Name Game Quiz

I am in a name group on Facebook and recently these types of name games have been going around. Now, I know I wasn't suppose to post anything for 2 weeks but since I already made this for the group I figured I would post it here as well. Who doesn't love a name game anyway?! This type of game is past and easy. You'll also see them on my instagram as well. 

DD1 First Name:

Favorite Nicholas Sparks Movie 

-- The Notebook: Cordelia, Violet, Wilhelmina 

-- The Last Song: Ruby, Thea, Madeline 

-- Dear John: Chloe, Gracyn, Penelope

-- The Longest Ride: Florence, Lila, Ellie 

DD1 Middle Name: 

Favorite Sport to Watch 

-- Baseball: Georgia, Ada, Gray

-- Hockey: Willa, Frances, Harriet 

-- Football: Ivy, Eva, Sloane 

-- Soccer: Adelaide, Quinn, Laura 

DS1 First Name:

Your Birthday Month

-- January-March: Rhett, Arlo, Jameson

-- April-June: Leo, Ransom, Knox

-- July-September: Carson, Evander, Garrison

-- October-December: Ryan, Patrick, Bentley 

DS1 Middle Name:

Which 90s Nick show do you like most?

-- Rugrats: Judah, George, Nathan 

-- All That: Oliver, Hanson, Samuel 

-- Cat Dog: Ansel, Eugene, Flynn 

-- Doug: Sterling, Harvey, Matthew 

DD2 First Name:

What's on your feet right now?

-- Socks: Luna, Hollis, Rosalind 

-- Shoes: Arabella, Stella, Zada

-- Barefoot: Ashley, Poppy, Ramona 

-- Socks and Shoes: Mila, Salem, Daphne 

DD2 Middle Name:

Favorite Netflix Original

-- Orange is the New Black: Gemma, Pearl, Beatrice 

-- 13 Reasons Why: Piper, Faye, Natalia

-- Stranger Things: Eleanor, Summer, Briar

-- Between: Avalon, Isla, Amity 

DS2 First Name:

Relationship Status:

-- Single: Jack, Abram, Theo

-- Married: Drew, Eli, William

-- Dating: Atlas, Dean, Matteo

-- Complicated: Benjamin, Miles, Uriah 

DS2 Middle Name: 

Pick a Dessert:

-- Cake: Orion, Rowan, Isaac 

-- Ice Cream: Linus, Willoughby, Kane

-- Brownie: York, Zachary, Titus

-- Pie: Jones, Holden, Peregrine 

My Answers:

DD1: Florence Gray

DS1: Ransom Judah

DD2: Poppy Avalon

DS1: Jack Willoughby 

Solar Eclipse Babies

I hope everyone is having a great week! You may have noticed that there were no posts Friday or Monday like usual. I got called into work Wednesday-Saturday last week unexpectly so I had no time to write any posts. And on Monday I came down to the beach and will be here until Thursday and then work Friday. Needless to say posts won't resume to their normal Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule until most likely the week of September 4th.

I wanted to jump on while I wait in line for the shower to wash all the sand off in time for dinner. This post is coming to you from the lovely iPhone. While I sat on the beach today I browsed google reading articles about babies born during yesterday's solar eclipse. There were some great names in the list with the most popular and talked about baby Eclipse Alizabeth. Her mom (also named something cool: Freedom!) told reports the baby was due to be named Violet but when she was born early during the Eclipse they changed it.

Just like baby Eclipse, the parents of Isabella Soleil took the opportunity to name their daughter after the world event. Isabella Soleil was originally meant to be named Isabella Sophia but her parents picked Soleil, the French word for Sun, because of her birth.

In Florida, Charlotte Roel was born at the exact peak of the eclipse. Sweet little Lena Ray was born in Kansas City yesterday and I'm wondering if Ray was always going to be her middle name or if her parents picked it because of the day.

While most of the babies I read about were little girls there were two boys named David born yesterday. David Obidiah Clark from Oregon and David John from South Carolina.

I am sure there are other babies and their names I missed while browsing. I'll keep looking for more names in the news and may update here. I hope there are little to no spelling mistakes. Blogging on an iPhone is pretty difficult to say the less.

http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/baby-girl-named-eclipse-born-sc-day-total/story?id=49333976

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local-news/tampa-eclipse-baby-first-time-parents-over-the-moon-after-baby-is-born-2-weeks-early

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/08/21/solar-eclipse-baby-born-totality/588429001/

http://fox4kc.com/2017/08/21/meet-the-metro-babies-born-during-the-total-solar-eclipse/

http://www.nrtoday.com/news/local/roseburg/baby-arrives-unexpectedly-during-solar-eclipse-monday/article_42e79c67-57d7-5f7c-851c-8960009d2627.html

http://www.aikenstandard.com/news/baby-born-in-aiken-just-before-total-solar-eclipse/article_3cd0497e-86bb-11e7-a144-4b934e4f57d0.html

Penny: The Nickname

The name Penny brings about a few images when you hear it from the cooper coin to the Big Bang Theory. With Penelope being on the rise and at #34 in 2015 you can expect to see more Penny's running around. If you adore the nickname Penny but find Penelope too common there are plenty of names on this list for you.

Penelope- Weaver; Greek
When you hear the name Penny I am sure you think of Penelope. This beautiful name is one of my favorites. I often suggest Penelope as a middle name.

Aspen- Aspen Tree; English
Aspen covers a few naming themes. Its a nature name, place name, and unisex name. The leaves of the Aspen tree are heart shaped and so pretty.

Penrose- Top of the Heath; Cornish, Welsh
Penrose is an unisex name but with the rose ending I lean more towards the name on a girl. Its an ancient place name from Cornwall, Wales, and the Welsh border of England. Penny and rosie would make great nicknames.

Penna- Feather; Latin
If you are looking for a unique yet familiar sounding name than Penna is the way to go. It sounds very just like Jenna or any of the other Enna names out there. The name hasn't caught on int he United States yet.

Pennington- Pening Enclosure or Settlement Associated with a Man named Pinna; English
Remington, Arlington, and Kensington are all great and unusual names for both girls and boys. Pennington goes so nicely with the name. They are grand names but can be made more familiar with nicknames like Penny.

Persephone- To Destroy; Greek
Persephone would make a great alternative or honor name to Stephanie. They bout have similar sounds yet one is well used and the other is unique among unique. Penny may be a long shot of a nickname but I think it gives it a more common feel.

Spencer- Dispenser of Provisions; English
You will notice that there are a feel unisex names on this list. Spencer is currently not ranked not he top 1000 for girls making it an unique yet familiar name. Penny gives the name a little bit of spunk.

Independence- Freedom
You are probably thinking why would anyone name their daughter Independence?! Well I think the name is so unique that it is cool. There are also many nickname options like Penny, Indie, and India. Its a great name to use to show your American pride.

Penka- Stone; Bulgarian
Penka is a feminine form of Peter making this a great honor name. Its unique but easy to say. I really enjoy the look of this name and how it seems to be made up but in reality it isn't.

Penina- Pearl; Hebrew
There are so many names out there that mean pearl and I always get excite to find new ones. Pearls are beautiful gemstones and are the birthstone of June. Penina is pronounced pen-EE-nah making me think of Nina.

Peninnah- Precious Stone; Hebrew
Peninnah is a biblical name from the Old Testament. I know that a lot of people don't think that there are a lot of girl names in the bible but I am always surprised to find more and more. I think Peninnah is a nice unique name that reminds me a lot of names like Hannah and Savannah.

Millicent- Strong, Work; German
Now I am sure you are wondering why Millicent and the next 3 names are on the list of nicknames for Penny. The penny is worth one cent and Millicent has the cent ending hence the nickname Penny. Whenever I hear about the name Millicent I hear a lot of talk about it being an old lady name but I feel like with Penny as a nickname more people could see the appeal in the name.

Vincentia- Feminine Form of Vincent (To Conquer)
If you are looking to honor a Vincent in your life I think Vincentia is a way to go. You have so many nickname options as well besides Penny, like Vinny, Tia, and Via.

Vincentine- Variant of Vincentia; French
Like Vincentia, Vincentine makes a great Vincent honoring name. It a great French name and French names always sound like Princess names.

Jacenta- Variant of Jacinta (Hyacinth)
Jacenta is a variant spelling of Jacinta, a beautiful name that is a variant of Hyacinthus. Hyacinthus comes from the name of the hyacinth flower. There's a lot of beautiful history behind this name.

Odette

Over the last 2 weeks I have been brainstorming girl names that I am interested in to write about for this week's name of the week. None of the other names seemed to work and they also started with either an A or a W, which are what the last 3 names of the week started with. I try to be as diverse as I can not he blog so I started to shy away from A and W names which lead us to Odette! After that long, drown out explantation lets get to the name.

Popularity 

Currently, as of the 2016, Odette is not ranked in the top 1000 for girls and was given to just 78 babies. There are only two years that the name is actually ranked and that is 1899 at #967 and 1905 at #843. Because Odette is a French name I went and looked at the name data for France and found that Odette is also not ranked over there and hasn't been since 1977. 

History 

Following World War II, people started to hear and see the name because of a brave French heroine named Odette Brailly. She gave information to the Allies risking her life and was captivated by the Germans. After it was all over she wrote a book that was later turned into a film, bearing the same name Odette in 1950. Before helping the Allies she was a nurse. 

Swan Name 

In 1877, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote the play Swan Lake and named the princess ballerina Odette. The play was turned into an animated movie in 1994 called The Swan Princess, a perfect depiction for children. And the most recent remake of the popular play was the film Black Swan in 2010 staring Natalie Portman.

Name the Class! {Monthly Name Game}

Its a new month which means a new baby name game! Since school is start for a lot of students this month I have a little school inspired name game for you. You are in charge of naming a whole class room of second graders! I will give you the surname of each student and you pick the first and middle names out of the 5 names listed. 

Teacher- Smith: Vera, Luna, Amity, Marigold, Trudy 

1. Lopez: Rosamund, Maeve, Julie, Naomi, Robin 
2. Jones: Erica, Ophelia, Audrey, Mae, Catherine 
3. Wilcox: Harrison, Maxwell, Oliver, Dean, Eli
4. Brown: Asher, Jack, Tobias, Adam, Harry 
5. Robinson: Eloise, Adelaide, Stella, Zoe, Alice
6. Hofman: George, Jacob, Isaac, Ryker, Callahan 
7. Garcia: Emma, Phoebe, Iris, Evangeline, Jane 
8. Pratt: Ezra, Francis, Arlo, Theodore, Archie
9. Ramsey: Annabelle, Delilah, Charlotte, Faith, Sophia
10. Downs: Nathaniel, Roman, Seth, Grayson, Peter
11. Newton: Chloe, Rita, Juliet, Sienna, Poppy
12. McDermott: Leo, Bennett, Gabriel, Jordan, Fletcher 
13. Cummings: Celeste, Elizabeth, Ashley, Francesca, Plum
14. Nazario: Jackson, Blake, West, August, Knox
15. Hall: Willa, Aurora, Mia, Sadie, Lydia 
16. O'Donnell: Julian, Atticus, Cove, Gregory, William
17. Fitzgerald: Aria, Maren, Jolie, Veda, Isabelle 
18. Rowe: Wyatt, Samuel, John, Cooper, Graham
19. Porter: Brielle, Nova, Isla, Kinsley, Sage
20. Brady: Marshall, Otto, Liam, Aiden, Nolan 

And here are my answers! 

Teacher: Vera Marigold Smith 

1. Rosamund Julie Lopez
2. Audrey Mae Jones
3. Harrison Dean Wilcox
4. Tobias Harry Brown 
5. Adelaide Zoe Robinson 
6. Callahan George Hofman 
7. Evangeline Iris Garcia 
8. Arlo Theodroe Pratt
9. Delilah Faith Ramsey  
10. Grayson Peter Downs 
11. Poppy Juliet Newton 
12. Bennett Fletcher McDermott
13. Francesca Plum Cummings 
14. Knox August Nazario 
15. Sadie Willa Hall
16. Atticus Cove O'Donnell
17. Maren Jolie Fitzgerald 
18. Wyatt Graham Rowe
19. Isla Brielle Porter 
20. Marshall Liam Brady 

Don't forget to play along in the comments! I would love to hear what combos you come up with! 

Rapunzel and Flynn Rider's Children

Who loves Disney raise their hand?! I know my hand is raised that's for sure! So many bloggers feature Disney names on their blogs. There is even a name blog dedicated to just Disney names. I can't say I haven't shared my own Disney inspired names on the blog before (links at the end of these post). I'm always looking for ways to write about topics people like but with a twist. Hence, this blog series was born.

For a few years now I have had this idea floating around in my head. Part of the inspiration came from multiple artist and their depictions of Disney couples as parents. Imagine, the famous Disney couples all grown up and starting their own families. What would they name their little ones? So here I am to bring some inspiration to these dotting parents.

First up is Rapunzel and Flynn Rider (or Eugene Fitzherbert), my favorite Disney princess. She is the lost princess and every year on her birthday they release lanterns for her. Her syllable (I believe you can call it that) is a golden sun. I tell you all of that because that is how I am pulling inspiration for the names.

Flora- Flower; Latin
There is a scene where Rapunzel is seen getting her hair braided and flowers placed in it. Throughout the movie you will find flowers. It seems as if the princess loves nature. No better name than a flower one.

Lux- Light; Latin
Like I mentioned above lanterns are a huge part of the movie. There is also a song called I See The Light.

Aisling- Dream, Vision; Irish
By far my favorite song from the movie is I've Got A Dream. At the beginning of the movie Rapunzel is wondering when she will be able to live her dreams and visions that she has.

Orli- Light for Me; Hebrew
Not only is the meaning of Orli have the word light in it but the full meaning is light for me. After everything the princess has been through I think its such  fitting meaning to a child.

Aurelia- Golden; Latin

The gold sun was a huge, huge role in the movie. I don't want to give any spoilers but if you watch the movie pay attention for the suns. 

Lucius- Light; Latin 

Prince Lucius sounds good right?! I can picture him in a disney movie. 

Arman- Dream; Kazah 

Arman kind of sounds like an old man name just like Eugene. Between the meaning and that I think it makes a nice name for a son of Rapunzel and Flynn. 

Paz- Gold; Hebrew 

Something about the sound of the name Paz sounds Disney like to me. I'm also digging the hidden gold meaning. 

Orion- Bounty, Limit; Greek 

Orion is a constellation in the sky. The lanterns in the movie can be mistaken for stars. Stars are also lights in the sky. 

Chrysanthos- Golden Flower; Greek 

Flowers and the color gold are important symbols throughout the movie so I had to put Chryanthos on the list! 

My Past Disney Posts:

Mother's Day Special

Disney Names A-Z

Finding Dory Names

Atlas

To my surprise I have never done a name of the week on Atlas! This name has been my top boys name for close to 3 years and before that it was in my top 3. Had I been a braver namer some years ago I believe Atlas wound have been my top name for close to 5 years now.

Popularity
In 2013, the name jumped onto the top 1000 charts at #778. Since than the name has shot up to #403. More and more parents are seeing the appeal of the name. I wold not be surprised if the name shot up even more in the coming years.

Greek Mythology
From Greek mythology, Atlas was a Titan told to hold the sky on his shoulders after being on the losing side of a war between the Titans and the Olympian gods. During the battle Atlas was the leader. Zeus was the reason for this and sent Atlas to the west edge of the earth. People often misunderstand Atlas holding the sky as him holding the Earth.

He is the Titan god of astronomy and navigation and is associated with the Atlas mountains in northwest Africa. Legend has it that a giant named Atlas tried to drive Perseus away from the mountains and in turn Perseus showed Medusa's head turing the mountains into stone.

Moon of Saturn 
One of the interesting things I found out about the name Atlas while doing this research was that there is a moon named Atlas. The moon surrounds Saturn. It was discovered in 1980 by Richard Terrile. It was named Atlas after the god because it "holds the rings on its shoulders."

Book of Maps
Probably one of the most common associations to Atlas is a book of maps. The first book published was in 1570 by Abraham Ortelius, a Flemish cartography. Atlas used as a word for the maps dates back to 1595.

1916 Top 100 100 Years Later

Looking at how names age has always interest me. What names from 100 years ago are not popular today? What names have fallen from the charts but could be making a comeback? Can past popularity list hep predicted naming trends? A few months ago I was introduced to the 100 year rule. That is a 100 years after a name was popular it starts to become popular again. All of the names on the following list are not in the top 1000 list for 2016 but were in the top 100 in 2016. Could some of these names pop into the the top 1000 in the next few years?

Florence- #14 in 1916 I am always shocked to find out that Florence isn't in the top 1000. Its such a gorgeous, sweet name with so much to love about it. Not only is it a place name it is also a vintage beauty, famous nurse, and a band.

Viola- #59 in 1916 Its the perfect alternative to the more popular Violet. I picture a princess wearing the name.

Nellie- #61 in 1916 I love the nickname type names and they were all the rage many years ago. Nellie could fit in with Lily and Emmie.

Opal- #91 in 1916 Ruby is a popular 2 syllable gemstone name so why has Opal not caught on? Its a perfect vintage name.

Ida- #54 in 1916 Ava and Ada are popular names and Ida fits perfectly with the pair. This is definitely a name I could see rising into the top 1000 soon.

Chester- #54 in 1916 I added Chester to the list because I feel like after the sudden and sad death of Chester Bennington from Linking Park the name could gain popularity. Bowie is a name that gained more popularity after the death of David Bowie.

Sidney- #95 in 1916 Sidney is a name now popular on girls that was once more popular on boys. I feel like the boys could take over these names and Sidney is one of them.

Willard- #69 in 1916 Willard would make a great alternative to William and would fit the vintage feel that parents may want to go with.

Clarence- #24 in 1916 A 100 years ago Clarence was in the top 30 yet now a days the name is almost none existent. Its soft and sweet and I would love to meet a little Clarence.

Fred- #29 Names like Sam and Ben are in the top 1000 and Frederick is at #519 in 2016. Just Fred would fit right in.

Including the 10 names above here are the rest of the names that were in the 1916 top 100 but are not in the 2016 top 1000

Mildred 

Edna

Gladys

Ethel

Thelma

Doris

Gertrude 

Bernice

Lois

Betty

Jean

Marion

Bertha

Agnes

Bessie

Myrtle

Rita

Minnie

Marian

Willie

Marguerite 

Jennie

Wilma

Blanche

Juanita

Mattie

Geraldine

Phyllis

Beulah

Theresa

Velma 

Herbert

Elmer

Norman 

Bernard

Herman

Lloyd

Lester

Floyd

Clifford

Woodrow

Milton

Vernon

Cecil

Glenn

Arnold

Claude

Wilbur

Morris

Birth Announcements {July 2017}

I have been playing around with this idea for some time now, featuring birth announcements of my instagram followers. Birth announcements and fresh, new babies are some of my favorite things ever. Many times I come across adorable names on instagram and have even featured a few of them on here from time to time. Because this is the first post I am making I will be including some little ones who are celebrating a first birthday along with some May birthdays.

One Years Old 

Caedmon Stanley (Prn: Kade-Men)

Hallowell Alexander

April
Soven Noelle (Girl)
Rowan Pride (Girl)

May

Liad (Prn: Lee-Ahd); Boy

Carlisle Brain
Olive Louise

June 

Adelaide Elizabeth 

Arlo Ray

July Girls

Reagan Wilson
Aoife Katherine Rowan 

Penelope 

Cordelia Maeve
Eleni
Anarika Sofia
Alice Louise
Kree Giselle Everly
Lucy Beatrice 

July Boys 

Dean Joseph Leigh 

Forrest Madeo

Cooper John

Breckon Wimberly
Finley Jones
Caston Drew