Our dream childhood names

I'm not that old :p
Regardless, I still remember the good old days when I used to sit in the toilet (not on it) reading the baby name book and debating about what weird and wonderful names I could call my future children. Not that I would dare to use any of them now-but maybe I should. We still label these slightly on a whim names "guilty indulgences" but we just can't seem to leave them alone. Here are some I remember adoring....mainly for girls, but some just for either
River
Halo
December
Mistletoe
Ocean
Indigo
Thursday
Forest
Jett
Minx
Coko (spelt like this)
Haven
Solace
Pluto
Jack-Jack (yes, like incredibles!)
Moon
Sapphire
Dawn (probably the only traditional name of the lot)
Anastasia
Astro
Mind you, my 8 year old sister is set on calling her future kids something along the lines of; Samuel, Matthew, Lily and (what was the other one?) maybe Rose or Amy or Emma. So maybe it was just me with the unique tastes.
Go with names you like :D in all circumstances!

Sibling names

Do you have sleepless nights over whether your new arrival is going to fit your "perfect sibset", or love a name to the moon and back but can't think of any brother or sister names that fit with it for the future, or even have the dreaded multiple problem with twins, triplets or more dawning on the horizon? 

HOW? Is what we are relentlessly screaming. HOW THE HELL DO I GO ABOUT THIS? The obsession with "yummy mummy" doesn't help either, with people endlessly worrying about how they and even their children will be judged based on the "category" their names fall into. 

Let me give you a real life example. Compare this sibset...

"Gilbert, Teddy, Albany, Rufus, Pascal" to this one "Destiny, Crystal, Chanel, Blake, Brooklyn"

Or perhaps compare...

"Elizabeth, Lucy, Isabella" to "Indigo, Celeste, River"

Or even...

"Elijah, Moses, Jedediah, Keziah" to "Kai, Coco, Ebony, Rae"

The thing is, once you start becoming part of say the "bible names" group, how can you escape? I mean, you couldn't have an Elijah and a Jayden....or could you? See, what I fit into, and I encourage all name bods to do the same is to be an eclectic namer...whose mind is always open. Mix and match. Don't feel that just because you already have a Zachary and a Zoe that your next boy has to be something beginning with Z that nobody has ever heard of.  

Live on the edge! I only have 3 rules about sibling names:

1. Make sure you choosing this name because you genuinely like it, not just because it fits into the same "category" as your previous child/children's name(s). Eg. just because you have a Jacob and a Hannah, doesn't mean you need to have another biblical name if you don't want. 

2. Say your new name with each of your children's (or just child's) name(s) again and again, changing the order and make sure they are distinct, and sound pleasing together. For example, Jemima, and Ivy sounds nice but swap it round, and Ivy and Jemima may be too heavy on the "Eye" sound. Whereas Lily and Lucas, Lucas and Lily, seem to work really well together.

3. Don't live in the dream world. This is a real child we are talking about. What will their sibset think of their new arrival's name. Too complicated? Too long? Too hard to pronounce?. When you have your first baby, its almost alright to have an "Aurorabella" but be aware that in a bigger family, names like this will be often shortened by other siblings. 

TOP BOYS NAMES 2012 so far

Okay, so I did this for the girls a while back. Now it's the boys turn...This one's going to be a challenge.

Oliver-Elliot
Jack-Jacoby
Harry-Henry
Charlie-Harvey
Thomas-Tobias
Alfie-Harlie
William-Sebastian
James-Jude
Joshua-Jasper
George-Noel
Daniel-Kaniel
Jacob-Caleb
Samuel-Nathaniel
Joseph-Zachary
Ethan-Ewan
Dylan-Tyler
Oscar-Otto
Noah-Jonah
Mohammed-Imani
Lucas-Asher

So I tried to use ones with similar sounds, meanings or contexts. Enjoy!

Olympic themed names

Oh, joy !!!! the olympics are here, finally, in LONDON, and more importantly in East London (cue patriotic feelings of glee). This kind of event represents many countries coming together, to share in challenges, competition, glory and unity. One does (or I do anyway) feel the need to honour this memorable compassion with some OLYMPIC THEMED NAMES! for BNG (baby name game) pick your bronze, silver and gold medal winners from my list.
GIRLS:
Olympia-Unusual, but with a bit of a ring about it. This is the PERFECT Olympics name!
London (also for boys!)-This is the time to be patriotic people, but pair with a more sophisticated middle name so as not to sound too American!
Gloria-Glory is what is awaiting many of the athletes and what spurs them on to persevere. 
Brittany-Slightly softer round the edges than "Britton", this is the combination of class and honour to your country.
Athena-The Greek Gods were a major part of the Olympics, Athena no exception. This name just begs  to be used.
Valerie-Meaning strength, this is a really beautiful name that leaks integrity and honest loyalty.
Star-Okay, If you want to make it obvious that your little one is the "star" of this season, why not???
Hope-A powerful characteristic in a name, and flows beautifully as a middle one too.
Diamond-Well, "Gold" would be a bit weird as a name so "Diamond" is some form of substitute I suppose. 
BOYS:
Apollo-Strong Strong and Strong. End of story.
Jupiter-This unusual name has echoes of all sorts of genres, going back to the Greek God, Jupiter.
Maximilian/Maximus-Thinks he's the best, usually is the best. This name is full of itself.
Bolt-Unusual, but there's no better way to honour the super athlete, and as a word "bolt" is just plain super fast. 
Archer-This surname turned name is actually one of my favourites, with the obvious Olympic links.
Ace-As a one syllable name, this one just stands out, sporty, stylish, victorious. The whole package. 
Dash-Makes me think of "The Incredibles"  but is that such a bad thing really?
Hawk-These birds have eyes. And not just any eyes. Hawk eyes. Victory eyes. 
Leyton-Lol. It actually says to get off at Leyton for the Olympic station. Well, no offence, but there are nicer places on this earth but I suppose for many people it's home, and now for many people, it's a really important station. (mind you, there aren't many kids called Paddington these days!)
Eagle-A feisty bird of prey. There is no crossing this one. If there was a bird Olympics, Eagles would probably be in for a lick of the gold. 
Falcon-The fastest bird EVER. Beware, your baby Falcon may follow in his namesake's footsteps, or more precisely wing flaps. 
Jaguar-These things are fast. Faster, Stronger, but not really higher. Mind you calling your kid "Tall", "Giraffe" or "Tower" may not be advisable. 
Silver-Next best to gold, and you can't always win anyways. 
Usain-I honestly prefer "Bolt" as hommage to the amazing athlete. But everyone's different.
Daley-Tom Daley, 18, Diver. This is one to watch! and honest, I would name my kid after him!

Okay so time to announce my Gold, Silver and Bronze of Olympic names:

BRONZE: Archer Hawk Maximus SILVER: Athena Brittany HopeGOLD: Bolt Apollo London

What is YOURS?

INSPIRING SUMMERTIME NAMES :)

It is summer...finally, although here in England, I'm not sure how long it will stay this way. Summer is a beautiful time of year and evokes that kind of happy cheery feeling that nothing else really does. Want to honour the season with a beautiful name for the summer arrival? Or just looking for some cheery names that will brighten a gloomy day? This list is for YOU!

Summer Boys 

Sommer
August
Blue
Skylar/Skyler
Leo
Sonny
Ocean
Forest
River
Noah
Zimri
Reef
FAVOURITE PICK: Skylar Zimri Blue

Summer Girls

Summer
June
Sky
Blue
Lily
Rose
Daisy
Jasmine
Dahlia
Magnolia
Iris
Calla
Tulip
Sunny
Ocean
River
Peace
Coral
Juno
FAVOURITE PICK: Coral Jasmine River

O so Royal names

With the Jubilee celebrations drawing to a close, one (see what I've done there?) feels the need to pause and reflect on the royal family; their traditions, their styles, their history and above all, their names!
What could reflect our patriotic nature more than using royal names for ourselves, I mean, after all, they must be the best of British, for little princes and princesses of our own. Even if you are not expecting it is all rather interesting isn't it?
 
Here's the list of my favourites :
PRINCES: 
Alexander-Classic, what's not to like?
Albert-Probably not one to hit number one, but I quite like its uniqueness.
Alfred-It sounds a bit...old, but with a nickname Alfie, this is one to please both your son and his Grandma
Andrew-This bible name is a classic, and PLEASE DON'T DIE OUT ON ME!!!
Archibald-Archie=cute nickname, cute all round apart from the bald part, you may not be thanked for that
Arthur-Just seems like a genuine name to me!
Charles-I guess he's probably our future King, and Charlie works for a nickname
Christian-Not a common royal name, but nice, in a Christian sense
David-Ahh well, I think this one is dying on us, keep it alive people, its a lovely name
Edward-Ed, Eddie, Ward (no, I think I will stop there), there is NO stopping this name
Edmund-Lovely alternative to Edward
Francis-Not sure if I like it...what's your opinion?
Fredrick-This kind of follows the Edward or Eddie trend but with a more upbeat F
George-y Porgey Pudding and Pie, Kissed the girls and made them cry
Henry-Just all round cute, cool, grown up and manly at the same time
James-I could never imagine anyone other than a truly nice guy having this name
John-Had it's day, which unfortunately has meant I have met some not so nice Johns, I prefer Jonathan tbh
Leopold-I'm not sure this is a British royal name, but it's nice!
Matthew-Classic, not too clunky
Stephen-I think this one may have had its time...:(
Richard-As above, except I'm not exactly sad about the death of this name
Robert-This works insanely well as a middle name, above all else
William-This is a sneaky name, creeping back on the charts, and I'm happy for it, it's very gentlemanly
PRINCESSES:
Adela/Adelaide-A nice royal name that is not exactly the norm
Alice-From my unbiased opinion, as my own name, this one ROCKS
Anne-Nice, but I prefer Anna in this day and age or even Annika
Beatrice-Creeping up the name charts, I personally prefer Beatrix but it's nice however
Catherine-I don't think this one will give up easily with cute nicknames such as Kate and Katie and Kitty
Charlotte-It's rare that a name can be pretty and classy in quite the way this one can
Cicely-Oh, this is unusual, but it's growing on me
Eleanor-Mixed feelings on this one, I prefer the spelling Elinor, but maybe that is just me...
Elizabeth-This happens to be on my top ten girls names, and honours our lovely Queen Elizabeth
Eugenie-It certainly would provoke lots of questions, but I like the nickname Genie!
Henriette/Henrietta-I prefer this with an A at the end, and it could be shortened to Hattie which is lovely
Louise-As a first or middle name, pretty and charming
Matilda-Matilda was, I'm told, the first female ruler of England. A bearer of this name could rule your house!
Margaret-Okay, it sounds old, but there is a lot to be said for nicknames like Margo, Greta and Maggie
Mary-I don't think this name will ever fall from the top lists, but for variation try Mari or Maria for size
Olga-Weird things can sometimes be wonderful
Sophie-A name both daughter and parents will be happy with
Victoria-I know a friend whose granddaughter is a Victoria and it reignited my love for this classic name
Zara-It doesn't make you think royal, but more modern and glamorous

The BEST girls bible names

So, as mentioned yesterday, bible names are IN IN IN!!! and with lovely meanings and Christian links...what's not to like. I find nice bible names for girls slightly harder to come by as many of the main characters in the bible are male...however...
Keziah-meaning "Cassia Tree", Keziah was one of the beautiful daughters Job was blessed with after the devil had taken all he had away from him. In the UK, it is commonly pronounced Kez-ee-ah but could also be pronounced Kez-eye-ah.
Jemimah-sister to Keziah (above), Jemimah means dove and is more commonly spelt Jemima. It has a nice ring about it that isn't too common or too unusual but pleasant sounding.
Abigail-means "my father is joyful". Abigail is one of those long standing names, aided by the cute nickname Abbie/Abby.
Martha-means "lady". Has a nice good girl feel about it without being too prim and proper. A less common alternative is Marla.
Phoebe-This name has a lovely meaning; "radiant/shining one" and it fits in with calm names like Freya with the added bible background
Hannah-Meaning "Grace", this name is a long stander-the most popular bible name at present and hopefully will continue with its gentle and homey sound.
Esther-As a brave and prominent bible character, Esther could fit in with sibsets such as Eve and Elizabeth but would equally work well with names of similar meaning such as Celeste, Luna and Cosmo
Lydia-meaning "woman from Lydia", this name was chosen for my cousin's child "Lydia Grace". It goes with the nickname Liddie and sounds classy and would age well.
Mary-means "bitterness". If you can overlook the meaning, Mary is a lovely name with links to Mary the mother of Jesus. This name never really goes out of fashion but to those looking to modernise it, alternatives are the welsh "Mari (MA-ree)" or "Marie" (Mer-ree) or adding an unusual middle name. You could always pair Mary with another name such as "Beth" or "Bee" or "Kate" or "Ann" or "Leigh" even if just for a more unique nickname.