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Tag Archive for 'rare baby names'

Harry Potter Names: Part 2, Wizards

Published

Amanda Barden

on July 16, 2009

in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists

. 2 Comments

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Yesterday we started our Harry Potter celebration by looking at the girls’ names from the books. Today we’re ready for the boys.

Here’s a list of interesting boys’ names from the books:

WIZARDS

ALASTOR Moody

AMOS Diggory

ARCHIBALD Alderton

ARGUS Filch

ARMANDO Dippet

AUGUSTUS Worme

BARNABY Ollerton

BASIL Horton

BEAUMONT Marjoribanks

BLAISE Zabini

BOWMAN Wright

BRODERICK Bode

BUCKLEY Cooper

BRUNO Schmidt

CADMUS Peverell

CARADOC Dearborn

CASPAR Crouch

CEDRIC Diggory

COLIN Creevey

CORMAC McLaggen

CYPRIAN Youdle

DEMPSTER Wiggleswade

DEVLIN Whitehorn

DEXTER Fortescue

DONAGHAN Tremlett

DUNCAN Inglebee

EUAN Abercrombie

EVAN Rosier

FALCO Aesalon

FELIX Summerbee

GIDEON Prewett

GILDEROY Lockhart

GODRIC Gryffindor

GRAHAM Pritchard

GULLIVER Pokeby

HARRY Potter

HUGO Weasley

JUSTUS Pilliwickle

KENNILWORTHY Whisp

KINGSLEY Shacklebolt

KIRLEY Duke

LORCAN Scamander

LUCIUS Malfoy

LUDOVIC Bagman

LYSANDER Scamander

MARIUS Black

MONTAGUE Knightley

MUNDUNGUS Fletcher

MUNGO Bonham

NEVILLE Longbottom

OCTAVIUS Pepper

OLIVER Wood

ORION Black

OTTO Bagman

OWEN Cauldwell

PERCIVAL Dumbledore

PERCY Weasley

POLLOX Black

QUINTIUS Umfraville

RAGMAR Dorkins

REMUS Lupin

RUBEUS Hagrid

SALAZAR Slytherin

SAMSON Wiblin

SCORPIUS Malfoy

SEVERUS Snape

SIRIUS Black

TARQUIN McTavish

TIBERIUS Ogden

TILDEN Toots

TOM MARVOLO Riddle

WILKIE Twycross

XAVIER Rastrick

SOURCE: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Harry_Potter_characters

I can tell that J. K. Rowling had fun coming up with all these names because they’re so fun to read. Some of these names are probably too far out there for some parents, like DEMPSTER or RAGMAR. But there are quite a few cool names here.

Here are my faves from this list: BRODERICK, EVAN and GULLIVER. I also think that DUNCAN is so nerdy, it’s actually cool.

If you looking for ways to get at cool nicknames, try CARADOC for “Doc” and CORMAC for “Mac.”

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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

Harry Potter Names: Part 1, Witches

Published

Amanda Barden

on July 15, 2009

in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists

. 2 Comments

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Harry’s back! The latest Harry Potter film has finally been released and I can’t wait to see it…I’m counting down the hours. While waiting for the release, I’ve been sorting through character names and picking out some of my favorites.

J. K. Rowling isn’t just a great writer, she’s a brilliant namer. In the Harry Potter series, she mixed in mainstream names like HARRY and RON with unique names like HERMIONE and LUNA, very unusual names like SIRIUS and SEVERUS and then truly off-the-wall names like HELIOTROPE, KENNILWORTHY and MUNDUNGUS. For a name nerd like myself, it made for great fun while reading the books.

Today we’ll look at witches and tomorrow we’ll check out the wizards. J

WITCHES

AMELIA Bones

ANDROMEDA Black

APPOLINE Delacour

ARABELLA Figg

ARAMINTA Meliflua

ARTEMISIA Lufkin

ASTORIA Greengrass

AUDREY Weasley

AUGUSTA Longbottom

AURORA Sinistra

BELLATRIX Black

BELVINA Burke

CALLIDORA Black

CARLOTTA Pinkstone

CASSIOPEIA Black

CATRIONA McCormack

CELESTINA Warbeck

CHO Chang

DAISY Dodderidge

DAPHNE Greengrass

DEMELZA Robins

DRUELLA Black

DYMPHNA Furmage

ELLADORA Black

ELSIE Prod

EMMELINE Vance

FIFI LaFolle

FLEUR Delacour

GALATEA Merrythought

GINEVRA “GINNY” Weasley

GRETA Catchlove

GRISELDA Marchbanks

HELGA Hufflepuff

HELIOTROPE Willis

HEPZIBAH Smith

HERMIONE Granger

HESTIA Jones

HONORIA Dumbledore

IGNATIA Wildsmith

ISLA Black

LAVENDER Brown

LILY Potter

LISETTE de Lapin

LUCRETIA Prewett

LUNA Lovegood

LYSANDRA Black

MAGENTA Comstock

MAISIE Cattermole

MARIETTA Edgecombe

MELANIA Black

MINERVA McGonagall

MIRABELLA Plunkett

MIRANDA Goshawk

MOLLY Weasley

MUSIDORA Barkwith

NARCISSA Black

NYMPHADORA Tonks

OLIVE Hornby

OLYMPE Maxime

ORLA Quirke

PADMA Patil

PANSY Parkinson

PARVATI Patil

PENELOPE Clearwater

PERPETUA Fancourt

PETUNIA Dursley

POMONA Sprout

POPPY Pomfrey

ROMILDA Vane

ROSE Weasley

ROWENA Ravenclaw

SACHARISSA Tugwood

SEPTIMA Vector

SYBILL Trelawney

URSULA Flint

VIOLETTA Black

SOURCE: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Harry_Potter_characters

There are so many fun names on this list it’s hard to narrow it down to a few favorites. But after a lot of careful deliberation, I came up with these faves: CELESTINA, LAVENDER, OLIVE and VIOLETTA. This is a loose list and I could easily have added several more, like AURORA, CALLIDORA, MAGENTA, MINERVA, ORLA and PENELOPE (love PENNY as a nickname).

Honorable Mention: MUSIDORA. I absolutely love this name, but would never be so bold as to use it for a baby. Anyone else out there like MUSIDORA or is it just me? I find the musical quality of the name very attractive.

Anyhow, that’s all for today. Check back tomorrow for wizard names.

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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

BIBLICAL BABY NAMES: Part 2, Boys’ Names

Published

Amanda Barden

on July 8, 2009

in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists

. 1 Comment

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I know how popular Biblical baby names are, so I decided to look for some rare Biblical names that modern parents might like. There was quite a lot to sort through, some names I couldn’t even pronounce and many that seemed like too much of a name, if you know I mean. Names like HAGGI, HAPPIZZEZ, JEHOIACHIN, MESHILLEMOTH, SENNACHERIB and PUAH.

Mixed in with the BUNNI’s and GUNI’s, I found some really great options for parents looking for less common baby names. Let me know what you think!

Yesterday we looked at girls’ names and today we’re going to look at boys’ names. You’ll notice that today’s list is longer than yesterday’s…that’s just because there are a lot more men named in the Bible than women.

Here you go:

BIBLICAL BOY BABY NAMES

ABEL

ABIJAH

ADLAI

AHAB

AMOS

ASA

ASHER

AZARIAH

BARNABAS

BARTHOLOMEW

CORNELIUS

DARIUS

DEMETRIUS

ELIJAH

EZRA

GIDEON

HOSEA

ISAIAH

ISHMAEL

JEREMIAH

JETHRO

LEVI

MATTHIAS

MICAH

MICAIAH

NICODEMUS

OBADIAH

OMRI

RAPHAEL

SAMSON

SILAS

SIMON

TIBERIUS

TITUS

TOBIAH

TOBIAS

UNNO

ZACCAI

ZACCHAEUS

ZEBEDEE

ZIMRI

Let me know which ones you like best…or which ones you hate! I’m a fan of BARTHOLOMEW, but I don’t like BART at all and I’m not sure there’s any way around that nickname. LEVI is pretty great, too, and I suspect we’ll see it rise in popularity after Camilla Alves and Matthew McConaughey named their son LEVI last year.

I think ASHER has great potential, too. With the popularity of names like ASHLEY and ASHTON, I think ASHER has a good chance of finding an audience.

BABY NAMING TIP: Before choosing one of these names, do some research to make sure the Biblical figure with the desirable name fits your image of a good namesake. If the figure doesn’t fit the bill, you can still use the name. Just let people know that you chose the name because you liked it, not because you wanted to name your child after that particular Biblical figure.

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

BIBLICAL BABY NAMES: Part 1, Girls’ Names

Published

Amanda Barden

on July 7, 2009

in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists

. 3 Comments

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I know that lots of parents-to-be are searching for Biblical baby names. There’s nothing new about this and as a result, there are quite a few popular Biblical baby names that quickly come to mind — John, Joseph, Mary, James, Elizabeth, just off the top of my head.

This week I decided to dig a little deeper and find some less common Biblical baby names that are worth considering. I think I found some good options…let me know what you think!

Today we’ll look at girls’ names and tomorrow we’ll look at the boys’ names.

BIBLICAL GIRL BABY NAMES

ABITAL

ADAH

DAMARIS

DELILAH

DINAH

DRUSILLA

EVE

JAEL

JEMIMA

JEZEBEL

KETURAH

KEZIAH

LEAH

NAOMI

PHOEBE

PRISCA

PRISCILLA

REBEKAH

RHODA

SALOME

SAPPHIRA

TABITHA

TAMAR

ZILLAH

ZILPAH

ZIPPORAH

I think my favorites from this list are PRISCILLA, SAPPHIRA and TABITHA. Two of these have great built-in nicknames — I’m not a fan of PRISSY, but I do like CILLA and I love TABBY. Not sure if SAPPHIRA has good nickname potential, but some parents love the no-nickname names—so, this might be a good pick for those parents.

Do you know of any other hidden name gems in the Bible? Comment and let me know!

Tune back in tomorrow for a list of rare Biblical boys’ names!

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: “Fireworks” Baby Names

Published

Amanda Barden

on July 5, 2009

in Baby Name of the Week, Holiday Baby Names and My Life

. 1 Comment

One of my absolute favorite things in the entire world is fireworks. They’re magical and make me feel sparkly and I love them. So, fresh off my 4^th of July fireworks high, I’ve chosen names with meanings that remind me of fireworks for the Baby Names of the Week:

Here are my picks:

GIRLS’ BABY NAME OF THE WEEK

EMBER — Latin name meaning “smoldering fire”

BOYS’ BABY NAME OF THE WEEK

ORION — Greek name meaning “son of fire”

I think EMBER is actually a very appealing alternative to more popular AMBER. It sounds interesting, it’s unique and has an attractive meaning. The only trouble I see with it is that people could mishear it as AMBER and you might end up having to repeat the name more than once. Might be worth it though for such a cool baby name…

ORION is an old favorite of mine. I’ve loved it for years and have never known why it hasn’t been more popular. It starts with an unusual letter, which parents sometimes like (think ZACHARY, XANDER and ZOE), and it has the same sound of long-popular RYAN. All the makings of a cool baby name!

That’s all for today! Tune in later this week for more baby name discussion!

♥ 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

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

INTERNATIONAL BABY NAMES: ICELAND, Part 1: Girls’ Names

Published

Amanda Barden

on June 23, 2009

in Baby Name Suggestions & Lists and International Baby Names

. 2 Comments

If you asked me what the 10 most popular baby names in Iceland are, I couldn’t tell you. Baby naming in Iceland is a little more complex than that.

In Iceland, it’s apparently quite common for babies to get a couple first names — referred to as double names in Icelandic statistics. Common enough, in fact, for Iceland to keep separate records for the most popular single names and the most popular double names. What are single and double names? ASHLEY Olsen has a single first name and her twin sister, MARY KATE Olsen has a double first name. Make sense?

First, let’s have a look at single names. These are Iceland’s Top 10 most popular single names for girls 0-4 years old in 2008:

TOP 10 ICELANDIC GIRL SINGLE BABY NAMES

1. SARA

2. FREYJA

3. KATLA

4. MARÍA

5. KATRÍN

6. ELÍSABET

7. HEKLA (tie)

7. EMILÍA (tie)

7. KRISTÍN (tie)

10. AUÐUR

Just like we saw with the Danish names earlier this month, this Top 10 is a mix of names that have a distinct regional feel and names you commonly find in the US — or versions of those names, anyhow.

Another thing you’ll notice on all the Icelandic baby name lists is that there are a lot of ties. I’m not sure there’s anything really significant about this, but it comes up a lot so I thought I’d mention it. You’ll see what I mean in a bit.

Some other standouts from the top 100 list are:

POPULAR ICELANDIC GIRL SINGLE BABY NAMES

AGNES

ÁRÓRA

ÁSTA

BRÍET

EDDA

ELÍN

EMBLA

HARPA

ÍSOLD

KAMILLA

KARÍTAS

LARA

LILJA

LOVÍSA

NÍNA

RAKEL

SAGA

SELMA

SÓLEY

SÓLLILJA

STEFANÍA

SUNNA

SUNNEVA

TELMA

TINNA

I really like the name SUNNEVA — it’s very pretty! It also has good nickname potential and is very unique (at least here in the United States).

Now let’s look at the double names. I’m quite excited over these, by the way. It’s not every day that my inner name nerd and my inner statistics nerd get to meet over a new official list of baby names. It’s a happy day!

TOP 10 ICELAND GIRL DOUBLE BABY NAMES

1. EVA MARÍA

2. ANNA MARÍA (tie)

2. SARA LIND (tie)

4. EMILÍA ÓSK

5. GUÐRÚN LILJA (tie)

5. ÍSABELLA SÓL (tie)

8. EMILÍA RÓS (tie)

8. EVA LIND (tie)

10. ANÍTA ÓSK (tie)

10. BIRTA MARÍA (tie)

10. EMBLA SÓL (tie)

10. RAKEL ÓSK (tie)

10. THELMA LIND (tie)

Did I mention there were a lot of ties? The source for all these statistics is Statistics Iceland. Go there if you want to see the full lists.

If you have a favorite female Icelandic name, let me know! My pick right now is SUNNEVA.

That’s all for today. Tune in tomorrow for the boys’ list! Subscribe to the RSS feed 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: “Coffee” Baby Names

Published

Amanda Barden

on June 21, 2009

in Baby Name of the Week and Celebrity Baby Names

. 0 Comments

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!

♥ 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)

Published

Amanda Barden

on June 13, 2009

in Baby Names in the News and Celebrity Names

. 0 Comments

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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

ASK AMANDA: Ava is too Popular…Help!

Published

Amanda Barden

on June 12, 2009

in Ask Amanda

. 0 Comments

It’s Friday and that means it’s time for Ask Amanda! A lot of parents-to-be are wondering about name popularity and how it will affect their name choices…

Ask Amanda

Q: My partner and I love the name Ava, but it’s way too popular. Any ideas for what we can do?

A: Ava is a really pretty name and it’s no wonder you (and a lot of other parents) are drawn to it. If it’s gotten too popular for your taste though, here are some ideas for finding another name you like just as much, that isn’t already quite so popular.

First, figure out what it is you like about Ava — maybe you like the meaning (Ava’s origin is Latin and means “like a bird”), the cool “av” sound and letter combination, the “vintage” feel Ava has or maybe it’s a family name. Once you figure out what why you’re drawn to Ava, you’ll be able to come up with alternatives.

For example:

1) MEANING: If you like “like a bird,” then you’ll be happy to know that there are plenty of other names with bird-meanings.

Here are a few: ALOUETTE, AYA, COLUMBA, DAYA, DERYN, ELSA, JEMMA, KOKO, LARK, MAVIS, MIRRA, NIGHTENGALE, PALILA, PALOMA, PENELOPE, RAVEN, ROBIN, SORA, TORI, ZIPPORAH

2) “AV” COMBINATION: Ava isn’t the only name to start with the “av” letter combination.

Here are some other options: AVALON, AVASA, AVERY, AVIS, AVIVA, AVRIL

3) VINTAGE VIBE: Earlier this month I wrote a whole post about names that have a vintage feel without feeling out-of-date. Read it here for more ideas.

Some of my favorite “vintage” names are: ADELAIDE, CECILY, CORA, DAISY, ELIZA, HAZEL, IVY, LILA, LUCY, NORA, SADIE, VIOLET, WILLA

4) FAMILY NAME: If Ava is a family name, you can head back to the family tree and look for other names you like. You could also use Ava as a middle name.

Good luck finding a name for your daughter. I’m sure you’ll find a name you both love.

Happy naming,

♥ Amanda

Do any of you have good Ava alternatives? Post your suggestions.

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.