PJ
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PJ
- About Me
I bought my first baby name book when I was seven years old and I have been hooked ever since. Now the mom of a three year old and a baby I keep an ear out for names on the playground. I am a constant reader, an intermediate gardener and a beginning knitter in the Pacific Northwest.
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This is such an interesting topic! I do find that once I know the spelling of a person's name, I mentally picture it when I say their name. I know an Erik and an Eric, and they sound the same of course but when I'm talking about them I always picture the "k" or the "c" and in a strange way it helps me define their personalities. I know several people, kids and adults, with names we've been discussing that could be pronounced a couple of different ways- Alisa, Ciera, Helena, Lila, Leela. Once I know how they pronounce it, I haven't had any problems. (For the record, they are: a-leese-a, KEER-a, Hel-LEAN-a, LEE-la, and LEE-la.)
I know that most of us who read this blog won't use names like that. But I think the punctuation adds a certain rhythm that is fun and catchy. I can see why people do it.
Also did you guys see that Lily Allen named her baby Ethel? I was just thinking about that name because of Downton Abbey and I was thinking how nice it was that the writers used a name that was actually popular during the time period the story is set in- 1914 or so. But I never imagined someone using it today.
As far as wordplay goes, I've noticed a trend where nicknames come from the back end of the name instead of the front. Examples: Full name is William. Traditional nickname would be Will. Child goes by Liam. Full name Christopher. Traditional nickname would be Chris. Child goes by Topher. It's a way for parents to have a traditional name on the birth certificate but a little more off beat name for everyday use.
Wow, Isa, that's a brave question and a big can of worms. My personal view is yes, I think it is extremely demeaning to name a white child Dakota, Cheyenne, etc, especially given the long and bloody history of oppression of Native peoples in the US. (I assume your question relates to US babies.) My experience with families who name their kids a Native American tribal name is that they have no family history or connect to that tribe and most often don't know anything about the tribe's history or culture, they just thought the name sounded "cute" and "Western". To me, that is the most offensive part.
oh I totally agree with Essy01 about the "naminess" of Pippa. It sounds peppy and different and fun, like the sister who still gets to play when grown up dignified Kate has to greet the diplomats. A sister named Anne or Margaret just wouldn't have the same image.
See, it's funny I have no idea who or what Siri is. We all pay attention to different news stories I guess.
I'm going to chime in here and say Pippa does seem like a good and obvious choice to me. The royal wedding got such attention and especially because people wanted to focus on soemthing positive in the midst of turmoil. But the surprise was the boring expected Princess Kate got upstaged by her spunky fresh sister Pippa. (at least those are my associations with the names. I'm not in the UK) I also really like Spring as being evocative of the Arab Spring, the Occupy Wallstreet, and a new awakening. But I don't know if it has the same influence in the naming world. I can readily imagine a group of little Pippa's named after the royal in law but I have a harder time imagining a young Spring named after the political movements. I mean, I would do it actually but I don't see it being a larger trend.
Unity and Brixton! (sorry, had to plug my own kids names there.) I found Brixton's name from this board so it only seems right.
my name: polly wolly doodle all day. and the Nirvana song (Polly wants a cracker, maybe I should get off her first) That Nirvana song came out when I was in high school and LOTS of people used to sing it to me. my kids were named after songs on purpose but they're pretty obsure songs. Unity: Operation Ivy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB5KkD7DYho Brixton: the Clash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqcizZebcaU
Ok but Santanya is probably just a spelling variation of Santana right? Which is a legit Spanish name. Some of those of pretty amazing though. I can't quite picture a parent saying "Morticia, put your toys away!" or "Leave your brother alone Amazing!" But one of my kids has a meaning name and I guess people could say the same thing about that. I have heard of a Majestic in real life, a little girl at my local library.
I knew a girl in college who was named Genie. It took me the longest time to learn that her full name was Imogen. I am also surprised about Quinn since I have meet several little girl Quinns. Some of those names if I read on paper I would have a gender assumption, but Casey reads completely unisex to me. My gut response is girls: Dakota (the young actress), Jessie (the ie),Quinn (kids I've met), Dominique, Riley (young girls and old men), Rowan, Emmerson (I've only ever heard of this b.c of that actress's daughter), Harley boys: Justice (the brother to Hope or Faith?), Rory ( feels very masculine to me), Jaylin,Jaidyn, Amari, Amani
Wouldn't it be fun if there was a baby name trivia game? Like "In what year did this Biblical name usurp Michael as the #1 boy name in the U.S.?" I would totally play that game. Also craftymom blogger Amanda Soule had her fifth child- Annabel Edrie, sister to Calvin, Ezra, Adelaide, and Harper (b). It fits their style but I admit I was surprised to see sisters named Adelaide and Annabel- they seem a bit *too* similar to me.
Well I voted for some of those names, I guess I'll have to wait and see how I did. I have two kids, Un!ty J@ne and Br!xt0n M@rc3l, and I'm probably done but I have to admit I name lots of imaginary kids in my head! I'm sad there are some names I'll never get to use.
as for Gabrielle, I know a small one. Her parents were quite clear that she was never to be called Gabby so friends took to calling her Gabe. I think it's super cute!
@Kern- my great-grandma's name is Ottilia but she always goes by Tillie. And yes she is German and still alive, in her 90s. I think it's a great name- beautiful, distinctive with a cute nickname. It was on my own list as well but we didn't end up using it for other reasons. I still do love it.
So interesting! I would guess that a lot of those feelings have to do with the geographic location of the poster as well- but I think the influence can go both ways. Either you hate on Madison cause every other girl you meet is called that, or you hate on Madison cause your neighborhood is full of Carolines and Lucys and you can't imagine using such a modern invented name. For example I seem to live in a Stella pocket and everywhere I go there are at least a few. I don't hate the name but I am a little tired of hearing it. But, I could also imagine living in a place with lots of modern invented names and thinking "Stella? Isn't that an old lady name?" The one that surprises me is Hope. Now I'm curious- I don't really get what's to hate about that.
I don't really love the practice of giving human names to pets. I think I read in a dog training book once ( the one written by monks) that it's better not to, but I can't remember why. I know a dog named Okra, and I love it. If I could have a dog, which I can't due to my partner's allegies, I would love to have a bulldog named Teapot.
I think the female equivalent of Justin has to be Ashley. It's been around for a while and been in the top ten for a long time but somehow it's hard to picture a grown woman named Ashley, even though I'm sure there are many. Chief Justice Ashley Mendoza? CEO Ashley Wilson? see what I mean? Brian and Jason are firmly dads to me, while Kyle and Ryan are still kid names even though I know some dads with those names. It's funny how that works.
Here's a guess re: Nery http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nery_Castillo