Once Upon a Time Baby Names

I'll admit, I had a very rough time choosing a name for my daughter. For my son, we had a list of about ten names going into the hospital, narrowed it down to three once we saw what he looked like, and then my husband suddenly put his bossy pants on and said, "It's this one." Easy. With our daughter born in March, the list was three times longer and even though I narrowed it down to three like before, I left the hospital without a name picked. We called the hospital the next day to make at least one of them official, but it didn't feel right. I poured over my lists all night. Our top name suddenly felt boring, while the runner-up was so beautiful I really wanted to pick it, but it didn't look like her. Even after making her name official I considered a few others, wondering if one of them would jump out and say, "Why didn't you pick me?!" I asked myself, what advice would I give to a friend having trouble making a decision? - You've spent...

Ametrine A gorgeous natural mixture of amethyst and citrine, this beautiful name can hardly say its been used at all - in fact there are likely as few as two people in the U.S. named Trystine. While the stone itself is known as ametrine (amethyst + citrine as a smush word) or golden amethyst, it is naturally found in Bolivia, thus the trade-name is Bolivianite. There are several varieties of quartz, including onyx, Tiger's eye, rock crystal, and amethyst and citrine individually. To be clear, a gemstone is a "mineral crystal" and it can be a precious or semi-precious stone. When cut and polished these are used to make jewelry. A few gemstones are not minerals at all, such as lapis lazuli, amber and jet. In legend, ametrine was first seen when a Conquistador inherited a Bolivian mine via marriage to a Princess Anahi of the Ayoreos tribe, and he gifted some of these New World gemstones to the Queen of Spain. This must only be legend because the Ayoreo were supposed...

Oliver (3) Aiden & Aaden & Ayden (2) Aaron (2) Liam (2) Jude Gavin (2) Grady Austin Roland Lennon Ryuu Lucien Dominic (8) Albert Linkin & Lincoln (3) Hudson (3) Ollie Christian Miguel Titus Michael (3) Kaemon Kale Austin John (2) & Jon Marcus Brynnen Johnathan (2) Eric Rhett Anthony (2) Wade Mason (4) Sky (f & m) Ashton (2) Nathan & Nathaniel (2) & Nathanial (2) Kellen Dakarai Connor (7) Elijah (4) Tyler (2) Spencer Jasper (2) Thomas (3) Allen Sebastian (2) Isaac (2) Andres Jason (2) Maxwell Gerardo Phoenix Easton Gunner Nolan (2) Reid Bennett Devon & Devin Gabriel Noah (4) Skyler (m & f) Henry (4) Cole (2) Bradley Zander Ziggy Weston (2) & Westin Asher Landon (3) Jacob (6) & Jake (3) Daniel Pedro Thatcher Bodhi Christopher (3) Ty Xavier (2) Max (4) Levi (2) William (2) Giovanni (3) & Jovanni Aquiles Kenneth Morgan Warner Camron & Cameron (2) Rhyan ...

Somehow the Gap Casting Call has a wide array of very well named children each year, you would think this was a naming pageant. So without further ado, the U.S. names from submissions... Kyleigh (2) & Kylee & Kaileigh Caylee & Kaylie Paislee & Paisley (3) Rifka Penelope Alina Gabriela & Gabriella Layla (2) Leila & Laila Lennon (2) Farrah Elizabeth (4) Brianna Hattie Lillian (2) Alaina (2) Madison (5) Esther Kayden and Kaiden (2) Kendall Scarlette Alessandra Belen Gloria Lyric Isla Kinsley Maelin London (3) & Londyn Mikayla (2) & Micaela & Makayla Madeleine & Madeline (3) Norah (3) Kelsie Melody Amelia Sequoia Emma (4) Arianna (3) & Ariana (2) & Aryanna Violet (3) Ipek Anna (2) Avril Sophia (5) & Sofie & Sofia & Sophie (2) Ananda Annabeth Bianca Adrianna (2) Sky (f & m) Valentina (2) Eva (2) Stella (3) Autumn Mariah (2) Peyton (2) Baylinn Ava (2) & Avalyn & Ava...

1. Maria &  João 2. Leonor & Martim 3. Matilde & Rodrigo 4. Beatriz & Santiago 5. Carolina & Francisco 6. Mariana & Afonso 7. Ana &  Tomás 8. Ines & Miguel 9. Margarida & Guilherme 10. Sofia & Gabriel 11. Lara & Duarte 12. Laura &  Gonçalo 13. Francisca & Pedro 14. Joana & Tiago 15. Alice & Rafael 16. Clara & Diogo 17. Diana &  Lourenço 18. Luana & Lucas 19. Madalena & Dinis 20. Mafalda & Salvador To see up to #100 for both genders visit  this site.

Katia Winter as Katrina Crane  Catrina was only used 11 times in 2015, a dramatic drop from its 1980 peak of 454 births. The spelling Katrina is always more popular, lurking just off the top 1000 with 215 births in 2015. Katrina also peaked in 1980 with 3,397 births. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 negatively impacted the popularity of both spelling options, but usage was already decreasing. The original spelling, Catriona (pronounced the same, kuh-TREE-nah) was used 17 times in 2015. It is the Gaelic form of Katherine, and "pure" is the accepted meaning. Cat, Trina, Rini, Caty/Katy and Kiki have all been used as nicknames. Most recently the name Katrina has been used in the TV show Sleepy Hollow , which began airing in 2013. The character Katrina Crane is played by Katia Winter.

Special Agent Seeley Booth Due to its -ley ending and its obscurity, Seeley started life in the U.S. fairly unisex. It was used 5 times in 1914, 6 in 1924 on just boys. Then it reappeared to be used 5 times in 1996 and 7 times in 2007 on just girls. 2009 and later it was used on both genders and has been increasing in popularity, but it is clearly more popular for boys, being used 36 times in 2015 but only 15 for girls. The sudden interest in this name and consistency of use in the 2000's is likely in thanks to Seeley Booth, played by David Boreanaz in the TV show Bones . The show began airing in 2005, but it wasn't until 2009 that Seeley resumed use on team blue. Temperance had a similar revival at the same time and then took off running. Seeley is an Old French surname meaning "blessed," and historically has been spelled Sealey, Seelye and Seely. Real life namesakes include Seeley G. Mudd, professor, physician and philanthropist, the son of Seeley Wintersmit...

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands when she was just a princess Beatrix (BEE-ah-trix) is a vintage name, a historical name, very international, and a modern favorite here in the States. It is little known that her original form is Viatrix, ultimately from Latin viator , meaning "voyager." The -trix suffix for Latin loan words was traced back to the 15th century by The Oxford English Dictionary , yet Saint Viatrix/Beatrix/Beatrice of Rome is from the 4th century. Christians later changed the spelling so that via- became bea- and "blessed" became the new meaning, but beatus also makes "she who makes happy" a legitimate meaning. Beatrice, Beatriu, Betrys, Beitris, Beatrise, Beatrycze and Beatriz are the other spelling variants in Europe. Trixy and Bea/Bee are the most used nickname options, although Bix/Bixy, Beaty, Bebe and even Brice have been used as well. Namesakes include Beatrix Kiddo from "Kill Bill," the girl detective Trixie Belden ...

Ziggy Stardust With the passing of David Bowie recently I thought Ziggy would be a good name to cover.  Listed since 1988 with five births that year, Bowie probably inspired new parents after he starred in the 1986 film "Labyrinth," a cult classic. Jareth, the name of his character in that movie, began use as a baby name the same year it came out. Some people mistakenly believe Ziggy Stardust, the persona created by Bowie (born David Jones) in his early years, is a completely made up name; however, Ziggy is a German diminutive of Siegfried, meaning "victorious peace," and Sigmund, meaning "victorious protection." As a nickname Ziggy simply takes from the first element, therefore meaning "victorious." Bowie saw Ziggy as the name of a tailor business while traveling, and Stardust came from an American act called "The Legendary Stardust Cowboy." Coincidentally, another music legend Bob Marley's son called Ziggy was born David (bu...

Just as I shared a list of names  that didn't win first place after the birth of my son, whose name I keep secret for privacy (but I can hint that it's Scandinavian), I will share this list of names that were on my final list for my daughter. Just for fun we called her Isabeau  when she was in my belly. Everyone else hated it at the time and now they all miss it! Like a normal person I made a long list of names I've always liked when we found out I was pregnant, added some new ones, then crossed off most of them until there were three left on D-Day. Then, just like my son, she came out looking completely different than what I expected, so I had to go over years worth of lists and hundreds of names to find something that fit her, but it was definitely worth it because I am so in love with her name. However, some of these I will really be sad to leave behind. I hope someone uses these names because they really deserve it. The Final List Esmerina - This rare version of ...

Bear with me, kind and patient readers. "'Where have you gone?" you ask. "Why are there no new posts, and why was the site down?" Long story short: my son was born late 2014 and I got pregnant again right away with my daughter, who was born early March. Naming them both was torture. Spending time with them has consumed me, and writing about names for others was a priority that fell to the bottom of the priorities list. But fear not! I shall be writing here again, soon. If I don't, ask me for all the info and usurp me.

Gordon Castle Gordon is a Scottish boy name meaning "great hill" or "spacious fort." It may have a different meaning in Old English and Irish. There are two possible origins - one, that it transferred in use from a Scottish or French place name, ultimately from the Gallo-Roman name Gordus (possibly "stream" or "whirlpool"), and two, that it was given in honor of Charles Gordon, an 1800's war hero. Regardless, Gordon is a relatively new baby name, beginning its history as a given name in the 19th century. The surname goes back to at least the 12th century and likely was born from several places instead of just one. Clan Gordon of Scotland is just one example. Red Wings hockey star Gordie Howe, astronaut Gordon Cooper, composer Gordon Jenkins, prime minister Gordon Brown, chef Gordon Ramsey, physicist Gordon Gould, and writer Gordon Dickson are among many famous namesakes. In fiction, half the characters named Gordon are in children...