Hey
all. By the time this is posted, I hope you’re all having a fab Easter weekend.
I’m writing this on a train to my nana’s and papa’s, so, when it is posted I
won’t have any internet! Between essays, a weeknight drinking stint, and a
holiday Friday, this week got away from me and I’m kind of in crunch time to
get this post out with no idea what I’m going to write! This week, names have
just not been inspiring me like they usually do and as a result, I completely
torched my tops list. I don’t want to call it a slump, as lately I’ve been
spending more time without a solid list than with, but I definitely am not
happy with the names I’m used to loving. My problem is that I feel like I as a
person have really changed in the last year, but particularly the last few
months. As much as I still adore my old names, I don’t necessarily think they fit
me anymore. I guess my point is that I’m between styles right now and the four
main styles that I see in the naming community are going to be the topic of
this post. If I don’t mention what you see as your style, no hard feelings,
this is just how I see things. There are also people (like me!) who fit into
many styles and names that fit into more than one as well.
The
Traditionalists
Traditionalists, as I see them,
choose strong, gender appropriate names with rich histories and legacies.
Traditionalists are often drawn to Biblical and other literary names. These
names have withstood the test of time. They’re often spelled how they sound and
have equally classic nicknames. Because these names have been around so long,
they have a certain strength, but can come off as too popular. Names I see as
being a part of this style would be choices like Catherine, Elizabeth, Juliet
and Rose for girls or Nathaniel, James, Benjamin and Henry for boys.
The
Vintage
I see vintage as being similar to
traditionalist, but leaning cutesier. I see old lady/old man chic names as
fitting into this style. To distinguish them from traditionalist names, I see
the vintage name club as being less popular and with a defining characteristic
of sweet instead of strong. Vintage names to me are options like Alice, Maude,
Violet and Winnie for girls or Theo, Felix, Thomas and Stanley for boys.
The
Cool
Cool namers, although being the
style I identify with least, are some of the most fun to talk names with to me.
Cool namers are completely fearless and this enables them to come up with some
combos that I see as jaw dropping. Cool namers are unafraid of unknown, hard to
spell, mythological or ethnic names that would definitely ensure their child
would be the only one with that name in the class. Some names I see as fitting
into this style are Astrid, Lux, Tamsin and Zinnia for girls and River,
Griffin, Milan and Kendrick for boys.
The
Trendy
And to my main style! Trendy namers
have a love affair with the top 20. Sometimes they like a boys name on a girl,
and, if things are getting really crazy- an alternate spelling or two. Trendy
namers are into surnames, places and occupation. For the most part, popularity doesn’t
factor into the choices of a trendy namer. Names that fit in this style in my
opinion are Piper, Olivia, Zoey and Addison for girls and Hunter, Mason, London
or Brayden for boys.
How do you see different styles as
playing out? Would you categorize our overarching styles like I do? Would you
add to mine or take any away? What would you say your style is?
- Hayl
