Archive for the 'Holiday Baby Names' Category

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
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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.

 

 

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
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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
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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
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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