April 19, 2007
What's in a Name?
 It takes a village to name a child: Friends, family and even eager respondents on the UrbanBaby message boards have strong opinions on everything from Adina to Zion. How does a parent choose? There's the family name (Robert, Jr.), the celebrity crush (Liev), and the tricky spelling (Caitlin, Kaitlyn or Kaetlyn?).
Co-authors Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz track the trends in their new must-read resource, The Baby Name Bible. This comprehensive dictionary explores the origins and meanings behind names, as well as lists like "names kids love having" (Angelica, Belle, Zoe) and "names from books" (Holden, Gulliver, Rhett). Below, Rosenkrantz shares some insight on baby names en vogue:
Going Global: Names from varying cultures are on the rise, including Russian (like Mischa and Sasha), Italian (Luca, Enzo) and Irish (Killian, Juno). Foreign-based names are popular even if the parents cannot claim heritage. "Nowadays you'll find Enzo Rosenberg," Rosenkrantz suggests.
Say Aaah: Vowel names are big, especially ones that begin with O (Owen, Oscar, Olivia) and A (Alexa, Abigail, Asher). Next: Oprah?
Get Serious: Names with traditional roots are overtaking invented monikers (ie. Nevaeh, "heaven" spelled backwards). "The mania for having a unique name is calming down," Rosenkrantz states, citing Grace and Faith as current choices. For boys, Aiden is now more popular than the Jadens and Cadens that were hot a few years ago.
Star Babies: Actor Jason Lee's choice to name his son Pilot Inspektor didn't exactly catch on. But celeb names like Scarlett, Sienna, Keira and Ashton are well-liked among parents-to-be. Rosenkrantz mentions Ava (daughter of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe) as one of the fastest-growing girls' names. "Young parents may not be aware of Ava Gardner, but it still has that glamorous aura from her," she adds.
Other Trends: Color and flower names (Violet, Lily, Daisy), faith-based names (Destiny, Trinity), diminutive "nicknames" (Charlie, Ellie) and even names that were once considered too sexy (Desiree, Lolita) are gaining steam.
And so it goes. Ava gives way to Eva, which will lead to Eve, while Emily may soon yield Ella. Next month the Social Security Administration releases the most popular names of 2006 – Rosenkrantz expects to see Jacob and Emma high on the list.
If that doesn't strike your fancy, try "names headed for Harvard" – Louisa and Lowell, anyone?
Available online at amazon.com.
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