Yoops! I almost forgot to choose a winner for the A is for Atticus giveaway!

The winner is Becky! Email me (swistle at gmail dot com) with your mailing info and I’ll get the book on its way to you!

Cyndee writes:

Boys are difficult. At least this one is proving to be already – and he isn’t due until October 10.

His two sisters – 10 yr old Hannah Lauren (emphasis on REN) and 2 yr old Avery Lynn (Lynn after both our mothers) were very easy to name, but boy’s names seem to be harder than childbirth itself!

It could be a problem with our last name – Boos (pronounced “bows”, not “booze”), but that’s just something we have to work around.

The other problem is that we just can’t seem to agree on anything, and even the names I’ve come up with I’m not all that thrilled about when I think about them for any length of time. Names I like (in no particular order): Dexter, Charlie, Lewis, Oliver… well, that’s really about it, and I’m not that keen on any of them. My husband is terrified of picking a name that will cause teasing (I’m sure the last name has already taken care of that), but I think what he doesn’t understand is that our son will not be in school with a bunch of Steves, Brians, Matthews, etc. All the other boys will have similarily sounding names and if they’re going to tease, it will have to include everyone.

Any suggestions? I seem to like more odd-type names, geeky perhaps, which would be cute for small boys, and then hopefully be quirky without being too out-there for adult males. I’m not sure what my husband likes in a name, only what he doesn’t like – which seems to be anything I like.

I don’t want to make unfair sweeping generalizations (I’m sure there are plenty of husbands saying, “Honey, come on, we need to talk about names” while their wives roll their eyes and make exasperated sounds and act like their husbands are hormone-crazed crazycakes to be bringing this up so often), but there does seem to be a common problem of the man wanting to do none of the thinking and all of the vetoing. Well. We’re hardly going to be able to solve that worldwide problem right this second, are we? I should stop fussing about it and turn my energies instead to making a list….that your husband can reject. Okay, I’ll stop!

Geeky/quirky brings to mind:

Elliot Boos; Hannah, Avery, and Elliot
Emmett Boos; Hannah, Avery, and Emmett
Simon Boos; Hannah, Avery, and Simon
Wesley Boos: Hannah, Avery, and Wesley

I thought of Leo and Milo, too, but the -o names don’t work as well with your surname. Then I thought of Henry, but it’s almost a mix of the two sisters’ names: “Hannah, Avery, and Henry” makes my eyes struggle to untangle the three names. And I thought of Everett, but rejected it for being too similar to Avery.

Or perhaps what’s needed here is a name that would feel comfortable and familiar to your husband—a name that was around in our own youth but hasn’t yet gone out of style?

Alec Boos; Hannah, Avery, and Alec
Christopher Boos; Hannah, Avery, and Christopher
Eric Boos; Hannah, Avery, and Eric
Evan Boos; Hannah, Avery, and Evan
Jonathan Boos; Hannah, Avery, and Jonathan
Kyle Boos; Hannah, Avery, and Kyle

Those don’t have the geek chic going for them, but it sounds like maybe those geek chic names appeal to you but then don’t settle into serious contenders. How about a familiar, nearly tease-free first name for your husband, with a quirkier middle name for you?

Alec Dexter Boos (ADB)
Christopher Elliot Boos (CEB)
Eric Lewis Boos (ELB)
Evan Wesley Boos (EWB)
Jonathan Everett Boos (JEB)
Kyle Oliver Boos (KOB)

Let’s have a poll! It’s over to the right! [poll closed; see below] Vote for your favorite, but also pipe up with your own combinations.

[Poll results (203 votes total):
Alec Dexter: 29 votes, roughly 14%
Christopher Elliot: 45 votes, roughly 22%
Eric Lewis: 6 votes, roughly 3%
Evan Wesley: 67 votes, roughly 33%
Jonathan Everett: 26 votes, roughly 13%
Kyle Oliver: 30 votes, roughly 15%]

Joslyn writes:

I’m due on Sept 21…so it could be *any* day now as I am already dialted to 3 and this is my 3rd child.

We do not know the gender of this baby and we’ve picked out a boy’s name for sure but we’ve been struggling with a girl’s name.

We’ve finally decided on the first name of Hannah for the baby if it’s a girl, because we had so much trouble with choosing the first name hubs has decided to let me have full reign over the middle name.

This makes me nervous for several reasons, now since I have no rules I have no idea where to begin.

I do have some self-imposed stipulations:

1) the name needs to have 4, 5, or 6 letters

2) I don’t want the middle name to sound like any of my other kid’s names: Daniel Joseph and Amelia Elise (so no names like Danielle or Annelise)

3) I’d like to avoid anything that rhymes with Cherry or ends with the “ry” (like Rory) due to our last name

4) I also don’t want anything that ends in the same sound as Hannah (like Matilda)

5) Since my name is Joslyn I would like to NOT use the name Lynn

6) She might end up having to go by this middle name if she’s one of 16 Hannah’s in her class going through school so nothing too out there (though I love the name Calliope, which doesn’t fit my rules ;-) )

Thank you in advance for all your help!!

We’ve looked at middle names for a baby Hannah in another post. Here was the list I came up with for that baby, taking out the names that don’t have 4, 5, or 6 letters:

Hannah Claire
Hannah Faith
Hannah Jane
Hannah Jeanne
Hannah June
Hannah Kate

In the original list I omitted Hannah Mae for sounding like “anime,” and the mother omitted Hannah Belle for sounding like “Hannibal.” I omitted Hannah Jo because it wasn’t good with the surname, and it doesn’t meet your requirement for number of letters so I’ve left it out of this list as well; I omitted Hannah Noelle for the surname reason, but that one would work for you. One commenter mentioned that “Hannah Claire” sounds like “Han Eclair.”

I like Hannah Catherine and Hannah Margaret, but they’re too many letters.

Without your surname, it’s tricky to find more middle name options—but perhaps those will get you started.

Tiffany writes:

I’m due to have twins in early October. At the ultrasound last month, we found out that baby A is a boy. And baby B is…shy. :) We have come up with a name for baby A: Henry Fox. I’m in love with Henry (although a little worried about its popularity). Someone recently suggested Fox to us because my husband’s name is Todd and it apparently means “fox” in Old English. I know it’s a little different, but I thought it was a cute and different way to honor my husband. I do need some feedback on the name. What do you think?

Now for baby B. We need help coming up with a name for either a boy or a girl. I don’t necessarily want the twins’ names to “match”, but I do want them to go together. I want “classic names” – especially since my husband and I have such dated 70’s names (Todd and Tiffany). :)

For a girl, we like:

• Kate – I just don’t love any longer form of Kate. I’m trying to fall in love with Katharine, but I go back and forth on this one.
• Grace – One of my husband’s favorites. I like it, too.
• Stella – I love this one.
• Julia – I love the Julia/Julie option.
• Sylvia – My husband isn’t completing sold yet on this one. I’m trying to get him to see that it has the same style and sound of Sophia and Julia, two names he loves.
• Elizabeth – We’d probably call her Izzy.

For middle names, we are considering:

• Susannah – a variation on my mom’s name (Susan) and my middle name (Suzanne)
• Louise
• Jane
• May/Mae – a family name
• Eva – a family name
• Anne – a family name
• Charlotte
• Rose – family name
• Katharine – if we don’t use it as a first name
• Claire

For boys, either first or middle:

• Lewis (my husband’s late grandfather’s name)
• Matthew (my husband’s middle name)
• William
• Lucas
• Colin
• Simon
• Owen
• Stuart (middle only)
• Sullivan
• Finn
• James/Jameson
• Charles (middle only)
• Samuel

I’m totally open to more suggestions if you can derive some sort of style out of this collection of names! Our last name is Woolener (3 syllables), which totally nixes two of my favorite names: Oliver and Eleanor. :(

Thanks for your help!!

I love the name Henry Fox! Henry is the middle name (and pseudonym) of one of my sons, and it was ALMOST his first name. Henry is indeed getting more popular (from #126 in 2000 to #91 in 2007, according to The Social Security Administration), but I don’t worry about it getting TOO-too popular. Even if it DOES get very popular, it would be a classic, long-rooted, traditional boy name that was experiencing one of many recurring times in the sun—not a trendy, flash-in-the-pan name. And I think Fox is cute with it.

Let’s turn our attention to Baby B. First, let’s say Baby B is a girl. Well….pretty much ALL your girl names sound good with Henry! Kate is a fine name just as it is, if you don’t like any of the names it’s a traditional nickname for.

Henry and Kate
Henry and Grace
Henry and Stella
Henry and Julia
Henry and Sylvia (perhaps your husband would prefer Silvia?)
Henry and Elizabeth

All good. With your surname, I think the best options are Kate Woolener, Grace Woolener, and Elizabeth Woolener. Stella Woolener, Julia Woolener, and Sylvia Woolener are harder to wrap the mouth around.

Middle names. The one-syllable first names Kate and Grace go best with the longer middle names; I think both are best with Louise, but I like the family connection to the name Susannah so would probably choose that. The longer name Elizabeth is good with the shorter middle names; I like any of them, but my favorites are Jane and Claire. With Stella and Julia, I like Mae. With Sylvia, I like Claire.

I don’t even WANT to mention this, but feel duty-bound to say that the middle name “Claire” CAN lead to The Eclair Problem with first names that end in A. Anna Claire, for example, turns into An Eclair. Even Sylvia Claire, which I have just recommended, could be heard as Silvie Eclair. Still! I would not let that stop me! Eclairs are delicious, and small children are more familiar with Twinkies.

Kate Susannah Woolener (KSW)
Grace Susannah Woolener (GSW)
Elizabeth Jane Woolener (EJW)
Elizabeth Claire Woolener (ECW)
Stella Mae Woolener (SMW)
Julia Mae Woolener (JMW)
Sylvia Claire Woolener (or Silvia Claire Woolener) (SCW)

Now let’s say Baby B is a boy. With the name Henry, my favorites from your list are William and Simon: Henry and William, Henry and Simon. Because you’re going with a fun middle name for Henry, I’d choose something fun and slightly matchy for the other boy: I like Finn. Henry Fox and William Finn. Henry Fox and Simon Finn. Hm, that was a little quicker than the girl section, wasn’t it!

William Finn Woolener (WFW)
Simon Finn Woolener (SFW)

But I’m just choosing names from lists and putting them together how I like them. Now you guys can take a turn: look at the lists and put together a girl name! put together a boy name! What do you like best for Baby B?

I had to alter the following email pretty dramatically, because there were statistical charts that were no way in heck going to fit in this post. I’ve put my snips in brackets so you get the gist though not the statistics themselves. Ashley writes:

Hi Swistle,

I know that you probably don’t care… but I have been bothered by something on your Naming website. When you refer to the SS stats, you don’t consider all spellings of a name! Take the name Madeline. Yes, it doesn’t seem as popular when you look at Madeline. Now consider [the number each of babies named Madeline, Madelyn, Madelynn, Madilyn, Madeleine, Madalyn, Madalynn, Madilynn]. It is almost three times as popular when you count all the spellings! It’s a Top 20 name when you adjust for multiple spellings. And names like these also add difficulty for the child in having to spell his/her name constantly. I know why the SSA does it the way they do … it’s very subjective when you start getting into pronunciations. Is “Miah” pronounced like “Mya” or like “Mia”? Who knows?

I take the Top 1000 Names and give it my best shot, though. Because I really don’t want to choose one of those names that escapes notice due to a million spellings. The Top 1000 actually boils down to 649 names when you lump them together. I haven’t done Boys yet for 2007. But I thought I’d share my girl list… The column on the far left sums the amounts next to the spellings.

[Here Swistle removed an ENORMOUS CHART.]

“Don’t care”? Is there such a thing as “don’t care” when it comes to baby names?

I know what you mean, and I do think it’s a good idea for parents to take multiple spellings into account, especially if the popularity of a name is a big consideration. But I think it’s too subjective to decide what’s “a different spelling” and what’s “a different name.” Looking down your list, I disagree with many of your combinations: I think, for example, that Madelyn and Madeline are different names, and that Emily and Emmalee are different names, and that Sierra and Ciara are different names. And other people would go the opposite direction and say you should have combined more, and that Isabelle and Isabella are the same name. None of us are “right” or “wrong,” we just have different opinions about what makes names “different.”

Because it’s so subjective, the only method that makes sense is to list every spelling separately but make the data available (it’s available at the Social Security baby names site) so parents can add spellings up the way that makes sense to them—which is exactly what you did. I rarely do so on this blog, though, because in most cases the adding up makes only a fraction of a percentage point of a difference in the popularity of the name. For example, the spelling Khloe adds only .0209 percentage points to the .5085 percent Chloe population, bringing their combined total to .5294% of the baby girls born in 2007 (source: Social Security). And I’ll bet if we took a vote, we wouldn’t get a consensus on whether they were “the same name” or “different names.”

Here is something I think is a really good baby-naming tip: When searching for a name for your baby, look at your bookshelf. Favorite characters and favorite authors make great choices.

The book A is for Atticus claims to be based on that idea, but it is not. A book-length list of a bunch of characters and authors is pointless. If they’re not YOUR favorite characters and authors, who cares what their names are or what the author thinks of them? What, are you going to leaf through it and think, “Oh, Alexander! I like the name Alexander! And oh, there was an Alexander ‘in Shakespeare,’ so it’s a LITERARY name! Score!” No.

The writing style of the book annoyed me, too, but of course that’s entirely subjective: some of you would read it and die of love, because people are drawn to different writing styles and that’s just the way things go. Here’s a sample:

“Isabella: Though there have been a tidal wave of Isabellas in recent years (it’s cemented in the top 5), I still can’t help but view it as gloriously beautiful and somehow interesting, although there is now an Isabella in every classroom nation-wide.”

Let’s ignore word choices such as “cemented” and “somehow” and “can’t help but” and “Though/although”—those are perfect examples of choices that annoy me but might make you say, “What exactly is the problem with those?” Let’s instead go directly to “in every classroom nation-wide.” Even in 30-student classrooms, an Isabella per classroom would mean that over 6% of baby girls were being named Isabella. In our 20-per-classroom area, an Isabella per classroom would mean 10% of baby girls were being named Isabella.

In 2007, which is the highest percentage of Isabellas so far, the percentage of girls named Isabella is still well under 1%. Those babies aren’t even in classrooms yet (the rate for the current first graders is significantly lower), but if they WERE, and even if we rounded up to 1%, they’d be in those classrooms at an average rate of one Isabella per six to seven classrooms. Yes, some classrooms will have several Isabellas–but then other classrooms will have ZERO Isabellas to compensate for that. In my son’s 21-student class this year, there are THREE children named Noah, and that does not mean the birth rate for Noahs is 27%. It means: (1) that flukes like this are unavoidable, and (2) that there are many zero-Noah classrooms compensating for this fluke.

Exaggerations and inaccuracies of this sort PLAGUE the book. I can almost overlook the excessively thesaurisized language (it really is okay to use the verb “named” again and again—there is no need to resort to “dub” and “hailed”), the wearying repetitions of certain pet expressions and words (who among us wants to cast the first stone in THAT arena? also also great great just just okay okay well well), the incorrect plurals (bouquet of daisies, yes, but a group of women named Daisy are Daisys), the lame unnecessary adjectives (“minivan-driving moms”—sigh), the peculiar rhetorical questions (“Could a name sound more made-up than Briana?”), the inappropriate assumption of motives (“John Travolta and Kelly Preston spelled it Bleu to act all French”), the clunky sentence chunks divided by commas (“And although Amelia continues to ascend, possibly hitting the top 50 anytime [sic], it will always have the feel of an heirloom, no matter how popular it gets.”)…..

Er, where was I? Oh, yes! I can almost overlook all those annoyances, but I can’t STAND it when perceived statistics (“It seems like the name ____ is EVERYWHERE”) are presented as if they are the same as actual statistics.

Don’t even get me started on her attributing baby name trends to celebrities, when in fact most of the time those celebrities were just swept up in the same trend as the rest of us. GAH.

Well. I am willing to send this book on to one of you, if you don’t mind a few dog-eared pages and if you think you can get over the problems and read it as a fun baby-name book. If only one of you wants it, it’s yours! If more than one, I’ll choose one “Yes, I want it!” comment randomly. You can still comment on the post without being entered: I’ll choose from comments that specifically mention wanting the book, not from all comments.