by Linda Rosenkrantz 　　Wowza! 　　I was completely overwhelmed by the sheer quantity, gorgeousness and wild originality of the names reported in the Birth Announcement forums for this third quarter of the year, from July through the end of September.  So overwhelmed, in fact, that I’m dividing the results into two...

　　Imogen widened her lead over Charlotte as the most popular girls’ name on Nameberry for the first nine months of the year.  Imogen edged past Charlotte to claim the Number 1 spot for the first time at the 2013 half year mark, leading by fewer than 500 names out of...

　　By Pamela Redmond Satran 　　Baby girl names have been trending toward the long and elaborate for some time now, with selections like Isabella and Elizabeth, Olivia and Sophia winning out over the kind of brisk no-nonsense names — Anne, Gail, Lynn — that dominated a couple of generations ago. 　　But...

　　My friend Kim loved the name Cordelia.  This was in my pre-Nameberry days, and Cordelia‘s been off the Top 1000 since 1950: It certainly wasn’t a name that it occurred to me to love. 　　Still…..Cordelia.  The more I thought about it, the more I loved Cordelia.  Thanks, Kim, for the...

　　By Linda Rosenkrantz 　　The connection to the haunting voice of a well known jazz or blues singer definitely adds an element of –well—rhythm and blues—to a name’s image, an extra infusion of richness and pizzazz. Boyish Billie takes on new depth when listening to Lady Day, Etta goes from fusty...

　　Nameberry 9 by Abby Sandel of Appellation Mountain 　　It’s been a quiet week for high profile arrivals.  Sure, Michael Weatherly of NCIS fame and wife Bojana welcomed son Liam.  It’s a great name – friendly, upbeat, accessible.  Liam is also a solid favorite in the US, just like big sister’s...

　　One of our most popular blog posts ever was on 100 wonderful names given to 25 or fewer girls each year.  (We did a boys’ version too.) 　　But what, we wondered recently, would happen if we narrowed the parameters even more?  If we looked only at names given to ten...

　　By Haley Sedgwick 　　I’ve always loved reading classic books. By the time I was twelve, I’d read a few Shakespearean plays, Pride & Prejudice, and Sense & Sensibility. Shakespeare was great of course; however, Jane Austen gave me even more. With her novels, I got the charming, delightful gentlemen I’d...

　　By Linda Rosenkrantz 　　If you scan the annals of distinguished women in American history, culture and science, you’ll find that a surprising number of them had distinctive names as well, names that could provide unique-ish choices with interesting back-stories. Several of them have a funky, fusty period flavor that may...

　　The Nameberry 9 by Abby Sandel, Appellation Mountain 　　It happens all the time. 　　You’re expecting your first – or second, or third – and the perfect name eludes you.  There are lots of possibilities and maybes, but none of them are The Name. 　　And then along comes a movie, a...

　　by Anna Otto, Waltzing More Than Matilda 　　1. Arrietty 　　Arrietty Clock is a teenage “borrower” from Mary Norton’s classic children’s fantasy book series, The Borrowers. The borrowers are tiny people who live by “borrowing” everyday items from the Big People they call “human beans.” Because of the spirited Arrietty’s curiosity, she and...

　　by Pamela Redmond Satran 　　At this time of year, catalogs flood the house every day – the poor mail deliverer! – only to be promptly thrown into the recycling bin. 　　One of the few exceptions is the Sundance Catalog. It’s not as if I ever order anything from there, though...

　　There’s a new top girl in town, and her name is Imogen. 　　Imogen seized the crown from the Hunger Games-inspired Katniss as the Number One girls’ name on Nameberry for 2013. 　　Charlotte, which had been the most popular girls’ name in previous years, now stands at Number Two, while Harper,...