Comments on: EMMA’S DAUGHTERS

By: LilacaRose

LilacaRose — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:43:19 +0000

My daughter’s name is Gracelyn…shouldn’t that be a variant of Grace? Its quite high on the SSA chart for 2008.

By: Catherine

Catherine — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:53:38 +0000

I think Calla would make a great addition to the Lily list.

Jenmb…I’m not Barbara but my take is “once a name appears in a novel for a university English reading list, it’s no longer kre8tiv”. Maybe I’m a name snob…

By: Tracey

Tracey — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:17:32 +0000

What about Gemma for Emma? Meaning’s nowhere near, but the sound is there.

By: Jenmb

Jenmb — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 04:18:23 +0000

Barbara, in case you’re still reading I’d love to know what meets your standards for a legitimate name vs. a “Kreeaytyv” one as you put it. Why does Alivia make you so angry, but not Audra? Both are variants of other names (Olivia and Audrey) and I personally would pronounce Alivia differently than Olivia. Is it because Audra is an older name than Alivia? Someone had to start a trend, doesn’t matter if it was in 1808 or 2008. Just curious….

By: susan

susan — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:48:35 +0000

I’m not a counselor, but I’ve had a lot of therapy. Plus I have a disgruntled teenage daughter and all her disgruntled friends who I have to interact with very gingerly. Plus my son had an extremely grumpy girlfriend named Jessica, but thankfully, he broke up with her. Now he has a lovely and nice girlfriend named Lea. I don’t think I will ever be able to like the name Jessica any more although I used to love it many years ago.

By: redriding

redriding — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:21:02 +0000

PS Kathy – yes, I agree with you about Juliana, I had a friend called this in school, and I think she was named because her mother admired the Dutch Royal family (Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, etc).

Julianna is a different name, but nevertheless a name in its own right.

By: redriding

redriding — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:17:32 +0000

Ooh, yes, a lot of tension here! Thank you Pam for clarifying this.

I have noticed over the last twenty years or so, the growing trend in America for parents to “poach” traditional boys names for girls – it is far less common in the UK, and I think it is a more satisfactory arrangement. We all know where we are with it! Again, it is all a very personal choice. Personally, I like a name to clearly convey gender without explanation, but I am probably “old-fashioned” on this one. I have to admit, though, that I have a son called Douglas, which was after all traditionally a name for girls centuries ago!

I also think that if a name is considered too “overused” for you, it would be better to go for another name completely rather than find a variant on your original choice. If I wanted a girl called Julia (which I have, incidentally), then a boy called Julian or Julius just would not cut the mustard. (For me, obviously).

This blog just goes to show how feelings can run high on the seemingly innocuous subject of naming!

PS are you a counsellor or something, Susan? You are always good at pouring oil on troubled waters.

SORRY FOR ALL THESE METAPHORS! It is gone midnight over here in Wales, I have work in the morning, the kids start back at school, and I must go to sleep now.

By: Pam

Pam — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:10:59 +0000

Yes! Thank you, Susan, that is what I was trying to say. It is a confusing concept and obviously I didn’t convey it clearly. This kind of relates to the boy-girl name equivalents post from Beyond Ava & Aiden that we put up the other day. The point is that very popular names spawn lots of similar names, including ones for their “own” sex and for the opposite sex. Does that makes sense?

By: susan

susan — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:55:55 +0000

I’m noticing a lot of frustration in some of the blogs above. I think people are frustrated because they think the writer of the blog, who is probably Linda, is saying to give less popular boys’ names to girls instead of popular names and vice versa. I don’t think that this is what she’s saying. I think she’s saying that if you love the name Julia for example, you could name your son Julius and have the pleasure of using a name whose sound you really love. That is what is so creative about this blog. I would never name my daughter Julius! I hope what I’m writing is making sense. It is a very complicated idea. Let me know if I’m not making sense, and I will give it another try. Maybe Linda could explain what she’s trying to say.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:41:14 +0000

Abraham or Abram for a girl? AAAGH! Can we please leave the boys’ names alone? Especially ones that refer to fatherhood? Come on! Give it a rest! Boys need names, too, and once they go to the girls, they never, ever come back. Also, it just looks very silly for a girl to be named “Father.”

As to “Alivia”… that’s just a Kreeaytyv spelling. If you really want an Olivia, then forget the rest of the world and name your child Olivia. If you don’t want to do that–if you have Olivia-fatigue–then when pick something that sounds just like it and will require the child to constantly correct the spelling? If you don’t like the name PICK AN ACTUALLY DIFFERENT NAME.

There are millions of names out there, and surely, it’s possible to come up with one that has both personal and universal meaning, which both parents like. Raid your family trees. There are a good number of fabulous old forgotten names in them. Like that “O”–how about Ora? The L? Maybe Lydia. just grabbing one random page from one of my genealogies (looks like early 1800s), I find Signora, Violette, Theresa, Antoinette, Josephine, Larana, May, Harriet, Martha, Lydia, Vienna, Beta, Attebella, Catherine, Ann, Lois, Betsey, Polly, and Abigail. Now, Signora is very silly, and Abigail and Josephine are currently popular. Attebella… neh. And Beta would have to grow up to do lab work, so things could be “beta tested.” But Lois, Betsey, Larana, Violette… all very usable. In fact, if you like the V in Olivia, what’s wrong with Violet?

Sorry…