Once Upon a Time Baby Names

Well, heard of, maybe, just not used .... Valley Thistle Ravine Tinsel Seawillow Imperia Beria Lupin Hart Destry Bardot Homily Cherry Argent Calendula Cordula Ariska Eliska Annanova Runa Ursa Thessaly Helios Clelia Cloelia Thana Yvaine Theria Lilikoi Lilika Cantara Melusine Aquilina Acantha Aeronwen Orlena Burgundy Susilva Anchoret Astoria Ingela Imber

I've wanted to write some more advice posts, and lately I've been thinking about how first and last names are paired together. I know that sometimes absolutely no thought whatsoever is put into choosing the right first name for your baby that pairs well with your surname, (and these names tend to be comical, whether intended or not), but I dare say most parents, even if subconsciously, choose a given name that doesn't seem insanely out of place with their surname. There will always be John Wu, Angel Black, Kimantha Stanislav, and the like, where the two really don't seem to fit, but there are ever more names that just seem right together, such as Bill Clinton, Colin Firth, January Jones or Jennifer Anniston, as far as celebrity examples go. My advice is to take your surname into heavy consideration before choosing a given name. Think about what it means, what the name conveys, what culture it honors, what kind of image it brings to mind. However, my question , as I...

Saint Belina, whose feast day is February 19, was a peasant girl from France who died protecting her virginity. I don't think she was a Patron Saint. Other than this, not much is known about her, but her name is beautiful enough to feature a post on. She is not to be confused with Bellona, the Roman goddess of battle. Belina and Bellina, primarily used in Spanish and Italian, mean "beautiful" and are typical variants of Bella. The male variant, Bellino, also means "beautiful," and honors St. Bellino, whose feast day is November 26. In 2010 there were 13 baby girls named Belina and 9 Bellina. Both Belina and Bellina have desirable nicknames, including Bee, Bell/Belle, Bella, and Lina. In 2011 there were 8 girls named Belina and 12 Bellina.

Well, I lost my list of planned February posts, so I'm a little behind and frustrated. Believe it or not, a little effort goes into lining up the names I post, as I want each pair to fit well together. In my opinion, anyway. But, until I've covered each month's birth stone, you can at least expect me to have a post on a birth stone every month until August, since the first one I covered was this past September, sapphire. Amethyst is February's birth stone, a beautiful purple gem, as you can see. I have long loved Amethyst as a baby name since, although it is a little quirky, it offers options for those of us who love names like Amber, Angelina, Amy, Violet, or any other names we are drawn to but would not use. Like Violet, which is ever popular, Amethyst immediately conjures up the image of a distinct purple color, and like Ruby, also ever popular, it gives us thoughts of pretty gemstones. However, Amethyst has never graced the top 1000. In 2010 there were only 62 baby ...

Here's something I never thought of before. We're all aware of the possibility of kids being called by their first name and last initial (Isabella M., for example) when there are more than one in a class, or anywhere else for that matter. However, there is another possibility I didn't think of before - they could turn into "the ugly Isabella," or "the weird Isabella," etc. Granted, they could be known as "the pretty Isabella," or "the Isabella that saved fish from being eaten by the science teacher's octopus that climbed out of its tank," but I'm just letting everyone know that it could happen. Just one more reason to advocate rare names. This happens most often in school, where there are a bunch of kids from the same generation packed together, but I did mention that it happens other places as well. In school I was Cristina S., while as an adult people have to find other ways to refer to me, given that I am competing with oth...

Cute Valentine's Day name ideas... There are plenty of lists out there, so I'll keep mine short but sweet. Amora Primrose Valentine Valentina Lacey Caramia Carina Cherie Carys Caradoc Kerensa Kalila Graziana Romeo Juliet Suki Aphrodite Astrid Scarlett As well as any variation on Rose - Rosaria, Rosabelle, Rosalie, Rosie, etc. Unless you typically get your favorite flower on Valentine's Day, be it Calla Lillies, Tulips, whatever. I myself got red roses, and I know that's traditional.

Accalia Seraphina Ekaterina Lionella Bellina Persephone Doveva Verbena Calandra Andromeda Calypso Fiora Zenobia Camellia Deirdre Millicent Fiamma Xanthe Fable Wisteria Yelena Pomeline Acantha Freesia Zarina Celestina Viridiana Galina Indigo Arcadia Aquinnah Ceridwen Rowena Ostara Lura Chantal Avelina Cosima Aviva Indira Jemima Nimue Octavia Elva Catharina Alyona Maple Coral Clover Oceana Emmanuelle Opal Bryony Andra Larimar Charm Melora Pandora Sequoia Odessa Oksana Diantha Sirena Lilac Jessamine Saskia Lilika Phaedra Thora Alvina Cornelia Soline Genoveva Avalon Galatea Ambeline Elowen Timea Omarosa Amarantha Azzurra Runa Plumeria Siobhan Tira Graciella Halina Pola Twila Havana Sephora Lamia Hermione Portia Wilhelmina Winifred Sakura Ursula Ravenna Ginevra Perdita

Since the last post featured a bird of prey, today's name is Columba, Latin, meaning "dove," the symbol of peace. It is the name of a constellation, three saints, and a term lovingly used for the United States. It is not to be confused with Columbia, the country in South America, although the two names do share a connection. Columba and its variants have become a symbol of peace beyond the name's meaning. America was the name of the continent, Columbia was the female personification, the name based on the surname of Christopher Columbus, who discovered it. This is also how the country of Columbia got its name. As we all know, the New World was intended to be the "Land of the Free," where everyone could come to be rid of religious persecution. Columbia was intended to mean "Land of Columbus," but Columbus means "dove" just as Columba does. As Columbia represented a sentiment of the Americas, Columba now symbolizes peace in all forms (not s...

The falcon is one of the most beautiful and respected birds in the world. From the Latin surname Falco and the genus name Falco, meaning "falcon." Falconry is the hunting of prey using a trained falcon (which can also be done with hawks and owls). Falconry is still widely practised today. It was a widely used topic, motif, metaphor and hobby written about in medieval and Renaissance literature, although it has survived as a small part of literature to this day. It was also regarded as the hobby/practice of nobility, and the name Peregrine (of the Peregrine falcon) was and still is often used by the English upper-crust. Many do not know this, but the current meanings of the phrases "fed up," "wrapped around his/her little finger" and to "have someone under your thumb" were all derived from falconry terms. Falco is also an acceptable baby name, as is Peregrine . In 2010 there were 16 baby boys named Falcon, none named Falco. Varian...

Do you have to be of Native American ancestry to name your child Seneca, or any other Native American baby name? Personally, I don't think so. In my opinion, since we live in the United States, which was originally just Native American land, it honors our ancient country. Seneca, unisex, is the name of a Native American tribe that is part of the Iroquois Confederacy, and today's Iroquois League was also known as the Five Nations or the Six Nations. The Seneca tribe lived furthest west. Their name is Onöndowága, meaning "People of the Great Hill." It is only by coincidence, but Seneca was also the name of a Roman philosopher and statesman, tutor and advisor of the emperor Nero, who lived B.C. and wrote Oedipus . In Latin, Seneca means "old." Those named Seneca could be in reference to either the statesman or tribe. Heavyweight boxing champ Floyd Patterson named his daughter Seneca after the name of the street he was on while trying to think of a goo...

Breccan is an Irish name that was the name of a saint from the Isle of Aran, and the name has made appearances in old myths. Many have opted to spell it Breckin and other various ways, but Breccan remains the most handsome and less trendy. The name means "freckled" or "speckled." The original spelling, as close as it can get, is like Breacain/Breacan, and would be pronounced BREK-awn instead of BREK-an, but the latter is accepted in the US. Breccan was a popular medieval first name, however, there were no baby boys with this spelling born in 2010. There were 5 named Brec, 71 Breck, 11 Breckan, 189 Brecken, 76 Breckin, 8 Breckon, 16 Breckyn, 9 Brek, 13 Breken, 6 Brekin, 20 Brekken, 6 Brekkin, and 5 Brekyn. In 2011 there were 7 boys named Breccan, 7 Breckyn, and 7 Breckan.

Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline is all the rage right now online, popular with pretty much everyone, and it is easy to see why. It is familiar like Emma and Emily, currently two of the most popular names, and Emmeline is a little unique, mysterious and alluring, and rare enough that you think you've heard it before, but haven't. In fact, in 2010 there were 140 baby girls named Emmeline. It was also popular in medieval times. Other variants and names that are very similar are as follows: 13 Emalina, 40 Emaline, 117 Emalyn, 6 Emalyne, 40 Emalynn, 36 Emelin, 35 Emelina, 75 Emeline, 98 Emelyn, 5 Emelyne, 9 Emelynn, 11 Emilene, 10 Emilina, 10 Emiline, 73 Emilyn, 5 Emmalena, 15 Emmalene, 75 Emmalin, 76 Emmalina, 203 Emmaline, 370 Emmalyn, 14 Emmalyne, 215 Emmalynn, 19 Emmalynne, 6 Emmelin, 13 Emmelina, 140 Emmeline, 21 Emmelyn. Amelina is an Italian form of the name, and the spelling Amellina dates to medieval times. It is hard to tell if the names listed above are true variant...

It is a relatively new concept, I think, to be concerned with how well sibling's names go together. "Sibsets," as they are called, are more frequently being talked about on online baby name message boards, and online polls are being created with the goal of seeing what other people think of sibling names going well together. I often see people respond something like this: "I think August and Rowan go great together!" or "I'm not sure Heliodora and Alyssa make good sibling names." Granted, I'm sure expectant mothers of the past thought about this as well, I just don't think they were terribly concerned, enough to go around asking family and friends if Homer would make a good sibling name for Julie. I also don't think they thought about popularity they way we do now. It used to mean a popular name was one of the most well liked names, and now some future parents cringe at the idea of their child being known as "the other Jack" o...