The Art of Naming

Today we will take a look at one of the interesting boy names from our list of " Baby Names Ending With The Letters -ry ".   Destry is the English form of Destrier, a French surname derived from the Anglo-Norman word destrer meaning "warhorse".  The destrier is the best-known war horse of the medieval era. It carried knights in battles, tournaments, and jousts. Sources of its time called it the "Great Horse" due to its significance. In 1930, "Destry Rides Again" was published by Max Brand. This western novel introduced the name Destry to America, and brought forth films in 1939 and 1954, and a short-lived TV series in 1964.  Interestingly, according to Social Security records in the US, the name Destry was not in use until 1955, the year after that second movie was released. This name's most popular year coincided with that brief TV series in 1964 when 149 boys (and 5 girls) were named Destry. You could label this year as D...

This series is finally in the last portion of the alphabet. We've looked at a lot of names ending with -y. Today we continue with -ry names.  Here are some of the best and most interesting options for this particular ending-sound. Which of these names catch your eye? Girls: Aimery Amory Aubry Audry Autry Avery Awtry Bellary Cabery Camry Cary Cathry Century Chandry Channary Cherry Clary Connery Cory Curry Dalary Dorry Dory Eiry Elery Ellery Ellory Embry Emery Emmary Emory Emry Fairy February Flannery Gentry Gerry Glory Hilary Hillary Ivory January Jenifry Jerry Kairy Kamry Kary Keary Kemery Kerry Kimery Kinnery Landry Lowery Mabry Maebry Mallory Malory Margaery Margery Marjory Mary Memory Merry Mindry Perry Rory Rosemary Sabry Saory Shannary Sherry Sonary Story Sury Terry Valery Victory Winry Boys: Alvary Amaury Amery Amory Ary Avery Avory Barry Berry Bravery Calvary Carbry Car...

Lately, I've been loving the name Thea. However, when I thought about longer, proper names, I just don't like Theodora or Dorothea enough to consider using those on the birth certificate with Thea as just a nickname. Some people like to skip that middle step and put nicknames or shortened forms directly on the paperwork. It occurred to me that shortening or contracting names could work for those wishing to honor a relative. You love grandma Wilhelmina but don't wish to use her exact name, so you contract it and go with Willa. Easy, right? Are there any names that you can think of that could be shortened to create interesting short forms? Maybe some that are a bit more unexpected than traditional? Sure, there's Thea from Theodora, and Tessa from Theresa. Are there any others that aren't as obvious? Just pick a name, drop a few letters and see what you're left with. Maybe it'll be the next big thing! Here are a few I came up with: Adelaide > Ada, Adla...

The baby name Dagny is our featured name, taken from our list of names ending with the letters "-ny". Dagny is an Old Norse name for females. It comes from Dagný, which was derived from the elements dagr meaning "day" and ný meaning "new". If you ask me, "new day" is an adorable meaning, and it would be especially sentimental on a rainbow baby. It is often used in Scandinavian countries, including Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.  Another form includes the Latvian Dagnija. This name first appeared on record in the US in 1893. It has never had significant popularity and it has never been commonly used. If you're looking for a truly rare name, Dagny is a safe bet.  The most births in a single year that were earned by Dagny is 80 in 2013, which is its highest popularity peak on record. There were only 37 girls named Dagny in 2016. This name has never ranked within the Top 1000 in the US. It did rank in Iceland in 2007 at #75. It ...

This series explores different names ending with -y. We've already seen quite a few. Today we'll look at the many interesting and unusual names that end with the letters "-ny". Girls: Adrianny Albany Aleny Anny Aubuiny Audny Bethany Betony Bonny Borgny Briony Britany Britny Brittany Brittny Bryony Bunny Christany Dagny Delany Destiny Devany Devony Ebony Elleny Epiphany Estefany Evany Evony Fanny Franny Genny Ginny Giverny Harmony Henny Idony Janny Jenny Jessany Jinny Khyany Kiffany Kilmeny Linny Mahogany Marigny Marny Melany Melony Oddny Penny Peony Rainy Romany Sidony Signy Steffany Stephany Sunny Symphony Tawny Tiffany Tiffiny Tinny Tiny Tiphany Yolany Boys: Anthony Antony Benny Berthony Danny Denny Donny Giovanny Johnny Jonny Jovanny Jovany Kenny Lanny Lemony Lenny Lonny Manny Ronny Sonny Sunny Tony Vinny Are there any names on this list that you would consider usin...

Creating a great first and middle name combination takes some practice. Some people have a very hard time with it and others are rather skilled at it! If you’d like to improve your naming skills, I thought I’d provide a few examples to show my step-by-step thought process for pairing two names together. Here is a list of names that work well together. You could either use these as inspiration or actually take and use them for your child. This list of names is based on two specific styles that I like. The first names are all “ancient” names and the middles are more on the traditional, vintage side. I picked out five of my favorites to show you: Amabel Grace Sabrina Ruby Sibyl Josephine Viviana Pearl Francesca Ivy 1. Amabel is a medieval name that has never caught on in modern times. Short form Mabel was popular in the 1880s and early 1900s but it is now considered a vintage name that is beginning to be revived again. Amabel is an obscure choice but it soun...

Creating a great first and middle name combination should take some serious thought and a little bit of research. The more effort that goes into it, the better the name will be, usually. I thought I’d provide a few examples to show my step-by-step thought process for pairing two names together. Here are five boy names that flow well together. The first names are of the “ancient” style and the middle names are classic, traditional choices. Atticus William Dante Oliver Apollo James Cyrus Alexander Dominic Theodore 1. Atticus comes from a Roman name that means "from Attica" in Latin, which is a location in Greece. It has a solid background in that area of the world and in history because of a couple philosophers who had the name. Atticus has only been used in the US in the past thirty years or so, breaking into the Top 1000 in 2004. William, on the other hand, also has a very strong history in the form of kings and poets and authors. It has been used i...