December Berrybabies: Auden Gray and Nina May
by Linda Rosenkrantz
It was Boys’ Month on Nameberry birth announcements in December, with little lads far outnumbering girls, including a pair of boy twins named Auden Gray and Emery Scott.
Most unusual girl baby name: Faralith Garnet. Interesting inspirations include one of the Karamazov brothers, Jasper National Park, the Scottish Isle of Skye, historic NYC Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, the TV show Fresh Off the Boat, Ferris wheels, and Ferris Bueller.
Here’s the full list of Berry December baby names:
GIRLS
Esther Skye, sister of Carl Jonathan
“We kept our trend of naming after a great grandparent. Esther is after my maternal grandmother Mary Esther and we chose Skye after the place on Scotland my husband’s family came from.”
“We fell in love with Evelyn and the nickname Evie because it is classic, strong and lends itself to a spunky nickname. After we decided on Evelyn, we realized it is a combination of my favorite set of grandparents’ names (StEVE and LYNda). That happy coincidence made us even more sure of our choice! My husband let me pick her middle name, so I chose Amelia because it subtly honors several of our relatives, who have names beginning with A. And I just love the way it flows with Amelia.”
Faralith Garnet
“I simply wanted a name that would be as unique as mine was when I was born. It’s an old Scottish name I found on this website. The original version on here is spelled Ferelith, but my husband liked the spelling better with a’s. Middle name Garnet is for the month of January when she was supposed to be born. I have loved that name since I was in high school.”
“She has a big name for a tiny baby and is going by “Margot” for short.”
BOYS
Auden Gray, twin of Emery Scott and brother of Wren Calvin and Bryn Elliott.
“With our little Auden, we didn’t have any idea what name we wanted, although I decided I wanted an A name in honor of my mom, Anne. We sifted through name books up until our final day in the hospital, and honestly, I was concerned our second little boy would remain nameless his entire life. However, when we found Auden, and saw that it meant “old friend,” we realized it was perfect, because from the time he was born, our little Auden radiated a calm, old soul.”
Emery Scott, twin of Auden Gray and brother of Wren Calvin and Bryn Elliott.
“We had already decided we wanted Scott and Gray as the boys’ middle names, in honor of my maternal grandfather and my husband, who is named Graham…Like with our eldest boys’, we wanted strong, yet gentle names for our twin sons. I had actually heard the name Emery for a little boy when I was watching the show “Fresh Off the Boat,” but hadn’t really thought about it until I discovered we were having more sons. When I brought it up to my husband, he loved it a lot, and as I looked at Emery, I fell in love with the name and realized how much he suited it.”
“Ferris is actually a family name as my husband is distantly related to the guy who invented the Ferris wheel, and both my husband and I love the laid-back, mischievous, and overall charming feel that Ferris Bueller gave the name. It also felt like the perfect combination of aa name that he was unlikely to share with anyone else at school while being familiar enough to not be completely whack-a-doodle or difficult to say or spell. As for Edison, we like the inventor and the way it sounds with Edison.”
Fox William, brother of Rose Quinlan
“We chose the name Fox William (Fox, a family surname and William for my father who passed away when I was young) all the way back to our honeymoon 5 years ago. But I got indecision as I got closer to the due date and I really appreciated people here talking me through the pros and cons of other names we were considering, and helping me realize we had already found the name we most loved.”
Ivan Melchior, brother of Una Rosemary, Mariam Tabitha and Lola Amal
“Ivan has always been our top contender but we were second guessing a lot during the pregnancy and went in thinking we’d pick either Basil or Ariel. However, the moment we first looked at him we just knew he was an Ivan! We love that Ivan is a Russian name because we have some ties to Russia and love Russian Literature—Ivan Karamazov actually happens to be one of my favorite characters! Melchior we chose at my Christian husband’s suggestion and it seemed very fitting for a Christmas baby.”
Jasper Theodore, brother of Rosemary Olivia and Simon Jacob
“I initially found Jasper because I was looking for a “J” middle name to honor a family member. Both my name and Jasper are Persian, so it had a (very) subtle connection to my own name. However, as we searched and failed to find a first name we liked, Jasper gradually rose to the forefront. We love the nature connection both with the gem and Jasper National Park. Theodore was another frontrunner over the past several weeks (and months), but I was held back by its popularity. My husband is a professor. He solicited his students’ opinions one day and they all said Theo. He’s been sold on the name since. I feel calmed that if Jasper somehow doesn’t feel right in the weeks and months to come, we can switch to Theo. Now may I never have another boy, for the simple reason that naming a boy may kill me. Alternatively, a fourth will be John or Jane. Done and done.”
Lachlan Griffith, brother of Callum Bernard (often called ‘Bear’)
“Both middles are family names and, it turns out, so is Lachlan. It’s unsurprising since we both have Scottish ancestry. I like how both boys get a strong “animal“ in the middle.”
Noel Abraham, brother of Claudia Diane, Florence Adelaide, Lucille Victoria, Greta Odette, Meredith Jane and Teresa “Tess” Marie
“His first name is Noel because his due date was Christmas Eve and his middle name is Abraham after his great uncle. Noel is our long awaited son after 6 girls.”
Sebastian Fiorello, brother of Lorenzo Stavros
“We chose Sebastian because we really liked it, and Fiorello to connect him to our beloved home state of New York, for which Fiorello LaGuardia did great things. We call him Baz for short.”
Wilder Charlie Phoenix, brother of Archer Cohen Bear and Atlas Fraser Finch
“Archie and Finch call him “Wywy”, which I think is sweet. Charlie honors my brother whose middle name is Charles as well as a great-great-grandparent named Lee. The other names are just ones that we love.”
CONGRATS TO ALL!