May Names

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Hooray, it's finally May! May is one of my favorite months. School begins to die down, and it feels like Summer is on it's way. To celebrate, lets look at some names that would be perfect for a May baby.

Birthstone:
Beryl- May's birthstone is Emerald, which is a member of the Beryl family. Beryl definitely has some charm, which many people don't appreciate.
Emerald- She's getting popular. I prefer Beryl.

Birth Flower:
 Lily- Lily of the Valley is May's birth flower, but many people won't get the connection with such a popular name.
Shoshana- Shoshana means lily, and makes a subtle connection to the month.
Valley- The other half of Lily of the Valley. Fun Fact: My second grade teacher named her daughter Chloe Lily-of-the-Valley, but the next day changed it to Chloe Regina.

Star Signs:
Gemini- People born later in May are Gemini. I'm not sure how useable she is, but it does work.
Taurus- Much better than Gemini, and the only boy name on the list. Taurus is a cool name, and he could be called Tor.
Venus- The planet Venus governs the star sign Taurus, but you have to be brave to use her as a name.

Related to May:
Amy- An anagram of May.
Maia- May is named after the goddess Maia.
May, Mae, Mabel, Maisie, etc.- Any May name works to honor a baby girl's birth month.


P.S. Tomorrow is my blogoversary. Three years old! I can hardly believe it :)

10 A Names You Never Thought of Using: Girls

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It seems like everyone and their best friend has a daughter named Ava. Or Audrey, Amelia, or Addie. There are so many great A names out there, but why choose one that's popular? There's a wealth of A names you haven't even thought of, and they're just as good (or better) than the ones in the top 1000.


Abbott- She lends herself to the nickname Abby, but why call her that, when she has the coolest name in the world.

Adair- She fits in with the Blair Claire crowd, but has the added bonus of being vintage.

Albany- One of my favorite place names.

Aldine- Pronounced ALL-dean she's a lovely name that guaranteed to sound fresh but not too out there.

Alouette- The most fabulous way to get to Lulu.

Amabel- Too many Annabels? Amabel is cuter, and comes with the nicknames Maeby and Mabel.

Anouk- German beauty with that stylish -oo sound.

Arcellia- A more innovative way to sound princessy than Seraphina.

Ardith- Worried about the popularity of Edith and Edie? Try Ardith.

Avis- The best Av- name out there (in my opinion). Plus, she means bird, which means you could call her Birdie as a nickname. Double awesome.

Catalog Names: Boden Summer 2014

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Last week I did a post on the Mini Boden names, but today we are going to talk about the regular Boden. Not only will this list contain the names of models, but also of the fabulously names products.

Expected:
Alexandra
Alyssa
Arianna
Camille
Caroline
Charlotte
Chelsea
Erin
Francesca
Isabella
Jessica
Katie
Lilian
Lola
Matilda
Sienna

Unique:
Ada
Corrine
Darcey
Evelina
Florence
Georgette
Helena
Lucia
Millie
Nancy
Olga
Poppy
Selina
Valencia

Unheard of:
Ariette
Jerniya
Lais
Marloes
Palma
Serrana

Can Baby Names Predict the Future?: My Junior Research Paper

I mentioned a while ago that I wrote my junior research paper on baby names. I loved writing about my favorite topic, and I got to read some of my favorite blogs for research. It's a long essay (nine pages), so I'm putting it after the jump. Enjoy! (disclaimer: I bashed The Secret Universe of Names a little bit, but it's actually one of my favorite baby name books. You should buy it. It's great). P.S. This is my 200th post (wow)!

Olly Names

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You don't hear a lot of -olly names around anymore. Molly was popular a while back, but other than that, they have fallen off the radar. Many of them would sound right at home with today's baby names, so why not consider an -olly name?

Expected:
Holly- She sounds slightly momish, but would make a sweet nickname for any of the Holl- names.
Molly- She's currently more popular for dogs than babies, but still holds her charm.

Unique:
Dolly- She still has that Dolly Parton feel, but she is beginning to feel more useable.
Olly- Usually spelled Ollie, I often hear this one as a nickname for Oliver. But why not Olive or Olivia?
Polly- She started out as a nickname for Mary, but she would not be used that way today. Use her to honor a Paul.

Unheard of:
Lolly- Lolly (or Lollie) is cute and spunky. I would only use her as a nickname though.
Nolly- Another Oliver/Olive/Olivia nickname that would be adorable on a baby.

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

Song Names: The Beatles

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So many musicians have songs titled with (mostly female) names. The Beatles are no exception. Their songs offer great inspiration for baby names. And how fun would it be to have a special "name song?"

Girls:
Anna- Classic and elegant.
Bonnie- I have always thought Bonnie would be super sweet on a baby.
Clarabella- Pick one.
Eleanor- The song is sad, but there are other great songs with Eleanor in the title.
Heather- Too dated for a baby.
Julia- She will always be in style.
Lizzy- A cute nickname for Elizabeth
Lucille- Beautiful on her own or called Lucy.
Lucy- Always sweet.
Maggie Mae- I'm not usually a fan of alliterating names, but I really like Maggie Mae.
Martha- Super wearable. I am a Martha advocate. More people should use her.
Mary Jane- Not sure about the combo, but either on their own are nice.
Penny- Lovely, and now Penelope is back in style, so there's a perfect full name for her.
Prudence- Not quite ready for revival.
Rita- Ooh, I could see this one being cute on a young girl.
Sadie- I love Sadie, but prefer Zadie.
Sally- Why not?

Boys:
Johnny- I think it would work on a baby.
Jude- Great name, great song.
Lane- Preppy.
Robert- I like it. You can call him Bertie.
Rocky- Cute if he's short for Rockwell.
Teddy- A great nickname that works for so many names.