Tag Archive for ‘stephenie meyer’ at Baby Names Made Easy: The Complete Reverse-Dictionary of Baby Names

Tag Archive for 'stephenie meyer'

Hot Baby Name Alert: CULLEN

Published

Amanda Barden

on July 29, 2010

in Hot Baby Name Alert

. 2 Comments

Photo: Nicolas Genin / Teemeah

CULLEN IS HOT…REALLY HOT

Cullen was the fastest growing name of 2009. That means it’s started to gain popularity very quickly. In 2008, Cullen ranked #782 and in 2009, it had jumped 297 spots to #485. Look for it to gain more ground this year. For those of you who don’t know (are there any of you still?), Cullen is the surname of the vampire heartthrob, Edward, from the Twilight books and movie series by Stephenie Meyer.

Some people I’ve talked to assume Cullen is a made up name with no meaning, but Cullen is actually a Celtic name that means “cub.” I think that’s pretty cute. The definition got me wondering what werewolf babies are called because Edward Cullen’s a vampire and his rival for Bella’s affections (if you can really call him that) is a werewolf. After a spirited debate among my friends on Facebook (kudos to those who did some pretty thorough werewolf lore research!), the consensus was that werewolf babies were more likely called pups than cubs. Team Edward is safe for now.

IS THIS MEDIA HYPE OR DO PEOPLE REALLY LIKE TWILIGHT NAMES?

I can’t say what’s happening in the minds of everyone who chose the name Cullen or any of the other Twilight names. What I do know is that at a recent book signing someone told me that she loved all the Twilight names – especially Edward, Bella and Jacob. As she was saying that, a woman who was signing up for my newsletter jumped in and said, “Ooh…I love Cullen. That’s a great name. “

That’s a small sample size, but it’s definitely food for thought. I say the bottom line is that people do like the Twilight baby names, but they might not like them because of Twilight – some people probably like them in spite of Twilight. Then there are the folks who like these names because they adore all-things Stephenie Meyer.

IT’S YOUR TURN TO WEIGH IN

What do you think about the name Cullen? What do you think about the Twilight names overall—Bella, Jacob, Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, Carlisle, Alice?

Are people choosing the name Cullen because they love the books and decide to name their babies after the characters? Or are people hearing the name Cullen because it’s being talked about and deciding it would make a great name it sounds unique?

Happy naming,

♥ Amanda

WANT MORE BABY NAME INFO?

●Join the free BABY NAMES MADE EASY newsletter list for the latest baby name news and tips from my website

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

GET YOUR OWN COPY OF BABY NAMES MADE EASY

HAVE BABY NAME QUESTIONS?

If you have baby name questions, email me at amanda@amandabarden.com.

Your question might appear in a future edition of Ask Amanda.

DO YOU TWEET?

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!

For more information on baby names and their meanings get your copy of

BABY NAMES MADE EASY: THE COMPLETE REVERSE-DICTIONARY OF BABY NAMES

Survivor: Heroes, Villains & Baby Names

Published

Amanda Barden

on May 17, 2010

in Celebrity Names and Newsworthy Names

. 0 Comments

j0441706

Most people I’ve talked to agree that this was one of the best seasons of Survivor ever. Maybe it’s because they brought back some of the best players to ever play the game.

My fantasy finale was Rob v. Colby. It’s probably a good thing that didn’t happen though because I would have been tied up in knots trying to decide who to root for. As it was, I liked the ending. I thought Sandra played a smart game and she was my favorite of the three.

What did you think of the finale?

Let’s get to the reason we’re all here…Will Survivor influence baby naming? It wouldn’t be the first time. After Colby’s first season in Australia in early 2001, the name got a boost – going from #233 in 2000 to #99 in 2001. Could it happen again?

Here are the names of this season’s Survivor, in the order they left the show:

SURVIVOR BOOT LIST

JESSICA “SUGAR” Kiper – Sugar is a quirky nickname, but not a given name

STEPHENIE LaGROSSA – This is a twist on traditionally spelled Stephanie (a twist she shares with Twilight powerhouse Stephenie Meyer)

RANDY BAILEY

CIRIE FIELDS – I adore the name Cirie and would love to see it catch on

TOM WESTMAN

TYSON APOSTOL – very stylish right now

JAMES CLEMENT

ROB MARIANO

BENJAMIN “COACH” WADE – I bet most people don’t know his name is Benjamin. I don’t think many people will start naming their kids Coach

COURTNEY YATES

JAMES “J. T.” THOMAS – initial names are cool these days and J. T. might be the coolest among them

AMANDA KIMMEL – great name (though I am biased)

CANDICE WOODCOCK

DANIELLE DiLORENZO

RUPERT BONEHAM – one of the coolest names in Survivor history

COLBY DONALDSON – it had an impact before, maybe it will again

JERRI MANTHEY

RUSSELL HANTZ

PARVATI SHALLOW – without a doubt one of the most interesting names in Survivor history

SANDRA DIAZ-TWINE

Does anyone else like the name Cirie? I just love it.

Which names do you think could have the biggest impact on baby naming?

Happy naming,

♥ Amanda

WANT MORE BABY NAME INFO?

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

GET YOUR OWN COPY OF BABY NAMES MADE EASY

HAVE BABY NAME QUESTIONS?

If you have baby name questions, email me at amanda@amandabarden.com.

Your question might appear in a future edition of Ask Amanda.

DO YOU TWEET?

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!

For more information on baby names and their meanings get your copy of

BABY NAMES MADE EASY: THE COMPLETE REVERSE-DICTIONARY OF BABY NAMES

The Top Baby Names of 2009

Published

Amanda Barden

on May 7, 2010

in Baby Names in the News

. 0 Comments

This is one of my favorite days of the year! The Top Names of 2009 are out. Social Security has finally crunched all the numbers and revealed the results.

Here’s the Top 10:

GIRLS’ BABY NAMES

ISABELLA

EMMA

OLIVIA

SOPHIA

AVA

EMILY

MADISON

ABIGAIL

CHLOE

MIA

BOYS’ BABY NAMES

JACOB

ETHAN

MICHAEL

ALEXANDER

WILLIAM

JOSHUA

DANIEL

JAYDEN

NOAH

ANTHONY

The girl’s list consists primarily of feminine names with an old-fashioned feel. Madison is the notable exception – it’s unisex and sounds very modern and trendy.

The boy’s list is made up primarily of classic, traditional boys’ names, many dating back to the Bible.

Here are highlights:

NEW #1

There’s a new #1 for girls . . . Isabella knocked Emma out of the top spot. Just like Emma did to Emily last year.

MORE SHAKEUPS AT THE TOP

Mia entered the Top 10 for the first time at #10. It ranked #14 last year. Elizabeth was knocked out as a result. Elizabeth ranked #9 in 2008 and on the 2009 list it’s #11.

There are a couple new names on the boy’s list. Jayden ranked #8 – up from #11 in 2008. Noah ranked #9 – up from #15 in 2008. Christopher and Matthew dropped out of the Top 10 to make room for the newcomers. They didn’t go far though. Christopher dropped to #11 and Matthew dropped to #13.

TWINS:

We could all use more faith and hope

Social Security ranks the top names for all combinations of twins: two girls, two boys and one girl/one boy.

The top names for twin girls are Isabella and Sophia. These names are a good style match and are both in the Top 10 overall.

What’s more interesting to me is the #2 pair, Faith and Hope. These names are definitely a “match” stylistically, but individually they aren’t overly popular. Faith ranks #80 and Hope ranks #233. Could our economy be the inspiration? In tough times, maybe a baby’s name really can inspire.

Unisex names for girls

For twin sets with one girl and one boy, the top 3 sets feature traditionally boys’ names for the boy twin and unisex names for the girl twin. The parents have definitely gone with a similar sound with each pair, but other than that I’m not sure what to make of it. Reading the names you might guess these are sets of boy twins or wouldn’t be sure one way or the other.

Here are the top 3:

Madison (g) and Mason (b)

Taylor (g) and Tyler (b)

Addison (g) and Aiden (b)

TWILIGHT

The Twilight effect is real and here’s proof. The top mover for boys was the name Cullen – it jumped almost 300 spots. Cullen is the surname of the good vampires in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, including heartthrob Edward Cullen. Other top movers were Emmett and Jasper, also members of the Cullen family.

Of course, Isabella and Jacob are the #1 names this year. Isabella is the main character’s name, but she goes by Bella. Jacob is the third part of the love triangle. Both names have been popular for awhile though. Isabella has been in the Top 15 since 2002. Jacob has been the #1 boy’s name for a decade. So, did Twilight have an impact on the #1 names? It’s hard to say since they already started out so popular. We can definitely agree that the character’s popularity didn’t hurt the name’s popularity.

Will the Twilight-inspired names continue to rise? Only time will tell. I’ll be curious to see what happens with Esme and Rosalie next year. They’re also part of the Cullen family and both names have that old-fashioned charm parents are looking for these days.

Why have these Twilight names become popular?

Some are saying that these names have become popular because fans of the story are using the names for their babies. That’s probably a little true. But not in all cases. Because of the books and the movies we’re all hearing the names Emmett, Jasper and Cullen a lot, even people who haven’t read the books or seen the movies. There are a lot of parents who like fresh-sounding names, even if they don’t know where they’re from. So just hearing the name Cullen over and over again will inspire some parents to choose it because it sounds different.

Another good example of this phenomenon is Miley. Are all the parents who are naming their daughters Miley huge Miley Cyrus fans? Probably not. Most of her fans aren’t having babies yet. The name Miley has gotten popular because parents hear the name a lot in the press, like the sound of it because it’s new and different and then decide to use it for their baby. A lot of these parents end up surprised when they meet other kids named Miley at preschool.

We’ll know the true power of the Twihards if the name Renesmee ever makes the list.

Tell me what you think.

MORE LITERARY INSPIRATION

Romeo and Juliet were both top movers in 2009. Romeo jumped 54 slots and Juliet more than doubled that by jumping #134 slots. Juliette rose 112 spaces.

MORE READING

Read the Twilight books for yourself. Read at your own risk though. Before you know it, you might get the urge to name a baby after one of the characters:

Stephenie Meyer Mania

MORE STATS

Social Security List

Happy naming,

♥ Amanda

WANT MORE BABY NAME INFO?

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

GET YOUR OWN COPY OF BABY NAMES MADE EASY

HAVE BABY NAME QUESTIONS?

If you have baby name questions, email me at amanda@amandabarden.com.

Your question might appear in a future edition of Ask Amanda.

DO YOU TWEET?

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!

For more information on baby names and their meanings get your copy of

BABY NAMES MADE EASY: THE COMPLETE REVERSE-DICTIONARY OF BABY NAMES

The (Unofficial) Twilight Guide to Naming Babies

Published

Amanda Barden

on November 19, 2009

in Baby Names in the News and Celebrity Baby Names

. 3 Comments

fdecomite

No matter whether you’re on Team Edward or Team Jacob, we can all agree that Stephenie Meyer knows how to name a character. Wow! The character name list from her Twilight series is full of everything from traditional and classic names to inventive names to stylish International names. There’s a little something for everyone.

On her website, Meyer explains how she came up with the names for her lead characters Edward and Bella. Meyer chose Edward because Edward was the name of Mr. Rochester in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Mr. Ferrars in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. She thought the name Edward was “romantic” and, presumably, because it was no longer popular, it worked for a character who had been “dead” for many years. Meyer says that naming Bella was much harder. She ended up using the name she had picked out for a daughter if she ever had one. Risky!

She named other characters by looking through census records and choosing names that were popular in the years the characters were born.

She also revealed some Twilight Name Trivia:

 Rosalie was originally named Carol and Jasper was originally named Ronald. I’m so glad she made the changes! Rosalie and Jasper are so much more memorable and stylish than Carol and Ronald. Don’t you think?

Read what Meyer had to say about character names for yourself: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight.html

Here’s the list of characters from the Twilight series: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn. I love the fans over at Wikipedia for being so helpful!

Enjoy and let me know your favorites!

FEMALE CHARACTER NAMES

ANGELA Weber

ATHENODORA

CARMEN

CHARLOTTE

CHELSEA

DIDYME

EMILY Young

ESME Cullen

GIANNA

HEIDI

IRINA

ISABELLA “BELLA” MARIE Swan

JANE

JESSICA Stanley

KACHIRI

KATE

KEBI

LAUREN Mallory

LEAH Clearwater

MAGGIE

MAKENNA

MARY

MARY ALICE “ALICE” Cullen

RENATA

RENÉE Dwyer

RENESMEE “NESSIE” CARLIE Cullen

ROSALIE Hale

SENNA

SIOBHAN

SUE Clearwater

SULPICIA

TANYA

TIA

VICTORIA

ZAFRINA

MALE CHARACTER NAMES

ALEC

ALISTAIR

AMUN

ARO

BENJAMIN

BILLY Black

CAIUS

CARLISLE Cullen

CHARLES

CHARLIE Swan

COLLIN

DEMETRI

EDWARD ANTHONY Cullen

ELEAZAR

EMBRY Call

EMMETT Cullen

EPHRAIM Black

ERIC Yorkie

FELIX

HARRY Clearwater

JACOB Black

JAMES

JARED

JASON Jenks

JASPER Hale

LAURENT

LIAM

MARCUS

MIKE Newton

PAUL

PETER

QUIL Ateara

RANDALL

RILEY

SAM Uley

SETH Clearwater

STEFAN

TYLER Crowley

VLADIMIR

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Twilight_characters

I especially like the name SENNA from the girl’s list. It’s very pretty and unique, without being too unusual. That’s a fine line to walk and many parents are looking for names that fall into this category. Other favorites are CARMEN, ESME, ROSALIE, CARLISLE and LIAM.

You can bet that some of these character names will have an impact on baby name popularity. For example, lately I’ve heard a lot of people mention ALICE and JASPER as possible baby names. Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams also named their new son Jasper earlier this year, giving it an extra boost of star-appeal. It will be interesting to see if the names transition from being talked about to actually being used – only time will tell (they’ve seen modest bumps already). What do you think will happen? Will the Twilight frenzy translate into baby names?

Do you have any favorite names from this list? Post a comment and let me know.

Also, let me know what you think of New Moon – I can’t wait to see it!

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

ASK AMANDA: How to Avoid Using the Next Most Popular Name

Published

Amanda Barden

on August 22, 2009

in Ask Amanda, Celebrity Baby Names and Celebrity Names

. 7 Comments

j0440614

I’m back with another edition of ASK AMANDA. This is a topic that I know is on the mind of many soon-to-be-parents!

Ask Amanda

Q: My top baby name list used to include Emma, Jacob and Zachary. All of those names have become really popular now. I still love those names, but I don’t want my baby to have a name that’s too common. How do I avoid picking a name that will end up on the top of the charts?

A: You have really good taste in names. The trouble is that you share that good taste with a lot of other people. Emma, Jacob and Zachary are all great names!

Some parents want to pick popular names, some don’t mind one way or the other, but for those that do … how do you choose a cool baby name that you love while making sure it stays unique?

I don’t offer any guarantees, but here are some tip-offs that a name is on its way to becoming ultra-popular:

1. CELEBRITY NAME

If there’s a new celebrity on the scene with an interesting or unusual name, it’s likely the name will increase in popularity.

Ex: MILEY Cyrus (MILEY wasn’t even on the charts before 2007) and ISLA Fisher (before 2008 ISLA hadn’t been in the Top 1000 since 1908)

It’s also possible that the name will become so closely associated with the celebrity that your baby’s name will always bring to mind that celebrity.

Some celebs are so closely associated with their unique first names that they don’t even need a last name to be recognizable — think PARIS, TIGER, OPRAH and BEYONCE.

2. CELEBRITY BABY NAME

Similar to #1 above, if a celebrity picks an interesting baby name, you can almost guarantee it will become more popular.

Ex: BROOKLYN Beckham created a wave of baby Brooklyns. Interestingly, more for girls than boys. Possibly because the name’s parts — BROOK and LYN — are each more associated with girls’ names.

Now, note that I said interesting baby name, not odd baby name.

Celebrity baby names like KAL-EL Cage and PILOT INSPEKTOR Lee haven’t had a similar impact on parents-to-be because these names are just too off-beat for the average parent — but you didn’t need me to tell you that.

3. CHECK THE NAME’S HISTORY ON THE SOCIAL SECURITY WEBSITE

The Social Security website is a great tool for soon-to-be-parents. You can search names to see how popular they’ve been over the years.

It’s obvious that a name is popular if it’s already in the Top 25 most popular names, but what if it’s not? Are you parents seeking unique names safe then? Not necessarily…

If the name you’re considering wasn’t in the Top 500 list 5years ago, but then debuted at 300, moved up to 100 within a few years and this year is at 60, it’s a good bet that it might be even more popular next year.

Watch out for these fast risers! If a name has been increasing in popularity quickly, even though it hasn’t reached the top of the charts yet, there’s a good chance it will before long.

4. CHECK NAMES FROM POPULAR TV SHOWS, MOVIES AND BOOKS

Remember that scene from Splash starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah where Tom’s character tells Daryl’s character than she needs to pick a human name because no one can pronounce her mermaid name? He suggests a few names, including Jennifer, Joanie and Linda. Then she sees the street sign for Madison Avenue and says she wants her name to be Madison. It’s a funny moment in the movie because at that time in our history Madison wasn’t a first name and Tom’s character tells her so!

I suspect a lot of people who saw that movie in 1984 fell in love with the name Madison because it was different and interesting. Now 25 years later the name that wasn’t a name has become quite popular — it hit the Top 10 in 1997 and hasn’t looked back since.

So before you choose a name, have a look and see whether it’s the name of a character in a popular TV show, movie or book.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the name CULLEN grows in popularity now that Stephenie Meyer has used it as the surname for her popular vampire family and the dreamy Edward Cullen in her mega-popular Twilight series.

Is anyone else out there on Team Jacob or is it just me…?

All that said, you can’t completely safeguard yourself from all future popular names.

You could choose the perfect, unique name for your baby this year, but if the rumors are true and the next Sex and the City movie features Carrie and Mr. Big having a baby that they just happen to name the exact same perfect, unique name you chose this year, there isn’t a whole lot you can do — you will be ahead of the curve though for having chosen it first.

Good luck!

♥ 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