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Tag Archives: names of pets

What Name For Olive’s Brother or Sister?

03 Saturday Sep 2016

Posted by A.O. in Naming Assistance

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

choosing baby names, honouring, middle names, names of pets, nickname names, nicknames, sibsets

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Josephine and Stephen are expecting their second child later this year, a brother or sister for their daughter Olive. They picked Olive’s name out years in advance of her conception, so didn’t have to think of any other girls’ names. They never managed to agree on a boy’s name during the first pregnancy, so it really does feel as if it’s back-the-drawing-board time!

Josephine and Steve prefer classic-sounding names with an old-fashioned feel, but don’t want anything too popular. Josephine believes that Steve’s tastes in names is more conventional than hers as many of her name suggestions are rejected for being “too weird”.

The family surname is similar to Harley. They don’t mind names that start with H, but aren’t keen on ones that end with an EE sound in case it sounds too rhymey. They aren’t fussed about the meaning of the name, unless it means something completely appalling.

Names that have been discussed:

GIRLS
Cora – Steve’s favourite name, and Josephine likes it more and more as time goes by. This is probably their front runner at the moment.
Nell – it’s the name of an elderly dog owned by one of their parents. Josephine doesn’t think this is a problem, Steve isn’t so sure.
Harriet and Agnes – rejected by Steve

There will be two middle names, which is a family tradition. Possible middle names: Nell, Cora, Harriet, Agnes, Ivy, Maggie, Mabel, Adelaide, Poppy. The middle names just have to be ones they like which flow well together when matched with the first name.

BOYS
Felix – this is probably their current front-runner.
Henry – they both love this name, but is Henry Harley too much? Also a good friend just had a boy named Henry.
Angus, called Gus – Steve isn’t keen.
Mack – Josephine really liked this name, but feels less and less certain about it. She liked that it was a nod to her surname, which starts with Mac, but wonders if it is too casual and nicknamey? Is it too aggressive, like a Mack truck? Steve is neutral.
Rupert – Josephine’s favourite boy’s name, and her choice for Olive if she had been a boy. Loves the nicknames Ru and Bear. Steve cannot be persuaded.
Joe, Fletcher, Ned, Hugh and Jock – rejected by Steve.

Again, two middle names. Possible middles: Felix, Henry, Angus, Mack, Rupert, Joe, Fletcher, Ned, Hugh, Jock, Chester, August, Winter (a family name).

Josephine wonders what people think of their name list, and if there are any other names in their style they might like.

* * * * * * * * * *

Josephine, I have had a few parents write in when looking for a name for a second child after the first was utterly stress-free. They may have had a favourite name picked out for years, like you did, or both immediately loved the first name either one of them suggested. Then the second baby is due, and there’s a real feeling of “What do we do now?”.

In a way you are almost first-time baby namers again. Everything was already decided before Olive was even thought of, and now you’re stuck doing the hard yards of thinking up names, discussing them, crossing them off, starting again, and so on.

Perhaps this process even feels awkward or unnatural to you, but it’s actually completely normal and you are in fact doing great. I know you are going to pick a name just as good as Olive’s for your second child even if it takes more effort.

I love Steve’s suggestion of Cora! It’s strong yet feminine, and Olive and Cora sound adorable together. I don’t really think Steve’s taste is overly conventional – Cora doesn’t seem more conventional than Harriet, for example. I think some men just say names are “weird” when they mean they don’t like them.

I’m glad you are warming to Cora. I think it would work well with the style of middle names you have picked out, such as Cora Mabel Poppy or Cora Nell Adelaide.

Nell is sweet, and Olive and Nell are lovely. I’m with you – I don’t see much of an issue with the dog, especially as it’s a very old one. However, some people feel as if once a name is given to a pet, that makes it a “dog name” forevermore. If Steve remains hesitant, Nell could always be a middle name.

I think maybe Henry Harley is a little too much for me. It’s not only that the names begin and end with the name sound and have the same number of syllables, which is rather nursery rhyme character in sound, but that Harley is sometimes given as a first name, and Henry is occasionally a surname.

Like Rowan Regan and Libby Lacey, a name like this is perhaps too whimsical for me, although I’m sure some others would really like it. Henry would, however, make a fantastic middle name.

I like the idea of Mack honouring your surname. I notice you have selected several nicknamey names for boys, like Joe and Ned, but Steve rejected them. He also rejected or hasn’t committed to names which you planned to use a nickname for, such as Angus “Gus” and Rupert “Bear”.

Is it possible that Steve just isn’t as keen on nicknames? (Come to think, he hasn’t committed to Nell either). He’s remained neutral on Mack, and I wonder if that’s because he doesn’t want to hurt your feelings by rejecting a name honouring your surname.

If both of you are hesitating over it, perhaps Mack could be one of the middle names? Or maybe you could pick a boy’s name that has the letters MAC in it, like Cormac or Malcolm, or the same sound, like Maxwell? (sounds like Mack’s well).

That leaves you with Felix, which fortunately is great! Felix would be a wonderful choice with your surname, and as a brother to Olive. It could also work well with your chosen middle names, such as Felix Henry Mack or Felix Winter August.

I know you’ve really only agreed on one name for each sex so far, but one name is all you need, and Cora and Felix are both brilliant choices.

Other names that seem to be in your style might be Clara, Ada, Nora, Iris, or Hazel for a girl, and Jasper, Leo, Finlay, Griffin or Lewis for boy. But I actually like Cora and Felix better than all these names.

Good luck with your name search Josephine and Steve – I think you’re going to be fine. You already picked out one nice baby name, and I’m sure you’ll be able to do it again.

POLL RESULTS
People’s choice for a sister for Olive was Cora, with 71% of the vote. Their choice for a brother for Olive was Felix, with 59% of the vote.

82% of people were not in favour of using the name Henry Harley, with 61% thinking it was a little too much, and 21% thinking it was completely over the top. 14% of people thought it was fine, and 4% actually loved the idea.

57% of people didn’t see a problem with Mack, with 29% thinking it was fine and 28% thinking it was great. A sizeable minority of 43% were not in favour. 30% thought it was too casual and nicknamey, and 13% that it was too rough and aggressive.

Celebrity Baby News: Sami Muirhead and Sam Bohner

05 Tuesday Aug 2014

Posted by A.O. in Celebrity Baby News

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

celebrity baby names, celebrity sibsets, dog names, honouring, month names, names of pets, nicknames

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Radio personality Samille “Sami” Muirhead, and her husband Sam Bohner, welcomed their son August Louis, nicknamed “Augie” on August 1. August was born at 7.47 pm at Sunshine Coast Private Hospital; he joins big sister Avalon, aged 3, and big brother Nixon, aged 21 months; Nixon’s birth was announced on the blog.

August’s name is inspired by his date of birth: he was born on the first day of the month, and August 1 is the day officially designated as the birthday of all horses in the southern hemisphere. As you may know, 2014 is the Year of the Horse in the Chinese calendar, so August is born on the “Day of the Horse” in The Year of the Horse! Could they pass up that opportunity? Nay!

August’s middle name, Louis, is in honour of someone very special – the family’s much loved pet shih tzu.

August’s sister Avalon was quite sure that he was going to be a girl, and had already chosen the name Rosie Swimming Pool for her new sister. Apparently she has suffered a genuine disappointment that her name choice won’t be used. Perhaps Avalon will be one day start her own name blog.

(Photo shows August with his big sister Avalon)

Names Spotted at Home and Abroad (Winter 2014)

28 Monday Jul 2014

Posted by A.O. in Names Spotted at Home and Abroad

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

birth notices, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, holiday names, illegal names, Irish names, metal names, middle names, mythological names, name meaning, name trends, names from television, names of pets, nature names, rare names, surname names, twin sets, urban legends, virtue names, vocabulary names

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Anzac Day for Baby Anzac
After I covered the name Anzac on the blog, I received several e-mails from people insisting that it was illegal for babies to be named Anzac in Australia, and that my post should be altered to reflect that. I have seen babies in birth notices with this name, but my correspondents refused to believe me, as I had no proof of this (which is fair enough – imagine if I believed all the people who said they knew twins called Lemonjello and Orangejello).

Because of this healthy scepticism, I am posting a story about a baby named Anzac Judd from Bowraville, near Nambucca Heads in northern New South Wales. Unfortunately, it’s a sad story, because Anzac passed away from a spinal disease when only a few months old. On Anzac Day this year, Bowraville held a golfing and bowls day in Anzac’s memory, and even though the circumstances are heartbreaking, it shows that Anzac Day can mean more to you when you have a baby Anzac.

Danger is His Middle Name for a Reason
Robbie Danger Russell of Darwin was born with an extremely rare and little-understood genetic condition that meant doctors held out little hope of him surviving birth. Robbie did survive, despite multiple medical conditions, and at one year of age, still has the eyesight doctors expected him to have lost by now, although his prognosis is still very poor. Robbie’s mother Jennifer seems to have chosen the middle name Danger as a sign of the hazards that lay ahead of him, and that he lives with every day.

Quick Silver
I know readers love to know what fashionable people are naming their children, so here’s a quick profile of interior stylist Sibella Court who has a little shop in Paddington, and a daughter named Silver with her partner Ben Harper. Silver is pretty, and very much like mum’s name, but Silver Harper is a little race-horsey for my tastes.

And if you’d like to know what is in style, Sibella recommends vases of fruit and foliage, black walls, random surfboards, painter’s ladders, 1950s seashell collections, Union Jacks, vintage life-vests, and subway tiles. But for goodness sakes, don’t do any of this, because the story is from March, and that’s all TOTALLY LAST SEASON.

Sibella also had a pet pig named Wilbur, but pigs either went out of style, or now it’s bacon, the story didn’t really explain. Love the name Wilbur though!

Is it Just Hype?
I read a story about one of the many families who were victims of financial fraud committed by the Commonwealth Bank, and who were able to win their case in court, under the most difficult of circumstances.

One of the family, Tegan Couper of Shellharbour, is pictured with her baby son Hype. It’s a very unusual name, almost a virtue name really. I kept wondering if it was short for something, but could only think of Hyperion, which seemed even less likely, in a way.

Supposedly Seen – Sheen
Brisbane comedienne Mel Buttle wrote a piece about her childhood pet, a beloved dog named Benny, which she named after a boy named Ben she liked at school. In case we don’t think that’s an impressive naming story, she said she knows a baby who was named Sheen, after Charlie Sheen.

Not sure if that’s just a joke, but Sheen doesn’t seem that bad (if you put aside the Charlie Sheen part for a moment). The Irish surname Sheen is derived from a personal name which meant “peaceful”, and it almost sounds like a masculine form of Sheena, or a variant of Shane, as well as the appeal of English word sheen, meaning “lustre”.

Mel’s new dog is named Molly.

The Gods on Television
There was a new television program on ABC1 this autumn called The Gods of Wheat Street. Set in Casino in New South Wales, it’s about an Aboriginal family named Freeburn who have to let go of the past after their mother Eden‘s death, with the help of a bit of magic. Head of the family is Odin, and his siblings are Ares, Isolde, and Tristan, while Odin’s daughters are named Electra and Athena. The names may possibly help the trend for mythological names (and seem informed by said trend).

Names Spotted at Home and Abroad (Spring Edition)

22 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by A.O. in Names Spotted at Home and Abroad

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

adult name changes, backwards names, brand names, car names, choosing baby names, classic names, controversial names, created names, english names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, French names, gemstone names, Greek names, guinea pig names, honouring, linguistic terms, Maori names, meteorological names, name combinations, name meaning, name sociology, names from movies, names of art styles, names of musical styles, names of pets, names of wines, naming traditions, nature names, plant names, saints names, Sanskrit names, sibsets, tree names, Twitter, unisex names, virtue names, vocabuary names

528324_419521648119669_1365182918_nA nurse saved the life of her daughter’s guinea pig Snowflake by giving it mouth-to-mouth. Her little girl is named Fauve, which in French literally means “wild beast”. In the early twentieth century, les Fauves were avant-garde artists whose style was characterised by wild brushstrokes and vibrant colours. Fauve as a name is as bold as the art it is named after, but still seems on trend.

A bittersweet baby story. Nei Nei Anderson, daughter of Pippin, is just about to have her first Christmas, but she never got to meet her father Jahminn, who died from cancer before she was born. Nei Nei is named after her Maori grandmother; neinei is the Maori word for a New Zealand tree whose Latin name is Dracophyllum traversii. These small trees can live up to 500-600 years.

Elvina Robson [pictured] was born very prematurely, and her little life hung in the balance for a while, but she is ready for her first Christmas too. Elvina’s mum and dad are Emma and Brendan, and her siblings are Marguerite, 16, Gilbert, 12, Lucy, 10, Walter, 4, Angelique, 3 and Stella (deceased). A very lovely and original sibset.

A baby who arrived in a great hurry was named Patience Mezzino. Her name was chosen before her birth, and turned out to be rather ironic.

I have been hoping to see a baby Diamond born in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Year, and finally I have. Diamond Andre Thomas Thompson arrived very unexpectedly, but that did not stop his mum Regine from attending her graduation ceremony the next day. Regine now has a Masters in Maritime and Logistics Management. Diamond’s dad is named Paul, and his big sister is Herleen, aged 3.

Hermione Quinn Penning was born just outside the local rubbish tip. Not the most glamorous start to life, but what a beautiful name parents Kelly and Travis picked out. Hermione’s older sister is Elena, aged 3.

Kellie-Anne, and her ex-partner Trent Ford, came up with their son’s name when they saw the back of of a Holden Commodore ute with Storm written on the back of it. They couldn’t afford the ute, but they could name their son after it, so they named him Storme Hunter Ford. Storme’s younger brother is Levi Ryder, who was named after a pair of jeans. Name inspiration can be found everywhere!

A gym for babies aged 2 months and over has opened on the Sunshine Coast. One of its first clients was a baby boy named Horizen Earle. The name seems to ask that he reach for the horizon – but in a totally Zen way. It somehow seems very Sunshine Coast!

A couple who each run their own winery have welcomed their first child, and their daughter is named Peggy Mignonne. Mignonne is French for “cute”, and I think this is an adorable name combination. Charles Mignon is a famous brand of French champagne, and Peggy’s Hill is a wine produced in Australia, but I don’t know whether they put two wine names together or not.

A gorgeous sibset I saw in the paper – Sebastian, Raphael and Augustine, sons of Emily and Mark Wolfenden. Emily and Mark have both donated kidneys to save Sebastian and Raphael’s lives; unfortunately Augustine did not survive.

Names of Adults

Peter Drouyn was a champion surfer in the 1960s and 1970s, but always felt different. Today she is Westerly Windina – she chose her new name because she had such happy memories of surfing in westerly winds. Ms Windina is now a lawyer.

Supreme Court Judge, Justice Emilios Kyrou, has a name which came as a shock to his parents. Born in a small Greek village, it was tradition there that the godparent would choose the baby name and have it baptised, and the name would be kept secret from the parents until announced by the local priest. Traditionally, the first-born son would be named after his paternal grandfather. However, Emilios’ godmother had other ideas, and named him after the hero of a best-selling romantic novel. Parents not pleased. His younger brother, now a doctor, was named Theodoros after grand-dad instead.

Names from Television

Did you watch Life at 7 on the ABC? The series has been following a group of children since they were babies, and now in this series they are seven years old, and for the first time, speak for themselves to us as they learn to navigate the world. The boys are Wyatt, Declan, Joshua, Jara’na and Daniel, and the girls are Haleema, Shine, Anastasia, Sofia and Loulou.

On the news, there was a young man who was the unfortunate victim of some white collar crime. He was called Armand d’Armagnac, and he was as romantic and exotic-looking as his name – but his Australian accent made it clear he probably wasn’t a French count after all.

Another news story: it was announced that the new head of Swimming Australia was a businessman named Barclay Nettlefold. His first name is said BARK-lee, like the British bank founder. I feel that just by telling you his name, you automatically know he is from a prominent family and a keen yachtsman.

Names from Real Life

I was persuaded to escort two young ladies to a posh hotel which throws children’s high tea parties each afternoon during the school holidays. I was informed by some mummy blog or other that only the hippest mothers and their progeny would be there (fathers, and most sons, seem to give it a miss). I was interested to see what the cool people are naming their kids; mostly they just seemed to have the same names as everyone else. However, I did manage to overhear a Bee/Bea, an Aspen, and a pair of sisters named Cleo/Clio and Isis. A rare and very small boy was named Roland.

Two brothers I met elsewhere were called Ziggy and Dash, which struck me as pleasingly zippy.

I also encountered a baby boy named Urban; I was too shy to ask his parents if he was named after the popes, or the cityscape, or the musical style, or Keith Urban.

Do some baby names seem controversial to you? I met a little boy named Aryan, which simply means “noble”, and is related to the Sanskrit name Arya. It refers to the Indo-Iranian languages, which together have one billion speakers, stretching from Russia to Sri Lanka. It really shouldn’t be any different from calling your daughter India or Persia. And yet …

I did part of my Christmas shopping with my friend Claire, who is in her 30s. As we joined the queue to pay, we heard someone talking to their baby girl in her stroller – the baby’s name was Claire. The plump grey-haired lady who served us had a name badge that said “Claire”. When I got home, I switched on the news and a pretty young reporter named Claire was covering the story. And the name Claire suited ALL of them perfectly! Go classic names.

On Twitter, Name Sociology mentioned the name Evolet, which is a character from the movie 10, 000 BC, and is “t(h)e love” written backwards. It reminded me of a woman I used to work with whose name was Evol, which is Love backwards. Sounds like a nice idea, except that until I saw her name written down, I thought she was called Evil.

Names of Babies Born to People I Know or Know Of:

Girls: Mary, Phoebe, Roma, Sanna

Boys: Boaz, Castel, Phoenix

If you are able to read this, it means the world probably hasn’t ended, yay! However, something has started – Christmas holidays – and I won’t be around much until January 7. Have a very merry Christmas season, and a happy New Year!

(Photo from The Blue Mountains Gazette Facebook page)

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