Famous Names: Hugh and Margot

28 Wednesday Oct 2015

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Last week I covered an Australian actor who hit the big time during Hollywood”s Golden Age. So I thought we would finish the month by looking at the names of two contemporary Hollywood film stars born in Australia.

Hugh Jackman had a career in stage musicals and on Australian television before he got the breakout role of Wolverine in the 2000 X-Men film. As well as gaining success with this franchise, he has continued in musical threatre, most famously portraying Australian singer-songwriter Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz.

Among his other major roles are the heroic Jean Valjean in the musical film Les Misérables, and leading man Drover in Baz Luhrmann’s romantic epic Australia – it came out in 2008, and in the same year Hugh was named Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine. Most recently he appeared in box office flop Pan as the wicked pirate Blackbeard. Not even super trouper Hugh could save this stinker.

Margot Robbie got her start on soap opera Neighbours – something which was offered to Hugh Jackman at the start of his career, but he turned down. Playing the kooky Donna Freedman for three years made Margot a household name in Australia and Britain, but her dream was always to go to Hollywood.

Her breakout year was 2013, when she appeared in About Time, and The Wolf of Wall Street. In both these films, her character was a focus of desire, and her stock soared. Next year we will see her as comic book villain Harley Quinn. She has just been named the Sexiest Actress Alive by Glamour Magazine – getting on a “sexiest list” was good publicity for Hugh, and hopefully for Margot too.

HUGH
English form of Hugues, Old French form of the Germanic name Hugo, meaning “mind, thought, sense, understanding”.

An early namesake is Hugh the Great, a 10th century Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris; his son Hugh Capet became the first King of France, forging the powerful House of Capet who were to produce thirteen generations of French kings. This royal seal of approval made the name popular amongst the Frankish nobility in the Middle Ages.

The name Hugh was brought to England by the Normans, where it was in common use for the Norman aristocracy – the English spelling comes from the Picardy form of the name. The name Hugh was used to Anglicise the Gaelic names Aodh and Uisdean, making it common in Scotland and Ireland as well.

The name was boosted by the popular St Hugh of Lincoln, a French nobleman who became bishop of Lincoln in the 12th century. He had an attractive personality, did many charitable works, tried to protect Jews from persecution, and was a great animal lover who befriended a wild swan. As a result, he is one of the most popular of the English saints. St Hugh’s College at Oxford University is named after him, as the college’s founder was the daughter of a Bishop of Lincoln.

Hugh is a classic name which has never left the charts. It was #65 in the 1900s, and left the Top 100 in the 1930s, reaching its lowest point in the 1970s at #212. After that it rose until it made a minor peak at #136 in 2009 (the year after Hugh Jackman starred in Australia) and is now around the mid-100s and fairly stable.

The name Hugh was been almost constantly on the US Top 1000, and was most popular in the late 19th century. It dropped off the charts in 2008, and is currently #869 and fairly stable. In the UK, Hugh had a solid run in the Top 100 from the middle of the 19th century until the 1960s, and has never been out of the Top 400. Currently it is #352 and stable. Hugh is probably most popular in Ireland, where it has been on and off the Top 100 in recent years.

Hugh is a classic name that has been in use for over a thousand years. Although it hasn’t been popular for almost a century, it’s barely been out of the Australian Top 200, and has been stable for years. That makes it a very reliable choice, quite different to the swift-rising popular Hugo. Of royal origin, Hugh is aristocratic, yet comfortably unassuming, and under the radar.

MARGOT
Pet form of Marguerite, the French form of Margaret, meaning “pearl”.

Margot was used amongst royalty and aristocracy: a famous example is the 16th century Margaret of France, who was named Marguerite, but called Margot. Beautiful and fashionable, Margot was queen both of France and Navarre, and wrote her memoirs during 18 years imprisonment by her brother. She helped inspire Shakespeare’s comedy, Love’s Labour Lost, and is the subject of Alexandre Dumas’ historical novel, La Reine Margot.

Margot first entered the charts in the 1930s at #233, when Dame Margot Fonteyn began her career at the Vic-Wells Ballet School, and was appointed principal dancer. It peaked in the 1950s at #218, and left the charts in the 1980s, when Dame Margot had retired, and no longer presenting TV shows on ballet. Margot was more popular in Victoria, where it made the Top 100 in the 1930s.

In the US, Margot has been on and off the Top 1000 several times without ever getting into the Top 500. Its most successful period was between 1929 and 1955, correlating with the peak of Dame Margot Fonteyn’s career: it reached its highest point in 1938 at #586. It returned to the Top 1000 in 2013, the year of Margot Robbie’s Hollywood success. Currently it is #747, and apparently rising.

In the UK, Margot has generally been on the rise since 1996, and had a significant boost into the Top 1000 in 2009, around the time Margot Robbie joined the cast of soap opera Neighbours. It began rising steeply in 2013, and is currently #415.

In 2012, Margot was in the 600s in Victoria, but seeing the very strong international trends, it would be remarkable if the name had not risen significantly in 2013 as it did in other countries, and is in all likelihood still rising.

This is another French royal name, but has quite a different feel to solid Hugh – far more glittering, and with a fashionable O-sound ending. Ushered onto the charts by a supremely talented dancer, it has again been brought into the spotlight, and given further starpower by being chosen as a celebrity baby name. Little wonder that parents are wondering just how popular Margot will become in the future.

As Margot Robbie has been such a strong influence on the name, it will be interesting to see how the elegant name Margot fares once Suicide Squad is released, with Margot Robbie playing the crazed super-villain Harley Quinn. Will it gain an ever wider audience of fans?

POLL RESULTS
Hugh received an excellent approval rating of 84%, making it one of the highest-rated names of 2015. 51% of people thought Hugh was a good name, and only one person thought it was terrible.

Margot received a very good approval rating of 75%, making it one of the highest-rated names of 2015. 45% of loved the name Margot, and 8% thought it was terrible.

(Photo shows Margot Robbie in The Wolf of Wall Street)

Choosing a Surname for Baby: One Couple’s Story

25 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by in Naming Issues

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I was recently sent a very interesting article by a writer named Lorelei Vashti, which describes the process she and her partner Jeremy went through to choose their baby’s name. They didn’t have any problems giving her a first name, but the surname required a great deal more thought!

While researching the topic, Lorelei discovered that 90% of married couples and 75% of unmarried couples in Victoria will give their children the father’s surname, even if the mother has elected to keep her own surname.

That did not feel fair at all, but then it seemed equally unfair for their daughter to receive Lorelei’s surname. Hyphenating their names was not an option, as it did not lead to a surname that felt natural or easy to say.

Their dilemma led Lorelei to research the history of surnames, and see how surnames are bestowed in other countries – sometimes quite differently to how it’s done in English-speaking countries. It also made her realise that a cultural shift can change the way people choose surnames, and that such a custom is not fixed, but open to fresh interpretations.

In the end, Jeremy suggested that they create a new surname for their daughter by combining each of their last names, which at first Lorelei thought was a ridiculous idea. However, the more they thought about it, the better it stacked up against their other surname options. Most of the objections they heard against the idea turned out to be inaccurate, or based on outdated information and attitudes.

Only 3% of parents in Victoria have chosen a newly created surname for their children, but it turned out to be the right choice for Lorelei and Jeremy.

Their daughter is almost one, and they have had no problems with everyone in the family having a different surname. Medicare, doctor’s appointments, air travel, and daycare have all been the same to organise as if their child shared one of her parent’s surnames.

The biggest and best surprise was how easy it was to register their daughter’s name. There was no special paperwork to fill out, no questions from the birth registry, no assumptions from bureaucracy that their daughter would receive one surname rather than another.

They just filled out the birth registration form as usual, and the birth certificate arrived in the post. Just like any other name, just like any other baby.

So if you have also been debating how to approach the surname issue, a newly created surname for your child could be the right choice for you as well. It’s good to learn that it’s not only a simple process, but hasn’t led to any particular problems either.

POLL RESULTS
Most people (67%) would not consider creating a new surname for their child. 36% approved of the idea, but felt it just wasn’t right for them, while 31% didn’t like the idea. Of the remaining 33%, 25% were interested in the idea, and wouldn’t rule it out, and 7% would seriously consider it. One person said they had already chosen this option.

I Now Pronounce You, Lucia – But How?

24 Saturday Oct 2015

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Catherine and her husband are putting together a long list of names for their baby, due next year. One of the names they are seriously considering is Lucia.

Catherine loves the English pronunciation for the name – LOO-sha, or LOO-shee-uh – as an interesting variation of Lucy. However, she is very wary about giving her little girl a lifetime of explaining and correcting the pronunciation of her name.

There are a few women named Lucia in Catherine’s family tree during the 19th century, and Catherine is of English and Irish ancestry. She wonders how these Lucias would have pronounced their names.

Catherine also wonders if anyone can help identify some characters named Lucia in English literature. There are plenty called Lucy and Lucinda, but precious few Lucias. She can think of Lucia from E.F. Benson’s Mapp and Lucia books (but Lucia is just a nickname and said the Italian way), and there is Lucia di Lammermoor from the Italian opera, but the character’s real name is Lucy, Lucia is an Italian translation of it.

* * * * * * * * * *

Catherine, I think there might be two questions you are asking here about Lucia’s pronunciation

1. Is there a traditional or historical British pronunciation of Lucia, perhaps even one which can be referred to as a “correct” pronunciation for English-speakers?
2. How would the majority of Australians say the name Lucia, to give you an idea of how often it might need to be explained or corrected in everyday life?

These are highly intelligent and practical questions, but unfortunately I don’t think I have a definitive answer to either of them.

I can tell you the correct historical pronunciation of Lucia – it’s LOO-kee-uh. It’s a Roman name, and that’s how the ancient Romans would have said it. Needless to say, nobody says it this way, which perhaps puts a bit of a question mark over the usefulness of correct historical pronunciations.

As far as I know, English-speakers say both LOO-sha and loo-SEE-uh. Which one your ancestors might have used is a bit of a puzzle. The Caribbean island of St. Lucia is said LOO-sha, which seems like it should be a clue, but perhaps isn’t.

It also occurs to me that Italian travel and culture was incredibly fashionable for the upper classes in Britain in the 19th century, which makes me wonder if your ancestors (if upper class or social climbers in even a mild way) might have used the Italian pronunciation, loo-CHEE-uh, to signal how cultured they were.

I will make a point of posting this article on the Facebook page for British Baby Names, in the hopes that name expert Elea Nickerson might be able to shed some light on the issue.

As to how most Australians would pronounce Lucia, I think it depends a lot on where they’re from. Anyone from an area with a significant Italian population is probably going to say loo-CHEE-uh. I would imagine that Italian-Australians would almost always say loo-CHEE-uh, and in a few cases, might persist with that pronunciation even after being told the person prefers it said another way.

I would probably say loo-SEE-uh if I saw it written down, maybe because of the name Lucy (I also tend to say LOO-see-us and LOO-see-an for the male names). I have met many other Australians who say loo-SEE-uh, although it seems to be less common than loo-CHEE-uh. In fact I’ve noticed a lot of Australians seem to think loo-SEE-uh is a mispronunciation of loo-CHEE-uh!

A friend in Brisbane tells me that everyone she knows says LOO-sha, because that’s how the exclusive suburb of St. Lucia in Brisbane is pronounced. It’s named after the Caribbean island, which is why it has the same pronunciation.

From my extremely unscientific polling of friends and relatives in different parts of the country, loo-CHEE-uh is the most common by far, then loo-SEE-uh, then LOO-sha – except in Queensland where LOO-sha seems most common.

Of course, once you are introduced to a Lucia and she says her name aloud, you automatically say it the way she does. It shouldn’t really need to be “corrected” unless you see her name written down first (on a class list, for example) and have to guess the pronunciation.

I think it is a name where you have to get good at introducing yourself clearly and firmly so people immediately understand the way you want it said. It’s also a name where if you travel around the world, you would need to be tolerant of people saying your name in different ways. I do think pronunciation might be an issue (unless you’re in Brisbane), but hopefully not to the point where it really bothers you.

You’re right that Lucia is not a very literary name. Like you, the first two things I think of are the Lucia from Mapp and Lucia, and Lucia di Lammermoor. For the uninitiated, the character from Mapp and Lucia is named Emmeline Lucas, so Lucia is a nickname from her surname. She uses the Italian pronunciation, which the author E.F. Benson seems to suggest is rather pretentious for an English person.

There’s a Lucia in the fantasy novel series Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes. She is a beautiful princess with great magical power, and the novels link her name with the meaning of “light”. There’s a mildly icky quasi-incest plotline.

Chick-lit novel Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani is set in post-war New York. Lucia is an Italian-American girl with a passion for fashion, but it’s the 1950s so good luck with those career aspirations.

In Lucia’s Eyes by Arthur Japin is a historical novel about an Italian servant girl who is the first lover of the famous Casanova. That leads almost directly to international prostitution, and a hideous facial disfigurement doesn’t seem to be a barrier to her profession.

The Lucia Chronicles by Jennifer L. Kelly feature Lucia Giroux and are set in a dystopian near-future in the United States. The name Lucia is again linked with the theme of “light”.

The trouble with all these namesakes is none of them are particularly positive. Emmeline aka Lucia is comically, even lovably, ghastly, while Lucia di Lammermoor goes mad and stabby. None of the others have great experiences, with incestuous love, broken dreams, a poxy face, and destroyed illusions in store for them. Lucias in books are clearly in for a tragic time.

Better to concentrate on the name’s other attributes. It’s pretty and elegant with a beautiful meaning and tons of nickname options, and is fashionable yet still underused. Isn’t that enough?

UPDATE: The baby was a girl, and her name is Margaret!

POLL RESULTS
Most people thought the name Lucia would probably need more explanations and corrections than usual because of its different pronunciations, but nothing that couldn’t be coped with. There was a significant number that thought it would be a major issue.
45% said Lucia would need more corrections than usual, but that it wasn’t necessarily a huge problem
30% said Lucia would need to be corrected a lot
13% said Lucia would need to be explained and corrected every single time upon meeting someone new
10% didn’t think Lucia would need more correction than any other name
One person thought Lucia would “hardly ever” need correction, and one optimistic soul was sure it would never need it

44% of people pronounced Lucia loo-CHEE-uh
43% said it loo-SEE-uh
12% said it LOO-sha
One person said it LOO-cha

(Picture shows an artist’s impression of Lucia from Falling Kingdoms)

Luella Iris Sophia and Albert Thomas Gordon

23 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by in Birth Announcements

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Twins
Harry Douglas and Darcy Renee (Jackson)
Lainie and Quinn – both girls

Girls
Alofamoni Lagi
Amelia Lucy (Hunter)
Annabelle Tasma
Aria Jordan
Clare Merelyne
Destiny
Eliana (Emilia, Ilaria, Arietta)
Emilie Scout (Poppy)
Evie Ree (Bella)
Faith (Chardae, Mercedes, Billie-Rose)
Florence Lola (Frankie, Olive)
Hadleigh May (Rosie, Imogen, Jed)
Harriet Stella Victoria
Liv Isabella (Mason)
Luella Iris Sophia (Charlie)
Mabel Lily (Archie, Harper)
Piper Kade
Ruby Isobel (Sophie)
Sophia Venice (Paul, Bonnie)
Zara Poppy (Remi, Riley)

Boys
Albert Thomas Gordon (Charlotte)
Brodie Henry (Caleb)
Eamon David (Aidan, Audrey, Aaron)
Finley Ellis (Brayden, Ashton)
Harrison Anfield
Hunter Malic-Jaxon
Jack Chester (Henry, Arlo)
Jake Devin Kai
Jensen Albert
Ky Avery
Lenny Travis
Leo Rafael
Lewis Beau
Logan Miles
Madden Samuel (Jordan)
Nicholas Luca (Alisia)
Rohan Freddie
Sanar
Teddy Terrence
Thomas Rayling (Bailey)

(Photo shows a cattle farm in Maleny, Queensland)

Famous Name: Errol Flynn

22 Thursday Oct 2015

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Errol-Flynn

Errol Flynn is one of Australia’s most famous actors, even though he died more than 50 years ago, on October 14 1959. Born in Hobart in 1909, he is seen as a particularly Tasmanian export, although in Hollywood he passed himself off as Irish before he became an American citizen (he also said he was a descendant of a Bounty mutineer, which wasn’t true either).

Flynn became an immediate sensation in Hollywood from his very first role – a 17th century pirate in the 1935 film Captain Blood, although other stand out roles were as Fletcher Christian and Robin Hood. He was typecast as a derring-do swashbuckling action hero, famous for his well-choreographed sword fighting scenes. At the height of his career he was one of the most popular actors in America, and was roguishly handsome, with a dashing, debonair, devil-may-care image.

His reputation was as a womaniser, a highly-sexed, caddish, unscrupulous seducer. The expression in like Flynn is said to have been inspired by the ease at which Flynn was able to obtain women, and dates to 1942, when Flynn was up on charges of statutory rape. Accused of raping two 17-year-old girls, Flynn was acquitted by a jury made of mostly of women: during the trial he flirted with a teenager who he went on to respectably marry, after carefully verifying she was over 18.

Flynn was blunt about his proclivities, saying I like my scotch old and my women young. He was tickled enough by the slang expression that he tried to call his autobiography In Like Me, but the publishers changed it to My Wicked, Wicked Ways.

The rape trial didn’t seriously damage Flynn’s reputation, earning a round of backslaps and you-rascal-yous. He did face criticism for not serving in the US military during World War II. The studio kept secret that he had failed his medical, as their supposedly athletic star was in terrible physical shape. He had multiple heart problems, recurrent malaria, chronic back pain, chronic tuberculosis, and a dizzying array of sexually transmitted diseases.

To self-medicate these various ills, he drank heavily, and sometimes used morphine and heroin. When his career went downhill and he lost most of his money, he became old and bloated, sailing around on his yacht developing hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver. However, he still managed to get a 15-year-old mistress to sail around with (Orry-Kelly had been their go-between), and planned to marry her except that she was barely 17 when he died. She never stopped loving him.

Whatever he had – charm, charisma, sex appeal – he never lost it. Controversial to the end, he became a figure of which almost anything could be believed, and biographies have variously suggested that he was a closet bisexual, a Nazi, a Communist, a sexual predator, a paedophile, a murderer, and a drug-runner (the Nazi claim is definitely debunked; the others are unsubstantiated).

Flynn was one of the original Hollywood bad boys, celebrated in film and song, and still making headlines today. Love him or loathe him, he was unforgettable.

ERROL
Scottish surname, usually said to be from the village of Errol in Perthshire, the meaning of whose name is lost in the mists of time. However, the surname came into use late enough as to cast some doubt on this theory, and it may be a corruption of an earlier surname.

Errol has been used as a first name since the 18th century, originating in Scotland. One of the factors helping its use was probably the aristocratic title the Earl of Erroll, in the Scottish peerage since the Middle Ages. Erroll is the older spelling of the village of Errol, and the first Earl was William Hay, who was born in Errol. The title is still in the Hay family.

Errol was #160 in the 1900s when Errol Flynn was born, and peaked in the 1940s at the height of his career – just outside the Top 100 at #103. After the rape trial, the name fell sharply, and left the charts in the 1970s.

The name has been a favourite in the Caribbean, with a famous example being British singer Errol Brown, who was born in Jamaica. The first prime minister of Barbados was Errol Barrow, an enormously popular leader regarded as a hero of his country, although Errol Flynn lived in Jamaica in the 1950s and was a great boost to the island’s tourism.

Errol joined the US Top 1000 in 1936, the year after Errol Flynn’s Hollywood career began. It peaked in 1941 at #355 – the 1942 rape charges may not have killed off his career, but it did damage his brand as a namesake for babies. It hasn’t been in the Top 1000 since 1985, and last year 20 baby boys were named Errol. In the UK, there were 11 baby boys named Errol in 2014, and numbers are actually rising.

Errol is well known to Harry Potter fans as the name of the Weasley family’s owl. J.K. Rowling may have had in mind the Latin word erro, meaning “to go astray, to wander about, to go amiss”, as Errol is a feeble old owl who often gets lost while delivering the Weasley’s mail. It’s the basis for the English word error.

Errol seems rather vintage and cool, while still lovably eccentric. It could work well cross-culturally, as its similar to the Old English name Eorl, meaning “earl”, the Welsh name Eryl, meaning “a look out post”, and the Turkish name Erol, meaning “brave”.

FLYNN
Irish surname which is an Anglicised form of Ó Floinn, meaning “son of Flann”; the name Flann means “reddish, ruddy of complexion”.

Flann Fína mac Ossu was a 7th century king of Northumbria who was the son of an Anglo-Saxon king and an Irish princess – his English name was Aldfrith. Flann Sinna was a 9th century High King of Ireland, and there are also medieval Irish poets with the name. Flynn has been used as a personal name since the 18th century, mostly for boys: from the beginning the name was used in Ireland as well as other English-speaking countries.

The name Flynn began charting in the 1990s, and was #342 for the decade, although it made the Top 100 in 1997 at #93. This was the year after Flynn was released, a film about the early life of Errol Flynn with Guy Pearce in the title role. Coincidentally, it was also the year that Sean Flynn, the grandson of Errol Flynn, began his acting career.

In 2001 Flynn was back in the Top 100 at #98 – this was the year after David Bret published a salacious biography about Errol Flynn called Satan’s Angel. It had a burst of popularity in 2004, getting to #73: the year before, Flynn’s 1959 autobiography My Wicked Wicked Ways was republished, and the 1938 film The Adventures of Robin Hood was released on DVD.

The next jump for the name was in 2011, when it got to #51: this was the year after the Disney film Tangled, with the Disney prince Flynn Rider based on Errol Flynn himself, and named in his honour. It was also the same year that model Miranda Kerr chose the name Flynn for her son. The name peaked in 2013 at #32 (the same year that Kerr separated from her husband, British actor Orlando Bloom).

Last year Flynn was #45 nationally, #40 in New South Wales, #38 in Victoria, #34 in Queensland, #40 in Western Australia, #37 in Tasmania, and #42 in the Australian Capital Territory.

Flynn is only popular in Australia and New Zealand – it is #48 and stable across the Tasman. It is #137 in the UK, and has been rising steadily since Tangled and the birth of Flynn Bloom, while in the US it joined the Top 1000 in 2011, and is currently #659 and still rising. It will be interesting to see how it fares in other countries since reaching its peak here.

Flynn is a popular name with a strong Australian connection. Unlike Errol, it has gained a cool Disney namesake and become a celebrity baby name, giving it a significant boost. No longer rising in Australia, Flynn seems to have settled in, perhaps on its way to becoming a modern classic. Handsome, Irish, Australian, on trend, and stable, Flynn seems like a popular yet safe choice.

POLL RESULTS
Errol received an approval rating of 27%. 53% of people weren’t keen on Errol, and 8% loved it.

Flynn did much better, receiving an excellent approval rating of 82%, making it one of the top-rated names of 2015. 44% of people thought Flynn was a good name, while only 4% thought it was a terrible one.

Name Update: Oscar and Scarlett Are Brother and Sister

21 Wednesday Oct 2015

Posted by in Name Updates

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Aimee wrote in to the blog because she and her husband were expecting a baby girl, and she wasn’t sure if the names she liked went with their son’s name, Oscar. Her husband having vetoed Eloise, Aimee’s favourite name, her next choice was Scarlett – but was Scarlett a clash with Oscar?

I thought Oscar and Scarlett sounded perfectly fine, and readers agreed, with almost half thinking they made a good match, and 91% in favour of choosing this combination.

After reading my response and looking at the poll results, Aimee soon made her decision, and when their daughter arrived early this month, there was no hesitation in naming her

SCARLETT LOUISE,

baby sister to Oscar.

Congratulations to Aimee’s family on the birth of their daughter, and how nice when we can solve someone’s dilemma that easily!

(Picture of rag dolls from etsy)

Name Update: Ready, Freddie, Go!

19 Monday Oct 2015

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Natalie and James were expecting their first child, and wrote in to the blog because they weren’t sure what they were going to call their son.

By the time Nat and Jamie got to the hospital, the name Jasper was their front-runner, even though Jamie had originally vetoed it. However, once their little boy was born, Jasper didn’t seem to suit him after all, and so they named him

FREDERIC FONG SHUN “FREDDIE“.

Frederic was another name that Nat had really liked, but Jamie had initially not been so keen on – luckily he decided Frederic was great after all. This is the second set of parents who had seriously considered the name Jasper until their son was actually born, and it’s also the second dad who vetoed a name, but then changed his mind – encouraging news!

Congratulations to Natalie and James on choosing the handsome, manly name with a handy nickname they had always wanted, and thank you to Natalie’s parents for choosing lovely Chinese middle names.

(Freddie wall hanging from The Spirited Puddle Jumper)

(Some) Names From (Recent) Australian Teen and Young Adult Fiction

18 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by in Naming Issues

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If you want to turn this into a drinking game:

Drink if you see the same name used again
Drink if the character’s name provides a major plot point
Drink if there’s some quirky or interesting story behind a character’s name/nickname
Drink if the character is named after food
Drink if the character is named after an animal
Drink if the character’s nickname has nothing to do with their full name
Drink if the character’s name is highly unlikely for their age group

I, Wolf by Matt Boyd
A werewolf story. The hero is called Romy, short for Romulus (DRINK!), and he’s an Australian boy who has to move to Austria for health reasons. His love interest is Antonia, and friends are Dimitri and Nat.

One of my pet peeves is when the character’s name tells you what’s going to happen. However, after reading endless teen fiction where the heroine has some boyish nickname like Alex or Bill or George, it’s refreshing to read one where the hero has a nickname more common for girls.

Holier Than Thou by Laura Buzo
Heroine is Holly, a young social worker – her nickname is Holier-than-Thou (DRINK!). Her boyfriend is Tim, but she has unresolved feelings for her friend Liam, and finds herself attracted to a colleague, Nick (nicknamed Nickolarse).

The Roxy Ran series by Tiffany Hall
Roxy Ran is a teenage ninja, initiated into the mysteries of the Tiger Scrolls or something by Jackson Axe, who has a brother named Morgan. Roxy’s big sister is Electra (a samurai), and her friend is Cinnamon (DRINK!). The school bully’s name is Hero, which is a major plot point give away (DRINK!).

The Elly Pickering books by Wendy Harmer
The heroine is Eleanor “Elly” Pickering, who has a big sister named Matilda “Tilly“. Her friends are Carmelita and Rosie, while the popular “mean girl” is called Bianca, and love interest is a boy named Tyler. In one book, Elly gets a job which brings her into proximity with a Hollywood teen heart throb called Jake Blake.

For some reason Biancas are often unpleasant in fiction. I had an issue with movie star Jake Blake – it reminded me too strongly of Jack Black, so although he is meant to be a Zac-Efrony sort of guy, I was picturing something far different.

I’ll Tell You Mine by Pip Harry
Kate is the heroine, an upper middle class Goth teenager at boarding school. Her best friend is Maddy, and Maddy’s brother Lachy provides a love interest.

I have an aversion to heroines named some version of Katherine, but my very least favourite is Kate. It shows such a massive lack of imagination that I fear for the rest of the book.

And All the Stars by Andrea K. Höst
Madeleine “Maddie” (DRINK!) Cost is a teenage artist trying to win the Archibald Prize by painting her gorgeous and famous cross-dressing actor cousin Tyler (DRINK!). But forget most of that plot, as the book is actually about an alien invasion in central Sydney. The love interest is a science nerd named Fisher “Fish” (DRINK!) Charteris, and best friend a girl named Noi (a Thai name).

There’s a cast of dozens in this book. Most of them have nicknames, some of which are creative, such as a boy named Lee, who is called Pan (DRINK!) for the fairly unlikely reason he resembles the god Pan (DRINK!). You just know you’ve sent your kid to a superior school when their playground nickname is a Greek god.

The Mosquito Advertising books by Kate Hunter
Brisbane teenagers run an advertising agency. Heroine is Katie Crisp (DRINK!), and others on her team are best friend Lorraine Crabbe (DRINK!), neighbour Joel Maguire and his cousin Dominic Pyne-Davies, arty Clementine Bailey (DRINK!), and “bad girl” Jasmine Jolley. Katie’s mum is Vanessa, and Lorraine’s is Pippa (DRINK!). Clementine belongs to a brilliant family, and has siblings named James, Cordelia, Evangeline, Rupert, and Nathaniel. Dominic has twin little sisters named Janie and Susan (DRINK! DRINK!). Jasmine has big brothers named Eli and Byron who are famous rock musicians. Katie’s aunt and Vanessa’s sister is named Nancy (DRINK!).

Not only a variation of Katherine, but a variant of the author’s own name, which seems particularly lazy. The names are all of out of synch: a teenager named Lorraine, little girls named Janie and Susan, and a youngish aunt named Nancy, sister to Vanessa!

Divine Clementine by Hayley S. Kirk
Teenager Clementine (DRINK!) Footner falls apart when her beloved aunt Stella (DRINK!) dies (Stella is not much older than Clementine and is like a big sister). There’s also an aunt named Penny, an uncle named Dorian, and a niece named Auggie; friend is Thom.

The family is quite ahead of the curve, so look out for girls named Auggie in the future.

The Tribe series by Ambelin Kwaymullina
Set in a dystopian future world informed by the Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime. The heroine of the first book is Ashala Jane (DRINK!) Ambrose, otherwise known as Ashala Wolf (DRINK! DRINK!). Her friends are Ember Crow (DRINK!) and Georgie Spider (DRINK!), and they lead a tribe of environmentally-aware children. Love interest is Justin Connor – called by his surname – and Ember’s boyfriend is Jules ; the baddies are Neville Rose and Dr Miriam Grey.

It makes sense that everyone is still using the same names three hundred years in the future, as society broke down right about now. I do like Ashala, but it bothers me that she is called Wolf as a tribal name in Australia – we don’t have wolves!

Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan
A vampire satire set in a town in Maine where humans and vampires live side by side: the vampires are immigrants to the US. The heroine is Mel (DRINK!), her best friends are Cathy (DRINK!) and Anna, and the vampire is Francis Duvarney (DRINK!). Mel’s love interest is a boy called Kit, whose name is short for Kitten (DRINK!) – it’s a long story (DRINK!).

You might chuckle over a vampire named Duvarney, because of the Victorian pulp-fiction classic, “Varney the Vampire”. Mel and Cathy are remarkably dated for teenagers; they seem very 1970s to me, as an Anna who went to school with about eighty Mels and Cathys (it feels like).

Losing It by Julia Lawrinson
Four 17-year-old best friends vow to lose their virginity before the end of the final school year, American Pie style. The girls are Zoe, Bree, Mala, and Abby. Abby has a brother named Zeke, and Mala has a cousin named Mo. The girls’ male friend is Matty.

Mala and Mo are from a different ethnicity, but it is never said what it is, although Mala is an Indian name, and Mo might be short for Mohandas?

The Convent by Maureen McCarthy
Set in the historic Abbotsford Convent in Melbourne, and based on the author’s own family history. It starts during World War I, when Sadie is forced to relinquish her daughter Ellen, who is brought up by the nuns at the convent. In the 1960s, Ellen’s only daughter Cecilia takes the veil at the convent and becomes Sister Annuniciata, and Cecilia’s daughter is Perpetua, called Peach (DRINK! DRINK!). Peach also has a connection with the convent, as she works at the arts centre now housed in its buildings. Peach’s sister is Stella (DRINK!), and her best friends are Cassie and Det.

It makes sense that great-grandmother’s name is popular again now, and also that a nun’s daughter should be given a saint’s name.

The Colours of Madeleine series by Jaclyn Moriarty
A fantasy series about teenager Madeleine Tully (DRINK!), who ran away from a world of opulence to live a simple life in Cambridge, England with her mother Holly (DRINK!). Madeleine’s best friends are Jack (an admirer) and Belle, but she has a pen-friend named Elliot Baranski in a parallel universe. Can anyone else guess that poor Jack does not stand a chance against a farm boy from a parallel universe who is heading a crew of loyal rebels?

I liked the way that people in the parallel universe had much the same names as we do – Elliot’s friends are Samuel and Keira, and his love interest is Kala. The princess is named Ko, but then she’s royalty. They like the letter K in the parallel universe.

Friday Brown by Vicki Wakefield
Liliane Brown is nicknamed Friday by her mother Vivienne because of a family curse that she will die on a Saturday (DRINK! DRINK!). Friday becomes a runaway street kid, and makes friends with a mute boy called Silence (DRINK!), and comes under the control of charismatic but unlikable young woman named Arden. The other street kids are AiAi, Darcy (female), Joe, Carrie, Bree (DRINK!), and Malik. The love interest is a boy named Wish (DRINK!).

Love-Shy by Lili Wilkinson
Penny (DRINK!) Drummond is a neurotic over-achieving student journalist, and she takes on a project of investigating/fixing a boy at her school named Nick (DRINK!) Rammage. Her friends are Rin and Hamish, who she tries to match up together. Other classmates are Rory, James (DRINK!), Clayton, Perry, Arabella, and Max. Penny’s dad is gay, and his partner is Josh.

How Can They Jazz Up Their Baby Name Search?

17 Saturday Oct 2015

Posted by in Naming Assistance

≈ 3 Comments

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Chloe and Ashton are expecting their third child next year; they already have a son named Wynton and a daughter named Etta. The couple are having trouble thinking of any names at all, and Chloe feels that she might over-think names.

Wynton was six weeks old before he was named, even though they knew in advance he would be a boy. They found inspiration from this blog for Etta’s name. They saw the name Etty, from Etty Bay, but put a spin on it. Like Wynton, Etta is also a jazz name, which vaguely references an Australian place name – Winton and Etty Bay (both in Queensland, as it happens).

Chloe loves their childrens’ names, and feels under pressure to come up with something equally good that fits in with Wynton and Etta.

To add to the difficulties, they have a surname which can be hard to match with a first name – it’s a somewhat startling short noun, like Blood.

Chloe doesn’t want any matching initials in the family, so no names starting with A, C, E, or W.

* * * * * * * * * * *

On one hand, it can be an anxious feeling having absolutely no ideas for baby names at all. On the other, it can be a wonderfully liberating experience. No having to choose between favourite names, no arguments with your partner, no fretting because your best friend just used the name you had your heart set on. That leaves you in an enviably free position.

Like a jazz musician, you can be free to take risks with names, to improvise a name, to swing it, to try new things, to open your mind, to allow chaos into the naming process, to be creative. I might suggest that you try “underthinking” rather than overthinking – and by that, I mean allowing your subconscious, or your “under-mind” to express itself. Also remember that jazz is a colloborative process, so bounce ideas off each other.

I understand that “Blood” is not an easy surname to work with. I tried several different things, and I came up with some restrictions that I think might have to be considered.

-No vocabulary words as names, as Tangerine Blood or Duke Blood form a bizarre or even disturbing image.
– This includes names which sounds like words, such as Marshall, Dinah or Norah, or ones which have a nickname that sounds like a word, such as Minnie, Penny, Rich or Randy
– Well known place names could also be an issue, as with Georgia Blood or Paris Blood.
– No alliteration, as Byron Blood or Billie Blood sound odd and comical.
– Be careful with names ending with an S or X, as Lux Blood sounds like Luck’s Blood.

I can see it would be great if the name had some sort of connection with an Australian place, but I think with so many things to consider, it should be a preference rather than a must have.

Wynton and Etta are rare names, so I can see you might prefer a name which is similarly uncommon. However, there are many popular and fairly common names names from jazz, such as Laura, Louis, Malachi, Leon, Miriam, Theo, Kai, Kate, Leo, George, Jonah, Natalie, Eric, Oscar, Frankie, Stella, Jane, Hannah, Cameron, Harlan, Thomas, Percy, Dana, Maggie, Nancy, Ruth, Madeleine, Josephine, Reuben, Nathaniel, Mabel, Phoebe, Seth, Miles, Orlando, Xavier, and Sadie.

Some other names from jazz, a few of which have a connection to Australian places:

Darius
Django
Digby – a town in Victoria
Edgar – the Edgar Dam is in Tasmania
Fabian
Fletcher – a suburb of Newcastle
Freddie – there are quite a few places with Frederick in their name
Harvey – a town in Western Australia
Jesper – similar to the town of Wee Jasper in NSW
Julius – Lake Julius is in Queensland
Lennie
Leroy
Lucien
Miller – a suburb of Sydney
Monty – Montgomery is a district of Tasmania
Mornington – the Mornington Peninsula is in Victoria
Nelson – a suburb of Sydney, while Nelson Bay is a NSW town
Oran – Oran Park is a suburb of Sydney
Quincy – Quinns Rocks is a suburb of Perth
Reggie
Ronnie
Spencer – the Spencer Gulf is in South Australia
Thaddeus

Corea
Dara
Ida
Inez
Laine – Lane Cove is a suburb of Sydney
Lena
Lucia – St Lucia is a suburb of Brisbane
Mamie
Melba – a suburb of Canberra
Morgan – a town in South Australia, while Mount Morgan is in Queensland
Mimi – a small island in the Torres Strait
Nellie
Nina
Peggy
Saskia
Susannah – Susannah Place Museum is in Sydney
Tessie – sounds like Tassie, short for Tasmania
Valaida
Vera – Vera View is a beach in Perth
Zarie

You have set yourself a fairly difficult task, and I wonder if that’s why you can’t think of any names. Sometimes when we can’t come up with a single name which fits our criteria, it may be because the criteria is too strict. Have you painted yourself into a corner? Because if so, it may be time to set yourself free and find a new groove.

Readers, can you suggest any jazz-inspired names for Chloe and Ashton?

Pixie Sage and Ruby Nyx

16 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by in Birth Announcements

≈ 5 Comments

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Twins
Charlotte and Innes
James Ronald and Mitchell Alexander
Lenny Kade and Koah Summer (Knox, Macy)

Girls
Adelaide Norma Rose
Alex Maree (Charlie)
Alice Victoria (Grace)
Amiyah Louise
Astrid Halena (Arlan)
Beatrice Ada (George)
Charli Biarta (Felicity-Rose, Montanah, Dakoda, William)
Chloe Anjeanette
Clementine Roseanna
Dylan Violet
Elizabeth Sophia
Elke Saraide (Jed)
Elliotte Katherine (Addison)
Esther Primrose
Gabriella Mae (Claudia)
Harper Tippett (Charlie)
Junior Tewoe (Roxon, Nikola, Ave)
Madison Marquise (Summer)
Mae Hui-Jing (Eve)
Maisie Ricki
Makayla Saskia-Joyce (Jayden, Cheyenne, Brielle)
Millaa (Jacques, Fern)
Peta Jade
Peyton Simone (Fletcher)
Piper Elsie (India)
Pixie Sage (Quinn)
Poppy Maeve
Ruby Nyx
Tilda Audrey (Ollie)
Willow Kylie

Boys
Abel John (Noah)
Benjamin Mark Frazer (Thomas)
Carter Lewis
Chester James
Cobber
Dawson Dean Fox (Zara)
Faris
Felix Marko (Inigo)
Freddie Peter (Ned, Billy, Poppy)
Hunter-Ray Francis
Jagger Jayce (Cooper, Kobi, Mason)
Jonas Nguyen
Joseph David “Joey” (Alistair)
Keanu Alexander
Korben William
Lachlan Douglas Hamish
Leroy Archer (Jed)
Luke Kevin Roy
Maxton Samuel (Millie)
Moses Philip (Verity, Theo)
Noah Trey
Oliver Antonio (Sofia)
Reef
Rupert Henry (Hugo, Albert)
Scott Russell (Casanova)
Tevita (Fineasi)
Tex Thomas
Theodore Michael
Toby Benjamin Charles (Eloise, Corey)
Ty Marshall (Andrew, Jada)

(Picture is of native sage, which can be used as a bush food)