Namemas: Drummond

Happy last day of Namemas and Christmas Eve! I hope these last 11 days have brought you some interesting reads and some Christmas cheer. We're finishing off the countdown with a boys name with a cool nickname.

Places of Drummond 
There are many places bearing the name Drummond all around the world. One of the main roads in Niagara Falls is Drummond Road. There is a glacier named Drummond Glacier in Antarctica. Drummond is found many in Canada, Northern Ireland, and the United States in towns and villages.

The name isn't just used for locations. There is a castle in Perthshire, Scotland called Drummond Castle. The building has been around since the 14th century. Now a days it is known for its beautiful gardens.

Coal: The naughty Christmas Association 
Drummond Company is a coal mining company with operation in Alabama and Colombia. The company was founded in 1935 in Jasper, Alabama bu Heman Edward Drummond. By 2013 the company was inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame. This coal company name is a perfect Christmas association!

Famous Drummonds
To my surprise there are quite a few famous Drummonds in the world! The most recent and famous is Ree Drummond, an American food blogger and chef with her own tv show and loads of other products. Although her name is used as a surname.

As a first name there is (John) Drummond Allison, an English WWII poet and Drummond Nicol Brown, an American baseball catcher in the 1910s. Drummond Hoyle Matthews is a British marine geologist and plate tectonics pioneer from the 1950s and 1960s. He was nicknamed Drum as well!

Christmas Association

On the twelfth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

12 Drummers Drumming

11 Pipers Piping

10 Lords a Leaping

9 Ladies Dancing

8 Maids a Milking

7 Swans a Swimming

6 Geese a Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Drummond is my pick for the last day for Namemas. The Drum nickname is what sold me on this name and other than the nickname there is hardly any music instrument connections. While doing research I found the coal company name and thought this is just perfect! I love these little Christmas association surprises! This name is preppy and old fashioned sounding. For all the parents wanting an unique surname first name this is the pick for them! 

Unisex Surnames

Unisex names and surnames are both trends that parents seem to be interested in lately. Quirky, cool, and laid back are just some adjectives that come to mind when I hear the names. They are perfect if you are looking for a name that doesn't scream girl or boy. A few of the names on this list are surnames of famous people who come to mind when heard. The people are often of importance.

Boys- 133 Babies 

Girls- 241 Babies 

The pilgrims to the Holy Land bring back palm leaves as proof of there journey thus making Palmer meaning palm trees. Its the surname of famous golfer Arnold Palmer and the fictional character Laura Palmer from Twin Peaks.

Boys- #882

Girls- #677

Sutton seems to fit perfectly with boy names simply because it is 2 syllables and ends in the -on sound. ABC Family had actress Sutton Foster in two of their shows, The Lying Game and Bunheads making the name suddenly appear usable for a girl.

Boys- 176 Babies 

Girls- 224 Babies 

An interesting fact about Campbell: it is the 7th most popular surname in Scotland. Maybe it isn't as usable over there but here in the United States I would stay it is. There was a time the name was greatly associated with the soup brand but now i think that is being pushed back farther and farther from people's minds.

Boys- #444

Girls- #716

Lennox is a lot more popular on boys than it is girls but I see the appeal for both. It has the X factor that gives it an edgy cool guy/girl feel. I was going to suggest Lennox as a variant to Lennon but Lennox is actually more popular.

Boys- #296 

Girls- #161 

Emerson appeals to parents for girls because of her Emm- beginning like Emily and Emma while not being too feminine. For boys it has a masculine feel with the -son ending and its not far behind the girls in popularity. Only 731 less boys were given the name in 2016

Boys- 128 Babies

Girls- #692 (416 Babies)

Monroe often times reminds people of Marilyn Monroe and could be why some parents pick the name for their daughters. Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon chose the name for their daughter for just that reason. For boys the name may bring to mind the President and a patriotic feel.

Unisex Irish Surnames

I adore surname names as first names. They always feel so fresh and cool. One of my favorite parts about surname first names is they are a great and unique way to honor one or more members of your family. Since St. Patrick's Day is this month I thought it would be great to write about unisex Irish surnames. Irish surnames always seem to have a different feel to them than other surnames. I choice to do unisex names because lets face it most surnames are unisex.

Clancy

Red-Haired Warrior

As I was doing research for this blog post I noticed that the name favors boys more so than girl. I always thought that Clancy would work really nice on a girl because it reminds me a little of Claire and Nancy. The most famous Clancy out there is Tom Clancy, a novelist and video game designer. We also have a lot of fictional characters named Clancy that are males. They come from The Simpsons, The Darkest Minds trilogy, and the tv show House. Clancy can be a nickname for the name Clarence.

Connolly

Valiant  Hound/Wolf

Love, Friendship

Connolly makes a great alternative or a way to honor a Connor. As the population ages the Connors because older and more and more are having kids. Because Connolly is unisex its an easy way to name a girl after a Connor. If you have a Colleen in your family or like the name but want something that sounds more modern I think Connolly/Connelly is a great option. There are a few spellings to the name; Connolly, Connelly, or Connall.

Dempsey

Proud

Now I have seen the name Dempsey on both girls and boys equally. The last time I saw the name was while browsing Instagram when I came across a set of twin girls. One was named Dempsey and I can't remember for the life of me what the second girl's name was. I know they were adopted and just the cutest thing. Many people might think of Patrick Dempsey from Grey's Anatomy.

Flannery

Red Valour 

Flannery is another name I heard on Instagram. It was on a little girl and I thought it was so cool right away. Flannery O'Connor is a female writer who used the name before surname names were popular. Her birth name was Mary Flannery O'Connor and she had 2 novels and many other pieces of writing. In the book The Secret Language of Girls by Frances O'Roark Dowell there is a girl amend Flannery.

Gallagher 

Descendant of foreign helper 

I know many, many families with the surname Gallagher and was always so used to it in the surname spot. It took a little bit for me to see the name as a first name. The most recent place I have heard the name was from he tv show Shameless. The family are the show are named Gallagher. This is one of the names on the list I can see equally on both a girl and a boy. Gally or Ally would make cute nicknames. 

Madigan

Dog, Mastiff

Years ago I came across this name as a girls name. It was an alternative to the popular Madison and I fell in love. It wasn't until months later that I realized it was an unisex name. just like Madison. Simmone Jade Mackinnon named her son Madigan James Mackinnon and that is really the only boy I could find with the name. Madgian Shive is a female musician bearing the name.

Murphy

Sea Warrior 

I am a huge fan of The 100. One of the characters on the show goes by Murphy and I always think of him. Personality I lean toward the name on a boy but I wouldn't be opposed to see it on a girl. As a surname it is very common in Ireland. I'm sure some of you know families with the surname where you live. The one downside to the name, which I don't think many people will pick up on, is Murphy's Law (anything that can go wrong will).

Rooney

Descendant of the Champion 

I just love how upbeat this name sounds. Roo or Rue is such a great nickname for this name. Rooney Mara is an actress (you can find her in Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and brought light tot he name, especially for girls. If you didn't know about Rooney Mara than maybe you know about Mickey Rooney from Night at the Museum, The Fox and the Hound, and Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Sheridan

Searcher

One of my favorite parts about having a name instagram is being able to connect with other people who love names in an easy way. There are so many names that I was introduced to because of other names and Sheridan was one. Just recently Ianthe from Namestation featured a subset and one of the girls was named Sheridan. I fell in love right away. The beginning sound makes me think girl but the end makes me think boy.

Tierney

Descendant of a lord 

Like Madigan, Tierney is a name I loved years ago. I think go of a girl right away but it works just as well on a boy. I would even be happy to hear it on a boy. Tierney Sutton is an American female jazz singer. The original form of Tierney is Tiarnach and there are several saints with the name both male and female.