Place names you probably haven't considered yet: Sumter, Salem, Sahara, and more.

... Or maybe you have. Regardless, this first set of names are city/country names that don't get as much recognition as their more popular cousins Brooklyn, Paris, and London, Savannah, and many more.

 

 

Girls:

 

Florence-- Remember this town in Italy? Yeah. It's a vibrant, sassy girl name with a vintage charm about it. Flora is a possible nickname, and of course, so is Flo.

 

 

Vienna-- I heard this on a Reality TV show a few years back. I think it's so beautiful.

 

 

India-- This name has gotten more recognition since Chris Hemsworth and his wife used it on their daughter.

 

 

Berlin-- This has the exact same feel as Brooklyn, so I could see it rising within the next ten years.

 

 

France-- I've mentioned this name on my blog before, a few times, I think. I adore it.

 

 

Juneau-- June and Juno are rising in popularity... Why not Juneau?

 

 

Geneva-- This city in Switzerland has such a pretty name. I mean, it doesn't get much prettier than Geneva.

 

 

 

 

Boys:

 

Rome-- Umm... Hello. Rome is quite possibly the most perfect boy name. It's place name with history, and culture, and it has that short, macho vibe that parents seem to be digging. I am really dumbfounded as to why Rome hasn't caught on. *Rome rant over.*

 

 

Portland-- It's a few letters away from Porter, and has the same feel as Ryland.

 

 

Charleston-- Looking for a fresher alternative to honor a Charles? Here it is. It's also a gorgeous city in South Carolina.

 

 

Dresden-- A city in Germany. I didn't like this name when I first heard it, but it's really grown on me.

 

 

Brighton-- This was the name of the son on The Nanny. I've always liked it for both genders.

 

 

Memphis-- A place name I talked about a few months ago. I adoreeee this on a little boy.

 

 

Salem-- A place name that means "peace."

 

 

 

 

Of course, these are all strictly cities/towns/countries. Place names expand much farther than this:

 

Caspian, Hudson, Everest, McKinley, Mariana, and Sahara are also all place names that refer to seas, bays, mountains, deserts and a place in the ocean.

 

 

 

The beautiful Caspian Sea

 

 

 

 

Since we just celebrated Veteran's day, how about some U.S. fort names:

 

Benning, Sumter, McClary, Knox, MacArthur.

 

 

 

Depiction of the famous battle at Fort Sumter

 

 

 

 

And let's not forget biblical place names:

 

Eden, Shiloh, Canaan, Galilee, Jericho, Zion, some of which I blogged about in my Hebrew names post.

 

 

 



Galilee



 

 

 

I think we can even take this a step further and talk about very broad place names.

 

River, Canyon, Ocean, Lake, Harbor, Grove, Bay (although Bay has been nearly ruined by pop-culture's new term "bae." Sigh).

 

 

 

This is what came up when I searched "Bae." Perfect.

 

 

 

If you take anything from this round-up, or this blog as a whole, take this: Think outside the box when it comes to names. A place name for you could be the street you grew up on, or the neighborhood you grew up in, or the place you got engaged, or the place you honeymooned. Place names can be the coolest, most creative, and most meaningful names, and if you pick one that's special to you, you'll love it forever. Promise.

Baby Face Tuesday: Miss Kinlee

This week's babe to feature is pretty stinkin' adorable, so there's your warning. Not to mention we share the same initials!

Kinlee Brooke



LOL, those big eyes kill me!




 

 

"When we found out she was a girl we were shocked but happy!!! We got her name because me and my sister were going through names, she said Kinlee and I instantly fell in love!! Her middle name was suppose to be Faith, but her initials would have been KFC, and that wasn't happing!! So me and Bradley picked Brooke! We love her and her name so much."

 

 

 

Her name if she had been a boy: "We swore we were having a boy, so we picked the name Braydin Micheal Collins out."

 

 

 

 

Her "almost" name: "It was gonna be Angelina Isabelle Collins for my mom but we decided it was too long."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much to Kinlee's mama Rachele for letting me feature her! She is purely adorable, and her name suits her.

 

That wraps up another Baby Face Tuesday! Hope you guys had a great Veterans Day, and if you haven't yet, thank a Vet!

Modern Day Disney Channel Names: Ivy, Sonny, Cece and more.

I don't watch the Disney channel much anymore, but I've seen enough to notice that Disney has kept up with the times in the name department. I really am impressed. Here are some of the ones I've noticed:

Good Luck Charlie:

 

Charlie (of course): I've found this name to be quite popular in my area, but with good reason. It's adorable. I don't see this name slowing in popularity any time soon.

 

Teddy: Charlie's older sister has a tomboy-ish nickname too, but Teddy definitely isn't as trendy as Charlie. Could Teddy be the next Charlie? I can't say for sure, but I think it has potential.

 

Toby: I personally am not a fan of Toby, but I know that a lot of people don't feel the way I do. I'm wondering how little Toby could influence the popularity of the name.

 

Ivy: This is Teddy's best friend's name. Ivy is most definitely rising in popularity. At the beginning of 2014, when the Most Popular Name Charts of 2013 came out, I was surprised at the popularity of Ivy, who sits at #152. I hadn't heard of any baby Ivys, but now I know of several.

 

Emmett-- Brother P.J.'s best friend. Emmett is such a sweet, stylish choice for a boy name.

 

 

 

 

ANT Farm:

 

Chyna-- Granted, this is the actual actress' name. It's a modern place-name choice for a character.

 

Olive-- Another rising star in the baby name world. Isla Fisher and Drew Barrymore have chosen this for their baby girls, and it seems to be a fresher alternative to the mega-popular Olivia.

 

Fletcher-- I first heard this name on Liar, Liar, but it has been given new life by the preteen artistic genius on Ant Farm. Fletcher would fit right in with all of the Tuckers, Ashers, and Ryders being born nowadays.

 

Paisley-- No question about the trendy factor of this name, and it gets a lot of hate in the Name Nerd community for it, but I find it rather sweet.

 

 

 

 

Shake It Up:

 

Cece-- Nickname names are all the rage in England, and I think we'll catch on to this trend... just not quite as much as the Brits have.

 

Rocky Blue-- Disney must have a thing for boyish nicknames on girls. I'm not complaining.

 

Flynn-- Here's another rising star in the name world that Disney picked up on. Thanks to Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr's baby boy, Flynn continues to rise.

 

 

 

 

So Random!:

 

Sonny-- This is Demi Lovato's character. I feel like this is a very boy-ish name, but then again, Disney apparently likes those kinds of names for girls.

 

Nico-- A very stylish choice, although it's not my style.

 

Zora-- Cora... Nora... This one seems to fit right in.

 

Grady-- I love Grady. It's a vintage gem that needs to be brought back.

 

 

 

 

Crash and Bernstein:

 

Wyatt-- I think this name will stay on the boy's side, despite Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis using this on their daughter.

 

Cleo-- Remember that "O" ending I talked about a few names ago? Here it is again! Cleo is a name that I get the appeal of, but I just can't make myself like it.

 

Jasmine-- Jasmine has such a soft, pretty sound. I do find this a bit too Disney-princess, though.

 

 

And that's all I've got for you! Tomorrow we'll be back to doing a Baby Face Tuesday Feature! Have a great week!

#selfiesunday: Things I've learned about blogging since I began.

This blog has been up and running for a little over three months now. I went into it thinking that I'd just begin and get a lot of views automatically, and I figured out quickly that simply sharing it with my Facebook friends once isn't enough. It's taught me a lot:

 

 

 

 

My writing skills have significantly improved. I actually feel even more comfortable with writing papers than I was before. I've always felt like writing came somewhat easy to me, and I say that with the utmost humility. I can remember enjoying writing even in elementary school, and since I started this blog, and I've been writing a few posts a week. I think I'm really honing this craft of mine, and getting better every day, which can only help me in college, and well, the rest of my life.

 

It's not always fun, or glamorous. I imagine popular internet bloggers sitting by their computer, sipping on creamy coffee from mugs with cute sayings on them, with the morning light streaming into their pretty suburban offices that look like their Pinterest boards brought to life. Blogging is not like that (most of the time anyway). Like right now, I'm in the living room with my parents, trying to block out the obnoxious blur of sound coming from the television because I'm too cozy wrapped up in these blankets to get up and move to my little office space.

 

 A lot of the time it's a discipline to post; it'is the act of me dying to the self that wants to binge on Netflix, but rather posting instead because I do want this blog to be a success, even if it's success at a small level, and I know that the only way it will be is if I continue to post regularly.

 

And by the way, posts do not come easily all the time. Sometimes a post idea just smacks me in the face, and sometimes I have to think, and think. There are actually about 5 drafts of posts that I've halfway completed that I either can't decide if I like them, or I'm saving them for a day where I literally have not one clue what I'm going to write about. I've learned that it's not always best to do a post just in one sitting, but to type some of it in the morning, some of it in the afternoon, and edit and format it at night.

 

In order for me to keep this blog interesting, informative, and fun, I have to get creative. I've got a tonnnn of new ideas for the blog that I'm sifting through. It can be a little difficult to judge the good ideas from the "ehh" ideas, but I'm working on it.

 

Aside from creative, I also have to be a little brave. This may sound silly, because I am, in fact, just sitting in front of a computer screen, but I'll let you in on a secret: I'm not the most extroverted person in the world. I'm talkative to those that I know, and I'm polite to strangers, but it's hard for me to have a legitimate, genuine conversation with a someone that I don't know very well. It makes me nervous. So when I have to go out on a limb, and talk to other bloggers and moms of kids I want to feature, I do get a little anxious, and doubtful. But the desire that I have for Name Loves to be successful helps me to push past that anxiety and take a chance to get what I want.

 

Probably the most valuable and precious thing that I've learned is just how supportive and encouraging people are. I was very hesitant on starting Name Loves. I knew I could do it, but I was afraid of the people in my community thinking it was a little weird that I love names (and I'm sure some people do.) But the most supportive and encouraging people are from my community! People that I never would have guessed would ever see my blog, are the very ones that have given me the best compliments on it. There are actually two babies that I know of that my blog has had an influence in naming and that is totally crazy to me! I'm so lucky to be able to share what I love to do with people.

 

 

;)

 

 

 

 

That concludes my #selfiesunday post this week! I'll be back to naming tomorrow, hopefully, if my homework load is light. Have a great week guys!

Twindnesday: How people name their twins part 2.

Once again, Biology had to come before name blogging, so I couldn't do this one on Tuesday, buuuuut I think the title is pretty clever myself, don't you? ;)

 

 

I took to the forums to ask people about the twins they know/have, and how they were named. The feedback was interesting:

 

 

**Their usernames were used rather than their actual name**

 

 

"I don't have twins, but I am a teacher and had twins in my class two years ago names Aidan and Nadia, the mom explained that it was because one is the other backwards. I always thought that was cute." -- lissylou

 

 

 "I don't have twins either, but I am a twin. My name is Jemima Frances and my twin sister's name is Gretel Margo. Our first names are both just names they loved, and our middle names are family names. They had decided that I, as the more "active" one in the womb, would be called Jemima. They had a few back up names in case our names didn't suit us, but apparently they suited us perfectly! My dad actually assigned the names while my mum was recovering from her C-section." -- jem 

 

 

"I have twin brothers. Thomas Keith and Louis Paul. Both middles are family names which is weird as the rest of the siblings don't have family middles. I think T0m was supposed to be something more interesting like Louis (French pronounciation) but when he was born mum said he was a serious little thing that had to have a serious and sturdy name." --lulabelletillybea

 

 

"I am expecting twin girls and can't stand it when people name their twins with matching initials or rhyming names. I feel strongly that each should be treated as an individual. (I also can't stand when parents give singleton siblings names that start with the same letter or rhyme...) I feel like rhyming and matching names makes them an automatic pair. Our method for choosing names was simply based on names we liked. We also considered popularity, as we don't want them to have 2 other people in their class with their name." --dillytwinkles

 

 

"One of my closest friends is a twin and her 2 younger siblings are twins as well. Their dad is Italian, so all of their names are Italian. The first set of twins are Andrea and Francesca and the second set are Daniella and Mario." --drapp

 

 

"I am currently expecting twins although we don't know the genders yet I do have a few favorite combos. Some have the same amount of syllables, some have matching first initials, some are ethnically matching, etc. I have a list that I started to keep up with a few unique twin name combos. You can check it out here. http://nameberry.com/userlist/view/80139" --kmd427 (I like that she is considering all different ways to name her twins. Props to kmd427 for some interesting twin combos. My favorites are Elsa and Carys, and Reid and Rowan!)

 

 

"My friend has 3 year old twins - Sylvie & Fraser. Both named after relatives, but I can't remember what relation they are to her now!" --amydan (Can I just add how awesome these twin names are?!)

 

 

"My brothers are twins. They are 15 and their names are Alec and Jared. Jared was a longtime love of my mom's and Alec was chosen because they thought it was handsome and was less popular than the runner up, Adam, the year they were born. My parents didn't want anything within the top 50. I like that the names are individual as opposed to being matchup." --jtay07

 

 

"My name is Anneliese Maria while my sister's was Rhea Hayden. The first names, I'm pretty sure, were picked by my mother because of her own opinions. The middle names were to honor my grandparents. My third and fourth child are twin siblings. The boy is named Charles Tennyson while the girl is Charlotte Serafine. Charles and Charlotte I thought were cute twin names, plus Charlotte was my mother-in-law's name while her older brother was named Charles. My husband wanted to honor both of them, so Charles and Charlotte were the pick over Grayson and Clarissa. Charles's middle name is a tribute to the poet while Charlotte's is a character in a book I read a long time ago. It had suddenly popped into my head so I thought why not." --anniexchocolate

 

 

I can't imagine the challenge it would be to name twins. It's already enough responsibility to pick out the identity of a human being for the rest of their life, much less two humans at once! But I love that there are a thousand and one ways to do it. Thanks to all of the people that participated in this post! Next week, rather than doing the Twins mini-series, we will be back to Baby Face Tuesday! Woop Woop!

 

 

Pleeeaase keep in mind that I'm still looking for children to feature on Baby Face Tuesday! If you know of anyone that would like to share the story of how their kiddo got their name, please send them my way! Thanks!

 

 

 

 

Cool, unusual biblical/hebrew names: Arion, Amzie, Abiela and more.

I've taken a recent liking to Hebrew names. Their meanings are b-e-a-utiful. (Did you read that in Jim Carey's voice? I hope so.)

 

I think these names, for the most part, are unique, have a wonderful meaning, and are definitely usable. But I'll let you decide:

 

 

 

 

Girls:

 

Tzipporah/Zipporah-- Oh my gosh. This names just flows off the tongue like honey. Zeh-pour-ah. Oh how I love this name. It was the name of Moses' wife in the bible, and it means "bird."

 

 

Canaan-- The name of the promised land in the bible. Another name I've been crushing on, that I'd use for either gender.

 

 

Eilah (aka Ayla)-- Eilah is the original spelling, but Ayla is the English- version. It means oak tree.

 

 

Selah-- Pronounced "Say-luh." This is one I probably wouldn't use, but I love to see others use it, because it's severely underused, like most of the names on this list.

 

 

Shiloh-- I LOVE SHILOH. And always will. It means "place of peace." Doesn't get more beautiful than that. If only my fiancé would let me...

 

 

Abiela-- This one looks like a mash-up of Abby and Ella, and it's pronounced like it too, but it actually is a legitimate Hebrew name that means "God is my Father."

 

 

Jubilee-- Does this name not make you want to smile? It just gives off the happiest vibes, ever. Props to the brave parents that would use this name.

 

 

Talia-- Another one I'd never use, but I love the meaning. "Gentle dew from heaven." Whoaaaa.

 

 

Kiriah-- Pronounced "Keer-eye-uh." Means "village." Seems like a really cool, Hebrew alternative to Kira/Keira.

 

 

Raya-- Means "friend." One of the more "safe" or "usable" names on this list.

 

 

Miriam-- This is the name of Moses' sister in the bible. It means "wished-for child." Isn't that great?

 

 

Eliana-- I've blogged about this before, but it fits the bill of this title so I'll blog about it again. It means "my God has answered." That is mind-blowingly beautiful.

 

 

Amzie-- From it's longer form Amaziah, meaning "strength." Amzie fits right in with all of the Maceys, Ellies, and Charlies running around.

 

 

 

 

Boys:

 

 

Asa-- I've crushed on this one for awhile; I kinda have a thing for soft boy names. It means "healer."

 

 

Lazarus-- Remember that guy Jesus raised from the dead? His name means "God has helped." Isn't that fitting?

 

 

Arion-- This is like the boy version of Aria, meaning "with melody."

 

 

Solomon-- The name of the wise king in the bible. It means "peace."

 

 

Judah-- Another one I've fallen for. Jude seems to be catching on, but his brother Judah doesn't get the same recognition that he does. It means "praised."

 

 

Tobias-- I personally wouldn't use this one, simply because I think of tobacco! It means "God is good."

 

 

Aleph-- People really thought it was strange when Natalie Portman named her son this. I think it kind of makes sense. Aleph sounds a lot like the popular Alex, yet it's different, and it means chief. I give props to Natalie for picking up on such an obscure, usable name.

 

 

Eliam-- Liam is being used a lot these days, and Eli is right behind him. Why not Eliam?!

 

 

Hadriel-- This one is a bit on the odd side... It became way more usable to me, though, when I saw that it meant "splendor of Jehovah." That is such a powerful meaning.

 

 

Ira-- Oh Ira. I swoon over this one. Ira is so underappreciated. It means "watchful one." Anyone else out there love Ira as much as I do? Because I feel like I'm a population of 1 on Ira Island.

 

 

Mordecai-- I don't feel like this one is as odd because of the name Kai growing so much in popularity. Mordecai is the name of Esther's cousin. Oh and get this: It means "warrior." WARRIOR. Doesn't get more macho than that!

 

 

Oren-- This became a name love for me after researching this topic. Lots of little Owens running around... why not Oren? It means "laurel or pine tree."

 

 

Zedekiah-- First came Zack... then came Zeke... now let's get the ball rolling with some Zeds!

 

 

 

 

 

Which ones are your favorites? I'd honestly love to meet a child with any of these names. They are so, so underused.

#selfiesaturday: In loving memory of Delcia Carver

This is a post that's been on my heart ever since an October trip to the mall.

 

 

But I guess I should back up and tell you a little bit of background here.

 

 

On this day, four years ago, my mamaw Delcia Carver was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. I was standing in a corner of my kitchen when my parents told me, and I looked out of our window, down to her house, just trying to grasp this new concept. Cancer is something that you hear about all of your life, and like most other tragic situations in life, you can't feel the gravity of it until it hits home. For the next six months after this, I watched cancer take a very strong, busy, highly-independent woman, and break her down into a person that was barely capable of making it through the day. She was a CNA, a mother and grandmother of three, and had dedicated her entire life to taking care of other people, and I saw how much it killed her when the roles were reversed and everyone had to take care of her. Six and a half months after her diagnosis, on May 20, 2011 at 7:40 AM, cancer took her life.

 

 She was 68; I was 15. She was gone; I was devastated. And as I type this today and the tears roll down my face, I realize that the devastation never fully goes away. She never got to see me get my license, my car, get my braces off, graduate, or get engaged, because of cancer.

 

I tell you all of these details, because if you are one of these people that have never had a personal experience with cancer, it's really hard to understand. I never got it. Not until this day four years ago.

I tell you this story to lead into another one, that starts in September.

 

 

September is Ovarian Cancer awareness month. I found this out about a year ago. I never heard one single thing about Ovarian Cancer in September.

 

October is Breast Cancer awareness month. I made a trip to the mall a few weeks ago, and every single store I went into had some kind of Breast Cancer display, and chances to donate. I know of at least three football teams that had "Pink Outs" for breast cancer awareness. You could not escape the pink ribbon in October.

 

Now, I am NOT taking anything away from the victims, survivors, and families of those who have/had breast cancer. This is partly why I chose today, the day after October, to write this post, so I wouldn't take anything away from the tragedy of breast cancer. I'm just trying to point out the fact that breast cancer gets WAY more recognition than any other kind of cancer, and I have to wonder why.

 

I'm not gonna lie; it hurt my feelings that no one had any kind of recognition for ovarian cancer. It is a VERY dangerous form of cancer; it can grow very fast, and is very often not detected by getting a yearly exam, which is the best way to prevent it, because it's very difficult for doctors to catch it. So if you have cancerous places on your ovaries and the doctors don't catch it one year, you could go back the next year and be in stage four, easily. The way many women find out they have it is by experiencing side effects of it, which is how my Mamaw found out. It is a scary thought.

 

 

Which brings me to the point of my post: There has to be a better way to prevent/catch ovarian cancer. I'm clearly no scientist or doctor; I'm an 18 year old girl, and there isn't a whole lot I can do in this world. But I'm also a blogger, with a platform on the internet (although it's relatively short) and I'm using my platform for a cause I truly believe in today.

 

I'm posting a link to a place where you can donate to the cause of Ovarian Cancer:

 

http://www.ocrf.org/donatenow

 

 

And, also a link to buy Ovarian Cancer Awareness products (clothes, jewelry, etc.) of which the proceeds go to the research of Ovarian Cancer:

 

http://shop.ocrf.org/

I myself have purchased from there, and I feel like I've honored my Mamaw in a great way by contributing to the helping of people that are struggling with the same thing she did.

 

 

I hope if you take nothing else from this post, that you take this: Be so grateful for your health, and your family. They are so precious; I think I'll go hug mine now. I hope you guys have a blessed weekend!