Looking through the birth announcements in the Scottish newspapers of the last few months-a site which also sometimes include the regions just below the Scottish border and the Isle of Man–a couple of prominent trends jump out.

First of all it’s the nickname names, which right now seem to be even more prevalent in Scotland than in England, for both girls and boys, with a plethora of Ellies and Evies, Alfies and Archies.  Here is a list of  recent ones, with some of the middle names attached to them (separated by slashes):

girls

CHARLEE

CHARLI

ELLIE May

EMMIE

EVIE May/Rose/Elizabeth/Harriet

(Alexa) GEORGIE

GRACIE May

IZZY Henderson

JOSIE Mo

LIBBY May

LOTTIE Aoife (pron. EE-fa) (more…)

From the time we wrote our very first name book, we’ve both been totally charmed by the unique verve and spirit of  names ending in the letter ‘o’.  And, over time, our love for them has only increased.  We’re glad to see that more and more people seem to be agreeing with us; lately there’s been an infusion of newly popular choices–and, surprisingly, this is beginning to be true for girls as well as boys.

Here are some of the currently coolest boys’  names, many of then reflecting the ever-growing globalization of baby names:

ALDO, ARLO & ARNO

BRUNO

COSMO & COSIMO

ENZO

HORATIO

HUGO

INDIO & INDIGO & INIGO

LASZLO

LEO

MATEO /MATTEO

MILO

ORLANDO

OTTO

RIO

ROCCO

ROMEO & VALENTINO — two choices previously considered uberly-romantic, now sudden celebrity faves

THEO

VIGGO

(more…)

Back when there was a very limited stockpot of names, and there might be, for example, two Roberts in a village who had to be distinguished from one another, they began to be identified by nicknames and by the names of their fathers: one would be known as Robert Will’s son, the other Robert John’s son, and soon an elaborate system evolved based on the names of grandfathers and great-grandfathers.

Similar patronymic systems, with names meaning “son of,” took root in most cultures. In Danish, the suffix added was sen, in Swedish son, in French de, in Armenian ian, in Basque ez, in Norman fitz, in Scotland Mac or Mc, in Ireland O’, Mac or Mc, and in Wales, simply the letter s–Jones meaning John’s son.

Though all these surname names relate to paternal lineage, in these days of last-name-first and boys-for-girls, there are a lot of patronymics that can work for girls as well: Mackenzie and Madison are good examples that have already been totally accepted. Some of the many other possible “son of” names follow–those that have been used for girls are starred.

*ADDISON
ANDERSON
ANSON
BADEN
BATES
BENSON
BEVAN
BEVIS
BOWEN
*BRYSON
CAVANAUGH
DAVIS
DAWSON
DEJEAN
DIXON
*EDISON
*ELLISON
*EMERSON
FITZGERALD
FITZHUGH
FITZPATRICK
FITZWILLIAM
HARRISON
JACKSON
*JAMESON
JEFFERSON
*JENSEN
*JUDSON
KERMIT
MACAULEY
McCALLISTER
MacDUFF
*McKENNA
*McKENZIE/MACKENZIE
*MAGEE
MORRISON
NILES
O’HARA
O’REILLY
O’SHEA
PARRY
PIERCE
POWELL
QUILLIAM
*QUINNEY
ROYCE
TENNYSON