In honor of Martin Luther King Day, today we look at some of the most important names in the inspiring civil rights hero’s public and private life – from his birth in Atlanta, Georgia to his death in Memphis, Tennessee.<h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">Girl Names</a></h2>AlbertaDr King gave his fourth child the middle name Albertine, after his mother Alberta, who played a significant role in the running of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. Tragically, she too was assassinated six years after her son. Vintage Alberta was a <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular_names/US">US Top 200</a> name from the late 1880s until 1940, and was recently revived by actor Jamie Dornan, who chose it for his third daughter in 2019.AmeliaA key figure in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches, Amelia Boynton Robinson was also the first African American woman in Alabama to run for Congress. She was awarded the Martin Luther King Jr Freedom Medal in 1990. Amelia is a stylish contemporary classic: currently Top 10 in the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.CorettaMartin Luther King Jr married Coretta Scott on June 18, 1953. An ardent advocate for racial equality, social justice, and women’s, children’s and gay rights, she was a leading figure in the civil rights movement, consulted with world leaders and authored several books. Coretta is a rare and sparky diminutive of Cora which leapt to #523 in the US in 1968, the year of King’s assassination.DorothyA close colleague and confidante of Dr King, Dorothy Cotton served as director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s education program, on which she worked alongside Septima Clark. Dorothy is a sweet storybook name which looks poised for a revival, especially since Scarlett Johansson used it in 2014.GeorgiaKing was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. He was originally named Michael Luther King Jr after his father, who later changed both their names in reference to religious reformer Martin Luther. Georgia has several artistic associations beyond its obvious geographical namesakes, including painter Georgia O’Keeffe and songs like “Sweet Georgia Brown” and “Georgia on my Mind.” Atlanta is another, more adventurous, possibility.MahaliaDuring Dr King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, it was Mahalia Jackson who shouted behind him “Tell them about the dream!” And at his funeral, his good friend sang his favorite hymn, “Take My Hand, Precious Lord.” Mahalia is a beautiful <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/682/biblical-baby-names">Biblical name</a> with a melodious sound that might appeal to lovers of unique but established names – it hasn’t ranked in the <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular_names/US">US Top 1000</a> since 1881.OdettaThe “Voice of the Civil Rights Movement” Odetta Holmes (known by her distinctive first name) sang “O Freedom” at the 1963 March on Washington. She was a key figure in the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s. More familiar in its French form Odette, this striking name combines strength and sophistication.SelmaSelma, Alabama was the starting point of the five-day march to Montgomery in which Dr King led thousands of nonviolent demonstrators in protest for voting rights. Selma has been in style limbo for years, but it received a small boost in 2014 following the release of the movie Selma, based on the events of 1965. It’s currently at #16 in Norway, and #12 in Sweden.YolandaThe name Yolanda is shared by the eldest of the Kings’ four children, also an activist, and their only grandchild, born in 2008. At its peak in the late 60s and early 70s, Yolanda has a retro feel and a lovely nature-related meaning: “violet”. The Kings’ daughter was also known as Yoki.<h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">Boy Names</a></h2>BayardBayard Rustin was Dr King’s first regular advisor on nonviolence and an important architect of the 1963 March on Washington, as well as a pioneering gay rights activist. His striking name, which also appears in Faulkner’s The Unvanquished, comes from a French word meaning “russet red”.BenjaminBaptist minister and educator Benjamin Mays was a personal mentor to Martin Luther King Jr at Morehouse College in Atlanta. Mays gave the benediction after King’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech in 1963, and he also delivered the eulogy at his funeral, which included the famous line “No man is ahead of his time”. Benjamin is a strong and sensitive Biblical classic which has ranked in the Top 10 since 2015.BookerKing attended Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, named for the influential political leader and orator who became an important voice for former slaves and their descendants. Booker is an energetic surname name with other appealing associations, including musician Booker T. Jones and the literary Booker Prize. Actress Thandie Newton chose the name for her son in 2000.DexterDexter Scott King was the second son born to the Kings. He was named for the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, where King became pastor in 1954. Dexter is one of the coolest jazz-inspired names for boys, with its sharp but laid-back nickname Dex. Dexter ranks just inside the Top 500 in the US and just outside the Top 100 in the UK, and was chosen by musicians Diana Krall and Elvis Costello for their son.EbenezerDr King’s grandfather began the family’s long tenure as pastor at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, followed by Martin Luther King Sr and then King himself, who served as co-pastor. Eben is the appealing short form, which bypasses the unfortunate association with Dickens’ Scrooge.HoseaHosea Lorenzo Williams was a civil rights leader who worked closely with Dr King, organizing nonviolent protests under the auspices of their Southern Christian Leadership Conference. A Hebrew name meaning “salvation”, Hosea is an underused Biblical option that deserves wider attention.KingIf you want to name a child directly for Dr King, King itself is a more fashionable choice today than Martin or Luther. The royal word name ranked at #158 in the US last year and has risen rapidly through the ranks over the past 15 years. Kingston is an even more popular elaboration, at #117.MemphisThe Tennessee city of Memphis was the scene of Martin Luther King Jr’s tragic assassination on April 4, 1968. The name does have some more positive associations, like the Egyptian pyramids and the Graceland home of Elvis Presley. Memphis is becoming an increasingly popular option for both sexes: currently at a historic high of #431 for boys.MontgomeryKing led the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and helped to organize the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965. This distinguished Anglo-Scottish surname has recently turned from fusty and formal to the cutting edge of cool, boosted by its use by actors Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen and the cute nickname Monty.For ideas and inspiration on how to participate in Martin Luther King Day of Service even while in isolation at home, see this <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/16/us/martin-luther-king-jr-day-service-ideas-iyw-trnd-wellness/index.html">excellent guide from CNN</a>.

MLK6-E.jpeg

Names Honor Martin Luther King Jr

Name nerds (or should that be name connoisseurs?) usually <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/confessions-of-a-secret-name-nerd">come to the obsession early</a> and easily.I probably knew I was a name nerd when I decided my favorite fairy tale was Rumpelstiltskin, and I learned the names of all of the Twelve Dancing Princesses.Or maybe it was when I started sitting through all credits of every TV show and movie, just to read the names of the cast and crew.Or maybe it was when I’d had all the names for my future children picked out by the time I was eleven.How did you know you were a name nerd? And what do you think makes you qualify?

Stocksy_txp36894dd76ur200_Small_853087.jpg

You Know You’re a Name Nerd When….

There’s an undeniable renaissance of vintage girl nicknames underway, with <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sadie">Sadie</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Josie">Josie</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Elsie">Elsie</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Evie">Evie</a>, and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Millie">Millie</a> all in the Top 400.  But, folks, this ain’t nothing compared to the avalanche of nickname names found around the turn of the last century.  In 1888, for example, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Minnie">Minnie</a> was up at #8, and there were about 70 more nickname names in the girls’ Top 400.There wasn’t just <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bettie">Bettie</a>, there was also <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ettie">Ettie</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nettie">Nettie</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hettie">Hettie</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lettie">Lettie</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mettie">Mettie</a>. And <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Millie">Millie</a> was joined by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dillie">Dillie</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rillie">Rillie</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tillie">Tillie</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Willie">Willie</a>, while <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jessie">Jessie</a> had cousins named <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Essie">Essie</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lessie">Lessie</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tessie">Tessie</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tressie">Tressie</a>. Not to mention <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lovie">Lovie</a> (#482) and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dovie">Dovie</a> (297).Sometimes it’s even hard to figure out which formal names spawned these offspring.Not all of them are ripe for revival, of course—looking at you, Hessia.  So let’s pick out some of the forgotten vintage girl nicknames that would make the most charming choices for a 21st century girl.<h3><a href="https://nameberry.com/list/222/Vintage-Nicknames-for-Girls">Vintage Nicknames for Girls</a></h3><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Birdie">Birdie</a>—Two celebs have already opted for this quirky nature nickname: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Busy">Busy</a> Philipps, who was inspired by First Lady Lady <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bird">Bird</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Johnson">Johnson</a>, and actress <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maura">Maura</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/West">West</a>. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Birdie">Birdie</a> was the nickname of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Betty">Betty</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Draper">Draper</a> on Mad Men and is a character on <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Orange">Orange</a> is the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/New">New</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Black">Black</a>. Now Number 346 on Nameberry, it was once a diminutive of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bertha">Bertha</a> or <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bridget">Bridget</a>; <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Birdie">Birdie</a> was #151 in 1882.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clemmie">Clemmie</a>—The nickname Sir <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Winston">Winston</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Churchill">Churchill</a> always called his wife <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clementine">Clementine</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clemmie">Clemmie</a> on her own was #425 in 1884.Flossie and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Florrie">Florrie</a>—Two adorable twin nicknames for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Florence">Florence</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Flora">Flora</a> dating back to the era of the Bobbsey Twins books, both very popular a century ago—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Flossie">Flossie</a> was once up at #129!<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Doe">Doe</a> –A soft and gentle animal name sometimes used as a nickname for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dorothy">Dorothy</a> or <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Doris">Doris</a>. The Ballad of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Baby">Baby</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Doe">Doe</a> is a modern American opera about a real-life “<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Baby">Baby</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Doe">Doe</a>.”<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Freddie">Freddie</a>—Since <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Frankie">Frankie</a> has already been attached to starbabies, can <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Freddie">Freddie</a> be far behind? Short for both <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Frederica">Frederica</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Winifred">Winifred</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Freddie">Freddie</a> was on the girls’ list until 1981 and could make a return, along with <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Teddy">Teddy</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Georgie">Georgie</a>—The logical diminutive for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Georgia">Georgia</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Georgina">Georgina</a>, et al, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Georgie">Georgie</a> was a common girls’ name in the early 20th century, ranking in the 200 to 400s. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Adam">Adam</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rodriguez">Rodriguez</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Grace">Grace</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gail">Gail</a> named their daughter <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Georgie">Georgie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Daye">Daye</a>, and there was a <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Georgie">Georgie</a> character on Gossip Girl.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ibby">Ibby</a>—There are lots of Elizabeths called <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Libby">Libby</a> and lots of Isabels called <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Izzy">Izzy</a>, but not many modern Ibbys, once in common usage in itself.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lenny">Lenny</a>—An all-purpose diminutive for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lenore">Lenore</a> and other <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Len">Len</a> names, including <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lena">Lena</a>, as in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lena">Lena</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dunham">Dunham</a>, whose website was called <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lenny">Lenny</a> Letter. Old-timers tended to spell it <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lennie">Lennie</a>, hitting a high of 431 in 1904. Not to be confused with the pan-European nickname <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Leni">Leni</a>, used by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Heidi">Heidi</a> Klum for her daughter.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lettie">Lettie</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lottie">Lottie</a>—Two very common nickname names a century ago, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Letty">Letty</a> an offshoot of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Letitia">Letitia</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lottie">Lottie</a> of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charlotte">Charlotte</a>. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lettie">Lettie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mae">Mae</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Thornton">Thornton</a> is a character on <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/True">True</a> Blood and her name is now #812 on Nameberry; the equally charming <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lottie">Lottie</a> is currently #85 in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/England">England</a>, home of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Princess">Princess</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charlotte">Charlotte</a>, and is the middle name of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Isla">Isla</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Fisher">Fisher</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sacha">Sacha</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Baron">Baron</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cohen">Cohen</a>’s daughter <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Elula">Elula</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lula">Lula</a> could easily join <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lulu">Lulu</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Luna">Luna</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lila">Lila</a> et al among the popular 21st century girls’ gang.  It was a Top 50 name in the late 1880s and stayed in the Top 100 into the 20th century. Being chosen by celebs <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Liv">Liv</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tyler">Tyler</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bryan">Bryan</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Adams">Adams</a> could give it some new impetus.  Both novelist <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Carson">Carson</a> McCullers and the fictional <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Holly">Holly</a> Golightly were born <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lula">Lula</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mamie">Mamie</a> –Both saucy and sweet, we think <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mamie">Mamie</a> is a likely candidate to join <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maisie">Maisie</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sadie">Sadie</a>. Once tied to First Lady Eisenhower, we’re more like to think now of rising actress and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Meryl">Meryl</a> Streep daughter <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mamie">Mamie</a> Gummer (born <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mary">Mary</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Willa">Willa</a>). <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mamie">Mamie</a> was in the Top 100 for several early 20th century years, was on the list through 1966.  Short version <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mame">Mame</a> is another possibility.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Melia">Melia</a>—A charming, honey-sweet undiscovered nickname name that has an strong identity of its own.  A shortening of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Amelia">Amelia</a>, it’s been heard in Greek myth, Dickens novels, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mozart">Mozart</a> operas and video games, and is currently popular in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/France">France</a> and Germany.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mitzi">Mitzi</a>—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mitzi">Mitzi</a> originated as a <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/German">German</a> diminutive of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maria">Maria</a>, seeing some US midcentury popularity—it was #430 in 1955– largely influenced by the popularity of musical star <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mitzi">Mitzi</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gaynor">Gaynor</a>. A similar possibility is <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Fritzi">Fritzi</a>, an alternate diminutive for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Frederica">Frederica</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ollie">Ollie</a>—In the service of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olive">Olive</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olivia">Olivia</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Oliver">Oliver</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ollie">Ollie</a> on its own started the 20th century in 113th place, and stayed on the girl list till 1960.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ouisa">Ouisa</a>—Dropping the L from <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Louisa">Louisa</a> gives it an entirely different feel. Many of us heard <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ouisa">Ouisa</a> for the first time in the films <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Steel">Steel</a> Magnolias (spelled Ouiser) and Six Degrees of Separation.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tilda">Tilda</a>—Thanks to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tilda">Tilda</a> Swinton, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tilda">Tilda</a> is a lot more sophisticated nickname for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Matilda">Matilda</a> than <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tillie">Tillie</a>, though we love them both. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tilda">Tilda</a> was on the Top 1000 list in the early decades of the last century<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tillie">Tillie</a>—With <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Millie">Millie</a> up at #355, it’s just a short hop, skip and jump to her cousin <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tillie">Tillie</a>, the more common vintage nickname for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Matilda">Matilda</a>. The <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tilly">Tilly</a> spelling is in the UK Top 100, while <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tillie">Tillie</a> is 677 on NB, after being as high as 175 in the 1880s. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tillie">Tillie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olsen">Olsen</a> is a feminist favorite writer.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Winnie">Winnie</a>—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Winsome">Winsome</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Winnie">Winnie</a>, nickname for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Winifred">Winifred</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Edwina">Edwina</a>, is a sure-fire winner. It ranked on the popularity lists through the early fifties, and has many namesakes aside from Pooh—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Winnie">Winnie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mandela">Mandela</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Winnie">Winnie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cooper">Cooper</a> on The Wonder Years, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Winnie">Winnie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Foster">Foster</a> in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tuck">Tuck</a> Everlasting. The <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jimmy">Jimmy</a> Fallons chose it for their daughter in 2013.A few other past favorites: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Effie">Effie</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Floy">Floy</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Fronie">Fronie</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jettie">Jettie</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jossie">Jossie</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kizzie">Kizzie</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Liddie">Liddie</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lotta">Lotta</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lulie">Lulie</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nelie">Nelie</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sudie">Sudie</a>.

1920paper-doll.jpg

Vintage Girl Nicknames: 20+ great lost choices

Old-fashioned names, if they’re the right choices, are being dusted off and elevated to the height of fashion. Just a few years ago, you might have cringed if the family expected you to name the baby after Great-Aunt <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Martha">Martha</a> or Grandpa Harold.  Today, those old-school names and the others on the list are among the fastest-rising on the <a href="http://ssa.gov/oact/babynames">Social Security list</a>. These are the Olives and Oscars, the Sadies and Silases of tomorrow.<h2>Old-Fashioned Names</h2>Alfred<a href="/babyname/Alfred">Alfred</a> is having a major resurgence in Scandinavia and <a href="/babyname/England">England</a>, and the US is hopping on that bandwagon as well, with <a href="/babyname/Alfred">Alfred</a> leaping 95 places in the past five years on record. A royal name in the UK, <a href="/babyname/Alfred">Alfred</a> has lots of other distinguished namesakes as well, and — big plus — four hip nicknames: <a href="/babyname/Alf">Alf</a> and <a href="/babyname/Alfie">Alfie</a> and <a href="/babyname/Fred">Fred</a> and <a href="/babyname/Freddie">Freddie</a>.Clyde<a href="/babyname/Clyde">Clyde</a> still has a cool-cat image for a name that peaked in the year 1900, bounding up 275 places over the past five years. Basketball great <a href="/babyname/Walt">Walt</a> <a href="/babyname/Frazier">Frazier</a>’s nickname is <a href="/babyname/Clyde">Clyde</a> and <a href="/babyname/Hall">Hall</a> of Famer <a href="/babyname/Clyde">Clyde</a> Drexler was known as <a href="/babyname/Clyde">Clyde</a> the Glide. <a href="/babyname/Catherine">Catherine</a> Keener and <a href="/babyname/Dermot">Dermot</a> Mulroney were ahead of the curve when they used this old-fashioned boys’ name for their son in 1999.Dorothy<a href="/babyname/Dorothy">Dorothy</a>’s not just in Kansas anymore — she’s been growing in popularity across the country, rising over 200 places from 2013-2018. That wide-eyed <a href="/babyname/Wizard">Wizard</a> of <a href="/babyname/Oz">Oz</a> image has managed to keep her somewhat youthful despite being the Number 2 name in 1920 and a <a href="/babyname/Golden">Golden</a> Girl in the 80s. <a href="/babyname/Scarlett">Scarlett</a> Johansson used <a href="/babyname/Dorothy">Dorothy</a> as daughter <a href="/babyname/Rose">Rose</a>’s middle name.Faye<a href="/babyname/Faye">Faye</a> reentered the Top 1000 in 2014 — after being <a href="/babyname/MIA">MIA</a> for 35 years! (And sister <a href="/babyname/Fay">Fay</a> has been off even longer). <a href="/babyname/Faye">Faye</a> may be slipstreaming along behind the new popularity of <a href="/babyname/May">May</a>/<a href="/babyname/Mae">Mae</a>, or might have received a bounce from being a Mad Men character or — here’s a thought — because everyone loves <a href="/babyname/Tina">Tina</a> <a href="/babyname/Fey">Fey</a>.FrancesSweet, gentle <a href="/babyname/Frances">Frances</a> is definitely on the upswing, gaining almost 250 places in the past five years. She’s become a celebrity fave, chosen by such stylish parents as the late designer <a href="/babyname/Kate">Kate</a> Spade, actress <a href="/babyname/Amanda">Amanda</a> Peet — who opted for fresher, spunkier, nickname <a href="/babyname/Frankie">Frankie</a> over the more dated <a href="/babyname/Fran">Fran</a>, and the <a href="/babyname/Jimmy">Jimmy</a> Fallons, who call their <a href="/babyname/Frances">Frances</a> <a href="/babyname/Franny">Franny</a>.HaroldThe popularity of nickname <a href="/babyname/Harry">Harry</a> has rubbed off on one of its more formal forms. <a href="/babyname/Harold">Harold</a> has many distinguished namesakes, including two British PMs and playwright Pinter; kids might relate to <a href="/babyname/Harold">Harold</a> the helicopter in <a href="/babyname/Thomas">Thomas</a> the Tank Engine and the classic <a href="/babyname/Harold">Harold</a> and the Purple Crayon. Greta Gerwig recently named her son Harold, and it’s the middle name of Jenna Bush Hager’s son Henry (called Hal). <a href="/babyname/Harold">Harold</a> was up 96 places from 2013-2018.HughThe roster of attractive current high-profile Hughs — including Jackman, <a href="/babyname/Grant">Grant</a>, <a href="/babyname/Laurie">Laurie</a>, and Dancy — has probably contributed to the resurgence of this sophisticated one-syllable name. <a href="/babyname/Hugh">Hugh</a> moved up 30 places in 2018.MarthaThe first First Lady’s name has always had a rather prim image, but the new generation of parents are beginning to appreciate her traditional, can-do <a href="/babyname/Martha">Martha</a> <a href="/babyname/Stewart">Stewart</a> virtues, while the Beatles made it endearing in the song ‘<a href="/babyname/Martha">Martha</a>, My Dear.” The name has hovered around the 800th spot since 2013.OttoIs <a href="/babyname/Otto">Otto</a> the new <a href="/babyname/Oscar">Oscar</a>? It’s a palindrome name with trendy O’s at the start and finish and is climbing each year — it currently sits at Number 430, but it didn’t even break the Top 1000 a decade ago. <a href="/babyname/Otto">Otto</a>’s popularity is even greater on Nameberry —the Berries have it at Number 96. <a href="/babyname/Daniel">Daniel</a> Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, chose it for his son.RalphAfter a decades-long downturn, Ralph is finally on the up-and-up. It was a Top 50 pick from the 1880s through the 1940s, but enough time has passed that Ralph is beginning to feel fresh and charming again. It is currently ranked at Number 951. The nickname Ralphie calls to mind the classic holiday movie A Christmas Story.RamonaRamona is back, and it’s about time — the name peaked in the 1920s, so according to the 100 Year Rule, this is the decade Ramona should reemerge. Right now Ramona is ranked at Number 835, but it’s rising quickly. It’s a popular starbaby name, having been chosen by Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard for their daughter in 2006, and then in 2019 by Ryan Lewis, as well as Margo Price and Jeremy Ivey.RheaRhea has experienced exponential growth since its return to the Top 1000 in 2015. It’s climbed almost 100 spots each year and sits at Number 761 in the official 2018 data. In Greek mythology, Rhea is the mother of all the gods — it also may remind you of Cheers actress Rhea Perlman. Rosalyn<a href="/babyname/Rosalyn">Rosalyn</a> remained in the Top 1000 for the first 80 years of the 20th century, only to drop from sight….until 2014. A modernized version of the classic <a href="/babyname/Rosalind">Rosalind</a>, <a href="/babyname/Rosalyn">Rosalyn</a>‘s reemergence owes something to the style for lyn-ending names, such as <a href="/babyname/Brooklyn">Brooklyn</a> and <a href="/babyname/Evelyn">Evelyn</a>. In 2018, the last year on record, Rosalyn ranked at Number 868.Vera<a href="/babyname/Vera">Vera</a> firmly established herself as a Top 300 name in 2017, and it will likely break the Top 250 when the 2019 data comes out. It is even more popular in Spain, <a href="/babyname/Sweden">Sweden</a>, and the Netherlands. Designer <a href="/babyname/Vera">Vera</a> Wang and Ukrainian-born actress <a href="/babyname/Vera">Vera</a> Famiga are current bearers. And it’s the birth name of both <a href="/babyname/Jayne">Jayne</a> <a href="/babyname/Mansfield">Mansfield</a> and <a href="/babyname/Mindy">Mindy</a> Kaling.WallaceYou may not have met any baby Wallaces yet, but trust us, you will. It rose 144 spots from 2017 to 2018, now ranking at Number 879. If it continues on that trajectory, there are going to be a lot more little boys named Wallace around. It’s connected to modernist poet Wallace Stevens, actor Wallace Shawn, and the claymation series Wallace &amp; Gromit. Retro nickname Wally only adds to the appeal.WarrenPresidential name <a href="/babyname/Warren">Warren</a>, which peaked in popularity in 1921, the year of <a href="/babyname/Harding">Harding</a>’s inauguration, is suddenly back in play, both here and, strangely enough, in <a href="/babyname/France">France</a>. There have been X-Men and <a href="/babyname/Buffy">Buffy</a> the Vampire Slayer <a href="/babyname/Warren">Warren</a> characters. Iconoclastic financier <a href="/babyname/Warren">Warren</a> Buffet could be an inspiration. <a href="/babyname/Warren">Warren</a> was up 141 places in the past five years.WatsonWatson was the fifth fastest-rising boy name of 2018, jumping over 300 places and back into the Top 1000 at Number 711. It has a distinguished, intellectual image thanks to associations with IBM’s Watson computer — named after IBM founder Thomas Watson — and Dr. John Watson, Sherlock Holmes’s brainy partner. ZoraZora fell out of the Top 1000 in 1940 but has staged a 21st-century comeback, making her reappearance in 2018 at Number 982. And it’s no surprise, given the recent success of similar names Nora and Cora. Zora is often tied to author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance.

Stocksy_txp94f24718Sfn200_Small_1110259.jpg

Old-Fashioned Names Are New Again

It all started with <a href="/babyname/Emily">Emily</a>, this current passion for names beginning with <a href="/babyname/Em">Em</a>. When <a href="/babyname/Emily">Emily</a> became the #1 girl name in 1996, ending the 25-year reign of <a href="/babyname/Jennifer">Jennifer</a>, <a href="/babyname/Jessica">Jessica</a> and <a href="/babyname/Ashley">Ashley</a>, it officially inaugurated the <a href="/babyname/Era">Era</a> of <a href="/babyname/Em">Em</a>.<a href="/babyname/Emily">Emily</a> was a perfect name for the 90s – strong, feminine, vintage but not Victorian valentine. A classic, it has been a constant presence on the <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/index.html">US popularity charts</a> since baby name data was first recorded in the late 19th century, and the lowest it ever dipped was to #273 in 1962.But when <a href="/babyname/Emily">Emily</a> became epidemic – with close to three million of them born in the ten-year period between 1996 and 2006 (not counting the multitude of variant spellings) – parents began to picture their potential <a href="/babyname/Emily">Emily</a> as one of four in her class, and started seeking a substitute.Enter <a href="/babyname/Emma">Emma</a>. Already staging an impressive comeback from outside the Top 100 in 1992 to inside the Top 20 in 2000, <a href="/babyname/Emma">Emma</a> received a further big boost in 2002 when the writers of Friends chose it for the most eagerly awaited fictional baby of the decade.Now five years in the #1 spot, <a href="/babyname/Emma">Emma</a> is joined by five other <a href="/babyname/Em">Em</a> names – <a href="/babyname/Emily">Emily</a>, <a href="/babyname/Emilia">Emilia</a>, <a href="/babyname/Emery">Emery</a>, <a href="/babyname/Emerson">Emerson</a> and <a href="/babyname/Emersyn">Emersyn</a> – in the <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular_names/US">Top 150 baby names for girls</a>, as well as <a href="/babyname/Emmett">Emmett</a> (another pop culture hit, this time from <a href="/babyname/Twilight">Twilight</a>) in the <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular_names/US">Top 150 for boys</a>.<h2>Unusual ‘<a href="/babyname/Em">Em</a>’ <a href="/babyname/Baby">Baby</a> Names</h2>If you love the warm, friendly <a href="/babyname/Em">Em</a> sound but not the popularity of the most obvious candidates, don’t despair! There’s still a wealth of uncommon alternatives to consider – ranging from <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/20/Antique-Baby-Names-Ready-for-Restoration">underused traditional names</a> like <a href="/babyname/Emmeline">Emmeline</a> and <a href="/babyname/Emmanuel">Emmanuel</a>, to <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/unique-international-baby-names">undiscovered international gems</a> like <a href="/babyname/Emiko">Emiko</a> and <a href="/babyname/Emirhan">Emirhan</a>.Some of these intriguing <a href="/babyname/Em">Em</a> names have a long history of use in their places of origin, but remain little known elsewhere. <a href="/babyname/Emer">Emer</a> (also spelled <a href="/babyname/Eimear">Eimear</a>, meaning “swift”) is a name from Irish legend, wife of the warrior hero Cúchulainn, which has proved consistently popular in <a href="/babyname/Ireland">Ireland</a>. And fellow mythological name <a href="/babyname/Embla">Embla</a> “elm”, the first woman in Norse legend, is in Iceland’s Top 10 and rising fast in <a href="/babyname/Sweden">Sweden</a>.On the boys’ side, <a href="/babyname/Emre">Emre</a> “friend” is one of the most popular Turkish male names, a Top 10 choice there from 1990 to 2004, and just outside the Top 50 today. And the <a href="/babyname/West">West</a> African name <a href="/babyname/Emeka">Emeka</a> “great deeds” is commonly used both on its own and as a short form of another popular Igbo name, <a href="/babyname/Chukwuemeka">Chukwuemeka</a> “God has done something great”.Here is a selection of interesting and unusual <a href="/babyname/Em">Em</a> baby names which can still surprise!<h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">Girl Names</a></h2><a href="/babyname/Emani">Emani</a><a href="/babyname/Emanaia">Emanaia</a><a href="/babyname/Emberly">Emberly</a><a href="/babyname/Embeth">Embeth</a><a href="/babyname/Embla">Embla</a><a href="/babyname/Emblyn">Emblyn</a><a href="/babyname/Emebet">Emebet</a><a href="/babyname/Emel">Emel</a><a href="/babyname/Emelda">Emelda</a><a href="/babyname/Emelisse">Emelisse</a><a href="/babyname/Emeliz">Emeliz</a><a href="/babyname/Emony">Emony</a><a href="/babyname/Emer">Emer</a><a href="/babyname/Emerald">Emerald</a><a href="/babyname/Emeraude">Emeraude</a><a href="/babyname/Emerence">Emerence</a><a href="/babyname/Emerentine">Emerentine</a><a href="/babyname/Emeria">Emeria</a><a href="/babyname/Emi">Emi</a><a href="/babyname/Emidia">Emidia</a><a href="/babyname/Emiko">Emiko</a><a href="/babyname/Emina">Emina</a><a href="/babyname/Emmanuelle">Emmanuelle</a><a href="/babyname/Emme">Emme</a><a href="/babyname/Emmeline">Emmeline</a><a href="/babyname/Empar">Empar</a><a href="/babyname/Emunah">Emunah</a><a href="/babyname/Emzara">Emzara</a><h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">Boy Names</a></h2><a href="/babyname/Emathion">Emathion</a><a href="/babyname/Embry">Embry</a><a href="/babyname/Emeka">Emeka</a><a href="/babyname/Emereo">Emereo</a><a href="/babyname/Emeric">Emeric</a><a href="/babyname/Emeril">Emeril</a><a href="/babyname/Emersby">Emersby</a><a href="/babyname/Emeteri">Emeteri</a><a href="/babyname/Emeth">Emeth</a><a href="/babyname/Emidio">Emidio</a><a href="/babyname/Emiland">Emiland</a><a href="/babyname/Emile">Emile</a><a href="/babyname/Emilian">Emilian</a><a href="/babyname/Emin">Emin</a><a href="/babyname/Emirhan">Emirhan</a><a href="/babyname/Emlyn">Emlyn</a><a href="/babyname/Emmanuel">Emmanuel</a><a href="/babyname/Emmaus">Emmaus</a><a href="/babyname/Emmon">Emmon</a><a href="/babyname/Empedion">Empedion</a><a href="/babyname/Emre">Emre</a><a href="/babyname/Emron">Emron</a><a href="/babyname/Emry">Emry</a><a href="/babyname/Emrys">Emrys</a><a href="/babyname/Emyr">Emyr</a><a href="/babyname/Emzar">Emzar</a>What are your favorite surprising <a href="/babyname/Em">Em</a> baby names for boys and girls? Tell us below!

Stocksy_txp9d772e75OIn200_Small_2691186.jpg

Em Baby Names Still Surprise!

Four syllable baby names are experiencing a surprise resurgence in the US, despite the preponderance of short, sweet picks at the top of international popularity charts.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Long">Long</a> and lovely choices like <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olivia">Olivia</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Isabella">Isabella</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alexander">Alexander</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sebastian">Sebastian</a> already rank in the <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular_names/US">Top 20 baby names in the US</a>. Other popular four syllable names like <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Penelope">Penelope</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Valentina">Valentina</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ezekiel">Ezekiel</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Santiago">Santiago</a> are rising rapidly up the Top 100 list.Maybe it has something to do with <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Harry">Harry</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Potter">Potter</a> attuning our ears to long, elaborate names like Xenophilius and Nymphadora. (Well… OK, maybe the world’s not quite ready for those just yet!)Or perhaps parents are gravitating towards longer first names to balance out a short surname. After all, recent research has revealed that 8 out of 10 of the <a href="https://digg.com/2019/the-most-common-last-names-in-every-country-mapped">most common surnames in the US</a> today are only one or two syllables long.Today, we take a look at the best popular and unique four syllable names for girls and boys, split into four tiers to suit all tastes.Which group fits your style best? And which four syllable baby names are your favorites?<h2>Fashionable Names with Four Syllables</h2>The <a href="/list/752/four-syllable-baby-names">top four-syllable names</a>, widely popular or rising fast on the popularity charts, include the following stylish choices.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Adelina">Adelina</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Anastasia">Anastasia</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Arabella">Arabella</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Catalina">Catalina</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cecilia">Cecilia</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Eliana">Eliana</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Evangeline">Evangeline</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Octavia">Octavia</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Penelope">Penelope</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Xiomara">Xiomara</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Azariah">Azariah</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cornelius">Cornelius</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Emilio">Emilio</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ezekiel">Ezekiel</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jedidiah">Jedidiah</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Leonardo">Leonardo</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Santiago">Santiago</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sebastian">Sebastian</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Valentino">Valentino</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zachariah">Zachariah</a><h2>Uncommon Traditional Four Syllable Names</h2>If you’re looking for a four syllable name with history, which feels familiar but not overused, one of these long and lovely choices could suit.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Antonina">Antonina</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cordelia">Cordelia</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Domenica">Domenica</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Felicity">Felicity</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Georgiana">Georgiana</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ilaria">Ilaria</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Julietta">Julietta</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Leonora">Leonora</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Raphaela">Raphaela</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Virginia">Virginia</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ambrosio">Ambrosio</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Aloysius">Aloysius</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Eleazar">Eleazar</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Eliseo">Eliseo</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Emmanuel">Emmanuel</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Federico">Federico</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Montgomery">Montgomery</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nehemiah">Nehemiah</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olivier">Olivier</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zebediah">Zebediah</a>**<h2>Cool and Quirky Four Syllable Names</h2>Stylish four syllable names which feel quirky, but not too crazy, include several cool choices already starting to gain attention from adventurous baby namers.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Amaryllis">Amaryllis</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Calliope">Calliope</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Esperanza">Esperanza</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Isadora">Isadora</a>Lilavati<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mahalia">Mahalia</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olympia">Olympia</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rosario">Rosario</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Seraphina">Seraphina</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Valencia">Valencia</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Aurelian">Aurelian</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ebenezer">Ebenezer</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Horatio">Horatio</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Indiana">Indiana</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Leonidas">Leonidas</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nicodemus">Nicodemus</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Obadiah">Obadiah</a>Oleander<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Timoteo">Timoteo</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zephaniah">Zephaniah</a><h2>Big and Bold Four-Syllable Names</h2>These unique and unconventional four-syllable baby names are certain to stand out from the crowd!<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Antigone">Antigone</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Araluen">Araluen</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cleopatra">Cleopatra</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Endellion">Endellion</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Iolanthe">Iolanthe</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/January">January</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Persephone">Persephone</a>Stellamaris<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tigerlily">Tigerlily</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zenobia">Zenobia</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Amadeus">Amadeus</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Barthelemy">Barthelemy</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cerulean">Cerulean</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Endymion">Endymion</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Galileo">Galileo</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Geronimo">Geronimo</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hiawatha">Hiawatha</a>**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Huckleberry">Huckleberry</a>**Jerusalem**<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Thelonious">Thelonious</a>To read next:<a href="https://nameberry.com/userlist/view/10418">Best Four Syllable Middle Names for Girls</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/list/751/four-syllable-names-for-boys">Four Syllable Names for Boys</a>

Stocksy_txpd0d834fexbc200_Small_1006781.jpg

Four Syllable Baby Names Hot Right Now

Black history names include the extraordinary names of extraordinary achievers.African-American history is full of the (interesting) names of people who have made breakthroughs by being the first to achieve something, whether it be in the arena of government, Civil Rights, scholarship, the professions, sports or the arts. It’s sobering to see how recently some of these firsts occurred.Here are some outstanding Black history names:<h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">Girl Names</a></h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alexia">Alexia</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Canada">Canada</a> — first female African-American neurosurgeon (1984)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Althea">Althea</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gibson">Gibson</a> — first Black player to win a major tennis title (1956) and first Black woman to play on the Ladies PGA golf tour (1964)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Aretha">Aretha</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Franklin">Franklin</a> — first Black woman inducted into the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rock">Rock</a> ‘n’ <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Roll">Roll</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hall">Hall</a> of Fame (1986)Aulana Peters — first Black woman appointed to the Securities and Exchange Commission (1984)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bessie">Bessie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Coleman">Coleman</a> — first Black woman aviator (1921)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Biddy">Biddy</a> Mason — first known Black female property owner in L.A. (1866)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Camilla">Camilla</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Williams">Williams</a> — first Black woman to sing with the New <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/York">York</a> City <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Opera">Opera</a> (1945)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charlotta">Charlotta</a> Bass — considered the first Black woman newspaper publisher (1912), and the first African-American to run for vice-president (1952)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Condoleezza">Condoleezza</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rice">Rice</a> – first female head of the National Security <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Council">Council</a> (2001), first Black woman Secretary of State (2005)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Constance">Constance</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Baker">Baker</a> Motley — first Black woman federal judge (1966)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cora">Cora</a> M. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Brown">Brown</a> — first Black woman in the US to be elected to a state senate (1952)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Della">Della</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Reese">Reese</a> — first Black woman to host a TV variety show (1969)Euzham Palcy — first Black woman director of a feature film for a major studio (1989)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dorothea">Dorothea</a> Towles — first professional Black female model (1949)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dorothy">Dorothy</a> Dandridge — first Black woman nominated for an <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Oscar">Oscar</a> in a leading role (1955)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ella">Ella</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Fitzgerald">Fitzgerald</a> — first Black woman to win a Grammy (1959)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gwendolyn">Gwendolyn</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Stewart">Stewart</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/King">King</a> — first Black woman commissioner of Social Security (1989)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hazel">Hazel</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Johnson">Johnson</a> — first Black female army general (1979)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hazel">Hazel</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Scott">Scott</a> — first Black entertainer to host her own TV show (1950)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ida">Ida</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rollins">Rollins</a> — the first Black woman dentist (1890)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jewel">Jewel</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Plummer">Plummer</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cobb">Cobb</a> — the first Black woman president of a <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/California">California</a> State University (1981)Joycelyn (born Minnie) Elders — the first Black female Surgeon General of the U.S. (1993)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Katherine">Katherine</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dunham">Dunham</a> — first Black choreographer to work at the Metropolitan <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Opera">Opera</a> House (1963)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lorraine">Lorraine</a> Hansberry — first African-American to win the NY <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Drama">Drama</a> Critics Award (1959)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lucy">Lucy</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ann">Ann</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Stanton">Stanton</a> — the first Black woman college graduate (1850)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maggie">Maggie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lena">Lena</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Walker">Walker</a> — first Black woman bank president (1903)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mamie">Mamie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Smith">Smith</a> — first Black woman to make a recording (1920)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Marvel">Marvel</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jackson">Jackson</a> Cooke — first full-time Black reporter on a mainstream paper (1950)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maude">Maude</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rutherford">Rutherford</a> — dancer who first introduced the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charleston">Charleston</a> on Broadway (1922)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maya">Maya</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Angelou">Angelou</a> (born <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Marguerite">Marguerite</a>) — first Black woman to have a nonfiction bestseller (1970); first Black inaugural poet (1993)Michelle Obama — first African-American first lady (2009)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Minnie">Minnie</a> M. Geddings Cox — first Black US postmistress (1891)Minyon <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Moore">Moore</a> — first Black woman political director of the National Democratic Committee (1995)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Octavia">Octavia</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Butler">Butler</a> — the first published female Black science fiction writer (1976)Oprah Winfrey — first Black woman to host a nationally syndicated weekday talk show (1986)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Otelia">Otelia</a> Cromwell — first Black woman to graduate from <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Smith">Smith</a> College (1900)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Phillis">Phillis</a> Wheatley (pictured) — published the first book of poetry by an African-American (1773)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Susie">Susie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/King">King</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Taylor">Taylor</a> — first Black army nurse (1863)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Toni">Toni</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Morrison">Morrison</a> — first African-American to win the Nobel Prize for literature (1993)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zina">Zina</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Garrison">Garrison</a> — first Black Olympic winner in tennis (1988)<h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">Boy Names</a></h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alexander">Alexander</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lucius">Lucius</a> Twilight — first known Black graduate from an American college (1823)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Arsenio">Arsenio</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hall">Hall</a> — first Black host of a talk show on national TV (1989)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Asa">Asa</a> T. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Spalding">Spalding</a> — the first Black actuary in the U.S. (1932)Atoy <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wilson">Wilson</a> — first Black American ice skater to win a figure skating title (1966)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/August">August</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wilson">Wilson</a> — first Black American to have two plays running on Broadway (1985)Azie <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Taylor">Taylor</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Morton">Morton</a> — first Black treasurer of the United States (1977)Barack Obama — first African-American president of the United States (2009)Booker T. Washington — first president of Tuskegee Institute (1881), first Black guest to dine at the White House (1901), first Black person on a US stamp (1940) and coin (1946)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Briton">Briton</a> Hammon — wrote the first known slave autobiography (1760)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Coleman">Coleman</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Young">Young</a> — Detroit’s first Black mayor (1973)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Colin">Colin</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Powell">Powell</a> — the first Black National Security Advisor (1987), chairman of the Joint Chiefs of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Staff">Staff</a> (1989), Secretary of State (2001)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cornelius">Cornelius</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Johnson">Johnson</a> — set an Olympic high jump record (1936)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/crispus">Crispus</a> Attucks — Crispus Attucks, a stevedore who was Black and Native American, was the first person killed in the Revolutionary War.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Derrick">Derrick</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Albert">Albert</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bell">Bell</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jr">Jr</a> — first Black law professor at <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Harvard">Harvard</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Law">Law</a> School (1969)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ebenezer">Ebenezer</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Don">Don</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Carlo">Carlo</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bassett">Bassett</a> — the first African-American diplomat (1869)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Emmett">Emmett</a> Ashford — first Black umpire in the major leagues (1966)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gordon">Gordon</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Parks">Parks</a> — first Black photojournalist on Life staff (1949)Guion <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Stewart">Stewart</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bluford">Bluford</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jr">Jr</a> — the first Black American to make a space flight<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hiram">Hiram</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rhodes">Rhodes</a> Revels — first African-American U.S. senator (1870)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jacob">Jacob</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lawrence">Lawrence</a> — first Black artist represented by a New <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/York">York</a> gallery (1941)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jupiter">Jupiter</a> Hammon — first African-American published writer (1760)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kobe">Kobe</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bryant">Bryant</a> — at 18, the youngest basketballer to play with the NBA—(1996)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Langston">Langston</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hughes">Hughes</a> — wrote the first play by an African-American to be a Broadway hit (1935)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lemuel">Lemuel</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Haynes">Haynes</a> — first Black person to receive an honorary degree in the US (1804)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Levi">Levi</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jackson">Jackson</a> — first Black football captain at <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Yale">Yale</a> (1948)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lincoln">Lincoln</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Perry">Perry</a> (aka Stepin Fetchit) — the first Black actor to receive feature billing in movies (1926)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lionel">Lionel</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hampton">Hampton</a> — first Black musician to play at a presidential inauguration (1949)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lloyd">Lloyd</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Richards">Richards</a> — first Black director of a play on Broadway (1959)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lucas">Lucas</a> Santomee — first trained Black physician in New <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Amsterdam">Amsterdam</a> (1667)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Macon">Macon</a> B. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Allen">Allen</a> — first African-American admitted to the bar in any state (1845)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mordecai">Mordecai</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Johnson">Johnson</a> — first Black president of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Howard">Howard</a> University (1926)Moses Fleetwood Walker — first Black player in major league baseball (1881)Pinckney <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Benton">Benton</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Stewart">Stewart</a> Pinchback — first Black governor of any state (1872)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rafer">Rafer</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Johnson">Johnson</a> — first Black person to carry an American flag at an Olympic event (1960)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rojo">Rojo</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Black">Black</a> — first Black auto racer (1923)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Roscoe">Roscoe</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Robinson">Robinson</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jr">Jr</a> — first US Black four-star general (1982)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Salem">Salem</a> Poor — first Black soldier to win a battle commendation (1775)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Satchel">Satchel</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Paige">Paige</a> (born <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Leroy">Leroy</a>) – first Black baseball player to pitch in a World Series game (1948)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sidney">Sidney</a> Poitier — first African-American to win the Best Actor <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Oscar">Oscar</a> (1963)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Simeon">Simeon</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Booker">Booker</a> — first full-time African-American reporter on the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Washington">Washington</a> Post (1952)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Solomon">Solomon</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Carter">Carter</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Fuller">Fuller</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jr">Jr</a> — the nation’s first Black psychiatrist (1897)Spottswood <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Robinson">Robinson</a> — the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Court">Court</a> of Appeals’ first Black judge (1966)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Theophilos">Theophilos</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Thompson">Thompson</a> — earliest documented Black American chess expert (1800s)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Thomy">Thomy</a> Lafon — considered the first Black millionaire (1890)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Thurgood">Thurgood</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Marshall">Marshall</a> — first Black US solicitor general (1965), first Black Supreme <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Court">Court</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Justice">Justice</a> (1967) and first Black Cabinet secretary (1997)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wynton">Wynton</a> Marsalis — first jazz artist to win a Pulitzer Prize (1997)There are of course hundreds of other barrier-breakers, who just happened to have more common names.  To find out more, I recommend the book <a href="http://www.visibleinkpress.com/t6/Black-Firsts-4000-Ground_Breaking-and-Pioneering-Events-2nd-Edition">Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events</a> by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jessie">Jessie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Carney">Carney</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Smith">Smith</a>.<h3>You might also want to explore:</h3><a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/black-history-na…american-artists">African-American artist names</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/black-history-names-amazing-women-athletes">Black female athlete names</a>

black-history-names-phillis-wheatley.jpg

Black History Names: Barrier Breakers

Are those celebrity middle names or celebrity first names?In case you don’t think the middle name choice is an important one, just take a look at the startling number of celebrities who have opted for using their <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/673/middle-names">middle names</a> in lieu of the first name on their birth certificates! Some have dropped a ho-hum common in favor of a more dramatic middle, others, to avoid confusion, have shed a name shared with their parent.To begin with, there have been five US Presidents who have made the first-middle name switch:<h2>Famous <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/673/middle-names">Middle Names</a></h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hiram">Hiram</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ulysses">Ulysses</a> S. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Grant">Grant</a>—At 17, when entering <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/West">West</a> Point, his name was mistakenly written as <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ulysses">Ulysses</a> S. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Grant">Grant</a> and he apparently was happy to lose the HUG initials. The S was for his mother’s maiden name, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Simpson">Simpson</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Stephen">Stephen</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Grover">Grover</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cleveland">Cleveland</a>—named <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Stephen">Stephen</a> in honor of the first pastor of his father’s church, but always called <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Grover">Grover</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Thomas">Thomas</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Woodrow">Woodrow</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wilson">Wilson</a>—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Woodrow">Woodrow</a> was his mother’s maiden name—he dropped <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Thomas">Thomas</a> after graduating from college<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/John">John</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Calvin">Calvin</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Coolidge">Coolidge</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jr">Jr</a>—he named his children <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/John">John</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Coolidge">Coolidge</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Calvin">Calvin</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Coolidge">Coolidge</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jr">Jr</a>—covering all his bases<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/David">David</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dwight">Dwight</a> Eisenhower—his father was also <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/David">David</a>, so his mother reversed the two names after his birth to avoid the confusion of having two Davids; the president’s grandson inherited the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/David">David</a> name.Some other older examples:<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Eldred">Eldred</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gregory">Gregory</a> Peck—his father was <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gregory">Gregory</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Pearl">Pearl</a>—the actor definitely made the best pick of the lot<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Samuel">Samuel</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dashiell">Dashiell</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hammett">Hammett</a>—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dashiell">Dashiell</a> was his mother’s maiden name, he was known as <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sam">Sam</a> (as in his character <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sam">Sam</a> Spade) before he began writing under the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dashiell">Dashiell</a> name (and then nicknamed <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dash">Dash</a>).<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Pearl">Pearl</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zane">Zane</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Grey">Grey</a>—born in Zanesville, Ohio, named for his great-grandfather, to a mother whose maiden name was <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zane">Zane</a>; he dropped the feminine <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Pearl">Pearl</a> early on<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/George">George</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Orson">Orson</a> Welles—he was named after his great-uncle <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/George">George</a> Head and great-grandfather <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Orson">Orson</a> H. Head; the future Citizen <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kane">Kane</a>-maker opted for the more distinctive nameBoys who dropped their Daddies’ names:<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charles">Charles</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Robert">Robert</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Redford">Redford</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jr">Jr</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Christopher">Christopher</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Chace">Chace</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Crawford">Crawford</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Daniel">Daniel</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jason">Jason</a> Sudeikis<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/George">George</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alex">Alex</a>ander Trebek<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/James">James</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Paul">Paul</a> McCartney–the name was passed on to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Paul">Paul</a>‘s only son, making it a three-generation tradition<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Michael">Michael</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Trent">Trent</a> Reznor<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Monroe">Monroe</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jackson">Jackson</a> Rathbone V—MJR II was the head of Standard Oil, MJR V is also related to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Stonewall">Stonewall</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jackson">Jackson</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Basil">Basil</a> RathboneTroyal <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Garth">Garth</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Brooks">Brooks</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/William">William</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Brad">Brad</a>ley <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Pitt">Pitt</a> (The two <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/William">William</a> Pitts shown in the illustration)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/William">William</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clark">Clark</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gable">Gable</a>—he was named after his father, but was called <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clark">Clark</a>—the maiden name of his maternal grandmother– even in childhood, as well as Clarkie, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Billy">Billy</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gabe">Gabe</a>.Other Boys<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Allen">Allen</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kelsey">Kelsey</a> Grammer<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Aubrey">Aubrey</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Drake">Drake</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Graham">Graham</a>—the future rapper used the name <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Aubrey">Aubrey</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Graham">Graham</a> when he acted in Degrassi: The Next Generation.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Christopher">Christopher</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ashton">Ashton</a> Kutcher<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clarke">Clarke</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Issac">Issac</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hanson">Hanson</a>—using middles as firsts is something of a <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hanson">Hanson</a> family tradition (see <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jordan">Jordan</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Taylor">Taylor</a>). And <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Isaac">Isaac</a> carries on the convention with his sons <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clarke">Clarke</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Everett">Everett</a>, called <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Everett">Everett</a>, and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/James">James</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Monroe">Monroe</a>, called <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Monroe">Monroe</a>. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clarke">Clarke</a> is the name of the father of the clan.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/David">David</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jude">Jude</a> Heyworth <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Law">Law</a>—the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jude">Jude</a> was for both <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jude_the_Obscure">Jude the Obscure</a> and ‘Hey, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jude">Jude</a>’<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/James">James</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hugh">Hugh</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Calum">Calum</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Laurie">Laurie</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/John">John</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Will">Will</a>iam <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ferrell">Ferrell</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jordan">Jordan</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Taylor">Taylor</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hanson">Hanson</a>—his oldest child is named <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jordan">Jordan</a> but, of course, called by his middle, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ezra">Ezra</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Matthew">Matthew</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ryan">Ryan</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Phillippe">Phillippe</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Michael">Michael</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sylvester">Sylvester</a> Gardenzio Stallone<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Milton">Milton</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/French">French</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Stewart">Stewart</a>—he is the fourth generation of his family to wear the name <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/French">French</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Philip">Philip</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Anthony">Anthony</a> Hopkins<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Thomas">Thomas</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jacob">Jacob</a> (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jack">Jack</a>) <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Black">Black</a>—named his son <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Thomas">Thomas</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/David">David</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Black">Black</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Thomas">Thomas</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sean">Sean</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Connery">Connery</a>—he was called <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sean">Sean</a> as a lad when he had a close Irish friend and the pair became known as <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Seamus">Seamus</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sean">Sean</a>, though he was usually called <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tommy">Tommy</a>. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Thomas">Thomas</a> was his grandfather’s name.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Walter">Walter</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bruce">Bruce</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Willis">Willis</a>Girls<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Audrey">Audrey</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Faith">Faith</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hill">Hill</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dorothy">Dorothy</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Faye">Faye</a> Dunaway<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Elizabeth">Elizabeth</a> Stamatina <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Fey">Fey</a>—you have to wonder if she was ever called <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Liz">Liz</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Elizabeth">Elizabeth</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tea">Tea</a> PantaleoniGeetali <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Norah">Norah</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jones">Jones</a> Shankar—she changed her name to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Norah">Norah</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jones">Jones</a> officially at the age of sixteen<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hannah">Hannah</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dakota">Dakota</a> Fanning<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Katherine">Katherine</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mathilda">Mathilda</a> (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tilda">Tilda</a>) Swinton<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kathryn">Kathryn</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bridget">Bridget</a> Moynahan<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Laura">Laura</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jeanne">Jeanne</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Reese">Reese</a> Witherspoon—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Reese">Reese</a> is her mother’s maiden<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lila">Lila</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Diane">Diane</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sawyer">Sawyer</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mary">Mary</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Elle">Elle</a> Fanning—followed in her sister <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dakota">Dakota</a>’s name-changing footsteps<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mary">Mary</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kathleen">Kathleen</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Turner">Turner</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mary">Mary</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rose">Rose</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Byrne">Byrne</a>—these three are among many who have dropped the name <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mary">Mary</a>Mayte <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Michelle">Michelle</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rodriguez">Rodriguez</a>—Mayte is a variation of Maite, originally a contraction of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maria">Maria</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Teresa">Teresa</a>, and currently Number 24 in Chile<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nicole">Nicole</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Evangeline">Evangeline</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lilly">Lilly</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olive">Olive</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Marie">Marie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Osmond">Osmond</a>—her mother is <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olive">Olive</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/May">May</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Robyn">Robyn</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rihanna">Rihanna</a> Fenry

middlefirst.jpg

Celebrity Middle Names First

Saints’ names can be surprisingly unusual and distinctive for modern babies. There are some of those appellations of saints that would be familiar to most person independent of religion, from St. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Francis">Francis</a> to St. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/John">John</a> to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Santa">Santa</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maria">Maria</a>. But there are others whose names don’t conjure up their religiosity quite so directly.Here are 16 spiritual but stylish—and often somewhat surprising— saints’ names for baby girls and boys.<h2>SURPRISING <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/481/Saints-Names-for-Girls">SAINTS NAMES FOR GIRLS</a></h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/CALLIOPE">CALLIOPE</a>—This boldly creative, musical name (it means “beautiful voice”) entered the <a href="https://ssa.gov/OACT/babynames">US Top 1000</a> in 2016 and is now at #807. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Patricia">Patricia</a> Arquette used it as one of her daughter <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Harlow">Harlow</a>’s middle names and it’s been heard on a number of TV shows.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/INGRID">INGRID</a>—A Scandinavian import, long associated with the luminous Swedish-born superstar <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ingrid">Ingrid</a> Bergman, that is now just inside the US Top 1000 and #15 in Norway.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/LELIA">LELIA</a>—One of the loveliest of the double-L names now so trendy, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lelia">Lelia</a> is a variation of an ancient <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Roman">Roman</a> name, and the title of a popular 1833 romantic novel by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/George">George</a> Sand. It was in the Top 100 a century ago and we think it deserves a place in the modern world.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ODILE">ODILE</a>—Familiar as the name of a <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Swan">Swan</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lake">Lake</a> twin, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Odile">Odile</a> has a smooth, sensuous, balletic charm. The 8th century <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/French">French</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odile_of_Alsace">Saint Odile</a> is the patron of Alsace.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/SOLANGE">SOLANGE</a>—This soft, sophisticated <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/French">French</a> name is much more usable than that of Ms. Knowles’ older sister Beyoncé. The martyred <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Saint">Saint</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Solange">Solange</a> is, among other things, the patron saint of rain.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VERENA">VERENA</a>—A multi-cultural name meaning ‘integrity’, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Verena">Verena</a> is an underused option that would make a distinctive alternative to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Serena">Serena</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/XENIA">XENIA</a>—This intriguing X name went from saint’s name to that of a <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bond">Bond</a> girl, with ties to Russian royalty in-between. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Xenia">Xenia</a> is also the Greek word for the concept of hospitality.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ZENOBIA">ZENOBIA</a>—A Greek name with ties to a beautiful and brainy ancient queen and with lots of literary cred. Another noteworthy name that was popular a century ago.<h2>SURPRISING <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/482/Saints-Names-For-Boys-">SAINTS NAMES FOR BOYS</a></h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/AMBROSE">AMBROSE</a>—An appealing, rosy name more often heard at one time in the UK, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ambrose">Ambrose</a> has a distinguished history related to an early <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Christian">Christian</a> doctor and a great Latin teacher of Christianity. In 1961, Pope <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/John">John</a> XXII designated <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ambrose">Ambrose</a> the patron saint of educational TV.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/CASSIAN">CASSIAN</a>—There have been several St. Cassians, including a patron of schoolteachers; <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cassian">Cassian</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Andor">Andor</a> is a character in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rogue">Rogue</a> One: A <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Star">Star</a> Wars <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Story">Story</a>. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Count">Count</a> this as an uninitiated member of the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cassius">Cassius</a>/<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Caspian">Caspian</a> club.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/LEANDER">LEANDER</a>—A leonine name with considerable potential, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Leander">Leander</a> figures in Greek legend and in contemporary times was heard on The Wire and Boardwalk Empire.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/LORCAN">LORCAN</a>—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lorcan">Lorcan</a> O’Toole is the patron saint of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dublin">Dublin</a> and logical namesake of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Peter">Peter</a> O’Toole’s son <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lorcan">Lorcan</a>. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Harry">Harry</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Potter">Potter</a>’s <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Luna">Luna</a> Lovegood used it for one of her twins. Easy to spell and pronounce, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lorcan">Lorcan</a> is a logical future Irish fave.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/MALACHY">MALACHY</a>—A buoyant Irish saint name—that of a reformer who reorganized the church in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ireland">Ireland</a>. Irish actor <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cillian">Cillian</a> ‘Peaky Blinders’ <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Murphy">Murphy</a> named his son <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Malachy">Malachy</a> in 2005.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/MALO">MALO</a>—Sixth century St. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Malo">Malo</a> founded the charming <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Breton">Breton</a> port town that bears his name and is also a patron saint of lost property.  <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Malo">Malo</a> is a trendy Top 100 name in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/France">France</a> and could make a cool continental alternative to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Milo">Milo</a> here.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/REMI">REMI</a>/<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/REMY">REMY</a>—This <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/French">French</a> saint name is bounding up the US charts, especially in the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Remy">Remy</a> spelling, which is now #425. Many baby namers fell in love with it via the charming chef creature (rat) in Pixar’s animated 2007 Ratatouille. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/RUFUS">RUFUS</a>—There are several <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Saint">Saint</a> Rufuses, a name that began as a nickname for the redheaded <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/King">King</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/William">William</a>. Associated currently with singer <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rufus">Rufus</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wainwright">Wainwright</a>, the charmingly rumpled <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rufus">Rufus</a> also appears in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Harry">Harry</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Potter">Potter</a> and Gossip Girl. It ranks in the UK, but not yet in the US.

dreamstime_s_1163506171.jpg

16 Surprising Saints Names for Babies

<a href="https://nameberry.com/list/314/New-Years-Baby-Names">New Year’s baby names</a> carry the sense of fresh beginnings, a new dawn dawning, and bright hopes for the future.  And so with that in mind, and with our warmest wishes to all of you for a great year, we offer names drawn from a variety of cultures that suggest those very things, all of them appropriate for a New Year’s baby.<h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/list/315/Baby-Names-That-Mean-Hope">Names That Mean Hope</a></h2>Names that mean hope signal our optimistic views for the future. This January, we’re looking forward to the start of not only a new year but a new decade!<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/AMAL">AMAL</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/AMIL">AMIL</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/ASHA">ASHA</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/ESPERANZA">ESPERANZA</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/HOPE">HOPE</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/karou">KAROU</a>KAZUKI<a href="https://nameberry.com/name/NADIA">NADIA</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/name/NADINE">NADINE</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/RAJA">RAJA</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/TARAJA">TARAJA</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/TIKVAH">TIKVAH</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/VON">VON</a><h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/list/646/71-names-that-mean-dawn">Names That Mean Dawn</a></h2>Dawn means the start of a new day and carries with it the messages of hope and fresh starts that go with the beginning of a new year.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/abner">ABNER</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/aroon">AROON</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/AURORA">AURORA</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/DAWN">DAWN</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/ORIANA">ORIANA</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ROXANA">ROXANA</a>/<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ROXANNE">ROXANNE</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/SAHAR">SAHAR</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/ZARA">ZARA</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ZORA">ZORA</a>/<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ZORINA">ZORINA</a> <h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/list/316/Baby-Names-That-Mean-New-Beginnings">Names That Mean New and New Beginnings</a></h2>New and newness are meanings conveyed by names from many cultures, either literally or via symbolic representations of newness like spring and new green shoots pushing through the earth toward the bright sun.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ALULA">ALULA</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/AMARYLLIS">AMARYLLIS</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ASIER">ASIER</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/BEEJA">BEEJA</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/DAGNY">DAGNY</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/IDONY">IDONY</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/MIKA">MIKA</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/NASIMA">NASIMA</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/NAVIN">NAVIN</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/NEO">NEO</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/NEOMA">NEOMA</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/NOVA">NOVA</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/NYSSA">NYSSA</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/RAANAN">RAANAN</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/ZELENKA">ZELENKA</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/name/ZERA">ZERA</a><h2>HAVE A HAPPY**,** HAPPY NEW YEAR !!! </h2>

new-year-baby-names.jpg

These Names Say Happy New Year

Are there great nature names for Christmas babies?Yes, there’s the exchanging of presents and family reunions, turkey and tinsel—but there is also a significant part for nature to play in the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Christmas">Christmas</a> festivities. There’s the tree, of course, and the wreaths, but also the floral décor and the herbs that spice up <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Christmas">Christmas</a> dinner.  Here are 15 of the very best <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/329/Nature-Baby-Names">nature names</a> for a Christmas baby.<h2>Nature Names for Christmas Babies</h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/AMARYLLIS">AMARYLLIS</a>—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bright">Bright</a> red <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Amaryllis">Amaryllis</a> is one of the most popular flowering plants for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Christmas">Christmas</a>. The name is among the more exotic floral names now being considered.  A Greek name with the festive meaning ‘to sparkle’ it was often heard in ancient Greek pastoral poetry and was found in the families of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Virginia">Virginia</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Woolf">Woolf</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Richard">Richard</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Branson">Branson</a> and the Kennedys. It’s now #258 on Nameberry.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ARTEMISIA">ARTEMISIA</a> is a silvery plant often incorporated into holiday wreaths. An elaboration of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Artemis">Artemis</a>, Greek mythological goddess of the moon, it was most famously borne by the esteemed Italian Baroque painter <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Artemisia">Artemisia</a> Gentileschi.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/BERRY">BERRY</a>—Berries strung on the tree, glistening cranberry sauce on the table—what could be a more Christmassy name than <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Berry">Berry</a>? Until around 1970, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Berry">Berry</a> was a not uncommon boy name—as in Motown founder <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Berry">Berry</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gordy">Gordy</a>. Now, with the growing interest in fruit names like <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Plum">Plum</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clementine">Clementine</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Berry">Berry</a> would probably be seen more as a possibility for girls.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/CALANTHE">CALANTHE</a>—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Calanthe">Calanthe</a> is the scientific name for what’s commonly known as the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Christmas">Christmas</a> orchid. This rarely heard appellation has a soft, soothing sound, similar to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ianthe">Ianthe</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/CEDAR">CEDAR</a>—The Eastern <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Red">Red</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cedar">Cedar</a> is a popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Christmas">Christmas</a> tree choice because of its piney aroma and natural pyramid crown. Strong and yet warm, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cedar">Cedar</a> is one of the tree name new to the baby name landscape.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/CYPRESS">CYPRESS</a>—Another <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Christmas">Christmas</a> tree favorite in the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Leyland">Leyland</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cypress">Cypress</a>, with its soft, grayish-green needles. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cypress">Cypress</a> is an interesting recent entrant into the tree name category, with the friendly nickname <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cy">Cy</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/FRASER">FRASER</a>– The shape and structure of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Fraser">Fraser</a> firs makes them popular for decorating at <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Christmas">Christmas</a>. They have natural conical shapes and a wonderful scent that lingers. Though TV’s <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Frasier">Frasier</a> publicized that version, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Fraser">Fraser</a> is the original Scottish spelling, and that’s where it still ranks at #64.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/GARLAND">GARLAND</a>—Swaths of greenery garlands are another attractive element of holiday décor. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Garland">Garland</a> was a surprising Top 250 boy name at the turn of the last century, but these days it could equally be a sweetly evocative name for a girl, conjuring up images of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dorothy">Dorothy</a> in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Oz">Oz</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/HOLLY">HOLLY</a>—Deck the halls with boughs of! Though barely over the 500 position in the US, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Holly">Holly</a> is way up at #23 in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ireland">Ireland</a> and 32 in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Scotland">Scotland</a>. Most Christmassy character name ever: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Holly">Holly</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Holiday">Holiday</a> played by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gwyneth">Gwyneth</a> Paltrow on Glee.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/IVY">IVY</a>—The ivy in those garlands has some religious symbolic meaning as well: the prickly leaves represent <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jesus">Jesus</a>’s crown of thorns and the berries the drops of blood he shed. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ivy">Ivy</a> is a wonderful name that packs a lot of vibrant personality into its three letters. It’s currently enjoying a big bounce in popularity—especially since Beyoncé and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jay">Jay</a>-Z named their daughter <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Blue">Blue</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ivy">Ivy</a>. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ivy">Ivy</a> is now #86 in the US, 18 on Nameberry and 14 in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/England">England</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/JUNIPER">JUNIPER</a>–<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Juniper">Juniper</a> trees are members of the cypress family and are often decorated as <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Christmas">Christmas</a> trees. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Juniper">Juniper</a> has become very much on trend for girls in the 2010s, now at 281 nationally and 190 on NB.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/LAVENDER">LAVENDER</a>—Christmastime relevance: It is believed that <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mary">Mary</a> washed <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jesus">Jesus</a>’s swaddling clothes in this fragrant herb. A purple-hued name following <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Violet">Violet</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lilac">Lilac</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mauve">Mauve</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lavender">Lavender</a> came into the spotlight via <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Harry">Harry</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Potter">Potter</a> character <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lavender">Lavender</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Brown">Brown</a>. It’s loved on NB, now in the Top 500.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/NOBLE">NOBLE</a>—The <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Noble">Noble</a> Fir, aka Christmastree is tall and narrow, with bluish-green needles and is beautifully symmetrical. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Noble">Noble</a> is one of the newly admired virtue names for boys, though it has a long and storied history—it was as high as 312 in 1901.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ROSEMARY">ROSEMARY</a>—Live rosemary plants are often used to make mini <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Christmas">Christmas</a> trees. And it’s said that rosemary bloomed and bore fruit (out of season) on the night <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jesus">Jesus</a> was born. Sweet <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rosemary">Rosemary</a>, a Top 100 name in the 1940s, is making a comeback, now at #454, 373 on NB.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/SAGE">SAGE</a>—In addition to being an ingredient in many a stuffing recipe, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sage">Sage</a> has another <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Christmas">Christmas</a> connection. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Legend">Legend</a> has it that <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mary">Mary</a> and baby <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jesus">Jesus</a> hid in a large blooming sage bush when <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/King">King</a> Herod was searching for them. Fragrant name <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sage">Sage</a> became a unisex option in the 1990s, but is heard more for girls, now at #307 and 176 on NB. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Toni">Toni</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Collette">Collette</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jack">Jack</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Huston">Huston</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Brian">Brian</a> Grazer all have daughters named <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sage">Sage</a>.

dreamstime_s_105844459.jpg

15 Great Nature Names for Christmas Babies!

<h2>Newsiest <a href="https://nameberry.com/fameberry">Celebrity Names</a> of 2019</h2>The birth of a new royal is always big baby name news, and the son of the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Duke">Duke</a> and Duchess of Sussex was certainly no exception. During <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Meghan">Meghan</a> Markle’s pregnancy, there were the usual predictions of previous traditional British royal family choices, with bookmakers favoriting <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alexander">Alexander</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Arthur">Arthur</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Albert">Albert</a> (at least they got the first initial right). So the announcement of casual nicknamey <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Archie">Archie</a> was a pretty shocking pick, despite the fact that it was the 18th most popular name in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/England">England</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wales">Wales</a> in 2017, and in the UK Top 50 since 2003. Middle name <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Harrison">Harrison</a>, meaning son of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Harry">Harry</a>, was a more logical pick—though still unexpected.In terms of Reality Royalty, any new Kardashian kid also elicits a ton of wild guesses and anticipation. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Baby">Baby</a> Psalm disappoint—yet another aspirational single-syllable word name joining sibs and cousins <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/North">North</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Saint">Saint</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Reign">Reign</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dream">Dream</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/True">True</a>.<h2>Coolest <a href="https://nameberry.com/fameberry">Celebrity Names</a> of 2019</h2>Moving on to pop culture celebs.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/BIRDIE">BIRDIE</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/MAE">MAE</a> —Jessica Simpson<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jessica">Jessica</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Simpson">Simpson</a> chose this sweet and chirpy vintage nickname name, quite different from the stronger names of her son (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ace">Ace</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Knute">Knute</a>) and older daughter (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maxwell">Maxwell</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Drew">Drew</a>). A Top 200 name a century ago, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Birdie">Birdie</a> fell off the list entirely in 1947 but is on its way back, combining the trends of nickname and generic nature names. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Busy">Busy</a> Philipps named her little <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Birdie">Birdie</a> in honor of Lady <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bird">Bird</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Johnson">Johnson</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/BOBBY">BOBBY</a>—Robert F. Kennedy IIISure, the current <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Robert">Robert</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kennedy">Kennedy</a> could have named his daughter <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Roberta">Roberta</a>, but we think it’s pretty cool that he gave her the nickname by which her famous great-grandfather was known—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bobby">Bobby</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kennedy">Kennedy</a>. (And her mother has the charming name of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Amaryllis">Amaryllis</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Fox">Fox</a>.)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/CAPRI">CAPRI</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/KOBE">KOBE</a>—–Kobe BryantThe name <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kobe">Kobe</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Vanessa">Vanessa</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bryant">Bryant</a> chose for their fourth daughter is by far the most creative of the quartet (the others being <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Natalia">Natalia</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gianna">Gianna</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Blanka">Blanka</a>). The romantic <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Isle">Isle</a> of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Capri">Capri</a> in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Italy">Italy</a>’s <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bay">Bay</a> of Naples might have some special significance to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kobe">Kobe</a> (himself named after the famous beef of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kobe">Kobe</a>, Japan), who spent years of his childhood in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Italy">Italy</a>. For some reason at least five other athletes have chosen <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Capri">Capri</a> for their daughters. This little <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Capri">Capri</a> has been nicknamed <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Koko">Koko</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/FRANKIE">FRANKIE</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VIOLET">VIOLET</a>—Jennifer HawkinsI love the stark contrast between the boyish <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Frankie">Frankie</a> and the sweet, sentimental <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Violet">Violet</a> in this combo chosen by Aussie TV personality, model, and onetime Miss Universe. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Frankie">Frankie</a>, even more than <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charlie">Charlie</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sam">Sam</a>, has been coopted by the girls. Credit <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Drew">Drew</a> Barrymore, who used it for her daughter in 2016, for much of its pink popularity—though she wasn’t the first.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/LOLA">LOLA</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ALAINA">ALAINA</a>—Robin ThickeThe seductive <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lola">Lola</a> is one of the double-L girl names riding a wave—it’s now at #239 in the US, 21 in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/France">France</a>—and is a sizzling starbaby choice. But we single this out for the sweet tribute to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Robin">Robin</a>’s late father <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alan">Alan</a> Thicke in his daughter’s middle name.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/MAVERICK">MAVERICK</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/NICHOLAS">NICHOLAS</a> –Michael Phelps<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Michael">Michael</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nicole">Nicole</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Phelps">Phelps</a> have been mavericks when it comes to their children’s names. First, and most surprising, was baby Boomer, followed by the more accepted/trendy <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Beckett">Beckett</a> and this year finally an actual <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maverick">Maverick</a>. The free-spirited <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maverick">Maverick</a> has been zooming up the charts since the beginning of the 21st century—entering the Top 100 in 2017—thereby relinquishing its outsider status.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/POET">POET</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/LAKE">LAKE</a>—Teresa PalmerThis has got to be the most serene baby girl ever, if names are at all predictive of character. I’m visualizing a sweet old-fashioned girl reading <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Keats">Keats</a> or <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Yeats">Yeats</a> by the side of a placid lake. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Poet">Poet</a> is one of an increasingly popular subset of literary word names. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Soleil">Soleil</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Moon">Moon</a> Frye has a <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Poet">Poet</a> too.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/SAOIRSE">SAOIRSE</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/REIGN">REIGN</a>—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nick">Nick</a> Carter and Lauren <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kitt">Kitt</a>Ex-Backstreet Boy <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Carter">Carter</a> chose this Irish name that was hardly known in the US prior to the emergence of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Saoirse">Saoirse</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ronan">Ronan</a>; it’s now ranked at #830 and everyone even knows how to pronounce it.The Carters must really like the middle name <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Reign">Reign</a>—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Saoirse">Saoirse</a> shares it with her brother <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Odin">Odin</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/STORY">STORY</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/GREY">GREY</a>—Derek JeterA perfect playmate for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Poet">Poet</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lake">Lake</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/WINTER">WINTER</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/MERCY">MERCY</a>—Alanis Morissette and ‘Souleye’Two evocative word names unusual for a boy that work well together—a modern-sounding seasonal choice with a positive Puritan virtue name. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Winter">Winter</a>—much cooler than <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Summer">Summer</a> or <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Autumn">Autumn</a>— is now at #390 for girls, and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mercy">Mercy</a>, unusual for a boy, is well on its way to a fast-rising comeback for girls. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Winter">Winter</a>’s siblings are <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Onyx">Onyx</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ever">Ever</a>.Runners-up: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ace">Ace</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Chadwick">Chadwick</a> (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ryan">Ryan</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Calhoun">Calhoun</a>), <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Apollo">Apollo</a> (Myleene Klass), <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bartholomew">Bartholomew</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kit">Kit</a> (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Matt">Matt</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hardy">Hardy</a>)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Beatrice">Beatrice</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Danger">Danger</a> (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jess">Jess</a> Wexler), <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Delilah">Delilah</a> (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Keira">Keira</a> Knightley), <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Finley">Finley</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gray">Gray</a> (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dylan">Dylan</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Scott">Scott</a>), <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jasper">Jasper</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clinton">Clinton</a> (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Chelsea">Chelsea</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clinton">Clinton</a>), <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kinsey">Kinsey</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sioux">Sioux</a>, nn Zissou (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kieran">Kieran</a> Culkin), <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Max">Max</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Valentine">Valentine</a> (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Natalie">Natalie</a> Imbruglia), <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Navy">Navy</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rome">Rome</a> (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jason">Jason</a> Aldean), <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sunday">Sunday</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Juno">Juno</a> (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Janet">Janet</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Montgomery">Montgomery</a>)And for those of you who like to gasp at extreme starbaby names, 2019 also saw:AMAZONIE<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/HUCKLEBERRY">HUCKLEBERRY</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/RANDOLPH">RANDOLPH</a>PATCH <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/SHEPHERD">SHEPHERD</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ROODY">ROODY</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ROCKET">ROCKET</a>SLASH ELECTRIC<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/SUNDANCE">SUNDANCE</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/LEON">LEON</a>

archie.jpg

Coolest Celebrity Names of 2019

by Linda RosenkrantzNovember’s birth announcements saw an interesting mix of <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/461/Classic-Baby-Names">classic baby names</a> and more contemporary choices. As in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kenneth">Kenneth</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charles">Charles</a> IV and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rachel">Rachel</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Catherine">Catherine</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Chloe">Chloe</a> vs <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lorelei">Lorelei</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Juno">Juno</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ianthe">Ianthe</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Elodie">Elodie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hope">Hope</a>. Of course, we love them all. And some unusual selections among the sister sibs: Hadewych and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Oswin">Oswin</a> (nn <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ozzy">Ozzy</a>).Here are the names announced on the forum in November:GIRLS<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Annabel">Annabel</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lily">Lily</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Margaret">Margaret</a>, sister of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sophie">Sophie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lily">Lily</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mary">Mary</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Elodie">Elodie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hope">Hope</a>, sister of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Adelaide">Adelaide</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gwendolyn">Gwendolyn</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Marigold">Marigold</a>, sister of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Eleanor">Eleanor</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Caroline">Caroline</a>“We had a few names at the ready, and upon meeting her (after a quick delivery) we decided the spunkiness of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gwen">Gwen</a> suits her best. Her middle name is an honorific for two great grandmothers, one named <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mary">Mary</a> and the other’s middle is <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Marie">Marie</a>. My husband and I have special connection to the color orange which seemed appropriate. After tentatively choosing <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Marigold">Marigold</a>, we learned that it’s the flower traditionally used to honor the dead in the celebration of Dia de los Muertos, which she was born during—another cool tie-in.”<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lorelei">Lorelei</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Juno">Juno</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ianthe">Ianthe</a>, sister of Hadewych Roze <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Catharina">Catharina</a>“Her first name is also a place in Germany which is dear to me because of memories of holidays with my grandfather and I just loved the name.  Her second name was another all-time favourite for me.  Her third name again honours my grandfather because his name was <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jan">Jan</a> (pronounced Yan). I also considered other old Germanic names because they would fit well with her sister’s name, but in the end I decided I wanted a “softer” name.”<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lucy">Lucy</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Caroline">Caroline</a>, sister of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Miles">Miles</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/William">William</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Amelia">Amelia</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kate">Kate</a>“Both names are from family and the meaning of each was very important to us. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lucy">Lucy</a> meaning “light” and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Caroline">Caroline</a> “joy, song of happiness,” Until <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lucy">Lucy</a>, each of our children were born rainbow babies. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lucy">Lucy</a>, being a complete surprise to us and born healthy has fulfilled her name’s meaning already.”<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rachel">Rachel</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Catherine">Catherine</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Chloe">Chloe</a>“Each of her names are in honour of family and friends, who are equally overjoyed by our girl’s arrival.”BOYS<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kenneth">Kenneth</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charles">Charles</a> IV, brother of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Oswin">Oswin</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dorthea">Dorthea</a>“I always knew if we had a boy that would be his name. I think my husband made me agree to it before we were married. I will admit I was not as excited about his name as I was with our daughter (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Oswin">Oswin</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dorthea">Dorthea</a>) because I didn’t get to pick any part of it nor was there a process of choosing it. I know if it wasn’t for my love of the tradition I would not have chosen this name but he’s the happiest little boy and he’s DEFINITELY a <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kenny">Kenny</a>.  My late grandfather was named <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charles">Charles</a> so I loved that. Also our daughter’s name is <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ozzy">Ozzy</a> so even though these names don’t seem similar in style <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ozzy">Ozzy</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kenny">Kenny</a> are quite the pair.”<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tobias">Tobias</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Arnold">Arnold</a>, brother of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ransom">Ransom</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Earl">Earl</a>“<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tobias">Tobias</a> was on the table from the beginning and ended up being the name my husband I both liked best this time.  Even though I didn’t need Nameberry very much during this pregnancy, I have the Berries to thank for bringing <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tobias">Tobias</a> to my attention years ago in a name game post.  It has stood several years’ wear as one of my Top Ten boy names, and I was thrilled to get to use it. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tobias">Tobias</a> means “God is good,” and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Arnold">Arnold</a> is my dad’s middle name.  <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ransom">Ransom</a> has a family middle from my husband’s side, so that seemed fair, and we liked the sound and the unexpectedness of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Arnold">Arnold</a> with <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tobias">Tobias</a>.”Don’t forget to enter your December name choices and stories!Linda Rosenkrantz is the co-founder of Nameberry, and co-author with Pamela Redmond Satran of the ten baby naming books acknowledged to have revolutionized American baby naming. In addition to contributing stories on <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/10-years-10-name-trends-we-called">trends</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/classy-classics-picked-by-celebs">celebrity naming</a>, she guides the editorial content and manages the Nameberry <a href="https://twitter.com/nameberry">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://facebook.com/Nameberry-48415585101/">Facebook</a> accounts. You can follow her personally at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lalindro_/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/rosenkrantztalk">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/linda.rosenkrantz">Facebook</a>. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/New">New</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/York">York</a> Review Books Classics novel <a href="https://nyrb.com/products/talk?variant_1094931493">Talk</a> and a number of other books.

hello-world.jpg

Classic Baby Names Return to Nameberry

by Linda RosenkrantzFor our annual December baby names blog this year, we thought we’d do something a little different.  Instead of the usual focus on Christmas and Hanukkah and snow and ice and even historic namesake names, we are looking instead to the young Influencers of today for inspiration. The youthful stars of social media—Instagram and YouTube—and of music and TV and film, who have the coolest, freshest new names. And all of them were born in December.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/BILLIE">BILLIE</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Eilish">Eilish</a>—This hot singer-songwriter was born <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Billie">Billie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Eilish">Eilish</a> Pirate <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Baird">Baird</a> O’<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Connell">Connell</a>. Boyish <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Billie">Billie</a>, originally a nickname for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wilma">Wilma</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wilhelmina">Wilhelmina</a>, is one of the tomboy nickname names for girls coming back in a big way. Not yet on the US list, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Billie">Billie</a> is a Top 100 name in Australia and New Zealand. Middle-turned-last name <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Eilish">Eilish</a> is an Irish form of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Elizabeth">Elizabeth</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Baird">Baird</a> is Scottish for poet and Pirate speaks for itself. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Billie">Billie</a> has a brother named Finneas.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/CORENTIN">CORENTIN</a> Huard is a hunky French model and social media Influencer born in Bordeaux. Popular in France but undiscovered here, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Corentin">Corentin</a> is a French saint’s name, pronounced kor-en-<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/TAN">TAN</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/DASH">DASH</a> Dobrofsky is a young actor best known for his role on TV’s Summer Break. The energetic short form of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dashiell">Dashiell</a> is a hit on its own, now at #784. It first made an impression as a character name in the 2004 Pixar film The Incredibles.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/FINN">FINN</a> Wolfhard–This 16-year-old Canadian actor is best known as Mike Wheeler in the Netflix series Stranger Things and is also a musician. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Finn">Finn</a>, the name of the greatest hero of Irish legend, has been zooming up the popularity list as one of the Irish boy names du jour; it’s now at #166 in the US and highly-ranked across the English-speaking world.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/FOX">FOX</a> Messitt—Child actor <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Fox">Fox</a> Messitt plays the part of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tommy">Tommy</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Fuller">Fuller</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jr">Jr</a> on <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Fuller">Fuller</a> House, a role he shares with his twin brother <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dashiell">Dashiell</a>. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Fox">Fox</a> is one of the animal names now trending (at #804, even higher in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/England">England</a>), thanks largely to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Fox">Fox</a> Mulder on X Files. (Shown: the Messitt twins)HENNESSY <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Carolina">Carolina</a> ((Almanzar), social media sister of Cardi B, has over 5 million followers on Instagram. A rarely—if ever—heard surname name for boys or girls, Hennessy has possibilities despite its alcoholic connection.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/JACKSON">JACKSON</a> Rathbone—The actor and musician christened <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Monroe">Monroe</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jackson">Jackson</a> Rathbone V made his mark as <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jasper">Jasper</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hale">Hale</a> in The Twilight <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Saga">Saga</a> series. (And his son is <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Monroe">Monroe</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jackson">Jackson</a> Rathbone <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VI">VI</a>). Cool presidential name <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jackson">Jackson</a>—a celebrity fave– has been in the Top 25 since 2010, is now at #17.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/KIT">KIT</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Harrington">Harrington</a>—Born <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Christopher">Christopher</a> but known as <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kit">Kit</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Harrington">Harrington</a> rose to stardom via his breakthrough role as <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jon">Jon</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Snow">Snow</a> in Game of Thrones. He was named after Elizabethan era playwright and poet <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Christopher">Christopher</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Marlowe">Marlowe</a>, who was also known as <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kit">Kit</a>. This recently revived nickname name has been used for their sons by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jodie">Jodie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Foster">Foster</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Matt">Matt</a> Bomer, soccer star <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wayne">Wayne</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rooney">Rooney</a> and (via <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Christopher">Christopher</a>) <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Benedict">Benedict</a> Cumberbatch.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/MAVERICK">MAVERICK</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Baker">Baker</a> is another young Instagrammer with over a million followers. His name has been an unlikely 21st century bestseller, now all the way up at #73. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Just">Just</a> this year, Olympic swimmer <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Michael">Michael</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Phelps">Phelps</a> and his wife used it for their third son, brother of Boomer and Beckett.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/NASH">NASH</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Grier">Grier</a>—(<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hamilton">Hamilton</a>) <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nash">Nash</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Grier">Grier</a> is an internet star, initially known for his online videos on Vine and YouTube. He has over 10 million followers. Like <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dash">Dash</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cash">Cash</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ash">Ash</a>, this single-syllable name, first heard via TV character <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nash">Nash</a> Bridges, is currently and solidly on trend. Now at #256, its highest yet, it’s been a particular favorite of sports stars.NOOMI Rapace—Not quite as young as the others on this list but here because of the irresistible appeal of her name, Noomi Rapace is the Swedish actress who played <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lisbeth">Lisbeth</a> Salander in the Millenium series: Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, etc. Noomi is an engaging Nordic version of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Naomi">Naomi</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/PIXIE">PIXIE</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Davies">Davies</a> is the British child actress who has appeared a in several notable films, including as <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Annabel">Annabel</a> Banks in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mary">Mary</a> Poppins Returns. The fairylike <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Pixie">Pixie</a> has entered the realm of baby name popularity possibly due to the X-fad. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Trixie">Trixie</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dixie">Dixie</a> have also resurfaced. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Pixie">Pixie</a> is #429 in the UK<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/QUINTA">QUINTA</a> Brunson is a writer, producer, comedian and actress, most known for producing and acting in BuzzFeed Video content. Q names for girls are distinctive and hard to find; this is one of the prettiest and a nice alternative to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Quinn">Quinn</a>.What others would you suggest?Linda Rosenkrantz is the co-founder of Nameberry, and co-author with Pamela Redmond Satran of the ten baby naming books acknowledged to have revolutionized American baby naming. In addition to contributing stories on <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/10-years-10-name-trends-we-called">trends</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/classy-classics-picked-by-celebs">celebrity naming</a>, she guides the editorial content and manages the Nameberry <a href="https://twitter.com/nameberry">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://facebook.com/Nameberry-48415585101/">Facebook</a> accounts. You can follow her personally at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lalindro_/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/rosenkrantztalk">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/linda.rosenkrantz">Facebook</a>. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/New">New</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/York">York</a> Review Books Classics novel <a href="https://nyrb.com/products/talk?variant_1094931493">Talk</a> and a number of other books.

The_Messitt_Twins_at_age_3.jpg

Influencers Inspire December Baby Names

So you’re looking for a <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/boys_names/V">V names for boys</a>. And for your own personal reasons, you’ve eliminated the most obvious, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Victor">Victor</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Vincent">Vincent</a>. But where do you go from there?  Admittedly, this isn’t the broadest group in the alphabet, but here are some very viable boy names starting with V you may not have considered.<h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/search/boys_names/V">V names for boys</a></h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VALENTINO">VALENTINO</a>—One of the most romantic of names, the surname attached to dashing early cinema heartthrob <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rudolph">Rudolph</a> and related to the amorous February holiday. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Valentino">Valentino</a>  currently ranks at #645. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ricky">Ricky</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Martin">Martin</a> used it for one of his <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/twin-names-the-ultimate-guide">twin boy names</a>. Equally lovable: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VALENTINE">VALENTINE</a> and the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/French">French</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VALENTIN">VALENTIN</a> (838). All are definitely apropos for a February cherub. Incidentally, actor <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Val">Val</a> Kilmer was christened the short form <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Val">Val</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VALOR">VALOR</a>—A strong and positive virtue name possibility—especially in the middle spot. Actor <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Emile">Emile</a> Hirsch put it in first place for his son. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VALIANT">VALIANT</a> might be a variant.VARIAN—This World of Warcraft name hasn’t made it out of the gaming world yet, but we like its sound and accessibility.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VED">VED</a>—A Sanskrit name meaning ‘sacred knowledge’, it was familiarized in the wider world via acclaimed Indian writer <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ved">Ved</a> Mehta. And it’s the reverse of the more familiar <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dev">Dev</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VERDI">VERDI</a>—An Italian surname name, both operatically musical and a color name—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Verdi">Verdi</a> could have a lot of appeal for a green-centric family. Plus, sound wise, it could be a cousin for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Birdie">Birdie</a> or <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ferdie">Ferdie</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VERO">VERO</a>—An Italian word name meaning ‘truth’, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Vera">Vera</a>’s twin brother boasts that lively o-ending.VERSE—Could Verse join <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Poet">Poet</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Story">Story</a> as a literary word name? Why not?<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VIGGO">VIGGO</a>—Thanks solely to Danish-American actor <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Viggo">Viggo</a> Mortensen, this obscure (but catchy) old Norse name is attracting attention in the US—and is a particular Berry fave. Creative babynamers <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Natalie">Natalie</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Taylor">Taylor</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hanson">Hanson</a> picked it in 2008.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VING">VING</a>—When actor <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ving">Ving</a> Rhames dropped the furst syllable of the prosaic <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Irving">Irving</a>, he created a new, energetic option among <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/boys_names/V">V names for boys.</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VINNIE">VINNIE</a>/<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VINNY">VINNY</a>—Put aside all your preconceptions and just think of this as a revivable nickname name, a la <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Freddie">Freddie</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alfie">Alfie</a>. Our British name guru <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Eleanor">Eleanor</a> Nickerson reported that <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Vinnie">Vinnie</a> has already made his mark in the UK.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VIRGIL">VIRGIL</a>—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Virgil">Virgil</a> is one of those names, like, say, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Percy">Percy</a>, that has an appealingly fusty charm. The name of a great early <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Roman">Roman</a> poet and a prescient Irish saint, our <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Emma">Emma</a> Waterhouse characterized it as ‘Geek Chic’.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VIRIDIAN">VIRIDIAN</a>—A rarely heard color name described as “a dark shade of spring green.” Just as <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cerulean">Cerulean</a> is becoming more and more accepted, some daring parents might consider this vivid possibility.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VITO">VITO</a>—An Italian classic meaning life, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Vito">Vito</a> does have the unfortunate connection to The Godfather’s Don Corleone, played by both <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Marlon">Marlon</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Brando">Brando</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Robert">Robert</a> DeNiro. But it also bears the contemporary connection to urbane, high-profile art gallerist <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Vito">Vito</a> Schnabel, son of painter <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Julian">Julian</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VITTORIO">VITTORIO</a>—An upbeat, victorious sounding Italian standard, with several ties to the great Italian La Dolce Vita era film days. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VINCENZO">VINCENZO</a> is another in this categoryAnd a few more to consider:<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VADIM">VADIM</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VAN">VAN</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VANCE">VANCE</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VANYA">VANYA</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VASILY">VASILY</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VAUGHN">VAUGHN</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VERNON">VERNON</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VERVE">VERVE</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VIDAL">VIDAL</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VLADIMIR">VLADIMIR</a>Linda Rosenkrantz is the co-founder of Nameberry, and co-author with Pamela <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Redmond">Redmond</a> of the ten baby naming books acknowledged to have revolutionized American baby naming. In addition to contributing stories on <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/10-years-10-name-trends-we-called">trends</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/classy-classics-picked-by-celebs">celebrity naming</a>, she guides the editorial content and manages the Nameberry <a href="https://twitter.com/nameberry">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://facebook.com/Nameberry-48415585101/">Facebook</a> accounts. You can follow her personally at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lalindro_/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/rosenkrantztalk">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/linda.rosenkrantz">Facebook</a>. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed New York Review Books Classics novel <a href="https://nyrb.com/products/talk?variant_1094931493">Talk</a> and a number of other books.

Stocksy_txp76ac1503d5X200_Small_2001248.jpg

Awesome V Names for Boys

by Annie NewLooking for an <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/231/Baby-Names-Inspired-by-Artistshttps:/nameberry.com/list/231/Baby-Names-Inspired-by-Artists">artistic baby name</a>?As an art history student, I spent three years studying the biographies, influences and techniques of artists like <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Leonardo">Leonardo</a> da Vinci, Eduard Manet, and Rembrandt. But it’s the names of the people they painted that are also of interest to name nerds like me.Art history’s most famous models just happened to have some intriguing names as well as beauty and charm. With appellations ranging from <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ginevra">Ginevra</a> to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Adele">Adele</a> to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Simonetta">Simonetta</a>, the collection is as varied and cosmopolitan as today’s popularity lists. Let’s take a look.<h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/list/231/Baby-Names-Inspired-by-Artistshttps:/nameberry.com/list/231/Baby-Names-Inspired-by-Artists">Artistic Baby Names</a>: Muses</h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Adele">Adele</a> – <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gustav">Gustav</a> Klimt’s ‘Portrait of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Adele">Adele</a> Bloch-Bauer’, often called ‘The Austrian <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mona">Mona</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lisa">Lisa</a>,” has been a national symbol of Austria for many years. The story goes that <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ferdinand">Ferdinand</a> Bloch-Bauer learned about his wife and Klimt having an affair and asked the artist to paint her portrait, thinking he would have to spend so much time with <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Adele">Adele</a> that he would get sick of her. True or not, Klimt’s muse had a gorgeous name that still sounds fresh and appealing almost a century later. Modern parents tend to associate <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Adele">Adele</a> with the British singer; it now ranks at #898.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Camille">Camille</a> – <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Camille">Camille</a> Doncieux was the first wife of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Claude">Claude</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Monet">Monet</a> and the mother of his two children as well as his favorite model. The most famous portrait of her is probably ‘Woman with a Parasol’, which is representative of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Monet">Monet</a> and impressionism in many ways. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Camille">Camille</a> is a unisex name in its native France, where notable bearers include the composer <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Saint">Saint</a>-Saëns and fellow painters <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Corot">Corot</a> and Pissarro. In the English-speaking world <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Camille">Camille</a> is generally feminine, largely due to the association with <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alexandre">Alexandre</a> Dumas’ The Lady of the Camellias.  More recently <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Camille">Camille</a> Preaker is the main character in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gillian">Gillian</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Flynn">Flynn</a>’s Sharp Objects. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Camille">Camille</a> is on the upswing, currently at #252 in the US, #19 in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/France">France</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ginevra">Ginevra</a> – The only painting by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Leonardo">Leonardo</a> da <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Vinci">Vinci</a> publicly displayed in the Americas is a portrait of the Florentine aristocrat <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ginevra">Ginevra</a> de’ Benci. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ginevra">Ginevra</a> is believed to be either an Italian form of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Guinevere">Guinevere</a> or a completely unrelated nature name meaning “juniper.” Incidentally, it’s a juniper bush that fills much of the background of the portrait. The lovely <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ginevra">Ginevra</a> might appeal to parents looking for a fresher, more <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/231/Baby-Names-Inspired-by-Artistshttps:/nameberry.com/list/231/Baby-Names-Inspired-by-Artists">artistic baby name</a> alternative to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jennifer">Jennifer</a>, and who appreciate the Harry Potter connection via <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ron">Ron</a>’s younger sister <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ginny">Ginny</a> Weasley.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ida">Ida</a> – <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ida">Ida</a> Rubinstein was not merely <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Valentin">Valentin</a> Serov’s muse but a prominent public figure on her own, an actress and dancer as well as an art patron. Serov’s famous portrait depicts <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ida">Ida</a> as Salomé in a legendary performance of in which she stripped nude during the course of the Dance of the Seven Veils. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ida">Ida</a> is the main character in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tennyson">Tennyson</a>’s poem ‘The Princess’ which inspired <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gilbert">Gilbert</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sullivan">Sullivan</a>’s comic opera ‘Princess <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ida">Ida</a>’. Off the SSA list since 1980, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ida">Ida</a> could yet follow the return of names like <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ava">Ava</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ada">Ada</a>. It is currently popular in Germany and Sweden.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olympia">Olympia</a> – The woman depicted in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Edouard">Edouard</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Manet">Manet</a>’s scandalous nude painting wasn’t actually an <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olympia">Olympia</a>; she was named <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Victorine">Victorine</a>–<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Louise">Louise</a> Meurent– <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olympia">Olympia</a> was a name associated with courtesans in 1860s Paris. However, it’s high time to overlook this association and bring <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olympia">Olympia</a> back. It’s a name with impressive historic pedigree – <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alexander">Alexander</a> the Great’s mother was called <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olympia">Olympia</a>, and the Olympic Games were originally held in the small Greek town of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olympia">Olympia</a>. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olympia">Olympia</a> might be a great option for people wary of the super popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olivia">Olivia</a>. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Serena">Serena</a> Williams named her daughter <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alexis">Alexis</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olympia">Olympia</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Saskia">Saskia</a> – Rembrandt van Rijn drew <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Saskia">Saskia</a> van Uylenburgh for the first time just three days after their engagement and continued to do so throughout their marriage. This exotic name is already enjoying some popularity in the UK, having been introduced there by the actress <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Saskia">Saskia</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Reeves">Reeves</a> and it’s currently #284 on Nameberry. Pulp’s <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jarvis">Jarvis</a> Cocker has a sister called <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Saskia">Saskia</a> – talk about swoon-worthy real life sibsets!<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Simonetta">Simonetta</a> – <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sandro">Sandro</a> Botticelli’s legendary <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Venus">Venus</a> is believed to be a portrait of Italian noblewoman <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Simonetta">Simonetta</a> Vespucci, who was considered an exceptional beauty in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Florence">Florence</a>. She died at the age of twenty-two, but her name lived on, reaching Rome’s Top 10 in the 1950s. This diminutive of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Simona">Simona</a> would be a perfect way to honor a baby’s Uncle <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Simon">Simon</a> or a family’s Italian roots.So you have another artist muse name you like?———Annie New is an international lawyer and translator who currently lives in Europe . She speaks five languages and is a feminist, a bookworm and a big fan of Monty Python. A Berry since 2013, she’s been a moderator for almost two years.

artist-girl-19.jpg

Artistic Baby Names for Girls: Saskia and Simonetta

by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Linda">Linda</a> RosenkrantzLooking at the <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/56/New-Baby-Names-on-the-Rise">newest baby names</a> entered on the Birth Announcement Forum in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/October">October</a>, one theme stood out: the challenge of finding the perfect name and the thrill when it was finally arrived at.Two unusual boy names last month: Joeby and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Oswin">Oswin</a>, and a girl named <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Orinthia">Orinthia</a>.One set of nicely matched but not matchy boy-girl twins: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kalinda">Kalinda</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Joy">Joy</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sullivan">Sullivan</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Luke">Luke</a>.And here’s the complete list of <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/56/New-Baby-Names-on-the-Rise">newest baby names</a> on Nameberry.<h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/list/56/New-Baby-Names-on-the-Rise">Newest Baby Names</a> for Girls</h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Anouk">Anouk</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clementine">Clementine</a>, sister of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gwen">Gwen</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Theodora">Theodora</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jude">Jude</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Raphael">Raphael</a>“<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Anouk">Anouk</a> has been a favourite of mine since I read Chocolat.  It’s quite popular on this site which reassured me I was making the right choice. We could not agree on her middle name before she was born—she was going to be <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Anouk">Anouk</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ramona">Ramona</a> after <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ramona">Ramona</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Quimby">Quimby</a>, but it just did not feel right. We ended up naming her <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Anouk">Anouk</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clementine">Clementine</a> for another fictitious character, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sara">Sara</a> Pennypacker’s <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clementine">Clementine</a>.  My husband loves the fact that there is a <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clementine">Clementine</a> in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Eternal">Eternal</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sunshine">Sunshine</a> of the Spotless Mind and I was glad to honour his <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/French">French</a> heritage with our daughter’s middle name.”Berengaria Halo“Choosing her name was not easy, and I spent half of my pregnancy browsing these boards, so we would like to thank you all for endless inspiration.  Berengaria has always been a favourite of mine because I read Medieval <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/History">History</a> at university.  It suits her well, and we are calling her <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bee">Bee</a> for short.  Her middle name Halo is very important and meaningful for us as it reflects our faith.”<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Eleanor">Eleanor</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rose">Rose</a>, sister of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Desmond">Desmond</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/James">James</a>“<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Eleanor">Eleanor</a> is my grandmother’s middle name and we loved all the nickname possibilities—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Elle">Elle</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ella">Ella</a> are our preferred.”<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Evie">Evie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Violet">Violet</a>“I found the naming process very daunting, my husband and I couldn’t agree on a name before she was born so decided to wait until we met her.  <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Even">Even</a> then it took us time to decide.  The names we chose for her weren’t what each of us would have claimed were our favourites before she was born but now we have spent some time with her <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Evie">Evie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Violet">Violet</a> it is.”<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kalinda">Kalinda</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Joy">Joy</a>, twin of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sullivan">Sullivan</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Luke">Luke</a> and sister of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charleston">Charleston</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Michael">Michael</a>“Big brother is <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charleston">Charleston</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Michael">Michael</a> (“<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charlie">Charlie</a>”), a name we had no difficulty choosing: we like long, uncommon (but familiar sounding) first names with short, recognizable nicknames, and we stuck with those parameters for these twins. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kalinda">Kalinda</a> is a name I discovered since I was a little girl, poring through the baby name book my parents had used when naming me. Thankfully my husband liked the name as well.  We have been calling her by her nickname, “<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kali">Kali</a>” (pronounced <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kay">Kay</a>-lee).  I was overjoyed to learn that we were having twins, one of whom was our first girl—hence, her middle name <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Joy">Joy</a>.”<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lucy">Lucy</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Danielle">Danielle</a>, sister of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alice">Alice</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Caroline">Caroline</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clara">Clara</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Linda">Linda</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Margaret">Margaret</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kate">Kate</a> (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maggie">Maggie</a>)“I decided on <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Margaret">Margaret</a> after my mother’s grandmother name since I wanted a family name.  <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kate">Kate</a> is also a family name on the same side.”<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nora">Nora</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wynn">Wynn</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olivia">Olivia</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Margaux">Margaux</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Emmeline">Emmeline</a> (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olive">Olive</a>)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Orinthia">Orinthia</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lune">Lune</a>, sister of  Elowyn <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Magnolia">Magnolia</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Arthur">Arthur</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jack">Jack</a> Ruger.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Verity">Verity</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Willow">Willow</a>, sister of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Asher">Asher</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Joseph">Joseph</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Acacia">Acacia</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lily">Lily</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Micah">Micah</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Paul">Paul</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Eliora">Eliora</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Grace">Grace</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Matthias">Matthias</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/William">William</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Olivet">Olivet</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Autumn">Autumn</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Juniper">Juniper</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Leigh">Leigh</a>“This was by far the most difficult name decision we’ve made yet, but we kept coming back to the lovely simplicity of the name <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Verity">Verity</a>, from the Latin word for “truth.” We couldn’t totally get away from botanical roots, however.  We chose the middle name <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Willow">Willow</a>, because it brought to mind the tree planted by the water in Psalm 1, when paired with her first name.”<h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/list/56/New-Baby-Names-on-the-Rise">Newest Baby Names</a> for Boys</h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Barnabas">Barnabas</a> Húni, brother of Hjörtur <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Emmanuel">Emmanuel</a>“Naming this little miracle was a struggle, but a few weeks ago we finally decided on <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Barnabas">Barnabas</a> Húni.  <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Barnabas">Barnabas</a> ticks almost all of our boxes: it’s biblical, strong with a good meaning (either son of the prophet or son of encouragement), not overused but also not unfamiliar, and it works in most languages (our <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Barnabas">Barnabas</a> has Scandinavian, Polish, Jewish, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/German">German</a> and Assyrian heritage). Húni is an Icelandic name, honoring my heritage.  It means bear cub, which ties it to Hjörtur which means deer.”Joeby <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Warren">Warren</a>, brother of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Talula">Talula</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Helen">Helen</a>“Joeby is a name we have loved for many years and I like to think of it as a kind of twist on <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Joseph">Joseph</a> which is a long-standing family name on my side.  <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Warren">Warren</a> is also a family name and means a lot to us.”<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Oswin">Oswin</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maxwell">Maxwell</a>, brother of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alphonse">Alphonse</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Eliott">Eliott</a> “<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alfie">Alfie</a>”“My husband (who chose Alpohonse for our first) had originally wanted to use <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Owen">Owen</a> but I thought <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Oswin">Oswin</a> was much more distinguished next to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alphonse">Alphonse</a> and I loved the meaning.  Besides, it is rarely in use nowadays and it’s a nod to the baby boy’s ancestry….I noticed that we both have an affinity for boy names with a strong “z” sound in them and names that start with vowels.  Who knows, maybe our third boy will be an <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Esmond">Esmond</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ignatius">Ignatius</a> or <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Inigo">Inigo</a>?”<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sullivan">Sullivan</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Luke">Luke</a>, twin of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kalinda">Kalinda</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Joy">Joy</a> and brother of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charleston">Charleston</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Michael">Michael</a>“We had a harder time deciding on a name for our second son, but eventually settled on <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sullivan">Sullivan</a>, which fits our pattern of a unique three-syllable first name with a cute nickname (“<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sully">Sully</a>”).  His middle name, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Luke">Luke</a>, is my husband’s first name. (Big brother <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charleston">Charleston</a>’s middle name, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Michael">Michael</a>, is also a family name honoring three grandfathers and two uncles.) I love that the twins’ names flow together—same number of syllables, both rather uncommon—but aren’t overly matchy.”<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Linda">Linda</a> Rosenkrantz is the co-founder of Nameberry, and co-author with <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Pamela">Pamela</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Redmond">Redmond</a> Satran of the ten baby naming books acknowledged to have revolutionized American baby naming. In addition to contributing stories on <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/10-years-10-name-trends-we-called">trends</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/classy-classics-picked-by-celebs">celebrity naming</a>, she guides the editorial content and manages the Nameberry <a href="https://twitter.com/nameberry">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://facebook.com/Nameberry-48415585101/">Facebook</a> accounts. You can follow her personally at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lalindro_/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/rosenkrantztalk">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/linda.rosenkrantz">Facebook</a>. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/New">New</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/York">York</a> Review Books Classics novel <a href="https://nyrb.com/products/talk?variant_1094931493">Talk</a> and a number of other books.

newbornsister-19.jpg

Newest Baby Names: October Berrybabies

by Linda RosenkrantzHalloween is now upon us, but that doesn’t mean that these <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/14-bewitching-girl-names-for-halloween">bewitching baby names</a> can’t be used any time of the year.  And the nice thing is that these witches are not all hideously ugly with warts and moles and hair on their chinny-chin-chins.  And they’re not all totally evil either.  In addition to the traditionally witchy witches, pop culture has brought us some who are nice and funny and even beautiful—think <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charlize">Charlize</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Theron">Theron</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Julia">Julia</a> Roberts, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Michelle">Michelle</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Pfeiffer">Pfeiffer</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nicole">Nicole</a> Kidman.Here are ten  of the most interesting witch name possibilities from movies and TV.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Freya">Freya</a>In The Vampire Diaries, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Freya">Freya</a> Mikaelson is not a vampire but a centuries-old witch, a powerful one who could perform amazing magical feats. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Freya">Freya</a>, the name of the Norse goddess of love, beauty and fertility, is one of the fasting-rising baby names of the past few years, now ranking at #266. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Freya">Freya</a> is also #13 in Scotland and 18 in England.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Piper">Piper</a>In the original 1998 series of Charmed (recently revived), <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Piper">Piper</a> Halliwell, along with well-named sisters <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Prue">Prue</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Phoebe">Phoebe</a>, became known as “The Charmed Ones,” the most powerful good witches of all time. That character helped shoot her peppy, musical name–since heard in _Orange is the New Black–_onto its path to success. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Piper">Piper</a> is now a Top 100 name, used for their daughters by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Samantha">Samantha</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bee">Bee</a> and other celebs.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Myrtle">Myrtle</a>In American Horror Story, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Myrtle">Myrtle</a> is a quirky, honest witch, head of the Witches’ Council. A Top 40 name at the turn of the last century, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Myrtle">Myrtle</a> hasn’t been heard since the 1960s. But when seen as a nature name—it’s a plant with aromatic berries—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Myrtle">Myrtle</a> becomes a vintage name that cold see new life.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gillian">Gillian</a>In the classic 1958 movie <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bell">Bell</a>, Book and Candle, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gillian">Gillian</a> Holyroyd, played by glamorous <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kim">Kim</a> Novak, is a Greenwich Village witch who runs a primitive art gallery and uses her supernatural powers for romantic ends.  Curiously, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nicole">Nicole</a> Kidman’s witch character in the later Practical Magic has the same name.  The high profile actress Giliian “X-Files” <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Anderson">Anderson</a> did a lot to bring her name over from the UK, though it peaked in popularity around the Millennium.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sukie">Sukie</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sukie">Sukie</a> Ridgemont, aka <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Michelle">Michelle</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Pfeiffer">Pfeiffer</a>, is one of the three gorgeous but unwitting Witches of Eastwick demonized in the film by the satanic <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jack">Jack</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nicholson">Nicholson</a>.  <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sukie">Sukie</a>—not to be confused with _<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/True">True</a> Blood’_s <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sookie">Sookie</a> Stackhouse or <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sookie">Sookie</a> St. James (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Melissa">Melissa</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/McCarthy">McCarthy</a>) on _Gilmore Girls–_is an old nickname for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Susan">Susan</a>/na that now sounds somehow more modern than <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Susie">Susie</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Winifred">Winifred</a>In the 1993 Hocus Pocus, a trio of Salem sister witches are resurrected on Halloween night after three hundred years, the eldest being melodramatic, hot-tempered <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Winifred">Winifred</a> “<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Winnie">Winnie</a>” <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sanderson">Sanderson</a>, played by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bette">Bette</a> Midler. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Winifred">Winifred</a> is just the old kind of prim vintage name in line to be unbuttoned, especially with its choice of friendlier nicknames—the winning <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Winnie">Winnie</a>, the boyish <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Freddie">Freddie</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lavender">Lavender</a>There is so much wizardry and witchcraft in the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Harry">Harry</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Potter">Potter</a> franchise and so many wonderful names that it’s hard to pick just one—but I’ll go for that of Gryffindor student <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lavender">Lavender</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Brown">Brown</a>, a name that’s so sweet, so fragrant, so mutedly colorful it’s bound to catch up with the other sweet violet-hued names. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Luna">Luna</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Poppy">Poppy</a> are two other Potter monikers that have already taken off.NessaroseIn both the musical Wicked and the book on which it’s based, Nessarose Thropp is the name of the beautiful, handicapped woman who becomes the Wicked Witch of the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/East">East</a>, original owner of the magical silver (not ruby) slippers, and ruler of Munchkinland.  A smoosh of the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Vanessa">Vanessa</a> nickname and the all-purpose <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rose">Rose</a>, Nessarose, with all those s’s is not likely to be spreading further.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ravenna">Ravenna</a>The wicked stepmother/evil queen in Snow White is no longer nameless at last. In Snow White and the Huntsman she is known as <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ravenna">Ravenna</a>.  And yes, she is still vain and malevolent, but she also bears a strong resemblance to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charlize">Charlize</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Theron">Theron</a>.  <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ravenna">Ravenna</a> is a lovely Italian place name which could be a successor to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sienna">Sienna</a>.ClementiannaThe 2012 film retelling of the Snow White tale, Mirror, Mirror, retains the evil, vengeful, jealous character of the stepmother/witch—this time giving her the name Clementianna– and casting a zealous <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Julia">Julia</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Roberts">Roberts</a> in the part.  When choosing a baby name, however, most parents would prefer the more traditional <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clementine">Clementine</a>, nixing those two extra syllables.Linda Rosenkrantz is the co-founder of Nameberry, and co-author with Pamela Redmond Satran of the ten baby naming books acknowledged to have revolutionized American baby naming. In addition to contributing stories on <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/10-years-10-name-trends-we-called">trends</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/classy-classics-picked-by-celebs">celebrity naming</a>, she guides the editorial content and manages the Nameberry <a href="https://twitter.com/nameberry">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://facebook.com/Nameberry-48415585101/">Facebook</a> accounts. You can follow her personally at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lalindro_/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/rosenkrantztalk">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/linda.rosenkrantz">Facebook</a>. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed New York Review Books Classics novel <a href="https://nyrb.com/products/talk?variant_1094931493">Talk</a> and a number of other books.

witch-1.jpg

Bewitching Baby Names: Happy Halloween!

This week’s name news includes baby name trends, some stunning “sweet spot” celebrity baby names, the thorny issue of baby name theft, and a celebration of unique baby names of all shapes, sizes and sources.<h1>Celebrity Baby News</h1>It’s aaaaa… baby for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Blake">Blake</a> Lively and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ryan">Ryan</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Reynolds">Reynolds</a>!<a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/alist/ryan-reynolds-shares-first-picture-of-blake-livelys-third-baby-and-hints-at-gender-a4263936.html">Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are now parents of three</a>! <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Just">Just</a> as with their older children, daughters <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/James">James</a> (4) and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Inez">Inez</a> (3), the proud parents aren’t releasing any more details about the new arrival just yet — although a Twitter post in which <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Reynolds">Reynolds</a> refers to his “daughters” has fans convinced it’s a third girl for the couple.While we impatiently await an official name announcement, here’s what the wonderful <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sophie">Sophie</a>, our resident Name Guru to the Stars, <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/starbabies-predicting-the-next-celebkid-names">predicted for them</a>. Wouldn’t another -s/z ending name, like <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hollis">Hollis</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mavis">Mavis</a> or <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Beatriz">Beatriz</a>, be fun? What’s your money on?<h2>Starbaby <a href="https://nameberry.com/lists/category/name-trends">baby name trend</a> of the week: traditional with a twist</h2>Speaking of eagerly awaited announcements, we’ve also finally learned the names of some other high-profile arrivals this week — and they read like a <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/How">How</a> To of <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/sweet-spot-names-fitting-in-and-standing-out">“sweet spot” baby naming</a>. Familiar yet fun, sweet yet sassy, traditional with a twist. Our favorite style!Australian beauty queen and TV presenter <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jennifer">Jennifer</a> Hawkins <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B36cQpng3UK/">welcomed her first daughter</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Frankie">Frankie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Violet">Violet</a>, actress <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Keira">Keira</a> Knightley and her husband <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/James">James</a> Righton chose the delightful <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Delilah">Delilah</a> for their <a href="https://people.com/parents/keira-knightley-reveals-daughter-name-delilah-breastfeeding/%20https:/www.romper.com/p/keira-knightley-reveals-newborn-daughters-name-its-so-so-pretty-19260305">second baby girl</a> (a sister for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Edie">Edie</a>), and Troian Bellisario finally revealed the glorious name she gave to her now-one-year-old daughter: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Aurora">Aurora</a>.And on the boys’ side, Duck Dynasty stars <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/John">John</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Luke">Luke</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mary">Mary</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kate">Kate</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Robertson">Robertson</a> <a href="https://people.com/parents/duck-dynasty-john-luke-robertson-welcomes-son-john-shepherd/">announced that they’d chosen</a> the sweet and solid <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/John">John</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Shepherd">Shepherd</a> for their firstborn son, who will go by his full double name like his parents.Congratulations all round!<h2>Namenapping, celebrity style!</h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lauren">Lauren</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Conrad">Conrad</a>’s new son <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charlie">Charlie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wolf">Wolf</a> also fits the “traditional with a twist” mold: half cute and cuddly, half fierce and fresh. But word has it that <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zooey">Zooey</a> Deschanel, whose two-year-old son shares the name, was <a href="https://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/2117551/zooey-deschanel-lauren-conrad-same-baby-name/">less than thrilled</a> to hear of a second little <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charlie">Charlie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wolf">Wolf</a> in the world, calling it a “really specific name”.In fact, both names are trending in a big way right now: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wolf">Wolf</a> is in the Top 600 <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular_names/Nameberry">most searched boys’ names on Nameberry</a> this year, and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charlie">Charlie</a> is in the Top 50! Still, intentional or not, anyone who’s ever had their carefully chosen baby name “stolen” will understand <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zooey">Zooey</a>’s irritation.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Baby">Baby</a> name theft is always a hot topic in our <a href="https://nameberry.com/nametalk/">Forums</a> — what’s your take? Have you ever experienced anything similar?<h2>“Crazy” names: the new norm?</h2>We’ve written extensively in the past about how the pool of baby names used in the US is getting wider every year, with <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/limits.html">almost a third of babies</a> now receiving a name outside of the official Top 1000. And the trend towards increasingly “unique” baby names is by no means limited to the US.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Case">Case</a> in point: a baby boy in Australia named Citizen <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sage">Sage</a>, which — <a href="https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/aussie-influencer-reveals-unusual-baby-name-that-may-be-illegal-c-513345">apart from some potentially thorny legal wrangling</a> — really doesn’t feel all that out there in 2019, especially beside brothers <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Atlas">Atlas</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Everest">Everest</a>, and sister <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zephyr">Zephyr</a>.The drive for originality exists in other languages, too. <a href="https://www.liberation.fr/france/2019/10/20/le-petit-robaire-des-prenoms-inventes_1758723">This French article</a> — with a title to make any <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/French">French</a>-speaking name nerd’s day! — focuses on invented names: borrowed from famous brands or figures (Louboutin, Batman, Alkapone — say it aloud); created by combining other names or words (Kylienzo, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Merci">Merci</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mireille">Mireille</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lumi">Lumi</a>ère <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Frida">Frida</a>); or by respelling more traditional options (Khamylle, Robaire, Ozyrys). And in France, <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/banned-baby-names-so-outrageous-they-wound-up-in-court">illegal baby names</a> are actually a thing.According to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/French">French</a> sociologist <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Baptiste">Baptiste</a> Coulmont, the function of the first name has changed since the First World War: first names are now used much more widely, even in formal contexts, and serve to identify individuals in a way that surnames did previously. And many parents have other, more personal reasons for wanting a truly one-of-a-kind name for their child: like <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alison">Alison</a>, who chose an unconventional spelling for her son’s name (Oween) “to mark him out as unique, as he is in my eyes”.<h2>When Names Mean More</h2>Clearly, baby names can — and maybe even should — be about so much more than just an appealing sound. Names can be a celebration, a tribute, a mark of pride and belonging.Take this couple, also in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/France">France</a>, whose <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/17/french-couple-can-keep-tilde-in-sons-name-after-court-battle">two-year legal battle</a> to be allowed to use a diacritic on their son’s birth certificate finally ended in victory this week. The name in question? <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Fa">Fa</a>ñch, a traditional choice in the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Breton">Breton</a> language of north-western <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/France">France</a>, which is in steep decline today.Accepting names like <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Fa">Fa</a>ñch — or like the Chinese Ma Yun or the Japanese Atsushi, rather than Americanized versions like <a href="https://thepienews.com/news/chinese-students-proud-actual-names/">Jack Ma</a> or <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/59nqx8/stop-assigning-nicknames-to-your-friends-with-ethnic-names">Sushi</a> — isn’t about aesthetics, it’s about equality and respect.<h2>“Make The World <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Greta">Greta</a> Again!”</h2>On the subject of names which stand for more, I have to end with this <a href="https://www.zeit.de/zeit-magazin/2019/43/vornamen-kinder-greta-pruefers-toechter">sweet story</a>. The author’s young daughter, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Greta">Greta</a>, had always hated her name because it “wasn’t a proper name” and had no natural shortening. She was desperate for a different, more mainstream name, like <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Anne">Anne</a>. But, as the author puts it: “Before, Gretas were rare. Now, everyone wants to be a <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Greta">Greta</a>”.Post-Thunberg, his <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Greta">Greta</a>-hating daughter can be found at youth climate demonstrations, brandishing a large placard with the slogan… You guessed it!

cool-baby.jpg

Baby Name Trends: and other news of the week

by Linda Rosenkrantz<a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/518/welsh-names-for-boys">Welsh names for boys</a> have never been as popular in the US as <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/328/Irish-Baby-Names-for-Boys">Irish boy names</a>. But over the years some have become widespread enough to lose much of their Welsh accents.  I’m thinking names like <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Owen">Owen</a> (#25), <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Evan">Evan</a> (#86) and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dylan">Dylan</a> (#31) and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Trevor">Trevor</a> (#380) and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Griffin">Griffin</a> (#224) and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Morgan">Morgan</a> (#744). Here we have names that we are all familiar with in addition to those above (“Funny, you don’t look Welsh!”), followed by some great Welsh names for boys you may not know, plus some unique Welsh nickname names. <h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/518/welsh-names-for-boys">Welsh Names for Boys</a>: 10 best familiars</h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/DAWSON">DAWSON</a>—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dawson">Dawson</a>’s Creek first propelled this Welsh son-of-<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/David">David</a> name in 1998, boosting at an amazing 550 places in one year; it’s now at #194. An offshoot of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/David">David</a> nickname <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Daw">Daw</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dawson">Dawson</a> was used for characters by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/William">William</a> Faulkner, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sinclair">Sinclair</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lewis">Lewis</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nicholas">Nicholas</a> Spark.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/DEWEY">DEWEY</a>—an early 20th century favorite in the US, thanks to naval hero Admiral <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/George">George</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dewey">Dewey</a>. Recent pop culture Deweys have been the main character in School of Rock and one of the Malcolm in the Middle brothers.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ELLIS">ELLIS</a>/<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ELIS">ELIS</a>–the Welsh form of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Elijah">Elijah</a> via the Greek <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Elias">Elias</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ellis">Ellis</a> was the male pseudonym of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Emily">Emily</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bronte">Bronte</a> when writing Wuthering Heights. Now enjoying a steep rise, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ellis">Ellis</a> is #317 in the US, 87 in England and 59 in Wales. It’s also beginning to be used for girls.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/FLOYD">FLOYD</a>—a name with a more jazzy-geezer edge than <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lloyd">Lloyd</a>, the name of which it’s a variant. Think Pink Floyd.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/GARETH">GARETH</a>—used in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Malory">Malory</a>’s Morte d’<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Arthur">Arthur</a> and by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tennyson">Tennyson</a> for one of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/King">King</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Arthur">Arthur</a>’s knights in his Idylls of the King. A more contemporary character in The Walking Dead, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gareth">Gareth</a> embodies its meaning of ‘gentle’; a coolizing nickname would be Gaz.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/GRIFFITH">GRIFFITH</a>—a classic Welsh boys’ name; many medieval rulers of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wales">Wales</a> were named the original Gruffudd, including the one native Welsh king to rule all of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wales">Wales</a>. It shares the cool nickname <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Griff">Griff</a> with <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Griffin">Griffin</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/MADDOX">MADDOX</a>—a Welsh name very much at home in the contemporary namescape, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maddox">Maddox</a> came into the spotlight when Angelina Jolie chose it for her son in 2003 and is now at #140. The original Welsh <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Madoc">Madoc</a> (MAH-dog) means ‘fortunate’.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/RHYS">RHYS</a>/<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/REESE">REESE</a>—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rhys">Rhys</a>, with the romantic meaning of ‘ardor, passion’, has been a popular name throughout Welsh history. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rhys">Rhys</a> now ranks at #464, while Anglicized <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Reese">Reese</a> is 659—and for girls it’s way up at 159, thanks to Ms. Witherspoon.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VAUGHN">VAUGHN</a>—also spelled <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Vaughan">Vaughan</a>, this <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/518/welsh-names-for-boys">Welsh name for boys</a> peaked in the US at #346 in 1949—the era of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sarah">Sarah</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Vaughn">Vaughn</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Vaughn">Vaughn</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Monroe">Monroe</a>—it is now sometimes reconsidered as an alternative to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sean">Sean</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/YALE">YALE</a>—the collegiate name used for a key character Woody Allen’s Manhattan; a sophisticated middle possibility.<h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/518/welsh-names-for-boys">WELSH NAMES FOR BOYS</a>: 10 hidden treasures</h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/CADOGAN">CADOGAN</a>—a lively surname name borne by several early Welsh leaders<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/CAI">CAI</a> (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/KAY">KAY</a>)—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cai">Cai</a> was described as King <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Arthur">Arthur</a>’s closest companion in the earliest Welsh literature. He lost many of his magical qualities in later Arthurian depictions as <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kay">Kay</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/CAREW">CAREW</a>—a rarely heard surname name with such notable namesakes as early poet <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Thomas">Thomas</a> C and baseball star <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rod">Rod</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/GAWAIN">GAWAIN</a>—a gallant Knight of the Round Table name—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gawain">Gawain</a> was a nephew of King <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Arthur">Arthur</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/JEVON">JEVON</a>—an appealing, modern sounding variation of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Evan">Evan</a>, the Welsh version of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/John">John</a>. Another, somewhat more familiar one, is <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/BEVAN">BEVAN</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/MACSEN">MACSEN</a>/<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/MAXEN">MAXEN</a>—the Welsh version of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maximus">Maximus</a>. The nouveau-sounding <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Macsen">Macsen</a> actually has a long legendary past and is now just outside the Top 50 in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wales">Wales</a>. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maxen">Maxen</a> is an alternate spelling. So, would you prefer <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mac">Mac</a> or <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Max">Max</a>?<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/PARRY">PARRY</a>—a common name in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wales">Wales</a>, particularly as a middle, it comes from ap <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Harri">Harri</a>, or ‘son of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Harry">Harry</a>’. (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Harri">Harri</a>, btw, is now #19 in Wales).<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/SULIEN">SULIEN</a> (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/SIL">SIL</a>-yen)—this was originally the name of a Celtic sun god and there was an 11th century bishop named <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sulien">Sulien</a>, reputed to be the most learned man in Wales. You could add it to the list of sun-related names.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/TEILO">TEILO</a> (_<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/TAY">TAY</a>-lo)—_the name of an important Welsh saint.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/TUDOR">TUDOR</a>– -from Tudur, a Welsh form of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Theodore">Theodore</a>. In its various forms, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tudor">Tudor</a> shows up regularly throughout Welsh history and literature, and later and more famously in English history: The Tudors!<h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/518/welsh-names-for-boys">WELSH NAMES FOR BOYS</a>: Intriguing nickname names</h2>BEDO—a diminutive of Maredudd/<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Meredith">Meredith</a> borne by several medieval Welsh poets.BILO—a nickname for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/William">William</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/IANTO">IANTO</a> (YAN-to)–_a short form of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/John">John</a> via <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ifan">Ifan</a>, one of its several Welsh forms. Increasingly used on its own since it was a _Torchwood character.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/IOLO">IOLO</a> (_YOH-Lo)—_a nickname for Iowerth that’s commonly used on its own; an interesting addition to the list of unusual o-ending boy names.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/LLEW">LLEW</a>—short form of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Llewelyn">Llewelyn</a>, considered a patriotic name that has ranked on its own; another is LLELO.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/NYE">NYE</a>—diminutive of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Aneurin">Aneurin</a>, familiar via <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bill">Bill</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nye">Nye</a> the Science GuyBARTI—a short form of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bartholomew">Bartholomew</a>, whose most noted bearer was a pirate.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/DEIO">DEIO</a>—one of the many diminutives of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dafydd">Dafydd</a>.Linda Rosenkrantz is the co-founder of Nameberry, and co-author with Pamela Redmond Satran of the ten baby naming books acknowledged to have revolutionized American baby naming. In addition to contributing stories on <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/10-years-10-name-trends-we-called">trends</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/classy-classics-picked-by-celebs">celebrity naming</a>, she guides the editorial content and manages the Nameberry <a href="https://twitter.com/nameberry">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://facebook.com/Nameberry-48415585101/">Facebook</a> accounts. You can follow her personally at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lalindro_/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/rosenkrantztalk">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/linda.rosenkrantz">Facebook</a>. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/New">New</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/York">York</a> Review Books Classics novel <a href="https://nyrb.com/products/talk?variant_1094931493">Talk</a> and a number of other books.

welsh-boy-19.jpg

Welsh Names for Boys

by Emma WaterhouseIt’s a fact: <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/665/superhero-names">superhero baby names</a> have never been cooler.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Even">Even</a> without the meteoric resurgence of the <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Marvel">Marvel</a> film franchise over the past decade, superhero-inspired names encompass so many of the <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/10-years-10-name-trends-we-called">hottest baby name trends of the past few years</a>: from celestial names (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Venus">Venus</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nova">Nova</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Orion">Orion</a>) to badass names (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Blaze">Blaze</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rogue">Rogue</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Leviathan">Leviathan</a>) to striking gender-neutral options for both sexes (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Phoenix">Phoenix</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Solstice">Solstice</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Raven">Raven</a>).And even if your naming style leans more towards the ordinary than the extraordinary, there are still plenty of superb underused options to choose from — after all, some of the most iconic superheroes of all time have answered to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clark">Clark</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Peter">Peter</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Diana">Diana</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jean">Jean</a>.Here is our pick of 16 of the most stylish superhero-inspired baby names right now. You can also check out our <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/665/superhero-names">full list of superhero names</a> for more inspiration — let us know your favorites in the comments below!<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Arrow">Arrow</a>: This dynamic word name is shooting up the popularity charts on both sides at the moment, given to 172 boys and 106 girls in 2018. It’s also in the <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular_names/Nameberry">Top 700 for boys here on Nameberry</a> — a good indication of further gains in the future. Vowel-rich and ending in that energetic O sound, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Arrow">Arrow</a> is bang on trend.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clea">Clea</a>: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Sister">Sister</a> name <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cleo">Cleo</a> is a rising star, especially across the pond in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/England">England</a> &amp; <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wales">Wales</a>, where it entered the Top 200 for the first time last year. But sweet, strong <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clea">Clea</a> — which shares the impressive meaning of “glory” — remains under the radar.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Crimson">Crimson</a>: Rarer than <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Scarlet">Scarlet</a>, and more vibrant than <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rose">Rose</a>, fiery <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Crimson">Crimson</a> is an interesting addition to the palette of <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/255/Color-Names-for-Babies">color names for babies</a>. It’s usually used for around twice as many girls as boys in any given year, but with that fashionable -son ending, this one feels totally gender-neutral to us.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dash">Dash</a>: This dashing mini-name leapt onto the baby name charts in 2005, the year after Pixar’s The Incredibles hit the big screen. It’s now given to around 300 baby boys per year in the US — more than twice as many as its usual long form, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dashiell">Dashiell</a>. If energetic names are your thing, it’s hard to think of one more dynamic than <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dash">Dash</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Elektra">Elektra</a>: Speaking of energetic: here’s an ancient name that feels almost… well, electric. Deriving from the Greek word for “amber”, it would make a powerful choice for parents who are willing to look beyond its mythological baggage.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Indigo">Indigo</a>: A bouncy bohemian pick that feels perfectly at home on either sex, with cool nickname <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Indy">Indy</a>/<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Indie">Indie</a> coming as a bonus. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Indigo">Indigo</a> has seen a big uptick in usage for both genders over the past five years, now ranking just outside the Top 1000 for girls.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Falcon">Falcon</a>: There’s been a whole menagerie of wildlife names unleashed on the baby name charts in recent years: from fierce <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Fox">Fox</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Bear">Bear</a> to sweet <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Birdie">Birdie</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Wren">Wren</a>. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Falcon">Falcon</a> — the name of the first African-American superhero in mainstream comics — would make for a perfect stands-out/fits-in choice.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jubilee">Jubilee</a>: In the case of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Marvel">Marvel</a>’s teenage superhero, this fun name is short for Jubilation — but we think <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jubilee">Jubilee</a> is joyful enough. If you love the rhythm of popular picks like <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Emily">Emily</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Avery">Avery</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Everly">Everly</a>, this could be an underused alternative to consider.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kitt">Kitt</a>: The name of the super smart four-wheeled sidekick in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Knight">Knight</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rider">Rider</a> is also a traditional short form of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Christopher">Christopher</a> — or <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Katherine">Katherine</a>, for a girl. Spelling variant <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kit">Kit</a> is a Nameberry favorite, ranking in the Top 200 for boys and the Top 800 for girls on the site.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lex">Lex</a>: Not a superhero, but an iconic supervillain: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lex">Lex</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Luthor">Luthor</a> is the brilliant arch-enemy of Superman. Originally a short form of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alexander">Alexander</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lex">Lex</a> could make for an unexpected alternative to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alex">Alex</a> or <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Xander">Xander</a> for parents seeking a shorter, fresher form of the name.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Marvel">Marvel</a>: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Captain">Captain</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Marvel">Marvel</a> is one of the latest superheroes to get her own big-screen origin story, released earlier this year. There’s also a male <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Marvel">Marvel</a> in the Hunger Games franchise, making this an unusual and upbeat unisex option.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maxima">Maxima</a>: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Even">Even</a> if it didn’t belong to a DC superhero, regal <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maxima">Maxima</a> sounds like a name for a strong woman. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Mark">Mark</a> Zuckerberg and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Priscilla">Priscilla</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Chan">Chan</a> got this when they named their firstborn <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maxima">Maxima</a> “<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Max">Max</a>” in 2015, and the ever-elegant <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Queen">Queen</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Maxima">Maxima</a> of the Netherlands is another powerful real-life namesake.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Onyx">Onyx</a>: An intriguing unisex nature name which couldn’t be more on-trend if it tried, with its cool O initial and edgy X ending. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alanis">Alanis</a> Morrissette used it for her second child, a daughter, in 2016.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Samson">Samson</a>: A Biblical name with connotations of enormous strength — even without the link to the muscle-bound DC superhero. Still outside of the US Top 500 for now, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Samson">Samson</a> is climbing fast, as parents look for a fresh alternative to <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Samuel">Samuel</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Tempest">Tempest</a>: Stormi… with a Shakespearean twist. There are several male superheroes in the DC universe who go by this name, but it’s only ever ranked for girls in the US. Either way, it’s a powerful and all-but-unique option for the truly bold baby namer.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zuri">Zuri</a>: We predicted a big boost for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zuri">Zuri</a> following the release of Black Panther in early 2018. And sure enough, it rose sharply last year — but for girls, rather than boys. Its sharp Z initial certainly makes it an eye-catching choice for either sex.Emma Waterhouse — better known as @katinka around these parts — joined the team in 2017, writing about everything from <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/nameberry-pregnancy-101">pregnancy and birth</a> to <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/fantastic-baby-namers-in-fiction-and-fact">unique baby names from fiction</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/enchanted-names-for-boys">fantasy</a>. As Nameberry’s head moderator, she also helps to keep our active <a href="https://nameberry.com/nametalk/">Forums</a> community ticking. A linguist by background, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Emma">Emma</a> speaks six languages and lives in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/England">England</a>‘s smallest county with her husband and three young children. You can reach her at <a href="mailto:emma@nameberry.com">emma@nameberry.com</a>.

dreamstime_s_114964944.jpg

16 Super Superhero Baby Names

By <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Linda">Linda</a> RosenkrantzThe category of <a href="https://nameberry.com/search?per_page=30&q=c+names+for+boys">boy names starting with C</a> is one of the most bountiful and captivating in the alphabet.  There’s truly something for everyone, from classics to notable namesakes to names from nature, mythology, history and the arts and pop culture.Here we pick some of the best <a href="https://nameberry.com/search?per_page=30&q=c+names+for+boys">boy names starting with C</a> in various classifications.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Calder">Calder</a>—Best artist name for boys starting with C (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alexander">Alexander</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Calder">Calder</a>, sculptor) Runner-up: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Claude">Claude</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Monet">Monet</a><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Calhoun">Calhoun</a>—Best Irish boy surname starting with C (Runner-up: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Calloway">Calloway</a>)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Caliban">Caliban</a>—Best unusual Shakespearean name for boys starting with C<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Canyon">Canyon</a>—Best uncommon nature name for boys starting with C<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Carlow">Carlow</a>—Best Irish county/place name for boys starting with C.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Carver">Carver</a>—Best rare occupational name starting with C (also with literary links)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Casper">Casper</a>—Best unscary cartoon ghost name starting with C<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Caspian">Caspian</a>—Best sea and literary (Chronicles of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Narnia">Narnia</a>) name starting with C (it now ranks at #801)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cassius">Cassius</a>—Best Ancient <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Roman">Roman</a> Shakespearean <a href="https://nameberry.com/search?per_page=30&q=c+names+for+boys">boy name starting with C</a> (now #596) (Runner-up: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cato">Cato</a>)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cedar">Cedar</a>—Best tree name for boys starting with C (Runner-up: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cypress">Cypress</a>)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cerulean">Cerulean</a>—Best color name for boys staring with C<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Chaplin">Chaplin</a>—Best Old Hollywood icon name for boys starting with C (Runner-up: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cagney">Cagney</a>)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Charles">Charles</a>—Best royal classic name for boys starting with C<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Chester">Chester</a>—Best geezer name starting with C (Runner-up: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clem">Clem</a>)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cillian">Cillian</a>–Best Irish TV star name starting with C (<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cillian">Cillian</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Murphy">Murphy</a>, Peaky Blinders)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clark">Clark</a>—Best superhero alter-ego name starting with C (now # 377) (Runner-up: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Carter">Carter</a>, Hawkman)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cleanth">Cleanth</a>—Best pastoral poetry C-name for boys (Runner-up: Corydon)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clyde">Clyde</a>—Best jazzy-cool boy name starting with C (now #724); Runner-up: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Coltrane">Coltrane</a>)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cole">Cole</a>–Best single-syllable nursery rhyme character name starting with C (now #118)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Conan">Conan</a>—Best C-starting TV host name (Runner-up: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Carson">Carson</a>)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cormac">Cormac</a>–Best Irish mythological king name starting with C (Runner-up: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cian">Cian</a>)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cosmo">Cosmo</a>—Best o-ending boy name starting with C (Runner-up: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cairo">Cairo</a>)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cove">Cove</a>—Best unusual water-related boy name starting with C<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Crispin">Crispin</a>—Best <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Harry">Harry</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Potter">Potter</a> boy name starting with C (Runner-up: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cornelius">Cornelius</a>)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Crist">Crist</a>óbal–Best unusual international path to boy nn <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Chris">Chris</a> (Runner-up: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Christo">Christo</a>)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Crosby">Crosby</a>—Best musical C name for boys (Runner-up: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cash">Cash</a>)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cullen">Cullen</a>— Best C-boy name from Twilight (now at #589) (Runner-up: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Carlisle">Carlisle</a>)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cyrus">Cyrus</a>—Best celebrity-rescued C name for boys (#389) (by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Clare">Clare</a> Danes and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Hugh">Hugh</a> Dancy in 2012) (Runner-up: <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cy">Cy</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zoe">Zoe</a> Saldana, 2015)<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Linda">Linda</a> Rosenkrantz is the co-founder of Nameberry, and co-author with <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Pamela">Pamela</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Redmond">Redmond</a> Satran of the ten baby naming books acknowledged to have revolutionized American baby naming. In addition to contributing stories on <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/10-years-10-name-trends-we-called">trends</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/classy-classics-picked-by-celebs">celebrity naming</a>, she guides the editorial content and manages the Nameberry <a href="https://twitter.com/nameberry">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://facebook.com/Nameberry-48415585101/">Facebook</a> accounts. You can follow her personally at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lalindro_/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/rosenkrantztalk">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/linda.rosenkrantz">Facebook</a>. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/New">New</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/York">York</a> Review Books Classics novel <a href="https://nyrb.com/products/talk?variant_1094931493">Talk</a> and a number of other books.

dreamstime_s_63126573-1.jpg

Best Boy Names Starting with C

by Linda Rosenkrantz<a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/smartypants-baby-names">Brilliant baby names</a> sparkled once again on the September Birth Announcements forum.There was one pair of perfectly paired twin names: Isabel Therese and Leo Henri. Unusual names included Winry, Geddy, Hercule and Woods, plus middles Obelia and Calloway, and sibs Blythe Lavender, Ignatius Peter, Indigo Robert and Hespera Catherine Ophelia. Wow!Here’s the full contingent.<h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">Baby Girl Names</a></h2>Camille Rosalie, sister of Ruth Eloise“We did a lot of considering and going back and forth on her name…It may not have been the most popular on our polls but when we met our little princess we just couldn’t imagine her as anything but a Millie!”Evangeline Lark Yael, nn Evie, sister of Asher Grey“My husband and I wanted both our son and daughter to have names that mean/evoke happiness, goodness, positivity.  Asher means “happy/blessed” in Hebrew and Evangeline means “bearer of good news.” We also wanted names that have a nice nickname built in: Ash and Evie fit the bill.  For middle names we wanted a word/nature name. So we chose Grey for our son and Lark for our daughter (while Grey may seem a rather somber choice that doesn’t fit with the happiness theme, we chose it because we love the color and it signifies the opposite of black-and-white, all-or-nothing thinking which can at times lead to trouble.  And Lark–well we all know of the bird and the idiom “happy as a lark.” Gwen Obelia, sister of Blythe Lavender, Keir and Solomon (Sol)“We have sought to maintain a “simple but unusual” vibe throughout our naming journey and wanted to choose a single syllable, recognizable but uncommon name to round out and ground our sibset.  We had all but decided on Neve, but when we met our daughter, her name was clearly Gwen, like 3 of her great-grandmothers before her. Obelia references an Australiana folktale by author May Gibbs, a story close to our family’s heart.”Hayden Rose, sister of Preston Ryder.Isabel Therese, twin of Leo Henri and sister of Amelie Hope, Eleanor Lucy and Juliet AinsleyOphelia Rose, sister of Susannah Daisy“I absolutely love both their names.”Rosalind Phoebe James, sister of Jane Ada Kathryn“We decided that whether we had a son or a daughter, we wanted to honour both of our fathers with our second child’s name. Rosalind’s first and last initials are the same as her grandpa’s and she shared the middle name James with her grandpa.  It’s simply a name that I love, though the avian connection, and the lovely meaning are definitely both a bonus.”Theodora Jewel, sister of Raphael David and Ignatius (Iggy) Peter“We ultimately chose Theodora from among my many favorite vintage names because it shares the same meaning as my husband’s name: “gift from God.” Jewel was my great grandmother’s name.  It was truly a dream come true to welcome a baby girl to our family and to finally get the chance to use one of my beloved baby girl names.”Winry Violet“We chose her name months before. Winry! Because I have always wanted a little Winnie but for some reason have a hard time with it being a stand-alone name.  And my husband didn’t like any of the other options for a ‘full’ name (even though I know Winnie &amp; Winry are the same length…it feels more complete to me) and Violet because I wanted something a little more feminine, whimsical and vibrant but also familiar to balance out the uniqueness of Winry.”<h2><a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">Baby Boy Names</a></h2>Eli Claude, brother of Gideon David and Henry Landon“It took a while but we finally found the perfect name for our little guy.”Geddy Ronin, brother of Indigo Robert“Geddy is after my husband’s favorite musician, Geddy Lee.  DH also came up with Ronin, which he likes for the ‘samurai with no master’ meaning.  I also like Ronin as a fall-back name in case Geddy doesn’t like his first name, especially since it is at a level of popularity in the US where it will be familiar but not super common to Geddy’s generation.”Hercule Alexander St John, brother of Hespera Catherine Ophelia“Hercule is pronounced EHR-KUYL. It’s the French name for the Greek hero Hercules.  Both Alexander and St John are family names.”Leo Henri, twin of Isabel Therese and brother of Amelie Hope, Eleanor Lucy and Juliet AinsleyWoods Calloway, brother of Willow Harper and Winston Oakes

babyberry-welcome-to-the-world.jpg

Brilliant Baby Names: Evangeline, Winry and Woods

by Linda RosenkrantzWhen it comes to <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/255/Color-Names-for-Babies">color names for babies,</a> the royal color purple offers more appealing variations than almost any other in the rainbow. By far the most popular is sweet floral Violet, which, after resting quietly for many decades started to rise again, especially after it was chosen by Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck in 2005. And it’s now in the Top 50, at #43, and 24 on Nameberry.But there are many other wonderful purple-hued choices beyond Violet, from the soft lavender and lilac to the vivid magenta and fuchsia.Mauve (rhymes with stove)The gentle, sentimentally nostalgic Mauve, similar in sound to the growing-in-popularity Maude and Maeve, gave its name to a whole decade: the 1890’s was known as the Mauve Decade.  Its Spanish translation is Malva, offering another distinctive purple-family possibility.MagentaThe strong purplish-red Magenta appeared in Harry Potter as Magenta Comstock, an experimental artist whose portraits’ eyes could follow a viewer all the way home and who was ‘Wizard of the Month’ in 2007.  The color was named for the town of Magenta, Italy, and would fit in well with other Mag-starting names.FuchsiaWith its tricky spelling, Fuchsia has not found many takers as a baby name, though singer Sting did use it for his now grown daughter, inspired by a character in the Gormenghast trilogy. The name Fuchsia is derived from a plant named for early German botanist Leonhart Fuchs, becoming an official color name in 1892.LilacThe fragrant Lilac, found in Greek mythology, is considered a harbinger of Spring, and in the language of flowers symbolizes first love. It’s Number 715 on Nameberry, and could become a rival to Violet.LavenderA lacy vintage <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/255/Color-Names-for-Babies">color name for babies</a> that has the Berry stamp of approval—it’s now at Number 514 on NB.  This is one of the many nostalgic names we can thank J. K. Rowling for reviving, via the Harry Potter witch Lavender Brown. Lavender is also a best friend to Roald Dahl’s Matilda and a character in Anne of Green Gables.AmethystGem names like Pearl and Ruby are beginning to be joined by more exotic ones like Topaz and Sapphire–and Amethyst. The purple birthstone for February could make a unique choice for a girl born in that month. Never in the Top 1000, it is now Number 894 on Nameberry.  Trivia tidbit: It’s the real first name of Australian rapper Iggy Azalea.IndigoThe vibrant and evocative Indigo, which is a deep blue-purple dye from plants native to India, is particularly striking for both boys and girls.  Lou Diamond Phillips used it for his daughter, Liberty Phoenix for a son. It’s especially popular for girls in England at the moment.OrchidOne of the most exotic of blooms, Orchid is a shade of purple, even though the flower itself appears in different colors. With many parents seeking O names, some might consider this unusual choice. In the Language of Flowers, the Orchid symbolizes love, beauty, sophistication and refinement.PlumPretty plum is showing up more and more as a middle name choice.  It was first noticed on Brit-born novelist Plum Sykes, who was born Victoria and given that nickname via the variety of fruit called the Victoria Plum.  A luscious middle name choice—used as such by Moon Unit Zappa for daughter– it wasn’t identified as a color name until 1805.IolantheThe romantic Iolanthe is derived from the Greek words for violet flower, as is Ianthe, which was used by the poet Shelley for one of his daughters.  Iolanthe is a comic opera by Gilbert &amp; Sullivan—and also a character in the X-Men universe.  A favorite of early English poets, it was used by writer Richard Brautigan for his daughter. The Spanish version Yolanda is yet another dramatic twist on Violet.Linda Rosenkrantz is the co-founder of Nameberry, and co-author with Pamela Redmond Satran of the ten baby naming books acknowledged to have revolutionized American baby naming. In addition to contributing stories on <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/10-years-10-name-trends-we-called">trends</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/classy-classics-picked-by-celebs">celebrity naming</a>, she guides the editorial content and manages the Nameberry <a href="https://twitter.com/nameberry">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://facebook.com/Nameberry-48415585101/">Facebook</a> accounts. You can follow her personally at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lalindro_/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/rosenkrantztalk">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/linda.rosenkrantz">Facebook</a>. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed New York Review Books Classics novel <a href="https://nyrb.com/products/talk?variant_1094931493">Talk</a> and a number of other books.

purpleindigo.jpg

Color Names for Babies

by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Linda">Linda</a> Rosenkrantz<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Even">Even</a> in this era of streaming, TV still sticks to having seasons in which new shows are launched.  We’re now in the thick of Fall <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Season">Season</a> debuts, and so I thought I’d do a name search of those that have either debuted or are about to, to see what prospective <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/1/hot-celebrity-baby-names">hot new names</a> we could find.One of the most anticipated show is The <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Morning">Morning</a> Show, starring <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jennifer">Jennifer</a> Aniston, in her first TV outing since Friends. She was <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rachel">Rachel</a> then—perfect for 1994—and this time she is—perfect for 2019—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alex">Alex</a>.  But much more interesting is the name of her partner in crime/antagonist played by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Reese">Reese</a> Witherspoon—<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/BRADLEY">BRADLEY</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jackson">Jackson</a>. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that writers’ room session.Let’s look at some of the other unexpected TV character names of this season:<h1><a href="https://nameberry.com/list/1/hot-celebrity-baby-names">Hot New Names</a> for Girls on TV</h1><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ALASKA">ALASKA</a>—This one is right in the title of the show, Looking for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Alaska">Alaska</a>, based on <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/John">John</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Green">Green</a>’s bestselling novel. The teenaged male protagonist is the on-trend <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Miles">Miles</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ASTRID">ASTRID</a>—In the starry political satire The Politician, we not only have a featured character named <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Astrid">Astrid</a>, but <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Gwyneth">Gwyneth</a> Paltrow as <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Georgina">Georgina</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jessica">Jessica</a> Lange as hard-to-picture <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dusty">Dusty</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/INFINITY">INFINITY</a>—The most startling name on The Politician is <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Infinity">Infinity</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jackson">Jackson</a>, who is played by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zoey">Zoey</a> Deutch (lookalike daughter of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lea">Lea</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Thompson">Thompson</a>).<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/DEX">DEX</a>– In Stumptown, based on a series of graphic novels, protagonist <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dex">Dex</a> Parios, played by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Cobie">Cobie</a> Smolder, is a strong and sharp <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Army">Army</a> vet who becomes a private eye. A new to us nickname name for girls.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/JULES">JULES</a>—Two lady <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Jules">Jules</a>(es): one played by lead <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Kat">Kat</a> Denning in Dollface, and another in Euphoria. So no longer just a nickname for <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Julia">Julia</a>/<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Julie">Julie</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/LAVINIA">LAVINIA</a>– In <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dickinson">Dickinson</a>, the real-life series based on <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Emily">Emily</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dickinson">Dickinson</a>, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Lavinia">Lavinia</a> (called <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Vinnie">Vinnie</a>)—a vintage name and nickname we love—is her younger sister who was instrumental in the posthumous publication of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Emily">Emily</a>’s poems.  She’s portrayed by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Anna">Anna</a> Baryshnikov. Also in this series is the female <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ABIAH">ABIAH</a>, the unisex biblical name of the poet’s friend and correspondent<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/MONA">MONA</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/LISA">LISA</a>—Seriously? Well, Daybreak is presented as a post-apocalyptic high school comedy-drama complete with evil jocks and zombie-like Ghoulies. Almost as out there as the child called  SANTAMONICA (sic) in Mixed-ish, the spin-off of <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Black">Black</a>-ish, which again features <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rainbow">Rainbow</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Johnson">Johnson</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/PIPER">PIPER</a> is the age-appropriate name of a young character in the ABC series Emergence. Her bright and zippy name entered the list in 1999 (soon after the debut of Charmed) and is now at #88.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/RUE">RUE</a>—In the high school drama, Euphoria, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Rue">Rue</a> is played by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Zendaya">Zendaya</a>, her character name plucked from the Hunger Games playbook.<h1><a href="https://nameberry.com/list/1/hot-celebrity-baby-names">Hot New Names</a> for Boys on TV</h1><a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/ANSEL">ANSEL</a>-Another Stumptown character is <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ansel">Ansel</a> Parios.  <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ansel">Ansel</a> seemed to be a quasi one-person name tied to photography great <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ansel">Ansel</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Adams">Adams</a> until <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Adams">Adams</a> became the namesake of young heartthrob <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ansel">Ansel</a> Elgort, son of a photographer. The trendy <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/GREY">GREY</a> also inhabits Stumptown.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/BURR">BURR</a> —Daybreak, features <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Matthew">Matthew</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Broderick">Broderick</a> as cheerful school principal <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Burr">Burr</a>. Unfortunately for us, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Burr">Burr</a> may well be his surname.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/DION">DION</a>—The title character of Raising <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Dion">Dion</a>, a web TV series about a young boy with superpowers (illustrated). An ancient name with contemporary cool, had a walk-on in <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Shakespeare">Shakespeare</a>’s The <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Winter">Winter</a>’s Tale, gained a doo-wop vibe in the 50s, and was used by <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Golden">Golden</a> Age Hollywood’s <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Barbara">Barbara</a> Stanwyck for her son..<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/DEACON">DEACON</a>–What We <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Do">Do</a> in The Shadows is a mock-doc about four Staten Island vampires named VIAGO, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/VLADISLAV">VLADISLAV</a>, PETYR and <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Deacon">Deacon</a>. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Deacon">Deacon</a> became a baby name after <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ryan">Ryan</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Philippe">Philippe</a> discovered it in his family history and he and then-wife <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Reese">Reese</a> Witherspoon used it for their son,<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/NICO">NICO</a>-In the new crime procedural/family drama Prodigal <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Son">Son</a>, there is a character named <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nico">Nico</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Stavros">Stavros</a>. <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Nico">Nico</a> is one of the most dashing o-ending boy (and girl) names, now at #382.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/OCTAVIO">OCTAVIO</a>— In the upcoming sci fi web series For All Mankind, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Octavio">Octavio</a> Rosales is a recurring character. A Spanish numeral name meaning eighth and deserving of the kind of attention <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Octavia">Octavia</a> is getting, it has a distinguished namesake in Nobel Prize winning poet <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Octavio">Octavio</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Paz">Paz</a>.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/OLLIE">OLLIE</a> –In The First Wives Club, a loose remake of the 1996 film with a black cast, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ollie">Ollie</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Washington">Washington</a> is an adorable child character.  With all the baby Olivers around, <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Ollie">Ollie</a> is bound to break off on his own.<a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Linda">Linda</a> Rosenkrantz is the co-founder of Nameberry, and co-author with <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Pamela">Pamela</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/Redmond">Redmond</a> Satran of the ten baby naming books acknowledged to have revolutionized American baby naming. In addition to contributing stories on <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/10-years-10-name-trends-we-called">trends</a> and <a href="https://nameberry.com/blog/classy-classics-picked-by-celebs">celebrity naming</a>, she guides the editorial content and manages the Nameberry <a href="https://twitter.com/nameberry">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://facebook.com/Nameberry-48415585101/">Facebook</a> accounts. You can follow her personally at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lalindro_/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/rosenkrantztalk">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/linda.rosenkrantz">Facebook</a>. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/New">New</a> <a href="https://nameberry.com/babyname/York">York</a> Review Books Classics novel <a href="https://nyrb.com/products/talk?variant_1094931493">Talk</a> and a number of other books.

Articles by Linda Rosenkrantz