The all-new, better-than-ever edition of “the classic baby-name guide.” —The New York Times Magazine
Ever since they revolutionized the world of baby-naming with Beyond Jennifer & Jason—the first book to go beyond dictionary definitions to identify the image and style of particular names—Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran have brought their wit and insight to literally millions of parents. Now, America’s baby-name experts pinpoint the very latest trends in this all-new, up-to-the-minute edition of “the best baby-naming book ever written” (The News Journal).
Fresh, fabulous, and irresistible, Beyond Ava & Aiden is packed with fascinating new tips and lists, including:
*Green Names (Bay, Willow, Aster)
*Hipster Names (Pearl, Ruby, Dexter)
*Names That Work (Archer, Baker, Carter)
*Vintage Chic (Daisy, Clementine, Felix)
*Metrodude Names (Jackson, Jax, Maddox)
*Baby Gods and Goddesses (Juno, Orion, Clio)
And many more inspired—-and inspiring—-choices.
“If you want some inspiration in naming your baby (or if you just want to spend some amusing moments), pick up Beyond Jennifer & Jason.” —Family Circle
What’s Hot
A+ NAMES
Today’s baby namers not only want their kids to get As later on in school, they want to give them an A to start off with—as the initial letter of their names. There’s been a remarkable upsurge of hot A names—we did, after all, call this book Beyond Ava & Aiden—especially if you consider that in 1975 only seven of the top fifty names began with any vowel, while in 2007 there were seventeen beginning just with the letter A. Vowel names in general are on the rise—lots of interesting E, I, and O names as well—but A as in Alpha is definitely the leader of the pack.
And there are even some scientific grounds for choosing an A name. A study by Leif Nelson of the University of California, San Diego, and Joseph Simmons of Yale in the journal Psychological Science stated that students whose names began with A or B earned higher averages than students whose names began with letters farther down the alphabet, and that there were also more students in top-ranking law schools with names starting with A or B—so making an A-pick now might just help point your child toward the A-list.
You’ll find lots more A names plus other vowel-beginning names on the other hot and cool lists. But here are some of the hottest A names:
Girls ANGEL
AALIYAH ANGELICA
ABIGAIL ANGELINA
ADA ANIKA/ANNIKA
ADDIE/ADDY ANNA
ADDISON ANNABEL(LA)
ADELAIDE ANOUK
ADELINE ANYA
ADRIANA APHRA
AERIN APPLE
AINSLEY ARABELLA
AISLINN (ASH-LIN) ARAMINTA
ALABAMA ARDEN
ALEXA ARIA
ALEXIA ARIAN(N)A
ALEXIS ARMANI
ALI ARTEMIS
ALICE ASHA
ALLEGRA ASHBY
ALMA ASHLYN
AMABEL ASIA
AMELIA ASPEN
AMELIE AUBREY
AMERICA AUDEN
AMITY AUDREY
ANAÏS AUGUSTA
ANASTASIA AUTUMN
ANDROMEDA AVA
AVALON ANGEL
AVALYN/AVELINE ANGUS
AVERY APOLLO
AVIS ARCHER
ARI
Boys ARMANI
AARON ARROW
ABBOTT ARTHUR
ACE ASA
ACHILLES ASH
ADAIR ASHER
ADRIAN ASHTON
AIDAN/AIDEN ATTICUS
ALESSANDRO AUDEN
ALEX AUGUST
ALFIE AUGUSTEN/AUGUSTIN
AMORY AXEL
ANDERSON AZARIAH
MILLENNIAL NAMES
There is an entire generation of names moving rapidly up the popularity list that distinguish themselves by being newly minted. Even if they existed as surnames or place names or occupations, they’ve rarely been used before as first names. Many of them are morphed versions of names that were used in another form earlier, while others have been spun from thin air. The underlying feeling seems to be a desire for a new beginning along with the new millennium. Anything we did and said, felt and experienced in the last century is over now. We’ve entered an era of change, and these names are evidence of that belief.
Girls(mostly) BRADY
ADDISON BRAXTON
AINSLEY BRYSON
ARIA CADE
AVERY CALE
BROOKLYN CAMDEN
CADENCE CANNON
CALI CHACE
CHEYENNE CHANCE
ELLE COLBY
HARLOW COLT
LEXI COLTON
MACY DARWIN
MARLEY DAWSON
MYA EASTON
REESE FISHER
SAGE FLINT
SAILOR GABLE
SCOUT GAGE
SIENNA GRAYSON
SIERRA HUDSON
SKYLA HUNTER
SKYLAR JADEN
TAYLA JAX
TRISTA JAXON
JET
Boys(mostly) JETSON
ASH KANE
ASHTON KIAN
BECKETT KYLAN
BRADEN KYLER
LANDON FINLAY
LENNON HARLEY
LENNOX JALEN
LOGAN JAMESON
MAVERICK JUSTICE
ORION KAI
ROCKET KEATON
RYDER KENNEDY
STEEL LONDON
STONE PAYTON/PEYTON
TRENTON REEVE
ZANDER RILEY
ROMY
Either ROWAN
AUDEN SAWYER
BLAZE TAJ
DEVON TRACE
New-Age Names
Related to the Millennial group are the New-Age Names—children of the new era but with a distinctly spiritual twist. These names reflect positivity, peace, an enduring strength and the thirst for a higher power. They include:
ANGEL DESTINY
ANSWER DEVA
BLISS DHARMA
BODHI EDEN
CHARITY ESSENCE
DEACON EVER
FAITH PATIENCE
GENESIS PAX
HARMONY PAXTON
HAVEN PEACE
HEAVEN PRAISE
HONOR SERENITY
INFINITY TRINITY
JUSTICE TRUE
MERCY TRUTH
MESSIAH VERITY
MIRACLE ZEN
NEVAEH ZION
STAR POWER
The names of stars and their children are flashed before the public all day, every day, and not just in the gossip magazines and TV shows and online blogs, but on the national nightly news and in mainstream media like the New York Times, Time, and Newsweek. Those famous names have become an increasingly powerful influence on baby-naming trends in general and on what we name our individual children. A star can single-handedly make a boy’s name like Drew or Cameron seem feminine and sexy, catapult a shy old favorite like Violet or Matilda to superstardom, even raise an old-school glamorous name like Ava or Harlow from the dead. Celebrities have made us more accepting of quirky ethnic names such as Viggo and Suri, have encouraged us to look for names that honor significant places (Kingston) or heroes (Nouvel), and have inspired us to invent unique names—from Beyoncé to January to Story—of our very own.
Starbabies
When your great-aunt Agnes can reel off all twelve first and middle names of the Jolie-Pitt sextet, you know you’re living in a culture that celebrates celebrity babies. We scrutinize their high-profile moms’ bumps, pore over their nurseries and layettes, and when the name is finally announced, everyone weighs in: Is it too far out? Is it too trendy? Will it work in my neighborhood as well as it works in Malibu?
Many of the names below have either already become hot or are beginning to heat up thanks to a starbaby’s influence. A star can pluck a name out of limbo and give it new life and potential, as in the cases of Julia Roberts’s Hazel (not a popular choice at first), Tina Fey’s Alice, Jessica Alba’s Honor, and several celebrities’ picks of Tallulah. The same holds true for boys, with such instant hits as Kingston (Rossdale), Maddox (Jolie-Pitt), and several Becketts. Even older children thrust in the spotlight—most notably, Malia and Sasha Obama—can inspire real-life namesakes.
The following is a selective list of starbaby choices that might influence your pick for the newest star in your own family:
Girls
AGNES Elisabeth Shue & Davis Guggenheim
ALABAMA Drea de Matteo & Shooter Jennings
ALICE Tina Fey, Tom Cavanaugh
ANGEL Melanie (Spice Girl) Brown
APPLE Gwyneth Paltrow & Chris Martin
ARIZONA Art (Everclear) Alexakis
ASHBY Nancy O’Dell
AUDREY Greg Kinnear
AVA Kevin Dillon, Mia Hamm & Nomar Garciaparra,
Jason Priestley, Caroline Rhea—to name the
most recent
AVALON Rena Sofer
AVIS Daniel Baldwin
BAILEY Scott Baio, Stella McCartney, Teri Polo
(who spelled it Bayley)
BIRDIE Busy Philipps
BLUEBELL Geri (Spice Girl) Halliwell
BRIGHTON Jon Favreau
CHARLESTON Joey Lawrence
CHARLIE Rebecca Romijn & Jerry O’Connell
CLEMENTINE Ethan Hawke
COCO Courteney Cox & David Arquette
DOLLY Rebecca Romijn & Jerry O’Connell
DOMINO India Hicks
EASTON Elisabeth Röhm
EDEN Marcia Cross
EDIE Samantha Morton
EMERY Angie Harmon & Jason Sehorn
EVER Milla Jovovich & Paul Anderson
FINLEY Lisa Marie Presley
GIA Matt Damon
GRIER Brooke Shields
HARLOW Nicole Richie & Joel Madden
HARPER Martie (Dixie Chick) Maguire, Lisa Marie Presley
HEAVEN Brooke Burke
HONOR Jessica Alba & Cash Warren
INDIGO Lou Diamond Phillips
JAGGER Soleil Moon Frye
JOHNNIE Melissa Etheridge
JUNO Will (Coldplay) Champion
LOTUS Rain Pryor
LUNA Constance Marie
MAEVE Chris O’Donnell
MARLO Rob Corddry
MARS Erykah Badu & Jay Electronica
MERCY Andy Richter
MILEY Rev Run
NAHLA Halle Berry
NAVY Nivea & Terius Nash
NELL Helena Bonham Carter & Tim Burton
ODETTE Mark Ruffalo
OLIVE Isla Fisher & Sacha Baron Cohen
PALOMA David Caruso
PETAH Ani DiFranco
PIPER Samantha Bee
RHIANNON Robert Rodriguez
ROMY Sofia Coppola
RUBY Tobey Maguire, Charlotte Church
SADIE Adam Sandler, Finola Hughes
SAGE Toni Collette
SAM Tiger Woods
SAWYER Sara Gilbert
SCARLETT Karen Elson & Jack (White Stripes) White
SERAPHINA Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck
SHILOH Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt
SIENNA Campbell Brown
STELLA Tori Spelling
SUNDAY Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban
SURI Katie Holmes & Tom Cruise
TALLULAH Philip Seymour Hoffman, Damon Dash
TRUE Joely Fisher
VALENTINA Selma Hayek
VIOLET Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck, Dave (Foo Fighters)
Grohl
VIVIENNE Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt
WILLA Philip Seymour Hoffman
ZAHARA Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt
Excerpted from Beyond Ava & Aiden by Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran.
Copyright 2009 by Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran.
Published in July 2009 by St. Martin’s Press.
All rights reserved. This work is protected under copyright laws and reproduction is strictly prohibited. Permission to reproduce the material in any manner or medium must be secured from the Publisher.
Anonymous
Posted May 29, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted November 15, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted January 28, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted October 12, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted February 9, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted April 10, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted May 8, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted November 4, 2009
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted March 29, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted October 13, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted August 29, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted April 17, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
The all-new, better-than-ever edition of “the classic baby-name guide.” —The New York Times Magazine
Ever since they revolutionized the world of baby-naming with Beyond Jennifer & Jason—the first book to go beyond dictionary definitions to identify the image and style of particular names—Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran have brought their wit and insight to literally millions of parents. Now, America’s baby-name experts pinpoint the very latest trends in this ...