Dear Jennifer,

I know that you and your sisters own and run this site, so here’s my question to you: what did you name your children and why? Are there stories/meanings behind your own baby names?

P.S. Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,
Anna V.

Dear Anna,

Thanks for asking! I’ll start with my own “baby,” Miranda Margaret. Miranda was my mother-in-law’s maiden name. I’ve always loved the name because it was not too popular, and was also a Shakespeare name, from the play The Tempest. Margaret was my mother’s name, so we were able to honor both grandmamas.

My sister Kate has two sons: Dwight Donald (aka “Ike”), named after his father and my father, respectively, and Peter Austin. Peter was my grandmother’s maiden name and Austin the other grandmother’s maiden name.

Mallory has one daughter, Veronica Lee. Veronica was inspired by the rich and beautiful Veronica Lodge from the Archie comics, and Lee is the middle name of the eldest of Veronica’s aunts on either side.

Although I never really put it together before writing this, I guess we did have sort of a family naming pattern!

Happy Holidays,
Jennifer Moss

The BN Offspring: Veronica, Peter, Ike, and Miranda

Headshot of Jennifer Moss

Jennifer Moss (she/her) is the founder of BabyNames.com, author of The Baby Names Workbook, and Producer of The Baby Names Podcast. Jennifer is widely regarded as the leading expert on popular baby name trends and the naming process, serving as the authoritative source on the subject for national and international media.

Jennifer entered the tech arena in the 80s as a software developer and database architect, and became a pioneer in the Internet industry. In addition to operating BabyNames.com, Jennifer owns a web development agency in central California.