Nameberry’s Newest Baby Name Announcements
By Linda Rosenkrantz
April brought showers of beautifully named berrybabies, including two Olivers, an Oscar and an Otis—O definitely becoming the new ‘it’ vowel for boys. And Angus makes two appearances—as an April arrival and as a big brother.
For girls, we see some unusual middles—Tirzah, Haya and Behati.
There was one single set of twins—the adorably nickname-named Lottie and Minnie.
And here’s the full roster:
GIRLS
Alice Catherine, sister of Lucille Matilda
“We picked Alice because it is a simple pretty name and was inspired by Alice in Wonderland. Catherine is after her maternal grandmother, also liked the set Lucille and Alice. Since we have been calling Lucille “Lu” we think it’s funny we have two sweet girls nicknamed “Lu” and “Al.”
Cecily Isobel, sister of Emmett Carson, Lila Simone and Theo Sullivan
Eleni Jolie, sister of Asher Daniel and Callia Jane
“My husband and I were at complete odds for months and couldn’t agree on anything. We fought on Eliza, Elyse, Emery, Elena, Edith..and I finally came to Nameberry in desperation and given the suggestion of Eleni. I mentioned it to my husband and he fell completely in love with it!”
Evelyn Tirzah, sister of Miriam Lucile
“Choosing her name had proven itself to be challenging and it was like there was no progress to be made. That’s where we called in your help! And it all went uphill from there.”
Ever Iris, sister of Weston Silas and Oren Henry
“We call her Genevieve, Vieve or Vivi depending on our mood. Genevieve is a family name and we also love the Celtic meaning of “white wave” with its strong yet serene ocean feel. Haven too brings a sense of peace and calm—a safe port in a storm—and is very appropriate for the stormy day on which she was born!”
Lottie Eloise, twin sister of Minnie Jocelyn
“We have decided to name the first twin Lottie Eloise to honour my grandmother-in-law Charlotte and my sister Louise.”
“I’ve had the name Lyra picked out since 2007…before I even met my husband. It was practically a condition of our relationship that he was okay with having a little girl named Lyra someday. Luckily, he was.”
Madeline Willow (for a short time she was Paige Willow), sister of Isla Adeline
Minnie Jocelyn, twin sister of Lottie Eloise
“The second twin has been named Minnie Jocelyn because she was the smallest of the two and I thought it was sweet and Jocelyn honours my husband’s mother’s maiden name.”
Phoebe Clementine, sister of Gabriel James
“I love that it means ‘radiant and merciful.’ Clementine is my mother’s name.’
Quinn Azalea, sister of Leighton Violet
Teresa Haya, sister of Max, Aurelio, Ines and Olímpia
“Haya is after my favorite tree, which if I’m not mistaken is the Spanish name for the Beech tree. It’s pronounced EYE-ah.”
Una Behati, siser of Flynn Zachary, Eden Olivia, Rowan Clarissa, and Toby Maxwell
“We have decided to name her Una Behati because my husband had bought a little toy lamb for her and I was singing Mary Had a Little Lamb and then I remembered that Una meant lamb and it just seemed perfect. My granny is called Beatrice and Behati is the Africaans version.”
BOYS
Angus Loudon, brother of Travis Nevin
“We chose his name for its meaning (“one, unique strength”) and the fact that it shares Shakespearean ties with mommy’s name. Loudon is a family name.”
Blake Valentine, brother of Nova Coraline
“…Blake having the spunk we were after and sweet Valentine to even it out.”
Carr William, brother of Ralph Patrick
“We love his unique and meaningful name: Carr was named after Paul Henry Carr, a U.S. Navy Gunner’s Mate who fought in the battle of Leyte Gulf in WWII and won the Silver Star for his bravery (Hubby and I were on a war documentary kick!). William is a family name.”
“Opinions on a forum post here helped us to settle on his name, and it suits him perfectly.”
Luca Cristiano, brother of Lillian Grace
Oliver Estes, brother of Seth Willis and Flynn Thomas
Oliver Sage, brother of Leah Adele and Felix Gideon
Oscar Frank, brother of Angus Clyde
“We chose Oscar because it’s a name we love and felt it went well as a sibling to big brother Angus Clyde.”
Otis Hendrix Rafferty, brother of Ryan Connor, Kieran Michael Alan, Aurora Melissa Leoni, Bradley Oliver, Tobey Tyler J and Maille Alyssa Menal
Sirius Galloway, brother of Evangeline Camilla
“We both loved the fact that it’s uncommon and the name of the brightest star in the sky, and I enjoyed the Harry Potter connection. My husband is Scott-Irish, and he liked Galloway to honor that.”
Suleiman Rio, brother of Verti Feliz
“Verti named this baby Suleiman as soon as she found out he was coming, She has been enthusiastically singing the Neil Diamond song “Soolaimon” to my belly for months, it just took me a while to listen to her. Of course she knew his name all along…Suleiman means peace. Our hope is for him to become a man who practices and inspires peace throughout his life. Rio means river—a nod to his birth near the beautiful Whanganui Awa. His nickname is Manu, which means bird in Maori.”
Truett Steven, brother of Aurora, Sebastian and Conrad
“We wanted a name that was recognizable but still something startling, something you don’t hear everyday but doesn’t strike you as very odd. We like formal, kind of stuffy names with a nickname that offers something completely different…The name Truett definitely took us by surprise. In the midst of the name hunt it leaped off the computer screen at me, causing me to wake up my sick-in-bed husband to see what he thought and make some phone calls to run it by a few trusted family members. No other name had impacted me that way! We loved the nickname potential of “True” and loved that one friend remarked that Truett sounds like a sheriff in the wild west and another said he could be a southern gentleman; we like names with possibilities!”
Walter Renato, brother of Emmaline Lily
“His first name was chosen with a much-beloved great-uncle in mind, we also just loved the name! Classic, strong, gentlemanly. Not trendy or popular. And oh so literary! The Breaking Bad connection was unfortunate, but not a deal breaker…The origin of his middle name began with my love of the Italian language. I studied abroad in Tuscany multiple times…Renato is an old Italian name which means “reborn,” and since our little guy was due right at Easter time—and at the height of spring’s bloom at its best—we felt no other name could be as meaningful to us on either a spiritual or aesthetic level.”
With all the Royal Baby Name hubbub, we didn’t get to post our annual Guess the Top 10 Baby Names contest. So in advance of tomorrow’s big announcement of the 2014 US top names, we’re running the contest over on our Facebook page. The first person to guess the new Top 10 for both sexes in correct order wins a complete library of our ebooks. Enter to win now!