The first message board ever in nameberry’s illustrious three-week-long history asked: To V or Not To V?  A mom was trying to decide whether to name her about-to-be-born daughter Vera. 　　What did everyone think?, she asked.  Was Vera fresh and appealing?  Or did it still sound too old-ladyish?  Did people...

　　When Pam and I wrote our first name book, Beyond Jennifer & Jason (back when Jennifer & Jason were still baby names), we had a little section called NAMES THAT ARE TOO MUCH TO LIVE UP TO, listing examples that had such a potent image that whey would overpower an innocent...

　　For twelve years now, since 1996, the most popular name for girl babies has been Emily.  But it looks like Emily’s reign as the top girls’ name may be coming to an end–something we won’t know until the next Social Security list comes out in May.  In all fairness,  Madison or Emma...

　　Let’s say you have a two-year-old son named Connor.  Then suddenly you wake up one morning and see that Scarlett Superstar has just named her new baby daughter Connor.  And the thought runs through your mind–omg!!–are thousands of other parents now going to follow her lead and name their little...

　　Since today is my oldest child and only daughter’s birthday, I can’t help but think back on the process of choosing her name. 　　It was easy, totally easy.  My husband and I agreed absolutely: She was going to be named Henry, and called Hank, after Hank Aaron, one of my...

　　Before I was born, my mother had  two names picked out for me–I was going to be either Lydia or Laurel.  She liked them because they were slightly unusual and, being an artist herself, saw them as having a creative feel–plus  she was also following the Jewish tradition of using...

　　At last! Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck have finally announced the name of their newborn daughter: Seraphina Rose Elizabeth. 　　Seraphina‘s name, which means fiery or ardent in Hebrew, comes from the Seraphim, the high order of six-winged angels. Spelled Serafina in Spanish and Italian, this elaborately feminine name is in...

　　Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck’s choice of the name Seraphina for their second daughter has put the spotlight on ultra-feminine names. Lots of syllables, ending in a vowel: Those are the classic earmarks of the girly baby names. 　　When I had my first — and as it turned out, my...

　　Ava is one of the biggest recent baby name success stories, jumping from almost the bottom of the Top 1000 twenty years ago to #4 last year–and it could be heading for #1. I’m certainly hearing it everywhere I go, in the street and in the supermarket, and seeing it...

　　 Charlie and Sam are typical of an emerging pattern linking two current trends: nicknames and ambigender names. Sam followed on the avalanche of Samanthas, often called Sam, which resulted in some parents cutting straight to the short form–Denise Richards, for one, used it for her daughter in 2004. And Charlie,...

　　When I was a little girl I wanted to be named Susie.  Cute, perky, popular: the name Susie seemed to embody all the things I wanted to be, everything not associated with prissy, proper Pamela. 　　While I’ve come to prefer Pamela to Susie, I’m still fascinated by all the variations...

　　We found Stephany Aulenback’s wonderful blog Crooked House when she wrote about nameberry, and now we’re fans.  Here, Stephany‘s take on looking for a name for her baby girl, due in June, and finding that nothing, old or new, feels quite right. 　　It was around Christmas time when we started...

　　It’s a lovely place name starting with the fashionable V and carrying a rich history, so why has Virginia faded from view while other classic names have held their own? Last year, for example, there were close to 13,000 new little Elizabeths and only 564 Virginias. So what’s the problem...