Sunday, March 31, 2013

What's you style?


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

Friday, March 29, 2013

Ren's Guest Post


Happy Friday!  Enjoy today's Guest Post from Ren :)
-----

Hey everyone! I’m Ren from formspring (renthebabynamer). I also have a blog called Ren’s Baby Name
Blog. I thought it would be fun to write a post for a blog other than mine. It took some thinking but I
finally came up with an idea I love! I’m going to write about baby names that contain the letter X. I just
love names that contain the letter X for no reason. So let’s get started.

Boys

Maxwell/Maximilian/Maximilano “Max”

Alexander “Alex”

Dixon

Daxton “Dax”

Dexter “Dex”

Rex

Braxton “Brax”

Maddox

Axel

Felix

Knox

Hendrix

Bronx

Girls

Alexis/Alexa/Alexia “Alex”

Alexandra/Alexandria/Alexandrina “Alex”

Beatrix “Trixie”

Roxana

Maxine “Max/Maxie”

Lux


Moxie

Nixie

Loxley

Oxana

Anaxandra

Bellatrix

Unisex

Paxton “Pax”

Phoenix

Lennox

My favorites are Rex and Hendrix for boys, Anaxandra and Moxie for girls, and Paxton for both. What
are your favorite? I hope everyone liked this! You may see me again in the future so look out!

Thursday, March 28, 2013

big brother

Hey y'all. I hope you're having a great week. Im so happy its easter weekend.. im in need of a break! 

Anyways my post today is inspired by big brother canada. Only our canadian readers who watch the show will know who im talking about. 

Im not going to do all of the casts names.. im going to pick my 3 favourites.

Emmett - I never use to like this name but mr hunkalicious Emmett has made me loooovvvee it!  What do you think of the name Emmett? 

Andrew - how cute is the name Andrew? I may be bias because I babysit a little boy named Andrew but still its adorable. And with the nickname Drew.. ahh LOVE ♡

Liza - I wasn't a fan of hers but I thought her name was cool.Its totally not my style but I think its nice! 


What do you think of those three names? Would you use any of them?

Happy Easter everyone! Xo

Jaylyn  ♥

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Spring Baby Names

Nothing says Spring like some snow in Ohio! (#OhioProblems)
In honor that Spring is here, I thought I would do a blog post on Spring baby names! Let's get started, shall we? 

......

Anastasia: Greek; "resurrection"
April: Latin; "second"
Aurora: Latin; "dawn"
Aviva: Hebrew; "springlike, fresh, dewy"

Aviv: Hebrew; "springtime, freshness, youth"
Aya: Hebrew; "bird"
Blossom: English; "to bloom"
Birdie: English; "bird"

Brook: nature name
Breeze: word name 
Cloud: nature name
Chloe: Greek; "young green shoot"
Clare: Latin; "bright, clear"

Clover: flower name
Gen: Japanese; "spring"
Green: color name
Gardener: English; "keeper of the garden"
Fleur: French; "flower"
Iris: Greek, also a flower name; "rainbow"
Leaf: nature name
Lilac: English; a flower name, a color name
March: word name
Maxwell: Scottish; "great stream"
Newlyn: Welsh; "new pond"
Nouvel: French; "new"
River: nature name
Rain: nature name

Soleil: French; "sun"
Spring: word name
Sky: nature name 
Tulip: Turkish flower name
Xavier: Basque; "bright"


What are you favorite names from this list? Tell me in the comments below!

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Daycare Names

Happy Tuesday!  Today's post is going to be about names at daycare:

  • Abby
  • Ava
  • Brodyn
  • Brooklyn
  • Connor
  • Colby
  • Easton
  • Evynn (Noelle is her real name)
  • Emerson
  • Faith
  • Gabriel
  • Hailey
  • Kaylinn
  • Nolan
  • Payton
  • Sawyer
  • Shelby
All of those kids are in my room.  Teachers Samantha (Sammy) and Jackie

Other rooms:
  • Averi
  • Jonathon
  • Agnes
  • Brynn
  • Emma
  • Sophia
  • Crew
  • Jamison
  • Tyler
  • Lincoln
  • Owen
Teachers:
  • Nicole
  • Jayden
  • Paige
  • Wendy
  • Payton 
  • Jenna
  • Jill
  • Brittney
  • Lexi
  • Shelby
  • Jessica
  • Jenn
  • Karey
  • Katie
What are your Favorites?  Mine is Ava and Emma :)

Monday, March 25, 2013

The Least Popular of the Most Popular Names of 2011

Happy Monday!
Today my post is about the least common of the most common names of 2011, the names ranked 900-1000. I separated the names into 4 categories.
Enjoy!

Category 1: Names I actually like with spellings that don't hurt my eyes

--> The title says it all. These names are ranked low, but in my opinion, they aren't that bad.
Rory, Abbey, Vaughn, Thaddeus, Alannah, Arlo, Carissa, Libby, Tess, Regan, Kasey, Mattie, Tinley, Jewel, Maxton, Cambria, Bree, Mariano, Brecken, Coen, Cristiano, Marianna, Rivka, Alianna, Princeton, Sky, Esme, Jaden, Kyan, Karly, Thalia, Kohen, Anabel, Milana, Riya

Category 2: Wait, WHAT does that say!?

--> Names I cant pronounce, hurt my eyes and/or are just whack.
Maliah, Belen, Jaidyn, Zaire, Malaya, Jabari, Shaniya, Yamilet, Braylin, Bryleigh, Legend, Mustafa, Jakobe, Kaelynn, Lathan, Yaritza, Vihaan, Kylah, Kyndal, Darryl, Miya, Analia, Aleigha, Tyree, Yamileth, Samiya, Leigha, Elian, Eliseo, Tyrese, Malaysia, Maksim, Davon, Kendyl, Sariyah, Milagros, Major, Karma, Yehuda, Kamren, Keyon, Malaki

Category 3: Names I would like if spelled normally / put on opposite gender

--> Names that are spelled kind of weird, but not crazy, that I like, but not enough to put in category 1.
For this category, I have also provided the spelling I like / gender I prefer the name on.
Brysen (Bryson), Karis (Carys), Bentley (Boy), Gaige (Gage), Jaylon (Jalen), Aubri (Aubrey), Zackery (Zachary), Agustin (Augustin), Leighton (Layton), Karlie (Carly), Arian (Girl; Ariane), Miller (Girl), Brice (Bryce), Rey (Girl; Rae), Graysen (Greyson), Saige (Sage), Ashtyn (Boy; Ashton), Jaycob (Jacob), Kelsie (Kelsey), Jean (Girl), Devan (Girl; Devin), Dalia (Dahlia), Sarahi (Sarai), Carleigh (Carly), Jaydan (Jayden), Izabelle (Isabelle), Joziah (Josiah), Annabell (Annabelle), Maxx (Max), Caydence (Cadence), Haiden (Hayden), Keon (Cian), Isabell (Isabelle), Jaylyn (Boy; Jalen), Jaydin (Jayden), Cayson (Casen), Payten (Payton)

Category 4: Names I simply don't like

--> No offence, I just don't like these names. There is little to nothing wrong with them.
Nixon, Tyrell, Elvis, Freddy, Demarcus, Shania, Britney, Gibson, Yazmin, Coleman, Micah, Roderick, River, Jolene, Alfred, Tia, Turner, Clinton, Lilith, Lara, Quinten, Aliza, Laurel, Leona, Otto, Blaise, Enoch, Ross, Blakely, Houston, Campbell, Dorothy, Benton, Julieta, Bodhi, Johann, Temperance, Reuben, Crew, Akira, Donte, Flynn, Anders, Hugh, Janet, Ignacio, Kairi, Ralph, Trystan, Franco, Liv, Bridger, Howard, Geraldine, Valentin, Abrielle, Broderick, Pamela, Joyce, Juniper, Zeke, Blair, Hendrix, Damari, Gwyneth, Deon, Kael, Dimitri, Jaron, Stacy, Kimber, Corbin, Kamille, Kingsley, Pierre, Willa, Dangelo, Amalia, Jeramiah, Hattie, Camilo, Ann, Cortez, Galilea, Yuliana, Ethen, Damaris

As always, please don't take offence if you like the names I put down. Everyone has different taste (:

To see the rankings of the names, follow these steps:
1. Click here
2. Scroll down and click the tab that says "Popular names by birth year"
3. Under the popularity menu, select "Top 1000"
4. Click GO
5. Either scroll down to 900, or hold down the CTRL key and press F, then type in 900. The 900th names and the names below are all featured in this post.

I hope you enjoyed today's post!
Have a great week!
~Ali

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Hockey Boy Names!


      From my first guest post on hockey names on the Canadian world junior’s team, I’ve been wanting to do another hockey themed post. This week, faced with around 10hrs on a train, I decided to go through the roster of every team in the NHL to pick out some of my favorites and some unique names. The NHL is a goldmine of boy names with everything from trendy, to classic and a large dose of the international and because of this, there were so many names to choose from. This means that this post is going to be a pretty long one! I decided to break this post down into names I love, international names and unique names. Throughout the post, popularity will be from the country the player comes from only.

My Favorites

The Player: Colton Orr
The Team: Toronto Maple Leafs
The Name: Colton is an Engish surname derived from a place name.
Name Rank: 82 (Canada)

The Player: Gabriel Landeskog
The Team: Colorado Avalanche
The Name: Gabriel comes from a Hebrew name meaning “strong man of god”.
Name Rank: 47 (Sweden)

The Player: Mason Raymond
The Team: Vancouver Canucks
The Name: Mason is an English occupation surname meaning “stoneworker”.
Name Rank: 7 (Canada)

The Player: Roman Polák
The Team: St. Louis Blues
The Name: Roman is a Late Latin place name.
Name Rank: I could not find past the top 5 for the Czech Republic.

The Player: Tanner Glass
The Team: Pittsburgh Penguins
The Name: Tanner is an English occupation surname name meaning “one who tans hides”.
Name Rank: n/a (Canada)


International Names

The Player: Anže Kopitar
The Team: LA Kings
The Name: Anže (On-zhay) is a Slovenian version of the name John, meaning “god is gracious”.
Name Rank: 13 (Slovenia)

The Player: Evgeni Malkin
The Team: Pittsburgh Penguins
The Name: Evgeni (Ehv-gen-ee) is a Russian form the name Eugene meaning “well born”.
Name Rank: I could not find past the top 10 for Russia, but would assume Evgeni is relatively popular as I can think of another hockey player and a figure skater of the same name.

The Player: Jiří Tlustý
The Team: Carolina Hurricanes
The Name: Jiří (Yurr-ee) is the Czech form of the name George, meaning “farmer”.
Name Rank: not in the top 10 (Czech Republic)

The Player: Korbinian Holzer
The Team: Toronto Maple Leafs
The Name: Korbinian is a German name derived from the Latin word for raven.
Name Rank: could not find past the German top 25

The Player: Zdeno Chara
The Team: Boston Bruins
The Name: Zdeno is a Slavic name meaning “build/create”.
Name Rank: not in the top 10 (Czech Republic)

Unusual Names

The Player: Guillaume Latendresse
The Team: Ottawa Senators
The Name: Guillaume (Gee-ohm) is the French form of William, which comes from elements meaning desire and protect.
Name Rank: 77 (Quebec, Canada)

The Player: Milan Lucic
The Team: Boston Bruins
The Name: Milan comes from Slavic roots meaning gracious.
Name Rank: n/a (BC, Canada)

The Player: Nazem Kadri
The Team: Toronto Maple Leafs
The Name: I cannot find Nazem on a website, however, it is possible it’s related to the female Arabic name Nasim which means “breeze”.
Name Rank: n/a (Ontario, Canada)

The Player: Pascal Dupuis
The Team: Pittsburgh Penguins
The Name: Pascal is derived from the Latin word for something “having to do with Easter”.
Name Rank: n/a (Quebec, Canada)

The Player: Zenon Konopka
The Team: Minnesota Wild
The Name: Polish derivation of the name of the Greek god Zeus.
Name Rank: n/a (Ontario, Canada)

Does anyone else look to athletes for interesting names? If so, what are some of your favorite names from your favorite sports?

Friday, March 22, 2013

Part two of character names


Here is part two of Grace's post! 

Now on to the Gentlemen!

Nicholas (Harvesting the Heart): Nicholas is such a strong adorable name! Though I don’t like
the nickname Nick L The character in the book does go by the full Nicholas though J

Ian (Keeping Faith): Ian is so adorable! I love how short it is!

Jack (Salem Falls): Jack is such an amazing name! I know a lot, but I still find it cute, and
strong!

Jordan (The Pact, Salem Falls, Nineteen Minutes): So if I have to have a defense attorney, I
want Jordan McAfee! He appears in 3 of Picoult’s novels, and hopefully more to come! I do love
his name too!

Ethan (Second Glance): Ethan is such an adorable name! I seriously love it, even if it is
popular!

Eli (Second Glance): Short, sweet, adorable, what more is there to say/

Christian (Change of Heart): Such a lovely name, but I wouldn’t use it because I’m nervous to
use it because what happens if my son isn’t a Christian?

Jacob (House Rules): I seriously love the story in this book, everyone should read it! Jacob is
such an adorable name; I can see why it is still so popular.

Theo (House Rules): I adore the name Theo, I think it is just so adorable!

Oliver (House Rules): I adore the name Oliver, too bad my family thinks it’s stupid!

Maxwell “Max” (Sing You Home): Such an adorable name, even if for most of the book I hate
his character

Reid (Sing You Home): Such an adorable name, like Max, but unlike the character Max who
you end up liking at the end of the story, I always disliked Reid, if you read the book (which you
should) you’ll see why!

Edward (Lone Wolf): Edward is such an adorable name, but I hate all the nicknames for it!

Luke (Lone Wolf): While his character is tragic in the story, I do love his name!

So those are my favorite names from Jodi Picoult novels! Maybe once I finish The Storyteller,
I’ll do another blog post on names from that book J

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Modern Baby Names

This post is going to be about modern baby names. Modern baby names are either a hit or a miss. Some are adorably cute and some are just right out wacky! You be the judge and let me know your favorites (and least favorites) in the comments below! Let's get down to business....

Braelyn
Breelyn
Brinlyn
Brinlee
Brylee
Browyn
Galyn
Gaitlyn
Jensyn
Kestyn
Nevaeh
Tinleigh


Braxton
Draven
Galen
Gatelin
Macsen

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

name slump

we've all been there. well i'm going to assume we all have anyways.

a name slump.

all your top names suddenly become unattractive to you and go through names on name websites and there's not a single name that catches you eye.

you've been there, haven't you?

well ladies i am there RIGHT NOW! i still feel like i love my top names but i just don't feel satisfied with them. if i say them aloud, i'm not like *awwwh how cute* .. or when i type them or write them out, i'm not like *how cute does that look!!*. nothing. zip. zero. i feel nothing towards them at the moment.

the only names i can say that i remotely LOVE right now are cash & aubrey! but thats it.

if someone were to ask me my top names, i'd give them: mila, capri, willow, reese & aubrey for girls and cash, sawyer, cade, camden & holden for boys. so my question or actually questions are (a) have you ever been in a name slump? (b) what names would you suggest to me based on my style? (c) if you comment you latest top names in the comments, would you like some suggestions from me?

see you next week :)

jaylyn ♥

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

First Ever Tuesday Link Up

Happy Tuesday & the first ever Tuesday Link Up!  I'm so excited for this link up and hope you are too!


Here is this week's topic:

What are some names you love?!  You this post to share all your favorite names!

Here are mine:
1. Sophia Elizabeth
2. Ava Lynn
3. Emma Rae

1. Jackson Michael
2. Mason Reed
3. Brayden Samuel

Link up below and go read other peoples favorite names!

Come back and link up the first Tuesday of April :)

Monday, March 18, 2013

My Favorite Names of the Roaring '20s!

Hey everyone!
I thought I would do something different this week and talk about my favorite "old-fashioned" names. I chose to look at the top 200 names of the 1920's! I have gone through the list and chosen my favorites for girls. There are a total of 25. They are in order of rank in the 1920's. I have given the name, rank in the '20s, rank in 2011, origin and meaning. As always, meaning & origin come from nameberry.com.
Enjoy!

Name: Ruth
Rank in the 1920's: 6
Rank in 2011: 362
Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: "compassionate friend"

Name: Ruby
Rank in the 1920's: 28
Rank in 2011: 109
Origin: Latin
Meaning: "deep red"

Name: Annie
Rank in the 1920's: 32
Rank in 2011: 386
Origin: English
Meaning: "grace"

Name: Josephine
Rank in the 1920's: 33
Rank in 2011: 182
Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: "Jehovah increases"

Name: Jane
Rank in the 1920's: 56
Rank in 2011: 368
Origin: English
Meaning: "God's gracious gift"

Name: Sarah
Rank in the 1920's: 58
Rank in 2011: 39
Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: "princess"

Name: Elsie
Rank in the 1920's: 65
Rank in 2011: 480
Origin: Scottish
Meaning: "pledged to God"

Name: Eva
Rank in the 1920's: 71
Rank in 2011: 83
Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: "life"

Name: Audrey
Rank in the 1920's: 73
Rank in 2011: 43
Origin: English
Meaning: "noble strength"

Name: Theresa
Rank in the 1920's: 74
Rank in 2011: N/A
Origin: Greek
Meaning: "to gather"

Name: Charlotte
Rank in the 1920's: 78
Rank in 2011: 27
Origin: French
Meaning: "free man"

Name: Nellie
Rank in the 1920's: 94
Rank in 2011: N/A
Origin: English
Meaning: "bright"

Name: Lillie
Rank in the 1920's: 96
Rank in 2011: 467
Origin: English
Meaning: "lily"

Name: Lucy
Rank in the 1920's: 101
Rank in 2011: 72
Origin: English
Meaning: "light"

Name: Mattie
Rank in the 1920's: 108
Rank in 2011: 933
Origin: N/A
Meaning: N/A

Name: Carol
Rank in the 1920's: 116
Rank in 2011: N/A
Origin: English
Meaning: "free man"

Name: Lena
Rank in the 1920's: 118
Rank in 2011: 360
Origin: English, Scottish, Dutch, German & Scandinavian
Meaning: N/A

Name: Caroline
Rank in the 1920's: 171
Rank in 2011: 87
Origin: French
Meaning: "free man"

Name: Sophie
Rank in the 1920's: 173
Rank in 2011: 51
Origin: French
Meaning: "wisdom"

Name: Nora
Rank in the 1920's: 174
Rank in 2011: 137
Origin: Greek
Meaning: "light"

Name: Nina
Rank in the 1920's: 185
Rank in 2011: 304
Origin: Russian
Meaning: N/A

Name: Rosalie
Rank in the 1920's: 186
Rank in 2011: 548
Origin: French
Meaning: "Latin ceremonial name"

Name: Sadie
Rank in the 1920's: 190
Rank in 2011: 124
Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: "princess"

Name: Victoria
Rank in the 1920's: 192
Rank in 2011: 23
Origin: Latin
Meaning: "victory"

Name: Lila
Rank in the 1920's: 196
Rank in 2011: 163
Origin: Arabic
Meaning: "night"

Well, that's all of them!
I had so much fun making this list! I love seeing how the style of names changes over time!
To see the full list, including boys' names, click here
Have a great week!
Don't forget to come back tomorrow for Jamie's first link up!
~Ali

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Happy St. Pats!


            Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!! Now, I’m a complete mutt, but I do have a little bit of luck o’ the Irish in me (as I’m sure you all guessed with a last name like Sullivan) and it comes out in full force every March 17th. In keeping with the theme of the day, I’ve decided to do this post on Irish names. I’ve tried to restrict myself to names that ranked high in Ireland, but if they also rank significantly (top 100) in the US, I’ve included that too.

Boys

Name: Conor
Meaning: dog lover/wolf lover
Popularity: 5 (Ireland), 54 (USA with Connor spelling)
Thoughts: Although I prefer the two n version, which is more common in Australia, the UK Canada and the US, this is a darling name. It’s one of those names that jumps on and off my list and I love when others use it too. It does have a distinctly Irish feel, but is completely accessible for non Irish folks too. Taking into account both spellings, it does have extreme global popularity which could be a downside for some.

Name: Ryan
Meaning: little king
Popularity: 6 (Ireland), 25 (USA)
Thoughts: Out of curiosity, I had to check the popularity of this name for my birth year. As suspected, Ryan peaked in popularity for North America in the 90’s explaining why I know so many Ryan’s. Despite trending down in North America, this name is still extremely popular, but I could see it being dated in 10-15 years. Currently, it’s a sweet, if not overly interesting choice.

Name: Aidan
Meaning: fire
Popularity: 48 (Ireland)
Thoughts: For some reason, Aidan has this illusion of being hyper popular in the states despite having never moved higher than 39 (and being 107 in 2011). Aidan to me is a name that sounds like its meaning. I definitely picture a little Aidan having flaming red hair and a fiery personality to match. I think it’s a fun and spunky name that deserves to be as popular as its image suggests.

Name: Rónán
Meaning: little seal
Popularity: 50 (Ireland)
Thoughts: I think Rónán is absolutely darling in every way. The sound is similar to Roman and Rowan, both names I really like and the meaning is precious. I think Rónán is the kind of name that could easily find popularity in the US. Until then, it’s the perfect name for someone who wants their kid to be the only one in the class without having a name that’s too out there.

Name: Ciarán
Meaning: black
Popularity: 53 (Ireland)
Thoughts: Although I far prefer the anglicized spelling, Kieran, Ciarán is my current top name and I absolutely adore it. I think Ciarán is super strong and masculine, but still elegant and adorable for a little boy. This is a name I can just so completely see on a future kid of mine and want everyone else to love as much as I do. I also think Ciar (pro. Keer) would be a fabulous nickname option in passing.

Girl

Name: Caitlín
Meaning: each of the two
Popularity: 75 (Ireland)
Thoughts: In North America, Caitlín peaked in the late 80’s/early 90’s. Because of this it might seem a little dated, but I think it’s still a name worth consideration. Caitlín is super light and pretty and the original spelling is so much more visually appealing to me than the far more popular Katelyn. Cait/Kate is one of my favorite nicknames and a definite upside to this name as well.

Name: Orla
Meaning: golden princess
Popularity: 85 (Ireland)
Thoughts: Orla is so pretty to me. I think its super elegant and unusual but still meets the easy to read and pronounce test. It’s virtually unheard of in North America which takes a little bit of the appeal away for me, but could be super for a braver namer. I also think the meaning is just plain lovely.

Name: Sinead
Meaning: god is gracious
Popularity: 97 (Ireland)
Thoughts: I first heard this name (pro. Shuh-naid) on the gorgeous Sinead Brady of Canada’s Next Top Model and pretty much instantly fell in love. It’s not as friendly to North American ears as the other names I’ve talked about so far, but it’s so lovely and elegant that I’d definitely recommend it to a braver namer or a namer with stronger Irish heritage.

Name: Bridget
Meaning: exalted one
Popularity: n/a
Thoughts: Bridget was on my list eons ago, but I sort of fell out of love with it. Never the less, it’s beautiful, spunky name with a cool history. I’ve never met a Bridget, but the Bridget Jones’ Diary association is a pretty strong one. Despite that, I still think Bridget is quite usable for a unique, but not out there name.

Name: Nessa
Meaning: not gentle
Popularity: n/a
Thoughts: I first heard Nessa as a nickname for Nessarose in the musical Wicked. To me, the name is far too connected to the musical, but for someone who’s not seen it, it could be an adorable choice. It could also be considered a little too nickname-y, but in that case could be a cute nickname for Vanessa or Agnes.

            Those are my favorite Irish names. I hope you all enjoy a little green beer or Irish whiskey. Leave a comment with your favorite Irish names, or favorite names from your heritage period. And then take the opportunity to get your Irish on ;)
Until next week
- Hayl

Friday, March 15, 2013

Jodi Picoult Books Characters

Sorry it's so late!
Enjoy this post from Gracie!  Part two will come next week!

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Hi guys! Gracie (grace63 on formspring) here, and I’m going to be guest blogging today :D. I am obsessed with Jodi Picoult and as I pick up her newest book (The Storyteller) I am excited to read the amazing story I am sure is going to come, but I am also excited to read about the
amazing names she picks for her characters. I have read almost all of her books, so I’m going to pick some of my favorite names from them. I’m not sure if there will be the same amount of boys and girls, but I’ll put the book that they are from, if I’ve read it, and if I liked it!

Let’s start with the ladies!

Paige (Harvesting the Heart, Loved): I seriously love this book, and this name. Harvesting the
Heart is Ms. Picoult’s second novel, and is an awesome story. Paige is also a lovely Irish name,
which really appeals to me, it’s short, and simple, and just lovely!

Emily (The Pact, Loved): Again, love the book, love the name. Emily is sweet and classic, and
even though it’s popular, I do love it. Though I can’t use it, I have 2 cousins with this name L

Augusta (The Pact, Loved): This is such a sweet name. It’s the name of a mother in The Pact
and she is called Gus, which I think is cute and spunky too!

Faith (Keeping Faith, Loved): This was such a lovely book, and the little girl who is named
Faith was just adorable. This really made me love this name!

Mariah (Keeping Faith, Loved): Mariah was the mother in this book, and she was amazing, she
also really made me love her name!

Addie (Salem Falls, Loved): So, I’m kind of obsessed with the name Addie. I don’t love any
full named for it though, so what do you all think, can Addie work as a full name?

Nina (Perfect Match, Haven’t read): I love Nina, it’s short, and sweet.

Cecelia (Second Glance, Haven’t read): Oh how I love the name Cecelia! It’s beautiful and
classy! Too bad my mom despises it!

Meredith (Second Glance, Haven’t read): Meredith is so adorable, but my obsession with
Grey’s Anatomy might be the source of my love for this one!

Lucy (Second Glance, Haven’t read): How adorable is the name Lucy? I personally love it, it
reminds me of I Love Lucy and the Peanuts comics!

Delia (Vanishing Acts, Liked): This is such an adorable name! In this book, Delia is a nickname
for Cordelia, which I think is super cute too.

Sophie (Vanishing Acts, Liked): I adore the name Sophie! But I have a cousin Sophia who goes
by Sophie, is it off limits for me?

Josephine “Josie” (Nineteen Minutes, LOVED!): Seriously this might be my favorite Jodi
Picoult book, I’m obsessed, lol. Josephine is seriously adorable too!

June (Change of Heart, Liked): June is such an adorable name, it’s short, sweet, and easy to
spell!

Elizabeth (Change of Heart, Liked): I probably don’t need to talk much about this name, if you
know me, you know, I’m obsessed with it

Claire (Change of Heart, Liked): oh, Lordy, why is my family so well named? My aunt is
named Claire, so I can’t use it, but I want to sooo badly

Maggie (Change of Heart, Liked): Like Addie, I LOVE just Maggie! But is it usable by itself?

Charlotte (Handle With Care, Loved): I adore the name Charlotte, it’s so adorable!

Willow (Handle With Care, Loved): I LOVE the name Willow, but it really doesn’t fit in with
my other names L

Amelia (Handle With Care, Loved): I feel the same way about Amelia as I do Charlotte

Piper (Handle With Care, Loved): I feel the same way about Piper as I do Willow

Emma (Handle With Care, House Rules, Loved, Loved): Such an adorable name, I don’t even
care about how popular it is!

Zoe (Sing You Home, LOVED!): This is in the running with Nineteen Minutes as my favorite
Picoult novel. Zoe is an adorable name, and an amazing, amazing, amazing character.

Cara (Lone Wolf, Kinda Liked): Honestly, I can’t decide if I like Lone Wolf, but I do ADORE
the name Cara J

Check back next week for the boy's names!