love with a popular name, right? You still love me?

All of this has got me thinking about popularity. How important is it? Really?

I began obsessing over baby names when I was 17. I was more on the clueless side of things and only looked at the name based on how it sounded. Over time I began to appreciate meanings and history and eventually popularity. Today I feel as though I've been so darn picky about everything in recent years that I've finally had to give in to what names I really love and relax on the technicalities behind them.  The names I've chosen are more popular than I thought I would have ever chosen but they're also full of great meanings and some family honor. This triumphs over popularity for me.

I have done my research and know how popular my choices are. I'm to the point where it finally doesn't bother me. However, a year ago, I would have never actually gone through with using a Top 50 name as the first name just on principle alone. Perhaps I'm experiencing character development? That, or I've taken comfort in the fact that popular names of today just aren't as popular as they once were in the past.

Take for example the most popular girl's name ever: Mary.  She peaked in 1921 with (are you ready for this?) 73,983 births. Can you wrap your brain around that figure for a moment? And then remember that she lingered around those types of figures for years!  She was the #1 or #2 name every year from 1880-1965 and still remained in the Top 50 until 2001. Today she's fallen to #121 but still received over 2,600 births for the year. If that isn't popular, nothing is.

Compare Mary's stats to those of the other #1 baby girl names since 1880. It took me a while but I did all the math for you. Notice how the numbers in the 3rd column get progressively smaller as time goes by. With all of the variety in spelling and the pool of acceptable names rapidly growing, the top names are actually being used by fewer babies per year. This is why I like to share the number of births when I feature names rather than the rank. Rank means very little when the number of births for the year varies as drastically as Linda and Sophia's stats do.  Take a look:


What do these stats tell us? The true popularity of a name is deceiving. There are people every year who now combine all of the various spellings together to find out what the "True Top Names" are. And I was only comparing the #1 names in the above image. When you climb down the chart a bit and realize that the names in the #30-#40 range (where my daughter's name sits) only get about 5,000-6,000 births per year, it suddenly doesn't seem that bad. Think about how huge this country is and how many babies are born every year. Sure, she may know a couple other girls in her school with the name, but I'm currently not worried about it.

If you have a very common last name and give your child a very common first name, chances are they'll run into an issue at some point in their life with having the same exact name as someone else they are near, so popularity may be a priority for you and that's great! Choose something odd! However, many parents worry about their child being 1 of 4 in a classroom with the same name. If you're one of those, I'd suggest searching for something more obscure if it really bothers you.

There are so many names out there, thoroughly search for the right one. With the stats we see today, names are nowhere near as popular as they have been in the past. (Did you see how many Marys there have been?) If the name you choose ends up being popular, ask any Jen, Jenny or Jennifer of the 1970s how they dealt with it. If they could handle it, I'm sure your child will survive too. :)

So what do you think? Does popularity really matter? Does your child have a common name? How has it worked for them? Was your name popular in school? How did you deal? Let me know in the comments below or on Facebook! 

...What? You wanted me to tell you my daughter's name?... How about I make you work for it? In the year 1920, they ranked as such: #103, #744, #280. The third is after my husband's sister. :)