Honesty

Virtue names are nothing new. The Puritans were into all sorts of names like Prudence, Charity, Hope, Deliverance, Obedience, Fear. Some of them we still use today! Though the name Honesty was used by the Puritans, it didn't show up in any record numbers in the USA until 1975. Unlike Faith and Hope, Honesty has never enjoyed much popularity... until recent years. Since the 1990s the name has steadily been growing in popularity. However, not content with simply honesty, people seem to like U-neeq spellings of it. Here are the top spellings so far:

Honesty	2155
Honesti	275
Onesty	86
Honestee	66
Onesti	49
Ahnesti	37
Honestie	34
Ahnesty	32
Ahonesty	21
Honestii	13
Ahonesti	12
Ahnisty	6
Anesti	5
Anesty	5

Bad Spelling Hall of Fame

From 1929, the most awful spelling of Eloise ever: Ellawease. There were 5 girls named Ellawease in the USA that year, and none before or since.

 From 1988-2011, there have been 489 girls named Analyse. I'm pretty sure this is an alternate spelling of Anneliese/Annalise, but it is still kind of funny.

Between 1988 and 1991, 24 girls were named Apiffany. I guess it's a combo of Ephiphany and Tiffany?

Dog Names

Want to make sure your dog sounds chic? Don't name it Shadow!

Here are the Trendiest dog names of the year

and the Least Trendy Dog Names of the year.

Name Mysteries...

in 1996, 6 boys in the USA were named Kevinkhang. That was the only year that name registered. Any ideas?

The British Isles in American Naming

No place is represented more in American naming trends than the British Isles. Sure, you get girls named India, Kenya, China and Holland and boys named Rome, but The British Isles are consistently the most represented.

Since 1969, 21 boys and 158 girls have been named British. 
268 girls have been named English, starting in 1961. 
190 boys have been named English from 1899-1993. 
99 boys and 1333 girls have been named Irish, starting in 1924.
Nobody seems to have ever been named Scottish or Welsh (at least fewer than 5 per year, which is the lowest number the Social Security Administration records).
Those seem to be the only nationalities represented aside from German, of which there have been 8324 boys named since the 1880s. German, though, is usually a Spanish name; a form of Germanus (English form is usually Germane). 
Of the countries themselves, between 1916 and 2010, 178 boys were named Ireland. The first female Ireland wasn't born until 1993, but since then there have been 3729 of them. It also gave rise to the forms Irelyn, Irelynd, Irelynn, Irelynne and Irlanda. By far the most popular Ireland-related name is Erin (a poetic name for Ireland). The name is used from 1880 (when the SSA started keeping track) all the way to 2011. In that 131 years, there have been 306,332 girls named Erin. 1983 was the peak year for that name's popularity.

Starting in the 1970s, there have been 427 girls named Britain.  There have been 529 boys named Britain since 1969, and a lot more named Briton, Brittan, Britten, Brittain, Britan, Brittin, Britton etc. Starting in the late 1980s, following in the footsteps of the popular name Brittany, there have been 10 girls named Britannia (Latin for Britain) and 15 Britannicas (like the Encyclopedia!)

Since 1976 there have been 83 girls named England.  As for boys, 1983 was the only year any were named England, and then only 5 of them. 639 girls have been named Anglia (a Latin name for England) since 1949, but this is probably a typo for Angelia.  

Since 2000, 86 girls have been named Scotland. Scotland also gave rise to girls named Scotlyn, Scotlynn and Scottlyn. The first boy Scotland was recorded in 1976, and there have been 152 since then. Scotia, a Latin name for Scotland showed up 4 years for girls: 1974, 1992, 1994, and 2006. There have been 24 Scotias in all. Caledonia is a Roman name for Scotland, which is a little more popular for girls: there were 5 born in 1900, then none until the 2000s where there have been 47 so far.

Between 1914 and 1968, 48 boys were named Wales. There have been no girls named Wales, but since 1963, there have been 3423 girls named Cambria, which is a Latin name for Wales. 

As for cities, London is by far the most popular, with 17,274 girls named after England's capital since 1963. 6134 boys have been named London, starting in 1886. Both have many recorded alternate spellings including Londen, Londyn, Lunden, Londin, Londynn etc.

Other British cities represented are:


Aberdeen (girls = 45 since 1913, Boys = 0)
Brighton (girls = 695, boys= 1381 both first appeared in the 1980s. The girls' names have the variant Brightyn appearing in the 2000s).
Bristol (girls= 2162 since 1976, boys = 389 since 1915. The girls' names also have the variants Bristal, Brystal, Brystol and Bristyl. The recent popularity is almost certainly due to presidential candidate Sarah Palin's daughter, and now reality tv star Bristol Palin.)
Brixton (first appeared for girls in 2009-- there have been 24 since then. For boys, first appearance is 2001, and there have been 249 in all.)
Cambridge (girls: 17 since 1992, boys: 21 since 2001)
Derby (girls: 5 in 1955 only. boys: 29 since 1991)
Dublin (girls: 33 since 2006 + 5 Dublyns, boys: 150 since 2003)
Sheffield (boys: 65 from 1914-1968, girls: 0)



There are other places like Bradford, Preston, Boston, Dudley, York, Chelsea, Jersey etc. represented in names, but these are more likely either popular because of surnames or places in the USA named for the places in Britain.

Moments in Naming History

in 1954, 6 girls in the USA were named Philistine. Now, this isn't too crazy if you just think of the sound-- Phyllis was a pretty popular name then, as was names ending in -tine/-ine (Ernestine, Charlene, etc.). Still, that was the only year anyone was ever named that (or rather, greater than 4 people were named that as the Social Security Administration only gives out info for names given to 5 or more babies in a given year).

1972

In honor of my 40th (yikes!) birthday coming up, I arranged the top names of 1972 by spelling. Here they are for girls (boys list coming soon I hope):

Top Girls' Names of 1972

There were a lot of interesting names in 1972-- it boasted the only year the name Marijuana showed up (there were 5). People tell me this is a perfectly normal name in Spanish, and that it has nothing to do with drugs in that language... so why hasn't it shown up more?

On a similar note, there were 9 Sativas born in 1972. The name, the species name for Cannibus sativa first showed up in 1970, skipped 1971, then returned in 1972. It had a few shaky years in the 1980s, but Sativa has been in the top 7000 since 1991 consistently. The Latin word sativa means "cultivated variety" and is the species name of many plants, including Avena sativa (oats), Oryza sativa (rice), Medicago sativa (alfalfa) etc. However, it's the cannibus plant that it is most associated with! (and the couple I've met have been reported to have been named for).

Other names in 1972 (parenthetical numbers are how many babies were given those names):

Angles (7) -- probably a typo/misspelling of Angeles, but still kind of funny
Aquanette (5)-- like the hairspray. First and only time it showed up since the 50s (and then it was only in 2 years)
Attica (6) -- the only year this name showed up. Probably named for the Attica prison riots of the previous year.
Candle (5)-- why not? 1982 was the only other year this name showed up.
Cantina (17)-- sounds pretty, kind of like Candace + Tina... however, it's also the name for a bar, dining hall, or saloon!
Carry (24)-- not the best alt spelling of Carrie!
Celestial (5)-- this heavenly adjective only showed up 2 years-- 1970 and 1972.
Cortina (47)-- means "curtain" in Spanish. Probably these are named for the Ford Cortina, though!
Jeffifer (11) -- combo of Jeff and Jennifer? Typo? Not sure!
Little (5)-- this name has actually been on record since the early 1900s. It disappeared after the 1970s.
March (6)-- April, May, and June are popular names, but March?
Media (6) -- maybe a form of Medea?
Patches (9)-- maybe their parents really wanted a cat.
Patina (10)-- it sounds pretty, doesn't it? Kind of like Patricia + Katrina. However, it's also the word for a tarnish that forms on certain metals (sometimes put there on purpose).
Pleshette (25) -- probably single handedly the result of the actress Suzanne Pleshette (1937-2008)
Racine (5)-- means 'root' in French. Also the 5th largest city in Wisconsin!
Retina (5)-- As a name, it's probably pronounced /reh TEE na/-- kind of like Regina + Tina. However, it's also part of your eyeball.
Rotunda (9)-- means "round." It's an architectural term for a round room.
Schnell (5) -- means "fast" in German. As a girls' name? Maybe an alternate spelling of Chanel? 1972 was the first year it showed up.
Sossity (5)-- from the Jethro Tull song, "Sossity, You're a Woman." This is the first year the name showed up. The only other year was 1976, when Jethro Tull's album Stand Up, with that song on it was re-released.
Tangerine (9)-- there were 5 girls that year named Apple, and 16 named Peaches. why not?
Tango (9)-- I'm sure this isn't the first dance for a kid to be named after.
Tangy (11)-- I think this was pronounced /tan-jee/ and may have been another spelling for Tanji/Tangie, but still! Strange adjective to be associated with!
Tine (7) -- the prong of a fork. I hope this is a foreign name I'm not familiar with!
Toy (10)-- ditto
Trellis (11)-- OK, Trellis has been showing up since the 1900s, but still. Not the most melodious of nouns.
Trivia (7)-- I have no idea about this one
Tundra (6) -- kind of pretty sounding, even though it means "frozen wasteland." One of the only 3 years this name showed up!
Vendetta (5)-- say it to yourself. It sounds pretty! However, as a name? Not so much.
Veranda (5)-- maybe they were born on a porch.
Virgen (12)-- Spanish name honoring the Virgin Mary, I know. Still, I'm glad that wasn't *my* name in high school!
Wintress (6)-- no idea about this one. 1972 and 1973 are the only years this name shows up.
Shell (6)-- Shelly and Michelle were popular at the time, why not? Kind of like Candle-- quick, name your kid the first thing you see!
Shannondoah (5)-- respelling of Shenandoah to include the popular name Shannon. Nifty, eh? 1972 and 1991 were the only years this name showed up!
Smith (5)-- ok, why not?
Stracy (5)-- parents couldn't decide between Tracy and Stacy? 1970 and 1972 are the only years this name shows up.
Sugar (5)-- this name is... sweet. Not the first or only year this name was used, but still. Unusual.
Taiwan (7)
Tequila (20)-- maybe this is what the parents conceived with.
Topeka (5)-- the capital of Kansas enjoyed use as a girls' name throughout the 1970s. It died away after that.
Trease (8)-- maybe an alt spelling of Therese?
Valency (11)-- this is the only year this name ever showed up.

Here are some more names that showed up only in 1972:
Tushara (5)
Tyhessia (5)
Uhuru (5)
Urhonda (5)
Aarona (5)
Amenia (5)-- didn't show up again until 2006!
Anaberta (5)
Antona (5)
Cartrina (5)
Cassonia (5)

more later!

2005

You may remember 2005-- it was the year of Hurricane Katrina. Condoleezza Rise became the first African American woman Secretary of State, and Benedict XVI became Pope. Terrorists bombed the underground in London. Bloc Party released their first full-length album Silent Alarm and Daft Punk released Human After All. Probably more things happened in music, but those topped my list of highlights! Nerds rejoiced in the release of the Serenity movie as well as the debut of the re-boot of the tv series Battlestar Galactica.

Why am I hyping 2005? Because I just did the top 7000 Name Lists of that year! Why 2005? I've done all the years in between now and then, but I can't find them. I think they're on a flash drive somewhere... so 2005 remains an island right now. I'll find the others and post them, but for now, enjoy:

The top 7000 USA baby names for 2005: BOYS

The top 7000 USA baby names for 2005: GIRLS

top Boys' names in England and Wales, 2011

Almost in time for 2013, here's the list of the

top 3200 names for boys in England and Wales for 2011!

In case you missed it, I also posted a Girls' List.

These are grouped by spelling, but not by double name. Double names (i.e., Lily-Rose, Billy-Ray etc.) seem to be fairly popular in the UK these days, and someday I want to group them all by first name. For example, someone named Lily-Mae is still named Lily, right? However, I didn't do that this time because, well, I can see it both ways. Maisie-Mae may be considered a totally different name from just plain Maisie (even though Maisie's middle name may or may not be Mae.)

I obviously think about this stuff way too much. Anyway, enjoy.

Names England Borrowed from the USA

I just finished ranking the girls' names in England and Wales by spelling for 2011.

The USA has borrowed many things from England-- most notably, a language. Among other things: the judicial system, John Lennon, that movie "Fever Pitch" and a disdain for French things.

However, the time has come for England to borrow from us (not just Madonna, we don't want her back)-- in the naming pool! Here are some names that are in the top 500 for England and Wales in 2011 that probably originated in the USA (or at least North America somewhere)

Shaniqua - ok, there were only 3 born in England & Wales last year, but still. This name is about as American as apple pie. OK, I'm not sure why apple pie is considered American, since apples were brought to North America from Europe, but whatever. Actually, it kind of works metaphorically in this sense, since Shaniqua is an African-American created name, and the ancestors of African- Americans were brought over by Europeans from Africa. So there! Anyway, the three Shaniquas in England are playing alongside Pippas and Poppies and other little English kids. Score! USA! USA!

T'Keyah- There were 3 T'keyah's born in England and Wales last year. How many in the USA? None! How about that-- especially since its most famous bearer is American actress/comedienne and writer T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh. 

Nevaeh - there were 495 of these born in England and Wales last year! Holy cow! There were also 23 Neveahs, 6 Nevayas, 4 Navayahs, 3 Navayas, 3 Nevaehas, and 3 Neviahs. Wait, there's more! Double-names are pretty popular in England and Wales right now, so add to that Nevaeh-Grace (4), Nevaeh-Mai (5), Nevaeh-Mae (3), Nevaeh-Marie (3), Nevaeh-Rae (3), & Nevaeh-Rose (6). That's a whole lot for a name that was probably invented in the USA in the 1990s (its charm is that it spells HEAVEN backwards, and nobody can agree how to pronounce it).

Savannah - a city in Georgia, though sporadically used as a name from the 1880s on through the 20th century, it was not widely used as a name in the USA before the 1980s. It was the 1982 movie Savannah Smiles that made this name take off. In England last year, there were 390 born (along with 51 Savannas)

Dakota - another US place name, there were 66 female Dakotas and 10 boys born in England & Wales last year. Interesting, since it has been more common for boys than girls in the USA (though now the popularity is evening out for both genders, probably at least in part due to the rise to fame of actress Dakota Fanning).

Indiana- the 19th state admitted to the Union, Indiana as a name is best known for the rogue archaeologist Indiana Jones of cinema fame. In the USA, it's been used sporadically as a girls' name since the 19th century. In England and Wales last year, there were 50 girl Indianas (and 22 Indianna/Indyanas) and 24 boy Indianas. In contrast, the USA had 42 boy Indianas and 54 girl ones.

Texas- There were seven girls in England and Wales named after the Lone Star State last year. The USA had none (or 4 or fewer). There were, however, 7 boys named Texas in the USA (and 7 named just Tex). I find it interesting how when America's 28th state crossed the Atlantic it switched genders!

Sookie - There were 7 of these born in England & Wales last year, as opposed to 6 in the USA. Pretty impressive for a name that comes from the American tv show True Blood. The name is pretty American,  Charlaine Harris, the author of the Southern Vampire Mysteries books that True Blood was based on, picked a "fine old southern nickname" to use for her protagonist. However, as a first name, Sookie (rhymes with "cookie") wasn't given to any babies (or at least fewer than 5 a year as that's the lowest number the SSA records) before 2010. Anna Paquin, the actress who portrays Sookie Stackhouse in the television series was born in Canada and raised in New Zealand.

Demi - Demi Moore (born Demetria) was once the highest paid actress in Hollywood. Strangely, the name Demi never really caught on in the USA. It peaked at #763 in the top 1000 in the 1990s, then fell off the charts, crawling back on in the 800s a few years ago. Moore did spawn one famous namesake - tween star Demi Lovato, which may have helped boost the popularity of the name in recent years. Beyond that the name never took off. Not so in England and Wales, though, where there were 235 born last year (plus 23 in other spellings and 143 hyphenated with other names like Leigh and Rose).

Scarlett - Most notably the heroine from Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone With the Wind, it was probably Vivien Leigh's portrayal of Scarlett O'Hara in the 1939 film adaptation that sparked the use of the name Scarlett. In the USA, the name was first used in 1939, and though it was quietly used throughout the remainder of the 20th century, it wasn't until the 21st century that it became really popular.

Nayeli -  In the USA, it is used exclusively by Spanish-speaking Americans. It means "I love you" in Zapotec, a native American language spoken in the southwestern-central highlands of Mexico, mainly in the Oaxaca region. It was the 1080th most common name in the USA in 2011, and there were 5 of them born in England and Wales.

Renesmee - We've been absorbing literary names from England for centuries now. I mean, without Shakespeare alone, we'd have no Olivia, Jessica, Miranda, Imogen or Nerissa. How many literary names go from the USA back to England? Well, this one did. Renesmee was the name of the daughter of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen the vampire in the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. There were 5 of them born in England and Wales in 2011. The name is a combination of Renee and Esme, the name of zzzzzzz I didn't actually read the book. OK, reportedly, they were the names of Bella's grandmothers. The USA bore 38 Renesemees last year.

Updated Recommendations!

Hey Name Nerds! It's time for a mini-pledge drive (kind of like on PBS only probably way less entertaining). The only way this money-sucking hobby website ever breaks even is through the

Name Recommendation Page

I just updated it-- added a few new books I've picked up. 

So, if you're thinking of buying a name book, if you do it through Namenerds.com, we'll get a cut! Even if you don't buy any of the books on the list, just by starting your search by clicking through the links on there will cause Name Nerds to get a tiny cut. Seriously. Even if you buy a book about raising alpacas or a screwdriver set. I have no idea why it works this way, but I'm not complaining!

THANKS!!!

Today's Name Musing: Willodean

Every so often I come across a name and wonder about it. As I was going through the SSA name data from the year 1930, I came across the name Willodean (also spelled Willadean, Willodene, Wylodean, Willidean, Willadene, Willodeen, Wilodean, and Willowdean). This seems like an awful lot of spellings for a name I'd never heard of before. Upon looking at more years, I found that the name first popped up in 1914, peaked in popularity in 1924 though it stayed popular until 1934, then fizzled out and completely disappeared in the 1960s. It was only used in seven states, with the majority of the names being used in Alabama--the others were in Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee, and a couple in Texas and Oklahoma, though there were 5 Willavenes in 1926 Pennsylvania.

Where did this name come from? I thought maybe it would be from a book or a movie (ok, maybe a little early for a movie) as most names popping up out of the blue these days are from those sources. When I searched Google Books for "Willodean" published between 1800 and 1914, all I got was a listing in the Percheron Stud Book of America, 1912 edition. Apparently someone named a horse Willodean (foaled April 21, 1909-- sire was named Pigalin and the dam was Magie G. Aren't you glad you know that?). 199 babies in 1924 were probably not named after a horse. Oh yeah, it said "Willadean" was mentioned in the book Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates, but when I did a search through the text, it didn't come up with anything. I actually started reading the book (which I remember reading as a kid, but don't recall any Willadeans in it), but thought it was kind of psycho to read an entire book just to see if there was one name reference that the computer had missed. Ditto for the reference to "willowdene" that led nowhere in Sir Walter Scott's The Betrothed. There is a book, published in 1909, called The Secret of Willow Dene, by Willow Dene. There's another book with the same title by Adeline Sergeant (1851-1904). Unfortunately, I can't find out anything else about either one!

I found a reference to a Willowdean Chatterson Handy who published anthropology books in the 1920s. She must have been born in the 1800s, though I'm not sure in what country (she wrote about natives of the Marquesas Islands).

The Willadean nurseries are in Kentucky, which were founded around 1909 (now are the Willadean-Donaldson Nurseries I think). Not sure if this would inspire parents to name their baby girls after it. 

There's a Willowdean Ave. in West Roxbury, MA. All the houses on it seem to have been built in the 1930s. Not much info there. There appears to be a Willowdean or Willow Dean district in Armagh, Northern Ireland and a Willowdene neighborhood or district (?) in Norfolk, England. It also seems to be a popular name for Pubs, B&Bs, shops and other businesses in England and Australia. I found a story in Pearson's magazine from 1900 called "How Willowdene Will Escaped The Parson's" by Halliwell Sutcliffe. There was also a British steamship in the 1890s called Willowdene. We may be onto something? 

There were lots of popular names starting with Wil- in use during this era (Wilma, Willene, Wilhelmina, Willetta, Willamae, Williemae, Willie) as well as names ending with -dean, -dine, and -deen (Aldean, Bernardine, Earldine, Donaldine etc.), but it seems a stretch to think a name made up of two elements seemingly picked at random (neither element was *that* popular) would suddenly become so popular. Besides, at least Bernardine and Donaldine are technically -ine names added to names ending with D, not -dine names! Also, most -dean names started out as -dine names and then got the -dean spelling later. With Willodean, this trend is reversed. 

I did find this blurb from a site that's not generally known for its accurate name meanings: 
Willodean is a name of uncertain origin. It may have originated as a combination of the names Willow and Dean, but it is perhaps more likely to be a corruption of Willardine, a feminized form of the name Willard. Willodean was mostly used in the American South in the early twentieth century. It is a rare name today.

This doesn't really hold much water, though, as I can't find a single instance of the name Willardine in the SSA name database. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, just that if it was given to any babies at all since 1880, it was given to fewer than five a year.

So, what's up with this name? Anyone have any ideas?

1930 Names - Boys

I finished the top names of 1930 for boys. Here it is!

Top names of 1930 - BOYS

There were some interesting names in 1930. Wow.

There were lots of ranks, offices and titles (numbers are how many kids got that name in 1930):

Admiral	8
Colonel	13
Commodore	12
Council	8
Doctor	6
Duke	33
General	47
Governor	12
Judge	51
Lawyer	31
Lieutenant	5
Major	143
Minor	24
Pastor	5
President	5
Prince	63
Proctor	7
Saint	6
Sargent	5
Squire	5

I shouldn't get too excited-- Judge, Duke, Prince, and Major still show up on name lists in the 21st century... but Lieutenant? And I'm glad I'm not named Minor!

There were some good adjectives:

Bland	6
Craven	7
French	13
Handy	11
Moody	15
Real	11
Reedy	8
Smiley	10
Worthy	7

and even better nouns (and a couple of verbs):

Almond	14
Author	51
Choyce	6
Cluster	8
Custer	7
Dock	86
Ell	5
Ether	5
Excell	8
Fines	5
Fleet	11
France	8
Glade	17
Gleen	14
Harm	9
Less	9
Luster	18
Metro	6
Orange	11
Other	7
Ova	13
Oval	8
Quince	5
Ruble	12
Shafter	8
Square	5
Toy	18
Trellis	6
Veto	5
Wales	5
Wash	18

Top Girls' names of 1930

I'm slowly going through the Social Security Administration's name database grouping names by spelling, one year at time. I'm on 2005, and it was getting a bit tedious, what with trying to remember whether I've been putting Kaleigh with the 10,000 spellings of Kaylee or the 25 spellings of Callie... so I jumped to 1930 where things were a little easier. Still working on the boys' names, but the girls' list is here:

Popular Baby Names Grouped By Spelling: 1930 (Girls' List)

2011 Name Highlights

Here are the highlights of the 2011 name lists (biggest gaining names, biggest losing etc.)

2011 Name Highlights: Girls

2011 Name Highlights: Boys

Revised List

I posted the top 7000 boys' names of 2011 before I had a chance to nit-pick the spellings and compare them against last year's list. So, here is the newly revised list:

Top 7000 Boys Names of 2011 - revised

nothing really radical has changed, most of the differences between this list and the last one I posted are among the names with popularities in the bottom 3000.

Thematic Names in the top 7000

In 2011 there were a lot of themed-names in the top 7000. While it's nothing new to name a baby after a hero or favorite character, these names seem to be on the rise. We'll start with boys' names (in parentheses is the # given that name):

SPORTS:

• Zinedine (7)
• Shaquille (32)
• Satchel (12)
• Rondo (8)
• Ripken (9)
• Messi (11)
• Magic (10)
• Lebron (57)
• Kobe (552)
• Jeter (27)
• Gehrig (27)
• Garnett (5)
• Dimaggio (8)
• Beckham (356)
• Sneijder (28)
• Neymar (190) - this was the highest rising name in 2011!

 STAR WARS:

• Solo (7)
• Lando (12)
• Jedi (11)
• Anakin (96)

 And for girls:

• Padme (5)
• Leia (345)

MUSIC:

• Vedder (12)
• Tupac (5)
• Shyne (15)
• Ringo (6)
• Reznor (14)
• McCartney (7), girls: (13)
• Lyriq (8)
• Lyfe (7)
• Lennon (302)
• Lemmy (5)
• Juelz (157)
• Jeremih (154)
•  Jagger (362)
• Jodeci (11) girls: (8)
• Hendrix (200) girls: (10)
• Edge (5)
• Dio (13)
• Danzig (5)
• Coltrane (13)
• Cobain (13)
• Bowie (50) girls: (10)
• Bonham (6)
• Axl (73)
• Avant (23)
• Akon (7)

And for girls:

• Aretha (5)
• Danity (17)
• Fergie (15)
• Beyonce (39)
• Madonna (6)
• Pantera (6) - probably not named after the band, but still!

 Girls tend to get named things that stress beauty and grace, for example:

• Angelic (43)
• Beauty (19)
• Beautiful (39) and 15 Beautifulls!
• Charm (17)
• Cherish (383)
• Comfort (5)
• Passion (44)
• Princess (301)
• Radiance (14)
• Finesse (5)
• Purity (15)
• Lovely (55)
• Precious (195)
• Pretty (7)
• Gorgeous (19)
• Gracious (6)
• Fancy (16)

Boys are more likely to get names stressing strength and prosperity, such as:

• Worth ( 10)
• Valor (17)
• Valiant (8)
• Tuff (36)
• Triumph (8)
• Swift (5)
• Supreme (10)
• Success (8)
• Righteous (10)
• Noble (91)
• Fortune (8)
• Courage (10)
• Clever (7)
• Bravery (5)
• Brave (5)
• Awesome (7)
• Epic (9)
• Champ (31)
• Champion (25)

Then there are some virtues and concepts that both sexes get, such as:

• Favor (boy: 14 girls:  19)
• Freedom (boys: 11, Girls: 24)
• Courage (boys :10, Girls: 7)
• Praise (boys: 14, Girls: 31)
• Solace (Boys: 7, Girls: 8)
• Victory (boys: 13, girls: 39)
• Treasure (boys:6, girls: 189)
• Rogue (boys: 15, girls: 17)
• Rebel (boys: 19, girls: 8)
• True (boys: 28, girls: 40)
• Trust (boys: 11, girls: 7)
• Truth (boys: 29, girls: 19)
• Unique (boys: 14, girls: 213)
• Hero (boys: 14, girls: 17)
• Marvelous (boys: 6, girls: 5)
• Loyal (boys: 37, girls: 6)

Boys tend to get names stressing rebellion and having an outlaw nature:

• Gotti (5)
• Corleone (6)
• Jessejames (20)
• Rowdy (127)
• Maverick (634), there were 7 girls named Maverick, too though!
• Brazen (5)
• Riot (36)
• Pistol (8)
• Gatlin (102)
• Dragon (5)
• Bronco (10)
• Cannon (491)
• Wrangler (16) 
• Notorious (5)
• Trigger (21)

Girls get... well, these!

• Diva (11)
• Breezy (18)
• Bunny (6)
• Honey (56)
• Peaches (311)
• Mirage (6)
• Pixie (15)
• Sparkle (13)
• Starlet (12)
• Sundae (5)
• Tequila (5)
• Chardonnay (9)
• Gypsy (13)
• Goddess (21)
• Geisha (5)
• Jinx (6) (I know it's a super hero, but still!)

2011 Girls' Names - long list

The top 7000 girls' names of 2011 is finally complete! See it here (Google Doc)

2011 Top Names: Girls

Give Your House a Welsh Name

Here's a guide to giving a Welsh name to your House.

A Whole Lotta Love in 2011

2011 seemed to be full of "Love" names, more so than 2010, anyway. Here are some love-filled girls' names, followed by the number of babies given that name:

• Love 69 
• Loveah 11 
• Loveleen 6 
• Lovella 13 
• Lovely 55 
• Lovelee 8 
• Lovelynn 8 
• Lovette 8 
• Lovie 7 
• Lovey 5 
• Lovina 13 
• Milove 5 

If English love isn't enough, there were a number of variations on amor and amour as well:

• Amor    61
• Amour    15  
• Amora    141
• Amorah     12
• Amoura     10
• Amore    46  
• Amorette 14
• Miamor 15
• Jetaime 6
• Jadore 47

2011 Names From Scotland

Since I'm on this Google Docs kick, here's the 2011 top names in Scotland, grouped by spelling.
2011 Top Names, Scotland: Girls (grouped by spelling)

2011 Top Names, Scotland: Boys (grouped by spelling)

Trying Something New

Ever since the SSA released all the baby names down to 5 instances, the top 7,000 has gotten much, much larger. It's way too huge to put into HTML pages, so I'm trying posting it as a Google Doc. Let me know if this is annoying; I can try it as a .pdf (which my computer takes forever to open). Top 7000 Boys' Names of 2011 grouped by spelling

Top 100 Girls' names of 2011

Here are the top 100 girls' names, grouped by spelling for 2011. The most popular spelling is listed.

1. Sophia ( - )
2. Isabella ( - )
3. Olivia ( - )
4. Emma (+1)
5. Chloe(-1)
6. Emily ( - )
7. Ava (+2)
8. Abigail (-1)
9. Madison (-1)
10. Kaylee (+1)
11. Zoey (+4)
12. Mia (+5)
13. Madelyn ( - )
14. Addison (-4)
15. Hailey (-3)
16. Lily ( - )
17. Aubrey (+25)
18. Riley (-4)
19. Aaliyah (+5)
20. Layla (+8)
21. Natalie (-2)
22. Arianna (-2)
23. Elizabeth ( - )
24. Brooklyn (+8)
25. Kaitlyn (-4)
26. Ella (-1)
27. Makayla (-9)
28. Allison (-1)
29. Mackenzie (+1)
30. Peyton (-4)
31. Kylie (-2)
32. Brianna (-10)
33. Lillian (+1)
34. Avery (+10)
35. Leah (+1)
36. Maya (+3)
37. Alyssa (+4)
38. Amelia (+12)
39. Gabriella (+1)
40. Sarah (-9)
41. Katherine (+7)
42. Evelyn (+9)
43. Jocelyn (-6)
44. Grace (+2)
45. Hannah ( - )
46. Jasmine (-11)
47. Samantha (-9)
48. Alaina (+5)
49. Anna (-6)
50. Nevaeh (-3)
51. Victoria (+6)
52. Alexis (-19)
53. Camila (+6)
54. Savannah ( - )
55. Charlotte (+11)
56. Lilliana (+4)
57. Ashley (-8)
58. Isabelle (-3)
59. Kaelyn (-3)
60. Lyla (+2)
61. Kayla (-9)
62. Audrey (+5)
63. Claire (+1)
64. Taylor (-6)
65. Adalyn (+26)
66. Bailey (-5)
67. Juliana (-4)
68. Sophie (+10)
69. London (+16)
70. Sydney (-5)
71. Jordyn (-3)
72. Kennedy (+9)
73. Gianna ( - )
74. Lauren (-5)
75. Scarlett (+29)
76. Amaya (+6)
77. Harper (+77)
78. Alexa (-8)
79. Keira (+7)
80. Maci (+15)
81. Annabelle (+3)
82. Julia (-8)
83. Melanie (-5)
84. Aniyah (-4)
85. Adriana (-13)
86. Carly (-12)
87. Reagan ( - )
88. Bella (-17)
89. Destiny (-15)
90. Kendall (+48)
91. Serenity (+12)
92. Molly (+5)
93. Kaydence (-10)
94. Kimberly (-5)
95. Callie (+11)
96. Eliana (+21)
97. Trinity (-4)
98. Genesis (+10)
99. Lucy (-1)
100. Autumn (+12)

Falling out of the top 100 this year are:

• Alexandra
• Giselle
• Jacqueline
• Jada
• Jaelyn
• Malia
• Morgan
• Natalia

Top Boys' names for 2011

I've been working on grouping the names in the top 7000 by spelling. I'm pretty much done! Here are the preliminary results:
BOYS:

1. Aiden (-)
2. Jayden (-)
3. Jacob (-)
4. Jackson (+2)
5. Mason (+9)
6. Kayden (-2)
7. Michael (-)
8. William (+1)
9. Ethan (-4)
10. Noah (-)
11. Alexander (-3)
12. Daniel (-)
13. Elijah (+3)
14. Matthew (+3)
15. Anthony (-4)
16. Christopher (-3)
17. Caleb (+1)
18. Joshua (-3)
19. Liam (+19)
20. Brayden (-1)
21. James (+4)
22. Andrew (-2)
23. David (-1)
24. Benjamin (+6)
25. Joseph (-2)
26. Logan (-5)
27. Christian (-3)
28. Jonathan (-2)
29. Gabriel (-)
30. Landon (-2)
31. Nicholas (-4)
32. Lucas (+1)
33. Ryan (-1)
34. John (-)
35. Samuel (-)
36. Dylan (-5)
37. Isaac (+2)
38. Cameron (+2)
39. Nathan (-3)
40. Connor (-3)
41. Isaiah (+1)
42. Gavin (+1)
43. Carter (+7)
44. Jordan (+1)
45. Tyler (-4)
46. Evan (-2)
47. Luke (-)
48. Owen (+7)
49. Aaron (+4)
50. Julian (+4)
51. Jeremiah (-)
52. Brandon (-6)
53. Zachary (-5)
54. Jack (-2)
55. Colton (+9)
56. Adrian (+1)
57. Wyatt (+9)
58. Dominic (+7)
59. Angel (-10)
60. Eli (+14)
61. Austin (+7)
62. Hunter (+5)
63. Justin (-7)
64. Henry (+15)
65. Jason (-6)
66. Robert (-3)
67. Charles (+5)
68. Sebastian (+7)
69. Thomas (+1)
70. Brian (-12)
71. Eric (-10)
72. Tristan (-3)
73. José (-13)
74. Kevin (-12)
75. Chase (-4)
76. Levi (+4)
77. Josiah (+9)
78. Bentley (+27)
79. Grayson (+9)
80. Giovanni (-2)
81. Carson (-5)
82. Xavier (-9)
83. Ian (-1)
84. Jace (+22)
85. Brody (-1)
86. Colin (-9)
87. Blake (+8)
88. Nathaniel (-5)
89. Oliver (+9)
90. Bryson (+11)
91. Damian (-10)
92. Cooper (-5)
93. Parker (+4)
94. Adam (-2)
95. Hayden (-1)
96. Sean (-11)
97. Miles (+10)
98. Steven (-9)
99. Luis (-8)
100. Juan (-10)

Falling out of the top 100 this year are:

• Carlos
• Cole
• Devin
• Diego

Game of Thrones names

Literary works have been adding names to the name pool for hundreds of years. Shakespeare alone has given us the names Olivia, Jessica, Miranda, Cordelia & Imogen! In the 20th century, movies added to the mix of fictional character names. It also began the rise of names from fantasy novels. Along with the Arwens, Eowyns and Theodens (the only names to be used with any regularity in the USA, always showing up in the top 7000) are names like Raistlin (from the Dragonlance series) and Lestat (from Interview With a Vampire et. al.). Most recently are named from George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire books which was made into a television series on HBO. The series debuted in 2011 and already some names have experienced an uptick. The most notable name is: Khaleesi (27 girls named this) and 7 named Kaleesi, which I'm assuming is an alternate spelling. This is interesting because Khaleesi isn't actually a name in the series; it's a title. Girls: Arya 386 up from 276 in 2010 Asha 197 up from 169 in 2010 Both of these names have been in the top 7000 for decades, but last year they experienced a popularity surge. It may have been in part because of the books. Boys: Ned 15 in 2011, up from 0 in 2010 Bran 7 in 2011, up from 0 in 2010 There haven't been any Sansas or Cerseis yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time!

Name Sighting...

Name I heard the other day: Mercede. Like Mercedes, but without the "s" on the end. I guess one car is a Mersadie (I think this is how they spelled it; the parents called the little girl Sadie), but two are Mercedes?

7 Recent Naming Trends

I've read a lot of articles about which names are trendy these days.

For example... Latin/Italian/Spanish versions of names as opposed to French forms of names are in. I.e., Michaela is IN, Michelle is OUT. Daniela is IN. Danielle is OUT.

Old-fashioned names are in (Isabella, Hannah, Grace etc.) and made-up nicknamey names are out (Traci, Kari, Jennie, etc.)

Biblical names are generally IN! (Elijah, Jacob, Ethan, Nathan, Noah)

But really, when are Biblical names ever NOT in?

What articles don't generally touch on are naming trends among the non-white and/or working classes. I know this is a touchy subject, since nobody likes to admit that not everyone in the USA is middle class, but naming trends really do follow socioeconomic lines pretty predictably.

Here are some trends that you are probably totally unaware of if you live in middle class areas on up!

Trends in Girls' names (boys' names don't hop on trends as fast for a variety of reasons, so I'm focusing on girls' names right now)

1. -ianna names. These names have been popular for years (Brianna, Ariana, Ayana etc.), but since the rise to fame of singing diva Rihanna, they've gotten way more popular. Also, Rihanna's spelling has influenced all sorts of names. Before 2005, you'd be hard pressed to find a single Brihanna, but in 2010 there were 81 (and 30 Brihanas). There were also a number of Arihannas, Gihannas, Khiannas, Tyrhiannas and others. It seems like pretty much any consonant can get an -ianna added to it to make a name, and it makes sense, because it's kind of a built-in naming element. Kiana, Ziana, Quiana, Viana... they all sound perfectly normal as names.

2. -iah, iyah, iya etc. names. Take a syllable and add -iah to the end, basically is this trend. Mariah was probably the touchstone for this trend (Mariah itself was how they pronounced "Maria" in England for a time up through the 1800s. It later got the "h" on the end to distinguish it from Maria). However, there are several Arabic names that are often anglicized with the ending -iya or -iyyah (Safiyyah, Samiya, Rabiya) as well as Russian forms of names that are sometimes anglicized with that ending (Sofiya, Lidiya). In the Russian and Arabic cases, the "y" actually stands for a letter: The "ya" (Я or backwards R) in ЛИДИЯ (Lidiya in Cyrillic; I'm not sure if the Unicode is working right). In Arabic, feminine names often end in ي ("Ya"). However, in modern American usage, -iya, -iyah, -ya, -yah, -iah and -ia are all used interchangeably. Some examples: Oliviya, Miyah (could be either Mia or Maya, probably more often Mia), and a host of recent additions, like Amiya, Aniyah, Kiyah, Diya, Giya, Amariyah, Kamariyah, Jamariyah, Maliyah etc.

3. Spanish-speaking Americans are adding a lot of the top names in the naming charts. There are several names in the top 200 that are mainly given to Latinas: Jocelyn (#37), Evelyn (#51), Gisele (#99), Genesis (#108), Stephanie (#134; higher if you count all the spellings of Estephanie/Estefany etc.), Leslie (#158), and Daisy (#163) to name a few.

4. -lani and -ani names. For every -ana name, there is probably an -ani form. Hawaiian names like Leilani, Ailani and Kealani have given way to Naylani, Alani, Milani, Jaylani, Malani, Maylani. Names that normally end in -ana, like Juliana, now have forms like Juliani, Briana/Briani, Eliana/Eliani, Ayana/Ayani.

5. Intangible or Concept names. The Puritans brought us such lasting concept names as Faith, Hope, and Charity (as well as some non-lasting names like Fear, Obedience, Sin-Not, and Flee-Fornication). The Victorians extended the conceptual names to include seasons like Autumn and Summer, though they never really caught on until the Hippies took this to new heights adding names like Sunshine, River, Rain etc. These days, anything goes! Names like Honesty are now found in multiple spellings (Aunesti, Ahonesty etc.), Cherish, Angelic, Savvy, Miracle, Twinkle, Shiny, Lyrical, Sweet, Heavenly, Bless/Blessed/Blessing (all verb forms! as well as the plural noun Blessings) Reality, Secret, Solace, and Allure are climbing the charts along with not-necessarily favorable names like Envy, Tyranny, Vanity and Racy (!).

6. British Isles Names. There are a lot of people of Irish, English, Scottish, and Welsh descent in the USA. Many of these people are fiercely proud of their heritage... enough to name their kids Irish, Ireland, Scotland, Britain and England. It doesn't end there, though. Alternate forms, like Briton, Brittyn, Irelynn, Irelyn, Scotlyn, and Scottlyn are also found in the top 2000. Not to be outdone, English place names like Brighton, Brixton and Bristol (thanks to Sarah Palin for the last one) are getting more frequent, as is London in multiple spellings: Londyn, Londynn, Lundyn, Londen, Lunden, Londan, Londin, Lundon, Lundynn, and Lundin.

7. -ii, -ye and -ei endings. Not content with the regular long e endings (e.g. as found in Ashley, Ashlee, Ashly, Ashli, Ashlie and occasionally Ashliee), a new group of eeee endings is out there. You can now spell this name Ashlei, Ashlii or Ashlye. The ye ending has been around for a hundred years or more, showing up in names like Bettye, Jessye (as in Jessye Norman the opera singer born 1945) etc. However, what makes all these names difficult is that sometimes they are pronounced /EYE/. For example, Danii as in Danii Minogue is pronounced like Danny. However, sometimes you find it pronounced like /dan EYE/. Ditto for names like Janei, Janye, Janii. Names ending in the /EYE/ sound are becoming more popular as well, so look out elementary school teachers of the future! You may have difficulty calling attendance in a few years! Note: names ending in -ih are almost always pronounced like 'eye'. We can thank the R&B singer Jeremih /JER eh mye/ for this. This is another new thing, but the -ih ending is mostly found in boys' names these days.

So there you have it-- 7 trends you probably won't run into in Beverly Hills or suburban Connecticut, but are alive and well in the USA!

Name Statistics in Norway

Who's been dying to check out name statistics in Norway? I know I have! Here's the site for it.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

New Data!

Top 3400 Names in England and Wales, 2010

here are the top 3400 baby names in England and Wales arranged by spelling!

top 7000 names of 2010!

At long last, the top 7000 names of 2010 are grouped by spelling!


Popularity Lists

It took me forever this year because I worked from the long list (39,000-ish names) instead of the normal short list (2,000 names).

"The lack of recent Jane Austen movies has probably played a role."

Say Goodnight, Grace (and Julia and Emma, too)
By DAVID LEONHARDT
New York Times Published: June 24, 2011

When the Social Security Administration released its annual database of baby names earlier this year, there were plenty of grabby little details. Isabella and Jacob remained the most popular names for the second straight year — Jacob has been the No. 1 boy’s name since 1999 — while Iker, Crew and Zuri each cracked the top 1,000 for the first time. But a closer look at the database reveals several deeper trends.

The nostalgia wave among girls’ names appears to be over. About two decades ago, an entire generation of girls’ names — those from the late 19th and early 20th centuries — started coming back into fashion: Grace and Emma, Julia and Anna, Ella and Hannah. Nothing like it had ever happened before. Individual names obviously came back into style. But an entire era’s never had. Now the nostalgia wave, which peaked in 2004, is ending. Emily fell 41 percent between 2004 and 2010, Sarah tumbled 49 percent and Hannah 54 percent. The lack of recent Jane Austen movies has probably played a role.

Girls’ names are more diverse than ever. Andrew Gelman, a statistics professor at Columbia and an amateur name-ologist, argues that many parents want their boys to seem mature and so pick classic names. William, David, Joseph and James, all longtime stalwarts, remain in the Top 20.

With girls, Gelman says, parents are attracted to names that convey youth even into adulthood and choose names that seem to be on the upswing. By the 1990s, of course, not many girls from the 1880s were still around, and that era’s names could seem fresh again. This search for youthfulness makes girls’ names more volatile — and increasingly so, as more statistics about names become available and parents grow more willing to experiment in an attempt to get out in front of the curve. The 1,000 top girl names accounted for only 67 percent of all girl names last year, down from 91 percent in 1960 and compared with 79 percent for boys last year. Similarly, the most popular first letter for boys’ names is J, as it was for much of the 20th century. The most popular first letter for girls is the once-obscure A, thanks partly to rising names like Avery, Arianna and Ava.

Brevity is in. Names grew longer for most of the last century until about 20 years ago, also the start of the nostalgia boom. Since 1990, the average length has fallen to 5.9 letters from 6.2, a significant change given how little the average tends to move. The one name that may best embody recent trends — a long 19th-century girls’ name that rose and then fell — is, fittingly enough, Victoria.

Neveah and Friends

The name Nevaeh, or "heaven" spelled backwards has been popular since the early 2000's when Christian rocker Sonny Sandoval of the band P.O.D. gave it to his daughter. The whole point of the name seems to be that the name is "heaven" backwards. Otherwise, why the weird spelling? People aren't entirely sure how to pronounce it-- some say /nev EYE ah/, some say /nev AY ah/ and I've even heard /neh VAY/ and /neh VYE/ (I think the most common pronunciation is /nev EYE ah/.

Anyway, like most name trends, this one has spawned a number of spin-offs, alternate spellings and the like. What's funny is that there's only one way to spell "heaven." Thus, all these other names spell something else backwards. Let's take a look at some of them that appeared in the USA in 2010. Some are a bit strange, but I guess they're still better than Lleh or Yrotagrup. Actually, Obmil might be kinda cute.

Spin-offs:
Nevah = Haven (not too bad)
Evaeh = Heave (lol)
Nevaehtnes (there were 5 of these born in 2010)-- I'm assuming it's a form of "heaven sent." However, if you spell the whole thing backwards, it's "sent heaven."
Nevaen = Neaven
Nevaehmarie = I know this is kind of cheating on my part, since it's just Nevaeh + Marie, but still. Backwards it's Eiram heaven.
Kevaeh = Heavek
Levaeh = Heavel
Devaeh = Heaved (Seriously?)
Jevaeh = Heavej
Sevaeh = Heaves
Zevaeh = Heavez

Alt spellings (number given in 2010):

Neveah (295) = Haeven
Navaeh (101) = Heavan
Nevaeha (86) = Aheaven
Naveah (74) = Haevan
Navya (73) = Ayvan
Nevayah (30) = Hayaven
Navia (25) = Aivan (sounds a bit bird-like)
Naveyah (24) = Hayevan
Navaya (23) = Ayavan
Neviah (21) = Haiven
Nevaya (20) = Ayaven
Naviah (19) = Haivan
Navayah (19) = Hayavan Hay, a van! (ok, spelled wrong but still)
Navea (18) = Aevan
Neveyah (15) = Hayeven
Naviyah (15) = Hayivan Hay Ivan!
Naveya (14) = Ayevan
Nevea (9) = Aeven
Naviya (9) = Ayivan
Neviyah (7) = Hayiven
Neveaha (6) = Ahaeven- aha! Even!
Nevaha (6) = Ahaven
Neveya (6) = Ayeven
Navaeha (5) = Aheavan

So there you have it. In addition to those heavenly names, there were 979 girls named just "Heaven" (and 35 Heavyns).

There were 117 Heavenlys, 26 Heavenlees, 14 Heavenleighs, and 7 girls named Heavenli.
33 girls got the more vague name of Paradise.

Survey Anomalies

People fill out my name consultation survey at least 15 times a day for fun (i.e., they don't want a consultation, they just feel like filling out the survey and sending it to me for whatever reason). I usually just delete them, but occasionally I get an interesting one:

*Does the baby have any sisters or brothers? If so, what are their names?
Kohen Lestaht, Maeleigha Reighhne

*Is there any particular language, religion or ethnicity you'd like to find names from?
Christianity

Kohen Lestaht doesn't strike me as being the most Christian name out there! Reighhne with 2 H's?

Does Spelling Matter?

Gaddafi? Kadafi? Qaddafi? What's the correct spelling?

From the Christian Science Monitor By Eoin O'Carroll, CSMonitor.com / February 22, 2011

You say, Gaddafi, we say Qaddafi. Other variations on the leader of Libya include "Gathafi," "Kadafi," and "Gadafy," creating an unholy mess for newspaper editors.

Each time Libya appears in the news, scores of newspaper editors go bananas. Once possessed of faculties that could detect a breaking story as readily as a dangling participle, these poor souls are now reduced to a jabbering stupor, as though they had gazed into the tentacled maw of Cthulhu himself.

Blame it on the name of the country's head of state, Colonel Gaddafi. Wait, no, that's Kaddafi. Or maybe it's Qadhafi. Tell you what, we'll just call him by his first name, which is, er ... hoo boy.

Part of the problem here is that there's no universally accepted authority for transliterating Arabic names. Normally, news outlets will just go with whatever spelling the subject prefers, but this particular subject hasn't settled on a single Roman orthography for his name.

Instead, Libya's Brother Leader lets a hundred flowers bloom. The banner at the top of his official website spells it, "AL Gathafi." But if you go deeper into the site, you'll see it variously rendered as "Al Qaddafi," "Algathafi," and "Al-Gathafi." Adding to the multitude of his spellings is the increasingly ironically named "Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights."

And that's just the surname. Variations on his given name include Muammar, Moammar, Mu'ammar, and Moamar, and many others. Once you've settled on how to spell his first and last names, you then have to decide whether you want to add the Arabic prefix "al-" before his last name. Which can also be spelled "el-." And then you have to decide whether the prefix should be capitalized.

This is the point where most editors give up and run a story on Justin Bieber instead.

RELATED: Justin Bieber cuts his hair

For those few brave editors who press on, the result is a multiplicity of spellings. The Associated Press, CNN, and MSNBC spell it "Moammar Gadhafi." The New York Times spells it "Muammar el-Qaddafi." At the Los Angeles Times, it's "Moammar Kadafi." Reuters, the Guardian, and the BBC go with "Muammar Gaddafi." The Irish Times goes with "Muammar Gadafy." ABC News – which spells it "Moammar Gaddafi" – has posted a list of 112 variations on the English spelling of the Libyan strongman's name.

At The Christian Science Monitor, we go with "Muammar Qaddafi," a spelling that is no more or less defensible than anyone else's.

All this would just be a matter of idle curiosity if it weren't for the Web. Go to Google News and type in "Gadhafi." Now try "Qaddafi." And now try "Gaddafi." Notice how it returns three completely different lists of stories? How you choose to spell it determines what news you get.

This may be the point at which one feel's one's grip on reality loosening. Do we change the spelling to whatever is the most-Google-searched-for rendering? What if it changes again? How do we find stories on our own site if we keep changing the spelling of the guy's name? And where did all these variations come from in the first place, if not the news media? Can't we just get together at the next ASNE conference and all agree to spell it one way? At this point, having a dictator doesn't sound all that bad.

But don't feel sorry for us. After all, it's rare that we can write about someone whose job security actually may be more tenuous than our own.

Names Really Do Matter!

Especially if you want to name your new government building after former mayer Harry Baals.
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The Good baby Names Blog

Lots of people out there document awful, weird, or funny names. This one catalogs the "good ones"

Good Baby Names Blog

Everyone Loves Michaela!

The most popular spelling of the name pronounced /mik AY la/ is Makayla, and has been for a number of years. However, the name has become so popular that there are tons of "copycat" names that have arisen because of it. This happens a lot in the world of names. For example, Katelyn became popular, so then we started hearing Kaylin... and then Maylin and Shaelyn.

Here are all the spellings of Michaela from 2009 (followed by # babies given that particular spelling):

Makayla (5197), Mikayla (1810), Michaela(860), Mikaela (589), Mckayla (431), Micaela (232), Makaila (228), Makaylah(222), Makaela (124), Macayla (87), Makala (86), Mikaylah(83), Mykayla (80), Micayla(70), Mikaila (62), Mackayla (60), Mikala (51), Michayla (51), Mekayla (51), Mickayla(31), Michaella (30), Makeyla (30), Makalah (29), Mikalah (28), Makailah (28), Mykaela(27), Michela (27), Mikaella(24), Mykala (23), Mahkayla (22), Mykaila (21), Micheala (20), Mckaylah (19), Macaela(19), Micaella (18), Mkayla (17), Mikeyla (17), Mikela (15), Makeila (15), Mickaela(13), Michala (13), Mikeala (12), Mckaila (12), Mychaela (11), Mikaelah(11), Maykayla(11), Makhayla (11), Mikeila (9), Mikailah (9), Mekaylah(9), Mckaela (9), Machaela(9), Miquela (8), Mykaylah(8), Mikhayla (8), Mikhaila(8), Mikhaela (8), Mikayela(8), Michaelah (8), Mckala (8), Makela (8), Mahkaylah(8), Mykalah (7), Mekaila (7), Makaelah (7), Maikayla (7), Michaila (6), Mccayla (6), Maykala (6), Macaylah (6), Mikaeyla (5), Mickala (5), Mekaela (5), Micaila (5), Makhaila (5), Makaiyla (5), Maekayla (5)

Michaela is off the charts, though. In Addition to Mishayla, Mikayle, Makaylee, Mikyla, Mikaylin and Mikylee, There are spin-off for most of the letters of the alphabet! Here are some from 2009:

Akayla
Dakayla
Jakayla
Lakayla
Markayla
Nakayla
Nakaylee
Rakayla
Rickayla
Sakayla
Shakayla
Takayla
Zakayla

NAME FAIL!

Names that seem related but aren't.

There are a lot of names out there that sound like they are the same, but actually have different sources. Today's example:

Cecilia, Celia and Cecil

All three of these names are Latin in origin, but people often think that Celia is a short form of Cecilia, often to the point where Cecilia is often spelled Cecelia.

Cecilia is a feminine form of the Latin name Caecilius, which means "blind."

Celia is a feminine form of Caelus, which was introduced to English by William Shakespeare for his play As You Like It. It stems from the word caelum, meaning "heaven."

Cecil, in modern use, comes from an anglicization of the Welsh name Sesyllt, which comes from the Latin name Sextilius, meaning "sixth." There are a lot of Latin names that are ordinal numbers:

Primus (still used in its Italian form, Primo)
Secundus
Tertius
Quartus
Quintinus/Quintus (still used in an Anglicised French form-- Quentin)
Sextilius/Sextus
Septimus
Octavius
Nonus (the feminine form, Nona is still occasionally heard today)
Decimus

Fun with the Social Security Administration

Every year the Social Security Administration posts a list of the 1000 most popular baby names of the previous year. These lists comprise names down to 194 instances for boys and 263 instances for girls (this means at least 263 or so girls would have to be named something in order for it to appear on the list). This is awesome, but it leaves out a ton of names that are popular, but have a ton of different spellings. Take the name Demitri, for example. if you put all spellings together, there were 576 baby Demetris born last year with 12 different spellings, which, had it been counted, would have ranked somewhere around #415. However, since the most popular spelling only had 191 instances, it didn't appear at all.

I just discovered that they have posted the lists down to 5 instances for boys and girls from last year all the way back to 1880!

So, I am putting all the names together by spelling, so all the Jaydens, Jadens, Jaiden, Jadyns etc. all count together.

Anyway, with instances down to 5, you get a ton more names, and there are a lot of interesting/weird/funky ones out there. I'll post a few.

These are from the BOYS' 2009 list:

First of all, these are either alt spellings or foreign names, but they have weird meanings in English or other languages:

Atom 32 - This is an Armenian form of Adam, but it's kind of funny to name a kid this in English. I hope his last name isn't Baum.
Avion, Chaise - in French these mean "airplane" and "chair."
Dali - probably named after Salvador Dali, but most kids will still call him Dolly.

Some adjectives (these are all girls)
Coy
Gabby - I know this is usually a nickname for Gabriell/a, but on its own?
Golden
Gorgeous
Savvy
Rainy
Marvelous
Naturell
Shy
Sincere
Southern
Sovereign
Steely
Stellar
Victorious
Beautiful
Breezy
Celestial
Classie - I think this is a foreign name, but still!
Crimson - I guess it's no worse than Scarlett
Daily
Fancy
Gracious
Irish
Jazzy
Lovely
Loyal
Majestic
Marvelous
Mystic

And nouns (again, all girls):
Arrow
Belladonna
Breeze
Cinnamon
Cricket
Fanta
Fantasia
Feather
Fedora
Galaxy
Gift
Goddess
Harbor
Heiress
Hunny - because Honey wasn't sweet enough
Island
Jazz
Jubilee
Kindred
Majesty
Mandolin
Maple
Memory
Meridian
Moxie
Nature
Navy
Novella
Paradise
Poet - she'll grow up to be a NASCAR driver, just you watch!
Poetry
Princess
Queen
Rhapsody
Romani
Safari
Saga
Sativa - it sounds pretty, too bad it's the species of marijuana!
Saxon - and her brother, Viking
Season - couldn't decide between Autumn or Summer
Senna
Shadow
Siren
Sundae - nicole Kidman named her daughter Sunday recently, but Sundae?
Tequila
Tomorrow
Twilight
Valkyrie

Verbs:
Shine
Whisper
Sparkle

X-Men Characters -# given)
Angel- (girls- 1857, boys 9762)
Aurora- 1,478
Bishop- 174
Cable- 6
Danger- 5
Darwin- 312
Domino- 6
Gaia- 47
Jubilee- 89
Karma- 366
Mercury- 6
Mirage- 6
Mystique - 6
Omega (girls-9, boys -9)
Phoenix - (girls- 398, boys-814)
Pixie- 31
Rogue - 28
Sage - (girls-784, boys-295)
Storm (girls- 43 , boys - 43)
Sway - 8

More to come because I'm having way too much fun with this!

Names really do matter!

Good or Bad, Baby Names Have Long-lasting Effects

By Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience Managing Editor

posted: 13 June 2010 04:30 pm ET

Choosing a baby name proves to be a challenging task for many parents. And they're wise to work hard at it. A name can have a profound impact on a child that reverberates well into adulthood, a growing body of research suggests.

"There is a reason why baby name books are extremely popular," said David Figlio of Northwestern University in Illinois. "We're always trying to think about the first bit of a child's identity and so if we as a society pay a lot of attention to names it makes a lot of sense that people's names might influence how they think about themselves and the way in which people might think about them."

Plenty of research suggests the name chosen impacts a baby's life well into adulthood. For instance, donning your newborn boy with a girly sounding name could mean behavioral problems later in life. And unique baby names that only your child will have can be a hardship too.

A British study of 3,000 parents released in May suggests one-in-five parents regret the name they chose for a child, many of whom were distressed over the unusual or oddly spelled names they'd chosen. And even those who didn't explicitly regret the name choice admitted there were names they knew now they wished they'd chosen then, according to the study conducted by Bounty.com. [List of history's most popular baby names.]

Girly names

Boys with names traditionally given to girls are more likely to misbehave than their counterparts with masculine names, research suggests.

When in elementary school, boys named Ashley and Shannon, for instance, behave just like their more masculine-named classmates named Brian and other boyish names.

"Once these kids hit sixth grade, all of a sudden the rates of disciplinary problems skyrocket [for those boys with girlish names], and it was much more the case if there happened to be a girl in the grade with that same name," Figlio told LiveScience.

Imagine, Figlio said, having to come face-to-face with your girly name every day when there's a girl in the classroom with a matching moniker. That suggests feelings of self-consciousness, which are perhaps magnified by teasing from others, play a role in the name-behavior link in this case.

Girls given boy names also see an effect. In a 2005 study, Figlio parsed out names by their phonemic sounds and then figured out their likelihood of belonging to a girl. For instance, the names Kayla and Isabella were so phonemically feminine their predicted probability of belonging to a girl was more than 100 percent. At the other end of the spectrum, Taylor, Madison and Alexis were phonemically predicted to be twice as likely to belong to boys than girls.

"I found girls with names that are relatively feminine in high school chose advanced coursework in humanities – and less feminine are more likely to choose math and science courses," Figlio said, adding the research focused on high-achieving girls.

He can't say that one causes the other. Perhaps parents treat one daughter, Morgan, differently from an early age than they do her sister Elizabeth, whose name is much more feminine. “Did the parents choose that when they were choosing the name or did the name end up shaping their behavior toward their daughter?” Figlio said.

Socioeconomic status and expectations

Just as a person's accent or clothing can indicate something about that individual's background or character, so can a first name. And just like any other external indicator, names can lie.

Figlio got names from millions of birth certificates, and then broke down each name into more than a thousand phonemic components. He analyzed the names for letter combinations, complexity and other factors, and then used a statistical analysis to figure out the probability that the name belonged to someone of low socioeconomic status.

"Kids who have names [that] from a linguistic perspective are likely to be given by poorly educated parents, those kids ended up being treated differently," Figlio said. "They do worse in school and are less likely to be recommended for gifted [classes] and more likely to be classified as learning disabled."

He specifically looked at more unusual baby names, since with common names people have their individual experiences that can taint one's perspective of that name. Say you went to school with a jerk named George, you're likely to associate that name with negative qualities, regardless of how the name sounds linguistically.

To account for the idea that "dropout moms" might just give their babies poor-sounding names, Figlio included siblings from the same family with both high- and low-status sounding names. (Not all "poor-sounding" names were donned by kids of low socioeconomic status.)

Meeting low expectations

The link between a name and success later in life could have to do with these kids fulfilling others' expectations of them. Names that sound as though they came from a family of low socioeconomic status, might be tagged as less capable of achieving, for instance.

"People draw subconscious cues all the time about people. You meet a person for the first time and without thinking about it on an explicit level you're looking at the way they're walking, what their accent sounds like, how they're dressed, whether they smell ... and you're developing these immediate reactions," Figlio said.

He added, "I think there's probably an evolutionary reason behind that. We're hardwired to try to figure out in a heartbeat whether or not we want to trust somebody, whether we want to run from somebody.”

Today, Figlio said to imagine a teacher on the first day of class looking over his or her roster and trying to figure out what to expect from a child. Plenty of teachers have told Figlio "I have to fight myself from doing this. I see this name ... I think maybe they aren't going to have active parents."

And so the story continues. Children typically meet expectations, research has shown.

Self-esteem

Whether or not your name sounds upper class might not matter if you don’t like it. Accumulating research has shown a strong link between a person's like or dislike of his or her name and high and low self-esteem, respectively.

"The relationship is so strong that when people want to measure self-esteem in a more subtle way you can do it with the name-letter task," said Jean Twenge of San Diego State University, referring to a method in which subjects report whether they like different letters of the alphabet. Those with high self-esteem will say they like those letters in their names, particularly the first letter, she said.

It makes sense if you think about how much a part of a person a name really is.

"Our names really are wrapped up in our identity, and that might be why you get this somewhat surprising finding at least in some areas," Twenge said during a telephone interview. "People who particularly dislike their name and also if other people think it's an odd and unlikeable name, that can cause some problems. [They] tend not to be as well-adjusted."

Unusual vs. common names

When it's time to pick baby's name, there are two types of parents, those who want an unusual baby name and those who prefer a more common name donned by lots of kids.

Turns out, even if the particular name chosen doesn't make a difference in a child's success later in life, whether or not that name is common or unusual does matter.

The difference between choosing, say, one of five common, relatively likeable names is small in terms of any impact on the child’s life. "If you're choosing between a relatively likeable, common name and one that is really odd, that definitely could have an impact," Twenge said.

"Some of it ends up being a proxy for the parents' philosophy on life in general," Twenge said. "The parent who says 'I want my kid to be unique and stand out' and gives their kid a name that’s uncommon, probably will have a parenting style that emphasizes uniqueness and standing out."

She added, "So it ends up building on itself. The type of parent who would give a really unusual name is often going to parent differently from a parent who says 'I want to give my child a name so they fit in.'"

Twenge's recent research suggests parents are, in fact, choosing more unusual baby names than decades ago.

Baby-naming advice books and blogs often suggest changing up the spelling of a common, or on-the-rise, name, in order to add some flare. Preliminary results from Figlio’s work suggest that may not be wise. Children with a deviant spelling of a common name tended to have slowed spelling and reading capabilities.

"That suggests a lot about internalizing," Figlio said. “You have the child named Jennifer spelled with a "G" – her teacher says 'Are you sure your name is spelled that way?' That can be incredibly hard on a person's confidence.”

All this parents end up realizing, as the Bounty study shows: One-fifth of parents in the British study wished they had chosen a name that was easier to spell; 8 percent were fed up with people being unable to pronounce the child’s name; and one in 10 thought the chosen name was clever at the time, but said the novelty had worn off.