the unique baby name guide by the world's leading experts

overlooked names

SMASHING STEREOTYPES: Nameberry to the rescue

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

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:

kermit-the-frog 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:

ELOISELong 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…)

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Disney names, Latin baby names, Muppet baby names, baby names from books, baby names from tv, biblical names, boys' names, girl names, girls' names, mythological names, names from comic books, overlooked names | 28 Comments »

TEN GREAT NAMES YOU’RE NOT USING

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

gemIt’s a curious thing that, even when people prefer quirky or unusual names, they often prefer the same quirky or unusual names. Why is Clementine such a darling, for instance, while brother name Clement languishes? Why are Nora, Cora, and even Florence hot, while the equally lovely Flora is ignored?

In the nameberry spirit of promoting great unusual, underrated, unappreciated names, we bring you the latest in a series of names nobody’s using…..but should be.

CAIO – Variation of an ancient Latin name that means “rejoice”, Caio – pronounced not kay-oh or chow but kye-oh – takes the trendy Kai one step further. Contemporary artist Caio Fonseca is a noted bearer.

CALANDRA – One of the Cal- family of Greek girls’ names popularized by Calista Flockhart, Calandra means “lark” and has a formal, elegant feel.

COLETTE – The new movie Cheri with Michelle Pfeiffer may at least bring this name of the scandalous French writer back into contemporary consciousness. Out of the Top 1000 for more than two decades, Colette is derived from Nicholas.

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Dutch baby names, European baby names, Scandinavian baby names, ancient names, biblical names, exotic baby names, international baby names, name history, name ideas, name style, overlooked names, quirky names, royal names, undiscovered names, unique baby names, unusual baby names, weird baby names | 19 Comments »

NEWER NAMES IN OLDER CATEGORIES: Fresh florals and varied virtues

Sunday, July 12th, 2009

iris3Maybe there are certain kinds of names that you really like–flower or color names, say, or virtue names– but you’re reluctant to use one of the more obvious examples, the epidemically popular ones, attractive though they may be.  Well, there’s no reason you have to limit yourself to those few; more and more parents are digging deeper into those appealing categories and coming up with  newer sounding choices.

Take flower names. If you want to move beyond Rose, Daisy, Lily and even Poppy and Violet, you might consider these more exotic blooms that are beginning to come into their own:

AMARYLLIS

ASTER

AZALEA

HYACINTH

IRIS (not exotic, but long neglected)

JONQUIL

LILAC

LOTUS

MARIGOLD

PRIMROSE

TULIP

Similarly with gems–Ruby, Crystal and Jade aren’t the only jewels in the case.  Consider:

AMETHYST

EMERALD

OPAL

PEARL

SAPPHIRE

TOPAZ

TURQUOISE 

And speaking of Turquoise, there are also some richly hued colors beyond Scarlet and Siena: (more…)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized, color names, exotic baby names, flower names, girl names, girls' names, green names, name ideas, nature names, overlooked names, undiscovered names | 21 Comments »

70′S BABY NAMES: Beyond Tiffany & Todd

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

disco-baby When we talk about vintage names, we’re usually harking back to the Gay ’90s or the Roaring  ’20s at the latest. But what about more recent vintage vintages? Are there any names that were popular just a couple of decades ago that are already ready for revival?–or are they all still too me, mom, or grandpa-ish?

The leading  five girls’ names across the decade 0f the 70s were Jennifer, Amy, Melissa, Michelle and Kimberly, and among the boys’ Top 20–mostly dominated by classics–were Jason, Brian, Kevin, Jeffrey and Scott.  I’m not suggesting that we’re quite ready for another generation of little Lisas (#6), any more than I’d suggest hanging a disco ball in your living room, but there are some buried possibilities further down in the mix that just might be getting ripe enough to pick again.

The names below were all in the top half of the popularity list throughout the Swinging 70s, and have either slid off the current list entirely or are very near the the bottom of the Top 1000. Most of them don’t particularly scream 70’s–some are semi-classics that were fading away at that time, a few are the kind of nickname names that are coming back into style.

GIRLS

ALMA

BERNADETTE

BILLIE

CONSTANCE

DEBORAH

DORA

DOROTHY

EDITH

ELLEN

FELICIA

GINGER

JILL

JO

LIZA

LORETTA

LORRAINE

MARIBEL

MARJORIE

MARCIA/MARSHA

MELINDA

PAMELA

PATRICE

PAULINE

PENNY

RAMONA

ROCHELLE

ROXANNE

SALLY

SHEILA

SONJA

TAMARA

TINA

BOYS

CHESTER

CLAUDE

CLAY

CLINT

CLYDE

CORNELIUS

DION

FLOYD

FRED/FREDDIE

GENE

GLENN

GORDON

KENT

KIRK

MICKEY

MORRIS

NEIL/NEAL

OTIS

PERRY

PETE

RALPH

REX

STEWART

TED

THADDEUS

TIM

TY

VIRGIL

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized, baby name popularity, baby names of 2008, boys' names, girls' names, name history, name style, name trends, overlooked names, vintage baby names | 14 Comments »

L NAMES TO LOVE

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

The J names had their day: Jennifer, Jason, Jessica.  Then K was up, and we had lots of Kevins and Kaylas, Kaitlyns and Kyles.

What’s next?  It just might be L’s turn.

65-fourteenth-century-23-08-l-q100-257x500Linda wrote about the delicious La-La names, from Lola to Lila to Lily, that are newly popular.  And certainly, the most visible of the L names right now are these Double L names.

(A side note here: DELILAH and TALLULAH may not have an L in first place but are part of this same Double L trend.)

But there are lots of other L names coming up, or already arrived, in other categories.  For instance:

THE LOU NAMES

A pan-European trend that seems finally to be reaching the U.S., the Lou names are hugely popular in Great Britain and the Continent for girls as well as boys.  Examples:

LOU and LILOUBoth huge in France, Lou is one of the daughters of the iconic Jane Birkin and Lilou is the Occitan (a dialect of Provence) version of Lily.

LOUIS and LEWIS – Especially popular in Great Britain, Lewis has recently been the number one boys’ name in Scotland.

LOUISE and LOUISALouise, long sleepy in the U.S., is beginning to sound fresh again and is the chic version in France and the U.K., while Louisa (or Luisa) is more widely used in Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

LUCA – The pretty (and to some American ears, too pretty) name for boys is wildly popular throughout Europe but just beginning to be heard in the U.S., sometimes for girls.

LUCAS and LUKE – These two versions of the Biblical Luke, meaning “from Lucanus,” have been in the U.S. Top 50 for several years now.

LUCIAN and LUCIUS – Two variation on an old Roman name meaning “light” that sound fresh and, well, luscious to the American ear.

LUCY, LUCIANA, LUCIALucy has been popular in the U.S. for several years now, but like cousin Lily, has many variations to suit the parent in search of something similar yet more different.

LUDOVIC and LUDOVICA – Further afield but still containing the fashion “lu” sound are these male and female versions of Ludwig, very chic in Italy.

LUNA – The Italian and Spanish word for moon makes a celestial-sounding choice.

typelTHE LEONINE NAMES

Another name trend sweeping Europe that’s beginning to be recognized in America too are names that mean and sometimes even sound like “lion.”  Again, for both genders, examples include:

LEO – This one we’ve heard in the U.S., but still lovely.

LEONLong a top name in German, Leon deserves to be rehabilitated in the U.S., where it had become a joke.  Brad and Angelina giving it to their twin son Knox as a middle name could give it a major boost.

LEONA, LEONIE, LEONORALong considered old-lady names in America, all the female lion names are newly fashionable in Europe and beginning to be considered by adventurous parents here too.

LEOPOLD – While not strictly meaning lion – its meaning is usually given as “bold people” – the Leo in this German name is derived from lion and this long-stodgy name has considerable new hipster cred.

LIONEL – A choice for adventurous baby-namers for both girls and boys.

letter-lBIBLICAL Ls

Some of the freshest Biblical names have L beginnings.

LAZARUS – In 20 years, I predict little Lazaruses will be as plentiful as boys named Noah and Isaiah are today.

LEAH – Already a hit, Leah has an appealingly modern simplicity.

LEMUEL – Destined to step out from Samuel’s shadow.

LEVI – Was beginning to reemerge when Matthew McConaughey chose it for his son, catapulting it to stardom.

LYDIA – Strong, old-fashioned girls’ name that’s reemerging.

OTHER COOL L NAMES I COULDN’T SQUEEZE INTO ANY CATEGORY

A few other L names I like: The Old Lllllady trio LAVINIA, LETITIA, and LUCRETIA.  The word name and surname LAND, originally used for one of the sons of pioneer aviator Charles and Anne Lindbergh, would make a strong choice for a boy or girl today.  Hero name LINCOLN never goes out of style, but sounds particularly attractive now.

Blog Widget by LinkWithin

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in British names, European baby names, French baby names, Italian baby names, Scottish baby names, animal names, baby name popularity, biblical names, celebrity baby names, ethnic baby names, international baby names, meanings of names, name style, name trends, overlooked names, presidential names, quirky names, surname names, trendy baby names, unique baby names, unusual baby names, vintage baby names, word names | 23 Comments »

Search
Categories