Aug
23
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
nameberry.com
The Harry Potter books are a name lover’s dream, author J. K. Rowling being probably the most prolific and creative character namer since Charles Dickens. Her seven Harry Potter books have an enormous cast of magical wizards and wizards-in-training, witches, ghosts, Hogwarts School professors and studentsmost of them named with great gusto, humor, and a genius for witty wordplay and cleverly engineered misspellings, interweaving Greek and Latin roots with skill and panache. Like Dickens, Rowling takes delight in matching name to nature and employs symbolism as well, as for instance calling Harry’s good and pure mother Lily.
A favorite trick of hers is drawing characters’ names from the realm of astronomy, thus producing such...
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Aug
12
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Nameberry.com
There’s no doubt that middle names have been taking on increasing importance in the hearts and minds of baby namers. They’ve stepped up from the inconsequential connectives especially for girlsof a generation or two ago to full co-starring roles on the birth certificate. For many, it’s a welcome opportunity to honor a family member, preserve a maiden name, or use as a solid alternative for their child to possibly choose to use later on.
But for others, it’s place to be whimsical, to salute a creative hero, to use a favorite word or nature name they wouldn’t dare to put in first place. For examples of how this works, we need only to look to the stars, those beacons of extremeif not bizarre baby naming. So here are some...
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Aug
07
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
Nameberry.com
If you’re due very soon and so are expecting a Leo baby or have or anticipate a child born under one of the other fire signs, Sagittarius or Aries all I can say is: Lucky you. I’m an Aries, my first child was a Sag, and my second a Leo, and we all live up to our characteristically fiery independent natures.
If you’re interested in a name that means or relates to fire for your own little fire sign baby, or its bright, energetic image simply appeals to you, consult this list of fiery names:
AGNI Hindu god of fire, though to English speakers the name may sound more feminine than masculine.
AIDAN and AIDEN Popular modern form of Aodh, meaning fiery, that’s well-used for boys and also a possibility for girls. Meaning...
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Aug
01
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By nameberry.com
If the Hundred-Year Rule — which states that it takes a century for most names to come back into fashion — holds true, then we’re in for some interesting times, judging from the list of 100 Most Popular Names of the 1910s.
A handful of the top names in the decade from 1910 to 1920 are already solidly back in style. These include:
Girls
- ANNA
- CHARLOTTE
- ELEANOR
- ELLA
- EVA
- GRACE
- JULIA
- LUCY
- ROSE
- STELLA
- VIOLET
Boys
- ANDREW
- BENJAMIN
- CHARLES and CHARLIE
- HARRY
- HENRY
- JACK
- LEO
- RAY
- ...
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Jul
23
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Pamela Redmond Satran, nameberry.com
Some of you know that I have another writing life as a novelist: “Babes in Captivity” and “Suburbanistas” are two of the five novels I’ve published. One of my novel-writing mentors was the mystery writer Elizabeth George, who taught me that a novel begins with the creation of its characters. And the characters start with their names.
The right name is essential for building the other qualities that will make a character come alive on the page, George believes (and I believe too). When you’re working on a piece of fiction — and I know some of you are interested in names primarily as writers, not parents — and the story or book just isn’t coming together, sometimes the problem is...
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Jul
15
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
By Nameberry.com
When Matthew McConaughey chose the name Levi for his son, he was, in a subtle way, naming the baby after himself. How so? Because in the New Testament, Matthew and Levi are two names for the same person.
There are many other such pairs of names with close connections that aren’t immediately evident, whether they are different ethnic versions of the same name, double identities for the same person, having historic or literary ties, or as sharers of linguistic elements. Being aware of this can be a useful tool for baby namers seeking not-too-obviously linked twin or sibling names or, like McConaughey, another less egoey version of your or your spouse’s name.
And of course it could also come in handy when looking for a more modern...
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Jul
09
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
From Nameberry.com
Summer is one of the nicest times of year to have a baby, the warm weather and slow pace making it that much easier to relax into new motherhood (and, from your baby’s point of view, into life). Here, some names that summon the season:
SUMMER
As a seasonal name, Summer may not be your top choice. It’s feeling a tad shopworn after coming close to cracking the Top 100 in 1977; it’s been above number 200 for the past fifteen years. Autumn is more popular but Winter is cooler.
Summer also has three excellent months names that include several usable variations. These are:
JUNE
The hip middle name du jour, was out of favor for many years but now is back in a big way....
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May
18
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
nameberry.com
There are some names that, even now, after writing so much about the subject, I hear and think, “Wow, that’s a great name. I wonder why people don’t use that one more often?”
Sometimes, the answer is that a name was just too popular too recently for parents to appreciate its intrinsic wonderfulness: the lush Biblical Deborah is one that might fit in this category, though I didn’t include it in my 10 examples.
Other times, a name carries an unappealing association for enough people to keep it from becoming popular. And there are a dozen other reasons why a perfectly wonderful name just might not make it big — which can be good news for the...
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May
09
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
nameberry.com
Some authors have a genuine knack for character naming, usually spread over their entire oeuvre. In the case of Margaret Mitchell, it was all focused on her only novel — “Gone With the Wind” — whose character names still resonate today. The 1933 book (almost titled “Tomorrow is Another Day”) was an unprecedented smash, selling 30 million copies and winning a Pulitzer Prize, as was the movie, released in 1939 and receiving a then-record 10 Oscars. Its frequent revivals and TV screenings have kept it alive for later generations. So how have its characters’ names fared for babies over the years?
MAIN CHARACTERS
SCARLETT...
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Apr
19
Posted by
Lorain County Moms
I remember once meeting a completely adorable curly-headed little toddler named Percy. And suddenly the image of his name was turned on its head and for the first time I could see the hidden, quirky charms of Percy. It’s like when extreme he-man Bear Grylls called his son Marmaduke — one of the ultimate prissy-sissy names — all he could see ahead for his son was the cool nickname Duke (of course he did call his next one Huckleberry).
There’s a whole group of names like this that used to be described by antiquated terms we’d never dream of using today — like namby-pamby and pantywaists — sterotyped as such in old books and movies. Since that’s now such ancient history, I’m wondering, as I think of that cute little Percy, if any...
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