The business of being busy

Just a note to subscribers that this blog will be updated less due to my increased work and life commitments. Yes, unlike other people in interweb land I have a job and a life that demands my attention!

Fortunately naming trends aren't as fickle as fashions!

Early Octobians

What is an Octobian? I'm not really sure, perhaps I've invented a word! I am saying an Octobian is someone born in October. So here are our newest Octobians, unfortunately there aren't many girls!

Eve Willow - Willow is starting to become a favourite of mine

Madeline Jessica

Rhylee Paige - 'no, I'm Riley with an H' horrible spelling!

Tiana Layla

Charley May - what is with the spelling!

Maddie Grace

Maddison Kathleen

Ava Soh Hee

Ruby Sienna - Red and Brown, nice.

Steven William

Fynn Anthony Jack

Zac Charles

Jesse Albert

Hugo Peter Patrick

Mitchell Anthony

Nate Levi

Oliver Lawrence

Jai Michael

Zachary Michael

Denham John David - not sure on Denham, sounds like denim, worked with sib set though!

Saxon Kayne - ughhh

Jaxson Nickolas - horrible spelling!

Around The World Whip Around

An international whip around the world (English speaking countries only) to see what people have been naming their bundles of joy!

USA - Various states (Thanks L). There are some horrible names in here and I feel badly for those kids. Story Elizabeth is interesting, I wonder if she'll be able to pull it off. My favourite is Nina Adeline for girls and I'm going safe for boys with Andrew Michael. Hendix Cashmere would have to be the worst boys name IMO

Isabella Marie

Jordin Nicole

Kenley Elisabeth

Joanna Jane

Story Elizabeth

Freya Ravanna

Vivienne Delane

Olivia Rose

Lily Cheyanne

Kayla Lee

Adison Avery Elizabeth

Zoey Layne

Logyn Elizabeth

Ava Denise

Nina Adeline

Kamryn Zahara

McKynlee Rose - No, I didn't make that spelling up.

John Wesley Jacoby

Alexander Matthew

Kahne Phoenix

Morrison Levi

Hendrix Cashmere

Kynan Reshad

Joseph Edward

Tyler Brady

Dominic Scott

Liam Richard

Andrew Michael

Jaiden Louis

Riley Kennedy

Jackson Jonas - I guess they couldn't decide which musical family to name after!

United Kingdom - I can say that the only name from the UK recently that I raised my eyebrows about was Rufus. It's different, not sure if I'd want my kid to be called Rufie, but I guess if your in to that...

Beatrice May

Freya Virginia

Phoebe Anne

Tabitha Rose

Laura Isobel and Rosie Eliza

Eleanor May

Flora Beatrice

Sophie Barbara Ysenda

Emily Freda Joy

Louisa Mary Heather

Abigail Mary

Eloise Jane

Matilda Grace

Poppy Georgia Elizabeth - 3 of my favourites but I don't know how well they work here esp as the surname is hyphenated. 5 names is a lot!

Oliver Stanley Rupert

Edward Walter

John Charles Timothy

Rufus Hector

Theo Henry

Leo James

Zander David

Tom William

George Huge

Samuel Ralph

William Atticus

Laurence Richard St. George

That's it for the whip around but can we expect to see these names making an influence on Australian births? From the America's, God I hope not, from the UK, yes please.

Also a special announcement for a friend who recently gave birth to a little boy named Kai and another who had a son named Tai. Don't worry they don't know each other. Congratulations to you both and all my love!

Fashionable Francophiles Flock to Fashion Week - aka French names to honour Paris Fashion Week

Bonjour. Accueillir à Onomastics Anonyme

Paris is one of my absolute favourite cities. Before I went there I used to think the whole city of love thing was just an advertising gimmick, well if it is then I'm sold! Cruising down the Seine past all that beautiful architecture, meandering the stunning corridors of the Palace of Versailles (ok not actually in Paris but close to it!) and the people everywhere enjoying the company of their partners. Paris really is a beautiful city. Anyhow, in honour of Paris Fashion week I thought I'd put a spotlight on French names. I love French names and I know there are plenty of other people out there who can't get enough of their French baby names!

Obviously I can't list every French name in existence so here are some of my favourites.

Some things to remember:

Think Jean-Pierre, Marie-Antoinette, Jean-Marc. Hyphenated first names are not at all uncommon in France. These are used as a persons full first name. If you meet a Jean-Pierre make sure you cal him that unless he tells you otherwise. I know a John-Pierre and he insists on only being called JP. So if you go for a hyphenated name be aware that people may want to shorten it, may sure you are ok with that.

Many girls names come from boys names and many have only the addition of a single letter to differentiate them. Sometimes the names are pronounced the same way as well and the spelling can be the only distinction. Make sure to take this into account when selecting a French name. Many names also have an English counterpart.

My Favourite French Girls Names

Adele

Aimee

Amelie

Anais

Anouk

Astrid

Brigitte

Camille

Capucine - Probably not a good one to use in Australia though for it's similarity to the drink Cappuccino.

Celine

Claire

Elodie

Emilie

Francoise

Helene

Henriette

Josephine

Juliette

Madeleine

Manon

Margaux

Martine

Monique

Noemi

Oceane

Odette

Simone

Valentine

Victoire

Zoe

My Favourite French Boys Names

Adrien

Antoine

Auguste

Benoir

Christian

Etienne

Francois

Henri

Julien

Leon

Louis

Marc

Olivier

Theodore

Tristan

Xavier

Zacharie

The last September births

Moving through the last of September Australia celebrated, well not all of us, a bunch of yobbo's many of whom are applauded for excessive drinking, drug taking, obscene sexual behaviour and sexual harassment. If you haven't caught on I'm talking about AFL. Yes that elusive one day in September where the footy bogans gravitate towards the heartland of Australian football, Melbourne. Don't ask me who won, I don't know and I don't care! What I do care about is what people have named their kids this September; so without further ado lets hear it for September...

Apart from a few, 'what were they thinking' this list is fairly bland, come on parents, lift your game just like those interest rates, the recession is over!

Trinity - do you think she'll be called Trinny? Hopefully not Tranny...

Isabelle Kate - lovely combo but Isabelle is oh so popular right now

Layla Grace

Yve Anne - Lovely but may have some prn problems with Yve

Amber Kate

Amelia Mary Rose - pink ribbons and bows, but I like it!

Chelsea Cait - umm did they forget the 'lyn'?

Madison

Arabella May - Nice until you read her twins brother's name below.

Kyla Elise

Zoe Sheree

Georgia Rose

Keeley Moira - Squealey to nana in 0.5 seconds

Taleisha - from the hood?

Mila Jade

Benjamin Arthur

Cameron Sean

Harrison Paul

Marcus William

Lewis Spencer

Matthew Alexander

Charlie William

Griffin Oliver - Please don't hurt me Mr. Griffin... In all fairness though it works great with the surname

Remi Hugh - Odd choice, didn't work with the surname which also ended in an E sound.

Harrison Everett - Nice to see Everett still getting some use

Isaac Dean

Blaize Dalmon - what the...? How could the twin of Arabella May get such a bad name?

Elias Italo

Alexander George

Edward Stanley

Hugh Thomas

Archer Henry - I like this, I'm giving it the Combo of the Post Award

Hopefully October brings something a little more interesting....

Feel free to comment...subscribe...do a little dance...

Names for naughty girls and boys

A recent poll came out conducted by parenting website bounty.com. They surveyed 3000 teachers to find the most common names for naughty kids and also for the smart and studious types. I don't necessarily agree with the results from the naughty list; here it is:

Boys

1. Callum

2. Connor

3. Jack

4. Daniel

5. Brandon

6. Charlie

7. Kyle

8. Liam

9. Jake

10. Brooklyn

Girls

1. Chelsea

2. Courtney

3. Chardonnay

4. Aleisha

5. Casey

6. Crystal

7. Jessica

8. Brooke

9. Demi

10. Aisha

Now being a teacher I feel it's pretty safe for me to make a thorough comment here. I'm yet to come across a Connor so can't comment there but Callum, I've known a few and they were neither the best or the worst students I've met. Jack is such a common name that I know some jacks with behaviour problems and some without. That is the problem with a list like this. What I can safely say is that at all the schools I have taught at I have had the most problems with boys whose names start with J, Jake and Jack making this list. Add to that Jayden and Josh. I've only ever taught 1 Brandon and he was horrendously studious, which was rather annoying.

As for girls, I laughed when I saw Chardonnay on this list firstly because it's pretty tacky and I'm not sure anyone would actually really name their child this, obviously I'm wrong on that second part. Seriously if my name was Chardonnay I'd act out too! I agree with this list far less than the boys list. Chelsea is a name I've never encountered problems with and probably would have put on the 'smart' list to be honest, the same with Casey and Jessica. Having never met a Demi or Aisha I can't comment there. Again there are names that crop up on lots of badly behaved kids like Emily, but considering Emily has been one of the worlds most popular names and there are at least two Emily's per class the chance of there being 'naughty' Emily's is out there.

Now for the 'smart' names:

Boys

1. Alexander

2. Adam

3. Christopher

4. Benjamin

5. Edward

6. Matthew

7. Daniel

8. James

9. Harry

10. William

Girls

1. Elisabeth

2. Charlotte

3. Emma

4. Hannah

5. Rebecca

6. Abigail

7. Grace

8. Alice

9. Anna

10. Sophie

I need to take the credibility from this list too. Some of the most problematic students I've had were named Benjamin, never had a 'good' one come to think of it. Add Harry to that list too! Last year a William from my class was suspended with despicable behaviour. So like the 'naughty' list I don't really agree with this one either. The only girls names on here that I actually agree with are Alice and Emma. I find it interesting that it is Elisabeth and not Elizabeth, Elisabeth is not hugely common whereas the other names on the girls list are rather popular.

So to round up, as a teacher I myself find this list to be a load of garbage.

Behaviour has more to do with parenting than names.

Baby Name Remorse

Have you ever wanted to change your child's name after they were born? This article has come from the Guardian in the UK and is an interesting read. Check it out here.

What are your thoughts on the issue?

I know! Lets spell it with a Y. Y I can't stand kr8ive spelling

So the most recent example of blatant kr8ive spelling would have to be that of Vanessa Hudgens character in the latest film Band Slam. She is Sa5m, but the 5 is silent. Ok so this is just a movie but things like this happen in real life too.

Most of the people I have come across looking for advice on names really like a name that is currently rather popular like for example Ava, Maddison and don't get me started on all the 'aiden' names out there. They then encounter the problem that their child will inevitably be one of a few in their classes at school. This is probably true however their next move is to try to change the spelling to make the name more unique. this generally involves adding the trendy 'y'.

For example:

Ava = Ayva.

Maddison = Maddyson or Maddysyn.

Aiden = Ayden or Aydyn

Jaiden = Jayden or Jaydyn

Madeline = Madilyne

Jason = Jayson

Miley = Mylee

Have you picked up that the names are still pronounced exactly the same, yes exactly the same. The only difference now is that the child given the name has to spell it for absolutely everyone they meet. Chances are that no matter how may times they spell it they will still end up with the more common spelling.

The bottom line is that alternate spelling do not make a name more unique, they make it more frustrating. Being one of a few is far less frustrating than having to spell your name for everyone. So if you want to use a popular name but are afraid of the popularity why not look for a similar alternative name. Trawling through popularity lists, like those listed in the links of this website, is a great place to find names that you can guarantee aren't hugely common.