Surprising Flower Names for Spring

It has officially been spring now for a couple of weeks. Sorry for not posting about it immediately, but living in Northern Minnesota means Spring is still a few weeks off for us.

To honor spring, I thought I would find  surprising flower names. We all are familiar with names like Rose, Lily, and Violet. And, while they are less common or old fashioned, we also know Petunia, Pansy, and Iris can be used. In the past year Swistle has been asked about a sister for Magnolia and whether Marigold will become trendy. These last two are more what I am looking for. Beautiful naming options, but not common. Marigold has never been in the top 1000 baby names in America, but has the popular name "Mary" in it and sounds natural as a name. Magnolia fell out of the top 1000 in the 1940s, and seems like a mixture of Maggie and Agnes with the popular 'ia" ending.

I think unexpected flower names fall into two categories - flowers everyone knows and just do not think to use as names, and rare or uncommon flowers (or not native to the U.S.) that would make pretty names but would not be necessarily associated with being a flower name unless the person asked or is scientifically inclined. 

Azalea & Zinnia - I actually met a sibset with these two names! A bit matchy together, but either is beautiful on its own, especially for"z" lovers
Calla - Like the more popular Callie/Kali, but with a twist!
Lilac - If Lily is so popular, why doesnt
Begonia -Another "ia" ending!
Gladiolus - OK. I admit it... Gladys made me think why not Gladiolus. Nickname Glady?
Tansy - This one has a bit more spunk!
Lotus - Or the exotic...
Briony - I did not even know that this was a flower until I got onto the baby name blog scene. It seems so much like a girls name!
Chrysanthemum - nick name Chrys?
 
Crossandra - A twist on Alexandra that is also the beautiful orange flower below.

Rafflesia - This reads as a feminine version of Raphael, but is actually one of the rarest flowers in the world!
Cosmos - This could work even for a boy, but there are some other non-flower connotations
Koki'o - Definitely an exotic twist, but I like how it comes off the tongue.


Are there any flower names, popular or rare, that you would consider using? Do you like any of the options here, or are they to "out there"?

Saint Patrick's Day - Solute to the Irish

While we think of Irish names as being Patrick, Brian, Caitlin and Ciara, or unpronounceable Gaelic gems like Aithche, Moirna, and Nuadha, in reality Irish families are naming their kids many of the same things American's are, with a few exceptions. What names are actually popular in Ireland right now?

Pretty typical over all. although of course you wont find Harry, Ryan or Chloe anywhere near the top 10 here in America. If you are looking for something a big more exotic though, you do not have to venture far outside the top ten. For boys, Oisin, Cian, Darragh, and Cillian all come in the top 25, while for girls Aoife, Caoimhe, and Saoirse make the same cut.

The Boys
Oisin - Pronounced "oh-sheen", this name is from Gaelic mythology, son of a legendary warrior and a goddess. The name means "little deer"

Cian - Pronounced "Key-in", this name means ancient or enduring. While not currently in the top ten, it has been in the past and is on a down swing in popularity.

Darragh - Pronounced "die-rah", this name means fruitful or fertile. This is also used as a girls name with alternate spelling Daire or Dara.

Cillian - Pronounced like Killian, this name makes me think of the beer (Killian's Red). It means "associated with the church". There is a St Cillian who left Ireland to convert German tribes.

The Girls
Aoife - Pronounced like Ee-Fa, this is Irish spelling of Eva. It means Beautiful, Radiant, or joyful.

Caoimhe - Pronounced like "Key-vah", this is a female version of Kevin and means "gently, beautiful, preciuos".

Saoirse - Pronounced "sir-sha", this is a "word as a name, it is the Gaelic word for freedom or liberty. Its use as a name is relatively new and is very patriotic.


I also though, just for fun, why not pull the stats for Northern Ireland? So here those are! Very similar, but not identical, to those of Ireland.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!

Names that Cars Ruined for Me

There are literally thousands of car models in the world, some more famous or infamous than others. Therefore I guess its no surprise that car names overlap with baby names. The follow is a list of some names that I actually really like but probably would never use because they have become car names.

Cayenne - Here is a unique name that is a type of hot pepper, and more recently the name of a Porsche. My husband and I actually both liked this for a girls name when I was pregnant, but crossed it off due to the car association, so really this is the name that inspired this post! I do not think this particular car will be long lived, but the timing was just poor for when we were choosing a name.

Pacifica - Recently featured as the name of the day at Appellation Mountain, a Chrysler Pacifica is the type of car I am driving right now. Its unfortunate, because I think its actually a really beautiful girls name and has a nice long history of use (its not just a place name!). Once again, like the Cayenne, this model is not long lived, but as I drive one, the name is unusable.

Taurus - This is the most "typical" car on the American roads. The Ford Taurus. It was THE Sedan for a long time, so unlike the first two options the assocation with the car is here to stay. Taurus is also a zodiac sign, and a boys name meaning bull in Latin. It is also related to the saint's name Taurinus. I think this name might gain some popularity if it were not for the car, especially with the trending "s" ending.

Ford - This could easily be a great "last name as first name" or a presidential honor name, if it were not for the car company. When I see Ford these days. I think "Fix Or Repair Daily".

Bentley - I actually DO know a guy named Bentley. The name is strongly associated with the brand, but it is a luxury brand so the association is not as negative as it might be for some other cars.

Shelby - Here is another case where the association might be OK because it is not negative. The Shelby Cobra might actually be a car that is worth naming a little girl after!

Other "car" names I considered putting in this post but did not quite make the cut: Denali, Acadia, Odyssey, Sonata, Elantra

Do you like any of these "Car" names? Does it matter that they are associated with a car? Did I miss any obvious ones? 

Martin Luther King Junior

Today in the US is Martin Luther King Jr day. It is a day to commemorate not just one great leader, but all those who struggled and struggle for civil rights. A worthy set of namesakes for sure!

The most obvious names to honor this day of course come directly from the name - naming a boy Martin, or Luther, or even King. 

Luther is the most obvious honor choice, it will probably lead to the question "like Martin Luther?" Yes. Exactly. Luther means "Soldier of the people", very fitting. 

Martin is the more subtle option, there are many Martin's in this world and someone would have to tell their naming story for the connection to be made. Martin is Latin and means "servant of Mars" - the war god.

King as a first name is of course the most aggressive and edgy, it would not fly everywhere as some countries do not allow titles as first names, but here in the U.S. it would strike us as odd, but not over the top, especially if the reference was brought up.

The two other names directly related to Martin Luther King that I discovered would be Dexter, after the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church where MLKjr lead, or the word as a name option Dream after the famous "I have a Dream" speach.

A speech, which by the way, got most of its bulk when fellow activist Mahalia Jackson shouted out "tell them about the dream," (at least in legend if not fact), causing MLK depart from his script. Mahalia is Hebrew and means "tender one".

After MLK was assassinated, his wife Coretta Scott King carried on the work. Coretta is a version of Cora, which means maiden. Scott means "from Scotland" or "Scotsman".

While MLK was the most famous civil rights activist here in America, there are plenty of other options to choose from. Some options:

Howard Thurman - MLKs mentor and fellow activist, speaker of the inspiring/famous but often mis-credited quote ""Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is pe"ople who have come alive."

Bayard Rustin - A follower of Gandhi who taught MLK about nonviolence, helped to organize the March on Washington.

Ralph Abernathy - Founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which MLK lead and was used to organize most of the big nonviolent protests.

Roy Wilkins , Whitney Young, Philip Randolph, John Lewis, and James Farmer Jr - The other main organizers of the March on Washington, and representatives of the "Big Six" civil rights organizations of the day.

Of course we can't leave out the other women!

 Famously, Rosa Parks  would not give up her spot on the bus, but it was actually Claudette Colvin, a fifteen year old, who first refused to obey the bus segregation. And it was Aurelia Browder whose case of sitting on the wrong part of a bus was taken to the supreme court to help overturn the Jim Crow laws.

Enough history, back to these names. I would am particularly interested in Claudette, which is a feminine version of "Claude" and it manes lame. Aurelia, what a beauty, is Latin and means "Golden." Bayard is French and means "Auburn Hair". I think Rustin could also make a lovely first name for a boy. It means "Rust's Estate" and is a last-name-as-first-name.

-------------------------------------------

Of course, while the civil rights movement is history, there is still many groups fighting for equal rights, most notably, those with different sexual preferences. If you are looking for a more modern inspiration for a civil rights activist, try something from the following list: 

Harvey Bernard Milk
Frank Kameny
Stephen Donaldson
Barbara Gittings
Craig Rodwell

I can picture a little Harvey or Bernard running around, can you?

Christmas Names Post (by Proxy)

I had been thinking of doing a Christmas Names post, but as I kept procrastinating because I was busy, and sick, and because I felt like it was too narrow minded to do a post just about Christmas when there are many other religions out there. Then, I started to see other baby name blogs doing Christmas name posts, and decided that they had done a good enough job. So, if you are interested in some Christmas names, I would check out:

Appellation Mountain: Unexpected Christmas Names for Girls
Appellation Mountain: Unexpected Christmas Names for Boys
Nameberry Blog: Christmas Baby Names from Natalie to Noel

As my child was due right around Christmas, we actually discussed whether this should impact the name. For example, we liked the name Natalie due to family connections and the sound, and Natalie means Christmas. However, it is at an all time high of popularity and ranked number 14th last year, so we decided not to go with it (not that it mattered as we ended up having a son).

Here are my favorites from the above blog posts:

Boys
Douglas - They recommend Douglas due to Douglas pines, to me it brings to mind the Christmas Song "Douglas Mountain". The name is Scottish and means "black river"
Casper - Recommended because it is one of the three wise men. This, and its cousin Jasper, are already on the rise, regardless of its Christmas association. Name meaning is "treasurer"
Rudy - Recommended as a shortened reference to Rudolph. It means "famous wolf" in Old English.

Girls
Neva - Recommended because it means Snow. Remember how I said once you see a name once it keeps coming up? Well here is Neva again!
Bell - Its obvious why its recommended, right? Would be a word name if spelled like this.

Would you consider using a Christmas themed name for a child?

20 Names Meaning Peace

As the rest of the country, I was horrified by the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut yesterday morning. I tried to write a normal (non-name) blog post last night relating my feelings, but couldn't really put it down. This morning I have decided to write a name post about it instead. To honor the twenty children who lost their lives, here are twenty baby names that mean peace.

Girls
Concordia - With root word concord, Latin for the god of peace
Olivia - Latin for olive tree, a symbol of peace.
Amani - African (Kiswahili) name meaning peace
Irene - The Greek god of peace
Theresa - Greek origin, literal meaning "late summer", but namesake of Mother Theresa
Hacana - The word meaning peace in native Bolivian language Aymara, pronounced Ha-saan-ia
Beke - The word meaning peace in Hungarian, pronounced Bay-ca.
Lahna - The word meaning peace in native Algerian language Kabyle
Kimia - The word meaning peace in native Congonese language Lingala.
Friede - The word meaning peace in German.

Boys
Solomon - Hebrew name meaning peace
Shalom - Hebrew word meaning peace
Gjorn - Scandinavian god of peace, pronounced gee-yorn
Pax - Latin for peace, could be lengthened to Paxon
Calum - From the Latin Colombia, meaning dove, a symbol of peace
Frederick - Old German, meaning peaceful ruler. Same root word as Frieda
Heddwyn - Celtic name meaning "fair peace".
Erray - The word meaning peace in native Australian language Olkola.
Paco - The word meaning peace in Esperanto.
Ro - The word meaning peace in Micronesian language Tarawan.

Thanksgiving Names

Have a baby due on Thanksgiving? Why not consider some of these names:

Names that Mean Thank You 
Asante - Pronounced Ah-sahn-tay, this Swahili name meaning "thank you".  It is familiar to me because of NFL player Asante Samuel. The name can be made feminine by changing the last letter to "i" - Asanti, pronounced Ah-sahn-tee.
Hoda - Arabic
Shakira -  Arabic, meaning Thankfullness. Its a pretty name but is liable to bring to mind THE Shakira, I am not sure it will be fit for common usage for quite sometime.
Jendayi - African (particularly Zimbabwe region?), meaning "to give thanks"
Judah - I almost did not include this, the meaning is actually more "praise", but some out there seem to think to praise and to thank are similar, so I will leave it on the list.

Thanksgiving Theme
Cornelius - actually shares the "corn" root with Cornucopia, meaning "horn". Could go my nickname Niel. The feminine version, Cornelia, is also nice, and produces the nickname Nelia, Neela, Ne
May - for Mayflower. Possible variations would be Mae, Mabel, Maybell. Generally these names are thought to mean "lovable". If you really wanted to go with a May"flower" theme you could even pair one of these first names with a flower middle name. Mabel Rose, or maybe little Lillian Mae.

Notable Pilgrims
William Brewster (led the Pilgrims in prayer of Thanksgiving upon reaching land)
John Carver (first elected governor of the pilgrims).
Myles Standish - a soldier that came with the Pilgrims and helped lead the initial exploratorations
William Bradford - the second elected governor, presided over the original 'Thanksgiving'
Edward Winslow - His journal offers one of two accounts of the first Thanksgiving celebration

Election Names

With the presidential election taking place today I thought I would brainstorm some presidential names. With forty-four names to begin with, we hopefully can find a bit of inspiration.

First there are the "traditional" names. There are presidents with these names, but the names are so well used through the years that the strength of the presidential association is miniscule or indirect. People would never guess a George was named for George Washington, or a John for JFK, or Andrew for Andrew Johnson unless the parent chose to emphasize this when discussing the name. Slightly more unique, but still traditional names "inspired" by presidents that pop out at me:

Martin
Grant
Arthur
Calvin
Tyler
Theodore
Warren

There is also a number of names that would fit well with the "last names as first names." Some of these scream "presidential" while others are more subtle. And they range in popularity from rare to top 100. Kennedy and Reagan are quite popular for example, both suggesting a strong reference to the president. Kennedy was ranked 90th amongst girls names in 2011, while Reagan came in at 122nd!

Madison
Pierce
Clinton
Hayes
Carter
Truman
Harrison
Lincoln

Everything I have listed so far is pretty "safe".  If you want to push the limits a little more, why not something like:
Roosevelt
Grover
Millard
Ulysses
Taft
McKinley
Monroe

Here is the real question - do you have to believe in a president's view in order to use them as a baby namesake? For me personally, yes. I really like the name Reagan, but I would not want my daughter permanently linked to the Reagan legacy. I think if the namesake was further back in history I might care about specifics a little less. What do you think? Would you consider a presidential name? Do politics matter for these names?