Name News

The American Name Society is pleased to share the ANS Fall 2021 Newsletter.

Maybe we FORGET how to name - joyfully, creatively, just like toddlers. Plus, farm-fluencers, rarities from N. Ireland + a look back at 2004.

The American Name Society is pleased to share the ANS  Summer 2021 Newsletter.

Television, music + of course ... the Olympics! Where's the most unusual place you've ever found a possible baby name?

What's your best advice for naming two babies at once? My thoughts inside this edition.

Worried about BNoG? Maybe the solution is to embrace the opposite ...

Cultures have handled surnames LOTS of different ways. That means that your family is free to choose, too. (Don't believe me? Ask the Avengers.)

If you're stuck going over and over your list, here's my advice for this week: choose a favorite, even if it's not one you love. Measure every name against it and see if your name-to-beat really does come out on top.

Parents often rule out favorite names because of pop culture or current events. But those associations often fade ... sometimes in a matter of weeks.

Would you use a name like O'Brien (or O'Connor or O'Sullivan) for your child's first name? Or is dropping the O the right thing to do?

It's important, of course. But how do you balance the half-dozen equally important factors?

They don't last! So often, we take a loved one's initial reaction to a name too seriously. Ask them again when your child is one or five or 17? They'll have a completely different reaction.

Television, music + of course ... the Olympics! Where's the most unusual place you've ever found a possible baby name?

Do you ever feel like baby names have gotten TOO crazy? I get it, but Disney's Haunted Mansion Ghost Host nails the reality: turning back is not an option. Better enjoy the ride!

It takes the messy complexity of real life to make the final choice.

That's good news - it means that a child's name reached through compromise can become one you absolutely love.

We are not required to seek out the obscure in every aspect of our lives. If your favorite names are Ivy and Delilah, Cooper and Brooks, that's just fine.

Josh Swain discovered there were more Josh Swains ... so he challenged all the Joshes to an epic pool noodle battle. Obviously. But there's a lesson for parents in this wacky tale, too.

The American Name Society is pleased to share the ANS  Spring 2021 Newsletter.

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