The Baby Name Wizard

Forcing myself to not think of what these words mean, a lot of them do sound like names to me.
Having known a couple of Brightons, I can see Brightly actually being used. Sounds like a girl's name to me. I can also see someone naming a baby Savory---perhaps a brother to Popply Honey? Poppy Honey & Savory Basil :)

My favorite has to be the thought of a baby Keister running around out there...

A bee- Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has two daughters: Poppy Honey and Daisy Boo. Love the idea of Savory Basil!

Traylor Howard is an actress on USA's Monk television series. I think she's very talented, I just have a hard time moving past her name's meaning, even with the alternative spelling!

I can see the words with positive connotations taking off: brightly and neighborly. If abstract nouns (Liberty, Verity) or adjectives (I know of a Loyal) why not adverbs? Mommeighs might want to spell them Brightlee or Brightleigh or Briteley, or what have you.

LOL!! That is so funny because it is true!
I can't totally see Savory, Brightly, Keister, Craven and Slogan.

You never know!!

MONK's Traylor has inspired a few others - I've seen it pop up once or twice as Trayler and Trailer.

Makes me wonder if So You Think You Can Dance's Comfort will cause that to be a more accepted name.

I nominate Every.

Can't you see the announcement now...."We're spelling it Evary, so we can nn her Eva."

We used to call one of my HS teachers "Craven", because (as I recall) he was Cravin' so much knowledge. (He was a pretty dim bulb). (Of course the funny footnote for me is that I now teach that same subject...)

The other one that always got my was the boy whose last name was Sullivan who always got called Sully. It seemed like such an insult to me, but it didn't bother him or his friends any.

These names sound like parent smushes for the 2030s. Today's children Brittany and Riley may have Briteley. Craven for Chris and Raven, Jailer (Jaylor) for Jalen and Taylor, Neighborly (Naberlee?) for Nathan and Kimberly, Savory for Sam and Avery, Shyly for Cheyenne and Riley, Slogan for Sloan and Logan, and Traylor for Trenton and Taylor. Keister doesn't sound like a smush of today's tryndee names, maybe Kiefer and Esther. Straighten wouldn't be named after anyone, it would be used by ex-gay parents.

I actually have met two men named Craven in North Carolina - one named after the other. I have no idea how the name got started in their family.

LOL Laura and LOL Bill. Especially Trailer and Shyly!

LOL Bill those are too funny! I can totally see that happening in 2030.

I am lol!!
Bill: you are very funny. :)

Ha! This reminds me of the very funny kids' book called Tacky, about a set of penguins named Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly, Perfect ... and Tacky.

"Straighten" may be out, but Strayhorn could be a fine name for the child of jazz buffs. (Or the name Strachan, which may be Strayhorn's original form.) Just leave the nickname options alone. Seriously.

And "Keister" would be bad, but I can see a kid named Key, or Keen, or Keyser, or Kaiser (perhaps after the hospital of his debut). And there are probably already some Keelers out there...though I'd prefer Keller.

That was hilarious Laura!

A few more along these lines:

Ovary (added bonus of tying the child to the cycle of life)
Livery
Estuary
Carrion (a friend's father had to ACTUALLY talk someone out of using this)
Onyx (I do think we'll be seeing this as a gem stone X-O alternative)
Pathos
Haddock
Brine
Maiden
Brittle
Vanity
Schilling
Phobia
Kettle
Ether
Bacon

COME VISIT MY BABY NAME BLOG:

http://youcantcallitit.com/

I think I've heard a Trailor running around somewhere with a mother kelling after him/her. I was shocked.

Kitchen
Mirth
Insulin
Wrath
Envy
Linger
Ennui
Video
Travel

Let's not forget our friend Kotex

I've always thought Chlamydia would be an enormously popular name if it weren't, you know...an STD.

I still remember the lady who wanted to name her child Miasma.

On the topic of Shyly, there is such a name as Shysie, so theres the possibility of that taking off.
And Im pretty sure Oynx has been a name at some point. Its in the jewel section of a very old edition of the Guiness Book of Names anyway.

I can totally see Phobia as a name if it wasn't already a word.

Personally I really like the name Ferris, but atlast three of my friends (and my dad) just go "ferris wheel?!".

There's actually a luggage shop here (Australia) called Carrion. I think it's meant to sound like Carry-On, but I don't tend to read it that way.

After I posted my last reply I remembered that the GBoN also has a section on words which have been used as names. None of the ones suggested so far are are in there however I would like to add these to the list:

Amorous
Anon
Bonus
Coma
Dark
Fiance
Halcyon
Hymen
Maudlin
Shed
Worthy

As a note of interest, ET suggested that the name Hymen has been used on a person; I can back that up. A person by that name donated an incredibly large some of money to the university I attend and thereby was able to confer his name on to one of the student residences. Now years of unfortunate students can honestly say that they "live in Hymen".

Hi Everyone,

Sorry to be off topic, but I'm due in three weeks and we still can't decide on a name for our baby girl. We have a daughter named Georgiana (Georgie) and the top three names we are considering for her sister are: Frances (Frannie), Veronica (Vee or Ronnie) or Nora. Frances pairs the best, but Veronica has special family meaning (and we just liked Nora). Does Veronica not go well with Georgiana? Look forward to hearing your opinions!

JO, after reading the three options I thought "hmm, Veronica pairs best." :-) It's a lovely name and I can't remember the last time I met a baby Veronica.

Ennui is really growing on me (as I sit here at my boring job ;)).

JO, I think Veronica and Georgiana could go together. I like Frannie the best of the nicknames you list, though (and think it "goes" best with Georgie). Do you prefer Frances to Francesca?

JO, I prefer Frances with Georgiana, but think Veronica/Nora goes well, too. If you have special family significance for choosing Veronica, then go for that! (Plus, your daughter can watch the amazing tv show Veronica Mars and feel extra special)

Love the name Georgiana, by the way.

A short list of words that would be names if they weren't words with negative connotations based on popular naming trends. And these are only the" C"s!

Coroner (Connor, only different!)
Crazy (like Maisy meets Cody)
Contentious (Atticus or Finneaus meets Marcus/Lucas)
Corona

and one that's not a "C"
Lazy ( Maisy, Zoe, Lexie, Lucy)

JO,

I am a big fan of family connection and/or special meaning in names so my vote goes to Veronica.

Congratulations!

I've always thought "Celery" would be a nice name if it weren't a vegetable!

"As a note of interest, ET suggested that the name Hymen has been used on a person; I can back that up. A person by that name donated an incredibly large some of money to the university I attend and thereby was able to confer his name on to one of the student residences. Now years of unfortunate students can honestly say that they "live in Hymen"."

Um, yeah, that was my grandfather's name. The Hebrew is Chaim (for which Charles is often used as the English name), and Hyman was the more usual spelling (as in Leo Rosten's novel "The Return of Hyman Kaplan), but unfortunately, Grandpa Hy used Hymen. This was long before the hymen was generally spoken of outside of the pure medical context! It's not a name that's going to get used anymore, even with the less embarrassing spelling.

Hm, and I assumed this entry was apropos of our friend Codex.

Savory could be a botanical name--it's an herb. I have both summer savory and winter savory growing in my garden.

The mention of Loyal and Comfort got me thinking of some of the other fun virtue/word names of the past. There was the highly respected judge named Learned Hand (b. 1872 as Billings Learned Hand, apparently Learned was his mother's maiden name). And my childhood dog was named Royal--I was amused to learn later that Royal ranked as a name for boys consistently from 1880-1971 (our Royal was a girl, named for my mother's infatuation with British royalty--her current dog is named Windsor, which I think could also make a decent name for a person).

Of Laura's listed names, I don't mind Brightly, and I could definitely see some unfortunate children ending up with Jailer (Jaylor?) or Shyly (Shyleigh).

Coll-Frances seems to go best, but Veronica is just as good. Nora is fine too but I like the first two better. I think family significance always gives a name a boost. Then it can give the child a nice story when she older.

Megan W. -- I know loads of Sullivans (both as a fn and as a ln) who go by Sully ... I've always thought it was cute, and the verb has never seemed to cause a problem. In fact, I think of Sullivan nn Sully as a very masculine Irish name.

Re: Carrion -- we'd considered the mn Carean for a daughter, which we were pronouncing "care-EEN," but the first time someone saw it and thought we were saying "carrion" made me rethink the spelling! (We ended up changing it to "Carine.")

JO -- I love Georgiana nn Georgie! I do think Frances or Veronica goes best with it, but I just love Nora ... would you consider Veronica with the nn Nora? It's certainly not a traditional fn/nn combo, but I think it could work ... all the letters of "Nora" are contained in Veronica after all ...

Kate- re celery- there is in fact an interior designer by the name of Celerie Kemble. http://www.kembleinteriors.com/

I sort of like Royal. We know one in his thirties, and I met a preschool age Royal not long ago.

I was thinking about the original topic on a long drive yesterday.

I came up with several. These are my best:
Avarice
Malice
Enema (too obvious?)
Jettison
Aviary
Larvae

JO-For no good reason, I'm not a fan of V names, and Ronnie is not my cup of tea.
I love Frances, though I prefer Francie to Frannie, and Nora is one of my all-time favorites.
I'd give the nod to Frances as I think it does go better with sister's name.
Having said all that, I think Veronica works fine as well, and if it has special meaning, and you love it, go for it!

Bill, LMBO about mommeighs - that's a new one to me.

Laura, love this list! Though I do think that Shyly, Savory, Craven and Brightly are names I would expect to hear! Esp Brightly and Shyly. Definitely Jaylor (Jailer).

JO - Coincidentally, I have two adult cousins named Nora and Veronica (Ronnie). Their middle sister is Kellie. Kind of a weird mix of names but our grandmother was Nora.

I think Veronica is the best with Georgiana. I do not like the nickname Ronnie, though. Like I said, my cousin was a Veronica who went by Ronnie a lot and it's such a huge departure from such a lovely, feminine name. I like Francesca over Frances, though. Nora is gorgeous but I prefer Veronica or Francesca, though if you insist on immediate nicknames, I'd maybe go with Nora to avoid that.

Also, Jason Bateman has a daughter named Francesca Nora.

JO - I think the best sibling name for your daughter is Francesca called Frankie. But failing that, I like Veronica called Ronnie.

Jo-I think Frances or some variation goes best with Georgianna as far as matching styles. I do like the name Veronica though and especially respect family ties. You could do Veronica Frances which I think is lovely and then you have your choice of nn's.

JM-I too thought of Video for the O sound and popular V also. Then there are these others:
Xanax(uber-great with 2 x's)
Window-nn Winnie
Magazine-alternate to Magnus/Magnum??
Chrysallis
Zebra-kind of like Deborah only with a great Z
That's all for now!

I couldn't sleep last night so I was lying there thinking about his...

• There was Harlot (headless Charlotte)
• When people say "carrot" I often think they're calling me.
• I also thought of Celery. And along kitchen lines, I think that Tarragon, Cinammon, Parsley, Coriander, and Vanilla can be names, if they aren't already... and maybe Oregano and Thyme, too. (Ginger, Rosemary, and Basil are already names, so why can't these?)

I know that I thought of more...

• Oh! Labia! Vagina! Cervix! And the above-mentioned Ovary. And they would connect the child to where it came from!
• Actually, the body has a lot to offer. What about Urethra? (Sort of like Aretha - not that Aretha is such a popular name..), Fibula, Tibia, Patella (nn Ella, of course), Sternum...

How about Latrine?! And, of course, the world of prescription medications offers so much -- my personal favorite is Lunesta.

Meet my lovely family...

We have six boys:
Bison, Lummox, Skiver, Yeoman, Abacus, and Raisin

and seven girls:
Hysteria, Fallacy, Chimera, Payola, Usherette, Charnel, and Ammonia

and don't forget the twins!
Nylon and Vinyl (boy and girl)
Zenith and Nadir (girl and boy)
Wiki and Widget (two girls)

Thanks for all of your input! Naming your second is so much more difficult than naming your first, so keep the input coming!

Jill C. & Mara - For some reason, I'm not a big fan of Francesca, but I like Frances. We're still debating on if there will be a nickname for Frances, but if there were, Fran, Frannie, Frankie and Francie are up for consideration (J&H's mom - I prefer Francie, too, like one of my other favs Nancy).

Veronica would be after my very special grandfather, Ronald, which is why Ronnie is up for consideration as a nickname (however, I like Vivi or Vee better). I just assumed that Veronica didn't go well with Georgiana because it was most popular in a different era (Georgiana 1880s, Veronica 1970s).

Nora is still a fallback name that I've always loved - I like Eleanora, nn Nora.

Wow, I'm glad I have other people on this blog that I can overthink this with!

Elisabeth,

There is a real guy named Ether! I've been watching "High School Musical - Get in the Picture" where kids audition to appear in the next High School Musical movie. (I have to admit that I love all of the singing and dancing reality shows. I'm a Broadway musical geek at heart!) One of the contestants who made it through this week is a teenage boy named Ether. There's also a beautiful girl named Tierney. The only problem with this name is that it sounds like "Tyranny" when said aloud. So, I think we should add Tyranny to the list.

Wraith. Lattice. Formula. Kiss. Tile. Cable. And my favorite: Theodolite.

JO- If you don't like Francesca, have you considered Francine? Otherwise, I think Frances is sweetly old-fashioned.