Talking Points: Back-to-School Edition!

Posted on by Ava to Zeke

School Is Cool!

School bells are ringing, and though none of our alma maters has particular baby name potential (being state schools), we have collegiate names on our mind. Some interesting choices: Creighton, Auburn, Baylor, Berkeley, Bryn (Mawr), Radcliffe, Xavier, Wesleyan, Nova, and Duke. Nameberry has a big list of collegiate names, ripe for inspiration.

Maybe one day we’ll do a college mascot name list! Bucky and Brutus, anyone?

Kids are returning to the classrooms, but as teachers return, they may have to watch out for kids named Olivia, Eleanor, Jade, Ethan, William, and Luke. Why? People Magazine brought this story back to the forefront earlier this year: A 2014 School Stickers study found that kids with these names were more likely than others to be “naughty” (and to have to make up the good behavior around the holidays, lest they find coal in their stockings). While the study is from five years ago and was conducted in the United Kingdom, maybe there’s some merit to it. The summer’s college admissions scandal showed us the “naughty” side of Lori Loughlin’s daughter, Olivia Jade Gianulli.

Spelling is FUN-damental

Mommy’s Little Sunshine blogger McKinli Hatch went viral with her baby name chalkboard in 2012 with names like Taylee, Nayvie, and ultimate baby name choice, Lakynn. Undeterred by viral fame and derision, she did it again when she was pregnant with her next child. Pulling out the ol’ chalkboard once more, she and her husband shared their top choices for their baby boy to come.

And in 2019, now with four kids in tow (she’s now mom to Laiklynn, Madden, Tatum, and Titan), she’s gone viral again, but this time from a Twitter meme. Twitter user @vib_ola brought up the viral image to comment not so much on the names but on their unique spellings.

And here are some of the responses:

In most cases, we recommend that parents use the most traditional spelling of a name for longevity and ease. But the heart wants what it wants. And if your name is spelled McKinli and your spouse’s name is Devan, then a child named Lakynn (or actually, Laikynn; yes, they changed the spelling again) kind of makes sense. Sometimes, even, an unusual spelling will take off and become so popular that it becomes one of the default ways to spell a name (see Jaxon).

What do you all think? Yay or nay to yooneek spellings?

Names on the Brain

I’m an on-and-off fan of Korean dramas, and one name that’s popped up on various shows that I really like is Mi Rae (미래), which means “future.” For parents in the West looking for a Korean name for their child, it strikes a nice balance between heritage and pronounceability, and the meaning is the cherry on top.

In addition to writing for this blog, I’ve also been working on some short stories and novel ideas, and some names I’m playing around with include Mattie, Aiden, Abby, Shante, Willa, Warner, and Kayla. These names need to be appropriate for people in their early twenties, but also include trendy favorites because of the genre. When naming characters, I have to resist the urge to choose only the names I love. Naming characters is so different from naming babies! It’s still fun, though, picking out character names, even if I probably spend too much time on that and not enough time actually writing the story! (Full advice post on character naming forthcoming!!)

I’ve also been rewatching NBC’s The Good Place on Netflix (and looking forward to the next season dropping so I can binge watch). I appreciate how the show’s writers incorporate names from many backgrounds and not just the ones that are palatable to Western ears. Two of the main characters are named Chidi (origin: Igbo) and Tahani (origin: Arabic). And though a third main character’s real name is revealed to be Jason, he is first known to everyone as Jianyu (origin: Chinese). Representation matters—and that includes representation in names!

What are some other shows that get it right when it comes to character naming?

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