Category: International Baby Names
This week’s news includes what’s hot in Canada and Iran, rethinking grandpa names, and how to deal with too many Jacobs on a football team.
Canadian baby names: popular and unique
Canada doesn’t publish national baby name statistics, but the provinces release their data one by one over the year. The latest to do so is Alberta, where parents in 2017 loved Olivia and Noah. Olivia is also top in Nova Scotia and Manitoba, but Noah doesn’t make the top spot in any other province (that we know of. We’re still waiting for the stats from Ontario). In Prince Edward Island it didn’t even make the Top 10.
By Linda Rosenkrantz
Let’s say you come from a family that has an abundance of male members named John—unsurprising for a name that for four centuries ruled as the Number 1 boys’ Christian name and is still in the US Top 30 with one of its nicknames, Jack, almost as high. And there’s one particular John you want to honor, yet you’re not keen on your son being John IV or one of seven cousin Jacks or eight Jacksons. Well, here are 30 plus related names from around the world that would still pay tribute to Grandpa John.
This week’s news includes unexpected sources of inspiration, Danish triplets, tips for learning unfamiliar names, and the dreamiest girls’ names you’ll hear all week.
Quirky inspiration: from The Crow to the King
If you love unusual stories of how parents found the perfect name, you’re in luck: we’ve got several this week.
First up is Jensen Ackles, the Supernatural actor. You may know that he and his wife Danneel are quite the snazzy namers: they have daughter Justice Jay and girl-boy twins Arrow Rhodes and Zeppelin Bram.
Jensen recently told the story of how they landed on Zeppelin. It’s inspired not by the band Led Zeppelin (although that no doubt gives it extra rock-and-roll cred), but by a knot. Baby Zeppelin was born with a loose knot in his umbilical cord. Later on, looking for ideas, dad browsed a list of sailor’s knots, spotted the zeppelin bend and had a lightbulb moment.
This week’s news includes the top names in the UK and France, names from past generations that need more love, and some of the reasons people don’t like their name.
What’s hot in England and Wales
The big excitement of the week, for anyone who loves British baby names, was the release of the top names for England and Wales in 2017. Here’s the the full Top 100 list and the main highlights you should know. To name but a few: Oliver and Olivia remain on top, Leo and Poppy entered the Top 10, and entrants to the Top 100 included Hunter, Ralph, Aurora and Hallie.
Beyond the usual headlines about parents naming their babies after characters from Game of Thrones, Star Wars and other pop-culture hits (including the unexpected Binky, a reality TV star’s nickname), there’s serious analysis to be done. For example, just like in the US, the pool of names is getting more diverse across all social classes. As the blog British Baby Names points out, 10% of girls got a name in the Top 10, while 7% of girls got a name that was only used once – so there are almost as many girls with unique names as there are with the most popular ones.
By Mélissa Delahaye of Jolis Prénoms
Flower names for babies are very popular all over the world. Naming your baby after one of the most beautiful things in nature is a lovely thing. Here are some French names inspired by flowers. Some of them may surprise you, especially in the boy’s section!
GIRLS
Fleur. Let’s start with the most obvious name on this list. The French word for flower has been commonly used as a name since the 70s. This feminine, free-spirited name sounds both pretty and elegant; its meaning and sweet simplicity are what makes it so appealing.
Anémone is a floral name that relates to the ancient Greek myth of the love story of Aphrodite and Adonis, in which the goddess transforms her wounded lover’s blood into a flower, the crimson anemone, whose delicate blooms are blown open by the wind, accounting for its other name, windflower. With their watercolor-like petals, anemones are one of the daintiest spring flowers and would make a charming name for a baby girl.
