I hope Jude does stand the test of time; I've liked it since reading Hardy's Jude the Obscure in high school. It took me years to sell dh on Jude and our last baby would have been a Jude if she had been a he. Since my other boys are P@ul and M@rk, I'd like to chose a name that doesn't sound like a suddenly discovered name in comparison with their more under-used classics. As a side note, I also liked Job and consider it similar in feel to Jude but I never hear it mentionned as a naming possiblity.

Alice in Wonderland- Congratulations on Rowan Harris, I love it!

I had an interesting weekend for names. I saw a new play where one of the couples is surprised by a pregnancy the names that come up in the play are Tucker (their friend's baby), Alfie (for the woman's grandfather, her bf is not a fan), and Aidan and Layla suggested by the bf's friend. The play was written by two 30-somethings from MA and I just thought the names were interesting. Wonder how they chose them? The main characters were named Stephanie and Soren (VERY different styles)...

I also mentioned Rosalie to my bf (he knows I'm an ne and I just throw these things out to him on occasion) and he said he prefers Rosemary. He also vetoed Genevieve (he thinks she'll be "Jenny jr" and that I don't actually want that). Then he told me that he refuses to discuss more names with me because he finds one he likes and could use for a future child and then I get tired of it and want a new one:) Apparently we're only allowed to name our children once...

That discussion also made me realize that I should have been a Genevieve!! Has anyone else ever had that thought? I do like Jennifer and I love Jenny, but I could have been a Genevieve, a little more unusual, french origin, and I love it! Oh well:)

Also a question from the Juniper discussion (I also did not know it was a saint, I only thought tree!). How do you say the name Geneva? Just like the place? Jen-EE-va? For some reason I always trip over it when I read it...

Vrfn-I was just joking, there was no need to explain your name. But, since you did, I like your "real" name. It's becoming more popular and sort of fits in with the throwback names to me. Maybe there are just too many other asscociations that have turned you off of it.

Re Annaliese-I like this spelling. Some may not be able to remember though and your dd may have to spell it out a bit.

As far as my top 5-I am way off style from the rest of you that have posted (closest to MellyC). I will repost now.
1) Paige Corinne
2) Samantha Ann
3) Melissa Breanne
4) Rachel Elizabeth
5) Camryn Nicole
6) Brian Donovan
7) Connor Joseph
8) Maxwell Alexander
9) Spencer Christian
10) Jeffery Richard
The boys names stay basically the same but the girls flucuate some.

Re Gabriel:Not really a name in my style category. I can understand the "gay" thing but wouldn't worry about it too much. Kids always find something else.

Re Joan: It is plain but I rather like it for its simplicity. I knew several of these during my school years. Btw, Joan and Theresa are both saints names.

Boys:
1. Frederick
2. Mathias
3. Judah
4. Frederick
5. Frederick :)

Girls:
1. Louisa
2. Frances
3. Anneliese
4. Thea
5. Hmm, probably either Mary, Tessa or Alice, depending on the day

Almost all are family names in some form or other. I am very attached to family names! My girl choices fluctuate a little bit but my boy names haven't really changed in 4 years.

mommajoy - one of my aunts has the middle names Anneliese Ruth, which I think is a perfect combo. Almost any one-syllable middle works - Yael is great, and a little unexpected.

Jenny L3igh - I know what you mean about getting sick of once favorite names. The name Grace fell victim of that.

zoerhenne - definately aware that Joan and Teresa are both saints =) That's what makes Teresa so perfect for us - several great saints actually, cute nickname; I'm just still a little wary of the alliteration with my last name.

Bue - Frederick is nice. Make's me think of the mouse Frederick (in a really good way) in Leo Lionni's book by that name. It celebrates the value of poets!

oh, i meant to say: i had no idea juniper was a saint; it's only a tree to me.

top five:

1. eleanor/nora
2. charlotte
3. lucy
4. gwendolyn
5. juniper

1. julian
2. oliver
3. simon
4. maxwell
5. august

these fluctuate a little, but the first two in both boys and girls are pretty rock solid.

another Laura - I always thought that Job had a really nice sound to it, if you can get past the associations. Though nowadays, Biblical Job aside, I can't hear it without thinking of Will Arnett's character in Arrested Development and getting "The Final Countdown" stuck in my head (though his name was actually Gob, for his initials - George Oscar Bluth).

Anneliese <-- I like this spelling (I think it's the German one?) And I think Anneliese Yael is great.

re Joan: I have an Aunt Joan, so to me this is still dated - I think Jane sounds much fresher.

My top 5 - I've been struggling with this because my top 5 aesthetically are not the top 5 I'd consider for a child. So I guess I'll give separate lists:

Top 5 (Aesthetic):
-Amalia
-Maribel
-Aurora
-Juliet
-Felicity
(with runners-up Gaia, Aurelia, Liesel, Mira)

-James
-Jonathan
-Gabriel
-Theodore
-Nico
(with runners-up Graham, Colin, Arthur)

And then, Top 5 I'm actually considering:
-Maribel
-Juliet
-Lilith
-Victoria
-Claire/Charlotte (tie)

-Thomas (my dad's name)
-James
-Jonathan
-Theodore
-William/Alexander (tie)

The names that didn't make it onto the "considering" list are either because of DH veto or clash with our last name, except for Gabriel, which is out because it's also the name of an ex-boyfriend (though I still love the name!)

also,
i know some people here don't like the idea of giving people names to animals, but i wanted solicit some pet name advice. names for a pair (a dalmatian and a black, tail-less cat, names listed in that order):

oscar and magnus
oscar and axel
ivan and igor
linus and rupert

thoughts? suggestions welcome.

So everyone's mentionning of using family tree names for their children inspired me to look over ours (my cousin did a ton of research a few years back). So I knew my dad's mn is Elias and my grandfather's fn is also Elias. What I didn't know was that my grandfather's grandfather was also named Elias (born 1840). I never felt much interest in searching my family tree for names but with that many generations passing on Elias I feel almost compelled to use it.

zoerhenne, I always love reading your lists because they're so different from everyone else's on here! Keep it up!

My top five, excluding my daughter S@rah Bronwyn and my son P3ter Joseph:

Theresa
Anna
Leah
Rachel
Emily

Brendan
Stephen
Joshua
Daniel
Gabriel

Obviously I'm not concerned with popularity! In fact, I wanted my kids to have fairly popular names since I figured they'd fall a little bit on the social misfit side and having a popular name at least cuts out one potential teasing source (although of course all names can and are wellsprings of teasing).

I love reading all these comments - been lurking (with an occasional guest post) for over a year but Laura's mailing list finally got me to sign up!

There are some wonderful names here, even if some of them wouldn't be my choice, or I don't know how to pronounce them (I'm in the UK).

My top five names have had to change since I met my husband, our surname is W00ds which leaves quite a few options out (think 'Holly' in particular but most plants, flowers, trees and nature names)

Girls:
Bethan
Aurelia
Abigail
Charlotte
Adelaide

Boys:
Alistair
Alexander
Fraser
Nicholas
Peter

My husband and I will argue when we're actually expecting over the middle names - he wants family names, I hate family names as it's either political, or cruel like my mother whose two sisters have absolutely fantastic names (especially as given they were 1950s kids) but my mum was the third child (clearly hoping for a boy) and got stuck with a very plain name with a horrendous surname as her middle name!

nj,
oooh, i forgot about alistair. something on my list may have to be kicked off for alistair. or maybe i'll just cheat and have six...

Oh, I love a good Top Five list! When the subject is names, even better :) Mine change around every so often, though the top few are mainstays.

Boys:
1. Cary
2. Wolfgang
3. Arthur
4. Jude
5. Luca

Girls:
1. Elsa
2. Elke
3. Gretchen
4. Liesl
5. Esme

Yeah, I *really" like Germanic-sounding names, especially for girls. I despise anything too frilly for girls, and for some reason favour "softer" sounding boy names (except of course for Wolfgang, which is a family favourite).

@emilyrae-- I like Linus and Rupert best I think. Ivan and Igor I like a lot as a pair, but they're so similar I think I'd end up calling them by the wrong names.

Hmm, top 5 is hard for me, I usually have 2-3 names I love, and then about 10 more that are so-so.

Boys:
1. Vaughn
2. Simon
3. Rhys
4. Marshall
5. Bennett? Oliver? James? Undecided...

Girls:
1. Eleanor
2. Penelope
3. Margaret
4. Louisa
5. Clara? Annemarie? Josephine? ...

Hubby doesn't like Margaret or Louisa though, don't think I'd ever get to use them.

Elizabeth T-Thank you and may I say I like your lsit as well! I refuse to get out of the seventies hence my favs reflect that. Oh and I forgot Miranda so I ,like emilyrae, may have 6.
Speaking of fictional children, I was playing name games on Nameberry.com all weekend becaue of the snow. If anyone else is otherwise housebound you may enjoy it.

another Laura-I figured you knew that but with regard to the Juniper situation and the wording of your post, I thought I would point them out.

emilyrae-I am one of those that prefers "trait" names on animals/pets. However, given that I wouldn't use any of those names you mentioned in real life it's easier to see them on a pet. My pick is: Magnus for the cat but I'm not sure for the dog. It seems a Dalmation needs a stronger name than Oscar and Linus and Ivan seems TOO strong. Maybe Axel for him? I'll think more and let you know of anything else.

On a side note, I was watching Sound of Music last night (not a football family) and I had trouble remembering all the girls' names. Now mind you I've seen this movie like 100 times and KNOW them but I kept thinking Leisel was Louisa. So my point is that don't you think those two names are a bit too similar?
(SOM names: Leisel, Brigitta, Louisa, Marta, Gretel, and boys Frederic, and Kurt)

anne with an e,
thanks! just to clarify, i am pronouncing the /i/ in ivan and igor differently (even though i think they are the same in russia). but i say eye-vin and ee-gor. but even so, they are quite similar.

zoerhenne,
thanks! yes, i deliberately try to pick people names that relatively few people will use (and no one in my circle would remotely consider). i don't want to name my dog max or ben or lucy and then make a friend or family member feel like they were denied a name. so i try to be thoughtful in how i go about it. axel might be good on a dalmatian; it's strong and quirky. hmm...i can already tell i'm going to put WAY too much thought into this.

and you're right! liesl and louisa are quite similar.

GIRLS:
Nora
Cecilia
Eloise (DH and I loved this one but didn't want an "Elly")
Violet (but got scared off bc of its trendiness)
Desta (We have been doing our research on Ethiopian names bc we are adopting a toddler this year - Desta means "joy" in Ahmharic and I think that's just lovely.)

BOYS: (Warning, I'm on an O kick)
Leo
Arlo
Theo (obviously I'd never use all three of those... but I haven't picked a favorite of the three yet)
Cortland (nn Cort, family name)

EDIT: The language in Ethiopia is Amharic... I had a typo in my previous post.

Oh! I forgot Adeline! That needs to be on the list - it's absolutely a favorite. :) But like Eloise nn Elly, we didn't use it bc we didn't want an Addy.

It's funny to me that the other nine girl names on the Swedish Bureau Statistics baby names of 2009 all ended with "a." With the name Alice being the only outlier, I wouldn't think that it would make it to first place.

Thanks for all the feedback! I am really liking Anneliese Yael but part of me wants to save Yael for a first name.

Yes, Anneliese is the German spelling. That bothers me a bit but that is the spelling my hubby likes.

Someone (sorry, I can't fine who right not) mentioned that if I use Nurit as a middle name when already have a Lirit I woud feel I would have to match it up later. Good point, but I already have three girls with various middle names so that probably won't be a problem.

So four girls in the family with two of them having similar middle names. Does it still seem weird to you?

As I read these lists I can't help but wonder where everyone is. It makes a big difference when getting name advice. LOL!

I am in the central US.

Lilliputian, although it's not in style, I like the name Maude too. I also like the names Agnes and Gladys. Although if others think Alice is too old-fashioned, I'd hate to think what they would say about these names!

Random names spotted recently:

Two sibsets (overheard in waiting rm at gymnastics):
*Alistair, Clara, Chloe
*Matthew, Amelia, Brian

Girls in my daughter's gymnastics class:
*Katherine, Louise, Raina, Savannah, Tabitha (not sure on all these spellings--and this was only about half the class; will see if I can get the rest)

Kids in her swimming class:
*Indira, Jack

As for my top 5s, I'm inordinately picky when actually selecting names so I'm not sure I'd use these, plus some don't work with our ln and others my husband would hate.

Girls:
*Solveig
*Petra
*Maud
*Beatrix
*Elspeth

Boys:
*Gustav
*Abraham
*Solomon
*Malcolm
*Hugo

Self Proclaimed Greer-Agnes and Gladys would be in MY definitely NO category but as said above I am not a big fan of throwback names. In looking through my genealogy today, I also have to add to that list Viola, Mildred, and Gertrude. I also have an Ethel, Edith, Bertha, Ruth and Vera. So many of these names are ones we've been mentioning lately. Interestingly enough even though in the same generation I don't feel the same way about Dorothy and Helen. I'm not sure I would ever use them but they don't feel as dowdy as the others to me.

Oh gosh, I never tire of listing favorites and hearing other people's!

Favorite girls:

Phoebe
Nell
Dilys
Eliza
Sibyl

But I also go for wild anachronisms, like "Phrisdewith", or "Mehitabel", although I wouldn't use in real life...

Favorite boys:

Barnaby
Tarquin
Peter/Piers
Noel
Gower (obscure very old Welsh name-- rhymes with power)

Isn't it hard to restrict yourself to just five?
I guess like other people have said, I have revolving lists in my head, but those listed above stay pretty firmly in the top ten or twenty at any given time...

I just started volunteering for Meals on Wheels and am looking forward to encountering vintage names, especially since many of those served are in the 90-plus age category.

I can't remember if the general feeling is that names of that vintage are just coming back into fashion, or if they need to be 100 to be truly "re-discovered" by new parents... At any event, they are a delightful population to encounter, whatever their monikers!

@Mommajoy – I really like Anneliese Yael. It sounds delicious. But I’m conflicted because, as a HUGE Princess Bride fan, I’m also really liking Nurit. I say either would be a great choice and I don’t see an issue with Nurit and Lirit being matchy middle names.

@emilyrae – I like Ivan and Igor best. So cute. I think Igor fits a tailless cat perfectly!

Top 5 - this is harder than I thought it would be. My favorite lists are pretty fluid and changeable (not just names, colors, foods and songs too…)

Boys:
Lincoln
Oliver
Vaughn
Lennon
Mateo

Girls:
Marcail
Gienna (nn: Gigi)
Astrid
Cordelia
Penelope (nn Poppy)

Miriam: Yes, I do know that Callisto/Kallisto was a nymph. (It's actually on my girl list too, but usually relegated to middle name status there.) I believe Hera turned her into a bear when she was discovered to be pregnant, and that she subsequently became the Great Bear constellation, Ursa Major. The name was also an ancient Greek personal name, meaning "most beautiful."

But Callisto is also an Italian name used for males (variation is Calixtus). This was the name of three popes (also known as Callixtus), including the 3rd-century Callistus I who is regarded as a saint.

I think, although I love the constellation connection and I love she-bears (and the name Ursula!) that I prefer it just slightly for a boy because it is further removed from the mythological story, which isn't a happy one for Callisto.

Ok, I'm behind, but first--congratulations on Rowan H@rris!! A wonderful name for a wonderful young fellow I'm sure!! :)

Re: Maud/Maude--I like both spellings, and although I agree that this name could be properly grouped with Agnes and Gladys, I think Maud/e is much nicer, personally. The primary pop culture association with it that I have is Harold and Maude, and that probably lends to its hipness as much as anything else. Another place I've seen Maud lately is on the lovely blog of designmom.com--she has four other children named Ralph, Olive, Betty, and Oscar, and another on the way! I love her kids' names, and I'm looking forward to hearing the next one.

Anna S.--thanks for the comment on St. Juniper. I agree that Juniper is the "name" of the saint in the minds of English speakers, because that's how it's been translated--so sure, we call him St. Juniper. I guess what I'm trying to get at is that the translation of a clearly masculine name and noun (Ginepro, Junipero) from another language into a genderless noun in English does not render the genderless English noun into a masculine name. So, if I wanted to name my daughter Juniper, I wouldn't feel particularly hindered by the existence of a male St. Juniper, since that wasn't *really* his name, but just our imperfect translation of it.

Ok, and for top 5s--it's too hard for me to pick just 5 and stick to it, so I'm just going to go with the first that come to mind as favorites, including ones we can't use for various reasons:

Ivy
Hyacinth
Holly
Sylvia
Rosalind

Silas
Rowan
Oliver
August
Solomon

It's almost painful to write these as my "top 5s" because they leave off so many really beloved names, but I'll stick with that for now.

Fascinating to see these lists. I also think Annaliese Yael is great but can see why you might want to save Yael for future use. I think Ruth would work well as a middle name here too.

It is really challenging to pin down just five names. I will have to do two lists as well. First list is names I LOVE but can't use for various reasons (husband dislikes/ too popular/ too similar to close family members etc)

Girls:
Giselle
Indira
Isis
Verity
Freya/Celeste/Esme (I said it was hard to pick just five!!)

Boys:
Seth
Jarvis/Jasper
Zachariah
Kees (Dutch name pronounced 'case')
Matteo/Nico/Arlo/Milo

In real life, we have two daughters Kezi@ J@smine & X@nthe H@zel and are expecting our third baby - gender unknown. As you can see I love those 'z' sounds but won't be using any more as I don't want to get stuck in a theme. The list of favourites for this baby that are definite possiblilties (ie. husband isn't opposed to) are:

Girls:
Allegra
Aurelia
Esther

Boys:
Vincent
Nathanael
Leander
Jonas

I might be back in the future for some feedback on these names as we are very strict keepers IRL. Never had any feedback for the first two girls but finding choosing name #3 difficult.

EO,
I love "Gower." Unusable for me, because of nearby neighborhood "Gower Gulch" and Gower street, but a wonderful name. And Dilys - intriguing! How would you pronounce it?

Quen,
I love your choices - they could have been mine, had I been in a different mood when I wrote my list! I didn't use Cordelia because it is the name of my daughter, but it's my absolute favorite. Penelope and Astrid are also just beautiful. I have Ginevra on my longer list (similar to Gienna). I only recently discovered Marcail because of this board, but I think it's great!

emilyrae, almost forgot! I like all your choices, but I think I like Ivan and Igor most, followed closely by Linus and Rupert. The Oscar pairs are both cute (although I think Axel is my least fave for a cat--it seems too butch, I think), but I think the other two sets have more character. I think Ivan and Igor are the cutest pair--I especially love Igor for the tailless cat--but I might give Linus the edge for the dog name, since the dalmations I've known have been pretty sweet and silly, and Linus seems like an adorable fit for that.

SP,
I love that you used X@nthe! I really like the name - beautiful sound and meaning. It's been on my list but I think it won't do, ultimately (name conflicts). And I think a little Aurelia fits in very well with a X@nthe and and a Kezi@.

Of your boy list, I like Nathanael best but Vincent is very appealing and, to my ears, a better match.

Qwen- I really like your lists! My best friends 5 yo son is Mateo and it suits him perfectly and is super-cute! I've loved the name Cordelia as well ever since reading King Lear in high school. The name sounds so beautiful and royal.

mommajoy- though i too love the sound of Anneliese Yael, if you love Yael than i might save it for a future daughter (if you are considering having more children). We almost named our youngest son Levi Gideon because i love the name Gideon but we decided to go with Levi Samuel and save Gideon for a possible future son because I love the name so much.

also, Miriam, i was wondering if you might answer a question of mine. If we are considering using the mn Ruth for our daughter, and my hebrew name is Rivka but it is technically after a deceased relative with the name Ruth, than is it not "kosher" to use Ruth because i'm indirectly naming her after myself? i'd go ask my mother but we're trying to keep names quiet until we agree on something concrete.

Was your deceased relative's Hebrew name Rut (resh vov tuf), that is, the name of David's ancestress and the source of the English Ruth, or was her Hebrew name Rivka and Ruth merely her English name? Rut and Rivka are obviously two entirely different names. If your name is Rivka, and you name your daughter Rut, it doesn't matter what your deceased relative's name was, you will not be naming your daughter after yourself. Also this naming after the deceased and not the living is not halachic (according to law); it's only an Ashkenazic minhag (custom, tradition), albeit one that is dearly held and scrupulously adhered to even by those who have no problem with McDonald's bacon cheeseburgers. Sephardim have a different minhag. They name after the living, and even have juniors. If you don't want to consult your mother, you can always go to one of those online "ask a rabbi" sites and get an expert opinion or indeed ask your own local rabbi.

@Eleni and Becky - Thanks. I actually really liked both of your lists as well. I guess we've got similar styles.

And a special thanks to Eleni as I still glow with excitement anytime someone compliments Marcail. My parents are finally starting to come around but it's still nice to hear from people who really like it as opposed to, "It's growing on me."

I hope that Alice doesn't become too popular. It's a great name, I'm so sick of the frilly super girly names.

@mommajoy - I really like Anneliese, especially with Yael as a middle name. I think Anneliese is a bit underused in many places. I also like that spelling.

@SP - I love your kids names! Especially Xanthe Hazel :) Of your contenders list I think I like Aurelia and Vincent the best, but they are all nice.

Top 5 - nice to see so much variation in the lists. There are a few names that pop up regularly but not as many as I thought there would be. It is hard to limit to 5 though :(

I think my girls list is fairly stable but my boys list changes a bit.

Girls:

Cordelia
Astrid
Clementine
Juliet
Boronia

Boys:
Alasdair
Soren
August
Hugo
Vaughn

I agree that it is interesting to see so much variation in the lists. I do like Vaughn and a few of the girls names I've seen I could get used to as well.

emilyrae-hyz and others have swayed me. Can I change my vote from Axel to Igor? Other ideas for the dalmation:
Roman
Hans
Bartholomew (actually for the cat w Mew as nn)
Valentino
Waldo
Zeke
Rueben/Rubin
Griffin (which I actually like but dh wouldn't)
Donatello
Gunnar
Percy
Napolean
Clarence
Arvid
Boris

I'm happy to see Vaughn on so many lists! :)

Miriam- thanks for the info. I will have to look into it more and will eventually ask my family, the question was just on my mind at the moment so i asked here first.

zoerhenne- love your list of pet names! when my dh was growing up he had a dog named Leonardo, after his favorite comic book character, the teenage mutant ninja turtles, and then when we met in college he had gotten another dog named Raphael after another TMNT, so when we got married and got a cat we named her Donatella (also after a TMNT). I think eventually we'll have to get another pet and name it Michaelangelo, after the final TMNT, and its funny bc my dh and sons still love that cartoon. Also, i love the idea of naming a cat Bartholomew and calling it Mew, so cute!

Hyz - in plain English, any specific gender assignment to Juniper was lost in translation - I agree with that. The vast excess of girl-Junipers vs boy-Junipers renders the gender appropriation a fait accompli. Those in the girl-Junipers camp do not have exclusive rights, though, they'll have to share if someone pulls the Saint card. Happy coexistence of equal rights?

Jenny L3igh - I pronounce Geneva as /je'NEE-vah/ with the /n/ strictly on the second syllable.

Maud/Maude - to me, the final /e/ makes an infinitesimal change in pronunciation. Maud is 1-syllabic ending in a stopping /d/. Maude is 1.02-syllabic ending in a very, very, very soft /-de/. It is the same principle as Isabel vs Isabelle and Juliet vs Juliette although probably even more faint.

Anna S., I can agree with that! (except maybe the use of the phrase "girl appropriation"--I'm trying to say it doesn't look like appropriation to me here, but I wouldn't have any problem with a boy Juniper, especially if his parents cited the saint as inspiration!) Ok, I'm done beating the dead horse, lol. :)

hyz,
hmm...yes, i see your points. perhaps axel is a little too tough sounding. i used to think axel was way too overtly masculine until i learned that it was a form of absalom. now it has less of that vibe to me.
i like to have the two names go together a little bit, though they don't need to be theme-y. for example, both oscar/magnus and oscar/axel are scandanavia-esque, and ivan/igor is russian-y. linus and rupert don't share common roots, but they both seem quirky (and from some points of view, i am sure, rather dorky/stuffy).

to everyone who said that igor was good for a cat without a tail, ha! that never occured to me--thanks!

i really like magnus for the cat as well, but it doesn't roll of the tongue for me very well, which i feel is important for pets (less so for people--in my opinion).

zoerhenne,
GOOD suggestions! i might have to rethink everything. hans is interesting to me because i had considered a germany sort of vibe. like fritz/otto or fritz/hans or something. i probably wouldn't use hans though because it is the name of a friend's ex-husband and i don't think she'd appreciate it. bartholomew is particularly clever! i actually like a lot of your suggestions. hmm. i can already tell i'm taking this way too seriously.

thanks everyone for being such a good sport! i know this is much less important than naming children, but as i have no children, i must make the most of what i have!

emilyrae- i love Fritz on a cat or dog! It kind of reminds me of the word frisky and i know our pets are definitely frisky!

@emilyrae--for no particular reason, Murphy is coming to mind as a name to group with Fritz. I really can't tell you why!

And, upon further reflection, Sophie would definitely be on my girls' list if it wasn't so popular. I find it very charming and sweet. Unless I wait 17 years to have a 2nd child, don't think it's gonna work out though...

emilyrae: I like both Ivan and Igor, and Linus and Rupert!! :)

Anneliese: I love this name. I knew an Anneliese in college and thought it gorgeous. I was so upset when she chose to go by Lisa instead (with that gorgeous name!)

My 5 lists (currently-- and not all of them I can use):

Vaughn
Lexington (nn Lex)
Soren
Grant
Taran

Vienna
Daphne
Kallista
Tatiana
Gretchen

I had a dog named Fritz-- he was the best!! Actually, his full name was Fritzgerald Karn Keesh (pure bred, mn is his mom's last name) :)

I don't know if I can come up with 5 names I'd actually want to use, but last name and other considerations aside, here's a list:

Ursula
Anya
Clara
Olivia (too popular)
Mathilda (too trendy...Tilda for short)

Simon
Elliot
Everett
Nathaniel (too popular)
Felix (couldn't use, but really kind of like)

Oh, also names I LOVE but could never use because they're too far from my own background/culture:

Satya
Tova
Paloma