First for the good news.  Here are the starbaby names which we consider to have found the right combination of originality, charm and substance this year:

CLEMENTINE —Ethan Hawke & Ryan Shawhughes

Full name Clementine Jane Hawke projects the image of a sweet but strong, prim but pretty heroine of a Victorian novel, and brings to mind the song lyric ‘Oh my darlin’ (never mind that her shoes were #9).  It was previously the starbaby selection of Cybill Shepherd and Claudia Schiffer.

HONOR — Jessica Alba & Cash Warren

We applaud this choice that moves beyond the more common Puritan Virtue names like Grace, Hope, and Faith to one that projects an even more righteous image, but has rarely been heard in this country.  An honorable decision.

KNOX  & VIVIENNE —Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt

The award for best twin names of the year goes to the always inventive but never quite over-the-top serial baby namers, the Jolie-Pitts.  Knox continued their tradition of boys’ names ending in ‘X’ (as in Maddox and Pax), and also has family connections to Brad’s grandfather, as does Vivienne’s middle name, Marcheline, that of Angelina’s mother.  Runner-up twin names: Coldplay drummer Will Champion’s lively Juno & Rex.

LOTUS —Rain Pryor

In the name garden overgrown with Roses and Lillies, Violets and Daisies, it seems fitting that the granddaughter of the late iconoclastic comedian Richard Pryor would have a more exotic flower name.  With its languorous feel, the lotus holds intriguing significance in several cultures.

SUNDAY—Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban

An unusual but sunny day-of-the-week name, inspired by an Australian artist’s patron named Sunday Reed, it’s in tune with other current calendar names like January, May, June and August, as well as the seasonal Winter and Summer.  Some people did think it strange that Sunday was born on a Monday.

And now for what we judge to be this year’s losers:

BRONX MOWGLI —Ashlee Simpson & Pete Wentz

Poor little Bronx got nothing but Bronx cheers when his name was released, especially as paired with the name of the Disneyfied Jungle Book boy.  If his parents thought this New York borough name would catch on the way Brooklyn has, they’re in for a big disappointment.

BUSTER —Michele Hicks & Jonny Lee Miller

Is he a bulldog?  Is he a prizefighter?  No, he’s a baby, whose rambunctuous name will not do much to encourage his sensitive side.  An example of the alarming trend towards giving doggy names (Lucky, Princess) to babies.

KADENCE CLOVER —Tony Hawk

It could just as well be Cadence Klover, within the paradigm of using the initial letters C and K interchangeably, leading to regrettable innovations like Kasey, Kassidy, Karolyn and Kaleb.  Fortunately, the trend seems to be waning.

MAXX —Scott Hamilton

Taking Max–which already means “the greatest”–to the max.  INXS, we’d say.

PEANUT—Ingo Rademacher

The General Hospital star explained that this had been the nickname they used “when he was in mommy.”  OK, good luck explaining that to him when he’s six feet tall and applying to Princeton.

We’d love to hear your nominations for the best and worst celebrity choices of the year, and won’t be surprised if you have very different opinions.  Let’s hear from you lovers of Harlow and defenders of Kadence!

Palindrome Names

Exotic Reversals

Here are a few other exotic reversals, giving a nouveau twist to an old name.  You could probably come up with some more yourself–perhaps as a way of creating a namesake for someone you wish to honor:

Before I was born, my mother had  two names picked out for me–I was going to be either Lydia or Laurel.  She liked them because they were slightly unusual and, being an artist herself, saw them as having a creative feel;  she was also following the Jewish tradition of using the first initial of a deceased relative.  In this case, it was my father’s mother, who had recently died, and whose first and middle initials were R and L.

But once I actually made my appearance, Lydia and Laurel were never heard of again.  Whatever transpired in the hospital I’ll never know–something to do with pressure by my Dad’s sisters for names closer to their mother’s–but in any case, I arrived home with a birth certificate reading Ruth Leila.  To confuse matters further, I was never ever called Ruth.  Instead I was known to one and all by my Jewish name, Laila.  So little Laila became who I was–that is until the fateful day when I started kindergarten and my teacher, looking at my records, naturally called me Ruth.  Ruth?  Who is Ruth?  In one fell swoop, my identity was shattered.  (So don’t anyone ever ask me if you should change your child’s name in midstream–you can imagine my answer.)

I returned home from school completely distraught, no longer sure quite who I was.  My sympathetic mother said ‘OK, dear, if it would make you feel better, how about starting from scratch and picking a totally new name for yourself?’  Not having a name book handy, she proceeded to make lists of names starting with those two letters (again Lydia and Laurel went missing)–Leah, Leslie, Louise, Rachel, Roxanne, etc.  I picked Linda, which at the time sounded appealingly bright and shiny to me.  But choosing a new name at the age of five doesn’t mean you necessarily instantly internalize it and make your own–which is something I never did.  But the experience did trigger my lifelong fascination with names.

Through the years I’ve accumulated many nicknames–perhaps because friends also sensed that I wasn’t an authentic Linda.  My family often called me Lin, while others came up with Linnie, Lindy, Linneth, Linden, Linsy, and even–in the internet era–my email tag Lindro.  Lately, though, with the growing popularity of so many pretty double-L names, like Lola and Lila and Lilo and Lily and Leyla, I’ve started to really miss Laila.  As a matter of fact, a new friend, hearing my name saga, has started to call me that.  And you know what?  It really feels like me.

I’d love to hear anyone else’s story about a name change that didn’t take, or of  not  feeling comfortable with your own name for some other reason.

Guest blogger Elisabeth Wilborn, of the wonderful name blog You Can’t Call It “It”!, treats us to a festival of names for Christmas babies.

Christmas seems to arrive sooner every year. Once again, I am running frantically to cross things off the list, get the baking done, trim the tree (first we have to get that tree…), and find the ever elusive Christmas stockings before it’s too late. Some may have bigger –or smaller– things on their minds this season. An impending birth, perhaps? If your new child shares a birthday with the most famous baby in the world, you may be tempted to incorporate the season somehow into their name. There’s a lot more to holiday baby naming than Nicholas and Noel. Here are a few ideas that might help broaden the list:

Names related to the Holy Family and the birth of Jesus:

Balthasar, Balthazar- One of the Magi

Casper, Gaspard, Jasper- While he doesn’t appear in the Bible, this is also said to be the name (here in several versions) of one of the three wise men

Christian, Christine, Christina, Christopher, Christabel (girl) and Cristobal (boy) – Followers of Christ

Emmanuel for a boy, or Emmanuelle, for a girl

Epiphany- For the celebration just following that commemorates the visit of the Magi

Estelle, Estella, Esther, Seren, Stella- All have meaning related to “star”

Eve- For the night before

Jesus

Joseph, Josepha, Josephine (also cognates Giuseppe and Jozef)

Yeshua- Other versions of the name Jesus

Maria, Mary- The mother. Miriam is also etymologically linked to this name

Melchior- The third king to visit Jesus

Natalia, Natalie- Derived from natal which means “birth”, Natale is the Italian word for Christmas; Natasha is an Eastern European nickname for Natalia

North- After the guiding North Star?

Theodore/a, Dorothea, Dorothy- “Gift of God”

Virginia- There are any number of names that represent the Virgin Mary. Plus you can say to her, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”

Names connoting light:

Claire

Clara- Also the little girl in the Nutcracker, who in some versions is referred to as Mary or Maria; her brother is Fritz

Eleanor, Eleanora, Leonor, Lenora, Nora

Helen

Lucia, Lucian, Lucius, Lucy, Lux

The Angelic:

Angel, Angela, Angelica, Angelika, Angelina

Gabriel- Angel who broke the news to Mary that she was pregnant; Gabriella, Gabrielle

Hermione- “The messenger”

Malachi- “My messenger” or “my angel” in Hebrew

Michael- Another of the seven archangels, and a good choice if your loved one is away in battle, as he is patron saint of soldiers

Serafina, Seraphine- From the highest order of angels, the seraphim, and with the slightly ironic meaning “fiery”

Names that recall the spirit of the season:

Faith, Fidelity

Felicia, Felicity and Felix

Gloria, Glory

Hope

Joy

Merrily, Merry

Pax

Meaning “dove”, the symbol of peace:

Colombe

Columba

Dove

Jemima

Paloma

Greenery:

Berry

Cedar

Celyn- Welsh for “holly”

Elm

Holly

Ivy

Juniper

Pine

(Mistletoe and Poinsettia are other possibilities, though I can’t get behind either one)

Related to the season, as it is in the northern hemisphere:

Bianca, Blanca- “White” in Italian, Spanish

Blanche- French for “white”

Eira- Welsh for “snow”

Lumi- Finnish for “snow”

Neige- “Snow” in French

Nevada- “Snow-capped” in Spanish

Nieves- “Snow” in Spanish

Robin

Snow

Solstice

Winter

Yuki, Yukiko- Japanese, “happiness + snow”, and “happiness + snow + child”

Yule- Winter festival

For Posterity:

Bell, Belle

Carol

Christmas

Claus, Nicholas, Nicola, Nicole- For jolly old St. Nick

December

Noel, Noelia, Noelle

Rudolf

I wish you all the best if you are naming your little one this Christmas. A great name is one of the best gifts you can bestow. It’s a start, anyway. Happy Holidays!

Elisabeth Wilborn is an artist and writer who lives with her young family in Brooklyn, New York.  To help quench your baby name thirst, check out her blog exclusively devoted to names, youcantcallitit.com.

I had my three children over 11 years, and of all the disadvantages of spreading your kids that far apart, one of the biggest is that the older kids will insist on having a say in their baby brother or sister’s name.

When we found out our youngest child would be a boy, my husband and I were delighted that we had a name all ready for him: Edward, to be called Ned.  That had been our second-choice name for our older son, whom I insisted on naming Joseph after my dad.  But my husband and I both loved Edward and Ned, and we were thrilled and relieved to be set with our name.

Not so fast, said our older children.  Any kid named Ned, they claimed, would be sure to be called Nerd in the playground.  They weren’t too fond of the name either.  In fact, they said, if we named him Ned, they already knew they weren’t going to like him.

Sigh.  We couldn’t very well give the baby a name his older siblings hated, so we went back to the drawing board.  Luckily, my husband and I quickly found another name we both loved: Harry.

Even Harry Potter couldn’t sell our kids on that name.  No, they said.  If Ned was a nerd, Harry was “hairy.”

Well, we asked, what did they think we should name the baby?  Our son Joe, who was three at the time, loved the name Jim — but as a name book author I thought I would never to be able to tell interviewers I’d named my own sons the oh-so-plain pair of Jim and Joe.  That was like being a fashion editor and dressing in head-to-toe Gap.   Joe’s next best idea: Rainbow Boy.

All I remember after that was holding my newborn son in my arms in the hospital, the other children at my bedside, still debating his name.  Finally we came up with Owen, my grandfather’s middle name and one that we all at least agreed on.  My husband and I hated giving up the names Ned and Harry.  But as difficult as it can be to arrive at a name two of you love, it can be almost impossible to please four people.

Did any of you have older children who had strong opinions about the baby’s name?  How did you consider their ideas and did you end up taking their advice?  We’d love to hear!