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This Baby Names Website Has Us In Tears

Posted on June 10, 2020

Type BabyNames.com for a powerful message about Black Lives Matter.

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What To Call the Quarantine Babies {Non Obvious Names}

Posted on March 23, 2020

No doubt, we may be welcoming some new Coronavirus Quarantine kids in 9 months or so. Now, these kids cannot be given names too obvious about the world circumstances that surrounded their conception.

Therefore, we’ve got to be creative when it comes to giving them names to not be too obvious. Despite that funny meme out there, you certainly cannot call your baby Quarantine! Nope that will not do, but we can get creative with it.

Tina

Consider Tina for a girl. Tina is a female given name. It originates from Old English Tyne/Tyna/Tina, meaning river. It is also a diminutive for names such as Albertina, Bettina, Christina, Christine, Kristina, Martina, Valentina.

No one would ever thing it was a derivative of Quarantine.

Rhona

This is a girl’s name of Scottish origin and means “might” and it will take the will of the might to defeat this disease. The name was coined in Scotland in the late nineteenth century, according to the website Nameberry.

And because the spelling “Rona” would be too obvious that it was a take off Corona, adding that “h” is smart.

Corey

Similarly, Corey is a masculine version of the name Cora and means Chosen, per SheKnows. The name has Irish, Scottish, American, Gaelic and English heritage and origins. It’s a perfect all around name for a virus that affected us all around the world.

And no, we cannot go with Cora. It’s too obvious and frankly, could be embarrassing.

Quinn

Derived from the Irish surname O’ Quinn which is from the Gaelic O’ Cuinn (descendant of Conn), the name means wisdom, reason, or intelligence.

When you think of the names that start with the letter Q as in Quarantine, certainly Quinn is high on that list right? It’s a name that is unisex and can apply to a girl or boy.

Then, we have the names of the governors, here in the US anyway, who have lead their constituents very well to get them thru these times:

Gavin

California’s governor Gavin Newsom stayed in front of the viral spread a bit when he recently ordered a complete lockdown of the Bay Area in which residents must stay home unless they need to go out to purchase essentials.

Andrew

New York’s Mayor Andrew Cuomo has also been an active face on TV given his state has had the most cases of the virus to date: over 10,000.

Larry

My state’s Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland has remained ahead of the feds with his active approach. Each of his press conferences has been reassuring and he held a press conference when we had our first and second deaths.

Jay

Governor Jay Inslee, the governor of the state that saw the very first case, Washington. He set the example for other states to follow.

Gina

Rhode Island’s Governor Gina Raimondo was aggressive in ordering a shut down as well.

Ned

Connecticut’s Governor Ned Lamont similarly signed a recent executive order as part of a new campaign called “Stay Safe, Stay at Home” that will require non-essential businesses to close.

Finally, if one is looking to give a kid a name after the times, an obvious pick would be the scientists, health officials delivering us all solid news on how to stay healthy.

Anthony

As summarized by The Guradian, “[t]ested by Donald Trump, who demands loyalty over facts, Dr. Anthony Fauci has earned praise from the US public for telling the truth about coronavirus, even when it means contradicting the president.”

There are others around the world as highlighted in this recent piece on The Guardian you can read here!

No matter what parents select, any baby born out of love (and forced seclusion) is a blessing.

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First Ladies Do Influence Baby Names

Posted on August 18, 2016

Posted on May 31, 2016 by Christina Lavingia

On the cover of a tabloid or briefly captured on the news, the first ladies of the United States attract a certain level of media fascination. The markers of first ladies’ legacies vary, ranging from the lasting humanitarian efforts of Eleanor Roosevelt to the cultural phenomenon that was Jacqueline Lee Kennedy.

While each presidential wife to occupy the White House leverages her influence toward the causes of her choosing, the team at MooseRoots used data from the U.S. Social Security Administration to identify one interesting — and unintentional — aftereffect of their tenure: a general decline in the popularity of their first names. A trend that becoming first lady had little effect on.

By using the popularity of a first lady’s name the year she entered the White House as the base year, the MooseRoots team was able to compare the frequency of babies given the name in the 10 years preceding and following her arrival at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Although she’s better known for her nickname Lady Bird, the name Claudia was nearly 200 percent more popular 10 years before President Lyndon B. Johnson assumed the office in 1963. The name Hillary experienced the most dramatic rise and fall in popularity in the two-year window surrounding President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1992. The name was given 133 percent more often in 1991 and fell by 61 percentage points in 1993.

To be fair, these instances appear to be on the more extreme end of the spectrum. To gain a more holistic picture of the trend, we combined the popularity data for the last 15 first ladies’ names.

Ten years before calling the White House home, first ladies’ names were 57 percent more popular than upon their arrival. While the average drop in popularity is steepest several years before candidacies are declared and first wives receive country-wide notoriety, the downward trend continues over time.

On average, the names of first ladies dropped 29 percentage points in frequency 10 years after their arrival at the White House.

Although this is the norm, some first ladies’ names were more resilient over time. Claudia, for example, was given to baby girls 195 percent more often 10 years before her arrival at the White House and 105 percent more often 10 years after when compared to her first year as a first lady. The frequency wasn’t as high, but it bounced up more than all other names analyzed. Meanwhile, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, Barbara Bush, Elizabeth Ann Warren “Betty” Ford, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton all experienced bigger drops in long-term popularity than the average.

When segmenting the first ladies by party affiliation, we see a slightly different story for Republicans versus Democrats. The names of Republicans started off higher but ended up being less popular in the long run. The opposite occurred for first ladies of the Democratic party.

Against expectations, the notoriety of first ladies doesn’t positively influence the popularity of their names. Perhaps changing tastes is the predominant factor at play. The prestige of a first lady doesn’t seem to change the path of a name that’s deemed out of vogue, no matter how popular she and her husband are among Americans.

Compare Thousands of Baby Name Options on MooseRoots

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Parenting

Here are the Top 10 Summer-Inspired Baby Names

Posted on June 13, 2016

by Taylor Johnson

Summer is filled with barbecues, trips to the beach and beautiful sunsets, it’s no wonder summer provides inspiration – even to expecting families naming their children. Some names like Aqua and August are easily identifiable as summer season names, but others may surprise you. Whether your child is due during the summer solstice, or you just love this time of year, you can scrap the winter-inspired names for something more in line with the season.

While others set out to discover the song of the summer, genealogy analysts at MooseRoots, a Graphiq vertical search engine, sought out to find the summer’s hottest five baby names for boys and girls. Collecting the Social Security Administration’s 2015 popularity data, they curated a list of summer names based on their meaning and relevance to the season and then ranked the list according to the names’ popularity in 2015. The list begins with the top five girls names, and is then followed by the boys.

#10. Lucia

Gender: Female

2015 Popularity Ranking: 225

Frequency per 1M Babies: 744

The feminine form of Lucius, Lucia has Italian origins and is likely the derivative of the Latin word meaning “light.”

#9. Summer

Gender: Female

2015 Popularity Ranking: 195

Frequency per 1M Babies: 864

If summer is your favorite season, why not name your child after it? Summer is a common female name in the U.S. but it saw its highest popularity ever in 1977, when it was the 119th most common female baby name.

#8. Isla

2015 Popularity Ranking: 141

Frequency per 1M Babies: 1,169

Pronounced ‘eye-la,’ Isla comes from the word Islay, an island off the western coast of Scotland.

#7. Mary

Gender: Female

2015 Popularity Ranking: 124

Frequency per 1M Babies: 1,345

Mary, a name that has withstood the test of time, continues toremain popular in 2015. The New Testament form of Miriam derives from elements meaning “drop of the sea.”

#6. Julia

2015 Popularity Ranking: 89

Frequency per 1M Babies: 1,730

Julia is the feminine form of the name Julius, the Roman term once used for the month of July.

#5. Kai

Gender: Male

2015 Popularity Ranking: 145

Frequency per 1M Babies: 1,391

Kai, a common male name derived from the Hawaiian word meaning “the sea,” has seen a steady increase in popularity in the U.S.

#4. Parker

2015 Popularity Ranking: 72

Frequency per 1M Babies: 2,656

Parker has become increasingly more common since 1974, and has experienced its highest level of popularity in the last few years.

#3. Julian

Gender: Male

2015 Popularity Ranking: 45

Frequency per 1M Babies: 3,948

Julian is another derivative of the Latin name Julius. Over 8,000 newborn boys were given the name in 2015.

#2. Isaac

2015 Popularity Ranking: 31

Frequency per 1M Babies: 4,874

The Hebrew name Isaac dates back to biblical times and means “to laugh.” The name has been ascending in popularity, and had the highest state-specific ranking at No. 10 in Nebraska.

#1. Dylan

Gender: Male

2015 Popularity Ranking: 27

Frequency per 1M Babies: 5,048

The most popular summer-inspired baby name for boys in 2015 was Dylan. Dylan is of Welsh origins and is connected to the Celtic word meaning “sea.”

Learn More About These Baby Names on MooseRoots

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Parenting

These are the Top 3 Boy & Girl Names 2016 Expecting Moms Plan to Name their Babies

Posted on January 25, 2016

If you are expecting this years and want your child to stand out in Kindergarten and not have to share a name with one, two or three other kids in his class, then don’t give him one of these names.

Glow, a community of expecting, new and veteran parents with 150,000 pregnancies under their belt, polled members asking what they planned to name their children who were expected to be delivered this year, 2016.

Liam came in number one among boys and Charlotte was the most common among girls.

Could Charlotte be a nod to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Prince William and Kate Middleton’‘s daughter? And Lucas and Leia were among the top 4. A nod to Star Wars, perhaps?

Here are the top vote -getters:

Boy:

Liam – 53.87%
Lucas – 16.73%
Ethan – 16.38%

Girl:

Charlotte – 30%
Sophia – 28.20%
Emma – 21.06%
Leia – 14.79% (included because of the Star Wars link and we love Star Wars)

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BumpNews

REPORT: ‘Game of Thrones’ influenced parents to name their babies Khaleesi and other characters

Posted on January 4, 2015

Update in light of recent news that Khaleesi was number 2 of Nameberry’s top 100 baby names of 2014! I’m reposting this piece we shared in April 2014. ENJOY!

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With 6.6 million viewers tuning into the first episode of Game of Thrones last Sunday, is there any wonder that 146 babies in 2012 were named after Thrones character Khaleesi?

That’s what Social Security Administration data recently analyzed by the website Vox.com showed. Another character Daenerys made the list of baby names that year too. But only 21 baby girls will have to live their lives with that name made up by Thrones author George R.R. Martin. A few other hundred baby girls are named after Thrones character Arya, an Entertainment Weekly piece pointed out

It’s not uncommon for parents to name their children after characters in popular TV shows and movies. Hunger Games protagonist “Katniss” influenced of dozens of baby girls to be given them that name. The name “Bella” jumped from 2,780 uses to 5,104 uses within two years of release of the Twilight series, Yahoo Shine noted.

The names “Phoebe” and “Piper” rose to popularity during the years the show Charmed was on TV as did names “Willow” and “Zander” during the Buffy the Vampire slayer years, the Shine piece noted. Laura Wattenberg, author of “The Baby Name Wizard,” told Shine that as far back as the 80s, women who enjoyed Daryl Hannah‘s character in the movie Splash name herself Madison after seeing it on a NYC sign grew up to name their kids that. SSA data showed that 42 baby girls had that name in 1984, the year the movie came out. But the following year 298 babies were named Madison, eventually growing in popularity to 20,612 in 2004. That’s a lot of influence and no one would imagine that the name originated from a New York City street.

And the phenomenon goes back even further than that. Wattenberg told Shine “Samantha”on the show Bewitched helped that name grow in popularity following its run from 1964 to 1972 on TV.

It’s interesting how pop culture cinema and TV shows have that effect on lives for years after they are no longer in regular circulation. It would be interesting to see if the future Game of Throne-named children will get any negative reaction to the names over years especially from people who are not aware of the book or series years after it has its course too or if the names will continue on.

Time will tell.

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BumpNews

Top 10 Boy & Girl old-fashioned names becoming more popular.

Posted on December 13, 2014

It warmed my heart so see that traditional names are coming back into style and are becoming more popular among parents. Babysitting.net chronicled the top 10 girl and boy names making a comeback.

Girls’ Names

Anna – “Anna” is one of the girls’ names that never seems to go completely out of style. Originating from the Greek or Latin version of the Hebrew name “Hannah,” Anna means “grace” and came in at number thirty-eight on the list of most popular girls’ names in 2011.
Charlotte – The French feminine diminutive of “Charles,” Charlotte’s meaning, “free man,” has masculine connotations. Still, Charlotte was the twenty-seventh most popular name in 2011 and is the name of Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze, Jr.’s daughter.
Ella – At number twelve on the list of most popular girls’ names for 2011 is “Ella,” which is of Germanic origination and means “all, completely; fairy maiden.” Mark Wahlberg, Ben Stiller, Eric Clapton and John Travolta all have daughters with this old-fashioned moniker.
Eva – The Latin form of the Hebrew name “Eve,” meaning “life,” Eva is eighty-third on the list of most popular girls’ names for 2011. Derivations Ava and Eve are also very popular.
Grace – A virtue name meaning exactly what it says, “Grace” is number sixteen on the list of most popular girls’ names for 2011 with notable choices by celebrity parents Lance Armstrong and Christy Turlington.
Julia – Derived from Latin and meaning “youthful,” Julia was the fifty-seventh most popular name for baby girls in 2011.
Lucy – The English feminine variation of “Lucius,” Lucy was the seventy-second most popular name for girls born in 2011. While it may be most memorably connected to a certain flame-haired comedienne, “Lucy” was also chosen by country crooner Zac Brown for his daughter.
Rose – Latin for “rose, a flower,” Rose is an old-fashioned name that has enjoyed something of a revival. At number two-hundred and ninety-one in 2011, “Rose” was the final selection of Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck, Jon Stewart and Ewan McGregor. The presence of the boys’ name “Jack” also calls into question the influence of the re-release a certain epic film about a doomed romance on new parents.
Stella – From the Latin for “star,” Stella is the seventy-third most popular name on the 2011 list. Chosen by both Paul McCartney and, more recently, Matt Damon, Tori Spelling and Dave Matthews, Stella’s popularity is still rising.
Violet – Latin for the color and the flower, Violet comes in at number one-hundred and one for 2011 and was also chosen by Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck for their eldest daughter.

Boys’ Names

Andrew – Meaning “strong and manly,” the name “Andrew” is of Greek derivation and enjoys a perennial popularity. At number sixteen on the list of most popular names for baby boys in 2011, one Harvard study claims that it is the most popular name for boys born to highly educated parents.
Benjamin – From Hebrew meaning “son of the right hand,” Benjamin was the nineteenth most popular name for baby boys in 2011. Supermodel Gisele Bundchen and her quarterback husband Tom Brady chose “Benjamin” for their son, as did John Travolta and Kelly Preston.
Charles – French from German, “Charles” means “free man” and was the sixty-second most popular name for boys in 2011. Celebrities Jodie Foster and Russell Crowe both named their sons Charles, with the shortened “Charlie” also quite popular.
Harry – A diminutive of Henry meaning “estate ruler,” Harry is becoming more popular than ever due to the choices of Princess Diana, David Letterman and Billy Bob Thornton as a name for their sons, along with the immense popularity of the Harry Potter series.
Henry – Enjoying it’s highest spot on the list of popular boys’ names since 1956, “Henry,” also meaning “estate ruler” came in at number fifty-seven in 2011. Julia Roberts, Minnie Driver, Heidi Klum and Colin Farrell all have sons named Henry.
Jack – A diminutive of “John” meaning “God is gracious,” Jack was the forty-fifth most popular name for boys born in 2011. Matt Lauer, Luke Perry and Meg Ryan are just a few of the celebrities who chose this name for their sons.
Leo – From Latin for “lion,” Leo came in at number one-hundred and sixty-seven in 2011 for popular boy’s names, and was chosen by NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon as a name for his son.
Jacob – From Hebrew meaning “He grasps the heel. Supplanter,” “Jacob” was the most popular name for little boys born in 2011. Bob Dylan named his son Jakob, with Stephenie Meyer dubbing her leading werewolf “Jacob” in her phenomenally popular Twilight books.
Eli – Moving from number two-hundred and thirty-five in 2000 to number sixty-five in 2010, Eli is a Hebrew name meaning “uplifted.”
William – The third most popular name for boys in 2011, William is of English from German derivation and means “resolute protection.” With the marriage of Britain’s Prince William, the name has become even more high-profile.

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BumpNews

Top 10 Things you should NOT say to a woman after revealing the name she’s picked for her baby

Posted on January 16, 2014

No matter what names you and/or your partner have narrowed down to possibly name your child, at some point you will inevitably be greeted with a frown, shriveled brow, upturn lip and nose possibly followed by the following words: “you’re going to name him/her that?”

Save yourself the heartache, stress and need to “read” someone the riot act about how you don’t care if s/he like the name you’ve chosen because after all it is YOUR CHILD and not theirs…DON’T EVEN BOTHER SHARING IT.

If someone considers it rude that you politely say, “we’ve narrowed it down, but have decided not to share until we make up our mind.”

Once the baby is here and you announce his/her name, at that point it is too late for the Peanut Gallery to offer any unsolicited advice.

Most people are ashamed to utter the words, “You should’ve called him/her ______” because at that point the interloper should just be mesmerized by a beautiful bundle of joy snuggled in your arms and not be concerned with whether the baby will be teased for his/her name, if the initials are all wrong, or that it doesn’t look good on a resume and the child won’t get a job.

Good people of the world, we know your intentions are good, but a simple smile and nod is more than an adequate response even if you don’t like the name. But of course if you do, please speak up and say so!

Cheers!

And alas, Here are the TOP 10 Things NOT TO SAY TO SOMEONE AFTER S/HE TELLS YOU WHAT S/HE PLANS TO NAME HER UNBORN CHILD:

10. You’re going to name him that? This passive aggressive retort is just plain rude.

9. Why didn’t you select a name that means something? You mean the fact that I took my time to come up with the name isn’t meaningful enough?

8. You know she’s not going to get a job if an employer sees that name on a resume? I guess that is the risk s/he’s going to have to take 15 years from now. Who knows maybe people will realize that bizarre names like oh..Obama and Oprah and Barack can do a decent job. I was at an event yesterday and this woman named “Singleton” was getting an award for being the best executive VP in some company. Now if a woman with that name can get somewhere…I say employers are starting to look past the uncommon names. Ha. I jest.

7. You should’ve named him after your mom/dad? Um I don’t think people are naming their kids Agnes, Merle, Herbert and Dottie any more, but thanks for your suggestion

6. Did you consider a Biblical Name? One shouldn’t assume that the parents would feel comfortable picking a name after the bible if they don’t even go to church regularly, or are oh I don’t know…Buddhists!

5. You want her to be Teased at school naming her that? Why do we assume the worst in children? We use our adult brains to find the meanest taunt that the nastiest child could use hypothetically use to tease another child, failing to realize children are not as mean as we remember and there are loads more different names floating around schools these days than before. Children may just be used to the “off the beaten path” names being heard on the play grounds.

4. Those initials when strung together spell ____. Good thing these days, most people don’t really do monogrammed towels or cuff links for our children for that to be a problem. I don’t recall how many occasions people are judged by what the initials of their names spell out.

3. How do your parents feel about that name? Again, since this is not THEIR child, people don’t really take that much stock in whether their parents approve or not, unless there are some deep rooted, unearthed approval issues and at that point, do you really want to trigger those skeletons?

2. How long did it take to come up with that? Why ask? Was it a competition? Do people get a prize for taking months to whittle down a name. I really don’t get that question at all.

1. Boy is that an Ugly name. No explanation needed.

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