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Donovan

Today's featured name is a strong, handsome Irish name that I hand-picked from this week's blog about boy names that contain the letter V! The masculine name Donovan comes from an Irish surname which ultimately came from the Irish Ó Donndubháin which means "descendent of Donndubhán". That name is basically Gaelic for "dark brown". Donovan has been in use in the US since 1900 and it has nearly always been in the Top 1000, save a few years early on. It peaked in 2003 with 2,210 births and a ranking of #176. Now in 2013, it has fallen to a respectable #281 with 1,224 births.  It also ranks at #380 in France. Since this name is on the decline, it'll only become more and more unique. There probably isn't a danger of it sounding dated since it has been solidly established since 1900. It also wasn't incredibly popular. If it had peaked in the Top 50 and then immediately declined, it would be a different story. As it sits, it's still receivi...

Everett, Liev & Vincent: The Best V Names for Boys

The letter V provides one of my favorite sounds within a name. It is a striking but attractive letter that is popping up in various trends across the baby naming community. In order to celebrate the beauty of this great letter, I've put together a collection of the very best boy names that contain the letter V. If you were to give all of your sons a name with the letter V in it, which of the following names would you choose? Share your favorite names and first/middle name combinations in the comments below! Alvaro                  Alvin Arvel Averett Averill Avery Avett Avi Avory Avraham Avram Avrian Belvin Benvolio Bevan Bonaventure Brevin Brevyn Calvary Calvin Carver Cavan Cavell Cavin Chevalier Chevy Cleve Cleveland Clive Clovis Cordovan Corvin Cove Covington Davian David Davide Davin Davion Davis Davison Davy Delvin Denver Devan Devereaux Devin Devlin Devon Devonte Do...

Casper

I chose to feature the name Casper this week because of its well-known association with "the friendly ghost" who is an animated character that's actually been around since 1939. It felt appropriate since today is Halloween and ghosts are a spooky staple of the holiday. Beyond the ghostly association, though, resides a really fabulous family of names.  Casper is the Dutch and Scandinavian form of the name Jasper which comes from the ancient Hebrew word Gizbar meaning "Treasurer". Gaspar was traditionally the name of one of the wise men who were said to have visited the newborn Jesus Christ.  Other related names include Caspar, Kasper, Jesper, Gaspard, Gaspare, and Gazsi. Casper is not an unfamiliar name to the ear in the US. However, it isn't being used all that often. It has been consistently used since records began in 1880, but it has never been popular. It was once ranking in the bottom half of the Top 1000 chart, but it fell off of it in 1933. Th...

Spooky Baby Names

If you are expecting a baby this week and you still aren't settled on the perfect name, perhaps one of these timely choices will jump at you. From the sweet and sugary candy names to the spooky, ghoulish and bewitched options, you're sure to love this list, especially if Halloween is your favorite holiday. Some of these may not be very obviously tied to Halloween, but upon inspection of their meanings or their associations to certain legends or myths, it will all make sense. Some of these names may be a bit on the questionable side of things so I'd recommend doing your research before signing the birth certificate! Girls: Autumn Blair Buffy Candy Carrie Cat Circe Coco Elvira Endora Eve Glinda Harlow Hazel Hermione Isis Lilith Lolly Luna Maeve Morrigan Morticia October Oriole Persephone Raven Reese Regan Rosemary Sabrina Samantha Selene Tabitha Tarot Tempest Trixie Tootsie Wanda Wednesday Wendy Zena Boys: Addams Bram Cas...

Austin Ford - (Birth Announcements!)

This month's set of birth announcements started out somewhat unusual as I began building the list, and as I continued, the names got a bit more traditional.  However, they are all mixed together because of being placed alphabetically.  Once again, the middle name choices seem to be very common or old-fashioned for most of the babies below. There are a few interesting exceptions like Yaamach and Kapri. I wonder why so many parents choose "safe" middle name options. I feel like the middle name, since it is mostly tucked away, provides the perfect opportunity to use guilty pleasure names or the highly unusual.  Instead, there are more unusual first names being used such as Alithia, Zyanya, and Kipper. What thoughts spring to your mind as you browse through the following list?: Girls: Adele Grace Alithia Brooke Aliza Bethany Allison Marie Amy Rose Lei Annabelle Rose Ara Fae Ariauna Danielle Linn Athena Jene Leann Irene Aubrey Faith Aurora Kapri Belle Madely...

Madelief

The male Dutch name that I featured this week, Diederick, is relatively rare. The female name that I'm about to share is actually ranking pretty well in the Netherlands! Madelief is the name. It is pronounced mad-uh-LEEF and it's actually rather adorable! I think this could catch on in lieu of the more popular "Maddie" names like Madeline and Madison if more people knew about it. It would fit in well with other unusual Mad- names like Madigan and Madeleva as well as male choices like Maddox and Madden. It also goes hand in hand with botanical names that are gaining popularity today. The best part is that this adorable name comes from the Dutch word madeliefje which means "daisy". So it's actually an obscure nature name! I say that it is obscure because, well, it is. It may rank at #126 in the Netherlands, but here in the USA, Madelief is non-existent. There have never been at least 5 girls given this name in a single year. Anyone who has this nam...

World-Wide Wednesday: Dutch Baby Names

Featured Dutch Names: Diederick  & Madelief This month for our World-Wide Wednesday segment, we will be examining Dutch baby names. These are classified as names that are mostly found in the Netherlands as well as the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium known as Flanders. Like many other countries, parents in  present-day Netherlands are attracted to internationally loved names like Emma and Luca: names that are a bit more anglicized and less traditionally Dutch. While some things tend to change over time, there are still plenty of traditional names being given to Dutch babies. This article will focus on the interesting traditional choices available and how they were used in the past. However, many of these names are difficult for non-Dutch speakers to pronounce. First, let's start with naming traditions. Like many other countries in the past, Dutch families tended to use and reuse the same few names over many generations. Patronymic names were big. According to Dutch...

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