Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Expecting

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick are expecting their second and third child with twin girls via a surrogate mother. Already having one child, six-year-old son James Wilkie, I will definitely be excited to know what they will choose to name their girls. Other celebrities expecting include Rachel Griffiths. Sarah and I are very curious to see if she will continue with the Aussie theme and if so what names.

When choosing twin names some choose same letters, similar meaning or complete opposite. Judging by their first child a conservative first name and wild or alternative middle name are likely choices.

Names I'm thinking are...
Charlotte
Louisa
Rose
Lucinda
Anna
Elizabeth

These names very standard mixed perhaps with some alternative middle names.

Congratulations SJP

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Another Name Crush

Edward was watching playschool the other day when a name of one of the dollies caught my ear. No, it wasn't Jemima, it was Meeka. She is the dolly in the photo. Isn't she lovely! So young and cute! I can imagine her used on an older person as well. She's adventurous whilst sounding familiar and I just love her.

So I have had a bit of a look into her background. She is pronounced exactly how she looks. That is; me(e)-ka. She is a variant of the French or Latin Dominique and means 'lord'.

Whilst she might not have ever ranked in the top 1000 in America but her close relative Micah has been a popular choice for both boys since the 1960's and girls since the 1980's. For both boys and girls Micah currently sits at 126 and 772 respectively.

She is also a cross cultural choice. Her variants stem back to a number of origins. Micah is the Hebrew. Miki is both Japanese and Hawaiian. And Dominique is the French or Latin. Mika as a variant of the Hebrew Micheal was famously worn by Mika, known for his hit song Grace Kelly in 2007.

So that is her background. I have fallen in love with her. Hope you will to!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Brooks Allen


I have an update!

A week or so ago I answered an naming question for Stacey. I just received an email from her with this update.

Stacey writes;

Hi Sarah, Just wanted to give you an update. Brooks Allen F*****man was born April 15th. After going through every name possible, my husband finally decided that Brooks had grown on him. I got lucky! Thanks for all of the wonderful suggestions!

Lovely name! Brooks and Brody go so nicely together. I hope you don't mind that I stole a picture from your blog. He is an adorable little boy with a darling name. Good Luck!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Happily ever After



Once Upon a time…

When choosing a name inspiration can come from anywhere. I love the name Aurora, a name I always relate to the princess in Sleeping Beauty of course. (Loving AU names currently :D). Thinking about this name I thought perhaps other people might gain some inspiration and enjoy reliving the tales of their childhood through these names. Hope you enjoy.

Aurora – Sleeping Beauty
Briar Rose- Sleeping beauty
Jasmine- Aladdin
Alice- Alice in Wonderland
Ariel – Little Mermaid
Cindy “Cinderella” – Cinderella (nn also Ella)
Gretel – Hansel and Gretel
Belle – Beauty and the beast
Wendy – Peter Pan
Esmeralda - Hunchback of Notre Dame
Tiger Lily – Peter Pan
Tinkerbelle – Peter Pan
Melody – Little Mermaid
Flora- Sleeping Beauty
Nala- Lion King
Charlotte- Charlotte's Web
Marian- Robin Hood

Pan- Peter Pan
Peter- Peter Pan, Narnia
Aladdin- Aladdin
Sebastian – Little Mermaid
Hansel – Hansel and Gretel
Robin- Robin Hood
Edmund- Narnia Chronicles
Aslan- Narnia
Triton- Little Mermaid
Eric- Little Mermaid
Stefan- Sleeping Beauty
Phillip- Sleeping Beauty

Perhaps these names will help you achieve you perfect ending in finding the perfect name. Briar especially is different name not used regularly. Unusual it’s got a bit of a kick in it? My favourite girl name would be Ariel and Aurora and favourite boys name Pan and Triton. There different, original and quite cute.

And they all lived Happily Ever After




Saturday, April 11, 2009

Biblical Baby Names for Ella and Brody's Brother.

Hi,
I am due in April with our third child who is a boy. We have a 4 year old girl named Ella Lee (Lee after my mother) and a 15 month old boy named Brody Louis (Louis after my husbands middle name).
Our last name is F*****man. We had a very hard time with our first son's name and are having an even harder time with this one. I want a name that is not too common or too trendy, and does not end in -on, -en, -in.
Names I like are Brooks, Bennett (Ben), and Decon. I love Cade, but it's too popular now. We also both like Cole but have a friend with a son Cole. My husband doesn't like any of my names and wants a name that is strong and not so different that he hasn't heard it before. He likes Joel and Eli.
We both like Joel but his mother's side of the family is Hispanic and will most likely (even just to annoy me) pronounce the name Joe-el which will drive me crazy. We thought about using a different spelling like Jole but are afraid that it would be pronounced Jo-lee. I also thought about Johl, but am not sure if it looks too odd and one of the reasons we like Joel in the first place was because it was a biblical name.
Eli is too close to Ella. I am thinking that we will be using Robert, Allen or Taylor for a middle name after family members. We are stuck and have no names on our list so any suggestions would be great! Thanks for your help!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congratulations! It must not be long to go for you. If your still waiting that is.

Sorry about our late reply. I have suggested more names than we normally would to make up for this. Most of them are biblical as you said you were attracted to that quality. But I have broken the rule a number of times and suggested non-biblical names. I have tried to combine the Biblical factor with the breezy light "prep" feel of names you like like Brooks and Bennett.

I really hope you both like them. My favourite is Fletcher (on my very very long list).

Seth - The 3rd son of Adam and Eve and derived from the Hebrew sheth which means appointed. Seth maybe the compromise between obscurity and familiarity you are looking for. He peaked in popularity at 81 in 2003 due to his exposure as one of the main characters in the OC released in the same year.

Gabe - The short form of Gabriel. Gabriel is derived from the Hebrew gavrīēl meaning God is my strength. Gabriel was one of the seven archangels and was chosen by God to tell the virgin Mary she would mother God's son. Another unpopular yet familiar sounding name. He hasn't been in the top 1000 since the 1890's.

Silas - He has always been in the top 1000 in the US and has been making a steady comeback since the 1960's. His current ranking is 346. Derived from the Aramaic sh'īlā meaning asked for. In the bible he was one of the first members of the church of Jerusalem. as far as modernly used biblical names he rates as one of my favourites.

Nate - The short form of the greatly popular of the Nathaniel which means Gift of God. One of the disciples of Jesus who appeared after the Resurrection. I love Nate. I especially love Nathaniel. I would use him if I hadn't married a Nathan. I guess I will just have to be content for other people to use him.

Fletcher - I did stray from you biblical rule here but I think its worth it. Surname names are big however this one is currently not ranked very high. At 976 in 2007 I think he is a much preferred choice to Avery or Campbell. He reached as high as 315 in the 1890s but still remains a relatively obscure choice. I think he has the same sort of vibe as Bennett and Brooks. He is probably around number 4 on my boys list!

Griffin - I broke the biblical and -in rule with this one. Here is a name that I predict will shoot into the top 100 within the next 2 years. Griffin is from obscure origins. Some believe him to be the Welsh form of Rufus while other believe him to originate from the Old Welsh Grippiud meaning prince. With the darling nickname Finn, I doubt your partners relatives would manage to get his pronunciation wrong.

Asher - I love the meaning of this name; Happy and Blessed. In the bible he is the eighth son of Jacob. He first entered the US rankings in the 90's and has risen steadily upwards since then. I love him paired with the names of your other children; Brody, Ella and Asher!

Axel - The middle name of Tiger Woods new son, Charlie Axel and currently ranked 287. This is a little far in style and sound from your other listed names, but he is incredibly up and coming. Axel is a cognate of the biblical Absalom, which is derived from the Hebrew ‘abshālōm meaning the father is peace.

Mitchell - A variant of the biblical name Michael which is derived from the Hebrew mīkhā’ē‘l meaning Who is like God. In the bible Michael is the closest archangel to God and is responsible for carrying out God's Judgements. Mitchell's popularity has been quite inconsistent but since the 90's he has become less and less popular till his current position at 304.

Declan - Declan's deviations are uncertain. There is an Irish saint who was canonised St. Deaglán. Declan has been quite popular in Australia for a while now but he hasn't quite cracked into the top 100 in the US yet. He sits at 349.

Benji - The short form of the timeless Benjamin. Whilst Benji has never ranked Benjamin had never been outside of the top 200 in the US. Benjamin is derived from the Hebrew binyāmīn meaning son of the right hand. In the bible he is the son of Jacob.

Cain - You said strong and not too popular were you prerequisites so I think Cain meets both of these. Cain also shares a similar sound to Cade and Cole yet despite the popularity of these types of names he has never ranked in the top 1000 in the US. Cain is also biblical. He is the first son of Adam and Eve. It could also be spelt Cane.

Zeke - The short form of the dorky Ezekiel. Ezekiel Derived from the Greek Iezekiēl, a name derived from the Hebrew yehezq'ēl meaning God strengthens. This short happy fun name goes nicely with your chosen middle names. Ezekiel also has his own book in the Bible. Ella, Brody and Zeke - perfect!

Tate - And finally Tate. From an English surname which was derived from the Old English given name Tata. I love the meaning of this name; Cheerful. Tate is another name that has risen to popularity after no appearances in the top 1000 until the 1970s. He sits comfortably at number 406. I know a little Tate and he is the most darling little boy. I like the combination Tate Taylor.


Normally I would say to go ahead and use Joel regardless of what your family will pronounce it like. But I can understand what it is like to have to put up with mispronunciations. We spelt Noel like Nole for that very reason. But if you really love Joel and want to use it I would suggest using the traditional spelling. Johl may be pronounced right by your partners family but to the rest of the world it should be spelt Joel. And the rest of the world has more people in it than your partners family.

Hope all goes well with your delivery and name! Be sure to check in and tell us what you think.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Super sweet Saffron



My favourite name for a long time has been Saffron. My inspiration from a book I read a long time ago which has stayed with me. I love the sound, the cute nickname of Saffy. Like a lot of people I love the 'S' names like Sienna and Sierra but moving away from these names I love Saffron because of its fun meanings and added lack of popularity. Lack of popularity now. I can defiantly imagine a little Saffron and perhaps September too :D Hopefully you love Saffron to and helps some people find a fun name!Here are all the reasons to love Saffron.



Saffron is a colour, a bright orange-yellow (Monks of Eastern Religions where Saffron coloured robes)

Saffron is a spice which can be used as a dye

Saffron is a flower

Saffron is a place... in Pokemon apparently :D

And Saffron has been used by celebrities Saffron Burrows and Saffron Aldridge

Nick names for Saffrons include Saffy, Saf

Alternative spelling Saffran, Saffren, Saffronia and Saphron
And If you really like the name but not for a little girl it can be used for a boy also.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Olive

We have mentioned Olive a number of times on our blog. I quite like her. Shes sensible but still cute and feminine. And she has spunk!

All these times we have mentioned Olive in our post we inevitably mentioned Olive Cohen, the daughter of Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen. But we forgot to mention one famous Olive!

Olive Oyl - Popeye's girlfriend!


Olive Oyl

She certainly got the best name in her family (her brother name is Castor Oyl).

Do you think that a little Olive or Olivia would go nicely with Edward. Perhaps an Oliver?

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Sibsets

A acquaintance of mine recently had a little baby boy. His parents are quite the modern couple so I was curious to see what they would name him.

His older brother is Xavier and was to be called Rainbow if he had been a girl. I was hoping for something quirky and fresh as Xavier's brother, maybe a bit alternative. But I was utterly disappointed with what they called him. As soon as I heard his name I thought "If I had had one guess that would have been it, first and middle name"

Xander

Xander and Xavier don't exactly rate on my list but they are perfectly paired! As well as Blue and Storm!

Couldn't they have chosen something a little unexpected? I bet if Xander had been a girl he would have been called Xanthe! But wouldn't it be lovely to have Xavier and Ingrid for example. Over matching sibsets don't do it for me.

What would you have called Xavier's brother?

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Name Crush

I love the name Edward. I really do. Which may seem obvious, I did choose it for my son. However, when I chose it I didn't realise that I was setting up a pattern of names for all future children.

You see, I have found the perfect name for a girl but I can't use it - its far too wild.

September

She is so free spirited. I would so LOVE to use her. But I can't! Edward cannot be the boring brother of September and I simply cannot imgaine him as anything but an Edward!

Oh well, I can suggest her to all you readers and hope she gets her due.