Name of the Week: Leia

Meaning

Variant of Leah; Delicate, Weary

Origin

Hebrew

Rank

509

Middle Names

Leia Evelyn

Leia Scarlett

Leia Penelope

Leia Caroline

Leia Violet

Leia Genevieve

Leia Naomi

Leia Ruby

Leia Adalyn

Leia Margaret

First Names

Emily Leia

Audrey Leia

Annabelle Leia

Josephine Leia

Isabelle Leia

Vivenne Leia

Evangeline Leia

Juniper Leia

Brielle Leia

Cheyenne Leia

Nicknames 

Lay

Lay Lay

Lulu

Famous People Named Leia

Princess Leia Organa (Star Wars)

Leia Smith (Soccer Player)

My Thoughts

Leia is such a gorgeous name. I've never actually seen any of the Star Wars movies so Leia doesn't make me think of them. My fear would be that people would think I'm a huge Star Wars fan and associated Leia with the movies. Leia is a lot less popular than Layla but still has the same feel. 

Reasons Leia Is Name Of The Week

I am loving this name a lot lately.

Q&A #1

I asked for questions on Instagram because I want to start doing a question and answer every once in a while, maybe once a month. I got some really fun questions so let's just get started!

1. What are your top 5 favorite names (both genders) right now? asked by erinlovesnkotbsb
Well, I'm currently working on updating my top 20 names right so these are subject to change. I'll include middle names too. As for my list, the boys list is more set in stone where as the girls list will mostly likely change soon.

Boys

1. Atlas Conrad 

2. Shepherd Jameson 

3. Bishop Montgomery

4. Theodore Landon 

5. Arrow Dean 

Girls 

1. Juliette Rosalie 

2. Magnolia Beatrice 

3. Parker Adalee/Adelaide  (I can't decide on which middle name I like)

4. Maven Seraphina 

5. Esme Matilda 

2. Do you like the name Winona? by actualdragontears

I actually really love the name Winona. It's one of my favorite W name for girls. To me Winona is a country name that's pretty timeless. 

3. What would you rename yourself using only Disney names? asked by tulipbyanyname

Ohhhhh this one is so fun! I love Disney and there are so many Disney names out there. The first name that came to mind was Alice (Alice in Wonderland). So I'd go with Alice Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) or Alice Colette (Ratatouille). 

4. What's your top 3 favorite celeb baby names of all time? asked by kaycarv

Just three?! Since I'm doing just three I'll do the first three that come to mind. I'm going to have to do a who post on my favorite celebrity baby names. 

1. Lorenzo Dominic (Snooki's son)

2. Israel David (Jill Duggar's son) 

3. Keeva Jane (Alyson Hannigan's daughter) 

5. Can you see the names Julian, Leif, Canaan, Camden, and/or Lincoln on a girl? I know ladies with the first four names listed. asked by koi_truth

This is fun especially since I am seeing boy names used on girls a lot more. I have seen the names Camden and Lincoln used on little girls before so I can definitely see that. Julian is so close to Julia that it could work on a girl. As for Leif I can't really see that on a girl. I feel like its too masculine for a girl. Canaan has me on the fence. I want to say I can see it on a girl but than I want to say only a boy. 

Thanks for the questions! I had so much fun answering them and I can't wait to do more in the future. 

Hal The Nickname

When I originally thought about doing a post on the nickname Hal it was suppose to be for a boy. Then I realized that Hal is a unisex nickname and I decided to do a post on Hal for a girl and a boy. I prefer Hal as a nickname for a boy but I think it works great either way.

Halston: This is one of the first names that popped up when I thought of Hal as a nickname for boys. It goes great with names that already end in the -ton sound.

Hallan: I think if you like Halston but want a shorter name Hallan is great. It gets right to the point of the nickname Hal.

Hallam: I was doing some research on the name Hallan and it said that Hallan come from Hallam. I think its cool but like Hallan better.

Harold: This is the tradition full name for Hal and a great vintage name if you want to go down that root.

Halden: Halden is similar in sound to Holden and similar to the name Halston as well. I like to pronounce it Hal-den.

Callahan: I love this name so much and when I realized you could use the nickname Hal with it I was head over heels. It sounds very sophisticated.

Hayley: The very common name for the nickname Hal. There are other spellings including Haley, Hailey, and Halle.

Hallyn: Hallyn is the same as Hallan for a boy but with a more feminine spelling. I saw a little girl on instagram with this name and it makes me think of her.

Halia: Pronounced like Hailey with an a on the end, Halia is a pretty grand version of Hailey. I like Halia a lot more than Hailey because it is more unique.

Halina: If you like names that end in the -lina sound than Halina is for you. It gives you that princess feel but still lets you use Hal as a nickname.

Halona: This name is in my top 20 list because it sounds so pretty. It also has a great meaning in Native American. It means happy fortune.

Mahalia: If you like Halia but want a longer name Mahalia is prefect for you. I have always loved this name and have been putting it on my extend top name list for years now. It always finds a way to sneak back on.

Thalassa: This pretty greek name meaning the sea is prefect for a beach goer or sailor with the added bonus of the nickname Hal.

I forgot how much I loved making these posts. Nicknames are a great passion of mine and I need to start focusing on them more on the blog. If you have any nickname suggestions leave them down below. I'd love to hear them!

"Rare" P Girl Names

I'm back with some "rare" P girl names for you. You'll find that soon of these animus are rally rare while others are not. Tell me what you think of these names!

Patrice

• Meaning: Variant of Patricia; Nobleman 
• Origin: Latin 
• Siblings: Colette and Philip

I really love the name Patrice. I think it is a fresh feel to the name Patricia. Its also a great way to honor a Patrick. Patrice is actually a unisex name but I think it fits better on a girl than a boy.

Pauline

• Meaning: Feminine form of Paul; Small
• Origin: French 
• Siblings: Bernice and Stanley

Pauline can be considered a vintage name and I wouldn't be opposed to see her gain some popularity. I use to not like Pauline but its really been growing on me lately. I like elegant sound it has.

Pearl

• Meaning: Pearl 
• Origin: Latin 
• Siblings: Olive and Otto

I love Pearl for a few reasons. Pearl works great in the middle ahem spot because it is one syllable and matches well with a  ton of names. I like that it is classical sounding. The gem pearl is significant to me because it is the gem of my sorority.

Peggy

• Meaning: Diminutive of Margaret; Pearl 
• Origin: Greek 
• Siblings: Sue and Jerry

I would be extremely surprised to meet a baby named Peggy. I can see a little girl being named Margaret, the common full name for Peggy, but a parent would more likely to choose the nickname Maggie than Peggy. It would take a lot of getting use to to see Peggy on a little baby but it could still work.

Penny

• Meaning: Diminutive of Penelope; Weaver
• Origin: English 
• Siblings: Connie and Mitch

I think Penny makes a great nickname for Penelope but I'm not a huge fan of it on its own. It does make me think of the tv show, The Big Bang Theory.

Petra

• Meaning: Stone, Rock 
• Origin: Greek 
• Siblings: Adela and Rudolph

I love Petra! It's so unique sounding but I can see it fitting in with some names of today like Aria, Cassandra, and Kiera. It is also culturally diverse and works well in many countries. It's a great name for a baby of world travelers.

Philomena

• Meaning: Friend of Strength 
• Origin: Greek 
• Siblings: Theodora and Casimir

I love Philomena so much. It has been in my top 20 names for years now. It's a great Greek name with a great meaning. It is also the name of a saint. The nickname Pippa makes me love the name even more.

Phyllis

• Meaning: Foliage 
• Origin: Greek 
• Siblings: Marilyn and Eugene

Phyllis is a classic old lady name I don't see coming back. This could make a comeback in 50+ years but I don't see it gaining popularity any time soon. I think its a cool name but a little too old lady sounding. It falls into the category with Mildred, a classic name that you want to love but just can't.

Pippa

• Meaning: Diminutive of Philippa; Lover of Horses
• Origin: English 
• Siblings: Esme and Alec

Did you think of Pippa Middleton immediately? Well that's not such a bad thing. Pippa Middleton is a beautiful woman and the sister to a Prince. I think Pippa is such a cute name. It can definitely stand on its own or be used as a nickname for Philippa or Philomena.

Polly

• Meaning: Variant of Molly; bitter 
• Origin: English 
• Siblings: Kitty and Hal

Polly makes me think of either a parrot or the Polly Pocket toys. I think it is truly rare and if it is used it is mostly used as a nickname. It'd be cute to have a really cute girl running around with the nickname Polly.

Portia

• Meaning: Pig
• Origin: Latin
• Siblings: Camilla and Lysander

Portia is a name fit for a rich business owner. It screams success. I like Portia but I could never see myself using the name. Portia was first used by William Shakespeare so you can imagine just how old the ahem is.

Name Of The Week: Osvaldo

Meaning

Variant of Oswald; God's Power

Origin

Spanish

Rank

989

First Names

Osvaldo Benjamin 

Osvaldo Gage

Osvaldo Jace 

Osvaldo Briggs 

Osvaldo James 

Osvaldo Kevin 

Osvaldo Charles 

Osvaldo Parker 

Osvaldo Michael 

Osvaldo Zachary 

Middle Names

David Osvaldo 

Bodie Osvaldo 

Jerome Osvaldo 

Vincent Osvaldo 

Duncan Osvaldo 

Luca Osvaldo 

Blake Osvaldo 

Henry Osvaldo 

Wyatt Osvaldo 

Nicholas Osvaldo 

Nicknames 

Ozzie

Olly

Val

Aldo

Al

Valdo 

Famous People Named Osvaldo

Osvaldo Alonso 

Osvaldo Laport 

Osvaldo Ardiles 

My Thoughts

Osvaldo is so unique. This is the first time I am seeing it and it caught my eye right away. Os- names are a secret favorite of mine because I really like the nickname Ossie. I like that this is a longer name and that there are quite a few nicknames for it. 

Reason Osvaldo Is Name Of The Week

Osvaldo is name of the week because I found it while search the new Top 1000 list. I thought it was so cool as soon as I saw it. 

Comeback Kids

While I was on the look out for the new names to the SSA top list I come across a few names that had been in the top 1000 before but took a little bit of a break from the list. I thought it was cool to see some names that fell for a year or sometimes even 11 years! I compiled a list of all the names below with the last time they were on the top 1000 and they're ranks this year.

Girls

1. Kaelynn #1000; 2012 
2. Cambria #999; 2012
3. Aya #987; 2012 
4. Riya #967; 2012
5. Mattie #949; 2012
6. Azariah #954; 2012
7. Alisa #942; 2012
8. Jessa #849; 2012
9. Collins #838; 2012
10. Julieta #961; 2011
11. Dalia #947; 2011
12. Reina #934; 2010
13. Magdalena #971; 2009
14. Frida #944; 2009
15. Monserrat #591; 2009
16. Antonia #974; 2007
17. Bonnie #866; 2003

Boys

1. Rylen #1000; 2012
2. Howard #991; 2012
3. Yehuda #985; 2012
4. Damari #966; 2012
5. Eliseo #952; 2012
6. Anton #897; 2012
7. Agustin #879; 2012
8. Graysen #871; 2012
9. Dariel #846; 2012
10. Coen #898; 2011
11. Leighton #893; 2011
12. Dimitri #882; 2011
13. Koen #976; 2010
14. Jayvion #974; 2010
15. Eliezer #874; 2010
16. Bode #783; 2010
17. Maddux #992; 2009
18. Gordon #935; 2008
19. Khalid #957; 2003

Newbies in 2014

I've spent the last few days combing over the top 1000 names for 2014. It is so fun to see all of the names and were they stand. Us namers are in paradise over here! After looking over the list I decided that I wanted to find all of the names that are new to the top 1000. Some of the names surprised me like Cordelia, Zendaya, and Remington for girls and Leif, Judson, and Chevy for boys.

Below is a full list of the new names to the top 1000 list along with their ranks. You can find out what my favorite names from this list are in my name video. Oh, you didn't know I made name videos? Well that's because this is my first name video ever! I've been thinking about making video for a few months now and decided I just wanted to take the plunge. I already make monthly videos with my name sisters so I thought why not. As for how many videos I'll be making and when that is still all up in the air. The plan is one a week for now but I'm not sure how it will all work out. And yes I will still be blogging because that is my main source of baby name fun.

Girls

1. Nala 995
2. Cordelia 993
3. Aanya 989
4. Rosalyn 985
5. Landry 981
6. Pyper 974
7. Louisa 973
8. Karter 968
9. Milani 959
10. Remy 956
11. Stevie 951
12. Ayva 951
13. Avalynn 948
14. Clementine 943
15. Noa 941
16. Addilynn 921 
17. Aubriella 920 
18. Kinslee 918
19. Faye 908
20. Emmeline 907
21. Anniston 905
22. Zendaya 892
23. Holland 891
24. Hadleigh 875
25. Ariadne 801
26. Naya 778
27. Thea 776
28. Khaleesi 755
29. Remington 685
30. Maisie 658
31. Aranza 607
32. Montserrat 571

Boys

1. Leif 998
2. Reyansh 995
3. Boden 992
4. Ayan 995
5. Kylen 984
6. Brayson 978
7. Bodie 981
8. Kaison 975
9. Judson 960
10. Emmet 959
11. Baylor 958
12. Anakin 957
13. Dash 951
14. Viaan 939
15. Chevy 903
16. Ford 883
17. Henrik 863
18. Finnley 852
19. Axl 850

My Personal Favorites From The Top 1000

While reading up on my newsfeed on Facebook I came across a post Nameberry's Facebook that lead me to a few of the posts on their forum. The posts are about you picking your favorite names in a certain section of the top name list (ex: 1-25, 26-50, etc.) for boys and girls. I thought it was such a cool way to look at all the names and pick your favorites so here are mine!

1-25: Samuel/Elizabeth
25-50: Sebastian/Sadie
51-75: Charles/Caroline
76-100: Lincoln/Naomi
101-125: Ezra/Elena
126:-150: Theodore/Isla (Harrison was a close second)
151-175: Jameson/Arabella (This was such a hard section for boys!)
176-200: Abraham/Athena
All Around Favorites: Jameson/Athena

201-225: Dean/Esther
226-250: Lorenzo/Parker  (Francisco was a close second)
251-275: Reid/Juliette
276-300: Knox/Ayla
301-325: Anderson/Rosalie
326-350: Gideon/Elsie
351-375: Atticus/Catalina
376-400: Solomon/Ada
All Around Favorites: Atticus/Parker (I had a hard time picking my favorites)

401-425: Gannon/Itzel
426-450: Keaton/Francesca
451-475: Pierce/Cataleya
476-500: Lawson/Juniper
501-525: Malakai/Leia
526-550: Cannon/Willa (Gloria was a close second)
551-575: Bowen/Mariam (Boston was a close second)
576-600: Raphael/Audrina (Matilda was a close second)
All Around Favorites: Pierce/Leia

601-625: Crosby/Beatrice
626-650: Atlas/Blair
651-675: Flynn/Mabel
676-700: Crew/Lennon
701-725: Alden/Amia
726-750: Thaddeus/Leona
751-775: Hezekiah/Sutton
776-800: Eugene/Thea (Jedidiah and Monroe were close seconds)
All Around Favorites: Atlas/Lennon

801-825:Apollo/Nola (It was hard picking for the girls!)
826-850: Briggs/Magnolia (Collins was an extremely close second)
851-875: Thatcher/Paloma
876-900: Ford/Holland
901-925: Lachlan/Astrid
926-950: Jericho/Mercy
951-975: Judson/Julietta
976-1000: Bridger/Aya
All Around Favorites: Briggs/Magnolia


So those are all my favorites. I had a hard time picking some of my favorites. It was really fun to see these names and which ones I liked. If anyone does them let me know! I would love to hear your picks!

Name Of The Week: Alaysia

Meaning:

Noble 

Origin:

German 

Rank: 

986

Middle Names: 

Alaysia Belle 

Alaysia Naomi 

Alaysia Willow 

Alaysia Carter 

Alaysia Harley 

Alaysia Kelly

Alaysia River 

Alaysia Faith 

Alaysia Maeve 

Alaysia Brielle 

First Names:

Scarlet Alaysia 

Gwendolyn Alaysia 

Celeste Alaysia 

Remy Alaysia 

Clementine Alaysia 

Juliette Alaysia 

Carly Alaysia 

Rosalyn Alaysia 

Jade Alaysia 

Hazel Alaysia 

Nicknames:

Ally/Allie

Layla

Asia

Sia

Lulu

Laya/Leia

Famous People Named Alaysia:

None 

My Thoughts:

I think Alaysia is really cute and grand sounding. When I say it I am pronouncing it like Malaysia but without the M. Ally is a great nickname and common and it's paired with an uncommon name. 

Reason Alaysia Is Name Of The Week: 

I found the name while combing through the new SSA names list and thought it was cool. 

A Few of My Favorite Youtube Namers

A few weeks ago I made a post of my favorite name bloggers that I check out every day. I decided that I should make a post about my favorite namers on youtube since I watch quite a lot of name videos. Some of these namers have been around for a while and some are new to the game. So let me tell you about my favorite youtube namers!

*This youtubers are in no particular order. I love them all equally!*

EverythingBabyNames 

Amelia is a long time namer and a friend of mine. We are both Name Sisters and I've gotten to know her a lot more over the last year. I love watching Amelia's videos because she is always introducing me to names I've never heard of before like Conventina. She has such a grand and beautiful naming style and I just love hearing her top names.

Krisscouture 

Kris is one of the first people I watched on youtube. She loves unisex names and because of her I have began to like unisex names a lot more. Now I even find it ok to tell people some of the boy names I like on girls! I love that Kris is opinionated and isn't afraid to tell people what she likes and doesn't like.

RebeVlogs 

Rebe is yet another one of my Name Sisters. She has been doing name videos for a while now and she even blogs about her life with her two children. Rebe is a lover of nature names and her style can be pretty unique but I love it. We actually love a lot of the same names. She's always putting the most adorable graphics in her videos. Rebe actually has a vlog channel that you guys should all check out! Her kids are the cutest little humans and you'll just be waiting to watch her daily blogs.

BabyNameBuzz

Paula is a relatively new namer but has already made a ton of videos. You can just see her love for names in her videos and I just love that about her. One of my favorite types of videos she does is she talks about names from movies once a week. I'm always finding new names from movies and tv shows and I'm glad she's doing this little series.

MyNamesInTheCloud

Julien is new the name community as well. He's actually the first boy I've seen to like names and I'm glad he started making videos. We need more male opinions on names! He has posted a few videos already and I can see that he has a ton of ideas up his sleeve. I can't wait to see what else he has for else.


Be sure to check out all of these youtubers! They all bring something to the name community in they're own way. I forgot a few youtubers but I'll do another one of these post in the future.

"Rare" O Names

The "rare" series is back up again! It's crazy to think about how long I have been doing this series. Hopefully the series will be done by the end of this summer if not by the middle. The letter O is going to be done a little bit different than the normal "rare" post. I usually make separate post for girls and boys but because there were only 3 names for each gender I thought I'd just do it as one post. This post was filled with some pretty cool and actually rare names. So without farther ado here are the O names.

Girls
Olga

• Meaning: Holy, Blessed 
• Origin: Russian 
• Siblings: Irina and Boris

Olga is definitely a rare name and I have yet to meet a baby or even an adult with this name. I think part of the reason is because it is so out there and you really have to be Russian or Scandinavian to use Olga.

Olympia

• Meaning: From Mount Olympus 
• Origin: Greek 
• Siblings: Araminta and Cassius

I love Olympia! Greek names are one of my favorite origins and I also really love names associated with mythology. Ollie/Olly would be a cute nickname along with Mia and Pia.

Orly

• Meaning: Light 
• Origin: Hebrew 
• Siblings: Tova and Noam

I'm a huge fan of nicknames and Orly is no exception. It works great on it's own but for me I prefer it as a nickname. If you're looking for full names for Orly there is Oriana, Orabella or Orlain.

Boys
Orville

• Meaning: Gold Town 
• Origin: French 
• Siblings: Verna and Wilfred

I think of popcorn as soon as I hear the name Orville but I still love it a lot. It a vintage name for me and I feel like it would be cool to see Orville used more often. I'll let you guys be the judge and decide if you want to see little Orvilles running around.

Otis

• Meaning: Wealth 
• Origin: German 
• Siblings: Leola and Amos

Otis is a very spunky name. It has a lot of associations like as a surname, a celebrity baby name, and even a Disney name. It works well for many different ages and nationalities. I have been seeing boy names ending in s gaining popularity and attention lately. Otis fits in with them.

Otto

• Meaning: Wealth 
• Origin: German 
• Siblings: Elsa and Roscoe

Otto is almost identical to Otis but has a more boyish feel with eh O ending. It does make me think of a dog because I have seen dogs amend Otto but than again Bailey and Sam are used on dogs. I'd love to meet a little Otto.

Four Darling Sisters

Happy Monday everyone! Now that its summer I'm hoping to get back to a regular posting schedule. First up is a Multiple Mondays post for you. Today I have a set of quadruplet sisters with pretty cool names for you. I found their mom on instagram and just had to feature their names!

I think my favorite part of this name set is that the first names are spunky and modern and the middle names are classic and vintage.

Source is moms instagram

Kylie Anne

Kylie has a few meanings including boomerang in Aboriginal, and graceful in Irish. Anne means grace in French. Kylie is a sweet name and I especially like this spelling of it. I usually don't like filter middle names but Anne fits nicely here.

Elle Katherine 

Elle means she in French and Katherine means pure in Greek. Elle is such a sophisticated sounding name but that may be because I think of the character Elle Woods. I love Elle and Katherine together and that is my favorite spelling of the name Katherine.

Remi Margaret

Remi means oarsmen in French and Margaret means pearl in Greek. I love the name Remi and I think its super cool for a girl. Margaret is in my top 10 favorite classical names for girls. I especially love the many nicknames that come with it.

Landry Grace

Landry means ruler in French and Grace means grace in Latin. Landry actually just made it into the top 1000 for the first time in 2014. I love Laundry and think its super spunky. Grace is a nice complement to Landry.

2014 SSA Top 10 Names

I know that I've been a little MIA lately but I just started my summer break! This break means I actually have time to sit down and write, more importantly I can blog! I'm so excited for this and have ideas just floating around in my head.

The first idea I have for you is on the new SSA top names! I'm so excited that the new list is out and I'm sure if you're a namer as well you're just as excited. I haven't gone into depth with the list but I thought I would focus on the top 10 for now.

Without farther a due here is the top 10 names for 2014!

Boys

1. Noah                                     
2. Liam 
3. Mason
4. Jacob
5. William 
6. Ethan 
7. Michael 
8. Alexander 
9. James 
10. Daniel 

If you're wondering about some stats for the top 10 here are a few. 

• Noah stayed #1 or the second year in a row. 
• Noah has also been in the top 10 since 2009. 
• Jayden fell from the top 10 and was replaced with James. 
• James had the biggest jump moving 4 spots. 

Girls 

1. Emma 
2. Olivia 
3. Sophia 
4. Isabella 
5. Ava
6. Mia 
7. Emily 
8. Abigail 
9. Madison 
10. Charlotte 

And here's a little about the girls.

• Emma knocked Sophia out of her 3 year  #1 spot 
• Emma has been in the top 10 since 2002 (that's 12 years!). She has also been within the top 5 the whole time. 
• Charlotte replaced Elizabeth and knocked her down from #10 to #14

I've only taken a glance at the top 10 for now but I can't wait until I get time to look at all 1000 names! If you have any input on the top names tell me below! 

Talk to you soon! 

xoxo,