I recently watched one of the seemingly countless Masterpiece Theater/BBC/theatrical versions of Jane Eyre, and I couldn’t help noticing how many times this particularly dreamy Rochester (Toby Stephens) repeated the heroine’s name, imbuing it each time with various shades of sweetness, sadness, passion, and more–and it made me fall in love...

　　You may know Nameberry’s most popular girls’ names 2011: from Top 3 Charlotte, Violet, and Amelia down to Molly, Maya, and Mary. 　　You may even know our hottest girls’ names 2011, which include such celebrity-influenced picks as Pippa and Mila. 　　But we’ve got a quieter, less obvious, but potentially more...

　　Princess names are a subject of fascination for us, one we last covered by detailing all the royal names of the next generation of little princesses, from Aiko to Eleonore. 　　Now, in honor of the newest princess by marriage, Catherine of Wales, we look at the names of women who,...

　　Anna recently recommended ten German girls’ names for importation, and now she’s done the same for German boy names. 　　Andreas 　　Latinised form of the Greek form of Andrew. The name has been used in Germany since the Middle Ages; a famous medieval namesake is Andreas Osiander, a Lutheran mystic and theologian....

　　Twin names present double the naming challenge but can also be double the fun. Naming twins is a rare opportunity to choose two related baby names at the same time that are compatible but also distinct. 　　With twins, it can be more tempting to use rhyme, sound play, and same...

　　Kristen writes: 　　We put lots of thought into naming our first son, and I couldn’t be happier with what we settled on: Charles Alasdair, Cal for short. 　　Both his first and middle names honor his great-grandparents, Charles and Al. Cal is the name of my favorite character from my favorite...

　　Gender neutral names are extremely fashionable right now – but that can pose a problem to parents looking for a cool but uncommon unisex baby name. 　　Familiar favorites such as River (Number 105 for boys in 2022, and Number 150 for girls) and Charlie (Number 178 for boys, Number 123...

　　Lovers of unique word names, put down your dictionaries! 　　We’ve found a better way to come up with truly original word names for babies: crowdsource it! We recently asked our brilliant Berry community to suggest cool new word name possibilities that no one’s thought of yet — and they didn’t...

　　Vintage surname names — it’s not an oxymoron! 　　Yes, we tend to think of surname names as a modern trend, and in many ways it is. The way we use surname names today is remarkably different from a century ago. 　　Historically, wealthy families passed down surnames as a way to authenticate...

　　The top baby names 2020 feature a host of names that went virtually unused a generation ago. These include newly-minted names, rediscovered antiques, plus names imported from around the world. 　　We predict 2020’s top baby names by calculating which names saw the biggest increases in interest from Nameberry readers so...

　　Congratulations to our Berry Amy, known in the comments as Orchid_Lover, who won our “Guess the New Top 10” contest! 　　Amy’s predictions for the Top 10 baby names of 2018 were as follows: 　　1.     Emma 　　Noah 　　2.     Olivia 　　Liam 　　3.     Ava 　　William 　　4.     Sophia 　　Oliver 　　5.     Isabella 　　Benjamin 　　6.     Charlotte...

　　by Sophie Kihm 　　My latest starbaby predictions include some thoughts on middle names. 　　Celebrity baby middle names don’t get as much attention as first names, but they can be equally as exciting. Take Anne Hathaway’s son’s middle name, Rosebanks. It’s a portmanteau of two family names—a creative solution to honor...

　　If you’re looking for some eye-opening  name moments, try browsing  through some vintage name books and you might be surprised to discover just how dramatically perceptions of some  names have changed over time.  In some cases what we think of as perfectly valid current choices have actually been written off as dead and gone.  Today’s popular Ava, for instance, was rarely thought worthy of...

　　When I lived in London in the 90s, I was gobsmacked (astonished in British) by how different the baby names were there. It wasn’t like they used names Americans had never heard of – exotic ones like Pema or invented ones like Puma – but that they used some of...

　　Yesterday, as I was writing about the favorite names on nameberry, it seemed as if all was in perfect harmony and solidarity, complete sweetness and sunshine on the site, and that nameberry.com was as tranquil a place as Mayberry R.F.D. 　　Not totally true. 　　Turns out that some visitors are as passionately opposed to some...

　　So you've already put a name on the birth certificate, but now you're feeling baby name regret. Can you change your baby's name? Of course you can! 　　Follow our step-by-step guide to changing a baby name, from navigating the legal process to coping with the emotions of a name change....

　　Unique twin names that feel well-matched but not too matchy can feel impossible to find. Naming twins is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges (and greatest pleasures) facing a baby namer – although our ultimate guide to twin names is a great place to start! 　　Many parents naming twins take...

　　Sure, Thanksgiving is about sweet potatoes with little marshmallows on top, but it’s also about family. That’s why, as we approach the holiday, our coverage of Thanksgiving baby names is focused this year not on Pilgrim names or turkey names but on the new style in family names. 　　Family names...