Sep 17, 2013
The Most Unusual Name You’ve Ever Heard
Forget urban legends, never mind crazy celebrity baby names. What we want to hear are the most unusual names you’ve ever heard in real life.
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Sep 17, 2013
Digging for Family History Names: Abby’s story
Abby Sandel gets personal as she relates the story of her search through her family name history, discovering such treasures as Jupiter, Lane and Orwen.
Sep 16, 2013
Babies with Three Names
What do baby name experts do in their off hours? Why, find more baby names, of course. Here are some recent three-named babies we discovered.
Sep 15, 2013
Celebrity Sibsets: Gia and Nico, Maxwell and Ace
This week Appellation Mountain’s Abby Sandel highlights the year’s best celebrity sibsets so far, from the classic (George, Philipe & Edward) to the creative (Aurora, Wynter & Holiday)..
Sep 15, 2013
G Names: Then and now, hard and soft
Kelli Brady of namefreak! presents an interesting analysis of the history of G-names over the years, and how their sounds have shifted.
Sep 11, 2013
Music Appreciation Names: Top classical composers picks
Happy Classical Music Month! Let’s celebrate with some of the more distinctive composers’ first names–.Artemy, Muzio, Ottorino, anyone?
Sep 8, 2013
Pretty in Pink: Lovely Names for girls like Lucy, Briar, and Calais
Appellation Mountain’s Abby Sandel’s Nameberry 9 names in the news is all pink and pretty this week, with appealing choices like Lydia and Lucy and Alba Violet.
Sep 4, 2013
Classic Girls’ Names: The Claire Contingent–Claire, Clara and Clarissa
Claire, Clara, Clarissa–a family of lovely, clear-eyed vintage names on the rise. Which is your favorite?
Sep 3, 2013
Magical Cirque du Soleil Names
As daring and magical as the feats they perform are these Cirque du Soleil-related names found by Brooke Cussans of Baby Name Pondering.
Sep 3, 2013
What name would change your life?
If my name was Vesper, would I be dating James Bond? I like to think that a name that glamourous might make my life more glamourous too. What name would change YOUR life, and how?
Sep 2, 2013
Baby Boy Names: The long and short of it
Sometimes what you need is not one name but two: a long, elaborate, proper baby name with a short, sleek nickname. Here are some baby boy names that satisfy on both counts.
Sep 1, 2013
Honoring a beloved grandfather by taking his name
Robbie Blair wanted to honor the grandfather he loved, and what better way than taking his name? The next challenge: Finding a way to truly make that name his own.
Sep 1, 2013
Goldilocks Classics for Boys: Holden, Noah, Wyatt and Beau
Abby Sandel of Appellation Mountain classifies this week’s Nameberry 9 as Goldilocks names–modern classics for boys that are not too hot and not too cold, but just right.
Aug 29, 2013
Underused Classic Baby Names: Calvin, Martin and Miriam
There are classic baby names beyond Thomas, Richard and Henry–aka Tom, Dick and Harry– and here Angela Mastrodonato of Upswing Baby Names parses the varieties.
Aug 27, 2013
Baby Name Nicknames: The ubiquitous Addie
Aimee Reneau Tafreshi put a lot of thought into choosing her daughter’s distinctive name–but not as much about how commonplace her nickname might be.
Aug 27, 2013
Your Favorite Names from the Top 100
Let’s set name snobbery aside and celebrate the wonderfulness of the most popular baby names. Share your favorites from among America’s favorites.
Aug 25, 2013
Bold Baby Names: Jett, Cruz, Carmen and Mercedes
It’s been a dramatic week for baby names in the news–from Cruz to Carmen to Shooter. Check out Appellation Mountain’s Abby Sandel’s Nameberry 9.
Aug 23, 2013
Unisex Baby Names: Five new entries
Guest blogger Brooke Cussans has found some unusual names that have entered the charts for both genders for the first time. Music, anyone?
Aug 21, 2013
Neil Gaiman Names: It’s not just Coraline
Many people associate Neil Gaiman with the character name Coraline, but there are myriad others in his vast oeuvre, such as Yvaine, Japeth, Azazel and Auberon.
Aug 21, 2013
Is there only one Romeo?
Juliet has escaped her Shakespearean fate, but is Romeo still inextricably tied to the tragic character? What names have transcended their singular associations — Elvis? Oprah? Clementine? — and which are still linked to one source?
Aug 21, 2013
Where have all the F names gone?
Back in the day, there were a lot more popular names beginning with the letter F than there are now. Kelli Brady of NameFreak! offers her analysis of F-names then and now.
Aug 19, 2013
Popular Boys’ Names: Top 100 Makeover
One of our most popular blogs of all time, a makeover of the top 100 boys’ names, was mysteriously zapped, stolen, disappeared from our archives. Here, our reinvention of that list and of the 100 most popular boys’ names.
Aug 18, 2013
The Anglo-American Baby Name Divide: A view from this side of the pond
We’ve heard from American expats on their views of the UK-US name divide, now Catherine Ens, a British-born teacher at an American school, offers her observations of the differences.
Aug 18, 2013
Mara Matilda, Messiah, Everest, and Ivete: Names in the News
An amazing range of names in the Nameberry 9 by Abby Sandel of Appellation Mountain this week, from Amy and Helene to Cairo and Everest.
Aug 15, 2013
Owen? Max? Lucy? Will They Ever Make the Top 10?
Some names just have a Top 10 feel about them, says Upswing Baby Name’s Angela Mastrodonato, and yet they’ve never made it. Do they still have a chance or has their moment passed?