Names: My newspaper column -- this week featuring poles, baskets, and manga

[Blaine]

I've seen Atticus pop up on a fair few potential name lists lately. I don't know anyone that has used it yet but the novel does seem to be inspiring people.

We always said that if we'd had a second child, and it was a boy, we'd have to go with Truman.

[Starkess]

I love the name Nora and it'd be a great name for a child if we had a daughter. It's also a family name on the husband's side. But I also love names like Eleanor (but I'd spell it with the Tolkien variation).

We thought about possibly naming a girl-child Wren, but it sounds too close to Rowan. Incidentally, in my experience I've been seeing Rowan being used more and more. *shakes fist* Not all of those people read Anna to the Infinite Power!

Or they were fans of The Tower and The Hive series! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rowan

[Sis Who Swears]

I love the name Nora and it'd be a great name for a child if we had a daughter. It's also a family name on the husband's side. But I also love names like Eleanor (but I'd spell it with the Tolkien variation).

We thought about possibly naming a girl-child Wren, but it sounds too close to Rowan. Incidentally, in my experience I've been seeing Rowan being used more and more. *shakes fist* Not all of those people read Anna to the Infinite Power!

Love the name Wren! It's one of my faves, so is Eleanor. Get outta my head!!

[Minaku]

No way! Now we need to have a naming pow-wow for your little one.

[AutumnEvenings]

Eleanor was probably going to be our girl name! (Charlotte as the middle name, after my favorite aunt.) We were a bit concerned by the popularity of Elle and Ella, but we probably would have gone for it. I think it's so elegant and timeless.

[TerraPrime]

Eleanor is one of my favorite girl names, too. My other is Cassandra, but my SO can't stand it because he loathes "Cassie." Lilith, too, and not just the boarder of that name either :D . Diana is also good.

Charlotte, unfortunately, has been tainted by SitC for me. Sorry.

[Starkess]

Eleanor was probably going to be our girl name! (Charlotte as the middle name, after my favorite aunt.) We were a bit concerned by the popularity of Elle and Ella, but we probably would have gone for it. I think it's so elegant and timeless.

Oh I love Charlotte! It was my parents' second option for me. So apparently they were good at girl names--not so much the plan to name me Benjamin if I was a boy. :stillsick: (Not the name itself, but the combination with my last name.)

[Edda van Heefmstra Ruston]

"Not just", TP? Oooh, them's fighting words.

(Add me as another Elanor-lover. Eleanor/Elinor also acceptable. I would go all hardcore with Aliénor, but that's probably pushing it for living in a non-Francophone country.)

[TerraPrime]

"Not just", TP? Oooh, them's fighting words.

No no no, I meant "and not just because we have a boarder of that name that's so awesome"

I re-read and figured out that it could indeed be read to the opposite effect. Bad writing on my part, lol (cf Lit forum brouhaha).

[Minaku]

I love Elanor. Dare I name a girl Niphredil?

[brook]

Eleanor is one of my favourite girls names too, unfortunantly my husband hates it so I guess it is lucky we only had boys.

[TerraPrime]

I love Elanor. Dare I name a girl Niphredil?

Not unless you use Phred as her nickname. :P

And no, any name that ends in "dil" will sound wrong to my ears.

[Hereward]

Old English personal names automatically imply upper-middle class parents in my mind - not as posh as names like Rupert or Tarquin, but definitely the kind of person who would look down their noses at people like me.

Which is ironic, as the actual upper class had its origins in the dispossession and destruction of the Anglo-Saxons.

Aethelred has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? So does Wulfgar.

Aethelred has, partially unfairly, gone down in history as one of the worst kings we ever had, so I don't see that coming back any time soon.

Don't know about Aethelred (variant/ancestral form of Alfred?), but Wulfgar certainly is better than, say, Thor.

It's a variant. Aethelred means "wise counsel", and Alfred "magical counsel".

I've always been fond of Athelstan, one of the greatest kings we ever had, but a poorer self-publicist than Alfred, a problem exacerbated by the destruction of the works that chronicled him.

PS I tried to convince my wife to call our daughter Elanor, but unwisely admitted to its Tolkien derivation. Still, I'm happy with Edith, which is what we settled on as an alternative, at my instigation. She's still the only one we've heard of, though all the other mums say how much they like the name.

[Yagathai]

I always liked it better as Aethelstane, with the E at the end.

[Gillio]

A friend called her daughter "Aster" another flower name

[Maltaran]

Which is ironic, as the actual upper class had its origins in the dispossession and destruction of the Anglo-Saxons.

I believe I said the Old English names were upper middle class (specifically, those who aspire to be upper class but aren't quite there yet). The actual upper class are the Ruperts and Tarquins and suchlike.

[Hereward]

Yes, I know and accept the point. I still think it's ironic that they want to join the class that was responsible.

[Mlle. Zabzie]

Hazel is one of the Victorian names definitely coming back because it can be seen as a "different but not too different" alternative for Hayley.

There aren't any national stats on middle names. For first names, Social Security gives those names used five or more times in a given year. Since 2000, there has only been one year (2005; 6 born) where more than four girls born in the USA (out of nearly 2 million born every year) were named Myrtle. So your friends are unusual. Where do they live and what sort of people are they, culturally and social class-wise?

They live in Brooklyn (both people I know who used it), and are upper middle to upper class. Culturally they are a little (dare I say it) hipster-ish. ETA - and both little girls have more common first names: Amanda and Eleanor.

Hmm, didn't even think of the Beckhams, I was just reading an article about Harper Lee and decided I really liked the name but... I dunno... I would not want people to think we were naming our child after King Steven the Evil. :P

We really haven't looked too much at names yet, we get to find out the sex on the 22nd of December (hopefully) so I am kinda waiting until then.

I like the name Clara. And Hazel and Victoria and Anna...

I seem to think I am having a girl, all the names I like are girl names. Probably means it will be a boy. :rolleyes:

Congratulations, btw :)

I love Elanor. Dare I name a girl Niphredil?

While pretty, it's a bit too close to Nephritis for comfort for me :)

[Gertrude]

Or you need to get completely funky and go for the unfashionable sounds names. My candidates for that right now are two of the few Victorian fashions which as of yet show no signs of revival -- Gertrude and Myrtle.

I approve of this message. :thumbsup:

[Minaku]

According to my husband we also like Sadie, Kiri, Hazel, Jade, and Robin (another family name). We actively avoided girl names ending in a.

Boy names are tough. I had one good name in Rowan and that was it. I like the strong, traditional boy names: Michael, Alexander, Christopher, Dominic. Because my husband's last name begins with S a lot of names ending with S or X are out. I adore Rex as a name but can't use it.