Category: Nature, Place and Word Names
This week’s news includes a wealth of names from Canada, lots of celebrity boy names, and naming stories from the worlds of rugby and baseball.
Names around the world: Octavian and Emilie
There’s a lot of online fanfare about the release of new name data, but have you ever heard of a real-life ceremony for the latest name stats?
This week’s baby name news includes more celebrity twins (no, not Beyoncé’s yet), nicknames and word names, and a Harry Potter name no one’s using.
SPORTING BABIES
Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly welcomed twins called Eva and Mateo, a sister and brother to Cristiano Jr.
If it’s true, it’s a great choice of names for an international sporting star. Eva is a top 50 name in Ronaldo’s native Portugal, and Mateo is popular in Spain, where he currently plays. Both are safely in the US Top 100, and wearable in many other countries and languages.
By Abby Sandel
If you’re expecting a daughter soon, the new most popular baby names stats for the US might be getting a lot of your attention lately.
Every year, it seems like more rarities are discovered. Calliope, Mavis, and Poppy joined the US Top 1,000. Once uncommon choices like Ophelia, Thea, and Wren all climbed more than 100 places in the rankings. Plenty of reliable traditional names, from Charlotte to Margaret, also gained in use.
Does that mean they’re unwearable? Not at all! But for parents seeking something truly unexpected, finding a great name will take some digging. We’ve got the rarest of the rare names here. But plenty of choices are slightly more familiar, while still remaining uncommon.
If you’re determined to find a name shared by only a handful of children, this list of 50 unusual girl names is a great starting point.
Every one of these names was given to fewer than 100 – and often, many less – girls born in the US last year. It took 263 births for a name to make the Top 1,000 in 2016. These names don’t even rank in the Top 2,000.
If it’s a boy, they’re all set. But if it’s a girl, Sarah and her husband need a sweetly Southern name to match Titus James and Haddie Mae.
Sarah writes:
Our son’s name is Titus James and our daughter’s name is Haddie Mae. We are currently expecting our third baby and won’t find out the gender until birth. If it is a boy, we plan to name him Shepherd John. But we are stuck for girl names!
I like names that are not super popular, but recognizable enough that people could read it or write it with no problem. I lean toward names that have been around for 100 years and will still be around in 100 more (i.e., no new or trendy names). My husband likes girl names that sound more classic and Southern, but he doesn’t care if it’s trendy or not.
Names we have considered:
Savannah – My husband’s favorite. I like it a lot, too, but I wonder if there’s something similar but less popular out there?
Scarlett– Another name my husband loves that feels similar to Savannah, but I like it less.
Other names on the list that we liked but aren’t sure if we love: Sutton, Noelle, Quinn, Coraline, and Cordelia, Delia for short.
Do you have any suggestions for less popular names that would fit our style?
The Name Sage replies:
By Abby Sandel
In just a few weeks, we’ll see the new popular baby names list for the US. The official list is always packed with surprises, as everything from pop music to sports stars influence what we name our children. Other names rise and fall without any obvious cultural connection, buoyed by style and sound alone. Usually it’s both – a promising name plus a positive association – that makes a name soar.
Here are our bets for some of the names to watch on May 12.