The Art of Naming

Today's featured name is 11-letters and 5-syllables long. Perhaps that explains why it is rarely used in the US.  Did you know that Alexandrina was the real first name of Queen Victoria who went by her middle name?



While many parents would opt for Alexa or Alexandra, there is something special about Alexandrina. It has a more exotic flair than her sister-names, and would be a beautiful middle name to pair with a short first name. Ivy Alexandrina or Claire Alexandrina are lovely. As a first name, Alexandrina Eve.

As a plus, it is truly a rare name today, but it is so familiar to the ears because of all the other Alex names.

It was first used in 1914, 1915, 1920 and 1921 by a total of 23 girls.  After that, there were 5 born in 1935, 6 in 1961, and then it started getting more regular usage in 1975. However, it only sees an average of 5 births per year. Most recently, there were 9 girls named Alexandrina in 2013, which means this name ranks at #10,965.

That is far from being the #1 name in the country, but many could be drawn to it because of that. According to records, only 246 girls have ever been named Alexandrina. Talk about rare! In fact, the name wasn't used by at least 5 girls for the year from 2014-2016, meaning that it did not rank during that time. Do you know anyone with this name?

Alexandrina is a distinctive choice! It is the Greek variation of Alexandra and also means "Defending Men."  Because of its royal namesake, some people have been speculating it as an option if Prince William and Kate Middleton have a girl. It is also a great alternative to the more common royal names that get used today.

What do you think of this long, beautiful name? Are 5 syllables just too much or would you consider it?

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Emmeline, Francesca, Georgiana, Louisa, Victoria
Brothers: Christopher, Frederick, Leopold, Theodore, William

Middle Name Ideas:
Alexandrina Eve
Alexandrina Ivy
Alexandrina Blythe
Alexandrina Maeve

As a Middle Name:
Isla Alexandrina
Jade Alexandrina
Lily Alexandrina
Zara Alexandrina

Share your thoughts on this name in the comment section below!

First published: 6/15/13
Revised: 12/25/14
Revised: 5/13/17

Today's Name of the Day is Desmond, one of my favorite Irish names.


Yes, it is originally an Irish surname, but I can't help but love it for a boy's first name. It is bold but sophisticated. With the possible nicknames Des/Dez or Desi/Dezi, this name is starting to gain popularity in the US.

Desmond first appeared on 8 US birth certificates in 1904. It slowly picked up steam every year after that with its largest naming spike in 1992 when 1,067 boys were born, ranking it at #264 on the Top 1000 chart. As of 2012, there were 920 baby boy Desmonds born, putting the name at a rank of #339.

There have also been a handful of girls named Desmond almost every year since 1975. However, usage began slowing down in the 2000s, ending its female usage in 2007.

Source

Desmond comes from an Irish surname which was derived from Deas-mhumhain meaning "South Munster", originally indicating a person who came from that region in Ireland. Therefore, Desmond means "one from South Munster."

A Few Famous Desmonds:

• Desmond Bishop - American football player
• Desmond Bryant - American football player
• Desmond Dekker - Jamaican musician (The Beatles' song "Ob-la-Di, Ob,La-Da" was said to be written about this Desmond.)
• Desmond Harrington - American actor who plays "Detective Joseph Quinn" on "Dexter"
• Desmond Howard - former American football player
• Desmond Morris - English zoologist
• Desmond Tutu - South African activist
• and many others, including some with the last name Desmond.

My Favorite Desmond's are from Pop Culture:

• Desmond David Hume- character from TV series LOST
• Desmond Miles - Assassin's Creed protagonist

While I personally love this name, what do you think of this name for a baby boy? Let me know in the comments below!

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Adele, Aurelia, Elodie, Hazel, Margot, Madeleine, Rosalie, Vivian
Brothers: Beckett, Callum, Donovan, Ewan, Finnegan, Kellan, Rafferty, Teague

Middle Name Ideas: 
Desmond Grant
Desmond Marcus
Desmond Ellis
Desmond Evander
Desmond Arthur

As a Middle Name:
Asher Desmond
Arlo Desmond
Henry Desmond
Milo Desmond
Quincy Desmond

Today, you get a 2-for-1 special for the Name(s) of the Day.

I've recently had a new-found fascination with the name Millicent but it just feels a bit too old-fashioned and stiff for me to personally consider using. I decided to look at variations of it and fell in love with the French Melisande, which I would use in a heartbeat if I could get hubby on-board since he speaks French and I'm learning it.


When I went to look up the popularity stats on these names that I hear quite frequently on naming forums, I was surprised to see how little-used and extremely rare Melisande is in the US.

Check this out! The data pool that I use doesn't record a name for the year if there were not at least 5 births. So perhaps there have been 1-4 births here and there all along, but according to this data, there were 5 girls named Melisande in 2005 (ranked #18226), 6 in 1972, 5 in 1960, 5 in 1947 and that is all! A total of 21 little girls named Melisande in the US EVER! How much more unique could you get?

Yet the name sounds familiar as if you should know a Melisande or two. Millicent, however, has been steadily popular since the SSA began ranking names in 1880. There was a peak of 249 girls named Millicent in 1927 (which is its highest chart ranking of #435) and it has never reached that many since then. In 2012, there were 71 baby Millicents which ranked the name at #2539.

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Both names are rarely heard of today and would be refreshing and adorable! Millicent could go by Millie, and Melisande could be Mellie or Sandy or even Lissy or Andy if you go by spelling instead of sound. (Remember, it has a French pronunciation which roughly sounds like "mehl-ee-sahnd.) See the popularity of Melisande in France here.

Both names mean "Strong" or "Industrious". Melisande is French and Millicent is German. Melisande was used by Maurice Maeterlinck in his play 'Pelléas et Mélisande' (1893). The play was later adapted by Claude Debussy into an opera (1902).

What do you think of these non-ranking names? Too old-fashioned, or perfectly unique and beautiful?

Sibling Name Ideas for Melisande:
Sisters: Amandine, Anneliese, Clementine, Genevieve, Lucinda, Romilly
Brothers: Clement, Frances, Marcel, Phineas, Roman, Tobias

Middle Name Ideas:
Melisande Joie
Melisande Colette
Melisande Ramona
Melisande Kate
Melisande Elise

As a Middle Name:
Ivy Melisande
Anna Melisande
Juliet Melisande
Lily Melisande

Sibling Name Ideas for Millicent:
Sisters: Amelia, Elizabeth, Francesca, Lucille, Mabel, Philippa
Brothers: Benjamin, Elliott, Finnegan, Oliver, Robert, William

Middle Name Ideas:
Millicent Claire
Millicent Eve
Millicent Josephine
Millicent Lorraine
Millicent Grace

As a Middle Name:
Eve Millicent
Lucy Millicent
Nora Millicent
Rachel Millicent

Today's Name of the Day might raise your eyebrows at first. The Greek boy name Basil means "Regal" or "King" and is a quirky choice!

The most famous bearer of this name is Basil Rathbone who portrayed the very British Sherlock Holmes in 1939. And of course, many of you probably already thought of the basil herb. It is usually pronounced Baz-uhl rather than Bays-uhl like the herb.


Let's try to see it from a different perspective than the above:

From the Greek name Βασιλειος (Basileios) which was derived from βασιλευς (basileus) meaning "king".  There were many Byzantine Empire rulers named Basil, as well as some Eastern Orthodox saints. Saint Basil the Great was a 4th century bishop who helped to found the early Christian church. Basil is rich in history.

Despite its past-bearers, this name is definitely unique today. It has been used very steadily since 1880. It was most popular from 1912-1969. It fell off the Top 1000 chart in 1970 and hasn't ranked since! However, in 2012, it ranked at #2709 with 44 boys named Basil, and 20 girls! (Although there have only been a total of 69 girls EVER named Basil. It saw usage starting in 2006, with the exception of 12 named in the early 1900s.)


Today, Basil has been classified as a very fun name because of the manic Basil Fawlty from the British TV comedy classic "Fawlty Towers." There is also a Disney movie called "Basil of Baker Street" which stars "the Sherlock Holmes of the Mouse World."

If you still aren't sold, that's fine. I think this is an interesting name. It is on my guilty pleasures list so I can't blame any of you for not immediately using it for a son. However, there are other variations of the name that are interesting like the Russian Vassily or Vaska, the Ancient Greek Basilius, the French Basile, the Italian Basillo or the Polish Bazyli.

What do you think of Basil? Do you get the same unique and quirky, yet old-fashioned vibe that I get? Do you think it will ever be popular again, or is it too fusty?

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Beatrix, Celeste, Daphne, Eleanor, Lilac, Octavia, Sabina
Brothers: Dexter, Edward, Gideon, Luca, Otto, Rafferty, Tobias

Middle Name Ideas:
Basil Sebastian
Basil Edmund
Basil Augustus
Basil Hayes
Basil Owen

As a Middle Name:
Phillip Basil
William Basil
Leonard Basil
Ethan Basil
Samuel Basil

Another new naming trend that is gaining popularity this year is softer-sounding boys names. Many of these names contain the "sh" sound.

Here are some of our favorites:
Asher
Bishop
Cashel
Cassius
Dashiell
Elisha
Fisher
Hamish
Joshua
Marshall
Misha
Nash
Parish
Sasha
Shawn
Shai
Shane
Shepherd
Sheridan
Sherwood
Shiloh
Tavish

We particularly like the short but handsome nicknames/names such as Ash, Cash, Dash and Nash.  What is your favorite full name for the nickname Cash? Cashel, Cassius, Cassian, or just plain Cash?

Can you think of any other names that might fit this trend? Do you like the trend? Let me know below!

Today's Name of the Day sounds like it should be popular but it actually is not.  For those parents who love the name Isabella but hate its popularity, have you ever considered the name Isadora?


This name has always been around but it hasn't been on the Top 1000 chart since 1900 when it ranked in at #992.  The highest rank Isadora has ever received is #654 in 1882, however that only accounted for a total of 9 births.

Last year, 2012, there were 148 little Isadora's born. The name just fell shy of ranking, coming in at #1497 which is the highest it has ranked since 1915.  In fact, Isadora wasn't used at all from 1958-1968.

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So why does this name hardly get any attention when cousin-name Isabella is mega-popular? Perhaps parents just prefer the "Bella" nickname to that of a possible little "Dora." Or perhaps pop-culture influence really is strong, (i.e. Bella Swan vs Dora the Explorer.) Putting that aside, Isadora is a beautiful and unique name that sounds like it should be popular even though it isn't. (Win/Win?)

But, like Isabella who didn't rank at all on the Top 1000 chart from 1948-1990, Isadora has major potential to become something huge if parents are interested in "different but familiar." Isadora is Latin, meaning "gift of Isis" and has international appeal. It has been used in many languages such as Serbian, Macedonian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Italian, English and Ancient Greek.

Isis was the Egyptian goddess of fertility and birth. The rest of the name comes from the Greek word δωρον (doron) meaning "gift." Male counterpart Isidore was historically popular with Jews who used it as an Americanized version of names like Isaac, Israel and Isaiah.

A famous bearer was the American dancer Isadora Duncan (1877-1927).

With more and more babies being named Isadora, do you think it will gain popularity? Would you use it as an alternative to Isabella? And do you like possible nicknames Issy, Isa or Dora?

Let me know the answers to these burning questions!

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Arabella, Calliope, Delphina, Evangeline, Junia, Magnolia, Seraphina
Brothers: Amadeus, Benjamin, Felix, Jasper, Leopold, Phillip, Vincent

Middle Name Ideas:
Isadora Violet
Isadora Claire
Isadora Ruth
Isadora Colette
Isadora Jane

As a Middle Name:
Katherine Isadora
Maeve Isadora
Sloane Isadora
Lark Isadora
Hadley Isadora

Today's Name of the Day is a soft, handsome boy name from the Old Testament: Asher.


This name is a Biblical Hebrew name meaning "happy" or "blessed." Asher was the son of Jacob and Zilpah, (Leah's handmaid), and he was also the ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.

This name is definitely a favorite with today's parents! It has been climbing up the charts quickly! A very rare name at the end of the 19th century (only 42 boys received this name between 1880 and 1895.) It wasn't heard from again until 1910 and it remained rarely used.

It finally hit the Top 1000 chart in 1983 at #934. In 2000, it ranked at #579 and has shot up since then. In 2012, Asher ranked at #108 with a total of 3,514 baby boys receiving the name (and 44 girl!)

Source

What do you think of this handsome, biblical name? It falls into the new trend of giving boys "softer-sounding" names.  Asher is possibly the favorite of the bunch that contain the "sh" sound. And of course, the nickname Ash is appealing! Let me know your thoughts on this name!

Sibling Name Ideas:
Sisters: Ella, Hannah, Isla, Olivia, Ruby
Brothers: Caleb, Ethan, Jonah, Milo, Owen

Middle Name Ideas:
Asher Maxwell
Asher Thomas
Asher Samuel
Asher Levi

As a Middle Name:
Nathan Asher
Daniel Asher
Brendan Asher
Michael Asher