Monthly Archive for July, 2009

Knoxville News Sentinel Book Review

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Mary Constantine wrote a fun article about food names for the Knoxville News Sentinel and featured Baby Names Made Easy:

 

 

“I recently became a great aunt.

 

My niece, Elizabeth, gave birth to an 8-pound, 4-ounce baby girl in late June.

 

The baby has chubby pink cheeks, a rosebud mouth and a head full of dark hair.

 

She’s definitely a keeper.

 

When I learned that Elizabeth and husband Curtis were expecting, I picked up the book “Baby Names Made Easy” (Simon and Schuster, $15) that had been laying on my desk.

 

News Sentinel editorial assistant Lisa Gentry had left it for me months earlier after noticing that it was organized by category, including one for food and drink.

 

Naming a child after a food item isn’t a new idea.

 

I’ve worked with women named Sherri and Cheri, and attended school with girls named Ginger and Pepper.

 

So there was a distinct possibility this book would include a name suitable for my great niece.

 

I loved the name Coco, but knew that Elizabeth and Curtis were too traditional to consider that.

 

I also liked the name Plum, but maybe that’s because it’s one of my favorite fruits.

 

Other female names that caught my eye included Cayenne, Brie, Mimosa, and, yes, even Apple, the name actress Gwyneth Paltrow chose for her daughter.

 

But everyone knows there are other considerations besides how the word rolls off the tongue when selecting a child’s name.

 

In this case, my great niece’s last name is Strange.

 

Knowing that, the names Coco Strange, Plum Strange and Apple Strange become totally unacceptable.

 

After all, children find ways to make fun of each other without handing them a gift.

 

In the end, Curtis and Elizabeth didn’t need my help naming their child.

 

One look at their precious girl and it’s apparent that Ava Claire Strange is the name she was meant to hold.

 

It’s a peach of a name.

 

Hmm, another one of my favorite fruits.”

 

 

 I think Ava Claire is a peach of a name, too. Great choice! I’ve always secretly loved the name Pepper though…but, I’m not sure Pepper Strange really works. Though, it’s better than Berry Strange…

 

You can read the article online here.

 

Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss any future baby name posts.

 

 

  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

 

 

 

Restoration Hardware Baby Names

 

When I was at the mall earlier, I picked up the latest Restoration Hardware Baby & Child Catalog. It’s a great catalog with cute baby things and it’s full of names! They offer many items that can be personalized with names or monograms — so their ads have lots of names in them.

 

It’s an interesting peek into the advertising world and the kinds of names the advertisers envision Restoration Hardware customers using for their babies. Good stuff!

 

Here are the names from the catalog:

 

RESTORATION HARDWARE GIRL NAMES

 

ABIGAIL

ADDISON

ALEXIS

ARIANNA

CHLOE

EMMA

EVA

GRACE

MADISON

MIA

MORGAN

TAYLOR

 

 

Bonus names I found at their website:

 

AVERY

EMILY

MEGAN

SOPHIA

 

 

I also found a few names that had middle names attached:

 

CHLOE DAWN

MIA REESE

MORGAN RILEY

 

 

 

RESTORATION HARDWARE BOY NAMES

 

AIDEN

CAYDEN

ETHAN

EVAN

HENRY

JACK

WILLIAM

 

 

Bonus website names:

 

HARRISON

RYAN

 

 

Full names:

 

JACK ANDREW

WILLIAM HENRY

 

 

The first thing I noticed when I looked at the names was that there were several “boyish” names for girls — ADDISON, AVERY, MADISON, MORGAN, TAYLOR. There were also the middle names REESE and RILEY. This is a popular trend these days and that’s reflected here, so it’s no surprise.

 

Also, the A’s have it — there’s ABIGAIL, ADDISON, AIDEN, ALEXIS, ARIANNA and AVERY. A is a very popular letter for first names, so this isn’t a surprise either.

 

The majority of these names fall into the Top 100 most popular names, based on Social Security rankings. Six of the Top 10 girls’ names are used: EMMA (#1), EMILY (#3), MADISON (#4), SOPHIA (#7), ABIGAIL (#8) and CHLOE (#10). The boys have two from the Top 10: ETHAN (#3) and WILLIAM (#8).

 

The only names that fall outside the Top 100 are:

 

EVA at #114 (however, this name is very similar to ultra-popular AVA, which is ranked at #5)

 

CAYDEN at #173 (multiple spellings of this name are popular though, which has an impact on ranking — CADEN is #95 and CAIDEN is #250)

 

HARRISON at #219

 

 

I love HARRISON. It’s so cute! I can see that becoming more popular.

 

Overall, they did a great job. These are fun names. What do you think? Post your comments. :)

 

Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss any future baby name posts.

 

  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

 

 

BABY NAME CRAFT PROJECT: Baby Name Wall Hanging

 

Here’s another baby name art project for you crafty readers…

 

 

        « BABY NAME WALL HANGING«

 

Most craft stores have wooden die cut letters like these. They come in a variety of sizes, shapes and styles.

 

Simply spell out your baby’s name and paint the letters in a color that complements the nursery. You could use one color for all the letters or be creative and use multiple colors. If you’re already artistically inclined, you could decorate the letters with cute designs like moons and stars, ducks or something else that matches the nursery.

 

When you’re finished, it will look cute hanging on the nursery’s door or wall.

 

 

This is fun and low-cost project you could do on your own or with older siblings — they could decorate their own names, too. Have fun!

 

 

Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss any future baby name posts or baby name craft ideas.

 

  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

 

 

Harry Potter Names: Part 2, Wizards

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Yesterday we started our Harry Potter celebration by looking at the girls’ names from the books. Today we’re ready for the boys.

 

Here’s a list of interesting boys’ names from the books:

 

 

WIZARDS

 

ALASTOR Moody

AMOS Diggory

ARCHIBALD Alderton

ARGUS Filch

ARMANDO Dippet

AUGUSTUS Worme

BARNABY Ollerton

BASIL Horton

BEAUMONT Marjoribanks

BLAISE Zabini

BOWMAN Wright

BRODERICK Bode

BUCKLEY Cooper

BRUNO Schmidt

CADMUS Peverell

CARADOC Dearborn

CASPAR Crouch

CEDRIC Diggory

COLIN Creevey

CORMAC McLaggen

CYPRIAN Youdle

DEMPSTER Wiggleswade

DEVLIN Whitehorn

DEXTER Fortescue

DONAGHAN Tremlett

DUNCAN Inglebee

EUAN Abercrombie

EVAN Rosier

FALCO Aesalon

FELIX Summerbee

GIDEON Prewett

GILDEROY Lockhart

GODRIC Gryffindor

GRAHAM Pritchard

GULLIVER Pokeby

HARRY Potter

HUGO Weasley

JUSTUS Pilliwickle

KENNILWORTHY Whisp

KINGSLEY Shacklebolt

KIRLEY Duke

LORCAN Scamander

LUCIUS Malfoy

LUDOVIC Bagman

LYSANDER Scamander

MARIUS Black

MONTAGUE Knightley

MUNDUNGUS Fletcher

MUNGO Bonham

NEVILLE Longbottom

OCTAVIUS Pepper

OLIVER Wood

ORION Black

OTTO Bagman

OWEN Cauldwell

PERCIVAL Dumbledore

PERCY Weasley

POLLOX Black

QUINTIUS Umfraville

RAGMAR Dorkins

REMUS Lupin

RUBEUS Hagrid

SALAZAR Slytherin

SAMSON Wiblin

SCORPIUS Malfoy

SEVERUS Snape

SIRIUS Black

TARQUIN McTavish

TIBERIUS Ogden

TILDEN Toots

TOM MARVOLO Riddle

WILKIE Twycross

XAVIER Rastrick

 

SOURCE: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Harry_Potter_characters

 

 

I can tell that J. K. Rowling had fun coming up with all these names because they’re so fun to read. Some of these names are probably too far out there for some parents, like DEMPSTER or RAGMAR. But there are quite a few cool names here.

 

Here are my faves from this list: BRODERICK, EVAN and GULLIVER. I also think that DUNCAN is so nerdy, it’s actually cool.

 

If you looking for ways to get at cool nicknames, try CARADOC for “Doc” and CORMAC for “Mac.”

 

Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss any future baby name posts.

 

  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

 

 

 

Harry Potter Names: Part 1, Witches

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Harry’s back! The latest Harry Potter film has finally been released and I can’t wait to see it…I’m counting down the hours. While waiting for the release, I’ve been sorting through character names and picking out some of my favorites.

 

J. K. Rowling isn’t just a great writer, she’s a brilliant namer. In the Harry Potter series, she mixed in mainstream names like HARRY and RON with unique names like HERMIONE and LUNA, very unusual names like SIRIUS and SEVERUS and then truly off-the-wall names like HELIOTROPE, KENNILWORTHY and MUNDUNGUS. For a name nerd like myself, it made for great fun while reading the books.

 

Today we’ll look at witches and tomorrow we’ll check out the wizards. J

 

 

WITCHES

 

AMELIA Bones

ANDROMEDA Black

APPOLINE Delacour

ARABELLA Figg

ARAMINTA Meliflua

ARTEMISIA Lufkin

ASTORIA Greengrass

AUDREY Weasley

AUGUSTA Longbottom

AURORA Sinistra

BELLATRIX Black

BELVINA Burke

CALLIDORA Black

CARLOTTA Pinkstone

CASSIOPEIA Black

CATRIONA McCormack

CELESTINA Warbeck

CHO Chang

DAISY Dodderidge

DAPHNE Greengrass

DEMELZA Robins

DRUELLA Black

DYMPHNA Furmage

ELLADORA Black

ELSIE Prod

EMMELINE Vance

FIFI LaFolle

FLEUR Delacour

GALATEA Merrythought

GINEVRAGINNY” Weasley

GRETA Catchlove

GRISELDA Marchbanks

HELGA Hufflepuff

HELIOTROPE Willis

HEPZIBAH Smith

HERMIONE Granger

HESTIA Jones

HONORIA Dumbledore

IGNATIA Wildsmith

ISLA Black

LAVENDER Brown

LILY Potter

LISETTE de Lapin

LUCRETIA Prewett

LUNA Lovegood

LYSANDRA Black

MAGENTA Comstock

MAISIE Cattermole

MARIETTA Edgecombe

MELANIA Black

MINERVA McGonagall

MIRABELLA Plunkett

MIRANDA Goshawk

MOLLY Weasley

MUSIDORA Barkwith

NARCISSA Black

NYMPHADORA Tonks

OLIVE Hornby

OLYMPE Maxime

ORLA Quirke

PADMA Patil

PANSY Parkinson

PARVATI Patil

PENELOPE Clearwater

PERPETUA Fancourt

PETUNIA Dursley

POMONA Sprout

POPPY Pomfrey

ROMILDA Vane

ROSE Weasley

ROWENA Ravenclaw

SACHARISSA Tugwood

SEPTIMA Vector

SYBILL Trelawney

URSULA Flint

VIOLETTA Black

 

SOURCE: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Harry_Potter_characters

 

 

 

There are so many fun names on this list it’s hard to narrow it down to a few favorites. But after a lot of careful deliberation, I came up with these faves: CELESTINA, LAVENDER, OLIVE and VIOLETTA. This is a loose list and I could easily have added several more, like AURORA, CALLIDORA, MAGENTA, MINERVA, ORLA and PENELOPE (love PENNY as a nickname).

 

Honorable Mention: MUSIDORA. I absolutely love this name, but would never be so bold as to use it for a baby. Anyone else out there like MUSIDORA or is it just me? I find the musical quality of the name very attractive.

 

Anyhow, that’s all for today. Check back tomorrow for wizard names.

 

Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss any future baby name posts.

 

  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

 

 

BIBLICAL BABY NAMES: Part 2, Boys’ Names

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I know how popular Biblical baby names are, so I decided to look for some rare Biblical names that modern parents might like. There was quite a lot to sort through, some names I couldn’t even pronounce and many that seemed like too much of a name, if you know I mean. Names like HAGGI, HAPPIZZEZ, JEHOIACHIN, MESHILLEMOTH, SENNACHERIB and PUAH.

 

Mixed in with the BUNNI’s and GUNI’s, I found some really great options for parents looking for less common baby names. Let me know what you think!

 

Yesterday we looked at girls’ names and today we’re going to look at boys’ names. You’ll notice that today’s list is longer than yesterday’s…that’s just because there are a lot more men named in the Bible than women.

 

Here you go:

 

BIBLICAL BOY BABY NAMES

 

ABEL

ABIJAH

ADLAI

AHAB

AMOS

ASA

ASHER

AZARIAH

BARNABAS

BARTHOLOMEW

CORNELIUS

DARIUS

DEMETRIUS

ELIJAH

EZRA

GIDEON

HOSEA

ISAIAH

ISHMAEL

JEREMIAH

JETHRO

LEVI

MATTHIAS

MICAH

MICAIAH

NICODEMUS

OBADIAH

OMRI

RAPHAEL

SAMSON

SILAS

SIMON

TIBERIUS

TITUS

TOBIAH

TOBIAS

UNNO

ZACCAI

ZACCHAEUS

ZEBEDEE

ZIMRI

 

 

Let me know which ones you like best…or which ones you hate! I’m a fan of BARTHOLOMEW, but I don’t like BART at all and I’m not sure there’s any way around that nickname. LEVI is pretty great, too, and I suspect we’ll see it rise in popularity after Camilla Alves and Matthew McConaughey named their son LEVI last year.

 

I think ASHER has great potential, too. With the popularity of names like ASHLEY and ASHTON, I think ASHER has a good chance of finding an audience.

 

 

BABY NAMING TIP: Before choosing one of these names, do some research to make sure the Biblical figure with the desirable name fits your image of a good namesake. If the figure doesn’t fit the bill, you can still use the name. Just let people know that you chose the name because you liked it, not because you wanted to name your child after that particular Biblical figure.

 

 

Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss any future baby name posts.

 

  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

 

 

 

BIBLICAL BABY NAMES: Part 1, Girls’ Names

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I know that lots of parents-to-be are searching for Biblical baby names. There’s nothing new about this and as a result, there are quite a few popular Biblical baby names that quickly come to mind — John, Joseph, Mary, James, Elizabeth, just off the top of my head.

 

This week I decided to dig a little deeper and find some less common Biblical baby names that are worth considering. I think I found some good options…let me know what you think!

 

Today we’ll look at girls’ names and tomorrow we’ll look at the boys’ names.

 

 

 

BIBLICAL GIRL BABY NAMES

 

ABITAL

ADAH

DAMARIS

DELILAH

DINAH

DRUSILLA

EVE

JAEL

JEMIMA

JEZEBEL

KETURAH

KEZIAH

LEAH

NAOMI

PHOEBE

PRISCA

PRISCILLA

REBEKAH

RHODA

SALOME

SAPPHIRA

TABITHA

TAMAR

ZILLAH

ZILPAH

ZIPPORAH

 

 

I think my favorites from this list are PRISCILLA, SAPPHIRA and TABITHA. Two of these have great built-in nicknames — I’m not a fan of PRISSY, but I do like CILLA and I love TABBY. Not sure if SAPPHIRA has good nickname potential, but some parents love the no-nickname names—so, this might be a good pick for those parents.

 

Do you know of any other hidden name gems in the Bible? Comment and let me know!

 

Tune back in tomorrow for a list of rare Biblical boys’ names!

 

Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss any future baby name posts.

 

  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

 

 

BABY NAMES OF THE WEEK: “Fireworks” Baby Names

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One of my absolute favorite things in the entire world is fireworks. They’re magical and make me feel sparkly and I love them. So, fresh off my 4th of July fireworks high, I’ve chosen names with meanings that remind me of fireworks for the Baby Names of the Week:

 

 

Here are my picks:

 

 

GIRLS’ BABY NAME OF THE WEEK

 

EMBER — Latin name meaning “smoldering fire”

 

 

 

BOYS’ BABY NAME OF THE WEEK

 

ORION — Greek name meaning “son of fire”

 

 

 

I think EMBER is actually a very appealing alternative to more popular AMBER. It sounds interesting, it’s unique and has an attractive meaning. The only trouble I see with it is that people could mishear it as AMBER and you might end up having to repeat the name more than once. Might be worth it though for such a cool baby name…

 

ORION is an old favorite of mine. I’ve loved it for years and have never known why it hasn’t been more popular. It starts with an unusual letter, which parents sometimes like (think ZACHARY, XANDER and ZOE), and it has the same sound of long-popular RYAN. All the makings of a cool baby name!

 

That’s all for today! Tune in later this week for more baby name discussion!

 

Sign up for the RSS Feed for this blog so you don’t miss out on any future baby name posts!

 

  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

 

 

 

4 Tips for Naming Twins

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Since Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick just welcomed twins MARION LORETTA ELWELL and TABITHA HODGE into their family last week, this seems like the perfect time to discuss baby names for twins.
 
Parents of twins often look for baby names that are related to one another in order to celebrate that special bond only twins share. Parents try to do this in a bunch of different ways and I’ve put together a list of ideas you can consider when naming twins:

 

« 4 TIPS FOR NAMING TWINS «

 

1. SAME MEANING

 

Choose names that have similar or complementary meanings. This is my favorite way to connect names (no surprise!). I wrote about this in the Introduction of BABY NAMES MADE EASY as a way to create a meaningful connection between siblings and their names, without being too obvious or cutesy.

 

A great example of this is Cleopatra and Mark Antony who name their twins HELIOS and SELENE, which mean “sun” and “moon,” respectively. Very cute, without being too cute…

 

 

 

2. SAME FIRST LETTER

 

You can use the same first letter for each name. This is relatively easy and you see it a lot. And I mean a lot… A whopping 8 out of the 10 most popular twin baby name pairings in 2008 follow this patter, according to Social Security. The top 10 are:

 

JACOB / JOSHUA

DANIEL / DAVID

JAYDEN / JORDAN

ETHAN / EVAN

TAYLOR / TYLER

GABRIELLA / ISABELLA

ISAAC / ISAIAH

MADISON / MORGAN

ELIJAH / ISAIAH

ELLA / EMMA

 

The people have spoken here. Clearly, lots of parents like the idea of choosing names with the same first letter for twins. Enough said.

 

3. FAMILY NAMES

 

You can use family names for each child. This is what Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick did — ELWELL and HODGES are both family names.

 

You could take a look at your family trees and either simply choose names you like at random or choose a particular type of relative, such as great grandmothers, and choose from only those options (provided you like those options, of course). You can mix and match from mom and dad’s family trees of just stick with one. Tons of choices here!

 

 

4. SAME THEME

 

When naming twins, consider choosing names with the same theme. For example, choose two different location names or two Biblical names. Rebecca Romjin and Jerry O’Connell chose floral middle names for their twin girls CHARLIE TAMARA TULIP and DOLLY REBECCA ROSE.

 

This is a great idea because there are so many options and you can get really creative about what theme you choose!

 

 

 

Looking for more inspiration? Here are the names of some of the twins born to celebrities in 2008:

 

 

        « CELEBRITY TWINS OF 2008 «

 

 

COCO TRINITY and SAWYER LUCIA — daughters of Diane Farr and Seung Chung

 

EMME MARIBEL and MAXIMILIAN DAVID — daughter and son of Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony

 

FINLEY and HARPER — daughters of Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Lockwood

 

JUNO and REX — daughter and son of Marianne and Will Champion

 

VIVIENNE MARCHELINE and KNOX LEON — daughter and son of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt

 

VALENTINO and MATTEO — sons of Ricky Martin

 

 

 

That’s all for today! Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss any future baby name posts.

 

  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