Whimsical names

Thank you so much for all of the replies. It has actually helped me. It 'appears' to me, that the actual names that are 'whimsical' is subjective to the specific person and their taste. A name might be unexpected, fresh, & romantic for one OR the same name could appear as dated,negative, unpleasant & heavy to another ! It seems like it truly is relative to the person & their taste
Thank you for all of your answers

RE: dated names
I wouldn't worry about Holly being dated. I only think of names being dated when it's from a much older generation i.e. from the 1950 working backwards. Dated names to me are Maude, Judith,Gladys,Dorothy etc

Hey, I just read the end of the previous thread in which previous poster KRC surfaced and announced her baby's name, "Hugo Thomas". Congrats, KRC.

What fun that we're getting some of our posters from a few years back writing in again!

I think Hugo is a brilliant choice, even though I can well imagine you are getting mixed reactions to it, especially if you don't live in Britain. It's another one of those lesser-used traditionals that has become quite fashionable in Britain, and not much seen yet here in North America...

emilyrae, I don't live in a "hip" naming area at all! I'm going by my infamous intuitive "feel" for what the stylish gangs are now pouncing on-- and the fact that they've pounced just reduces the whimsicality quotient. "Clementine" isn't that good of an example, granted.

I hesitate to give too many other examples for the usual reason-- fear of inadvertently bruising the feelings of passionate adherents or givers of any particular name-- that's always an underlying consideration in these candid discussions, isn't it...

Oh, thought of a couple of additional "names of whimsy" for my list-- "Hebe" and "Balthasar".

From the sublime to the fun and silly-- did anyone mention that Bethenny Frankel of "The Real Housewives of New York City" has given birth to little "Bryn Hoppy".

When I first saw that it had a sort of zany "Peter Cottontail" flavor for me. Then I realized that Hoppy is the baby's surname, not the middle name. You can't do much about it.

I do like Welsh names, but Bryn is not one of my favorites. But I think for Bethenny (who has an idiosyncratically spelled name herself) it makes sense-- I can see how she would like it. Now Alex and Simon's little "Francois" and "Johan" have another little playmate...

What is everyone's thoughts on the name Cosette for a little girl? This is normally so not my style, but for some reason lately I am liking the sound of it...although that could all come crashing down once I tell DH ( : Thanks for your input.

Congrats to the winners! Jill & Kendra.

Now, who came up with this fun Month, Day, Season game?!! It is harder than I thought:

Month: December, January (girl) March (boy, probably)

Day: Thursday, Sunday

Season: Not fond of these as names;
How about "Solstice"?

Holiday: Noel, same spelling for both sexes;
Christmas
Easter
Candlemas

Flower/Botanical: Bryony, Rue, Fleur, Syringa, Tansy, Marigold

Gem/Mineral: (girl) Topaz, Onyx; (boy) Slate, Cobalt

Bird: Pheasant, Finch

Okay...so now I have read through about half of the posts ( hehe I fall so behind)
@monicaj: I like Holly best, but would go for Jane for the middle name because the l's n Holly and Louise seem to run togather. I also like hattie...but not a big fan of Harriet...it personally reminds me of Steve Urkel.

Re the name Spring: Thats funny that you never hear that of all the seasons because I actually know 4 differnt Springs at varrying ages. One of them has sisters Autumn and Summer...over kill imo.

@Becky-Congrats I have always loved the name Tzipporah but have never been brave enough to seriously consider using it.

@KRC-Wow! How bold of a stranger to basically insult your name of your already born baby. Most people wont say anything about a name once the baby is actually born.

@Empathy-Awesome that you got DH to agree to a name and have that settled. Naming is so tough even just on your own without throwing another person's opinions into the mix.

@Betsy2- I have to laugh...my husband is the same way. You can read them lists of names and they will hate them one minute...a little time goes by and they are re-suggesting them to you like they came up with the idea. The funny part is I really think that they think they did ( :

Eo, I love Solstice, but I think it's cheating as a season name. ;) I'd definitely count it for a holiday, though! I almost named our dog (Elke) Solstice--I adopted her right around the winter solstice, and she's very dark, mostly black all over, just perfect for the darkest day of the year. I also love the symbolism of the new year being born at the solstice--each day will be longer and brighter than the day before--a wonderful meaning for a dog adopted from death row in the shelter and a previous abusive home. I think it has such a pleasing soft sound as a name, too.

Oh yes, and KRC, welcome back!! Congrats on your sweet boy (I think his two names flow very well together), and I'm also in disbelief over the rude comment you got!

Most of these have already been listed by various posters, so I'm not being at all original, but here are mine:

Month: May
Day: Sunday
Season: Autumn
Holiday: Noelle
Flower: Marigold... I also still have a soft spot for Lily, despite the popularity
Gem: Garnet? This is the hardest for me, I don't like the flashiness of gem names. Sapphire is a really pretty word though.
Bird (nice addition Eo!): Linnet
Virtue (my addition): Felicity

What's funny is that looking at this list, I think I would actually consider using all these names except for the day and gem names.

Anna, thanks for crunching all the month data! Glad to see that March HAS been used as a name, but makes it even sadder for poor February...

I had to look up the days of the week, and found only Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday on the 2009 list, all girls (29, 34, and 32 names respectively). Anna, want to crunch the numbers for all 129 years?

I agree that months have a certain personal meaning to them, even if their actual meanings are mundane. I like November because of the time of year (sweaters, Thanksgiving, excitement of the holiday season before the stress of the holidays sets in) and because both DH's and my birthdays fall in November.

Can I use Gemma for my gem name?

Jillc-I think Gemma would be cheating as hyz called out Eo's Solstice.

updating my list:
Bird: Lark (g) might actually use this one but not having any more kids
Virtue: Patience (g)

I've always liked Lapis as a gem name. But I like names ending in "is" a lot.

DH and I were just debating the pronunciation of Augustine. (Have we discussed this before on this board?). I grew up saying au-gus-TEEN, which I think someone told me is the typical Protestant pronunciation. I much prefer the pronunciation au-GUS-tin, though. But we are Protestant, and so are most of our acquaintances from work and school, so I am afraid if we actually used the name and wanted the au-GUS-tin pronunciation, we'd have to constantly correct people.On the other hand, DH says the OED only lists the "Catholic" pronunciation (which means I've been technically wrong my whole life?). Anyone know if the whole Protestant/Catholic pronunciation divide is real, or is it more idiosyncratic or regional?

For the record, I prefer August as a name, but DH isn't sold. Plus, we can't do Joshua August/ine P@lmer, because the initials are JAP. So we'd have to reverse it, which means DH would really have to be on board.

Month: June (my mom's mn)
Day: none-- if forced, maybe Saturday
Season: Winter -- its just so snappy!
Holiday: I liked Balentin that someone mentioned a while back, but this would have to be under duress I think. But maybe Solstice..
Flower: Laleh (tulip in Farsi)
Gem: Sapphire -- hands down a winner for me.
Bird: Lark

@KVS- I also like Annabelle Jane the best on your list. Do you think you would use the nn Anna?

Month: November nn Ember or Novie ; August for a boy

Day: Tuesday ; Friday for a boy

Season: Summer ; he'd be nameless

Holiday: Summer Eve .. ( my Xmas is in Summer) if that doesn't count, Amor for Valentines day
; does it have to be a holiday season or can it be a public holiday? Larkin for Halloween/Samehin as he is Larkin' about .Plus Larkin is on my list

Flower:Poppy ; Cosmos for a boy

Gem: .Jade ; Malachite for a boy I do honestly love it

Bird: Phoebe followed by Lark ; Sparrow nn Ro

Virtue :Fae ( I'm not keen on the 'y') if that doesn't count Amity ; for a boy, True

I've been mostly lurking here for years, but this game looked like such fun!

Month: June, May though I like November as well and I love the nn posibility of Ember or Nova
Day: Tuesday probably
Season: maybe Winter ... seasons aren't really my style
Holiday: Advent maybe (nn Addie) ... would May Day be cheating? (shortened to May, of course) although, Solstice is an intriguing idea
Flower: Daisy
Gem: Amythyst (nn Amy) or possibly Sapphire

Thanks for the feedback zoerhenne, Amy3, emilyrae, hyz and monicaj! To answer monicaj's question, Anna is certainly a nn possibility, though for some reason I prefer Annabelle over just Anna for full name. Annabelle has grown on me and taken me by surprise, so I've been trying to do gut-checks about it - and I don't trust my pregnant gut, since with Son #2 I almost painted his room orange! (DH vetoed). Annabelle is also a great alternative to DH's favorite "A" names, Ashley and Abigail, which I have vetoed. Again, thanks for the input.

KVS- would simplifying it to Annabel help out with your husband at all? or do you like the belle ending?

What about places & colours?

Colours: Sage for a girl (one of my all time fav names )Indigo is also gorgeous; Bleu for a boy
Places: Shiloh for a girl ; Jericho for a boy
Salem is a guilty pleasure

Eo- Phrisdewith? Now, that's a corker!

I'm just writing to say goodbye for a couple of weeks- my dh and I are off to Sydney, Australia to meet our baby nephew, Fergus Jack Lewis Mac...... . Sooo excited- a first nephew/niece for us both! He's coming up to five months old and very cute. As many of you know, our only child died as a newborn, so this will be a very special trip. I won't be on line much, so will have to resign myself to picking up wherever you all are when I get back.

But I agree with all of you who comment on how wonderful this board is. I keep having wild thoughts like arranging a meeting in real life with you all. Do you think we'd all get along? ;)
Anyway, I will miss you guys... have fun while I'm gone!

Month: September
Day: can I use Freya for Friday
Season: Summer
Holiday: Valentina
Flower: Amaryllis
Gem: Emerald
Bird: Jay
Virtue: Chasity

EVie, thanks for adding the virtue/abstract quality category-- in that one I'll have to choose: Charity, Honor/Honour, Verity, Mercy, Liberty, Temperance, Unity. I'm fascinated by the Puritan period and the colorful names...

Along that line I thought a multidimensional name for a boy could be "Patriot", nickname "Pate", but it's a lot to live up to! Could imagine a rough-and-ready late eighteenth century U.S. naval hero named "Patriot Jones"...

Larksong-- i like these additions
Color: I think of Jade when I think of color, and of course Violet (though that could be a flower too I suppose)
Places: I'm a huge fan of place names, so here we go (can't do just one): Camden, Hudson, Vienna, Lexington (nn Lex), Delphi (said the Greek way- Del-fee), Lincoln (I'm from Nebraska so this is a place name for me)...

Bumblebee: Re: Cosette -- I love this name. I have so many positive associations--the musical, motherly and fatherly love, plus, it is very similar to Colette which I have every intention as using for a mn (and Colette is a derivative of my mn Nicole, so it wins over Cosette for me).

and KVS-- I think all your options are good-- I like Annabelle, you can never go wrong with Elizabeth, and I think both Kendall and Allie are cute. basically I'm no help.

Oh, Valerie, I remember you telling us about Fergus-- "Fergus Jack Lewis Mac..." is absolutely magnificent! Have a wonderful meeting and bon voyage...

Valerie

I'm very sorry for your loss .
I hope that you have a wonderful trip & meet many well-named people ! Congratulations on having on the nephew !

Place names : I forgot about Heath !

I forgot that I love Honour ...thanks Eo

I must admit, I have a major soft spot for Fox & Wolf as names

@knp

wonderful additions

KVS -- I also love Annabelle Jane. Annabelle is tied for my #1 name for my girl due in October. We'd go with Annie for the nickname. Can't figure out the middle name we'd go with yet, since one of the frontrunners for middle names is Susannah and I can't see having the anna sound repeated that closely. I totally understand worrying about pregnant gut decisions! I wanted to have names all totally decided on before even getting pregnant just to be on the safe side, ha!

Chimu: I like your feedback on Penelope... my husband's still hoping for it, and I do think Penny is adorable, plus Nell, etc, for nicknames, I just can't really come to terms with the full name Penelope. Plus, our last name is like Koons, and Penelope Koons reminds me very much of Penelope Cruz.

Most of these have already been done, but I'd have to go with:

Month: June (though I could never actually use this in real life with last name Koons!)

Day: Sunday (maybe I'd go Sundae to tie in a *whimsical* ice cream theme, hahaha)

Season: Can I just go with Season? Its kind of like Susan or Sampson, eh...

Holiday: Noelle

Flower: I love any variant name of Rose

Gem: Jasper

Bird: Wren, girl, Jay, boy

-Bubble Bee: I know, they really think they're just coming up with these original names for the first time! I'm half excited to hear them and half driven crazy!

Rats, I thought I was finished with this board for now, but saw Larksong's Jericho and Salem-- I love those too!

OK, I will now avert my eyes from the computer to avoid getting sucked in again-- the blog has been on fire today with fascinating contributions...

Larksong, you've done a good job with colors and places! I'd repeat many of them (I like Sage, Indigo, Shiloh, Jericho):
Color: Lavender, Hazel(g); Sage (b)
Place: Virginia, Geneva(g); Cavan, Caspian, Hudson (b)

I used to have a long list of colors that I was considering for use as names (mostly for pets, but some could work for humans)--wish I had it handy--I'm blanking on a bunch of fun ones!

Re month names, I actually know one of those 25 Novembers born in 2009. She's a cutie pie and goes by Ember. And October is on my long list I'm giving to DH (hopefully this weekend!) though I don't think we'd ultimately go with it. October is my absolute favorite month and the name reminds me of that season. I'm thrilled we're having this baby in the month of October but not sure how I actually feel about using the name for a baby's birth month.

A while back I ran into brothers Josh(ua) and "Gus" at the playground. I asked the mom if Gus was short of August. She said, no, they loved the name August but since he wasn't born in the month of August, they went with Augustus instead. I smiled politely but was mentally just kind of scratching my head. LOL.

@hyz: I know everyone else has already said it, but Oliver and Ivy are just awesomeness. And Oliver by itself is pretty awesome too. :)

I'm giving my long list to DH this weekend and he gets to scratch off and circle names. I'll have to post the results here afterward.

Anyhow, to play the game ...
Month: October!
Day: I don't really like day of the week names (though I'm a fan of Wednesday Addams) though I do like Freya!
Season: Autumn or Winter
Holiday: Ummm ... Solstice (but I'd never use it)
Flower: Zinnia (on my long list)
Gem: Garnet (on my long list)
Bird: Wren maybe?
Virtue: Honor (would never use it since it seems like such a big thing to saddle a kid with)
Color: Azure (on my long list)
Place: Denali (a guilty pleasure)

Sorry for the ultra long post. I never have time to post here so I squish everything into one post :)

@Valerie, bon voyage and enjoy your nephew!

New additions to the list:

Bird: Wren (g), Heron (b)

Virtue: Honor, Temperance

Color: Lilac (g), Grey (b)

Place: I'm not a big fan of these and can't think of one I'd really consider using

Also, place name Roanoke. As a Virginian it would be just plain odd to me to use it myself, but I would love to hear someone else using it! LOL

Kimberly, thanks!! :) And wait, did I already know you were having another baby, due in October (same month I'm due)?! I blame pregnancy brain if I already said this, but congratulations!! Do you know if it's a boy or girl yet? October is also my very favorite month, and you probably know August is also still on my short list for this boy.

Re: grey--good one! I could use that for a boy, too.

And you might get a kick out of this, if you like Roanoke (I think that's a neat idea!)--I used to know a horse named Rappahannock, nn Rapp. I thought it had a nice flow, myself. I could see also, maybe, Appomattox and Chesapeake. Two VA names NOT to use--Manassas and Dumfries (I used to drive through there with some out of towners who didn't know how they were pronounced, and always wanted to say "man asses" and "dumb fries"--not so hot).

And I never did my virtue names:
Verity, Honor(a), Amity, Patience, Clementine (g); Clement, Royal, Merritt(cheating?) (b)

And birds:
Lark, Robin, Dove (g); Peregrine, Cardinal, Corbin, Merle (b) (ok, these are more of a stretch, and Corbin and Merle are probably cheating)

Kimberly-Congrats on your little expectation!

Valerie-Best wishes for a safe and happy trip!

Updates to game:
Bird: also like Wren (g) and Griffin (b) I know this is not really a bird per se but don't know that I could do something like Hawk or Falcon
Place: Dakota (b) have always loved this despite the popularity. Savannah (g)
Color: Violet(g), Sage (g)

All-time most popular boys' names (1880-2009):

1. James, 5035271,
2. John, 5028213,
3. Robert, 4759913,
4. Michael, 4226006,
5. William, 3969127,
6. David, 3511227,
7. Richard, 2539254,
8. Joseph, 2505113,
9. Charles, 2328053,
10. Thomas, 2247306,
11. Christopher, 1933416,
12. Daniel, 1793991,
13. Matthew, 1483868,
14. George, 1441357,
15. Donald, 1404652,
16. Paul, 1370225,
17. Anthony, 1335664,
18. Mark, 1331796,
19. Edward, 1267267,
20. Steven, 1257066,
21. Kenneth, 1255192,
22. Andrew, 1192233,
23. Brian, 1142501,
24. Kevin, 1120766,
25. Joshua, 1109624,
26. Ronald, 1071156,
27. Timothy, 1044310,
28. Jason, 985116,
29. Jeffrey, 962581,
30. Frank, 901908,
31. Gary, 895566,
32. Eric, 847385,
33. Ryan, 846500,
34. Stephen, 844170,
35. Nicholas, 837599,
36. Larry, 800113,
37. Jacob, 778140,

All-time most popular girls' names (1880-2009):

1. Mary, 4100822,
2. Patricia, 1568194,
3. Elizabeth, 1551446,
4. Jennifer, 1452361,
5. Linda, 1448243,
6. Barbara, 1430841,
7. Margaret, 1230897,
8. Susan, 1118529,
9. Dorothy, 1103983,
10. Sarah, 1033595,
11. Jessica, 1028351,
12. Helen, 1011952,
13. Nancy, 998423,
14. Betty, 997901,
15. Karen, 978990,
16. Lisa, 961852,
17. Sandra, 870102,
18. Anna, 844721,
19. Donna, 829179,
20. Ruth, 815076,
21. Carol, 814860,
22. Kimberly, 810987,
23. Ashley, 810539,
24. Michelle, 794026,
25. Laura, 785814,
26. Amanda, 775095,
27. Melissa, 740752,
28. Emily, 740527,
...
202. Isabella, 178122,

Jillc - weekdays as names 1880-2009, here you go:

Name - girls - boys
Monday, 30, 0,
Tuesday, 2261, 0,
Wednesday, 655, 0,
Thursday, 0, 0,
Friday, 23, 0,
Saturday, 0, 0,
Sunday, 1785, 48,

What's with the popularity of Tuesday??

My DD's answers:
Color: Scarlett or Violet(g)(she first said Red); Azul (blue in spanish) (b)
Bird: Macaw (g); Parrot (b) (since boys are noisy)
Gem: Crystal, Diamond (g)
Month: December (g)
Place: Africa (g)
Weekday: Thursday (b)
Season: Spring (g); Snow (b)
Holiday: Christmas (g)

Ruby Tuesday? (I have met a Tuesday before...)

this is too fun!

Month: May/Mae
Day: Mardi or Sunday
Season: Summer or Autumn
Holiday: Noel/le
Flower: Calla and Rose
Gem: Ruby
Bird: Heron
Virtue: Patience
Color: Cerulean (also my favorite crayola crayon growing up!) or Kelly
Place: Virginia or Avalon (on Catalina!)

Oooh, forgot a place name: Cairo (b)-- and I like the Avalon suggestion!!

@zoerhenne

Wasn't Kimberley one of the names you considered for your daughter? Kimberley is actually a place in SA.... you could use that as a place name, technically :)

OOH Larksong thanks, adding Kimberley to place names!

monicaj-Midnight blue was my favorite crayon color.Also, the cartoon Little Bill had a girl named Fuschia on it.

KVS: I think people tend to have very different styles for boy and girl names anyway so I don't think it would be that unusual to have boys named Ryan and John and a girl named Annabelle. As for the other options, I can see how they reflect your boys' names more. They are all definitely more familiar, names of my peers (b. 1979). I kind of like those names, especially Allison and Kendall.

Bubblebee: Cosette is a character in Les Miserables right? I think for that reason I would prefer Colette.

A good diversion on a Friday afternoon...
all girl names...

Month: September
Day: Tuesday
Season: Winter
Holiday: Valentine
Flower: Violet
Gem: Jewel (for grandmother)
Bird: Phoebe
Virtue: Sincerity (okay, not really but it would be fun...)
Color: Rose or Sage
Place: Avonlea

I am determined to name our next dog Ruby Tuesday (Tuesday for short). I wanted to name our last one this and was overruled... still love the name (and no I won't saddle a child with it!)

Months: I do like June. It is off limits due to being a character in the book we named our son after. I also like August, but much prefer Augustus.

Flowers: I really do like Holly. It is ALSO off limits due to being another character in the same book. Also, Holly and Jolly would be far too close as a sibset! (Willa and Holly, though, wouldn't be a problem for me... but Harriet is also a fabulous name, so nothing but good choices ahead.) I also thought it was so great to find a (male!) Hyacinth in my spouse's family tree.

Gemstones: Jasper, even though I know it has a separate origin as a man's name so it maybe doesn't really count. This is my brother's all time favorite name. I also think the name Amber is really lovely, and think it's too bad that it has such an 80s timestamp.

Holiday: Valentine, hands down, would be so cute on a little boy and Val matures well to me. Also off limits because there is a Val in THAT SAME BOOK, married to the Holly. Apparently, John Galsworthy was my naming soulmate.

Somehow I find myself not able to claim a favorite day of the week name -- I'd be truly delighted to meet any of the ones people have suggested on a child, but they just seem very not for me somehow. I do, however, love Thor, which maybe sort of counts via Thor's Day = Thursday?

And for season names, I'd have to go with Persephone. Totally love it, though I don't actually think it's usable (though boy would I love to be proven wrong and meet a little Persephone at the grocery store someday). I suspect we will someday have a cat by this name!

Virtue names: always thought Reason was rather intriguing, though nothing I'd use. Virtue names seem like a very weighty concept to bestow on a child to me, though I definitely understand the appeal!

Bird: Robin, one of the names on our "intersex list" for if boy/girl was not easily answerable by doctors at our child's birth. (The other one was Aubrey - we had a hard time with this because a lot of the unisex names really did not appeal to us.)

Color: Hyacinth or Amber from above, probably... and I loved Saffron when I encountered it on a horse. It always makes me think of the Donovan song (and I'm named after a Donovan song myself).

There was an actress named Tuesday Weld; maybe she had something to do with the larger number of girls named Tuesday. A quick look at imdb shows that she led a pretty wild life, however (heavy drinking at age ten, had "affairs" starting at age eleven!--poor thing). It seems to me that there was also a Barbie knock-off called Tuesday in the 70s that had two-toned hair. I wasn't allowed to have Barbies, so I only saw this doll at friends' houses. Am I misremembering her name?

Valerie, have a wonderful trip! How exciting.

Anna, thanks for all those lists! It's striking how much more popular Mary has been than any other name. Wow.

@KVS - I really like both Annabelle and Elizabeth with your boys names. Not so keen on Kendall or Alison as Kendall is too unisex for me and Alison feels dated (although Allie is cute).

Month - August (b), January, September, October, November, December (g)
Day - Tuesday or Sunday (g)
Season - Winter or Autumn (g)
Holiday - Noelle (g), Balendin (b)
Flower - Violet, Hazel, Magnolia, Zinnia, Delphine, Juniper (g), Asher, Rowan, Oak (b) (cheating a bit on the boys)
Gem - Pearl, Emerald (g), Jasper (b)
Bird - Lark, Wren (g), Griffin, Hawk (b)
Virtue - Amity, Clementine (g), Clement (b)
Colour - Hazel, Sage, Indigo (g), Grey, Midnight, Azure (b)
Place - Adelaide, Ireland, Boronia (g) Chifley, Hughes, Banks

So many of these are actually on my list!

@Betsy - I don't think Penelope 'Koons' reminds me too much of Penelope Cruz. If she went by Penny or Nell a lot of the time I doubt anyone would notice. I think the flow is quite nice!

Re the Clementine discussion - I really love this name and it's on my short list. I'm wondering if it's too celebrity now to use? I don't think so but don't want to be naming my child the equivalent of Maddox or Kingston.

Thanks :) I don't know if I'd announced on here or not. I wasn't telling anybody except family and close friends during my 1st trimester and then I was holding off because the only name conversations I'd had with DH was on HOW to approach naming. We settled on my giving him a list and him crossing off names he didn't like, circling ones he liked, and adding any others that he liked. I don't expect much in the last category. Oh, and we're planning on not finding out the baby's gender so we'll be choosing both boy and girl names.

Regarding Holly, Rory, and Harriet (sorry, I don't remember who asked) --
Holly is a bit date stamped but I don't think terribly so since it was never that popular. I personally think it's a great name. Hollis is my current fave boy name. I really like Holly Jane and think it goes well with Willa Ruth.
I'm not a huge fan of Rory since it seems very much a little boy name or a nickname.
I also like Harriet though I think not as much as Holly. The nn Hattie is really cute for a little girl and then there's Harriet for when she's grown.

Ok .. toddler falling asleep on me .. gotta go.

@Anna S, another wow for Mary's overwhelming popularity. That's totally interesting to see. You're coming up with such great stats. Thanks!

@Jane Mo5, regarding the pronunciation of Augustine, I had always said this au-gus-TEEN and Augusten as au-GUS-ten. However, I believe I learned here that au-GUS-ten can be used for Augustine. I won't claim to know which is correct for that spelling, and I don't know if there is a Catholic/Protestant disagreement on how it's said. I'd suggest going with what you like and being prepared to correct people, if need be. The difference isn't so great, though, that I think it would be a huge hassle.

@Chimu, I love Clementine and while I know it's been used by some celebs (I can think of Ethan Hawke and Claudia Schiffer--are there others?), I don't think it reads as "celeb inspired." I'd love to meet a Clementine irl.

@Kimberly, congrats! It's interesting that you mention Hollis as I was just hanging out with a Hollis today. He's the husband of a friend of mine, and my husband remarked this evening at how uncommon Hollis is.

@ Amy 3 - yep there is Ethan Hawke, Claudia Schiffer, and Rachel Griffiths recently had a little Clementine. Since none of them are mega-celebs I suspect only name obsessed people would realise that there are a few celeb baby Clementines out there. Or at least that's what I'm hoping!

I have a question - I'm trying to find a name for my second child. With my first, I hit on a perfect name. Not much used, but still a solid, traditional. Plus it was the perfect twist on a family name.

With the second, I've fallen in love with a very popular name. In the top ten. This seems to be what everyone is avoiding like the plague. Is there anything so horrible about having a top ten name? I know there will be thousands and thousands with the same name, but I feel like it could still the perfect name.

If it helps, it's a solid traditional name that has been popular for centuries and was popular when I was a child.