Saturday, January 24, 2009

Names

Rich and I keep thinking of names and then forgetting them.. so I'n going to keep listing them here. Keep the comments polite :)

Oh yes (edited to add), please do leave us your suggestions!!

Girls


Harriet
Rafaela
Edalena (Edie)
Avery
Mallory
Eliza
Thea


Boys

Mac
Asher
Rafferty
Rafa
Rafael
Hugh
Samuel
Theo
Saul
Seth
Issac
Barack (that's for you, Erin!).

42 comments:

  1. Hello you three! (I am including Poppet here.)

    I like the names. Retro yet edgy.

    What about Poppet? ;-)

    So grateful to follow you as you go through this life-changing experience. (I love that first picture of you two! Adorable.)

    xoxoxo
    Love,
    Jen

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  2. Guys, Edalena?! Did you come up with this because of MY Edy, or is it a total coincidence?

    Lol, I'd have to vote no on that one, and also on Asher, for similar reasons!

    I love Thea for a girl, or Harriet (would you call her Harry?)
    Theo or Rafael for a boy.

    I am so psyched for you both, and to meet little Poppet this summer.
    AND Laura and I like the pics from our wedding, it makes us feel a part of things. Especially that last pic of Rich... very snazzy, buddy.

    lovelove!
    "Suzy and Laurie"

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  3. I was so happy to get an email from you, letting me know of this blog! I think of you often and hope that you and Little Bump are doing well. I'm happy that now I'll be able to peruse on here any time, day or night, to find out how you all are doing. ;)

    Reading your posts reminded me so much of my first trimester...the dozen or so tests, the worry...so sorry it's been so stressful, but I promise you (and I know you know!) that this will all be worth it in the end. Of course it will. :)

    Anyway, LOVE the names Eliza and Avery, and for a boy, I've always liked Isaac.

    Take care.
    xoxo brie

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  4. i love your names! i think we have similar taste... so glad to hear that things are progressing well!

    emxx

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  5. Thanks, everyone! These are just the names we could remember last night... we have come up with so many. We need to find a name that is not too popular in the UK and US... yet a name that would work well in both. We're going double-barrel our names so we'll have Poppet Oliver-Campbell :)

    Aw, Jen, you have been such a wonderful friend. Isn't Poppet a lovely name?! It means something like 'endearing young child'. And thanks for the pic compliments. It was taken at Fia and Laura's wedding this Fall!!

    lol, fia.. it is a bit of a coincidence! We happened upon Edalena in our baby book (as I was looking for a full name that would abbreviate to Eddie) and I did remember that your little friend was also Edalena! I think one of my students suggested Asher... though none of this was lost on me!

    Harriet is our number one name, as of now. We're thinking Harry or Hatty... Thea is a lovely name. I was reading one of my terrible mysteries and came across the name, and then saw it listed in the top ten Norwegian names. For boys we really like 'Ra...' names. Rich's brother is expecting and they have their eye on some of those Ra names, too... !!

    Thanks for checking out the blog, Brie. I remember you telling me about your first trimester. Phew, you poor thing. I don't think that my sickness was anywhere near as awful as yours.

    What do you think about Avery for a boy, too?

    Em, I think of you when I can Poppet 'Poppet' :) You know that Leila was on our list, too? It is such a lovely, lovely name. I hope she's doing well!!

    Keep the names coming, guys. We're thinking we won't do a middle name because of the double-barrel surname, but we're open to suggestions!

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  6. I think Avery is a lovely boy name as well :)
    Another boy-name thought is Silas... it's not on your list so maybe it's been vetoed already, but it's a great name, and very much in the old-testament style like Saul and Isaac (interestingly, if you use Isaac or Eliza, your poppet may have a same-name cousin in about five years! Those are WAY near the top for us).

    I love names! You may get tons of comments from me on this - call me off if it gets old :)

    I am so happy for you guys - you are already wonderful parents.
    Here's to lots of vomit-free days, Alex!!
    xo
    Fia

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  7. Alex, I'm sure you know this but you can check out the U.S. Census list of baby names to see how many kids have been given a particular name each year. I'm not sure how to find it but David knows. We checked it out when name shopping (we were trying to avoid having the next Britney--you know, those names that might be nice by themselves but that you come to hate after seeing them repeated too often on your class rosters!). It was lots of fun.

    p.s. I do love Harriet and Eliza! And I love how your names sound hyphenated.

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  8. Wait, you're NOT calling the baby Poppet? I'm crushed. :) It's a totally delightful, gender neutral name, that goes well with both last names!

    That being said, I love your lists. I love Eliza and Avery, Samuel, Rafferty.

    I am so excited for your family!

    Sarah Hope

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  9. I'm not sure this is an election, but I vote for Poppet too.

    Thanks for starting a blog! It's so exciting to follow your progress.

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  10. The website for the Social Security top 1000 names is here:

    http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/

    You can check for any year, it's pretty cool.

    My friend has two boys and her only criteria for naming them is that they can't be in the top 1000 FOR ANY YEAR ON RECORD. That's pretty hard to find...

    So she ended up naming them Mads and Morrow. They've grown on me. ;)

    Anyway, you should check it out. It's pretty interesting.

    xoxo brie

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  11. Is Barack for me Erin, or another Erin? Out of all the names, I like Asher the best.

    Oh, and you have to do a middle name, even if you are going to use both last names. Middle names are so cool. And when you're yelling at the kid, it sounds cooler if you use their full name. The longer the better!

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  12. Oh, I really like Silas, Fi. We may have mentioned it before and then forgotten it. I'll add it to the list :) WIll probably not go for Eddie - though I'm afraid Asher is still on the list! I'm sure it might bring back some 'memories' for you, though. Do you have any idea what Ellen and Tracy are planning for names? Feel free to keep those names coming!

    Thanks so much, Jen. We have indeed checked out the SS top 1000. Harriet is NOT on it, though it's around 70 in the UK. Eliza has been hanging around the 300s in the US. Rafferty is not in the top 1000, either. There are some names we've already discounted because of their popularity. We liked Ava, Olivia... but it seems that the majority of the babies born in any Western country have these names.

    Hi Sarah-Hope. I trust you're not still in that lab! Rafferty was my favorite name for the longest time. I also like Samuel, but of course we have a dog named Sammy so it might get a little confusing. Feel free to send along suggestions xo

    Thanks so much for posting the link, Brie. I must say I quite like Mads but Marrow (I automatically think of bone...) is one that I would have to get used to. One of my sister's called her son Archie Bear. The Archie is after my dad.. the 'Bear' is named after a reality TV contestant. Jeepers.

    Thanks for visiting, David! Sage's Diaries is our inspiration for the blog. We've loved seeing Sage grow up even when we can't see her as often as we'd like. Thank goodness for video cameras and Engelbert Humperdin :)

    Different Erin... one who has been suggesting that I name poppet Barack! Do you have any name suggestions. A few people emailed me theirs... I should compile another list.

    Thanks for all your comments. It means a lot that you'd take the time to read this!
    xo

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  13. Ok, so now I'm contributing...more for my own enjoyment and entertainment (though I've also checked to make sure they're not on the SS 1000). :) Girls...Ellery, Eloise. Aislyn, Eliot (boy or girl)...the boy names I like are all way too popular. :)

    SH

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  14. Ha Ha Alex!

    I love that you added Barack for me! :)

    I love the name Avery and I also like Edie.

    Now to add...Brie or Bri (I can't tell how I feel about the "e" on the end). I also like Aubrey which works for both a girl and boy. But I must go ahead and share that I'm partial to unisex names.

    And a few other names I really REALLY like...

    Rory
    Haley
    Sebastien
    Jackson

    And I vote for a middle name...even with the hyphenated last name. I have TWO middle names. Makes me feel special. :)

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  15. Sarah Hope, some of these names are lovely. I especially like Ellery and Eliot. I have mentioned Eliot a few times to Rich - for a boy or a girl - and he wasn't too keen, but we can work on him :) Keep them coming! Much more important than grant writing, etc...

    Ha, Erin, I thought you'd like Barack! My sister has Rory picked out if she has a boy (she's due in April). Sebastian is out as it has lots of class connotations in the UK... I LOVE Aubrey! Rich has also vetoed that name... but, again, I'm sure it's not hopeless. I really do like it, though. I am also very partial to unisex names. I think if it didn't seem like such an outrageously narcissistic thing to do I'd call a girl Alex!

    Thanks, everyone. These suggestions are really helpful!
    A

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  16. Yeah, I like the name Brie, too. :) And I'm *very* partial to the E on the end. You should go for it, Alex! ;)

    xoxo

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  17. Haha, Asher is actually one of my all-time favorite names, so connotations be damned (and why MY connotations should have anything to do with YOUR baby... lol). We can't use it due to some very not-good family associations, which is hugely sad for me. Edalena's the real one that would horrify me if you used it! Hehe.

    Isn't Silas great? I know an awesome little Silas.
    Ellen and Dan have decided on Finn for a boy and Leila (LAY-la) for a girl. Tracy and Loren I'm not sure of, but they started out SO well with Kaya's name, which I adore... I'm sure they've got some awesome ones picked out. Kaya's middle name is Helena (he-LAY-na), which I also think is beautiful.

    I'll admit that I keep a list of potential baby names as a text edit doc on my laptop. I'm lame, given there will be NO baby for us for at least a few more years. Here's one that I ADORE but think that a Jewish and Swedish couple probably couldn't get away with - you guys could, though! -
    Maeve.
    Love it SO much.
    Haha, Maeve Hilberg-Zucker.
    Nope.

    But it would totally work with your names!

    My top boys names currently are Caleb, Levi (that's LEE-vie), and Aaron. Or Robin, which could be boy or girl.

    Jeez, stop me now!

    I love you guys.
    xo
    fia

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  18. Hi, dear Alex. (Seems strange, that! )

    My favorite of your lists:

    Eliza
    Mallory
    Harriet
    Rafaela


    Rafael
    Asher
    Samuel
    Issac
    Saul
    Seth
    (Lots of Biblical names in the boys' lot.)

    My suggestions:

    Girls~

    Hadia
    Natasha
    Ekatarina
    Hayleyana (Could be spelled a multitude of ways, I used this one just to make the pronunciation clear for you. I think switching out to place an "eigh", or "ae" in there would be good.)
    Karolina/Caroline
    Anastacia
    Tamara
    Hannah

    (And, I too love the name Layla or its variations.)

    Boys~

    Luke
    Avi
    Aedan
    Aaron
    Sergei
    Wesley
    Cassandro
    Augustine

    Love the belly, my girl.

    With tender care and wishes for good health....

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  19. ok seriously, last thing.

    I just came across a name that I think L and I could never get away with, but YOU totally could (if you don't hate it, of course), which is Philippa, but Pippa for short. Pippa! How amazing :) And very British, no?
    xo
    fi

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  20. aw, fi, you're too funny! Rich and I used to play the name-game a LONG time ago... where you go through the alphabet picking names for each letter :) Someone else mentioned Maeve in an email. it's a very pretty name. It's a very old-fashioned name in Britain (perhaps Irish?)... Now, Phillpa is very English indeed! But, like Sebastian, has all sorts of class connotations. It's definitely becoming apparent to me that in the UK certain names have strong connotations in the UK... and that these wider meanings associated with them sort of preclude them. But Pippa IS sweet... I'm actually reading a book with a Phillipa.. and she goes by the name of Flip, which I sort of like :)

    Keep them coming, Fi. I will never tire of it! xo

    Oh, Ania, I love Avi and Anastacia, in particular. Very lovely...

    Thanks, everyone!

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  21. oh, I love Maeve! And Catriona. Basically I love Celtic and old-fashioned names. And that's not just because my sisters have named their children Callum, Moira, and Jane . . . I love Asher, Avi and Anastacia. And Sasha . . . for a boy or a girl, I guess. Oh what a lucky Poppet!

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  22. Eee, so much fun.

    What about Tess or Tessa (I love this name(s), Laura is not a fan)?
    For a boy, what about Jude? Actually, that would be an awesome name for a girl, too. And s/he would have a personal theme song!

    Another vote for Avi, here, as a boy OR girl name. It's a modern (pretty common) hebrew name, though - not sure if that matters to you.

    Website about baby names that I am currently obsessed with, even though she tends to be a bit erm... WASPy:
    swistlebabynames.blogspot.com

    love you
    xo
    fi

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  23. (me again. seriously).

    what about Dashiell? (that's DASH-ul... nerd that I am I was just wishing there were a "schwa" key for that last vowel sound!)
    I know a Dashiell; he's 4 and called Dash. His big brother is Theo, actually - two very cool names.

    And he IS named after Dashiell Hammett :)
    xo
    fia

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  24. Thanks, Sarah! You know my half brother has lots of Celtic names (his wife is Irish). They have Cameron, Colin, Shakira, Jade, and Ciaran... Gosh, naming is so difficult! Asher is definitely a favourite.

    Fi you're so funny! Keep them coming... I am really liking Arabic and Hebrew names. Rafa, Rafi... all these Ra.. names. so many derive from Hebrew or Arabic. I haven't heard of Dashiel before. I think it may be too much for England!! But very lovely.., I actually commissioned an Avi today, to write a book review! Maybe that's fate pointing me in a particular direction...

    Love, A

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  25. Fi, I was hoping I'd wake up to more names ;)

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  26. Ahaha Alex, I was trying to restrain myself, and look what happened!

    here are some more to make up for it :)

    Luca (Luka) for a boy
    Jonah or Jonas (Jonas is another one of my top boy names, esp. because of Lois Lowry's "The Giver")
    Jesse
    Ronan (another Irish name!)

    Ada
    Simone
    Meera
    Anneli
    Kaya or Kaia or Kaja!

    I think I'm running out of REALLY AMAZING ones, as I don't like most of these as much as previous suggestions (except Jonas. LOVE the name Jonas).

    Love to you, hope it's not pouring ice down from the sky in Maine as it is in Mass.!
    xo
    Fia

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  27. Perhaps too many associations with Lucas, Ronans and Simones... but love them all,Actually Jonas was on my list... Rich isn't keen. Deb has a son named Jonah. Anoter favourite of mine!

    It's snowing, snowing, snowing here. I'm actually missing my prenatal appointment this evening which I'm very sad about.

    Are you staying warn, love?

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  28. warm enough, though the "upstairs people" have given me their cold and i'm feeling a bit sore throaty and headachy

    how about
    Maren
    Lucy
    Asha
    ?

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  29. oooo
    this is so much fun, i really do love baby name lists! and i love poppet, maybe because it is my darling kitties name.. so i am a little biased. hehe

    i love asher & harriet (especially the abbreviated, hatty - so so cute!!)

    what other names do i love? i find girls names so hard, but i'll give it a try ;)

    girls:
    poppy
    molly
    bella
    rose

    boys:
    ash, ashley
    kristian
    josh
    andrew

    hmmm... okay
    maybe this little brain needs a hit of caffiene to keep 'em coming ;)

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  30. I have a few!! These are some from my favorites list:

    For a boy:
    Luka
    Sawyer
    Jake
    Tory
    Owen

    For a girl:
    Delaney
    Gretchen
    Greta
    Liese
    Harper

    It's so much fun to come up with names — and probably not so much fun to decide, haha!

    btw, this is e. :)
    i love your blog!!
    <3 me.

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  31. Oh, more great names! I love Molly, Belinda.. We already have Joshs and Kristians (spelled with a C) in the family.. As it is my sister and law, due a couple of months before us, has some of our boy names picked our for their little one!!

    And Greta is beautiful, e! As it happens Sawyer is Richard's mothers maiden name! I've not heard it used as a first name before.

    Keep them coming. When I get a chance I'll write up a new list. I cam across the name Lila (LIE-la) today, which I really like.

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  32. Lila, Lolly & Lilly - i love them too ;)

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  33. I LOVE the name Harper. I know little twin toddlers girls named Harper and Story... I thought it was awful at first (mostly b/c of Story, though), but now I kind of love it. Harper feels like such a classic American name for me, because of Harper Lee.

    And Ivy! So cute!
    (Oh, I had a question about Thea - are you thinking of "Thee-a" or "Tay-a"? Both are so so pretty)

    xo

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  34. ooh, one more - I love Lila, but (around here at least) it's super-common. I know soooo many baby and toddler Lilas.

    What about Leela, though? That's arabic, I believe...WAIT - no- I just looked it up and it's Sanskrit! It means "playful". Love it.

    anyway. off to work.

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  35. Oooh, one of my best friends is named "Molly" - I've always loved it.

    I've always wanted to name my daughter "Madeleine" - even though I'm not French. Oh, and I love Avery (girl) and Asher (boy) - whoa, if you have 2 kids, those names work well together.

    For boys, I've always liked Hayden, Julian, Aidan, and Gabriel. Girls names ARE harder. I always liked the Welsh names Rhiannon or Cerys, but that is probably because I am American and they sounded so foreign when I was over there.

    I'll keep at it - will it have to be Campbell-Oliver, or are you going with one name?

    (I need to think about how they sound with the last name!)

    Still thinking.

    Lovelovelove,
    Renate (You can always use "Renate," although you would be dooming your poppet to a life of REE-nate, haha)

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  36. Wow there's a lot of suggestions. I like thea, but I also love the name thalia (tar-lee-ah). I love silas. I also love the name leisel (sp?) (lee-sal) which is girls but could be both. Oh I'll get my thinking cap on. I like hugh, supercute. Oh, I also love stevie, if I have a girl I want to name her stevie-may.

    xx

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  37. ok, i just had to put down that it CRACKS me up how british people can phonetically spell a name like "thalia" with an "R". Because let me tell you, when i see "tar-lee-ah", that is NOT what it sounds like to me. so funny!

    i think thalia's a beautiful name, though. i've seen it spelled tahlia, talia, and talya as well. all lovely.

    (hi louloubelle!!)
    xo
    fia

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  38. very sweet names, Lou. Oddly, as I mentioned before, there are names that we wouldn't use were we in the UK. Hugh and Harriet are amongst them... but mostly because of the class connotations. Here, though, they don't have the same associations...

    I also really like Thea.

    Aha, Fi, isn't it funny that we pronounce things quite differently.

    Love, A

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  39. hey sweet fia. lol how would that sound to you?!

    i was looking in a baby names book in the charity shop today...might have a look online myself as I am hiding out here!

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  40. okay I am surfing baby names!

    Halima (girl) meaning gentle
    salim (boy) meaning peace
    elise
    remy (girl)
    yannick (boy)

    lol i'm starting to get silly now...

    i love harriet and josiah

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  41. oh my goodness, you guys are too funny!!!!

    Well, I guess we'll see which name I need to choose... Halima or Yannick :)

    Love A

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