The Art of Naming

What do you think about when you look at a list of birth announcements? Of course you'd remember that these all belong to an actual child somewhere in this country, but if you were take a step back and look at these names at face value, do you picture anything in your mind? Do you automatically start to rate the names? Would you borrow one of the pairings and add it to your own name list? Sure, why not?

These are meant as inspiration for those in the process of finding a name, and to enlighten the rest of us as to what sort of names are actually being used. Most of all, since these are anonymous, you're meant to enjoy the names and have a bit of fun. So what would you say if I asked you to pick and choose your favorite first/middle combinations as they are and create a sibset with them?

Using the following names, share with us in the comment section what you would name twins: girl/girl, boy/boy and boy/girl. I'll share my picks below! 

Girls:
Adara Helaina
Alanna Lynn
Annabelle Lynn
Astrid Emily
Aubrey Lauren
Brynn Elizabeth
Carissa Beth
Cecilia Faith
Eleanor Carole
Eloise Frances
Elsa Nichole
Gabriella Kathryn
Gianna Rose
Isabella Marie
Jocelyn Elise
June Marlene
Kinley Jo
Kira Elizabeth
Lucy Carmella
Mabel Grace
Madeleine Joyce
Norah Bailey
Penny Christine
Savannah Jo
Sydney Denae

Boys:
Anthony Michael
Bernard Matthew
Callan James
Charlie Daniel
Chase Richard
Colton Steven
Damon Anthony
Dominic Aiden
Donavan Michael
Easton Thomas
Gavin Wyatt
Isaiah Lee
Jace Timothy
James David
Landon John
Lucas Brandon
Micah James
Milo Christopher
Murphy Everett
Myles Carter
Samuel John
Sawyer Franklin
Sebastian Noah
Vaughn Douglas
Vincent Ryan

Twins:
Alissandra Katherine-Jean & Brady Christopher-Allen
Isaac Anthony & Joshua Wesley
Chloe Lynne & Colt Justice


My chosen twins from the boy/girl lists:
G/G: Carissa Beth & Aubrey Lauren
B/B: Milo Christopher & Sebastian Noah
B/G: Vincent Ryan & Annabelle Lynn

Don't forget to share which names you'd choose for this naming challenge in the comment section below! Thanks for playing!

The beautiful, feminine name Flora is brought to you today in light of our previous post that featured The Very Best F Names for Boys and Girls.


As a name, Flora has been in use since the Renaissance era in France. Diminutives of the name include Flo, Floretta, Florrie and Floella. In Dutch, Flora is known as Floor or Floortje. The French call her Flore and Florette, Hungarians say Flóra while the Welsh use Fflur.

Flora could be used as a nickname for Florence but the two aren't actually related since they come from different roots. Another similar name is Fleur which is French for Flower; there's also Fleurette, a diminutive of Fleur.

Flora

It's no surprise that this lovely name comes from the Latin word flos meaning "flower".  Flora was the goddess of flowers and the season of spring according to Roman mythology. She was the wife of Favonius, who was the west wind and bringer of light spring and early summer breezes. This couple's Greek equivalent is Chloris and Zephyrus or Zephyr.

The goddess Flora had her own festival called Floralia that would take place from April 28th to May 3rd in celebration of the renewal of life during springtime. Flora achieved more prominence during the Renaissance era than she ever did in ancient Rome.

Flora has ranked recently at #404 in England/Wales, #178 in France and #29 in Hungary. In the US, Flora has been in constant use since 1880. She enjoyed a popularity peak from roughly 1913-1931 before usage declined. This name fell off the Top 1000 chart in 1972 and remains there today. It ranked down at #1513 in the year 2013 when 144 baby girls were given the name. The good news, though, is that this name fits the 100 Year Rule.

According to that rule, old-fashioned names become fresh again and experience a revival of usage roughly 90-110 years after their initial peak of popularity. In this case, Flora did its best in 1920 with 1,566 births. In the next 5 years leading up to 2020, Flora may just receive a small boost in usage. However, it could take another ten years or so to see a definite rise since this is just an approximate and theorized timeline. There is always a chance that it may not occur at all. Either way, Flora has the potential to rejoin the Top 1000 names chart.

What do you think of the name Flora?

If you're interested in this lovely, under-the-radar, vintage name, perhaps these sibling and middle name ideas would also be helpful:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Ada, Caroline, Hazel, Leona, Olive, Sylvie, Viola
Brothers: August, Calvin, Ferdinand, Hugh, Julius, Milo, Rupert

Middle Name Ideas:
Flora Cecily
Flora Mae
Flora Lucille
Flora Vivienne

As a Middle Name:
Elizabeth Flora
June Flora
Penelope Flora
Serenity Flora

Know anyone with this name? Share your thoughts on the name Flora in the comments below!

Source | Source
Photo: Primavera- Flora, the goddess of flowers and the season of spring.
Artist: Sandro Botticelli. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence - circa 1482

Naming traditions come in a variety of forms. Perhaps everyone in your family has a name with double-letters within it and you're looking for a name that hasn't been taken yet. There are hundreds of names out there that will fit this criteria but to simplify the process, this article lists up to ten of the best names per letter.

Below are some of the most attractive names for baby girls that contain double letters. Be sure to follow the links below for a list that's even more extensive than this one.

Which of the follow names do you like the most? Do you have a favorite double letter?

A:
Aaliyah

B:
Abbey, Abbigail, Abby, Bobbie, Debbie, Gabby, Libby, Robbin, Tabby, Tabbitha

C:
Accalia, Becca, Rebecca, Ricci, Toccara

D:
Addalyn, Addie, Addison, Edda, Haddasha, Haddie, Hedda, Maddalena, Maddie, Siddalee

E:
Aimee, Cathleen, Desiree, Eileen, Greer, Jubilee, Leela, Maureen, Reese, Teegan
Click here to view a more extensive list of Double-E names for girls!

F:
Buffy, Effie, Ffion, Fflur, Raffaela, Saffron, Steffany, Tiffany

G:
Maggie, Meggan, Meggie, Peggy, Reggie

K:
Mikki, Nikki, Onekka, Rebekka, Rikki, Vikki

There are many names out there that contain double-letters within them. This is a collection of the very best of these names per letter of the alphabet for boys. Some letters have limited options and others don't have any because it just doesn't work in accordance with the alphabet and the English language.

Compiled below are the most attractive names per double-letter. The catch is that each letter has been limited to ten names. There may be more options out there but for the sake of space, they aren't all included on this list.

The following names are some of the better options available. If you're in search of a double-lettered name, this list is for you!:

A:
Aaden, Aaron, Canaan, Isaac

B:
Abbott, Bobby, Cobb, Gibb, Gibby, Robb, Robby, Webb

C:
Breccan, Lucca, McCoy, Morocco, Niccolo, Rocco, Zacchaeus

D:
Addison, Eddie, Freddie, Judd, Madden, Maddox, Teddy, Thaddeus, Todd, Vadden

E:
Creed, Keegan, Keenan, Lee, Leeland, Reed, Reese, Reeve, Seeley, Tennessee

F:
Christoffer, Geoffrey, Griffin, Heathcliff, Jefferson, Jeffrey, Kristoff, Raffaello, Rafferty, Steffan

G:
Briggs, Diggory, Gregg, Iggy, Jagger, Reggie, Taggart, Viggo, Ziggy

K:
Mikkel, Mikko, Nikko

To go along with the article regarding The Very Best E Names for Boys and Girls, today's featured name is Emmett.


Emmett is rather unique because it is a male name that is derived from a female name. Masculinization doesn't happen very often in names whereas there are many feminized names such as Josephine from Joseph or Philippa from Philip.  Emmett comes from Emma.

Originally Emmett comes from an English surname that was derived from a diminutive of Emma.  Emma comes from the Germanic element ermen (or possibly ermin or irmin) which mean "whole" or "universal".

In history, Emma was the daughter of Richard, Duke of Normandy. She introduced the name to England when she married King Ethelrede and later King Canute. This was way back in the 11th century and caused the name Emma to be very popular at the time along with short forms Em and Emm.

Emmot was also a recorded variant derived from Emma. There's also a place called Emmott in Lancashire which was recorded as "Emot" in 1296 which may come from the 7th Century Old English word "eagemot" meaning "junction of streams". [source]

As a baby name, Emmett has been in regular usage since 1880 but it has never been as popular as it is today. It received its first surge of popularity between 1915 and 1925 but declined in usage again until the mid-2000s when it skyrocketed. In 2013, there were 2,336 boys named Emmett which ranked the name at #173 in the US.

Edith                      Elaine Eleanor Elizabeth Ella Ellen Elodie Eloise Elowen Ember Emilia Emily Emma Emmeline Erica Erin Esme Esmeralda Estella Esther Eugenie Eulalia Eva Evangeline Everly

Easton Edmund Edward Edwin Eleazar Eli Elias Elijah Elliott Ellison Emile Emmanuel Emmett Enzo Erasmus Eric Ernest Ethan Eugene Evan Evander Everett Ewan Ezekiel Ezra

Each of these names are great, but if the perfect one isn't on this page, perhaps you should check out our other lists by using the links below!

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