Newsy Baby Names: Billy, Dali, Ivey + True
Kardashian baby: it’s True!
The third KarJenner baby of the year has arrived: Khloé Kardashian welcomed her daughter True last week.
True ticks a lot of boxes. It’s a family name on Khloé’s mother’s side. It kind of echoes dad’s name, Tristan (Khloé previously said that they would have called a boy Tristan Jr.). It’s a bold word name like her half-brother Prince and several of her cousins’ names: North, Saint, Stormi, Dream and Reign. (Not that most parents need to worry about fitting in with the cousins. But for the Kardashians, it’s all about the family brand.) And, as Nameberry’s Pam points out here, truth is a value that’s especially important to the family right now.
True could be added to the list of names that celebs use more than the rest of us. Actors Forest Whitaker and Joely Fisher have daughters named True, and British pop singer Jamelia welcomed her daughter True Winter earlier this year.
Nationally, it’s rising but still rare, and still unisex. In the US, there were 31 girls and 44 boys named True born in 2016. We probably won’t see it in the top 1000 any time soon, but there’s more hope for presidential surname Truman, which ranks #490 on the Nameberry chart.
Middle names with meaning
If you like True but feel it’s too out-there, you could consider putting it in the middle spot – or any of these other meaningful middle names that might be too bold for everyday use.
Or maybe, like Khloé and some of her siblings, you don’t feel the need to use a middle name at all. It’s not for everyone, but this article argues in favor of at least one middle names – it could be helpful if you’re undecided.
In more starbaby news this week, Jamie Lynn Spears gave her new daughter a middle name honoring her late aunt – welcome, Ivey Joan! – while Fuller House actor John Stamos skipped the middle name and used his father’s name for his son, Billy.
Surreal baby names: Dali
What’s your favorite art-inspired name? Lots of artists’ surnames have been used as names over the years, from Monet to Matisse. Now British comedian Noel Fielding has just added another one to the canon by naming his baby (gender unknown) Dali.
Fans of the TV show The Great British Bake Off will know Noel as one of the show’s new presenters, and word is that the surrealist artist (full name Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech) inspired Noel – a painter himself – to join the gingham-clad baking extravaganza.
Let’s not forget that artists themselves are a creative bunch when it comes to naming their children. Here are some of the best names used by fine art painters and sculptors.
French names from Quebec and France
The most popular baby names in Quebec for 2017 have been released, and they’re well worth a look. International superstars Emma and William top the list, but below that, Québécois parents have a style that’s all their own. It includes long grand French names (Béatrice, Rosalie and Raphaël are in the Top 10), short sweet names like Romy and Emile, and names rarely heard elsewhere in North America, like Flavie and Arnaud.
Across the pond, the president of the Miss France panel is expecting a baby! Whatever you think of the contest, its past winners have had some lovely names, like Delphine, Elodie, Iris and Maëva.
Can’t get enough of the French language? You’ll enjoy these lists of undiscovered French names for girls and for boys.
Royal baby fever
Isn’t it great that William and Kate named their new baby Treacle?
Ok, we all know they didn’t. But the Jimmy Kimmel team managed to troll some passers-by, telling them the baby has arrived and is called Treacle. Or Dumbledore. Or Vermouth.
Meanwhile, Mary remains one of the bookies’ favorites (but not the name experts’ favorite) for a girl. If the Cambridges do use it somewhere in the name, she’ll have no end of royal namesakes. Here’s an interesting round-up of some of the queens, consorts and princesses called Mary in history.
By now, you probably know the likely name choices for the new prince or princess off by heart. But here are some names you may not know have royal connections. They include Isla, Brice and Alastair, and unlike Treacle, they’re all bona fide.
And congrats to our weekly reporter, now Clare Green, on her recent marriage!!