It’s like Christmas morning for us around here. The Social Security Administration released its 2018 baby name rankings today! Since it uses the names from 2018 Social Security card applications, the SSA list is the official report of what people actually named their babies last year. Here are the top 10 baby names of 2018: […]
Royal Baby Name Update!
Meghan and Harry announced Baby Sussex’s name today, and we can’t stop talking about the newest royal. Star: ARCHIE HARRISON!!!! Lynda: I had predicted Theodore Philip Grey, but Archie Harrison is great! I have to say, I was surprised by the choice but pleasantly surprised. It’s SO British. And yet it’s also kinda American, which […]
Ask Ava to Zeke: Help! My Mom Hates My Baby Name
Dear Ava to Zeke, I need some help. My husband and I are planning to give our daughter my [paternal] grandmother’s name as a middle name. The problem is, my mom hates it! My parents are divorced, and she doesn’t understand why we aren’t using her mother’s name instead. What can I do? We don’t […]
Best of… Color Baby Names
On the wall of my kids’ playroom is a three-foot-tall vintage color wheel print that I picked up last year when I was traveling. It resembles the small, spinning color wheel that sits on my bookshelf at work and the covers of my color theory books stacked in a pile in my living room. I […]
Game of Thrones Baby Names No One’s Using Yet
Arya. Tyrion. Cersei. Daenerys. Four names in and you already know that we’re talking about Game of Thrones. The show’s massive popularity has propelled the names of many of the characters from obscurity into more mainstream use, especially in the case of Arya (or Aria). And as much as we love Arya (the character and […]
Best of… Last Names as First Names
You can’t walk into a preschool class now and not see a Mason, Harper, or Lincoln, even though these names were virtually unused as first names until fairly recently. The “surname baby name” has mass appeal in a naming climate where parents are increasingly looking to expand their first-name options and reject traditional gender divisions. […]
Royal Baby Names: What WE’D Name Meghan and Harry’s Baby
We’re counting down the days to the birth of Baby Sussex. The name and sex of the baby are secret for now, but that doesn’t stop the world from speculating, or us from dreaming. British bookmaker William Hill revealed that there has been an increase of bets on the names Diana and Victoria (Harry’s mother […]
Best of… Floral Baby Names
Flowers have long served as inspiration for baby names, experiencing the greatest modern popularity around the turn of the twentieth century. Now, floral names are back in a big way, with Rose surging toward the top 100 and Violet and Lily firmly in the top 50. If you want to go floral but are looking […]
5 Must Dos Before Choosing a Baby Name
Choosing a baby name involves much more than simply knowing what we like. It’s a shopping trip where we can only buy one thing and it has to last forever. But when we’re flooded with options and can “add to cart” without consequence, what may seem perfect in an early rush of excitement might not […]