I apologise for the extreme lateness of this entry – apart from being bulldozed by Christmas preparations, I have long been unsure about where to begin and end each season. However, I’ve made a decision, so hopefully will be better organised now.

A commercial site for weight loss after having a baby featured a client named Delight from the Northern Territory who had lost 22 kg on the program. Delight is one of the most interesting of virtue names, and one I have only seen before in old books. I think it’s pretty, but admit it does remind me of Turkish delight a little bit (not that that’s bad). Delight’s youngest daughter is named Halle.

South Grafton High School in New South Wales ran a Maybe Baby program for Community and Family Studies, where students took care of a simulated baby for three days and nights to show what’s involved in caring for an infant. One of the students, Selina, named her baby Wilfred – a top baby name of the future, perhaps? Other high schoolers were Briana, Lertisha, Cheyenne and Brielle. I would have loved to know what names they all chose.

Changing Names

The radio and television presenter Andrew Günsberg (best known from hosting Australian Idol), once nicknamed Spidey, and known by the stage name Andrew G, has changed his name to Osher Günsberg. He was advised by an Israeli shaman that he could change his life energy and life path by changing his name. The name he chose was that of the coolest dude he’d ever met, an Israeli cameraman. Since becoming Osher, he tells us that his life has changed completely, and he now believes that at last he has a name that feels right, and that he owns completely. Osher’s parents have both changed their first names too.

Blogger and editor Alana House relates that one of her Facebook pals had just realised she’d made a terrible mistake with her daughter’s name, and wonders if age two is too old to change her name. The friend’s surname is Nutter, and her daughter’s name is Mia. Uh oh. Alana points out that her own name is the tease-worthy A. House, and she’s grown to like it, so predicts that Mia Nutter will also cope. However, do say the full name out loud at least a few times before whacking it down on the registration form.

Stories on Honouring Names

A story from Ballarat on its fertility rate showed a woman named Vicky who had had a baby during Ballarat’s baby boom year of 2009 [pictured]. Her daughter is named Rachel Scarlett, and she is named after a doll that Vicky had as a little girl. The middle name, Scarlett, is from Gone with the Wind – which hypothetically could be her favourite book as a teen. If I named a daughter after my favourite doll and book character from childhood, her name would be Bridget Cassandra. What would yours be called?

A fun run to raise money for spinal muscular atrophy was held in Tasmania, with one of the participants baby Tylan, named in honour of his sister Taylin, who passed away from the disease several years ago. It’s a lovely way to connect him to the sister he will never meet.

A businessman described as a “traffic king” with the imposing name of Ron Conquest was named after his grandfather, and when his first son arrived this spring, he was also named Ron. Been seeing a lot of babies named Ron or Ronnie lately – but no Ronalds. Is Ron Burgundy making Ron cool? Mrs Conquest’s name is Rana, by the way.

Luke Douglas is a rugby league footballer for the Gold Coast Titans. His dad is named Archibald, and that is Luke’s middle name – I guess in the 1980s, Archibald was a no-go for a baby’s first name. However, I’m interested to see that Luke plans to name a future son Archibald to carry on the family tradition – Archibald is acceptable, now that it can shortened to popular Archie. A good reason to leave “unusable” family names in the middle, because they might be perfect for the next generation to carry on.

And a story from real life. I met a lady with a little girl named Poppy, who told me that her daughter was named after her grandfather. Slightly confused, I asked what grand-dad’s name had been, and she told me, “John. But we always called him Poppy” … I don’t think she knew what made me laugh, but she was perfectly good natured about it.

More Baby Names From Real Life

Kitana: A sexy princess video game character from Mortal Kombat. Could be shortened to Kit or Kitty.

Bly (for a boy): a surname meaning “blithe”; could be seen as a specifically masculine form of Blythe.

Brothers named Aurelius and Evander. Very grand.

A friend who still has small children tells me that at her local daycare centre, there are two boys named Odin, and a Loki. No Thors though. However, the big name for her area is Taylor, with three girls and two boys at daycare with the name. There’s also a Tyler (boy), and Tyla (girl).