This is the week of Project Runway here on the Baby Names Made Easy website. The show’s new season debuts this week and I’ve scored three Project Runway interviews in celebration! Whoo-hoo! I posted one earlier this week with the lovely model Matar Cohen. Today, I bring you designer Peach Carr. She’s a designer on this season – be sure to tune in and see how Peach does!

Peach was hilarious. She truly had me laughing out loud. The funniest story was about a trick she and her siblings used to play on their new babysitters. Peach also had some really sweet advice for parents-to-be and what they should tell their children about their names. Definitely check out her words of wisdom.

But that’s not all. I also have an interview scheduled this week with another designer competing on this season’s show – McKell Maddox. It’s quite an exciting week around here. J  

Read Peach’s interview on my Celeb Interviews page!

Happy naming,

♥  Amanda

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Photo: Nicolas Genin / Teemeah

CULLEN IS HOT…REALLY HOT

Cullen was the fastest growing name of 2009. That means it’s started to gain popularity very quickly. In 2008, Cullen ranked #782 and in 2009, it had jumped 297 spots to #485. Look for it to gain more ground this year. For those of you who don’t know (are there any of you still?), Cullen is the surname of the vampire heartthrob, Edward, from the Twilight books and movie series by Stephenie Meyer.

Some people I’ve talked to assume Cullen is a made up name with no meaning, but Cullen is actually a Celtic name that means “cub.” I think that’s pretty cute. The definition got me wondering what werewolf babies are called because Edward Cullen’s a vampire and his rival for Bella’s affections (if you can really call him that) is a werewolf. After a spirited debate among my friends on Facebook (kudos to those who did some pretty thorough werewolf lore research!), the consensus was that werewolf babies were more likely called pups than cubs. Team Edward is safe for now.

IS THIS MEDIA HYPE OR DO PEOPLE REALLY LIKE TWILIGHT NAMES?

I can’t say what’s happening in the minds of everyone who chose the name Cullen or any of the other Twilight names. What I do know is that at a recent book signing someone told me that she loved all the Twilight names – especially Edward, Bella and Jacob. As she was saying that, a woman who was signing up for my newsletter jumped in and said, “Ooh…I love Cullen. That’s a great name. “

That’s a small sample size, but it’s definitely food for thought. I say the bottom line is that people do like the Twilight baby names, but they might not like them because of Twilight – some people probably like them in spite of Twilight. Then there are the folks who like these names because they adore all-things Stephenie Meyer.

IT’S YOUR TURN TO WEIGH IN

What do you think about the name Cullen? What do you think about the Twilight names overall—Bella, Jacob, Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, Carlisle, Alice?

Are people choosing the name Cullen because they love the books and decide to name their babies after the characters? Or are people hearing the name Cullen because it’s being talked about and deciding it would make a great name it sounds unique?

Happy naming,

♥  Amanda

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Photo: Aris Ziagos (Irina Shabayeva Spring 2010 Collection)

Check out my latest name interview! This time I interviewed model Matar Cohen – you know her from Project Runway and Models of the Runway.

Matar’s interview is awesome! Here’s one tidbit: Matar and her sisters all have names with water definitions because her parents loved that water represents “life, energy, purity and growth.” How cool is that?

Matar also had some great baby naming advice for soon-to-be-parents, talked about her favorite baby naming trend and she weighed in on the Twilight baby naming phenomenon. Matar also gave me some tips on handling my curly hair.

Read the whole interview on my Celeb Interviews page!

Happy naming,

♥  Amanda

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People often ask me what parents are naming kids today, so I thought I’d share some of my research on that. I love to scan birth announcements. The glamorous life of a name-nerd…

Here are some of the names I’ve collected from birth announcements lately:

VINTAGE NAMES

CAMILA SOFIA

CONSTANCE CHRISTINE

EVA MARIE

GUINEVERE ELAINE

ISABEL NOEMI

PHOEBE MICHELLE

CALEB MICHAEL

CURTIS GRAY

ELSWORTH LEVI

ISAIAH SCOTT-RAY

ISAIAH ZERIC

JEREMIAH ELI

NICKNAME NAMES

ABBEY GRACE

ALLIE ELIZABETH

ALLIE JORDAN

CHARLIE SHAY

MADDI CAROLINE

JAMEY MACK

WILLIE HARVEY

WILLIE O’NEIL

ONE-OF-A-KIND NAMES

ANIYAH MALEAH

AZAELIA BLAIRE

GREENLY MAE

HAYLEN GRACE

JADALYNN ARIEL

JAZLYNN JAKARI

KANIYA RI’ANNA KENTRICE

MAKIYAN STARR

MAYLEE BROOKE

MIRACLE ELIZABETH LUCILLE

MUA ELYSE

SICA MAE

YASLYNN ADELINE MARIN

YOSELIN

BENTLEY

CANNON SCOTT

JAKEL BRENNON

KIAN MICHAEL

LUC

MERRITT LEWIS

NEKHI TAURICUS

STORMY WAUNYEAH

ZARREL CLIFTON

APOSTROPHE NAMES – there were a lot more of these than I expected…

BRIELLE NI’DORA

DA’ZENA NIGERIA

HA’SHARIA NICOLE

JA’MYA NICOLE

KANIYA RI’ANNA KENTRICE

TY’YANNA KAMARI

J’VIER AKEEM

NA’SIR KE’MON

CLASSIC FAVORITES NAMES

AMY

GABRIELLA RHYAN

JASMINE DENISE

KIMBERLY ALEXANDRA

OLIVIA GLAZE

RACHEL CAROLINE

ADAM DAVIS

CHRISTOPHER RYAN

DANIEL ALEXANDER

DANIEL JOSEPH

EDWARD ROMEO

GABRIEL ANDREW

JACOB ANDREW

JONATHAN MATTHEW

JONATHAN RYAN

KEVIN DANIEL

LUCAS JAMES

NICHOLAS JOSEPH

NOAH ANDERSON

ROBERT LOUIS – any relationship to Robert Louis Stevenson?

SAMUEL HENRY

STEPHEN WILLIAM

CREATIVE SPELLINGS

ADDISYN PAIGE

ALEYNA SUE

ASHLYNNE ELISABETH

JAIDEN IMONI

KAYLIEGH JEAN

KYLEE HARPER

LINSAY YUNZA

PEIGHTYN MAE

KAYDEN CARTER

KAYDEN MICHAEL

TRISTEN ANDREW

GEOGRAPHY NAMES

ALEXANDRIA ELIZABETH

BROOKLYN ELIZABETH JESS

BROOKLYN SKYE

CHEYENNE PARKER

DA’ZENA NIGERIA

SHILOH LIYANA

LONDON ISAAC

TRENDY NAMES

ADDISON GRACE KRISTIN JANELLE

AINSLEY CAROLINE

BREANNA FAITH

BRIELLE NI’DORA

ISABELLA LIN

KINLEY FAITH

PRESLEY DORA

ZOE VIRGINIA

AIDEN WILLIAM

BRENNAN GROVER

BRODY CREED

CASON JACOB

ETHAN HOYT

JACKSON ALEXANDER

JAYDEN RASHAD

KAYDEN CARTER

KAYDEN MICHAEL

TRISTAN AIDEN

TRISTEN ANDREW

TYLER TJ JOHN

WYATT JUSTIN

UNISEX NAMES

CHANDLER ALEXANDRIA

JAIDEN IMONI

JORDIN RENAE

RILEY PAIGE

RILEY ROSE

TAYLOR NIJAE

JAYDEN RASHAD

LONDON ISAAC

THE LILYS

LILIAN MARIE

LILIANA VALENCIANO

LILY MARIE

LILY MORGAN

CELEBRITY-INSPIRED NAMES

BROOKLYN ELIZABETH JESS

BROOKLYN SKYE

CHANDLER ALEXANDRIA

JORDIN RENAE

KINLEY FAITH

PRESLEY DORA

SHILOH LIYANA

CRUZ KIRBY

DAWSON STEVEN

EDWARD ROMEO

SAWYER LANDEN

UP-AND-COMING NAMES

AMIRA FAE

CARMEN ANN

CORA ROSE

ELLE-GRIER

LACEY MARIE

LAYLA SKYE

MACY GRIER

CLAYTON WAYLAND

JUDAH MATTHEW

JUDE ELLIS

LOGAN ERIK

WESTON AVERY

SURNAME NAMES

CHANDLER ALEXANDRIA

KENNEDY JANE

PRESLEY DORA

DIAZ BRYCE

SAWYER LANDEN

What trends do you love? Which ones do you hate?

Happy naming,

♥  Amanda

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I signed books at another baby event last weekend and a couple different parents told me they’d settled on the name Kingston for their sons.

Kingston is the perfect example of the influence celebrities have on baby naming. Kingston didn’t make the Social Security Top 1000 until 2006 – the year that Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale used the name for their son Kingston James McGregor Rossdale. That year it ranked #942 and every year since then it’s grown in popularity. In 2009, Kingston ranked #225.

Sources: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1194406_1067399,00.html; http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/

What do you think of the name? Is Kingston too trendy or just right? Does the name make you think of rockers Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale? Or are you more likely to think of vacationing in Kingston, Jamaica when you hear the name? Let me know!

Happy naming,

♥  Amanda

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Tonight, I’m wrapped up in my thermals, a sweatshirt, a blanket and I have my cuddly cat next to me – I’m still freezing though. That’s summer in San Francisco for you. If you’re traveling here on vacation, come in the fall – that’s when we have warmer weather.

All this cold weather got me thinking about warmer locals, which led to island living, which eventually led to island naming. After a little research, I found that there are some interesting island names that could double as cool, unique baby names.

Here’s my list. I organized them into Girls’ and Boys’ lists, but that’s just one person’s opinion – mix and match as you see fit.

GIRLS’ BABY NAMES

CORSICA

IRELAND

JAMAICA

JAVA

SICILY

SUMATRA

TRINIDAD

BOYS’ BABY NAMES

CYPRUS

DEVON

FALKLAND

KODIAK

MELVILLE

SAMAR

SOMERSET

Lost actor Josh Holloway and wife Yessica Kumala went the island route and named their daughter Java in 2009.  

What’s your favorite island name? Anything I should add to the list?

Happy naming,

♥  Amanda

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A friend’s daughter just lent me her copy of CHRYSANTHEMUM by Kevin Henkes. Have you read it?

It’s a story about a young mouse named Chrysanthemum. She absolutely loves her name until she starts school. Her classmates have more traditional names and tease Chrysanthemum for having an unusual name. Chrysanthemum starts feeling bad about her name and even dreams about changing her name to Jane. Then she meets a teacher named Mrs. Delphinium Twinkle and everything turns around. I won’t give away the cute ending, but it’s worth a read.  

It’s interesting to see how the author uses names to create identity – for example, one of the characters is proud to be named after her grandmother. The book also addresses how wanting to fit in at school comes into play even with a person’s name.

If you’re looking for a good children’s book about names, grab a copy of Chrysanthemum:

Big Book

Hardcover

Paperback

Know of any other books about names I should review? It could be a book like Chrysanthemum that’s all about a character’s name or it could be a book that heavily features names in the plot. I’d love to hear your suggestions!

Happy naming,

♥  Amanda

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I came across this cute nursery rhyme and thought I’d share it. I see it as a tribute to the many variations of the name Elizabeth.

Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy, and Bess,

They all went together to seek a bird’s nest;

They found a bird’s nest with five eggs in,

They all took one, and left four in.

Happy naming,

♥  Amanda

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A couple weeks ago, Melissa Chapman asked me to weigh in on an article she was writing for SheKnows.com about unique ways to find cool and interesting baby names. I put together a list of 15 ideas and Melissa’s article was posted today.

Here are two of my tips from the article:

Tip #2: Make a game of it

Make it a goal to meet three new people every day and get their names—the checker in the grocery store, the person sitting next to you on the bus, the barista blending your drink—you’re bound to hear something interesting. If mom and dad both do this, it will be something fun you can do together and you’ll double the number of names you add to your list.

Tip #10:  Go back in time to popular names from 100 years ago

The Social Security website will tell you today’s most popular names, but it will also tell you what names were popular in the past. Some of the names parents liked for boys back in 1910 were Archie, Everett, Oscar, Otis and Henry.

Read the rest of my tips:

http://www.sheknows.com/articles/816274/15-ways-to-find-a-cool-baby-name-1

Happy naming,

♥  Amanda

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At one of my recent baby events, three separate moms-to-be told me they’d settled on the name Makayla. One was going with the traditional spelling Michaela.

The name has been popular for awhile now. The Makayla spelling has been in the Top 100 since 1998. The Michaela spelling started in the Top 1000 in 1967, though it hasn’t reached as high on the list as Makayla. Some of the other trendy spellings are Mckayla, Mikaela and Mikayla.

What do you think of the name? Has it become so popular and trendy that it’s passed over into unfashionable territory or is it a (new) classic that won’t go out of style?

Happy naming,

♥  Amanda

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