New Surname Names :: E

Inspiration :: Emlyn (Painting of Newcastle Emlyn)

I seem to gravitate towards E- names when choosing names to put on my personal lists but sometimes I cannot find less popular choices. I love the likes of Emily and Emmeline although sometimes I just want something new and exciting. My favourite on this list has to be Elizalde for her spunky z and elegant, sophisticated style. I added a new category of 'similar names' so you can see how these more unusual names can be used as alternatives to chart toppers.

Eade

Origin: English

Meaning: Nickname for Edith

Features: Short, sweet with a neutral sound.

Similar Names: Eve, Eden

Ealey

Origin: English/Irish

Meaning: Habitation name

Features: Nicknamey sound but a ‘proper’ name.

Similar Names: Ellie, Eli

Eame

Origin: English

Meaning: Uncle

Features: Simple with a pleasing sound.

Similar Names: Emmy, Emme, Emma.

Ebi

Origin: English

Meaning: Wild + Boar

Features: Cool –i ending and the simplicity of three letters.

Similar Names: Eli

Echelle

Origin: French

Meaning: Ladder

Features: Has the supermodel style –elle ending but without the popularity of Estelle or the dated feel of Michelle.

Similar Names: Estelle, Michelle, Elle.

Edzard

Origin: German/Frisian

Meaning: Edge, brave, strong.

Features: The z updates Edward but keeps a familiar feel.

Similar Names: Edward, Ezra.

Elcy

Origin: English

Meaning: Elf victory

Features: The c spelling seems to make it more of an androgynous name and adds a bit of a sensible touch to the nicknamey Elsie.

Similar Names: Elsie, Eli, Lucy.

Elizalde

Origin: Basque

Meaning: Topographic name

Features: A rarer, fresher version of Elizabeth with one fewer syllable to worry about.

Similar Names: Elizabeth, Mathilde, Isolde.

Elphey

Origin: English

Meaning: Elf battle

Features: Not the most substantial of names but longer than Alf or Fay/Fey.

Similar Names: Alfie, Fey.

Elzas

Origin: German/Jewish

Meaning:

Features: Sounds unusual but strong and easy to pronounce.

Similar Names: Ezra, Eleazer, Eliaz.

Emary

Origin: English

Meaning: Bravery and power

Features: The fashionable Em- beginning and classic Mary ending make this much more than a creative spelling of Emory.

Similar Names: Emory, Mary, Emily,

Emberry

Origin: English

Meaning: Bravery and power

Features: A daring choice with a subtle naturey twist.

Similar Names: Ember, Huckleberry.

Emmel

Origin: English

Meaning: Bravery and power

Features: A tailored version of many popular girls’ names. It has a soft but not airy sound.

Similar Names: Emmy, Emmeline, Amael.

Emslie

Origin: Scottish

Meaning: Habitation name

Features: Another variation on popular girls’ names and a useful way to link a name to Scotland.

Similar Names: Lindsey, Leslie, Emily.

Emson

Origin: English

Meaning: Variant of Emma

Features: Different to the rising Emerson and more sleek as it only has two syllables.

Similar Names: Emerson, Emma, Anderson.

Esslin

Origin: English

Meaning: God + protector/helmet

Features: Easy to pronounce, strong meaning and a pretty surfer style sound.

Similar Names: Agnes, Evelyn.

Around the World :: Iceland

I was watching the credits for the film 'Noah' the other day. Only a name nerd would skip the actual film and go straight to pages and pages of lovely names! About halfway through, there was a set of names titled 'Icelandic Crew' that contained so many new names to me. Thoranna and Finnur are my favourites.

Male 'Icelandic Crew' Names

                                              Female 'Icelandic Crew' Names

Top Baby Names in Iceland 2015

Girls

1. Guðrún

2. Anna

3. Kristín

4. Sigdríður

5. Margrét/Margrjet/Margret

6. Helga

7. Sigrún

8. Ingibjörg

9. María

10. Jóhanna

11. Elín

12. Katrín

13. Hildur

14. Ragnheiður

15. Lilja

Boys

1. Jón

2. Sigurður

3. Guðmundur

4. Gunnar

5. Ólafur/Olav

6. Einar

7. Kristján/Kristian/Christian

8. Magnús

9. Stefán/Stefan

10. Jóhann

11. Björn

12. Arnar

13. Árni

14. Bjarni

15. Helgi

Baby Naming Rules in Iceland

Forenames

A forename must follow the linguistic structure and orthography of the Icelandic language. It must also be obviously male or female. There is a list of approved names and any others must be approved by the court.

Family Names

You are allowed one family name and this also has to be established in the Icelandic language.

Surnames

Surnames are either patronymic or metronymic. You can use the name of your father or mother with the suffix –son (for a boy) or –dóttir (for a girl). People in Iceland do not take their spouse’s name when they get married.

My favourite bit of the Icelandic rules says ‘A name may not be such as to cause its bearer embarrassment.’ Good advice indeed.

US vs UK :: 1880s and 1890s

I always thought that the UK and the US popularity charts looked pretty similar. I talked to my US friends as if the same names were popular in the same decades. But when I took a closer look at the charts, I was amazed at how many names differed.

Names that were in the UK but not US popularity charts in 1880

 

Names that were in the UK but not US popularity charts in 1890

 

 

Names that were in the US but not UK popularity charts in 1880

 

 

Names that were in the US but not UK popularity charts in 1890

On the whole, the US names were shorter and had many more nicknames. The boys' names included names ending in -d and -er. The UK names were longer and more ended in consonants. It was interesting to see the amount of Biblical names in the 'only UK' list. This seems to have switched round now with many Biblical names in the US popularity list.

New Surname Names :: D

Inspiration :: Dorsey (painting by Jed Dorsey)

Below are some surname names beginning with D that are either in usage but unusual or very rare.

 

Dalby

Origin: English

Meaning: Habitation name

Has the same feel as popular surname names Avery and Hudson but slightly less bold sounding.
 

Dauphin

Origin: French

Meaning: Dolphin

Dauphin fits all the name trends – it is an international name, a word name and has a nature meaning. Quite a daring choice.
 

Deegan

Origin: Irish

Meaning: Descendent of Dubhceann

Sounds like popular Tegan but with the energetic double e to perk it up a bit.

Delius

Origin: Greek

Meaning: From Delos

Historical, musical and grand. Del would be such a cute nickname.
 

Devaney

Origin: Irish

Meaning: Dark-haired

Delaney is rising but Devaney is unheard of. Another sing-song Celtic surname to add to the list.
 

Doherty

Origin: Gaelic

Meaning: Descendant of Dochartach

Yet another sing-song Celtic surname to add to the list.
 

Dolcetta

Origin: Italian

Meaning: Sweet

Fits in with all the multi-syllabic –a ending girls names like Amelia and Arabella. Etta would probably be a better nickname than Dolly at this period of time unless your daughter is a so-uncool-she-is-cool kind of daughter.
 

Dorsey

Origin: English

Meaning: Dark

It doesn’t have the literary connections of Darcy but all the same benefits of being a nickname-sounding surname name.
 

Dove

Origin: Gaelic

Meaning: Black, bird name.

Dove hasn’t worked its way into many of the bird-name lists I have seen, probably because of its odd phonology but the beautiful imagery and symbolism make this name a winner.