The Baby Name Wizard

I love this post - I've wondered the same thing. I'm on Facebook & my facebook page lists reminders of friends' birthdays. I hadn't ever noticed that most (maybe all) of my friends named Holly were born in December. I know several December babies with Noelle/Noel in their name as well.

I have always loved the name Summer but felt I could never use it unless I had a daughter born in the summer months. I always felt that if I bestowed it on a child born in the winter.. if they would think that maybe I was wishing for summertime.

The only Avril I know was born in April. My aunt June was not born in June as you may have guessed, but was instead born in January, and was named for the Bing Crosby song "June in January." My grandmother's middle name is May, guess which month she was born? Yes, there is something to your theory indeed.

I know a girl named Holly Joy, who was not born in December, though her name may lead you to believe so. She was actually born in April.

I've always liked the name June, but I won't use it because it's a month. If you name a baby June in June, it seems either cutesy, or like you couldn't come up with a name. If you name a baby June when it was born in December, it feels a little out of place. *shrugs*

My friend had a girl on the first day of Summer. Seeing that she was planning for a boy and didn't have name....Summer it was!

The name Amber is a very visual thing for me. Same as Rose. I expect them to have a distinctive coloring to match the name. I have met an Amber with amber colored hair. It fit her perfectly.

I have met a Spring, Summer and an Autumn, but not a Winter.. But we were talking about months weren't we?

Nicole S.- I like the "June in January" reference.

My friend's daughter is Holly May - born in April. But Holly and May are both quite popular names in the UK (May more popular as a mn than a fn I suspect)

I agree with Melissa - for me, a daughter called Summer would have to be born in June, July or August.

But babies do surprise us. I can imagine settling on January for a daughter due on 1/15 and having her arrive on 12/30. And there's something hopeful about calling your daughter June if she arrives in the cold of winter.

And I agree, Nicole - the "June in January" reference is clever!

I know of a girl (around 3-4 years old) named September (she was born in the month before or after). Sorry, I just know of her from newsletters and don't remember her exact birthdate (year, month) except it didn't match her name. But I think her name is great anyway!

I'd only expect one April in every twelve to be born in the month of April if one BABY in twelve is born in the month of April. Is that true? Are about the same number of babies born every month, or are there seasonal spikes?

In high school I knew an April whose parents changed her name from Margaret to April when she was about six months old, because she was born in March. I don't know why they changed their minds.

I also know a September in her 30s but am not sure of her birthday. I know of a January as well, the same for hers.

I think August will be the next big month thing...

I do tend to like the colder months used as names, probably because they ARE more unusual.

Heather RC, that's neat that you know a little "September"-- I always thought that would be pretty. Also like "December" (almost unheard of?), "November" and even "October" under the right circumstances... Wasn't there a tradition in Soviet Russia of bestowing the name October?

Having been born in January, part of me would love to have that for my name. I don't find it cutesy or too "precious" for people to be named after the month they were born in-- especially if it's one of the supposedly bleaker months! Maybe now that there's a fairly well-known actress with the name January, it will pop up more.

Wow, I didn't see your post Riot Delilah. Interesting that you know an adult "September" and Heather RC knows of a toddler age one...

My step-niece was born in August, and she was named Autumn. It drives me crazy every time I think about it.

To me, season and month names have such obvious meanings that going against them seems slightly ridiculous, IMO. (Unless, of course, they are named for family members, or it has some other significance as in Nicole S.'s example.)

I imagine her having to field a lot of "What were your parents smoking?" questions in the future.

Guest wrote:

"I'd only expect one April in every twelve to be born in the month of April if one BABY in twelve is born in the month of April. Is that true? Are about the same number of babies born every month, or are there seasonal spikes?"

There are indeed seasonal spikes. I went with the 1-in-12 default just to keep from wandering too far off topic, but I'm glad for the opportunity to wander now. :-)

The peak birth months in the U.S. are July-September...9 months after people start spending a lot of time huddled indoors away from the cold! An April baby, in contrast, would have been conceived in the dog days of Summer. Toss in the fact that April has only 30 days and the real default assumption for April should be somewhat lower than 1 in 12.

You know the other big birth spike that I'm aware of? Late October, early November... 9 months after Valentines Day. I know a bunch of people born then several of whom were late babies. I don't know if there are real stats on this, but it's certainly seems to be a phenomenon in people I know.

As an aside I'm an april baby, though not an April:). I like the name May much better and might use it as a middle name any time of the year as it feels like a name to me just as much as a month. Personal connections I guess do that.

I went to school with a September, which I always thought was cool. The only April I know was born in June. I think the one month I would never ever use as a name myself is February, since so many people mispronounce that word.

And re: the peak birth months being July-September, that kind of surprises me based on my family. I have a couple of cousins born in August, but the heavy months are definitely May and December. But maybe my family has unusual 'procreational' habits? :)

Also sibset announcement Gr!ff!n and Pho3n!x. Elementary school ages I believe. The parents told me they were glad they had two boys because they couldn't think of any good girls names to match, what do you call her, Medusa? Before anyone gets worried they were kidding:).

My husband & I were married in June - a special month for us, and we've seriously considered the middle name June for a girl, should we ever have one.

I agree that August and to a lesser extent Augusta (which I actually like more - it's spunky) will be the next big month name.

Among my namenerd friends, I'm fairly certain one mentioned knowing a December nn Cember, but don't quote me on that. No idea when she was born, though.

I had a friend about 20 years ago who was named April. She was born in December, but conceived in April (she was a bit early.)

Her mother didn't tell her this, but we figured it out and then asked about it. Her mom blushed furiously when she said, "yes!"

I know one April. She is seven years old and was born in April.

Since I view April as being a relatively common name, I'm surprised that I only know one (especially since I'm a teacher and meet dozens of people each semester). Are there other common names that appear infrequently in your lives?

Conversely, what are the most common names among your acquaintances? My husband and I interact regularly with six different Gregs (two relatives, two friends, and two neighbors). They range in age from 31-43.

On the women's side, Michelle and Jennifer/Jen are the most common names among my circle of friends.

I knew of a September when I was younger. She would probably be in her late 40s/early 50s now. No idea when she was born.

I know a little girl named Summer who I believe was born in a summer month. When her mom was expecting baby #2 (to be delivered in January, I think), people asked if the name would be Winter. (She opted for Star instead).

Finally I know a little girl with the mn May who was born in May, but her mother insisted that was coincidental.

The daughter of Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, the writers who started McSweeneys magazine, is named October, and was born in October.

Here's a question, what are the other meanings of the names of the months? Isn't July named after the god Jupiter? (I may totally have that wrong...) but that would be interesting to know!

Jenny L3igh--

July is named for Julius Caesar and August for Augustus Caesar. Thursday is named for Thor, the Germanic equivalent to Jove/Jupiter whose name shows up more clearly in the French Jeudi. January, March, April, May, and June are named for Greco-Roman deities--Janus, Mars, Aphrodite, Maia, and Juno. September. October, November, December are numbers 7-10 reflecting the placement of those months in the Roman calendar before the calender was reformed. February is named for the Roman Day of Purification which took place during that month.

(waving to Cathy) I was going to mention the same December nn Cember. You beat me to it. :) I also don't recall when she was born, but I hope it was December for obvious reasons.

A timely post since some friends and I had recently been talking about the name June and wondering if more people thought that a June should be born in that month or if it had more acceptance as an 'everyday' name.

I've known a few Aprils - in their 30s now - and as far as I know all were born in April. I've also known a January (born in that month) and an Autumn (don't remember when she was born).

I have an Ember who most people think is Amber. :P

More interesting names from magazine articles. Top Design host India Hicks has sons Felix Austen, 11 ½, Amory John, 9 ½, Conrad Lorenzo, 5 ½ and a daughter Domino Carmen, 13 months.

Heads up--these trends extend to related names. My kids' greatgrandmother was named Maybelle--because she was born in May.

I also know a September, aged in her mid/later 50s, but I don't know when her birthday is. She goes by "Timby". She works in a school office, and at one point the women in there were named Timby (September), Yolie (Yolanda), and Dodie (Dorothy).

Thanks, Miriam! July=Jupiter didn't sound quite right, but I didn't take the time to think about more likely gods-- Mars, etc, so thanks for the explanation! I did at one point know the July, Julius thing too... now that you mention it:). I knew someone who's a little more with it than I am today and a lot more informed on this stuff would come to the rescue!

I didn't know Dodie was a nickname for Dorothy! I think I've heard that name before... like someone having an Aunt Dodie and it sounds so strange compared to the names I am used to I guess.

Miriam: You are a fount of trivia! I love it! Lots of inspiration for names. I think Jove is cute. It's pronounced one-syllable, and with the o like in Joe right? I feel like I've heard of a Jovie.

I knew a Marlene who went by Mars. And I always wondered about Sept=7, Oct=8, Dec=10!

Thank you Laura for this post! There are a lot of month/season names I love, but I don't think I could ever use them. If I named a daughter Autumn (which I love) people will constantly be asking if she was born in autumn. If she is, it's kind of corny, and if she isn't, people will be confused.

I also decided to look up January Jones birthday out of curiousity, and she was born January 5th.

RobynT: I love the name Marlene (or Marlena) nn Mars. I've been thinking about that for a while actually.

My August was born in February. In my mind it doesn't quite follow Laura's pattern. It seems to be near the beginning of a surge but I don't think of it as associated with a month. I think it has always been more of 'everyday' name since it has such a long history of use. Maybe my perception is off.

My daughter is Summer; her due date was the first day of summer but she came a few days late. I attended group midwife appointments with other women due right around the same time, one of whom named her end-of-June daughter...Winter!

New baby alert: S!gne Hazel

and, from a magazine article, a 2yo girl named Azalea. My new imaginary triplet girl names are Azalea, Dahlia, and Zinnea.

I've had the same question about whether it would be strange to name a baby November (my personal favorite) regardless of her birthday...I guess I better get to work in a couple of weeks here if I'm shooting for November!

I know of a Paris December (20-ish) - born in December.
I know of a December (12 - 14) - born (I think) in Dec.
I grew up with 2 Aprils. One born in April (25-ish), one born in Jan (33?).
My cousin just named her baby Julian August - born in September.
August to me is totally different than other month-names. I don't hear "he must have been born..." when I hear August for a name. April, May, June - Yes!

Jenny L3igh-It is interesting you mentioned Valentines Day bringing lots of October/November babies because that happened to us. She was born November 18.

My grandfather (born 1921) was the 7th son in his family. The story goes that his mother wanted a girl so much that she was going to name her baby "June" no matter its gender, if it was born in June. Well, my grandfather was born July 1 and his name is Stanley.

Actually, May has been used since the Middle Ages as a nickname for Mary and, less often, Margaret. Some scholars also think it may have been the medieval feminine form of Matthew. Although most people today think of it as a "month name" it really isn't, just as August is not a month name and Rose is probably not a flower name.

Jane soon-to-be-mother-of-5: what's this story you refer to about Rose? I've never heard anything about that and it sounds interesting!

Rjoy, that's fun! I find these babies to be great people, maybe it's a coincidence but I am friends with many of them:)

To return to an earlier discussion about the names Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell picked for their newborn twin daughters, "Dolly" and "Charlie": I am reading Trollope's "The Way We Live Now," in which there is a MALE character named Dolly. His name may be explained in the novel, but I haven't yet read the relevant passage. Is anyone familiar with "Dolly" as a boy's name?

Never mind! Just checked the Oxford Names Companion... "Dolly" is a Highland Scottish pet form of "Donald."

Jenny L3igh - I, too, know many people born around November 14.

I've heard that the most babies are born in September and I've often wondered if that's because babies conceived on New Year's Eve (or around the holidays in general) would be born in September...

I think it's interesting that all of the month and season names are given to girls, except August. What makes that different? I would think that September sounds equally masculine, but several of you have mentioned knowing girls named September.

This post is somewhat germane to an ongoing "discussion" I'm having with my husband. I am due on March 14 with a boy and I've tried to suggest to my husband that, should he arrive on the 17th, we give him the middle name "Patrick." He's against it -- maybe he's right... too much?

I have a secret love affair with meaning names and my dh will have none of it. I always thought that a great name for my daughter would have been Molly October - nn Toby! her birthday is October; however, since my son was already named Coby and my dh definitely did not like it, it was out of the question.

I think most month names sound feminine, for whatever reason, but I think August and March would be great names for boys.

My husband and I know of several guys from Mexico named Julio (similar to Julius) but Julio is also July in Spanish. Trying to Americanize their names, they will write July on their cars (or even introduce themselves as "July." My husband and I always laugh over this one... but never explain;)

Regarding the boys named Griffin and Phoenix, I know another family with this sibset, boys as well. My Phoenix is a girl and I did have Griffin on my boys' list. Clearly, the two names appeal to the same people!

My 9-year old daughter's name is November... and she was born in June. "June" was too 1950s and Leave It To Beaver-esque for us, and I found out I was pregnant in the month of November.
I think it sounds beautiful and my daughter enjoys the fact that her name is so unique. As a nickname she goes by Nova.
We've heard a lot of comments over the years about her name - good, bad, and even totally offensive - but at the end of the day, I can't imagine calling her anything else.

Re: Griffin
I just heard of a baby girl named Griffin. This name had always been firmly in the male column for me, so I was surprised about this one.

Nova's Mom -- I think November as a given name is charming, and I like the way the word looks. Plus you've got a great story to share about why you chose it, which is always fun.

My birthday is September 21. My parents' birthdays were December 25 and December 26. I always figured I was a delayed birthday present they gave each other.

August(us) was a name of a person before it was a name of a month, and it continues to this day as a personal (male) name. Thus it is different from many of the other months which are derived from the names of divinities or from numbers. It is also true, however, that many Roman personal names were also derived from numbers (Quintus, Decimus, Sextus, etc.).