20 February, 2012
Lou @ Mer de noms
Sibset of the Week
Alberic, Allegra, Atalanta, Beauregard, Cheyenne, George, Hero, Hubert, Isabella, Jacob, Jini, Joseph, Magnus, Maria, Mark, Martha, Maya, Melanie, Mercy, Nathaniel, Ralph, Shanti, Sophie, Teale, Titan, Victoria, Willow
The child that inspired this post, Hero, from poptower.com
I could only cover one family this week – I almost posted this on Friday after finding out about some of the names but held back a few days, I even resisted the temptation to post some of the names on Twitter.
Mark Fiennes was an English photographer and illustrator. He is a cousin of the noted explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes. He met and married a lady named Jennifer Lash in the 1960s. As an aside, his wife was more often known as Jini, and was a noted artist and novelist. Sadly, these days neither are still with us, but together they welcomed no less than seven children:
Martha Maria
Ralph Nathaniel
Joseph Alberic (twin of Jacob)
Jacob Mark (twin of Joseph)
Sophie Victoria
Magnus Hubert
We could stop here, but if you dig a little deeper, there are plenty more wonderful names to discover. Let’s start with Jacob, who is married to a lady named Melanie. Together they have two children, born in the early 2000s:
Teale Isabella
Nathaniel
Whilst both Isabella and Nathaniel are relatively heard of, the choice of Teale as the name for their eldest child is certainly unexpected. Nathaniel could simply be a family name, given that young Nathaniel shares his name with Uncle Ralph, for whom the name is a middle name and with one of his cousins whom I shall mention shortly.
I also wanted to mention the children of Magnus, with his wife Maya, born in the late 1990s:
Cheyenne Allegra
Shanti Atalanta
The name Shanti was recently championed over at Name Fancy, and I certainly was surprised to see it used on a child so soon after reading the post. But alas, it is the last sibset which really inspired this post. It was inspired by a rather humourous email from a friend asking whether I was aware the the actor who played a young Lord Voldemort was called Hero. How ironic, I remember thinking.
Martha is married to George Tiffin, and together they have three children:
Titan Nathaniel
Hero Beauregard (m)
Mercy Jini Willow
Some scoff at using Hero as a girls name, despite the historical usage, so I kindly present them with a male Hero, born in the late 1990s. It’s worth noting that Hero’s uncle, Ralph Fiennes, plays Voldemort in the films.
8 February, 2012
Lou @ Mer de noms
Popularity
Beatrice, Bella, Darcy, Eloise, Elsie, Lily, Maisie, Sophie
We’re following on from yesterday’s post, but this time we’re talking about the five names I think have a chance of hitting the Top 100 by 2014.
1. Bella
Currently at #104, and easily one of the names with the best chances thanks to Twilight. She’s a nickname as many popular names are these days.
2. Elsie
Slightly cutesy like many Top 100 names such as Maisie and Lexie, so I can see why this name is catching on -and more so than you may think. In 2010, the name Elsie ranked at #108. Consider this: Elsie was at #124 in 2009.
3. Darcy
It breaks my heart to write this, but Darcy is seriously popular for girls. Aside from the spelling of Darcy at #115, there’s also Darcey right behind her at #126. It’s rumoured that the ballerina Darcey Bussell is in line to join the judges on Strictly Come Dancing, which will heighten the profile of this name more – not that it really needs it!
4. Beatrice
She rose from #126 to #116 between 2009-2010 and is the darling of many.
5. Eloise
This name has risen into and fallen out of the Top 100 twice since 2000, so I’ve no idea where this name will go next from her 2010 ranking of #109.
And now onto the #1 spot. I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit of late, and have thus picked out 3 names I think have a chance of taking over from Olivia:
1. Lily
It’s reported repeatedly that it alternative spellings counted, then Lily would have taken the top spot years ago. This is why despite ranking at #4, she’s my best bet.
2. Sophie
My sister’s name and also a previous #1 back in the late 90s. She surprised me by rising 5 places to #2 between 2009-2010, but she’s clearly a keeper as parents continue to use her in their droves. Something Sophie has over Lily is a greater lack of popular alternative spellings – although Sophia is currently at #20. In many places around the world, Sophie has already taken the #1 spot, and there are mumblings that Sophia could go top in the States.
3. Maisie
Probably the name I like the most out of the three, but she also currently ranks the lowest at #14. The reason she’s here is because she’s rising fast – up 20 places between 2009-2010.
2 December, 2011
Lou @ Mer de noms
French Names
Agathe, Alexandre, Amandine, Ambre, Anouk, Aurelian, Axel, Émilie, Bastien, Christophe, Clara, Clément, Clemence, Clementine, Enzo, Guillaume, Jools, Jules, Juliette, Leo, Leonie, Lilou, Lou, Louna, Luna, Maelie, Maelle, Maeva, Manon, Mathieu, Mathilde, Matisse, Nadege, Rémi, Romain, Romane, Sophie, Valentin, Valentine, Zinedine
Christophe Maé, from christophe-mae.fr
We kicked the week off looking at a very modern sounding French sibset, so it seems fitting to return to the topic of French names to end the week. Not French words, just French names. Specifically French names that are not too French, like Thibault is. I love the name Thibault, but chances are that you haven’t a clue how to say him, and neither will the majority of the English-speaking population. He’s likely too French for those who don’t have a grasp of the language. If you’re still musing about how to say Thibault, it’s tee-bo.
At the other end of the spectrum is the second most popular girls name in England&Wales: Sophie – the French form of Sophia. And I recently met a Manon/Matisse sibset at a very British cricket club. Other French forms of popular English names include:
Alexandre
Ambre
Bastien (short form of Sébastien)
Christophe
Émilie
Guillaume
Mathieu
Mathilde
But it’s the middle ground of popularity we’re looking at. Something distinctly French. Like Clement. Meilleur Prénoms put him at #19 in 2009 for France. You may have heard Clementine mentioned more and more often, but it’s the masculine name which has really taken off in France of late. On the same list, Clemence ranked at #34 for girls.
Another male name example is Jules. The only Jules I know who aren’t Julians are French. French singer Christophe Maé and his partner Nadège welcomed a son named Jules in 2008. We seem to spell it differently here in Britain as British chef Jamie Oliver is married to a Juliette ‘Jools’ and we also have the widely popular Jools Holland here in Britain, who was born Julian Miles. Jools Miles sounds quintessentially jazz, doesn’t it?
The name Enzo is hugely popular in France, too. I’ve seen people call him the male equivalent of called your child Porsche. The name reportedly became popular in France following Zinedine Zidane using it for his son. Yes, the Zinedine Zidane who famously headbutted an Italian player in the 2006 World Cup final. Enzo is a somewhat controversial name in France, given that it’s Italian, not French. Moreover, the Italian short form of Vincenzo and Lorenzo. Enzo is a zippy little name, especially good if you think Ezra is going to the girls – a name Abby recently featured as a re-run.
Another zippy short name popular in Frenchy-land is Axel. To English ears, this may sound like a somewhat rugged name – and that may add to his charm for you. My other favourite French male name beginning with an A is Aurelian, and we can’t forget to mention Rémi. Yes, he has an accent but I’ve seen plenty parents forgoe this. Infact whilst on the subject of accents, I have a friend named Chloé because her Dad became mixed up when he went to register her – she should be a Chloë.
One of the more popular female names in France right now is Clara – currently at #201 in England&Wales, and not strictly a French name per se. A very French invention cooking up a storm in France is Lilou. Yes, I love Lilou, she’s like a Lily/Lucy smoosh that just seems to work. In a similar vein, the French also love Luna, or their slight variant spelling of Louna. They also recognise the rocking-awesomenous of Lou.
Romain and Romane are popular for boys and girls, respectively; Same goes for Leo and Leonie; Valentin and Valentine. Whilst we may consider Agatha still slightly aged for our babes, the French are embracing their version: Agathe. Another A name they love is Amandine: their version of the once popular name Amanda. There’s also Amine for the lads which has origins in Arabic, and means truthful. For me, I think of the organic compounds known as Amines, but that’s by-the-by. The French and Dutch variation of Anna is also popular: Anouk.
Finally, there’s the Mae- group of names to consider: Maëlys;Maëlle;Maeva;Maeline; Maelie. They all sound distinctly French, but the pronunciation may not come naturally to you. For Maëlys, it’s mah-el-EES; for Maëlle, it’s mah-el.
3 May, 2011
Lou @ Mer de noms
Name Spot of the Wek
Alex, Anita, Ash, Ashbeck, Ashley, Beck, Chris, Edith, Elvis, Fearne, Fiona, Huw, India, Jake, Paula, Phillipa, Sophie
The Royal Wedding coverage was interesting for many reasons, but more so when watching the BBC coverage, as they seemed to have chosen pundits based on their names:
Huw Edwards: Main Anchor
Fiona Phillips: Main Pundit
Fearne Cotton: Outside Buck Palace
Sophie Raworth: Inside Westminster
Jake Humphrey: On Board the legendary Lancaster
Paula Reed&Phillipa Lepley: Dress Discussing
Edith Bowman: St. Andrews
Alex Jones: Buckleberry
Anita Rani: Parliament Square
Chris Hollins: The Mall
I have several observations on these names:
- Huw is welsh, and thus, bears the welsh version of Hugh.
- Edith is in her mid-30s. Sophie is mid-40s.
- Alex Jones was born Charlotte Alexandra, but bears a professional name which is gender neutral
- Fearne’s spelling of her name has always intrigued me, but it suits her, since she is outspokening vegetarian and all things world-friendly.
Then we have the park incident. No, I’ve stopped talking about the Royal Wedding, the local park near me was the location of another ‘name spot’ last week. A lady shouted ‘ Ashbeck’, and there I was, comtemplating the name when I saw a young boy and a young girl running towards her, clearly, she meant to shout ‘Ash, Beck’, but the two got smooshed together in the shout. I have two other observations about this:
- I late discovered the boy to be named Ashley, due to his father calling him so.
- Yesterday, whilst shopping, I happened upon a bottle of water branded Ashbeck.
And onto name spot #3: Yesterday on the train, I do get about, I happened upon a gossip magazine, and inside it talked about a Z-Lister (Gary Lucy) who’d just welcomed a son, Elvis, to join big sister India.
8 January, 2011
Lou @ Mer de noms
Real Babies
Aidan, Aiden, Alexa, Alexander, Alexandra, Alice, Alicia, Alisdair, Alistair, Amy, Ana, Andrew, Anne, Ashley, Beatrice, Beatrix, Ben, Benjamin, Bryn, Cara, Caroline, Catherine, Chloe, Christopher, Clara, Clare, Connor, Conor, David, Eleanor, Eliza, Elizabeth, Ellen, Emily, Emma, Esme, Esther, Eugenie, Finn, Frances, Freddie, Frederick, Hannah, Hayley, Helen, Helena, Hugh, Hugo, Huw, Jack, Jacob, Jakub, James, Jennifer, Jessica, Joanne, Joe, John, Jonathan, Joseph, Joshua, Karolina, Kathryn, Katie, Laura, Lauren, Leanne, Liam, Lila, Lilia, Lillian, Lily, Lucy, Maria, Marie, Matteaus, Matthew, Michael, Mollie, Molly, Natasha, Olivia, Rhian, Roxanne, Ryan, Sara, Sarah, Sasha, Sophie, Theo, Theodore, Thomas, Vanessa, William
Let’s number-crunch. Courtesy of my sister, I got my hands on the class lists for her year (grade) at school. The names totalled around 150, and when we factor in the sixth form class list, who are two years older, we have a reasonably sized data covering popular baby names for catholics (catholic school) in England in the early 1990s:
British Babies Born Circa 1990-1994
BOYS – ALPHABETICALLY
Aidan +Aiden
Alexander x3 +Alistair +Alisdair
Andrew x2
Ashley x2
Benjamin x2 +Ben
Bryn +Finn
Christopher x2
Connor +Conor
David x4
Hugo +Hugh +Huw
Jack x5
Jacob +Jakub
James x7
John +Jonathan
Joseph x7 +Joe
Joshua x2
Frederick + Freddie
Matthew x2 +Matteaus
Michael x4
Ryan x2
Theodore +Theo
Thomas x7
William x2 +Liam x2
BOYS – NUMERICALLY (3 or more)
Joseph et al = 8
James = 7
Thomas = 7
Daniel = 6
Alexander et al = 5
Jack = 5
Michael = 4
William et al = 4
Benjamin et al = 3
Hugo et al = 3
Matthew et al = 3
GIRLS – ALPHABETICALLY
Alexandra x2 +Alexa
Alice x2 +Alicia
Amy x2
Ana + Anne +Joanne +Leanne +Rhian +Roxanne
Beatrice +Beatrix x2
Cara +Clare +Clara
Caroline +Karolina
Chloe x3
Eleanor x3 +Ellen x2 +Helen x2 +Helena
Elizabeth +Eliza
Emma x2 +Emily
Esther +Esme
Eugenie x2
Frances x2
Hannah x2
Hayley x2
Jennifer x3
Jessica x3
Kathryn +Catherine +Katie x2
Laura x5 +Lauren
Lucy x4
Lily x2 +Lila +Lillian +Lilia
Maria x2 +Marie
Molly +Mollie
Natasha +Sasha x2
Olivia x3
Sarah +Sara
Sophie x3
Vanessa x2
GIRLS – NUMERICALLY (3 or more)
Eleanor et al = 8
Ana et al = 6
Lily et al =5
Kathryn et al = 4
Lucy = 4
Alexandra et al = 3
Beatrice et al = 3
Cara et al = 3
Chloe = 3
Emma et al = 3
Jennifer = 3
Jessica = 3
Natasha et al = 3
Olivia = 3
Philippa = 3
Sophie = 3
MALE/FEMALE
Daniel x6 +Danielle
George x2 +Georgina
Harry +Hattie +Harriet
Phillip +Philippa x3
Valentino +Valentina
THE IRISH GANG
Sean x2 +Shaun +Sian
Sinead +Seamus +Roisin +Bronagh +Lorcan +Ciara x2 +Niall
Patrick x2
THE NOTABLES
The prevalence of Irish names is not taken as uncommon in a catholic school.
Jack was outnumbered by several names: Joseph, James and Thomas. He began his stay at the top of the UK Top 100 list at the end of the decade. Two of the Jacks had the same surname.
Both of the Ashley’s, born when America embraced the name as a female one, were male.
The Eugenie’s were born just after Princess Eugenie, and the Beatrice/trixes born after Princess Eugenie’s sister: Princess Beatrice.
Non of the Lucy’s were a Lucille, Lucienne etc. They were all just Lucy.
The Emma’s outnumbered the Emily.
From personal knowledge:
-None of the Philippa’s in the list shortens their name to Pippa.
-All of the Eleanor’s were nicknamed Ellie.
* In the interests of not boring you all to death with an endless list of data, any name on the class lists which appeared once, without a similar name has been omitted from the data. This accounts for around 30 names out of the roughly estimated 240 names.
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