Names from Children's Literature

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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.

Unusual -ine Names

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The -ine suffix is very feminine, almost all names that end in -ine are female. It's a fairly popular ending, with names such as Madeline and Caroline in the top 100. However, there are some undiscovered gems, including my favorite guilty pleasure name- Pomeline!

Apolline- A pretty name that would be nice to honor a Pauline with.

Capucine- The only problem with her being the similarity to Cappuccino.

Celandine- Ultra-feminine. Call her Cela for short.

Celestine- Another one of my favorite guilty pleasure names. I think I even like her more than Celeste.

Delphine- Gorgeous. One I hear often in the baby name community.

Eponine- Les Mis put this one in the spotlight for a while, but she never got much use.

Faustine- I was enthralled by this name as a seventh grader. She seemed beautiful and exotic, until one of my friends pointed out she sounds like frosting.

Leontine- Lovely name for a lioness, or your strong-willed daughter.

Lexine- Want Lexi but hate Alexandra? Lexine is a fabulous choice.

Lucine- A quirky way to get to Lucy.

Ottoline- Ottoline or Ottilie? I can't decide, but either one would make a great and unusual pick for an American baby girl.

Pomeline- She's French and means apple. One of my favorites, plus how cute is the nickname Pomme?


P.S. I pronounce all these names with an -een sound at the end, but some of them can have the -eyne sound, depending on your preference.

P.P.S. I'm off on Labor Day, so see you guys on the 3rd!

Full Names for Maddie

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Everybody loves Maddie (or Maddy, Mady, Maddi, or Madi for that matter). Okay, so not everybody LOVES Maddie (I definitely don't), but if I had to choose a nickname with widespread appeal, I would choose her. She's sweet, cool, and a little bit feisty, but also super low-key. It's easy to see why she's so popular. Many Maddies are Madelines and Madisons, but if you are looking for something beyond those, take a look at this list.

Expected:
Madeleine (Madelyn)- The most common full name for Maddie. Madeleine is the French spelling, Madelyn is the American.
Madelina- A nice form of Madeline that is should be used more often.
Madeline- She can be pronounced MAD-uh-lyn or MAD-uh-line, though more often the former.
Madison- Currently the most popular of the Maddie names.

Unique:
Madalena- Gorgeous and girly.
Madden- More often used for boys, but Maddie makes it work for a girl.
Maddox- Exclusively heard on boys, but I think it's useable on a girl. Call her Maddie or Max.
Madelia- A lovely, feminine way to honor a Madeline.
Madigan (Maddigan)- Similar in feel to Madison, Madigan has a tomboy aura.

Unheard of:
Madelief- This is my new favorite Maddie name. She's so pretty and unexpected, imagine putting Madelief into the middle spot.
Madonna- Too loaded.
Madrid- An uncommon place name with a popular nickname.
Madrona- A name for Maddie to honor your Welsh heritage.

Splittable Names for Twins

Abby and Gail
Ame and Lia
Angel and Lina
Anna and Belle
Arri and Anna
Alex and Xander or Alex and Ander
Brooke and Lynn
Chris and Tina
Eliza and Beth
Eva and Lynn or Eve and Lynn
Henry and Etta
Jill and Ian or Gill and Ian
Kate and Lynn
Lily and Ana
Mac and Kenzie
Maddie and Lynn
Mary and Lynn
Rose and Mary
Will and Liam