School Days

main building at CalArts, photo from the school website

I was lucky enough to spend my college years at a pretty magical — and often baffling — place full of engaged free-thinkers. I was also onomastically (shh, just pretend that's a word) lucky because lots of the people I met had wonderful, unique names. And I was very onomastically lucky because there was a full list of students (first, middle and last names) just sitting around waiting for someone to grab it, copy it and use it. 

It was a namer's dream find — less a reflection of names that were popular 18-21 years ago and more a collection of kids named by parents who wouldn't mind shelling out Harvard-level tuition for their stinky little hippie to spend four years honing skills that just make their parents' bitter friends say things like, "Well, what's she going to do with that degree, anyway?" 

I'm gonna start a names blog, that's what! Geez.

Here are some of the most memorable first-middle combos from that now-nostalgic list — 

Girls

Abra Raphaela 

Adela Louise 

Annika Eve Sonja 

Apolonia Lyon 

Buffy Mignonne — couldn't you just squeeze this one? 

Cassia Charlotte

Catherine Britt — this and the Katherine below make me dig a classic first paired with an unexpected middle 

Daisy Jacqueline 

Eugenia Sangmie 

Gwenaëlle Virginie 

Honey Beverly — I didn't know either of these girls, but in my head they are BFFs, Buffy + Honey 4Eva

Imani Tahira 

Jemima Evelyn 

Katherine Semple — Semple, love the sounds 

Leigh Graybill — I appreciate Leigh on a lady 

Lilia Alexieva 

Margo Valentine — hey! I saw this list long before I had a daughter. Maybe this is the source that brought Valentine out of the ether

Mary Louiza — looking sharp with that Z, Louisa 

Mirabelle Ting-Ting 

Morvarid Pearl — Morvarid means "pearl" already, so maybe she added Pearl in there to make it easier for dumb American ears?

Pia Katrina

Trulee Grace 

Vera Nam — love Vera, extra-love it paired with super spare middle names

Winona Irene

Yfke Laurette 

Boys

Barrs Sage 

Beau Wesley 

Benton Wright 

Felix Raphael — it was more obvious with the boys, but these kids are seriously pre-trend. I met so many Olivers and Mileses it was ridiculous 

Fionnegan Justus 

Leo Augustus

Leonardo Imamura — love Leonardo paired with a Japanese middle (in this case, a surname in the middle-name spot, I believe) 

MacGregor Douglas — Mac- names for girls had their moment, why not for boys? Mac- does mean "son of" 

Moritz Cornelius 

Noel Emerson 

Oliver Julius 

Otis Benjamin 

Ren William 

Rishi Fredric 

Sam Nevada — love Nevada on a boy 

Tanin Torn  

Tariq Samuel

Tizoc Shuru 

Wilson Coates