2011 Rarities: Part Two

photo by flag75* via Flickr

Here are some of the stand-out names used on only 9 children born in the US in 2011 —  

Male

Alp — a Turkish name meaning "brave," or an homage to the mountain range, I suppose

Cahill — I've always liked this surname and was pleased to see it used as a first name. It's an anglicized form of the Irish name Cathal, made up of Gaelic elements meaning "battle" and "rule"

Fender — I'm betting most babies named Fender were named for the guitar maker (in which case I think Leo is a nicer, more subtle choice). Apparently this is gaining some popularity in the Netherlands after a Dutch musician used it for his son 

Grover — lots of the Sesame Street names are appealing. I like Grover and Elmo and could see them getting some hipster-love  

Heru — comes from Horus, the falcon-headed Egyptian god of light. It also refers to a traditional ornamental comb of the Māori people of New Zealand

Iori — the name of a river in eastern Georgia (the country, not the state), the surname of a swordsman from 17th-century Japan and an Italian footballer, and as the first name of a character from a video game and manga series, which I'm betting is the real influence

Jove — another name for Roman god of sky and thunder Jupiter

Justo — from the saint name Justus, meaning "just." Lots of nice related forms, including Dutch Joost, Slovene Jošt and Welsh Iestyn

Lewi — ancient Hebrew form of Levi, meaning "joining" 

Lorne — I was surprised to see this one was only used 9 times. It falls into the Cary-category for me, a handsome, old-fashioned, underused movie-star name. From the name of a place in Scotland, it gets more love in Canada since it was the name of the first governor general there

Nesta — found as a diminutive of Agnes, I'm sure this is being used on boys to honor Bob Marley (it's his middle name) as Gwen Stefani did for her youngest son Zuma

Philopater — means either "one who loves his father" or "one who loves his country." This was the birth name of Saint Mercurius and the name of Ptolemy IV the fourth pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt

Female

Aerie — I'd guess this makes an appearance because of its trendy look and sound, but I wonder if the parents using it were aware that it's the term for an eagle's nest, and a favorite word of crossword-puzzle makers, apparently, since that's where I see it used most often. Or maybe they're just big John Denver fans?

Brynja — Icelandic name meaning "armor"

Cricket — from the name of the insect

Devanshi — the name of an apsara, a beautiful, supernatural female deity of Hindu myth. Relatively common in India, it means "one who is part of god"

Dolce — better than Gabbana, I guess? Means "sweet" in Italian

Ebba — this name cracks the top 10 in Sweden

Escarleth — this one intrigues me. Other than assuming it's related to Scarlet, I don't know much about its use. I've seen Scarleth and Escarleth (as well as Escarlet) used, mainly in Spanish-speaking cultures

Harvest — I think this could make a good boy or girl name, though I may prefer it in the middle-name spot since it could read a little hippie-sanctimonious (or is that just me?)

Iara — the name of a figure from Brazilian mythology, from elements meaning "lady of the water"

Isatou — I recognized this as Gambian thanks to the "-tou" ending, which I always like. Wish I knew the meaning

Krupa — did 9 people love Gene Krupa enough to name their daughters after him?

Lilac — another one I'm surprised to see was used less than 10 times. I'd have thought this pretty flower name would get more love

Mariposa — Spanish word for "butterfly"

Sutiya — the name of an indigenous ethnic group of northeastern India 

Maryfer — like Escarleth, I find this used in Spanish speaking cultures (sometimes as Marifer) probably a combination of Maria and Jennifer

Prisma — a word in Spanish and Portuguese meaning something like "from this angle," or "in this light," or just the translation of English prism. Prisms are awesome, so this name is, too

Rumi — from the name of the Persian poet. I love this on a girl, so sweet. Josie Maran used it for her daughter, Rumi Joon. It's also a Japanese girl's name that can mean different things depending on the kanji used, including "flow, water" "flow, beauty," "detain, beauty" or "lapis lazuli, beauty"

Temima — Hebrew name meaning "perfect," or "complete"

Velvet — Lou at Mer de Noms just mentioned this one here, so funny it should show up for today's post. I think there's something nice about it, though I don't find the sounds too appealing (maybe because I keep thinking Velveeta)

Veralee — sort of a word name, but more of a name-smush (who says verily, anymore?) I love Vera and like it paired with Lee a lot

Zephyra — feminine form of Zephyr, the west wind