Once Upon a Time Baby Names

  Princess Cordelia Abidaoud and Hilary Clinton Today's headline: "Grab it while it's hot!" If the amount of labels under this post are any indication, Cordelia's a modestly rising, historically rich, beautiful trend-setter. The first time I saw Cordelia (kor-DEEL-ya, kor-DELL-ee-uh) was in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and I'm sure most people in my age bracket can say the same. However, these days I'm seeing the name everywhere online. It's become a very popular option for new parents, and has a long list of namesakes, both in real life, literature and media. From the comic book character Cordelia Swan to the real life Phoenician princess Cordelia Abidaoud, it should be a lot of fun looking through all the various Cordelia's out there, past and present. Nameberry reports that two "Babyberries" named Cordelia were born just recently. Cordelia is a Latin name most likely meaning "heart," from the names Cordula (as in Sai...

Mercade (murr-KAYD) is quite the interesting boy's name. It was used by Shakespeare in "Love's Labour's Lost." The character Mercade is a lord who attends the princess of France, and he has a total of four lines (I believe), but Shakespeare chose his character's names well, so Mercade is not just any afterthought. There is a book called Shakespeare's Comic Commonwealth s that tells us his name is no coincidence: "Several critics have noted connections between Mercade and Mercury," the author says, "as the messenger of the gods and the god of oratory, but they have not commented on Mercury as the divine messenger recalling people to their social responsibilities." The similarities between the character Mercade's messenger duties, the importance of his message, and the affect of his message, even being only four lines total, is not a coincidence - Shakespeare most definitely intended him to be a Mercury-like character. From Latin merc...

Ingela is a variant of Angela in some countries, like German (from engel ), but means "Ing's protection" or "guarded by Ing" in Scandinavian/Old Norse. Ing, the Norse goddess, was also the foundation for Ingrid, meaning "Ing's beauty." Ingela dates back to at least 1692 in Northern Europe, but world wide may date as far back as any record of Angela. There were no babies named Ingela in 2011 or 2010, and my guess is you won't find more than a small handful of Ingela's in U.S. records of birth, and even White Pages tells us there are only 118 in the U.S. Ingela Olsson was a Swedish actress from the 90's, Ingela Forsman a popular lyricist, and Ingela Klemetz was responsible for an art gallery exhibit on Northern Women in Chanel. There was also Ingela Gathenhielm, known as the "Shipping Queen," a Swedish privateer and pirate during the 1700's with her husband Lars. There actions were sanctioned by King Charles XII of Sweden.

I decided to do a quick name interview with my husband. Although his name, Shawn, is not as popular as it once was - #27 in 1973, people still might want to consider it. Other variants are still popular, such as Sean and Shaun. All three spellings are Irish variants of John, meaning "God is gracious." Sean is the Irish version, while Shawn and Shaun are the Anglicized versions from Irish. In 2011 Shawn ranked at #248, Shaun at #588 and Sean at #125. What is your name?  (Include middle if you’d like) Shawn Anthony Do you have any nicknames? As a child, Shawnie What is your ethnic background? Polish What decade were you born in? mid 80's How did you feel about your name growing up? I liked it How do you feel about your name now? It's alright How often do you run into other people with your name? Not too often, but it happens What are some names of your family members? Mitch, Eddie (not Edward, just Eddie), Cynthia, Brian, Rochelle If you have any kids, what are t...

December  remains rare as a baby name, but parents do sometimes use it --33 times in 2011. It probably helps that Ember, a top 1000 name, can be its nickname. The same can be said of November, but Nova would probably be the go-to nickname for that one. Season  is another word name turned rare baby name, used only 6 times in 2011, but it would make a great alternative to overused Christmas names, while still being appropriate all year long. Angela  is being heard less these days, but also consider Angelia, Ingela, Angelus and Argelia. You might want to avoid Angel for a few reasons. Rudolpha  at first seems to scream "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," but it actually seems very sweet and wholesome. It's also good for parents looking for frilly, feminine names with masculine nicknames: Rudy. Emmanuelle  could make a great alternative for Noelle this time of year, and it has a religious meaning fitting for Christmas. Natale  is much less heard than Natalie, Nat...

Yes, Matilda. We're all aware of her popularity. But what other names end in -ilda? The list is fairly long. Quenilda Casilda Hilda Clotilda Gilda Marilda Otthilda Romilda Serilda Swanhilda Somerilda Estrilda Sunilda Thorilda Reinhilda Gunilda Farilda Lovilda Merilda Tilda

Goodbye, 2012. You've brought the world some amazing baby names, and some amazingly bad baby names. Let's take a look at some rare names that made the headlines this year... Severine - the name of the latest Bond girl gets more use in France, as well as the name of the actress that plays her -  Bérénice Marlohe,   but I'm just a tiny bit surprised that hardcore Harry Potter fans didn't show interest in it as an alternative for Severus, as they both mean... Matilda - for the simple reason that this name is everywhere , but also the new magazine. Malala - this poor girl was shot by the Taliban for wanting girls to have equal education rights, but unfortunately her name means "grief stricken." Blake - Lively. Debuted at #815 in 2011 for girls. Grey - first name, middle name, boys name, girls name, mothers are going nuts for Grey ever since 50 Shades of Grey came out and took over the world. In 2011 Greysen made the top 1000 at #940. Christian has also be...

What is the difference between "uncommon" and "rare?" Is there a difference? And are rare names still acceptable/nice? Yes. Uncommon names are those we are familiar with, but don't hear often. However, uncommon names, unlike rare names, can be popular enough to sometimes rank, or may not be common where you live. Examples include names from the bottom of the Social Security Administration's annual top 1000. In 2011, some of those names were Nova, Willa, Stacy, Esme, Gwyneth, Blair, Jewel, and Dorothy for girls, and Miller, Reuben, Flynn, Maksim, Hendrix, Corban and Pierre for boys. Rare names, on the other hand, are generally unheard of (but not all the time, as familiar names like Rosalind are considered rare because they are not being used, most times because parents favor names that sound and look like what is currently popular). Some rare names given to less than 20 babies in 2011 include Alva, Astoria, Merrick, Quorra, Palmira, Rowena, Temple, Tanith, ...

Alysiana Feliciana Sebastiana Abyssinia Tiodoria Alianora Eleonora (as el-ay-oh-nor-uh) Iphigenia Victoriana Vittoriana Anastasia (as an-ah-stah-see-uh) Cassiopeia Alexandria Alexandrina Apollonia Elisabetta Elizaveta Agraciana Evangelica Evangelina Evangelia Feodosia Alessandria Illuminata Viridiana Emmanuella Basiliana Desideria Moschatellina Stelliferina Cyparisia Fiorentina Imogenia Januaria Louisiana Philadelphia Octaviana Aureliana Lazariana Artemisia Serendipity Valeriana Emiliana Theodosia Catharinella Catarinella Giovanina Dionysia Leocadia Ekaterina Estephania Silveriana Callianeira Fernandina Anatolia Elizabella Altagracia Altalunette Caledonia Annunciata Annunziata Candelaria Emerentia Emerenzia Innocentia Bartolomea Aloysiana, Aloysia Isabellina Isabellita Isabettina Iosefina (as ee-oh-sef-ee-na) Capitolia Capitolina Columbiana Kaligenia, Caligenia Amarinthia Amazonia Amphelisia Oliviera Olimpia...

  Vesper is Latin, meaning "evening star," and shares part of its meaning with the religious term evening vespers , meaning "evening prayers." The name's been around a long, long time, but started picking up more interest in 2006 because of Casino Royale, and the Bond girl called Vesper Lynd. Vesper Vivianne Ruck is the daughter of Alan Ruck and Mirielle Enos, there was a character in a Lloyd Alexander adventure series named Vesper, and she also featured in the Batman comic series as a TV and radio newscaster named Vesper Fairchild (pictured above), who had a romantic relationship with Bruce Wayne. There are about 160 people named Vesper in the U.S. according to White Pages, 33 of which were born in 2011, and 24 in 2010. To be more accurate, Vesper is the unisex and Vespera the feminine, and the religious term came after. (See  here .) Vespertine is a lesser known variant meaning "of the evening." Vespertine is more French-chic, similar in looks...

You might first recall Matt Bellamy, who just welcomed a child with Kate Hudson, when seeing this name. Or maybe actor Ralph Bellamy, the Bellamy Mansion, or The Bellamy Brothers, or Francis Bellamy, who created the Pledge of Allegiance. And it did start as a surname. Bellamy means "beautiful friend" from belle ami in Old French, and originally pronounced BAY-lah-mee in French, but most people in America are more inclined to pronounce it BELL-uh-mee. As a first name it's been picking up a bit of attention as both a substitute for Isabella and as a surname-name, but also for its trendy "ee" ending sound. On the show "9 By Design," one of the children is named Bellamy, chosen for a connection to France, and there is a lesser-known American actress named Bellamy Young. As a surname not defined by either gender in its meaning, the name is unisex, but no boys were given the name in 2011. On the girl's side, the name was given 53 times, and in 2010 just...

  Jessamine (JESS-ah-meen, JESS-uh-min), thankfully, has been getting attention in recent years. I credit that to baby naming websites that have message boards, but who knows. Jessamine is the archaic French, medieval English, and Persian for "jasmine,” although there is a strong case that she comes from Ismenia, Isemene, which is a Greek name meaning “knowledge.” Variants that became obsolete included Jessamy, from Jessamie, Jessima, Jacamine, and Jessamyn. Jesmond is likely related, and she comes with her own variants, including Jessimond, Ghismond, Ghismonda, and Jesmaine. Jessamyn is probably the most used variant. Jessamyn West was an American Quaker and writer best known for The Friendly Persuasion in 1945. Another Jessamyn West is a librarian and blogger. Like Clary, she's also a character in a Cassandra Clare series which is rapidly gaining popularity. Nicknames can range from Jessica's "Jessie" or "Jess," to Jasmine's "Minnie,...