Brilliant Berry Baby Name Picks in April
By Linda Rosenkrantz
Here we are, at the favorite part of my Nameberry month, when I get to find out not what names the Berries have searched, been curious about and considered, but the ones they actually chose when it came time to fill out the birth certificates.
This month we are delighted to announce the birth of a very special babyberry, Thaddeus Gough, to be nicknamed Tad, son of Nameberry’s amazing researcher Esmeralda Rocha aka Esita. That’s Esita and Tad pictured here. Read more about Esita’s name choice below.
Overall, there’s an intriguing mix of the classic (Jane and John) and the unusual (Galilee and Ensley). I think my personal favorite is Fitzgerald Rooney—a perfect combo of two family surnames–and he’s part of a great sibset too!.
There was one name picked by two Berries this month: Ethan.
One pair of twins: John Wilder and Ethan Boone
The complete list of babyberry April baby names:
Girls
Aodhla Elizabeth
“Pronounced Ay-lah. We love the Irish spelling as we live in Ireland.”
Clementine Eve, sister of Cora Sunshine and Findley Samuel
“As soon as she was born we knew she was our little Dorothea. It has a clunky, vintage charm that might not be everyone’s cup of tea but it suits her chubby cheeks, dimples and sweet personality perfectly. My grandma, Doris, also likes to think she is partly named after her and we enjoy that association. Esther is another old name we’ve liked and is also down both our family trees. Pearl was give to honor my husband’s grandma, Margaret, as Margaret means pearl.”
Elowyn Magnolia
Ensley Piper, sister of Rhys Phoenix
“Our last name starts with G, so one of her nicknames will be Gigi. We are also calling her Georgie. I went back and forth between Georgina and Georgiana and ultimately landed on Georgina, I loved both versions of the name for a while after seeing it in Pride and Prejudice and hearing it in the movie The Duchess. After a lengthy list of possible middles, we selected Wallace after my husband’s grandfather.”
Iona Saskia Rose, sister of Otis Spike Alan
“Iona as a name is very special and poignant to us as I lost my father last year…the Scottish island of Iona was one of his favorite places so her name is a special nod to him.”
Isla Ophelia, sister of Emery George and Afton Grace
Jane Elizabeth, sister of Margaret Susan
“We were looking for a classic, strong name that would age beautifully with our little girl. Jane is a timeless name, that seems to be underused. I am a school teacher and I have never taught a little Jane! Elizabeth is the middle name of Jane’s grandma, aunt and cousin and we wanted a family connection for the middle name.”
“After looking at the baby, I immediately thought she looked like a Laura…I love the meaning “laurel” and how it can be a symbolism for victory. We use the Spanish pronunciation of the name, but I really like all the pronunciations, which is important because we are a multicultural family. Emilia is the feminine form of DH’s name. I really wanted her to have a family name and we achieved that. I also love it because my own middle name is after my father and I always enjoyed sharing that with him—hopefully Laura will too.”
Luna Ludivine, sister of Albert Santiago and Sylvie Camelia
“We are a French-Spanish family and it was a challenge to find a name that was more Spanish than French.. Luna was inspired but the film “Sex and Lucia,” which I watched frequently when I was pregnant, there’s a beautiful little Luna in it even if the story is tragic. Ludivine we both loved and it is said to mean divine light.”
“We’ve both always loved the name Tessa, but we had trouble coming up with a perfect middle. We love that Vale is uncommon with a nature meaning of Valley. There’s also a Game of Thrones reference which we love.”
“Zelda was an adventurous name choice for our baby girl, but it packs a lot of excitement, courage, girl power and strength in it, which is what we want for our daughter, and in the end there was really no competition.”
Boys
Auden Tully Alexander, brother of Augustus and Andreas
“We wanted something bold and English, since we both have Anglo Saxon ancestors.”
August Ray, brother of Georgia Grace, Amabel Elizabeth and Willa Leigh
Ethan Boone, twin of John Wilder
“Believe it or not, Ethan is actually the name of my wife’s grandfather. I’ve never heard of an Ethan born from that time! Talk about being ahead of the time! Luckily, he is a wonderful, admirable man and has managed to live to be 97 years old!”
Ethan Hector, brother of Jade Lynn and Daniel Jackson
“He’s already experiencing an abundance of nicknames, from Rhett (his Pops calls him that) to Link to (our nn) Ev and Ev-O.”
Fitzgerald Rooney, brother of Evangeline Louise, Casimir John and Ignatius Hayes
“Fitzgerald is maternal great grandmother’s maiden name. Rooney is mom’s maiden name.”
“We chose Harry as we are both lovers of the Harry Potter series and it is a name that is sophisticated but has a naughty streak. We chose Otis as we both love music.”
John Wilder, twin of Ethan Boone
“His first name is my dad’s first name, and his middle name is my wife’s middle name. I think it’s safe to say we hit the jackpot in terms of fantastic honor names.”
Malcolm Roger, brother of Kate Amaya
Thaddeus Gough
“We wanted names with strong histories to them. Thaddeus is mostly in honour of Thaddeus Stevens, a radical 19th century politician who was at the forefront not only of abolishionism but equal rights across the board. Indeed he was one of the first politicians in the world to bring forward a petition for women’s rights. However we also love the name’s meaning. Gough is for Gough Whitlam, a progressive Australian Prime Minister who introduced many of the rights acts and social programmes at the core of modern Australian society.”