The Baby Name Wizard

Actually, anybody can get into Mt. Vernon for free on Washington's birthday. Sorry!

This reminds me of Christmas 2007: hundreds of Travelodge hotels in the UK gave free overnight stays to couples named Mary & Joseph.

Link to the story below:

http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2007_4th/Dec07_MaryJoseph.html

I did a google search for "free if your name is" and here's what turned up:

*Six Flag's Magic Mountain free if your name is Jason on Friday the 13th

*In Minor League Hockey, West Virginia: get in free to a Wheeling Nailers game if your name is Rich Rodriguez

*Jack's Restaurant and Bar in Washington D.C. gives all those named Jack a free main course!

*Ben Hawkins poster from the 1960s free if your name is Dude

*Disney film Herbie, Fully Loaded free if your name is Herbie

COME VISIT MY BABY NAME BLOG:
http://youcantcallitit.com/

The Gardner museum is really tough too: I know an Isabel (no "la") who was about 6 and cute as a button when her parents took her to the museum. They had to pay. I figured the cute part would have gotten her in, but no dice!

The Washington State History Museum offered free admission President's Day to anyone who shared a first or last name with a President or first lady. This was the first year they've done it, but I imagine they'll repeat it as it drew plenty of attention.

If you are trying to personalize your kid's room and need to buy letters, Ed or Jo are only 2. My mom worked with an In. She loved when people asked if In was in and replying, "no, In's out." Anyway, it's a Korean name.

Or if you're stenciling or stamping their name, and only need to buy one of each different letter, you can just buy two letters with Ada, Ava, Ara, Coco, Jojo, Mimi, Otto, Pippi, Anna, Eve, Ed, Kiki, Elle, and Lulu (and there are many others).

Off topic, but since I've been avidly watching the Olympics this week, do you think the name Shawn is going to get a bump for girls after this? Not necessarily because people will want to name their daughters after this gymnast (although she is amazing), but because names like Ryan and Avery are already becoming popular for girls, and Shawn seems to fit that trend IMHO.

Shawn was in the Top 1000 for girls from 1978 to 1988, peaking at 392 on the front end. I searched this because I know of a female Shawn who is in her 30s I guess. And her mother doesn't seem that "out there." She was the secretary somewhere I worked.

I love watching the Olympics for names though! I like to test myself and see if I can identify the country or region based on the name.

Shawn does look more 'feminine' than Sean; it's just one letter away from Dawn and, well, fawn (has Fawn ever been used as a name? I can sort of imagine it around the turn of the century!). I guess it could also work as a re-spelling of the Welsh female name Sian in the US; for some accents at least (this goes back to the vowel merger discussion in the previous post!).

I don't have a point here, really... just agreeing that a small jump could be possible, especially considering that so many parents aren't put off by the undeniable male-ness of Ryan and Dylan. I can see 'Shawne' being used, too.

Hm, what do you know.. Fawn was trailing about in the 900s during the 1960s and 70s. I assume it was a 'hippy' name then, whereas I was picturing it on Dolly Parton's grandmother or something (in a good way).

Yes, there was a historian/biography called Fawn Brodie (1915-1981), and the 1980s scandal figure Fawn Hall (b. 1959, secretary called to testify in the Oliver North hearings)--they're probably the best known bearers of the name Fawn in the US. And, on the model of Shawna, I know a Fawna, too.

I have a female cousin Shawn who was born in '63 in the Mid West. Being English, I thought she had a very strange name!

My SIL has an employee named Fawn, who is probably in her early 20s, but she's the only one I've ever heard of.

I also know a female Shaun in her late 40s/early 50s. It took me some time to get my head around that one when I first met her. It still seems very masculine to me for such a strong, feminine woman. I just checked and in the American SSA list Shaun just barely appears in the top 1000 in several years in the 1960s.

I've been using the Olympics to point out great names to my SO for any future little ones. He's quite "meat and potatoes" when it comes to naming taste (not an NE like me), so I always look for opportunities to give gentle nudges towards, for example, Imogen and Jemma as I did while watching swimming last night. ;)

A long-time reader, I'm finally being coaxed out of my lurker shell to ask for advice from all you lovely and thoughful Name Enthusiasts.

In less than two weeks I'm moving more than 500 miles away to college and am eager to shed my very generic name (Lauren Marie [highly standard last name]). I don't want a complete change, just perhaps a new nickname based on Lauren. My only nickname growing up was the mawkish Lars, assigned to me in 7th grade by a gaggle of friends and eventually appropriated by my ex-boyfriend. As you can imagine, it's something I desperately want to leave behind.

As this is a name I'd like to use in my professional life, hopefully as a journalist, I'd like something unusual, adrogynous, and sprightly, but decidedly serious. In investigating names derived from Laurence, I stumbled upon Larkin, now more popularly used as a surname. What do you think?

Unfortunately a quick Facebook search revealed the presence of a Larken at my very small liberal arts college. Surely this must be a corallary to the Ethel-Mae postulate... What do you think: too many Larki(e)ns for one close-knit campus?

To complicate matters, I'm pondering legally taking my mother's very Dutch surname (Van S-----)for personal reasons, although any change would occur next summer (residency requirement, etc.). Too many name changes Of course, this may never come to pass.

Shawna was a popular name in the Midwest a couple decades ago, so I wouldn't be too surprised to see Shawn now, with boyish names so popular.

I much prefer Lark to Larkin - Larkin sounds too much like Parkin (a cake) or Jerkin (a jacket) to me. It might feel like you're trying too hard.

Laurie would be too ordinary I suppose, although I like it. My husband is Laurence and he is sometimes called Lol, Lolly, or Loz. Not cool or serious enough I suspect!

How about Laurence itself, a girl's name in France?

Lauren Van S... sounds quite a good combination to me though. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Names similar to Lauren:

Laura
Laurel
Leora
Leonore

Or following the "off with their heads" theme: Ren

What about the "off with the N" theme: Laure? Just kidding.

Van S would spice up any old Lauren I would think. But if you are going to change your first name then (apart from the suggestions above) there's always Lara, Len, Lena.

Lauren,I have to say I am curious about what comes of your new nick name search. I am a Laurie who may want to take a new nickname when I move in Jan.

I also have to add that I like the suggestion to shorten Lauren to Ren. Alas, it wouldn't work for me.

OK, Lauren... I'll have a go at your challenge.

Wren - the last syllable of Lauren, sprightly, androgynous, 'reporterly'!

This one's a long shot - Laurentine (last syllable "teen"). Certainly not androgynous (although... Augustine is a male name with a similar ending), but to me it doesn't seem frilly either; it seems to have a 'bite', and it's certainly distinctive on a byline.

Do you have the slang "doing something for a lark" and "larking about" where you are? It roughly means 'messing about for fun'. That would put me off Larkin - that, and Link Larkin from Hairspray, but perhaps I spend too much time watching musicals. Consider too how comfortable you'd be sharing a very distinctive name with a classmate who has presumably grown up with it; not a dealbreaker or anybody else's business, but you might (not that you should) feel like it is less your name?

Lola occurred to me, but it's decidedly not serious and Lola Van Something sounds like a star of burlesque...

Good luck with college!

Ah, I didn't see the posts above... so I'm not the only one who thought of (W)ren!

Leonie, Laure is actually the French form of Laura (sorry, I'm not sure from your post whether you knew that). I had a French teacher named Laure, and I always felt bad for her because there was no easy way to pronounce it in British English - "Law" is the best we can do. But perhaps Laure would work better in American English, with that 'r' pronounced at the end. It looks gorgeous too, and not too frilly.

Shawn used to sound like a girl's name to me, but for quite a few years, I've known only boys with that name. So when my son's best friend said he had a crush on Shawn Johnson, I wondered if he was "coming out" to me by telling me he had a crush on a boy. ;)

Question- how is Imogen pronounced? I tend to say it IHM-o-gen (soft g), but a teenage girl said some singer's name to sound like "imagine" but with an "oh" instead of the /a/ sound. So now I'm wondering.

Lauren- I really like the suggestions of Ren/Wren, or Laure, or Lors, even. But Ren/Wren best of all.

Trish, you're saying Imogen right. Was the singer Imogen Heap? Anyway, it's a pretty commmon name here and it's certainly IHM-o-gen.

In a small town I know 3 Shawns, sometimes called "Shawna." All of them between 25-35.

I think Wren is the best, although it's not very androgynous to me.

Larkin reminds me of a character from the musical "Once Upon a Mattress" named Lady Larkin--I didn't much like her because she was too much of a damsel-in-distress for my taste.

Trish--I think Imogen is pronounced Ihm-oh-jen. I'm mostly getting this from the artist Imogen Heap, as I think that is how she pronounces it.

I've been noticing names on the Olympics too! I didn't see Imogen and Jemma, both of which I love, but I did notice Australians Briony and Bronte (I think one was a diver and one was a swimmer?).

I went to high school with a female Shawn (class of '96) and I know a Fawn (about 75 years old).

Lauren -- I don't have any suggestions, but your question made me think of the female writer George Sand, portrayed in the film "Impromptu" (with a very young Hugh Grant, and Emma Thompson as well) (wikipedia info about her: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Sand). George Sand was her pen name, and she dressed like a man too -- scandalous! I'm actually sorry Lars hasn't worked out for you -- it's a cute nn for Lauren!

Lauren -- I love the suggestion of Wren. Let us know what you finally choose, please!

Trish -- I know a young girl (2nd grader) named Imogen, pronounced as you do.

Thanks for the Imogen comments, the student was talking about Imogen Heap, whom I had never heard of, so I didn't know if she said her name differently.

I was in London recently, and was fascinated by the names that were on the personalized items there. I didn't have time to write them down (with a student tour group), but Daisy and Eva stick out in my mind (although I might have seen Eva in Paris instead). I know I also saw Gemma, which is a name that I have been loving for the past few months.

I didn't see the Australian, Bronte. That is a new favorite of mine, but wasn't sure it was actually used.

My sis-in-law is named Laura, and sometimes she gets called Lo.

"The Washington State History Museum offered free admission President's Day to anyone who shared a first or last name with a President or first lady."

Ha ha! I KNEW there was a good reason to name our daughter Mamie! Now if only we'd gone with Rutherford for our son...

When I was young I knew a girl named Shawna. She was born in 1974. My sister had a female friend named Shawn, born in 1976.

I had thought of the short leap from the female name Dawn as well.

Fawn makes me think of Bambi, another female name that, fortunately, is not often used.

I know a girl whose mn is Fawn. About 35. Born in Wisconsin.

Lauren - How about Lorne? Or Laurent, which is the French male form of "Lawrence"

A friend of mine is named Elizabeth Ross, and anyone with the full name is admitted to Betsy Ross's house in Philly for free on her birthday. But it has to be both the first and last names (her parents made very certain to choose her nickname, Beth, at birth, so she'd never be called Betsy). That's even tougher than the Gardner museum! But much less cool.

Lauren, I like Wren or Lark (I'm into bird names these days), but I also find Lo kind of fun.

Heard a fantastic name today: Augustine Jude, pronounced au-GUS-tin. He's the youngest of 10 children in a huge Irish-Catholic American family. I think this might be the best name I ever heard.

Hoping things are going well for hyz and baby Ivy.

Lauren-
First, I love the name Lauren. I totally support your wanting to change it, but every Lauren I've known has been smart as a whip and lovely to boot.

Back to your question....Believe it or not, Larkin has long been a guilty pleasure of mine. It was the name of a character in a silly 50ish story I read as a preteen about a girl who takes flying lessons.
Anyway, I love it, but it does have a certain soap opera quality, and as you know from this blog, the n ending is a bit trendy.

It seems to me that the clear winner is Wren or Ren. Both are somewhat gender neutral, distinctive, and are reasonable derivations of Lauren.
I just think it will be much better if you can say, "Oh, it started as a nickname for Lauren..." then, "Well, I never really liked my name, so...."
I'd avoid lo, as I believe that is the nn for one of the girls on "The Hills," on MTV.

Btw, you sound like an exceptionally bright and self-aware young woman. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors (well aware that I sound ancient in doing so)! Sigh....

I'm Aussie and can confirm that indeed Bronte Barratt is an Aussie swimmer, and a good one at that! Bronte has been a favourite name of mine for a while but we have very good friends with a Bronte so we can't use the name as it would be a bit weird. Bronte is not and overly common in Austalia but it isn't unusual, there are a few Brontes around and Bronte Beach is a well known Beach in Sydney!

Briony Cole is a diver. I have known quite a few Briony's of various ages. It seems to be normally be pronounced more like 'BRY-ny' by most of them, but I heard all they commentary prouncing Briony Cole's more like 'BREE-oh-nee'. That may be how she likes it pronounced?

I have also enjoyed watching the olympics (aside from my sport addiction) to see the names of other countries athletes. There are some really great ones!

Lauren-

I have to admit I'm a bit amused by the names that you've suggested for your name change. Don't worry, they are lovely it's merely that it sounds like you are doing a role-call for the people and animals in my house. My kitten, who I've only had for 2 weeks, is Lark while my roommate is Laurence (pro. the french girl way Lo-RHANS). I'll make a side note: Laurence is exhausting to say again and again all day so her name often gets shortened to Lolo, which is much shorter and kind of spunky.

new baby on my block---1i1ah 1ynn. Both family names. Loving Lilah, thinking it'll be the next big thing.

I knew a Fawn growing up. She'd be about 31-32 now. And (I am ABSOLUTELY not joking about this!) Fawn's mother was named Bambi. We used to ask if her dad is named Buck. Interestingly, Fawn's sister is Shawna.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has been geeking out over the names at the Olympics!

Lauren, have you considered the nn Rory?

Rory of Gilmore Girls is a Lorelei. I don't think it's too much of a stretch for a female Lauren or male Lawrence to become a Rory.

My high school geometry teacher said he'd give $100 to any student who named a future child Pythagoras.

Newish baby in my building ... Bennett. Don't know his mn, and I'm not sure if they're using a nn.

I know a Fawn as well and she is 16. Her mother just really loved the name.. Fawn's brother's name is Jacob.. Since I know and like this girl I think good things when I hear this name.. although I personally wouldn't use the name.

Lauren, I too like Ren as a suggestion. Have you also tried rearranging your names letters to come up with something?

Aura, Aurie, Arie, Ari, Ramie (my middle name is Marie and as a child, I always accidentily said Ramie), Nea, Lena, Mia, Lura, etc...

Lauren-I also vote for Wren/Ren. I think this is the perfect nn for your name.

I had also noticed some of the names in the Olympics. I saw Briony but missed Bronte. When I first learned of Shawn I too wondered if if was a mistake and should be Shawna.

Going back to the "odd made-up name" discussion, if we concentrate on the "ending in N" theme I wonder if anyone mentioned these:
Oxygen-take off of Imogen
Exxon
Citrine

On the original thread topic, I think it doesn't matter in the long run what you name your child. It's kind of like the nature vs. nurture debate. I think it's the feel of the name that gives you the perceived notion of success. IMO, the "old lady" names might work as librarians or teachers, but not the hipster names. Totally stereotyping I know!!

Also, I think there may be scholarships available to people with certain names but I'd have to search on that. Ok, couldn't wait-found a few re: last names but didn't see any about first names in a quick search.

speaking of the olympics, and given the last thread on 2 syllable names ending in -n, did y'all notice Cullen Jones? I think he is the first Af/American to win a gold medal in a swimming event (one of the relays) and apparently a really nice kid (from my area). Would be a great naming model.

a note on Edison--my FIL was telling someone about it and she said--like the lightbulb?