The Baby Name Wizard

Thanks Laura. These days lists like this are so important. Most of our children will travel outside the US sometime in their lives and many will choose to live there.

We are currently not in the US so we are trying to name our children to fit in to a "global" culture, not just the school down the street. Most of my friends are in the same boat (and are couples with two (or more) different nationalities. There is a lot to consider. One thing I have noticed is that people don't borrow names from other cultures as often. If your child will be attending international schools you don't want them having an Israeli or Swedish name unless they have roots in that culture.

The only name on that list that is familiar to me is Nino. I know quite a few boys named Nino and only one girl though.

Where do I find these lists? Laura, could you include a link?

Fascinating! I'm familiar with some of the Hungarian names due to genealogical research, but most of the others are new to me.

Does anyone know how to pronounce the d/t symbol (as in Sigurður) in Icelandic? Arnaldur Indriðason is one of my favorite authors, but I don't quite know how to pronounce his name, which makes him hard to recommend...

"Where do I find these lists? Laura, could you include a link?"

I'm working on it! Right now the data only shows up on individual name pages, but I'm planning a new feature to let you browse by country/region.

I'd love to see those lists, as well! What a great asset to the site!

Sorry, can't help with the Sigurður pronunciation--I actually briefly knew a man named this, but he went by Siggi.

I'm so happy to see Georgia included! My daughter was born in Georgia, even though her name wasn't on the list! ;)

Wow, I can't believe Phoenix for a girl ranks 199th in Alberta, Canada! It's only in the 700's in the U.S. Also, there are more females named Phoenix than males in Canada. It's the reverse in the U.S. So interesting!

The "ð" symbol in Icelandic makes a soft "th" sound, like in "the." I think Old English actually used that letter.
Take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eth.

14 names, here I come!

Girls
1. Ph0enix Rose
2. Indig0 Faith
3. Aria Quinn
4. Sonnet Hope
5. Eden Verity
6. Juniper Jade
7. Tigris Pearl

Boys
1. Xander Kai
2. Paxton Sage
3. Griffin Hawthorne
4. Bronson Tai
5. Banyan Davis
6. Kipling Jefferson
7. Zephyr Tate

Do you think people would freak out with names like Tigris and Zephyr? I figure since they are my last kids, people will have gotten used to my style and I can slip in some doozies. :)

I was surprized to see Dusan on the list for Serbia, since I know 2 guys named Dusan, both in their 30's, and I thought it was a very comman and old Serbian name. I'm not Serbian myself, but there is a large Serbian population in my city so I grew up with many Serbian names.
Dragon(m), Dusan(m), Niksha(m), Gordana(f),Duska(f) are just some of the more popular ones from the 30-somethings I know.

What do you think the odds are of people adopting names from other countries and cultures? People love unusual names, but they seem to love unusual AMERICAN names. Take the name Zoran for example. It starts with a Z (very hip and cool), it's two syllables, and it ends with an N. It's also easy to pronounce and very distinctive. But is it too ethnic to join the wave of baby boy names in the US?

Hmm, I have Hungarian neighbors with a boy named Zsolt. Zsolti is what he is commonly called, with his dad often using the endearment Zsoltica (ZHOL-tee-kah) and Robbica (ROH-bee-kah) for his brother Robert.

I need a third boy name. I prefer names that are familiar to speakers of English, French, and Spanish (if not others as well) and that go with Xavier and Felix. Other people have locked onto the "x" in both names, but that is definitely not something I'm wedded to. The "x" is all coincidence. Besides the only ones left I know and like are Alexander, which is too common, and Maxim, which is ruined by the darn semi-nude magazine. Maximilian seems a bit much, especially next to the other two-syllable, no-nicks names. Ambrose, Sebastian and Julian (also too common now), and Leopold have been considered, but nothing hits as The One.
Any help?

Here are some X-containing names:

Ajax (boy)
Axel (boy)
Baxter (boy)
Braxton (boy)
Dax (boy)
Daxton (boy)
Dex (boy)
Dexter (boy)
Dixon (boy)
Fairfax (boy)
Hendrix (boy)
Huxley (boy)
Knox (boy)
Lennox (boy)
Lex (boy)
Lexington (boy)
Maxfield (boy)
Maximino (boy)
Maximo (boy)
Maximus (boy)
Maxwell (boy)
Pax (boy)
Paxton (boy)
Phoenix (boy)
Rex (boy)
Rexford (boy)
Xander (boy)
Xanthes (boy)
Xayden (boy)
Xenon (boy)
Xerxes (boy)

Laura, thanks for including so much international data in Namipedia. I've often gone looking for international popularity of a certain name, and that can be very time consuming and difficult to find.

I'm wondering about your data for "England". I just now looked up Phoebe and see you have "#31 in England". Since the The Office of National Statistics for England & Wales didn't release a report of the most popular names for 2008, I'm wondering what stats you're using (their 2007 report?) and if so, then "in England" must include Wales as well?

Speaking of which, I recently read on another name blog that "The office of National Statistics for England & Wales have now said they will be producing a list of the most popular names for 2008. It should be available in July or early August."

I haven't been able to verify this in any other source including the ONS website. Has anyone else seen this reported?

Tirzah- Oh I love your list, is Bronson for Bronson Alcott or just a coincidence with Hawthorne and Kipling, etc? Either way the themes are fun, spirituality, music, writing!

Patricia -- you're right, the England rankings are still a year old pending the new data release.

Most of the global rankings on Namipedia are for 2008, but I've substituted previous years if the current figures aren't available. (If the only available rankings are more than 2 years old, I don't include the country at all.)

AJ, I put Xavier and Felix into Nymbler and here are names I thought might work for you:

*Alonzo
*Roman
*Ivan
*Rafael
*Anton
*Omar
*Marcel
*Dominic
*Gabriel
*Benedict
*Mathias
*Lucian/Lucius

I can't vouch for how well they work in all 3 languages (or beyond). I know some of them shorten readily, and I'm not sure, given your older boys' names, how you feel about nns.

Thanks, Tirzah. I'm scared of Maximo/Maximus as the potential for fat jokes seems too high. Maybe that nixes the whole Max family. {pout} I think the trilingual and perferably two-syllable trends are more important to me. Too many of the x names look too British for Spanish or French speakers (mainly I mean all the place names and surnames).

I liked your list. I've seen Zephyr in other places, so it doesn't seem too out of left field. My two fave girl names from your list have other concerns, like do you care if people shorten Juniper to June, or if they think Tigris is Tigress, like you're an Angelina Jolie/"Kung Fu Panda" fan, rather than thinking of the river?

Tirzah-Cool list. You've expressed your style before so I don't think Zephyr is unusual for you. My fav of yours is Aria Quinn and I would interchange Juniper Jade and Tigris Pearl mn's for better flow.

Qwen-I like Gienna Charlotte or Lucy. Scarlett is nms and doesn't seem to flow as well. I know you had one other but I've since forgotten it.

Amy3-Great list of names for AJ or others looking for Spanish/French duality.

Dare I bring up the statistics question again?
Kid#1: B, G(K), G(U)
Kid#2: B, G(K), G(U)

If you know the family has 2 kids but dont remember anything about them then the choices are just B or G. <50% for each kid> If you remember that there is one girl (regardless of name) then you have the above choices. Where K=known and U=unknown. You don't know which kid you are remembering so you have 3 choices for each kid.

Wow! Laurence and Nino for GIRLS! What a great reminder that names are all about cultural perception. Both of these names would definitely be considered boys' names by 99.9% of people where I live.

jayel40 - I actually know a little boy in San Francisco named Zoran! About 5 years old. He has Anglo parents - American father, New Zealand mother. Their other children are Isabella and Ruby. I guess they bucked the trend of being more conservative with their boy name choices! (I have another friend who has also bucked that trend - daughter Holly, sons Paxton and Dexter!)

Since first name-middle name flow has been brought up, may I please ask for opinions on these three middle names? Assume that you like all 3 names equally, but you want to know which one FLOWS best. Thanks!
Theodora Violet Edith Leaf
Theodora Rose Edith Leaf
Theodora Lily Edith Leaf

Quen,

What are the middle name options you're considering for Gienna?

Gienna Charlotte does sound pretty. What about Gienna Eliot? Middlemarch is one of my favorite books, and I think the vowel repetition sounds nice.

From Laura's post regarding international names I actually kinda liked four: Tigran, Bryndis, Eniko and Izan. They just seem fun.

Tirzah - I LOVE your list. I started to try to write my favorites but there were too many.

AJ - So Amy3 suggested Ivan which I know can be used in French and Spanish (though we pronounce it entirely differently) and I think it would be great with Xavier and Felix.

Amy3 - I'd never heard of Nymbler before thanks for sharing!

Zoerhenne - Thanks for the input. Emerson and George were the others were were considering.

Leafy - I think Violet fits best, then Lily with Rose last. Something about the single syllable in the middle of the longer words seemed off to me.

Mirnada - Mn options for Gienna include: Charlotte, Scarlett, Lucy, Emerson, George and Maud (though my husband hates Maud but I LOVED the Anne of Green Gables books as a kid so it stays on the list for now).

Leafy- I think Theodora Violet Edith Leaf flows the best. It's quite lovely!

The global popularity information is fascinating. Thank you for such a useful (and interesting) addition to the site, Laura!

Love this post and looking forward to global name stats!

For Leafy, I love TVEL.

For AJ, with Xavier and Felix, I'd try:

Abel
Adrian
Arthur
Augustin
Casimir
Caspar
Gabriel
Gideon
Hector
Hugo
Leon
Milo
Oscar
Otto
Quentin
Raphael
Silas
Simon
Theo
Tobias

Anything?

http://youcantcallitit.com/

@ 23: Did you know that Lucy Maud Montgomery HATED the name Lucy and went by Maud? Kind of like me hating my first name (Anne with an E, WAY too common where I was from) and going by my middle name.

I also like Theodora Violet Edith, followed by Lily and then Rose. Rose and Edith run together a bit too much.

Leafy - from those combinations definitely Violet over Rose or Lily. It just flows better. Rose is also overused as a middle in my opinion.

Qwen - with Gienna, I like Charlotte, George and then Lucy. Emerson doesn't flow for me. Scarlett doesn't seem right either for some reason and I just plain don't like Maud (sorry!). Gienna Charlotte sounds very pretty, Gienna George more spunky (I really like this combo, although I suspect many others won't). Gienna Lucy is somewhere in between the other 2 for me regarding pretty and spunky. Hope this helps.

Love the international names. I often go trawling for international name lists as I like different names. I've found the international stats on Namipedia useful.

Very interesting lists!

For Armenia, Georgia, Serbia and other countries where I am similarly completely unfamiliar with the language - I find it hard to relate to these names; they look weird (mostly), they sound weird (probably), and I have no idea whatsoever what they mean, if they mean anything. Btw, no offence intended.

For Iceland, Chile and Spain on the other hand, where I'm peripherally familiar with the language, the names now have an exotic feel. I mean, Bryndís is rather cool, isn't it?

Finally, for Sweden and Denmark, well that's just the same old - nothing exciting there. Those particular names aren't even the ones I'd pick as the most "special" if I had to do it on top of my head. That is actually a very interesting observation, I think.

Another vote for Violet.

From the international lists, I kind of like Bryndis (Iceland).

Tirzah, great list! One of the main characters of the movie 'Benny and Joon' is named Juniper Pearl. Excellent name. I'm trying to convince DH of the merits of Juniper now that our imaginary 3rd baby has turned into an actual 3rd baby come February (!).

"People love unusual names, but they seem to love unusual AMERICAN names", Jayel40 #11

Actually, I think people are restricted (in the name department) by what they are somewhat familiar with. Spanish/Latin names do well in the US. It makes sense, considering the languages, geography and history. Irish names are also popular and you don't even need to have a drop of Irish blood in you. Greenlandic names, however, haven't yet had their breakthrough - Sanimuinnaq, anybody?!

Leafy, I like Violet best followed by Lily. The /dora/ ending runs into /ros/ too much for me.

Qwen, I *love* Maud so will champion that one as your middle. Of the others Charlotte or George are my faves.

Elisabeth@YCCII, I love lots of the names you suggested for AJ. Abel, Hugo, Otto ... LOVE!

Jillc, congrats on baby #3! Juniper is such a great name, but one my husband would never go--he can't stand that /u/.

Tirzah: Tigris is one of my favorites from your list! I think it reminds me of Tiger Lily from Peter Pan which I always thought was a cute name. If I remember correctly, the Disney character was really cute too. (Okay, just googled and found out she was supposedly from the "Piccaninny tribe of Indians." wtf. oh well... even more reason why Tigris is better! I think Zephyr's pretty cool too. I love how your names are fanciful but not goofy. Fun, but grounded.

AJ: what about Lucian, Gabriel, Mateo, Dorian, Oliver? Idk if they are a perfect fit for your criteria...

Leafy: I think I like Violet best.

Wow, thanks for the suggestions!
Archangels offer wonderful options, and I do like Gabriel and Raphael. Quentin I adore, as I am attracted to those less-used initials. ;-) I just worry about Mr. Tarantino's association. Mateo could work. I don't know how it plays to francophone ears, where Mathieu is preferred. (The other two names are spelled the same in Eng, Fr, and Sp, and my kids are in regular contact with speakers of all three languages.)
I am madly in love with Olivier, not Oliver, which sounds so English to me. Like, he's the best friend of Simon, the little-boy character Mike Myers used to play in the bathtub on SNL. Only problem with Olivier: I feel dumb calling one kid the decidedly French pronunciation of "oh-LIV-ee-yay" while calling the other the English "ZAY-vee-yer." I feel like Olivier belongs with fellow Frenchie "ZAH-vee-yay," as francophones (and people who assume we're francophones by choosing that name) call my son.

AJ, if it makes you feel any better on the pronunciation thing, I think there's a very good reason for your inclination. You would simply be pronouncing both names the way an English speaker would. "Oh-LIV-ee-yay" IS the English pronunciation of Olivier, just like "ZAY-vee-yer" is the English pronunciation of Xavier--so you're entirely consistent. I understand your point, but I just thought I'd throw this out there in case you hadn't looked at it like that already.

AJ - I was just going to suggest Olivier! I'm not a fan of Oliver (nicely stated about the Englishness), but Olivier is a nicer sound to me and is still very easy in English. I agree with hyz on the pronunciation. I also like the suggestions of Raphael and Gabriel. How about Maxence?

Leafy - that's funny I can't imagine Laurence with that spelling on a boy!
I was surprised everyone says Violet flows best. I would have gone with Rose (then Lily) although I like the name Violet better.

aj,

for what it's worth, i do not automatically think of quentin tarantino when i hear quentin (which i quite like). it's an association i have, but not a strong one.
i also don't really think maximo or maximus (both of which i also quite like) would create a teasing issue unless you think it is likely that your child would have a weight problem. i admit i even like maxim, despite the magazine. the first thing i think of isn't actually the magazine, but rather the the male protagonist in the novel "rebecca."

i think i would be inclined to do a name with an x name just because i know i would hate to break that thread. (i don't think i would intentionally set out to do a "theme", but once it happened, i would have a hard time not sticking to it, for the sake of continuity and cohesion.) that being said, i understand what you are saying about there being more important considerations and how using an x-name would be more limiting.

i see what you are saying about olivier and xavier. while both are great names, it might be a bit of a style clash (which not everyone minds).

Elisabeth@YCCII - I love the names you suggested for AJ - so many great ones! I especially love
Augustin
Casimir
Caspar
Gabriel
Gideon
Hugo
Leon
Milo
Oscar
Otto
Quentin (AJ - I didn't even think of Quentin Tarantino when I read this name, although of course I know who he is. For some reason I don't even think of him as a Quentin! His surname dominates his name for me, somehow.)
Raphael
Theo
Tobias

All so great with Xavier and Felix!

AJ, I see what you mean about the Xavier/Olivier pronunciation mis-match. As a French/English speaker, I would indeed find this perplexing and confusing. What a pity though - don't you hate it when a great name doesn't work for you for some reason?
Also, I think you've made a good decision not to feel compelled to find a name with x in it. To me, that would be treating your children's names like a word game. I know others will disagree with me, and it's just a personal choice, but personally I agree with you on this one.

Btw, thanks everyone for your thoughts on middle names for Theodora. Violet is my first choice too, but it's good for my peace of mind to have some other input! Since hubby and I decided to no longer discuss our name choices with friends/family, I have found it really hard! Need sounding boards! You guys are great :)

Qwen, I adore Maud. Though I confess, I prefer it as Maude with the e at the end, as it somehow seems more finished.

Thanks for doing this! I'm currently 6mo pregnant with kid #1. DH is Israeli and we'd like to give the kid an Israeli name (nonbiblical) that works in the US. Because of a suggestion on this blog I think we've settled on Arieh (shortened to Ari), which means "lion". I don't have a good feel for what's popular in Israel right now, so I'm relying on DH's opinion as to what's an "old man's" name versus something that's right for a little boy. It's hard to find good websites on Israeli names (most are biblical and aimed at American Jews, which isn't what we're going for -- Israeli Jews often have a very different outlook on life, as I've discovered). I did find one good one that sorts names by themes and even writes them out in Hebrew, but not by popularity. That would be really cool...

Laneyo - I so identify with you about the international naming thing. we lived in the expat world for a while and I found my name got me labelled Israeli, while my husband Laurence - before people met him, obviously - was assumed to be a French woman! In fact sometimes people would assume that I must be Laurence and he must be Keren.
The names that seemed to cut across cultures were Alex, Isabelle, Max and Anna.
Loved the internatinal lists Laura - Wout on the Belgian list was a name I came across in the Netherlands, usually short for Wouter, and I assumed a Dutch form of Walter. My son's football team (now aged 9) featured a Wout and a (male) Nino, although my favourite name on the team was the tiny but feisty Igor.

moonlady, I've looked for something similar w/o success, so let us know if you find one. I think it's fairly common in American Jewish circles to look for names to represent that heritage, and modern Israeli names are quite popular among kids I know even when neither parent is Israeli themselves. And if you're going to choose one of those names, it would be awfully nice to have a quick way of checking which names are likely to get laughed at by Israeli friends as being odd/inappropriate/out of date.

By the way, I love Arieh/Ari, and it sounds like a perfect choice to me.

Thanks for the nice comments regarding my list.

Jenny L3igh, Bronson is more for Charles Bronson than Bronson Alcott, but if you want to assume the more literary route, be my guest! (BTW, Atticus was in the initial draft for boys, but got cut at the last minute because of the inevitable "Addy" nickname.)

AJ, I didn't think of the Tigris/Tigress connection with the Kung Fu Panda movie. I do like the whole Tiger theme though since both my husband and I were born in the Chinese Year of the Tiger. (Oops, I think I'm giving away my age!) My only concern is that it might be perceived as too sexual, such as "She's a Tiger in bed." Ah well, I'm definitely not having 14 kids so we'll never know!

Keren- from your name, and the fact that you are English, I always pictured you as Keren from Bananarama, not an Israeli man! Kerryn was a variant of the more common Karen when I was a kid- like an earlier version of throwing in a Y to make the name more 'sophisticated' perhaps?
Susan

Leafy,

I'm undecided about which combination flows better. A one-syllable last name is hard to work with when you want 2 middle names. I tend to like balance and symmetry, but that is not really possible here. On one hand, if you choose long, well-flowing first and middle names (generic example Theodora Catherine Elisabeth Leaf) then the first part is balanced, but it comes to an abrupt end with Leaf. On the other hand, if you choose shorter middle names (generic example Theodora June Rose Leaf) the contrast is less obvious but the whole name inevitable sounds a little staccato-like. Between these two options, Theodora Longname Longname Leaf vs Theodora Short Short Leaf, I slightly prefer the first but it may depend on the actual names as well.

Theodora Violet Edith Leaf
Theodora Rose Edith Leaf
Theodora Lily Edith Leaf

Among these, I think I slightly prefer the first. Something about the decreasing number of syllables (4-3-2-1) seem to appeal to my sense of balance and order. Rose and Edith run together as "roseedith", and Lily Edith sort-of do the same, "lileedith". In order for them to not run together I think the stress has to be on the second syllable, but then again that does increase the staccato-ness of the whole name.

Sorry if I've left you utterly confused - it is an interesting challenge :-)

Maybe francophones see Laurence as fem because all the males I've met are Laurent (accent on second syllable). So maybe Laurent is considered the masc form of that name?
Thanks for all the input, esp a francophone's thoughts, Leafy, on the -ier ending of Olivier and Xavier.
Moonlady, I would love to see a list of possibilities of nonbiblical Israeli names, because I cannot think of any.

Lily Edith makes me think of Edith Wharton, which is a nice association. I still prefer Violet, but the addition of Lily has a good literary vibe.

AJ, you can check the top 50 French names here:

http://www.naissance.fr/club/prenom.php

Note that Matteo, Matheo, Mathys, Mathis, Mattias, and Mattieu are ALL in the top 50! So you would be fine using Matteo, but it might not sound as original as you'd like. On that list, Quentin is #28. Tarantino doesn't even cross my mind anymore when I hear that name. Olivier was one we considered, but ultimately decided to toss because he would likely be called Oliver and I much prefer the French in this case. I think Raphael is one to seriously consider, even though it is spelled Rafael in Spanish. It's just wonderful on its own and with X&F!

Very interesting, thank you for doing this, Laura.
However, being married to an Italian, I can't help but notice that the Italian rankings of the names are slightly outdated (they're from 2004).
For your info, this is the most recent official chart (2007):

Girls:

1. Giulia
2. Sofia
3. Martina
4. Sara
5. Chiara
6. Aurora
7. Giorgia
8. Alessia
9. Francesca
10. Alice
11. Elisa
12. Giada
13. Anna
14. Emma
15. Gaia
16. Matilde
17. Elena
18. Beatrice
19. Asia
20. Federica
21. Noemi
22. Arianna
23. Ilaria
24. Rebecca
25. Valentina
26. Marta
27. Vittoria
28. Alessandra
29. Nicole
30. Angelica

Boys:

1. Francesco
2. Alessandro
3. Andrea
4. Matteo
5. Lorenzo
6. Gabriele
7. Mattia
8. Luca
9. Davide
10. Riccardo
11. Simone
12. Marco
13. Federico
14. Giuseppe
15. Tommaso
16. Antonio
17. Leonardo
18. Filippo
19. Alessio
20. Christian
21. Giovanni
22. Cristian
23. Samuele
24. Daniele
25. Pietro
26. Michele
27. Emanuele
28. Edoardo
29. Nicolò
30. Giacomo

I agree that Quentin Tarantino's name is totally dominated by his last name, making me forget that his first is there. Or maybe it's because he's never referred to by his FN, only full, or LN.

New baby alert: twins: Olivia and Gloria. I'm sort of over Olivia (although I still love the name). Love Gloria. I think Gloria helps Olivia out here in that way. I love them together too.

moonlady: I know an American woman who had spent some time in Israel. One of her sons was Ari and the other was Oren.