Tag Archive for 'names from nature'

ASK AMANDA: “Watery” Irish Baby Names for Boys

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on October 16, 2009
in Ask Amanda, Baby Name Suggestions & Lists and International Baby Names
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Welcome back to ASK AMANDA. Today we have a question all the way from New Zealand!!!

 

Ask Amanda

Q:    I’m looking for a boys’ name with a watery meaning that is either Gaelic or Irish in origin. Do you have any suggestions?   EMMA, Auckland, NZ

 

A:    Glad to see you found my book and website all the way in New Zealand!

 

This is a great question because you’ve hit on two very popular things — Irish names and water meanings. Here’s what I found for you…these are all names that are Gaelic or Irish in origin with “watery” meanings:

 

BRENNAN — “moisture”

CALDER — “violent stream”

HURLEY — “sea tide”

KYLE — “narrow strait”

LOCH — “lake”

MERRIL — “bright sea”

RHINE — “to flow”

ROARKE — “heavy rain shower”

 

I think there are some really good choices here. I’ve always loved the name KYLE — a long time favorite. ROARKE has a cool Irish sound to it. I kind of love the name HURLEY, but it makes me think of the Lost character (which is probably why I kind of love it).

 

Another option is to use the name of an Irish body of water. Here are some cool options that I found for you:

 

ALLEN

BANE

CALLAN

CAREY

CONN

CULLIN

DAN

DUFF

FERGUS

FINN

FOYLE

GILL

GLEN

LEE

MELVIN

ROSS

RYNN

 

Thanks for writing me! I hope you find a name you love. Be sure to let me know what you pick. J

 

Happy naming,

♥  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

 

 

How Well do you Know your Celebrity Geography?

Published
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Amanda Barden
on May 21, 2009
in Celebrity Baby Names
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Who doesn’t love the National Geography Bee? The finals aired yesterday and congrats to the winner, Eric Yang!

 

This contest got me thinking about Celebrity Geography — celebrities and their kids with geography-inspired names. How well do you know your celebrity geography? Here’s my list:

 

 

GIRLS’ NAMES

 

ALABAMA (Shanna Moakler and Travis Barker’s daughter)

 

AMERICA Ferrera

 

ASHANTI

 

BRISTOL Palin

 

CHINA Phillips

 

DAKOTA Fanning

 

INDIA Arie

 

IRELAND Baldwin

 

ISLA Fisher

 

LOURDES (Madonna and Carlos Leon’s daughter)

 

PARIS Hilton

 

SAVANNAH (Marcia Cross and Tom Mahoney’s daughter)

 

SHILOH (Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter)

 

 

 

BOYS’ NAMES

 

BRONX Mowgli (son of Ashley Simpson and Pete Wentz)

 

BROOKLYN (son of Victoria and David Beckham)

 

CHAD Lowe

 

 

CUBA Gooding Jr.

 

DALLAS Imbimbo

 

KINGSTON (Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale’s son)

 

ORLANDO Bloom

 

ORLANDO Jones

 

TENNESSEE Williams

 

JORDAN Knight

 

 

I’m sure there are more you can add to this list. Post your additions here!

 

 

♥  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

 

 

Fiery Picks for Baby Name of the Day

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on May 3, 2009
in Baby Name of the Week and Celebrity Baby Names
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Yesterday I went to NERT training — Neighborhood Emergency Response Team. I agreed to do it for work. I learned all about how dangerous fires can be. You didn’t need to tell me that, but I learned a lot anyhow. Here are some of the highlights:

·         Call 911 before trying to put out even a small fire by myself (according to the video we watched small fires turn into large fires very fast!) — if it’s safe, it’s OK to try putting out the fire after calling 911

·         I should keep a pair of sneakers in my car in case there’s a disaster and I end up needing to walk (heels, cute flats and flip-flops aren’t made for long-distance walking)

·         I need to keep at least a five day supply of food and water on hand for my cat (and me, too) in case we need to shelter in place during a disaster

·         Triage is NOT for the faint of heart

Next week we’re going to learn about search and rescue and go through a simulated disaster scenario. We’re even going to get to put out an actual fire!

Anyhow, all this fire talk got me thinking about fire as a symbol. Fire can be dangerous, but it’s also essential for survival. It’s a symbol of passion and energy and life. I decided to put this inspiration to good use and to choose these fiery picks for Baby Name of the Day:

 

GIRLS’ NAME OF THE DAY:

AZARA — Persian for “red, flame”

 

BOYS’ NAME OF THE DAY:

IGNATIUS — Latin for “fire”

 

Azara is a beautiful name — unique without being weird or too difficult to spell and pronounce. Ignatius feels very classical — Cate Blanchett chose it last year for one of her sons. What do you think about these names?

 

 

 

 

Post a comment and let me know how you like these Baby Names of the Day.  

 

♥  Amanda

 

 

 

ARBOR DAY — A CELEBRATION OF BABY NAMES!

Published
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Amanda Barden
on April 23, 2009
in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists
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Arbor Day is the day we celebrate babies named after trees. Not officially, of course, but unofficially here on my blog.

There are some celebrities out there named after trees:

Ashton Kutcher
Sylvester Stallone
Estée Lauder
Björk
Burl Ives
Lorenzo Lamas
Lorne Green
Axel Rose
Lief Garrett
Yves Saint Laurent

 

There’s also a few celebrity babies whose names have tree-meanings:

Hazel, daughter of Julia Roberts & Danny Moder

Evalyne, daughter of Cassidy Black & Dierks Bentley

Oliver, son of Jennifer Lynn Stone & Fred Savage

Oliver, son of Allison & Taylor Hawkins

Olivia, daughter of Joely Fisher & Christopher Duddy

Willow, daughter of Michelle Monaghan & Peter White

 

If you like the idea of nature names, there are some really great tree names to consider on this Arbor Day. Here is a list of some names whose meanings are related to trees:

 

GIRL NAMES

Alani, Aspen, Ayla, Chan, Elana, Estée, Geneva, Hazel, Holly, Idra, Kaya, Laurel, Lina, Matsuko, Olivia, Samara, Verena, Willow

 

BOY NAMES

Ashton, Axel, Barker, Cormac, Derry, Elan, Ellery, Ewan, Hollis, Lennox, Lorenzo, Oakley, Oleander, Oliver, Palmer, Rowan, Silas, Vernon, York

 

All of these names (and many more!) can be found in the Flowers, Trees & Living Things chapter in my book. Check it out!

Post a comment and let me know about your favorite Arbor Day name! Also, if you can, plant a tree and celebrate Arbor Day the way it was truly intended. Click here for the official Arbor Day website.

 

♥  Amanda

 

 

Baby Names of the Day & Golden Gate Park

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on April 19, 2009
in My Life
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 Today was one of those rare days in San Francisco where temperatures soared all the way up into the 80s!

San Francisco isn’t known for its warm weather, so I took full advantage and walked over to Golden Gate Park. It seemed like nearly half of the city was gathered there to soak up the sun, play Frisbee and people watch.

I’m never one for soaking up the sun, so I found myself a nice place in the shade and plopped down with my iced caramel macchiato (delicious!) and spread out all my blog writing supplies (notebook, cute pink pen, Social Security printouts, Baby Names Made Easy, cute blue pen). I was determined to get some good work done…

Turns out it was kind of hard to concentrate though because the people watching was just too good. Hands down the best conversation snippet I overheard went like this:

GIRL #1: …so he goes and has a baby and then decides to totally desire me.

GIRL #2: I don’t get him at all.

GIRL #1: Me neither!

(Girl #1, if you’re reading this, don’t waste your time trying to figure him out. He’s definitely not worth it!)

There was also a pretty talented group of Frisbee players who managed to hold drinks in one hand and play Frisbee with the other. Never having been good at Frisbee myself, it was sort of riveting to watch.

Anyhow, the beautiful weather did get me thinking about springtime names and I made some picks for Baby Name of the Day:

 

GIRL NAME OF THE DAY:

ABRIELLE — a French version of the name April

 

BOY NAME OF THE DAY:

KELL — Scandinavian for “spring”

 

I think these are both cool name picks. They each strike that balance a lot of parents are looking for these days — not too popular, but not too weird. You can find out more about each of these names in the Seasons & Time chapter of my book.

How do you like the Names of the Day? Love them or think the sun’s gone to my head? Post a comment and let me know (I also accept Frisbee tips)!

  

♥  Amanda

   

 

 

Mountain-y Baby Names

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on March 29, 2009
in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists and My Life
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I escaped city life for the weekend and headed to the mountains for a little R&R. What I’ve learned so far is that you can take the girl out of the city, but you can’t take the city out of the girl. I wasn’t here 30 minutes before checking my email…and now here I am updating my blog! But all this mountain air got me thinking about “mountain-y” baby names — names that have “mountain” in the meaning. There are a few obvious picks, but quite a few that you wouldn’t suspect at all.

All these names can be found with their meaning and origins in my Geography, Topography & Locations and On The Map chapters. Drop me a note and let me know your favorites, least favorites, best tips for mountain living, anything you want to share…Here’s the list I came up with:

GIRLS

 Aspen, Glenna, Mineko, Olympia, Parvati, Zaltana

 

 BOYS

Beaumont, Berg, Everest, Glen, Huntley, Huxley, Kip, Kiri, Knox, Lamont, Landon, Orestes

 

 GIRL OR BOY

Fuji, Himalaya, Kenya, Montana, Nevada, Vail

 

I think I’ll take a walk down to the lake now and enjoy the rest of my vacation.

♥  Amanda