Just when you start to think the whole Western World — and a good part of the non-Western one too — is one big Gap-wearing, Glee-watching, Lady Gaga-listening society, you come across something like the complete list of Dutch baby names to make you realize how distinct seemingly similar cultures can be.
For the name nerd, there’s a lot here that’s fascinating. But what I focused on especially were the names that are used much more widely in the Netherlands than in English-speaking countries.
It’s pretty astonishing, actually, how many names there are that are well-used there and virtually unknown here. On just the girls’ side (we’ll bring you the boys later this week), you might consider such plums as Azra, Dewi, Jet, and Puck. Not to mention Indy, Quinty, and Saar.
And then there are the Dutch girls’ names – this is the first category – that are familiar in the U.S. and U.K. but that are much more popular in the Netherlands now than they are here. I’m talking about such names as Linda, Lisa, and Robin.
Then there is the group which is more exotic if not totally unknown: Anouk, Famke, Malou. These names are ripe for use by parents who want something unusual but not completely strange.
And if you do want a name that’s a real name and yet truly unique in the U.S. and the U.K.? Then there are dozens of intriguing choices here for you.
Familiar Names More Popular in the Netherlands than in the U.S.
Linda or Linde
Exotic Names More Popular There
Wow, Have You Ever Heard These?
Pamela Redmond
Pamela Redmond is the cocreator and CEO of Nameberry and Baby Name DNA. The coauthor of ten groundbreaking books on names, Redmond is an internationally-recognized baby name expert, quoted and published widely in such media outlets as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Today Show, CNN, and the BBC. She has written about baby names for The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, and People.
Redmond is also a New York Times bestselling novelist whose books include Younger, the basis for the hit television show, and its sequel, Older. She has three new books in the works.