Pride and Prejudice: The Book's Characters

I bought the nook book called "25 Favorite Novels". It is a 6000+ page compilation of classic novels written  from everyone like Jane Austen to Lucy Maude Montgomery and Emily Brontë. I am on the first book: Pride & Prejudice [by Jane Austen]. I have watched the movie version of the book and it's one of my favorite movies. I am going to see if the book is as good as the movie! So the book is great!! This post is going to be about the character's names from the book.

Elizabeth
Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: "pledged to God"
Elizabeth's Popularity in 2011: #11

Jane
Origin: English
Meaning: "God's gracious gift"
Jane's Popularity in 2011: #368

MaryOrigin: Hebrew
Meaning: "bitter"
Mary's Popularity in 2011: #112

Lydia 
Origin: Greek
Meaning: "woman from Lydia"
Lydia's Popularity in 2011: #96

Catherine "Kitty"
Origin: Greek
Meaning: "pure"
Catherine's Popularity in 2011: #161
The nickname Kitty is Greek, a diminutive of Katherine, and it also means "pure".

Caroline
Origin: French, feminine variation of Carolus
Meaning: "free man"
Caroline's Popularity in 2011: #87


Georgiana
Origin: English, feminine variation of George
Meaning: "farmer"
Georgiana's Popularity in 2011: n/a

Charlotte
Origin: French, feminine variation of Charles
Meaning: "free man"
Charlotte's Popularity in 2011: #27

Charles
Origin: French from German
Meaning: "free man"
Charles' Popularity in 2011: #62

George
Origin: Greek
Meaning: "farmer"
George's Popularity in 2011: #165

William
Origin: English from German
Meaning: "resolute protection"
William's Popularity in 2011: #3

Fitzwilliam
Origin: English
Meaning: "son of William"
Fitzwilliam's Popularity in 2011: n/a

If you are interesting on buying this book for nook, you can go HERE.

Sibling Sets: Celebrity Addition

Do you have trouble coming up with sibling sets like I do? Do put names together and then think 'ugh they don't go together'? Yeah, ME TOO! So this week, I have picked my favourite celebrity sibling sets for a little inspiration.

I am going to start with what I think is sibling set perfection, otherwise known as the beautiul Tori Spellings kiddo's. Seriously though, how PERFECT is this sibling set?

Liam Aaron, Stella Doreen, Hattie Margaret & Finn Davey.

Gorgeous right? I just adore that they aren't all out there and defined as your typical celebrity baby names. And all of their middle names are honoring! I think Tori & Dean put a lot of thought into their kiddo's names and I just adore them!

My next favourite celebrity inspired sibling set is Kim Zolciak-Biermann's adorable bunch of babes! Wait can I first say that her husband Kroy Biermann is absolute perfection! Lucky gal she is. If you clueless as to who she and he are, let me just fill you in :) Kim was a cast member on The Real Housewives of Atlanta and just left this season. And her hot hubby plays for the Atlanta Falcons. Ok enough of me rambling .. back to those kiddo's names! Here they are:

Brielle Karenna, Ariana Lenee, Kroy Jagger "KJ" & Kash Kade.

I think Brielle & Ariana are GORGEOUS names! And they are both beautiful girls. I can't say I like their middle names but they do flow with the first names. Brielle & Ariana are both from her first marriage and have the last name Zolciak. Kroy Jagger was named after his daddy obviously. He goes by KJ. And the last of her babies is 4.5 month old baby Kash Kade Biermann. As some of you may know, Cash & Cade are both in my top 5 names! So when she named him Kash Kade I was super excited. I can't say I like the flow of it but I love both names. What do you all think of this set?

I have 2 celebrity sibling sets tied for 3rd place in my books. The tie is between Jessica Alba's daughters & Nicole Richies babies! Not only do I love both of them but I adore their naming style. Here are both of their sets, you let me know which one you like best, ok? OKAY!

Honor Marie & Haven Garner Jessica Alba's Kiddo's
Harlow Winter Kate & Sparrow James Midnight Nicole Richie's Babies

They both are matchy H & H and the "ow" at the end of both names just make me so happy! I know some of you will agree. I just LOVE. Tell me, what are your opinion on these names?

Ok, so those are my top 3 FAVOURITE celebrity sibling sets .. ok I guess my top 4 but you get my point! I've gone through some lists and picked out some more favourites of mine, but I'm not going to rant and rave about them. Let me know which celebrity has the BEST baby names in your opinion. Are any of the ones I listed above and below your favourites?

Mason Dash & Penelope Scotland Kourtney Kardashian & Scott Disick
Lydon Edward & Hartley Grace Mark McGrath
Ava Elizabeth, Deacon Reese & Tennessee James Reese Witherspoon
Maddox Chivan, Zahara Marley, Shiloh Nouvel, Pax Thien, Vivienne Marcheline & Knox Leon Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie
Baylen Robert, Bowen Christopher & Callen Christian Drew Brees & Wife
Violet Anne, Seraphina Rose & Samuel Garner Jennifer Garner
Thomas Boyer "Bo" & Tatum Christoper "Tate" Luke Bryan & Wife

Well its been great! Can't wait to hear from y'all! Maybe these sibsets inspired you or maybe you've found a new name you like!

Tootles,
Jaylyn ♥

A Deeper Look Into Jamie's Favorites

Hello everyone & happy Tuesday!  I'm happy to be back for the 2nd week of posting!

Last week I told you my favorite names and why they were my favorites.  This week I am going to go deeper into each name.

• Sophia means wisdom.  It is Greek and is a form of Sophie.  In 2011 it was ranked #1.
• Elizabeth means consecrated to God.  It is Hebrew.  In 20122 it was ranked #11  
• Emma means universal.  It is German.  In 2011 it was ranked #3.
• Rae means doe.  It is English.  In 2011 it was not in top 100.
• Ava means a bird.  It is German.  In 2011 it was ranked #5.
• Lynn means pond.  It is Enlgish.  In 2011 it was not in the top 100.
• Mason means stone worker.  It is French.  In 2011 it was ranked #2.
• Reed means red haired.  It is Anglo-Saxon.  In 2011 in was not in top 100.
• Jackson means son of Jack.  It is Hebrew.  In 2011 it was ranked #23.
• Michael means who is like God.  It is Hebrew.  In 2011 it was ranked #6.
• Brayden means broad meadow.  It is Irish.   In 2011 it was ranked #37.
• Andrew means manly.  It is Latin.  In 2011 it was ranked #16.

Hope you enjoyed Ali and my post's so far this week and stop by the rest of the week for post from Jaylyn, Kirstie and another guest blogger!

Alexis, Parker & Jordan too, which is it for: pink or blue?

It's quite obvious that unisex names have increased in popularity over the past decade. A unisex name is defined as a name given to a boy or a girl. There are many reasons why parents might decide to go with a unisex name for their bundle of joy:

• It is a family name
• Example: Mother's maiden name
• Honoring a family member
• Example: Baby girl Charlie to honor Grandpa Charles
• The gender is not found out ahead of time
• Some parents decide to find out the gender of their baby before he / she is born and others like the surprise. These parents may decide to use a unisex name so that they will have a name picked out regardless of what the baby turns out to be.

Most, if not all, unisex names originally began as masculine names. These include Ashley, Lynne, Vivian and Evelyn. Now a days, people would label those names as being feminine. Other names like Jordan, Riley and Devon, which are popular for both genders, often result in a split decision when a group of people is asked which gender they prefer them on.

In the top 50 names for girls for 2011, there were 9 unisex names: 

• Madison (#8)
• Addison (#13)
• Avery (#18)
• Aubrey (#20)
• Brooklyn (#21)
• Alexis (#26)
• Ashley (#42)
• Taylor (#44)
• Riley (#47)

On the same list for boys, there were 11 unisex names:

• Jayden (#4)
• Noah (#5)
• Aiden (#9)
• Logan (#20)
• Ryan (#25)
• Christian (#30)
• Dylan (#33)
• Tyler (#38)
• Evan (#40)
• Carter (#41)
• Jordan (#46)

I, myself, LOVE unisex names. On my favorites list for girls, I have Addison, Ashley, Aubree, Hadley, Mackenzie, Madison & Presley. For boys there are Aidan (which I LOATHE calling unisex), Greyson, Jace, Jayden, Jordan, Logan, Noah, Parker & Riley. Of the boys names I just listed, I also like Greyson, Jordan, Parker & Riley on girls, I just prefer them on boys.

Today's post is going to be interactive. I want to know what YOU think. 

The following names are some of my favorite unisex names. Next to them, I have listed the gender I prefer that name on. Comment below and let me know what gender YOU prefer them on!

• Adrian (girl)
• Alexis (girl)
• Aubrey (girl)
• Bay (both)
• Casey (boy)
• Charlie (boy)
• Dakota (boy)
• Drew (both)
• Dylan (boy)
• Emerson (both)
• Hartley (both)
• Jamie (boy)
• Jordan (both)
• Lane (both)
• Parker (both)
• Riley (both)
• Rory (girl)
• Sky (girl)
• Taylor (boy)

Thank you for reading and participating! Enjoy your week!

~Ali

Guest Blogger: Hayley

Today our guest blogger is Hayley!  Please welcome Hayley and enjoy this post from her :)

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As a guest poster, I thought that the best way to start my post would be to introduce myself to those of you who do not know me. My name is Hayley. I’m a 19 year old full time student living in Ontario, Canada. As a member of this community, I love names. As a fairly stereotypical Canadian, I love hockey. As some of you may know, labour disputes have forced the NHL into a lockout this year leaving me sad and without hockey. Thankfully, the holidays bring with them the World Junior Championships.

As I write this, my family is sitting in our living room watching the Canada World Juniors team take on Russia. The players in this tournament were born between 1993 and 1995. Predictably, this means the roster is peppered with Ryans, Jonathons, Tylers, a Jordan and a Jake. However, there are some very unusual names as well. As the World Juniors has been the only thing on my mind lately, I decided that it’s the only natural topic of my guest post. I am going to go into depth on 6 names; my 3 favorite and the 3 most unusual.

Favorites

• Xavier – Xavier Ouellet is a 19 year old defenseman from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The inspiration from this post came from an offhand comment from my mother saying Xavier is a “pretty cool name”. I agreed. Xavier is derived from a place name meaning the new house. Although it is ranked 22 in Australia, it is less popular in Canada (70) and even less popular in the United States (77). Xavier is currently trending up, but x names sound so original that I don’t think it matters!

• Morgan – Morgan Reilley is an 18 year old defenseman from the Western Hockey League (and Toronto Maple Leaf prospect!!). Morgan comes from old Welsh and is believed to be made up of old Welsh words meaning sea and circle. In the US, Morgan is ranked 75 for girls and in the 500’s for boys. In Canada, it does not make the top 100 for either gender. As Morgan the girl name trends down very quickly, it could make a unique and interesting choice for a boy. I’d especially recommend it for someone with Welsh ancestry.

• Nathan – Nate Mackinnon is a 17 year old forward in the QMJHL. Although Canada’s other 17 year old is having a far better tournament, Nathan wins the consolation prize of having by far my favorite name on the team. Nathan comes from Hebrew and means he gave. Nathan is immensely popular in France (1) and Belgium (2). It is also in the top 10 in Canada where it ranks 7th. Nathan is less popular in the States (28), but still one unique name lovers should shy away from. For those unconcerned with popularity, it’s a classic name with a lovely meaning and great nicknames options (Nate and Tate are my personal favorites).

Most Unusual

• Boone – Boone Jenner is a 19 year old forward in the OHL. (I’ve seen him play live when his Oshawa Generals soundly crushed my Kingston Frontnacs). Boone is conventionally a surname and derived from an English nickname for those who come from the Bohan region in France. I can’t say it’s a name I’d recommend as I think it would fit a pet better than a person, but Mr. Jenner wears it well and it could be an interesting choice for a braver namer.

• JC – JC Lipon is 19 year old forward from the WHL. What makes JC (also sometimes spelled as J.C.) interesting is that his initials are his full name. Since learning this, I’ve entertained myself by making combos I think could have been great names with those initials. I’m really not sure why one would choose just initials for their child’s name, but it’s certainly provided me entertainment for between periods. (For the record, I’d have named him Jacob Cole)

• Griffin – Griffin Reinhart is an 18 year old defenseman from the WHL. Griffin comes from the Greek word gryps and was adopted into English to reference a creature with the body of a lion and head and wings of an eagle. Griffin is ranked 228 in the United States and is not in the top 100 in Canada. Both the meaning and the name are very cool and ultra masculine. Griffin sounds more main stream than it is and would fit right in with the Ethans and Aidans likely to be in his class. It’s a perfect name for conservative namer trying to branch out or a brave namer trying to reel in a little.

I hope you enjoyed my picks and analysis’ of favorite and most interesting names on Canada’s World Junior roster. For my mother’s benefit, I’m giving an honorable mention to goalie, Malcolm Subban, whose name she just defended from the criticism of my father. She’s now saying she wished she considered Malcolm for my brother. Apparently, my love of discussing names runs in the family too. Hope everyone else has a great holiday filled with family, names and hockey. <3

Kirstie's Top Names

Hi! I am Kirstie and I will be posting on Thursdays! Like Ali and Jamie, my first official post is going to be about my top names! I have a really hard time figuring out and deciding on my top names. It has been a while since I had all my names figured out. Here are the names that are my favorites as of now. Hope you enjoy!!!

Charlotte
Origin: French, feminine diminutive of Charles
Meaning: "free man"
Charlotte's Popularity (2011): #27
I've been liking the name Charlotte for a few months now. I really started liking it when I found Breanne's YT channel and learned that one of her daughters was named Charlotte Henri. Charlotte is such a classy and adorable name. Some middle names I like with Charlotte are Henri and Pearl.

Betsy
Origin: diminutive of Elizabeth
Meaning: "pledged to God"
Betsy's Popularity (2011): not in the top 1000
I first started liking the name when Breanne announced the name of her daughter while she was still pregnant with her. I think the name Betsy is so cute and unexpected in this day and age! I don't have any middles for the name Betsy yet.. :(

Keeva
Origin: Irish
Meaning: "gentle, beautiful, precious"
Keeva's Popularity (2011): not in the top 1000
I like this spelling better than the traditional spelling. I think the "average Joe" would be able pronounce this spelling easier than the traditional one. Alyson Hannigan chose this spelling for her daughter and she made me love it. Some ideas I have for combos are Keeva Jaymes & Keeva Jane. Keeva Jane is Alyson Hannigan's daughter's full name and I think Jane fits very well with Keeva. After seeing a few celebrities use the name Jaymes/James for their daughters (mostly in the middle spot), I thought about it and figured it was really cute...but unique at the same time. It's unique in a sense that it is used for a girl. I like the 'y' in it to make it see a bit "girlier". 

Emerson
Origin: German
Meaning: "son of Emery"
Emerson's Popularity (2011): #387
Before I started like Emerson for a boy, I was all for Emerson (-syn ending) on a girl. But I was playing a baby name game by a fellow formspringer and I came up with Noah Emerson (b). The combo I have for Emerson is Emerson Duke. I have noticed that celebrities are a huge influence on my top names and names that I like. Bill & Giuliana Rancic's son's middle name is Duke. When they used it as a middle name, I stopped thinking of it as a dog's name. It's very royal sounding, which I like a lot.

Noah
Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: "rest; wandering"
Noah's Popularity (2011): #5
The popularity of Noah doesn't bother me, but at the same time it does. If I had a son named Noah, I wouldn't want him to be one out of 5 Noah's in his class. Noah is such a timeless name in my opinion. I am not sure if I would use it though. Noah Emerson was a combo I came up with in a BNG. It doesn't really bother me that much that one of my top names is a middle for another of my top names because it might not be there tomorrow. It's a very temporary thing.

Keaton
Origin: English
Meaning: "shed town"
Keaton's Popularity (2011): #366
I have been a huge Emblem3 fan ever since they first audition on The X Factor [US]. Keaton is the youngest in the group. The other two members are Drew & Wesley [Wesley is Keaton's brother]. I have heard of the name before, but I didn't really pay attention to it. Since Keaton is such a cutie bear, it made me pay attention. ha ha. Keaton is one of those names that I could see on a boy in any stage of life.. I don't have a middle name for Keaton, but I like Keaton Robert.

Weston
Origin: English
Meaning: "from the western town"
Weston's Popularity (2011): #203
Weston is very country/western sounding. I was at a festival this past summer and there was a little boy there named Weston. When I heard his mom call his name, I instantly fell in love with it more because I could now see it on an actual child. It seemed more "real". Not sure about a middle name for Weston yet. Maybe Weston Cole or Weston Blake!

Finn
Origin: Irish
Meaning: "white, fair"
Finn's Popularity (2011): #304
I am a sucker for an Irish name! ha ha. Finn is a short and sweet name. Tori Spelling and her husband, Dean, chose the name Finn for their fourth child born this past August. Cory Monteith, who plays Finn on Glee, made me like it. My love has grown for the name Finn since Glee has come on. I am not sure of a middle name for Finn. I think Finn Alexander or Finn Xzavier is nice!

I'd say my naming style for girls is definitely old fashioned with a mix of trendy. My boy's naming style is trendy with a mix of popular, but that's just my opinion. I am not sure of all of these. But for now, they are going to stay there until I change my mind. They will probably change in a few days. ha ha.

Breanne's YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/breanneshop52

xoxo,
Kirstie

My Favourite Names

My first blog post EVER! How exciting :)

I am so excited to start this journey with Ali, Jamie & Kirstie and ofcourse all of YOU! I love, love, love baby names and am so excited to share some of my favourites and hopefully hear about all of your favourites! Eventually I will do some fun, cool & exciting blog posts about baby names but to start off I will just share some of my favourites with you all.

Girls Names:
1. Reese Alexa - I am absolutely inLOVE with this name. I think it is SO adorable for a girl. I have liked this name for years but I could never convince myself to add it to my list. Earlier this year I started reading a blog about a lady who has 4 daughters. This past October her second youngest daughter (Reese) was diagnosed with a brain tumour! I won't get into the details but you can follow her story at HERE. And I chose Alexa for the middle because I have always loved the "Alex" names with the nickname Lexi but I know to many, so I made it the middle.
2. Willow Abigail - I absolutely LOVE the name Willow. I think its sooo cute and when P!nk named her daughter Willow, I just fell even more in love with it. And I have to meet a Willow so thats a good thing. And for the middle name Abigail, I chose that because I always said I was going to name my daughters Olivia & Abigail but then family friends who I see ALL the time named their daughter Abigail making it unusable for me as a first name, so I made it a middle name.
3. Aubrey Skye - Aubrey has been on my tops list FOREVER! It was my number 1 name for 6 years and just recently; Reese took over that spot. I still think I will have a daughter named Aubrey because I'll probably be obsessed with Reese & Willow for a little bit but then I always, always, always go baby to Aubrey/Aubree. And just FYI I had Aubrey Skye before Chelsea Houska from Teen Mom 2 had her Aubree Skye!
4. Ella Gray - Along with Aubrey, Ella has also been on my list since I was in Grade 9 thats a long long long time ago and I just LOVE it! But its #4 because my first Nanny job, the one year olds name was Ella & the family I Nanny for right now have an Ella, so I am unsure if I would still us it. Gray is a GP name for me but I think it just sounds so lovely with Ella.
5. Miller Paige - This name is kind of my list and kind of not on my list. I got this name when I started reading the blog I talked about above. Reese's little sisters name is Miller Paige and she is SO stinkin' cute, I just fell inlove with it. And its not common at all, which I LOVE! I don't think I would ever use it though because I don't want to be a copier but anyways its on my list because I love it.

Boys Names:
1. Cash Roman - I have always wanted to give my son a "cool" name. Like what if he becomes a hockey player and makes it to the OHL or something, I want him to have "cool" name like Boone Jenner (Oshawa Generals, OHL hockey team). When people see Boone Jenner, they're like omg what a cool name I want that for my future son. I think Cash is such a cool name and I think it makes a good athlete name. And for the middle name, I chose Roman because I was always obsessed with the name Rowan but now I have started loving Roman more.
2. Camden Jack - This name has been on my list for quite sometime but never made it to the top. I always loved the name Cameron I went to school with a lot of them but I have a cousin whose name is Cameron, making that completely unusable for me. So I googled variations of Cameron and came across Camden and have been inlove ever since. I always go between Camden James & Camden Jack because I can't decide which I love more, so right now its Camden Jack.
3. Holden Cruz - I heard about the name Holden when I was in Grade 11 and we had those electronic babies. One of my friends name hers Holden. I thought it was cute but never thought about it much after that. Then last year I read a blog I dont remember what it was called and the lady had a son named Holden and he was the cutest little guy, so I just started thinking about it and fell in love with. Cruz Easton was on my list forever but my top boys names were Cash, Camden, Cruz & Cade for the longest time but I just thought they were all way to close so I though Cruz was a cute middle for Holden.
4. Sawyer Cade - I don't know why I love Sawyer so much but I just do. I think when I was working at Bonnie Togs (childrens clothing store) last year, I met a little boy named Sawyer and thats when I started liking it, but I'm not quite sure. Again Cade is the middle name for Sawyer for the same reason Cruz is Holden's.
5. Tripp Rowan - I know, I know. Your all thinking GAH SOOO Bristol Palin. Your right, she is where I got it from. I started watching her show and well Tripp is just so stinkin' cute! And at first I was like, what the heck kind of name is Tripp but I just couldn't stop thinking about the name and I just decided to add it to my list. Now I love it. Rowan was my #2 name at one point but I like it more a middle name now!

Well, there you have it! Those are my current favourite names! I'd LOVE to hear your opinions on them or any suggestions for other names I might like! Thanks so much for reading! I can't wait to be back here with you all next Wednesday!

Jaylyn ♥