The Baby Name Wizard

What are your takes on the name Rowan...is it more of a boys name or girls name. If we were to use it, we'd use it as a boys name. I think the pronunciation is ROW-IN. Is that correct?
Aidan, Kaleigh, and Rowan

Terri - i think it's pretty neutral, gender-wise. My first reaction was "girl" but then I though of Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) and how it sort of reminds me of Roman, which I feel is extremely masculine, so it could easily go for a boy. Maybe even better. I've been giving it more of an AN sound at the end ROW-an. But I could be wrong.

Name Suggestions for Sarah... did you want a T boy name? I think it would be nice.. since the girls both have A's.

Some boy suggestions are Trenton, Trevor, Taylor, Tayte, or Tyson.

Terri:
The only person I have met named Rowan .. and it was pronounced row-in.. was a girl.

Melissa - Tyson? Ugh - all I can think of it Mike Tyson - you seriously don't want THAT association. Tayte seems one of those names he would spend his life telling people how to spell and Trevor is very 60's too. What about Tobias or Thomas? Or my favorite - Theo. Interesting how few good T names there are when you start to look.
Terri - Rowan seems very English - can imagine a little English boy in duffel coat and wellies being a Rowan. Finn is becoming very popular down under - Finlay, Finnbar or Finnigan are long versions - or of course Phinneas.

CK - I know 2 Caden/Kadens! One was just born this week to my DH's cousin. I had never heard it before another friend used it almost 2 years ago. It's a nice name, but I think I'm over the Aidan/Braydan thing. Which is really sad because I like Aidan. I think Jaydan annoys me the most even though according to the baby sites, it has some cool meanings.

Am I the only one who won't actually post my favorite names on here? I haven't seen my favorite name come up much (I'm pregnant at the moment) and just don't want it to become too
popular!

Laney - I'd rather tell some strangers on the internet than a firend who has opportunity to use it locally. But I could see your point, I suppose. I doubt that merely posting a not-so-popular yet name on here is going to give it that immediate jump, but to each his/her own! Good luck with your pregnancy!

Funny Telegraph names in the last ten days:

Anderson, Ossian Dougray, brother for Ethan
Ball, Ilaria Elsa
Kiggell, Balian Augustus, brother for Alexander and Kieran
Redhouse, Laragh Grace, sister for Honor (incidentally, since this is a British child, why does she have the name Honor spelt this way?)

Most popular girls' first name: Beatrice
Most popular girls' middle name: Catherine
Awful middle names:
Turner, Tabitha Amphlis Elizabeth, sister for Eloise
Shepherd, Matilda Finuala Wendy, sister for Thomas
Henderson, Zoe Vanja

Most popular boys' first name: George
Most popular boys' middle name: James
Awful middle names:
Rees, Archie Donald Monach (they even spelt it wrong)

Also there was a girl called Oska and a boy called Rex.

The winner is Balian Augustus Kiggell. He sounds like a fictional character! Closely followed by Ossian Dougray Anderson.

Honor is the usual way the name is spelled in England I think. As in Honoria.

And just because they might live in England and put their children in an English newspaper, they might not neccessarily be English - my very English son was born in Amsterdam and is no doubt included in some statistics somewhere about what Dutch parents are naming Dutch children. Rex, by the way, is quite popular in Holland. Also Dax.

Monach sounds like a family surname to me, rather than a mis-spelled Monarch.

I like the name Ossian - I know one, with brothers Cailean and Max.

Or it could be Monach for the Monach Islands, off the Scottish coast.

Two examples of famous British Honors - the actress Honor Blackman and the model Honor Fraser.

Thanks for the names once again, Abi. I always enjoy them.
I notice you objected to Finuala. I actually like the way it sounds (Fin-U-la), but think the spelling puts me off. It can also be spelled Fionnuala. I love Irish names, but the original spellings are difficult for English speakers.

About Rowan, I like it but my top pick, if I had a boy, is Ronan.
There, someone did tell their name secret.(But I'm not ready to share my girl name yet, heehee).

Although, I found myself agreeing with what Jen said, I still find myself searching for a somehow perfect name. Being a teacher, I quickly rule most names out, but I've seen a lot of you give unique and good suggestions. If anyone can help, I'm all for it...we already know we need a boy name. We'd really like a name that starts with an A or J and sounds good with Adrian (our son's name). We sort of like Aleksy (Alek) but aren't really sure?!

People, you're not supposed to jump in and defend the funny names. Ossian is ridiculous, it doesn't matter if you know one. Monach looks like a spelling mistake to me, as does Honor. I'm sure for every laughable name there is an explanation/justification. Can't we just laugh?

I'm laughing! I love those Telegraph names. We have the "Bundles of Joy" published in our newspaper once a month and the names are never that interesting.

I think Tyson's okay. There's Tyson Beckford. And Tyson chicken but maybe that's only a regional brand...

Vanja sounds like it might be paying tribute to heritage too. I suppose if that were my goal (which it is) I would still aim for something that sounded good in the culture I was living in though.

Is there a more traditional spelling of Aleksy? Aleksei? Alexei? Although I guess if it's a translation from Russian (right?) maybe a traditional English spelling doesn't make any sense. I suppose I'm just curious about the spelling. (Will be back with suggestions later. Finals week is nearing.)

Hey, I value you guys's opinions by now, so I had a question.

Do you look down on a trendy name? I happen to love a girls name right now, its the main character in a series of books that I read, and its perfect. however, at the moment, its terribly popular. I dont like popular names normaly, but this is my perfect name, I love it. Would it be so terrible for me to use it? Even if there are probably a few to many girls with that name out there?

Cn - i can only speak for myself, but I don't look down on trendy names if someone else chooses them. They got to be trendy for a reason, right? There are a handful that I think are ridiculous on the top 1000 (Unique, anyone?), but I happen to like more than half of the top 10. I just don't choose to use them (or I don't at this time - not actually there yet). If you're looking at a name like Emily or Alyssa or Isabelle which is in the top 10, I don't think I'd try and talk you out of it or anything like that beyond the warning (and if you frequent this site, you probably already know) that there are a lot of other people out there using that name.

Cn, I had a friend who felt the same anxiety when she was pregnant with her second child. The name she and her husband had chosen, Emily, seemed perfect to them but they knew it was the most popular name in the nation. They decided to name her Emily despite its popularity, and seem very happy with it (and of course, with her!). I wouldn't let a name's popularity dissuade you. After all, as Christiana said, the name is a hit because it's a likeable name. At least your child won't be teased for having an unusual first name!

My daughter's name was in the top 10 the year she was born and so far (she's four), she has never met anyone her age with the name. So don't sweat it.

Cn

You can't get too worried about it. My parents named me Megan in 1970, b/c it was not popular and I have a common last name.

Imagine their surprise when it became a top 10 name for a decade!

To this day, I have only met one Megan older than me, and she was only a couple of years older.

What do you think about naming a girl Finlay? I'm not sure what the nickname would be because Finn sounds so masculine. I think a celebrity recently had a baby girl named Finlay, but I'm
not sure who. I kind of like it...

Val, I'm dying to know what your top girl name is!

When I look at the top names for my birth year, the only ones that strike me as "too" common are the top ten. These are the ones I remember there being like... 2-3 Jennifers in a class and things like that.

Dammit, i wasn't done yet.

I would probably give a more unique middle name though, just for options. And I think it definitely depends on your last name too. If my last name was Smith or Jones or something I think it would be more important to give my hypothetical kid an unusual name.

Terri: I don't think Finlay is too masculine for a girl but I'm into androgynous names.

Jill: How about Jackson, Andrei... okay this is hard...

Laney: after he or she is born will you tell us what your not-to-be-revealed name was? Or are you still afraid of getting it stolen then?

Just curious. I'm becoming a full-time name nerd on this site, and I want to know what all the regulars name their kids!

Abi - love the Telegraph names! Of course we're going to defend some - but we still laugh :-)
Cn - if you love it to death, use it. Your child might be one of several at school - but then again he/she might not. Like most things its in the lap of the gods. At least he/she will be unlikely to have to spell it for everyone forever.
Jill - love Aleksy/Alexei/Aleksei and have no idea which is best. My spell preference is Alexei but, whatever floats your boat :-) Have you thought of just using Alek?
Laney and Val - since there are only a few of us and we're scattered all over the world - chances are your lovely children's names won't be snapped up in your neighbourhood by someone here. Besides, when it comes to names - we're all living vicariously. Its either that or have a dozen kids to use up some of our many favorites!
Lizpenn - are you interested in older kids or just the new babies named here?

Jill, For "A" names, I like Alec, as well as Archer, Asher and Axel. "J" I love Jonah and Jack. I also teach a boy named Jansen.
Some other fav. boy names of mine you may like...
Gavin, Noah, Dominic and Micah.

Terri, I actually did post 7 of my top 10 girl names earlier in this entry. To be honest, my number 1 changes from day to day. My husband loves Lexi, so right now my fav. is Lexa. (Ronan for a boy)
Anyone else feeling brave?

As for Finlay, I like it for a girl too, but I have a feeling about it becomming popular for boys. I like Aubrey instead, or maybe Sophie.

Right now, the name my husband and I have agreed on (for our baby that will come into being perhaps three years from now at the earliest) is Taren. As a girls name.

I think people may object to the unique spelling but neither of us likes the Y. I like the similarity to Karen.

And people may also say it is more '70s, '80s, or even '90s, but... oh well.

And I am just convinced that we must have a girl or two b/c we've got seven nephews and only one niece. Plus we have the middle name we want to use for a girl (Hanalei--from his family). So no boys names yet.

As the daughter of a Herbert and the granddaughter of an Albert, I can't believe I didn't think of the "-bert" ending for boys' names before now! Shame on me! A quick search on Voyager revealed the following:

Albert 1880s
Bert 1890s
Egbert 1890s (my personal favorite!)
Gilbert 1930s
Dilbert--only one of these, but I'd say he peaked in the 1990s
Herbert 1920s
Hubert 1920s
Humbert--must have been a Nabokov original!
Robert 1930s
Wilbert 1910s

and Rupert 1900s

Interestingly, the "-berto" names peaked in the 1990s with Alberto, Humberto, and Roberto (an exception is Gilberto, which peaked in 2003). Since the Latino population is rising rapidly, I find this a particularly fascinating trend. That drop to me is more significant than it would seem since the number of Hispanic babies born in the US is increasing so rapidly, I would think that the frequency of all Latino names would be as well.

Robyn, I LOVE Taren. I think it would still fit in nicely with popular names and wouldn't sound dated at all. I also know a little Tatum, love that too.

Jill, thought of two more for Adrian's brother, how about Andrew or Isaac.

What's the most unusual name you've ever come across in person? There was a boy in my tutor group at school called Lewin Beowulf Hayes and I think he'd win for me...

Abi, my friend has two little nephews named Parks and Crew. They are unusual names but I love them both.

In my area parents are naming babies more and more unique sounding things, for example, "Brazen".(yikes)

Our toddlers name is Roland. I love that Roland is traditional and unpopular. People find his name refreshing. To heck with Connor, Jack, Tyler, Aidan, etc. People ought to break out more.

Alison G -- Roland is great! Most toddlers I know (in my West Coast city) have names that would also be classified as "traditional and unpopular." Boys named things like Emmett, Ezra, Gilbert, Sterling, Leo, Byron, Lincoln, Julius, Everett ... girls like Matilda, Vivienne, Georgia, Beatrix, Genevieve. Nothing too weird or made-up, just real names that are neither trendy nor obsolete. I actually don't know a single baby named Emma or Jacob (or Jayden or Madison for that matter).

Jill: I thought of more "A" names: Ansel and Anson

Sylvie: According to the Wizard, Emma, Jacob, and Madison are all on their way down. Not Jayden though, which is weird to me cuz the only Jayden I knew was born in '78.

I love Emmett, Ezra, Everett, and Julius. But Gilbert is my dad's name and Leo, Lincoln and Sterling have odd connotations for me (DiCaprio, President, and precious metal). Also, not really feeling any of those girls' names.

I did find a name on the Wizard that seems current although it peaked in the '30s: Nila. I like it, but it doesn't match with my last name.

I think we've (tenatively) decided on Quinn Oliver for a boy and Delaney Brynn for girl (as a sibling for Aidan and Kaleigh). We still love Finn for a boy, but we haven't been able to agree on a longer name. He likes Griffin (i hate it). I like Finlay (he hates it). So we'll probably go with Quinn for a boy.

Terri, just want to say I think you've made great choices. Both names are fresh sounding without being too "out there".

On that note, I love the sound of "Fox". My husband does not, however. I guess I like the soft F mixed with the X sound. The animal association is not so much the problem as is nn Foxy. Does anyone have any alternate ideas?

I always think the name Fox sounds like a cartoon character's name, or a character in a video game. It's quite edgy, I suppose, if you like that sort of thing.

I have recently met two little boys named "Crew" - one was about 5 and the other about 2. I had never heard the name before. Is this a new trend?
I'm not sure about Fox, but then again I'm into pretty traditional names so I'm probably not the best judge.

I don't see Ossian as ridiculous. It's a variant on the Celtic 'Oisin', and it makes me think that the parents are sufficiently educated to be familiar with MacPherson's Ossian Cycle.

But 18th-cent. lit. was my field, so I'm biased. I had to take deep breaths not to make 'Clarissa' and 'Pamela' be my top girls' name choices.

Alison,

'Roland' is a great choice! A name with connotations of chivalry, heroism, brotherhood and self-sacrifice.

Sharon,
Why not go all out and use 'Shamela'?! I am so impressed whenever I hear of anyone who actually liked Clarissa (the book, not the name). It killed me. I found other books of that period delightful (Tristram Shandy, Tom Jones, and Moll Flanders), but Clarissa was just too much.

Val W: For names similar to Fox, what about names that have "ach," like Lachlan someone mentioned. Or other "x" names like Dax, Jaxon (or Jackson for that matter, or Jax), Rex, Dexter, Max. Or for a girl, Roxy/ie/ey/anne... Nix? Lex/ie/a, Alexa, Alex. Hrm... what about Pax (as in peace)? Hrm... well some of these are probably a stretch.

On unusual names: I went to school with a Karamin (not Carmen) a Brindley, and I work with a Soraya. They don't really sound odd, but you'd be hard-pressed to find many others. My fave first and middle combos are my best friends son Dylan Thomas (she picked Thomas, I thought of Dylan - she still has no idea who Dylan Thomas is) and of Mr. Holland's Opus - Coltrain Gershwin. Oh, there was a kid in my journalism class named Punzak, that's a pretty odd one.

I work in Payroll, and I see all the new hires, and enter them into the system to be paid, and the WORST name I have ever seen is "CONTRAVERSY" I swear, that name was on his SS Card, not a nn, his honest name. I think it bothers me the most b/c it is misspelled. (controversy) If your going to give your a kid THAT kind of a name, why misspell it on top of it all?

And thank you all so much for input on the trendy names.

Also, I must say, I love Roland, its been on my short list with Ronin, or Ronan for a while.

On the subject of what names eveyone is considering, or has named their kids. For a while I was going back and forth on Finn. I really like it. But I couldn't find a long version of it I liked. And now I realize that it is one of those names that I'll always like, but not one that I'll use. Right now, names that I like are Owen, Lincoln. So far I'm thinking Owen Henry, and Lincoln David. For girls I have Clara, Afton, and Elsie. And none of them seem to go together! Good thing I have a few years!

Sam - it means Finn will be a great name for a future pet of yours - I see a lurcher(shaggy greyhound).
I like Roland too and Roly as a nickname.
Cn - I'm with you on that one - a misspelled name says so much about a person, especially if they are somewhat educated. It would certainly make me pause if I was hiring someone.
Val W - is it the sound or the meaning of the name Fox that attracts you? Tod is the old English term for 'fox'.

Tod means death in German though (I think..might be wrong)

On the subject of laughing at strange-sounding names announced in the Telegraph - spare a thought for the parents who have chosen these names and may one day soon type their child's name into the internet to find them pilloried on this blog! And - in the case of Honor and probably Monach - not always fairly. Yes, I too laugh at some of these names (hello Celery's parents) but I also try and bend over backwards to be as positive as possible, especailly when a name may seem strange at first but not once you get used to it (like Ossian - I spent a year thinking this baby was called Ocean).