I was dazzled by the outpouring of nominations for the official Baby Name Wizard Name of the Year. Thank you all for some outstanding suggestions, including angles I wouldn't have considered on my own. It was a tough year to make a choice as no single name truly dominated the landscape. (That's not necessarily a bad thing; consider Katrina last year.) I weighed a variety of factors including your votes, public awareness of the name phenomenon, a dramatic change in the name's social meaning or identity, and how the name reflected a broader zeitgest.
First, some runners up -- 3 names shaped by television in 2006:
Emmett. Back in August I identified Emmett as a name on the verge, one that parents were talking about a lot but hadn't quite pulled the trigger on. That was before retired football star Emmett Smith took home the top trophy on tv's "Dancing with the Stars." Zeitgeist bonus points: so who cares that you set the all-time NFL rushing record? You're nobody til you're a reality tv star. Points off for: the name is still a stealthy favorite, not really on everyone's lips (as the paucity of Emmetts in the nomination pool demonstrated).
Miley. A strong candidate for the out-of-nowhere role thanks to "Hannah Montana" star Miley Cyrus (given name Destiny). Miley is a natural extension of Riley, Kiley et al. Points off for: Zeitgeist? What Zeitgeist? Besides, most Hannah Montana fans are still in the pre-procreation demographic.
Addison. I was surprised at first to see a flood of nominations for Addison. But the posters built a strong case: 2006 was a breakthrough year for Addisons as a character on "Grey's Anatomy" propelled the name out of Madison's shadow and into the the spotlight. It's clearly one of the hottest names of the year and an example of some of the strongest trends in naming. Androgynous surnames that contract to girlish nicknames are a soaring sub-genre. Even the baby step from Madison to Addison illustrates the constant but cautious hunt for novelty. Points off for: being more evolutionary than revolutionary in 2006. I had cited Addison as a hot example of the the "retractable surname" trend in the opening sections of The Baby Name Wizard.
Which brings us to the official Name of the Year:
Shiloh.
I don't know if you heard, but some couple named Brad and Angie had a baby girl this year and named her Shiloh. Ring any bells?
Yes, it's a celebrity baby name. But before you start yawning let me say that it's not just any name, and not just any celebrity. If there were a baby naming hall of fame Angelina Jolie would be a charter member. She chooses extremely unusual names: Maddox, Zahara and Shiloh. But while other celebrities earn snickers for their unconventional choices, nobody's laughing at the Jolie kids. Angelina is like that friend who shows up for a party wearing colors you never would have imagined putting together and maybe don't even like, but dang she looks good...and makes the rest of us in our basic black feel kind of timid.
When you think of the typical high-profile baby name, it's an island unto itself. Suri, Apple and Audio Science don't really belong to or influence any broader trends. Shiloh, in contrast, makes cultural connections. It's part of the revival of biblical rarities -- Shiloh is a place name from the Bible, adopted for towns in a number of U.S. states. It's also a nostalgic place name of the Savannah/Cheyenne family. By far the best known Shiloh is in Tennessee, where a horrific 1862 battle gave an early glimpse of the bloody years that were to lie ahead in the Civil War. The Battle of Shiloh claimed over 23,000 casualties and dominated the cultural meaning of Shiloh for generations to come.
Shiloh did have a history as a baby name long before Miss Jolie-Pitt hit the scene. You'll find occasional 19th-century Shilohs both before and after the Civil War, most of them male. The name tailed off after the 1880s and started to come back quietly starting in the late 1960s, this time chosen for girls and boys alike. Yet if you asked most Americans in 2005 their first association with Shiloh was surely still the battle, with second place going to the male beagle who headlined the 1992 Newbery-winning children's novel Shiloh.
You want a "change in the name's social meaning"? When I was writing my book I considered including Shiloh but decided that the battlefield associations were too strong. Now can you imagine leaving it out of the next edition -- or calling the name anything but feminine? And as little Shiloh was endlessly discussed in every known medium, the name sent out ripples into the great name landscape. Just as Maddox took the popular surname style and blew the doors off its preppy Payton-Tyler constraints, so Shiloh will make parents take a fresh look at the seemingly familiar realm of Biblical and Old-South place names. (Think Jericho for boys, Shenandoah for girls.) Massive public awareness, sudden change, portents of names to come...there is your Name of the Year.
And with that, I bid you a happy naming year. See you in 2007...and start thinking about your entries for this year's edition of the baby name pool!
Comments
Hmmm, Shiloh. I'm expecting #3 in Feb. but Shiloh Rowe just doesn't seem to go! (Rhyme intended!)
We have an Amelia & Charlie and are desperately seeking advice for a good 2007 name from like-minded naming enthusiasts. Henry & Anne are leading candidates but doubts are creeping in about the "ree-row" sound of Henry Rowe and we wondered if Anne Rowe was on the bland side. Please weigh in!
When you say "next edition," you get my heart racing! I am wearing your book OUT (we're on baby #5, though only #s 3, 4, and 5 were post-publication), and would buy anything you wrote. I think it would be fun (though might generate more comments than anyone would want to read, and controversy of a violent nature) to ask for revision suggestions. For example, under Ivy, I think it should mention the "poison ivy" association that sprang to the minds of a group of incredulous third graders when I mentioned we were considering the name Ivy for our next child. Within seconds the class had come up with a game in which no one could touch Ivy without being poisoned. I'd say that's a death knell for the name.
Also, I'd like to see the name Liesl/Leisl in the next edition.
Oh, were we talking about Shiloh? I think you're totally right to call it the name of 2006.
I nominated Shiloh (along with Addison and Suri) so kudos for a good pick. I think Shiloh also reflects the beginning trend toward names that end with "O" - although these are mostly male names...Milo, Arlo, Otto are all names I've heard this year.
Looking forward to the new edition. I love the original--only complaint is that the spine of my book broke shortly after purchase so I have floating chunks of pages.
Mary Ellen - I think Henry Rowe sounds great. I might vote for tweaking Anne Rowe, particularly since they are both one-syllable, four-letter names. I would avoid Anna as well due to its popularity. If you're looking for something more unusual maybe Anastasia, Annika, Annelise, all could have nn Ann/e. If you wanted to move away from Anne completely I would suggest something with at least one "harder" sound.
Great post, especially the stuff about Maddox changing the preppy feeling of surnames. wow...
Mary Ellen: I think I would go with a 2+ syllable name, but maybe this is just cuz I have a 3-syllable last name and wish I could use the longer first names!
Mary Ellen - I like Jan's idea of livening up Anne - I particularly love Anneliese. Annette might also be another option. Still simple, but a little more flowery than Anne.
Jan - My sping did something funny, too. The cover came off, so I now have a shell and a coverless book. How odd.
Great job, as usual, Laura. I'm grateful that someone else pointed out that Shiloh has a history before that of the Jolie-Pitt baby. And I'm quite sure that Shiloh will be in the news repeatedly over the course of her life. I guess we should all be grateful that her father isn't Bill Bob Thornton.
Woo Hoo! As the first nominator of Suri and Shiloh, I am glad you picked one of "my" names. ;)
And I have to agree with Shiloh over Suri. (I originally said that I thought Shiloh was a harder sell). My reasoning at the time was Shiloh was originally a boys name, and even though I know that boys names become girls names all the time, I just don't like it.
My second reason was that according to the articles I saw, Suri had the hebrew meaning of "princess" which I thought would make it a good pick for evangelicals (who are always trying to find a new "Biblical" name -- Trinity, Eden, Neveah come to mind...) and Jews.
However, I now see that there is a debate on whether Suri has the Hebrew meaning princess (in Persian it means Red Rose) and without that connection, I think it would drop in popularity.
So good choice, and I agree on Emmett and Addison as runners up. Don't know about Miley... however I do know a preschooler named Maile (pronounced Miley) and it certainly fits the Riley Kley syndrome.
I think Shiloh beats Suri because of the parents, too. As weird as it would be to "be like Angelina" in child naming, it beats the pants off of "being like Tom Cruise"!!
I like Maile better than Miley too. There is an author by that name and I think it goes well with Irish/Gaelic sounding names. It seems to be along the lines of Maeve & Mairin.
Kristen: Was laughing about the Ivy associations. It is so cute. Are Violet & Iris overplayed?
Thanks for the personal name advice too - sorry to take the blog off-topic but I had to get it out there! (Keep it coming!)
Shiloh is actually one of the names we're considering for our little one that's arriving in the spring. I was disappointed that it wasn't in your book, so I'm really happy you mentioned it here!
Mary Ellen- some suggestions for you! I think these names harmonize well with Charlie and Amelia (which sound Victorian) and your last name.
Thomas
Edward
George
Albert
Florence
Charlotte
Caroline
Georgina
Harriet
I honestly knew nothing about this baby. Obviously I've heard of the parents and vaguely knew that they'd had a child but reading about Shiloh on here I didn't at first know what gender it was. You can all say I have my head stuck in the sand or whatever, but I read/watch the real news, honest! I still think there should be a British Name of the Year separately. The (official?) 2006 top ten were published today (although the year isn't over...). It's Jack (for the 12th year running) and Olivia in the top spots.
I love Amelia, Charlie, Henry, and Anne. (In fact, I have my own Amelia Ann!)
I suggest Julia, Lydia, Caroline, Elizabeth, Laura, William, Arthur, Merlin, Evan, Edward, and Stephan.
The best part of the famous Shiloh? Try spoonerizing Shiloh Pittâthat is, swapping the initial sounds in the words so that you get what sounds like "pile o' ...".
Amelia & Charlie...
would sound great with Emiline, Lucy, Diana, Luisa, & Elyse
Thomas, Marcus, Christopher, Robert, William,Oliver & David
Amelia & Charlie...
would sound great with Emiline, Lucy, Diana, Luisa, & Elyse
Thomas, Marcus, Christopher, Robert, William,Oliver & David
what about Samuel for a boy? Sounds nice with Amelia & Charlie
Mary Ellen- Anne is lovely just as it is.
And that is one awesome spoonerism, Orange! Though I think they call the kids Jolie-Pitt. Still...
Great post Laura~ just a note to add, like a few others, my book fell apart at the spine within days. I bought another one and it did the same thing. doesn't change how much I love the content though! Caint WAIT for another edition-- your posts here help a lot though. Thank's for all you do!
I love the name Shiloh, love it so much, have no idea why, don't love the movie stars at all, just really like it. Like Shenandoah too. There's that beautiful lullaby, "Oh Shenandoah, I long to see you..." Almost afraid it would be seen as copying Shiloh though. Which is dumb, because my son's name is Charlie, and it's not like that's super original. Now you've got me thinking harder about place names. Anyway, thanks for the fun poll!
For an interesting report on British name trends of 2006, go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6196035.stm
Mary Ellen, as an Anne I can tell you I feel the name can be quite bland. When coupled with a one syllable last name, it feels especially plain to me. (One reason I prefer "my" name to what my married name would be...my husband has a one-syllable last name.) My mother thought Anne was classic, beautifully simple. I wished for more nickname options or something more distinctive.
There are several names with Anne/Ann as a nickname. Annika is one I like a lot. Anne is derived from Hannah, which would sound good with Rowe, but is more popular these days.
Just a few suggestions/comments for you to consider! I do love that you are wanting to spell "Anne" with an E. It looks so much more balanced and complete than Ann (at least in my admittedly biased opinion!)
Thank you for my honorable mention with Miley! I admit the 9-year-old fan base of "Hannah Montana" IS a problem.
Angelina does have a baby-naming knack. Shiloh does make me think of a beagle. Love Zahara though!
Anne and Henry are both classic choices. If you love these names, go with them! Any fault found with them is only nit-picking. But . . Anne Rowe IS a little brief. And Henry Rowe DOES have a Ree Row thing going. To throw a few new contenders into the mix, I suggest:
Girl: Alice (if you are trying to keep the "A" from Amelia), Diandre, Louisa (I see someone suggested Luisa already), Marian
Boy: Edward, Samuel (I see that was suggested too)
I know a Shenandoah who's a teenager/almost in her twenties.
When I first heard the name Miley while watching Doc, her dad's show in which she appeared now and then, I remember thinking, "I wish I'd thought of that first!" I liked the sound and the origin, which was apparently that she was so "Smiley" she became "Miley." Billy Ray Cyrus also has a daughter named Noah Lindsey.
Mary Ellen - I LOVE the name Caroline and had wanted to suggest it earlier, but didn't know if you were set on Anne and the like or not. I see several others have mentioned it as well. i feel that it goes beautifully with Charlie and Amelia.
Merry Christmas everyone! (And Happy Holidays to anyone who celebrates other holidays at this time of year!) Thanks for the lively discussions!
Awesome input! I am not tied to either name (Anne or Henry) so I appreciate the ideas...they are totally in line with what we like. I have to laugh about Lucy...love it but worried about the teasability factor with brother Charlie (Peanuts). Louisa is darling! Had not thought of that. Louis is a family name. Alice is adorable too. Thank you, thank you!
And thanks Anne P. for your personal insight. What if we call her Annie? Would that last into adulthood? Would she want it to last?
About the glue...
A few of you just mentioned that the spines came loose on your copies of The Baby Name Wizard. After hearing this from some readers last year, the publisher tested various copies and determined that part of one early print run did indeed have weak glue. Please accept my apologies if you happened to get a self-destructing copy!
(Of all the things you worry about when you write a book, you never imagine that *glue* will be the trouble spot! You can just imagine how it feels to see a reader leave a 1-star review on Amazon, saying "this book seems great but it fell apart, who needs it!")
I have a couple more name suggestions... I love this blog.. it always makes me lie awake in bed thinking of name suggestions...
Miranda, Sarah, Isabel, Josephine, Nora, Laurena, or Delilah
Owen, James, Torrance, Sullivan, or Ivan
Laura, Thanks for such an articulate, thought-provoking and funny entry! I think your blog is consistently the most well-written of any I read, and is of course the cream of the crop when it comes to baby name blogs! And so far the spine on my copy of the Wizard is in great shape, despite some frayed pages. Happy holidays.
Laura - I'd buy your book even with the glue issues! :-) Can't wait for the next edition!
My husband's mother's name was Anne, and he really likes it as a name, or middle name for our daughter. It thought it sounded a little plain with our last name too. My solution, thus far, is Anaabel. Very cute, not too plain, and a nice fit with Charlie and Amelia. (BTW Charlie was on our list if we were having a boy).
Others have given great suggestions, too. I particularly like Louisa.
Oh, and Alice is a beautiful, classic name, too. What do you think of Adele?
Oh, and if you've considered Lucy, what about Lucia (I like it pronounced Loo-sha). I think Lucia Rowe is just gorgeous.
Was there mention of when the 2nd Edition is coming out? Any chance it will be out by Summer 2007?
Only thing I wish the book had was the name meanings to go with the names... I sometimes feel the name meaning does have a small bearing on things. But the glue on my book is doing just fine.. although I just bought the book a couple months ago.. had a hard time getting my hands on one.
Mary Ellen, I think Anne is a name that sounds as newly fresh and clean as a tall glass of milk! How about making it double-barrelled (do we say that about first names?!) a la francaise such as Anne-Laure - I do like that name. Or, sticking with the classically English Anne-Laura, or Anne-Louise. I think that by keeping the Anne part intact you retain the fresh starkness of the name (detracted from rather in names such as Annabel, Annaliese etc ) and it is livened up by the addition of the second name.
I think Henry Rowe could be a little of a mouthful, although not too much.
How about Hector, Barnaby or Sebastian?
Hi Mary Ellen,
A couple more suggestions- names that seem along the same vein as "Henry" - Clifford, Harold, Aurthur, Theodore.
Along the same vein as "Anne"- Annemarie, Annabelle, Anne-Francis, Adeline, Amalia, Annalie.
Best wishes!
Mary Ellen, I had the misfortune of being a red-haired child when the movie and play "Annie" were very popular and heard way too many references for me to like the nickname for myself.
It's a fine nickname for others ;)
While I don't love my name and wish I had something with more flair, or at least more of a nickname variant, there are far worse things my parents could have chosen and I appreciate them giving me a classic name with a standard spelling (even if everyone around here likes to write it "Ann").
or George, William , Edward or Rufus - thinking of all the British kings!! - or Rupert - very classy. Piers?
Great work, Laura!
I think "placenames" are once again be on the rise. For those looking for a Biblical connection the names Jericho and Gilead come to mind.
As for those looking in Savannah/Cheyenne family, but wanting to avoid both of those names and the overused "Dakota," I have been hearing various alternatives from mothers-to-be including: Laramie, Vail and Laredo. Is anyone else noticing a placename trend in their neighborhood?
I believe that Maile, Mylie - I don't know how it was spelled - was the female character in Elvis' Blue Hawaii movie. My cousin considered that for her daughter: Maile, Laken or Chandler. She chose Chandler - pre-Friends, and for a girl!
I think Laken is nice with Amelia and Charlie, along with Thomas, Christian, Hope (which I've thought of using some day) and Chelsea.
And as for placenames, Biblical names - my mother LOVES the name Bethany, which is in fact a Biblical place. Ahead of her time, as always - if she'd had a fourth girl (I'm the oldest of three) it would have been Bethany Ellen.
Oh, Ellen, that's nice with Amelia and Charlie, too. Very classic.
Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to you all- it's been fun hanging out with you this year... OK, so HOW many times a day so you check this blog? I know I'm not the only one. :)
Excellent choice! Shiloh hits all the marks mentioned. I love the Jolie-Pitt kids' names, even though I'm bitter that I could look like a copycat b/c she chose a name I liked, including the nickname.
Valerie - Merry Christmas and good wishes to you for 2007 from under downunder(and of course for all the other lovely posters - women, men and those so carefully named children :-) I too, log in way too often and love hearing the wheres, whys and whats of naming. So far my favorite names seem to come from the Telegraph newspaper announcements - I must be a classicist!
My new favorite name though, is Zelie which, with no further children in sight *whew* I will use for my long-planned for rescued greyhound girl who we hope will join our family before too long.
Anyone else got some interesting pet names?
What about the name Symphony to go with Amelia and Charlie.. definately pretty.. very graceful sounding... I think sweet... and strikingly different... and well I don't think Symphony Rowe sounds bad at all....
I love all of the advice! Thanks! Adele/Adeline is appealing...my grandma was Adele, I just had not heard of any little ones being named that lately & didn't want to be too obscure. Does anyone know any baby Adeles? I want a unique name but not
Re: place names--I mentioned in another thread having recently met a little baby named Lubbock (which even I consider taking Texas pride a step too far). Also a recent baby named Oslo.
Pet Names:
We've had dogs called Jess, Oscar, Phoebe, Daisy. And Guide Dog puppies (they come with the name) called: Kerry, Monty, Joel, Leon, Ellis and Shadow.
Cats called Pudding, Bonzo, Mac and Tosh.
Gerbils called Beano, Dandy, Skipper, Indy and George.
A horse called Duke.
Any of those interesting?
I'm sorry, but Symphony, Amalia, Laken, Christian, and Chelsea do not go with Amelia and Charlie AT ALL. Caroline or Adele would be a much better choice (especially since they are both traditional names for European royalty).
re: spine glue
Viz comic books used to be the same way, causing much consternation among librarians who bought their books and then had to reglue every one of them after only a few weeks. They ended up changing their glue, too. It's great to hear about publishers addressing problems like that; yay to yours for fixing the glue!
P.S. Symphony Rowe? Is that the street the opera houses and theatres are on?
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