The Art of Naming

Here is a list of names that are considered unisex today. I am only including those that have a good amount of births for both genders.  There are some names that have a couple hundred births for a boy and several thousand births for a girl (or vice versa). That's pretty much a landslide so I'm not including them. To be included, the names have to have at least a 90/10 split. Name:  Percentage of use per gender (Boy/Girl) in 2012. (Example: 77% of all babies named Alexis in 2012 are female.) Alexis (23/77) Angel  (83/16) Avery (19/81) Casey  (61/39) Charlie (59/41) Dakota (48/52) Devon (89/11) Drew (84/16) Elliott (84/16) Ellis (65/35) Emerson (39/61) Emery (20/80) Finley (34/66) Harley (33/67) Haven (18/82) Hayden (69/31) Jordan (85/15) Jules (49/51) Justice (46/54) Kai  (87/13) Kendall (12/88) London (87/13) Marlowe  (12/88) Morgan (89/11) Parker (84/16) Payton (17/83) Peyton (32/68) Phoenix (61/39) Quinn (32/68) Reese ...

Once again, a couple of the polls on the side of the blog have ended and the results are in! Apollo 17 votes (34%) Calix 15 votes (30%) Isidore 7 votes (14%) Achilles 6 votes (12% Erasmus 4 votes (8%) You voted! The winner of the poll was Apollo! Apollo is a Greek mythology name. He was the son of Zeus and the god of medicine, music and poetry. Modern associations include NASA's Apollo program that landed humans on the moon; the historic Apollo Theatre in New York that launched the careers of many famous musicians.  Apollo ranked within the Top 1000 for the very first time at #993 in 2012! This name has only ranked in the US since 1965. Calix is a handsome and rare choice. Some think of it as the male form of Calixta/Calista. It is a Greek name meaning "Very Handsome" but some associate it with a Chalice in Latin. It has only been used in the US since 2002. There were 46 boys given the name in 2012, but it only ranks at #2619. Isidore w...

In honor of yesterday's post about "place names," I've chosen to feature Vienna for the Girl Name of the Week. Of course, Vienna is the capital of Austria, and it is also its largest city with 2.4 million people within the metropolitan area.  The city is known as "The City of Music" because there have been more famous composers living there than anywhere else. It has also been called "The City of Dreams" because it was the home of Sigmund Freud, a famous psycho-analyst. The Italian name Vienna comes from the German name "Wien" which is thought to be derived from the Roman "vindobona" which comes from the Celtic word "windo-" meaning "white or fair." Some claim that it comes from "Vedunia" which means "forest stream." As you can see, the exact origin and meaning is a bit hazy. Every source I looked at seemed to have its own meaning and origin for Vienna, for instance, one site say...

This awesome photo was borrowed from this awesome blog. I do not normally recommend place names unless you've personally been to that place and it holds sentimental value for you, or your family hails from there. That being said, here is a long list of places around the world that could work as a first name. Boy and Girl options are mixed together. Please keep in mind that some places are nicer than others and some places have strong history associated with it. Do your research carefully before you commit to using any of these names. Abilene Adelaide Africa Alabama Alamo Albany Andorra Aquitaine Arabia Aragon Argentina Aspen Asia Assisi Atlanta Austin Austria Avalon Baja Berlin Bimini Bolivia Boston Brasilia Brazil Bristol Brooklyn Bronx Cairo Calais Caledonia Camden Carolina Caspian Catalina Cathay Cayman Ceylon Charleston Charlotte Chelsea Cheyenne China Cluny Colombia Corsica Cuba Cyprus Dakota Dallas Danube ...

The Boy Name of the Week has both mythical and celestial associations to it. Orion is the name of a constellation of stars. Most visible to the naked eye is a line of three stars that form Orion's belt. The constellation was named after a legendary Greek hunter who is said to have been killed by a scorpion that was sent by Gaia.  However, here are many different tales about Orion and his origins in mythology. The name Orion does not have a known meaning, but could be related to the Greek ‘οριον' (horion) which means "boundary" or "limit". Orion has ranked in the US since 1880 but it was extremely rare and hardly used until it began gaining a bit of momentum in the 70s. It landed on the top 1000 chart for the first time in 1991 at #995 then fell back off for two years. Starting in 1994, this name has been on an upward trajectory!  In 2012, there were 673 baby boys named Orion which ranked the name at #419. There were also 21 female births in 2012....

Snow? Rose? Winter? Photo taken by me. I previously featured girl names that are inspired by flowers and trees. I thought I would find even more options for both genders that come from nature. Included on this list are baby names that are inspired by flowers, trees, fruit, water, weather, the earth and even animals! There is a great variety here and you're sure to find one that you love! Nature names have increased in popularity lately as parents look for bold, unconventional name options. Which of these cool options is your favorite? Did I miss any? Amber Apple Aqua Arbor Ash Aspen Avis Azalea Basil Bay Beach Berry Birch Blossom Briar Brook Calla Canyon Cedar Cerise Cherry Citron Clay Clementine Cliff Clover Cobalt Coral Crane Cricket Dahlia Daisy Delta Dove Dune Elm Emerald Falcon Feather Fern Field Fjord Flint Flora Forest Fox Frost Gardener Garland Garnet Glen Grove Harbor Hawk Huckleberry Iris Isle I...

In honor of my post featuring "cool girl names," the Girl's Name of the Week is a lovely Greek name that means "prophetess".  With the recent popularity of the TV show Downton Abbey , the name of the Crawley's youngest daughter has been on the minds' of American parents.  Sybil was nearly forgotten until now, but it doesn't appear to be climbing back up the charts just yet. Sybil was not originally a name, but an ancient Greek word for a woman who claimed the ability to foresee that which most people could not. These prophetesses were thought to have divine knowledge and were revered. Despite its origins as a word, the name itself its uniquely beautiful. It can also be spelled Sibyl or Cybill, and there are many international variations such as Sibylla or Sybille.  This spelling, Sybil, has been around since the middle ages where it saw common usage among Christians.  It was later taken to England by the Normans but became extremely rare after...