This year, for the first time, we have–with the invaluable help of our invaluable intern Hannah Tenison, tallied the final name choices reported by Berries on the Birth Announcement forum.  So here is what happened when all the hypotheticals were winnowed down to a single reality.

(Of course we know many more babyberries arrived this year, and hope you’ll all remember to enter your news in the future.)

FIRST NAMES given to more than one babe

Among girls’ first names, two three stood out with four uses each: Alice, Ruby, and Matilda.

The following were chosen three times:

Charlotte

Cordelia

Eleanor

Eloise

Felicity

Georgia

Hazel

Ivy

Louisa

Philippa

Violet

Vivien/Vivienne

Wren (also a Wrenley)

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As first names become more distinctive and more meaningful, middle names take on those qualities in spades.  Anything goes when it comes to middle names now, and parents are looking far beyond the usual given names to find unusual choices.

Four prime sources for middle names: Diminutives such as Jack or Mimi that may honor a beloved friend or relative, nature or animal names, names of heroes of fact or fiction, and inspirational names.

To bring you some new ideas, we’ve mined those areas to come up with 100 fresh choices.  Here they are:

Nickname Names

Annie

Art

Billy

Bobby

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There are several hot trends in middle names 2012.

One is the Middle Name with Meaning — family surnames, place names, virtue names you might not use in first place but that make for distinctive middle names.

Another is using two middle names, often to honor family members.

And then there are The New Connectors.

These names don’t mean or stand for anything or anyone special.  They just sound good, bridging the first and last names with a euphonious single syllable.

How do they differ from the standard middle names of yore, the Anns and Lees and Johns that might be thought of as The Old Connectors?

They don’t, so much, except that they’re not Ann or Lee or John.

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