Tag Archive for 'popular baby names'

Creative Spellings of the Most Popular Baby Names…What Do You Think?

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on December 8, 2009
in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists
. 2 Comments

 

 

medium-pink-cupcake

clevercupcakes

 

In today’s world many parents place a value on “uniqueness” when choosing a name. For some parents that means that if other parents are choosing a name they like, they cross that name off their lists. For other parents, they keep the name like, but make it “unique” by spelling it differently.

 

Don’t believe me? I have proof! Here’s a list of names from the Social Security Top 1000 most popular names that show up more than once with different spellings.  

 

The varied spellings are listed in order of popularity.

 

 

AALIYAH

AALIYAH, ALIYAH, ALEAH, ALIYA, ALIA

 

ABIGAIL

ABIGAIL, ABBIGAIL, ABAGAIL, ABIGAYLE

 

ADDISON

ADDISON, ADDYSON, ADDISYN, ADYSON, ADISON

 

AIDAN

AIDAN, ADAN, AYDAN, AEDAN

 

ALLISON

ALLISON, ALLYSON, ALISON, ALLISSON, ALYSON, ALISSON

 

AUBREY

AUBREY, AUBREE, AUBRIE

 

BAILEY

BAILEY, BAYLEE, BAILEE

 

BRIANNA

BRIANNA, BRIANA, BREANNA, BRYANNA

 

BRAYDEN

BRAYDEN, BRADEN, BRAYDON, BRAEDEN, BRAIDEN, BRADYN, BRAEDON

 

CADEN

CADEN, KADEN, KAYDEN, CAYDEN, KAIDEN, CAIDEN, KAEDEN

 

CAMERON

CAMERON, KAMERON, CAMRON, CAMREN, KAMRON, CAMRYN, KAMREN

 

CARLY

CARLY, KARLEE, CARLEY, CARLIE, CARLEE, KARLIE, KARLY, KARLEY, CARLEIGH

 

CARSON

CARSON, KARSON, CARSEN

 

CHEYENNE

CHEYENNE, CHEYANNE, SHYANNE, SHYANN

 

COLTON

COLTON, COLTEN, KOLTON, KOLTEN

 

CONNOR

CONNOR, CONNER, CONOR, KONNER, KONNOR

 

EMILY

EMILY, EMELY, EMILEE, EMILIE

 

HAILEY

HAILEY, HALEY, HAYLEE, HAILEE, HAYLIE, HALEIGH, HAILIE

 

JASMINE

JASMINE, JAZMIN, JASMIN, JAZMINE, JAZMYN

 

JAYDEN

JAYDEN, JADEN, JAIDEN, JAYDON, JAEDEN, JAYDIN, JAIDYN, JAYDAN

 

JAYLEN

JAYLEN, JALEN, JAYLIN, JAYLON, JAYLAN

 

JASLENE

JASLENE, JAZLYN, JAZLYNN, JAZLENE, JASLYN

 

JORDAN

JORDAN, JORDYN, JORDIN

 

JORDAN

JORDAN, JORDEN, JORDYN, JORDON

 

KAITLYN

KAITLYN, KATELYN, CAITLIN, CAITLYN, KATELYNN, KAITLYNN

 

KAYLEE

KAYLEE, KAYLEIGH, KAILEY, KAYLIE, CAYLEE, KALEIGH, KAILEE, KALLIE, KAYLEY, KALEY

 

LANDON

LANDON, LANDEN, LANDYN, LANDIN

 

LAYLA

LAYLA, LAILA, LEILA, LEYLA, LAILAH, LAYLAH

 

MADELINE

MADELINE, MADELYN, MADELEINE, MADILYN, MADALYN, MADELYNN, MADALYNN, MADILYNN

 

MADISON

MADISON, MADDISON, MADISYN, MADYSON

 

MACKENZIE

MACKENZIE, MCKENZIE, MAKENZIE

 

MAKAYLA

MAKAYLA, MIKAYLA, MICHAELA, MCKAYLA, MIKAELA, MICAELA, MAKAILA

 

MCKENNA

MCKENNA, MAKENNA, MAKENA

 

MILEY

MILEY, MYLEE, MYLIE

 

OLIVIA

OLIVIA, ALIVIA, ALYVIA

 

PEYTON

PEYTON, PAYTON, PAITYN, PAYTEN

 

REAGAN

REAGAN, RAEGAN, REGAN

 

TRISTAN

TRISTAN, TRISTEN, TRISTON, TRISTIN, TRISTIAN, TRYSTAN

 

 

 

What do you think about creatively spelled names? Some love them and some hate them…I’d love to hear what you think!

 

Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss any future baby name posts.

 

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

 

 

 

Baby Names Soaring in Popularity

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on December 5, 2009
in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists, Baby Naming Tips, Celebrity Baby Names and Celebrity Names
. 0 Comments

 




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kashyap_hc

A topic that comes up over and over again with readers is how to choose names that aren’t going to be too common. I’ve blogged in the past about ways to prevent choosing a name that will be popular in the future.


 


Here’s another great tool from Social Security to help parents. They’ve put out a handy ranking of the names that moved up the chart the most in the previous year. The 2009 stats aren’t due out for another couple months, but here is the data from 2008.


 


These are the names that showed the biggest increase in popularity from the previous year.  What can this information tell you? In the post I mentioned earlier about predicting what names are going to be popular, one of my tips is to avoid names that are quickly rising on the popularity chart. This list helps you figure out what those names are!


 


So, if you’re looking for a name that will be unique, avoid the names on this list because they might be destined for even greater popularity in the years to come. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a trendy or stylish name, you might want to use one of these names.


 


No matter your goal, this is a list you need to know about.


 


Here goes…the top 20:


 


 


GIRLS’ BABY NAMES


 


KHLOE


MARLEE


MARELY


AUDRINA


MARLEY


DANNA


JASLENE


LILAH


PAISLEY


MILEY


LYLA


HARPER


DAYANA


VALENTINA


LONDON


MYLEE


JIMENA


LYRIC


KAYDEN


EMERY


 


 


 


BOYS’ BABY NAMES


 


JACOBY


KANE


BECKETT


PAXTON


KALE


AUGUST


BRAYLON


RYKER


KINGSTON


KOLTON


ZAYDEN


BRYCEN


RIVER


MILO


LANDYN


ALIJAH


CASH


ALVIN


JUDE


BYRON


 


 


What jumps out at me the most is that on the girl’s list there are three spelling variations of the name MARLEY and two variations of MILEY. These are names to avoid (no matter how you spell it) if you want to avoid popular names.


 


There’s some celebrity inspiration on this list — obviously MILEY Cyrus. We also have AUDRINA — it’s a beautiful name brought into the spotlight by Audrina Patridge of The Hills fame. No surprise that it caught the attention of parents. PAISLEY may be inspired by Brad Paisley (quite a creative baby namer himself with sons Huckleberry and Jasper).


 


On the boy’s side we have CASH — the snazzy name of Jessica Alba’s husband, Cash Warren. KINGSTON is the name of Gwen Stephani’s oldest son and it’s probably no accident that his name made it onto this list.


 


Follow the trends… the –en/-on sound at the end of boys’ names is quite hot and this list shows that loud and clear. There’s PAXTON, BRAYLON, KINGSTON, KOLTON, ZAYDEN, BRYCEN and LANDYN. That’s a little more than a third of all the names on the list.


 


Another trend we see represented here is the popularity of location names with LONDON on the girl’s list. Ditto for KINGSTON on the boy’s list.


 


Other names that made the list that may increase in popularity next year:


 


GIRLS’ BABY NAMES


 


AUDREY


CORA


DELILAH


FIONA


LILA


MALIA


PENELOPE


PEYTON


STELLA


VIOLET


 


 


BOYS’ BABY NAMES


 


EASTON


ELI


ELLIOT


FINN


GRADY


GRAYSON/GREYSON


HOLDEN


HUDSON


JASPER


KELLEN


LEVI


MADDOX


WESTON


WYATT


 


 


What names dropped in popularity? Here are the 20 names that took the biggest slide:


 


 


GIRLS’ BABY NAMES


 


ANGELIQUE


YOSELIN


JADEN


KIRSTEN


ANAHI


ALISSA


JULISSA


ASHLEE


MEREDITH


PAULINA


DAYANARA


DIAMOND


JAIDEN


RACHAEL


JOSELYN


ABRIL


PARIS


MEGHAN


JADYN


RYAN


 


 


BOYS’ BABY NAMES


 


ALDO


BRANDEN


OSVALDO


LELAND


BILLY


NOE


RODNEY


JAYLIN


FELIPE


TOBIAS


CAMRON


NATHANAEL


ORLANDO


TERRANCE


JALEN


JADON


CYRUS


SCOTT


JESSIE


CARL


 


 


We see some celebrity backlash here (which always happens eventually) — ORLANDO, CYRUS, PARIS, ASHLEE, JADEN/JAIDEN/JADYN.


 


Now it’s your turn! What do you think?


 


Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss any future baby name posts.


 


You can also follow me on TWITTER to get up-to-the-minute celebrity baby name news, name trivia, interesting names I come across and so much more…don’t miss out! 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


 


 


 

More Alternatives to the Top 10 Baby Names

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on November 14, 2009
in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists and Baby Naming Tips
. 3 Comments

 

Parents-to-be often fall in love with a name only to see it land in the Top 10 most popular baby names. Some take that as a sign that they have good taste and choose the name without looking back. Others decide to scrap the name and choose something more unique.

 

For those of you who like some of the Top 10 names, but want something that’s not already at the top of the charts, I’ve put together a list of alternatives — names that are similar, but not similarly popular. 

 

GIRLS’ BABY NAMES

 

EMMA —        EMBER, ESMÉ, AMABEL

ISABELLA —    ISLA, ISIDORA, IRIS, INGRID

EMILY —         EMERSON, EMERALD, AMELIA

MADISON — MACY, MADELINE, MARLEY

AVA —            AIDA, AVERY, ASTRA, IVY

OLIVIA —        OLIVE, OLYMPIA, OPAL

SOPHIA —      STELLA, SIMONE, SIENA

ABIGAIL —      ABILENE, AUDREY, ANNABELLE

ELIZABETH — ELIZA, ELINOR, BETHANY

CHLOE —        CALLIOPE, CAMILLA, CORA

 

 

 

BOYS’ BABY NAMES

 

JACOB —                    JASPER, JERICHO, JAMESON

MICHAEL —                MICAH, MILLER, MITCHELL

ETHAN —                   ELLIOT, EASTON, ELIAS

JOSHUA —                  JOSIAH, JOSS, JULIAN

DANIEL —                   DANE, DALTON, DASHIELL

ALEXANDER —           XAVIER, ARCHER, ARCHIBALD

ANTHONY —              ANDERSON, ARTHUR, AUGUSTUS

WILLIAM —                WILSON, WALLACE, WALKER

CHRISTOPHER —       CHANDLER, CHARLETON, CRISPIN

MATTHEW —             MADDEN, MALCOLM, MARLOW

 

 

 

What do you think? Do you have a good suggestion for a Top 10 alternative? Leave a comment and let us all know!

 

Also, a big thank you for the comments and emails — I love to hear from readers! J

 

Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss any future baby name posts.

 

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

 

 

 

Bram Stoker’s Guide to Baby Naming (just in time for Halloween!)

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on October 31, 2009
in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists and Holiday Baby Names
. 0 Comments

 

I remember being in high school and not being able to put Dracula down. I took it everywhere I went and stayed up late until I’d finished it…and was very sad when I came to the end. You know that feeling when a book is so good that you just don’t want it to be over? That’s how Dracula was for me.

 

Halloween seems like a good time to dust off this classic vampire tale and get some name inspiration.

 

Dracula debuted in 1897. So those of you interested in turn-of-the-century names should enjoy this list. It should also appeal to people interested in Irish names because Bram Stoker was born and raised in Dublin.

 

Here you go:

 

FEMALE CHARACTER NAMES

LUCY Westenra

WILHELMINA “MINA” (Murray) Harker

 

 

MALE CHARACTER NAMES

ABRAHAM Van Helsing

ARTHUR Holmwood

JOHN Seward

JONATHAN Harker

PETER Hawkins

QUINCEY Morris

 

 

LUCY and MINA would be quite stylish names today. Even WILHELMINA has an antique charm to it. It makes sense that these names sound interesting to our ears right now because names take a few generations to sound fresh again after a period of popularity. You can see a pretty steady cycle for the name LUCY here in the US. In 1897 it was the 61st most popular name for girls. It dropped in popularity a little bit each year until the 1970s where it hit a low of 588. Then LUCY started climbing again. In 2008, it was at 112. I suspect it will continue growing in popularity over the next few years and then start to decline again.

 

WILHELMINA was most popular in the US in the 1880s — peaking at 215 in 1884. It actually hasn’t been in the Top 1000 since 1954. Talk about a name ready for a comeback! I remember a Days of Our Lives storyline in the 1990s with a character named WILHELMINA played by Lisa Rinna. The character went by the name Billie. There was also a storyline about a cosmetics company called Princess Wilhelmina. WILHELMINA is a bit of a mouthful, but there are a lot of cute nickname potential here — Billie, Mina, Minnie, Willa, Willie.

 

MINA was popular in the 1880s and stayed on the charts until 1944. Then it dropped off entirely until 2002. I can see MINA continuing to increase in popularity because it is short and sweet, has a very feminine ring to it and has that nickname quality that is popular with some parents.

 

The boys’ names are fairly traditional. None of them would sound especially out of place on a playground today. Nor would they have sounded out of place 50 or 100 years ago. QUINCEY is the most unusual of the names (more commonly spelled “Quincy” here in the US). It has never been a “popular” name, but it has also never been so uncommon that it would surprise someone to hear it.

 

What do you think of these names? Any fellow Dracula fans out there? Write and let me know.

 

Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss any future baby name posts.

 

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

 

 

 

Baby Name Sampler, Summer 2009

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on September 29, 2009
in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists, Celebrity Baby Names and Celebrity Names
. 3 Comments

 

Ever sit around wondering what people are naming their babies right now? Me too.

 

I’ve gathered a list of baby names used this summer so that we could look at the trends, see what names are out there and also just because it’s fun. The names came from a variety of hospital web nurseries.

 

I’ve put the names into categories based on the first names. The middle names don’t necessarily follow the same trend or style. A few names could fit into more than one category.

 

On to the names…Comment and let me know what you think!

 

 

CLASSIC BABY NAMES

ALEXANDRA ROSE

ELISABETH JUNE

EMILY ELIZABETH

EMMA ELIZABETH

GABRIELLA PAIGE

LILY ISABELLA

MADELINE KAY

NATALIE ROSE

OLIVIA GRACE

REBECCA KATHERINE

SAMANTHA CLARE

 

JACOB DANIEL JAMES

JOSEPH NICHOLAS

MATTHEW BRIAN

MICHAEL TRENT

NATHANIEL LUKE

NICHOLAS DOBY

WILLIAM ANTHONY

 

 

UNISEX BABY NAMES

CAMERON SCOTT

CASEY LANE

JESSE LYNN

KEAGAN JON

KINSLEY DALLAS

LANE THOMAS JAMES

QUINN VIRGINIA

REECE ANDREW

SAWYER AMELIE GRACE

SIDNEY NATALIE

SKYLER KADE

TAYLOR MICHELLE

TEAGAN RAE

 

 

ONE-OF-A-KIND BABY NAMES

AMBREE

ARAYA SUNSHINE

ATHENA NAOMI

AYLA JUBILEE

BELLASOFIA FRANKIE

BELLICIA MICHELLE DANIELLE

BRYNJA ISABELLE

CHANLIE RAYE

DENALI JOY

DUSTIE DAWN

ENVEE ELIZABETH

ISIS LEE’ANN

JAZANYA TELESIA

KAIA NELLORA

NIYARI MOJICA

OZLYNDA VICTORIA-KAY

SAILER AURORA

SAVONA JALEACE

SKYLEE

SOMAYA MONIQUE

TASHALA JIZZELLE

 

BLAYDEN RYAN

BOSTON MARLEY

BRIDGER

BRIGSTON

BROOKS VALEN

CHAMP DAVIN

COBRA SCOTT

DIESEL LEMAN

DREXEL LAUREN

FAYDEN WHITESAGE

GERMAN

KELEE LION

LARVEL JEAN-KEATH

O’MALLEY RECHELLUL

PORTER BRADLEY

SHOOTER LEE

TAYTON

TRUSTIN JAMES

WHITAKER ROME

ZION DAMARIS

ZYLUS WALTER

 

 

POPULAR BABY NAMES

ADDISON RENEE

AVA GRACE

BELLA ROSE

CHLOE ELIZABETH

HANNAH MARIE

KAYLEE BELLE

LUCY OLIVIA

MADISON GRACE

RILEY ANN

 

AIDEN LEOPOLD

BRAYDEN GEORGE

CADEN CHRISTIAN

CARSON DANIEL

COLE CHRISTOPHER

COOPER DAVID

DAWSON GRAHAM

ETHAN ZACHARY

JAXSON ALLEN

JAYDEN FOXX

JORDAN JAMES

KYLE ALEXANDER

LIAM SHANE

LOGAN MATTHEW

OWEN AXEL

 

 

UP & COMING BABY NAMES

BRIA ROSE

BRIELLE REINA

CARMEN ARLEN

MCKENNA ANN

MIA  RAE

PAIGE NICOLE

PAISLEY ROSE

TABITHA VANESSA

 

BENTLEY JAMES

BRAXTON BENTLEY

CALLAHAN ROY

FINLEY LOUIS

FINN SULLIVAN

HAYDEN RILEY

HUDSON GRANT

JAMESON BRANT

MILLER DYLAN

ROGAN ROBERT

TUCKER COTY

 

 

COOL BABY NAMES

ANNELISE MORGAN

BIANCA NOELIA

GIANNA MARIE

KORIANA ELIZABETH JEWELL

LIA RENAE

PENNY ANN

SAVANNAH MARIE

SCARLETT IRENE

ZARA MARY JAYNE

ZOEY LYNN

 

BODIE CASH

CHASE MADDEN

COLT ANDERSON

CONNOR MCKINLEY

CYRUS ZANE

EASTON THOMAS DEAN

GRIFFIN LANE

GUNNAR AARON

HUNTER BRADLEY

JACKSON ROCKY LEVI

MAC LOUIS

MATTEO OWEN CHARLES

MAX ELLIOT

MILES WILLIAM

TANNER BLAKE

WESTON ALLEN

WYATT DOC

 

 

UNIQUE SPELLINGS

AIDDEN WHIATT

AYDEN KREDE

BENTLI GRACE

BRAELYNN MICHELLE

BRODIE TATE

BRYNLI

CAMRYN KRISTA

CHAELI SHIRLYANNE

DYLILAH JOLIE

EMMALEE IRIS

HAYZEL ANNABELL

KAYDENCE MARIE

KENNEDI CLAIRE

KHAMRYN BOUNMY

MADALYNN

MAKINNLEY JO

MAYCE SHAH

MEIRRA MAUREEN KASSIDY

PAYTYN

PRESLEE ANN

PRESLIE NICOLE

RYLEE DEE

RYLEY DARTAGNAN

TAITIEM HOWARD

TRYSTEN LEE

 

 

BABY NAMES FOR TWINS

AMELIA CELESTE & JOSEPH CHRISTIAN

ANNA GRACE & AVA LYNN

DANI KAY & CAMERON MICHEAL

PEYTON JUNE & PARKER ELIZABETH

 

 

HOLLYWOOD-INSPIRED BABY NAMES

AUDRINA SHELVY

BROOKLYN KIERA

EVANGELINE BRIGID

GISELLE

KIERA ANALISE

LOLA SHAE

SERAFINNA SUZANNE

 

ASHTON SCOTT

CASH JAMES LEE

CRUZ ALEXANDER

DEACON EDWARD

GAVIN KEITH

JONAS MARK

JOPLIN CODA

KOEN BROOKS

LEVI ANDREW

SEAN PRESTON

ZANDER JAMES

 

 

OLD-FASHIONED BABY NAMES (but not unfashionable)

ALICE MAUREEN

ANNETTE MCKAY

AUDREY FRANCIS

CAROLINE MARIE

EMMALINE HAZEL EVA

ESTHER MARIE

LILLIAN GRACE

MILLICENT LYNN

 

ALBERT KENNEDY

CALEB JOHANNES

CLARK MICHAEL

EZRA MADDOX

JOSIAH ANTHONY

LAMONT LEROY

LINCOLN

LINUS PHILLIP RAY

NOAH EARL

OLIE PAXTON

SOLOMON CODY

TROY DON

ZACHARIAH THOMAS

 

 

NATURE BABY NAMES

AURORA LORALAI

AUTUMN HALLE-SERENITY

GOLDEN AURA

GOLDIE DAWN

JASMINE JULIANNA

SIENA JAZLYN

SIERRA AILEEN

SUMMER BLUE STAR

 

BLAZE DARREN

ORION FRANK

 

 

It’s safe to say that the name BENTLY, in a variety of spellings, is increasing in popularity. I came across that name several times during my search and it was used for both boys and girls —a new addition to the unisex name options.

 

That’s it for today. See you again soon!

 

♥  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

 

 

 

Alternatives to the Top 10 Baby Names

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on September 25, 2009
in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists and International Baby Names
. 0 Comments

 

Many of the Top 10 baby names in the United States have great International variations. For you parents-to-be who find yourselves torn between choosing a name you love from the Top 10 and not wanting to use a name that’s already ultra-popular, I’ve put together a list of stylish variations from around the globe.

 

Let me know your favorites!

 

GIRLS’ NAMES

 

ISABELLA — (German) ISOBELLE

EMILY — (French) AMELIE

OLIVIA — (French) OLIVETTE

SOPHIA — (Scandinavian) SONJA

ELIZABETH — (Spanish) LISETA

CHLOE — (Hawaiian) KOLOE

 

 

 

BOYS’ NAMES

 

JACOB — (Italian) GIACOMO

MICHAEL — (Finnish) MIKKO

JOSHUA — (Dutch) JOZUA

DANIEL — (Finnish) TANELI

ALEXANDER — (Russian) SASHA

ANTHONY — (French) ANTIONE

WILLIAM — (Irish) LIAM

CHRISTOPHER — (Italian) CRISTOVANO

MATTHEW — (Spanish) MATEO

 

 

Of all of the names on my list, I’m especially drawn to OLIVETTE. It’s very unique—I’ve certainly never met an OLIVETTE. At the same time, it’s accessible. Most people could probably guess how to spell it and would be able to pronounce it when they see it (two qualities many people look for when they want to step outside the name box). It’s also a lyrical name; OLIVETTE rolls right off the tongue.

 

What do you think? Leave a comment and let us all know! Also email me and say hi — I love to hear from readers. J

 

 

 

♥  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

 

 

 

INTERNATIONAL BABY NAMES: Popular Scottish Names

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on August 25, 2009
in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists and International Baby Names
. 0 Comments

 

Looking for popular baby names? Looking for European names? You’ve come to the right blog.

 

Parents often look for names with cultural significance for their family and looking at names popular in other countries is a good place to start.

 

Here are the 2008 Top 20 most popular Scottish baby names, or forenames as they’re called in Scotland.

 

 

GIRLS’ NAMES

 

SOPHIE

EMILY

OLIVIA

CHLOE

EMMA

LUCY

AVA

KATIE

ERIN

HANNAH

ELLIE

JESSICA

AMY

ISLA

GRACE

EVA

REBECCA

LEAH

FREYA

HOLLY

 

 

 

BOYS’ NAMES

 

JACK

LEWIS

DANIEL

LIAM

JAMES (tied for 5th)

RYAN (tied for 5th)

CALLUM

LOGAN

MATTHEW

CAMERON

ALEXANDER

AIDEN (tied for 12th)

DYLAN (tied for 12th)

AARON

BEN

KYLE

JAMIE

FINLAY

ADAM

ANDREW

 

SOURCE: http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/

 

 

 

These lists don’t look drastically different than the U. S. popular names list. However, one thing I noticed is that all the girls’ names have a decidedly feminine feel to them — no unisex or tomboyish names that are popular here in the U. S., like MADISON, ADDISON, RILEY and TAYLOR.

 

I would say the biggest surprise is on the boys’ list though — LEWIS at #2. LEWIS has a bit of an old-fashioned vibe here in the U. S. LOUIS is the more popular spelling here and it hasn’t been popular since the mid-1950s.  LEWIS hasn’t been popular since the turn of the century. Maybe it’s time for a comeback.

 

CALLUM is a cool name and I can see that catching on here. One of my favorite names has always been KYLE, so I’m glad to see it in the Top 20.

 

Which names do you like best?

 

♥  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

 

 

 

Restoration Hardware Baby Names

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on July 29, 2009
in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists
. 0 Comments

 

When I was at the mall earlier, I picked up the latest Restoration Hardware Baby & Child Catalog. It’s a great catalog with cute baby things and it’s full of names! They offer many items that can be personalized with names or monograms — so their ads have lots of names in them.

 

It’s an interesting peek into the advertising world and the kinds of names the advertisers envision Restoration Hardware customers using for their babies. Good stuff!

 

Here are the names from the catalog:

 

RESTORATION HARDWARE GIRL NAMES

 

ABIGAIL

ADDISON

ALEXIS

ARIANNA

CHLOE

EMMA

EVA

GRACE

MADISON

MIA

MORGAN

TAYLOR

 

 

Bonus names I found at their website:

 

AVERY

EMILY

MEGAN

SOPHIA

 

 

I also found a few names that had middle names attached:

 

CHLOE DAWN

MIA REESE

MORGAN RILEY

 

 

 

RESTORATION HARDWARE BOY NAMES

 

AIDEN

CAYDEN

ETHAN

EVAN

HENRY

JACK

WILLIAM

 

 

Bonus website names:

 

HARRISON

RYAN

 

 

Full names:

 

JACK ANDREW

WILLIAM HENRY

 

 

The first thing I noticed when I looked at the names was that there were several “boyish” names for girls — ADDISON, AVERY, MADISON, MORGAN, TAYLOR. There were also the middle names REESE and RILEY. This is a popular trend these days and that’s reflected here, so it’s no surprise.

 

Also, the A’s have it — there’s ABIGAIL, ADDISON, AIDEN, ALEXIS, ARIANNA and AVERY. A is a very popular letter for first names, so this isn’t a surprise either.

 

The majority of these names fall into the Top 100 most popular names, based on Social Security rankings. Six of the Top 10 girls’ names are used: EMMA (#1), EMILY (#3), MADISON (#4), SOPHIA (#7), ABIGAIL (#8) and CHLOE (#10). The boys have two from the Top 10: ETHAN (#3) and WILLIAM (#8).

 

The only names that fall outside the Top 100 are:

 

EVA at #114 (however, this name is very similar to ultra-popular AVA, which is ranked at #5)

 

CAYDEN at #173 (multiple spellings of this name are popular though, which has an impact on ranking — CADEN is #95 and CAIDEN is #250)

 

HARRISON at #219

 

 

I love HARRISON. It’s so cute! I can see that becoming more popular.

 

Overall, they did a great job. These are fun names. What do you think? Post your comments. :)

 

Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss 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: Farrah and Michael

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on June 28, 2009
in Baby Name of the Week, Baby Names in the News and Celebrity Names
. 0 Comments

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

INTERNATIONAL BABY NAMES: ICELAND, Part 2: Boys’ Names

Published
by
Amanda Barden
on June 24, 2009
in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists and International Baby Names
. 3 Comments

 

Yesterday we looked at popular names for girls in Iceland and today we’re taking a look at the boys’ names.

 

In case you’re just tuning in or you didn’t read Part 1 because you’re only interested in boys’ names, here’s what you need to know…Iceland keeps track of babies who are given single names and babies who are given double names. A single name is a one-name first name, like ASHLEY Olsen. A double name is a two-name first name, like MARY KATE Olsen.

 

Now that we’re all on the same page…on to the names. These are the 10 most popular single names of boys 0-4 years old in Iceland in 2008:

 

 

TOP 10 ICELANDIC BOY SINGLE BABY NAMES

 

1.      KÁRI

2.      DAGUR

3.      ALEXANDER

4.      GABRÍEL (tie)

4.   TÓMAS (tie)

6.      ÍSAK

7.      DANÍEL (tie)

7.   DAVÍÐ (tie)

9.      BENEDIKT

10. SÖLVI (tie)

10. SINDRI (tie)

10. ARON (tie)

10. STEFÁN (tie)

 

 

We learned yesterday that there are a lot of ties in the Top 10, so we’re not surprised to see 13 baby names in the list of Top 10 most popular baby names…

 

Anyhow, I found some other interesting names in the Top 100 that I wanted to share with you:

 

 

POPULAR ICELANDIC BOY BABY NAMES

 

ANDRI

ATLI

AXEL

BJÖRN

BREKI

EINAR

FROSTI

GUNNAR

HÁKON

HANNES

KJARTAN

MAGNÚS

MATTHÍAS

ORRI

SÆVAR

SVEINN

TRAUSTI

 

 

Just like the girls’ names from yesterday, there are some interesting double names for boys in Iceland. Here are the top 10 double names for boys 0-4 years old in 2008:

 

 

TOP 10 ICELANDIC BOY DOUBLE BABY NAMES

 

1.       SINDRI SNÆR

2.       MIKAEL MÁNI

3.       ANDRI SNÆR

4.       ARON INGI (tie)

4.       GABRÍEL MÁNI (tie)

6.   ARNAR FREYR (tie)

6.   ÍSAK MÁNI (tie)

6.   TÓMAS ORRI (tie)

9.   ALEXANDER MÁNI

10. BJARKI FREYR

 

 

All these cool statistics are courtesy of Statistics Iceland. Go there to read the full list of names! In addition to the lists we’ve talked about here, there are stats on most popular first name in a double name and most popular second name in a double name.

 

What do you think of these Icelandic names? Do you have a favorite? I’m kind of partial to FROSTI, but that could just be the novelty of it. What do you think? Post your opinion.  

 

Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss 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