New Baby Names: Fresh, surprising choices in this week’s Nameberry Nine

I dreamt last night that I met a little boy named Bright— what a coincidence.

An old name book amongst Sweet Valley High and Nancy Drew sounds just like my preteen bookshelf – brings back memories. I was obsessed with the name Caitlin thanks to Francine Pascal’s “Caitlin” series, and SVH was where I first heard the name Lila, now my daughter’s name.

@laurbails – I do like Bright for a boy! I can’t decide if it is a happy, upbeat name – or an awful lot to live up to.

@Tempestra – Oh, someone else who remembers Caitlin! With the horses. And she lived with her grandmother, right? I dimly remember the stories, but I’ll never forget seeing the name on the cover of the first paperback. Lila is such a great name, too … I wonder how many of us first heard it in SVH?

Liv and Solene are beautiful- definitely names I’m filing away. Radley could grow on me… though as long as English classes are still reading To Kill A Mockingbird, I’d probably hold off.

@Tempestra, I first heard of Lila from the Sweet Valley books too! (I never read Sweet Valley High, but I read the earlier series where they were still little–Sweet Valley Kid or Sweet Valley Twins or something?) So cool that you ended up naming your daughter that.

On another note, I think Chapel is pretty. One of my kindergarten classmates (yes, I remember two decades back) had the last name Chapel, so in my mind it will forever be linked with a tiny blond girl, but also with little old-fashioned country churches, a very important part of my childhood. Beautiful idea.

I know a boy named Brighton, it suits him well.

I like Radley too.

Liv is beautiful! Radley is nice, but lately I’ve been crushing on Ridley So close, but it just has such a different feel! <3

I love Solene! It was the name of my host family’s daughter when I was living in Paris. So beautiful!

SVH introduced me to Lila too! Sunfire Romances were the best though, since each book was the name of a young woman. I loved “Roxanne” back then

Solene fits the rare gem quality perfectly. What a lovely name.

I’m surprising myself – I really like Chapel. I could see it working quite well for the right family/child.

I love the sound of Radley, but personally wouldn’t use a surname unless it had family significance. Well, that AND the fact that I have a tendency to call children Boo. I agree that it could make high school English class quite uncomfortable for a kid, but I think it could do very well in the middle spot.

I love Maverick. In fact I just suggested it to someone the other day – my only qualm is sounds awkward in German.

To me Liv will always be a nn for Olivia or Livia. (Probably because I have a good friend named Lydia who goes by Lyd).

I really like Liv and Chapel, as well. I can see both aging quite well. I also think Maverick has a lot of potential.

I like Chapel

So, I’m going to assume that Kimye’s baby is going to have Kanye’s last name… Liv West sounds weird. Liv Kardashian sounds good though. On another note, I think Kanye’s middle name (Omari) would be great if they have a boy. Omari West.

I’d never use Jacoby, but I like it. Many years ago I had a mentor and her son’s name was Jacobi. I thought it was cute, but not my own style.

Oh and I like Solene. For some reason when I saw it aloud it reminds me of Sophia Loren

I surprisingly love Chapel. Do you think it would work for a family who is not religious, or would that be weird? I still love the meaning and sound…

*say, not saw

I love Bright and (surprisingly) Chapel together. Chapel has never crossed my mind but it does have a pretty sound to it.

I commented in the blog post on names that are a lot to live up to that I think Maverick falls into that category. Can you imagine a shy, bookish Maverick? I feel like parents who choose this name for their son would be disappointed if he’s not the energetic, outgoing type.

The only name on this list that appeals to me is Liv, and I also like Liev for a boy. Solene is nice but you’d need to add an extra N to avoid the -een pronunciation in the US.

I think Brighton with the nickname Bright would be easier to live with. With just Bright I’m reminded of Rainbow Brite.

@Beautiful_Haiku – Liv West does seem like a product name, doesn’t it? Or maybe a conference name …

@Ysaline – First Sweet Valley High and now Rainbow Brite! I truly am reliving my childhood.

And that’s a thought – Solenne would be pronounced correctly in the US, wouldn’t it? I like the way it looks, too: Vivienne, Lucienne, Solenne …

@vaness1 – I’m not sure about the Chapel/religious question. I think Haven and Shelter come across as modern virtue names, not necessarily spiritual ones. Chapel nudges it a bit closer to spiritual … but not quite into Destiny/Trinity territory. And definitely not as far as Neavaeh. I’d be curious to hear what others think.

@littlemissmariss – Ridley is different from Radley, isn’t he? A little bit sharper, somehow. I like both, but I don’t picture the same kind of person at all!

I’m not a huge fan of any of these names, but I have a friend with daughters named Elle and Liv. And it suits them. the family is successful and the parents are very minimalist in their styles preferring to mix natural woods with metals and whites. The children just seem to match and their names suit each of them perfectly.

This is probably my favorite Nameberry Nine list in quite a while. I like all of these choices, with the exception of Rekker and Maverick. They sound too “bad-boy” for me, though I think Maverick has more potential than Rekker.

Though Bright, Chapel and Decker are slightly more adventurous choices than I see myself using, I love them as a sibset, especially Bright and Chapel for sisters. Lovely images of sunlit little country churches fill my mind when I see these names together.

I’ve liked Liv since I saw Liv Tyler in LOTR, Radley is good if you like the surname trend, Jacoby is cool, and Solene is beautiful.

I went back and checked out the Design Mom blog post on Sunshine and her family, and I’m so glad I did! How lovely her home and her family are. I’m even more in love with her kids’ names now. It seems Sunshine does call her son Decker John, which I somehow like better than just Decker. It sounds more grounded, I think, if that makes sense.

Thanks for the link! I may now become addicted to Design Mom.

I love Liv. I have for years. Also like Bright, Chapel, and Solene. Sollemnia is also pretty great, but I tend to be partial to saints’ names. Chapel reminds me of Temple, which I also like.

Rekker seems like he was named by a teenager. Ditto any baby named Maverick. Names I would have liked at 17.

Wow, Solene is new to me and I think it’s beautiful!

Bright has been one of my favorite word names for years. But I prefer it as a middle, for a girl. It balances out some of the more old-fashioned first names that I love.

I quite like Chapel! But see above, ref: me being a sucker for cool word names.

Hmm…
I think having a wide range of names to choose from makes naming a child more difficult as with more choice theres more decisions to make. Wheras if you have a limited choice you only have three names too choose from instead of twenty three names! Instead of name list consisting of Ann, Mary and William and Robert you have name list consisting of Amira, Niamh and Angelo and Grey along with those classics. Theres a lot more choice making it A LOT harder!

I’m not really a big fan of these names, I find choices like Rekker and Maverick to crazy and out there for a child to live up too. However I do like Bright, Liv and surprisingly Chapel.

Chapel makes me think of Dave Chapelle. I mean, I think he’s hilarious at times, and my husband is a huge fan–but it’s definitely not an association I’d want for my little girl!

Liv is okay. I love Jacoby, Maverick and Solene!

Our Dog’s name is Radley ( after Boo) and I have often thought since I would have copied it for a baby name had I planned ahead. Nice to see it getting some love!

I hate when they miss huge name references as in Liv Tyler from LOTR or That Thing You Do. And also, a more well known Jacoby would be Jacoby Ellsbury. Center fielder for the boston red sox; incredibly talented, incredibly handsome, and the first person of Navajo descent to play in the major leagues.