Tag Archive for 'oprah winfrey'

Baby Name Inspiration: THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

 

 

The Princess and the Frog debuts this week. This one’s from the creators of The Little Mermaid and Aladdin — so you know it’s going to be good.

 

With that in mind, I wanted to look at the character names and see if there are any hidden gems…and there are!

 

But first…Disney movies have a history of influencing baby naming. The Little Mermaid came out in 1989 and in 1990 Ariel jumped in popularity from 210 to 94. In 1991 it climbed even higher to 66. Perhaps The Princess and the Frog will have a similar influence?

 

Here are some of the interesting character names followed by some of the cast members.

 

FEMALE CHARACTERS

CHARLOTTE

EUDORA

GEORGIA

ODIE

TIANA

 

 

MALE CHARACTERS

DARNELL

HARVEY

HENRY

IAN

JAMES

LAWRENCE

LOUIS

MARLON

NAVEEN

RANDY

RAY

REGGIE

 

 

FEMALE CAST MEMBERS

ANIKA NONI Rose (Tiana)

BREANNA Brooks

DANIELLE MONE Truitt

ELIZABETH M. Dampier

JENIFER Lewis

JENNIFER Cody

OPRAH Winfrey

SHANDA M. Williamson

 

 

MALE CAST MEMBERS

BRUNO Campos (Prince Naveen)

COREY Burton

MICHAEL Colyar

EMERIL Lagasse

JIM Cummings

JOHN Goodman

KEITH David

KEVIN MICHAEL Richardson

LYNWOOD Robinson

MARLON West

MICHAEL-LEON Wooley

PETER Bartlett

RITCHIE Montgomery

TERRENCE Howard

 

 

TIANA was ranked 651 in 2008 and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it increase in popularity the coming years. It has many of the markers parents are looking for in a name — it’s unique and pretty, it ends with an –a, it’s easily spelled. I think it’s going to be a hit. What do you think?

 

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You can also follow me on TWITTER to get up-to-the-minute celebrity baby name news, name advice, 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

 

 

 

Forbes’ Most Powerful Names in Hollywood (and a few other places)

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Last week, Forbes Magazine put out its annual ranking of the 100 most powerful celebrities. When most people looked at the list, the first thing they noticed was that Angelina Jolie had captured the #1 spot from Oprah.

 

What did I notice? The interesting names of the Top 5 celebrities on the list:

 

 

        « TOP 5 CELEBRITIES «

 

1.       ANGELINA Jolie

2.       OPRAH Winfrey

3.       MADONNA

4.       BEYONCE Knowles

5.       TIGER Woods

 

 

The least unique name on this list is Angelina, by a mile. But, arguably, much of the name’s current popularity is due to the influence of Angelina Jolie, herself.

 

The most unique name? I’m not sure. Madonna is quite unique and the singer is famous enough to be known by just one name — no last name needed for her. But she’s not the only famous Madonna in history. Tiger is actually a nickname. Tiger’s given name was really Eldrick — which is pretty unique itself. He’s since legally changed his name to Tiger. Then there’s Oprah and Beyonce. You probably haven’t met anyone else with either of these names. Which name do you think is most unique?  

 

Looking at this list got me wondering about whether having an unusual name can help a fledgling celebrity stand out from the crowd and achieve success.

 

Some of the other celebs with unique names who made the Forbes’ Celebrity 100 are:

 

 

UNIQUE FEMALE NAMES

 

DREW Barrymore (87)

GISELE Bundchen (72)

MARISKA Hargitay (98)

MILEY Cyrus (29)

REESE Witherspoon (71)

VENUS Williams (77)

 

 

UNIQUE MALE NAMES

 

BARACK Obama (49)

HARRISON Ford (17)

KANYE West (46)

KIMI Räikkönen (52)

KOBE Bryant (10)

LEBRON James (19)

RUSH Limbaugh (23)

WOLFGANG Puck (95)

 

SOURCE: Forbes website, http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/03/forbes-100-celebrity-09-jolie-oprah-madonna_land.html

 

 

 

Of course, there are plenty of celebs on the list with more ordinary names, too, like:

 

COMMON FEMALE NAMES

 

BRITNEY Spears

CARRIE Underwood

JENNIFER Aniston

KATHERINE Heigl

NICOLE Kidman

SARAH JESSICA Parker

TINA Fey

 

 

COMMON MALE NAMES

 

BRAD Pitt

CHRIS Rock

DANIEL Radcliffe

JEFF Gordon

TOM Hanks

TYLER Perry

WILL Smith

 

 

If you want to read the whole list for yourself, go here.

 

So what do you think? Does having a common or unique name have an impact on fame and fortune? Post a comment and share your opinion!

 

 

 

 

Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss any future 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