Celebrity Baby Name Suggestions: Volume I

via The Modern Mark

Here's a fun and light-hearted post for your Friday. I give some high-profile celebrities suggestions for their future babys' name. Let me know if you like it (and if there are any celebs you want me to include in the next round).

Anne Hathaway and Adam Shulman
Gender: unknown
Siblings: none
Anne Hathaway's sweet personality and understated-yet-glamorous style make me think she'll choose something equally charming for her future babe.
Boy: Arthur, Bastien, Benedict, Conrad, Garrison, Ira, Philip, Phineas, Samson, Teddy
Girl: Agnes, Camille, Celeste, Eliza, Harriet, Linnea, Millie, Ophelia, Rosemary, Tess
*Update* Welcome Jonathan Rosebanks! Definitely a classic and classy choice.

Kimberley and James Van Der Beek
Gender: unknown
Siblings: Olivia, Annabel, and Joshua
They picked three well-liked names for their current children, why not choose one more?
Boy: Elijah, Gabriel, Ian, Jackson, Maxwell, Nathaniel, Owen, Samuel, Thomas
Girl: Charlotte, Elizabeth, Ella, Grace, Julia, Leah, Nora, Piper, Sophia, Victoria
*Update* Baby girl is here--her name is Emilia

Amelia Warner and Jamie Dornan
Gender: unknown
Siblings: Dulcie
Dulcie is quirky, cute, and oh-so-British. Sticking with that theme, here are my picks.
Boy: Archie, Freddie, Harry, Harvey, Kit, Leon, Louis, Ollie, Remy, Rex, Toby
Girl: Cleo, Esme, Evie, Freya, Georgie, Hattie, Marnie, Phoebe, Scarlett, Sylvie
*Update* It's a girl--Elva!

Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale
Gender: unknown
Siblings: none
Rose Byrne is incredibly chic and stylish. She's going to be one of those celebrities whose baby's name becomes a national sensation. Her boyfriend is Italian and Cuban, so a cross-cultural choice seems to be in order.
Boy: Carlo, Caspian, Cecilio, Enzo, Ezio, Laszlo, Leo, Marcello, Octavio, Rafe, Silvio
Girl: Allegra, Antonella, Eloisa, Estella, Fia, Flora, Florence, Lucinda, Simona. Zelda
*Update* It's a boy! His name is Rocco, so I was right on with the cross-cultural name.

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend
Gender: unknown
Siblings: none
No doubt such a trendy, high profile power-couple will pick a name to match.
Boy: Anchor, Arrow, Beck, Dex, Ever, Jethro, Neon, Onyx, Quest, Teague
Girl: Avalon, Aziza, Bellamy, Geneva, Lux, Roxie, Salome, Valencia, Zadie
*Update* Welcome Luna Simone Legend!

Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock
Gender: boy
Siblings: River Rose
River Rose's little brother is going to have an equally on-trend but under-the-radar name (and possibly another double nature name).
Boy: Arrow, Birch, Dune, Echo, Edge, Everest, Indigo, Oak, Pine, Ridge, Summit, Timber
*Update* Not a nature name, but another R name--welcome Remington Alexander!

Luisana Lopilato and Michael Buble
Gender: boy
Siblings: Noah
When celebrities have the guts to choose a top ten name (nevermind the #1 name), they couldn't care less about popularity. Noah's little bro will most likely have an established, top 100 name.
Boy: Ben, Elijah, Gavin, Hudson, Isaac, Isaiah, Joshua, Levi, Nathan, William
*Update* Baby boy is Elias! I was close.

Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys
Gender: unknown
Siblings: Willa Lou and River (b)
Keri Russell is ahead of the curve when it comes to giving her babies names. Her older two kids were named well before their names were on anyones' minds.
Boy: Benno, Bram, Dez, Fintan, Grove, Joss, Ned, Oswald, Roscoe, Thoren, Wells
Girl: Anouk, Clover, Darcy, Frankie, Isa, Lotus, Luella, Pia, Primrose, Poet, Soleil
*Update* Hello, Sam!

Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas
Gender: unknown
Siblings: Oliver Finlay
Oliver Finlay has that "it" factor. It's a name that sounds so impeccably cool--you kind of want to use it on your own baby.
Boy: Dashiell, Ezra, Henry, Julian, Miles, Nolan, Sebastian, Wesley
Girl: Alice, Cora, Gemma, Hazel, Ivy, Lola, Sadie, Stella, Violet

*Update* It's a boy—Hugo Wilson!

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner
Gender: unknown
Siblings: Arabella and Joseph
Arabella and Joseph. Ultra-feminine vs. ultra-classic. These are traditional parents in every sense of the word, so I bet they'll follow the same protocol with baby #3.
Boy: Andrew, Benjamin, Charles, Jonathan, Michael, Nicholas, Samuel, William
Girl: Alexandria, Anastasia, Francesca, Julianna, Luciana, Valentina, Viviana
*Update* It's a boy! Name is Theodore James

Heather Morris and Taylor Hubbell
Gender: boy
Siblings: Eli
Short, sweet, and very casual. If we use that model, Eli will have a brother named:
Boy: Ben, Charlie, Cole, Evan, Finn, Gabe, Jack, Jake, Jace, Luke, Reid, Sam
*Update* Baby boy is Owen Bartlett

Best of 2015

via Justin McKinley on Dribbble

January: January brought one of my most popular posts ever--Hipster Baby Name or Hipster City? It even features a (very difficult!) quiz to test your knowledge.

February: In February we looked at Names from Children's Literature. There are so many great choices, ranging from the classic--Frances, Harriet, George--to the uncommon--Pippi, Clifford, Coraline.

March: This month featured our first installment of Same Meaning Sibsets. I love putting these posts together--they are some of my favorites to write.

April: I wrote about Day and Night Names in April--the lists are especially good for searching for middle names.

May: May introduced us to Rainbow Sibsets (parts one and two). For those of you attracted to color names, one of these combinations could make the perfect--yet subtle--sibset.

June: June was a busy month! Sadly, it brought the last post of our alphabet series, but then we started up a new one. Our cultural names series is still going strong, and I have no intention of ending it anytime soon.

July: In July we talked about Nautical Names--ideal for a preppy summer baby.

August: August was our month of middle names! Take a look at the Best Middle Names for Girls and Boys for some inspiration.

September: September showed us how to create our own Double Barrel Names. What's your favorite combo?

October: This month we talked about Stylish Names outside the top 1000 for boys. Check the September archives for the girls list!

November: The highlight of our November was talking about the Best Unisex Names for Girls and Boys. Granted, these can be used for a child of any sex, but they were organized by the gender they were used the most on.

December: Last month was all about holiday related names. One of my favorite lists to put together was the Christmas Crooner Names.


And now, reader favorites!

1. Stylish Choices Outside the Top 1000: Girls
2. Share a Coke Names: Summer 2015
3. 10 English Names You Never Thought of Using: Girls
4. The Best Middle Names for Girls
5. 10 V Names You Never Thought of Using: Girls

Names from Children's Literature

Image Credit

Children love anything with their name on it. Thank goodness we live in the digital age, because now you can personalize everything imaginable. Even books. A whole new industry has been created--its sole purpose is to make your child the main character of his or her books. This is great (and very cute), but it's also fun to share a name with a classic character. I've compiled a list of main-character names from award-winning children's books--see if you can sense a theme.

Girls
Alice- Alice in Wonderland 
Anne- Anne of Green Gables
Charlotte- Charlotte's Web
Coraline- Coraline
Eloise- Eloise 
Frances- Bread and Jam for Frances
Harriet- Harriet the Spy
Madeline- Madeline
Margaret- Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
Matilda- Matilda
Meg- A Wrinkle in Time
Olivia- Olivia
Pippi- Pippi Longstocking
Ramona- Ramona the Pest

Boys
Alexander- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Charlie- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Clifford- Clifford the Big Red Dog
David- No, David!
George- Curious George
Harry- Harry Potter
Hugo- The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Max- Where the Wild Things Are
Milo- The Phantom Tollbooth
Stanley- Holes

Don't all these names sound like they belong in one big sibset? I was a little surprised to see so many classic, British names. I've read all these books (with the exception of Coraline and A Wrinkle in Time), and all of the title characters are worthy namesakes. If these names are your style, definitely consider one for your child. Trust me, it's a lot of fun.

Nicknames for Henrietta

Yes, Henrietta is a clunky old lady name. But what if you really want to honor Great Aunt Henrietta? (in that case my suggestion is Harriet). Hate Harriet? Then go ahead with Henrietta, and use one of her superb, vintage-sweet nicknames.

Expected:
Etta
Hennie
Henrie

Unique:
Ettie
Hattie
Henna
Nettie

Unheard of:
Hatsy
Hetty
Rika

Land of Nod Holiday Catalogue Names

Everybody knows that the best part of looking through children's catalogues is the names. Companies like The Land of Nod make it very easy to name spot with all their mongrammed items. This holiday issue had some especially good ones.

Girls:

Alva
Annika
Brie
Brittany
Charlotte
Dana
Dominique
Einar
Florence
Ginger
Gloria
Gracie
Gwinaveer
Harper
Harriet
Hazel
Isabell
Isabella
Jayne
Jeanne
Jessa
Lena
Lindsay
Marnie
Mia
Milly
Ruthie
Seraphina
Taylor

Boys:

Adam
Anderson
Archer
Benjamin
Charlie
Christopher
Danny
Dylan
Gill
Henry
Jacob
Jake
Jasper
Jonathon
Julius
Logan
Luke
Mason
Max
Maxwell
Micah
Nicholas
Nolan
Pierre
Quinn
Rex
Rudy
Sam
Simon
Sylvain
Wallace
William
Zane
Zeek