The Rise of Liquid Names
A new class of girls' names has taken hold in the past generation. I call them the Liquid Names: they flow smoothly, like water down a glass streambed with no rocks or branches to impede its path. You can speak names like Anaya, Aliya, and Eliana with every sound drawn out long, and without visibly moving your mouth. Pure flow.
A generation ago, such names were rare. Today they seem to be everywhere, the boldest weapons in our generation's "war on consonants."
I wanted to quantify this trend I've been seeing, so I had to define criteria for a liquid name. First, I decided to require three or more syllables. A name like Anna or Ella is perfectly smooth, but too compact to suggest a fluid flow. Next I restricted the number of consonants. There should be fewer consonant sounds than syllables, allowing the vowels to set the mood. (Note that's consonant sounds, not letters; in Arianna, for instance, the two n's make a single sound.)
Finally, I restricted the specific consonants permitted. L and R were obvious choices, since they belong to the linguistic category called "liquid consonants." I also allowed N, Y and H, since they can be made with an open mouth (unlike m or sh), without involvement of lips or teeth (unlike f or s), and without hard throat sounds (unlike g or kh).
Here are the liquid names that ranked in the top 500 for American girls 50 years ago:
471. Leona
487. Elena
And today:
46. Aaliyah
52. Arianna
84. Ariana
115. Liliana
133. Aliyah
155. Alaina
156. Eliana
157. Aria
160. Elena
183. Aurora
186. Alana
197. Aniyah
220. Ariel
223. Alayna
266. Alina
311. Lilliana
334. Elliana
359. Elaina
391. Aleah
414. Aniya
463. Liana
471. Lilyana
475. Anaya
Here's that story again, in graph form via the Expert NameVoyager:
When was the last time you saw water flow uphill like that?
Comments
I know a little girl (9 mo) named for her great-grandmother: Aurelia (AW-ree-lee-a)
Totally off topic:
I have some comments and observations about the forum, but there doesn't seem to be a logical place to post (or discuss) such things? Is it possible to contact a moderator, and if so; how?
Thanks!
PS: Love the forum.
Anna-X Top Right next to NameCandy, the tab named Forums.
I think Lydia has a nice fluid flow.
Anna-X, when I've had comments about the forum, I've sent messages via the contact link on the very bottom right of the screen. It takes you to a form where you submit an email, not to a place for discussions, but they take note of your comments and suggestions.
I must be the only person who doesn't really like the liquid girls names. I don't dislike them, they just seem overly frilly to me. Of the list Laura posted I the only name I really like is Aria. Looking over my list of preferred names I have a thing for consonant clusters. The clunkier the better it seems!
Chimu, I'm with you. For the most part, they seem too frilly and insubstantial to me. I like Leona, and that's about it. I'd alter a few of them to make them more "my taste"- like Lillian instead of Liliana, or Lena instead of Elena.
Are there any Liquid Names for boys? My daughter's name is on your list, and you pretty much nailed it when it comes to why we picked it: It glides. My husband's last name is a clunky Slavic name with a million consonant sounds in it. I feel like the name we chose for our daughter flows smoothly over this last name and somehow makes it significantly less akward. We are now trying to name a boy, and I'm struggling to find a name that has this same characteristic. it seems like people must equate consonant sounds for boys with being "manly" because I feel like that's all I'm finding. Interestingly, our current front runner, Landon, has 3 liquid consonants. We may be on to something! =)
@MelissaG, at least I'm not the only one. I also prefer Lillian to Lilliana etc.
I was about to bash this trend (which I've noticed too) until I realized my favorite names, Tallulah and Augustus, pretty much fit in. Oh well ;) I do strongly prefer names with a little heft, like Matilda, but see that's still fairly "liquid" I guess.
I don't dislike them either, but many of them seem like variants on the same names.
I'm sure many of the Lillianas and Ellianas werre designed to be called Lily and Ellie.
I liked reading about how you made the restriction choices.
There are some things I have to comment on, though. Personally, I think S should be allowed. It may involve some use of teeth, but to me it sounds much more flowing than N. To my ear, Alyssa & Celia sound more liquid than Elena and Leona. Likewise, if you say Selena or Serena, IMHO the N seems more of the aural bump than the S.
The other thing is, how 'hard' of a consonant sound does it take to be ruled out? I assume Helena is not in this list because H, L, and N don't outnumber the syllables, but this H is so easy and open-mouthed that it doesn't feel quite right to say Elena is liquid but not Helena (under the assumption they rhyme with -ayna rather than -enna).
Last, is there a greater proportion of 3+ syllable names now than 50 yrs ago, or is that not at all a factor in this comparison?
Anyway, I appreciate that the post got me thinking about it all!
I met someone recently with a toddler named Alina, which I'd never heard before, but I thought the name was pretty. Sure enough, it's on this list. I'm surprised Leilani isn't, since I know of several, and the name fits the criteria. I agree with the commenter above who thinks names like Alyssa and Serena seem to fit.
Overall, I think the names are pretty; they remind me of some names I would have liked 15 years ago as a high-schooler. But hearing them back to back in a list like that really makes them glide and flow right into each other, and they seem sort of undistinguished in their frilly liquidity.
I met someone recently with a toddler named Alina, which I'd never heard before, but I thought the name was pretty. Sure enough, it's on this list. I agree with the commenter above who thinks names like Alyssa and Serena seem to fit.
Overall, I think the names are pretty; they remind me of some names I would have liked 15 years ago as a high-schooler. But hearing them back to back in a list like that really makes them glide and flow right into each other, and they seem sort of undistinguished in their frilly liquidity.
@2ndtimemommy, you've got me wondering about boys' names now. I'm finding it difficult to come up with names with 3 or more syllables that only contain the consonant sounds above. I've broken the rules a bit in this list, but these are a few more-or-less-liquid male names that sprang to mind.
Ariel, Arlo, Daniel, Elijah, Elias, Ellery, Errol, Harry, Hilary, Iolo, Josiah, Julian, Leo, Leon, Lorenzo, Milo, Neil, Niall, Noah, Noel, Oliver, Orlando, Orlon, Orrin, Owen, Roland, Rollo, Rory, Wayland, Wiley, William
@Chimu and MelissaG, count me as another huge fan of girls' names with loads of consonants. As Chimu said, "the clunkier, the better." I couldn't agree more!
I'm sure it's no surprise that I know many girls with names like this - Aliya, Aaliyah, Elena, Liana, Lilliana. I also agree with J&H's mom in seeing a lot of this as a way to Ellie, Ella, or Lily.
For me, while pretty, these names lack substance. They feel so light and airy, as if they could just float away.
Two other names spring to mind: Anea (pronounced A-nay-uh), the daughter of someone I know, and Elliania, the name of a character in Robin Hobb's Tawny Man trilogy. As far as I can tell, Elliania has never appeared on the SSA lists, but I think it's overdue as it fits right in with existing trends.
Two other names spring to mind: Anea (pronounced A-nay-uh), the daughter of someone I know, and Elliania, the name of a character in Robin Hobb's Tawny Man trilogy. As far as I can tell, Elliania has never appeared on the SSA lists, but I think it's overdue as it fits right in with existing trends.
They are just not my style at all--they sound like good names for lingerie companies or a bit too much like Sci Fi characters but not quite. There is just something about them that rubs me the wrong way.
Me too, ElleOK. They're like ululations, not names. I like Eleanor, but that's not on the list because of the "r." In general I don't like names ending in "a."
OK, it's been nagging at me, so I just have to post again..
If the point is less on the flow or liquidity of the name and more just that the vowel sounds really dominate the name, then I can see about usually omitting S, as it does tend often to draw attention to itself. However, I don't think it always dominates --- for example, the name Isaiah has a single consonant sound of 's', but otherwise seems like a great example of Laura's 'liquid' vowel-laden names, and one of the few for boys. Agree too with Clarebeorhte's Elias mention.
I like Alejandro too as a flowy vowel-y name for a boy, but yeah, the 'ndr' would knock it off the list of liqud names by the given standards.
@Amy3, hardly surprising we agree on this issue!! Our name lists are very similar and we both have Astrid's :)
I also seem to like boys names that have a bit more substance. Most of the ones I have on my list are also consonant heavy and have consonant clusters.
Boys names to fit: Elijah, Isaiah, Josiah, Javier & Olivier (pr. French), Nehemiah, Ismael, Eliyahu, Elias, Leonel, Uriah, Ulysses
i'm with you Chimu, except i like Ariana and Ariel, but didn't notice that one there.
i used to know an Alina, who pronounced it uh-Lynn-ah, but i think the prn. uh-LEEN-uh is more dominant now.
I'm also a hard consonant lover and find these names insubstantial and indistinguishable. All those Alliannas and Anayas, I counter with Thistle and Astrid and Benedict Cumberbatch!
Thank you for the suggestions! Interestingly, several of them are already on our longer potential-middle-name-list. It's helpful, though, to see the others grouped this way. it sheds new lights on some names that I hadn't previously considered. thank you!
@Clarebeorhte and Poppy528: thank you for the suggestions. It's helpful to see these names in one place. it helps shed new light on some names I hadn't previously considered! thank you!
Count me in as one who's not a big fan of this trend. I've encountered a lot of babies and babies-to-be with these names, and as someone else mentioned, they're so liquid they all seem to run together. They're "pretty," which seems to be their appeal, but they sound too princessy to me. I like names with a bit more spunk.
I'm over the liquid names. Yes, they sound nice, but to me, these are akin to the Aidan rhymers. In both trends there are some I like and others I don't like, but I'm tired of hearing them regardless.
I, too, dislike them and feel they all kind of sound the same and echo what others have said... indistinguishable, princessy, frilly, prissy, etc. Not my style. I think some of that stems from the sheer numbers of kids given these names.
I would call these names "melodious" rather than "liquid." When you sing, you hold out the vowels and only lightly hit the consonants.
Many of these names (Liliana, Elena, etc. in all their variations) are very common in the Hispanic community. That might account for part of their rise of popularity.
Lilyana (Лиляна) is a traditional Bulgarian name, comes from the flower lilac. I'm amazed to find it in the american top 500 O_o.
This has to be the first time I've ever disagreed with Laura, but I don't understand why n counts in this category but m does not. They are the exact same sound except that the air comes out of your nose for m and out of your mouth for n.
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