Cool Name of the Week: Margaery

Monday, April 1st, 2013

Anyone else catch last night’s premiere of Game of Thrones? I’ll have a full writeup tomorrow of my favorite names from this crazy fantasy series, but my cool name of the week comes from the new princess-in-training.

Margaery proved herself in yesterday’s episode to be the Princess Diana of the Seven Kingdoms, stopping off at an orphanage in a decrepit neighborhood to provide toys and aid. Though she seemed to provoke the current queen, Cersei, with her behavior, she wouldn’t back down (perhaps another nod to recent English royal history).

I like the distinctive spelling used on Game of Thrones and in its source material, A Song of Fire and Ice. But the source of the name is clearly Margery, a variant of Margaret, which means “pearl.” Margery is sometimes given the meaning “child of light.” It’s a lesser-used variant, which hasn’t been in the top 1000 names since the late 1950s. Perhaps this unique spelling, Margaery, will help bring it back to the forefront.

It comes with most of the same nicknames as Margaret—Meg and Maggie, Marge and May. It should be paired with a short and sweet middle name—something like Belle, Anne, or Jane would be perfect.

What do you think of Margaery (or Margery)? Would it be a name you’d pick? Don’t forget to stop back tomorrow for my full Game of Thrones name recap.

Photo: Pregnant woman via Ronald Summers/Shutterstock.com

Royal Baby Name: Has It Been Revealed?

Thursday, March 14th, 2013

There are a lot of loose lips in the royal inner circle. After the Duchess of Cambridge (AKA the former Kate Middleton) accidentally let slip a “d” that led many to believe that the royal family will be adding a new princess, now there are rumblings that someone has leaked the baby name the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have chosen for the future ruler of England: Elizabeth Diana Carole.

Not a bad choice—in fact, I speculated back when the royal couple announced their pregnancy that both Elizabeth and Diana would be among the names given to a future queen.

Elizabeth is obviously in homage to the current and past grand dames of England—and a nice way to pay tribute to William’s grandmother. Diana honors William’s mother, while Carole is Kate’s mother’s name.

I had picked Eleanor Diana Victoria Elizabeth—do I get points for being half right?

What do you think? Is this leak the real deal? And is it what you expected?

Image: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

What Happened With Baby Names in 2012

Thursday, December 13th, 2012

It’s that time of year again, when every media outlet summarizes the big stories of the year. (Sometimes, I think I might just skip watching CNN and reading the newspaper and just catch up on everything I missed, splashed in stylish slideshows, when the year ends.)

So here’s my year in review, of everything baby name related:

• Stars are keeping their baby names secret—and that reticence seems to spur even bigger hoopla over their babies. It took months for Sarah Michelle Gellar and Uma Thurman to finally reveal their babies’ names. And we still don’t know what Adele or Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin picked for their babies.

• We’re totally obsessed with what Wills and Kate will name their baby (or is it babies???). My blog post speculating on potential royal baby names was already one of the most popular ones this year. I’m looking forward to finding out if my guesses were anywhere near correct.

• We’re asking for help with our baby names. Yahoo! CEO Marisa Mayer famously crowdsourced her son’s name (MacAllister), but other people are turning toward naming experts or simply posting their options on websites like ours looking for opinions. (And hey, if you do want some free advice, feel free to send your dilemma our way at lamilbrand@gmail.com.)

• Stars are still choosing offbeat baby names. I’ve chosen my 10 most intriguing celebrity baby names, but there was no scarcity of interesting choices that didn’t make the cut. Like Jason Lee’s Sonny, or Sienna Miller’s Marlowe Ottoline. Of course, celebrities don’t have the monopoly on weird baby names—just consider poor Hashtag Jameson.

• We’ve already rounded up our top Parents.com baby names. And some of the top names on our site might surprise you (Bradley for a boy—Cadence for a girl, for instance?)

• I made my predictions of some of the hottest baby names for 2013. If you’re picking Olive or Declan and thinking your kiddo will be the only one sporting that name in preschool, think again.

What do you think was the most interesting baby name story of the year? Share it in the comments below. (And don’t forget to like In Name Only on Facebook, so you can keep up with the coolest names of the week, the latest in celebrity baby name news, and all things baby names!)

Photo: 2012 by © Devi /Shutterstock.com

What Should William and Kate Name Their Baby?

Monday, December 3rd, 2012

In case you haven’t heard, Prince William and Kate are expecting a future king or queen of England–thanks to recent changes in English law, male heirs are no longer given preference in taking over the throne. But while everyone’s abuzz over whether it’s a prince or princess on the way, I’m already skipping ahead to the baby names. 

You can already expect that this couple won’t be going for some of the more unusual names of late–so we can forget about Prince Pilot or Princess Hashtag. They may be modern monarchs, but they still have a very healthy respect for tradition. So I’d expect some good, traditional British names. And that means we’re also into Uma Thurman baby-naming territory, as royals tend to give their babies four or five names. (Prince William was christened William Arthur Philip Louis.)

You can probably get a sense of what names will appear in the collection if you get a good look at the British royal lineage–there’s no doubt that most (if not all) of the names will have some historical background.

For boys, we’re talking names like Henry, James, George, Charles and Thomas. Here’s my best guess: The first name will either be James (a common royal name) or Alfred (the nickname Alfie is #4 on Britain’s name popularity list, so this isn’t as out-there as it sounds to American ears). Philip will be one of the middle names (it’s the name of William’s grandfather, and both he and his father have it as one of their middle names). In fact, here’s my best guess: Alfred Charles Philip James. (Alternate name possibilities: Edward or Edmund, George, Albert and John.) 

And what name would befit a future queen? I’d like to see an Eleanor (after one of the most powerful women in medieval Europe, Eleanor of Aquitaine) or Victoria (after the vaunted 19th century monarch). I expect to see Diana pop up as one of the middle names, in homage to William’s mother. And don’t entirely discount a slight veer from British royal lineage. A name like Grace, which is currently in the top 10 in the U.K., would be a beautiful choice. Here’s my bet for the princess’s moniker: Eleanor Diana Victoria Elizabeth. (Alternate name possibilities could include Alice, Beatrice, Anne and Margaret.)

What do you think Wills and Kate should name their first born? Share your ideas in the comments.

Featureflash / Shutterstock.com