It doesn’t seem fair.  Why have some perfectly good names become permanently tainted by their links to a particular fictional character while others haven’t?  How come Olivia is OK despite her porcine persona, all Oscars aren’t considered grouches, and even Dexter’s popularity seems to be rising in spite of his avocation on TV as a serial killer, while Jemima and Jethro, Elmo and Eloise remain somewhat stigmatized?  I say let’s take another look at some of these names and see if we can’t get them out of quarantine.

The first place to look is on Sesame Street.  Seems that once a name is tagged to a  fuzzy multi-colored Muppets, it becomes his exclusively.  Here are some reasons why they shouldn’t have to be:

 ELMO–A lively O-ending saint’s name, Elmo is the patron saint of sailors, and the legendary St. Elmo’s fire is a bright glow that sometimes appears on ships during thunderstorms, as well as being the name of a seminal 1980’s Brat Pack film.

GROVER–A fine upstanding Presidential and nature-ish (originally given to someone living near a grove) surname crying out to be considered for its own spunky self.

KERMIT–Enough with the ‘It isn’t easy being green’  froggy references.  Instead think of its relation to the well-liked Dermot, Kermit evolving from the Irish surname MacDermot, or son of Dermot.   And Teddy Roosevelt used it for his son

And a couple of others with kiddie references:

ELOISE– Long associated with the imperious little 6-year-old who ruled the Plaza Hotel, Eloise is the most likely on this list to redeem herself, what with the growing popularity of similar names like Eloisa and Elodie.

LINUS–No, using this name does not condemn your baby boy to clinging to his security blanket for life a la the Peanuts character.  Linus has considerable grown-up charm and some interesting associations: in Greek mythology he was the inventor of rhythm and melody who taught music to Hercules, and a distinguished modern namesake is Linus Pauling, winner of two Nobel prizes.  And, believe it or not, cinema characters named Linus have been  played by Humphrey Bogart, James Stewart, Matt Damon and Harrison Ford. (more…)

Yesterday, as I was writing about the favorite names on nameberry, it seemed as if all was in perfect harmony and solidarity, complete sweetness and sunshine on the site, and that nameberry.com was as tranquil a place as Mayberry R.F.D.

Not totally true.

Turns out that some visitors are as passionately opposed to some of the popular names on the site as others are passionately in favor of them.  And so a kind of rebel thread was set up called Secret Name Heresies, where people could voice–make that vent–their negative feelings.  And vent is what they/you have been doing, often in EMPHATIC CAPITAL letters.  Not surprisingly, since our opinions are formed from our individual experiences, there were some who disliked a particular name because of, say, an unshakable association with an obnoxious high school classmate, or with a Disney character they will forever attach to its name.  Or in some cases a simple dislike of its image or sound.

Here, from the varied responses, are a few choice, disgruntled, examples–some of which we found hilarious:

GIRLS

ARABELLA   –  Sounds like some made-up Disney princess who lives in Arabia.

ASTRID  –  I liked this before The Office.

BRONWYN  –  I knew a very odd Bronwyn in high school.  I only ever think of her.

CECILIA  –  I have a slight lisp–Ce-ce-lia sounds AWFUL when I say it.

CHARLOTTE  –  Whenever I see Charlotte, I just see cHARLOTte,

DAISY –  I love this name but for a pet.

DELILAH  — I’m not a Delilah fan.  If I’m not reminded of the Biblical story, I’m reminded of that annoying radio host, Delilah.

EVELYN  –  It’s still 100% nursing home to me.

FREYA  –  I HATE Freya!  I only think of frayed fabric.

GUINEVERE  –  Waaay too regal.

JUNE  –  I’m not a fan of June, but love Jane.

OLIVE  –  Olive?  As in black olives, green olives and extra virgin olive oil?  No thank you.
– I just don’t understand why you would name your daughter after a small green appetizer.

OPHELIA  –  I’m not an Ophelia fan, not only because of the “I’ll feel ya” teasing but because I have a habit of putting the prefixes of “hem” and “ped” before it.

POPPY –  I’m all for nature names but this is way too close to “puppy,” not to mention the association with opiates.
– The words “seed muffin” follow this in my head.
– This is what we call my Dad instead of Grandpa, so no.

SADIE  –  Reminds me of S & M.

VIOLA  –  Means rape in Spanish.

WILLOW  –  This would be a massive problem if she was chubby.
– I HATE Willow! It’s a 100% Palin to me, and just…ick.

BOYS

DUNCAN  –  Donuts.
             — Sounds like it should be the name of a thick, chubby boy.

ELIJAH  –  The only Elijah I have ever known was a girl, so it sounds really girly to me

EZRA  –  It looks like a typo.

FELIX  –  This is a cat’s name only.

GUS  –  Just ugly and not right for a little boy–reminds me of Augustus Gloop.
          — The big, fat mouse from Cinderella to me–Gus-Gus

JASPER  –  Seems like a girl’s name to me.
— 101 Dalmatians, anyone?

KILLIAN  –  Not a fan of Killian or any other name beginning with a synonym of murder

OSCAR  –Oscar is still 100% grouch to me.

OTIS  –  Too hickish for someone who lives in rural Nebraska and gets labeled a hick for that alone.

SEBASTIAN  –  Crab from Disney movie.

THEO  –  I hate Theo!  I love Theodore but won’t use it because I hate Theo!

In a recent blog, one half of the Nameberry partnership suggested ten neglected names–five for girls and five for boys– names that aren’t receiving the attention or popularity they deserve. Now here are ten more from the other half–names that have been consistent favorites of mine, but which have never really caught fire despite our recommendations. (I should add that two of the names on the first list–Barnaby and Dinah–have been enduring loves of mine as well–in fact Dinah was the runner up to Chloe when I was naming my daughter.)

So, from the Land of Lost Opportunities:
 
AMITY.  Unlike her solid, serious, one-syllable virtue-name cousins Hope, Grace and Faith, Amity has a lacy delicacy as well the wonderful meaning of friendship.  And yet it has not appeared in the Top 1000 in 150 years.  The same is true of the similarly neglected VERITY, which also has the attraction of a trendy V-beginning and the meaning of truth.

DUNCAN. This handsome Scottish name has always been near the top of my boy favorites list, for its combination of sophistication and bounce. It has literary cred from Shakespeare (Macbeth) to James Fenimore Cooper (The Last of the Mohicans). Though it hasn’t been completely neglected –it reached as high as 377 in the late 90s heyday of D-names like Dylan, Dustin and Dalton–it’s never been fully appreciated. Could Dunkin’ Donuts be to blame?

GENEVA. Believe it or not, this was quite a common name a century ago, in the very low one hundreds in the first two decades of the 20th century. Being one of the original place names, with the long-popular Gen-Jen beginning (and logical nickname), it’s surprising that it hasn’t been picked up on in the modern age.

JANE. Whatever happened to Baby Jane?  Once ubiquitous, it has virtually disappeared, and while the names of several of Jane Austen heroines have succeeded, her own name has not. I’ve never thought Jane was plain, seeing it as much more vibrant than cousins Joan and Jean. It makes a  sweet, old-fashioned middle name too–moving away from dated Mary Jane to cooler combinations like Ethan Hawke’s Clementine Jane.

LARS. One of a number of appealing Scandinavian names that have never made their mark in this country, Lars is strong, straightforward, friendly, and a touch exotic–a perfect choice for someone seeking a distinctive no-nickname name or a namesake for a Grandpa Lawrence. (And for those who like the en/-an-ending trend, there are also SOREN, KELLEN, and STELLAN.)

 LIONEL. Not quite as obviously leontine as Leo or Leon (of which it’s a French diminutive), Lionel has a lot of multi-dimensional cred, as a Knight of the Round Table, and in the jazz and TV-character worlds. Runner-up: the Welsh LLEWELYN, if only for its cool double-L nicknames–Llew, Lleu and Llelo.

MIRABEL, MIRABELLE. The perfect alternative for those tiring of the mega-popular Isabel and Annabel and Miranda, this is another choice that has never reached the Top 1000, despite its feminine charm and accessibility. It can also be considered a nature name, as mirabelle is the name of a variety of sweet yellow plum. Italian version MIRABELLA is another winner.

POLLY. Why Molly and not Polly?  I’ve never understood the enduring  popularity of the one and the neglect of the other, both being vintage rhyming nicknames for Mary. The disparity might be accounted for by the childlike, innocent, pigtailed, Pollyannaish (and maybe avian) image of Polly, a name which has hardly been heard since the 70s, (except maybe for Mattel’s Polly Pocket dolls), having peaked on the charts in 1881!  I say it’s time for a revival.

REMY. A French name that’s not as effete as Anatole or Antoine. Au contraire. Remy–meaning someone from the city of Rheims and sometimes associated with the Cajun cadences of New Orleans– is lively and charming, with just a pungent whiff of cognac.  Kids will relate it to the plucky rat chef hero of Ratatouille.

ZEBEDEE. A distinctive Biblical name with zip as well as gravitas, belonging to the fisherman who was father to two of the twelve disciples, James and John. Other pluses: the cool initial Z and the cool nickname Zeb.

The other day we talked about Princess Names, but what if the royal baby in your family is male?  Then you might need one of the Prince Names, and Charming is probably not going to cut it.

There are a handful of appealing names that mean “prince.”  Brendan is Irish, Mael is Breton, while Vladimir is Slavic for “renowned prince.”  Armel, the name of a Welsh saint who founded abbeys in Brittany, means “stone prince” in French, while Adhit is an Indonesian name with that meaning.

Prince itself is of course also a name, chosen by Michael Jackson for his son — though if you choose it, you’d have to put up with an awful lot of “formerly known as” jokes.  Better bets: King, Duke, or maybe even Earl.

Fictional princes who might prove inspirational include:

Caspian – Prince who is the rightful king in The Chronicles of Narnia.

Edvard “Eddie” – Danish prince posing as Wisconsin exchange student in deathless 2004 classic “The Prince and Me.”

Erik – The Prince in The Little Mermaid.

Moses – Biblical baby raised as a prince.

Paris – The Trojan prince who wooed the beautiful Helen, though a certain modern female Paris may knock this ancient royal name out of the running for boys.

Phillip – Sleeping Beauty’s paramour.

William “Will” — The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

And then there are the little princes born to actual royal families over the past decade or so, with William.html”>prince names equally imposing as those of their princess counterparts.  I’m especially intrigued by Aymeric, Valdemar, Casimir, Marius, Emmanuel, Froilan, Felix, Baudouin, and Sverre.

Achilleas Andreas — Greece

Aristide Stavros – Greece

Aymeric Auguste Marie — Belgium

Carlos — Spain

Christian Valdemar Henri John – Denmark

Claus-Casimir Bernhard Marius Max — Netherlands

Emmanuel Léopold Guillaume François Marie – Belgium

Felipe Juan Froilan — Spain

Felix Henrik Valdemar Christian –Denmark

Friedrich Richard Oscar Jefferson — Denmark

Gabriel Baudouin Charles Marie — Belgium

Hisahito — Japan

James Alexander Philip Theo – Great Britain

Juan Valentín — Spain

Konstantinos Alexios — Greece

Lucas Maurits Pieter Henri — Netherlands

Miguel – Spain

Nicolas Casimir Marie – Belgium

Nikolai William Alexander Frederik — Denmark

Odysseas Kimon — Greece

Pablo Nicolas – Spain

Samuel “Sam” Bernhard Louis — Netherlands

Sverre Magnus — Norway

Twitty Milk, the reported name of the new daughter of singer Erykah Badu and rapper Jay Electronica, was thankfully just a hoax.  No one knows quite how the Twitty Milk rumor got started, except that the new mom Twittered her way through the baby’s birth.  The real crazy celebrity baby name: Mars Merkaba.

Badu, also the mother of son Seven and daughter Puma, is obviously a leader in crazy celebrity baby naming.  Here, with Mars’ birth, our new Top 10 Craziest Celebrity Baby Names:

1. MOXIE CRIMEFIGHTER — The daughter of magician Penn Jillette, whose assertive word name can be called unique in the truest sense of that term, is the bearer of what may still be the absolute craziest celebrity baby name.

2. PILOT INSPEKTOR — Jason Lee took a lot of flack for this occupational name, to the extent that he’s keeping his second child’s name secret.

3. BRONX MOWGLI — Rockers Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz hit a new low with this New York neighborhood-Disney moniker, giving their son the initials B.M.W.

4. KAL-EL — Nicolas Cage’s son’s name seems fit for a child from another planet.

5. MARS MERKABA –  Okay, it’s better than Twitty Milk.  But it’s still from Outer Space.

6. PEANUT — Soap star Ingo Rademacher’s son’s name might give any child an inferiority complex.

7. DIEZEL — Word names are in, but fuel names?  Sorry, Toni Braxton, but this one is full of gas.

8. ZUMA NESTA ROCK — The name of Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale’s second son is simply trying way too hard on every level.

9.HUCKLEBERRY — Bear Gryll’s newborn son and big brother Marmaduke sound like a pair of cartoon characters.  But what can you expect when Dad’s name is Bear?

10. PUMA — We have to cite Erykah Badu for being a two-time offender, as she gave her daughter this feline and sneaker name.  But Badu also has a wicked sense of humor, as anyone who’s ever heard her fabulous song “Call Tyrone” can attest.