Back to the Beginning

I know I say it a lot, but I'm amazed at how much names can change over time. While a few of our most popular names haven't changed much in the centuries (or decades...or less) since they were coined, many are quite old, and practically unrecognizable from their original forms.
This is mostly a "just for fun" post, but who knows?, maybe we'll find some usable alternatives to popular names. ;) See if you can guess them all!

Boys (2011, using the combined-spelling rankings):
1. Áedán
2. Jayden
3. Ya'aqov (via Iacobus)
4. Jackson
5. Mason
6. Kayden
7. Mikha'el
8. Willahelm
9. Eytan/Eitan
10. Noach
11. Alexandros
12. Daniyyel
13. Eliyyahu
14. Mattityahu
15. Antonius
16. Christophoros
17. Kalev
18. Yehoshu'a
19. Liam
20. Braden
21. Ya'aqov (via Iacomus)
22. Andreas
23. Dawid
24. Binyamin
25. Yosef

Girls (again, 2011, using combined-spelling rankings):
1. Sophia
2. Elisheva (via Elisabel)
3. Olivia
4. Emma
5. Chloe
6. Aemilia
7. Chawwah
8. Avigayil
9. Madison
10. Kaylee
11. Zoe
12. Miryam
13. Magdalene
14. Addison
15. Hayley
16. Lily
17. Alberich (masc.)
18. Reilly
19. Aaliyah
20. Leila
21. Natalia
22. Ariadne
23. Elisheva (via Elisabet)
24. Brooklyn
25. Aikaterine

Double Trouble

So, I was browsing the SSA database, wishing that the 2012 stats were out (three more weeks?!? GAH.), and came across the most common twin names. I know I've seen this before, but I never really looked too hard. I mean, statistically, the most common names for kids overall are still going to be pretty common for twinsies, too, right? Partially.
What I failed to consider is the common proclivity towards "matchy" names. What seems to happen quite frequently is for one twin to get a popular name, and the other to get an uncommon "match". Names that are quite uncommon overall are disproportionately more common for a twin.
Now, the data isn't perfect, of course--it only shows most common twinsets.  So, a name like Kaylee, which has dozens of spelling in use, doesn't rank highly at all. Also, a name could theoretically be in use frequently, but not paired with any one name particularly often. It wouldn't show up in these rankings either.
So, with those limitations in mind, here're some interesting stats:

The most common twin pairs are: Olivia & Sophia, Madison & Mason; Daniel & David.
However, if you break the pairs up:

G/G Names			B/G Names			B/B Names
Olivia	142		Mason	70		Jayden	120
Sophia	142		Madison	60		Logan	98
Emma	120		Ethan	49		Ethan	91
Isabella	91		Emma	44		Joshua	90
Ava	74		Isabella	39		Jacob	89
Abigail	60		Olivia	39		Isaiah	85
Madison	58		Abigail	38		Andrew	69
Ella	57		Jayden/Jaden	37		Alexander	67
Makenzie/Mackenzie	88		Jada/Jayda	36		Benjamin	67
Gabriella	48		Addison	26		Nathan	66
Faith	46		Aiden	25		Matthew	65
Makayla	40		Alexander	25		Daniel	58
Emily	34		Sophia	24		David	58
Hope	33		Emily	22		Jordan	53
Hailey/Haylee	31		Chloe	21		Noah	53
Heaven	29		Jacob	20		Elijah	52
Nevaeh	29		Ava	19		Michael	52
Mia	26		Michael	19		Isaac	47
Addison	24		Andrew	18		Nicholas	46
Elizabeth	22		Owen	18		Aiden/Ayden	42
Hannah	18		Zoey	18		Evan	39
Avery	15		Zachary	17		Lucas	39
Arianna	14		Isaiah	14		Jeremiah	33
Brianna	14		Jackson	14		Anthony	31
London	14		Ella	12		Jaylen	26
Paris	14		Taylor (g)	12		Mason	26
Grace	13		Tyler	12		Justin	25
Kaylee	13		Landon	11		Kayden	25
Samantha	13		London	11		Landon	25
Anna	12		Morgan	11		William	24
Chloe	12		Oliver	11		Caleb	23
Evelyn	12		Benjamin	9		James	23
Reagan	12		John	9		John	23
Riley	12		Mackenzie	9		Josiah	21
Zoey	12		Matthew	9		Luke	21
Sarah	11		Michelle	9		Chance	20
Jayla	10		Adrian	8		Chase	20
Katherine	10		Adriana	8		Hayden	20
Kayla	10		Charlotte	8		Hunter	20
Morgan	10		Elizabeth	8		Gabriel	19
Mya	10		Henry	8		Joseph	19
Natalie	10		Isaac	8		Samuel	17
Nicole	10		Jayla	8		Christian	16
Serenity	10		Samuel	8		Christopher	16
Trinity	10		William	8		Brandon	15
Autumn	9		Blake	7		Bryan	15
Sophie	9		Brooklyn	7		Liam	15
Summer	9		Caleb	7		Jason	13
Valentina	9		Colton	7		Maddox	13
Valeria	9		Connor	7		Garrett	12
			Jack	7		Gavin	12
			Jordan (b)	7		Henry	12
			Natalie	7		Jeremy	12
			Nathan	7		Jonah	12
			Robert	7
			Trinity	7
			Tristan	7
			Zane	7
			Austin	6

Most of the names aren't too surprising. Logan, however, is ranked either #20 or #26 (depending on whether you prefer the SSA ranking or the NameNerds rankings). Why is it so much more popular for twins? Because of its matchy-ness with other names--particularly Landon, Lucas, Luke, & Liam. Hope is down in the 200s, but it's commonly paired with Faith. Jayda/Jada is fairly uncommon as well, but is frequently paired with Jayden/Jaden & Jordan.

David & Daniel are the most common twinset for boys...but they only appear paired with each other! There are a few of these sets--Heaven & Nevaeh, London & Paris, Reagan & Riley, Jayla & Kayla, Summer & Autumn, Valentina & Valeria; Blake & Brooklyn, Taylor (g) & Tyler; Chance & Chase, Hayden & Hunter, Christian & Christopher. Unsurprisingly, "matchy" names are more common for g/g sets.
(It's a bit depressing, actually.)

I also find it interesting that of all the unisex names, only Jordan shows up as only male. Jordyn is a fairly popular name, so I'm at loss as to why it doesn't appear in twin-sets often.

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Nick/Niko

It's funny how when asked for classic boys' names, we have a tendency to list names we know from our generation. Jason, Andrew, Ryan....and yes, Nicholas, all seem to be considered "classic". And yet, they're all very trendy to the 80/90s! While having an out-of-style name somehow isn't has horrible for guys as it is for girls, there are still quite a few nice substitutes for a little Nick. Nico/Niko is starting to gain use as a full name in its own right, too.

• Aniketos (ah-NEEK-eh-tohs, Greek)--"unconquerable"
• Besnik (BES-neek, Albanian)--"faithful"
• Domenico (doh-MEN-ee-koh, Italian)--form of Dominic
• Nicanor (nee-kah-NOHR, English, Spanish)--from Greek, "victory"
• Nikifor (nee-KEE-fohr, Polish, Russian)--from Greek, "carrying victory".
• Nicodème (nee-koh-DEM, French)--from Greek, "victory of the people"
• Nicomedo (nee-koh-MEH-doh, Italian)--from Greek, "thinking of victory"
• Nikhil (nik-HIL, Hindi)
• Nikias (nee-KEE-as, [ancient] Greek)
• Yannick (yah-NEEK, Breton, French)--form of Yann/John

Whoo!

And now you can see what I've been wasting my time with! Just for fun, of course--
The Celebrity Baby Name Generator!
Just the girls' is functional for now, but since I've got it working finally, the boys' side shouldn't take too long.

As much as we all make fun of ridiculous celeb baby names, I am a bit jealous of them. There are tons of names I would use in a perfect world, but celebs don't seem to have those limitations. They're in a different world, and let's face it, the names they choose often reflect that.

I've tried to avoid names that are super-unique to one celebaby ("Inspektor", "Audio", etc), and just capture the general style. If there's any specific name you don't see that you feel should be added to the pool, please let me know!

Many resulting names are probably usable by you & me; others....probably not. ;)

Same Name?!?--Mini Grab Bag II (boys)

• Aubrey (AW-bree, English))
• Alberico (al-BEHR-ee-koh, Italian)
• Auberon (OH-behr-on, French)--Also spelled Oberon.
• Avery (AY-ver-ee, English)
• Isaac (EYE-zak, English)
• Isaak (EE-sahk, German, Scandinavian; ee-SAAHK, Russian)
• Izaak (ee-ZAHK, Polish)
• Izsák (EE-zhahk, Hungarian)
• Sahak (sah-HAHK, Armenian)
• Yitzhak (yeets-KHAHK, Hebrew)

• Noah (NOH-ah, English)
• Noach (noh-AHKH, Hebrew)
• Noak (NOH-ahk, Swedish)
• Noé (noh-AY, French, Spanish, Portuguese)
• Noe (NOH-ay, Italian)
• Nojus (NOY-us, Lithuanian)

• Xavier (ek-ZAYV-yer, ZAYV-yer, English)
• Javier (hah-vee-EHR, Spanish)
• Ksawery (ksah-VEH-rih, Polish)
• Saverio (sahv-EHR-ee-oh, Italian)

Bi-cultural Names--Greek/English (girls)

Direct transliteration ("spelled" the same), with (usually) small pronunciation difference:

• Alexandra--English, al-eks-AN-drah; Greek, ah-leks-AHN-drah
• Alexis--English & Greek, ah-LEKS-is [usually masculine in Greek]
• Anastasia--English, an-nah-STAYZH-yah, Greek, ah-nah-stahs-EE-ah
• Anna--English, AN-nah, Greek, AHN-nah
• Antonia--English, an-TOH-nee-ah;Greek, ahn-toh-NEE-ah
• Athena--English, ah-THEE-nah, Greek, ah-thee-NAH
• Chloe--English, KLOH-ee; Greek, KHLOH-ee
• Christina--English, kris-TEE-nah; Greek, khrees-TEE-nah
• Dorothea--English, doh-roh-THEE-ah; Greek, doh-roh-THEH-ah
• Georgia--English, JOR-jah; Greek, yohr-GEE-ah
• Iris--English, EYE-ris; Greek, EE-rees
• Lydia--English, LID-ee-ah; Greek, lih-DEE-ah
• Maria--English & Greek, mah-REE-ah
• Marianna--English, mehr-ee-AN-nah; Greek, mah-ree-AHN-nah
• Marina--English & Greek, mah-REE-nah
• Martha--English & Greek, MAHR-thah
• Melina--English & Greek, meh-LEE-nah
• Petra--English & Greek, PET-rah
• Selene--English, seh-LEEN, seh-LEE-nee; Greek, seh-LEE-nee
• Stella--English & Greek, STEL-lah
• Theodora--English, thee-ah-DOHR-ah, theh-ah-DOHR-ah; Greek, theh-ah-DOHR-ah
• Vera--English, VEHR-ah, VEER-ah; Greek, VEHR-ah

One/two-letter difference:

• Agatha--English, AG-ah-thah; Agathe--Greek, ah-gah-THEE
• Agnes--English, AG-nes, Agni/Agne--Greek, ahg-NEE
• Angelica--English, an-JEL-ih-kah; Angeliki--Greek, ang-yeh-lee-KEE
• Barbara--English, BAR-bah-rah; Varvara--Greek, vahr-VAHR-ah
• Calliope--English, kah-LYE-ah-pee; Kalliope--Greek, kal-YOH-pee
• Coralie--English, KOR-ah-lee; Koralia--Greek, koh-rah-LEE-ah
• Corinna--English, koh-RIN-nah; Korina--Greek, koh-REE-nah
• Elizabeth/Elisabeth--English, eh-LIZ-ah-beth; Elisavet--Greek, eh-lee-SAH-vet
• Ellen--English, EL-en; Eleni/Elene--Greek, el-EH-nee
• Irene--English, eye-REEN; Eirene--Greek, ee-REE-nee
• Isadora--English, iz-ah-DOH-rah; Isidora--Greek, ee-see-DOH-rah
• Joanna--English, joh-AN-nah; Ioanna--Greek, yoh-AHN-nah
• Louisa--English, loo-EE-zah; Louiza--Greek, loo-EE-zah
• Magdalena--English, mag-dah-LEE-nah, mag-dah-LAY-nah; Magdalene/Magdalini--Greek, mag-dah-lee-NEE
• Penelope--English, peh-NEL-oh-pee; Pinelopi/Penelope--Greek, pee-neh-LOH-pee
• Philippa--English, FIL-ip-pah, fil-IP-pah; Filippa--Greek, FIL-ee-pah
• Phyllis--English, FIL-lis; Fyllis/Phyllis--Greek, FIL-lis
• Sarah--English, SEHR-ah, SAH-rah; Sara--Greek, SAH-rah
• Sophia--English, soh-FEE-ah. Sofia/Sophia--Greek, soh-FEE-ah
• Tabitha--English, TAB-ih-thah; Tavitha--Greek, tah-vee-THAH
• Zoe--English, ZOH-ee; Zoi/Zoe--Greek, zoh-EE

Larger difference, but still recognizable:

• Cleo/Clio--English, KLEE-oh; Kleio--Greek, klee-OH
• Constance--English, KON-stants; Konstantia--Greek, kohn-stan-TEE-ah
• Cynthia--English, SIN-thee-ah; Kynthia--Greek, kin-THEE-ah
• Denise--English, deh-NEES; Dionysia--Greek, dee-ah-NEE-see-ah
• Eugenia--English, yoo-JEN-yah, yoo-JEEN-yah; Evgenia--Greek, ev-gen-EE-ah
• Katherine--English, KATH-er-in; Aikaterine--Greek, eye-kat-eh-REE-nee
• Nicole--English, nih-KOHL; Nikoleta--Greek, nih-koh-LEH-tah
• Phoebe--English, FEE-bee; Foivi/Phoibe/Phoebe--Greek, FEE-vee
• Stephanie--English, STEF-ah-nee; Stefania--Greek, steh-fah-NEE-ah
• Veronica--English, veh-RON-ih-kah; Ferenike--Greek, feh-reh-NEE-kee

Iamb What I Am

Confused? That's okay, I had to double-check that I was using the right term, too. If your remembrance of high school poetry is even worse than mine--an 'iamb' is a segment of verse that consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
English names mostly don't fit, but a few do--Marie, Nicole, Renee, Elaine, Louise, Diane, Christine, Michelle, Yvette, Danielle, Yvonne (note the French origins!). Iambic names often get relegated to the middle name slot--they tend to "flow" better that way, since most English names are stressed on the first or penultimate syllable.
And so, here's a bunch of names that would make good middle names (excluding the ones on the fantastic NameNerds' page on middle names). Unsurprisingly, a few certain languages make up the majority!

• Agathe (ah-GAHT, French)
• Aimée (eh-MAY, French)--form of Amy
• Aline (ah-LEEN, French)--form of Adeline/Adele/Alice
• Andrée (ahn-DRAY, French)--feminine of Andre/Andrew
• Anouk (ah-NOOK, Dutch, French)--form of Anne/Hannah
• Arlette (ahr-LET, French)
• Arline (ar-LEEN, English)
• Aurore (oh-ROHR, French)
• Aviv (ah-VEEV, Hebrew)--"spring" [unisex]
• Axelle (ahk-SEL, French)
• Aylin (eye-LIN, Turkish)--"moon halo"
• Aysel (eye-SEL, Turkish)--"moon stream" [fig. "Milky Way"]
• Aysun (eye-SOON, Turkish)--"beautiful as the moon"
• Azar (ah-ZAHR, Persian)--"fire"
• Belén (beh-LEN, Spanish)
• Benoite (ben-WAWT, French)--feminine of Benoit/Benedict
• Beste (bes-TEH, Turkish)--"melody"
• Cécile (say-SEEL, French)
• Ceren (jeh-RAHN, Turkish)--"young gazelle"
• Chenda (chen-DAH, Khmer)--"intellect"
• Christelle (krees-TEL, French)--form of Christine
• Clémence (klay-MAWNS, French)
• Clotilde (kloh-TEELD, French)
• Colleen (kol-LEEN, English)
• Cosette (koh-ZET, French)
• Danielle (dan-YEL, English, French)
• Delphine (del-FEEN, French)
• Dilan (dih-LAHN, Turkish)--"love"
• Emel (eh-MEL, Turkish)
• Esen (eh-SAHN, Turkish)--"wind"
• Evren (ehv-RAHN, Turkish)--"the cosmos"
• Florette (floh-RET, French)
• Georgette (johr-JET, English; zhohr-ZHET, French)
• Georgine (johr-JEEN, English; zhohr-ZHEEN, French)
• Ghislaine (gee-LEN, zhees-LEN, French)--form of Giselle
• Haydée (eye-DAY, Spanish)
• Hazan (hah-ZAHN, Turkish)--"autumn"
• Helene (heh-LEEN, English)
• Hélène (ay-LEN, French)
• Ilkay (eel-KYE, Turkish)--"new moon"
• Inès, Inés (ee-NES, French, Spanish)--form of Agnes
• Irene (eye-REEN, English)
• Irène (ee-REN, French)
• Isaure (ee-ZOHR, French)
• Iseult (ee-ZOOLT, French)
• Izar (ee-SAHR, Basque)--"star"
• Jacinthe (zhah-SENT, French)--form of Hyacinth
• Janine (jah-NEEN, English)
• Jolie (joh-LEE, English)--from French, "pretty"
• Josée (zhoh-ZAY, French)--feminine of Joseph
• Josette (zhoh-ZET, French)--another feminine of Joseph
• Kiraz (kih-RAHZ, Turkish)
• Laleh (lah-LAY, Persian)--"tulip"
• Lawan (lah-WAHN, Thai)--"beautiful"
• Lenore (len-OHR, English)
• Lilou (lee-LOO, French)
• Lior (lee-OHR, Hebrew)--"my light" [unisex]
• Liron (lee-ROHN, Hebrew)--"my song/joy" [unisex]
• Lore (loh-REH, Basque)--"flower"
• Lucrece (loo-KREES, English)
• Lucrèce (loo-KRES, French)
• Lujayn (loo-ZHAYN, lu-JAYN, Arabic)--"silver"
• Mairéad (mah-RAYD, Irish)--form of Margaret
• Malai (mah-LYE, Thai)--"garland of flowers"
• Marine (mah-REEN, French)
• Marise (mah-REEZ, French)
• Meital (may-TAHL, Hebrew)--"dew drop"
• Méline (may-LEEN, French)
• Merav (meh-RAHV, Hebrew)
• Mercé (mehr-SAY, Catalan)--"mercy"
• Morgane (mor-GAHN, French)
• Mylène (mee-LEN, French)
• Nahid (nah-HEED, Persian)--"pure, immaculate"
• Nasrin (nahs-REEN, Persian)--"wild rose"
• Nimet (nih-MET, Turkish)--from Arabic, "blessings"
• Nuray (noo-RYE, Turkish)--"bright moon"
• Noelle (noh-EL, English)
• Odette (oh-DET, French)--feminine of Otto
• Osanne (oh-ZAHN, French)
• Pari (pah-REE, Persian)--"fairy"
• Parvin (pahr-VEEN, Persian)--"Pleiades"
• Pascale (pas-KAL, French)--from Latin, "Easter"
• Perrine (peh-REEN, French)--feminine of Pierre/Peter
• Pilar (pee-LAHR, Spanish)
• Ravid (rah-VEED, Hebrew)
• Rayen (rah-YEN, Spanish)--from Mapuche, "flower"
• Régine (ray-ZHEEN, French)--from Latin, "queen"
• Remei (reh-MAY, Catalan)
• Reyhan (ray-HAHN, Turkish)
• Romane (roh-MAHN, French)
• Roser (roh-ZAY, Catalan)--"rosary"
• Rosine (roh-ZEEN, French)--form of Rose
• Sabine (sah-BEEN, French)
• Sahar (sah-HAR, Persiah)--"dawn"
• Shirin (shee-REEN, Persian)--"sweet"
• Sibéal (shih-BAYL, Irish)--form of Isabel
• Sivan (see-VAHN, Hebrew)
• Soleil (soh-LAY, French)--"sun"
• Sothy (soh-TEE, Khmer)--"intelligence" [unisex]
• Sylvaine (seel-VEN, French)
• Tamar (tah-MAHR, Hebrew)--original form of Tamara
• Terese (teh-REES, English; teh-RAYS, Swedish)
• Tiphaine (tee-FEN, French)--form of Tiffany
• Vered (veh-RED, Hebrew)--"rose"
• Vérène (vay-REN, French)
• Victoire (veek-TWAWR, French)
• Zareen (zah-REEN, Persian)--"golden"
• Zhaleh (zhah-LAY, Persian)--"dew"
• Zivit (zee-VEET, Hebrew)--"radiant"
• Ziynet (zee-NET, Turkish)

And if you're looking for boys' iambic names, you can find some here.