• About
  • Best Baby Names
  • Celebrity Baby Names
  • Celebrity Baby Names – Current
  • Celebrity Baby Names – Past
  • Featured Boys Names
  • Featured Girls Names
  • Featured Unisex Names
  • Links to Name Data
  • Waltzing on the Web

Waltzing More Than Matilda

~ Names with an Australian Bias of Democratic Temper

Waltzing More Than Matilda

Tag Archives: choosing names

Curl Up With a Good Book in the Nook of Names

11 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by A.O. in Blog Reviews

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Amazon, book reviews, choosing names, eymology, KM Sheard, Llewellyn's Complete Book of Names, locational names, mythological names, name advice, name books, name history, name meaning, nature names, Nook of Names, Pagan names, popular names, surname names

Most of us started our name blogs as a way to store and share our information, or as an extension of our online activities in forums, or even on a whim. Kay started her blog, Nook of Names, to promote the book she was preparing for publication: Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Names: For Pagans, Witches, Wiccans, Druids, Heathens, Mages, Shamans & Independent Thinkers of All Sorts Who Are Curious About Names from Every Place and Every Time.

That’s an impressive title, which embraces a wide spectrum of people who will want to read this book. If you are not a Pagan, Druid or Shaman, I hope at least you fit under the heading of being an Independent Thinker Who is Curious About Names. Slavish Non-Thinkers Who are Incurious About Names should leave now …. and in fact, how ever did you get here in the first place?

Because Kay has both a book and a blog, I am going to attempt to review both of them simultaneously. It sounds an insane plan, but in my defence I did try to do them separately. In the blog review, I kept needing to refer to the book, and in the book review, I needed to keep referring to the blog – the two are so intertwined that I felt compelled to combine them.

Kay started blogging on Midsummer Eve last year; although she says it is her first attempt, it is a beautiful and professional-level name blog. The Misty theme is a perfect match, the colours are soft and natural, and the background design from the book’s cover suitably mysterious. I must pay tribute to the illustrations for the blog; they are sumptuous and lovingly chosen works of art.

Nook of Names was set up to whet our appetites for The Complete Book of Names, with great success. The first post introduced The Complete Book of Names, the second explained why it wasn’t just for Pagans, and then began the process of providing some sneak peeks into the book’s contents based on names of people who connected to her on Facebook. For example, the entry on Estelle, also covers Stella and Esther, and hints that looking up the entries for Ishtar, Hester, Easter and Vanessa will prove rewarding.

Kay addresses the fact that a Complete Book of Names cannot ever literally contain every single name ever given on earth, and Nook of Names is thus her way of covering many names that couldn’t be included in the book. As a result, the blog has a huge number of names, and they are all indexed, from Abel to Zygus.

Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Names was published at the start of this year, and is available at Amazon and Amazon UK, as well as other good bookstores. UK-based readers can buy a signed copy of the book directly from Kay through Paypal. Australians can buy it from Angus and Robertson, which is rather pricey; if you don’t mind a longer waiting period, The Book Depository has free postage.

I have had my copy since the end of January, and for over a month it has been my constant bedtime companion. It’s a hefty tome – nearly 800 pages, and weighing almost 2 kg. It contains thousands of names, and a wealth of information for each one.

Massive reference books often come in small print, presumably in the belief you will only be looking something up for a few minutes, but Llewellyn have been very generous, and The Complete Book of Names is easy and pleasurable to read. The print is large and black on very white paper, and although there are many codes used to save repeating the same phrases, they are so commonsense that you can probably figure most of them out without consulting the key every time.

(I must confess to not actually using this key, as it is easy enough to decipher that ESW means English-speaking world, and Hist means historical – although having a quick glance at it now, I see it might be possible to confuse yourself, with Lat meaning Latvian and not Latin).

Each entry contains much more information than the usual “name book”, providing not just origin and meaning, but a mini-history of the name, with links to related names which may provide further elucidation. You may wonder what makes the book particularly Pagan; although there are plenty of “ordinary” names, like Henry and Katherine, and “modern” names like Sienna and Chase, the CBM includes many names from world mythologies, and also more nature names than are usual in a name book.

Pagans of all sorts are united by their love and respect for Nature, and so it is not surprising to see unusual name suggestions from the natural world, such as Paprika, Chaffinch, and Hypericon. Names of plants and gemstones often have magical associations, and it is fascinating to read that Parsley was dedicated to Persephone and used in funeral rites, or that Bears were sacred to Artemis, so that young initiates to her cult were called little she-bears. This gives a much deeper understanding of the “meanings” of such natural names.

Kay’s qualifications for writing the book are impressive. According to the back of the book, she is a scholar of history, Assyriology, Latin and Greek; a graduate of the University of Cambridge; and knows a number of modern and ancient languages. She also belongs to the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, and is a member of the British Pagan Federation. In other words, she is a pagan name expert.

Kay has her own theories on names, and that’s one of the things I most appreciated about her book. There’s nothing more annoying than looking up a name and being given the unhelpful entry: “meaning unknown”. I always feel like saying, “Surely you must have some idea?” Kay does have some idea, often several of them, and she’s happy to share her thoughts as to the most likely derivation of an obscure name. When the meaning is lost beyond all finding, she can still help explain its cultural context, and thus what it “means” on another level.

Despite her interest in languages and etymology, this is not just a “name dictionary” which gives a definition of a name. Although it is certainly a valuable reference work, it is intended to be used in choosing real life names, whether that be a name for yourself, a pen name, a name for a baby, names for literary characters, or even a name for a pet.

Although I’m sure most readers will be eager to dive right in to look up their favourite names, or skim through it for more name ideas, it’s worthwhile to read the excellent introduction. It contains a history of naming in the western world which I think everyone who is interested in names should read, and also has thoughtful advice on choosing a baby name. Even this has a certain Pagan flavour – most name books don’t suggest that you might like to consult an astrologer, or seek guidance from your tarot cards or rune stones!

And yet most of it is sensible advice that anyone would benefit from. Although Kay feels that Pagans are more likely to think deeply about their name choices, I’m sure most people do choose baby names with care, and certainly all of us should think deeply about it, and follow our intuition, even if we don’t necessarily use rune stones to do so. One of Kay’s principles of naming is that we don’t so much select a name for someone as undertake a journey to discover it, which I think is a wonderful way to see it, and also puts you in the right frame of mind and heart to find the perfect name.

This is a book that anyone who cares about names will want to own, and consult again and again. It’s filled not only with fascinating information on each name, but contains a multitude of creative naming ideas, including lists of names grouped together by meaning or theme. It may be written from a Pagan perspective, and no doubt fellow-Pagans will find it suits their needs better than any other name book, but it is a book for almost everyone. In short, I don’t know how any name aficionado or name blogger can live without this book.

Now with the book out, and hopefully walking off the shelves, does this mean that Nook of Names has served its purpose and will be laid to rest? There are no signs of it, because there are so many names out there in the world still waiting for Kay to document them. Besides, I bet she’s already working on a revised edition of The Complete Book of Names!

There’s a lot to discover at the Nook of Names. There are essays on onomastics, such as one on Surnames as First Names, which has generated alphabetical lists of English surnames which could make unusual and interesting personal names. There’s Pagan Name of the Month; these always show the pagan roots or pagan connotations of commonly used names such as Aidan or Ruby, making them pagan-friendly populars. Pick of the Week looks at a less usual name; it’s impossible to pick a favourite, but the one on Coventry stuck in my mind.

A series inspired by the runes gives interesting lists of names, there’s names from the world of fiction, including a two-parter on characters in Dickens (lots of cat names!), and inspiration from travel, such as this essay on the sacred landscape of Somerset. British name bloggers, perhaps because they are surrounded by such richness of history, seem remarkably skilled at finding name inspiration wherever they go.

There’s plenty of Paganesque entries, such as ones of names from Nature, names for Pagan festivals such as Imbolc, and names from the history of the Salem witch trials. Kay seems to enjoy starting a new Category as much as I do; however, like me, she sometimes bites off more than she can chew, and Witch of the Week still seems to be a work in progress. It’s an excellent start though, and the entry on Ceridwen was especially lovely, bringing in plenty of first-hand information from Wales, where Kay lives.

Many of these posts are a chance for her to expand on the entries in Complete Book of Names, so if you are a fan of the book, then Nook of Names is essential reading. On the other hand, if you can’t get enough of the blog, then you need to get yourself a copy of Complete Book of Names at once. Then curl up in a cosy nook, and lose yourself in Kay’s magical world of names.

Q & A WITH KAY

Name: Kay Michelle Sheard

Have you ever wished for a different name?: Frequently! I’ve come to like Kay more, as it has a lot of meaning when you start to dig. But I don’t like Michelle. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s never felt “me”.

When did your interest in names begin?: Like a lot of name buffs, I used to collect names as a child – not just first names, but surnames and place-names too. The whole concept of naming and how names began and evolved really fascinated me. It all goes hand in hand with my interest in etymology and social anthropology in general.

How did you first decide to write a book on names?: Writing a book about names was always at the back of my mind, but its birth was sparked by two things in August 2009. I was lamenting the lack of a really comprehensive book of names for Pagans/alternative-minded folk. Meanwhile, one of those Facebook apps offered to tell me what my name meant. I knew already, but did it for fun, and it came out with something so outrageously wrong that that was that!

How long did the book take?: The whole process has eaten up the best part of two years.

How did you find a publisher?: Finding a publisher was very straightforward. I approached Llewellyn in October 2009 with the idea, and was offered a contract in December.

Hardest thing about writing a book: Keeping a balance between work and everyday life. There were times when I ended up having to work on it virtually round the clock, and on more than one occasion I ended up working through the night, snatching an hour or two’s sleep when sheer exhaustion took over.

Your favourite blog entry at Nook of Names: Incan Inspiration – it was great fun to research and write. Plus, my sister-in-law had just got back from a trip to Peru and very kindly let me use some of her amazing photos of llamas.

Your pet naming peeve: Top of mine has to be the school of thought that tries to frighten people into choosing “safe names” with prophecies of doom and disaster, or howls of derision over the choice of something more unusual. The former, I feel, perpetuates the tendency to put the blame on victims for things like bullying, rather than on the perpetrators. And the latter demonstrates ignorance.

Your favourite names: My favourite names are those of Greek and Latin origin, especially those from Greek and Roman mythology. A close second are Welsh names, and names from Welsh mythology, born out of my Welsh heritage and love of all things Celtic.

Your least favourite names: Michelle – for reasons already stated (poor Michelle!). Other than that, I can’t say there’s anything I really despise, except, perhaps those that make a really strong statement about the parents’ world-view, like Neo-Nazis calling their son Adolf Hitler, and truly outrageous stuff like Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii.

Names you love, but can’t use for some reason: Ptolemy. Its meaning – “war” – I can’t embrace, no matter how much I try to persuade myself that the word has a broader meaning than just physical fighting, and that Ptolemy as a name has accrued many positive associations.

Your child’s name: I deliberately keep Small Child’s name private, as it belongs to her, not me. But I will reveal what she would have been called had she been a boy: Octavian Theodore Rhufon.

Did you and your husband/partner have any issues agreeing on names?: Not a great deal; we share similar tastes and attitudes. We came to an agreement that if Small Child was a girl, he’d get to choose her first name, and if it was a boy, I would. I was happy with that, as we both approved each other’s choices, and I got to choose all middle names regardless.

Names you are considering for future children: We probably won’t have any more, but if we did, there really are too many for me to say. However, I think it would be a safe bet to assume that his or her first name would probably be Greek or Latin, and they’d have at least one Welsh name too.

The one piece of advice you would give to someone choosing a name for their baby: Listen to your intuition – your heart – and don’t pay too much attention to what others say, be it family (other than your partner, of course), friends, books, articles or online forums. I can’t help feeling there is something in the notion that there’s a name that’s exactly right for each of us – unfortunately, not all of us get that name because our parents bowed to those external pressures, and that’s a shame.


Saturday Sibset: The Sibset That Tastes Like Mashed Potatoes and Crackers

10 Saturday Mar 2012

Posted by A.O. in Sibsets in the News

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

choosing names, sibsets, synaesthesia

This was a story I read in a magazine, and found it so interesting from a naming perspective that I wanted to share it.

Anne Williams lives in Perth, Western Australia, and she has synaesthesia. I think many of you will know what that is – it’s a neurological condition where stimulation of one sense leads to the experience of another sense being stimulated.

I’m betting several of you reading this will experience some words and names as having a specific colour; this is called grapheme-colour synaesthesia. (I have a theory that many “name-fussy” people have some type of synaesthesiac relationship to words and names; perhaps even one so subtle it has not yet been recognised).

Anne has the much rarer lexical-gustatory synaesthesia, where hearing a certain word will evoke a specific flavour and texture at the back of her mouth.

For many years, it was a mystery to her why she spent her childhood craving salt and vinegar chips (crisps), and ice cream waffle cones. Later she realised it was because her dad’s name, Dave, evoked the taste of the chips, and her mum’s name, Kay, gave her the taste of ice cream cones. Her best friend Olivia used the words like and England a lot, which tasted of chocolate YoGo (a pre-packaged yogurt dessert) and oatmeal biscuits (cookies) respectively.

When it came to choosing a husband, it was a bit tricky, because as well as picking someone appealing and compatible, she also needed him to have a name that had a nice flavour, as she was going to be hearing it all the time. Luckily, the man of her dreams was named Steve, which has the same familiar salt and vinegar chips taste as her dad’s name, Dave. (They do actually sound a little similar).

Steve was happy to let Anne pick their children’s names, as she was going to have to taste them on a daily basis. For her daughter, now aged three, she chose the name Tobi, which tastes of mashed potato and gravy. And her son Saxon, now around 20 months, was given a name which evokes the flavour of Dixie Drumstick crackers. When her children call her “Mummy”, she instantly tastes freshly-made pancakes.

Anne is a music teacher, and sometimes it’s challenging when she dislikes her students’ name-tastes. Some of the yukkier ones for her include Ryan (crayons), Ellen and Helen (celery), Leanne (spearmint leaves), Ben (rubber bands or squid) and Brad (soggy Weet-Bix, a breakfast cereal).

Some other words and names as tasted by Anne:

Anne – hard boiled egg-yolk

synaesthesia – Kraft cheese spread

baby – pikelets (little pancakes)

March – sticks

Wednesday – melted margarine on toast

The Wiggles – red jelly snakes

family – soggy All-Bran

Sydney – tomato soup

Australia – no taste

New Zealand – cold Cheddar cheese

(Story from Woman’s Day, December 5 2011)

Two Souls with But a Single Thought: Agreeing on Baby Names

05 Sunday Jun 2011

Posted by A.O. in Naming Issues

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

choosing names, naming laws, Tags: birth registries

 

 

Two souls with but a single thought

Two hearts that beat as one.

~Friedrich Halm~

It’s a nice and often quoted idea, but the truth is, it can sometimes be quite hard for two souls to have but a single thought. Frankly, it can be a bit of an ask for even one soul to contain a single thought when it comes to baby names.

The most compatible of couples can have differing opinions about the perfect name for their baby, but reach agreement they must. Under Australian law, both parents of a baby have to sign the birth certificate in order to get it registered. (If you are a single mother, you only need to gain the father’s agreement if you have put his name on the birth certificate).

As it is your legal imperative to choose a baby name in unison with your partner, it seems to be my duty to offer guidance on how to reach this happy state of concurrence with the least possible amount of wailing, gnashing of teeth, hair-pulling and shin-kicking.

1: Take your time

You have your entire pregnancy to choose a baby name, and about twenty weeks to choose a gender-specific name, if you have decided to find out the baby’s sex in advance. After the baby is born, you have a generous sixty days to get all your paperwork in and register the birth. If you are still dithering or arguing after the baby is born, take as much time as you need until you are really sure.

2: Do it your way

Every couple has their own way of deciding on baby names. Some couples write their favourite names on separate lists, then swap lists and cross names off they don’t like. Others start reading a baby name book at page 1 and keep reading until they see a name they both like (these tend to end up with a baby name starting with A, I’ve noticed). Others patiently wait for inspiration to strike, and one day they watch an old movie with Spencer Tracey, and there you go, their baby is named Spencer as easy as that. You can download name-selecting software, scan birth notices, ask all your friends and family, hang out on name forums, pick names out of a hat, or pray for divine guidance – it’s completely your choice. There’s no right or wrong way to do it, so go with what works for you.

3: Don’t take it personally

It’s natural to get emotionally attached to your favourite names. When someone says, “Nope, I don’t like that name at all,” it can be confronting or even upsetting. But getting defensive doesn’t help. Remind yourself that they are only rejecting a name, they are not rejecting you.

4: Don’t be rude

Knowing that the other person might get a bit upset if you trash-talk their most beloved baby name ever, try to be sensitive about it. Avoid using judgemental words like “ugly”, “stupid”, “insane”, or “bogan”. Also try to avoid eye-rolling or making vomiting noises.

5: Explain yourself

When you dislike a name your partner suggests, instead of just stating, “I don’t like it”, try to explain why you don’t like it, while remembering to be nice about it eg “I don’t care for the name Spike; I’m not keen on vocabulary names, and I would prefer something softer-sounding and more traditional for our daughter”. Straight away, your partner can begin to identify what names you might like just from that one sentence.

6: Look for similarity

When you disagree on baby names, try to concentrate on where your tastes converge, not where they differ. If he likes Jedidiah and you like Gabriel – great, both of you chose Biblical Hebrew names. She picked Ava but you prefer Hayley – fantastic, both two-syllable names of old movie stars from the Top 50 with an AY sound in them. If one of you wants Nyssa and the other Peri … well you both like cutesy unusual names. And you’re Dr Who nerds. Start from the point where you want the same thing.

7: Accept vetoes

If your partner hates nature names, throw Ocean off your list. And if they have a horror of any name on the Top 100, forget about Charlotte or William. The funny thing is, if you just accept someone’s veto, they are more likely to change their mind later on than if you argued with them. The person who hates nature names may give the thumbs up to Hazel, casually explaining that they don’t count plant or flower names as “nature” names. And the person who swore up and down that the Top 100 was off-limits may suddenly decide that Declan isn’t too popular after all.

8: Take a break

When couples spend ALL their time discussing baby names, reading baby name books and revising their baby name list, they can easily get burnt out. After a while, names start to blur into each other, and you can no longer tell the difference between Daniel, Dean and Damien; nor do you know or care whether Pax is male, female, or unisex. It’s easy to start getting cranky at this point, and this is when arguments are most likely to happen. So just stop for a while. Put the books away and concentrate on other things.

9: Be prepared to compromise

If you can’t reach agreement easily, you may need to compromise. There are so many ways to do this that it could it be an article all on its own. Maybe one picks the first name, and the other the second name. Maybe you combine your two favourite names into a third name. Maybe mum picks the name of the first child, and dad picks the second. The important thing is that it really is a compromise, and not just one person agreeing with the other because they’re worn out. Make sure you’re clear about what you definitely want before you begin compromising.

10: If all else fails

If you are absolutely deadlocked and neither of you will agree to compromise … well that doesn’t bode well for the rest of your relationship, does it? But as far as baby names go, there is a solution to your dilemma. According to the law, if a couple are unable to agree on a name for their baby, the Registrar-General will choose the name for them so that the baby can be registered. So there you go – worst case scenario, the Registrar-General will select a name if neither of you clowns can manage it. More good news: I asked at a birth registry to explain how a Registrar-General might go about choosing a baby name for someone, and I was told that they didn’t know of a case where it had ever happened. So all the other parents must have managed to find a name for their baby in time, and that means chances are, you will too.

Acknowledgements: Thank you to Sandra Salcedo from the ACT Government Office of Regulatory Services for her help in sending me the relevant legal information.

Enter your email address to follow this blog

Categories

Archives

Recent Comments

waltzingmorethanmati… on Zarah Zaynab and Wolfgang…
Madelyn on Zarah Zaynab and Wolfgang…
drperegrine on Can Phoebe Complete This …
waltzingmorethanmati… on Rua and Rhoa
redrover23 on Rua and Rhoa

Blogroll

  • Appellation Mountain
  • Baby Name Pondering
  • Babynamelover's Blog
  • British Baby Names
  • Clare's Name News
  • For Real Baby Names
  • Geek Baby Names
  • Name Candy
  • Nameberry
  • Nancy's Baby Names
  • Ren's Baby Name Blog
  • Sancta Nomina
  • Swistle: Baby Names
  • The Art of Naming
  • The Baby Name Wizard
  • The Beauty of Names
  • Tulip By Any Name

RSS Feed

  • RSS - Posts

RSS Posts

  • Celebrity Baby News: Melanie Vallejo and Matt Kingston
  • Names from the TV Show “Cleverman”
  • Can Phoebe Complete This Sibset?
  • Zarah Zaynab and Wolfgang Winter
  • Baby, How Did You Get That Name?

Currently Popular

  • Famous Name: Molly
  • Celebrity Baby News: Alicia Molik and Tim Sullivan
  • Celebrity Baby News: AFL Babies
  • The Top 100 Names of the 1920s in New South Wales
  • The Top 100 Names of the 1940s in New South Wales

Tags

celebrity baby names celebrity sibsets english names famous namesakes fictional namesakes honouring locational names middle names name combinations name history name meaning name popularity name trends nicknames popular names saints names sibsets surname names twin sets unisex names

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Waltzing More Than Matilda
    • Join 514 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Waltzing More Than Matilda
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...