Monthly Archive for May, 2009

BABY NAMES OF THE WEEK: Travel Names

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on May 31, 2009
in Baby Name of the Week
. 0 Comments

 

I just got home from vacation. I had a fabulous time and got a new purse (plus matching wallet!). What more could a girl ask for?

 

 

It’s always hard to come back to the real world, even when you really love your real world. So, in honor of my vacation and the start of our summer vacation season, the Baby Names of the Week are travel-themed!

 

Here are my picks for the week:

 

 

 

GIRLS’ NAME OF THE WEEK

 

ODESSA — Greek name meaning “odyssey”

 

 

 

 

 

BOYS’ NAME OF THE WEEK

 

FERNANDO — Spanish name meaning “daring journey”

 

 

 

 

I think both of these names have wonderful, charming meanings. And if your name is your destiny, then a baby with one of these names is sure to have an exciting journey through life.

 

 

 

 

 

CELEBRITY PICKS

 

There are several celebrities (and one famous doll) with names that mean “traveler” or something similar.

 

 

 

 

GIRLS’ NAMES

 

BARBARA Walters / BARBRA Streisand

 

BARBIE

BASIA Trzetzelewska

 

DORIS Day

 

GYPSY Rose Lee

 

RUMER Willis

 

WALLIS Simpson

 

WANDA Sykes

 

ZENA Grey

 

 

 

 

BOYS’ NAMES

 

ERROL Flynn

NESTOR Carbonell

 

ROMEO Beckham (son of Victoria and David Beckham)

 

TRAVIS Barker

 

TRENT Reznor

 

WENDELL Pierce

 

 

 

You can find all these names, and many others, in the Travel chapter of Baby Names Made Easy.

 

 

I hope you get to take a vacation very soon. I’m already looking forward to my next one. Where should I go…any recommendations? Post a comment!

 

 

♥ Amanda

If you have baby name questions for me, email me at amanda@amandabarden.com.

Your question might appear in a future edition of Ask Amanda.

ASK AMANDA: Scottish Boys’ Names

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on May 29, 2009
in Ask Amanda
. 0 Comments

 

Welcome to my new Ask Amanda feature. As you might guess, I get a lot of questions about baby names from soon-to-be-parents. I’ve decided to start posting some of the questions and answers here on my blog for you all to read.

 

Ask Amanda

Q:    I’m having a baby boy and am looking for a Scottish name. I want to find a name that other kids in his class won’t have, but a name that everyone will know and be able to spell. Any ideas?

 

A:     Congratulations on your baby boy! A lot of parents are looking for that perfect balance of well-known, but not too common, name. And on top of that, you want the name to be Scottish. No problem! Here’s a list of options for you:

 

 


ANGUS

CALUM

*CAMERON

CAMPBELL

CONALL

CRAIG

DONALD

DOUGAL

DOUGLAS

DUFF

DUNCAN

*EVAN

EVANDER

EWAN

FERGUS

FINLEY

FRASER

GREGOR

IAN

KEITH

KENNETH

*KYLE

LACHLAN

*LOGAN

LYLE

MAGNUS

MALCOLM

MURRAY

MYLES

NEIL

REID

RODERICK

RORY

ROSS

SCOTT

SHAW

SINCLAIR

SORLEY

STUART


 * Names that appeared in the Top 40 between 2000-2008

 

There are quite a few options here. I hope you find something you like! Readers with suggestions or comments can post a comment!

 

Happy naming,

 

♥  Amanda

 

If you have baby name questions for me, email me at amanda@amandabarden.com.

Your question might appear in a future edition of Ask Amanda.

 

 

What do you do When Mom & Dad Disagree Over Baby Names?

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on May 27, 2009
in Baby Naming Tips
. 0 Comments

It’s no surprise that mom and dad won’t always agree on everything, no two people could. But what do you do when you can’t agree on a name for your baby?

Here are three ideas for how mom and dad can get on the same page about baby names:

1) MAKE TWO LISTS OF NAMES: Mom and dad should separately make a list of names they like — pick your top 10 to 15 names. Then compare lists — if you have something in common, great. If not, be open to the other’s picks and try not to veto anything right away. Try using combinations from each person’s list for first and middle names. Maybe a combination will work as a compromise. If dad likes Archer and mom likes David, then Archer David or David Archer might be the right name for you.

2) DITCH THE NAMES & FOCUS ON MEANING: If you can’t agree on a name, agree on a name meaning. Then go through the names that fit your definition and start your list over together with names that are meaningful for both of you.

3) FAMILY TREE: Pull out your family trees and look for names that show up on both. You might not have come up with the name on your own, but seeing the family history may convince you to change your mind.

These are just a few ideas for how you can handle those sticky name disagreements. Put them to the test and see what happens. I’m sure you will be able to come up with a name that you both love!

♥ Amanda

If you have baby name questions for me, email me at amanda@amandabarden.com.

Your question might appear in a future edition of Ask Amanda.

Memorable Names for Memorial Day… PART II: Female Airforce Pilots of WWII

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on May 25, 2009
in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists and Holiday Baby Names
. 0 Comments

 

I just read an article about women pilots of WWII at CNN’s website. Very cool! Then I went to the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) website and found a roster. I thought it would be a nice tribute to these heroines to share some of their great names with you. Maybe you’ll find a name you like.

  

FEMALE WWII AIRFORCE PILOTS (from the WASP Roster)

 

ADELA Scharr

ADELAIDE Schaefer

ADELINE Wolak

AILSA Connolly

ALBERTA Hunt

ALICE-JEAN May

ALTA Corbet

ANNABELLE Craft

ANNELLE Henderson

ANNIE Henry

AUDREY Tardy

AVA Hamm

BABETTE DeMoe

BERYL Owens

BETTY JANE Williams

BOBBYE Crain

BONNIE JEAN Dorsey

BYRD Granger

CARMEL LaTorra

CECILY Elmes

CHARLOTTE Mitchell

CLARA JO Marsh

CODYE GWEN Clinkscales

CORINNE Nienstedt

CORNELIA Fort

DAISY Vaghan

DAWN Rochow

DELLA Gremling

DELPHINE Bohn

DORA Dougherty

DORI Marland

EFFIE Pratt

ELIZABETH McKinley

ELSIE Dyer

ELVIRA Griggs

EMERAL Drummond

EMMA Coulter

ETTA MAE Hollinger

FRANCES Grimes

FRANKIE Lovvorn

GENEVA Slack

GENEVIEVE Landman

GEORGIA Gehring

GRACE Birge

GRETCHEN Gorman

HAZEL Pierce

IDA Carter

IMOGENE Barnes

INEZ Woodward

IOLA Clay

IRIS Cummings

JACQUELINE Lake

JARY Johnson

JIMMIE Parker

JULIA Eagan

JULIETTE Jenner

JUNE Braun

JUSTINE Fletcher

LANA Cusack

LAVINA BETH Lippincott

LEA OLA McDonald

LELA Loudder

LEOTTA Cook

LILA Moore

LOLO Perkins

LOVELLE Richards

LUCILLE Friesen

LUCY Dubiel

LYDA Dunham

MABEL Rawlinson

MABELLE Vincent

MADELYN Taylor

MAGDA Tacke

MAISIE KAY Cleverly

MARCELLA Fried

MARGUERITE Tuffin

MARILYN Hughes

MARY BELLE Ahlstrom

MAXINE Nolt

MAY Ball

MERRIDEE Newell

MICKIE Carmichael

MITTIE Parsley

MOYA Mitchell

MOZELLE Simpson

NADINE Canfield

NANETTE Hazeltine

NELLE Carmody

NEVA Calderwood

NINA Morrison

NORMA JANE Emerson

OLA Rexroat

OPAL VIVIAN Hicks

ORPHA Brunsvold

PEARL Brummett

PENELOPE Peirce

REBECCA Edwards

ROBBIE Grace

ROSA LEA Fullwood

ROSALIE Phillips

ROSE Reese

ROSINA Lewis

RUBY Mullins

RUTHMARY Buckley

SARA Chapin

SARABEL Booth

SIDNEY Miller

SOLANGE D’Hooghe

SONA Kierstead

STARLEY Grona

STELLA JO Baker

SUZETTE Van Daell

TWILA Edwards

URCELA Wald

VEGA Johnson

VELMA Saunders

VERA Cook

VERDA MAE Lowe

VIOLA Thompson

VIOLET Thurn

VIVIAN Cadman

WILDA Winfield

WILLIE JEWELL Peacock

WINNIE LEE Jones

YVONNE Stafford

ZELDA Lamer

 

 

Check out the WASP roster for these names and more.

 

Do you know a veteran with a great name? Share it here.

 

♥ Amanda

If you have baby name questions for me, email me at amanda@amandabarden.com.

Your question might appear in a future edition of Ask Amanda.

 

 

BABY NAMES OF THE WEEK: Memorable Names for Memorial Day

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on May 24, 2009
in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists, Baby Name of the Week, Celebrity Baby Names and Holiday Baby Names
. 0 Comments

In honor of Memorial Day, the Baby Names of the Week are military-themed. When I sat down and actually compiled all the names for Baby Names Made Easy, I remember being surprised at how many names fell into the Military & Patriotism chapter. The boys’ section is longer than the girls’, but there are great names for both.

 

Here are my picks for the week:

 

GIRLS’ NAME OF THE WEEK

 

EVANIA — Irish name meaning “young warrior”

 

 

 

BOYS’ NAME OF THE WEEK

 

ARCHER — English name meaning “bowman”

 

 

 

 

CELEBRITY PICKS

 

There are also quite a few celebrities and celebrity babies whose names fall into this category:

 

 

GIRLS’ NAMES

 

ASHANTI

 

DAKOTA Fanning

 

EMILYDeschanel

 

EMMA Watson

 

HARLOW Winter Kate Madden (daughter of Nicole Richie and Joel Madden)

 

MARSMerkaba (daughter of Erykah Badu and Jay Electronica)

 

MARTINA McBride

 

SCOUT Willis

 

TYRA Banks

 

 

 

BOYS’ NAMES

 

BARRON William Trump (son of Melania and Donald Trump)

 

BARRYManilow

 

CEDRIC the Entertainer

 

CHAD Lowe

 

DENZIL Washington

 

GUNNAR Nelson

 

LANCE Bass

 

MARKConsuelos

 

MILOVentimiglia

 

RIDER Strong

 

VIGGOMortensen

 

 

Happy Memorial Day! Amid the barbecues, movies, trips for ice cream and general holiday spirit take a minute to consider these military-themed names and let me know your favorite. Enjoy your three-day weekend!

 

♥ Amanda

If you have baby name questions for me, email me at amanda@amandabarden.com.

Your question might appear in a future edition of Ask Amanda.

 

 

San Diego Family Magazine Review!

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on May 23, 2009
in Book Reviews and Website Announcements
. 0 Comments

 

Eileen Cornish, a freelance writer for San Diego Family Magazine, wrote a nice review of Baby Names Made Easy for the magazine’s spring/summer edition.

“I have three sons but I never tire of reading baby name books. In Baby Names Made Easy($15, Simon and Schuster, 2009) author Amanda Elizabeth Barden organizes more than 20,000 traditional to trendy names into categories ranging from Nature to Numbers and Animals to Insects. With more than 40 chapters, the book organizes names by category with meanings or definitions listed after each. Perhaps more people would name their girls Agatha if they knew it meant good and honorable in Greek, or Alma, meaning nourishing and kind in Latin. How about Thaddeus, meaning beloved and adored in Arabic?”

You can check out the whole article here and the other books she reviewed!

 

♥  Amanda

 

If you have baby name questions for me, email me at amanda@amandabarden.com.

Your question might appear in a future edition of Ask Amanda.

 

 

 

How Well do you Know your Celebrity Geography?

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on May 21, 2009
in Celebrity Baby Names
. 0 Comments

 

Who doesn’t love the National Geography Bee? The finals aired yesterday and congrats to the winner, Eric Yang!

 

This contest got me thinking about Celebrity Geography — celebrities and their kids with geography-inspired names. How well do you know your celebrity geography? Here’s my list:

 

 

GIRLS’ NAMES

 

ALABAMA (Shanna Moakler and Travis Barker’s daughter)

 

AMERICA Ferrera

 

ASHANTI

 

BRISTOL Palin

 

CHINA Phillips

 

DAKOTA Fanning

 

INDIA Arie

 

IRELAND Baldwin

 

ISLA Fisher

 

LOURDES (Madonna and Carlos Leon’s daughter)

 

PARIS Hilton

 

SAVANNAH (Marcia Cross and Tom Mahoney’s daughter)

 

SHILOH (Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter)

 

 

 

BOYS’ NAMES

 

BRONX Mowgli (son of Ashley Simpson and Pete Wentz)

 

BROOKLYN (son of Victoria and David Beckham)

 

CHAD Lowe

 

 

CUBA Gooding Jr.

 

DALLAS Imbimbo

 

KINGSTON (Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale’s son)

 

ORLANDO Bloom

 

ORLANDO Jones

 

TENNESSEE Williams

 

JORDAN Knight

 

 

I’m sure there are more you can add to this list. Post your additions here!

 

 

♥  Amanda

 

If you have baby name questions for me, email me at amanda@amandabarden.com.

Your question might appear in a future edition of Ask Amanda.

 

 

 

For more information on baby names and their meanings check out

BABY NAMES MADE EASY: THE COMPLETE REVERSE-DICTIONARY OF BABY NAMES

 

 

Gone with the Wind … a Name-Lover’s Paradise!

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on May 19, 2009
in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists and Holiday Baby Names
. 0 Comments

 

Without a doubt, Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind is one of the most beloved American novels. More importantly, it’s a name-lover’s paradise! Today marks the 73rd anniversary of Gone with the Wind, so I thought it was fitting to highlight some of the great names from this book.

 

 

 

FEMALE CHARACTER NAMES

 

BEATRICE Tarleton

 

BELLE Watling

 

BONNIE BLUE Butler

 

CARREEN O’Hara

 

DIMITY Munroe

 

DOLLY Merriwether

 

ELLA LORENA Kennedy

 

EMMIE Slattery

 

FANNY Elsing

 

HONEY Wilkes

 

INDIA Wilkes

 

MAYBELLE Merriwether  

 

MELANIE (MELLY) Hamilton  

 

SCARLETT O’Hara

 

SUELLEN O’Hara

 

 

 

 

MALE CHARACTER NAMES

 

ASHLEY Wilkes

 

BEAU Wilkes

 

BRENT Tarleton

 

CADE Calvert

 

CHARLES Hamilton

 

DARCY Meade

 

GERALD O’Hara

 

JOHN Wilkes

 

RENÉ Picard

 

RHETT Butler

 

STUART Tarleton

 

WADE Hamilton

 

WILL Benteen

 

 

 

With such a long book, it’s no surprise that it’s full of so many interesting names. But, I would say that the character’s first names aren’t the only source of name-inspiration. Here are some more possibilities from the locations and character’s last names.

 

 

GEORGIA

 

HAMILTON

 

O’HARA

 

TARA

 

WILKES

 

 

Gone with the Wind Name Trivia!

 

·         The name “Scarlett” was actually a last-minute change before publication. Scarlett was originally named Pansy.

 

·         Scarlett’s full given name is Katie Scarlett O’Hara.

 

·         Carreen and Suellen’s names are combined versions of their full given names:

 

Carreen = Caroline Irene

 

Suellen = Susan Elinor

 

·         Bonnie Blue’s given name is Eugenie Victoria Butler.

 

 

 

What is your favorite Gone with the Wind character name? Post a comment and let me know!

 

♥  Amanda

 

If you have baby name questions for me, email me at amanda@amandabarden.com.

Your question might appear in a future edition of Ask Amanda.

 

 

 

Fun Character Names to Celebrate Children’s Book Week (…and maybe some inspiration, too)

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on May 17, 2009
in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists and Holiday Baby Names
. 2 Comments

 

Happy Children’s Book Week! I’m a huge fan of children’s books — just ask my friends. I’d take a picture of my bookshelf to prove it, but I haven’t figured out how to upload pictures to my blog yet.

 

One of the things I love about children’s books is the fun character names. I just finished reading Jinx by Meg Cabot. It’s a story about a girl named Jinx. Well, her real name is Jean, but everyone calls her Jinx. You’ll have to read the book to find out why.

 

Anyhow, in honor of Children’s Book Week, I decided to put together a list of children’s book characters with excellent names that might also give you some naming inspiration…here goes:

 

 

 

FEMALE CHARACTER NAMES

 

ALICE — Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

 

AMELIA — Amelia Bedelia series by Peggy Parish

 

BLAIR — Gossip Girlseries by Cecily Von Ziegesar

 

CHARLOTTE — Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

 

CORALINE — Coralineby Neil Gaiman

 

GEORGIA — Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison

 

HERMIONE — Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

 

MADELINE — Madelineby Ludwig Bemelmans

 

RAMONA — Ramona Quimbyseries by Beverly Cleary

 

SERENA — Gossip Girlseries by Cecily Von Ziegesar

 

TRIXIE — Trixie Beldenseries by Julie Campbell Tatham (this one has a special place in my heart because Trixie is my cat’s name)

 

VIOLET — Series of Unfortunate Eventsseries by Lemony Snicket

 

WENDY — Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie

 

 

 

 

MALE CHARACTER NAMES

 

ARTEMIS — Artemis Fowlseries by Eoin Colfer

 

BO — The Thief Lordby Cornelia Funke

 

CHARLIE — Charlie and the Chocolate Factoryby Roald Dahl

 

CLIFFORD — Clifford the Big Red Dogseries by Norman Bridwell

 

FERDINAND — The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

 

HARRY — Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

 

HUGO — The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

 

JASPER — Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer

 

MAX — Where the Wild Things Areby Maurice Sendak

 

MILO — The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

 

PERCY — Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan (Harry Potter, too)

 

 

Some of these authors have pretty fantastic names, too — CORNELIA, ROALD, LUDWIG, CECILY, MUNRO, NORTON!

 

What are your favorite character names? Post a comment and let me know!

 

♥  Amanda

 

If you have baby name questions for me, email me at amanda@amandabarden.com.

Your question might appear in a future edition of Ask Amanda.

 

 

 

Happy Mother’s Day (plus a few related baby names)

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on May 10, 2009
in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists and Holiday Baby Names
. 0 Comments

 

Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms, soon-to-be-moms and most especially Happy Mother’s Day to my mom!

 

In celebration of motherhood, I’ve decided to highlight some of the names that mean “mother” or, in one case, something pretty similar (see Boys’ section below).

 

 

        GIRLS’ NAMES

 

Amlika

 

Janikaa

 

Jarita

 

Maia, Maya

 

Neith

 

 

 

BOYS’ NAMES

 

Quigley

 

 

 

Quigley means “on the maternal side” — I was quite excited to find at least one boys’ name I could add to my list.

 

All these names, and many more, can be found in the Heritage & Family chapter in Baby Names Made Easy. Check it out!

 

I’m a little undecided about whether “mother” is an odd meaning for a baby’s name or whether it’s a charming tribute to motherhood. What do you think? Post a comment and let me know.

 

♥  Amanda