The Baby Name Wizard

Thanks for this, Laura. I've never even heard of the name Elbert!

I know of both a male and a female Stacey. The use of the name on boys was abandoned much longer ago, which the male Stacey has to deal with all the time. Sort of sad that it's going that way for the female version as well. But if you think of the doll name Barbie - virtually nobody is called Barbara these days. Is the Stacy doll also going to be a lone relic soon?

Also, Laura, any hints as to when the next edition of the book is coming out? :)

My father-in-law's name is Elbert. It is a family name. He hates it though and goes by a nickname based on his last name. When we were naming my son, he said that he absolutely did not want us to use Elbert, not even as a middle. No problem there.

It's "In Memoriam" not "In Memorium," btw.... unless you're getting kre8tiv on us!

I have never heard of Elbert either! That's one I missed when I compiled the list of "bert" names a few weeks ago.

I'm least surprised about Carol. That name was so popular that it's indelibly pegged as a boomer name to me. I can't picture it on a baby, even though I have warm fuzzies about the name because of the many wonderful Carols I know, including a former housemate.

That's funny--Carol IS one of the names that surprised me. I think it's a lovely name, especially for a baby born near Christmas. I think it sounds strong and crisp with its consonant ending, and should be kept relevant by the more popular Caroline. If we didn't have a very unappealing relative by that name, it's one we would've considered.

I'm surprised by Colleen, too. I feel like I know a lot of Colleens, many boomer-aged, but also several 20-30 somethings, teenagers, and even younger girls. It seems like one that would have some staying power because of the enthusiasm for Irish sounding names.

Yeah, I know a twelvish Colleen--but I guess it's mostly seen as part of the earlier Irish-style wave of Maureens and Shannons and Kerrys, not part of the current set of faves (which seem to be more prevalent in the boy's column this round).

Donna caught my eye, because the current "companion" character on "Doctor Who" is Donna -- she's not a glamorous character, but she is very human and funny (played by comedian Katherine Tate); I wonder if the name can regain a little bit of shine from her adventures.

I am surprised by Katharine, and a bit sad that Yvette is gone. With all the kre8tive spellings of popular names going around, I never would've guessed that Katharine wouldn't be used. Is Katherine n' family going down in popularity in general? Or are the people who even consider any Catherine relative NOT the kre8tive types? I mean, Katharine isn't even all that extreme of a variation. Maybe it's not extreme enough for the kre8tive people?

I've always liked Yvette, even if I can't picture myself using it. I would've liked to have met a few younger Yvettes.

I agree with Elizabeth T. and hyz about Carol. Carol always seemed to have a modern sound to me, in spite of all of the older Carols. Maybe it'll bounce back onto the charts? Or maybe Im just really out of touch with modern culture?

I wonder if Katharine McPhee will bring this spelling right back onto the charts?

I have noticed while going through the 2007 rankings and grouping names based on pronuncation it seems that names that have been around for a long time tend to have fewer spelling varieties in the top 1000 as time goes on. I distinctly remember being surprised at the few variations of Katherine in the top 1000. Has anyone else noticed this?

Does anyone else think that the trendy names of today will settle into a few accepted spellings in time? Maybe they will all fall out of favor and we won't have to hear or look at them anymore...

Ok, so that was just wishful thinking.

Apparently people stopped watching My Name is Earl...

Sigh, this is just one more sign of me getting older. I am a Stacey (yes please put an E in there). I was always under the impression that w/o the E is more commonly a boys name. Anyway,I also went to school with a Yvette, Colleen, Carol, and Perry. I know older generations with Carol and Donna as well. Never met an Earl though!

I'm not surprised Carol has gone, but I do have a certain nostalgia for it, as my best friend was a Carol, growing up. I tend to think of it along with Susan, Linda and Julie- all popular amongst my classmates.My friend Carol's siblings were Martin and Julie, and my friend Julie's siblings were Carol, Zanny (Suzanna) and Joe.

*Madeline*, I was curious about the name Katherine so I looked up how many variations there currently are compared to the past. To my surprise, there are many, many more variations of the spelling of Katherine 100 years ago than today.

1907 Katherines in the top 1000:

Katherine
Kathryn
Katharine
Katheryn
Kathrine
Kathryne
Catherine
Catharine
Cathrine
Cathryn

2007 Katherines in the top 1000:

Katherine
Kathryn
Catherine

Most of these names do surprise me for some reason. I mean, I knew that a lot of people weren't naming their daughters Donna or Carol or Stacey anymore, but I did think enough would to at least place those names in the top 1000! It's just hard to believe that more people chose Marlen or Alyvia for their daughter than Stacey. Or more people chose Daxton for their sons than Perry. But maybe I am out of touch.

I was unfortunate enough to grow up in a rural area where there were Earls aplenty. Let's just say that most Earls were just like Earl Hickey from "My Name is Earl," BEFORE he discovered karma. It's just not a very nice sounding name to me, probably because of my association with the many Earls growing up.

Oh shoot, we're back to Captcha? Bleck. I almost never get these right the first time--I can see fine, but I must have dyslexic fingers.

On the other hand, if you want to use the name "Juckie," it was my captcha word (!). When you think how often we have to type random strings of letters these days, is it any wonder such combinations are comfortable as names to more young parents?

An internet aquaintance has a new sister as of early this morning. Abigail Luthera Lillie. nn Allie

o man. captcha? Please tell us it is not here to stay...

I'm not surprised Laura resorted to Captcha given the spam that had started showing up in some of the comments sections.

I'm sure one of our spreadsheet mavens could tell us if we're really seeing a demise of 60s-style names overall. Any takers?

My dad is one of 5 boys:

Marion, Earl, Edwin, Eugene & Roy.

A very 20's/30's set of midwestern names. I often think the only one of the set that is missing is "Milton". (I also wonder at the string of "E" names.)

I have often wondered if short, simple names like Roy, Earl and Rex will come back because they are short and because they are royal titles. They seem to fit with Max to my ear, but Max has that cool X, which my suggestions (save Rex) do not.

On a separate topic, I wonder if all the would be Carols are now some form of Caroline.

When you said that Louise has been off the chart for years, I was sure it was a typo, so I scurried off to the SSA site to check. Sure enough, Louise does not appear in the top 1000. I'm truly shocked. Isn't it a top 20 name in the UK?

Louise is currently ranked about 140th in the UK. Most famous "baby" Louise, is Lady Louise Windsor (the Queen's youngest granddaughter) who was born in 2003.

I know of a brand-new Colleen, b. 2008. A very surprising name choice since her older sister is ... Jaden! Weird that the parents would go for an ultra-trendy new name immediately followed by a completely unfashionable one. I'm not crazy about either name but the unexpected combination made me sit up and take notice.

Brangelina alert: "Another celebrity publication, Britain's NOW magazine, then reported the latest additions to the Jolie-Pitt clan had already been named Isla Marcheline and Amelie Jane."

This came from the New York Times. Somehow those names seem pretty I'm not convinced.

oh this captcha thing is a pain.

and dangit, if I have to go through captcha, can't I be allowed to edit too?

redo: While these names are pretty, I'm not convinced they are the real names yet. Especially since the kids aren't due until July. That said, twins come early a lot I know.

Hmmm. I expected the brangelina twins to have worse names than that. Something along the lines of "Lava and Kusha" or "Trinidad and Tobago" or "Castor and Pollux" or "Shake and Bake".

The conversation about Katharine and its many variant spellings made me wonder about modern classics. I use the term "modern classic" to mean a name that has been introduced to the SSA charts in the last few decades but is one that you all think is here to stay and that will avoid the peaks and valleys associated with a date-stamped name. We all know that William, Catherine, Elizabeth, or John could be any age. What recent names do you name mavens predict will be like those 100 years from now?

Carol (along with Nancy, Susan, Barbara, and Linda) sums up the female side of my high school graduating class... the year was 1960.

Sic transit gloria mundi. (And, by the way, Gloria was the class valedictorian.)

Re: Carol -- it's my mother-in-law's name, and in trying to decide how to honor her with future children, we never even considered Carol itself ... like Megan W. thought, we focused on Caroline or other Car- names for a girl and Charles or Carl for boys ... and ended up deciding on "Carine" as the mn for our baby if we have a girl. I just couldn't do "Carol" -- it definitely feels too dated to me ... and "Carine" has the added benefit of having the same meaning ("beloved," as a pet form of "Cara") as my middle name.

Off topic, re: a discussion on a previous post recently about the name Jacinta -- I remembered this morning that Halle Berry's character in her James Bond movie ("Die Another Day" I think?) was Jacinta/Giacinta (depending on which quick-search internet source you go with) pronounced jah-cinta (not hah-cinta) with the nn Jinx.

Name Theorist -- I know a Gloria who just had her 6th birthday. Maybe it's coming back around.

If Angelina Jolie's babies are named Isla and Amelie, I'm choosing both of them as my picks for fastest risers next year! Isla has not yet cracked the top 1000, but it will for sure if the Pitt-Jolie child is given this name. Amelie is currently in the 700s, but given the popularity of Amelia, it is bound to rise even without a boost like this.

RE: Elizabeth T. on modern classics

I actually took these from th BNW from the 'New Classics' list, but I edited quite a few out.

Allison, Andrea, Cassandra, Erin, Julianne, Karen, Kimberly, Laurel, Lauren, Megan, Meredith, Michelle, Natalie, Nicole, Samantha, Stephanie, Vanessa.

Aaron, Adam, Bradley, Brandon, Brian, Christian, Christopher, Eric, Jeffrey, Justin, Kevin, Lucas, Mark, Ryan, Sean, Shane, Steven, Zachary.

Anyone think I missed any?

OH darn! I suggested Isla to my son and dil- because they felt Lila was too popular.. And now Angelina does this! I think I'll call Jennifer Aniston to commiserate. I do like the names and the honoring of their two mothers in the mn slot. Unexpected choices, if true..

Tess

I feel your pain. Our girl name (we had a boy) was Amelia Jane. I feel like the Jolie-Pitts are stealing our name. (The spelling of Amelia was up for grabs - I think the grandma we were naming for was Emila (Italian)).

Harrumph.

(I am amazed that I can feel that way, even though we actually had a boy and didn't use the name. Maybe I can learn to share!)

All the reports regarding the Jolie-Pitt twins are speculation at this point, right?

I guess I wouldn't get too worried about them using these names until we know for sure.

Does anyone else see the name Isla and constantly want to say "Ilsa" instead?

meh... I liked Isla, I don't want them to steal it! ^_^

On a completely unrelated note, do you guys think Sheldon will still be in the top 1000 next year (it's currently at 954 and has been dropping steadily) - my boyfriend and I have a bet on this... I say it'll be off the charts for 2008 when they come out next May and he says it will still be there. What do you think? ^_^

It's funny to me to see Stacey grouped with Donna and Carol. Being a Stacy born in 1980, I associate the name more with Heather, Jennifer, Jessica, etc. Donna and Carol are "mom" names to me.
I'm not surprised that Stacey has lost popularity. It's definitely "time-stamped". As a child, I was always happy that my parents didn't give me the "awful" name Anastasia, but now that I'm grown up, I sort of wish they had. No one in Spain pronounces Stacy properly, so I go by Ana, which was derived from having explained so many times that "Stacy" was a diminutive of "Anastasia".

I wouldn't pay too much attention to Now magazine all you Isla and Amelie lovers...

Stacy in Spain -- I have a friend Stacy whose mom wanted to name her Anastasia, but her dad refused. Now that Stacy's a mom herself she has a daughter named Anastasia (nn Ana).

Earl is such a dreadful name...

Earl is such a dreadful name...

Thanks for the feedback. I posted this yesterday morning on last weeks blog and I am reposting it here. I would like to solicit some advice from the name mavens. We are due to have a baby boy in a little over two weeks and we have narrowed it down to two names. I am looking for feedback. Our last name is pronounced BUR-zins and we are deciding between Emmett and Augustus, with Gus for short. My dh likes Emmett a little more but I am not sure it goes as well with our last name. To give you an idea of the context the baby will grow up in, we live in a middle class town in the north east and both have PhDs. We appreciate the feedback.

Raya,

I'm going to reiterate that I don't like Emmett. I'm not sure why. I have a friend who named his son Everett or Emmett and I can never remember which one b/c I don't like either.

Gus/August and all variations is/are great names. I wish Gus didn't sound so 's'y with DH's last name. Works much better with yours.

In general I think names sound better when they have different numbers of syllables. So Gus/Augustus Burzin sounds better than Emmett Burzin. Although Emmett is so different it actually doesn't sound so bad. Its just a name I don't like. a lot, apparently.

Sorry for the double. Hmm, Perry doesn't sound very strong or masculine to me, Donna's just boring. I can quite understand why these names aren't used anymore. But maybe in the future they will be again. I live in Slovakia (I'm Slovak), and I think we don't have any date-stamped names here. Till the year 1989 people had to choose from the government approved names (in the calendar-name days), so there are still a lot of young people who own the names from the previous generations... My mom wanted to give me a rare name, and she was picking between Linda, Nina and Natalia (in 1985)...

Elizabeth T + Madeline-How about adding Olivia, Nicholas and maybe Connor to the list?

ooh another one sorry-Charlotte

Natalia, I agree that Donna sounds pretty boring, but I softened on it a little after knowing a very clever and funny Croatian woman named Dana, pronounced very similarly to how Americans say Donna, but just a little more crisp. Now I love the name Dana, but only with that pronunciation. I (very briefly) considered using Donna to get that pronunciation, but I just couldn't get past my frumpy Donna association. Just shows what a difference spelling can make, I guess.

Hyz, my mom's name is Daniela, called Dana (REALLY) sometimes, but mostly Danka by friends (she likes that better), so I do know that name. But I've never liked the nickname Dana much to tell the truth...

So I met with a friend today whose nephew (due next month) will be named Earl Warren LN. In an Earl Hickey world, why not use Earl as a middle name to honor your father? Especially one who is still living. I'm pretty sure Warren was a family name too. There just doesn't seem to be very many nickname opportunities here.

I of course told my friend that Earl has dropped out of the top 1000 so her sister is bucking the trend!

Oddly, his last name (to be) is one that I've seen here offered as a possible Last Name First option and is pretty cool.

I know one Earl. He is skinny and nerdy and rather dull and humorless. This does not help my opinion of the name one bit.

Raya: I like Augustus/Gus far better than Emmett. The "Emm" part of Emmett is just far too similar to all the Emma/Emily/Emmy type girl names out there. Gus is great!

Raya-

I quite like August, although I guess that gets used on girls, but to my ear Augustus is just a bit fussy. I also want to say, "Gloop," when I hear it. I do, however, love Gus!
I also quite like Emmett, and I love Everett-nn Rhett or Rett. I know that wasn't one of your choices, but I thought I'd chip in.
I think they each work with your ln and will fit in fine in your community. Maybe you can see what he looks like!

"Carine" - how do you pronounce that?

At first glance, I thought CAR - ine, but I suspect you're thinking Ca - RIN, right?

I know an Earl. Tall, dark and ... annoying. He happens to be married to a Hazel. Want to guess their ages?? Try 29 and 30 or so. :)

2 new babies in my life. Unconnected to each other. Rex Justin and Kyle David

Isn't it Earl Warren for Supreme Court Justice Warren? That's what that combination makes me think of. I also think that the Earl Hickey associations may have helped kill the name even thought it was probably already dying.

Both my sons are named after family names and so we've discussed trying to find a similar connection should we have a girlnext. Talking about Carol made me think about it because that is my husband's grandmother. Another family name is Linda. I just couldn't see using either of those names because they seem very date stamped to me. I was wondering if that is part of why it is less likely to name girls after mothers because girls names seem more likely to be date stamped? Or is it the other way around?

Claire -- we're pronouncing Carine "car-EEN."

Re: Emmett vs. Augustus -- I've loved Emmett since I first knew a guy in college (very nice, and handsome too) named Robert Emmett who went by his mn. But, in an Emily/Emma world (in which names like Emerson are also being given to girls, with nns like Emmy), I feel like Emmett sounds and feels too much like a girl's name now.

We've considered Augustine in the past, for a boy, pronounced au-GUS-tin (not au-gus-TEEN) with the nn Gus, so Augustus gets my vote. I actually know two men named Augustus -- father and son -- they both go by Gus, and their ages are 58 and 27.

RE: Zoerhenne on Modern Classics

I agree with Nicholas and Charlotte for sure. Olivia will probably have a date stamp... even though its been in the top 300 for several decades. Maybe Connor, although its had a pretty strong peak... I don't know that might have a date stamp too.

RE: Raya

I am a fan of August(us) for sure. I think it sounds better with your last name.

Oh yeah, David is another Modern Classic, or maybe it's not that modern, but it isn't John or Mary!

Earl Warren definitely says groundbreaking Supreme Court Justice to me. I hope they know that.

For better or worse, Emmett always reminds me of the Professor in Back to the Future. I especially think of his girlfriend yelling "EMMETT!!" in her bleating voice as she need to be rescued from a runaway train. (Or something like that!)

Kate, just had to comment on your choosing Carine! I work with a girl (around 30) with that name, who pronounces it Kuh-RIN. I love the name on her, but a word of warning: no one can pronounce it correctly! I believe the most common way people choose to say it is Karen.

I am another who finds Carol dated. My mom's mn is Carroll (don't know how she got that spelling). We are considering Caroline as a namesake name for impending baby #3.

Danielle -- thanks for the warning! I think that since it'll be in the mn spot, though, it'll be okay.

Louise is the name of Jennifer Hudson's sweet, wise, funny character in the new Sex in the City movie--will that bring it back to the top 1000?

Also from the movie--tiny spoiler--a set of young sisters are named Lily and Rose. Yikes. But I guess extremely matchy fairytale names do make sense for the mother's character.

I know a six-year-old Earl; he's British, older brother is Stanley and has very hip parents.

I'd always pronounce Carine Car-een, except in the Netherlands it was Car-een-a.

How about Carola as an up-date for Carol?

Regarding the impending Earl Warren and his parents who may not be aware that most people will think of Justice Warren and the Warren Court. In the course of dealing with maternity patients some years ago, I met a woman who named her baby "Mahalia Jackson". When I made a (neutral) comment about the more famous bearer of the name, the mother had no idea to whom I was referring. Although she must have heard the name before, she truly thought it was her own creation. Its familiarity to her ear was probably part of its appeal. Perhaps its the same with young Earl Warren's folks.

'nother new babe: Liam Warren LN.

Hmm. Is Warren an up and coming name, or is this just a coincidence?

(I don't know the parents well at all, this was a big email announcement at work, but the Warren part struck me.)

I hadn't seen Warrent as an up-and-comer, but we've talked about how popular W is for boys' middle initials (something about the symmetry and "bigness" of the letter itself seems to be appealing)--and Warren DOES have that -en ending!

I really like Warren--very dignified,classic but underused. I believe it's one of those names just waiting for a revival, maybe as an alternative for parents distressed by the recent popularity of Henry.

And any relation to the progressive Warren Court (famed for its expansion of civil rights and rights of the accused) is definitely a plus for me!

Unfortunately I could never use Warren as a first name--it's far too close in sound to my own. In fact, growing up I had a neighbor named Warren and was convinced we had the same name.

Carola looks to much like Canola (oil) and sounds to much like Corolla (the Toyota car) for my taste. I prefer Caroline or Carolina.

Carrie could be alternative for parents looking to honor a aunt or grandma Carol. It's a pet form of Caroline (famously the real name of Theodore Dreiser's "Sister Carrie") that's a name in its own right. Right now Carrie hovers at 988, just about to slip from the top 1,000. I wonder if the recent fervor over the "Sex and the City" movie could revive the name, although the series (1998-2004) did nothing to check its slide. Carrie enjoyed a bit of a Renaissance in the 60's and 70's after decades of decline (presumably when Sarah Jessica Parker's fictional Carrie Bradshaw was born), so it to is destined to sink with Carol and Donna.

Carrie, like Laura, benefited from the 1970s Bicentennial/Little House (on TV)zeitgeist--now well before the memory of most new parents.

Sushi, I totally had the same thoughts as you regarding the names in the Sex and the City movie. I love the name Louise and would love to see the name re-enter the top 1000. I also thought the flower babies’ names were too matchy – but then, what else would I have expected.

Strangely, I have never thought of “Carrie” as dated in the least. Perhaps because it was my favorite name in middle school, and is the first of my favorite names to maintain its grip on me, though I, too, would now use Caroline were I to give the name to a daughter. Hmm . . . Carol, though, is definitely dated.

I’m not sure how I feel about Warren. I can see it as an up and comer, but it’s just so . . . a last name. I am simply not into last names as first names.

Captcha = Gross. Need I say more?

Personally, I don't care for Warren. In the UK, it would usually be seen as a very boring, nerdy sort of name. I have never met an exciting Warren!

By the way, I met someone the other day who knew a lady growing up whose name was Ruby Pearl Diamond. She eventually changed it to Heather something...

Does anyone else think that some of the names fell off simply because they are nicknames? (Or in the case of Carol, sound like the diminutive of a longer name).

It seems to me today's parent would name a child "Samuel" and insist the kid be Samuel. He wouldn't become Sammy until/unless/if the kids at school called him that.

Stacey, Sammy and Carol (mostly) fit this idea. Perry sounds like a nickname, even if it isn't.

Carola seems a bit like Crayola to me and I personally wouldn't use it. My mom's name is Carole (yes add the E for that too) and at one time I was thinking if I were to honor her I would use Carleen or Carlynn. There are a couple other Car... variations out there that might seem appealing in todays times rather than just plain Carol(e).

Lauren--I don't think Warren rhymes with your name...people where you live pronounce it War-in? I think war in the first syllable woul turn me off more than the nerdy associations...beyond that Warren = the dad of Judy Blume's Peter, Fudge, and Tootsie.

Count another vote for Augustus. Emmett makes me think of Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas, a children's movie with muppets from the 70s or 80s that my husband made me watch. It's actually quite cute.

I can't believe how quickly my name (Colleen) has fallen! The name definitely never read as "'60s" to me... I'm in my late 20s and knew plenty of Colleens my own age (particularly when attending Catholic high school in Phildelphia) but none older than me. Well, if my best friend chooses the name for a future daughter in my honor (as she's said she might) she'll never need to worry about her kid being surrounded by other Colleens.

I had this sense about Stacey -- that it was this name I saw over and over in elementary school in the 1970s (Stacie, Stacy, Staci, and Stacey) and that nobody was naming their daughters that anymore. I agree with the poster who said Donna and Carol are mom names, though, whereas Stacey was a classmate name. Along with Kelly (Kelle, Kelli, Kellie), Tracy (Tracey, Traci, Tracie), Nicole (Nichole), Michelle, and Stephanie, each of whom I've known about 4 of my own age over time. And Dana? Does anyone name their kid Dana anymore, now that all the Danas are moms? Heather? Jodi? These were the "original" names of their moment, when you were trying to avoid Jennifer or Lisa. And they seemed always to be popular.

I recently met a pair of under-5 sibs named Stella and Sloan. Too hipper-than-thou for my tastes, but cute kids. It's hard to hate a name when an adorable little person has it. But I felt triumphant, since my stereotypical hipster names in some post I launched here were Stella and Nero. And oh, Isla has hit the charts here, though I always think of the Madonna song "La Isla Bonita" and mispronounce it in my head.

What about Augusten rather than Augustus? Like the author? He picked the name himself to write under, born Christopher. Don't blame him really.

Warren--hmmm- I like the warm sound, but the guy I knew with that name was dealing heroin at my college in the late 60's. An association like that can so predictably kill a name. Stacy and Tracy do sound dated to me, too. But my daughter's mn is Dacey- a maternal family last name-and to me , it is not at all trendy. Personal association makes me name deaf, I guess. I really prefer August to Augustus. It has the same strength and cool nickname-wihout the ending that reminds me (only me!) of a medical condition-like pertussis.

Harriet -- I didn't know Warren could be pronounced another way besides rhyming with Lauren ... how do you say it?

Hyz-forgive me ahead of time but if you are atill looking for some comments about Ivy I was thinking of a weird association last night-don't ask me how or why my mind was doing this!
Anyway, I was thinking Ivy Soh kinda sounds like Ivory Snow the detergent. I know thats weird but I thought you might want to know. What were your thoughts on Violet? It was another name I was thinking about.

Also, I kind of like the old-fashioned sound of Miranda Charlotte nn Randi if anyone is looking for something like that. Guest, how are your choices going?

I'm also curious as to how else Warren would be pronounced (other than War-in). I'd really like the name if it weren't for the "war" effect. Too bellicose for me.

Zoerhenne--thanks for thinking of me. :) I've never heard of that detergent, so it's interesting, but probably not enought to affect my choices--it seems like a pretty benign thing to sound like, as far as teasing or whatever goes. I do like Violet pretty well, but DH nixed it for sounding too much like violent, and for the color association (he worried that she would receive nothing but purple gifts from well-meaning friends).

Also, I wouldn't be too sure that Landon's Little House didn't have an effect on today's new parents. I'm young enough to have caught only the tail end of that series on first run, and many people comment that I'm "so young!" to be having a baby. Of course, my demographic isn't representative of the country as a whole, but it seems to me that there are lots of women now having their first kids at 34-38, and they could've grown up with the series. Still, Carrie didn't have much of an active role in the show, so I'm not sure that would be enough to spark a generation of Carries. I do wonder, though, whether the show helped sow the current crop of Landons. I actually considered the name myself for a boy, thinking I had come up with something unusual but attractive after watching Little House reruns. Thanks to this blog, I realized it wasn't unusual at all. Interestingly, I just noticed on IMDB that Michael Landon was born Eugene Maurice Orowitz in 1936. I don't blame him a bit for changing that one, but I wonder how he came up with his new name....

Re: a modern version of Carol, why not flip the vowels and use Coral?

And as for Perry's nickname status, it could be a nickname for Peregrine and Perceval. ;)

Darice: I LOVE the name Peregrine. I'd use it as a first name if my future son could stand the teasing! In real life I just consider it as a MN. Leo Peregrine, anybody? :-)

I've been trying to think of a good name to honor a Carrie besides Caroline; I find that Carrie sounds too much like a nickname, and I suspect that others may feel the same way.

Lorien,

Caren? Carinne? Carolina? Or perhaps Carrie as a MN for any name not ending with Y? "Elizabeth Carrie LN" sounds fine, "Ashley Carrie LN" sounds terrible. If you have a boy, it's easier: Cary is a old-fashioned male name with a lot of charm.

I suppose the "a" in Warren could be pronounced like the pirate's "Arrr." I'm not sure what kind of accent that would be.

Lauren, of course, has more of a long o, as in Loren.

I'm still stuck on this Warren thing ... though Tirzah also seemed to be making the point that Warren and Lauren don't rhyme, I've said them both out loud a hundred times today, and I still say them rhyming -- the "lore" in Lauren is the same as the "war" in Warren, at least where I live ... do I say "war" differently than others?

I confess that Lauren and Warren rhyme the way I say them.

As for any young Danas, I just met one (probably 3 yrs old) recently. And my daughter has a Heather in her first-grade class. Both names I definitely associate more with my peers than hers.

I agree that Carol (while it has a nice sound) is definitely dated for me. The fact that I have an aunt Carol in her early 70s probably doesn't help. I think Coral would be a nice way to honor a Carol yet bestow a different name.

I also prefer August to Emmett. I don't mind Emmett so much, but the comments about all the girl Em- names makes me realize it could be dicey for a boy now. August is a solid name for a boy, and the nn is Gus is super!

Both of my grandfathers (born 1920s) had Warren as a middle name, but that they've used as their first names all their lives. (First names were Milford and Gerard.) The name lives on in my family, with both my father (early 1950s) and brother (late 1970s) having it as their middle name, as well as my cousin's son (3 years old). We've decided against family names for our children, as well as the fact that my boss at a Chinese restaurant also had Warren as his first name which kind of ruined it for me.

Lauren how I pronounce it (Lor-in) does rhyme with Warren--close enough to relegate the name to mn status for me.

Off topic, but an English teacher at my school just had her second child--a boy named Kipling (in honor of Rudyard Kipling of Jungle Book fame). I actually adore this name: it's literary, quirky yet classic, and comes with the charming nn "Kip." Young Kip joins older sister Lucy (not sure if that's her fullname or a nn for Lucille/Lucinda/etc.)

Lauren, I was obsessed with Kipling as a boy's name when I was younger-- I wanted a set of Kipling, Whitman, and Wilkie after Rudyard, Walt, and Wilkie Collins (before SJP and Matthew Broderick--yes, I was a very literary teen). My husband is decidedly anti last names as first names, so we won't be going with any of the above. My tastes have changed in the past 10 or so years, and that's fine.

I really like Walter now, more so than Whitman.

Kipling is pretty cute. The first time around my dad suggested both Walter and Whitman as middle name options.

DH is still on Edison. Not as much to live up to as Earl Warren!

I also pronounce Lauren and Warren as rhyming. I can make Lauren not rhyme but its not my first response.

I think Kipling is cute too, but if he goes to the UK he may be teased about cakes! There's a very popular cake manufacturer in the UK called "Mr Kipling" with the slogan, "Mr Kipling makes exceedingly good cakes". I guess there are worse things to be teased about!

Kipling was on my boys name list too! I'm glad someone is using it. Hubby wasn't too fond of the meaning though, which is "cured salmon." (I told him to think of it as a nature name!) Also Kipling's reputation as a great novelist has suffered some hits over the years. It also sounds a little white for my non-white kid. Still love it though!

Lauren and Warren definately rhyme the way I say them.

When dd was born last year my partner and I really wanted to name her Frieda. We ended up going with the much safer Elizabeth (NN Libby) after literally everyone we talked to hated the name! Now I'm ttc again and I'm back thinking about Frieda... We have a great aunt that is named Frieda with the nn Friedi (SP?).

I'd love to hear any opinions good or bad of this name since it isn't on the top 1000 list.

Raya - Another vote for Augustus. Emmett's cool, though, and I don't see anything wrong with it. I'm just biased because I have a little August, and as he gets bigger the more Gus-like he becomes.

Random sidenote #1: I got obsessive about all-names Gus-ish a while back and looked through BehindTheName.com for the origin to find out the meaning. It turns out that Gus ultimately means "strong." Works for me.

Random side-note #2: I told a lady in the neighborhood (one with multiple grade-school-aged and younger kids) that my boy's name is August, and she admitted that she had never heard of it as a name. I was pretty surprised, to say the least.

I'm afraid my primary association of Warren is the anti-hero in Sky High, Warren Peace. Just goes to show how unsophisticated I am. And I guess they do rhyme, but I never would've connected their sounds in my head if y'all hadn't pointed it out in my head. And even after having it pointed out, my opinion of Warren hasn't changed any. In a world of cross-gender sound-alike names, I just don't see that as a deal-breaker.

Kipling sounds like a darling name!

re: Carola, that is the name of my daughter's best friend and so I have a lovely association with it. Her parents are from Mexico and Chile, and so the name is said with a definite accent, more like cah-ROLL-la (and roll that /r/ just a little!) than cuh-ROLL-luh.

Warren and Lauren rhyme to me too... I cannot think of how else to say Warren!

Love Kipling and August/Augustin/Augustus.

And itchybrain (giggle), all I can think about with Frieda is Frieda's cat from Peanuts. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing. :)

Itchybrain-- I like the Free sound of Frieda, but I am not personally attracted to the name. But other names -like Ruth and Dorothy have been warming for me, so maybe one just has to sit with these older names for a bit.I think that Freya sounds similar, but softer.

Itchybrain - I'm probably just feeling contrary at the moment, but go for Frieda! Or maybe even a similar-sounding name like Freya. I just feel a bit sad when people fall back on a "safe" name when they really wanted a different name. If you feel nervous about people hating her name, Frieda could be a middle name, and you could simply call her by that middle name. But if you love a name, go for it.

Augustus vs. Emmett.

I love Augustus with the nn Gus. I think it sounds very distinguished, with a nice not too fussy nickname.

I'm probably biased though.
As a preschool teacher, I have a number of boys whose parents have jumped on the TT bandwagon.

Examples:
Beckett (which I do love, but now wouldn't use)
Barrett
Cabot (close enough)
Dorsett
Eliott (2)
Emmett
Everett
Wyatt (2)

My school is very small and yet all the names I've listed represent students in my class.
I guess I'm just burnt out over these similar sounding names.

Raya: re: Augustus or Emmett. They are both nice names, but when I hear Augustus, my first association is Augustus Gloop, the horrid, gluttonous child from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Plus I seem to recall a series of picture books about Gus the Ghost (?). Anyone with me here? I would say Emmett might be less prone to being teased about his name.

Carol... I have a MIL, great aunt, as well as an aunt by marriage, all named Carol/e. It definitely is a "mom" name for me. Also associated with one of the greatest female songwriters of all time, Carole King (yes, also dated). Though I do know a 25-ish y.o. Carol (which I guess isn't really that young).

Donna... always seemed like an old lady name to me. The character Donna on That 70s Show was a spunky girl played by a beautiful young actress, but I guess that wasn't enough to save it from the dustbin of name-history.

Like others, I am very surprised at the disappearance of Katharine, which I think of as a totally classic (and classy) variant spelling. Actually, there are a lot of names I think of as classic that don't make an appearance in the US top 1000: Candace, Clive, Edmund, Georgina/Georgiana, Margo/t, Neville, Stuart/Stewart, and Yvonne are just some that don't rate.

Mother Goose -

say it isn't so - Beckett is currently on my short (very short because I can't think of anything) list of boy's names. I don't want to be part of the TT trend. :)

Actually, if anyone is interested, you can see my current list here: http://www.babynames.com/namelist/9615022

C&C's Mom:
I just voted on your name list. We have eerily similar tastes! I have two daughters, Avery & Rowan, so I naturally love your Avery choice. I am hearing it more and more, not sure if that would bother you. In fact, Angie Harmon was on some morning program today talking about her daughters, Avery & Finley. As far as your other choices: Brynn is lovely and would almost certainly be the name of my next daughter. Modern and crisp and perfect, I think. A nice change from all the frilly or frumpy names that are popping about. For the boys, both Beckett and Wes are on my list -- but I think I prefer Wes because I am nervous that Beckett would get shortened to Becky and I would not care for that. Just out of curiosity, would you want to share C&C's names? If not, no worries!

re 60's names: they are indeed falling like rocks in general. Donna is the latest of the top 20 sixties names to drop off the list, preceeded by Lori (fell off in 2001) and Tammy (1999). The other 17 names fell from 2006 to 2007, except for Kimberly and Karen, which were up slightly. The biggest droppers were Deborah, Lisa, and Pamela. Is anyone else surprised that Kimberly is still in the top 100?

Mari -

I think you have great taste!

C#1 is Coby (nn for Jacob)
C#2 is Campbell (girl)

RE: Jill C.

I am not surprised that Kimberly is in the top 100. I was actually more surprised when I looked at the NameVoyager and saw that Kimberly peaked in the 60s! To me, Kimberly was a name of quite a few classmates (I graduated H.S. in 2003). I think maybe Kimberly could be considered a Modern Classic... to go back to earlier discussions on that.

Kimberly sounds so different than Donna and Stacey and many other 60's names (Tammy & Cindy, etc.) to my ears. So, it doesn't surprise me that it hasn't fallen by the wayside with some of the other names of that generation.

hahaha.... I just realized that I already had Kimberly on my modern classics list. I was ten steps ahead of myself. hahaha

I need to go to bed

I'm another for who Warren and Lauren rhyme. Just for context I have an Australian accent. I think I can hear the difference between the two ways of saying the name. The a in the first syllable make two different 'o' sounds and a slightly different emphasis. It's hard to explain the difference. I was going to make a video so that I could just show it, but I don't have my camera. I'll do my best to explain though.

The first 'o' sound is made with a relaxed mouth. The sound is formed in the back of the mouth with no/little voicing from the vocal chords. It's a much shorter sound. It's similar to the o sound in stop, drop etc.

The second 'o' sound is made with nearly the same relaxed mouth but the bottom lip moves up slightly. The sound is made deep in the throat with voicing from the vocal chords. It's sounds that I use (and I think Americans do too) for the word war.

Thus when I hear an American say the name Warren it sounds like "war-en" or "wore-en" They use the second type of 'o' sound described above. The r joins the first syllable.

When I say the name Warren it sounds more like "wo-ren" using the first 'o' sound. The r is pronounced in the second syllable.

The same rules apply for how I hear and say the name Lauren.

In the US the ah/aw alternation is a regional dialect marker. A dialect geographer can pretty much pinpoint people's homes by observing which words are spoken with ah and which aw. In my dialect I have Wah-ren and Law-ren, no rhyme, but war (as in conflict) is wawr. I have sawsage (sausage) and cawfee (coffee), but my ex-husband who grew up 50 miles away has sahsage and cahffee. I have chahcolate (chocolate), unlike New Yorkers who have chawclit. In New Orleans John is Jawn (I have Jahn, but in the PA Dutch country where I grew up John is Chun, rhyming with fun) and darling is dawlin' (I have dahrling). I have cawst for cost and Bawston for Boston but frahg (frog) and dawg (dog). I have caht for cot, but in the Midwest many people make no distinction between cot and caught. I have wahsh (wash), but in parts of upstate PA and a number of other areas it's wawrsh (with an intrusive r).

I am not a dialect geographer by any means, but often I can make a pretty good guess as to someone's home region.

I would also say that Warren and Lauren rhyme, and I'm from the south east of England. But I know a Scottish Lauren and she is definitely Lore-en, a completely different vowel sound which makes more sense when you compare Laura and Lauren.

Re Carol and using Coral as an alternative: Isn't Coral one of those old-lady semiprecious stone names eg Pearl or Beryl? What about Caro as a name to honour a Carol? I haven't heard it here (in Oz) but have read it in English novels. I suppose in USA it would sound like Karo syrup....
I met a Coral when I was at Uni- she was younger than me, probably 30ish now. It was the strangest thing calling a young girl Coral- and not in a hip, I'm too cool to care way either. I never asked her, but I had a suspicion that her name was probably the result of her father filling out the birth registry forms incorrectly- the name was simply too improbable for a girl who had been born after WW1.
On another topic, Peregrine was at the top of my list for number two and three sons- with Perry as a nickname. I just couldn't talk anyone else into it!

C & C's mom, I vote for Caroline Miller if you have a girl so that your two girls have the initials MC and CM! I like it especially because they will go by their middle initials.

I have long been surprised by the presence of Kimberly in the top 100, mostly because I grew up with at least four Kims in my high school and haven't met one under 30 ever. I've never even heard this name on the playground (at least, not in the last 25 years!). Where are the young Kims?

I've been puzzling over this Lauren/Warren thing for awhile now, and I honestly can't figure out if they rhyme or not! I think it might depend on how fast I'm speaking—when I'm talking fast the first vowels become more similar, but when I slow down I start to hear a difference (the vowel in Lauren is longer and rhymes with "more," while the vowel in Warren is shorter and modified more toward the vowel in "March"). Interestingly, my stepfather, who is an Englishman, has observed that my American accent becomes stronger when I'm speaking quickly with my sister or peers, and fades when I'm speaking more formally to people older than me. For the record—I'm from NYC, but don't have what most people would call a New York accent, which is really a Brooklyn or Long Island accent.

C & C's Mom—I like Brynn—it strikes me as a very sporty and energetic name, probably because my cue is Bryn Kehoe, the setter for the Stanford women's volleyball team, who is a phenomenal athlete.

Re: Lauren and Warren. We've talked about Lauren several times in the past (Lahr-en v. Lore-en). I guess Warren could be the same--the first syllable could either be the same as war or the same as car. I generally have the standard mid-Atlantic US "no-accent" accent (newscasters sound normal to me), and I would normally say Warren and Lauren to rhyme, both having the same sound as in war.

On Frieda--I honestly don't love it, because it sounds a bit frumpy to me, and also makes me think of Fritos. The only Frieda I know is late middle aged and physically very worn down by years of chain smoking and hard times. On the other hand, I could see it becoming one of the "hip" choices, especially considering the association with Frida Kahlo (who I also don't much care for, but who seems to be very beloved by the hip right now). Maybe it's silly, but I could see really liking a Frieda nn Freddie. Freddie sounds retro and spunky to me, and reminds me of the 1930s-40s trend of giving girls masculine NNs for their very feminine names (for example, Winifred nn Fred in Margaret Atwood's _The Blind Assassin_).

I also had Peregrine on my boy list, but I don't think I'd ever dare to use it as a FN. I think it's so handsome, strong, and dignified, and has such a nice flow.

I have a question for Laura or someone who has the time to do it...

Which state most closely mirrors the top 20 popular names for whole US? (for boys and girls, or one for boys and one for girls).

It would mean comparing the top 20 names for each of the 50 states to the US... something I don't have time to do.

re: Frieda and Freddie--Frieda and Freddie Falcon are the mascots for the Bowling Green State University (OH) Falcons. I grew up in that area and all I can think of when I hear Frieda is a big falcon mascot costume on ice skates.

Ack, I almost named my daughter Isla. Thankfully my husband didn't like it, because I would have hated it if Angelina Jolie used it. If she does, it will definitely be a fast riser. I like Amelie too - I am surprised more people didn't use it after the movie a few years ago. Maybe it was a fear of using something too French sounding when you didn't have a French connection?

Frieda immediately makes me think of Frieda Kahlo, the Mexican painter. I would make sure that I was familiar with her and ready to field questions about her and her art work before I were to give a child that name. I would also have to seriously consider how I would introduce a child to that artwork, seeing as some of those images would be very disturbing to a young child. Heck, some of them are disturbing to me. She is though, a great and fascinating artist – just one for adults.

I also agree that I like Augustus (or similar) for a boy over Emmett. Emmett feels sort of “soft” to me.

Warren and Lauren rhyme, at least to my ear.

Captcha is gone again -- yay!!

I just had to tell you guys quickly before I actually work today that I had a dream last night that I had triplet boys, and the hospital named them Braiden, Zaiden, and Dylan. I was mortified. Dylan is perfectly okay as a name in my book - but it's my little sister's boyfriend's name. And Zaiden is just ridiculous for a Jewish family whose grandfather is to be called Zayde. Also, it's getting pretty close to my fantasy baby name book title, which is "Aidan, Brayden, Caden, Drayden," coupled with some sort of subtitle in the "Beyond Jennifer and Jason" genre.
So by the end of the dream, I had decided on new names for them, but they were probably about 20 by the time I did so. I went with Eli for the redhead, Elias for the blond (I know, they're almost the same name. This crossed my mind in the dream), and Johnny for the brunet. I held a party to announce their real names. I am so dweeby, even in my dreams.

itchybrain I really like Freida. Its a stand-up-and-take-notice kind of name. Other "Fr" girls names you could consider are Freya (as others suggested) and Fredrica, which could take the nn Freida and is the main characters name in an A.S. Byatt series.

Mari-- my husband and I have friends who named their 1-year-old daughter Brynn Avery. I think theyre both beautiful names that go together nicely, though not so much my style, and they suit the baby very well.

(I apologize for the lack of apostrophes in the above-- for some reason my computer runs a quick find on this page every time I try to type one.)

There's been talk of Angelina's next name picks; I came across this quote about how she chose Shiloh:

"It’s a biblical name but we didn’t name her for that. It was a name my parents almost named their first child—there was a miscarriage: Shiloh Baptist. Because my father had been shooting in Georgia and that was the most southern name [my parents] could come up with. It’s a name I always liked. I used to go under it in hotels: Shiloh Baptist. I’d gone under it when [Brad] called hotel rooms where I was staying."

From Vanity Fair via celebrity-babies.com

I love Frieda! I think it's got a very modern sound and definitely deserves a comeback. It reminds me of Sylvia Plath - her children were Frida and Nicholas.

I'm Scottish and Lauren and Warren definitely rhyme for me. I'm having trouble working out pronunciations that would do otherwise!

I love Augustus; it's my 2nd baby's name. He is usually a Gus as well although I sometimes call him Augie in my internal monologue. I do really like Emmett as well; I think it made our shortlist of 20ish boy's names. Don't know what we'd do if we had a third boy; if anyone can offer any complementary names to those that Raya has chosen, I'll file them away for later this year... But speaking of regional dialects, I hear a lot of people (midatlantic trending towards Appalachia) say Uhgustus instead of Awgustus. It doesn't bother me either way, but if you are sensitive to names, and I assume you are by your presence, you might want to consider that.

How is Isla pronounced? I was pronouncing it EYE-la. Is Ilsa a name too? Pronounced ILL-sa? I think I might be confused.

Katie, your dream made me laugh out loud. I continually have dreams that i have unwittingly named my child something horrible. My husband thinks I am crazy.

Yup, Freida says "Frida Kahlo" to me--and that's not a bad thing at all! It could make for a very hip name, if you're cool with that reference. (Name tidbit: While she was Mexican, her name came from her Hungarian-Jewish father's background. She wrote it with and without the "e" at various times.)

For other famous Freidas, look up the mountain-climber Freda Du Faur (1882-1935). She was given the name "Emmeline Freda" at birth, with the Freda being after her father, Frederick.

http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=3D17

I like Frida/Freida. I also like Freya. I think, though, that the people who read this board are not necessarily going to give you the same reaction that ordinary (we all know that we are extra-ordinary here!) people will. I know in my family and friends, Frida would certainly get some comments or at least raised eyebrows - just because it is a bit unusual.

On the radio this morning Bob Edawrds was interviewing a set of twins named Earl and Merle who are both political science professors.

Isla is pronounced Eye-la like the beginning of Island. The red headed actress who is married to Sasha Barron Cohen is the only famous Isla I can think of. And the Ilsa's in my family are pronounced Ill-suh.

Thank you, Rayne of Terror.

RE: Wendy

As I have nothing but time (ok, not really, but I do have some time on my hands). I will try to compare states top 10-20 to the national rankings. We'll see how it goes. You may have to have some patience on that though as it may take a few days for me to get it posted.

Susan, regarding your impression of Coral as an unhip old lady name: I believe Maureen who posts here sometimes has 3 girls named Penelope, Coral and Astrid, and was discussing some very beautiful and hip names for her 4th daughter. Her use of Coral with the other names she chose I think changed my view of Coral. I now see it as hip.

Maureen, if you are out there, did you have the baby yet?? What did you decide to name her?

Speaking of comparing state names to the US rankings, a few days ago I notioced that while Bridger is in the top 100 names for Utah, it doesn't pop up at all on the national rankings. I so decided to look for other strictly-local favorites, and here's what I found:

For girls (national rankings in parenthesis):
Aspen #68 (611)
Brinley #81 (unranked)
Brynlee #85 (unranked)
Mylee #91 (556)

For boys:
Porter #57 (476)
Ryker #74 (538)
Boston #88 (619)
Bridger #90 (unranked)
Tate #102 (406)

Has anyone else here checked for any strictly-local favorites where you are?

Katie, I loved reading about your "nightmare". It made me laugh. Thanks!

Miriam, I loved reading that dialect post ^_^

Hey, thank you Mother Goose. I hadn't quite realized there were that many "tt" names out there, till you put that list together. Would love to know what the other preschool favorites are that you're seeing...

Our local newspaper has published its yearly supplement in which they interview area kindergartners about their "career" ambitions. I would guess there are over a couple of thousand listed. It is a scream, and also a good way to find out what names five-year-olds are currently wearing.

Although I knew "Dominic/Dominick" was popular, I was astonished at how many children have this attractive name. Is there some sort of pop culture correlate? Apparently it is no longer limited to Catholic parents, as this part of upstate New York tends to be more Protestant.

This was even more surprisingly popular, for this area-- "Damian/Damien".

Is anyone else encountering a lot of little Dominicks and Damiens?

I liked the independence of the parents who named their son "Montgomery". His little nickname was also given-- "Mo". To me this is cute and sporty, a nice alternative to the expected "Monty".

Wish I could remember some of the other standouts. Will have to consult paper again and post!

Eo, I'd love to hear what the other kindergarten children are named! My daughter's (kindergarten) class has the following kids in it:
Omar
Emyly
Sabrina
Noah
Jeremiah
Nicholas
Olivia
Maggie (short for Margaret)
Clarence (he's Clarence III)
Cody
Joseph
Sarah
Tony
Daniel Brandon
Ethan
Niy'asia
Ayanna
Max
Leah
Sarah
Anjelic (pronounced Angelique)

This class contains one Middle Eastern child, several Hispanic children, five or six African-American children, seven or eight Caucasian children and a few biracial kids. What surprises me is that you mostly can't tell who belongs to which group by looking at the names.

About local favourites - we don't have local stats here in the Uk, so you have to go by anecdotal evidence. I'd say that Alfie is very hot in north London right now. In the local paper's report of the under-6 fun run, three little winners were called Alfie, and two Gabriel. And I noticed a hip children's shop ecently called Alfie loves Olive.

Whoops, no, Just googled it and it's called Olive loves Alfie. Named after a card the owner's daughter wrote to her best friend.

Wendy, you asked "Which state most closely mirrors the top 20 popular names for whole US?" I don't have an exact answer -- I'm due for some serious crunching of the state data soon! But in general, the industrial midwest most closely mirrors the national choices. You can see that in my old U.S. naming map:
http://www.babynamewizard.com/map.html
Described here:
http://www.babynamewizard.com/archives/2006/3/the-naming-map-of-the-unit...

In my child's kindergarten class, the top names are Adrian and Sophia (3 of each in a class of 38).

By the way, my apologies for the capchas -- a necessary evil, spammers were attacking like mad. You should only have to go through the capcha once.

The one Earl I know is my great-uncle, a child-abusing, wife-beating drunk, so definitely bad associations there.

Earl also brings to mind the Dixie Chicks song "Goodbye Earl", which is about a wife beating husband that ends up dead.

Thanks for the input on the name Freida. It's interesting that the name is so strongly associated with Frida Kahlo. Personally, I just think of our "Aunt Freidi" (pronounced FREEdee). I sort of think "German" when I hear it. But it is very recently popular among Latio families. The "Frida" spelling has just spiked big time in the name voyager. My sister-in-law is latina. She told me that while it is a classic name it has gained popularity since the Mexican singer/actress Alejandra Guzman named her child Frida Sophia sometime in the early 90's.

re: accents
i am confident that the northern cities midwesterners do not merge cot and caught. the northern cities includes chicago, detroit, cleveland, buffalo, so quite a few people. as an aside, i grew up in cleveland thinking i was accentless. then i went to a college in cleveland (case western reserve) that attracts many students from out of the area, and they pointed out my strong cleveland accent, particularly the /ae/ tensing in mAd, dAd, etc. sometimes i have a hard time differentiating between Ian and Ann in people whose "cleveland accents" are really strong.

I have a personal dislike for Freida as it was my 5th grade science teachers name. I hated this class and disliked her. Other than that it sounds very German to me, something along the lines of "Fraulein(sp) Maria" from the Sound of Music or something.

Miriam-excellent analysis of the sounds in Lauren and Warren. I too say them sort of similar like Law-ren and Wahr-ren.

hyz-you are welcome. Ivory Snow is not a bad association just thought you'd enjoy knowing. It kind of feels floaty, like fluffy clouds to me. Or freshly fallen snow. Very naturish(sp?)for you!
Bridger, Peregrine, are not my style at all!
For matches to Augustus and Emmett, hmm. Maybe Oliver, Reginald, Quentin, or Leopold. Something not too stuffy yet a bit "regal" sounding.
Katie-Loved your dream, can't wait for the book! The mind sure does crazy things!

Frieda is a German name. Definitely hip, considering how unpopular all-names-German tend to be currently. Oh, and another spelling of frieda is Friede, pronounced similarly.

Does anyone have a theory as to why the name Earl still exists? It seems to have such a negative image and an unappealing sound, I have to wonder if there's more to its existence than simply keeping a family name alive. Could someone tell me that there is a different side of Earl that I am unaware of?

Thanks Laura and Madeline. I look forward to seeing what your number crunching comes up with... would also like to know which state LEAST mirrors the US as a whole.

Laura, I remembered your maps with the naming regions... find it fascinating. (And for a real challenge, would love to see how names spread geographically... names like Nevaeh should be easier to track. Did it start in one state and spread to another? Addison -- is currently number 69 in the state of California...so where did it take off first?)

There was a little boy named River at the ball pit/obstacle course place today.

Now, I quite like nature names, but this child was the most high maintenance of all the kids there, and I kept thinking, "Whoa! Shouldn't you be kind of mellow with that name?"

While Caroline is one of my all time favorites, I'm also a big fan of Carys. I've also heard Carrick, Carrington, and Carrity on girls, thought I wouldn't use any of those myself.

Eo -- funny you should mention Dominic and Damien together, as these are the names of two cousins of mine (brothers) and I've always loved the names as well as how they go together. But those two would be in their late thirties now I think.

Earl immediately brings to my mind: James Earle Jones. I love his voice.

I have met several young Dominicks, but no Damiens.

As a corollary to Wendy's excellent questions, are there any Earl strongholds? Where are the last remaining Donnas? Which state has the most "endangered species"?

Oops, my last one got chopped! I've always said I need an editor!

Other names from the kindergarten supplement in our paper. (We are on the fringe of the Finger Lakes in New York state. It is not an affluent area at all. Surname-names are important here, because family is so important. The people tend to be more Midwestern in outlook-- espousing traditional, bedrock values of freedom, neighborliness, individuality, duty, honor, self-reliance, etc. This is significant, I think, when it comes to local naming practices):

Dominic
Charity
Simon
Liberty (interestingly, this recurred several times, as did Charity. See "values", above)
Malachi
the aforementioned "Montgomery"-- nickname, "Mo" (love)
Otto
Sullivan
Gustave
Griffin
Trevor
Moses
Tierney (a girl)
Vlad
Gavin
Moses
Preston
Grady
Patrick
Shilpa
Grant
Giovanni
Justice
Sophie
Quinn
Veda
Harold (!)
Gabriel
Lydia
Denver
Catherine
Felicity
John David
Levi
Deacon
Sally
Daniel

There were numerous Aidens and Briannas, etc., but I posted only those who caught my eye, in some way... I'm curious-- does anyone know the origin of "Shilpa"?

Ms. Wattenberg, LOVE your map-- thank you!

Shilpa is an Indian name. There was a reality-show flap in England last year around a Bollywood actress named Shilpa Shetty, Google that name to get the scoop. The name means "beautifully shaped," more or less--with the implication of "lovely as a work of art."

I love the sound of the name Emmett, but for some reason when I hear it I can only think of Emmett Till. I literally hear the word Emmett and in my brain I see the pictures taken of his body in his casket. It's such a shocking thing to see based on a name alone. I do love the August/Augustus/Augusten names with the nickname Gus. It was on our list for our boy a couple years ago.

Frieda is a name that I neither love nor hate. Like many others here, it does make me think of Frida Kahlo though.

Katie, your nightmare cracked me up!

Is anyone else having a problem with captcha? I can never tell what the second word it. It's all wavy and has a line through it. I know it's kind of supposed to be like that, but this is really bad!