April Babyberries: Olin, Juniper and Effie
By Linda Rosenkrantz
April was a really interesting month on the Baby Announcement forums, including some highly unusual and intriguing choices, such as Zari and Zev.
This crop of April baby names included one set of twins, the vintage Effie (love!) and Edwin, once again highlighting the trend-point that E-beginnings are continuing to surpass A’s in the vowel department.
Plenty of great sibsets this month, including, among the girls, Esme–Monet–Mirabelle; Fleur and Cressida; and Juniper–Tallulah–Matilda.
Here’s the list, plus some light-shedding parental comments.
GIRLS
Adelynn Leanne, sister of Donnie Colin, Ethan David, Rylan Thomas and Gavin Terrence.
Charlotte Josephine, sister of Trevor and Adelaide
Effie Prudence, twin of Edwin Oliver and sister of Prescott Jonathon, and of twins Theodore Patrick and Gideon Christopher
“The whole E beginnings was not planned however we love the names too much to just not use them because they both start with the same letter. Both of them have names that somehow relate to my grandfathers: Edward is my paternal grandfather but we just like Edwin a little more and Ephraim was my maternal grandfather who was normally called Ef for short. The middle names are after siblings: Oliver is my husband’s brother and Prudence is my big sister.”
Daphne Lynn
“Daphne works in both English and Hebrew, which is what DH and I wanted, and she shares her middle name with me since many Israelis don’t really “do” middle names”
Ellowyn Joy
Esme Flora Daniela, sister of Monet Elisabeth and Mirabelle Sylvie Anita
Evelyn Piper, sister of Sebastian Rhys and Kaidan Levi Blake
Fleur Eliza Mathilde, sister of Cressida Victoria Josephine
“It’s a nice nod to my French mother and family (even if they are having some difficulty coming round to the idea of a baby being called Flower).
Gemma Louise, sister of Vivienne Rose
Georgia Catherine, sister of Harry Kingston
Harmony Blossom, sister of Kaia Erin, Willow Beatrice and Imogen Joan
Imogen Hermione Louise, sister of Felix Arthur Edmund
Juniper, sister of Tallulah and Matilda
“Lyla is a name/word I’ve always thought was pretty since studying Hebrew (lilah means night). And Kennedy is a family name (her grandfather’s middle name and her great-grandmother’s maiden name).
“She’s named for my mother and grandfather, though the name didn’t come to us till the very end of my pregnancy—my husband and I had a good sit-down and talked through what we really wanted in our child’s name, and unfussy underused classic saint’s name it was. We’ve been playing her all the great songs about Marthas by Tom Waits, Loudon Wainwright, the Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, etc, and collecting the George and Martha children’s books.
Nina Frederika, sister of Zelda Astrid and Dashiell Roman Leif
Odette Mary, sister of Atticus Henry and Finley Harper
Phoebe June, sister of Elodie Irish
Savannah Barbara–Lee, sister of Emilia Louise
Seraphina Ann, sister of Nils David
Vivienne Monroe, sister of Bryar Jordan and Scarlett Brielle
Zari Pania–Rose, sister of Ayla Alba–Rose
“We had originally decided on Zara but felt it didn’t suit her. DH chose Zari, another Sara variation with Sara being my mum and my own mn. Pania–Rose was my choice. My maternal family have a farm in New Zealand that is named something very similar, and Pania is a water nymph. I have always had an affinity with water and the sea….I love that both girls have the shared Rose element, linking them even if they eventually have different surnames.”
BOYS
Andrew Lawrence, brother of Paul, Clare, Mark, Katharine and James
Edwin Oliver, twin of Effie Prudence and brother of Prescott Jonathon, and of twins Theodore Patrick and Gideon Christopher
Elijah “Eli” James, brother of Xavier Peter
Frederick “Freddie” Riley, brother of Jane Clayton
Jameson “Jem” Michael Ka’ehukai
“I definitely knew I wanted a name chocked full of meaning. His name had to be special, strong but ‘chill’ and versatile. Jameson ended up striking both of us as something we really liked…Michael is a special family name with a lot of meaning to me. And a solid classic, which I love. My family has the tradition of using Hawaiian middle names. My aunt suggested Ka’ehukai, which means ‘sea mist’ and is also the Hawaiian given name for Pipeline Beach. My husband is a surfer, so he was sold on that from the minute I mentioned it. We call him Jem for short, which is from ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’—one of my favorite books.
Leonardo David Brooks, brother of Maximus Samuel Jose
“Middle name is after Daddy and Brooks is mommy’s maiden name. We love that both our boys have these grandiose names that are both shortened to snappy little nicknames. Leo and Max are sure to be best friends!”
Olin Thor, brother of Rowan Charles
“We had kept the name a secret, telling a few it started with an R and having fun listening to their guesses!…My husband gave my mom three hints about the meaning of his first name and she guessed it, but we didn’t tell her until he was born.”
Stephano Julian, brother of Santos and Adriano
“We happened across Gaelic names and Tadhg stuck! We discussed changing the spelling but that would also mean compromising the Gaelic background and meaning which we didn’t want to do. Tadhg is Gaelic for poet/philosopher. Pronounces like Tiger without the r at the end. Or Tyy-g.