For the last several weeks Elisabeth over at You Can’t Call It “It” has been running a game of sorts. Basically she posted 100 of the 1000 most popular U.S. baby names for boys and 100 for girls then readers had to name quadruplets out of just those names. The quads are two boys and two girls.

Today was the last installment. Being the name nerd I am I’m sad it’s over. I totally loved doing this and found it challenging on many occassions because sometimes most of the names were just AWFUL. Anyway, I have decided to post all the sets I came up with here. The underlined names are those I really love.

1-100 (go to post)
Sofia Zoe
Evelyn Audrey
Alexander Jack
Oliver Kyle

101-199 (go to post)
Stella Daisy
Annabelle Ruby
Oscar Jake
Max Vincent

200-199 (go to post)
Veronica Hazel
Lola Genevieve
Elliot Roman
Leo Rafael

300-399 (go to post)
Tatiana Rose
Iris Paisley
Jasper Felix
Quentin Elliott

400-499 (go to post)
Elle Viviana
Mila Daphne
Byron August
Hugo Lawrence

500-599 (go to post)
Olive Elliana
Helena Vivienne
Demetrius Julien
Gideon Enzo

600-699 (go to post)
Scarlet Greta
Isis Virginia
Atticus Harry
Malakai* Archer

*Spelled ‘Malachi’, however.

700-799 (go to post)
Iliana Evie
Cecelia Ingrid
Nikolai Cedric
Matias Alvaro

800-899 (got to post)
Beatrice Millie
Vera Edith
Ethen Seamus
Samson Cristofer

900-1000 (go to post)
Harlow Magdalena
Eloise Lilyanna
Lennon Cassius
Fletcher Hugh

In the spirit of Taking a Breather From the Hellish Land of Statistics Assignment and Study, here are two names I am loving at the moment.

Atticus

This name is gaining some popularity; birth announcements occasionally surprise me. However, the most frequent comments made by people who wouldn’t use the name is “It sounds too literary”/”It sounds pretentious” or some combination of the two. Most people who did high school English are aware of where this probably stems from: Atticus Finch, one of the characters in Harper Lee’s Too Kill A Mockingbird. According to Wiki:

“Atticus is To Kill a Mockingbird’s most upright character, representing the moral ideal of both a lawyer and a human being: he is brutally honest, highly moral, extremely opinionated a tireless crusader for good causes (even hopeless ones), a virtual pacifist and, for the most part, devoid of any of the racial or class prejudices afflicting the other citizens of Maycomb.”

I would definitely agree with that. I loved his character when I read the book. Based on everything Atticus Finch is, I can see why some people would dislike the name and associate it with parents somehow wanting to bestow all of Finch’s characteristics on their child by way of a name. The argument of it being “too literary” however, really irritates me. Atticus is only considered ‘literary’ because it’s not popular – names such as Jane, Oliver, Juliet and Dean can all be considered literary: Jane Austen and her character Jane Bennet; Oliver Twist in Charles Dickens’ novel of the same name; Juliet from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet; and Jack Kerouac’s Dean Moriarty in On The Road. But all those names are pretty common. If Atticus were as used as any of those are, it would not receive as many of those highly irritating comments. And I probably wouldn’t love it as much! It’s true for me: less popular equals better choice.

Instead of the literary focus, I like the name Atticus because it sounds nice to me! Simple as that, really. I thought it was an okay name when I read To Kill a Mockingbird, but it wasn’t until recently that I actually started to really love it. It means ‘from Athens’ and I’ve always associated Athens with classical times, which I incidentally associate with strength, power and most importantly, knowledge.

It’s a name that I think suits a child as well as an adult, though it’s only real downfall for me is the lack of decent nicknames. I think ‘Atty’ is fine for a baby and child, but there aren’t any other, at least obvious, nicknames. I think ‘Gus’ could work, even though the ‘c’ in Atticus is a pretty hard k-sound. Too bad I don’t like Gus!

Alas, Atticus is a moniker I will probably never use because it is not on the list of names that boyfriend and I agree on. It’s quite disappointing for me because I really think it is the perfect name for a little boy!

Isadora

A very recent ‘discovery’ of mine. Not as in I’d never heard it before, but as in me deciding it was made of perfection. And in researching it, I have come to the conclusion that if I can’t use Tallulah on my own future daughter, Isadora I would like her to be! Of Greek and Latic origin, Isadora is “the gift of Isis” (principal Egyptian Goddess). According to Babynology it means “gift of the moon”, which ties in with Isis because one of the things she is said to be goddess of is fertility.

In terms of popularity, Isadora hasn’t ranked anywhere in the top 1000 in the U.S. for the last ten years. My quick research shows she hasn’t appeared in any of the rounded decades (i.e., I searched 1990, 1980, etc.) since 1900! And even then she was ranked at 992. She may have made an appearance at some point in those years I didn’t search, but according to U.S. social security records, the name has been in decline since at least 1870. This is good news for me, a name that isn’t in the top 1000 and has a decent meaning*.

Probably the most well-known bearer of the name is Isadora Duncan, acclaimed American dancer. She unfortunately died a rather grim death in 1927 when her silk scarf got caught in the spokes of a car which broke her neck. But I’m so weird I actually enjoy that the name has that association, much like how I enjoy that Tallulah reminds me of Tallulah Bankhead, who used to open her door stark naked wearing only pearls, and then perform songs lying on her piano, while still naked.

But, I digress. With the popularity of Isabella and Isabel I am surprised that Isadora hasn’t gained, at least not in the U.S. I think it might have something to do with the ‘Dora’, as Bell and Bella are arguably more ‘girlie’ and pretty than Dora. Dora kind of evokes little old ladies, a down-trodden 1920s housewife or that kids cartoon. That being said, I do think Isadora has more popularity in Britain but I am unsure of any official record-keeping that is available to the public (please give me a heads-up if you know of any). It has certainly featured several times in British birth announcements over the last year and I can only see that trend continuing in the near future as more and more ‘old lady/man’ names make a comeback. I think the Brits tends to me a tad more brazen with naming, at least in some circles. They don’t mind bringing back those old lady names and bestowing a 2010 bub with Betty, Harriet or Dorothy.

*Always sad to discover a name you love has a really awful meaning. For example (though not names I actually like), the sound of “Anne” means poop in Farsi (Iranian language), and Kennedy means ‘misshapen head’. How lovely!

I’ve always been quite fascinated with names and the first thing I think of when I know a new baby has been born, a part from “Is he or she healthy?”, is “What’d they call him/her? God, I hope it doesn’t suck.” And if I know the person well or the information has been made public prior to birth, I want to know; I need to know. I can’t help it; I’m a bit of a name snob. I have my own definite taste and I know it’s not for everyone, so I obviously get that people have different ideas about what to call their kids. But some names should never, ever be given to a child. Ever. Or, at the very least, there should be some kind of spelling regulation. I have posted about this topic before, but I have a few new ‘gems’ from the unusually-spelled-names mine.

I’m not a name history buff so I’m not sure if there is a ripe history of coming up with one’s own ‘creative/kre8tiv’ spelling for fairly usual names, but it seems to be an increasing trend in various part of the English-speaking West. Here in New Zealand we might refer to unconventional alternative spellings as being ‘Bogan’/'Westie’, which is basically our version of ‘white trash’, except the colour of one’s skin doesn’t matter. Actually, one can give their kid a Bogan name and even be Bogan, but it’s highly likely that one would be*. I know this sounds incredibly judgemental, and it is, because as I already mentioned, I’m a name snob. I’m definitely not a Bogan, and I’m not posh either, by any means. Oh but let’s not get started on those Faux Posh people who name their kids ridiculous things like Montgomery and Prudence because they think it makes them appear more sophisticated. Another day, another post.

Okay, are you ready for kre8tivi’T? Here we go!

• Aleigha *#8212; Interesting variation on Aaliyah. I don’t actually dislike it, though I’m not a fan of the name in general.
• Aliychiyah — I’m guessing this is meant to be Alicia, but with the ‘i’ pronounced.
• Elexcious — I literally slapped my hand over my mouth and astonished-laughed an ‘Oh my God, what the hell?!” at this one. I’m not sure if this is meant to be Elex-see-ous or Elex-shus. Either way, it isn’t good. When I Googled it I got results about Elexious, which is a real name that is listed at name websites. But then I opted for my original spelling and it appears that it is a real name (as proved by ancestry lists) and seems to be masculine, but just pretty rare (like 2 paes rare).
• Kaytlyn — I really dislike the excessive use of the letter ‘y’ and it seems to be increasingly popular amongst those who like alternative spellings. Too bad it’s not still the time of Generation Y, otherwise it would be quite fitting.
• Kristeena — Could be worse, but still.
• Kortni — This is totally brilliant in a I-wish-you-hadn’t way.
• Kyrah — This is apparently pronounced as Key-are-uh. ‘kay.
• Peyghtin — One of my most disliked names and with one more reason to! Who in their right mind…?

And here are some names that aren’t really a spelling thing, more of a made-up-when-drunk-or-high thing:

• Sir’Ray Kreedell — Bit like ‘Sorry’, which is probably what little Sir’Ray will be when, and pardon the gender assumption, he’s older.
• De’marquay Tylik — Tie-lick or Til-ick? Hmm.
• Ja’Kyle Juelz — What’s the ‘Ja’ for? But if you remove the apostrophe is becomes Jakyle which is wonderfully similar to Jekyll!
• Markalyn Dae’Shaun — It’s the apostrophes; they just piss me off.

So, that was my bitch of the day. I hope you enjoyed this very informative post and feel on your way to being educated about the kinds of names to avoid punishing any future children you may have with. If you want a unique name for you child at least put some real, intellectual effort into it and don’t just use a word scrambler or letter-substitutions!

These names were found in some recent posts at Baby_Names on LJ.

*People that graduate university can still be Bogans though. Please remember that just because someone has a higher-education degree doesn’t mean they are intelligent when it comes to naming their children (Or intelligent at all). It becomes a rarer occurrence, yes, but it can still happen. This is why I urge those of you attending university to encourage any of your fellow students who become parents while at university to avoid Boganism. This may also lessen the likelihood of alcohol consumption during pregnancy so it’s really a double-whammy-win here!

This is something a friend of mine posted on her MySpace and I thought I’d share it to demonstrate one of the ways humanity is going to shit. It’s amusing while also being really scary at the same time.

How would you pronounce this student’s name: “Le-a”?

Leah? NO
Lee – A? NOPE
Lay – a? NO WAY
Lei? Guess Again.

It’s pronounced “Ledasha.” Oh, yes, you read it right. This child attends a school in Livingston Parish, LA. Her mother is irate because everyone is getting her name wrong.
If you see something come across your desk like this, please remember to pronounce it correctly.

When the mother was asked about the pronunciation of the name, she said, “The dash don’t be silent.”

If there are any deities you believe in, I would recommend you start praying to them now in order to save civilisation, or at least start reversing this bollocks. If not, well, just hope, ok? And go to school, please.