2011 Top 10 Baby Names Plus

Well, it finally came out, and the rankings did not change as much as I thought they would.

1. Sophia
2. Isabella
3. Emma
4. Olivia
5. Ava
6. Emily
7. Abigail
8. Madison
9. Mia
10. Chloe

I am disappointed that Abigail and Chloe are in the top ten. I really don't like these names. But I am happy that Emma and Olivia are in the top ten, because although they're really popular, I think they're pretty. I really thought Addison would make it into the top ten. Addison represents a lot of naming trends at the moment - starts with an A, ends in -son, has the nickname Addy, sounds like Allison. Oh well. I also should have stuck with my first guess that Emma and Isabella would rank higher than what I predicted.

1. Jacob
2. Mason
3. William
4. Jayden
5. Noah
6. Michael
7. Ethan
8. Alexander
9. Aiden
10. Daniel

I was only right about the ranks of Michael, Alexander and Daniel. I think a lot of us are fed up with Jayden, and a lot of us are probably frustrated that Twilight has made such a big impact in baby name trends. I think that's part of the reason why I also dislike the popularity of Mason, Chloe/Khloe, due to the Khardasians. The celebrity world influences naming to such an extent that the names don't seem original, substantial, or inspired. To elaborate, if I were to name my daughter Domenica, regardless of popularity (but its rarity being a plus), it would be after someone important and carry with it generations of rich history - an important part of her life. It would be substantial and valuable. However, if I were to name a daughter Isabella because of my love for Twilight (which I hate, by the way), it would only ever carry the importance of the story. The name might be pretty (which it is), but she may not like the book, and she'll share her name with some twenty thousands others, which a large portion was probably also named due to the book. I just feel like some of today's popular names are rather flimsy. Rant over.

I was right about Sophia topping the chart. A lot of name lovers thought that would happen. I predicted that Harper, Charlotte, Lila, Scarlett and Ruby would raise in popularity. Harper jumped from #118 to #54, Lila went down from #155 to #163, Charlotte went from #46 to #27, Scarlett jumped from #114 to #80, Scarlet went from #414 to #370, and Ruby only rose from #113 to #109. So I was only wrong about Lila, however, Lily only rose two places as well.

As for the boys, I said Jack, Jackson, Connor, Luke, Lucas, Caleb, Elijah, Brayden and Evan would rise in popularity. Here are the stats:

Jack 2010 - #45, 2011 #45
Jackson 2010 - #25, 2011 #23
Connor 2010 - #49, 2011 #54
Luke 2010 - #41, 2011 #39
Lucas 2010 - #35, 2011 #29
Caleb 2010 - #33, 2011 #32
Elijah 2010 - #18, 2011 #13
Brayden 2010 - #40, 2011 #37
Evan 2010 - #36, 2011 #40

So, as you can see, I placed some of my bets on the wrong horses. I had also been watching a few other names, though, further down the charts or not on them at all. I'll be talking about those in my next post.

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...

Once Upon a Time Baby Names

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