Skip to main content

Advice

Some general advice before moving on to links: always double-check name meanings through multiple sources, especially when finding something you like in a baby name book. Often times a "meaning" is given that is a title or hasn't been explained or fact-checked. For example, I've come across "Massagetean queen" as the name meaning for Tomyris, which is what she was, not what her name meant. Another example - Shawn is sometimes listed as meaning "John," and it does, except John has its own meaning (and therefore Shawn's meaning is the same as John's).

Maiden Name, His Name, or Other?

Critiquing Popular Baby Name Blogs & Sites

Name Bullying

Consider this when choosing a baby name

Classy or Trashy? Passing Judgements

The right first name for your baby's last name

Working with common name associations

Considering Future Sibling Names When Expecting #1

So many people, so many name options

Intentionally & Creatively Misspelling Names (also see this follow-up)

When Surnames as First Names Are Okay

Honoring Family with Names

Is there a difference between "uncommon" and "rare" names?

"Filler" Middle Names

Unusual First Name, Common Middle Name

Girls with "-wyn" and "-son" names

Isabella B., Isabella S., and the Mean Isabella

The "I Lost My Kid" Test

Baby Name Test Drive

What would you have named yourself?

When does an unusual name cross the line?

A Lesson in English

Dated, or timeless?



From other sites:

Build-a-Name

Baby Name Test Drive

Nymbler

White Pages

Why girls are given masculine names

"Black Names" (Sad but true?)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Galician Baby Names

I grew up on a street that was named an Italian variant of Roger. When I got married and we bought our first house, it turned out to be on Roger Street. Once noting that coincidence, I started searching for other variants of the name. However, female variants turned out to be pretty nonexistent. Save for Roxeria, which I later discovered was the Galician female form, possibly pronounced rohz-AIR-ee-uh. That led me to a few lists of female Galician names, ranging from common to rare. Here is a sampling of names not often heard here in the states... Albina Alda Alma Alodia Aloia Amada Amadora Amalia Amparo Anisia Antia Araceli Aranzazu Artemisa Avelina Azucena Baia Balbina Baltasara Beatriz Benvida Berenice Bieita Branca Braulia Caetana Carola Casilda Casimira Ceferina Celsa Cipriana Cira Clorinda Coralia Cornelia Cosima Davinia Delfina Desideria Dionisia Dominga Dorinda Dorotea Dositea Edelmira Edenia Elba Elvira Emiliana Etelvina ...

Elowen

Elowen is a recent Cornish baby name meaning "elm." It may not take off in America like the last Cornish hit, Jennifer, but it's certainly pretty. She's part of a "linguistic revival," as Appellation Mountain puts it  here . Her nickname could be Ellie, Elle or Ella, or a more unusual choice, Wendy. The pronunciation of Elowen is "ell-LOH-en," though most Americans will probably stick with "ELL-oh-wen." Please note that it is not spelled Elowyn. There is a similar name, Eowyn, but if you spell it Elowyn it will no longer be the Cornish name meaning elm tree, just some creative name. Other great Cornish names include Penrose, Chesten (the Cornish form of Christine), Demelza, Denzel, Hammitt, Kerensa/Kerenza, Meraud (very similar to French gem name Emeraude, both meaning emerald, but Meraud is pronounced "meh-row"), Merryn, Morwenna, Tremain, Emblyn, Jory, Massen, Treeve and Cotton. Here's 's a link to a post on Cornish n...

Ancient Germanic Female Deities

Loki and Idun by John Bauer Here is a list of ancient Germanic goddess and personifications. There is some overlap with the goddesses of the Norse pantheon, and I've limited it to those names that I think would wear well today on modern babies. Of the following names, only the following were used in 2016. Sol was given to 91 girls, Ran to 5 girls, Saga to 9 girls, and Beyla to 6 girls. Beyla - as a possible agricultural personification, her name could mean "cow," "bean," or "bee," but she has been associated with bees and mead, so my guess is "bee." However, there's been a proposed connection to the reconstructed Proto-Norse name Baunila, which means "little bean." This is also a Spanish and Italian girls name. Fulla - possibly means "bountiful." Her other name is Volla, which I think is equally accessible as a name. She is a virgin goddess in Old Norse mythology. Gersemi - means "treasure." Sh...