Moms Talk: What Baby Names Are Popular Now?
Have you heard some unusual babies' names recently? Were your kids' names among the most popular — or unique — choices when they were born?
Baby Bella, the daughter of Shirley Solis and Francisco Espinosa of Basking Ridge, was delivered at 12:18 p.m. on Jan. 1 at Somerset Medical Center in Basking Ridge.
Courtesy of Somerset Medical Center
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Photos
What's in a name? In Bernards Township, with our increasingly diverse population, names that might have seemed unusual are standard — and, if you're a word person, a fascinating array of sounds and stories.
Of course, we still have plenty of Michaels and Samanthas, and Johns and Kathys.
What names do you see assigned to the new babies in your neighborhood, or group of friends?
Or what have you named your son or daughter? What's your new grandchild called?
Did you seek something original? Or traditional?
The first baby of the year for 2012 to be born at Somerset Medical Center on Jan. 1 was named Bella Sophia Espinosa of Basking Ridge.
When I picked up the story, I wondered if the parents just liked that somewhat poetic combination of names. Or was it a family name?
Or, is she named after the "Bella" character in the Twilight series?
The answer isn't always what it seems.
My older son is named Jacob, the number one boys' name on some recent lists. In 1988, when he was born, it was a lot less popular.
I actually just liked the name. But my late mother-in-law was convinced he was named after a family member — and nobody felt the need to burst her bubble by telling her otherwise.
His brother also is a "J." In fact, "J" names were the only ones given serious consideration for the boy's names when I was expecting. Except for Duncan — but that was vetoed partially because my friend's father in Long Island insisted he would spend his childhood being called "Duncan Donuts."
Of course, I'm not as prolific as the Duggar family, which has come up with dozens of "J" names for their children...
My own name was as common as a daisy when I was born, and I always encountered a bevy of Lindas in grade school.
Even so, I actually was named after my Italian grandmother, whose name on legal documents was mispelled as "Lena" because that was the teacher's interpretation of the spelling when she was registered for school.
As an interesting aside, Charles Fortenbacker, the longtime township police officer and former police chief who the community recently lost, seems to have sometimes spelled his name as Fortenbacher. Reportedly, it's spelled with a "ch" in the photo on the wall in the police department.
I wonder if past generations gave as much thought as we do in selecting childrens' names. What do you think?
Here is one list of top baby names. Are your kids' names among the top choices?
Linda Sadlouskos
2:02 pm on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Does your child's name have any special meaning for you or your family?
Andi Williams
4:04 pm on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Well, my mother named me Andrea as I was born on St. Andrew's day, the patron saint of Scotland. It was better than Mildred or Ethel, I decided, and have always therefore tolerated it. My first 2 kids are named after family members for whom we hold particular affection but they had to be names we also loved. Our last baby was due and we had no idea what to call the baby. We vacillated between Eleanor and Charlotte for days. As I entered the hospital panting at regular intermissions, the midwife assigned us was called Ellen Williams... close enough, we decided, to Eleanor, so now we have an Eleanor who is actually probably called 'monkey,' 'love,' 'mate,' (an Englishism), and Bentley (the dog's name) more often than her real name!
Linda Sadlouskos
4:08 pm on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
It's always interesting to ponder the frightening names we COULD have been stuck with. Dear old dad suggested Marcella Sadlouskos...Thank God for mom.
Ellen Oxild
4:26 pm on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
We spent a lot of time picking our kids' names -- Ryan Daniel and Adam Jeffrey. There were four major criteria:
1. It had to sound good with Oxild and roll off the tongue smoothly. That eliminated a lot of names.
2. It had to be modern and classy without being popular or trendy. We thought Ryan and Adam fit that bill, but obviously many parents thought the same thing that year, so they turned out to be on the most popular names lists.
3. It had to pass the "playground test." Before the baby is born, go to the playground on a crowded afternoon and scream out the name three times, really loud. If you feel weird, toss it. If you feel fine, it's a keeper! How many times I've screamed out their names in malls, parks, supermarkets - I can't count.
4. It had to match the baby's personality. A name molds character, and we have to live with it all our lives with pride and never wish it was not our name. We had alternates picked out, and when our sons were born, we just kinda knew their names.
Linda Sadlouskos
4:33 pm on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Thanks Ellen -- I like the "scream out name" test -- plus, I ran the final choices by other kids. You don't want to label your kid with a name that other kids find funny/dumb, etc.
Ellen Oxild
4:42 pm on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
I read about the playground test in a parenting magazine at my doctor's office. I didn't make that up! My kids are 17 and 18, so nowadays you'd need to text the name three times instead of scream.
Linda Sadlouskos
5:25 pm on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Any other new or expectant parents who recently picked names or have some ideas?
Madhavi Saifee
11:43 pm on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
As an Indian - I have thought many times about changing my own name for ease of pronunciation for my american friends and colleagues. In fact I became a US citizen when I was 19 and even my father asked me then if I wanted to change my name. After having struggled with it in the US for 15 or years at that point- I did not change it! As Ellen mentions above - names mold personalities and I had learned by then how to deal with mispronunciations and even was able use to my advantage in many situations.
So many people from other countries struggle with baby names in the US that we (in the South Asian culture anyway) also put the names we are considering for our children to the 'teacher' test. How would a kindergarten teacher say the name? (specifically this age because 5/6 yr olds cannot correct an adult if their name is mispoken)
First and foremost choose names that you love because you will be saying them forever!
Ellen Oxild
12:10 am on Thursday, January 12, 2012
I'm glad you didn't change it, Madhavi. I like it. When I was little I didn't like the name Ellen, but I really like it now. My name these days seems to be, "Mom." (Actually, it's "Mom, can I have....?") I call my boys by the wrong names all the time!
Colleen Epple Pine
10:59 am on Thursday, January 12, 2012
@ Madhavi....I love your name! In fact, I'm so inspired by all of the Indian names and love the traditional names that speak to our birth-right and tells a story. My first-born really keeps a flame going in my heart--for my sister who passed away. We named our first daughter "Kathleen" after my late sister, but we called her "Katie" because my parents still could not hear the full name easily. But as Katie got older, she approached my parents and asked permission to be called by her birth name...and so "Kathleen" came back into our lives. As for my second, she was slated to be an "Erin" if indeed a girl, but days before she was born my Aunt Alice passed away. In keeping with my husband's wonderful tradition, we immediately switched gears and "Allison" was born! These are the wonderful memories our girls have to share with their families!