The Baby Name Wizard

Baby name alert:

B/G twins--Scarlet Rosemary and Max Douglas

Names overheard recently at the grocery store--

S@die and Templ3

sisters, approx age 4 and 1.5.

Ooh Amy3 I like that combo but I might switch it up and do Rosemary Scarlet because Scarlet is nms. Rosemary and Max sound very good to me.

Question:
Why would you change your name from Brian to Brryan (yes with 2 R's) if you were trying to conceal your identity and hide from media and stuff? There was an article on AOL about a boy who did this. Seems strange to me.

Hi all,
This is my first post here but I have been reading for a long time. I am not pregnant yet but hope to begin TTC soon and being an NE I am always thinking about baby names. I can never seem to find boy names I am really enthusiastic about so I mainly focus on the girls and hope that is what I get. Anyway I have a daughter who is 2 named Olivia Marie. I know popular but we had decided on the name over 10 years ago. Olivia was our favorite name and Marie was DH's moms Middle name (she passed away 15 years ago) So I have been thinking about other girl names, which do you like best?
Rhiannon Elizabeth (nn Annie My mom's name is Ann my middle name is DeAnne so I like the continuation)
Elanor (no middle name yet, and this spelling sticks)
Evelyn (no middle name yet)
I like the use of family names but only as middle names. Oh and our last name is Johnson

I think Brryan was trying to hide from his father not the media if I read the article correctly. I agree though that it wouldn't help anything, and it is moot now since there was an article online about it haha

GoldenPigMom: I like Rhiannon, nn Annie, but I think it might be difficult to get others on board with the nn. It could seem unintuitive to people. I guess, while I love the name Rhiannon, I wonder what is the draw for you, if you plan on using Annie anyway. Oh wait, is it b/c your last name is quite common?

I like Elanor and Evelyn as well, although I'm not a fan of this spelling of Elanor. I suppose there's probably a good reason you prefer it though.

I have always loved the name Rhiannon...but with the nn it wouldnt be used all the time. My daughter gets called Livie, Liv Olivia and Lulu about equal amounts of time. I like the kin of follow through from Ann DeAnne and Rhiannon (dont like any other form of the name) It was always neat for me to be kind of named after my mom but not outrightly so.

Elanor, I like spelled that way because of the book/movie Lord of the Rings... I take the name from that context and meaning not from the conventional Eleanor. This is one of the few times that the spelling really changes the name to me.

Golden - What about Annabel or Anna? I think Annabel and Olivia sound great together.

@zoerhenne, I know a baby Eowyn, from Lord of the Rings, but no Galadriels! :) I'm pretty sure that Eowyn is a name in Welsh though, apart from LOTR, and I honestly am not quite sure why the parents chose the name, so maybe I shouldn't say it's "from LOTR".

I do also know a 4 year old Anakin, and that one is definitely specifically from Star Wars (shudder).

@GoldenPigMom, how about Elanor Diane (as a sort of homage to your mn). Or maybe Elanor Annabel?

And I know a 7 or 8 yo named Gannon--kind of like Gage + Cannon in my mind...perhaps fits the Remington/Gunnar/Gage/Colt trend?

gannon is the name of the villian in one of the zelda video games (ocarina of time). i wonder if they used that name intentionally...?

GoldenPigmom-First of all cute sn LOL! I like the name Rhiannon. You may get a Stevie Nicks conection but that wouldn't be bad. In fact, when I was expecting, my dh and I joked about naming our dd Stephanie Rhiannon because Stevie Nicks is his fav singer. But we already had a Stephanie in the family so we nixed it. Feel free to use it if you like. Btw, Tolkien is his fav author!

I like Anne's idea of Elanor Diane. It sounds pretty, distinguished, and simple all at the same time. I also thought of Miranda as an "Ann" name. Others:
Susan/Suzanne; Breanne; Leanne; Megan

My favs are:
Rhiannon Elizabeth
Elanor Suzanne
Miranda Elyse (the Y sp just to be distinctive)

GoldenPigMom - I KNEW that was why you preferred that spelling, 'Elanor.' (For those not familiar, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elanor_Gamgee) That's on my short list of LotR names I might be able to get away with, and to be honest, Eleanor has so many acceptable spellings that I don't feel it's unduly 'kre8tive.'

The one LotR name I wish I had the guts to use is Elbereth, and I may yet. We just found out we're having twins - identical, so either two boys or two girls. We're hoping girls, since we have two boys already. IF they're girls, we think we're going to name them Clara and Lucy - short, sweet, simple, and charming. For middle names I want something longer and more romantic (we've got Genevieve on the list, for example). Clara Elbereth....maybe. I'm not convinced.

I read a thoughtful essay about names in last Wednesday's "The Globe and Mail" [Toronto].

www.theglobeandmail.com/life/you-can-call-me-alj/article1166181/

I read a thoughtful essay about names in last Wednesday's "The Globe and Mail" [Toronto].

www.theglobeandmail.com/life/you-can-call-me-alj/article1166181/

Just a wave to everyone, nothing much to say. Except I was just thinking this morning, as I stared zombie-like into my empty refrigerator, that Laura has a way of commenting on names without casting judgment on the tastes of their users. It's quite an art, really, and I admire it. I think it's hard to just be interested in something long enough to just explore it without judgment.

In the meantime, I'm not into gun names for kids. But knitting and other names! Bring it on! Macrame' is rather a pretty word, when you look at it.

Ooh! What about 'Intarsia' as a knitting name? :D

On Siebe:

1) It's a masculine name.
2) It's pronounced SEE-buh (the e in the second syllable is a schwa, not an ee-sound).
3) It's actually Frisian, not Dutch.

On Renesmee:

I don't get this name. I have no idea how it's supposed to be pronounced, and as a combination of Renee and Esme it doesn't really work - wouldn't the spelling Reneesme make more sense?

Macrame is awesome, and Intarsia sounds beautiful. What wonderful sibling names for Gauge and Purl.

The 'sisters' in the Denali clan (in Twilight) are Russian and thus their names - Tanya, Irina, and Kate.

I don't know the historical accuracy or popularity trends in Russia for these names, but they feel traditional to me, especially Irina and Kate (perhaps Ekaterina [Katherine] originally?).

Baby name alert: Triplets - Bl@ke (boy), Brooke, Bri@nna.

ET/zoerhenne - Thanks for filling me in.

Renesmee - it goes like this: take the 'Ren' from Renee, and add it to the whole 'Esme'. Then take the end 'e' from Renee and splice it on the end to keep the look of Renee. Simples.

Question: did anyone have something in mind for what you would have called her if you wrote the book?

GoldenPigMom - I'd go for Rhiannon, it's distinct. Elanor Diane is also classic sounding as someone suggested.

justrachelmarie (if you're still there):

Adelaide Grace Penelope
Adelaide Grace Francisca
Adelaide Grace Elowen

anywhere close?

Melissa - ah, that explains Tanya, right!

I love these needlework/craft names! They make a wonderful grassroots sort of counterpoint to weapon names. I might add Broderie or Tapestry for girls, and Weaver or Canvas for boys. Canvas could really grow on me... I love the symbolism of a child being a blank canvas (though most people would probably just go "Huh?? That's not a name."). As for Macramé, I can see her fitting right in as McRamae, maybe with a little sister Croshae... :)

GoldenPigMom: All three of your name options are lovely... it's a tough call. I do think Olivia and Evelyn sound a bit too similar with the repeated V and L sounds, and you might find your tongue twisting as you call them for dinner: "Olivilyn! Elvia! Eleven!"

Rhiannon and Elanor are both charming. I agree the spelling of Elanor could be a problem, but then again, so would Rhiannon (these days, a lot of people would confuse it with Rihanna). If you really want the nickname Annie, I'd go with Rhiannon, but I think I have to give the edge to Elanor - I love the LOTR reference, and it seems to flow better with both your surname and big sister's name. Ann or Anna as a middle name would be clean and simple and honor your Mom more directly than Rhiannon would.

I know two little girls named Elanor--and my brother was crushed because that was the one name my SIL had sanctioned as a nod to LOTR. One is in their close group of friends so they feel it would be too near a connection to have a second one.

So, I think it is climbing somewhat in popularity--especially due to the rise in alternative spellings, and as someone posted above the already varied spellings of Eleanor/Elinor/Elanor/Eleanore.

Just came across a name I've never heard before in a video clip in the NYT online - Cleli@, pronounced CLAY-lee-a. It threw me initially, because it looked like Celia. Her fiance called her Clel, which seemed a bit awkward. But it's growing on me.
According to Behind the Name, it's Italian and comes from the Latin name Cloelia, which I like better, I think. "In Roman legend Cloelia was a maiden who was given to an Etruscan invader as a hostage, but managed to escape by swimming across the Tiber." She sounds like quite a girl!

I am dying with laughter over McRamae and Croshae! But I think Broderie Anglaise would actually be a fairly lovely name, by sound alone. Let's see, our knitting sibset so far consists of

Classic/Standard Names
Gauge
Purl
Stockinette

Trendy Names
McRamae
Croshae

Frilliana Names
Broderie Anglaise
Intarsia

I'll add Entrelac, Bobbin, and Skein to the list :)

I heard of an unexpected boys name for girls recently: Alistair (nn Allie). This is one of my favorite boys names. I'm sorry, this "trend" has officially become ridiculous and is making me cranky. I like it less than Renesmee!

I going out on a limb - I don't hate Renesmee! It sounds like it could be vaguely Cajun to me.

It's not the best name in the world, but I've heard of far worse made up monstrosities. And there are trends I hate far more. Though I guess we have to be nice about those names because they are on real children.

I can't for the life of me understand how there is a difference between Harry & hairy. Will someone try to explain?

Also, I was totally unaware of these Twilight names. I am (or was) planning on naming our child Edward and calling him Teddy as a baby. Is that too trendy a name now? (i.e. will everyone think I'm naming him after Twilight?)

cherrysundrop:

I say Harry like "hat (without the /t/)"
Hairy is "bear"

I can't for the life of me see how there is a confusion between hairy and Harry. How funny!

Random question: I'm interested in the name G3orgiana for my daughter. It's not at all popular in my area but I'm wondering if it's becoming so elsewhere? We're in a rural, "last to hear about it" sort of area so I want to make sure it's not the next Madison. Thanks to anyone who can help!

Keren: Oh, come now. Surely you've heard North Americans talking about 'Hairy Pawder' by now...

(That's actually the name of a dog grooming salon near me.)

I agree with Guest girl It is not the worst name ever. There is much worse Murgatroid anyone?
The funny thing I find about the name is I prefer it to the two names it came from. For whatever reason my whole life I have never liked the name Renee and I find Esme is a bit awkward. When I first started to read the books I didn't like either of the mums names only to find out that she had made a name up with those pieces.Wee bit of a letdown for the namelover in me.
Bianca- Good question! If I were to name the baby I would have gone with Charley or Charlotte after her Dad,its cute for a girl(I think).

I like Renesmee's middle name-- Carlie (a mixture of the two grandfather's names, Charlie and Carlisle (sp?).

cherrysundrop: I wouldn't link Edward with Twilight unless another child was Bella

G3orgiana: while not my style, I think it is pretty, and not very popular.

cherrysundrop, I highly recommend the name Edward called Teddy. I have a grown son by that name (who goes by Ted now) and have always loved the combination of Edward and Teddy. I wouldn't worry about the name becoming too trendy or care what 'everyone' might thing you've named him after. I really can't see Edward "Teddy" becoming overly popular (among all the Aidens/Jaydens/etc., Ryans, Coopers et al.)

cherrysundrop-The name Edward is so classic and has so many other connections that I wouldnt be worried. Go ahead and name him what you want-however the nn Teddy isn't used much nowadays its curious that that is what you prefer.

Guest re G30rgiana: My cuz named her dd either this or Georgette I forget. I think its one of those names like Hazel. You either like it or you don't and in some circles it will seem to be rising but overall in the SSA list its prob not that much.

Coll-Sewing sibs are too funny!! Could Thread (boy) and Needle(pron Nee-dell) be listed under the Classic section? Thread seems like a name the Palin's might like.

Re Georgiana:

What a lovely name. I certainly don't think it's becoming common, at least not in the US or Canada (possibly in the UK?). According to Name Voyager, both Georgiana and Georgianna dropped stadily in popularity since the 1880s, and fell out of the Top 1000 after WWII, never to return. Georgia has certainly become more fashionable, so Georgiana may follow... but I haven't heard of any.

By the way... were you thinking of pronouncing it, "jor-jee-ANN-a" (4 syllables) or "jor-JANN-a" (3 syllables)? My great-great-grandmother in England was a Georgianna, and I've often wondered which pronunciation was correct for her. My mother, the family historian, always drags it out to 4 syllables... but how would a working-class Londoner in Victorian times really have pronounced it? Any of the British NE's know?

cherrysundrop: I will echo others and say that you are safe with Edward. You may see an uptick though. It's in the air.

It's hard to say it won't be the next Henry. (Another name which is deservedly getting more attention after years of mysterious neglect.)

But no one will assume you're a huge Twilight nutter.

I think Teddy is adorable and I really like Ted too (for when he gets older).

RE: G30rgiana - LOVE it. Can't say if it will be the next Isabella. The George thing might kill it or help it soar. But the ana at the end seem like it could be poised for stardom right now. Hmmm....

Like Edward, I think its one of those classic names that deserves more attention than it currently gets.

If you love it, I would go for it. And if others follow, who cares? Top names are only a fraction as popular as they once were. So even if it is the next Olivia, there won't be that many girls named G3orgiana.

Another question.

Maybe I'm stupid but... why is everyone writing Georgiana with a 3 in it??

(And for that matter, sticking @ in other names?)

Valerie - that's interesting about Clelia, I've never heard of it being used on a modern person. There was a very popular (at the time) 17th-century French romance by Mme. de Scudéry called Clélie, translated into English as Clelia, I believe based on the story of the character you mentioned. I agree that Cloelia looks prettier, but I think it would be pronounced the same way (think Oedipus or, for the Brits out there, oestrogen).

I have to confess that I just finished reading the last Twilight book - can't say they are good literature, but they kept me reading, and as a sociological phenomenon I find them fascinating. Stephenie Meyer talks a bit about how she chose some of the names on her website - Isabella nn Bella was the name she had picked out for the daughter she never had, and the various vampire names were supposed to be plausible for the historical times they were born. A quick glance at Name Voyager suggests to me that she didn't do half badly, although I didn't pay close enough attention to remember exactly when each vampire was born.

Stephenie Meyer discusses naming the characters in Twilight here:
http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight.html

Re: Renesmee - as much as this name makes me cringe, I have to give Meyer some credit after reading her explanation, found here (scroll down):
http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/bd_faq.html

I haven't read any Twilight books myself (in fact all I know about them I learned from this site) but I don't mind Renesmee at all. I took it the same way bianca explained, with Renee sort of wrapped around Esme (instead of sharing the middle syllable). The only thing is, that way I'd pronounce it ren-ez-MAY, which apparently isn't correct.

I'd hate to be the kindergartener made to write the name Georgianna 30 times as her homework assignment as my daughter recently had to do. (Oh, to be named Ava!)

Can anyone tell me whether naming a child Canaan would have negative implications? I like the Biblical "land of milk and honey" reference, but the Canaanites themselves were "Idol worshippers." Also, Noah's grandson Canaan was not good in the Bible. So do you think that Canaan has good Biblical vibes or bad ones? The parents are Christians.

MelissaM - I really like Lucy and Clara for twin girl names, not too matchy at all but go well together. I think with longer, interesting middle names they will be great! What are the names of your boys if you want to share?

I like Cloelia, but not so much Clelia, so if they are pronounced the same I'm not sure I like it as much.

I'm another one who finds it difficult to see that Harry and Hairy could be pronounced the same. I love the discussions of how different words sound the same. If I talk in silly accents I can usually get them, but not always. I think the Australian accent pronounces most words more distinctly than the American (British seems to be somewhere in between, but more similar to Australian at times). I'm sure there are words we say that sound more similar to each other than when those in the US/UK say them, but can't think of any off the top of my head.

EVie- I love Clélie! But then, I always seem to prefer the French version of names...

I'm interested in your comment that Cloelia and Clelia would be pronounced the same. While initially convinced, I then remembered that Oedipus was Greek, and this is Latin. As far as I remember from my days of learning Latin, each vowel or consonant is pronounced separately. Hmm. I'm open to being corrected! (Where IS Miriam, btw? I miss her!) So it would be Clo-AY-lee-a and CLAY-lee-a, I think.

I too would love to hear Miriam's opinion on the pronunciation of Cloelia, because I am not at all sure of the theory I just put forward. I know that something halfway between CLAY-lee-ah and CLEH-lee-ah would be correct for ecclesiastical Latin (eg. "Regina coeli"). From what I could glean online, the classical pronunciation would actually have been CLOY-lee-ah, which morphed into something more like the ecclesiastical pronunciation by the 3rd-5th century AD. This of course leaves me totally clueless as to how we should pronounce it today (because of course we don't say most Latin names according to their classical pronunciations anymore - it's JOO-lee-us SEE-zar, not YOO-lee-oos KAI-sar).

Hmm, looks like a potential skyrocket in popularity for Clelie, except spelt as Clayleigh or Clailee or Klaelee or some other visually assaulting version. It has the popular sounds.

Here's an example of awkwordplay that's on my periphery: Speidi (Spencer + Heidi, from the Hills, not that I watch that). The reason it's awkward is that Speidi to me does not rhyme with Heidi. I don't use the same vowel in 'spy' and 'spider,' nor in 'rider' and 'writer.' The former is the same as 'eye,' while the latter is more of an 'uh-ee' in quick succession.

Another awkwordplay in my area is 'Brunstucky,' a dig at the socioeconomic status of Brunswick, Ohio. It sounds so much better as 'Bruntucky' because that shares not only the 'tucky' of Kentucky but also the preceding n. I keep hearing Brunstucky though.

So funny that the name Georgiana just came up. I just watched the movie "The Duchess" and the main character is named Georgiana, pronounced "Geor-JAYNA." It was a pronunciation which baffled me because the vowel combo is "ia" not "ai." I immediately thought of this wonderful site I am addicted to and wondering if anyone here would know the story behind the pronunciation. (It is regional?)

Cherrysundrop - I think Edward is very sturdy classic name, and I love the nickname "Teddy" as something a little different.

Georgiana is lovely. It may become more popular in the way Lily-Lilia-Lillian-Lilliana morphed, but I think the beginning sound doesn't appeal to as wide an audience.

I also like Edward, and its Chronicles of Narnia cousin, Edmund. I don't think either of them scream namesake to me.

3s and @s stand in for e and a, to make the names less google-able (more important when you're writing about actual babies/people).

I think this quiz http://www.youthink.com/quiz.cfm?obj_id=9827 (or something similar) has been posted before -- it determines what kind of American accent you have and includes a question on the much discussed Don vs. Dawn. No hairy vs. Harry, but perhaps Mary vs. merry is the same argument?

EVie- wow, thanks for all the useful points you made. Personally, I think CLOY-lee-ah is rather horrible, which is probably why it died out!

bill- hmm, don't think it will skyrocket, but I do like it if pronounced CLAY-lee-a.

It reminds me of another unusual name that I like - Lelia (LAY-lee-a). It's often confused with Leila, but the former is Italian and the latter is Arabic.

Oh, dear. I'm glad you like Clara and Lucy but it looks like we don't get to use them. We had an ultrasound today that revealed two sets of baby boy-parts and no matter how much my husband may like "A Boy Named Sue" I know he would object to "Two Boys Named Clara and Lucy."

Now I'm up a little creek without a name-list (I was convinced I was getting a girl this time around from the start) and I need to come up with two names that fit with Alexander Gregory and Nathaniel David that haven't been 'taken' by my very large near extended family. O_o

I'm doomed.