The Baby Name Wizard

hi all

my business associate is named ivy..she dislikes her name..said growing up she was teased with the obvious "poison" ivy..

as for my dilemma i adore the name grey...
i shared it with my husband..he wasnt certain..

thought people might associate it with the feeling

grey..gloomy...rainy

i feel like it reminds me of shimmering gossamer skies..but hey that's me...

our neighbour had a little boy named grayson..

or graydon....as in carter...again male

i never loved gabriella to frou-frou
made peace with gabi...but still not thrilled

actually i have been thinking about changing my first name...

so; when my daughter is born she will know me
as ......... or mum (of course)

as well ..my daughter to be will be her own person..as just as i never liked my over the top name...perhaps she would like one that is!

i would love feedback..
ps. our last name is green----

pps i love the name jennifer...as i sure you know it comes from guinevere..

the reason it was (and still is to some extent)
popular is because it is rythmic with a lovely soft feel to it

thanks again
gabi

The Ivy that I know best is really "Ivana," so the name conjures for me a spunky little girl with dark blonde hair. (I believe she was adopted from Russia as a toddler, and that in recent years she's decided she likes her whole name better--but she'll always be Ivy to me.)

Hmmm, Grey Green--- wouldn't really work too well as a full name... too much of the Crayola there!

But I agree, I have good associations with the color grey --mist, wool, stone, grisaille glass... Oooh, now that reminds me that Griselle is a secret favorite G name for me (pr. Gree-ZELL)--it means "grey lady," more or less. Won't work for your surname either, I guess, but it's another G name in the general pot.

My guess to explain the appearance of "Betsy" suddenly in 2006 is related to the use of the name on the television show, "That 70s Show." It ended in 2006 and right at the end of its run, Michael Kelso (played by Ashton Kutcher) and his girlfriend give the name Betsy to their new baby daughter.

It's the only pop culture reference of which I am aware, but it definitely fits the profile you describe here.

Also, to add to the discussion of titles in academia, I have a Ph.D. and I do refer to myself as Dr. LN with my undergraduates. I don't correct them if they refer to me as Mrs. LN or even just my FN (though few get that informal), but I'll sign my e-mails back to them as "Dr. LN."

I have a very specific reason for doing so, however; I am under 30 years old so my main motivation is to remind them that I am an authority figure and not a drinking buddy, even though I might look like a peer. When I get a bit older, I'll probably relax my formality a bit.

Regarding me being a teenager--I felt really weird at first addressing all of you who were talking about your husbands/life partners and kids and everything as Ellyn or Christiana or whatever...some of you may have noticed that I've begun writing Ms. Wattenberg instead of Laura...I guess it sounds kind of awkward, but I still feel uncomfortable with "Laura."

For those of you who are wondering, yes I'm from Liberalland, but I was taught to address adults as Mr./Mrs./Ms. LN unless told to call them otherwise. Basically, my family/peers/whoever are prochoice when it comes to this--call people what they want to be called, no set-in-stone rules. But I went to a really strict Catholic school til ninth grade, and virtually all adults were Mr./Mrs./Ms. LN...hence my discomfort addressing adults I don't know by their first names. It's not rational, not really; it's just what I'm used to.

It irks me when adults call me Miss/Ms. LN. Like, it just sounds old. And not...ME. I don't really identify with Miss/Ms. LN. And when teachers do it it's just off-putting...but I'm sure it wouldn't be if it were done more often...I think mostly it just makes us students uncomfortable when addressing each other.

Also, what about doctors? I read some article about how you should ask your doc to call you Mr/s. LN or else call him/her by his/her FN for egalitarianism. But my grandma was like, "What? Why would you do that? It's a sign of respect for their education!" Although I think her doctor calls her Mrs. LN...but then, he's like 30 years her junior.

Thanks for the continuing comments. :)

Katie, that is an interesting sibling set. Of course I like Ivy, I don't mind Raven, and I could even see Veruca (for its sound) if it weren't for the meaning/association. I have to think it was a case where the parent didn't quite follow through on their research. And it's funny, the association with Ivy and dark hair. I have the same association, and our (potential) Ivy of course *will* have dark hair, but in my internet prowling, I see a *lot* of Ivies with very blond hair, in addition to the disproportionate number of Asian and African-American Ivies. I wonder what drives these choices....

EVie--thanks for sharing your Ivy description, too! I love it. :) Of course, I'm not only looking for positive reactions (if people tend to think of Ivy as a mean, ugly, or otherwise objectionable person, I'd rather know it now!), but it's fun (and reassuring) to read impressions that are more in line with my own.

Tirzah--I actually love that Hyacinth doesn't have an obvious NN, especially with such a short LN. I have a real fondness for 3 syl names, and am annoyed that many people insist on shortening them against the bearer's will, so the lack of an obvious NN helps. But, stupidly, the Hiya/cinth! thing hadn't occurred to me--I could see that getting annoying, too. I suppose it's all moot, though, at least for me. :/

Sister Melinda--that's interesting--I was actually just searching for Iv- names that Ivy could be short for (to allow the same flexibility your little friend seems to appreciate), and didn't come up with much better than Ivana. I dig the Russian thing, but I can't get past Ivana sounding like "I wanna" with an accent. Plus, Ivana, just being the feminine of John, doesn't have any particular meaning to me.

Rachel--I really like Zoe, and Chloe, too, but I had the same trendiness/popularity concern you mention. It's funny, because I've never met either a Zoe or Chloe that I can think of, but the names immediately make me think of the sample embroidered items in Pottery Barn or LL Bean, etc. I believe they're both popular pet names, too.

Hi Harriet--

Talking about doctors, I had an appointment today with a new one. I greatly dislike the whole health care provider business, so I was not in the best of moods today.

However, the physician's assistant or nurse or whatever he was (the guy who took my pulse and blood pressure and hooked me up to the EKG) had such a fun personality that he put me at ease. We got to talking about his mom--we're both tiny women who like to pretend we are taller than we are--and it turns out that his mom was born in Korea where she fell in love with and married his GI dad. We got to talking about his name (of course)--we've had a lot of discussion here about Korean names. Anyway his is Chung plus dirt common last name which happens to be the same as my dirt common last name. I don't know if Chung is his whole name, but that's the way his name tag read, that's how he introduced himself (Hi, I'm Chung), and that's what his co-workers called him. I took note that although he introduced himself by FN, he always addressed me as honorific and surname. The doctor introduced himself as Rob So-and-So and called me nothing.

I will say that if a physician introduces him/herself as Dr. LN and then calls me by my first name, I get up and leave (over my lifetime, starting as a teenager, I have walked out of a lot of doctors' offices). That sort of game is a deliberate attempt to create and exploit a power differential, and I will have none of it. It is bad enough that I am wearing a ridiculous little paper outfit, while he/she is fully clothed. I reject the term "patient." I am a customer who is purchasing a service which I expect to have performed to my satisfaction, end of story. Well, you can see why health care providers and I have issues.

Speaking of Dr., since I have a PhD I am entitled to style myself Dr. in a professional context. It is the custom here in the US that only people in the health care professions (MD, DO, VMD, DDS, and so on) use Dr. socially. Etiquette books say that people with non-health-care doctorates do not use Dr. socially. I generally abide by that. However, on occasion (like booking a table in an upscale restaurant), I do style myself Dr. I get a whole lot better service when I say that I am Dr. So-and-So, than when I say I am Ms. So-and-So, or just use my FN and LN with no title. Apparently over the years the physicians have thrown their weight around, and I am entirely willing to take advantage of that every now and again.

Oh and one of the names I heard in the waiting room was Gretchen Fletcher, speaking, as we often do, of names that flow--or don't flow.

Harriet, when you post on a board such as this, where age has no part so long you are eloquent and respectful, it is perfectly acceptable to relate to us as equals. One of my other favorite boards, bigbadbabynames.com, adheres to this rule and you would have to be there a very long time before being able to pick out the 14 and 15yo members.

If I were your high school teacher, I would expect Mrs. See in that setting, even while accepting a first name here. In college, I'd be a bit more laid back. As I said before, I'm not a doctor and have no right to the title. I am fine with Professor or Mrs. See, but at that level, if I were teaching a lecture course as an authority figure, I would not accept Jennifer. As it is, I teach physiology and it is a very demanding subject where I would prefer my students not fear asking for clarification or imposing on my time - I am teaching future PTs and OTs, nurses and ambulance drivers. I would very much prefer that they *get* the material that I teach and how it matters to the rest of their specific education than for them to coast through by regurgitation of facts, as so many students try to do and are encouraged to do prior to graduating from high school.

Gabi - Are you looking for something Jewish/Hebrew, or a secular name that starts with G? It appears that you like the latter. I would avoid Grayson or Graydon as they are both very trendy, in addition to the problem with your last name. How do you feel about Gail, Gina, Gretchen, Greta, Gaia (Gia), Genevieve or Gwendolen?

New parents, believe the Pottery Barn embroidery samples! There are bazillions of Chloes in the elementary and preschool grades here--and at least two of them in our close acquaintance have sisters named Sophia, that seems to be a common sib set. (We also know "Lucy and Chloe" twins, under 2.) We find ourselves saying "Chloe-from-school" and "Chloe-from-church" a lot.

Thanks for the Zoe/Bertha feedback. Aunt Bertha's name in Hebrew was Brucha, as in blessing. Anybody have any inspiring thoughts as to names that mean a similar thing as blessing without being Brucha? And I'm open to B names if anyone has any suggestions, I've just been looking at baby name books for a long time and haven't come up with anything. But all of you are very creative, maybe I've missed something. I'm also looking for boy names too since we don't know the sex.

Gabi--I've always loved the nn Georgie for a girl, and I guess the full name I like best for that is Georgia. I like some Jennifer's suggestions too--I met someone named Gaia once and I always liked the name, although I guess it could sound too earth mothery.

C & C's Mom- That is an interesting concept. Thank you for sharing that. When I was younger, I use to get compliments on my full name. They said it just sounded good. I always wondered why. Now, I suppose it is because my name seams to apply to those rules.

Very interesting.....I am going to think about that for my next child.

One question though....If you have several children, wouldn't it pose a problem of all them names sounding too similar?

RE: Katie and Harriet

I am only a year out of college, and have always had a name fetish. I love reading this blog, and all of your comments. Whenever people find out that I am interested in baby names, they always think it's such a weird thing to be interested by. So thanks everyone for giving me a community to be a part of (even though I don't post as much as I hover)

It's so interesting that so many of you are professors and/or involved in academia.

Laura, give us a demographic survey please. Now, I am interested.

HYZ-I am sorry to say, but I am one that doesn't care for Ivy. Sorry! I love the sound and it is so fun to say! (I am a big fan of names with V's) but I can't get passed the "poison Ivy" connotation. I also have never met a person named Ivy so that might be a factor. I picture a dark haired girl, that is bossy brat. Sorry!!! I feel bad saying that, but you did ask! =)

Also, I am not a professor. So I don't fit in to the norm. I am a college educated, Domestic Engineer who is also a teacher to her home schooled children. That is why I am not on her much. Too busy!

Rachel-OK! I have some ideas!

These all mean blessing,
*Bernadette
*Charisma
*Grace (means favor and blessing)

This might be a stretch, but what about names that mean
'gift from G-d"? No one can argue that a gift from G-d is not a blessing. :)

Rachel--

Oddly or not oddly, in the Middle Ages Jews named Baruch/Brucha used Benedict/Benedicta as their shem kinnui. The verb bentschen, 'to pray' (as in bentsch licht) is derived from the same root as Benedict/benediction through Old French. Don't know that Benedicta would appeal today, but history is on its side. The only Benedicta I ever knew was Sister Benedicta Ward, an Anglican nun and generally amazing woman. But I did go to Hebrew school with a girl named Benita/Brucha. Bennett is a form of Benedict as well. In my father's generation boys named Baruch were often called Bennett. In my generation Baruch boys were often called Barry and Brucha girls Barrie.

Walking out of doctor's offices because they call you by your first name seems a bit extreme. And that is coming from the same person who used the term "lady professor" in an earlier post (which would be considered extremely sexist to most people). I don't understand the fuss about first names/last names. Tell others what you prefer to be called, but don't expect everyone on the planet to share your values or to be able to read your mind about what you want to be called. I don't want to be rude about it, but it's odd to see some people getting up in arms about something like this, when there are so many other things in the world that one could devote their energy to.

I know a Chloe and Phoebe sib set. With the names posted above, we've now given 3 of the 5 "sister names" Laura lists for Chloe: Maia, Zoe, Sophia, Phoebe, and Emma. The BNW is spot-on as usual.

Chloe Zoe--

The issue with doctors is not simply a seemingly insignificant use of this name or that. When I was hospitalized in the Netherlands, one of the head nurses asked me if in America doctors put themselves on "platforms for statues" (as they all too commonly do in the Netherlands because they are guaranteed patients and do not have to worry about malpractice suits), and I said that some of them certainly try.

When I see doctors trying to exploit a power differential between themselves and me in their favor (and the name thing would be just one sign of that), I leave and find someone else. When it comes to my body and my health, I am in charge. I want all the information, the possible problems, the pros and cons of treatment, and then I do my own research and make the decisions. A doctor who insists on his honorific and then uses my first name is not likely to have the kind of mindset I am looking for in a physician. I want a consultant, not Father/Mother Knows Best.

I threw the OB out of my room after my c-section because he refused to answer my questions when the answer was clearly "I don't know." I called for the chairman of the OB-GYN department who immediately said that he didn't know what was causing my (minor) complication and then listed the things that had been ruled out and possible implications. I then made the decision that the problem was trivial and that I was leaving the hospital--which turned out to be the correct course of action.

A physician who is confident in his/her abilities and their limitations will not set up power differentials to cover up insecurity, and that is the only kind of physician I will employ.

As for Lady Professor, well, Miriam is IMO not a name for a Gentleman Professor. Actually one of my European friends calls me Lady Professor as a translation of Professorin, and with the ironic twist that I am so not a lady :-). My personal take on feminism, sexism, sexist language is also so not the party line, but it would be even further off topic to go into it here.

The problem with Barry/ie is that it is my ex-husband's name.

Does anyone else here find that so many names get eliminated for reasons like that? My current partner has a number of ex-girlfriends with names I really like. Rosa, Laura, Nell. All off the table.

Growing up, I called my parents' closest friends by their first names from Day One. My parents were both educators, at the grade school and university levels. Dh growing up (also the child of educators), called everyone (even his parents' best friends) Mr. and Mrs. LN. Flash to married life... I would prefer to call his parents by their first names, but they are uncomfortable with that and would prefer Mom and Dad- which I am uncomfortable with. Dh prefers to call my parents Mr. and Mrs., which they don't like and would prefer their FNs, which he refuses to use. Therefore, neither of us call our inlaws much of anything. @@
With our kids, we sort of go back and forth. Closest friends are FN (used to be Aunt and Uncle when they were little)... other friends are Mr./Mrs., but that's because dh and I are also in education, and most of our friends are in our kids' schools-- a little dicier situation.

Adding to the Chloe sisters- I know a Chloe, Maya and Zack family! Actually, I think I live in a pocket of Maia/Maya/Maijas, there at least five under 15 at the top of my head.

Rachel- I don't have kids, but I sure know I'll *never* have a son called Peter...My aunt and uncle had a different (but somewhat related) problem: they're both school teachers, and each eliminated all the names of the problem children they'd had in their combined 25+ years of teaching. It left a fairly small list!

Demography of this board would be interesting- I'm not a professor, either, just an undergrad.

I know this is off-topic, but I chatted up the parents at preschool swim class in the interest of name tracking, so here they are before I forget!

Addison

Nicholas- little sisters are Evelyn (2) and Carolyn (1) Carolyn was almost Audrey

Terrence- baby sister is Nova

Zachary

Re names off the list because of partner's ex:

Oh, yes. My all time favorite name is Anna (family name in two different ways, lovely meaning, adorable nickname, but still elegant and classic on its own), but just as I was getting involved with my boyfriend, he had a slight indiscretion with an Anna. Now it's ruined; Hannah's just not the same.

It's very depressing. Maybe someday I'll be a grownup and get over it and use the name I like, but it's been four years and I'm not over it yet!

i'm in medical school now. in a year you can call me dr k(polish tongue-twisting last name)ski. we're taught to always use honorifics with patients, i always use mr or ms.

also, my college was very science-focused, everyone addressed all the profs as dr so-and-so.

Nova, like the girl in Planet of the Apes? That's awesome.

^sorry for not thinking of this sooner, but Adrian See is too much like Adriatic Sea, but you probably already thought of that.

Rjoy--thanks for the honest opinion! That's what I'm looking for, after all. :)

Re names off the list because of partner's ex:

I love the name Sidney for a boy, mostly because of the nn Sid, but it was definitely not a contender as it's the name of my husband's ex's father. My husband thought it would just be too weird.

I'd love to see the board demographics.

But, I'd also love to see the demographics of the SSA names, but I don't think it is available.

For example: Do second time parents name differently? Are they less likely to use the -aydens because they hear them all the time, or does that make it more likely?

Do older parents choose differently than younger. (I'm willing to bet yes!). Socioeconomics, geography...oh, I want it all!

Hi Hyz, I really like Ivy, but there are some *slightly* negative things about that name that bounced it off of our list. I'm not talking about "poison ivy." We don't have poison ivy in California so I didn't consider this a problem.

The first is the fact that the plant Ivy can be very invasive. As an avid gardener, I have fought a losing battle against an ivy plant in our yard from the time we bought the house 10 years ago. (The name Clover also was eliminated due to the invasive and weedy nature of the plant.) The second is the fact that Ivy sounds like the medical term "I.V." (intravenous). My sister is a doctor and immediately gave a thumbs down to "I.V." (I believe her exact words were "And your next kid can be named "Drip.")

But I still like the name. Have you read the lastest edition of Bruce Lansky's Baby Name Survey? He had an awesome write up of the survey results for "Ivy." I can't remember exactly what it said, but something like "smart beautiful cool and independent." You should look it up!

For Bracha/blessing how about Beatrice/Beatrix?

Names eliminated because of an ex - we were thinking of Felix when expecting our first child. But when I told my Mum she went pale and said "You can't - I used to be engaged to a Felix!"

hyz-- Add me to those who admire "Ivy" very much. I immediately think of Ivy Compton-Burnett (sp?), so my image of Ivy is of someone literary, brilliant, iconoclastic if not eccentric.

I don't really associate coloring with names, that much, unless it's an obvious reference, like "Bianca" or "Duncan" or something. Plus, can one ever be sure what a child will look like? Our neighbor is Japanese American with a European American wife, and their little boy is clearly part Asian with very light brown, shading into "dirty blond" hair... Of course, there are probabilities, based on dominance of certain genes, etc. I guess...

Of the "George-" forms, I very much like "Georgina", which to me sound more "finished" that Georgia, but much less frilliana than "Georgiana". And with Georgiana you have the headache of the two different pronunciations extant. Like Ivy, Georgina has appealing "bluestocking" emanations. (And no, I'm not remotely a professor!)

Hey, Ivy and Georgina might make congenial names for twins!

I'm yet another non-professor here. College grad, stay-at-home mother of two.

Formality - I understand how the use of Miss/Mrs./Mr. in terms of respect can be seen as contrived. Usually I tell if someone is being disrespectful by the tone in their voice and by their body language (which is why I rarely even notice how people choose to address me). However, language matters because the words people use is influenced by their values and culture (Miriam's discussion on how some doctors try to exploit their power through language is a prime example). For most people in most circumstances, though, the issue isn't quite as deep as "I'm better than you" and vise versa. It's more like "what level and variety of familiarity is okay in this given situation?" or "what positive thing can I call you that is appropriate right here and now?"

If we were all raised in the same mode of customs, we wouldn't be having this enjoyable discussion. It's fun to see how our different cultures approach this customary issue.

I use Mr./Ms./Mrs. and Sir and Ma'am usually. I was raised calling most adults Aunt or Uncle, and I find it really hard to call adults by their first names. I always need some sort of, honorific, is that what you guys called it? It's just difficult for me to call my friend's mum Debbie, even though she asked. She understands though, and is fine with being Mrs. F. It does get a little confusing though, in the sense that my boyfriend's family lives in a double home with his cousins. There's two Mr. Fs and two Mrs. Fs, but we manage.

And on demographics: I've read the blog for a long while, but have only recently started contributing at all. But, high school senior here. =)

New question: With the success of the movie Prince Caspian, do you think the name Caspian will hit the top 1000?

It was on my baby name list! I like the nickname Caz. (Much better than Casper, IMO.)

Anyone else trying to figure out the Betsy thing? I just bought the book, Betsy Tacy to read with my little girl, but I doubt the sudden rise of Betsy in 2006 is related to that classic series.

btw, just last week, we decided to introduce our children to other adults using the adults' last names. They're 6 and 3, so we'll see how it goes. Personally, I won't be offended that other parents will continue to introduce me to their kids by my FN. This new thing with my own kids is just part of our overall attempt to teach them manners and the social graces.

Just to weigh in on the discussion about honorifics, I was a bit surprised to see that so many people have bad reactions to universal first name usage. Perhaps my life experience is atypical, but my perception of American culture as a whole is that it has developed into one of such friendly, informal egalitarianism that I expect to be interact with everyone on a first name basis. I call my doctor Dr. Jeff; when I was in college and I worked summers at my father's workplace I was introduced to all of his coworkers, his boss, and even the head of his company by their first names; I even call my grandparents by their first names (at their request! My grandfather actually told me to please stop calling him Grandfather, because it made him feel too old).

I lived in Japan for a year not too long ago, and the biggest adjustment for me was that fact that, too me, the world is a casual an egalitarian place, whereas Japanese people see it as very formal and hierarchical. It was a bit awkward sometimes when I wanted to be called by my nickname (I don't ever go by my full first name, I have trouble answering to it) and people my own age wanted to be called Mr/Ms last name.

I can't even describe the number of times I made a faux pas when speaking to people who, in the Japanese world view, are "superior" to me (basically anyone older, especially men). Since they are superior they speak to me using "casual" word forms, but I am expected to use the "formal" words forms when I speak back because I'm not on the same social level. Only, anytime I was addressed casually I would immediately respond in the same fashion, and not even realize it was inappropriate until much later. Since this reaction was so ingrained in me to the point of causing me a lot of trouble, I figured it must be a prevalent American cultural value. Which is why I was startled to see from the reactions on this board that in some cases it isn't!

The only thing I can think of for Betsy is an anti-culture whiplash thing, a kind of "so many hypocritically stuffy, flowery formal names going around, I'll go with a nickname" kind of thing. Of course, I have no evidence whatsoever that this is the case (I wish I could point to the popularity of Miley, but it's too obvious exactly why that name suddenly hit the charts). I'm just assuming that nickname-names will be cycling back into the serious naming pool, and that the brief blip of Betsy is evidence of that.

>>New question: With the success of the movie Prince Caspian, do you think the name Caspian will hit the top 1000? <<

I think it's very possible, and I also think it's a really cool name. I like it a lot better than Casper/Caspar, which I still only associate with the little ghostie.

What do people think of Mary Flora ?
Shirley Anne ?

I like both Caspar and Caspian. Caspar Weinberger used the engaging nickname "Cap" which is fun. I could see "Kip" being used for it as well.

I like both "Mary" and "Flora" as single names in their own right. Together they wouldn't bowl me over, quite honestly. "Florence" is a Victorian favorite of mine. Have you paired either Mary or Flora with any other choices?

"Shirley Anne"-- Odd you should mention this. Just the other night I was wondering if Depression-era "Shirley" would be making a comeback a la "Mabel". For some reason I don't cotton to it much. Perhaps it's the sound?

Back in the nineteenth century it was an extremely daring surname-name for a female character in a Charlotte Bronte novel. Since then it seems to have become a little too utilitarian, maybe. But to some people that's probably a plus! I think you're in the vanguard for thinking of it!

And I adore Shirley Temple! But I like her LAST name as a first name...

hyz, I like Hyacinth. I don't think it will be wierd at all, considering Dahlia jumped on the SSA list in 2006 and Iris and Violet are zooming up the charts. I'd anticipate Zinnia to make an appearance shortly as well. And really, her FN and LN won't be said together very often. (Of course, I also threw out perfectly good names that didn't 'go' with our LN.)

Jennifer, I think you can get people to say Juli-AHN-a without too much effort. I think I've mentioned before that I knew 3 girls named Andrea: pronounced AN-dree-ah, AHN-dree-ah, and Ahn-DRAY-uh. It didn't seem to cause much trouble. And re: Theodore, do you like the nn Rory? I can't think of any problems with your last name, but maybe I'm missing something.

Hmmm, Caspian. It has the required -n ending, and people are really latching onto movie/tv names recently. You may have something there.

Shushi, well now that I know it's a 'real' name, I'm adding Banjo to the list for my imaginary 3rd child. And Waltzing Matilda is one of DS's favorite songs!

Miriam, I quite enjoyed your rant about medical doctors. One book on avoiding c-sections (I believe it's "Silent Knife") recommends calling your doctor by his or her first name to put you on the same level. Also, interestingly, to sit in his chair in his office.

I love Shirley Temple too that's why i was considering it

When I see Shirley Anne, I think of Anne of Green Gables. Her full name was Anne Shirley. I don't know if that changes your perception any, but I thought that I'd throw that out there.

Hyz-
I like Hyacinth. In fact, every time I see your alias I think of the name! My cousin Cynthie who was married to a Jim called her daughter Jacynthe, which I think is prob. related etymologically. I prefer Hyacinth, which comes honestly by its y. I knew a lovely woman, a classical singer from the Caribbean named Hyacinth, so I have positive associations. I know I'm way behind here, but just got back from a weekend away. I actually prefer it to Ivy, as it sounds a little softer and more feminine.

Kelly- Thanks for letting me know about Mason Landon and Morgan Logan! I think I should simply leave it as not my style... ;)

I don't think I got to say that I love the southern custom of "Mr. Firstname" or "Miss Firstname," but it doesn't work out here in CA. I do notice that adults are "Teacher Firstname" out here a lot, which isn't very euphonious, but does offer an honorific for children to use.

And oy, the mother-in-law problem. When I noticed that my sister-in-law never, ever addresses my mother by name, I vowed not to do that. It seems so rude! I like the old custom of "Mother Firstname," or "Mother Lastname," but I use my in-laws' first names.

Ivy definitely has long, dark, curly hair and is rather slight and pale, but extremely pretty and confident. I think I am channeling that book, you know the one, we talked about it before. The Changeling?

And I know a young American kid named Banjo.

Did anyone see Desperate Housewives tonight? The theme of the first hour was naming and the significance of names. There was a scene where Mike and Susan debated their respective lists of names for their newborn son. Very reminiscent of the posts here....

Jen PH: I don't have the statistics but both names are certainly uncommon in Australia. A baby (or adult) Banjo would certainly get odd looks here, despite the poet. I have met one Adelaide in my life. It's one of my favourite names, but I wouldn't use it because of the city. Most people I mention it to don't even know it's name.

Not a NE so would like thoughts on Ivy too....

like it but am worried the whole two syllable ending in "ee" sound will be date-stamped early 2000s (e.g. evie, lily, sophie, zoe, harry, charlie.....)

what do you think? girl due in 2 months.