You Can’t Call It “It”!

Style-conscious mamas and papas from the website Ohdeedoh have children.  Behold, their names.  Swoon at Gavril– I may have to steal that.

How, pray tell, do these people keep their lovely homes so spotless?  I know I’ve been remiss in posting regularly, just know that I’ve been busy cleaning raisins out of the wipes box and turning the house upside down in search of my cell phone, only to find it in the laundry basket.  I hope to be back in the saddle soon at YCCII.  Thank you, loyal readers, for continuing to check in every day and for your letters of support!

Blue

Alexander

Alistair

Amsden

Brewer

Carter

Connor

Declan

Dex and Neo

Dylan

Elijah Patrick

Enzo Raffaele

Ethan

Evan

Finnegan James

Gavril

Henry

Liad

Linus, Miles, and Oliver (triplets!)

Lucas Painter “Luc”

Mark Logan

Owen

Parker

Rio

Rykken

Sebastian

Sully Maxwell

Pink

Amaia

Amelie

Audrey Grace

Ava

Bella

Bijou

Cate

Charlotte Rossalynn

Daphne

Eleanor

Emelie

Emma Kate

Freida

Hazel Juniper

Ida Rocket

Indigo Skye

Isabel

Julia

Kenzie

Lola

Madilyn

Maeve

Maya Mae

Mika

Oriana

Renée

Roën

Ruby Albina

Sabrina and Cassandra “CC”

Sadie Rose

Scarlett

Tove

Winter

Zadie

Been saving up these goodies for months now!  Sorry to hold out on you.  Baby naming in the ‘hood continues to be inspiring–and if you don’t have it already, please check out Knuffle Bunny by Brooklyn’s own Mo Willems.

GIRLS

Anoushka

Cecily

Charlotte

Cordelia

Eliana

Evlalia

Felicity

Freya

Hopi

Iris

Lila (Maya)

Lulu

Marian

Maya (Lila)

Rylee

Shirin

Sonja

Stella

Sterna

Tillie Rose

Trixie

Verity

Victoria

Wilhelmina (& Sylvan)

BOYS

Alexander

Harvey

Hudson (x2)

Jagger

Jared

Jasper (x2)

Joseph

Leo

Mateo

Oscar

Preston

Roscoe

Satchel

Soren

Sylvan (& Wilhelmina)

Theo

Xavier

Valentine

Illustration above:  Trixie and company, from Mo Willems’ Knuffle Bunny

2009 brought it’s fair share of widespread offenses.  Say them with me people, this year’s baby name resolutions for America:

10) There shall be no “Leigh” except Leigh itself: no Haileigh, no Baileigh, no Marleigh, no Ryleigh.  Out too are all G-H configurations as vowel substitutes– the prettiness of Hailough notwithstanding.

9) Just because I name a baby Angelina Jolie doesn’t make it so.

8 ) Likewise with Aniston, Annyston, or Annistynne.

7) I will only put Renesmee on the birth certificate if it is indeed a family name.

6) Chic as they are, I promise not to ostracize my daughter by giving her an old lady name with an actual sound I personally do not like.  There is a limit, and the reemergence of Wilma and Gertrude may have to wait.

5) No matter what I think of a child’s name, be it a violator off this list or the previous one, I will still let my child play with them and won’t be prejudiced.  :-)

4) Naming a daughter “Sam” alone may not speak very well of her father’s character; Samantha, Samira, or Jessamine are far superior.  Take note if Sam is your fiancé’s favorite name for a girl.

3) I resolve that KH does not the “ch” sound make.

2) While we’re on the subject of original spellings, consider yourself warned:  a little “Unique” may just wind up a Eunuch.

1) Because some people didn’t get the memo from last year– negative and or aggressive does not equal cool.  This includes Talon, Mars, and yes– Bandit.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Trash is not really the operative word, but dated and ubiquitous names in their home country may sound chic and youthful to American ears.  From a list of European adults, let us mull the merits of recycling the following treasures:

WOMEN:

Amandine

Anouk

Ariane

Benedicte

Bernadette

Bianka

Carine

Coralie

Delphine

Elodie

Elsa

Estelle

Fabienne

Floriane

Geraldine

Justine

Laetitia

Mafalda

Magali

Marielle

Marijke

Melina

Nadia

Noemie

Oksana

Oriane

Paola

Sabine

Severine

Sonia

Teresa

Violaine

Virginie

MEN:

Arnaud

Bertrand

Boris

Brice

Casper

Cedric

Christos

Claude

Clement

Cyril

Didier

Emmanuel

Etienne

Fabrizio

Gauthier

Giuliano

Gustave

Hadrien

Jerome

Joakim

Johan

Julius

Lionel

Louis

Moritz

Nico

Nils

Pascal

Raoul

Remy

Salomon

Sergio

Sylvain

Thibault

Thierry

Ulrich

Yannick

Want to go post-style?  Give a name to your child with a bit of a wink?  Make sure they are the only ones in the class with that name?

Many city parents have this same thought and are going country.  In particular, you’ll find the hippest hipster turning to these names as a nod to how ironic and carefree their family is.  For a little extra honky tonk twang, go for a double name with Sue or Mae or Bob tacked on.

It’s a natural progression from old lady chic and classic revivals.  Even SJP (not exactly what I’d called a hipster) chose Loretta!  What originates as a stand out choice may fit in very well, after all.

LADIES

Arlene (and the -eens in general)

Bernadette

Bonnie

Clementine

Coralie

Darla

Dinah

Ethel

Etta

Eulala, Eulalie

Fern

Hester

Hortense

Ida

Inez

Irma

June

Loretta

anything-Lou

Lucinda

Lula

Mabel

Mae alone, or anything-Mae

Minnie

Nell

Oma

Opal

Pauline

Pearl

Polly

Rosetta

anything- Sue

Thirza

Willa

Ursula

Vada

Viola

Zelda

Zora

MEN

Arlo

Bert

anything – Bob

Chester

Clyde

Cornelius

Dale

Dell

Doyle

Dwight

Earl

Floyd

Hank

Herbert

Hubert

Irvin

Jasper

Leander

Leland

Lionel

Lloyd

Milton

Orville

Otto

Raymond

Roscoe

Samson

Sidney

Wilbur

Vern

Zeke

The mystery of the mismatched twins’ names may be solved at last.

I’ve been operating under the natural assumption that Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick’s twins were called Marion and Tabitha.  Yet in an interview with Access Hollywood, Parker reveals that it was James who chose Marion, and that “he wanted it legal.” Voilá! The parents kowtowed to their sons’ request and one twin adopted a second name, only that second name was put in the first slot.  Twins are called LORETTA and Tabitha (full names: Marion Loretta Elwell Broderick and Tabitha Hodge Broderick).  Sweet story.

Many of you wrote in the comments that you found Marion and Tabitha an unnatural pairing.  Do Loretta and Tabitha mesh better to you?  I actually think the first pairing is more complementary, though I do love Loretta and the bubbling Southern twang fad.

So what say you readers?  Is Loretta (v. Marion) a disappointment or a revelation?  Have any of your children gotten involved with the process of naming their siblings?

Meandering through past posts at Ohdeedoh, we found these stylishly named young ones.  It is interesting to see how the definition of  style differs depending on who you talk to.  Xochitl is a Nahuatl name for flower and is used among Latinos and Native Americans.  Mungo is Scottish and was the nickname for seventh century saint Kenitgern.   Obree is Scottish as well, as are Nairn and Macadam.  Are people veering away from the Emerald Isle in favor of the Highlands?  A trend we’ll have to keep an eye on.  Google yields that Kahurangi is a national park in New Zealand.  Got to love Kiwi names!

GIRLS

Aliana

Amelia (& Paul)

Anderson Nicole

Anna

Audrey

Aurora Jane

Azalea

Beatrix Anne

Blakeleigh Eden

Capucine

Charlotte “Charlie” (& Maxwell)

Charley Mae

Chloe (& Makena)

Cora

Daphne (& Maia)

Dylan

Elsa

Em

Emma Adela

Eva

Huntleigh “Hunt” (& Lucy)

Immy

Isabella Kai

Julia Annabelle

Kennedy

Lola (& Sofia)

Lucy “Lulu” (& Huntleigh)

Lucy (& Oden)

Makena (& Chloe)

Maia (& Daphne)

Malia

Mia (& Jeremiah)

Millie

Morgan (& Evan)

Nola

Ophelia

Peyton Grey

Phina

Reagan

Rylie

Samantha Plum

Sasha

Scarlet

Sofia (x2) (& Lola)

Skyler

Sophie

Taylor Grace

Violet Hope

Warner

Wyler

Xochitl

Zora Helen “Zadie”

BOYS

Aaron

Abbott

Aldo

Andrew (Miles)

Benjamin

Cooper

Dakota

Dexter (& Hank)

Emmanuel

Evan (x2) & Morgan)

Findlay (& Nairn)

Grahm

Hank (& Dexter)

Henry

Henry Thomas

Jasper Jack

Jeremiah (& Mia)

Joshua

Julian Maziar

Kahurangi “Kahu”

Kai Bodhi

Luca

Macadam Andrew

Maxwell “Max” (& Charlotte)

Miles (Andrew)

Mungo

Nairn (Findlay)

Ned

Niels

Obree

Oden (& Lucy)

Oliver (x3)

Oscar James

Ozzy

Parker

Paul (& Amelia)

Reed (& Tate)

Sam

Tate (& Reed)

Zachary

Above:  The Fishing Bear by Pushmepullyou Design

…was born to Heidi and Seal on October 9!

Is Sulola not so gorgeous?  I do hope they call her that.  Upon googling I did find other Sulolas.  It may be Yoruba.  Anyone?

ETA This according to a Celebrity Babies reader:  

According to Babalola’s and Alaba’s Dictionary of Yoruba Personal Names, Sulola means “Our noble family is extensive/wide and vast”.

Above:  Yoruba Coppa

UPDATE II:  It IS Lou!

UPDATE:  It appears to be just a rumor.  On pins and needles here waiting to hear the verdict…

Can it be?

Heidi Klum and Seal have dubbed their precious newborn baby girl “Lou.”  Lou Samuel, no less.

Guess the child will be so beautiful she can pull off any name!  She’ll fit right in with Jagger, Charlie, Sam, and some other lovely little ladies who’ve made their way into the world in the last year or so.  

What’s next?  Gus?  Harry?  Arnold?

I’m going to call her Louisa.  ;-D

Now PLEASE don’t let the birth of Heidi’s baby overshadow Shelly’s.  Go help her.