Once Upon a Time Baby Names

Lærke (LAYR-kuh), a girl’s name meaning “lark.” Signy (SIG-nee) is an Old Norse girl’s name meaning “new victory.” Dagny (DAHG-nee), a Scandinavian girl’s name meaning “new day.” Mikkel is the Danish and Norwegian form of Michael. Randi (RAHN-dee) is a modern Scandinavian girl’s name with the elements “advice” and “beautiful.” Torny (TOR-nee), a Norwegian girl’s name that developed with Thora, meaning “new thunder.” Anders, the Scandinavian form of Andrew, meaning “masculine.” Andor (ANN-dor), a Norse boy’s name meaning “Thor’s eagle.” Gerda (GER-dah), a Scandinavian from Old Norse girl’s name meaning “enclosure.” I think of folklore and fairytales and ancient quaint towns when I see this, so I think the right little girl could breathe new life into this oldie. Pernille (PER-nill) is the Danish and Norwegian form of Petronilla, meaning “yokel” or “stone.” Carsten / Karsten (KAR-sten) is a Low German, Danish and Norwegian boy’s name cognate with Christian. Sa...

This week I will cover 26 boys and 26 girls that are considered rare. Ashwin : a Sanskrit name meaning “light,” and possibly Anglo-Saxon meaning “spear.” As a given name it has been used since 1977 in the U.S. always rare, it was given to 56 boys in 2017. Amellina : a Spanish and Italian variant of Amelia meaning “rival.” This name is very rare, with no statistics. Brynja : a Norse name meaning “armor.” Pronounced BRIN-yah, this name has been used since 1993 in the U.S. but is very rare, given to only 7 girls in 2017. Bedivere : a Knight of the Round Table, his name means “birch man.” This name has not been used in the U.S. despite its chivalrous vibe, along with the possible unusual nicknames Bev, Bear, or Biv. Csilla : a Hungarian name meaning “morning star.” It was created by the Hungarian author Andras Dugonics in 1803. Pronounced tCHEE-luh. This name was only used 5 times, in 1961. Cain : a Bible name with a negative story, this Hebrew name meaning “acquired” was liked en...

Girls 1. Sophie/Sofie 2. Nora/Norah 3. Emma 4. Sara/Sarah/Sahra/Zara 5. Ella 6. Olivia 7. Maia/Maya/Maja (I am wondering why Mya isn’t here) 8. Emilie 9. Sophia/Sofia 10. Ingrid/Ingerid/Ingri Boys 1. Jacob/Jakob 2. Lukas/Lucas 3. Emil 4. Oscar/Oskar 5. Oliver 6. William 7. Filip/Fillip/Philip/Phillip 8. Noa/Noah 9. Elias 10. Isac/Isaac/Isak Check out  this  list from 2015.

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...

Bex can be a nickname for Rebecca and Beckett, but Bex, which happens to be a municipality in Switzerland, could be a name of its own. Some of you might recognize Bex Taylor-Klaus who has starred in the TV shows Arrow , House of Lies , Scream , and The Killing . However, Bex can be short for Bexley, which happens to be a place in east London and in Ohio. That's two-for-one in the place names department. Bexley, which means "boxtree meadow," ranked #970 in 2016 for girls (275 girls total), while it was only given to 13 boys that year. Bex was not used at all. As far as namesakes go, Bexley was the surname of actor Donald Thomas "Bubba" Bexley. Bexley is sometimes said to mean "pasture by the stream," and as  this article  claims, it was recorded as Bix, later Bixle, in the Domesday Book . But that might not be entirely accurate, and it seems Bex was recorded in the book itself.  This source  tells us it actually means "box tree meadow," from t...

Saint Sunniva via http://bergen.katolsk.no/?p=5824 Sunniva (SOON-ee-vah) has a beautiful meaning, "sun gift," from its Anglo-Saxon form Sunngifu. It can be found recorded as the variant forms Suniva, Sunneva, Sunnifa, Sunnefa, Syneva, Synna, Synne (which became very popular), Synnev, Synneva, Synneve, Synnevi, Synniva, Synva, and more. The earliest recorded use was Sweden in 1353 but the name is attested to Saint Sunniva from the 10th century, who was an Irish princess. Unfortunately she died from a cave collapsing in Norway after fleeing an invading king who wanted to marry her. Miracles were reported on the little island she escaped to, Selja, with her followers. Her brother became Saint Alban. Their tales were written about in Latin and Icelandic. This Scandinavian name has been used in Norway (most usage, rank #66 in 2015, also common there in Middle Ages), Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Finland, hitting the U.S. charts in 2005 with only 5 births....

Tyr (TEER, alternatively TER in some other countries) is an Old Norse boy's name and the god from which Tuesday was named (perfect for a baby born on a Tuesday). He was likely the son of Odin and Thor's brother.  In Old Norse  Týr  literally means "god," and he was the god of law, justice, war and heroic glory. He was known as the one-handed god because he had his hand chewed off by the wolf god Fenrir. He was also thought to be the bravest god in the Norse pantheon. His tales were told in the Prose Edda and Poetic Edda , and there is enough historical data to prove he was a very important god in ancient times. In the U.S. this is a rare baby name, given to only 10 boys in 2016 and only used since 2002. The recent Thor movies did not impact this name, but I thought parents would've been inclined to research other Norse mythology names. Odin and Thor are doing well on the charts, though, and Loki is being used a bit more but would still be considered rare.

The Valkyrie by Arthur Rackham Valkyries are a magical, powerful, bold choice for parenting inspiration, and some have considered using Valkyrie itself as a given name - 48 in 2016, the highest number so far. But after seeing the imagery of a beautiful warrior from myth, we have to face the fact that Hrist and Sigrdrifa are not going to go over so well in the U.S. Using Valkyrie as a name, then, might just be the way to go, but Valkyrija and Valkyria (both val-KEER-ee-uh / val-KEER-yah) have been used - officially accepted as a name in Iceland in 2015. Here are a few others to mull over: Brynhildr - could be shortened to Bryn (or just go with Bryn as an "honor" name). It could mean "armor battle" or "bright battle." Eir - pronounced AYR, this is easy to say and short, but the spelling and pronunciation is not intuitive to a native English speaker. It means "peace, mercy." Herja - prononced HARE-yah, its a lot like Freja or Anja, so if...

Some might expect that the popularity of Elvis would've died down decades after 'The King' made it a household name, but it's still ranking on the top 1000 (although it will only be a year or two before it falls off). That means some parents are still looking for something similar but not as common, and that's where Alvis (AL-viss) comes in. This Scandinavian boy's name meaning "all wise" from the word alwiss is a truer form of Elvis, both likely coming from the same origin. Alviss was the dwarf who courted Thor's daughter, but Thor was not happy with the arrangement and put a sad end to it. Alvis Darby was an American football player. Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. was the birth name of musician Buck Owens. Hayes Alvis was a jazz musician. Max Alvis was a Major League baseball player. It's also been used in two video games and an anime. Alvis is really only used in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, where it is not common. While the spelling Alviss ha...

Embla and Ask were the first humans created by Odin, Vili, and Ve, three gods in the Old Norse pantheon. Embla was carved from an alder tree and Ask was carved from an ash tree. Their story is found in the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda . Embla (EM-bluh) sounds a bit like the word emblem, giving it a shiny nobility sort of feel. Contrary to popular belief, there is no "blah" sound in it. The last three lettters are like you're going to say "blush." It is used in Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Iceland (where it last ranked #7 in 2015). However, there are no U.S. statistics. Most believe her meaning is "elm tree," from Old Norse almr , but no one is quite certain. Another suggested meaning is "vine," and with that meaning the name has been connected to the Persian version of the Adam and Eve story, who were also made from trees. It is very possible that because this mythology is so old, something got lost in translation or throughout th...

Adopt a snowy owl Here's another could-be name - one that exists as a word, but not as a name in the U.S. Sova (SO-vah) means "owl" in Czech, Slovenian, Slovakian, Bosnian and Croatian. This feminine noun comes from Proto-Slavic sova . "Little owl" is cute as a nickname, but short and elegant Sova really brings something special to the table as a given name. In the U.S. this has not been used as a name more than 4 times in any given year, leaving us no SSA data. It does not appear on recent popularity charts in the countries in which it means "owl."

Sixten Jernberg Sixten is an Old Norse boy's name meaning "victory stone," composed of the elements sigr and steinn . A longer form was Siegstein. This name was #39 for boys in Sweden in 2016. Famous namesakes include Swedish lieutenant Sixten Sparre born in 1854, Swedish conductor Sixten Ehrling, inventor of pointcytology Sixten Franzen, Danish artist Sixten Kai Nielsen, Estonian orienteer Sixten Sild, and many athletes, such as Swedish cross-country skier Sixten Jernberg, who won 15 Olympic medals. Sixten can also be found as a surname, as is the case for composer Fredrik Sixten and priest Sven Sixten. The form Sixtens appears in the Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (DMNES), dating to 1377.  The unrelated name Sixtus, meaning "sixth born" in Latin, was the name of five popes, two of whom became a saint. For the first (oldest) three, the spelling used was Xystus, dating to the 2nd century. As Xystus it may have meant "scraped, pol...

Dutch boy's name Tygo has a little bit of tiger in him, short and spunky. An added benefit is America's love of Ty- names and its current crush on -o ending names, ensuring a familiar-yet-rare and likeable vibe. Only downside - Tygo is typically pronounced TEE-go in its homeland, and Americans will certainly want to pronounce it TY-go. Tygo is the Dutch form of Tycho, an ancient Greek name meaning "hitting the mark," which is a pretty accurate meaning for this name. Scandinavian Tyko and Russian Tikhon are other forms. As of 2011 Tygo ranked #33 in the Netherlands. In the U.S. Tycho was given to 18 boys in 2016 but no Tygo. A few important namesakes include Dutch actor Tygo Gernandt, born in 1974, 5th century Saint Tychon (an early Greek spelling of the name), who opposed worship of Aphrodite on the island of Cyprus, and Danish astronomer Tyge Ottesen Brahe, born in 1546

The U.S. top 1000 baby names and extended list is here (thank you Social Security Administration!), and my priority is picking out the gems from the very bottom of that list. While Emma and Noah are the current rulers of popularity, names like Cassiana, Euphemia and Faustine were only given to 5 baby girls into 2016, and Pippin and Lonan only given to 5 boys in 2016. In this post I'll talk about names that really stood out, and legitimate names at the very bottom of the barrel. One thing I noticed right away was a large amount of boy names ending in -iel at the bottom of the list (5 boys in 2016). The letter Y had four - Yaciel, Yassiel, Yekusiel, and Yatniel. There was also Remiel, Raniel, Lexiel, Keriel, Joxiel, Joriel, Jazziel, Jaydiel, Ithiel, Eddiel, Doniel, Deriel, Azariel, Audiel, Andiel, Alexiel and Avriel. For girls, I noticed the Brazilian (and Venezuelan?) -y ending on popular girl's names: Gabrielly, Isabelly, and so on. I also noticed a decline in Renesmee ...

Oslo is a place name, the capital of Norway since about 1300 AD, but place names on kids are nothing new for American parents. Oslo is on-trend with other names that end in O, such as Otto and Arlo. In Norway this name is not used, but in the U.S. it has been used since about 2006, and was given to 16 boys in 2015. Founded in 1049 by Harald Hardrada, the city Oslo had burned down in a fire in 1624, so the people moved it close to Akershus Fortress to rebuild. This was during the reign of Christian IV of Denmark, and then the city was renamed Christiania in honor of him. After 1925 the original Norwegian name was restored. It is currently a "global city" with a population estimated at 658,390.

Here's a look at Venla, which is currently (2017) Finland's #4 most popular girls name. This #1 pick is a form of the boy's name Wendel, meaning "vandal." An older form is Vendla, and an alternate Swedish form is Vendela. Wendelin is the ancient Germanic male form, Vendelin the Czech form. Wendela and Wendelina  pop up for girls from time to time, giving the option for Wendy as a nickname. Venla is used in Sweden, Norway and Denmark as well, just not as much. It has not been used in the U.S. The first novel written in Finnish, Seven Brothers , features a character named Venla of  Männistö. This may have brought attention to the name when it was published in 1870, bringing it from zero to at least five births in 1920. The Venla relay is the women's version of the more commonly known Jukola relay, an orienteering relay race that started in 1949 because of the Seven Brothers novel. Since 1982 the Venla has been a Finnish television award. Venla Hovi is a Fin...

Suvi Koponen   Suvi (SOO-vee) is a Finnish poetic word name meaning "summer." The word used in general for summer is   kesä, so this is a bit like the American use of "fall" in reference to the season and Autumn as a baby name, although autumn is used in context of the season almost as much as fall (it could be a regional difference). The name is used in other Scandinavian countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Norway, though not as much. It is not unheard of for Suvi to be combined with another name, such as Suvi-Tuuli or Suvi-Marja, for the double-barreled effect.  This  site claims the name was used as early as 1150 or before.  Finnish supermodel Suvi Koponen and Finnish taekwondo master Suvi Mikkonen are two native namesakes. In the U.S. the name is rare, given to only 14 girls in 2015, 11 in 2016, and only used since about 2007.  Here  is Finland's data for the name Suvi, which tells us about 440 girls were given the name between 2010 and 2017...

Galt is a boy's name meaning "wild boar" in Old Norse and Old English. Galton is a separate name, and the meaning "steep wooded land" is unsubstantiated. In Old Norse it began use as a nickname, a reference to someone who used the strength or ferocity of a wild boar in battle. The name also has a place in Old Gaelic - used to refer to someone from Gaul, meaning "foreigner," and therefore a surname of separate origins (but still one that started as a nickname). Gault is another form of the surname, which has a connection to the Norwegian word gald , meaning "hard/high ground," and it is the name of the archaeological clay formation Gault. If you follow little  breadcrumbs  there's a bit more interesting info connecting the Gaelic name with the Scandinavian one and adding in a possible Viking and Huguenot twist. As for namesakes, there may only be one with Galt as a given name: musician Galt MacDermot. But with the last name, there is Sir...

If you like Kit on a boy, don't like Christopher as a full name, and don't want Kit as a stand-alone name, then Kitterick is for you. This Irish surname, sometimes found as Ketrick or Mac Kitterick, comes from MacShitric, meaning "son of Sitric." Sitric was not native, it came from the Norse name Sigtrygg, meaning "true victory." How did this Scandinavian name get over to Ireland? Well, perhaps it had something to do with Sigtrygg Silkbeard, King of Dublin somewhere around AD 989 to 1000. His reign was so important that he was written about in  both the 12th-century Irish  Cogadh Gaedhil re Gallaibh  and the 13th century Icelandic  Njal's Saga . Before Mr. Silkbeard there was   Sitric Cáech, a Viking who ruled Dublin and Northumbria in the 10th century. His son, grandson and great-grandson also became rulers. Kit  itself is not a popular choice, probably because a formal name is more desired. In 2015 only 40 boys were named Kit (and 28 girls), 10 boy...

Maybritt and Maybrit are modern spellings of the Nordic name Majbritt, pronounced MY-brit. It is largely used in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, in that order. The girl's name can be traced back to at least 1893. It is now a bit dated, as its heyday was between 1950 and 1980. Maybrit, Majbrit, Maibritt, Maibrit, Majbritta, Majbritte, and -th endings such as Maibrith have also been used. The 'maj' element of the name comes from Maja (and ultimately from Maria, whose meaning is contested) and can also mean May (the month), while 'britt' comes from Britta, from the Celtic name Brighid (prn: BREED), meaning "exalted one." Brighid/Bridget was a goddess in Irish mythology. The takeaway for meaning is "exalted woman." May-Britt Moser is a Norwegian psychologist and neuroscientist who was a Nobel laureate. Majbritt Morrison was the victim of racial violence that initiated the 1958 Notting Hill race riots. She later wrote Jungle West 11 . Maibritt Saerens ...