Roses and Cellar Doors

I know, it's been a while, but I suddenly find myself with a lot more free time right now.... Anyway, my husband asked in passing ear...

Names ending in "oh" are trending pretty nicely right now, mostly for boys, but definitely a bit for girls as well. The boys' ...

Kelly  is, of course, a surname-turned-given-name, but since it's been surpassed by Kellan  & Kellen  for nearly two decades now (an...

Latin has had a lot of impact on our naming. There are certain constructions that we can instantly say "that's a girls' name...

I did "boyish" girl names, so now I have to do the reverse, of course! Boys have much more diversity when it comes to name endings...

Haha, now that song's in your head! I love a good -ric name. And unlike many constructions, this one is pretty much exclusively male (...

Yes, yes, I know: Rory isn't a nickname; it's a full boys' name. But, thanks at least partially to Gilmore Girls , Rory is incre...

Ben ! How have I forgotten good, dependable Ben for so long? Benjamin  is the usual choice, of course, and just as in style as ever. Bentley...

It occurred to me the other day that I do a lot of 'names by construction' posts for girls, but not really many for boys. So then I ...

How on earth did I do a Nicky-names post for boys, and not include some for girls? Shame, shame. Nicole , of course, was a staple of 80s na...

A Top 500 boy name on the rise, Ari  has begun to gain momentum as a girls' nickname--nothing new in the naming world, of course--thanks...

Woo! Time for another theoretical names post (I have a lot of fun with these). Lots of gemstone- & other mineralogical-type names are/h...

Cam  is one of the few nicknames I can easily see on either gender. Whether sort for Cameron  and Camden  for boys, or Cameron  and Camilla ...

Quite a ways back, I did a post on mini-names (which could probably use an update, or maybe a sequel). In general, American names are getti...

I actually had to go and double-check previous posts to make sure I haven't done this one yet. How on earth have I missed Margaret ? A c...

Christian is an interesting case. Originally used for both males and females, in the last 100 years or so, it's become almost completely...

I admit it--I have a soft spot for bird-names: Wren , Lark , Robin , even the "weird" ones like Kestrel , Peregrine , & Heron ...

There are about as many different ways to form nicknames as there are cultures. While many nicknames for our most enduring classics seem out...

Popularity is a funny thing. Sometimes a name is bolstered by its history, sometimes by resemblance to another name, sometimes by some indes...

Earlier this week I added to my SSA analysis, discovering trends and sounds that describe American names. Knowing what most people are drawn...