Last time I gave out a little challenge: can you find a distinctive name ending tied to each decade from the 1880s to today? Ok, maybe that challenge isn't SO little. Not many of us today can tell the trendy names of 1890 from the hot new creations of 1910. But even back then, 20 years was a long time in fashion terms--and a lot of the fashion action came at the end of names. In the 1870s-80s for instance, about a fifth of all American girls were given "-IE" names. By the 1910s the number of -IEs was cut in half, replaced by the likes of -LMA.
Today's trends work both ends of the name. Our Mc/Mac/Mak- and Kay/Kai/Kae- names are more than matched by our -Lee/Leighs and our...well, you'll see.
120 years of trendy name endings:
1880s: Girls named -TTIE
1890s: Girls named -LDA
1900s: Girls named -OLA
1910s: Boys names -STER
1920s: Boys named -AND
1930s: Girls named -LENE
1940s: Boys and girls named -ONNIE
1950s: Girls named -EEN
1960s: Girls named -RI
1970s: Girls named -NYA
1980s: Girls named -ANY/ANIE
1990s: Girls named -TNEY/DNEY
2000s: Boys named -DEN/DYN/DIN
Comments
Keisha,
I like the name you have chosen. It reminds me a little of the French name Ariane, which is pronounced in a similar way- just more emphasis on the last syllable.
Cool name.
Keisha - Arian is a lovely name but you have shown the problems with it in that you have to correct people's pronounciation of it already. Human nature being what it is, there will always be those who see the dark side of many names. I agree with Valerie - I like Ariane very much and it has less baggage for a child to have to deal with one day.
Elizabeth - I feel for your friend - adoption can be such a blessing but in cases like your friends it can also have such pitfalls. I hope she finds a georgous son or daughter soon.
my first time to read this page, i wonder if anyone is considering to name the baby what 'feels' right, not just what is trendy/common & not 'uncool' ... if there's no family names that you want to follow, why not listen to your body with baby inside & know what babies name is. i had a hard time deciding (i was determined to use an unpopular name so she wouldn't be 'another emma' for instance). good luck to all, bc a name sticks forever!
Actually, the wanting to use an uncommon name thing is very common, somewhat paradoxically. I think you'd have a hard time finding someone who actively seeks a common baby name.
Abi - sadly it happens. I have a sister-in-law who named her son Jason some ten years after it overwhelmed in the baby naming stakes. When I commented how popular it was(by then it was a no-no for most people)she just said she liked it because it was so popular. Mind you -she is a Barbara of the fifties with a brother Steve the same.
About Payton/Peyton-- it seems popular here in the South (as in southern US); when I lived in NY I never heard it. It makes me think of Peyton Place (60's soap opera, pretty much the first show with lots of sexual content), so I really dislike it.
Herbert is my father's name. He is called Herb (or sometimes Herbie by close friends/family), and there have actually been a few times when I told people his name and they said, "Really?!" About 10 years ago, it was a slang word meaning a total loser/geek, as in "That guy's a total herb!" Oh well, I don't think my dad noticed that trend.
Jael looks like an anglicized version of the not-uncommon Hebrew name Yael, pronounced Yah-ELL. So I would pronounce it Jah-ELL. But I like it better with the Y.
I think the most unusal name I've heard is that of a college friend of my husband's. Her hippy parents created a name for her-- Uniit, pronounced you-NEET. It's sort of an acronym for "you and I (I) together," if you imagine both parents saying "I."
... I think Uniit is really pretty when I hear it, and I love the story behind it, but when I see it written I think maybe it's too close to the word "unit."
Someone asked about Finlay for a girl. I can totally see it as a girl's name. I am actually considering it (or Finley) as a future boy's name, but wondering if it (and other Finn names) are getting too trendy. But even if it's trendy for a boy, using it for a girl would be a fresh spin on it. Even though it's androgynous, it sounds pretty when used for a girl, if that makes any sense. Pretty but not frilly.
A friend of mine has a nephew named Lucca.
I met a ~23 y.o. guy named Bailen awhile ago. Thought of that when Brazen was mentioned. ;P
Aleksy is a really cool spelling! I know a guy whose name is pronounced like that, but spelled Alexis b/c he was born in France.
My mom gave me the name Alexandra b/c it was always her favorite name, and I'm very glad to have it. So many nn possibilities, and it means 'helper of mankind', which totally fits me. My main nn is Ali, but I'm also Alex, and even Xandra. I'm def. not an Alexa, but in Spanish class I was Aleja, and am cool with being Alejandra in Spanish-speaking situations.
I think Alessandra and Cassandra are cool for being similiar. I know a Kassandra, too.
I thought was really cool in another thread here to learn that Alison came from Alice!
If/when I have kids, I think family or literary names may be the way to go. I like my name and my sweetie's name a lot, but I don't know if that is too narcissistic--for example, to name a boy Alexander.
Cheers, y'all
Some of you people are obviously dead to the world.
Soraya = Persian name, not Arabic
Persian and Arabs are completely different ethnic groups with completely different languages.
Luca = Italian, not Scandinavian
Persians call themselves Persian as it's an ethnicity, not a country of citizenship.
In addition to debating the perfect name for your children, you should start reading about the world so you can actually teach these children with the perfect names something useful!!
Another two cents
"Susan H - I like Kohl - different. I suppose some would try to spell it coal *sigh*"
Jesus, people, you're afraid someone is going to think your child's name is a petroleum product, when in reality, who cares. You named your kid Kohl (which is EYELINER used by the egyptians). Please, people, do your research. Yikes!
How do you pronounce Rowan?
Is it Row in or Ro Han? A friend of mine is thinking about it for her daughter DOB 2/3/07
mn Hope
Laura - I'm aware of that but there are those out in the world who hearing Kohl but not seeing the name would think of coal. I'm sure there are plenty of words you have misunderstood in your obviously short life.
Deanna - I've only ever heard it as Row-ann but Rohan is nice. To help with the spelling it could be spelled that way like one of the cities in Lord of the Rings.
Can we get back to Finlay for a girl for a minute? We have named our daughter Finlaye and added the e to make it look more feminine and we love it. We got the name from a girl we met whose name was Findlay but thought we'd spell it differently. We think it's pretty.
I would discourage anyone from choosing Ronin (tho Ronan is fine because it has a different meaning entirely).
Ronin has a negative connotation of failure.. coming from a samurai without a master (an outcast) or a serf that deserted his master's land.
Now in Japan it is used as a term for a student that has failed the yearly school entrance examinations for high school or university. I wouldn't want to name my son something that was the equivalent of "failure".
Ronan on the other hand comes from different origins and has more positive meanings.
I would discourage anyone from choosing Ronin (tho Ronan is fine because it has a different meaning entirely).
Ronin has a negative connotation of failure.. coming from a samurai without a master (an outcast) or a serf that deserted his master's land.
Now in Japan it is used as a term for a student that has failed the yearly school entrance examinations for high school or university. I wouldn't want to name my son something that was the equivalent of "failure".
Ronan on the other hand comes from different origins and has more positive meanings.
I love the name Luca. It strikes me as a male name, not female. It's Italian, and it would be funny if a girl had it (at least in Italy/Europe). In fact, it is a top 5 Italian boy name, and Andrea is the #1 Italian boy name (also ending in "a") right now, but many, especially Americans, think it's only a girl name. There will always be different opinions to baby names -- just go with what you like and don't worry about who likes what (besides the other parent) -- it's your baby!:)
Can someone help me like the name 'Otto"? My Finnish daughter-in-law loves the name. But it's more Germanic than Finnish, and makes me think of emperors, people wieldng power, etc. Basically she likes the sound of the name, the o's, but I get stuck on the connotations.
Sorry for the error above. My name
is Celinda, and I was writing
about the name Otto.
I just googled myself and found this. So pleased to have been someone's name of the day! (I am a poet, but I was one before I married the man with the name curiously similar to my first name.)
I am looking for girls first names ending in tan ton, two boys are already Lawton and Tristan. aAny suggestions beside the obvious Peyton?
Post new comment