Monday, August 29, 2011

Breaking the Patterns, Part 1

Earlier this week I added to my SSA analysis, discovering trends and sounds that describe American names. Knowing what most people are drawn to means one has a better shot of avoiding a "boring" or trendy-sounding name.

The average American boys' name:
  • Is 4-7 letters long
  • Ends in N, R, S, or a vowel-sound
  • Will likely start with  J, A, D, C, M, K, R, B, T, or L.
  • Contains the vowels A and/or E.
The average American girls' name:
  • Is 5-7 letters long
  • Ends in a vowel sound, usually "ah" or "ee", or in N.
  • Will likely start with A, M, K, J, or L.
  • Contains A, and E or I.

While I doubt that a future parent will narrow their name list to ones don't fit the above criteria, it's a good starting point to find a truly stand-out name. Onto the inevitable lists:

Boys:
  • Basil (BAH-sil, Arabic; or BAZ-il, English)
  • Briscoe (BRIS-ko, English)
  • Burke (BURK, English)
  • Caius (KYE-us, Latin)
  • Christoph/Kristof (KRIS-tof, German/Hungarian)
  • Ciro (SEE-roh, Spanish; or CHEE-roh, Italian)--form of Cyrus
  • Clement (KLEM-ent, English)
  • Colm (COL-um, Irish)--"dove"
  • Conleth (CON-leth, Irish)
  • Elek (EL-ek, Hungarian)--form of Alexis
  • Ezio (ETZ-ee-oh, Italian)--"eagle"
  • Ford (FOHRD, English)
  • Frey (FRAY, Norse)
  • Gero (GEH-roh, German)--"spear"
  • Giles (JILES, English)
  • Griffith (GRIF-fith, Welsh)--anglicized from Gruffudd
  • Gwillym/Gwillim (GWIL-lem, Welsh)--form of William
  • Hemming (HEM-ming, Scandinavian)--"shape-changer" 
  • Hugh (HEW, English)
  • Ivor (EE-vohr or EYE-vor, Irish & Scottish)
  • Menno (MEN-noh, German)
  • Merrick (MEHR-rik, English)
  • Murdoch (MUR-dok, Scottish)
  • Nye (NYE, Welsh)
  • Omri (OHM-ree, Hebrew)
  • Orfeo (or-FAY-oh, Italian & Spanish)
  • Otto (OT-toh, Germanic)
  • Priam (PREE-am, Greek)
  • Roald (ROO-all or ROE-ald, Norwegian)
  • Rurik (RUR-ik, Russian)--form of Roderick
  • Savio (SAH-vee-oh, Italian)--"clever"
  • Sem (SEM, Dutch)--form of Biblical Shem
  • Somerled (SOM-er-led, Scottish)--"summer traveller". Sometimes anglicized to Sorley.
  • Tygo (TYE-goh, Dutch)--form of Greek Tycho. Swedish form is Tyko.

Girls:
  • Beryl (BEHR-il, English)--a type of gemstone
  • Bertille (behr-TEE, French)
  • Celeste (sehl-EST, French)--"heavenly"
  • Chryseis (krih-SAY-is, Greek)--"golden"
  • Dilys (DIL-is, Welsh)--"genuine"
  • Dione (dee-OH-nay, Greek)
  • Echo (EH-koh, Greek)
  • Emer (EE-mur, Irish)--"swift"
  • Eris (EHR-is, Greek)--goddess of chaos
  • Eseld (ES-ehld, Cornish)--form of Isolde
  • Esen (ES-en, Turkish)--"the wind"
  • Eydis (AY-dees, Icelandic)
  • Fen (FEN, Chinese)--"fragrance"
  • Ffion (FEE-on, Welsh)--"rose"
  • Idril (ID-ril, Sindarin)--"sparkle-briliance". From J.R.R. Tolkien's invented elvish language.
  • Ines (ee-NES, French, Spanish, Italian, & Slovene)--form of Agnes
  • Jonquil (JON-kwil, English)--a type of flower
  • Josette (zho-ZET, French)--feminine form of Joseph
  • Lilou (lee-loo, French)
  • Lykki (LEWK-kee, Danish)--"good luck, happiness"
  • Neith (NEETH or NAYTH, Greek)--form of Nit, Egyptian goddess of war & hunting.
  • Nurit (NOO-reet, Hebrew)--"buttercup" [flower]
  • Olwen (OHL-wen, Welsh)
  • Pernille (pehr-NEEL-eh, Danish & Norwegian)--modern form of Petronilla
  • Peronel (PEHR-o-nel, English)--another form of Petronilla
  • Sive (SIVE, Irish)--"sweet, good". Anglicized from Sadb.
  • Tempest (TEM-pest, English)--"storm"
  • Tinuviel (tin-OO-vee-el, Sindarin)--"nightingale". Another from J.R.R. Tolkien.

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