Alliterative Baby Names: A-H

It's been so long since I've written a post, I've almost forgotten how to do it. Oops! 

Over the last year I've written quite a bit, but almost entirely in an actual, physical notebook. Weird, I know. My plan is to write on here more this year. More personal posts, but also fun stuff, like, ahem... names?! Yes. Good. In the next few days I want to get some goals and resolutions up here, as well as bookish stuff. It's been so long since I've written anything about books, and I made the colossal mistake of not keeping a solid list of the books I read in 2018. 

So - more posts to come. But I thought I'd start with a fun one, first. To get my momentum going! :) 

Y'all know I'm a massive fan of all things name-related. And a lot of you do, too - the name posts are among the most popular on this site! With that in mind, a few months ago my friend (hey Liz, wassup?!) talked about how it might be fun to do name-game type of posts; challenges like "come up with matchy nature names for twins" or "come up with two names using characters in your favorite book" - that kind of stuff. (And if you find this as fun as I do, you should check out Swistle, Sancta Nomina, and Appellation Mountain! All three sites receive letters from expectant parents and offer advice on baby names, whether it's trying to find a name that sounds great with the siblings' names, or looking for names related to a specific holiday, or offering solutions to parents trying to name a baby after a family member with a less-than-ideal name.) 

Anyway! First game up is alliteration! Some folks avoid repeating initials, but I think there's something charming about alliterative names. Sometimes they just sound fantastic - it's also nice because, to my ear anyway, alliterative names give you the opportunity to merge two different styles. Buzz and Benjamin? Very different names - it'd be startling to meet brothers named Benjamin and Buzz. But put those names together, into a first and middle name? It suddenly works; I suppose the letters tying into each other will do that for a name. Alliteration can build bridges, it can work for any style, for any parents seeking any vibe. Some of these names have a Catholic flair, some have more of a (very slight) hipster vibe. Some have both. (Plus, a lot of old, vintage names are being used by parents of all ages and lifestyles.) And unisex names can work, too! (For names that I think fit particularly well into those categories, I'll mark them by using those colors!) To me, this can often be a really good solution if one parent likes boyish names for a daughter and the other likes frilly names - or if one likes a soft, worldly name for a son and the other prefers a harder, "strong" name. 

And truly, I think alliterative names are often just plain delightful to read and to say aloud.

So, that brings us to... a list of possible alliterative names for each letter of the alphabet! Today's list is A-H. I-O and P-Z will be posted over the next couple of days.  

A: Girl Names

Agatha Anne

Amalia Adelaide

Alice Antonia

Anastasia Adair 

Azelie Anne

Agnes Adele

Anna Aliz

Adeline Avery

Ava Abigail

Astrid Adelaide 

A: Boy Names

Adrian Augustine

Albert Ambrose

Arthur Abraham

Anthony Alistair

Anthony Aldo 

Andre Atticus

Alfred Aquinas

Arlo Alexander

B: Girl Names

Bronwen Briella

Beatrix Blair

Bernadette Bloom

Bridget Belphoebe 

Belen Blythe 

Beryl Brianne

Bo Beatrice

Bridget Bellamy 

B: Boy Names

Bennett Bryce

Barnaby Bram

Benedict Baz

Bruno Boyd

Benjamin Buzz

Beckett Blase

Basil Bernard

Bellamy Bruce

C: Girl Names

Caroline Claire

Catherine Cosima

Clara Clementine 

Cecily Cate

Constance Colette

Charlotte Claire 

Caris Cordelia

Cecilia Clare

Cleo Chiara

Cara Cornelia

Calliope Clair 

Catherine Cosette

Cora Christine

Cowen Clarice

Coralie Cate

C: Boy Names

Christopher Clark

Charles Cooper

Caleb Cassius 

Clement Cuthbert*

Christopher Cuthbert

Crosby Cole

Conrad Cornelius

Christopher Cowen

Cornelius Conrad

Cedric Cyprus

Cosmo Carrington 

Cary Calloway

Christopher Cosimo

D: Girl Names

Della Diane

Darcy Doreen

Daphne Dolores 

Darcy Delphine

Dara Delphine

Dorcas Diana 

Dorothy Day 

D: Boy Names

Daniel Dimitri

Desmond Diego

Damian Drew

Donovan Dax

David Dashiell

Dominic Dean

Dale Davis

E: Girl Names

Elizabeth Elwell

Evangeline Elle

Eleanor Eliza

Edith Ellery

Em Eloise

Elowen Elizabeth

Elisabeth Evangeline

Edith Evangelina

Eliza Elm

Elodie Emilia

Eleanor Elspeth

Esther Evangeline

Erin Esmeralda

Etta Elisabeth

Edie Estrella 

Everly Elizabeth

Evelyn Elizabeth

Emma Estelle 

Elizabeth Eve

E: Boy Names

Eric Ezekiel

Edward Elijah

Errol Elijah

Elliot Edmund

Eli Ephraim

Enzo Elijah

Everett Eli

Emerson Echo

Erwin Ezekiel

Enzo Elias

Elwyn Everett 

Edwin Emmanuel

Emmanuel Edward

F: Girl Names

Felicity Faye

Frances Felicity

Freya Faustine

Flannery Faye

Fiona Faye

Frances Fern

Finley Francine

Frankie Fiona

Florence Fiona

Flora Felicity

F: Boy Names

Frederick Fitzgerald

Francis Felix

Francis Finnegan

Franklin Flavio

Forest Ferdinand

G: Girl Names

Gemma Gianna

Gemma Genevieve

Georgia Grace

Gloria Gwen

Gwen Guadalupe

Greta Georgette

Gia Geraldine

Gabrielle Gwen

Gemma Grace

G: Boy Names

George Gerard

Gabriel Gilbert

Gregory Giles

Gideon George

Gus Grover

Gino Giuseppe

Gideon Good

Gil Gideon

Garrett Gregory

Gregory Gilbert

Gavin Gabriel 

Grayson George

Graham Gilbert

Garrett Gunther

George Gibson

H: Girl Names

Harriet Hildegard

Helen Henrietta

Harriet Harper

Helena Happy

Hazel Helaine 

Helga Henrietta

Hollis Harriet

Heidi Helena

Hattie Hildegard 

Holly Hester 

Hero Helene

Hillary Harper

Haley Helaine

Harley Heloise 

Hadley Harper

H: Boy Names

Hal Harrison

Henry Huck

Henry Harper

Henry Hunter

Hugo Harrison

Henry Hamish

Hector Hudson

Harry Hawthorne

Harvey Howard

Harvey Herbert

Harvey Hamish

Harrison Heath

Harold Hayes

Hugo Harper

Harley Hector

Hadley Hamish

And that's all for the A-H list... though I'm sure I missed some! I think my personal favorites here are Agatha Anne, Agnes Adele, Albert Ambrose, Bridget Bellamy, Barnaby Bram, Basil Bernard, Clara Clementine, Cecily Cate, Conrad Cornelius, Darcy Delphine, Desmond Diego, Eleanor Eliza, Edwin Emmanuel, Florence Fiona, Felicity Faye, Francis Felix, Gwen Guadalupe, Gregory Gilbert, Gideon George, Harriet Hildegard, Harvey Hamish, and Henry Harper.    

*While making this list I remembered that Cuthbert is a literary name via Anne of Green Gables and now I am obsessed.

Literary Baby Names: The Sequel

After posting the list of best names for each letter of the alphabet the other day a few of my friends told me how much they loved it. For me that's sort of the equivalent of laughing at lame jokes - you encourage me to continue. And so here we are with another baby name post. What a world.

I wrote a list of literary baby names months ago. I enjoyed it and I love a lot of those names, but it was quickly done and I don't think it's thorough enough. And also I just want to come up with more. :)

1. Jane appeared on that list, but I want to use it again. Of course Jane Austen is a great literary namesake. But now that I've read Jane Eyre, I am positively smitten with using Jane as a nod to the book and the character. What a good source for inspiration, that book.

2. Forest. I guess I'm starting this post with names I've already suggested. :) I've mentioned that Forest is probably my favorite Harry Potter name. The Forest Again is my absolute favorite chapter in the entire HP series (and I've heard that it's J.K. Rowling's favorite chapter, as well). It's the chapter in which Harry is willing to sacrifice himself so that Voldemort will be mortal again. I don't know that we could ask anything more from a character than to bravely face death in order to save others. If naming your baby Harry seems too obvious a nod to the books, Forest seems like a good option to me.

3. Hugo is one of my favorite names. I recommended it last time, but I want to offer it up again, this time for Victor Hugo. Not only a terrific writer, but a man who stood for freedom. Win-win.

4. I've long loved the name Eleanor (a love that began after learning about the wonderful first lady), but the alternative spelling, Elanor, is a sweet nod to Lord of the Rings. The companions first saw elanor, a star shaped flower, when they stayed with the elves of Lorien. Sam then named his daughter Elanor. It's a pretty, feminine name that honors epic fantasy. Can't do much better than that.

5. Cora names seem to be picking up steam. A nice literary option is Coraline, after the book of the same name by Neil Gaiman. This was a suggestion from Liz. I love the name but haven't read the book, but she says the story and character are worthwhile.

6. Lewis. Louis is a great name for a boy, but the different spelling makes for a brilliant, doubly important literary name. First, it's a nod to C.S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia among a million other things. And then there's Lewis Carroll. It's his pen name, yes, but it's the name he's known by, and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is favored my so many people (including Liz!). Lewis is such a great option to honor two amazing writers.

7. And while we're on Lewis Carroll, there's always Charles, another two-fer name! It was Carroll's given name and it's the appellation given to Dickens, author of the best books ever. Charlie is a cute nickname, too.

8. But maybe you want to name your daughter after either of those authors. There's Carol or Caroline or Charlotte. They're all related names, and any would work as an honor name for a Charles.

9. Bronty. Hear me out. I'd probably never use this as a first name, because I'm a wimp. But there are people who name their sons Rider and Axel and Dash - you get the point. I think this makes for a super cool name to honor any of the Bronte sisters, or any of the books they've written. (I would use Bronte as a middle name for a girl or a boy.) I've heard Bronte pronounced Bront-ay rhymes with hay and I've heard it Bront-ee rhymes with me. Either works, but I think if you're going for that cool, edgy vibe for a son, the ee sound is the way to go, which is why I'd use the y spelling - avoids some pronunciation issues.

10. On a similar note, I think it'd be fantastic to name a son Austen for Jane Austen. I've noticed that parents are willing to give their daughters traditionally masculine names, but they seem unwilling to give their sons names that are used largely by girls (even if the name started off as a boy name). It seems like the same thing happens with name inspiration. Girls are given names for male figures or for stories that feature a lot of men (like LOTR), but fewer boys are named after, say, Pride and Prejudice. I'm assuming this is another symptom of our culture's devaluation of femininity, thanks patriarchy. Go on with your bad self and name your boy Austen. Jane's books are beloved by too many to ignore.

11. Elwyn. This isn't my style so I'd probably never use it, but there are plenty of people who are bolder than I am, and they can use it. It is the first name of E.B. White, author of Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, and he edited The Elements of Style, which is pretty cool if you're into writing. It's a male name, but I think it'd be nicer on a girl. And bonus points: it has a definite LOTR feel to it. (White's middle name was Brooks, which seems like a gender-neutral [though much more boyish?] name that would work well today.)

12. Ah, I've mentioned this before, but I really love Conrad (/Konrad). The name means "brave counsel" and as such I think it makes an excellent moniker, one that could call to mind some of the greatest characters, like Dumbledore or Gandalf.

13. Okay, so I may be on the Jane Eyre Train right now (Must I ever get off?), but I'm going to go ahead and suggest Rochester. He is a problematic character at first, yes. But I think his story is one of redemption and his growth warrants applause. In my book that's enough. Surname-names seem popular which makes Rochester wearable, plus there's the adorable nickname: Rocky. (Edward works too, and it can sort of be a Narnia name, for Edmund.)

14. Louise or Louisa for Louisa May Alcott. Alcott could work if you're into surname names, too. Little Women is consistently cited as a favorite, so this seems like a no-brainer.

15. A Christmas Carol is beloved by pretty much everyone, right? Even those who don't celebrate Christmas love the story. I don't think Ebenezer is going to be wearable any time soon, but that's okay because I think the real winner of a name here is Timothy. Tiny Tim, aside from being adorable in the movie, embodies the spirit of the play and of the season, and his line, "God Bless us, everyone!" is known round the world. Timothy wouldn't just make a good literary name, it'd also make a good seasonally appropriate name for any boy born around Christmastime. (For that matter, this can be another case for Carol/Caroline!!)

16. Fitz or Fritz. I heard the name Fritzraldo once and I was blown away. I don't think I've ever heard a cooler name in my entire life. But if you're not too eager on Fritzraldo, Fritz is a nice alternative, and I think Fritz or Fitz both make good names to honor F. Scott Fitzgerald. I know The Great Gatsby remains a favorite for a ton of people, and either of these names are super wearable for a boy born in 2016.

17. Lux or Luxa. This is another name that I wouldn't be brave enough to use, but I think it's pretty cool. Luxa is a major character in The Underland Chronicles. It's a children series by Suzanne Collins. I wouldn't say it's as good as Harry Potter (nothing is!), but I actually think it's better than The Hunger Games. It questions war and preemptive tactics and discrimination, etc. and has lessons that are so good for kids to learn. If I met someone who named their daughter Lux or Luxa after this series, I'd be seriously impressed.

18. My last suggestion is absolutely my corniest suggestion: Penny. There are a lot of people who use word names for their babies now, but if you don't love the idea of naming your baby Writer or Poem (though Poet and Soliloquy are on my guilty pleasure middle name list), Penny is a good compromise. It's a "real" name... but it can also be a play on the word "pen," as in "putting pen to paper" or "penning a great story." I know, corny. BUT ALSO SWEET. If I met someone who was named Penny for this reason I'd immediately assume her parents were awesome.    

THIS WAS FUN. Any names to add? I'm sure I'll be back obnoxiously soon with Literary Baby Names: Part Three. Just to warn you all. This gets more and more fun with each book I read.

Best of the Alphabet: Baby Names

I stumbled upon a new name-blog a few nights ago and was pumped. It's got all sorts of cool stuff, from name suggestions to "sibling sets" to old birth announcements for twins named Lloyd Joel and Boyd Noel. Anyway, add to this discovery a dash of boredom and a sprinkle of, ahem, loopiness from medicine and we've got a new Baby Name List idea: favorite names for each letter of the alphabet. Liz, my long-suffering friend who oft puts up with my baby name craze decided to participate too! As has Dana!!!! (She doesn't get as many obnoxious baby name convo requests from me as Liz does - she's more my "Harry Potter questions in the middle of the night" person - but we have talked about names and we may or may not have once fought over "Teddy," eventually deciding I'd use it for a boy and she could use it for a girl.) This list doesn't include all the names we love, just our very favorites for each letter. (I also didn't want to include any names I would never actually use, which is why the letter U, for example, has no names even though Ulysses and Urban are fine names.) In cases of multiple favorites, the very best is in bold. Without further ado.....

A Names

Charlotte: Annie (as a nickname), Agatha/Ambrose, Augustine

Liz: Abigail/Alexander

Dana: Abigail, Adelaide, Adeline/Adam

B Names

Charlotte: Beatrix, Bernadette/Bosco, Benjamin

Liz: Bonnie/Benjamin

Dana: Beatrice

C Names

Charlotte: Caroline, Clementine/Clement

Liz: Claire/Cooper

Dana: Christian, Cecilia/Christopher

D Names

Charlotte: Della/Donovan

Liz: Daisy/Daniel

Dana: Dana (lol jk) Diana, Daphne/David

E Names

Charlotte: Evangeline, Eliza, Eleanor/Edward

Liz: Emelia/Elliot

Dana: Emma, Emilia/Elijah

F Names

Charlotte: Felicity/Francis

Liz: Felicity, Fern/Flynn

Dana: Flannery/Fred, Fitzgerald, Fitzwilliam

G Names

Charlotte: Genevieve/Gabriel, Gerard

Liz: Genevieve/Griffin

Dana: Georgiana, Georgia/George, Greg

H Names

Charlotte: Harriet/Hugo

Liz: Hattie/Harper/Henry

Dana: Helen/Henry

I Names

Charlotte: Ignatius

Liz: Isabelle/Ian, Isaac

Dana: Imogen/Isaiah 

J Names

Charlotte: Jane/James, John

Liz: Joanna/Jacob

Dana: Jane/Jack, James

K Names

Charlotte: Kate, Kit (both as nicknames)/ Konrad

Liz: Katherine/Keagan 

Dana: Kendall/Killian 

L Names

Charlotte: Louise/Lewis (honorable mentions: Lucy, Loretta)

Liz: Lydia/Liam

Dana: Laura, Leila/Levi 

M Names

Charlotte: Margot, Magdalene/Martin

Liz: Molly/Mathias

Dana: Madeline, Magdalena/Mason 

N Names

Charlotte: Noelle/Nicholas

Liz: Nora/Nathaniel 

Dana: Nova/Noah 

O Names

Charlotte: Ottilie/Oliver

Liz: Olivia/Oliver 

Dana: Ophelia/Oliver 

P Names

Charlotte: Pepper, Philomena/Patrick

Liz: Piper/Parker

Dana: Priscilla, Penelope/Peter 

Q Names

Charlotte: .........

Liz: Quinn/Quentin (I guess...) 

Dana: Quinn/?

R Names

Charlotte: Rose

Liz: Rachel, Ruth/Russell 

Dana: Renesmee.. JK. Rose/Ronald

S Names

Charlotte: Stella/Samuel

Liz: Sophie, Sadie/Samuel (honorable mention: Sybil)

Dana: Savannah/Samuel 

T Names

Charlotte: Tilly (as a nickname)/Theodore

Liz: Taylor/Theodore

Dana: Theodora (Teddy)/Theodore 

U Names

Charlotte: .........

Liz: .........

Dana: ........

V Names

Charlotte: Victoria

Liz: Virginia/Victor

Dana: Vada, Virginia

W Names

Charlotte: Willa/William

Liz: Winry/William 

Dana: Winnie/William

X Names

Charlotte: Xavier

Liz: ........

Dana: ........

Y Names

Charlotte: ..........

Liz: .......

Dana: Yael/.. 

Z Names

Charlotte: Zellie

Liz: Zinnia/Zachary 

Dana: Zinnia, Zoey/Zachary

So I guess it's a win for Oliver, Theodore, William, and Samuel. ;) This post was super fun to write. I loved seeing all the overlap (Magdalene/a! Felicity! Henry!) and I got a kick out of how surprising some of the names were (still not over Dana's choice of Greg or Liz's pick of Griffin). I like that even with a decent amount of overlap, you can still sense our different styles.

Also, Keagan will forever remind me of kegels. BUT YOU DO YOU, LIZ.

Harry Potter Baby Names - Part 2

Okay guys. This is the (shorter, God willing) second part of the Harry Potter Baby Names series. And probably last. For now. It's about two weeks late, naturally. I had to work at a farmer's market for a few days and I did absolutely nothing when I got home (exhaustion) and I was a bit sick - found out I need surgery in two weeks, so.. my mind has been a little preoccupied.

The first post lists about a trillion ways to come up with Harry Potter-inspired baby names, including rearranging letters from characters' names, using letters from the House names, using character names as middle names for babies, and... a lot more. (Hop on over if you haven't yet.) I also mentioned some other ways: Roxy, because it means "dawn," calling to mind the moment Harry triumphed over Voldemort; Alasdair, because it means "defender of mankind;" and probably my favorite of the entire post, Forest, inspired by possibly my favorite chapter in the series: The Forest Again.

There are more ways, though! Here are some ideas:

Use characters' middle names. James and Jean are "normal" names, and no one will assume you've named your baby after Harry or Hermione. Want a nod to Dumbledore in your baby's name? Use Brian. In this post I wrote last year, I talked about ways to subtly name a kid after Dobby or Dumbledore.

It's hard to pick favorite characters from the series, but Dumbledore is definitely one of my top five (he's actually probably my first or second favorite). Using him for inspiration in naming makes sense to me. Dumbledore means white and wise, so names with similar meanings work well: Albert means "noble and bright," Alfred means "wise counselor," and Aldo means "old and wise." All have similar meanings to "Dumbledore" and all describe his character perfectly. With Arlo getting so popular, I think Aldo has potential.

My favorite Dumbledore name is probably Conrad. It means "brave counsel," which sums up Dumbledore's role pretty nicely (it would make a good Gryffindor name, as well). Shanahan is another - it means "the wise one." Of course, there are girl versions like Alberta and Alfreda/Alfrida. But if you don't dig those, I'd go back to the Ravenclaw names that mean "wisdom." Sofie, Sophie/a, Minerva, Athena, even Aubrey. I think Alba works really well, too.

There are a hundred more ways to do this/things like this for every character - go ahead and name a girl Iris for Sirius or Eva for Minerva.

Other really random ideas:

Wesley if you really love the Weasley family (who doesn't?)

Susie/Susy means "Lily." A perfect name, since much of the series revolves around Lily's sacrifice for her son.

Edgy surnames are in right now. Go ahead and use Rowling.

Do the stretchiest of stretches and use Dora for Dumbledore. The she could go as this for Halloween every year.

I could go on forever and ever. But don't worry, I won't! That's it.

...........for now.
__
Charlotte

Harry Potter Baby Names - Part 1

Yep, another baby name post. The other day I found out that the blogette was mentioned in a Mommy Blogger post and I just laughed. Getting a reputation as a mom blogger before I experience motherhood... I joked with my friends that I should probably start writing posts about Starbucks and leggings and flower crowns just to establish that I'm in my twenties and very much single. Not that there's anything wrong with being a mom - it's just not my reality yet. ;) I sometimes worry that all the baby name stuff will make my friends think I'm crazy, but none of them have ditched me just yet and I'm slowly learning to just roll with it. I like the things I like. Pouring over names happens to be one of those things.  

Harry Potter is another. 

It's now common knowledge for all my blog readers that I love Harry Potter. The book series. (Though also the character.) While I wouldn't be so brazen as to name my future kid Harry Potter Allen, I would give subtle nods to the book when picking out names.

Much as we all have (I think) a soft spot for Draco Malfoy, I'm not going to include Voldemort or any loyal Death Eaters. 

Sorry, Voldy.

I'm also breaking this up into two parts because it was getting WAY too long. Today will mainly be about names inspired by the houses, with a nice sprinkling of names based on specific moments, chapters, and themes throughout. (My favorites are at the bottom.) Tomorrow (or, because I procrastinate, more likely next Saturday) will be names based on characters.

Let's start with obvious choices, yes? You could just name your bebe Harry. If I did this, everyone would assume I was naming my baby after the character. So I'd avoid it. But it is a great name, so there's one option. Other ways: throw it in the middle spot. It'd still be incredibly obvious that you love HP if you gave your kind the middle name Nymphadora, Sirius, Albus, Rubeus, etc. Maybe you're cool with that, maybe you aren't. Hermione as a middle name would still be a pretty obvious nod to the brightest witch of her age, but it's also a really beautiful name. If not for the popularity of HP, I think Hermione would be exactly the kind of name parents today love. Old but quirky. But yes. You could also use Harry, Ronald, Arthur, Molly, Minerva, Fred, George, Ginny or Ginevra, the list goes on. Any of those would sound totally normal. Look at some HP names paired with the current top baby names:

Jacob Arthur
Liam George
Sophia Hermione
Zoe Ginevra
Emily Minerva

I also think it's safe to use characters that aren't Ron, Harry, or Hermione or characters who don't have super rare names. Think Luna, Ginny (or a name that shortens to Ginny - Regina, Virginia, Genevieve, etc), Neville, Alice or Franks (Neville's parents), Kingsley, Ted, Angelina, Fred, George, Charlie, Bill, Molly, Seamus, Dean, etc.

You COULD name your kid(s) after your favorite house in a few different ways LIKE:

Rearranging some of the letters:

Gryffindor 
Finn (add an n)
Dory 
Rory
Ford 

Ravenclaw 
Raven
Rae
Arwen (bonus points for LotR connection)
Carla 
Cal 
Clare 
Clara 
Wren
Lawrence (add an e)
Charles (add an h, s)
Carl
Wallace (add an l)
old names are coming back.

Slytherin
Ren?
Rhys (not my style, but it IS a real name)
Sylvie (cheat and add the v)
Elise (add an e)

Hufflepuff
Sorry, Hufflepuffs. I've got nothing. (My second favorite house, too!!)
....maybe Sue, if you add an S. Or Phil, if you add an i.

If you're not down for rearranging the house letters, how about using the founders' names for inspiration? I actually thing Helga, Helena, Rowena, and Godric would all wear well today. Older names are becoming more popular, as are names from myths, legends, and fables. Godric isn't out of place with all the Gideons. Rowena is at home with Fiona. Helena is pretty normal, and Helga fits in with the Margarets (and the Margarets going by "Greta). (There's also Gale [boy or girl] from Helga and Wren or Ren or Rowan from Rowena.)

I don't think Salazar flies. (Nor do I think he's worth using for inspiration for baby naming, what with the muggle-hating and the whole housing a deadly monster in the castle thing. Though "Zuzu" as a nick would be AMAZING.)

And then there's the option to choose names based on the animals and/or traits of each house.

Of course, Gryffindor is represented by a lion. Which means there's great boy options like Lionel, Leo, Leonardo, and Leonard, all of which mean "lion" (brave lion, young lion, etc). For girls, there's Leonie, which seems like it fits in with all the Sylvies today. There are some names that don't mean "lion" but that have "leo" in them just like all those lion names: Leopold (which means "brave people" so it still works well for Gryffindor), Leonore, Leonora.

There's also a whole host of "brave" names. Andrew means "manly," but it's also said to mean brave (which makes Andrea/Andi a nice choice for girls, too). Bernadette means "brave as a bear." Not a lion, but still it's got that brave meaning. Casey is a nice unisex name that means "brave in battle." Valentina means "strength." Anders is a variant of Andrew, so that works nicely. Archie, which seems to be gaining in popularity a lot (maybe thanks to Amy Poehler, who named her son Archie?), means "truly brave" - the perfect Gryffindor-inspired name. Bernard means "strong; brave as a bear." Perhaps my favorite because of the excellent meaning, there's Everett, which means "brave as a wild boar!" Brave! A nice Gryffindor connection! And BOAR! Like a pig! Like a hog! Like HOGWARTS. Swoony swoon. Prewitt means "brave little one" and according to Nameberry, it's French. *I* feel like French names are in right now. Also, our beloved Mrs. Weasley's maiden name was Prewett! Double connection!

You see where I'm going with this. Pick a name that means "brave" or one of the other traits of the house! Easy, subtle, and fantastic.

Ravenclaw ideas: Anne (okay, okay. Anne means "grace" according to Nameberry. But according to Behind the Name, it's "the short form of names beginning with the Germanic element arn "eagle" so I'm counting it!!!) Arnold means "strong as an eagle" - perfect. (And apparently, Arnette???) Arden means "valley of the eagle." I've heard that "Aubrey" means "wise," though Nameberry says it means "elf ruler" - in LotR elves are pretty wise though, so this could work, albeit a nice stretch. My total favorite: Minerva. Minerva was the goddess of wisdom, so the name is a nice nod to Ravenclaw. But there's also the wonderful Minerva McGonagall, so it's a nod to Gryffindor as well! I happen to love the name so I've discussed it with friends and we've decided it's wearable, especially with a good middle name and/or cute nicknames. There's the popular Sofia/Sophia. or the less popular but also lovely Sonia. Alfred and Aldo mean wise/wisdom/wise leader. Shanahan is an Irish surname (popular now) that means "wise one" and Sage means "wise and knowing." So many options for Ravenclaw!!!

Slytherin: I don't think there are many names that mean "snake," (and any names that I could think of as being connected to snakes also happen to be connected to Adam and Eve and our fallen world, so...) but Behind the Name does say that Phinehas might mean "serpent's mouth." It also mentions Drake. Names that mean "ambitious" are also kind of hard to find. There are specific Slytherins that can inspire names, though:

Severus Snape, Horace Slughorn, and Regulus Black.

Snape was a bully, so I don't see him as quite the hero that everyone else does. But I do still think he was brave and ultimately good. That said, I wouldn't name a kid Severus. I don't even like that Harry used the name Severus, though I understand it. I would play that same letter-arranging game as before. Eve appears in the name Severus, making it perfect. There's also Rue (double literary meaning for Hunger Games!) If we use his first and last name we've got even more options. Vera, Sean, Sera, and if we add a letter or two there's Pearl, Seamus, Everly. You get it.

Horace Slughorn: Okay, my very favorite ways, using some letters from both the first and last names, are Arlo and Hugo. Two of my favorite names in general, but if you're fond of Slytherins, this is a good route. (Double points for Hugo, Ron and Hermione's son!) There's Grace (especially great because it shares the consecutive "race" with Horace), Clare, Argo, Sera, Lora, Lorne, Hans, Olsen, Nora, Olga, Helga (double points), and more. And if we add a y there's Henry, which is popular now.

And everyone loves a good story of redemption, so Regulus Black: Clare, Gus, Cal, and of course, Reggie.

And Hufflepuff! Hufflepuff is proving harder than the others so far, but here are some ideas. Hufflepuffs are known for their hard work. So how about Amelia, which means "work." There's also Emmeline, Ida, and Idette. Hufflepuffs also love truth, loyalty, fair play, kindness and tolerance. For truth and loyalty there's Emmett and Dillon and Truman. Or there's Alethea or Verity (v names are huge right now). Tolerance is itself a name. For kindness there's Benen or Agatha (a nod to Agatha Christie, too!). And since Hufflepuffs make the best friends, there's Alden, Bellamy, Edwin, and Amity.

Wow this post is not ending.

Alright so a few more ideas.

Forest/Forrest. Possibly my favorite chapter in the entire series is The Forest Again.

Another favorite is King's Cross. So I'm going to steal Kate's (from Sancta Nomina) idea and propose Ryan. (And actually, with all the Christian symbols and themes... a lot of those and other Christian names can be used.)

There's also Roxy. Roxy means "dawn," calling to mind the moment when Harry finally beats Voldemort. (Of course, Dawn works, but I think Roxy is more current.)

Any of the "defender or lover of mankind" names (Alasdair, Alessandra, and more).

My favorites of all of these are Genevieve nn Ginny, Alice, Molly, Finn, Rowan, Leonie, Everett, Prewitt, Minerva, Shanahan, Everly, Hugo, Arlo, Reggie, Bellamy, Forest, and Roxy. (Those aren’t necessarily names I’d use, because they don’t all fit my tastes and style. But they’re names I think work really well to connect to Harry Potter.)

Stay tuned for Part 2, where we get to find names from favorite characters!!
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Charlotte

Rethinking Saints' Names

I hesitated to write this because most of my readers (hey Liz) aren’t parents and aren’t soon-to-be parents and aren’t Catholic so… ya’ll might think I’m crazy to enjoy talking about names so much. But I got over it. I like talking about names.

Kate over at Sancta Nomina often writes about patron saints and different ways to honor saints through baby names. Yesterday she wrote a great post about Caroline and Charlotte being potential ways to honor John Paul II (his given name was Karol) and I thought it was funny because I recently started reading Lives of the Saints. I’m not far into it at all, but just looking at the index made me stop and think. Some of the names are long and unfamiliar today, and you might need to get creative to honor them. I commented saying so, and Kate asked what some of my ideas were. I hadn’t thought about it too much (just a few names) but I thought it’d be fun to think about it some more. Yay for blogs.

Most of these are stretches, for sure. Coming up with names by scrambling letters or leaning heavily on certain sounds, etc. These aren’t actual forms of the names or anything like that – but I think if you name a kid with the intention of using a saint, that’s enough. (Funnily enough, Kate wrote about a possible connection between Theresa and Patricia, and I said I thought the names were too different to use as honor names to me. But this feels different – trying to come up with a way to honor a Saint named Porphyry doesn’t feel the same as naming a baby after your great aunt Therese. Of course, it’s different for everyone.)

Here are some ideas:

Saint Flavian

I actually think Flavian is semi-wearable today. People seem to be getting bolder with names, and Flavia wouldn’t be crazy. Flavian and Flavia would also work well as middle names. It’s not my style, though, and it reminds me of The Hunger Games (Flavius was one of the makeup team members, if I remember correctly). I think it’s really cool to name a baby after literary characters, but Flavius wasn’t my favorite and I associate the name with the Capitol. Okay now that I’ve geeked out a substantial amount…

Fiona – Fiona’s letters are almost all found in Flavian, and there are similar sounds in there.

Flora – More of a stretch than Fiona, for sure. That said, Flora adds another layer to the name. It means flower, and there are so many holy connections – Mary is often symbolized by flowers: roses, lilies, etc. With sounds lent from Flavian and meaning for Mary, Flora could be a really meaningful name with two patrons.

Vienna – The stretchiest of all Flavian stretches. Place names seem to be popular now, and the first syllable of “Vienna” sounds an awful lot like the last syllable of “Flavian,” unless I’m pronouncing it wrong (very, very possible).

Finn – I know Finn is sometimes used for girls now, but I much prefer it for boys. To me it sounds like a natural nickname for Flavian, and since a lot of people choose to forego formal names and put shortened names on birth certificates instead, I think Finn is a great way to honor St. Flavian. It’d totally work if you used a formal like Finnian or Finnegan, too.

Other ideas: Names that can be nicknamed Effie, Fifi, Alfie

Saint Apollinaris

Apollo – The obvious choice for parents of boys who want to honor this saint. Apollo is a hip and cool name, super wearable today, though it’s too out there for my own taste.

Polly – Another clear choice to honor Apollinaris. Also possible for another double: Molly Maris. According to this, Polly is also a form of Mary and Molly is super similar in sound, and Maris is often associated with Our Lady. Polly Maris is nice too - either way, you can honor both Saint Apollinaris and the Virgin Mary. (Also, I'm digging the "aris" found in both.) 

Oliver/Olive nn Ollie – Similar to Finn for Flavian, Ollie seems like a natural nickname for Apollinaris.

Paul/Paula/Pauline have some similar sounds and so might work.   

Short names that are spelled with letters mostly found in Apollinaris: Lara, Sara, Silas/Linus, Nora, Arlo, Risa, Orin

Saint Aelred

I liked this one too much, probably. It reminded me of this super fun post I wrote of non-obvious ways to name your baby after a character. In that, I found this when looking at Alfred: Derived from the Old English Ælfred, a compounding of the elements ælf (elf) and ræd (counsel). 

Aelred and Alfred aren't exactly the same, of course, but they're similar, and according to Behind the Name, Aelred is a variant of ÆÐELRÆD, which, like Alfred, includes  ræd. (Again, meaning "counsel.") So that's fun (and... does this mean all of the suggestions for "Albus" in that post could work for Aelred??? :D ) So: 

Alfred - A bit different, but very similar meaning, and a few letters in common.

Albert - Doesn't have quite the same meaning, but again, stretching is okay here, and a lot of the letters and sounds are shared. 

Aldo - With Arlo gaining steam (I love it), Aldo might be next. 

Darla - With Harvey and Alfie and Calvin being used again, it's not out of the realm of possibilities that Darla comes back, and it has a lot of the same letters as Aelred, making it a good possible honor name. 

Rae - A huge stretch, but if paired with another meaningful name to make it especially clear that baby is being named for the saint? Dorothea Rae is a possibility - Dorothea means "gift of God" and paired with Rae as a short (short!) nn from Saint Aelred, that's a really holy name. Ella is similar in that it shares some sounds/letters but might need to be paired with another name to really solidify the meaning.

I haven't given too much thought to the rest, but at first glance, these are names I can see being used to honor saints with really unfamiliar names: 

Saint Romuald

Romy - Romy would be my favorite way to name a girl after Saint Romuald. 

Rudy - Likewise, Rudy would be my favorite way to name a boy after Saint Romuald.

There's also Ronald, Rue, Aldo, Arlo, and Maud/e. 

Saint Porphyry

Rory - To me, Rory seems like the most obvious choice (I prefer Rory for a girl, though I know it's used for boys as well). 

Fiero - Though I'd never use it, I've seen this name floated around by others. 

Poppy - I've heard that this name is coming back, and it seems like a sensible way to name a baby girl with Saint Porphyry in mind. 

Names that can be shortened as nicknames to Pip or Rye.

Saint Soter 

Rose - Rose is made entirely of letters found in "Soter" and so I think, combined with intention to name a baby after the saint, works as an honor name. 

Otis - Many of the same letters, plus similar sound. Since Soter was a Pope, maybe combining Otis with Peter would add extra clarity to the significance of the name. Otis Peter/Peter Otis. 

Names that can be shortened to Ret. 

Saint Etheldreda

Of course, there's Ethel. But other names that might work if Ethel isn't your style: 

Esmeralda - It's got similar sounds, a lot of letters in common, and it looks very similar. 

Adele/Edele/Edel - All letters found in the original name. (If I was naming a girl after Saint Etheldreda I'd likely go with Adele.)

Della - I've come to really like the name Della. I found it when my friend was expecting and wanted a name that was rare, but wouldn't be completely unfamiliar. With all the Ellas and Stellas, Della is familiar but not heard often. It's got similar look and feel and letters as Etheldreda. Also, "del/l" means "the," "of," or "of the" in a few languages, which lends itself to a lot of great possibilities. But dell also means valley, which seems like a possible way to honor Mary and Jesus, especially if paired with other specific names. (I've heard of "lily of the valley" as a symbol of Mary, as a symbol of Jesus, and as a symbol of the coming of spring, symbolizing the coming of Jesus.) Della paired with a Christ-name, Mary/Marie/Maria/Maris, Rose, or a Lily-name (that'd be hard though) would be loaded with a ton of significance. Della Maria would be my favorite, but there's also Della Rose, Della Cristina, or, if you don't mind the repeating sounds, Della Liliana. (Or any other combo you might think of.) Della has potential to honor Saint Etheldreda, Mary, and Jesus all at once.    

Others: Andrea, Rae, Ella, Lea, Drella, Dare (I've seen it used as a middle), etc.

I think another great way to really make it clear that a baby is being named for a saint is to pair it with meaningful middles - names that mean "gift" or "gift of God" or "like God" or even "happy," since happiness stems from God. Gabriel means "God is my strength." So something like Alfred Gabriel (for Saint Aelred) or Abigail Fiona (for Saint Flavian, and Abigail means "my father is joyful) would honor the saint clearly - I mean, the saints do point us to God.

That's all I've got (for now ;). If you know more about names and languages (and root words and meanings and all that) I imagine there are even more possibilities to honor these saints. Such fun.     

Any ideas? 

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Charlotte 

name game

By now you all know I like talking about/reading about/thinking about names.  (This remains one of the most popular posts on the blog.)  I love names in general, whether we're talking about future kids, characters on a show, characters in a book, etc.  Sometimes I think it's a little nutty to love talking about baby names, but then I come across things like this and I'm comforted by the fact that there are others out there!  Woooo, I'm not alone!   

 

I'm going to get around to that article (and of course divulge triplet name choices) but first enjoy some name-related links and a random assemblage of name-related thoughts.  (Or just scroll to the bottom for the fun part.) 

I've mentioned it before, but I really love this blog.  Every Monday there's a new "name consultation" and Kate, the author, gives naming advice and suggestions to parents expecting a baby.  The suggested names match the style of older children and often have special meanings/connections to saints.  There's a lot of other great stuff that goes on over there throughout the week, such as history of a name or discussions regarding naming trends, but the consultations are my favorite and I always look forward to them.  

Here's another site that offers name advice and daily spotlights on all kinds of names. My favorite thing I've read over there is this post discussing potential names for North West's sibling.  Totally kind and thoughtful and... I never imagined I'd say this, but I hope Kim and Kanye name their son Wild West.  Not going to lie, I rolled my eyes when they decided to name their human child North West.  But it's their style, not mine, and if they're going to roll with it then I think Wild West sounds awesome as a brother to North West. 

Also, check this out.  Another example of great names in movies.  (Annie also happens to be one of my faves.) 

Do you remember the Youtube sensation, Charlie Bit My Finger?  Their children are named Harry, Charlie, Jasper, and Rupert.  I think those sound perfect together. 

Other great namers: Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick.  Their kids are named James Wilkie, Tabitha Hodge, and Marion Loretta Elwell.  I remember reading somewhere that the middle names were family names.  

While at my cousin's fifth grade graduation we overheard the name Fritzraldo.  I'd never use it but I loved it immediately.  

This little girl is named Heavenly Joy.  Normally I'm not for that much play on names.  Somehow, she ROCKS it.   

One of my best friends, Olivia, has a family chock full of great names.  Olivia is a great name and she has a brother named James (one of my personal favorite boy names).  Her dad is named Edwin and he has brothers named Michael and Francis.  Her Uncle Fran's boys are named Brian, Michael, Frankie, Pauly, and Terrence.  They remind me of Good Will Hunting - the scene where Will says he has 12 brothers named Marky, Ricky, Danny, Terry, Mikey, Davey, Timmy, Tommy, Joey, Robby, Johnny and Brian.  Big Irish family!       

J.K. Rowling is great at naming her characters.  I swear, I read HP and all the sudden names like Albus, Rufus, and Neville seemed great to me.  I particularly love the names of everyone in the Weasley family.  (In case, for some grave reason, you're not familiar with them, the parents are Arthur and Molly, and their children are Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny.  Not sure if Bill, Charlie, Percy, and Fred are short for William, Charles, Percival, and Frederick - if so they still sound great together.  We know Ron is Ronald and Ginny is Ginevra.)  The only names I don't really like in her books are, go figure, Harry's kids' names.  James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna... eh.  The names are all fine, but they don't sound great together.  I saw something once that said, "Harry named his kids like some nerd who had just finished reading Harry Potter."  Quite right. 

Speaking of Harry Potter - is Hermione out of the question for names?  I think it's an awesome name - it's long, it's got a great history, there's a saint Hermione - but does that universal association with HP make it less wearable?  (At the very least, I think people would assume you were a Harry Potter nerd, and that there was nothing else behind the name choice.  Maybe for a middle name, though?)  

Parenthood is one of my favorite shows.  (Naturally, I started watching just before it ended - good thing Netflix exists.)  The four Braverman siblings are named Adam, Sarah, Crosby, and Julia.  

At first, it bothered me a little that Crosby seemed like a totally different style than the other names.  (I started this blog post by saying that I'm nutty, so don't judge me too harshly for analyzing names in tv shows, okay?)  After watching for a little while, though, I started to feel differently, and now I think it's totally fine to mix up name styles for siblings.  They can still sound perfect together.  (This is different to me than naming one child something really out there while giving the other child(ren) very traditional or common names, though.  Theo, Michael, Amos, and Claire - yes.  Different styles, for sure, but still lovely together.  Theo, Michael, Skyscraper, and Claire - no.  That just seems mean [and strange] to me.)

Buuuut where were we?  Styles.  I'm glad that Parenthood came along and changed my mind because I like a lot of names that aren't necessarily matching styles.  Catherine, Elizabeth, Suzanne, Anne - all great.  But then I also like Margot, Loretta, Evangeline, etc.  Hell, I even like Beatrix and Winnifred from time to time.  We're talking years down the line, obviously, but when I have to start naming kids I'm cool with combining styles, both within each name (different styles for first and middle) and between siblings.  I'm also totally into the idea of two middle names - you get to use more names plus it's easier to include saints names, or family names if theoretical future husband wants family names in there.  

One last thought before the article's prompt.  

When it comes to names that invoke a sense of power, I think there's an imbalance between names for boys and names for girls.  

Heavy-hitters for boys: Augustine, Alexander, Theodorus, Miximilian, Maximus, Ignatius, Aquinas, Leonardo, Nicodemus among many, many others.  

Heavy-hitters for girls: ....it's hard to think of any that give the same feel as the names above.  I think Victoria and Elizabeth come closest because they're royal names.  Anastasia and Antoinette close behind.  But still, none of those seem to pack the same punch as the male names.  I mean, Maximus???  

I think it's probably a result of history being written largely by and for men.  So maybe we'll see a shift.  

(Alexandria and Cleopatra also feel like contenders, but then you might not be able to escape the feel of Egyptian influence.  Not a bad thing, but not what everyone might be going for with a name.)

There are plenty of powerful and influential women to name girls after.  The names themselves just don't seem as grand.  

OKAY.  So, that link.  It's a Nameberry prompt to name your theoretical triplets.  My kind of people.  I'd be terrified at the thought of carrying and birthing triplets, but naming them?  f-u-n   

There are a couple hundred responses so far.  I haven't read many, but I did read one from a woman who loves Frederick, Theodore, and Edward - but then has the Fred-Ted-Ed dilemma.  I feel her.  I love those names as well.  

IF I had triplets, I'd probably try to incorporate the archangels in their names.  You know, groups of three and what not. 

(If I had to name triplets, I might not necessarily use the same names I'd pick if I were to have le singleton or twins because if I had multiples I'd want to connect their names in some way, which means I might pick different names based on sound.  Example - I love the name Harriet but might not use it for triplets since I'd want to use the Archangels' names and I don't love the sound of Harriet paired with any of them [Michael, Gabriel, Raphael].)

Triplets - three girls

Starting with the archangels - Of the three, Michael is my least favorite name when it comes to the feminine forms.  I wouldn't use Michelle (nice name, just not my taste) and I'm not overly fond of Michaela, either.  But... would scrambling some of the letters in Michael to form a new name count?  Because if so - Alice is a nice name, and includes all but two of Michael's letters.  The other two options I'd consider would be just using Michael, but making it a middle name, or using Mico/Miko.  (Miko is a real name - I don't know if Mico is, but Nico is so it's not that far-fetched.)  I like both Gabrielle and Gabriela, and Raphaela is nice, though I'd only use it if I found myself having to name triplets.

Margot Raphaela Elise 

Mico Grace Victoria (probably would go by Grace or Victoria)

Catherine Rose Gabrielle (or possibly Catherine Gabriela Rose)  

While I like the names, I don't love the cadence in all of them.  I guess that's what happens when you feel the need to include three masculine names.... 

Triplets - three boys

Gabriel Francis Owen (would go by Gabe) 

James Patrick Michael (possibly nicknamed Patch)

Hugo Lewis Raphael     

If I'm using the archangels in the names, I definitely prefer the boy options.  

Two girls, one boy

Margot Raphaela Elise 

Mico Grace Victoria 

Gabriel Francis Owen

Two boys, one girl

Margot Raphaela Elise

Gabriel Francis Owen

James Patrick Michael 

If I didn't try to use the names of the archangels (which... after seeing how difficult it is, I probably would not) the names that come to mind first are:

All boys: Teddy, Sam, and Arlo.  

(Well, Theodore and Samuel, but you get it.)  Those might change after looking for middle names that sound good, but that's another day's post.  

All girls: Madeleine, Loretta, and Vivienne. Again, might change with middle names.

I asked Liz what she'd name theoretical triplets.  Her choices are swoon-worthy. 

All girls: Abigail, Felicity, and Genevieve 

All boys: Samuel, Alexander, and Oliver 

She and I have some overlapping taste in names.  

(Nameberry also did a what-would-you-name-quintuplet-boys - maybe we'll tackle that another day.) 

Longest post ever?  Possibly.  

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Charlotte