The Baby Name Wizard

I was too late to submit a ballot, but I want to note that this guy loves your blog. And I'm sort of surprised that there aren't more male readers: I don't have any kids of my own, but I've always considered my interest in baby-name trends to be a natural relative to my interest in sports statistics and political polls.

Big risers of 2008:
Leona, Anya, Syesha, Estelle, Nahla, Aliana, Audrina, Honor, Matilda, Emme, Harlow, Jonas, Shia, Hogan

Big fallers of 2008:
King, Dax, Dereon, Yurem, Jaslene, Yuridia, Kelis

Yay!....I picked Miley on my ballot! Although I didn't win, it's a small victory. Love the blog Laura...keep it coming!

I suspect that one very popular choice will be whatever Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale (parents of Kingston) name their second child, to be born later this summer. Their choice will likely become very popular, if their first child's name is any indicator. :)

I'm sure Brad and Angelina's babies will make name waves, but I'm going with the early pick of Gianna. Congrats to the winners! I'm especially impressed by those falling names.

Ah, I'd be a terrible failure at the racetrack--I always go with the longshots.

Is it too soon to guess "Miley" for a major falling name next year? (On the theory that names like that get 're-spelled' so many ways that they lose their statistical punch--all the Mylies, Mylees, and Milees will diffuse its rank.)

Has anyone read the SSA's attempt to analyze a la Laura?
http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/pr/baby-names2007-pr.htm
We've made all the same observations and then some.

I think Jessica Alba's Honor is ready to make the Top 1000 list, keeping with the trends of other virtue names that are popular. ITA on Gwen & Gavin and the Jolie-Pitts (who get two chances!) as the tastemakers to watch this summer.

I was giving birth and adjusting to motherhood when the ballots were being sent it, so I didn't get to play this year, but OMG has anyone else seen the HUGE influx of Graces recently? While pregnant, nearly every woman who was having a girl had Grace as either a first or second name for the daughter. And 2 women in my Sunday School class who just had babies had a Dallace Grace and a Grace Emily. Graces everywhere!

I think Honor might have some opportunity for rising this year. It's a great name and slides nicely into some of the trends that are already in place.

Christiana - did you ever tell us the name that you finally chose?

Kudos to the winners! Our area seems to be its own little microcosm so I never know what is really up and coming. Some names seem to come here faster (a lot of the Why Not names are already in common circulation here but none of the creative names!)

Anyone know why the sudden appearance of Ronan as a boys name? I have met three recently under 2 years old but I can't think of a celeb that has made the name popular. People wanting Rowan but scared off by Brooke's little girl? Or am I missing something?

Congratulations Christiana! We had our baby too - he's 10 weeks tomorrow. Isn't it wonderful? (and exhausting!)

PS. Grace is popular here in the 5 to 10 year old set. There is at least one in every class! I'm thinking its current popularity is from the Will and Grace sitcom? That Grace is pretty cute and spunky as a role model.

Christiana, Grace has been chugging strong for the past few years, I think, if you look at the SSA data. It's the name that most makes me wish they would list MIDDLE names, though, because for every Grace I know, I know three other toddlers with Grace as a middle name. It's out of control, like Lynn as a middle name among my 1970s friends.
I think Honor could be a m.n. hit, too.
As mom of a Xavier, I wonder how much it was used as a m.n. in the past, especially with Francis, for the Jesuit-co-founding saint.

RE: Cathie

I won't pretend to know why people are naming their kids Ronan. But my first exposure to the name was through the Harry Potter series. Ronan is a centaur. But, the series has yet to have any real impact on names as of yet... so I don't know.

I think it's more of a perfect situation. An undiscovered celtic name that ends in 'n'

Re: Cathie

I just wanted to butt in that I can think of only one Ronan in the entertainment industry. Ronan Dex is the name of a character on Stargate Atlantis, a Sci-Fi show. It's relatively popular and kind of omni-present. Perhaps that helped the name along, as it's sort of fits the current naming trends: the -on, -an, or -en endings, the super-masculinity feel of it, and perhaps even that the actor who plays Ronan, is tall, muscly and looks "exotic". But then again maybe they just looked in a baby book and said "that one!"

Re: Ronan

It is also, of course, another spelling of the word "ronin," a word that means something along the lines of "outcast Samurai" in feudal Japan.

Actually, here's an "official" defintion: In Japan, under the feudal system, a samurai who had renounced his clan or who had been discharged or ostracized and had become a wanderer without a lord; an outcast; an outlaw.

Although I doubt that has anything to do with the name's popularity ;).

I also wonder if "Rohan" (pronounced the same as Rowan — and also a fun name for Tolkien fans) will become another male alternative for the name which seems to be quickly becoming a female name.

Daniel Day-Lewis's son is named Ronan, and during the various award ceremonies he has mentioned his sons by name. Ronan's brother is named Cashel, and I remember thinking, now that's a pair! Perhaps others heard him acknowledge his kids and got inspired.

Wow, I think I have actually been reading the blog for a year now, how time flies. I remember the 2006 winners being announced around the time I started reading. While I enjoy reading everyone's coments. I don't think I'm nearly enough of a NE to guess on a ballot. It would be fun however, to see middle name statistics. I knkow a few Lees and Lynns as well as a couple of Louises. However, many of my friends and family members are like me and had no middle name. Sorry, this post is turning into more of a ramble then I meant it to be.

Well, I've been told I have an affinity for losers :D

2008 risers- Leona and Honor have already been mentioned, and I bet Pax will make it. Depends on what the Jolie-Pitts name their twins, but doubtless they'll turn up circa 2009 (Zahara's not on the list, but I think it's a little hard to say).

Heath might get a little bump too, and while Matilda was already on the rise, I'll bet Small Miss Ledger's media exposure will give it the boost onto the list.

Maybe Jaslene as a loser for next year- her 15 minutes are over, right?

Since you were talking about guys who post on here, I'd like to mention that I'm another one. Yes, I am a male named Kelly. I like my name, and I strongly support those who want to continue using "unisex" names for boys (as you might have seen from some of my previous comments). I wouldn't be afraid to give a DS of mine a unisex name either; among the names that I like for a boy are Morgan, Rowan, and Shannon.

I agree,any baby girls I've met lately have either Rose or Grace as a middle name. I bet if the statistics on mn were tracked the incidence would decrease. I liken it to Ann or Marie middle name requirement in my childhood. Fastest riser girl name of the moment seems to be Lila. But, I agree with previous posters--whatever Brangelina choose, as well as, the current Soap Opera characters will have a great impact. Unless, B&A name the twins something truly odd, which is possible. I wish it would be the year of characters from Shakespeare or less common flowers or Italian princes.

As I was looking over the SSA list with fresh eyes today, I realized that I'm not as good at judging a name's popularity as I thought I was. Here are some of the things that surprised me -- I'd be curious to hear if they surprise anyone else:

Jocelyn is more popular than Charlotte
Autumn is more popular than Eva
Angela is more popular than Lucy
Jordyn is more popular than Bella
Sabrina is more popular than Stella
Lindsey is more popular than Lucia
Mallory is more popular than Lila
Dulce is more popular than Julie
Ruth is more popular than Rose
Holly is more popular than Fiona
Joy is more popular than Helena
Damaris is more popular than Felicity
Eileen is more popular than Annabel
Martha is more popular than Parker
Sharon is more popular than Amelie
Shirley is more popular than Olive

In Australia it seems that at least every second baby girl has Rose as a middle name. While it's pretty it's becoming very common. I know most of my friends my age (around 30) seem to have Louise. As much as I dislike my middle name of Tracy I was always pleased that I didn't know anyone else with that middle name. No one ever guesses it in the 'guess your middle name competitions' we used to play.

Maureen-Most of those comparisons DO NOT surprise me. The ones that do:
Mallory more than Lila
Damaris more than Felicity
Eileen more than Annabel
Sharon more than Amelie

For those that DON'T surprise me I rationalize this and say that many out there are like me- more "plain Jane's". Parker seems boyish, Olive too out there, and many of the others too old fashioned "grandma" names. And Jordyn was the Idol winner. However, with the ones that DID surprise me, I would've thought Mallory ran it's course in the 80's along with the show she was in with Michael J Fox. (I like the name though). Damaris seems too out there for me but Felicity is an American girl so I am surprised it's not more popular but THAT may be why it isn't. Annabel and Amelie have been mentioned here and seem up and coming. Sharon reminds me of Osborne and Eileen of the song so they are nms. Interesting though!

To AJ re: Xavier -- I'm pretty sure it's been very popular in the past as a mn for Francis because of St. Francis Xavier. There's a company (beer company, I think) in Utica, NY (and elsewhere?) called "F.X. Last Name" (I don't remember the last name) after the founder. I do believe his name was Francis Xavier and he went by F.X. My own great-grandfather (Irish) was a Francis Xavier ... he gave one of his sons his first name as a fn, and another son (my grandfather) his mn as a mn -- my grandfather was David Xavier, which is also my brother's mn (both names -- his full name is Jonathan David Xavier Last Name). I also saw in an Irish name book once that "Frank" was given as a nn specifically for "Francis Xavier" (not just Francis) -- that is, Fran X. "became" Frank in Ireland, at least according to the authors of that name book.

I myself love Xavier and plan to use it (probably as a mn) for a future son.

oh, crud. Earlier comment about my affinity for losers was absolutely *NOT* a reflection of the lovely people here. Just a funny line from my housemate.

Ronan- I know one wee Ronan, and a couple around my own age, and there's Ronan Keating from the 90s boyband Boyzone. It seems like a pretty normal name to me- like Euan, it seems odd it's not yet made the top 1000 in America.

I forgot to add my comments to the original part of the thread-my picks ahead of time for 2009.
Honor and June;Griffin and Cale
and of course we have already mentioned many names that are to be watched such as Lydia, Aubrey/Audrey and the celebs babies due this summer.

Maureen (are you the same Maureen-mother-of Astrid et. al? if so, welcome back!):

I am also surprised by some of those pairings, but I think I can come up with creative explanations for all of them:

I *suspect* based on my experience with some recent-immigrant Hispanic communities (NOT the 4+ generation Mexican-American or Cuban-American communities) that Damaris, Sharon and Joclyn would be strongly favored by immigrant parents for their American-born kids. As we know, Hispanic-Americans have huge statistical presence.

Personally, based on even more experience with African, Middle Eastern, and [Christian] South Indian immigrants, I believe that Shirley, Eileen, Martha, and also Sharon are/would be very popular amongst these groups. However, even added together, these communities number far less than the Hispanic communities (perhaps 4-5 million total? Anyone?)

Many immigrants I know who wanted their kids to assimilate still do pick the typical FOB names (such as my name, "Betty")--i.e. names that were popular in Western movies and media in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. But, I believe that as immigrant gruops are here longer, they are now turning to the tried-and-true 70s and 80s names--see my fuddy duddy discussion below.

Mallory, Holly, Lindsey, and Angela could be an example of the "fuddy duddy" syndrome we discussed a few months back--if I remember correctly, weren't they the group that favors names about half a generation behind the current crop of trends? These are names that are now very familiar to the public "ear" because they were well established throughout the 80s and early 90s--these are the Courtneys, Jessicas, and other now-"safe" names.

As for Olive and Lila, I think this is an e.g. of our own NE minds overestimating popularity in the general population.

Wow, Maureen, ALL those completely surprised me.

But then, on the last thread everyone kept mentioning the name Beatrix as a favorite, with someone even saying something along the lines of it being too quickly rising to use now. I was crushed. That's my favorite name for the next baby (not even concieved yet, but I'm an NE). But then I checked. Beatrix has NEVER been in the top 1,000 names. And still isn't. Beatrice, the closest variant, is listed in the low 800s. So I'm safe. Whew.

Correction: Beatrice is listed at 899.

Maureen -- I found the list surprising if only because the names I like were typically less popular, and they seem so uniformly great to me. But as someone else said, I think that's the skewed perspective of this board. It's so wonderful to find a place where Beatrix (a name I *adore*, Kristine) could possibly be seen as *too popular* to use when it's not even broken the top 1000. That's just funny, but in an entirely good way. (And, Kristine, you should use the name. Definitely.)

I think I have no aptitude for picking rising or falling names (totally out of the pop culture loop that I think is key to success with this exercise), but congrats to Eric and Blythe! Yay, you!

Cathie -- I know one Ronan. He would be almost 2 yrs old now.

Kelly -- I went to high school in the mid 80s with 3 male Kellys plus at least one male Shannon. Those are both unisex names I think can still work in that capacity.

Yes, Easternbetty, same Maureen -- thanks for the welcome back! Your explanation is probably right-on, as usual. I realize that my surprise at those comparisons only sheds light on my own ignorance of naming communities/trends outside of my own circles -- my perceptions of the popularity of some of those names nationally are clearly skewed because of their popularity in the circles I run in -- I was just so surprised to see that people are still using names like Mallory, Joy, Eileen, Martha, and Shirley in fair numbers. In fact, I was surprised to find that a lot of the names I was ready to post as "Why Nots" in the previous thread were listed fairly high up in the SSA charts!

I do know a couple preschoolers here in Los Angeles named Lindsay and Angela--both little blonde girls with American-born moms and dads. I think Lindsay is just a name her mother was always going to use, from her girlhood (in the Lindsay Wagner era?)--Lindsay Lohan or no, she was going to use that name. Angela is named for a grandmother or auntie, I believe--as is her little sister, Teresa.

Angela will probably always rank well because of its meaning, and because it works across languages (English/Spanish/Italian/German--and even Indian families will find it close to the common girls' name Anjali). It's an easy name to have, not babyish, no spelling or pronunciation hassles, plenty of nickname options (Angie, obviously, but Ann/Anna is also plausible, and the "long nickname" diminuitives like Angelina).

Ah, so it is the legendary naming hero Maureen! I'm sorry if you've been asked a zillion times, but what was the final name?

Sushi: you are correct that Angela seems like it will be a perennial presence, perhaps in the same fashion as "Laura." Both names have looong pedigrees, both cross multiple languages and nationalities, and both are clearly "female" without screaming "frills and lace."

The Lindsay example you gave is precisely what I understood "fuddy duddy" namers to use. These are names that were fresh half a generation ago (for your friend, the name was fresh for girls in the 70s), and which the FD namer uses now, despite the fact that many trends have sprung up since then. I'm thinking back a few months now, so forgive the memory lapses, but I believe the idea was that FDs don't really see the names as past their prime--they are in fact what the namer thinks of a "a good name to name a baby" i.e. recognizable but not boring.

I remember we had a few self-described FDs, though there was some differentiation between sub-cultures--I think Barnyardmama thought of her naming preferences (Charlie??--plain and serviceable names) as FD, whereas others felt FD was more like the definition I gave above e.g. Lindsay, Karen, Heather, and Jason for a 2008 baby.

FDers, come on out and represent.

Being a Fuddy Duddy takes independence and a bit of guts, I'd say. You have the Olives and Blues on the one side of you, and the Mileys, Kileys, and Jaydens on the other; you have the family-namers/honorers floating around somewhere above with their varied assortment of granparent or mothers' maiden names.

And then you have the person who decides that their '08 baby will be named Jennifer or Kevin or Michelle--all perfectly fine names that most 2008 parents wouldn't touch with a 10 foot stick because...those are probably the names of a lot of those 2008 parents.

ARRRGH. Grandparents has a "d."

Yay, Easternbetty, such fun to see you posting again! Now if only Tansey from New Zealand and Robyn (from Hawaii, I think?) would check in. You three have divergent writing styles and personas that I always enjoy seeing represented here...

I was the one who started using Fuddy Duddy here, but to mean something very different than you remember.

I was referring to the sort of parent, who loves giving family names, often surnames, to their children as a way of honoring beloved, esp. deceased relatives and family connections. Other names of choice for Fuddys would be Biblicals, of course, the old Norman stalwarts like "William" etc., and the old saints' names- "Hugh", "George", etc.

The surnames that would be given would not be the mass market ones, but ones that are meaningful perhaps only to the family who bestows them.

For example-- my uncle, Trennum John Perry. "Trennum" for his mother's maiden name, "John" for his father (who was named after Methodist reformer John Wesley, and no doubt, countless other John Perrys!)

I meant "Fuddy-ism" to connote perhaps older parents like me and hubby who are culturally conservative and traditionalist in their world view, and whose names often reflect that...

I was amused as the discussion went along to note that some posters were thinking fuddy-duddyism was more along the lines you are describing. Maybe we can come up with another term for that phenom-- "Disco-era Dubbing"?!!

A true Fuddy would not call a baby "Kevin", "Heather" or "Jason". Think more along the lines of "Rose", "Tucker", "Wonnacott", "Eli", "Gordon" "Mary" or "Thomas".

Some Fuddy names DO turn out to be fashionable by today's standards, but if so, that is strictly an accident!

I do so love getting to share my knowledge of Irish names on this board.

Ronan. This is a fairly standard Celtic name and has been regularly used in Ireland/Northern Ireland for about 40 years. It's also used in Brittany in France. (I knew a few at uni in Ireland, and recently met one at a French wedding.) However, nothing along its line was known of in America until John Sayles made the film "The Secret of Roan Inish" in 1994. After the film a few celebrities picking up Roan as a name for their sons (Sharon Stone and Uma Thurman).

Roan is not used as a name in Ireland. But Ronan is, and I would imagine that the savvy want-an-Irish-name pickers who find Aidan too ordinary and Declan a bit more out there are turning to this. The centaur in Harry Potter can only be a bit of a boost. The samurai thing, for Irish people, has nothing whatever to do with it - Ronan means 'little seal'.

As for Rohan, in the UK this name is more common among the Indian/SEA population. It's a Celtic name that due to the cricketer Rohan Kankai has crossed over. My husband knew a Rohan from uni who was named for his grandfather, who was named for the cricketer. (Interesting especially based on the previous ethnic context thread...)

Well done to the name pool winners!

Hi there Eo! I was swamped for the past few weeks but am glad to have "returned."

Glad to see my blabbiness is of such a distinctive sort. Now, your comments are not blabbing, but are certainly distinctive and always welcome.

Now I see where my memory went astray, but at least it was right about SOMEONE--don't know who--interpreting Fuddy Duddy in the half-generation fashion I described.

Having left my legacy with NE, I feel no pressure to coin anything for the latter phenomenon. ;)But, being a true NE, I do want to come up with a name for it. Sadly, must dash to work: will let my mind ruminate, and will report back...

My husband and I are probably "fuddy-duddies".

I was 35 when I had my first. We were looking for a name outside of the most popular, but wanted a name common enough to be simple to spell, introduce etc. Bonus points for a Catholic Saint's name. Something that didn't sound ridiculous with an Italian last name. We chose Timothy Joseph LN.

As a name Tim pleases his grandparents as well as his parents, none of whom are trendy enough to seek out a popular name. Indeed, when my parents chose Megan, they wanted (and had for a time) an unpopular name.

My question to you: my husband is a FN MN LN Jr.. He was adamant that we not have a FN MN LN III. Hubby hates the confusion factor. So my question to all you NEs: Who names their kid FN MN LN Jr.?

Megan,

My husband is a IV!! One of my first thoughts when we started dating many years ago was that I really hope this guy doesn't want his child to be a fifth! Lucky for me, he doesn't care. We've never talked about it with his family so I am not sure how they feel about continuing the name. All I know is that when the time comes, we are not having a V.

That practice of naming children Junior, II, IV, etc. seems distinctly American to me. I haven't come across it in the UK. It seems like a way of creating some kind of feeling of dynasty or legacy. Is that true? Would anyone care to explain?

There was an interesting post on another blog regarding what to nick name children that are Jr. III or IV...

I thought it was interesting.

http://swistlebabynames.blogspot.com/2008/06/nicknames-for-fourth-iv.html

I have the numbered lineage in my background. My great grandfather was a William LN, an emigrant from Ireland to Ontario (known as Western Canada at the time.) His second son was named William Edward, then his second son was W.E. Jr, etc. It got down to W.E. IV but that couple had three daughters so didn't go further!

There was some sense of pride in this succession as the original W.E. created a reputation of considerable note, establishing a bench mark that each generation aspired to meet or surpass.

Of interest is that the surname Macklin is used as a first or middle name repeatedly through various branches of the extended families, primarily for boys but as middle name for some of the girls. It is a way to honour a fine person but not likely would have been used if the name was difficult or "out there" ?.

By the way, what exactly is "out there" ? :-)

My husband's older brother was a II and has a III and now my oldest son is a II as well. IN fact I was informed of my husbands desires when we were only dating and when we found out we were having a boy, the only question was whether to use Jr or II. I have to say that I never planned on naming exactly after my husband but when faced with how much my husband wanted this and the fact that I do like his name, I didn't feel it worth the fight. As the second son he was named after his grandfathers and that is what we ended up doing for our second son as well. He sees it as following a family tradition (though the tradition was only started with his generation's names) and as a way of having a connection to his sons. Many people brought up the confusion issue but he just would say that it wasn't a problem growing up with his dad and his brother so why should it be for us. It sometimes is confusing, but I just call my son by both his names if I need to differentiate.

I was posting to both blogs yesterday, so in case anyone missed it since this blog has moved on I will repost some interesting things I found from Nancy's blog:
A blog about 2008 names.
http://www.nancy.cc/2008/01/03/first-babies-and-first-baby-names-of-2008/
and a while back we had been remarking on the popularity of the Aiden/Jaiden/Brayden/etc. set and an adjusted top 10 list. Well the Nancy person from the blog above has done it. (I found it by clicking around on the links-some interesting stuff there) or click here:
http://www.nancy.cc/category/names/trends/

Also, I think I fall into the "Retro-Namer" category with some trendy tendencies. I've mentioned before that my picks for names fall into the Katie, Jessica, Brian, Jeffrey genre. But I also like Lydia that we've been discussing and Emily as well. I think Hugh, Augustus, Olive and Maeve are not me. It reminds me of when we first had the discussion and we were discussing the family on the Real Lives of Wives (or something like that) where they named their boy some rather English-pretentious name and then tried to be something they were not (though they claimed they weren't). Fuddyduddy names TO ME sound English and like they belong in a book I am required to read rather than something I would read for fun. Like a "would you join me for tea" kind of thing rather than "lets have a picnic". I am trying to explain w/o offending anyone so please don't be upset at my characterizations but this is just what comes to mind when I think of some of those names. I grew up in the 70's + 80's so this is my comfort zone of names.
However, naming for a family member transcends these characterizations of course.

These posts move to quick LOL. On the subject of Jr's and so on. My dh is a JR. My dad is a JR and my brother a III. I was determined NOT to name any sons in succession and so was my dh luckily so thankfully it wasn't an issue. I do not really care for either my dad's or my fil's name and think we picked a gr8 name for my ds. I also study my family's genealogy so I have found some interesting names in my heritage. Looking back I may have picked a different middle name for my ds but in a variation my dd is named after her gggrandmother. All in all I think they have good names.

Swistle sort of had the numbering rules right, but not quite. Sr. is used only for widows, to distinguish them from daughters-in-law whose husbands have the same name as their deceased fathers. No man should be John Smith, Sr. Not that anyone follows that rule either.

As for nicknames I once briefly dated a II who was called Tooey.

Another little Swistle boo-boo, in German vier is pronounced 'feer'. Our 'v' sound is spelled with a 'w'. The Dutch sound spelled 'v' is not quite either v or f, at least not to my ears.

i am not a jr or a III but i am the third William in the family. my dad's maternal uncle was the first, then my dad, then me. my mom was just talking about how people gave her a hard time about the name when she was pregnant (my dad insisted on William) but then several months later Princess Di had Prince William. my mom felt vindicated, as royals copied her.

Zoerhenne-thanks so much for the link to the "first babies" list. I particularly was struck by:

Ziclaly Alonzo (girl)
Semaj G'ntae (I know about Semaj being James backwards, but how on earth do you pronounce G'ntae??)
JaKenya
A'Mirikah Brennae (screams KREE8IVE...)
Hunter Remington (hmmm, wonder how they feel about guns)
Zai-Arreyon
DaKorian Windell

Ha, Zoerhenne, that family on "Real Housewives of NYC" named their American son "Francois", and insisted he speak French at age three, etc! I had almost forgotten that! And they named their other toddler "Johan", I think. It was pretty funny, and also a bit sad too.

But as a Fuddy, I can say that mere affection for family names, or older names, or Biblical or saints'names, doesn't indicate the kind of snobbery or pretension you seem to be describing. It doesn't have to do with social class or ethnicity.

My motley collection of ancestors and relatives, many of whom were desperately poor coal miners, seamstresses, country yeomen, etc., exhibited all the classic Fuddy taste in names...

Megan W., your "Timothy Joseph" strikes me as classically fuddy, striking several of the themes at once. We have a Timothy in our extended family too-- I love the three-syllable swing of it. Incidentally, my favorite "pop culture" (from the Forties!) "Timothy" was the husband of Claudette Colbert who was away in World War II in the classic Selznick flick "Since You Went Away".

You never get to see "Tim" in the film, except in framed photos strewn around. But he was a major presence, always in Claudette's and the children's thoughts. And he wrote her fabulous, wry, heart-wrenching notes signed with the same little tipsy signature, "Tim", at the end. I think that's partly what made me love the name...