DIY Double Barrel Names

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If you're not a name nerd, you've probably only heard of the term "double barrel" being used in terms of surnames. You know, when parents combine their surnames into one hyphenated last name for their baby? It exists for first names too. The Social Security Administration doesn't take the hyphen into account, so unfortunately double barrel names are not recorded in the United States. To see how popular these names are, we have to go to the European data. Double barrel names are a hit in places like the U.K. (as seen in this article from The Telegraph)--Amelia-Rose, Lily-Rose, and Elllie-Mae are some of the most fashionable.

Now's the chance to build your own double barrel name! I've provided some options for the first and second names, but feel free to go off script. Tell me your favorite ones in the comments.

First Name Amy Anna Ava Betty Carol Charlotte Cora Daisy Ella Ellie Eliza Emily Emma Emme Georgia Hannah Katie Laura Leah Lily Lucy Mary Nora Rosa Sarah

Second Name      Alice      Anne      Bella      Belle      Beth      Catherine      Claire      Ella      Eve      Faith      Faye      Frances      Grace      Jane      Jean      June      Kate      Kay      Lane      Lee      Lou      Louise      Lynn      Margaret      Marie      May      Quinn      Rose      Rue      Ruth      Shay      Sue

*I'll be back after Labor Day with Arabic Names for Boys--have a good holiday!*

Catalog Names: Tiny Prints 2014

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The Holidays are officially here, which can only mean one thing: a giant influx of mail. I recently got the Tiny Prints catalog, and I looked at the names on the cards right away. Overall they were pretty run-of-the-mill, but I found a few gems (Maxine and Simone--yes, please!).

Girls
Abby
Alexandra (x2)
Alexis
Amanda
Angela
Anna
Bianca
Caitlin
Chloe
Eleanor
Eliza
Emily
Evelyn
Evie
Grace
Gwenyth
Jane
Jen
Jenna
Julia
Lauren
Lilly
Lizzie
Madeline
Maggie
Margaret
Margot
Mariah
Maryann
Maxine
Melissa (x2)
Nadia
Rachel
Rebecca
Riley
Sandy
Savannah (x2)
Sloan
Simone
Sophie

Boys
Aiden
Anthony
Brent (x2)
Brian
Christopher (x2)
Connor
Edward
Emery
Ethan
Frederick
Jared (x2)
Jayden
Jonathan
Jordan
Josh
Joshua
Liam
Madden
Mason
Matthew
Mike
Miles
Nathan
Oliver
Robert
Reid
Samuel
Scott
Sebastian
Thomas
Tim
Xavier

Share a Coke Names: Part One

I made this here.

I'm sure you guys are familiar with the Share a Coke campaign. It's a great marketing scheme, not only because they get free advertising with every Instagrammed bottle, but because people go crazy for stuff with their names on it. While you can put any name on your coke if you order it online, only certain names are sold in store. Here in America, they chose 250 names to be a part of that group. I recorded them all, so I will list them below, then we will talk about hits and misses. It's all after the jump.

 

Disclaimer: This is not sponsored by the Coca Cola company. I actually don't like soda. At all.

Literary Names: Atonement

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I have just finished reading Atonement by Ian McEwan for my summer homework, and it is chock full of interesting names. The book takes place in WWII era, and the names were spot on. Some were rather surprising, including the main character's name, Briony. Take a look at the names and tell me what you think.

Girls:
Arabella
Betty
Briony
Cecilia
Doll
Emily
Hermione
Lola
Polly
Victoria
Venus

Boys:
Albert
Cecil
Clem
Danny
Jack
Jackson
Leon
Marshall
Paul
Perriot
Quintus
Robbie

10 E Names You Never Thought of Using: Boys

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Vowel names are all the rage, but E names seem to be mostly for the girls. E names are great for boys too, infact, one of my favorite names is first on this list. Let me know what you think.

Eames- A super cool name with obvious namesakes. How awesome would this be on the child of an interior designer?

Eamon- A nice alternative to the ever-popular Aiden.

Eden- I know what you're thinking. Yes, Eden is a unisex name. You can pronounce it the same way you do for girls, but the ED-en pronunciation is more masculine.

Egan- An upbeat Irish surname that is seldom heard as a first name.

Elm- Nature names are very in, so why not try Elm? He's short, sweet, and to-the-point.

Emil- Is your name Emily, Emilia, or Emiliana? Channel the Smith family and name your son Emil.

Ennis- A masculine alternative to the softer Ellis.

Estes- A simple way to honor Grandpa Esteban that also has literary ties.
Everard- If you're stuck between Everett and Edward, Everard might be the perfect name for you.

Everest- There might be some high expectations with this name, but he's an interesting alternative to Everett.

Song Names: Simon & Garfunkel

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Simon & Garfunkel are a pretty cool band. I had not heard of them until I watched The Graduate for the first time (two-ish years ago), and my love for them was reaffirmed when I saw The Royal Tenenbaums. It turns out so many of their songs have names in them. There are quite a bit more boys  names and double barrels in the titles than usual, which is perfect if you want a son with an unforgettable name.

Girls:
Anji- Spell it Angie, then forget about it because why would you name your baby Angie?
April- A dated month pick, but the song is really pretty.
Cecilia- Perfect song, perfect name.
Emily- Overused and on the verge of sounding dated.
Kathy- If you need a nickname for Katherine, I would pick Kit or Kate.
Peggy- I could see this one working on a baby, but then again, I know a Peggy (who's my age).
Rose- Sweet. Lovely. Just don't put her in the middle.
Susie- I feel like I always talk about how Susie is a great choice due for a comeback. So I won't say it again.

Boys:
Benedictus- Is your son going to become the Pope? Then skip this one and go for Benedict.
Johnny Ace- Totally awesome, but a hard name to pull off.
Julio- If Julian is back, why can't Julio be too?
Richard Cory- This sounds like the name of a middle aged accountant. Richard by itself could work.
Frank Lloyd- Naming children after specific people is not a good idea.

Catalog Names: Mini Boden Summer 2014

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The Summer edition of Mini Boden has finally come out, and that only can mean one thing: new names. Hooray! I was really surprised with this season's crop; many of the children's names are ones I consider "mom names." I'm sure they sound normal to people in Britain, but tell me what you think.

Girls:
Alaka
Alessia
Amy
Aurora
Azraa
Christy Leigh
Clarise
Delia
Emily
Georgia
Hannah
Iminathi
Kate
Lily
Maria
Martina
Megan
Nicole
Rebecca

Boys:
Asha
Caleb
Ethan (x2)
Francis
Kayle
Kian (x2)
Lindo
Oscar
Toviyah
Uya

Modern -lie and -ly Names

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Many people would agree, three syllable names that end with the -ly sound are pretty cute. Emily has been popular for a long time, but there are other names that have a similar sound, but are way less popular. Take a look.
Expected:
Amelie- Amelie is darling. And the movie makes me love her even more (it's one of my favorites).
Emily- Yes, she's popular, but for a reason. Emily is a versatile name that works on so many girls.
Natalie- Like Emily, she's very popular but holds up well. I can picture Natalies of all ages.

Unique:
Cecily- Peppy and cute, but wearable on a adults as well.
Coralie- Downton Abbey has made Cora fresh again, so why not go a step further and choose Coralie?
Rosalie- Out of all the Rose names, she seems the most modern right now.

Unheard of:
Aurelie- Aurelia may be too much, but Aurelie is sweet (and a good alternative to Aurora).
Eulalie- You don't hear a lot of Eu- names nowadays, but Eulalie would be perfect for a baby.
Ottilie- Call her Tilly.

Catalog Names: Mini Boden, Winter 2013

When your my age, you aren't looking at the Mini Boden catalog for the clothes (though those are super cute, and I do enjoy looking at them). You look at the Mini Boden catalog for the names. Hands down the best catalog for name perusal is Mini Boden, and you can see why.

Girls:
Amaury
Amelie
Cai
Daisy
Eleanor
Emily
Felicity
Hattie
Ivy
Jessika
Julia
London
Lotte
Martha
Olivia
Sophie
Tiana
Willow
Yasmin
Ynez

Boys:
Alexander
Arthur
Caleb
Cameron
Charlie
Cody
Laik
Oliver
Rafferty
Sol
Tye

Catalog Names: Boden

Girls:
Amber
Anastacia
Arlenis
Azraa
Camila
Chloe
Clarise
Coco
Courtney
Danika
Darian
Elsa
Emily
Hannah
Fiona
Gabriella
Jensen
Jessica
Jourdan
Julia
Katie
Keira
Kim
Layla
Madalena
Marloes
Meghan
Michella
Minnie
Mollie
Nadja
Nina
Nell
Olivia
Sofia
Trinity
Yasmin

Boys:
Emile
Farhaan
Griffin
Indrees
Isaiah
Jaden
Joel
Jonathan
Kian
Lorenz
Lucien
Marc
Marco
Miles
Rafferty
Rokken
Sebastian
Toviyah
Walker
Zakai

Catalog Names: PB Teen

Girls:
Addison
Amanda
Anna
Ariel
Brooke
Brynn
Chelsea
Chloe
Claire
Coraline
Elsie
Emma
Emily
Hallie
Jamie
Julia
Julie
Kaitlyn
Katie
Kelley
Kennedy
Lacey
Lauren
Lola
Marbella
Martina
Mary
Molly
Peyton
Raleigh
Sarah
Sophie
Taylor
Zoe


Boys:
Austin
Brooks
Chris
Emerson
Hunter
Jacob
Jake
Joe
Maddox
Max
Tyler

Unique Alternatives to the Top Ten Names: 2012 Edition

We could all name our kids Sophia and Jacob, but there are so many more unique options. Listed here are my favorite lesser-used alternatives to the top ten of each gender.

Girls:

Sophia: Fiona, Philippa (nn Pippa?), Philomina, Seraphina
Isabella: Bellamy, Esmeralda, Isabeau, Isadora
Emma: Amelie, Emmeline, Lila
Olivia: Bolivia, Livia, Olive, Vivian
Ava: Ada, Avalon, Eva, Eve, Ever
Emily: Amelie, Melody, Millie, Romilly, Tillie
Abigail: Abear, Adelaide, Adelia, Gail
Madison: Ellison, Madeleine, Magdalena
Mia: Leia, Milla, Thea
Chloe: Celeste, Clara, Clio

Boys:

Jacob: Corbin, Jacobi, Jay
Mason: Carson, Edison, Logan
William: Leander, Logan, Warren, Willis
Jayden: Gray, Hayden, Jay
Noah: Isaac, Nathan, Nolan, Owen
Michael: Mack, Matthias, Maxwell
Ethan: Egan, Eli, Logan
Alexander, Alexei, Alvin, Anders, Anderson
Aiden: Adair, Adeon, Dennis
Daniel: Damian, Danner, Dashiell, Dennis

Ten Years Ago

Today, I was very interested to see what names were popular ten years ago, and how they were similar and different from our top ten today. Turns out, there were a few surprises. Here are the top ten boys and girls names from 2001.

Girls:

Emily
Madison
Hannah
Ashley
Alexis
Sarah
Samantha
Abigail
Elizabeth
Olivia

Boys:

Jacob
Michael
Matthew
Joshua
Christopher
Nicholas
Andrew
Joseph
Daniel
William

I was most surprised that our top two baby names for girls (Isabella and Sophia) did not make the top two. Isabella was 28 and Sophia was 37. Also, Ashley is number 27 today. That seems strange to me, because I consider it very 1990's and have never met an Ashley. For the boys, Nicholas has dropped to number 37. Very surprising was Aiden, who was at 86 in 2001, but a few years later, up to number 1. Jayden was 139. That concludes our Ten Years Ago post for this year.

Alternitaves to the Most Popular Names: Opposite Gender

Alternatives to the most popular names for the alternate gender.

Girls to Boys:

Isabella- Isodore, Isaac, Abel, Ozzie
Sophia- Theodore, Soren, Finley
Emma- Edward, Edmund, Emerson
Olivia- Octavio, Otto, Oswald
Ava- Asa, Avery, Ivan, Avan
Emily- Emilio, Emerson, Eddison
Abigail- Abraham, Abe, Gaines
Madison- Magnus, Malichi, Dyson
Chloe- Cory, Cody, Bowie, Bowen
Mia- Miles, Max, Milo

Boys to Girls:

Jacob- Jackie, Jamie, Colby, Jane
Ethan- Ethel, Esther, Edith, Estelle, Enid
Michael- Michaela, Kayla, Kaylee
Jayden- Hayden, Jada, Jade, Jane
William- Wilhelmina, Winifred, Leah
Alexander- Alexandra, Alexandria, Alexia, Alexis, Alexa, Lexi, Lexis, Lexa
Noah- Nora, Nola, Nona
Daniel- Danielle, Darnella, Danica, Dana
Aiden- Audrey, Ada, Adele, Addie, Adelaide, Adeline
Anthony- Toni, Tori, Anastasia, Angelina

Alternitaves to the Most Popular Names

Alternitaves to the most popular names:

Girls:
Isabella- Isobel, Belinda, Isa, Isis, Belle
Sophia- Stella, Fiona, Thea
Emma- Ember, Emerald, Emmy
Olivia- Olive, Liviana, Livi, Livia
Ava- Evelyn, Eva, Eve, Avalyn
Emily, Amelie, Amelia, Amy
Abigail- Allison, Adelaide, Adeline, Addie, Adele
Madison- Madeleine, Addison, Addie
Chloe- Nicole, Zoe, Clover, Claire, Cleo
Mia- Amelia, Leah, Thea, Maia, Maura, Moira

Boys:

Jacob- Jacobson, Cody, Cole
Ethan- Arthur, Heath, Xander
Michael- Mitchel, Micah, Miles
Jayden- Jace, Jay, Jackson, Javan, Jared, Jad
William- Liam, Lee, Leland, Willis, Wiley, Warren
Alexander- Lex, Alexis, Lester, Eric
Noah- Nolan, Neil, Nowe, Norton
Daniel- Dane, Donald, Samuel, Darius
Aiden- Ace, Asher, Ardon, Amos, Ames
Anthony- Andrew, Andy, Terry, Thor