The Baby Name Wizard

I see that several of you have mentioned the surnames Sullivan & Schaeffer.

My sister is a teacher, and she has had all 4 siblings from one family. The family's surname starts with an 'S' and all of the girls have the initals S.O.S. though I can't recall the one middle name. The one boy has completely different initials. Here are their names:

1 - Schaeffer O'Neal - girl
2 - Sullivan Olivia - girl
3 - Schuler O. - girl (I can't remember her middle name; her first name is pronounced 'shooler' with a soft sh- sound, NOT like the hard sch- in school)
4 - Campbell - boy (no idea what his middle name is)

I have no idea if these are family names for them or not, though I tend to doubt it. It would be surprising if they had 3 'S' surnames to use like that.

I know that they're surnames, and therefore not so much related to one gender or another, but I find it funny because of all 4 names, I think that Campbell seems the most feminine (thinking news reporter Campbell Brown), yet the boy got that name.

Re: Wilson, I know I plethora of people with this surname in their families. Several of them have used it as a middle name for their sons.

One friend has a Benjamin Wilson H________. All 3 names (first, middle, last) end in -n. They had considered Matthew Wilson, but didn't like how it ran together.

Our neighbors have 3 college-aged boys and they all have Mom's maiden name, Wilson, in the middle:

Brent Wilson S_____
Keith Wilson S_____
Zach Wilson S_____

Keith & Zach are twins. Zach's full, given name is Zach, not Zachary. I guess they liked one-syllable names for their boys.

Yeah, Eo, I was just pulling your chain a bit, responding to what you actually wrote, not what you clearly meant.

I don't care for the trend of using random surnames for first names. Because of my heritage, I am all about naming children after (deceased) family members, and under certain circumstances that might include using a family surname as, say, a middle name. I thought about giving my son my father's whole name (first and last) followed by his father's dirt common surname (which I have also used since I married, even after my divorce). However, realizing that this was going to be a one kiddo family, I didn't think it was fair to cut out his paternal side. So he has the first names of both his grandfathers, fair enough.

Frankly, I don't even understand why people want to appropriate other people's surnames for their children. I do understand naming a child with the surname of some very highly admired person--like all the Depression babies who were named Roosevelt. So those who want to use, say, Mandela, I say go for it. But just the name of some neighbor down the street or whatever, I don't understand.

Surnames from my family tree, with my maiden name excluded:
- Hoy
- Curran
- Becker
- Mullen
- Czeck
- Curry
- Humphreys
- Anderson
- Hamer
- Doerr
- Spratford
- Winfield
- Hardy
- Kilbaine
- Grumbacher
- Tilton
- Kleiser
- Flocken
- Noll
- Bollinger
- Widder
- Lain
- Nais
- Flickinger
- Hammacker

Surnames from my husband's family tree, with our married name excluded:
- Hilbert
- Silla
- Sutter
- Beyer
- Vila
- Gutierrez

Surnames is available to me but don't think I would use them...

Castle
Bingham
Pacillas

Hmmm..That is all I can think of at this late hour.

Please keep in mind that even "popular" surnames might have a family connection. We named our daughter Addison because that's my husband's middle name (and he got it from his grandfather's name), not knowing of the tv show connection at the time. She also received my grandmother's name as a middle name, as we wanted family names from both sides. I'm always pointing out that "it's a family name!" even though I feel like a broken record. Why do I point that out? People seem relieved that we chose it for a familial reason versus popular culture, and it keeps the conversation going.

I just don't see the point of naming a child after the paternal relations, such as the grandfather, if you have changed your maiden name upon marriage... I figured when naming my children that they already had a name (their surname) from my husband's side of the family, so that was "tribute" enough. And I didn't worry too much about my maiden name being carried on into eternity because I have a brother who will 'keep' his name upon marriage. And I wouldn't have considered my mother's maiden name (Salzseider) either, because she had brothers too. My good friend who came from a family of 5 daughters used her maiden name as an extra middle name for her children so that her beloved dad got a mention, which I thought was lovely.

And all of my family names: Larsen, Osterreng, Pedersen, Brandt, just didn't seem to migrate as well as I did from the American midwest to suburban Sydney

Must tell you a great baby name announcement in the Daily Telegraph today: Phelps, to Anna and Rupert a daughter Tatiana Xanthe Perugia Lettice.

What a fun topic!

Some of my choice family names:

Yes:
Carroll
Ellez

Maybe:
Swope

No:
Bortis

Miriam-I'm still a little disappointed I didn't get to use Mandela.

re: Wilson It was a maiden name used as a middle name for a son several generations back. My great^3 Grandfather couldn't stand his first name (Abraham) so decided to reverse his names and went by Wilson, nn Wils. I think its pretty cool.

I love the name William but I couldn't believe how many Williams there were in my classes last year so I decided to avoid all similar names.

AK-- I really like Elinor Wren ln.

I like when parents use family surnames drawn from their own families, because I tend to like most non-random, meaningful, serious naming practices. Maybe I just get some irrational assurance that the parents are taking their work seriously if they craft a name with multiple obvious advantages to their kid. (Irrational, because such parents really don't show any more parental sturdiness than others, I'm sure.)

But it's also a fantasy to hope that everyone comes from a family they SHOULD honor. If you came from a long line of cruel men, for example, then for heaven's sake leave their names in the past--don't honor them. Break that connection all you can. And if your sixth grade teacher Miss Turner or your neighbor Mrs. Vincent was an important influence at a crossroads in your life, go ahead and use her surname instead.

And here's a bit of advice: Nobody needs to "understand" your naming choices, except your kid--not grandparents, not neighbors, not teachers. Constantly explaining the name you chose doesn't communicate a sense of security and confidence to them OR to your kid. Wait to be asked, and don't let yourself sound desperate for approval or admiration--you don't need it! Your kid, your choice, period.

Brunk-Well said in that last post!

My surnames to use would be:
Fant
Ruedemann
Gawricki
Kuba
Wickline
Zavolta
It is nms to use surnames but I would maybe use fn's that I have in my ancestry with the exceptions I have mentioned in other posts.

Vera was my grandmother's name.
Elinor Wren sounds okay to my ears also.

Sue-Can I go back to your name choices for a moment? (By the way, it is weird how some people/ideas/naming choices grab you and don't let go and others do not). Anyway, I was up thinking of your situation with how you liked Paige and how you needed a "soft" name for your new one. I wondered why we didn't think of any long E names and so came up with some along with some P names to match the Paige idea. Here they are:
Peter; Parker; Phillip; Elijah/Eli; Keegan; Keith; Steven; Dean; Theo; Reed (which we've mentioned before); Neil; Heath. Those are all I can think of now. I think Eli/Elijah would match.

I have a close friend who was given her mothers maiden name as her second middle name (her mother still uses this as her surname) meaning her name is Roisin Lowri Usher ______ with a common Irish surname. At the moment this works fine as both her fn and sn are irish and work together well. However her boyfriend has an itallian sounding De _____ sn. She is now concerned she is going to end up with a long and very multi-cultural sounding name which she thinks would sound better without the 2nd mn.

There is a simular situation in my family. My cousin was named Jonathon Richard Spence _______
(common English surname) with Spence being his (and my) mothers maiden name. He gave his daughter Spence as a 2nd mn, meaning she is called Isabella Siranoosh Spence _______ (Siranoosh being an Armenian name) like my friend this means there is a liklihood of her having a very complicated name indeed in the long run.

Surnames in my family (that I can think of):
Oakley
Lawless
Geary (love this!)
Ferguson
Lewis
Roblee (already used -- my son's mn)
Roohan
Sweeny
Casey

And my husband's (that I know of):
Rasmussen

I think my family's surnames have a lot of great potential -- Oakley, Lawless, Geary, and Ferguson (or even just Fergus) are my favorites ... and really, I don't hate any of them!

Re: people without actual family connections, left on doorsteps and raised in orphanages -- that was my grandmother ... but she had a note attached to her giving her mother's fn and ln (if the note is to be believed), and the baby's (my grandmother's) fn and ln -- different ln than her mother.

The note, written by her mom, said the mom would come back for the baby in a year, but she never came. My grandmother was eventually adopted (when she was 2), but it's her original family names -- Lewis (her ln, as given on the note) and Ferguson (her mother's ln, as given on the note) -- that I'd want to use for my own kids.

(On a different note -- if anyone knows of a Mary Ferguson who gave birth to an Anne/Anna Lewis at the turn of the twentieth century and left her on a doorstep of a foundling home -- let me know!!! We've been trying to find out info about my grandmother's birth family for years!)

I can't believe this was Laura's topic this week, since I was just commenting the other day how many children I have met recently who have their mother's maiden name as their first names - there was a Turner (b), a Shane (g) and two Hudsons (b).

Lola Jane, I love Theodore nn Teddy and I prefer Teddy to Theo, although Theo is a great nn too. A friend of mine named her son Theodore nn Teddy 11 years ago and I think it is so distinguished. Her daughter's name is Claudia (age 15) and I think her taste proved very classic.

Eo - you mentioned Osborne as a family name. Are you the one who said that is your maiden name and you considered it for your son? I love Osborne for a boy. I would call him Ozzy. My husband is not on board.

Laura P. - I love your "confession" about your son Campbell. You made me laugh. I really like McCready nn Mac - I have been suggesting similar things to people I know with suitable Mc- surnames in their families for years, to no avail!

Help - my friend has one daughter named Ainsley Marie. Her husband actually picked the name (she was thinking Maya but he convinced her to go with Ainsley which she now loves). I am trying to think of ideas for a girl sibling of Ainsley (potential boy is named Thompson, I think). Also she would really like to incorporate her recently deceased mother's name into a middle name somehow - mom was named Connie, which is not a nickname. I don't think my friend is wild about the name Connie, but loves her mom and really wants to honor her. My first thought for a first name
was Piper. I think it goes well with Ainsley, but it is shooting up the charts and I think maybe it loses something if it gets too popular. Does Connie sound good as a middle name? Is Connie derived from or related to any name other than Constance? Perhaps she doesn't have to use Connie itself.

Thanks!

Have we heard from hyz? Was her baby girl born? I think I may have missed something.

Hyz must be lost in a haze of sleeplessness. I hope all is well!

KRC, how old is Ainsley Marie? I seem to remember someone posting about a friend who was trying to decide between Ainsley and Maya recently. Maybe my memory is off--I thought that was just a few months ago.

Names to go with Ainsley might be Carina, Kara, Corinne, or Katelyn. They all have the same beginning sound as Connie.

It's the same person - Ainsley Marie is only 7.5 months old, but parents are ready for another as soon as they can make it happen.

I was actually thinking of something to honor Connie as a middle name and looking for another first name that matches well with Ainsley. I like the idea of Corinne. Would pronounce that Cor-IN or Cor-EEN?

that's "would YOU pronounce that ..."

KRC- As for honoring Connie, might be a bit easier if the baby is a boy- obvious choice being Connor.
For girls I'd suggest Caryn/Carin/Corinne (pronounced Car-in). Always thought it was sweet.
There's also Candace and Cadence, nms but I think close enough to honor a Connie.

I have to think about the first name Ainsley matches a bit more.

I love the name Ainsley. Our last name begins with long A so would have never worked. Corinne would sound like Cor-IN to my ears. I'm thinking to get the Cor-EEN pron. it would be spelled Corrine. Nymbler suggests many Irish/Celtic names. Some I like are: Dierdre Corinne; Brianna Corinne; Connie Eileen; Lindsay Corinne. Any combo of those would work too Corinne is a very flexible name.

Valerie - I was thinking that for a sister to Roenne and Oliver, Daphne might work. It means "laurel" in Greek. In Greek mythology she was a nymph who was turned into a laurel tree. So the tree connection is there, but less obvious.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions for Roenne and Oliver's Mum- she so appreciates them and I'm passing them all along- you guys are the best!

KRC- Here are some first names I like with Ainsley

Tamsin
Afton
Tegan
Laine
Bronwyn
Tatum

Piper is good too. I think Corrine pronounced Cor-IN is the best Connie option for a mn.

Yes, that was me, KRC. In the end, we gave it to him as his third middle name. Had it been his first, I might have nicknamed him "Ozzy/
Ozzie" as well. It would be a sentimental choice, as, since it was my Dad's surname, of course, he was called "Ozzie" sometimes as a boy. I associate it with newsboy caps and knee-pants!

BUT, another nickname that merges and sort of "telescopes" the letters in "Osborne", is "Hob". Or "Hobb" or "Hobbs". That has that throw-back Middle Ages feeling that I'm always attracted to...

Tossing out a few other names to honor a "Connie":

I love the 17th century Puritan form, "Constancy", a lovely "quality" name. For some reason seems more classically appealing than "Constance", to me at least. "Constantia" is the Latin form in use since the Middle Ages. Pronounced Kon-STAN-sha.

Another pretty Latin name, "Cornelia", has been sometimes short-formed to "Connie". (Other nicknames over time for Cornelia have been things like "Neely" or "Nell".)

hey Cathy, I have a Czeck branch of cousins, we must be related!!!!111!11!!

my ancestors' surnames that I can remember:

K0tchk0ski (my last name)
$ilc (pronounced Shilts in Slovenian)
Mihelic
Zabukovec
Tonderski
Glowacki

my cousins' family names
Kr3tch
D'4ngel0 (as in the singer)
Cihl4r (pron Sigh-ler)
W0lfe (i guess this could work, nmsaa tho)
S0mr4ck

even more tangential to me:
Br4dac (pron Braddock in English, bruh-DOTCH in Slovenian)

none of these really work as firsts as far as i'm concerned. and there aren't many surnames as firsts in my family at all (none of them, however, were born in this decade), just J4mis0n as a middle and Ch4se as a first. Those cousins are the only ones who aren't (at least nominally) Catholic.

i hope my l33tsp33k isn't too distracting.

KRC-
possible girl siblings for Ainsley (keeping in mind the middle name is a 'C')

Audrey/Aubrey
Wynne/ Quinn
Abigail
Maura
Chloe

breaking baby name news! i just read that Gwen Stefani had a baby boy today, and named him Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale...
i don't think anyone came up with that as a sibling option for Kingston!

Zuma seems appropriate:

Place name - Beach in Malibu
Rock connection - Amazing Neil Young album (named for beach)

Everyone over at ohnotheydidn't is like "WHAT IS ZUMA OMG LIKE ZIMA?! WTF" Sigh.

Wow, Zuma. Very creative, and interesting because it's a much softer name for a boy than Kingston. Similar to a lot of other names that have getting more popular for boys, like Elijah and Jonah.

Maybe he was conceived there, a la Brooklyn.

My 2yo boy has my surname as his middle name and his dad's surname as his surname. Having read some comments above about not doing that to a girl baby, I'm thinking of going with two feminine names for our baby girl (due in two weeks!). The middle name could still be a family-ish name I guess.

Or does that show some kind of favouritism or discord between our son and our daughter?

My middle name is my mother's surname, her's is my grandma's, and my daughter's middle name is my surname. I don't think it has anything to do with gender--I am glad to have that link to my mother's family, and I can't imagine my daughter not having my name in there somewhere. I think people are doing such different things with names these days that our children won't be embarrassed if their middle names aren't Ann or Marie. I also think within a family it might be weird if one sib had that connection with mom and others didn't.
So stick with it! And congrats on your upcoming girl!

I'Oooooh, but a lot of people guessed Marley... and "Nesta" was Bob Marley's middle name. (It looked so odd to me, because it's a girls' name in Wales, so I had to look it up.) His birth name was actually Nesta Robert Marley, but the names were switched for most official purposes including his passport and his tombstone.

Oh yeah, also, dh has always wanted to use my surname as a first name for a daughter, (I think it'd be better for a son,) but does anyone else think it would be weird to introduce your child and yourself if you kept your name? "Hi, I'm Claire S...., this is my son S..." I feel like it would be confusing and I'd feel kind of self-conscious. But I guess people do jr.'s all the time....

Claire, I feel the same way you do that it'd be a bit wierd, but maybe we are just old fashioned - other people are doing it!

Thx for your input - my surname is not very flowery I'm afraid so I'd want to give her a first, a middle, my surname and then his surname. Of course, then we should probably add another middle name for our 2yo boy - aaarghh!

Wow, Zuma is a Malibu beach/Neil Young album and Nesta was Bob Marley's legal first name? If I didn't haunt these boards, I probably would've seen Stefani's choice and thought, hmm, Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale, another weird celebrity name. Now, knowing the musical connections and history I kind of like it (though I could've done without the second middle name. That always seems like overkill to me.)

How interesting to find this topic today. I was at my Grandma's house and picked up a page from her geneology program. It's a listing of my great^4 grandparents and their children and the 7 children (of 10) who have mn listed are all surnames:

Sarah Lloyd LN
John Andrews LN
Ann Weir LN
Francis Burns LN
Samuel Bradlee LN
Lucretia Butler LN
Elizabeth Scott LN
(the kids missing middles were Mary, Mary, and Lydia)

The odd thing is the only one that is in the family tree as far back as we've gotten is Bradlee which is the mother's maiden name.

If you need Landis, take it. I think it is a strong name that would hold up well to the wear of not-from-my-family use.

Btw, If any of you have any info on Reichelts, please! let me hear it. It is actually a side of my family that little is known about. My Grandma was a foster child and her father was a wanderer that was semi-routinely "lost". I am always ready to hear of anyone who knows someone with this name or knows something about it.

I would love to add Vera to my list. I could easily see my DH going for it. But it will have to be about girl #4. ha.

Is it so terrible to not give all your kids equal amounts of names? Something I have been pondering. My boy has 2 mn but that was a comprimise bc I didn't like DH's combo and mine gave him the initials of GOD. Too weird. So instead he has GOLD.

About surname mns that aren't found in the family tree: In genealogical contexts, it's not uncommon to find that babies were named for the delivering doctor (ex., James Marshall Smith), or for the mother's best friend (ex., Caroline Mullins Jackson), or for a minor author admired by the parents, or for their beloved pastor, or for the father's mentor at work (brown-nosery is a timeless strategy). I'd bet some of those folks you've listed (c.Elizabeth) have such explanations.

i love this post! our daughter is named calder michelle (a family name and more a boy name than girl, but girls seem to get away w/ that). i really would like to name our next son (coming in 4 wks) rutledge joseph (also being family names). few i've talked to think rutledge is a good first name, but i love the family connection and think it sounds sort of rustic and renowed.

Tempest Sefton--thanks, I never would have thought of that.

Now I just wonder why Lucretia, it seems out place among Ann, Francis, John and Co.

Okay I went and looked and it was decently ranked, but it still seems like a completely different style.

Zuma? A California beach, Neil Young album and African political leaders. Hip and seriously Hollywood cool, definitely, but somehow I doubt it'll smash the SSA list the way Kingston did...

all I hear is Zoomer. He can endorse Mazda when he's grown.

I love Zuma Beach- it has some special memories for me, so that affects my impression of the name. However I think to give a boy TWO names that end in -a is going to cause some confusion. I expect a lot of people will be expecting a girl.

Keren- how amazing to find Tatiana Xanthe Perugia Lettice Phelps. Maybe they're trying to compensate for the ordinary last name...

Sibset spotted in my local paper: Carissa, Carson, Carrigan(g), Carter, Carben, and Carus. The parents really took matching to a whole new level, eh? Is syllable-sharing the new initial-matching? I certainly hope not!

On a different note, I stumbled across an article by the writer Amanda Foreman, whose biography about Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire is being made into a movie staring Keira Knightley. She was pictured with her three children: Helena, Theodore, and Halcyon. A very distinguished set, I think.

And from the other thread: Thanks sdh! I'm very excited. I'll be living in Rockefeller this year, swanning around on my windowseat while my state college-bound friends gripe about
At the reunion, keep a look-out for another Lauren in a cluttered field of early 90's Emily's, Sarah's, and Lauren's! ;-)

Oops. Lost half the message. It should read "while my state college-bound friends gripe about cinderblocks and linolium."

There's a little Rutledge in my neighborhood--two or three years old. Sister is called Charley, not sure if that's short for anything.

I didn't use my own maiden name for my children as it is a rather harsh sounding name and difficult to combine with other names. I did, though, want to continue family names as second names (and did two of them), but I wasn't imaginative enough to use surnames as first names, way back then :-(

I have an extended family tree but here are some from the past that could be possible as first names:

Banks
Brandford
Bromley
DeLany (planned to use it for mn for a girl)
Fraser (repeatedly used in various branches of the family)
Friend (I like this one!)
Griffiths (mil's maiden name and used mn for my first son)
Hartzel
Macklin (has been extensively as fn or mn)
McNeely
Parker
Read (use it as mn for second son but mis-spelled as Reed)
Wyborn