Barely Used Boy Names: Cordell, Tobin & Zephyr [Part Seven]

Ahhh! Part Seven! Here we are! The series just keeps chugging along with another 10 boy names to choose from! These barely-used names do not rank within 2015's Top 1000 chart.

Take a look at the names on this list, pick your favorite(s) and pair them with a great middle name in the comment section below!

Cordell (129 births - #1342) Cordell is an interesting surname name taken from Middle English usage referring to the maker or seller of cord. Cordell actually first appeared in 1903 for females, and 1904 for males. However, over the years, it gained more traction for boys, despite being given to a handful of girls here and there until 1937. For boys, Cordell has ranked on and off in the Top 1000, doing the best in the late 1990s.  Now it has fallen off the charts again but still earns a decent amount of births per year. Is this a name that you'd consider? Middle Name Ideas:  Cordell William, Cordell Elijah, Cordell Frost, Cordell Thomas, Cordell Ryan, Cordell Sebastian, Cordell Peregrine.

Jael (128 births - #1350)  Jael comes from the Hebrew name יָעֵל (Ya'el) which means "mountain goat". This was an Old Testament name used on a woman, the wife of Heber the Kenite. It's interesting that people have decided to use it for a boy. It was first used for girls back in 1957, and for boys in 1979. Over the years, it has actually been very evenly unisex with nearly the same amount of births for the year for each gender. In 2015, there were 150 girls named Jael and 128 boys. Middle Name Ideas: Jael Carter, Jael Matthew, Jael Benjamin, Jael Nathan, Jael Alexander, Jael Isaiah, Jael Tobias.

Creed (127 births - #1357)  Creed is an English word that refers to a set of religious beliefs, or any set of principals that must be followed.  It comes from the Latin credo meaning "I believe" or credere meaning "to believe". This name would most likely be used by parents who have strong spiritual beliefs, but it isn't off limits to those without faith. This has always been solely given to boys, dating back to 1880, but it wasn't regularly used yearly until the 1910s. It is more popular today than it has ever been, and yet it has not cracked into the Top 1000. Middle Name Ideas: Creed Jackson, Creed Oliver, Creed Michael, Creed Lucas, Creed Finnegan, Creed Anthony, Creed Gabriel.

Eleazar (127 births - #1359)  This comes from the Hebrew אֶלְעָזָר ('El'azar) which means "my God has helped" and was the name of one of the sons of Aaron in the Old Testament. Related names include Elazar, Lázár, Lazare, Lazzaro and Lázaro and of course, Lazarus.  Eleazar is a masculine name, (despite 7 female births appearing in 1993), and it has been in use in the US since 1919 on record. While it has never been popular or on the Top 1000 chart, it has had some solid usage over the years.  Could it ever catch on like other popular biblical names? Middle Name Ideas:  Eleazar Dean, Eleazar Lee, Eleazar Matteo, Eleazar Jude, Eleazar Beau, Eleazar Quinn

Tobin (127 births - #1362)  Tobin comes from an English surname that was derived from the male name Tobias. Tobias is the Greek form of Tobiah, a Hebrew form of Toviyyah meaning "YAHWEH is good". So, Tobin has been used in the US since 1941 for boys. It ranked as high as #720 in 1971, but fell out of the Top 1000 since then. Usage is on the rise now, but it hasn't quite caught on fully. Could Tobin gain enough popularity in the coming years to land on the Top 1000 chart? Middle Name Ideas: Tobin James, Tobin Andrew, Tobin Peter, Tobin Lysander, Tobin Clark, Tobin Leroy

Laith (126 births - #1369)  Laith is an interesting Arabic name meaning "lion". It is also sometimes used as a surname or romanized as Layth. This name dates way back to a notable Egyptian scholar who lived from 713-791. However, in the US, Laith has only been on record since 1969. It has slowly gained a handful more births year over year since then, but has never cracked the Top 1000. Laith has all the right sounds to potentially be popular, but will it ever get there? Middle Name Ideas: Laith Raphael, Laith Jasper, Laith Dominic, Laith Muhammad, Laith Cassim, Laith David

Zephyr (126 births - #1373) This is a fascinating Greek name from Zephyros meaning "the west wind" of which Zephyros was the god. Interestingly, Zephyr has a longer history as a female name. It was on record between 1905 and 1937 for females before going into name hibernation. It reappeared in 1975 for boys and 1981 for girls.  It was seldom used until most recently in the past decade.  Now it has far more usage on boys. It's rare that a name will turn from pink to blue in the US, but this one is trending that direction, even though it began as a male god name.  Middle Name Ideas: Zephyr Adrian, Zephyr Julian, Zephyr Noah, Zephyr Apollo, Zephyr Orion, Zephyr Leonidas, Zephyr Damian

Nestor (124 births - #1389) Nestor is a Greek name meaning "homecoming". There was a character in Homer's Iliad named Nestor who was known for his wisdom and longevity. The first usage of Nestor in the US was back in 1885. Always a masculine name, it failed to gain momentum until the 1910s, and it wasn't until the 1960s that it joined the Top 1000. It was most popular in 1991 at #587, but dipped back off the chart in 2008. Is this one too unusual for most people or could it gain popularity? Middle Name Ideas: Nestor Jack, Nestor Gabriel, Nestor Matthias, Nestor George, Nestor Timothy, Nestor Demetrius, Nestor Isaiah

Ollie (122 births - #1403) Ollie is a diminutive, or nickname, of the Oliver, Olivia and Olive branch of names. It is also used as a given name on its own. Ollie tends to be more commonly given to girls, especially back around the early 1900s. It ranked in the Top 1000 for girls until 1961. Ollie was used on boys simultaneously since 1880 but usually with fewer births per year. Only now is it trending upward for boys as a faster rate than for girls (122 male births vs 56 female in 2015). Will it break back into the Top 1000 soon? And if so, for which gender is it better suited?  Middle Name Ideas: Ollie Maxwell, Ollie Barnabas, Ollie Christopher, Ollie Marcus, Ollie Foster, Ollie Theodore, Ollie Laurence

Cillian (121 births - #1407) Finally, we have the Irish Cillian, pronounced kil-ee-an. This name was probably taken from the Gaelic ceall meaning "church" and combined with a diminutive suffix which likely makes it "little church". It was originally spelled Ó Cillín in Irish before being Anglicized into Killeen as well as Killian. It could also possibly be the diminutive of ceallach meaning "war, strife". There was a 7th century Irish saint by the name. Here in the US, Killian is more popular (#348 in 2015) because the spelling lends to the pronunciation. Cillian has only been in use since 1995 but it is climbing the charts. Middle Name Ideas: Cillian Ferdinand, Cillian Patrick, Cillian Fox, Cillian Henry, Cillian Archer, Cillian Pierce, Cillian Reid

What do you think of these ten names and what other middle names might pair well? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Hidden Gems or Never-Agains?: Unusual Girl Names from the 1910s

We previously explored some of the most unusual boy names from the 1910s. Now it is time to take a look at some interesting names given to females from 1910-1919.

Now, there were so very many names to browse through and I'm sure there are dozens more that could be added to this list, but these are some of the top choices I could find. 

All of these had either 5, 6 or 7 births for the year within the decade of the 1910s. The names came straight from the US Social Security Administration's data.

Let's get started! While some aren't quite as unusual as others, browse slowly and try to imagine what it would be like to live with one of these names:

Albirdia Allien Almeter Alphild Amparo Appie Areather Arloene Bannie Beedie Bernetha Binnie Birchie Bird Birdella Blandina Bleeker Blossie Bonzie Boots Borgny Brooxie Brownie Bular California Casilda Cellie Clatie Clesta Clevie Cliffie Clister Clova Cozy Creasie Cumi Darthula

Delight Delitha Dester Dicksie Dimples Domitila Dotsie Dymple Earnie Edmae Eduvigen Equilla Ercie Esteller Eulogia Euple Exilda Ezola Fairie Ferol Fleeta Folia Freedom Fritzi Gurtha Gypsy Happy Hellon Henretter Icel Inus Iota Kansas Lapriel Lauretha Leafie Leather

Leler Lockie Loice Lubie Maclovia Majel Mayo Mertice Methyl Mimmie Missouria Modest Narcissus Neppie Nervie Nieves Ninfa Nobia Novice Novis Occie Ogie Okie Ozite Pairlee Panagiota Panzie Parthena Peaches Peachie Pebble Pecolia Persis Piedad Pinkey Pleasant Plina

Porfiria Pricie Providence Quessie Reathel Rebel Refugio Rettie Rilda Senora Shadie Siller Simmie Sirkka Sissie Snoda Spicie Statia Stellar Sueno Sunbeam Swannie Sweetie Tassie Tatsue Tenner Theckla Thekla Theopal Thetis Thurza Thusnelda Tishie Toini Toots Topsy Toy

Trannie Treasie Trieste Trilby Tinnie Vandora Vangie Vanilla Velvie Verbal Vermell Verneal Verniece Verva Vicy Viletta Virgin Walburga Wanna Wavie Wealthy Weeda Welcome Westonia Willola Wilsie Wincie Wreatha Yaeko Yoshi Zannie Zeffie Zetha Zolar Zorka Zuella Zylphia

What do you think of this list? Pick a few names that catch your eye and share your choices in the comments below! Do you know anyone with an unusual name?

Have You Heard of These Unusual Boy Names from the 1910s?

Today we are zooming in on the decade of the 1910s to discover some of the most unusual names given to boys at the time.

I analyzed the data from the Social Security Administration and looked at the names at the very bottom for each year from 1910-1919. I pulled interesting names that only had 5-7 births per year, and I did so for each of those years.

Take a look at this list and try to remember that these were once names given to baby boys. Some of the boy names that I found within the far-reaches of the data were straight up words.

Here are some of the most interesting ones:

Admiral Battle Bland Boss Boots Carless Castle Champion Chief Choice Colon Coma Commodore Concetto Converse Doctor Doll Dunk English Fess Flake Fleet Fort Friend Gentle

Glee Happy Hooker Jolly Math Method Normal Orange Other Perfecto Precious President Press Seaborn Shade Smiley Speed Square Swift Tiny Tip Watt Welcome White Worthy

Here are even more unusual names that I handpicked from several hundred options. It was hard to narrow it down and know which to include and which to ignore, but these ones made the cut:

Albino Alcide Anibal Argyle Ausby Australia Barksdale Bilbo Bolish Boysie Brack Brainard Broadus Broughton Broward Brownie Brownlow Bubber Bunion Burdette Capus Cataldo Cledith Cleother Clim Cloid Cooley Curlee Deloss Delphis Dolphus Drexel Elree Emo Erdman Erling Ettore Eulis Fermin Flavil Flory	Flournoy Garwood Gildo Glade Goldman Irby Haakon Hargis Harless Harm Hartsell Hazen Helge Helmuth Hezzie Hipolito Hjalmer Holsey Hyrum Iwao Kee Kermith Knowlton Landrum Lankford Legrand Ludie Man Mancil Mayo Miner Mont Moultrie Nesbit Oather Offie Ottaway Oval Ovid Ozro Quitman	Pervie Pincus Pinkney Pledger Plez Pliny Plummer Printes Procopio Proctor Prosper Purvis  Rice Rolla Sambo Sarkis Sears Selso Sewell Sneed Squire Starling Stelmo Stonewall Stoy Swain Telesphore Temple Thelmon Thurl Trygve Tyrus Vasco Vernice Vestal Volney Waclaw Welch Wick Wingate Zoltan

Would you ever consider any of the names listed above? Have you met someone with one of these names, or something equally unusual?

Molly

This featured name is pulled from the list of names that end with the letters "-ly". This list is one of the longest ones in this series so far. It was full of great options, but I decided to highlight Molly.

Not many people will realize that Molly comes from the name Mary. It developed as a diminutive based on Malle and Molle over time. Polly is in the same boat.

Now, Mary ultimately comes from the Greek Mariam and Maria, which were from the Hebrew Miryam. The meaning of Mary has never been absolutely certain, but meanings such as "sea of bitterness," "rebelliousness," and "wished for child" have been thrown about as possibilities. It's also likely that Mary was originally an Egyptian name derived from mry meaning "beloved". So by association, Molly and all of Mary's other forms, variants and translations, mean the same thing.

In the US, Molly has always fared well as a stand-alone name. Since 1880, it has consistently remained within the top half the Top 1000. Even with all the history, Molly's high-point for most usage in a year came rather recently in 1991 with 4,651 births and a rank of #74. Molly has spent a lot of time in the Top 100 in the past 30 years. However, she's slightly on the decline now as of 2015's data which listed her as the 144th most popular name in the country based on 2,235 births for the year.

This decline in usage could be a result of the drug "ecstasy" being nicknamed molly. Not as many parents are willing to commit to the name, but there's clearly many that still do, whether they are familiar with the association or not. Despite that, there have been many famous Mollys over time and the name is regularly heard throughout pop culture. One of the first associations came from James Joyce's 1920 novel "Ulysses" in which the wife of the main character was called Molly Bloom. 

There's also the American Titanic survivor Margaret Brown who was nicknamed Molly. Additionally, the Irish community have a folk heroine called Molly Malone; and there's a song titled "Good Golly, Miss Molly" by Little Richard. These are just a few references among dozens of other Mollys out there. Do you have a favorite Molly?

What do you think of this name? Is it on your list? If so, here are a few ideas for middle names and sibling names for Molly:

Sibling Name Ideas: 
Sisters: Amelia, Charlotte, Elise, Lucy, Olivia, Sadie, Tessa
Brothers: Arthur, Evan, Henry, Liam, Nathan, Raymond, Warren

Middle Name Ideas:
Molly Abigail
Molly Evelyn
Molly Caroline
Molly Harper
Molly Rae
Molly Vivienne

As a Middle Name:
Alexandra Molly
Christina Molly
Eleanor Molly
Julianne Molly
Sabrina Molly
Viola Molly

What would you pair with the name Molly? Share your thoughts below!

Baby Names Ending With The Letters "-ly"

To continue our series, let's take a look at the many names that end with the letters -ly.  This list is not necessarily exhaustive, but it is fairly long and full of great options if -ly is your favorite end-sound.

Girl names:

Ally Amberly Aracely Beverly Billy Blakely Bly Caily Caitly Callalily Carly Cecily Chantilly Chavelly Cicely Connolly Daily Dolly Donnelly Eily Emily Everly Gilly Haverly Havily Heavenly Holly Ily Irely Italy Jessaly Joely Josaly July Kaily Karly Keely Keily Kelly Kessly Kimberly

Kirrily Lily Linsly Lolly Lovely Marely Mariely Molly Nallely Nathaly Nelly Nerilly Noely Orly Paigely Pialy Polly Reilly Romilly Sally Shyly Sicily Siddaly Sonaly Tally Temily Tessaly Thessaly Tigerlily Tilly Truely Truly Tully Vally Verily Waverly Weatherly Yanelly Yanely Zaily Zeely

Boy names:

Anatoly Beverly Billy Chavelly Connolly Dally Daly Donnelly Early Huntly Karoly Kelly Kimberly Landly Linsly Manly Mihaly Neely Nelly Olly Pauly Reilly Romilly Scully Sly Stokely Sully Telly Tully Vally Vasily Vassily Vitaly Wally Wassily Waverly Willy

Which of these do you like the most? Pick 3, any gender combination, and pair middle names with them! Share your name combos in the comments!

How Well Did My Sibsets Match from My "Statehood Initial Challenge" Series? [Part One]

Way back in January 2015, I began a little series on Instagram that featured the two-letter abbreviations of states within the USA.

I started with Delaware, the very first state that was given official statehood, and then I continued on from there. This has been a very long and slow series, but finally, two years later, we've reached the halfway point.

With each post, I would ask you to name a boy and a girl using those initials as the basis. And each time, I would also post my name choices for those letters.

Let's take a look back and see how my impulse naming panned out. Over time, did I actually create a family tree of names that might match nicely? Or did those names vary greatly with each state? How many times might I have repeated a name? I'm willing to bet that my general naming style fluctuated greatly, but, if you've followed my blog since the beginning, perhaps you'd find me somewhat predictable.

If you'd like to play along with this name game, you can either browse through my Instagram posts, or visit this album on Facebook.

1. DE -  Dante Evander & Dahlia Emmeline
2. PA -  Pierce Averill & Posey Augusta
3. NJ -  Nash Julian & Nova Jessamine
4. GA - Gregor August & Gesine Abigail
5. CT - Calvin Thomas & Cora Tamsin
6. MA - Maximus Alexander & Madeline Alice
7. MD - Malcolm David & Minerva Dawn
8. SC  - Stetson Cole & Sable Cressida
9. NH - Nicolai Harris & Nova Helene
10. VA - Vadden Alexis & Vienne Augusta
11. NY - Nathaniel York & Natasha Yve
12. NC - Noble Carlisle & Nova Caroline
13. RI - Rafferty Iwan & Rowan Isabelle
14. VT - Valor Thaddeus & Vella Temperance
15. KY - Killian Yannick & Kensington Yve
16. TN - Tristram Noel & Tabitha Nell
17. OH - Oscar Hadrian & Olive Hettienne
18. LA - Leopold August & Lavinia Aveline
19. IN - Isadore Noel & Isla Natalie
20. MS - Malcolm Silas & Mabel Sabrina
21. IL - Irving Lawrence & Ida Laurel
22. AL - Alexander Lincoln & Augusta Lily
23. ME - Marlon Elliott & Mavis Eleanor
24. MO - Miles Oliver & Maisie Octavia
25. AR - Asher Ramsey & Avara Raine

What are your thoughts about my choices? Remember, these are spread out over 2 years and I chose them rather spontaneously with each post. I didn't go back to see what other names I had used previously. I simply went with what I liked at the time. As a result, there are a few repeats.

Repeated Names:

Augusta: 3 / August: 2
Nova: 3
Alexander: 2
Malcolm: 2
Noel: 2
Yve: 2

What these names show me is that some weeks I was feeling bold, so I would pick something more unusual like Hettienne, Gesine, Vadden, Averill, Cressida, Vella or Avara.

Other times, I was in a bit of an old-fashioned mood so I went for names like Irving, Gregor, Marlon, Mavis, Malcolm, Mabel, Lawrence, Ida and Laurel.

And sometimes I would play it safe and go for something common and classic, such as Oliver, Alexander, Thomas, Lily, Caroline, Abigail and Isabelle.

If I had to choose one name that does not belong here, it would be Kensington. It's much more trendy than the rest and isn't usually my kind of name. I might also toss Stetson in the same category.

Overall, if there weren't any repeats, I'd say this would be quite an interesting family tree to be part of. What do you think? Did I choose any that catch your eye? Are there any that just don't belong?

Whenever the statehood series is finally concluded, (even if its another two years from now), I will post that set of 25 twins and see how they match up. Hopefully I won't repeat any from here on out but I can't guarantee it! Stay tuned!

Rocky

This name comes from our list of names ending with the letters "-ky". If you saw that article, you know that this is a very limited club of names, but there are definitely some cool choices. One of the coolest options from the list is Rocky.

Rocky is given as a full name, but it is also treated as more of a nickname. It could be considered a diminutive of the name Rocco which is a Germanic name from the element hrok which means "rest". Rocco is the patron saint of the sick.

However, as you may know, Rocky is not so much a saint as a famous fictional boxer. The Rocky franchise of movies starring Sylvester Stallone as Rocky began in 1976 and is possibly the most well-known association with this name. Another association comes from the old cartoons "The Bullwinkle Show" and "Rocky and His Friends" both of which aired in the 1960s. These featured a flying squirrel named Rocky and his moose pal experiencing a variety of adventures. Interestingly, Rocky was short for "Rocket", which would definitely be a bold choice for a baby name today.

As a baby name in the US, Rocky appeared on the charts in 1913. In 1942, it entered the Top 1000 chart and had a great year in 1957 with its record-high 911 births for a single year. It had its ups and downs but has mostly remained within the Top 1000 except for the years 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2008-2012. Nowadays, Rocky still lingers in the #900s as a viable option for usage on a modern boy. There have even been a handful of female Rockys, including 6 in 2015, but mostly given between 1949-1984. Do you know anyone named Rocky?

If not, perhaps it would be an appealing choice for your child. If so, here are some ideas for middle names and sibling names for Rocky if you were to use it:

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Ada, Dolly, Frankie, Laurel, Minnie, Robin, Vona
Brothers: Daryl, Jack, Jett, Lou, Mickey, Russell, Val

Middle Name Ideas:
Rocky Allen
Rocky Carter
Rocky James
Rocky Lucas
Rocky Oliver
Rocky William

As a Middle Name:
Alvin Rocky
Donald Rocky
George Rocky
Laurence Rocky
Max Rocky
Vince Rocky

These may be a bit unconventional and over-the-top, but they work if you strictly remain in the same tough, nicknamey vein as Rocky. What would YOU pair with Rocky?