regarding samantha,
i personally don't feel that the name will suffer from sex and the city, but then again, i don't watch the show and i had no idea that kim cattrall wrote a book (also not 100% sure who kim cattrall is, though i'm assuming at this point that she is the actress that plays samantha). basically, i just feel like samantha is too common and well-liked to be much affected by one tv character. it was #11 in 2008 (up from #12 in 2007, incidentally). if kim cattrall's character was named something unusual, something that was likely to be associated only with her character like...ione or philomena or something, then i could see parents shying away from it, as an uncommon name would be very strongly tied to her. for example, right now (for me at least), the names edward and jacob don't make me think of twilight, but hermione is almost exclusively hermione granger. so i can't really see satc as a major contributing factor to samantha's popularity.

I was a little sad when I saw Harper on the list since that is my daughter's name.

I live in Los Angeles and hear Eleanor A LOT. I can thinknof at least 3 friends who have used the name in the last year. We also know a couple of Henrys, a Ruby, a Lucy, and a George.

I am originally from Utah and have been hearing a lot of E names lately. In addition to Eleanor, I have heard several Edens and Elizas.

Beth the orig, Still reading comments, but have to jump in and say how much I've missed your humor... Fromage-Bleu...love

emilyrae-I agree with your take on Samantha. There are many other characters out there besides the SITC one. Presonally I think of "Bewitched" and didn't remember "Who's the Boss". Someone upthread also mentioned Sweet Valley High books and then there was also the American Girl doll. It was 5 yrs ago when my dd was born but I've always loved the name. That one and Jessica, love them but they didn't fit irl.

Btw, I am analyzing the 2007 Top 1000 lists (just for fun) to note the interesting trends. Just on a rough glance, it seems like the current group of girls names we are picking from is at about 250-350 on that list but the boys range is from about 200-400. Does casting a wider or narrower net result in more/less movement up the charts?

I completely agree with emilyrae about the name Samantha. I doubt the SATC character has had any influence on the name at all, though if it has had any influence, I would guess that it has made the name MORE popular, not less.

Thanks for all the feedback on Zelda and the other names I mentioned... I'll keep it in mind. If anyone has more to add, I'm still listening!

I keep thinking that Zelda, Clementine, and Beatrix would make a great sibset... If only I had three girls to name!

My boys list right now is limited to the following:

Clement
Bruno
Augustine
Oscar
Jasper
Sebastian
Frederick
Oliver

Although I was very upset about the movie Bruno coming out, after I had had a "crush" on that name for a long time. It makes me hesitant to use it in real life.

Interesting name in my daughter's school newsletter:

Season

I don't know if the child is a girl or boy, just that they're 11 years old. Though I just looked the name up online and it's listed as a girl's name.

As all the commenters have noted, there are indeed lots of Samanthas, including many with very positive images such as the "Bewitched" character, the "Who's the Boss" character, and the American Girl doll.

My view is undoubtedly skewed by the fact that I have two teenage daughters, and this show looms large in teen pop culture -- I have heard friends of theirs refer to someone as "a Samantha type".

I stand my ground on Marilyn, though!

British American, there was an actress named Season Hubley over here who had her heyday in the 1970s. She was once married to Kurt Russell, and they have a son together, Boston.

I did wonder about Mackenzie when I heard about poor Ms. Phillips's revelations this week. That story is so horrifying that it might just cause parents to shy away from the name, at least for a few months. But then again, maybe people who aren't tuned into the news will hear the name and remember that they like the name. It will be interesting to see if the name starts to fall in the next two years.

just read about mackenzie phillips. yikes... i would imagine that would keep people away from the name, but at the same time, i would have thought murdered children would keep people away from a name as well...

clementine,
i like all your boys names!
particularly

bruno
augustine
oscar
jasper
sebastian
oliver

...okay, that's almost all of them. :] i also really like frederick. i don't dislike clement, i just don't like it as much as the others. it is too bad about that bruno movie, as it doesn't look like the nicest association (though i haven't seen the movie). however, maybe it isn't the end of the world? by the time your child would be of school age, i'm guessing most people will have forgotten it (and none of the kids will know about it).
and i'm glad we could all be of some use for zelda. i think the bottom line is that yes, some people might think of the video game, but it's up to you whether that matters or not.

It's ironic; I remember reading something in a baby name book back in the '90s about how other "Mac" and "Mc" names like McKenna started to get popular after Mackenzie Phillips became well-known for "One Day At a Time".

My husband knew a couple who named their daughter McDuff!

Regarding one syllable middle names such as Claire and Jane, I prefer them as first names. As many of you know, if my new baby is a girl her first name will be Claire. Jane was a close contender. Kate and Anne are nice as well.

British American - I went to fourth grade with a girl named Season, born around 1978. I liked the name so much that when I entered 9th grade french class at a different school my french name was Saison.

Allegr@ -- thanks! I'm taking care of my sick mom just now, so not able to read or post much, but your comment made me all warm and fuzzy.

Thanks zoerhenne for replying to my middle name problem (guest 85). It's funny you suggested Amanda Faith because my name is Amanda. The one thing I worry about with a middle name is whether or not to use a one syllable with a one syllable last name. Does that sound too choppy? Btw our boy name was Jasper. I picked it out 2 years ago and was devastated when I watched 101 Dalmations...bad guys, Jasper and Horace! And then the Twilight reference. We still would have used it anyways because we both loved on it. We have been butting heads over girl names for years. Now we have to get serious over the next 3 months.

Baby name alert: Gwendolyn DuBo!se born to my husband's co-worker. I love it!

Clementine, I like your boys names too! I must say I also like Bruno (although probably wouldn't ever use it). I think the movie Bruno has definitely ruined it for a good 5-10 years. Anyone who has seen the movie will know why. I think it is usable as a middle name though.

I love Clement though, probably because I also have a huge Clementine crush. There are a few names I like both the boy and girl versions of.

@Amy3 Gwendolyn DuBo!se is very cute! I don't like Gwendolyn shortened to Gwen but a lovely use of Gwendolyn there.

@meppie, I also prefer names like Claire and Jane as first names. I love Rose as a first name but don't care for it as a middle at all. I have a 1 syllable married surname so think that most 1 syllable first names sound silly with it so wouldn't pick them but there are plenty of people out there with 1 syllable -1 syllable names who get by quite fine!

Did anyone else see that Ellen Pompeo (from Grey's Anatomy) and her husband named their new daughter Stella Luna? Stella Luna!!

Add me to the appreciators of "Rose" as a first, but not as a forgettable second, name.

Random name-spotting: Just stumbled on the fact that one of the Twitter inventors is named "Biz Stone". And what do you suppose "Biz" is a nickname for? "Isaac"!

I can see that--- that is one of those ingenious (sp?) nicknames that relates to the formal name but is unexpected. Gives another option to parents not fond of "Ike"...

Biz for Isaac sort of reminds me of Charles Dickens' famous use of "Boz" for "Moses".

About a million years ago there was a laundry detergent or additive or something called Biz, but that wouldn't put me off-- the word has a kind of joyful, naive and explosive energy.

Eleanor was the name for baby girls in north London when my daughter was born in 1996. Parents were fighting over it! Now she's at school with lots of Ellies and Eleanors.But it seems to have fallen out of fashion a bit for new babies.

Valerie - It's A-MAH-lia.

There are many little Eleanors here in the Northeast and I have heard nothing but praise for the name. Most of them go by Ellie. We have two at our church.

@ Clementine: From your list, aside from Bruno because of the movie, Oscar might be a little troublesome when he's Sesame Street age (Oscar the Grouch) and around the time time Academy Awards are on. I do like Oscar a lot, but would be a little hesitant to use it. Oliver is my absolute favorite from your list (it's one of my favorite boy's names) and I also like Jasper, Fredrick and Sebastian (it's the name of the lobster in The Little Mermaid which might or might not be an issue). But in the long run, I don't think that any of these things make a difference and are all lovely names.

Aidansmom-You're welcome! I am not sure about the 1 syl/1 syl thing. I think I tried to pick 2 syl/2 syl names for you because that's what you seemed to prefer. My ds has a 2-2-2 and that works. My dd has 3-2-2 which also works. I tend to prefer the 1 syl names in the middle spot but it depends on the name and all the other components.

meppie-Claire is so beautiful. I know you liked my suggestion of Virginia for a MN. What however did you ultimately decide on?

Philippa is on our short list! With the nn Pippa it's very close to Piper.

Also re: Eleanor -- I know one baby, and it was on our list for DD (4yo). However, I wouldn't choose it now because it's "too popular" ;). I put it in a broad category of names with Ella/Bella/Ellie nicknames, all becoming more popular (Isabel, Elliana, Annabelle, Isabella, Arabella).

Ooh, I LOVE Philippa!!

And it's uncommon, but not "weird". Romantic and English.

Some English Philippas go by Flip.

does anyone know how to pronounce Clothilde?
(or anything about the name?)

I haven't had time to read the comments, but I must nominate MAYA for the list. The is the second year in a row that my daughter has had 2 MAYAS in her class.

And they are not the same Mayas.

@ Tirzah: I would agree on Maya, I know two Maya's, a Maia and an Maja all within a year of me and at least two of them (Maya and Maia, same grade at the same school) were born in my area which already had Lilas, Violets, Miles's, Eli's, etc. 10-15 years ago, so I think we're pretty trendy and if there were so many already... And there was a show on (maybe still is on) Maya and Miguel.

@ emilyrae: I would pronounce it Clot-ILD (but with a sort of almost there h and e sound, sort of how I would pronounce it in French) but I'm not sure sorry.

I couldn't beleive that Ellen Pompeo named her daughter Stella Luna either. StellaLuna is a name of popular children's book about a fruit bat that is seperated from it's mother and temporarily raised by a bird. Maybe this was the last book she read?

Zelda Celeste - Gorgeous name. I'm one of those people who'd love to see more living Zeldas in the world, finding it a daring, unconventional, spunky, fun-loving choice that's a definite throwback to all of the Isabellas, Emmas and Sophias I keep running in to. However, Celeste is also a character from a classic video game, Final Fantasy 6. However, only serious video-gamers (and then only those who've played the older games) may make that connection. I would guess that most of the rising generation of gamers wouldn't.

Just because I feel like sharing, the main characters from the video game Dragon Quest 8 are: (main hero whom the player names), Yangus, Jessica and Angelo. It's fun to see what English/Western names pop up repeatedly in Japanese games, since this is the second Jessica I've seen (the other Jessica being from Lunar SSSC). Or am I wrong in assuming that the Japanese choose those names and not the translators?

Clementine - I love your names! Good luck in finding the right girl's name: I'm in support of you using Zelda, though I haven't looked at your MN choices enough for me to suggest one over the others. As for your boy names, I like Clement and Oscar the best. Also, if you really like Bruno, go for it. The movie connection will fade away given a year or two, with no harm done to you or your child. As A Rose said, you can't really go wrong with those names. All of them are fine choices.

Guest #188 - Thank you for saying that! When a name "starts going to the girl's side," It isn't fair to only blame the mothers who use unisex names on girls. The mothers who drop their favorite boys names add to the problem, too. So I'm also happy to see Rowan listed on the boy's side of Laura's list.

emilyrae, from my limited knowledge of French, I believe Clothilde is pronounced clo-TEELD, "clo" rhyming with "oh." I've actually always loved this name, along with French names such as Solange, Oceane, Manon, etc, but I shy away from actually using them because of pronunciation issues.

thanks very much to a. rose and clementine for their imput on clothilde. my guess was klo-til-da, because i think we pronounce mathilde like matilda?

but the reason i asked in the first place was all this talk about the name zelda made me curious about what zelda sayre fitzgerald's siblings were called. firstly, her mother's name was minerva (called "minnie"). zelda was the youngest of six siblings:

marjorie
daniel (died when 18 mo. old)
rosalind
clothilde
anthony jr.
zelda

i just thought it was an interesting set of names. from what i can remember from french class (it's been awhile), i would guess klo-TEELD as well, but i didn't know if we used an anglicized pronunciation, as we do with mathilde (i think). clothilde is also a saint's name.

Oh, but being named Stella Luna after a fruit bat is pretty cute. A fruit bat! Even saying it makes me smile. We called my daughter The Bat when she was in utero.

Rose is much prettier as a first name. I know a little Rosa and it's darling on her. I also like Rosamonde, but Roseanne is going to have to wait till the Toto song "Rosanna" and the celeb have faded from memory. Or maybe they have? Citing Toto dates me terribly.

Clothilde is very pretty when said, but not pretty to look at I'm afraid. "Clot" just stops me dead.

A Rose, I am curious: is the reference for your screen name Gertrude Stein's "a rose is a rose is a rose," or Shakespeare's "A rose by any other name"?

Eek, all the Eleanor sightings are making me nervous!! I still have yet to hear of one in Arizona though...keeping my fingers crossed!

@emilyrae: Zelda and her sibs make me think a bit of my great grandpa and his sibs:

Stephen
Lawrence
Joseph
Barney
Esther
Zella

Zella always seemed a bit out of place to me. Granted that Zelda Fitzgerald had the slightly exotic Clothilde as a sister, but Zelda still stands out to me.

love the saints names

Peregrine
Ignatius

how about

Gerard
Bernard
Basil
Cyril
Ambrose
Anselm
Casimir
Stanislaus
Exupery

oh and Florian

I also agree that Eleanor and Maya/Maia are 2 up and coming names. I know of 2 each born in the last year. Still, both are very pretty names and I hope the *chance* of popularity wouldn't deter parents from using them.

I also wouldn't worry about Rowan becoming a girl's name. The name fell for girl's in 2008 and is still on the rise for boys. And as it's been mentioned, as long as parents keep using a name on their baby boys, it won't get stolen by the girls. I do wonder what made Laura choose Rowan over Roman for her list. They are so similar and Roman is currently more popular.

@ Beth the original: Neither, my first initial is A and my middle name is Rose. Both of those influenced it over something else (mostly Shakespeare's) but mainly it's because it's my name.

@ Anne with an E: I was reminded of my great grandma and her sibs when I read your list.
Annie
Ettie
Charlie
Gladys (my great grandma)
Elsie

I always thought it was odd how all of her siblings went by nn's but Gladys didn't.

Vera + Madeleine, not todays kind of sibset to me. Vera should go with somehting like Hazel. Madeleine should go with Abigail or along those lines. What do you all think?

Lorien, congratulations on Kai joining your family!

My sister-in-law out West has a Kai. He is half-Japanese. They chose the name because it has positive meanings in many languages, including Japanese of course. It is truly an international name.

She had never met a Kai before she had him, but since then, she has run into quite a few little boys named Kai out there. Here in the Northeast, I have not met any at all.

I think Zelda says videogame first and foremost. I am partial to Zella, another traditional German name that makes less of a splash because of it's similarity to Ella.

My co-worker is married to a Season. She looks to be in her mid 20's.

I haven't thought about the game Kings Quest in years and years! I remember drawing my own maps on graph paper lo those many years ago. I believe I got through I-IV before I left for college.

I recently heard the SciFi auther Orson Scott Card being interviewed regarding his 1985 book Ender's Game. It made me wonder if there are any little boys named Ender. Also, it make me think twice about the name Orson.

"..I believe Clothilde is pronounced clo-TEELD, "clo" rhyming with "oh" - Clementine233"

The /o/ is more flat than 'oh' like in 'oh?!' (if that was what you meant). /clo/ rhymes with eau (French water).

Zelda - I have a vague memory of having heard the name in connection to a video game (Boulder Dash was always my favourite...), but mostly I think of 'aunt Hilda and Zelda'. I wouldn't have a problem taking it seriously - it's just as legitimate a name as Marmaduke, just to mention something random.

Kai Augustine Long-Soon Dietrich - that's a 14 on my 0-10 coolness scale.

Wow, so many threads, I can't even begin to comment. One question for you all before a new blog entry goes up- I am completely in love with the name Morrison for a boy. It works for me on so many levels:
1. we need an "M" name
2. When my DH was trying to figure out if I was "The One" Jim Morrison's song Mojo Rising came on the radio and he took it as sign that yes, Jim Morrison approves of me. LOL
3. Therefore, a very cool rock n roll name like Hendrix, etc.
4. I love the nickname possibilities: Maury, Mo. So cute for a little boy.

Now, the dilemma- My last name sounds like Byderman. Morrison Byderman. Do you hear the bad flow that I do?

Kim in Philly-Cool story for a child that would get that name. No bad connections pers se since you kind of LIKE Jim Morrison. I'm not particularly fond of surnames as FN's, however it's shortened form of Morris is worse for me. It makes me think of the cat in the (old) Friskies commercial. I DO NOT think it flows well either as you've noticed. So of course, the ultimate decision must be yours, but I've come up with some alternates.
Mitchell
Maynard
Montgomery*(my fav for you)
Maxwell/Maxfield
Macallister/Mackenzie
Maclean
Millard/Milford/Milton
Monroe
Maurice is a French version of Morris according to Namipedia so that may work too.
Best wishes on finding what's right for you.

hyz @122:"From the top 20, I pick:
Chloe Elizabeth"

I was pleased to see your nod to Chloe. We're awaiting the birth of granddaughter Chloe Jane in January.

I hadn't known much about the history of the name Chloe, did some rather intensive research (typical NE!), and added my findings to Namipedia. Our Chloe's surname is a very common English name, and I found references to 18th century women with her exact name Chloe _____. I love the image of a little Colonial American Chloe Jane.

zoerhenne-
I do like Montgomery; it's on the list. It's a little lengthy though. I also like Marshall and Malcolm.

With a last name ending in -man, can I not use any name ending in an "n"? Will all they all cause the same flow problem or is the same amount of syllables that causes the problem?

Kim in Philly, we are in a similar predicament. Our last name ends in "M" and there are some names ending in M and N that we are hesitant to use. We also have an "sh" in the middle of our last name, so first names with that sound can be awkward as well. I try saying the first and last name together 5 times in row to see how well they flow and if I stumble while saying it. Some names work, others don't.

DH's name is Alan, so I think it's more of the 3 syllable ending in an n being the problem and not the n itself.