This is the transcript to The Baby Names Podcast episode #44 Top Baby Names of 2019.
Announcer 0:09
You’re listening to the international hit show: The Baby Names Podcast! And here are your hosts, the Moss sisters…
Jennifer Moss 0:17
I’m Jennifer Moss
Mallory Moss 0:18
and I’m Mallory Moss.
Jennifer Moss 0:20
And we’re the founders of BabyNames.com.
Mallory Moss 0:23
And we’re sisters too!
Jennifer Moss 0:25
Yay. I love that.
Mallory Moss 0:26
Yes, me too.
Jennifer Moss 0:28
So our first segment is always interesting names we found since the last episode – Mal?
Mallory Moss 0:34
Well, you know me and sports. So today we’ll talk about Broncos names for boys. Go Broncos! One of the most famous players on the Broncos is Von Miller that’s spelled v o n. I like that name. Although if you are in a region that has Vons supermarkets, it may be especially unusual, but maybe they’ll think your baby’s an entrepreneur!
Jennifer Moss 0:55
Maybe.
Mallory Moss 0:57
Two running backs are Theo Riddick and Royce Freeman.
Jennifer Moss 1:01
I like those names. Those are cool.
Mallory Moss 1:03
Yeah, I think my favorite, although some might think silly, is linebacker Josey Jewell, spelled J-O-S-E-Y. There’s also Nose Tackle Shelby Harris.
Jennifer Moss 1:15
What’s a Nose Tackle? Is it when someone goes up your nose and around the corner?
Mallory Moss 1:20
Well beats me.
Jennifer Moss 1:22
I thought you were this sports person.
Mallory Moss 1:24
Well, I don’t know what a nose tackle is! Okay, those are my favorite Broncos names. What do you have this week?
Jennifer Moss 1:31
Well, in response to your names I like Vaughn as Vince, VAUGHN. It sounds just a little more elevated than Von and Von, V-O-N, that means of like Baron von Foofhausen or whatever.
Mallory Moss 1:48
Baron Von Foofhausen?
Jennifer Moss 1:49
I just made him up. Okay, so well, I was watching the tv show Catfish (don’t judge me) and there was a woman named Infiniti – with an i. I really wanted to hate it but I found myself kinda liking it. I’d probably use the Y spelling – the traditional spelling of the word – not the carmaker spelling because I’m not a brands name baby names person. And Because it’s a dictionary word, I would NOT use it if you had a dictionary word surname like we do. Infinity Moss does not sound appealing
Mallory Moss 2:26
Sounds like a backyard.
Jennifer Moss 2:28
I know. But something like Infinity Delacroix is delightful.
Mallory Moss 2:33
Well, it sounds like a character in one of your mysteries.
Jennifer Moss 2:37
It just might be. So the topic of the week, and the end of season two is top baby names of 2019. And first I’m going to explain how the list is compiled and how it’s a little different from the US Social Security list that comes out around Mother’s Day in May. So we compile our list, by the names that are added to our members favorite name lists. And there’s a little algorithm that goes on on how many people search for the name as well. So it really is measuring the trends of what’s happening with all the names during the year. Now, our demographics I’ve should go over is 60% United States. And then after that, it’s United Kingdom, India, Canada, China and Australia as the bigger portion of the 40%. And then practically every other country. Our average user is age 25 to 34. It’s this is interesting, 66% female, but 20 years ago, when we started this site, we were at 81% female
Mallory Moss 3:57
Wow.
Jennifer Moss 3:58
Yeah. So Apparently males are now being more interested in the baby naming process, which I think is really amazing.
Mallory Moss 4:07
I think it also might be because of dads being married to dads,
Jennifer Moss 4:13
right, that too. It’s more acceptable for gay marriage and adopting or having their own babies. So definitely. So first we’re going to go over the top 10 names, and we’re going to discuss the meanings and maybe why they’re trending. Number one, Charlotte and Liam and now Charlotte and Amelia and Liam and Oliver have been flip flopping from one into in the top names since 2011. On our baby names charts, and this goes to show you how our name lists predict actual birth trends, because Liam just hit number one in births in 2018. And Charlotte is still number six. Now the other thing I should explain, and I’ve explained this before, is that the Social Security list does not combine stats for different spellings of the same name. So for example, Emmett with one T, and Emmett with two T’s, we consider that the same name. It’s just an alternate spelling,
Mallory Moss 5:19
yes,
Jennifer Moss 5:20
but because they don’t combine the stats, it doesn’t really show how popular a name would be. So for example, back when Aiden was the big craze, it never hit number one in the US birth charts because an and en were separate stats, but combined, it would have been number one for like five years. So let’s go over some of the girls names. I love personally The name is Charlotte, I always have. I felt it was really feminine without having the IE or diminutive ending. Obviously one of the most famous show is Princess Charlotte, born in 2015 to the British royal family, and that really catapulted the name.
Mallory Moss 6:09
I really like the nickname Charlie too for girl. I think that’s really cute.
Jennifer Moss 6:15
Right and that in itself has become a popular name
Mallory Moss 6:18
Hmm.
Jennifer Moss 6:19
And then we’ve got Amelia, another one of my favorites and I combine the spelling with Emelia because it’s basically different spellings of the same name. However, as you know, Emilia Clarke with an E is a cast member on Game of Thrones and that name, I believe, has had the Game of Thrones effect in catapulting that up to the top of the charts.
Mallory Moss 6:45
Absolutely. And she’s very popular actress and in a new movie.
Jennifer Moss 6:50
Cool.
Yeah, I like her. She’s a badass
Mallory Moss 6:54
me too
Jennifer Moss 6:55
Number three is Violet, and this follows the trend, the new trend at we’ve been seeing in probably the past 12 to 14 months of flower names, hitting the charts on the girls side. Others in the top 100 include Daisy, Dalia, Juniper, and Lily. Hazel is also a flower. And I’ll be talking about that a little later.
Mallory Moss 7:21
Yeah, well speaking of Game of Thrones, number four is Aria A R I A or A R Y A, which is the spelling of the Game of Thrones character. She’s also a badass.
Jennifer Moss 7:34
Yeah,
Mallory Moss 7:35
and a young badass and I think people really like her name for a few reasons. One is the strength of the character. And then also it’s just a beautiful name.
Jennifer Moss 7:47
It’s a musical name.
Mallory Moss 7:49
Yeah,
Jennifer Moss 7:50
It means a solo in operatic terminology. So it’s beautiful. It’s it follows kind of the Amelia pattern. With an A at the beginning and an A at the end, which brings us to our next name.
Mallory Moss 8:06
Yeah, absolutely. Oh, just one other thing about Aria, it’s my prediction that it’s going to get to number two next year. So let’s watch. All right. So number five is reflective of our Disney names that we spoke about in our last episode. So if you missed it, definitely go back and listen, and that is Aurora like Princess Aurora. And then the variation or Aurelia A U R E L I A is also in the top 100 but dropped from 2018
Jennifer Moss 8:37
Mm hmm. And Aurora was Sleeping Beauty by the way.
Mallory Moss 8:41
Yes, absolutely
Jennifer Moss 8:42
Better known as.
Mallory Moss 8:44
And then number six is Ava, A V A which is truly a beautiful name.
Jennifer Moss 8:51
I’ll take number seven is Olivia or Alivia. And again, I’m kind of on the fence on whether this is the same name but I truly believe that Alivia with an A is just a repelling of Olivia. And that trend is still holding strong with Oliver being the boys version of the name, but we are seeing a little dip. So it’s it has that. It’s so in it’s out effect.
Mallory Moss 9:19
Mm hmm.
Jennifer Moss 9:20
Then there’s Vivian with Vivienne, Vivien, and Vivian. E N N E, V I V I E N and V I V I A N, we combined. It first became popular when Brangelina had their daughter in 2008. Vivienne Jolie Pitt, actually it’s Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pit, Marcheline is Angelina’s mother
Mallory Moss 9:43
pretty name.
Jennifer Moss 9:44
And Vivian with an A N is also Julia Robert’s character in Pretty Woman.
Mallory Moss 9:51
I don’t know if Vivian from Pretty Woman would be an influencer just because she was a problem.
Jennifer Moss 10:00
prostitute
maybe but it is still a beloved film. Anyway, Hazel kind of became popular from the book and movie Fault of our Stars.
Mallory Moss 10:13
And also because it’s an older name and that’s far into the trend
Jennifer Moss 10:18
right? It follows that grandma names. It’s the name of our grandma. And then I was really surprised at number 10, which has been rising fast. And that’s the name Nora with either an A or an A H. My college roommate was Nora O’Sullivan, rapper and actress Awkwafina’s real name is Nora, Nora Lum. And I loved her in Crazy Rich Asians by the way, she was really great.
Mallory Moss 10:46
Didn’t see it,
Jennifer Moss 10:46
Oh, you’ve got to
Mallory Moss 10:47
didn’t see it.
Jennifer Moss 10:48
The name was originally from Eleanora. So maybe that’s why it’s risen in the charts because Eleanor has become pretty popular in itself.
Mallory Moss 10:57
I really like Eleanora, as a veriation of Eleanor.
Jennifer Moss 11:01
Yeah,
Mallory Moss 11:01
but I’m really big on vowels ending a name.
Jennifer Moss 11:06
Yeah, I like that.
Mallory Moss 11:07
Okay, so for boys we know that Liam is number one. It’s a semi royal name as its short form of the name William like Prince William. Also Liam is the name of the Prince William like character on the TV show The Royals, which I know you watch.
Jennifer Moss 11:28
Oh my gosh, it’s so trashy, but it’s so good. So Elizabeth Hurley plays like the Queen of England and all she does is walk around going, “I’m the queen of England.” She says that five times in every episode. It’s really funny. It’s so silly.
Okay, but I’m the queen of England.
Mallory Moss 11:48
Well, I guess if I were the Queen of England, I might say that a few times too. Okay number two is Oliver.
Jennifer Moss 11:55
Oliver, Oliver
Mallory Moss 11:58
Staying steady and flip flopping with Liam, I think it’s had its day though.
Jennifer Moss 12:04
I think so. I mean, it’s so it’s so popular. It’s people aren’t using it anymore but it’s a steady name. It’s an older name and it works and Olli is cute.
Mallory Moss 12:17
Olli is cute, but I’m not a fan of Oliver. Then there’s Theodore like Theo Riddick that I said earlier as a Broncos player up from number eight last year and I’m wondering is Theodore the new Oliver
Jennifer Moss 12:32
might be
Mallory Moss 12:34
and then we have Declan. I really like this name D E C L A N a nice Irish name again. Elvis Costello’s real name is Declan Patrick McManus. Declan Harp is the name of Jason Momoa’s character in the TV show Frontier.
Jennifer Moss 12:51
Yeah, that might be a big influence on that name, Declan. I like it too. Henry is the formal name Prince Harry. So that’s another British Royal name. And I love Henry because it’s a family name for us we have a lot of Hanks in the family.
Mallory Moss 13:08
Mm hmm.
Jennifer Moss 13:09
Owin and Finn our great Irish Celtic names holding strong sticking at number six and seven, the same as last year. Finn being I N N or F Y N N. Number eight is Caleb. And that’s one of what I call the biblical replacements. They’re more unique biblical names that are replacing the more traditional like John, David, and Michael, that are actually dropping on the charts and I’ll talk about that later, too.
Mallory Moss 13:41
I think the biblical replacement sounds like a great band. Um, number nine is Emmett E M M E T T, started becoming popular about 10 years ago and slowly rising on the charts. It’s also a twilight name or a name from the series Twilight.
Jennifer Moss 14:00
I’d really like to do a Twilight names episode because they’ve been so influential on baby names and sticking too.
Mallory Moss 14:08
Okay. Number 10 is Benjamin a solid name with a childhood nickname of Benji, or an adult nickname of Ben. I think Ben has a resurgence after Ben from Parks and Rec. Also, Ross’s son from Friends was named Ben.
Jennifer Moss 14:25
Yeah. Now we’re going to go over our favorites of the top 100 which are on our website now, BabyNames.com. It’s right on the homepage. It says click here to see the top names of 2019. So make sure you review all the top 100 names. Some that I love Iris, another flower name, and it’s the daughter of one of my good friends. Another Fave of mine is Ophelia O P H E L I A. It’s a Shakespeare name. We had an episode about that and it’s Greek meaning helper. There’s also a popular UK actress named Ophelia lovibond. How great is that name?
Mallory Moss 15:08
I want to be Ophelia Lovibond
Jennifer Moss 15:10
I know. I tend to like nature names so I love Wren W R E N inspired by the bird. And we mentioned Kaia in one of the last episodes K A I A. It’s like Maia with a K and that’s been hitting the charts too.
Mallory Moss 15:30
you could also spell it K A Y A.
Jennifer Moss 15:32
Yeah, I think that’s really pretty. For boys, of course Matteo becoming popular. Rowan is a great gender neutral name. And then another one I saw just hit the charts because I love the actor, Tobias. T O B I A S. And we’ve seen the rise of actor Tobias Menzes. He’s a British character actor who was Edmure Tully in Game of Thrones. He plays two parts and Outlander my new obsession. Oh my god, you guys. I binged and I cannot wait for the new season in February.
Mallory Moss 16:12
Oh, that was good, Jen.
Jennifer Moss 16:14
Thank you. And Tobias just premiered in season three of The Crown, replacing the doctor who dude, to play an older Prince Philip. Now, coming back across the pond. The name Lincoln is holding strong at 39 a big up from 63 and then I’m going to mention this name Atlas. My friend Cheryce’s grandson is named Atlas and we reported a couple weeks ago that actor Shay Mitchell named her daughter Atlas, and this is another one of those instances that parents thought they were choosing such a unique name, and then started hearing it all over the place. That’s what Cheryce said. Now on our charts, Atlas has jumped from number 68 to number 43 in the last year, indicating a strong upward movement, so it’s not going to be so unique soon,
Mallory Moss 17:12
right? I have a question. How do you spell
Jennifer Moss 17:14
Cheryce? She spells it C H E R Y C E.
Mallory Moss 17:19
That’s an interesting name spelling kinda like Cher.
Jennifer Moss 17:23
Yeah.
Mallory Moss 17:24
So my favorite names from the top 100 and include Aria. And of course, we know that’s a heroine from Game of Thrones.
Jennifer Moss 17:33
As soon as she, spoiler alert, did the you know what, like saved the whole country?
Mallory Moss 17:42
You know what.
Jennifer Moss 17:43
You know what? I was like, Aria’s gonna be number one.
Mallory Moss 17:47
Yeah, I think so too. I also love that Hazel and Eleanor are in the top 15 is there our grandmother’s names, although Eleanor’s initial name or her first name was actually Henrietta, haven’t seen that climb.
Jennifer Moss 18:02
Not Yeah, but since Henry is popular that might be on the charts. Everyone start naming your kid Henrietta.
Mallory Moss 18:10
Okay. Number 27 is Ruby which I think is completely adorable. And then there’s Mila or Myla, which is at 39 and that could be influenced by Mila Kunis.
Jennifer Moss 18:22
Oh, definitely.
Mallory Moss 18:23
And of course, there’s my favorite girl named Luna coming in this year at 16. For boys, my favorite names include Jasper another Twilight name, Gavin, Matteo, and Leo, of course, because I am a Leo, we all know that. Interestingly, none of my favorites come from the top 20. Unlike my favorite girl names. I’m also a fan of the traditional names Alexander, Andrew, Nicholas, which come in all over the place from 13 Alexander, to number 80 Nicholas, and I have a fondness for these names for several reasons but some of them are because they are family names. My first husband and my high school prom date.
Jennifer Moss 19:05
Okay, now some names that are just below 100, so they’re hanging almost on the charts. Rowan is number 123 on the girl’s side and number 66 on the boys. So that’s one of those gender neutral names that’s becoming popular for both. Calliope. Is at number 141 on the girl’s side. I love Ember and Cordelia they’re really pretty at 142 and 145 respectively. And the Pearl is that 147 I can’t imagine the baby named Pearl. So cute though.
Mallory Moss 19:45
She’s probably so cute
Jennifer Moss 19:46
right after that is Kailani K A I L A N I and they I don’t know where that came from. There is a character named kKailani played by Vanessa Hudgens in 20126’s Jounrey 2 in it. She plays a Palauan teenager who runs a helicopter tour guide business with her father. I don’t know why that might have brought it into pop culture.
Mallory Moss 20:12
The times that I’ve heard the name it was pronounced Kailani, which would make sense for the Hawaiian influence.
Jennifer Moss 20:19
Oh, right Kai, meaning ocean. Yeah,
Mallory Moss 20:22
Kailani Craine is a figure skater from Australia who is in the 2018 Winter Olympics. And if I remember correctly, there was a child beauty pageant contestant named Kailani, who was very popular, not that I ever watch such as silly show.
Jennifer Moss 20:39
Okay, so that definitely those two are a little more current and probably have an influence on the name onto the charts.
Mallory Moss 20:46
Yeah.
Jennifer Moss 20:48
For boys really surprised that Hugo Is that number 117. I didn’t think that would become popular. Rhett was in the top 100 for 2017 and didn’t quite Make it for 18 or 19 but I’d like to see that come back onto the charts. I like it because it’s a Gone with the Wind thingy. I’ve always loved the name Spencer as in Spencer Tracy or in honor of Princess Diana. That was her surname and Spencer is at number 130.
Mallory Moss 21:19
Well, I love number 101 for girls Abrielle, a b r i e L L e. And you know that I’m a sucker for French names. It’s so pretty just like Gabrielle without the G. Elodie speaking of French names, e l, o d i E and Willow are also close to the top 100 and then there’s Quinn, which is an interesting name that is unisex and has become so popular.
Jennifer Moss 21:47
I think Quinn is from the TV show Glee, because there was a character named Quinn she’s kind of the mean girl but then had the heart of gold at the end.
Mallory Moss 21:58
looking further down The list some really unique names that jumped out at us are Jennifer
Jennifer Moss 22:04
Elliette E L L I E T T E like Elliot, but with kind of the more feminine ending E T T E I thought that was interesting. Saskia, Gaia, as in Gaia the earth, Bernadette, Kimber without the L Y. Thora I love that name. It’s such an old fashioned name. Iphigenia I P H I G E N I A, Amethyst Ameline A M E L I N E, it would be a great alternative to Amelia and Odette O D E T T E. For men I liked Hamish, Lysander, Phinneus and that says the son of Julia Roberts. Byron, Keanu, is interesting, Fergus, Briar. And what really surprised me was Loki and I know where it comes from obviously the Marvel movies but isn’t Loki a bad guy?
Mallory Moss 23:10
I don’t know didn’t watch them so there
Jennifer Moss 23:12
or just like kind of a mischievous God? I don’t know I think he’s the antagonist.
Mallory Moss 23:18
Okay, well I think it’s interesting on your list that Briar was in the boys list because Briar Rose also a Disney name. And then on your list, you have Lysander which is a Shakespearean name, but it’s really interesting that people would use it. I’m not a big fan of Lysander. Hamish or Hamish I think is funny because Hamish is a word for acting really Jewish in an affectionate way.
Jennifer Moss 23:49
Oh, really?
Mallory Moss 23:50
Yes. He’s so Hamish,
Jennifer Moss 23:52
but not derogatory.
Mallory Moss 23:54
No, it’s not derogatory at all.
Jennifer Moss 23:56
Okay,
Mallory Moss 23:57
it’s affectionate. Let’s see. Female names. Maren Of course for singer Maren Morris. Clea
Jennifer Moss 24:04
have a friend named Clea
Mallory Moss 24:06
C L E A, I know. Beatrix, like English author Beatrix Potter or similar to Princess Beatrice. Hadley, Persephone, which I think is a cookie name.
Jennifer Moss 24:19
I like it
Mallory Moss 24:20
One name I do like is Zurie Z U R I E and then there’s Winnie like Winnie the Pooh
Jennifer Moss 24:27
I like Winifred if you’re going to use Winnie use Winifred. Use the full name but
Mallory Moss 24:32
I hate Winifred. Alright, so for male names we have Odin again another god. We have lots of gods.
Jennifer Moss 24:39
Yeah,
Mallory Moss 24:40
Um O D I N, Crew, C R E W and Daxton D A X T O N. There’s Niall N I A L L and I wonder if that’s, well, I wonder if it’s influenced by our British fans. There’s Bowie B O W I E probably for David Bowie who unfortunately passed recently, Linus like from the Snoopy character,
Jennifer Moss 25:07
I think Linus has become popular since The Peanuts characters are kind of out. I don’t think the younger generations feel that they’re so beloved as our generation did, and so be more identified for us to be like Linus with his blankie. And they don’t think of it like that.
Mallory Moss 25:28
Okay, all right. And then there’s the name K I A N Kian. And one of the things we talked about in other episodes is that looking visually looking at a name can really hurt. I think, Clint the name Yeah, like Clint. Exactly. And I think K I A N really, when you look at it, it looks too much like Klan.
Jennifer Moss 25:56
Yeah, it could be misinterpreted.
Mallory Moss 25:58
Yeah.
Jennifer Moss 26:00
So now we’re going to talk about naming trends we’re seeing for 2020 and definitely on the girl’s side I talked about this before flower and nature names are trending and they will continue to be trending. So we’ve got Violet number three Hazel number nine Lily at 21, Ivy at 23, Ruby at 27, Iris, Rose, Wren, Autumn, Daisy, Dalia, Willow, and then beyond 100 we have the actual word for flower Flora, Azalea, Amber, Meadow, Raven, Fern, Clover, Poppy, Magnolia, Emerald, Linnea after the botanist Linnaeus, Zinnia, Briony although B R I O N Y and the flower is B R Y O N Y. Posey, and Marigold, so definitely seeing a trend there.
Mallory Moss 26:59
Okay, and so for boys we have the traditional biblical names for the first time in about 100 years that are declining on the charts. While there are more unusual biblical names climbing the charts, just like Jen said earlier. we have Caius C A I U S, Caleb, Levi, Elijah, Silas, Elias, Nathaniel, Roman, Gideon, Jude, Josiah, Isaiah, Micah, Ezekiel, Malachi, Jeremiah, Solomon, Zachariah, Obadiah,
Nehemiah
Nehemiah and Moses,
Jennifer Moss 27:44
Moses.
Mallory Moss 27:45
That’s cute.
Jennifer Moss 27:46
So yeah, in this for the first time, David is down at 101, Peters at 104, and Michael at 112, which is kind of unprecedented. Yeah. Also the 1900s old fashioned names trend on the girl’s side like Mabel, Eleanor, and Cora just started hitting the boys side now with names like Felix, George, Fred, Harry, and Oscar. Funny how both Oscar and Felix make the charts.
Mallory Moss 28:17
Like the odd couple.
Jennifer Moss 28:18
Yeah, Otis, Wade and Emmett. Those are really kind of grandpa names, you know?
Mallory Moss 28:23
Yeah, absolutely. And there are the hyper masculine names on the charts that are dropping a bit, but still include Jameson like the liquor, Hunter, Axel, Ryder, Remington, Ryker, which I would never name a baby because of Ryker’s Island, the prison, Sterling, Colt, Jet, Maverick, Magnus, Gunner, Vreed after the movie character of course and Diesel.
Jennifer Moss 28:52
after Vinn probably
Mallory Moss 28:53
Yeah,
Jennifer Moss 28:54
Diesel and it just sounds like a bodybuilder. So to round out the segment, I want to talk about how the internet and our current culture has changed naming trends. The turnover now is more frequent. So, you know, for example, the name Jennifer was number one for over a decade. But now names are hitting the top and dropping more quickly. And we believe that’s because now people have more access to the popularity charts, and we can deliver the popularity charts almost in real time. Now, back 20 30 years ago, a chart was compiled by either a newspaper or somebody studying name trends, and they’d have to go to birth certificates, then they would write the book, then the book would come out and that would be like a two to three year delay. So by the time somebody a parent who was expecting a child, looked at those popularity charts, and it already been three years old. So even if they were trying to avoid the top 20, then they’d still be late. So now people will see what’s on the top 10, top 20 and start avoiding those because the trend is to have more unique names now. And the statistics support that so 50 years ago in 1968 42% of the boys born in the US had a top 20 name. That’s almost half. So it shows conformity 25% of the girls though, and now in 2018, only 13% of the boys have a top 20 name and 12% of the girls.
Mallory Moss 30:45
I also think parents are less worried about their kids being teased. Our culture has shifted to acceptance and nonconformities are okay, now. Bullying rules and laws are in effect so parents are a little more comfortable giving unique names to their children instead of worrying about them fitting in.
Jennifer Moss 31:03
Yeah, that’s true
Mallory Moss 31:04
listeners out there. Did you have a baby in 2019? And if so, what did you name her or him? any surprises? Any feedback? Write us at podcast at BabyNames.com. We love hearing from you, our listeners and we personally read every response
Jennifer Moss 31:21
We do.
Announcer 31:21
And now it’s time for celebrity baby news.
Mallory Moss 31:29
Little People Big World stars Zach and Tori Roloff have welcome their second child into the world. Their daughter was born on November 19 and named Lilah with an H. Ray R A Y. Lilah joins big brother Jackson Born in 2017.
Jennifer Moss 31:46
reality star Jamie Otis, who starred in The Bachelor and Married at First Sight has revealed the gender of her second child – a boy. Apparently a name has not been released yet but they have one Daughter Henley Grace H E N L E Y born in 2017.
Mallory Moss 32:06
And because Jennifer likes to give me the Duggar news, which we all know annoys me. Josh and Anna Duggar of Counting On fame have announced the arrival of their sixth child together on November 27. A girl named Maryella Hope M A R Y E L L A. Maryella follows the M naming convention of the family as she becomes the third girl. Joining sisters Meredith and Mackenzie and her three older brothers Michael Marcus and Mason.
Jennifer Moss 32:39
Twilight star Kellan Lutz took to Instagram on Thanksgiving to share some extra special news. He and wife Brittany are expecting their first child together. The couple has recently celebrated their second anniversary. And in the 2008 movie, can you believe it’s been 11 years already? Kellan played Emmett Cullen that’s one of those Twilight names like Esme and Jasper that have held steady on the baby names charts for a decade now. And by the way, Cullen itself sits at number 332 on the boys side.
Mallory Moss 33:17
Okay, maybe we do need that Twilight episode. Yeah, Beka, which is a cute name BE K A Martinez, who competed on The Bachelor announced that she’s expecting her second child with boyfriend Greyston Leonard. It was only nine months ago that the couple gave birth to their first child a daughter named Ruth Ray De La Luz Leonard. born on February 2 of this year, Beka shared the reasoning behind her daughter’s name. She said Ruth equals Grayston’s grandmother’s name and one of her favorite biblical stories. It’s Hebrew for friend or companion. And Ray because Ruthie Ray is too damn cute. De La Luz is Beka’s dad’s middle name. Spanish for “of the light”, a tribute to her Mexican heritage. It will be interesting to see the thought behind the new baby’s name to.
Jennifer Moss 34:09
Johnny Galecki of The Big Bang Theory and the Conners has welcomed his first child with girlfriend, Alaina Meyer, they chose to name their son a gender neutral name Avery. Avery is currently number 74 on the girls chart, and number 162 on the boys chart.
Mallory Moss 34:29
Oh, wow. Okay, well, that’s really interesting. Yeah,
Jennifer Moss 34:32
I like it. I mean, it started as a boy’s name, but so did Ashley and Courtney
Mallory Moss 34:38
and Mallory
Jennifer Moss 34:39
and Mallory too, yeah. Okay, so our last segment is when we take letters from you, our listeners, and we have one about our last episode. I’ll take it.
It says, “Hi, I was halfway through your Disney names episode waiting for a specific thing to come up, and it did exactly as I expected. You talked about the name, Merida not Merida and mentioned the name it is based off, I laughed because the very reason they made up Merida was because the name Mairead was thought to be unpronounceable by those outside of Scotland. I adore the name Mairead and it’s high up as a middle name possibility for me as my granny was called Margaret. And we were very close. Anyway, the name Mairead is pronounced Muh-raid made just a heads up. Okay, now we know, Mairead, Mairead in Scotland. Thanks for the awesome podcast work really enjoy having something names related to listen to. Love Abby from Scotland.
Mallory Moss 35:49
Okay, Abby, thanks for writing.
Jennifer Moss 35:51
Yeah, and thanks for correcting our pronunciation. We’re very American centric here. So thank you. We appreciate that.
Mallory Moss 36:00
I like the name Merida because it is definitely a girl fighter another heroine. Um, I am less fond of Mairead but I think in Scotland it’s probably just fine I think it would be
Mairead she said
Mairead Oh, I’m sorry. And I will like to spell that M A I R E A D. Right?
Jennifer Moss 36:23
Take the second one.
Mallory Moss 36:24
Okay dear Moss sisters, I noticed that your site has the name Adair listed as a boy’s name only is it really only a boy’s name? I have seen it lots of places as a girl’s name. Actually, the only Adair I ever knew of was a girl. I asked because I had just put it on my list of possible middle names. I don’t want to give my little girl a boy’s middle name. Sincerely, Cynthia R
Jennifer Moss 36:50
well, it’s neither you’re right. Adair is actually from a surname that’s now used as a first name as well. And historically surnames were given to boys his first names to denote his lineage and family tree on the mother’s side. However, now many surnames are being given to girls as well, like Madison, Harper, and Harlow. So I have gone in and changed the gender assignment of Adair and I made it unisex.
Mallory Moss 37:19
And by the way, speaking of Scotland, like Abby from the last letter, Adair is the Scottish form of Edgar meaning wealthy or could mean spear or it could mean a wealthy spear.
Jennifer Moss 37:32
What do you think about the name of Adair for a boy or girl Mal? Sounds like a deer to me like doe a deer.
Mallory Moss 37:37
I am. I think it’s a fine name for a boy and a girl. It really just sounds like one of those names that’s a surname in the middle name.
Jennifer Moss 37:48
Hmm. I think she can use it. I think Cynthia, you can use it for a middle name no matter what though. I think you can go ahead and do that.
We’d like to take this last moment of the season to share with you that we lost our sister Kate this past week. She was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer back in January of 2018. The doctors gave her six to nine months, and she was a fighter she took 22. She did fight the good fight with a lot of faith and positivity.
Mallory Moss 38:27
As one of our members of the Board of BabyNames.com Kate was also a lifelong educator starting her teaching career in special ed. She then taught kindergarten for over 35 years and touch the lives of so many kids and families in her community. She’s even taught kids of the kids in her previous classes. Kate finished her teaching career working in English as a second language. She adored teaching English to the Spanish speaking kids in her community and the kids adored her.
Jennifer Moss 38:58
They really did. When Kate retired from teaching, she built a stained glass studio in her basement to pursue her art. Her stained glass work is stunning. And she only made them as gifts never to sell. Then she combined her love of teaching with her art by giving stained glass classes for her small town. And one woman posted that she didn’t even want to learn stained glass she just wanted to spend time with Kate.
Mallory Moss 39:25
That’s how special she was. She brought fun and enjoyed everyone who knew her. We love our big sisters. So in case we know that Kate is still listening with us.
Jennifer Moss 39:36
Thank you for tuning into our second season of the baby names podcast. We had a good one.
Mallory Moss 39:41
Yeah,
Jennifer Moss 39:42
and we appreciate our listeners so much. We’ll be back after a short hiatus with season three starting in 2020. Have a wonderful holiday season and much love from the Moss family to yours.
Mallory Moss 39:58
Bye guys. See you next year.
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.
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