Nameberry’s Newsiest Names of the Week—plus a giveaway!

This week, Appellation Mountain‘s Abby Sandel offers a special bonus in addition to her Nameberry 9 names in the news.

One of the arguments against unusual names is this: “But she won’t find anything with her name on it!”

That’s never really been true, and it is certainly less true now than ever before.  Technology is a part of the change, but so is something more old-school: the countless Etsy shops, all featuring makers of unique hand-crafted items.

Call your child Viggo or James, it doesn’t much matter – Etsy artisans can get a personalized superhero vest, tee shirt, lunchbox, and more to you in just a matter of days.

In celebration of this exciting way for daring baby namers to counter grandparents’ fears, we have a give-away.  One lucky reader will score a set of twenty bookplates from Etsy shop My Kids Eat Off the Floor.  Shop owner Kate is the mom to three fantastically named daughters herself: Tempe, Helena, and Juno.

To enter, leave a comment here with a name you think would belong on one of these bookplates!  You can choose from Woodland Friends, Modern Boy, or Whimsy.  And, of course, the bookplates will be personalized with any name you choose.

Looking for bonus entries?  Either

•  Visit Appellation Mountain and answer the question for a second chance to win.

•  Or, like Nameberry on Facebook and come back and leave a comment saying that you do – or that you already did!

The winner will be chosen at random, and be announced next Saturday, October 29, 2011 on Appellation Mountain, plus the AppMtn Facebook page, and again here at Nameberry, on Monday, October 31.

Impatient?  Don’t like your odds?  You can also order any item for 10% off with discount code APPELLATION.

Need ideas for a name that could fill out the bookplates in your soon-to-be-occupied nursery?  Here are nine choices from this week’s baby name news:

Nolan – American Pie alum Thomas Ian Nicholas is a new dad!  He and wife Colette welcomed son Nolan River last week.  Nolan is nice, but here’s my question: when American Reunion, the fourth installment in the series, hits the big screen next spring, what will Jim and Michelle’s son be called?

Hermione – Speaking of favorite movies with grown up characters, Nook of Names theorizes that by the time the next generation is naming kids of their own, the number #1 baby name in the US will be Hermione.  She’s certainly a household name thanks to the Harry Potter franchise, and, as Nook points out, today she’s about as obscure as Isabella was back in 1985.  Others on her list: Esther, Harmony, and Adelaide. Her #1 pick for boys?  Lucas.

Guy – Midwinter Names highlighted another obscurity with a long history of use.  Depending on your perspective, he either rhymes him with sky or sea.  It’s a short name with a lot of cool namesakes – like Guy Ritchie and Guy Pierce.  He’s a short name with medieval roots, but plenty of modern appeal, too.

Genesis – Viola Davis adopted a baby, and early media reports announced that Davis and husband Julian Tennon were the proud parents of a son called Genesis.  Right name, but wrong gender!  As any Nameberry reader can tell you, Genesis is a Top 100 choice for girls in the US, with easy nickname Gen connecting the Biblical book to a whole generation of women named Jennifer.  Reports quickly clarified that new baby Genesis does, indeed, represent Team Pink.

Giulia – There are media reports that miss the gender, and then there are those that misreport the name.  French president Nicolas Sarkozy and wife Carla Bruni welcomed a baby named Giulia, but early rumors claimed she would be known as Dahlia.  G feels like a letter on the move, from Genevieve and Grayson to Gatsby and Garnet.  The classic Julia is dressed up in the Italian spelling, likely an homage to mom’s roots – she was born in Turin.  The couple has four sons together from previous relationships: Nicolas’ boys Pierre, Jean, and Louis, and Carla’s firstborn, son Aurélien.

Caspian – From the French Élysée Palace we head to the US Capitol, where Colorado’s Jared Polis welcomed a new baby, too.  Polis made headlines in the mainstream media because he’s the first openly gay dad in the US Congress.  He and partner Marlon Reis caught my attention with their son’s name – Caspian Julius.  Two great choices, but maybe too much together.  I wonder if they ever considered Caspian Jude or Caspian Jules?

Briar – Swistle asked us to consider this name for a girl.  Too close to Brian?  Likely to be misunderstood as something else?  Most readers seem to have responded positively to the nature name with ties to the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale.  I wouldn’t be at all surprised to spot Briar on a birth announcement these days.  She strikes me as fresh, but not at all forced – a modern appellation with enough story to anchor her.

Ida Ursula Juno – Don’t you expect to find this combination on a Nameberry birth announcement?  You might have – had Nameberry been around back in 1847.  Instead this combination, along with dozens of others, can be found on Elea’s site, British Baby Names.

Andrew – Ida brings us back to birth announcements, with one more celebrity adoption to report this week.  Actress Mariska Hargitay and husband Peter Hermann are now the parents of three A-named kiddos: August, Amaya, and Andrew.  It shows that repeating the same first initial really can work for some families.