Name In Spotlight: Blue

Well, I had to post something. It's the name everyone is talking about this week, for one simple reason: it's the name pop singer Beyonce and her fiancé, rapper Jay-Z, bestowed upon their newborn daughter: Blue Ivy Carter. Surprisingly safe amongst all the wacky celeb baby names that we've learned about.

Colors as given names are very rare, however Blue has been picking up some steam as a name for a while, especially amongst celebrities. Last year we had Alicia Silverstone's son Bear Blu, which caused a lot of controversy, and the first one that I can think about was Cher's son Elijah Blue (who is now in his 30s).

Celebrity Baby Names of 2011 - Review

2011 was an interesting year for celeb baby names, although not as much as previous years. Maybe Hollywood is turning the crazy down, which might be positive for the babies themselves, but for us who like to see how far they can go, it certainly isn't as much fun.

Like last year, I'll review some celeb baby names given throughout the year, for sons and daughters, with my opinions on each name. I'll then give my picks on the best and worst names of the year.

BOYS:

Flynn - Probably the trendiest name around, although still uncommon (not for long I think). Regardless of whether it becomes uber trendy, I happen to adore this name, so I definitely encourage more parents to use it. It's fresh and has a certain edge that Finn simply doesn't. Another great choice would be Wynn.

Robert Ford - Dont like. At all. Robert has always been one of those names I've never liked, borderline hating it, and I still don't see it's appeal on baby boys these days, I think it's quite dated. Ford is trying too hard to be cool, but it's just ugly.

Morocco Elijah - I gues any country can be a name, but I'd rather be a country than a nationality (will get to that later...) Elijah is a name that I do like, even though it's uber popular. I'd probably go with Elisha, similar but not as overused.

Koa Thomas - Love the name Koa. So unexpected, and could be a great alternative to the saturated Noah. It's definitely a cool name, fresh, sticks in your head. It has the almost obligatory classic but ultimately boring middle name, in this case Thomas. As long as those are in the middle spot I don't mind, it's when the spunky unique names are wasted in the middle with a first name like Jacob, Michael or John that sets me off. Overall thumbs up.

Names Of The Year 2011

December is already here, and another year is almost over. The SSA will be soon starting to count all the baby names around the country, a list that is published every year in May.

Seeing that there's still 5 months to go, we might as well talk amongst ourselves about our own predictions, and keep things rolling. What were the biggest names of the year? Who will be #1?

For boys:

- I think Jacob will remain #1 yet again, but stiff competition should be starting to form just below it. I think 2011 will be the year this name will start to decline in popularity, but since it's so ahead of the others, it should be safe at the top. Let's hope it loses it's crown soon...

Name In Trend: Jayden

The name Jayden is of hebrew origin and means "thankful". It can be a variant of the original hebrew name Jadon, or a varient of the american name Jaden. These days, I would think the latter is probably more likely, since parents never really warmed up to Jadon, but have been keen on Jaden for quite a while.

Jayden's performance in the boys chart definitely puts it on the "trendy" side of names, having climbed steadily ever since it's debut in 1994. At the time, Jaden was more popular, probably since it was used as a celebrity baby name by R&B superstar Will Smith for his son. Jayden soon followed as a variant spelling of that name, climbing every year, and would enjoy a boost of popularity when it was used for Britney Spears' son. It would eventually become the most popular spelling.

Here is a graph to make things clearer for you:

Name In Trend: Easton

The name Easton is of Old English origin, and means "east settlement". Other possible meanings are: "island of stones", "magical power", "noble power".

The name has been getting a lot of buzz lately, mostly due to country singer Easton Corbin, who has given the name a certain appeal to parents that are fans of the genre. Also, actress Jenna Elfman also welcomed a son named Easton Quinn Monroe in 2010, boosting the name's popularity across name blogs. The name can also have a religious connotation, for those parents that associate the name with Easter, and Christ.


So let's see how Easton has performed in the popularity ranking:

Names In Spotlight: Evil Girl Names

If there's one theme I prefer girl names over boy names, it's evil names. Not only in literature and mythology, but also in movies and TV series, girls just have the more interesting names. While a lot of them are pretty common names, such as Katherine [Vampire Diaries], Carrie [Carrie], Victoria [Twilight], Kali [Hinduism], Faith [Buffy The Vampire Slayer] or Regan [The Exorcist], there are some that are either really rare, or that have gone out of usage in many years.

Below are some uncommon evil names used in cinema and TV. Not necessarily evil in origin or meaning, but because they were used on evil characters.

Morticia [Addams Family]
Wednesday [Addams Family]

Everyone has seen or at least heard about "The Addams Family". They were at their most normal, an unconventional family, who reveled in anything evil or painful. Morticia, the mother, and Wednesday, the daughter, were both very elegant with a gothic appearance, and like the rest of the family had an obsession with the macabre. Morticia and Wednesday have never made the SSA ranking, and probably never will. The first one because it's a mouthful and heavily associated with the character, and the second one because days of the week as first names never caught on.

2011 List: Mathematical Prediction

This Summer, I had some extra time to spare, and I thought about comparing the popularity change of the boy names between 2009 and 2010, based on the number of babies born, and use those numbers to predict the 2011 ranking. I did round up the numbers to make things easier for me, otherwise it would've taken me way too many hours.
So this is how the 2011 list would look, if the names this year had the same change (whether positive or negative) as last year:

01 Jacob (=)
02 Mason (+10)
03 Jayden (+1)
04 Ethan (-2)
05 William (=)

Names In Trend: Ends In "O"

Fun. Youthful. Spunky. That's what I associate with most names that end in the "oh" sound. Parents also seem to agree, with several of these names climbing up the charts, and others becoming trendy in Hollywood. Most of the names that end in "o" are predominantely male, since a lot of them are from latin origin.

"Oh" ending names that are on the rise include:

Alejandro (#102) - Lady Gaga influence perhaps?
Santiago (#133)
Leo (#193)
Mateo (#221)

Name In Coffin: Madison

This name, like it's ending suggests, means "son of" - in this particular case, "son of Maud or son of Matthew". Any name that ends in "son" has a masculine meaning, but it seems these days that isn't important when naming a daughter. Madison has become the iconic "son" name for girls, and made the "son" ending a trend that seems to be getting more and more popular these days.

So what started this trend on girls? A movie. In 1984, a film starting Tom Hanks called "Splash" starred a mermaid who happened to adopt this name when walking through Madison Avenue in New York. It just goes to show you anything can change your perception on a name, and even make it skyrocket in popularity out of the blue. But sadly, just like with most male names that get adopted by girls, this name started to sink for boys and exited the chart soon after.

So let's see how Madison performed for boys:

Name In Trend: Nevaeh

Nevaeh is probably the most remarkable success of a made-up name, ever. This name was fabricated to intentionally spell "heaven" backwards. While I think the thought is kinda sweet, it does sound a bit too try-hard, and for me the opposite of heaven just reminds me of hell. It is pronounced like "nuh-vay-uh" or simply "nuh-vay", though it's pronounciation is up for debate, and I have heard it been said "nee-vay-uh".

The success of the name is mostly due to the show MTV Cribs, it seems that channel is always at the centre of a name phenomenon. In 2000, the lead singer of the american rock band P.O.D was in this show, in which they show the world their houses inside and out. He also introduced the world to his daughter, Nevaeh, and explained the meaning behind her unusual name. The name was an instant success with parents around the country, and debuted the following year.

Here is how it performed in the girls chart: