Spring Babyberries Have Sprung!
This Spring brought with it 31 new birth announcements from our very own Nameberry users — 17 girls and 14 boys — and 64 unique names.
Many underused classic girl names made appearances in this quarter's Babyberry announcements, including Paloma, Maren, Susanna, Theodora, Augusta, and Zelda.
Several parents elevated their daughter's name by contrasting a traditionally feminine first name with a unisex or boyish middle name. Some of these pairs included Carolina Cole, Theodora Taylor, and Susanna Ramsey. Theodora's mom noted, "I love the contrast of a vintage first with a surname middle."
Babyberry boy parents favored rarely-heard cool and modern choices this quarter, including McIntyre, Odyssey, Jairus, and Lux.
Emrys is still red-hot amongst Nameberry parents, with two uses this quarter following two from last quarter as well. The BBC show Merlin seems to be a significant inspiration!
Many longtime Nameberry favorites made appearances this Spring, including Daisy, Juliette, Maeve, and Phoebe, Felix, River, Hugo, and Sullivan. Nameberry favorites like these reflect both present and future naming trends in the "real world" as well!
Several names were spotted for the first time in a Babyberry birth announcement. These include Blessing, Dusty, Hesed, and Morag for girls, and Aether, Jairus, McIntyre, Odyssey, and Summerset for boys.
Twins
Twins are twice the blessing, and twice the fun — or maybe twice the stress — to name. Finding the perfect balance of cohesiveness without crossing into the territory of "too matchy" is a true talent — one which these Nameberry parents exemplify fantastically.
Two sets of twins were born to Nameberry parents this quarter, with both taking the approach of matching first letters paired with distinct overall sounds.
Morag Blessing & Magnus William
Selah Phoebe & Shepherd Evander
Girl Names
Abigail Elizabeth, sister of Alexander Douglas
Amber Willow, sister of Emerson and Ashleigh
"We broke the names down into use and can’t use, and eventually came up with Jaiden Henry for a boy and Amber Willow for a girl!"
Aurora Bluebell Skye, sister of Effy, Francesca Sophia Grace, Thea Cassia Faith, Zander Zachary Fox, and Zara Beatrix Quinn
"We have been really lucky here in the UK this year to glimpse the Aurora Borealis which is really unusual. Bluebells are my favourite flower, and as May is the season for them this felt perfect. Seeing them all blossom in the weeks before she arrived filled me with this incredible love and happiness and excitement for her."
Carolina Cole, sister of Deacon
"Our little Angel girl made her very early and unexpected arrival April 29. Carolina Cole joined God in heaven. Carolina is jam-packed full of memories for us- as we took our first family March Break vacation to South Carolina. We chose Cole as her middle name to honour my mom Colleen and to honour our friend Nicole, who introduced my husband and I 14 years ago. We also loved that we could have the alliteration of CC - which we affectionately call her."
Our heartfelt condolences to the family of Carolina; she has a beautiful name full of love and memories.
Daisy Paloma Jane
"Daisy and my wife’s name, Molly, are both diminutives of my name, Margaret, connecting them all in a subtle way. It’s also her birth flower! Paloma, D’s first middle name, is very special for our family- it’s Daisy’s birth mother’s name! Finally, Daisy’s second middle name, Jane, is two of her great-grandmothers’ middle names."
Darcy Josephine, sister of Jeffrey Edwin "Jay", Virginia Penelope "GInny", Mark Harrison, and Helena Estelle "Laney"
"We love the history of Josephine, along with the meaning. Darcy also shares the initials of a very special Aunt. I love the special literary connection of both Darcy and Josephine, as both Pride and Prejudice and Little Women have been very special books to me."
Delaney Isobel "Laney", sister of Noah Rupert and Everett Spence
Dusty Lou Daisy, sister of Fern Ellis and Lazlo Telemachus
Juliette Grace, sister of Henry James
"Juliette was named for her grandmother Julia who passed when I was a teen, and her great-grandmother Geraldine who passed suddenly and unexpectedly 2 years ago. I know they are both watching over her and helped bring her to our family and complete it."
Maeve Diana
"We’ve been taking a few days to contemplate over names and ultimately decided that she truly felt like a Maeve. I wanted to give it time, scoured through more name lists other than our own to be absolutely certain there wasn’t anything we’d missed (impossible) and again we would come back to miss Maeve."
Maren Augusta, sister of Oliver Wesley
"Maren was one of the few girl names DH and I could agree on. Oliver shares a middle name with my father-in-law, so we wanted to honor my side in Maren’s name. Augusta is a nod to my mother as that’s her birthplace."
Morag Blessing, twin of Magnus William
"We decided on Morag for the girl's name as we wanted our twins to have the same first initial, and we just loved the meaning and it’s a nod to my Irish heritage. Blessing for the middle name is because she really is our little blessing, especially as I have always wanted a girl and we just felt it was a lovely name."
Noémi Hesed
"Noémi is “pleasant,” and after the grief & loss of 2022 for us (a miscarriage, my mother's agonizing death from cancer, and some other disappointments), this baby has indeed already been a pleasant blessing in our lives in 2023. Hesed is a Hebrew action word that describes the action of abiding, merciful, faithful, covenant love. It’s a word that is not entirely translatable into English, but completely FELT by humans, from God."
Selah Phoebe, twin of Shepherd Evander and sister of Ella, Niko, Susannah Sparrow, and Sylvie Elisabeth
"Selah is a term found in the biblical book of Psalms, which I thought connected it to Shepherd nicely. Her middle name also comes from Greek. I wanted her middle name to be a woman’s name from the New Testament like Elisabeth and Susannah, but I also wanted it to be another bird name like Sparrow. Phoebe fit both categories."
Susanna Ramsey
"We chose Susanna because it’s an underrated, classic name that isn’t trendy or popular. We also love that Susanna means “Lily” and thought it was very fitting for a spring baby due around Easter. We went back and forth on Susannah or Susanna spelling but when I saw her, Susanna just seemed to fit her best. Ramsey is a family name from my side of the family."
Theodora Taylor "Thea", sister of Martha and Morris
"We love all the nicknames for Theodora, though Thea is the one we’re using most for now. Her middle name is my first name, and I love the contrast of a vintage first with a surname middle. I had a similar experience growing up sharing my name with boys, and she’ll have the benefit of lots of nickname options to choose from."
Zelda Kristina
"I met a LOT of resistance with her name and I’d like to thank all of you for your kind words and for helping me stick to my guns. We cannot imagine her as anything else. Zelda fits her perfectly!"
Boy Names
Aether Emrys Summerset, brother of Noble Matthew Pendragon, Rune Vala Evenstar, Frost Cameron Evergreen, and Light Alifair Loveday
"Aether means “bright sky” and he is named after his life verse that I’ve been praying for him every day since I knew he existed, Daniel 12:3. Emrys was mostly just a name we loved, as it being Merlin’s Welsh name spoke to the absolute nerd in my spouse and me. Summerset is an Old English name found back as far as in the twelfth century and is also a type of lily (his birth month flower!)."
Clay Ezekiel, brother of Mack Solomon and Ada Magdalene
"We took to the Nameberry posts for inspiration and settled on Clay as a first name right away. I believe it was a post about cowboy names that sparked our interest. We chose Ezekiel as a middle because it means “God strengthens.” In many ways God used this pregnancy to strengthen our marriage. And who doesn’t love a zippy “z?”"
Elijah Avery "Eli"
"He’s my little Valentines baby and I've felt nothing but love."
Emrys McIntyre
"After weeks of trying to convince my partner that Merlin was a perfectly acceptable baby name, we finally settled on Emrys. Huge fans of the BBC series Merlin, Emrys is the perfect moniker for our little boy. My mother’s maiden name is McIntyre and my paternal grandmother’s maiden name is also McIntyre (purely by coincidence). As such, I’ve felt a strong connection to this Scottish clan and I’m pleased to pass this name on to my child."
Felix Caspian
"Felix because it has a soft and sweet sound with the lovely meaning ‘happy’, ‘lucky’. We like that it is vintage and goes back to Roman times as a nickname for soldiers that had good fortune. Caspian as a middle name because it has a beautiful sound, it is a literature reference to Narnia books “Prince Caspian”, and nature name from “Caspian Sea", the world’s largest lake."
Hugo Henry, brother of Vivian and Bennett
"Hugo has a great meaning (mind, intellect), it’s sweet and will wear well from childhood to adulthood. Henry, his middle name, came from wanting to honor my beloved step-grandmother Wendy, who passed away in 2021. We didn’t want to go Wendell, but her father was named Henry. Also found out afterward that Henry was the first Lytle (my family) to come to the United States, a connection which my grandfather really loves. Feels like kismet."
Jairus Stephen, brother of Jabez, Esther, and Gideon
"My husband told me a song had popped into his head repeatedly as I was pushing our son out. He said he felt like this song was confirmation as the name in the song "Jireh" was reminiscent of my very long beloved guilty pleasure boy name. So with that Jairus Stephen was named. I love what I read about Stephen in the Bible, described as a man full of “God’s grace and power”. Who “performed amazing miracles and signs among the people."'
Magnus William, twin of Morag Blessing
"We chose Magnus as a tribute to my dear friend Maggie who passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. Magnus has the added bonus of being a family name on my husband's side! We chose William for the middle name as it’s just a timeless classic boy's name, and if Magnus decides he wants a bit more of a ‘mainstream’ name when he’s older he can use it."
Nolan George, brother of Rory Donald and Annie Marion
"My husband liked the Nolan Ryan association, and I liked that it was the family surname in A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. We love its Celtic history and that it means “champion”. We hope that he grows into a man who is a champion for God. George is a nickname my father-in-law called all five of his sons, so it honors him, my husband, and his brothers all at once."
Odyssey Lux, brother of Gideon Atlas
River Gabriel, brother of Emerson, Wilder, Rowan, and Leo
"The last few years have been extremely chaotic so River being a spiritual symbol of peace and renewal resonated with me. Gabriel is after the archangel and God’s messenger for his middle name and patron saint in our religion, was also the angel at the annunciation of Mary, and of her parents Joachim and Anna (my own patron and namesake) that they would also bear a miracle child."
Shepherd Evander, twin of Selah Phoebe and brother of Ella, Niko, Susannah Sparrow, and Sylvie Elisabeth
"The reason we liked the name Shepherd in the first place was because of the important spiritual metaphor of shepherds in the Bible. Evander is another name that has been on my list for a very long time. We chose it in honor of my grandfather Eugene. Eugene and Evander have the same Greek root meaning “good”. My husband’s grandfather’s middle name is Eugene, so it honors him too."
Soren Benjamin
"Soren feels both strong and sensitive, has a certain gravitas and flexibility, and goes well with the two surnames he carries. Benjamin is in honor of my grandfather. My mom was moved to tears by this!"
Sullivan Patrick "Sully", brother of Andrew "Andy" and Rosaleen "Rosie"
"He is named after my grandfather, Van - and for now we have been calling him Sully most of the time."
Our warmest congratulations to all of the proud new parents!
If you’d like your child’s name to be featured in our next Babyberry blog post, tell us the name you chose and the story behind it over on our birth announcements forum.