F | The Art of Literary Nomenclature

A Garland of Holiday Handles

January 3, 2016 § Leave a comment

There has long been a tradition of looking to the calendar for naming inspiration, as a person’s birthday has often been considered an indication of how they will fare in life and who (or what) they will become; hence naming a child after the saints or holidays associated with the date of the child’s birth. In the linked article, you’ll find a list of some of these festive monikers (don’t forget to click through for more info, as always!):

“27 Holiday-Inspired Names”

These somewhat-unusual Christmas-related cognomens include:

For girls: Angela, Charity, Chiara, Christina, Clara, Faith, Hannah, Holly, Hope, Imani, Jemima, Joy, Lucy, Mary, Natalie, Natasha, Paloma
For boys: Abner, Alban, Christian, Christopher, Cristobal, Emmanuel, Jasper, Joseph, Nick, Noel

Examples of Elongated Eponyms

November 23, 2015 § Leave a comment

Some folks prefer the simple, straightforward, short-and-sweet when it comes to names, but there is something to be said for the long-and-lovely names in this article, no? (As always, be sure to click through for more info!)

“25 Baby Names That Push The Character Count”

For girls: Alessandra, Alexandria, Clementine, Elisabeth, Evangeline, Guadalupe, Gwendolyn, Jacqueline, Katherine, Magdalena, Montserrat, Temperance

For boys: Alessandro, Alexzander, Broderick, Christopher / Cristopher / Kristopher, Demetrius, Francisco, Johnathan, Maximilian / Maximiliano, Remington, Zachariah

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

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.)

“Short and Sweet Baby Names”

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

A Selection of Heel Goed Dutch Baby Names

September 7, 2015 § 1 Comment

If you follow the link, you’ll be able to find out a little bit more about these fantastic Dutch names (although a pronunciation guide is not always included; you may have to look that up yourself!):

“20 Dutch Baby Names You’ll Want to Steal Immediately”

(Click here to find the French version.)

For girls: Adrie, Anouk, Danique, Evi, Fay / Faye, Lina, Marit, Noa, Tess
For boys: Bas / Bastiaan, Bram, Cas / Casper, Coen / Coenraad, Everhart, Hans, Joost, Lars, Pim, Sander, Schuyler / Skylar

Everything Old is New Again, Vol. III

August 30, 2015 § Leave a comment

Once again, we delve into the world of classic baby names rarin’ to come roaring back! (Here are the first and second installments; it’s interesting to see where these sorts of articles overlap and where they diverge, no?)

As always, click through for more info:

Names included are:

For girls: Alba, Alma, Anastasia, Annie, Beatrice, Clara, Cora, Dorothy, Felicity, Florence, Frances, Gemma, Hattie, Hazel, Helen, Hilda, Ingrid, June, Leona, Lola, Lucy, Mabel, Mae, Margaret, Margot, Marjorie, Maude, Mercy, Millie, Olive, Pearl, Penny, Rosemary, Rosie, Ruby, Ruth / Ruthie, Sadie, Selma, Thelma, Veda, Vera, and Winifred.

For boys: Albert, Amos, Arthur, August, Augustine, Calvin, Cassius, Charlie, Clarence, Clyde, Enoch, Ephraim, Everett, Felix, Finn, Florin, Francis, Frank, Franklin, Frederick, George, Gilbert, Hank, Harry, Harvey, Henry, Jasper, Julian, Lionel, Oliver, Otto, Owen, Ralph, Reuben, Roland, Samson, Silas, Thaddeus, Theo / Theodore, Truman, Uriah, and Walter.

“I Named My Baby That Before It Was Cool”

August 11, 2015 § Leave a comment

Today I have a link for you to an article about hipster baby names. Fair warning: the author of the article is not a fan of hipster baby names, and pulls no punches when it comes to mocking them. If you intend to use one of these names — for your baby, for your character, for yourself — prepare yourself for complaints (some of them, let’s face it, well-deserved . . . especially if you decide to saddle an infant with a name like Salinger) like these:

“The List For Hipster Baby Names Is Out And It’s As Bad As You Imagined”

For girls: Briseida, Farrah, Inez, Liora, Minnie, Odette, Pandora, Romy, Suzette, Tessie, Wren, and Zola
For boys: Auden, Byron, Enoch, Gulliver, Ignatius, Lennon, Murray, Nico, Orson, Roman, Salinger, and Zane

Would-be hipsters, beware! Use of these names will instantly out you as being bandwagon-jumpers rather than the cutting-edge trendsetters you aspire to be!

Addison, Aiden, Ariana, Audrey, Ava, Avery, Brooklyn, Caden, Carter, Chloe, Emma, Elijah, Jackson, Jayden, Leah, Logan, Mason, Noah, Sophia, and Zoe.)

Everything Old is New Again, Vol. II

July 31, 2015 § 1 Comment

As in our first installment of “Everything Old is New Again“, here you’ll find an assortment of old-fashioned baby names which are poised to make a comeback. Be the first on your block / friends list to use one! (As usual, you can click through to the article for more information about the names):

Names included are:

For girls: Adelaide, Agnes, Alice, Antonia, Aurelia, Beatrice, Betty, Clementine, Constance, Cora, Cordelia, Dorothy, Edith, Eleanor, Eliza, Frances, Harriet, Hattie, Hazel, Helen, Ida, India, Isadora, Josephine, Lillian, Louisa, Lucinda, Lula, Mabel, Marcella, Margaret, Margo, Marion, Mercy, Myrtle, Pearl, Penelope, Rosalind, Rosemary, Ruth, Susannah, Theodora, Winifred

For boys: Abner, Archie, Arthur, Augustine, Cormac, Cornelius, Denver, Ephraim, Ford, Francis, Frank, Gordon, Gus, Guy, Harris, Harry, Lawrence, Louis, Magnus, Martin, Milton, Nigel, Oscar, Otis, Patrick, Paul, Philip, Ray, Simeon, Stanley, Theodore, Walter

A Selection of Très Chic French Baby Names

July 29, 2015 § 1 Comment

If you follow the link, you’ll be able to find out a little bit more about these lovely French names (although a pronunciation guide is not included; you may have to look that up yourself!):

“20 French Baby Names You’ll Want to Steal Immediately”

(Click here for the Dutch version.)

For girls: Anaelle, Aveline, Coralie, Elize, Fleur, Marielle, Solene
For boys: Bale, Cabot, Danton, Henri, Janvier, Landry, Luc, Mathis, Montgomery, Olivier
For either: Bellamy, Jorden, Remi

Frankie

July 20, 2015 § Leave a comment

ORIGIN:
Diminutive of “Frank” / “Francis” or, for girls, “Frances“.

VARIATIONS and NICKNAMES:
For girls: Chica, Cissie, Cissy, Fan, Fannie, Fanny, Fran, Franca, Franci, Francie, Francka, Franka, Frankie, Franky, Frannie, Franny, Franzi, Paca, Paquita, Sissie, Sissy, etc.
For boys: Chica, Chico, Ferenc, Feri, Fran, Franca, Francesco, Francis, Francisco, Franciscus, Franco, Francois, Frank, Franka, Franky, Franny, Frans, Franz, Franzi, Paca, Paco, Pancho, Paquita, Paquito, etc.

REFERENCES IN LITERATURE:
– Frankie, a slightly older boy who befriends Lily at Camp Ava, in Sleeping Arrangements, by Laura Cunningham (published 1989, set in the 1950s).

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