Mermaid names have made it big in recent years.  There’s Madison, Darryl Hannah’s character from Splash.  Disney christened The Little Mermaid Ariel in 1989, and she and her princess friends are now found on little girls’ gear everywhere you look. 　　Beyond Madison and Ariel: Other Famous Mermaids 　　Coralia – An...

　　This week, Appellation Mountain’s  Abby Sandel comes up with some powerful new name ideas for your superbaby girl. 　　Women’s history month draws to a close just as Sucker Punch’s girl army hits the big screen. 　　 Coincidence?  Probably.  　　 But to parents who grew up with The Bionic Woman and Tank Girl,...

　　In Hollywood’s Golden Age, there was nothing that would make an actress (before they were called actors) seem more chic and sophisticated than a French-sounding name, especially one ending in ‘ette,’ as in the cigarette they often smoked in a long, ivory holder. 　　And so Pauline Levy became Paulette Goddard, Lily Chauchon...

　　Unisex baby names, meaning those that are used for both boys and girls, are not always that equal. Some of the most popular are heavily weighted toward one gender or the other: Emerson is 61 percent girls and 39 percent boys, for instance, while Rowan is the other way around....

　　Princess names are a subject of fascination for us, one we last covered by detailing all the royal names of the next generation of little princesses, from Aiko to Eleonore. 　　Now, in honor of the newest princess by marriage, Catherine of Wales, we look at the names of women who,...

　　The Royal Wedding has inspired Appellation Mountain’s Abby Sandel to look at bridesmaid names of the past as well as the present. 　　Wedding season is upon us. On Friday, Kate and William got things started with a bang, commanding a global audience in the billions. The number of journalists reporting...

　　For the arrival of May, official month of the Virgin Mary, we revisit her classic name and some of its many variations as possibilities for May baby names. 　　May, as any Catholic schoolchild can tell you, is the official month of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God.  Which might make Mary an appropriate name...

　　Today’s Question of the Week is a two-parter: 　　Last week we talked about naming styles for boys, now it’s the girls’ turn. 　　With girls’ names, there are even more style preference category possibilities.  How would you characterize the names you like best?  Girly girl, boyish, or truly gender neutral names? ...

　　When Memorial Day—then called Decoration Day—was first observed on May 30, 1868 to honor and decorate the graves of the Civil War dead, much of the impetus for it came from women—particularly in the South.  It was a woman poet who conceived the idea of wearing poppies on Memorial Day...

　　It’s pretty obvious that the first initial letters of names move in and out of fashion.  The last several years have seen a rotation of vowels—A, E, O, I– as favored name-starters.  But there have been instances, too, of  ending sound name trends as well, which aren’t quite so apparent.  Case in...

　　This week, Appellation Mountain’s Abby Sandel follows up with Part Two of her suggestions for namesake gender-bending–this time it’s girls’ names from boys. 　　Last week’s post was all about the trendsetting Pinkett-Smith family and their son Jaden Christopher Syre, named after mom Jada.  This week the spotlight turns to daughter Willow Camille Reign,...

　　In her previous blog, Appelation Mountain‘s Abby Sandel revealed the alter ego names of the male superheroes, and this week it’s the girls’ turn. 　　Last week we looked at comic book names inspired by Clark Kent and Peter Parker – the mild-mannered alter egos of Superman and Spider-Man.  　　More women have...

　　The other day we offered eight fresh choices for boys, and now it’s the girls’ turn—girl names ranging from a rare botanical specimen to a nostalgic nickname to an undercrowded place name. 　　1–Acacia—This a a pretty and delicate botanical name that has hardly been heard in this country, though it...