Cricketer Shane Watson, and his wife Lee Furlong, welcomed their first child on March 14 and have named their son Will. Will Watson was born in St George Hospital, and Shane apparently got himself sacked from the team before the 3rd test in India so he could be home for Will’s birth; he returned to captain the 4th test. Shane plays for the national cricket team, as well as the New South Wales Blues in the state competition, and Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League. Lee is a former model and TV sports presenter.
Rugby union player Matt Hodgson, and his wife Jodie, welcomed their first child on March 14 and have named their son Hunter Patrick. Hunter Hodgson was born at 6.27 pm, weighing 3.1 kg (just under 7lb). Matt is the captain of Perth team, the Western Force.
Ironman champion Craig Alexander, and his wife Neri, welcomed their daughterLani May on March 19. Lani May Alexander joins older siblings Lucy and Austin. Craig is a three-time winner of the Ironman World Championship, and is the oldest man to win the Hawaiian Ironman world title, setting a world record in the process.
Cricketer James Hopes, and his wife Maria, welcomed their daughterEmersonCharlotte on March 20. James is the captain of the Queensland Bulls, and plays for Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League and Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League.
Australian rules footballer Colleen Gwynne, and her partner Megan Duncan, welcomed their daughterHayley Marie on March 9. Hayley Marie Gwynne-Duncan joins big brother Jayden, aged 3. She also has a twin brother named Jarrod Peter, who passed away before Hayley was born. Colleen is the captain of the Waratahs, a team in the Northern Territory Women’s Aussie Rules Football Association.
Journalist Annabel Crabb, and her husband Jeremy Storer, welcomed their daughterKate late last year. Kate Storer joined big sister Audrey and big brother Elliott.
Annabel has worked as London correspondent for several major newspapers, and returned from the UK in 2007 to become senior writer and political columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald. Since 2009 she has been chief online political writer for the ABC; she is also a co-host of The Drum on the ABC’s 24-hour news channel and hosts her own cooking-political chat show, Kitchen Cabinet. She is a frequent panellist on other ABC shows, and has written two books on the Australian Labor Party.
Jeremy is a lawyer specialising in media, communications and technology, and both he and Annabel are originally from Adelaide.
Amongst all the media buzz around Australians who were nominated for Oscars, somehow everyone seemed to forget about Dave Clayton, who was part of the visual effects team on TheHobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
That might be because Dave, born and raised in Queensland, has been living in New Zealand for the past ten years working for Peter Jackson’s Weta Studios; his first project was Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
As it happened, the Australian media eventually discovered Dave was an Aussie, and ultimately his team lost out to Life of Pi.
Dave and his wife Kylie have two daughters:
Esme (aged 3)
and Sylvie (aged 8 months)
I think this is such a sweet sisterly sibset – two simple, pretty French names that you rarely see, and yet don’t seem unusual either.
He may not have got the Oscar, but I am mentally handing him some sort of award for this lovely sibset (which I’m sure more than makes up for any disappointment).
AFL footballer Andrew Mackie, and his wife Georgia, welcomed their first child on February 27, and have named their son Freddy Thomas. Andrew plays for the Geelong Cats.
Former AFL footballer Tom Harley, and his wife Felicity, welcomed their first child on February 17, and have named their son Jimmy Charles. Tom was once the captain of the Geelong Cats, and Felicity (nee Percival) is a journalist; the couple met while Felicity was interviewing Tom for Cosmopolitan magazine. Felicity is now the editor of Women’s Health.
V8 racing driver Mark Winterbottom, and his wife Renee, welcomed their sonAustin on February 8. Austin Winterbottom joins big brother Oliver, aged 2. Oliver’s birth was announced on the blog. Austin will be attending his first race in a couple of weeks.
AFL footballer Cameron Ling, and his partner Nicole Dodds, welcomed their first child in December last year, and named their son Max Neville. Max Ling has the same middle name as his dad.
Mia and Lachlan are expecting their second child in about ten weeks, who will be a baby sister or brother to their son Bugsy.
Lachlan chose Bugsy’s name, in a tribute to the film Bugsy Malone, which has special significance to him. Mia wasn’t at all sure about the name, and pushed for Bugsy to be used in the middle instead. However, once their son was born, Bugsy suited him so perfectly that he couldn’t be called anything else; Mia absolutely loves his name.
It is now Mia’s turn to choose the second child’s name, and she feels utterly stumped. Nothing seems to match the name Bugsy, and everything she has come up with seems wrong. She’s made a name list for each sex, but isn’t completely happy with any of them.
Mia’s Name Lists
Boys
Penn
Hugo
Finley
Otto
Tristan
Girls
Poppy
Nellie
Scout
Clover
Marigold
Tilda
Maisie
Names Already Crossed Off the List
Harrison, Luca, Max and Ryder (boys); Emerson, Emme and Sadie (girls)
Mia’s getting increasingly stressed as her due date grows ever closer, and feels ready to contemplate almost any name.
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Mia, this is a good demonstration of one of the pitfalls of the “I’ll pick the first name and you pick the next one” baby name compromise. It sounds very fair, but in fact it’s a far more difficult task for the parent who goes second, and the parent who goes first rarely stops to think about what their choice might mean in regard to subsequent sibling names.
I feel that while it’s a nice idea to have your childrens’ names sound good together, it should be a preference (even a very strong preference) rather than a requirement when choosing names.
Look at the way Bugsy’s name was chosen. It is meaningful, both parents love it, and it fits him perfectly. I think your second child deserves to have a name that’s equally meaningful and fitting, and loved just as much. It shouldn’t just be an accessory to “match” Bugsy (although if the two names do sound great together, then that’s a bonus).
You don’t seem to have really fallen in love with any names yet, and I wonder if that’s because you are constantly judging them against Bugsy? When you start off a baby name search with an absolute in mind (must start with J, must be three syllables long, must match with Bugsy), it makes it hard to properly consider any other potential names.
And something like “must match with Bugsy” is much more complex than “must start with J” because it’s a subjective matter rather than an objective one. We all agree on what the letter J is – we may not all agree on what matches Bugsy. One person may think Bugsy and Daisy is adorable; another may think the names sound horribly twee together. The same person may swing in both these directions, unable to make up their mind one way or another.
Rather than tie yourself into knots finding a name which sounds good with Bugsy, I would start out by eliminating names which sound terrible with Bugsy. So when you are considering baby names you like, ask yourself, “Will this sound awful with Bugsy, and make both names look ridiculous?” If it fails your test, cross it off; if it doesn’t sound too dreadful, I would give it a chance.
For example, Bugsy and Elmer sound ridiculous together, because of Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, and makes your children’s names seem like a joke. On the other hand, Bugsy and James may not be the most amazing sibset in history, but I don’t think that it’s absolutely terrible either.
I think it would be a mistake to think that you can’t use a mainstream or popular name as a sibling for Bugsy. I imagine you get a lot of people saying, “Bugsy? That’s different”, or “What an unusual name”, but although Bugsy is definitely a very uncommon name, it isn’t really that unusual. It’s a vintage American-style nickname with a movie reference context, so to get you started, here’s some ideas of other names similar to that which I don’t think sound too bad with Bugsy.
Names From Movies
The first one that comes to mind is Rocky, which is another name from the movies of the 1970s; however I think they are too much alike as brothers. I could see Rhett or Scarlett though, from Gone with the Wind, or Atticus or Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird. You have Scout on your girl’s list, and I think Bugsy and Scout sound fantastic together.
The Cutesy Factor
Bugsy sounds quite similar to the name Buddy, and Jamie Oliver’s son Buddy has sisters named Poppy, Daisy and Petal. I’ve noticed you have some pretty cute names on your girl’s list, such as Poppy, Nellie, Tilda and Maisie, and I think any of these would make an adorable sister for Bugsy. Cute names are fun and likeable, just like Bugsy.
Tough Guy Nicknames
Another name which reminds me of Bugsy is Buster, and I’ve noticed that parents of Busters tend to give their other sons tough guy nicknames, like Jake or Dan. However, this doesn’t really seem to be your style for boys names.
Names from the 1920s and ’30s
Because of its vintage style, I can see a boy named Bugsy matching with another name from that era, such as Coco, Etta, Lulu, Mabel or Zelda for girls, or Arlo, Dashiell, Django, Lenny or Roy for boys.
Gemstones
Gemstone names were very fashionable in the 1920s, and besides the popular ones like Ruby and Pearl, less common ones like Emerald, Sapphire and Opal were just as cool. Gemstone names for boys such as Jasper, Garnet and Diamond were also stylish.
Nature
When you think of it, Bugsy is kind of a nature name as well. You have Clover and Marigold on your list, and I think either of those would sound great with Bugsy. I think boy’s nature names seem a bit more problematic with Bugsy, as they tend to sound quite soft, except animal ones like Fox or Bear – and these probably underline the “bug” part of Bugsy too heavily.
Surnames
I admit that I have had much more success finding girls’ names to go with Bugsy than boys’ names (and really I think all the names on your girls list sound fine with Bugsy). But one of the appealing things about surname names is that they harmonise with many different styles of names. You have Penn at the top of your boys list, and I think Bugsy and Penn sound awesome together. They’re both a little off-beat in different ways, and they don’t seem to either clash or be too matchy. Other surname names that I get a similar vibe from are Arlen, Cash, Dexter, Gray, Knox, Reid, and Weston.
Mia, I hope this has given you a few ideas of how Bugsy can be matched with a sibling name. Once your baby name lists have firmed up a bit, write in again and we’ll have another look at naming a brother or sister to Bugsy.
NRL coach Trent Robinson, and his wife Sandra Stefan, welcomed their son Finn on February 22. Trent is the new coach for the Sydney Roosters, having previously been their assistant coach. Trent has played for the Wests Tigers and the Parramatta Eels in the NRL, and also gained playing and coaching experience in France – the country his wife Sandra is from.
Racing drivers Garth and Leanne Tander welcomed their sonSebastian on February 20. Sebastian Tander joins big sisterScarlett, aged 20 months.
Horse trainer Chris Waller, and his wife Stephanie, welcomed their daughterNikitaJayne on February 20. Nikita is their second child. Chris is originally from New Zealand, and is one of Australia’s premier trainers. Stephanie is a former model, also from New Zealand, and she handles the PR and marketing for Chris Waller Racing.
(Photo of Garth, Leanne and Scarlett Tander from Zimbio)
Media personality Kelly Nestor, and her fiancé Scott Matthews, welcomed their sonAustin on February 7. Austin Matthews joins big brother Oliver, aged 2; Kelly and Scott lost two babies before conceiving Austin.
Kelly worked as a television presenter in Adelaide for many years; she presented Stateline for three years, and also worked on The 7.30 Report. She has been a newsreader for the ABC, Channel Ten, Channel Nine, Sky News, and radio station 5AA, as well as a stint at a Los Angeles TV channel. Since leaving television in 2009, Kelly has co-founded a training consultancy, Spruikit; she also writes for The Adelaide Advertiser.
Nicola Charles is a British-born actress who first became famous on Australian television. After working as a model, Nicola came to Australia in the mid-1990s, and scored her first acting job on the soapie Neighbours. She was on Neighbours for three years, playing brunette beauty Sarah Beaumont, the too-tempting receptionist of Dr Karl Kennedy. During these years she became well known in both Australia and the UK as a sex symbol.
Nicola returned to Britain after her stint on Neighbours, and later relocated to Los Angeles, where she and her husband set up their own production company. Last year, Nicola returned to live in Australia. At the moment, she is back on Neighbours for six weeks, reprising her role of Sarah Beaumont, and revealing further details of her relationship with Karl.
Nicola signed a two-book deal with New Holland Publishing, and is also working on her first novel.
Nicola had two daughters with her second husband, Irish actor Jason Barry:
Freya Lola Sky (b. 2005)
and
Nova Ingrid Maggie (b. 2007)
and a son with her present husband, British DJ Mark Tabberner:
Soccer player Vince Grella, and his wife Barbara, welcomed their sonEduardo almost a year ago. Eduardo Grella has twin sisters named Victoria and Sophia, aged 11.
Vincenzo, or “Vince”, began his senior career in Australia in the mid-1990s, before moving to Italy, where he spent more than ten years playing for clubs in the professional league. He spent four seasons with the Blackburn Rovers in the English Premier League before returning to Australia last year to play for Melbourne Heart. Vince has represented the Australia national team on 46 occasions, and has played for Australia in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. He has just retired from professional soccer, after battling persistent injuries.
Vince met his Italian wife Barbara in Empoli, Italy. Next month he will return to his home in Florence, where Barbara and the children live, and plans to remain in Italy, which is where his parents were born. He wants to continue working in soccer, but isn’t yet sure in what capacity.
Brett White from the Canberra Raiders, and his wife Cassie, welcomed their fourth child on January 17, and have named their son Joey Brett. Joey White was born at 4.45 pm, and joins older siblingsGeorgia, Jake and Colt.
Gerard Beale from the St George Illawarra Dragons, and his fiancee Roimata Ransfield, welcomed their sonNixon six weeks ago. Gerard notes that he is often asked (perhaps teasingly?) whether Nixon’s name has any reference to disgraced former US president Richard “Tricky Dicky” Nixon, but says he and Roimata just chose the name because they liked it. The name Nixon seems set to become another celebrity favourite.
Cricketer Shane Watson, and his wife Lee Furlong, welcomed their first child on March 14 and have named their son Will. Will Watson was born in St George Hospital, and Shane apparently got himself sacked from the team before the 3rd test in India so he could be home for Will’s birth; he returned to captain the 4th test. Shane plays for the national cricket team, as well as the New South Wales Blues in the state competition, and Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League. Lee is a former model and TV sports presenter.
