Once Upon a Time Baby Names

Quill , unisex, or Quilla if you prefer to add an a at the end for a girl, comes from Middle High German, meaning “hollow stem.” As a bird feather a quill was used for writing with ink. Be aware that Quilla was also the Hispanic spelling of Mama Killa, the Incan goddess, but it was pronounced KEE-lah, whereas Quill is KWILL. Quilla was used between 1902 and 1964, rarely, while Quill has not been used for either gender. Rada : a short form of the Czech girl name Radoslava (and in Slovak, and Polish Radoslawa), Rada, pronounced RAH-dah, means “good glory, eager glory” from rad “glad, eager” and mil “glory.” As a word, rada means “advice.” Radoslav is the masculine form. Rada has been used since 1893 in the U.S. but rarely, only given to 5 girls in 2017. Radoslav, on the other hand, was only given to 5 boys in 1976. Radoslav was a 9th century Serbian ruler as well as several after him.  Radič  is a diminutive mainly used in Serbian and Bosnian.  Sabelina : coming f...

Rodion, a  musician  from Rome ( pic source ) A Slavic boy's name of Greek origin, Rodion (ROW-dee-on except for Russia, where it is ROD-ee-own) sounds a bit like a high-fashion design house, a bit like a type of metal or element, and a lot like it has a deep history. Rodion comes from Herodion, Herod, Heroides, meaning "hero's song." A few rulers of ancient Judea were named Herod, at least one of whom was also known by Rodion, and there's Saint Herodion of Patras, a Holy Apostle, who has been known as Rodion. There are several Russian, Croatian, Austrian, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Antillean and Romanian namesakes, and at least one fictional character - the protagonist of Crime and Punishment by world-renowned author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. However, the name has only been seen in U.S. data twice. It was given to 6 boys in 2009 and 5 in 2011. Rodya is a Russian variant.

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 ...

Jaromir (YAH-rom-eer / YAR-oh-meer) is a masculine Slavic name meaning "fierce peace" and "spring peace." It is fairly common in Czechoslovakia and other European countries, but not in the U.S. In 1998 we saw the only usage, given to 6 boys. It's also a Polish name, where the meaning is "good reputation." Jaromir, Duke of Bohemia proclaimed himself Bohemian Duke of Prague in 1004. Jaromir, Bishop of Prague was an ally of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI and lived to a decently old age, dying in 1090. In modern times there are a handful of slightly famous namesakes, mostly Czech. In the Czech Republic it currently ranks #79.

This Slavic name meaning "full of life" can be pronounce sh-VAWN-ka or, less often zee-VAHN-ka. It is also sometimes a variant of Ziva, a Hebrew name meaning "radiant" or "splendor." There are only a small handful of people in the U.S. named Zivanka, and it is mainly used in Czechoslovakia. Zivan is her male counterpart.

  Art by Susan Seals Nicolai is the Scandinavian and Slavic form of the Russian boys name Nikolai, said the same, with only the c and k changed. This baby name means "people of victory," a very symbolic name, but can also be roughly translated as "victorious people" or "victor of the people." The origin is the Greek name Nicholas (Nikolaus), but Nicolai puts a fresh spin on an old favorite, updating it with a new nickname: Nico. Niklaus/Niclaus and Nikolaus/Nicolaus are two other rare variants, and Niccolai is an alternate spelling. The spelling Nikolai currently ranks at #641, Nicholas at #42, Nickolas at #551, Nicolas at #168, and Nikolas at #473. This spelling, Nicolai, remains unranked, and a total of 47 boys were given the name in 2011, which is down by 13 boys from 2010 and down 12 from 2009, but up quite a bit overall. Good old St. Nick, who's favorite holiday is just over a week away, is still the most famous namesake. He was a 4th centu...

Today's name : Milana Pronunciation : mil-AHN-ah, mee-LAH-nah Potential nicknames : Millie, Mila, Lana, Milla, Laney/Lainey, Lani Origin : (1) Czech and Slavic pet form of female "mil" names, meaning "gracious," or "favored." It is a form of Milena. (2) Italian, meaning "from Milan." (3) Greek, meaning "black." Other Greek names also mean black, such as Melania, Melaina and Melaine, and this name could be a variant of those or a variant of the Greek name Milena, also meaning "black." They are all related. (4) Hawaiian, meaning "beloved," coming from the Gaelic name Muirne. (5) Spanish, possibly meaning "miracle of the blessed virgin and light." Popularity : 208 baby girls named Milana were born in 2010 in the U.S., which raised to 251 in 2011, ranking at #998, the first time it ever ranked. .

Princess Saskia of Hohenlohe-Lang Saskia (SAHS-kee-uh) is a Danish and Old German name meaning "Saxon," a woman of the Saxon people. Saxon's first element means "knife/short sword" or "small ax," but with the -on suffix it means "knife/small ax wielder," or "swordsmen." Saxia is an alternate form that is even more rare. Potential nicknames include Sax, Sass, Sassy, Kia, Kiki, Ski, Skia, Sa Sa, Saski or Sia. Some say this name could also be of Slavic origin, related to Sasha, a short form of Alexandra that can stand on its own, but that is debatable. Fun facts : (1) There is currently a Princess Saskia of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, born Saskia Binder. Princess Saskia of Hanover is another namesake, more commonly known as Saskia Hooper, the daughter of Turiya Hanover. (2) Saskia was the wife of Rembrandt, the famous 17th century Dutch painter, and use of her name in the Netherlands can be traced back to her. (3) Saskia is a charact...