About

I started Waltzing More Than Matilda in 2011, because I wanted a name site which examined names from an Australian perspective. No such site appearing, I decided  to create one myself. As time went on, I added other things I wanted to see, such as Australian name popularity charts, Australian celebrity baby names, and interesting names from Australian birth notices.

I am especially interested in the meaning and history of names, and enjoy looking at the context in which names emerge, and how they intersect with our culture.

43 thoughts on “About”

  1. TanBB said:

    Thanks for your coverage of Tasman. My son Tasman is now 7 years old – and we named him this as my husband is from NZ and i’m from Australia (the same reason you mentioned in your article). It took me a while to get used to the idea of naming him Tasman, but I soon warmed up to the idea and absolutely love it. He gets named Taz, Tassie, or the Taz-Man. It’s strong, but cute at the same time.

    We also met a couple 2 years ago (who are now good friends), who’s baby was named Tasman for the same reason too! perhaps it’s more common than we thought!

  2. V said:

    I would love for you to do a post on the baby name Iden.

  3. louiseg84 said:

    Just as a follow up to the above…I was wondering whether you or your readers would be able to identify any “Lucia’s” in English Literature? Lucy’s and Lucinda’s abound but Lucias are very rare. The only example I am aware of is E. Benson’s infamous Lucia – lately of Mapp and Lucia fame – and that is a nickname pronounced “in the Italian way, of course” as a play on that characters pretended affinity with “high” Italian culture. There is Lucia de Lammermoor- but. even she is Lucy in Scott’s original novel…

  4. Anonymous said:

    Love my 3 little grandson’s names Finn, Alfie and Otis

  5. Lucy said:

    I too love your blog. I’ve run into an unknown ‘problem’. There are some Aboriginal names I quite like, such as “Arrabri” for a boy (a place name as far as I know) and “Miriyan” for a girl. Our baby boy of two white Australian parents will be born in Texas and I like the idea of giving him an (indigenous) Australian heritage name (his older sister is names Rose for her English grandparents). At one point my husband said something like ‘I don’t like the idea of using Aboriginal names, because we’ve stolen everything else of theirs it doesn’t feel right to use their names as well”. We haven’t discussed it much since so I don’t know how strongly he feels about this and obviously if he is uncomfortable with one we wouldn’t use it. But I have recently become quite enamoured with Arrabri, and so more curious with the concept of whether Aboriginal Australians might find the use of Aboriginal person/place/plant/animal names as disrespectful or not.

    • waltzingmorethanmatilda said:

      Good question, Lucy! The names of towns and regions are submitted for Aboriginal approval, so these are names that they are happy for others to use. In general, I’ve found Indigenous Australians are very generous in sharing their languages with us, and mostly feel that the more languages are kept alive though common use, the better.

      I understand your husband’s concerns, but in this case I don’t think you would be stealing their language, you would be giving it new life, and also helping to raise awareness of it in another country.

      I think it’s important to be careful though – sticking to already approved names, such as place names, and vocabulary words which have been shared for dictionaries and so on is probably safest.

      And it would be nice to also learn more about the language and the peoples, so that you do more than just pass on a name.

  6. Michelle said:

    Looking forward to it!

  7. Michelle said:

    Also, if possible the name Maeva…. I also thought this was made up and he also likes it! Thank you

  8. Michelle said:

    Hi Anna, I LOVE your blog. Im hoping you can cover the name MAIDA… I thought my partner made the name up but I have discovered it is a name and I quite like it!

  9. Dina said:

    Great blog, very interesting reading!
    Best regards from Norway,
    Dina

  10. Vanessa said:

    Hi Anna, could you please cover the name Harvey? Thanks!

  11. NEVILLE MADDEN (@NEVIE_JOHN) said:

    I was just looking at your Article on YTT (Young Talent Time – Then and Now). you have Posted Totally Unrelated Information about The YTT 2012 Team members themselves. the only information you have provided is The Meaning of Names and When they became Common. You tell NOTHING of The YTT 2012 Team Members Themselves. The Information you have Posted is Totally Misleading to YTT Fans (and anyone else unfamiliar with these Artists). It appears that THEY Came Onto The MUSIC Charts in The Particular Years that you refer to. You need to wite a bit about The Artist themselves and include The Existing information as a Postscript to Their Main Details.

  12. kate said:

    my baby daughter is six weeks old – we are still calling her ‘baby’. can you help? her siblings are edie and mac. last name jackson.

  13. Joanne Risso said:

    Would love to know if I can ‘share’ your meaning of Nerida in one of my upcoming children’s books. Your site will be in the references, if that is ok. I am an Aussie in the U.S. – with two daughters, Matilda and Nerida, and two sons, Emanuel and Samuel.
    http://www.joannerisso.com

  14. Yael said:

    Hi! I’m a proud mother of Zelda Astrid and Dashiell Roman Leif, expecting third child and totally out of ideas as for now. Could you help me?

  15. Kathryn said:

    Hi,
    I see that Penelope has been flagged as the next big name in America, any idea of how it is tracking here in Aus? My own informal and haphazard research suggests its not in “danger” of the same popularity here..?
    This is the article that has me concerned http://www.babynamewizard.com/archives/2013/4/baby-name-buzz-report-2013
    We are having a baby in a few months and Penelope is the only name that we really keep coming back to. But as a teacher I don’t want to give our child a name she’ll share with 2 others in every class!
    A bonus of the name, though, is the many nicknames that can make it more unique.
    Looking forward to hearing your observations!

  16. Brooke said:

    HI Anna,
    Thanks for posting the names Banjo and Dimity, they were a great read!!
    Well done and thankyou.
    Brooke

  17. Brooke said:

    Hi Anna,
    Just wondering if you can cover the names of, Genevieve “Eve”, Grady, Banjo and Dimity on your blog!!
    These are all names i love, though want to know where they originated from and nicknames, and whether they are popular or not.
    I am a big fan of all things country, especially Banjo Paterson’s poems, and growing up in small country town, i absolutely love all country/traditional names!!!
    Regards,
    Brooke

  18. waltzingmorethanmatilda said:

    Yes Siobhan, I definitely am – several posts in fact!

    I do have access to all the baby names, but no way can I post the full list of entrants, which does indeed run into the thousands!!!!

    I tried that last year with Gap Baby, and ended up basically having a nervous breakdown, and voting had closed before I even got to the boys, so I’m not attempting that again.

    You are most welcome to make your own list and send it to me, but for now my plan is to have highlights of both genders in several categories. It will be a lot of names, but not thousands and thousands. Feel free to send in your own favourites! 🙂

  19. Siobhan said:

    Hi Anna, PLEASE tell me you’re going to do a post on the Bonds 2012 baby comp! Is there any way you can get access to and post the full list of entrants (although thinking about it, it may run into the thousands…!). I’ve just visited the site and there’s such a diverse mix of names – some real gems, and a fair number of shockers! It would be so interesting to see a comprehensive list! Cheers, Siobhán