Bree is the blogger at The Beauty of Names; she’s still quite young, but already has several years of blogging experience under her belt. The Beauty of Names is a stylish, confident name blog which is the fruit of Bree’s name research, and contains lots and lots of lovely lists of names, many of them rare and unusual. There is a very popular series on names from European royalty, names from the world of art, names that Bree finds intriguing, and name profiles. Bree is an avid reader who dreams of being a famous writer, and she has an instinct towards the beauty of words and language which merges into her love of beautiful names.

What is your name?
Bree Eryn

Have you ever wished you had a different name?
I’ve always loved my name. Growing up, I never knew any other girls with the name Bree, and I loved how short and simple it was.

How did you first become interested in names?
I can’t remember my age exactly, but I was quite young. I came across a baby name book my parents had used to name my sister, and I was immediately fascinated. I read it from cover to cover, looking up all of my family members’ names to tell them the meanings and origins.

What inspired you to begin a name blog?
It seemed natural. I’ve always been into names, have been on multiple name sites through the years, so I thought, What if I wrote my own? And from there it became The Beauty of Names. I’ve had at least two other name blogs in the past, which I deleted because I got better at this whole blogging thing, and wanted to start fresh. One, Midwinter Names, is still up though.

Do you have a favourite post on The Beauty of Names?
So many! The one I had the most fun writing was definitely For the Shabby Aristocrat Family.

Do you have any other blogs?
Powder and Ink, where I basically write about anything I’m interested in (besides names), from literature to film to history.

What are some of your favourite places to find interesting names?
I mostly enjoy writing about names from mythology, literature, film, and art.

What is it that makes a name beautiful?
When it is a name you love, or has great meaning for you.

Do you have a pet peeve in regard to names?
I try not to be too judgmental of name choices, though it’s easier said than done. In the naming community, I dislike it when a name that is typically used by black people is disregarded as “trashy” or “uneducated”. There is so much history there, and I encourage everyone to look up where many of the trends come from, and maybe they would think differently.

What are some of your favourite names?
Currently Evelyn. I adore it, and have since I was young. I also love Margot, Felix, Jane, Cato, and Adele.

What names do you dislike?
Jacob and Avery.

Are there any names you love, but could never use?
Too many to list! Guinevere, Titania, Hippolyta, Endellion, Fisher, Hebe, Ferdinand, Lysander, Darwin, Aloysius, Gustav, Aubrey.

What are your favourite names in the US Top 100?
Girls: Evelyn, Emily, Amelia, Katherine, Ruby, Lydia.
Boys: William, Alexander, Gabriel, Christian, Jack, Wyatt, Adrian.

What are your favourite names in the rest of the US Top 1000?
Girls: Eleanor, Alice, Hadley, Ivy, Hazel, Josephine, Evangeline, Veronica, Jillian.
Boys: Silas, Roman, Ivan, Victor, Wesley, Jeremy, Emmanuel, Rowan.

What are your favourite names that have never charted in the US?
Girls: Pia, Xanthe, Maryweld, Felizitas.
Boys: Keats, Octave, Laszlo.

Do you have names picked out for your future children?
They change all the time, but right now they are Evelyn (middle name undecided), Felix Lowell, Margot Catherine, and more.

What is one thing we don’t know about you?
I was born at Easter, but am not really religious.

What advice would you give someone who was choosing a baby name?
The only thing that matters is how you feel about the name. Opinions do matter, but not as much as your own. If you love it, and there is no other name you feel the same way about, then that is the one.

(Photo is of Bree with her sister Abby; supplied by interviewee)