Articles by upswingbabynames

Angela Mastrodonato created Upswing Baby Names to celebrate names on the upswing. She is a big-time name watcher, and has a growing list of names she watches by tracking their popularity each year. Sign up here to get your copy of this Watch List.

Thu Apr 09 2015

Spicy Baby Names

Looking at spice names for babies, Angela Mastrodonato points out which ones are usable and which are no-nos.
Tue Mar 31 2015

Surprising Homespun Nicknames: Elsie, Sadie & Effie

Relaxed and comfy down-home nickname names are on the rise in both the UK and the US–some of them quite surprising. Angela Mastrodonato explains.
Thu Mar 12 2015

Names That Get Stuck in the Middle..and why

Angela Mastrodonato offers a fascinating analysis of what kinds of names work as middles–and why.
Sun Feb 08 2015

Alaska Baby Names: Names From America’s Last Frontier

Guest blogger Angela Mastrodonato has found some interesting names that will probably be new to you in the Kilcher clan of Alaska.
Sun Oct 12 2014

TV Names That Never Took Off: Felicity & Frasier

Some TV character names become mega-popular, like Samantha from ‘Bewitched’–but Angela Mastrodonato takes a look at some that didn’t make it.
Thu Sep 18 2014

New Names that Sound Old: Eden, Paisley, Romilly

Some of the freshest sounding names around actually have longer histories than you might imagine, says Angela Mastrodonato of Upswing Baby Names. Are Eden and Auden old or new?
Thu Jun 19 2014

Baby Names that Bridge Generations: Allison and Kyle

Angela Mastrodonato looks at generation-bridging names: names that would fit both mom and baby, such as Natalie, Allison and Kyle.
Sun Apr 20 2014

Old Names That Sound New: Ione, Nova and Archer

You’ve just come upon a name that sounds fresh and new to you–Ione, say, or Archer. But guest blogger Angela Mastroianni points out that some of these stylish “new” names have surprising solid roots.
Thu Mar 13 2014

Modern Classic Baby Names: Cecilia, Calvin and Colin

There are classic classics and then there are modern classics, which also can be divided into two different categories– an interesting distinction, as explained by Angela Mastrodonato.
Tue Feb 18 2014

Eclectic American Girl Doll Names: Cecile, Kanani, and Marie-Grace

Angela Mastrodonato surveys the world of American Girl Doll names–the historic, the vintage, the contemporary, and the international., and finds an interesting variety.