2011 Rarities: Part Five

thoughtful seahorse by laliseuse, via Flickr

It's my daughter's first day of preschool today, so I actually have time to do a post (and try to keep it together emotionally!) — I'm definitely looking forward to learning the names of all her classmates.


Here are some of the stand-out names used on only 6 children born in the US in 2011 —  

Male

Camp — wonder what the inspiration behind this is. A Palin-esque choice, like Track, maybe

Cartel — this is not a good idea

Draper — the inspiration here is obvious, a Mad Men name that fits right in with other trendy "-er" ending occupational surnames

Gaspard — often overlooked, I feel. Gaspard is the French form of Jasper, from the Persian for "treasurer"

Humphrey — you don't have to be Bogart to pull this off. A handsome, old-school choice with a great meaning: "peaceful warrior"

Iroh — apparently this is a name from the series Avatar: the Last Airbender. I really like the look of it, would love to know if it was made up for the series or if it has actual history

Jaya — a unisex name meaning "victory" in Sanskrit. It may seem feminine to the western ear but I think it's great on a boy

Kalif — variant of Khalifa, a Sanskrit name meaning "successor, caliph." I like this pared-down spelling best. (The title caliph refers to a successor of the prophet Mohammed)

Lalo — in Spanish, this is a nickname for Eduardo. I first heard it on Argentinian composer and pianist Lalo Schiffrin

Otilio — had to include this, of course. Variant of Otto, meaning "wealth" or "fortune"

Slyon — like the looks of this one, not sure where it comes from

Tanielu — the Armenian form of Daniel is Taniel, and the Finnish form is Tanieli, so this is probably related, perhaps a Pacific Islander form

Vartan — derived from the Armenian element vard, meaning "rose." Maybe this counts as a masculine floral name?

Venkat — from Venkata, the name of a sacred hill in southern India

Female

Amma — this is a name with many meanings. It's the name of the supreme being according to the Dogon people of Mali, the name of the ancestress of Norse freemen, an Ashanti name given to Ghanaian girls born on a Sunday, and it's the word for "mother" in many Indian languages (and in Korean!)

Annajo — the SSA doesn't allow for hyphens in its records, so the 6 girls named Annajo could very well be Anna-Jo. However, I think it's kind of nice all together, gives it a Dutch look

Auset — a name for the Egyptian goddess Isis

Avanelle — a lovely, old-fashioned twist on popular Ava

Calais — probably inspired by the port city in northern France

Chinelo — chinelos are traditional Mexican dancers. The word derives from the Nahuatl word zineloquie, meaning "disguised"

Duru — a Turkish name meaning "clear" or "lucid"

Eimi — in Greek, the verb eimì means "to be." It's also a Japanese name meaning "beautiful scripture"

Ezinne — a Nigerian name meaning "good mother" 

Filza — a lovely name with many lovely meanings. In Hindi, it means "moonlight," and in Arabic it refers to a part of the heart, or a "piece of the heart"

Henchy — refers to a descendent of Angus, generally found as a surname

Jamina — feminine form of Jamin, a Hebrew name meaning "right hand"

Jetaime — from the French for "I love you," a pretty sound but sort of odd. Would French parents ever use Iloveyou?

Jinx — not just for cats? This one's looking for trouble

Kanna — another name with lots of meanings. It's a name from feudal Japan meaning "lily," as well as a Greek word meaning "reed" (perhaps where we get the word canon) It is also a name of one of the avatars of Krishna, and the name of a South American succulent known for its psychoactive qualities

Kawaii — the Japanese word for "cute"

Kokoro — means "heart" or "spirit" in Japanese

Maame — I like the look of this, no idea where it comes from

Nimco — the name of popular Somalian singer Nimco Dareen

Ojasvi — a Hindu name meaning "brave"

Orchid — lovely flower name, surprised it was only used 6 times

Steely — parents big fans of Steely Dan, no doubt. I can see the appeal

Tiger — though I'm not a huge fan of Tiger on a boy, on a girl it seems more appropriate (the cat thing, maybe?)

Tsering — a Tibetan name meaning "long life"

Wrenna — perhaps an elaboration of the bird name Wren, makes it sound a bit more feminine