Kim's List

Kim from Illinois wrote in for help with her fourth child's name. She has three children Colin, Claire and Keegan. She's looking for a K or C name that is uncommon but not too out there. She and her husband like the sounds of Cal, Caleb and Carter but they wanted something with a little more kick for their baby boy. It's a good thing you said you liked Irish names because most of the names that I thought worked with your sibset are Irish. :)

The number after is the current rank on the SSA's website.

Cade 293
Calden (Cal for a nickname) n/a
Callum (ditto) n/a
Camden 219
Clinton 755
Cullen 769

Keane n/a
Keaton 357
Kellan 882
Kenley n/a
Kevin 39
Kian (rhymes with Ian) 664
Kiefer n/a
Kieran (one of my favorite names) 571
Killian 836
Kingston 355 (jumped from 942 in 2006!)
Korrigan n/a
Knox n/a
Kylan 776

John and Georgine's List

Their baby girl is coming soon! The proud parents have three kids, Marshal, Gia and Blake. They like the names Nina and Gabriella but nothing has them sold yet.

I tried to play matchmaker with Gia since Marshal and Blake work so well together.

Angelica
Angelina
Bianca
Cecilia
Claudia
Ella
Eva
Daria
Gemma
Georgia
Jana
Johannah
Lucia
Magdalena
Marina
Mira
Mirella
Nicola
Orabella
Raya
Roma
Sofia
Susanna
Violetta

In Defense of Aidan

"You must hate Aidan!" I've had that reaction from more than one person after I told them that I write a blog about baby names and trends.

But I don't. I actually love the name Aidan. It's Irish, it has a good meaning and it's a strong name without being an overused classic (I know, James is an overused classic, I admit it).

Aidan didn't appear over night, in the 1990s it was at 311, with Aiden at 860. However by 1996 Aidan had shot up to 166 with Aiden trudging along at 474. By 2007 Aidan had peaked at 54 and Aiden surpassed it by landing at 27 on the Social Security baby names list. I won't even start with the Adans/Aydans/Aidyns. If you put them together it's still only at 40.5 on the chart, right between Evan and Isaac.

I used to think that Aidan only exploded after Sex and the City's Aidan but the charts don't back up my theory. My new theory is pretty simple: people like Irish names. With the mini explosion of Conners and Ryans in the '90s people looked for similar names that weren't as popular with their playgroup. The 2000s have been more open to foreign and unique names. Ava is a far cry from Amanda, which was the sixth most popular name of the 1990s.

I've belonged to several playgroups and messageboards in the last few years (Michigan, Florida, Alabama) and the majority of the members are +/- five years from me. I also have at least 15 friends with sons named Aidan/Aiden. I have no data other than my opinion but it seems to me that the under 30 year old moms tend to go for Aidan while the 40+ moms tend to go for George.

So I don't hate Aidan. If anything I think Aidan has helped jumpstart a new era of babynaming--we hardly bat an eye when we hear about baby Finn, Isla or Kieran. How could anyone hate Aidan after listening to the name said with an Irish accent?

Ashley's List

Ashley emailed me a couple weeks ago, our mutual friend Kimm hooked us up--at least if it's Kimm from Michigan, otherwise I have no idea.

Ashley has two children, Reileigh Marie and Reece Gavin. They are expecting baby in early fall. She likes the idea of another R name but they can't seem to find or agree on any R boy names. Her girl names are Reaghan and Reanna and she likes Dixon and Mason for boy names. I really like Dixon (it's not in the top 1000! Bonus!).

I tried to look for R girl names that were of English/Irish/Welsh origin to mesh with Reileigh and Reece but I only found a couple. I liked a ton of R boy names though.

Girl suggestions:
Raina
Rhiannon (good song by Fleetwood Mac, too)
Romy
Rowan
Ryanne

Adair
Ainsley
Bailey
Caitlin
Carrigan
Claire
Darby
Darcy
Delaney
Ellery
Finley
Kennedy
Madigan
Maeve
McKenna
Sloane

Boy suggestions:

Ralston
Remington
Rhett
Roland
Rollin
Ronan
Rory
Rourke
Ryder

Archer
Ardan
Carter
Declan
Donavon
Keane
Killian
Owen
Meade
Sullivan

I think baby #3 needs a strong 1 or 2 syllable name. It all depends if you like the sounds of all the names together, I suggest yelling "Reileigh, Reece and Seraphina!" and compare it to "Reileigh, Reece and Maeve!" :) Let me know if I came up with any names you may work with.

It's a girl!

Update--Rebecca H. and her husband welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world yesterday. I did a list for her back in January.

MOLLY LOUISE

Love the name!

Krystal's name list

Krystal is expecting a little boy this spring, she has a little guy named Hugh scampering around with her in Michigan. (Michigan people love my babynaming skillz...)

She wanted a name that sounded well with Hugh but wasn't common or popular. Hugh has been floating in the bottom of the top 1000 for the past decade, according to the Social Security site. It peaked in the 1890s at #80 but has fallen out of fashion, which ironically, is now in fashion, since uncommon baby names are quite the rage. The middle name will be Samuel. The names I found are definitely old fashioned but nothing that is obsolete or too wonky.

August (Augie, Gus for nicknames)
Baxter
Calvin
Chester
Dexter
Duncan
Ellis
Elton
Everett
Felix
Fletcher
Foster
Forrest
Gerard
Gilbert
Harlan
Jasper
Judson
Kent/Kenton
Lewis
Merritt
Murray
Olin
Otto
Palmer
Pax
Rufus
Rupert
Sander
Stuart
Theo
Vance
Willis (Will)

Any winners?

**UPDATE**
Krystal and her hubby have decided on DEXTER!! YES! I actually helped name a baby!! I can't wait to see pictures of little Dexter Samuel. <3

Obscure Names that I Love

I had some time this afternoon and I made a master list of names that I think are cool that are not really on the current naming radar. The first set of numbers is when they peaked and the second number is where it is now. I used the voyager site for most of this project.

Ada (1880s at 46, 646)
Adele (1910s at 202, n/a) I wonder if Adele will make a comeback due to the singer Adele, who is awesome--listen to Chasing Pavements
Agnes (1890s at 39, n/a) We seem to love Maggie, why not Aggie?
Aileen (1920s at 304, 500) There is an Aileen in my son's preschool class, she's adorable and the name has really grown on me.
Alma (1890s at 54, 713)
Antonia (1920s at 307, 996). My Antonia anyone?
Audra (randomly peaked in the 1910s, 1970s, currently n/a)

Beatrice (1910s at 30, n/a)

Cleo (1910s at 30, n/a) My BFF Brooke has a daughter named with this name and it perfectly suits a spunky, cute, feisty little girl.
Cordelia (1880s at 269, n/a)

Dara (not in the top 1000, ever)
Della (1880s at 68, n/a)
Dora (1880s at 5, n/a) If you can get Dora the Explorer out of your head, it's a great name.

Estella (1880s at 115, n/a)
Evangeline (1920s at 430, 459 currently!) Evangeline came out of nowhere in 2007, I blame Lost.

Fern (1900s at 180, n/a)
Flora (1880s at 155, n/a)
Frieda (1890s at 155, n/a)

Gemma (not in the top 1000 ever) I LOVE this name, it's popular across the pond and a great alternative to Emma, Emily, etc.
Gilda (1920s at 469, n/a)

Harriett (1880s at 194, n/a)

Imogen (never in the top 1000)
Iola (1910s at 345, n/a) My husband's great aunt (a spry 92) is Iola V. (no middle name, just the letter V)

June (1920s at 45, n/a) Juno, Junebug, Junie, all super cute.

Laurel (1950s at 203, 942 today)
Leona (1900s at 16, n/a)
Louisa (1880s at 151, n/a)

Matilda (1880s at 110, n/a)
Millie (1880s at 143, n/a)
Mona (1950s at 240, n/a)

Neva (1900s at 277, n/a)
Nola (1900s at 289, n/a)

Olive (1890s at 88, n/a)

Polly (1930s at 326, n/a)

Rosalie (1930s at 153, n/a) My money says Twilight boosts this name up quite a bit in the next five years.
Rosalind (1940s at 346, n/a)

Susanna (1880s at 344, n/a)

Terese (1950s at 643, n/a)

Viola (1920s at 301, n/a)

Willa (1920s at 301, n/a) If my married name didn't start with a W, I'd be all over this lovely name.

Zelda (1900 at 441, n/a)
Zora (1900 at 408, n/a)

There are so many cool baby girl names in this list. I am 2-2 for boys and I feel that even if we go for three I'll just end up growing yet another penis.