Tag Archive for 'baby names of the week'

BABY NAMES OF THE WEEK: Farrah and Michael

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Amanda Barden
on June 28, 2009
in Baby Name of the Week, Baby Names in the News and Celebrity Names
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The news this week has been filled with coverage of the deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. It only seems fitting to choose their names as the Baby Names of the Week.

 

 

Here’s a little more information about these names:

 

 

 

GIRLS’ BABY NAME OF THE WEEK

 

FARRAH — English name meaning “beautiful, pleasant;” Arabic name meaning “happiness”

 

 

 

BOYS’ BABY NAME OF THE WEEK

 

MICHAEL — Hebrew name meaning “who is like God?”

 

 

 

FARRAH has not been a common name here in the US. According to Social Security, it peaked at 177 in 1977, no doubt due to Farrah Fawcett’s popularity at the time. The last year FARRAH made it into the Top 1000 most popular baby names in the US was 1988. Is FARRAH due for a comeback? I’m not sure. But it’s definitely a good pick for a parent looking for a name everyone’s familiar with, but that is still relatively unique.

 

MICHAEL, on the other hand, has been an extremely popular name for years. It first hit the Number 1 spot in 1954 and only missed being the most popular baby name for boys one time between 1954 and 1998. That’s pretty incredible when you think about it. Only a few names have that timeless quality to them and MICHAEL’s one of them.

 

That’s all for now…Have a great Sunday! Check back throughout the week for more baby name info. J

 

 

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♥  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: “Coffee” Baby Names

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on June 21, 2009
in Baby Name of the Week and Celebrity Baby Names
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I used to be strictly a vanilla latte girl. Then I moved to LA and discovered The Coffee Bean and vanilla ice blendeds. Amazing and delicious. When I moved back to Northern California (where there are, sadly, very few Coffee Beans), I was back to vanilla lattes. Then the other day, out of nowhere, I had to have an iced mocha. It was pretty tasty and I might have a new drink. We’ll see how long it lasts. I guess you could say I’m a creature of habit when it comes to drinks.

 

Anyhow, I’ve been dreaming of (and drinking) iced mochas all week and so I set out to find Baby Names of the Week that would satisfy my coffee-craving and also work as baby names.

 

 

Here are my picks:

 

 

 

GIRLS’ BABY NAME OF THE WEEK

 

DULCINEA — Spanish & Italian name meaning “sweet”

 

 

 

BOYS’ BABY NAME OF THE WEEK

 

NADIM — Arabic name meaning “drinking companion, confidant”

 

 

 

I picked DULCINEA because I like my coffee sweet. I’ve always considered coffee really just a vehicle for cream and sugar—and vanilla and chocolate. Plus, DULCINEA is a cute name. It comes from the name DULCE, which is cute, too. DULCINEA is also the name of a character in Don Quixote.

 

NADIM was an easy pick because we all know coffee tastes better with friends (or when you’re procrastinating).

 

 

Naming a child after coffee might be a little too whimsical for some, but I say you can find inspiration everywhere you look. You don’t have to act on that inspiration, but you can definitely find it.

 

 

There’s also a coffee-themed celebrity baby name:

 

 

CELEBRITY BABY NAME

 

JAVA — daughter of Yessica Kumala & Josh Holloway (Lost)

 

 

Not sure if they’re fans of the drink or the island, but either way JAVA is a unique baby name. I wouldn’t be surprised if it saw a surge in popularity in the future.

 

What’s your favorite coffee drink? Let me know. Next time I’m feeling adventurous, I might give it a try.

 

That’s all for today! Tune in on Tuesday for another edition of INTERNATIONAL BABY NAMES. We’re heading to….ICELAND!

 

 

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

 

 

 

BABY NAMES OF THE WEEK: A trip to the opera

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on June 7, 2009
in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists, Baby Name of the Week, Celebrity Names, International Baby Names and My Life
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This Friday night, I went to AT&T Park in San Francisco for free opera. Every summer they do a live simulcast of an opera being performed at the SF Opera House and show it at the park on the big screen (with English subtitles!) for everyone to see. They let people sit on the field and did I mention it was free? It’s not every day that you can watch Tosca and eat nachos at the same time.

 

Needless to say, the Baby Names of the Week are opera-themed!  

 

Here are my selections:

 

 

GIRLS’ BABY NAME OF THE WEEK

 

CARMEN — title character in Bizet’s Carmen. Appropriately, it is a Latin name that means “song.”

 

 

 

BOYS’ BABY NAME OF THE WEEK

 

MARCELLO —a character in Puccini’s La Bohème. It is an Italian name meaning “warlike.”

 

 

I chose the name Carmen because it’s a quintessential opera name with such a perfect meaning for our theme! Also, I think it’s cute. Marcello is a strong baby name and a daring alternative to its more common related names, Mark and Marcus.

 

 

CELEBRITY PICKS

 

Some of the famous opera singers have some great names, too:

 

 

FEMALE NAMES

 

ANNE-SOFIE von Otter

CECILIA Bartoli

GWYNETH Jones

JUNE Anderson

KARITA Mattila

KATIA Ricciarelli

LUCIA Popp

MAGDALENA Kozena

MARILYN Horne

MIRELLA Freni

MONTSERRAT Caballé

RENATA Scotto

TATIANA Troyanos

 

 

MALE NAMES

 

ANDREAS Scholl

CARLO Bergonzi

ENRICO Caruso

FRITZ Wunderlich

GUISEPPE di Stefano

JOSE Carrera

LUCIANO Pavarotti

PLACIDO Domingo

SAMUEL Raney

 

 

If you’re an opera buff, there’s a world of baby name inspiration for you out there. I found so many unusual and interesting names while researching these opera characters that I’m putting together a list for you and will post it later this week. Stay tuned!

 

♥  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