Once Upon a Time Baby Names

Taken from  Statistics Norway . I have no clue how/why there are multiple spellings, but I'm assuming they group spellings for each name and then rank them, unlike the U.S. that goes by individual spelling. *UPDATED 2015 Stats Girls: 1. Emma 2. Nora/Norah 3. Sara/Sahra/Sarah 4. Sophie/Sofie 5. Olivia 6. Sophia/Sofia 7. Emilie 8. Ella 9. Lea/Leah 10. Maja/Maia/Maya Boys: 1. William 2. Mathias/Matias 3. Oliver 4. Jakob/Jacob 5. Lukas/Lucas 6. Filip/Fillip, Philip/Phillip 7. Liam 8. Axel/Aksel 9. Emil 10. Oskar/Oscar Previous: Girls: 1. Emma 2. Nora/Norah 3. Sara/Sarah/Sahra 4. Sofie/Sophie 5. Linnea/Linea 6. Thea/Tea 7. Maya/Maia/Maja 8. Emilie 9. Ingrid/Ingri 10. Julie Boys: 1. Emil 2. Lucas/Lukas 3. Mathias/Matias 4. William 5. Magnus 6. Filip/Fillip/Philip/Phillip 7. Oliver 8. Markus/Marcus 9. Noa/Noah 10. Tobias

Matilda Plum, anyone? Since I've been reading a lot about "filler" middle names lately, I thought this post was right on time. "Filler" middle names are the ones we end up using for lack of a better name. They are the safe, overused, short names we stick between first and last names just because we "know" a child should have a middle name. It just sounds nice is the main reason they're chosen. They do work very well - they definitely get the job done, especially for parents who put more emphasis on the meaning of the first name and for those who choose a very long or unusual first name. The prime examples are Lynn, Rose, Marie, Jane, Anne, Grace, May and Claire. As for longer "fillers," Katherine/Catherine and Elizabeth are usually prime suspects. There are others, but I'll keep this shorter than it could be. Not every name qualifies as a "filler." Initials definitely qualify (99.999% of the time) but unusual, exotic, inter...

The TV show Once Upon a Time is setting two different trends right now: 1) fashion trends (the main character's jackets are constantly being talked about) and 2) baby names. Fans have been looking forward to season 2, which began yesterday. From this first episode we are introduced to Mulan, Aurora (sleeping beauty), and Sleeping Beauty's Prince Phillip. A lot of thought went into character names for this show. Emma Swan is the main character, daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming aka James aka David Nolan. Emma is played by Jennifer Morrison, Snow White aka Mary Margaret Blanchard is played by Ginnifer Goodwin, and Charming is played by Josh Dallas. Ms. Swan's story involves a son she gave up for adoption when she was young, and that son had been adopted by the Evil Queen, Regina Mills. Emma's son Henry is played by Jared S. Gilmore, and Regina is played by Lana Parrilla. Here's a little on the name meanings: Emma - a royal name in medieval Englan...

What is your name?  Ingrid. What decade were you born in?  Late 90's. How did you get your name? My parents wanted a Norwegian name, and they eventually settled on Ingrid. How did you feel about your name growing up? I'm still a teenager, but I like having an unusual name. How do you feel about your name now? The same, I guess. If you have any kids, what are their name(s)?  No kids. :) What is the name of your best friend? Katarina.  Occasionally Kit-Kat. What are some common names for your age group? Emily, Hannah, Caitlin, Mackenzie... If you had to give yourself a new first name, what would it be? Either Theadora or Hermione! Of the kids you've met most recently, which are your favorites and least favorites? I know a Aurora who's a toddler. I really like that name a lot. What are your favorite names at the moment? Theadora, Genevieve, Isadora, Lumina, Rosalia, Hermione, and Lavender. What advice would you give expecting parents looking for the perfect name? Rememb...

Kol from The Vampire Diaries Kol is a pretty straight-forward old Viking name meaning "coal," in Old Norse, but it can also mean "dark," and "black." Cole/Kole, Colby/Kolby and Colton/Kolton are the most common variations seen today, and Kol/Col is a pretty common name prefix and suffix. It is more commonly seen as Cole or Kole due to it's transfer into Old English usage. Kolt/Colt and Kolton/Colton both meaning "coal town," although Colt can also refer to a young male horse. Now, the most common namesake right now is the fictional character Kol from The Vampire Diaries , part of an ancient Viking line turned vampire. There is a female variant, Kolfinna , meaning "dark (from the coal element) and fair," which is well used in Iceland, and there were no recorded births for it (ever) in the U.S. There's also the male Scandinavian variant Kolbjorn, which has not seen use in the U.S. In 2011 there were 9 baby boys named Khol...

Yes, you read that right - Belphoebe, not Phoebe. Pronounced bell-FEE-bee. Edmund Spenser used Belphoebe in his allegorical poem  The Faerie Queene , and he had great taste in names. In fact, he invented Belphoebe, as there is no other record of the name before that. The History of Christian Names (Yonge, 1884) lists the meaning as "far light," composed from Latin words, but The Spenser Encyclopedia tells us it is one part bel ("beautiful") and one part Phoebe, the so-called goddess of the moon, meaning "bright, radiant." This is more accurate when given her character and what Spenser modeled her on. Considering names used at the time, such as Christobel, the second meaning of Belphoebe is backed up. Spenser even said her name "refers to the goddess of chastity." To elaborate, Phoebe was a Titan associated with the moon and Diana/Artemis (Greek and Latin, respectfully) was goddess of the moon. In Spenser's Faerie Queene , Belphoebe is a...

Here's one I didn't know about until now: Whitepages! Seriously, and holy crap. Search for a name and it gives you quite a bit more than you expect. It almost does exactly what I do on my blog (it doesn't list how many were born in the past year, but it tells you how old the people with the name are) and more. Here's my example: FAY Ranks 1,032nd in 2011 Late 19th‐century coinage, from the archaic word fay ‘fairy’. It was to some extent influenced by the revival of interest in Arthurian legend, in which Morgan le Fay is King Arthur's half-sister, a mysterious sorceress who both attempts to destroy Arthur and tends his wounds in Avalon after his last battle. She is sometimes identified with the ‘Lady of the Lake’. Between the wars the name came to prominence as that of the British actress Fay Compton (1894–1979); more recently it has been associated with the writer Fay Weldon (b. 1931). Nicknames and variations:  Faye ,  Fae ,  Fa ,  Fai ,  Faia ,  Fahey ,...

* Ulyssa is the female variant of Ulysses, so all that I say on Ulysses applies to Ulyssa. Ulysses and the Sirens by John William Waterhouse One of the things I truly enjoy while writing this blog is the art that sometimes comes with the name, which I feel separates this blog from a lot of the others, and in the case of Ulysses, there's some great stuff here. Case in point: "Ulysses" by Josh Garrels Another song to check out is "Tales of Brave Ulysses" by Cream Ulysses is not just the name of the 18th U.S. president, it is the Latin name of Homer's epic hero Odysseus. You know the one - he leaves his wife Penelope  and his son Telemachus for the Trojan War, then it takes him 20 years to come back home. Now, most stories written by the ancient Greeks are a little weird (truth be told) so the fact that he met some other ladies along the way, was forced to live with a goddess/witch, well... Penelope was on his mind the whole time. How she wait...

Seville, Spain Sevilla is an intriguing choice, listed as the Spanish variant of Sibyl, meaning "prophetess, oracle." Very mysterious and alluring. It also happens to be the name of the ancient Spanish city of Seville, where Diego Velazquez was born, and the setting of the opera "Carmen." In myth, the Andalusian city was founded by Hercules. In this respect, the name can also mean "from Seville." You might have to constantly explain how this name was chosen, but isn't it worth it? The nickname Villa is exotic, yet very place-name. In Spanish the pronunciation is seh-VEE-ya, but the English way is seh-VIL-uh. In 2011 there were only 7 baby girls named Sevilla, in 2015 there were only 5.

I had to do this name because my husband could easily be a stunt double for Orlando Bloom ( ^.^ ), the most famous namesake at the moment, who is married to Victoria's Secret model Miranda Kerr and named their son Flynn. Several athletes bear the name as well. Worldwide, the most easily recognizable place name is Orlando, Florida, home of Disney World, Sea World and Universal Studios. Orlando is an Italian and Spanish variant of the Old German name Roland, meaning "renowned/famous land." Roland was a famous and loved literary medieval knight (read Le Chanson de Roland for more info). It is possible Orlando and/or Roland originated as a place name. Orlando is a literary name used a lot in the 19th century, which even Virginia Woolfe used as the title of one of her novels, and Shakespeare used it for one of his characters in "As You Like It." There was also a Saint Orlando. Orly and Lando are common nicknames, but Orrie or Andy can work well. Orlando currently ran...

For a fun read elsewhere, read  this post  on the name Topanga. Someone, please, be brave enough to use it! It's so loud, spunky, quirky and refreshing. As an update, there were 18 baby girls named Topanga in 2011 and 15 in 2010.

Perseus and Andromeda by Anton Raphael Mengs Andromeda is a name that most people admire, but find too unusual or extreme to use in real life, therefore they put it away on their "guilty pleasures" list of names they're not brave enough to use. Which is a shame, really, since it's such a gorgeous mythological gem. But I do agree, it does come on strong, which is why it's on my own GP list. I have thought an easy and accessible nickname would make it more useable, though. Nickname possibilities: Andie, Anna, Anne, Annie, Andra, Andrea, Dru, Dre, Drama, Mei/Mae, Meda There were 31 baby girls given the name Andromeda in 2011 (only 5 were given the name of her mother, Cassiopeia) and only 20 named Andromeda in 2010. In 2016 there were 64. So many are familiar with Andromeda's tale: her mother, Queen Cassiopeia (another great name, meaning "she whose words excel"), was arrogantly proud of her daughter's beauty and boasted that she and Andro...