Popular Names: East Coast vs. West Coast
October 7, 2015 § Leave a comment
The linked article explores a bit how baby-naming trends vary from coast to coast, even within the boundaries of these United States. As always, click through for more info (including some really cool heat maps of each name’s popularity, state-by-state)!
– “These Names Are Trending More With East Coast Than With West Coast Parents”
– “Baby Names That Are More West Coast Than East Coast”
Girl names, East Coast: Adrianna, Camryn, Caroline, Gabriella, Gabrielle, Jada, Jaliyah, Kayleigh, Kyleigh, Laila, London, Londyn, Miracle, Nyla, Paris, Ryleigh, Skylar
Girl names, West Coast: Audrey, Audrina, Aylin, Daisy, Daphne, Dulce, Evelyn, Hazel, Jimena, June, Kendra, Kira, Lexie, Marilyn, Mila, Mina, Penelope, Perla, Ruby
Boy names, East Coast: Amir, Bryce, Cameron, Jayceon, Messiah, Michael, Nasir, Zion
Boy names, West Coast: Adrian, Alfredo, Damian, Dane, Dominik, Edgar, Gael, Gerardo, Isaac, Ivan, Joaquin, Leonel, Lincoln, Malakai, Maximiliano, Oliver, Orion, Ramon, Rodrigo, Romeo, Ruben
- BONUS! For those prepsters on the East Coast, or the few stragglers on the West, who are looking for something new and unusual for their future graduate:
– “49 Preppy Baby Names Destined For The Ivy League”
Preppy names for girls: Ainsley, Arabella, Bronwyn, Harper, Margaux, Poppy, Tilly
Preppy names for boys: Aldrich, Blaine, Bradford, Briggs, Brooks, Connery, Corbin, Davis, Digby, Graham, Hudson, Ingram, Keaton, Lennox, Merritt, Niles, Orson, Quincy, Roland, Teague, Thatcher, Thompson, Tucker, Vance, Whitaker, Yates
Preppy names for either: Addison, Aubrey, Blair, Darcy, Ellison, Emerson, Finley, Hunter, Kingsley, Leighton, Palmer, Preston, Reed, Sloane, Sterling, Tinsley
Andy
September 26, 2015 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of names like “Andrew“, “Andor“, even “Alexander“, etc. For girls, sometimes a nickname for “Andrea” or even “Ann” / “Anne“, “Anna“, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Andi, Andie, Andra, Drea, Ea, etc.
For boys: Andie, Andre, Andro, Andor, Antti, Atte, Bandi, Dand, Dre, Drew, Dru, Drue, Ea, Endre, Tero, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Andy, one of Johnny’s acquaintances, an apprentice at one of the shops on the wharf, in Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (written in 1943; set during the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War, 1773-1775).
WRITERS:
– Andy Stack (1931-2015), pen name of American crime author Ann Rule, who also published as “Arthur Stone” and “Chris Hansen”.
Vinny
September 17, 2015 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
Diminutive of names such as “Vincent” or “Lavinia“.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Lavina, Lavinia, Lavena, Viney, Vinie, Vinnie.
For boys: Vin, Vince, Vinn, Vinnie.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Vinny (Lavinia) Lyte, Johnny’s proud and determined mother (and Merchant Lyte’s niece), once the “wildest and handsomest girl in Boston”, in Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (written in 1943; set during the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War, 1773-1775).
Izzy
September 12, 2015 § 1 Comment
ORIGIN:
For boys, a shortened version of “Isidor” / “Isidore”, “Israel“, “Isaiah”, “Isaac”, etc. For girls, a shortened version of “Isadora”, “Isannah“, “Isabel” / “Isobel”, “Isabella“, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Isa, Issie, Issy, Izzie.
For boys: Is, Isa, Issy, Iz, Izzie.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Izzy (Isannah) Lapham, Mrs. Lapham’s delicate and ethereally-beautiful youngest daughter, precocious, selfish, vain, and a skilled little actress, in Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (written in 1943; set during the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War, 1773-1775).
Dusty
September 9, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
A diminutive of “Dustin”, or a nickname given to people who were often dusty or dirty.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Dustee, Dusti, Dustie.
For boys: Dustan, Dustie, Dustin, Duston, Dustyn.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Dusty Miller, one of Johnny’s two co-apprentices at Lapham’s silversmithing business, in Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (written in 1943; set during the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War, 1773-1775).
WRITERS:
– Dusty Hughes (b. 1947), English director and playwright.
Some Single-Syllable Sobriquets
September 7, 2015 § 1 Comment
Longer, more classical-sounding names — for example, “Christopher“, “Elizabeth“, “Alexander“, or “Penelope” — have always had a place on America’s playgrounds, but there is certainly something to be said for the short-and-simple one-syllable names in this article, no? (Be sure to click through for more information — meanings, origins, popularity rankings, etc.)
For girls: Brooke, Claire, Faith, Grace, Hope, Jade, Jane, June, Kate, Paige, Rose, Ruth
For boys: Blake, Bryce, Charles, Chase, Cole, George, Jace, Jack, James, Joel, John, Juan, Luke, Max, Miles
For either: Bryn / Brynn, Quinn, Reese
Taylor
August 26, 2015 § 4 Comments
ORIGIN:
Originally an Old English occupational name, meaning (unsurprisingly) “tailor”, from the French “tailleur”, meaning “cutter of cloth”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
Tai, Tailler, Tailleur, Tailour, Tay, Tayler, Taylour, Taylur, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Middle name of William Taylor Creighton (b. 1838), Jethro’s favorite older brother, “a big, silent man who was considered ‘peculiar’ in the neighborhood”, in Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1964; set during the American Civil War, 1861-1865).
WRITERS:
– Taylor Branch (b. 1947), American author and historian.
– Taylor Caldwell (1900-1985), pen name of Anglo-American novelist Janet Taylor Caldwell, who also published as “J. Miriam Reback”, “Marcus Holland”, and “Max Reiner”.
– Taylor Mali (b. 1965), American humorist, poet, teacher, and voice actor.
– Taylor Mead (1924-2013), American actor, performer, and poet.
Jan
August 10, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
For girls, a variant of “Jane” or diminitive of “Janet“, “Janice”, “Janelle”, etc. For boys, a medieval version of “John“, or a variation on “Johannes”.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Jana, Janae, Janelle, Janetta, Janet, Janette, Janey, Janie, Janice, Janis, Janith, Janna, Jannah, Jannetta, Jannette, Jayna, Jayne, Jaynie, Jean, Jeanette, Jeanne, Jenae, Jenna, Jennet, Jenni, Jenny, Joan, Joanie, Joanne, Joanna, etc.
For boys: Janek, Jani, Janne, Jannick, Jean, Jens, Jo, Johan, Johannes, John, Johnnie, Johnny, Jon, Jonas, Joni, Jono, Jovan, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Jan Foot, the first of Lily’s high school friends to have “done it”, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
Marty
August 9, 2015 § Leave a comment
ORIGIN:
Alternate spelling of “Martie”, a diminutive form of “Martin”; or, for girls, diminutive of names like “Martha“, “Martina”, etc.
VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Ina, Maartje, Maata, Maddi, Maddie, Maddy, Madge, Marfa, Mart, Marta, Marte, Martha, Marthe, Marti, Martie, Martina, Martine, Martita, Martta, Martti, Martuska, Martyna, Mat, Matt, Matti, Mattie, Matty, Maud, Maude, Maudie, Maudy, Midge, Morta, Tina, Tineke, etc.
For boys: Maarten, Mairtin, Marcin, Mars, Mart, Marten, Marti, Martie, Martijn, Martim, Martin, Martinho, Martino, Martinus, Marton, Martti, Martyn, Martynas, Mattin, Matxin, Merten, Morten, Mortin, Mortie, Morty, Tijn, Tin, Tine, Tinek, Tino, etc.
REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Marty Tourin, Lily’s more likable friend in her new neighborhood, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).
WRITERS:
– Marty Feldman (1934-1982), English actor, comedian, and writer.
– Marty Peretz (b. 1938), American editor, journalist, and publisher.
– Marty Robbins (1925-1982), American musician, singer, songwriter, and race-car driver.
– Marty Wilde (b. 1939), English singer and songwriter.
When Good Names Go Generic
August 5, 2015 § 1 Comment
When a brand name becomes the generic term for an item (as in kleenex, band-aid, aspirin, etc. — you can find a bunch of them here), we call that a “proprietary eponym”. But did you know that something similar can happen to people names as well? Perhaps you are familiar with wellingtons or wellies, the rubber boots named after the Duke of Wellington, or sideburns, the distinctive style of facial hair sported by Gen. Ambrose Burnside. But are you familiar with these names, which ended up in the dictionary as stand-alone words in their own right? Be sure to click through to the article for more information!
“26 First Names That Ended Up In The Dictionary”
Names included are:
Abigail, Andrew, Anna, Ava, Emma, Eric, George, Harry, Helena, Henry, Isabella, Jacob, James, Jesse, John, Luke, Matilda, Molly, Rebecca, Robert, Sam, Sarah, Steven, Toby, Tony, and Victoria
The Art of Literary Nomenclature 