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Strollerderby
Top Girl’s Names of 2010 (So Far): Seraphina?
Sierra gave her baby a cool name. I feel so lame and trend-ruled.
We’re crazy for baby names. The marketing genius behind Nameberry.com knows it, and she knows that any time she can release some new scoop on who’s naming who what, the parenting world will pounce. We believe names matter, and we’re right: as Sierra wrote earlier this year, girly names doom a boy to teasing and poor-sounding names decrease your odds of success.
As Time magazine put it, we want to be unique, but not too unique. Or maybe we do want to be too unique, and what we’re searching for is a name that no one’s used yet, scouring the top baby name lists for monikers like Purple or Whipcord. But name your child Snapfree and someone will surely follow: there’s something about baby names that follows an indefinable zeitgeist. Which is why I’m so intrigued by number two on Nameberry’s list of the most searched girls’ names of 2010 so far: Seraphina.
Because six years ago, when my daughter Lily was born (waaayyy before Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck were even a couple) that was “my” name. And I can’t remember why. Obviously I didn’t name Lily Seraphina. My husband, uncontrolled by pregnancy hormones, stepped in, and our oldest girl became Lily Katherine. Lily crawled up into the top 25 names shortly thereafter, but still hovers below the top ten, saving my Lily from the fate I hated as a kid, that of having the same name as at least two other girls in every class. But how is it that I, pushing a stroller with Sam in it all over New England, had on my list a rising name of the next decade?
Time magazine tried to answer that question last month. Isabella isn’t popular because of the Twilight books, but, as Madeline reported, had been steadily rising for more than a decade, reaching top ten lists in two states before cresting nationwide. Other popular names have similar backstories, seeming to rise up because of a pop culture use, but really predating their sudden celebrity with a steady increase. What Time couldn’t put a finger on, and no one really has, is why the herd mentality guides our name selections. Babble’s fantastic baby naming section has a poll up right now about who influences your name choice–but it turns out that our era and our neighbors probably matter more than any of the checkable options in the box.
So what are the “relatively style-conscious” visitors to the Nameberry site considering naming their girls this year? Here are the top twenty, from Nameberry founder Pamela Redmond Satran, along with the direction they’re trending in:
1. CHARLOTTE =
2. SERAPHINA =
3. OLIVIA =
4. VIOLET up
5. ELIZABETH down
6. ISLA down
7. SOPHIA down
8. LAURA up
9. CAROLINE up
10. AVA =
11. ALICE down
12. IMOGEN up
13. LUCY down
14. AMELIA up
15. SCARLETT down
16. MAISIE down
17. GRACE down
18. CLAIRE down
19. LILY down
20. STELLA down
I don’t know about you, but half of those were on my girl name lists both times around. I am feeling depressingly ruled by my times.
Sierra, on the other hand, is probably feeling quite smug.
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[...] and their list of the UK’s fastest rising baby names. Inspired by our own list of the top baby names of 2010 so far, the website’s editors did a little research to discover what names are climbing fast up the [...]
Most Popular Baby Names | Strollerderby commented on Jul 22 10 at 9:01 ambob commented on Jul 13 10 at 3:08 pmLooking up a name must be pretty different from having a kid you’re willing to use it on. Take Rufus and Satchel from their boys top 100 list, for example. I’m feeling skeptical.
JZ commented on Jul 13 10 at 3:29 pmI Agree with Bob. Good point.
Imogen? How do you pronounce that?
anon commented on Jul 13 10 at 3:31 pmMy name is Katherine. And I have a sister named Lily.
AwesomeCloud's Mom commented on Jul 13 10 at 4:56 pmSeraphina was on my list of girls’ names too. None of the others were, though, so I guess that’s not too bad.
Riley is not on there, huh? I rescued a cat named Riley and all of a sudden it seems like every third girl under the age of 6 is named Riley. In fact I have not yet been to a library playgroup that lacked a Riley. Whoever named my cat must be a trender.
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Jul 13 10 at 5:48 pmI have a niece named Riley…
My son’s name was pretty unique and then Lady Gagme had to make a fricken song using the name. Now people actually ask me if I named my son after the song. That came out this year. My son is two. *facepalm*
jenny tries too hard commented on Jul 13 10 at 6:42 pm@Scorpio, Alejandro? I’ve got one of those, too! Fortunately, he was born before Lady Gaga was even legal, I think.
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Jul 13 10 at 7:30 pmYup, Alejandro! But I am at a loss for what to name the boy due in less than a month… every name either sounds too plain, or so grandiose that they will sound like brothers from some sorta bodice-ripper….
jenny tries too hard commented on Jul 13 10 at 8:50 pmGabriel is the name I almost chose for my Alejandro’s twin brother, if that helps. We also considered Cristian, Joseph and Isaac, but ultimately we went with a name that may have been a bit too much…when I introduce them with their whole names I do think it sounds a little dramatic.
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Jul 14 10 at 3:43 amIn fact, my husband loves the name Gabriel, but he doesn’t like the nickname Gabe. He also would want to pronounce it with a Spanish accent, which to my ear sounds like Gabrielle. Currently on the table is Sebastian, also with the accent. Coupled with our double rolled R surname the two boys sound like gigalos with a trust fund. But I got to name the first so I may have to give in on the second. I can’t roll my Rs anyway.
Alison commented on Jul 14 10 at 5:43 amSome gorgeous names for girls but I seriously struggled with boys names. Threw the baby names books across the room on more occasions than I care to mention and then went for a name i thought of right at the beginning – Lewis. But if baby had been a girl we had 2 to choose from, Erin and Elizabeth. Easy to name a girl – hard to name a boy. Or is it just me?
Lisen commented on Jul 14 10 at 11:48 amComments
I’ve been fascinated by names since I was a little kid and would write stories just to use the various cool names I found in my grandmother’s 1940′s baby naming book. When I started having kids, I owned 4 or 5 baby naming books. I had my list of “regular” names: Caleb, Griffin, Wyatt, Benjamin, Zoe, Alexandra, Jory, Sawyer. But then I had my fun list of if-I-were-a-movie-star names: True, Sailor, Silver, Lulu, among others. All five of my kids have names that were on the regular list, but we made sure not to breath a word to family before the official naming took place in order to avoid the phenomenon that everyone thinks parents to be want their input.
Snarky Mama commented on Jul 14 10 at 12:53 pm@M_S: My first thought was Gabriel, with the accent. Other name ideas (since you didn’t ask): Luca, Gael, Matteo.
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Jul 14 10 at 2:45 pmI’m open to suggestions! But..
Luca – doesn’t he live on the second floor? (Suzanne Vega song)
Gael – reminds me of Jor El, Superman’s dad
Matteo – love, love, love this, but have a friend of same occupation that lives in same neighborhood, with a child same age as mine that already has the name!
jenny tries too hard commented on Jul 14 10 at 4:11 pmJoaquin? No “r”, in that one.
Baby names are sooo much more fun now that I’m done with my kids…
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Jul 14 10 at 4:38 pmHubby already sank that one. Another one I liked… even as a middle name he gave it a thumbs down.
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