Patches of Names

With 2021 coming to a close, it's time to look back and reflect on this past year in terms of given names. A lot has happened in the naming world this past year. Today I look at 10 boys' and girls' names that have defined these events.  I will be using gender-neutral language here. The suffix "ess" has been applied to female members of certain professions, such as acting, to imply that they're lesser than men.  August Mandy Moore had a son with this name in February. A month later, Princess Eugenie gave birth to August Philip Hawke. It would be great if August gets a boost from both of these births because it is a classic name that's becoming popular again. Now at #155, August is not far away from the top 100. While August is timeless, it's not boring. August also has fresh nickname options such as "Auggie" and "Gus". August is a nature name as well, connecting to the eighth month of the year. All these ingredients are things parent

Today's parents love bringing vintage names back to style. However, some of these names were never big hits. They only sound old-fashioned. Which names are truly vintage, then? To count as a true vintage charmer, a name must have ranked within the top 200 in the United States and/or England. English names count because many of America's first European settlers came from England.  Plus, vintage names must have first peaked in the United States top 1000 before 1940 so that they are revival-ready. Some of these names count as classics, but they must have dropped below the top 200 before coming back. Besides, they must also not be back in the top 100 for too long (sorry, Hannah and Benjamin).  I will list truly vintage names into separate groups to make this list easier to digest: English-American Vintage GIRLS' NAMES: Ada Adelaide Adeline Agnes Alice Alma Amelia Annie Audrey Augusta Betty Caroline Charlotte Clara Daisy Dora Dorothea Dorothy Edith Effie Eleanor Eliza Ella Elsie

There are only few babies named Christmas because, obviously, the word is strongly tied to the holiday. However, this doesn't mean that babies aren't named after it. Babies receive international forms of the name Christmas, including Noelle.  Noelle, as one can tell from its "elle" ending, is the French word for Christmas. Well, the French word is actually Noel. Noelle is just a feminization. Noel has been used for both genders for centuries, though.  As it has been mentioned above, Noel has a long history of use among English-speakers. However, Noelle has emerged much more recently. It first registered for at least five American babies in 1927 and entered consistent use in 1933. Noelle reached the top 1000 for the first time thirty years later. At first, Noelle, rose dramatically, hitting the top 500 in its third year. The name slowed down afterwards, mostly hovering between the 400s and 500s until 2010. Noelle has been rising since then and now peaks outside the top

We all know, regardless of our religion, that Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Christ was not his last name, but another word for Messiah. Yet, there's another name used for the Messiah that's similar in ending to classic Daniel and Samuel. That name is Emmanuel. Before Jesus's birth, the people called the common Messiah Emmanuel. It made sense because the name means "God is with us." The meanings of names really mattered in the Bible. For instance, God named the first man Adam because it meant "man" and the first woman Eve because it meant "mother of all the living." Many Christians would be familiar with the song "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." That song is based on the Biblical story mentioned above.  As with many Biblical names, Emmanuel entered widespread use among English speakers in the sixteenth century. According to Elea on British Baby Names, it went on to rank among the top 200 names in Victorian England. Five sa

The holiday season is coming along and winter is yet to start. Today I discuss word names inspired by the season that were not given to over 50 babies before 1970.  Amethyst The gemstone is purple, but it's the birthstone of February. Only 16 girls were given this name before 1970. Blue People associate the color blue with many things, including frost. Just 24 boys received this name before 1970. This name was not used for girls until 1971. Evergreen Many Christmas trees resemble evergreens. Only 37 girls received this name before 2016, after which its total use increased to 50.  Holiday Holidays happen year-round, but we associate them with December. Just 44 girls received this name before 1970.  Turquoise Turquoise is a variant of blue as well as the birthstone for December. It was not used for girls before 1977. Which of these new winter word names are your favorites?

Television can be a source for educational content during the childhood years. Yet, it can also be a source for names.  Children's TV shows feature characters with various names. However, there are names that seem to appear in every show. These names tend to be cute and/or non-pretentious. That's maybe because TV show creators tend to select names that will interest children as young as three. Here are some examples: GIRLS' NAMES: Alice Classic Alice has been over-used in media. Children's TV is no exception. Two series on PBS Kids, Sid the Science Kid  and Martha Speaks , feature characters named Alice. Former Nick Jr. series Little Bill also features an Alice. She was the titular character's great-grandmother.   Luna Luna the Moon from Playhouse Disney's  Bear in the Big Blue House  and the PBS Kids series Let's Go Luna! tie this newly popular name to children's media. There's also the Netflix series Luna Petunia and Luna from Nickolodeon's  Th

"Belle" names such as Annabelle and Isabelle have recently reigned in the top 100. "Elle" names like Danielle and Gabrielle have also been recent hits. Yet, names from the same family have yet to catch on. One of them is Mirabelle.  Spelled Mirabel, the name has existed since the Middle Ages. It was especially in Italian use, where it became Mirabella. Mirabilis, the Latin form of the name, was also in use. It was the root word for "miracle", giving the name positive connotations.  Mirabelle was never common, but it was used from the twelfth to the eighteenth century. Sources suggest this name experienced a revival in the nineteenth century. Despite its history, Mirabelle doesn't feel old-fashioned because, as I stated above, it was never common among English-speakers. Perhaps it never even ranked in the top 1000. Mirabelle was also not used for more than 5 girls before the late 1990s.  Where does Mirabelle fit, style-wise, if there's a mismatch be

If you name some of the most classic names for boys, you'd list David, Thomas, Samuel, John, et cetera. These are names that never left the top 100. However, do you know that names can be classic, feel vintage, and not always rank in the top 100 all at the same time? Henry is one such name.  It all began during the Norman Conquest. The French Henri entered England only to be anglicized as Henry. One of the first bearers was William the Conqueror's royal son. Several more royals and legal figures went on to have the name. Among the most famous was Henry VIII, who married six times just to get a son. He also founded the religion of Anglicanism so that he could divorce one of his wives.  Henry was popular in England all the way through the 1950s. It later returned to the top 100 in the 1990s. Henry followed a similar route in the United States. It was in the top 100 through the 1960s and returned in 2006. Despite not always topping the charts and having the vintage feel of Theodor

A few weeks ago, I listed the top 100 two-syllable girls' names ending in "y". Today I move on to the boys' names: Henry (#9) Wesley (#98) Bentley (#142) Brody (#179) Brantley (#233) Riley (#258) Bradley (#272) Cody (#297) Finley (#304) Brady (#305) Rory (#330) Remy (#356) Jeffrey (#385) Johnny (#389) Grady (#396) Andy (#401) Oakley (#4210 Casey (#521) Corey (#525) Sonny (#536) Huxley (#539) Jerry (#602) Quincy (#604) Finnley (#612) Colby (#617) Kingsley (#630) Tony (#633) Ricky (#692) Harry (#720) Jimmy (#726) Stanley (#732) Tommy (#746) Westley (#750) Harley (#781) Crosby (#801) Gary (#803) Larry (#842) Bobby (#846) Rocky (#860) Rudy (#861) Randy (#862) Rodney (#863) Joey (#895) Cory (#907) Terry (#931) Marley (#942) Landry (#953) Kody (#955) Murphy (#967) Billy (unranked) Ozzy (unranked) Jordy (unranked) Brentley (unranked) Kenny (unranked) Kolby (unranked) Toby (unranked) Benny (unranked) Sidney (unranked) Rowdy (unranked) Wiley (unranked) Kacey (unranked) Perry (

Several names appear in literature. However, that does not automatically make these names literary. Literary names are not automatically storybook-inspired, either. What are storybook-inspired names, then? Storybook-inspired names have a fairy tale-like quality to them. They connect to a timeless, memorable story that's appropriate for at least children. Storybook-inspired names must also not be too tied to the characters (sorry, Rapunzel) and be the character's actual given name.  Some fairy tale characters don't even have names-think Little Red Riding Hood. However, this post is about names that are present in fairy tales: GIRLS' NAMES: Alice  Alice is the titular character of Lewis Carrol's nineteenth-century novel  Alice in Wonderland . He originally based it on a little girl by the name of Alice Liddell (1852-1934). The story follows a little girl who dreams of going to a land where lots of strange things happen. It went on to be adapted into an animated Disney