Elite Baby Names

[Pandora II]

Date: 4/15/2010 11:23:50 AM
Author: Jas12
Interesting. Anything goes around here in my middle income city. There is equally a combo of ppl who think they are being classic- cool with names like Henry, Oliver, Claire, Evelyn , Emma when really, using grandparent generation names is just uber trendy right now (a trend i like)
And then there are those around here that love the custom names with the funky spellings....

I don''t think the trend of surname as first names is going anywhere. Esp since a huge proportion of names that are considered classic are also extremaly common surnames (Thomas, Edward, Alexander etc. etc.)
Now we are just seeing more surnames added to the mix (Carter, Morgan, Jackson are some big ones that come to mind) and for many it''s a way of keeping a surname alive (i have a friend and her kids names are Burk and Grayson --maiden names from her family tree). I like it.

Oh dear, I hope he/she doesn''t decide to move to the UK in the future. Burk is a common expression meaning ''idiot'' - as in ''you complete burk''...

 

[Steel]

Date: 4/18/2010 2:07:26 PM
Author: Pandora II

Date: 4/15/2010 11:23:50 AM
Author: Jas12
Interesting. Anything goes around here in my middle income city. There is equally a combo of ppl who think they are being classic- cool with names like Henry, Oliver, Claire, Evelyn , Emma when really, using grandparent generation names is just uber trendy right now (a trend i like)
And then there are those around here that love the custom names with the funky spellings....

I don''t think the trend of surname as first names is going anywhere. Esp since a huge proportion of names that are considered classic are also extremaly common surnames (Thomas, Edward, Alexander etc. etc.)
Now we are just seeing more surnames added to the mix (Carter, Morgan, Jackson are some big ones that come to mind) and for many it''s a way of keeping a surname alive (i have a friend and her kids names are Burk and Grayson --maiden names from her family tree). I like it.

Oh dear, I hope he/she doesn''t decide to move to the UK in the future. Burk is a common expression meaning ''idiot'' - as in ''you complete burk''...

Yup, it would be an unfortunate choice over here too.

 

[bee*]

All the names that I have like for any future kiddos are in that list. Charlotte being my number one name for a girl but I also love Grace, Lily, Matilda and Olivia. For a boy, I love the name Jack. I just really like classic names.

 

[Blenheim]

Pandora, I think what''s popular among the upper-middle and educated classes in the US varies a lot by region. Among my educated, very traditional Southern friends, we''re seeing a lot of very traditional names: James (a lot), John (a lot), Andrew, Laura, Lillian. George went to the "elite" daycare where we used to live in the Midwest, and the kids there were mostly divided between Old Testament (David, Daniel, Eve) and classic (Vincent, Arianna, Lucy, Isabella, Irene).

Charlotte was not on our radar when naming George, but it''s been growing on me lately. I wouldn''t want our child having to be Charlotte Lastinitial at school, but Charlotte could honor the five other family members whose names fall into the Charles family but without sounding so similar that it gets confusing at family events. Hmmmm.

Lexus and Mercedes don''t sound like elite names to me either (although I think that Mercedes and Portia are both beautiful names), but more like the parents are trying to appear elite.

 

[Jas12]

Pandora--oh really, haha, never heard Burk used in that way before. guess she hadn''t either

Goes to show how culture is really part of the naming process. I''ve heard of a few burks since then

 

[partgypsy]

Hmm. We know people who have kids with names: Olivia, Lucy, (Sophie), Violet, and Emma, and boys named: Finn, Atticus, Liam, Asher, Owen, Noah, Milo, and Leo. We are not high income but know alot of unconventional/artistic types. What is weird is we know alot of adult people (our age) who have these names as well...

 

[partgypsy]

Date: 4/15/2010 12:23:13 PM
Author: akmiss

Date: 4/14/2010 9:05:32 PM
Author: waxing lyrical
I used to wonder if it''s uppity or arrogant that we only like traditional/classic names. Most of my peers tend to like common and trendeigh names. Ugh.

Back when we had dd1, the nurse was surprised by the names we chose because they seemed so grown up or old fashioned for us. We were/are young so I''m guessing she was expecting we''d name her something like Skylie or Taylor or something cutesy--I don''t do cutesy. It was always important to me that my kids have seemingly ''elite'' names. They must like good on a business card. A name that will grow with them.

I do like eccentric and earthy sounding names, but DH tends to prefer traditional/classic. Pandora, I like it. It helps that Avatar is one of my favorite movies.

Haha. I love Freyja and Willow, but they don''t really go with our style. I still keep going back to Persephone. My husband loves Penelope.

These are two names on my list! But add Ruby, Fiona, and Tuesday

My youngest son was supposed to be Odin but my father practically had a fit so we named him something else and I regret it to this day.

The P one is my daughter''s name (a family name). Ruby is a friend''s daughter, and Fiona is my Niece''s name. My SIL was thinking of August, but Isobel won instead. A friend named their dog Persephone so can''t name a person that after that, but do love the mythological reference. Probably grow up to like pomengrantes!

 

[akmiss]

Date: 4/19/2010 2:58:32 PM
Author: part gypsy

Date: 4/15/2010 12:23:13 PM
Author: akmiss

Date: 4/14/2010 9:05:32 PM
Author: waxing lyrical
I used to wonder if it''s uppity or arrogant that we only like traditional/classic names. Most of my peers tend to like common and trendeigh names. Ugh.

Back when we had dd1, the nurse was surprised by the names we chose because they seemed so grown up or old fashioned for us. We were/are young so I''m guessing she was expecting we''d name her something like Skylie or Taylor or something cutesy--I don''t do cutesy. It was always important to me that my kids have seemingly ''elite'' names. They must like good on a business card. A name that will grow with them.

I do like eccentric and earthy sounding names, but DH tends to prefer traditional/classic. Pandora, I like it. It helps that Avatar is one of my favorite movies.

Haha. I love Freyja and Willow, but they don''t really go with our style. I still keep going back to Persephone. My husband loves Penelope.

These are two names on my list! But add Ruby, Fiona, and Tuesday

My youngest son was supposed to be Odin but my father practically had a fit so we named him something else and I regret it to this day.

The P one is my daughter''s name (a family name). Ruby is a friend''s daughter, and Fiona is my Niece''s name. My SIL was thinking of August, but Isobel won instead. A friend named their dog Persephone so can''t name a person that after that, but do love the mythological reference. Probably grow up to like pomengrantes!

it sounds like you have great taste in names. The names I like are definitely not elitist but unique especially the mythological ones.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 4/14/2010 8:16:03 PM
Author: Pandora II


Names that sound like surnames and a lot of those that are popular amongst the upper-middle and 'educated' classes in the USA seem to be very popular at the lower end in the UK. So, names like Taylor, Jordon, Hunter, Kaiden, Jayden, Madison, Savannah etc

My daughter and I were watching, "Splash" on DVD again recently and I think that I found the origin of, "Madison" as a girl's name in that movie. It seems hard to believe that that it could have become a girl's name

that recently, yet I do remember when it was not a name! In the movie Tom Hanks' character clearly tells Darryl Hannah's character that, "Madison" is not a name. Then she adopts it as one. That may have been

the start of "Madisons" as we now know them!


Deb/AGBF

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

Date: 4/19/2010 2:47:46 PM
Author: part gypsy

Hmm. We know people who have kids with names: Olivia, Lucy, (Sophie), Violet, and Emma, and boys named: Finn, Atticus, Liam, Asher, Owen, Noah, Milo, and Leo. We are not high income but know alot of unconventional/artistic types. What is weird is we know alot of adult people (our age) who have these names as well...

I know a woman who is arguably "elite" who named her son Atticus. We love it because we all call him attaboy.
I hope Finn doesn''t become too popular. I like the idea of giving kids more unusually names and Finn is my DH''s and I fav for a son. My religious beliefs involve names being very important to a person, so I liked naming my son after a hero who was mostly well behaved (at least compared to other ancient Irish heros) and very smart.

 

[Porridge]

Date: 4/30/2010 7:42:56 PM
Author: brazen_irish_hussy
I hope Finn doesn't become too popular. I like the idea of giving kids more unusually names and Finn is my DH's and I fav for a son. My religious beliefs involve names being very important to a person, so I liked naming my son after a hero who was mostly well behaved (at least compared to other ancient Irish heros) and very smart.

Do you mean Finn McCool? You should TOTALLY give him McCool as a middle name!! He'd be an instant rock star amongst his peers

(Although, not that it really matters, but if we're going to get technical the name is actually "Fionn". Finn is the English translation.)

 

[KimberlyH]

Ah, I made my little one a member of an elite club without even realizing it; her name is #24 on the list. I hope she''s successful enough to live up to the high standard bestowed upon her by bearing her name!

 

[Imdanny]

Elite baby names

Baby name expert Pamela Redmond Satran recently compiled a list of what she''s calling the top 50 "elite baby names." She included it in a slightly snobby Daily Beast article, which I''m assuming was meant to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek.


Shutterstock/Kuzmin Andrey

Is this babe a Charlotte or a Finn or a Claire?
These aren''t the Emily and Jacobs that soared at the top of last year''s social security list. No these are up-and-coming names that are "as classy as a sterling teaspoon, as cool as vintage Balenciaga, as hard to locate as a wood-framed cottage in Manhattan--yet just as desirable," Satran writes.

These are the names you choose if you summer in the Hamptons and send your kid to a preschool on Bank Street.

Bay Area translation: These are the fancy monikers you might consider if you have waterfront property in Belvedere or 20 acres in Woodside or push a Bugaboo stroller down Sacramento Street or frequently join the lunch crowd at Rosie''s on Union.

And now for what you''re all waiting for: Satran''s list, which she compiled using her Web site Nameberry.com.

Girls:

1.CHARLOTTE
2.SERAPHINA
3.OLIVIA
4.ELIZABETH
5.LUCY
6.ISLA
7.VIOLET
8.SOPHIA
9.ALICE
10.MAISIE
11.AVA
12.SCARLETT
13.LAURA
14.CAROLINE
15.GRACE
16.CLAIRE
17.LILY
18.AMELIA
19.IMOGEN
20.HARPER
21.ELLA
22.MATILDA
23.STELLA
24.JANE
25.EMMA

I think it''s nice to see more classic names resurrected, but I wouldn''t want them to become so popular or common.

Our kids'' names are:

Grace Elizabeth Katherine
Evangeline Lily Marie
Duncan Lewis Garibaldi
Henry Allen Greyson

Duncan and Evangeline are still very uncommon. I only know of two other babies named Duncan and three little girls named Evangeline. Oliver and Quinn are on our short list if our next is a boy. I also love Benjamin. For a girl, Annabel, Isla, Penelope, and Carolee. I love Imogen, but DH doesn''t care for it.

Maise and Ella, you have elite names! Congratulations!

 

[Imdanny]

Thoughts?

Yes, I have them once in awhile.

I knew this couple, the brother of a friend of the family and his wife, who lived next door to our friends (in other words, completely middle class right down the line just like the rest of us) who named their boy and girl "Paris" and "Athena". I remember that they had a "Sears Best" (anyone else remember that?) living room. It had "Sears Best" furniture and "Sears Best" carpet. It looked like a showroom from... Sears. That was the formal living room and you weren't just prohibited from sitting on the furniture. Nobody was permitted to even walk in the room. I thought those people were so ridiculous.

I wonder whatever happened to those kids who had the misfortune of having those pretentious parents. I especially wonder what happened to Paris. Now "Paris" is known as Paris Hilton's name. Oops!

Some names seem to have more "class" to me than others. For instance, my middle name, Alexander is oozing with "class", the name of a legendary warrior king. Unfortunately, it's only my middle name and my first name is as common as dirt.

I also love the name "Eleanor". If I had a female child (in another lifetime) I would name her "Eleanor".

I think naming a child based on where you want to do lunch or something like that though is completely ludicrous.

I admit I am a little hung up on this subject because my mother wanted to name me Alexander but let my father name me after my godfather. She was 19 and she just wasn't old enough to put her foot down. She named my brother Alexander. This is the part where I wish we had that blue face emoticon that shakes its fists.

 

[Maisie]

Haha! I didn't see this! I have an elite name!!

 

[Imdanny]

Re:

Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii''s name has now been changed and the custody case resolved, court officials said.

 

[janinegirly]

Like earlier PP's pointed out, these names are extremely common now so that would nullyfy their elite status.

And just like with money, the more someone tries to act like they have it, the less likely they are to. An elite name just come from one's circimstance I would think, not via effort to be elite sounding.
Still alot of the names that are in the top 10 these days are very classic and pretty sounding, so maybe that's good thing in itself! Thank goodness celeb names aren't catching on (although I see Seraphina is there...).

 

[partgypsy]

Hmm, I counted and I personally know from my children's classmates or friends, 12 girls with those names, and 12 boys with those names. As they are aged 5-9, I think the cats already out of the bag. Or we just happen to have a particularly "elite" group of cohorts

But I do like those names. Both of my daughters' names are not on that list but I get lots of compliments on them.

 

[partgypsy]

haha my nephew's name is Alexander. Sorry imDanny... Seems the people I know have good taste in names.

Myself even though my first name is a family name (I'm named after someone), it became super popular when I was growing up so in any given classroom there were two other girls with the same name. So much of my life I was called by first name last name.