2009 November Archive at Baby Names Made Easy: The Complete Reverse-Dictionary of Baby Names

Monthly Archive for November, 2009

ASK AMANDA: A Vintage Name with a Good Meaning

Published

Amanda Barden

on November 30, 2009

in Ask Amanda, Baby Name Suggestions & Lists and Baby Naming Tips

. 1 Comment

Beverly & Pack

Welcome to another edition of ASK AMANDA. Today I’m helping parents with a very common question — and one of my favorites.

Ask Amanda

Q: We are having our third child in February, a baby girl. My husband and I love vintage names with great meanings. This time, we are struggling a bit. The baby’s middle name will be Constance. We do not want to pick a name that is too popular.

Any ideas? DANA, Austin, Texas

A: So, you’re looking for a vintage name that’s not too popular, has a good meaning and goes with the middle name Constance. I’m so glad you wrote to me!

Here are some suggestions:

ALTHEA: “healthy, healing power”

AUDREY: “noble strength”

CORDELIA: “heart”

DAPHNE: “laurel”

ELIZA: “God is my oath”

FELICITY: “happy, fortunate”

MARGOT: “pearl”

NORA: “honor”

ORLA: “golden lady, princess”

In case it factors into your decision, the name CONSTANCE is Latin for “loyal.” Sometimes people like to coordinate meanings.

I hope you find something you like on this list. If not, there are thousands of options in my book!

For everyone out there looking for names with specific meanings, you should pick up a copy of BABY NAMES MADE EASY. It’s the only baby name book that’s organized by the meaning of the names. That makes it really easy for you to find names with meanings you like. J

Good luck and let me know what you pick!

Happy naming,

♥ Amanda

Follow me on TWITTER to get up-to-the-minute celebrity baby name news, interesting names I come across and so much more! I’m @babynameauthor!

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 for Thanksgiving: Mayflower Passengers

Published

Amanda Barden

on November 23, 2009

in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists and Holiday Baby Names

. 4 Comments

romulusnr

This Thanksgiving I find myself very grateful for the opportunities I’ve had this year. Tops on my list is the publishing of my first book, BABY NAMES MADE EASY! It’s been a whirlwind and a blast. This is a good time to give a very big thank you to everyone who helped bring it to print, especially, my editor Michelle Howry and my agent Stephanie Kip Rostan. Most of all, I thank all the readers. I couldn’t do it without you…

My gift to you this Thanksgiving? Pilgrim names.

Doesn’t sound exciting? Trust me, the Pilgrims had some awesome names. Today, I bring you the list of passengers on the Mayflower. Sure there are 3 ELIZABETHs, 5 MARYs, 6 EDWARDs, 7 WILLIAMs and a whopping 13 JOHNs, but there are some one-of-a-kind gems here, too. Boys named LOVE and WRESTLING?! DAMARIS, DEGORY and DESIRE! OCEANUS and PEREGRINE! Fabulous names for a true name aficionado.

This list is worth a read. Enjoy (and let me know your favorites)!

GIRLS’ BABY NAMES

ALICE Mullins

ALICE Rigsdale

ANN Tilley

CONSTANCE Hopkins

DAMARIS Hopkins

DESIRE Minter

DOROTHY Bradford

ELEANOR Billington

ELIZABETH Hopkins

ELIZABETH Tilley

ELIZABETH Winslow

ELLEN More

HUMILITY Cooper

JOAN Tilley

KATHERINE Carver

MARY Allerton

MARY Brewster

MARY Chilton

MARY Martin

MARY More

PRISCILLA Mullins

REMEMBER Allerton

SARAH Eaton

SUSANNA White

BOYS’ BABY NAMES

BARTHOLOMEW Allerton

CHRISTOPHER Martin

DEGORY Priest

EDMUND Margesson

EDWARD Fuller

EDWARD Leister

EDWARD Planter Doty

EDWARD Thompson

EDWARD Tilley

EDWARD Winslow

ELIAS Story

FRANCIS Billington

FRANCIS Cooke

FRANCIS Eaton

GEORGE Soule

GILBERT Winslow

GILES Hopkins

HENRY Samson

ISAAC Allerton

JAMES Chilton

JASPER More

JOHN Alden

JOHN Allerton

JOHN Billington

JOHN Carver

JOHN Cooke

JOHN Crackstone

JOHN Goodman

JOHN Hooke

JOHN Howland

JOHN Langmore

JOHN Rigsdale

JOHN Tilley

JOHN Turner

JOSEPH Mullins

JOSEPH Rogers

LOVE Brewster

MOSES Fletcher

MYLES Standish

OCEANUS Hopkins (born at sea!)

PEREGRINE White

PETER Browne

RESOLVED White

RICHARD Britteridge

RICHARD Clarke

RICHARD Gardinar

RICHARD More

RICHARD Warren

ROBERT Carter

ROGER Wilder

SAMUEL Eaton

SAMUEL Fuller

SOLOMON Prower

THOMAS English

THOMAS Rogers

THOMAS Tinker

THOMAS Williams

WILLIAM Brandord

WILLIAM Brewster

WILLIAM Button

WILLIAM Holbeck

WILLIAM Latham

WILLIAM Mullins

WILLIAM White

WRESTLING Brewster

SOURCE: http://pilgrimhall.org/mayfpass.htm

My faves? I love the name PRISCILLA. I can’t be alone. Who else likes this name? I know there aren’t many of us, but it’s a very sweet name. Other nice picks are ALICE, ELIZABETH and DAMARIS.

From the boys list, I like EDMUND, OCEANUS, ISAAC, ELIAS and BARTHOLOMEW (not crazy about Bart as a nickname though).

However, the real standouts from this list are the virtue names. Most of these are a little too off-the-beaten-path for modern parents, but they’re worth looking at. From the Mayflower we have CONSTANCE, DESIRE, REMEMBER, HUMILITY, LOVE, RESOLVED and WRESTLING.

Love the idea of these virtue names, but worried your kids would never forgive you? Consider them for a middle name. As I always say, you can be a little more daring with the middle name.

THANKSGIVING NAME TRIVIA

Q: Who do we have to thank for the Thanksgiving holiday?

A: SARAH JOSEPHA Hale. In 1846, as editor of Godley’s Lady’s Book, she started a campaign for the celebration of Thanksgiving as a national holiday. It didn’t become official until 1863, thanks to ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Apparently, he declared two Thanksgiving holidays, one in August and one in November. Whatever happened to the August holiday?

SOURCE: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/History/First-thanksgiving

What about the name JOSEPHA? Something to think about for all you parents looking for uncommon names…it would also be a unique way to honor a relative named Joseph.

A nod to my sources: The Plymouth Hall Museum website had the list of Mayflower passengers and some interesting historical info about them. Take a look at the National Geographic Kids website for a history of the first Thanksgiving.

OK, that’s all for now. Have a very happy and safe Thanksgiving!

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

You can also follow me on TWITTER to get up-to-the-minute celebrity baby name news, interesting names I come across and so much more! I’m @babynameauthor! I’ve even been known to give name suggestions to people looking for ideas…you could be next!

♥ 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

The (Unofficial) Twilight Guide to Naming Babies

Published

Amanda Barden

on November 19, 2009

in Baby Names in the News and Celebrity Baby Names

. 3 Comments

fdecomite

No matter whether you’re on Team Edward or Team Jacob, we can all agree that Stephenie Meyer knows how to name a character. Wow! The character name list from her Twilight series is full of everything from traditional and classic names to inventive names to stylish International names. There’s a little something for everyone.

On her website, Meyer explains how she came up with the names for her lead characters Edward and Bella. Meyer chose Edward because Edward was the name of Mr. Rochester in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Mr. Ferrars in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. She thought the name Edward was “romantic” and, presumably, because it was no longer popular, it worked for a character who had been “dead” for many years. Meyer says that naming Bella was much harder. She ended up using the name she had picked out for a daughter if she ever had one. Risky!

She named other characters by looking through census records and choosing names that were popular in the years the characters were born.

She also revealed some Twilight Name Trivia:

 Rosalie was originally named Carol and Jasper was originally named Ronald. I’m so glad she made the changes! Rosalie and Jasper are so much more memorable and stylish than Carol and Ronald. Don’t you think?

Read what Meyer had to say about character names for yourself: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight.html

Here’s the list of characters from the Twilight series: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn. I love the fans over at Wikipedia for being so helpful!

Enjoy and let me know your favorites!

FEMALE CHARACTER NAMES

ANGELA Weber

ATHENODORA

CARMEN

CHARLOTTE

CHELSEA

DIDYME

EMILY Young

ESME Cullen

GIANNA

HEIDI

IRINA

ISABELLA “BELLA” MARIE Swan

JANE

JESSICA Stanley

KACHIRI

KATE

KEBI

LAUREN Mallory

LEAH Clearwater

MAGGIE

MAKENNA

MARY

MARY ALICE “ALICE” Cullen

RENATA

RENÉE Dwyer

RENESMEE “NESSIE” CARLIE Cullen

ROSALIE Hale

SENNA

SIOBHAN

SUE Clearwater

SULPICIA

TANYA

TIA

VICTORIA

ZAFRINA

MALE CHARACTER NAMES

ALEC

ALISTAIR

AMUN

ARO

BENJAMIN

BILLY Black

CAIUS

CARLISLE Cullen

CHARLES

CHARLIE Swan

COLLIN

DEMETRI

EDWARD ANTHONY Cullen

ELEAZAR

EMBRY Call

EMMETT Cullen

EPHRAIM Black

ERIC Yorkie

FELIX

HARRY Clearwater

JACOB Black

JAMES

JARED

JASON Jenks

JASPER Hale

LAURENT

LIAM

MARCUS

MIKE Newton

PAUL

PETER

QUIL Ateara

RANDALL

RILEY

SAM Uley

SETH Clearwater

STEFAN

TYLER Crowley

VLADIMIR

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Twilight_characters

I especially like the name SENNA from the girl’s list. It’s very pretty and unique, without being too unusual. That’s a fine line to walk and many parents are looking for names that fall into this category. Other favorites are CARMEN, ESME, ROSALIE, CARLISLE and LIAM.

You can bet that some of these character names will have an impact on baby name popularity. For example, lately I’ve heard a lot of people mention ALICE and JASPER as possible baby names. Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams also named their new son Jasper earlier this year, giving it an extra boost of star-appeal. It will be interesting to see if the names transition from being talked about to actually being used – only time will tell (they’ve seen modest bumps already). What do you think will happen? Will the Twilight frenzy translate into baby names?

Do you have any favorite names from this list? Post a comment and let me know.

Also, let me know what you think of New Moon – I can’t wait to see it!

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

You can also follow me on TWITTER to get up-to-the-minute celebrity baby name news, interesting names I come across and so much more! I’m @babynameauthor!

♥ 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

7 Days of Baby Names on TWITTER: 11/8/09-11/14/09

Published

Amanda Barden

on November 18, 2009

in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists and Twitter Baby Names

. 0 Comments

I’m really having fun reading all the names people discuss on Twitter— follow me on Twitter to enjoy them in real time (@babynameauthor). If you’re not into Twitter yet, read along here on my blog.

Here’s another week’s worth of Twitter baby names—these are some of the name announcements, name suggestions, comments and debated names I came across this week…Enjoy!

GIRLS’ BABY NAMES

ABRIANA RAYNE

ADRIANA

ALIAH MYA

ALISA JAMESON

ALLISON

AMANDA MAY

AMETHYST WHISPER

ANJANI

ANNABELL VIOLET

ANNIKA

ANSLEY

ARATWA

ARELLA

ATHEMIA

BELINDA

CALISTA ANNE

CAMILLA

CAROLINE

CHARLOTTE

CHLOE SHAY

CORALINE

DANNE

DELFINA

DELILAH LEE

DIANA

DIOR DI’YANNA MARIE

DOMINIQUE

ELIANA

ELIZABETH AUDREY

ELLEN

EMELYN

EUILDA

EVELYN

GIANA

GINEVRA

HAYLIE

HAZEL

HERMIONE

HOLLY

INDIA

ISABEL

ISRAEL

KALEAH LADIA

KALEE MARIE

KAMRYN AMAYA

KAYORI NICOLE

KENNEDY WYNTER ELIZABETH

KHLOE

LATIKA

LEILA

LEILU

LEXINGTON EMMA

LIBERTY GRACE

LILY

LOLA

MADALYN

MATILDA

MAXI AUBREY

MCKENZIE

MICHELE

NAINTARA

NAKSHATRA

NA’SHIYA

NATALIE HANNAH

NICOLE RENEE

OPAL LEIGH

PIXIE (only a nickname, but I had to include it!)

REAGAN FRANCES

RYAN

SAYANNAH

SERA SUSAN

SKYLER NIKOLE

SOPHIA LOUISE CLARE

SOPHIE RAE

STORM

SUMMER

SUMMER MAE WINTERS

TALA

TAYLOR-HAYLEY

URSULA

VIOLET

WENDYE

WILLOW IVY ESTRELLA

ZOE GRACE

ZOEY

ZOFIA ISOBEL

ZUNA

BOYS’ BABY NAMES

AIDEN

AMERICUS

ARES VALENTIN

ARTHUR

AUSTIN KAEL

BAXTER

BENJAMIN

BRIGHTON

BROCK HUDSON

BRODY GRANT

BRONX

CARSYN DECATUR

CASH

CHACE/CHASE

CHARLIE

CHRISTOBAL

CLAYTON

CORBIN BRADLEY

DAMIAN

DOMINIC MATTHEW

ELLIOT

ETHAN

EVERETT PAUL

FORREST

FRANCIS JONATHAN

GAVIN

GEORGE

GUNNISON

HERMAN PATRICK

IAN LANE

ISSAC NIKO

IVER MICHAEL

JACK

JAMAL

JAYDEN

JENSON LEWIS

JORDAN

JUDE

JULIAN HENNING

KAEDYN

KIER ZYMON

LOGAN JACE

LUCAS

MANUEL

MATTHEW

MONTEREY (middle name)

NATHANIEL

NICKOLAS ALEXANDER

NOEL

NOLAN

OWEN LEVI

PARKER MICHEAL

PAUL

PETER

RHYS

RIELLY JOSEPH

RIVER

RYDER ALLEN

SALIM

SCHLOMO

STELLAN

TOBIAS BENJAMIN DUNCAN

TRISTON ELI

TYLER ZANE

VINCENT PAUL

ZEDEKIAH RAY

UNISEX NAMES

BROOKLYN

DAKOTA

JAZZ

MONTANA

SIBLINGS’ NAMES

KYLAH and LEAH

PHOEBE and DAISY

ROSIE and DAISY

DECISIONS, DECISIONS…

BETH or MOLLY

BROOKLYN or MADISON

COLLETTE or CHERIE

IYLA, ILA or ISLA (all pronounced “eye-lah”)

KASSIDY CHANEL, CHLOE CHANEL or AUBREY CHANEL

MARIELLA CHARMAINE or FRANCES MAINE

BARTHOLOMEW or ALBERT

ETHAN HUNT or GAVIN ROSS

ETHAN or BENJAMIN

GREY KILLIAN or MIKHAIL GREY

JACK, OLIVER or SMITH

MICHAEL BOSTON or BRAYDEN CHRISTOPHER

CELEBRITY INSPIRATION…

HOPE DESTINY-CYRUS

RHIANNA

Middle names BELLA and EDWARD (from Twilight series)

OUT OF STYLE…These are names some people weren’t so fond of…

BERTHA

DAFFODIL

FLORENCE

MADISON

RUTH

TINKLE

ANTHONY

BELDEN

CHAZZ

DONNIE

DYLAN

ELI

GUISEPPE

GUNNAR

KOBE

LESTER

PETS’ NAMES

ALEXANDER or ALEXANDRIA

AOIFE

ARCHIE

ARROW, FABLE or HAZARD

BABY

BENNY FRANKS

BENTLEY

BESS

BISCOTTI

BISHOP

BITSY

BORRIS

CALVIN

CHARLIE

COCO

CUDDLY

DEWEY

FARLEE

FENDI

FRANK

FREDERICK

HERCULES

JAZZY

JENKINS

KEELO

KENZO

MIMSY MARILYN MONROE

MI-SHA

NINJA

NOMNOM

OLA

PIGLET

PIGWIDGEON

PUMPKIN

RAVEN

SAWYER

SHADOW

SUNDAI

TINK

TIPPY

TUXEDO

VALENTINE

WHISKEY

WINSTON

Which picks are your favorites? I love all the pet names — Mimsy, Valentine, Biscotti. So cute. What’s your pet’s name? My cat is Trixie. ö

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

You can also follow me on TWITTER to get up-to-the-minute celebrity baby name news, interesting names I come across and so much more! I’m @babynameauthor!

♥ 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

Interview with Kojii Helnwein about baby names…and her pain-free birth!

Published

Amanda Barden

on November 18, 2009

in Baby Names in the News, Baby Naming Tips, International Baby Names and Website Announcements

. 0 Comments

I’ve launched my first Notable Names feature - an interview with Kojii Helnwein of Project Runway and Models of the Runway. Kojii told me about how she got her unique name and how she chose her daughter’s name. Plus, she had great tips for soon-to-be-parents. Read it for yourself and leave comments here.

More name interviews to come…Stay tuned!

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

You can also follow me on TWITTER to get up-to-the-minute celebrity baby name news, interesting names I come across and so much more! I’m @babynameauthor!

♥ 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

More Alternatives to the Top 10 Baby Names

Published

Amanda Barden

on November 14, 2009

in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists and Baby Naming Tips

. 3 Comments

j0438039

Parents-to-be often fall in love with a name only to see it land in the Top 10 most popular baby names. Some take that as a sign that they have good taste and choose the name without looking back. Others decide to scrap the name and choose something more unique.

For those of you who like some of the Top 10 names, but want something that’s not already at the top of the charts, I’ve put together a list of alternatives — names that are similar, but not similarly popular.

GIRLS’ BABY NAMES

EMMA — EMBER, ESMÉ, AMABEL

ISABELLA — ISLA, ISIDORA, IRIS, INGRID

EMILY — EMERSON, EMERALD, AMELIA

MADISON — MACY, MADELINE, MARLEY

AVA — AIDA, AVERY, ASTRA, IVY

OLIVIA — OLIVE, OLYMPIA, OPAL

SOPHIA — STELLA, SIMONE, SIENA

ABIGAIL — ABILENE, AUDREY, ANNABELLE

ELIZABETH — ELIZA, ELINOR, BETHANY

CHLOE — CALLIOPE, CAMILLA, CORA

BOYS’ BABY NAMES

JACOB — JASPER, JERICHO, JAMESON

MICHAEL — MICAH, MILLER, MITCHELL

ETHAN — ELLIOT, EASTON, ELIAS

JOSHUA — JOSIAH, JOSS, JULIAN

DANIEL — DANE, DALTON, DASHIELL

ALEXANDER — XAVIER, ARCHER, ARCHIBALD

ANTHONY — ANDERSON, ARTHUR, AUGUSTUS

WILLIAM — WILSON, WALLACE, WALKER

CHRISTOPHER — CHANDLER, CHARLETON, CRISPIN

MATTHEW — MADDEN, MALCOLM, MARLOW

What do you think? Do you have a good suggestion for a Top 10 alternative? Leave a comment and let us all know!

Also, a big thank you for the comments and emails — I love to hear from readers! J

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

You can also follow me on TWITTER to get up-to-the-minute celebrity baby name news, interesting names I come across and so much more! I’m @babynameauthor!

♥ 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

7 Days of Baby Names on TWITTER

Published

Amanda Barden

on November 9, 2009

in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists, Twitter Baby Names and Website Announcements

. 4 Comments

If you’re not following me on Twitter (@babynameauthor), you’ve probably missed some of the interesting baby names mentioned on Twitter this week. There’s a wide variety of interesting names that people are choosing and considering out there.

Here’s a sample of the baby name announcements and name ideas discussed and suggested on Twitter this week… Enjoy! I included some of the pet names I found, too.

GIRLS’ BABY NAMES

ABBY GRACE

AMANDA

AMAYA

AMREEN

AUBREY

AUNICA VESPER EVOLET

AVEA CHENAIL

AVERY RYANN

AZALIA

BELLA JAYNE

BREE RYANE

BROOKE

CELIA

CHARISMA ADRIANA

CLARITA EMITA

EDEN

ESTELLE

FARRAH ELIZABETH

FINLEY

FIONA

GRACE

HANNAH MADISON

ISLA ONYX NOUVEL

JASMINE

JEMMALYN RUBY

KENNEDIE DIOR

KHLOE ELIZABETH

KYLA

LAYLA

LOGAN

LUCIA

LYDIA VENICE ALIYAH

MADELYN

MADISON

MAKENZIE

MARLENE

MELODY RAIN

NYLA HARMONY

PAIGE

SAVANNAH

SINAHI

SOPHIA

VIOLET

WILHELMINA

WILLOW LENORA

WINNIE

BOYS’ BABY NAMES

ALLISTER

ANDREW

BRADEN/BRAIDEYN/BRAIDEN

CARLOS

CHRISTIAN

COLBY LYNCH

COLT JOSEPH

CORDELL ADRIAN

CRAWFORD FOX

EMMANUEL REESE

ERIC

GABRIEL JAMES

HARPER

JACKSON

JASON

KISSLER

LAYTON

LIAM

LUCAS

MASON RAYMOND

MEREDITH

MIJNORE

MORGAN

OLIVER

OSCAR

PAOLO

PARKS

PHILLIP

RICO JAMMEL

ROEHAN

SHANE

SIDNEY TALBOT

TALAN RYAN

TOBIN JACK

WYATT NOLAN

SIBLINGS’ NAMES

ASHER and TAJ

JAMES and COLE

MISTY and MICHELINA

ZEANA, ZANYA and ZANE

PETS’ NAMES

ANDERSON

ANGUS

ASIA

AUGUSTUS

BABY DRACULA

BABY GIRL

BACON

BILLY THE KID

BUBBLES

BURGER

CAESAR

CHARLEY

CO-CO

CURRY

FLUFFY

GEMMA

LIGHTNING BOLT

MAYBELLINE

MR. TOODLES

NUTMEG

OLIVE

ROOSTER

SADIE

SWEETIE

TROUBLE

WEBSTER

Let me know your favorites! Mine might be AZALIA. Unique and pretty.

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

You can also follow me on TWITTER to get up-to-the-minute celebrity baby name news, interesting names I come across and so much more! I’m @babynameauthor!

♥ 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

ASK AMANDA: Mom and Dad Disagree on Name for Son

Published

Amanda Barden

on November 6, 2009

in Ask Amanda

. 2 Comments

j0441376

Welcome back to ASK AMANDA. Today I’m answering a question for a soon-to-be mom (for the third time) in Canada!

Ask Amanda

Q: I am pregnant with a boy and due in 4-5 weeks…….HELP PLEASE!! I already have two kids and have named them Marcus and Marina. My husband is Italian and we are not agreeing on any names. Our daughter was born and nameless for days because we didn’t agree!! I do not want to repeat this. Our name choice does not have to be an Italian or start with the letter “M,” but I do want it to sound OK when mentioning my other kids names. I tend to prefer short names that are not tongue twisters. I like Darius, Xavier, Jordon, Sidney, Daniel. My husband says NO to all of them. His list is Leonardo (over my dead body!), Alexis, Roman.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. BONNIE, Montreal, Canada

A: Thanks for writing, Bonnie. I understand why you don’t want a repeat of the “nameless baby” saga you went through with your daughter. Sounds stressful!

Since you and your husband aren’t agreeing on any of the names either of you have come up with so far, I think going back to the drawing board is a good idea. It’s important that you both love the name you choose.

So what’s my advice? Stop looking for baby names and start looking for common ground. I studied the names you told me you both liked and the names you picked for your first two children. Here’s the common ground I see so far:

1. You chose names with Latin origins for your first two children — Marcus and Marina. Maybe you can agree to choose a name with a Latin origin for this baby, too. This is nice because it creates a connection between all their names without being too matchy-matchy.

2. For your first two children you chose a masculine name for your son and a feminine name for your daughter. Maybe you can agree to cross unisex names off your list. That way all your children’s names will have the same “style,” which you said is important to you.

3. You told me that you like short names and all your picks have six letters. Two of your husband’s three choices have six or fewer letters, too. It looks like you can also agree to cross names with more than six letters off your list.

Once you agree on some parameters, then you can make a list of names that match your agreed terms.

Here’s a list of names that meet the three criteria above — they have Latin roots, they’re masculine (you said you’re having a boy) and they’re six letters or less:

BARNEY

CASH

DRAKE

FELIX

GUS

JUSTIN

LUCAS

LUCIUS

MILES

MILO

OLIVER

REX

SILAS

TYRONE

VICTOR

VITO

This isn’t an exhaustive list, so if none of these work for you, you can find other names that fall within these three parameters.

If you still can’t find a name, start looking for other things you agree on. For example, the meaning of the name or the letter the name will start with. Any place you have common ground is an opportunity to gather new ideas and cross others off the list.

I hope this helps! Thanks for writing me. I’m sure you’ll find a name you both love. It says a lot that you’re working so hard to choose a name you both agree on — your son will appreciate that someday.

Let me know what you pick. J

Happy naming,

♥ Amanda

Follow me on TWITTER to get up-to-the-minute celebrity baby name news, interesting names I come across and so much more! I’m @babynameauthor!

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

Sesame Street Baby Names

Published

Amanda Barden

on November 4, 2009

in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists and Celebrity Baby Names

. 0 Comments

Happy 40^th Anniversary Sesame Street! I’m sure many of you have happy memories of watching Sesame Street when you were growing up and now you’re passing the tradition on to your children. Maybe there’s an even bigger Sesame Street tradition you can pass on to your children…in the form of a name.

Here’s a look at Sesame Street character names (and the names some of the actresses, actors and puppeteers). While names like BIG BIRD, JUGHEAD and MR. NOODLE won’t work, there are plenty of interesting options that are worth considering. Enjoy!

FEMALE CHARACTER NAMES

ABBY Cadabby

ALICE Braithwaite Goodyshoes

ALICE Snuffleupagus

BETTY LOU

BUFFY

CELINA

DEENA Monster

DOROTHY

Dr. GINA Jefferson

GABRIELLA “GABI” Rodriguez

Granny FANNY Nesselrode

INGRID

JANE Tuesday

KAMI

LEELA

LEXINE “LEXI”

LILLIAN “LILLY”

LINDA “LYNNE”

LULU “LOUISE”

MARCIA Middlewell

MARGARITA

MARIA Rodriguez

MOLLY the mail lady

OLIVIA Robinson

PEARL Monster

PHOEBE

POLLY Darton

Prairie DAWN

Rodeo ROSIE

ROSITA

RUBY

RUTHIE

TARAH

WANDA Falbo

ZOE

MALE CHARACTER NAMES

ALOYSIUS Snuffleupagus

Bad BART

BARKLEY

BERT

BRUNO the Trashman

DAVIE

ELMO

ERNIE

GORDON Robinson

GROVER

HARVEY Kneeslapper

HERBERT Birdsfoot

HIROSHI

HUMPHREY

JAMAL

JOEY

KERMIT the Frog

KOTY

LEONARD “LEO” the Wolf

LUIS “LOU” Rodriguez

MARCO

MEL “MELVIN”

MIGUEL

MILES Robinson

Mr. HAROLD Hooper

MURRAY Monster

OSCAR the Grouch

OSVALDO the Grouch

PLACIDO Flamingo

RAFAEL

RALPH

ROBIN

SAM the Robot

SAVION

SIMON the Soundman

SOLOMON Grundy

STEVIE

SULLY

TOM “THOMAS”

VINCENT “VIN” Twice

WALLY

WATSON

WILLY

WOLFGANG the Seal

FEMALE ACTRESS/PUPPETEER NAMES

ALAINA Reed

ANNETTE Claud

BUFFY Sainte-Marie

CAMILLE Bonora

DESIREE Casado

FRAN Brill

IRRA Verbitsky

KYLA Taub

LEXINE Bondoc

LORETTA Long

SONIA Manzano

STEPHANIE D’Abruzzo

TARA Schaeffer

MALE ACTOR/PUPPETEER NAMES

BRIAN Meuhl

CASEY Kasem

CHRISTOPHER Cerf

EMILIO Delgado

GABRIEL Velez

JIM Henson

JOEY Mazzarino

JOU JOU Papailler

KERMIT Love

KEVIN Clash

KHALID Moultrie

MICHAEL EARL Davis

RICHARD Hunt

ROSCOE Orman

SAVION Glover

TOBY Tobson

WILL Lee

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_characters_in_Sesame_Street

I actually didn’t watch Sesame Street when I was growing up, so maybe some of you readers can let me know what your favorite characters (and names!) are. Post a comment and let me know!

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You can also follow me on TWITTER to get up-to-the-minute celebrity baby name news, interesting names I come across and so much more! I’m @babynameauthor!

♥ 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

20 Saint Names You Haven’t Considered Yet, But Should — Plus 14 Names You Should Absolutely Cross Off Your List

Published

Amanda Barden

on November 2, 2009

in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists

. 0 Comments

D Sharon Pruitt

All Souls Day is a good day to look at religious names and Catholic saints provide a treasure trove of great names for parents who are looking for baby names with religious history. While religious names have long been popular with parents, many are hoping to cast their nets a little wider than MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE and JOHN.

In my search for attractive names, I came across some names that really shouldn’t be dusted off any time soon for new babies…I’ll start with the good picks and finish up with the funny ones.

GIRLS’ BABY NAMES

ALODIA

BEATRIX

CALLIOPE

CARISSIMA

KIARA

MELANIA

THEODOXIA

PRISCILLA

URSULINA

ZARA

BOYS’ BABY NAMES

AMBROSE

BOSWELL

BROGAN

BRUNO

CIAN

CONALL

CORMAC

DECLAN

OCTAVIUS

QUENTIN

These names come from a variety of cultural backgrounds and have a range of meanings — both things to consider when picking out a name. However, if religious significance is important to you, do some research on the saint and make sure that the namesake represents qualities that are important to you.

On to the names you shouldn’t consider…There’s a good chance none of these are on your short list, but just in case they are and you need a second opinion, here are some names I don’t recommend…

DODO

DOGFAN

DOTTO

FLORIBERT

FRODOBERT

HYGINIUS

LAWDOG

LUPUS

PERFECTUS

PIMPONIA

PRIMITIVA

PROBUS

STUPUR

TYRANNUS

Source: www.catholic.org

Do you have any favorites from these lists? Want to share your favorite saint’s names? Let us know!

Follow me on TWITTER to get up-to-the-minute celebrity baby name news, interesting names I come across and so much more! I’m @babynameauthor!

♥ 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