Bottom of the Barrel: Jlee

In 2010, 8 American girls were given the name Jlee.

I'm guessing that this name is pronounced JAY-lee. Either that or some Glee fans have a poor understanding of English phonics.

It reminds me of a girl I grew up with, whose name was Lynz, pronounced LIN-zee.

Bottom of the Barrel: Gift

In 2010, 7 American girls were given the name Gift.

Happy Holidays!

Bottom of the Barrel: Chastelyn

In 2010, 8 American girls were given the name Chastelyn.

I'm not really sure what to make of this. Is it Chastity for the 21st century? Or maybe just Chase + -lyn with a random t thrown in there? There were also 8 girls named Chaselyn, so maybe the latter. Though, the former would make a better story.

Bottom of the Barrel: Rage

via The Daily Rage

In 2010, 8 American boys were given the name Rage.

From the Dustbin: Huldah

In the Bible, Huldah was a prophetess. Hulda (no h) is also a recurring figure in Norse and German mythology.

In America, the name was in the top 1,000 from 1880-1905, but in recent years, it hasn't even made the extended list, meaning that fewer than 5 Huldahs/Huldas were born in America in 2010.

Pros: means "sweet" or "loveable" in Swedish, sounds both strong and demure, Biblical Huldah is awesome, Norse Hulda is even more awesome

Cons: means "mole" or "weasel" in Hebrew, contains the -duh sound

Beyond Hope: Exercise

Exercise Shattocke, born in Boston, 1656

Got that, everyone? Exercise Shattocke.

Let no one say that bad names are a new phenomenon.

Bottom of the Barrel: Antigone

In 2010, 8 American girls were given the name Antigone.

Let us hope that they all have happier lives than the various Antigones of Greek mythology and literature.

Too Many Annes?

Here is a (very minor) dilemma from my own family.

I am starting to think about names for a hypothetical second child. One name on the table is a common English name — let's say Anne. My mother's name is Mary Anne, named after her grandmothers, Mary and Anne. I would love to use this name for a girl.

Problem: my younger brother is dating a girl named Anne. He is still in college, but this is a long-term relationship — they started dating in high school and their relationship has survived three years of college and a considerable distance issue. They seem to be going strong — they spend every possible weekend and all vacations together. There is a non-zero chance that they will get married, possibly around the time that hypothetical kid is born.

Obviously, I'm getting way ahead of myself. There are lots of unknowns — will they get married or stay together long-term? Will I have a second child? Will it be a girl? Does my husband even like Anne? It's not even that big a deal — on the other side of my family, I have an uncle named David who has two daughters, both of whom are married to men named David, and it's a joke, not a problem. Still, my cousins have not named their sons David, perhaps because that's piling on too much.

But I'm curious — what do you think of this situation? What happens when a family gets cluttered up with a name through both birth and marriage? Is that a problem for you, or does it all work out? Can individual nicknames overcome multiple generations of similarly-named individuals? Or is it a mess (I've heard that having too many juniors/IIIs around can be a pain of mixed up mail and confused credit scores)? Thoughts?

Bottom of the Barrel: Cyan

In 2010, 8 American boys were named Cyan.

Other shades of blue on the boys' extended list include Indigo (20), Slate (17), Azure (15), Blue (15), Teal (6), Navy (5).

I nominate Cobalt and Lapis for anyone looking to break into this category.

Beyond Hope: More-Mercy

More-Mercie Bell, born in Boston, 1646

Do you like Mercy, but think it needs just a little something extra? Try More-Mercy (or More-Mercie)!