When it comes to baby name fashion, the last really are first. Name endings carry a disproportionate power in a name's style and impact. That's the secret behind Angelina Jolie's impact on baby names -- discussed here in our X & O roundup.
Today's baby name news tells a similar tale. Baby name critics preparing to pounce on the latest "weird" celebrity name: Zuma, born to musicians Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale. Yes, it's an extremely unusual name. (Zuma is a famous Malibu beach, which gives the name a unique resonance to SoCal natives like Ms. Stefani. Think of a surfer named Zuma, and the name might start to make more sense to you.) But I suspect that the real key to the raised eyebrows isn't that the name is so uncommon; it's that Zuma is a boy.
English doesn't have gendered word endings -- in theory. In practice, though, we hew to the Romance-language standard that marks -a as feminine and -o as masculine. You see it in baby names, and even in product names. We hear the underlying feminine/masculine stereotypes: an -a ending "softens" a name, while an -o makes it "energetic."
That's not to say we never cross the lines. But usually, when it comes to gender-bending, we're more willing to make our girls boyish than our boys girlish. Think of the title character of the film Juno. The feminine -o was used to emphasic her individualistic strength. The -o of Shiloh, similarly, made that name a celebrity style smash.
In fact, there are signs of life for boys ending in -a, too. Joshua has become the most popular -a boy in American history, swamping the previous champion Ira. Luca is another fast rising name (especially among Portuguese speakers -- it's a top-100 name in Rhode Island, with its huge Portuguese and Brazilian population.) But they're still the exception, which means that -a names can still surprise. The names that really point the way toward Zuma are two that, like Zuma, found their way to the nursery from non-traditional sources:
Dakota is one of the names for a large Sioux ethnic group from the Northern plains. It became a popular American boy's name in the 1990s.
Koda is the name of an orphaned Alaskan bear cub in the 2003 animated film Brother Bear, and made a modest splash as a boy's name in 2004. It was presumably inspired by the Kodiak bears of Alaska.
Names like Dakota, Koda and Zuma are very deliberate steps away from European naming traditions. Their style depends on an image of rugged, wild freedom. The easiest way to shed centuries of Western Civilization is to choose the ending that most defies that tradition: the masculine a.
The Call of the Wild A
08/22/2008, 1:18PM
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Comments
And, J&H's mom, I agree it depends on where you live. It's not popular where we are, which is the like 'burbs, except I am not sure what we are the "burbs" of, but we are in a very transplant rich area of the SE. But I don't know where we will end up.
I am surprised that you have not met a William, though!
pregnant mama-PA does not have a lot of Willa's Never met one irl at least in our area
Love Willa. Never heard of Willa Ford, but when I read Willa, the first thing that popped in my head was Willa Cather.
I also thought Zuma was some sort of girly alcoholic drink! But it does lean more male than female to me. Not sure why, but some of the previous posters' suggestions makes sense to me.
Also a fan of the organic nickname, but some that popped in my head were: Rocco, Rocky, Raz, Ratch. Not sure that they are any good though!
As for the Esra/Ezra for a girl, I don't know any, but I do know a very lovely girl (13) named Azra. It's close enough to Ezra (a name I adore!) that my husband didn't want to name our son that.
Karyn, could you please tell me the difference between the Ab/Av sounds in Hebrew? We named our second son Avner. We didn't like Abner because of the comic connection, but a friend suggested Avner instead and I fell in love with it. I'm wondering now if they are ultimately to be pronounced the same way.
Brunka de Loof: My mom just reminded me that "the Bronx" was named after the Brunks. The brogue causing the difference in spelling.
What will Richards mn be? What initials would he potentially have?
Three sisters name alert:
Hadl3y Mar3n
Scarl3tt M3rl3y, and
Daphn3 Mi3tt3
NMS, but not bad, actually.
Miette? How do you pronounce that?
My mom's suggestion for R IV nn... She liked River. Rider, Riley, Rex, Rhett, Ray, Rico and Carlo.
Miette is pronounced Mee-ETT. It means crumb. Interesting sib set!
Yet another guest--
Without getting too technical, certain Hebrew letters can be pronounced as a stop or as a fricative. When they are to be pronounced as stops, this is indicated by a little dot called a dagesh. One of these pairs is bet/vet (modern Israeli Hebrew pronunciation--they are beis/veis in my Ashkenazic pronunciation). Avner, Avraham, Gavriel, Kalev, Yoav, Devorah, Avigail, Batsheva represent the Hebrew pronunciation in which the consonant in question is a fricative. In English the same letter has been transliterated as a stop, so we have Abner, Abraham, Gabriel, Caleb, Joab, Deborah, Abigail Bathsheba and so forth.
Feel free to take your choice.
Miriam - Thank you! So to clarify, in Hebrew Abner and Avner would be pronounced the same way?
Yet another guest--
I am not really sure what you are asking, but in Hebrew the name is pronounced Avner and in English Abner. The same letter in Hebrew is used to represent both the b and v sounds, but a little dot is added to the letter when the desired sound is b. So Abner and Avner would be SPELLED the same (with the exception of the dot), but pronounced differently. When you named your son Avner, you gave your son a Hebrew name. Had you named your son Abner, you would have given him an English name of Hebrew derivation.
For what it's worth, I think River as nn for R-IV is just fantastic. I love that people probably wouldn't think of it, so you could keep it as an "inside joke" if you wanted to.
I'm also loving the "quart" nn for a "4th." Makes me wish I had one so I could use it. I have close friends with a Trey (for George Richard III), so I will have to pass along the suggestion for when he has his own, hopefully a long time from now since he's just turning 12.
The only Willa I have ever known was the little sister of my friends Evan and Katie, so she would probably be in her late 20s now. I have always loved it (although it means "helmet," which doesn't do much for me). My kids are little, so I'd probably know if it was becoming popular here in the Northwest, so I don't think it is.
I'm from the San Fernando Valley and grew up going to Zuma Beach, and yet when I heard the name, I did not make that connection until Laura mentioned it. I have a Noah, so the "ending in a" thing does not necessarily make me think of a girl, but Zuma definitely sounds like a girl's name to me, especially combined with Nesta. It doesn't seem like it goes with such a strong-sounding name like Kingston at all, unless you make the beach connection, I guess. I would tend to agree with whoever it was above who guessed they are conception locations. I have a friend with a (girl) baby Selva, which is Spanish for "rain forest" (or jungle), for that reason, and it's kind of growing on me.
Good grief, looks like I have too much time on my hands! Or possibly that I'm procrastinating.
Miriam, Thank you! Although my question was rather vague, you managed to answer it. Much appreciated.
For Richard IV - I know two little boys who are the 4ths and are called Ivy (from the I and the V - a traditional girl's name I know). It's kind of cute.
Selva as a FN is interesting. I might have to let that grow on me, as it's quite similar to my maiden name.
Also, I'm a big fan of Asa, but have some concerns about traveling to Latin countries and it being perceived there as a girl's name. I wonder if the Spanish Bible retains the same spelling?
I am not sure how popular the name is but I have had it for the last 33 years with no complaints! (LOL)
Well, your article does sound pretty convincing - in the adult world. In the world of children, kids don't really hone in the deliberate break from tradition. They don't really care. And it shows in their teasing. Unless the boy has a strong self-confidence streak in him early on, he's not as thrilled as his parents to have a "girl-sounding" name.
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OliviaB.
San Diego DUI lawyer
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