Dear Name Lady:

I have a 2-year-old son named John. We just found out that we're expecting another boy, and my husband and I really want to name him Jack. I come from the generation where Jack is Jack and John is John, but others see them as one and the same. Your thoughts?

- J

The idea that Jack is "short" for John may seem odd on the face of it. The names are the same length and have only one sound in common. In this century they're both standalone names, high on the charts. But for hundreds and hundreds of years, almost every Jack was actually christened John.

Dear Name Lady:

We have a very common last name, so we don't want to choose a name for our baby girl that is too common. We've ruled out the current top 25 names. But there are a lot of names that we like (e.g., Annabelle and Eva) that are in the top 100s now and seem to be rising in popularity. Do you have any suggestions -- either of specific names or general trends to look out for -- on how to avoid choosing a name that will top of the charts in a few years?

- Jane


A lot of parents today suffer from "name acrophobia" -- the fear that their favorite baby name will climb to the dizzying top of the popularity charts. Is there any surefire way to avoid picking the next Jacob or Emma?

I love the name Dominic, nicknamed Nico, for our unborn son, and I've gotten my husband to finally admit he likes it, too. But he won't go for it because he has a very distant cousin named Dominic who he's only met once. Every time the 60-something-year-old cousin is mentioned, the family pronounces it Dominque, the Sicilian pronunciation. So the easy answer is to name the baby, Nicholas, but he flat out hates that name. It's very frustrating! Any other names go with Nico? Any way to convince my hubby to go for Dominic?

- Nico or Bust


Not many boys' names shorten to Nico aside from the two you've already mentioned. (I'll wager that Nicodemus and Nicomachus aren't quite to your taste.) If you're absolutely determined to use the name Nico, then I suggest doing just that. Give the nickname as his full name. In an era of just-Jakes and simply-Sams, your nothing-but-Nico won't ruffle any feathers.

We would like to use our grandfathers' names -- George and Edward -- to name our son but we don't want to call him either of those names. Can you come up with some combinations of those two names for another name to call him?

- Loyal granddaughter

In the great baby name revolution, grandparents have been the biggest victims. Oh, we still love them, and we still want to honor them. But their names? That's another matter.

For centuries, the way to honor Grandpa George and Grandpa Edward was obvious. George Edward. Or Edward George, if you prefer. That's what a namesake is, right?

My husband and I named the oldest of my two sons Quinlan and we call him Quinn for short. My father thinks it's confusing and wacky to spell Quinn Q-U-I-N-N. He thinks it should be spelled Q-U-I-N, the first part of his formal name. Is he right? I sincerely don't think so. But I don't want Quinn to be the kid at school whose name always gets botched. Any advice?

- Mom of Quinn, not Quin

A nickname doesn't have to be a chip off the old full name. Plenty of traditional nicknames look different from their sources. Think of Hank for Henry, or Peggy for Margaret. Back in the day, plenty of folks also answered to nicknames that had nothing whatsoever to do with what was written on their birth certificates. If you met a Buddy or Red, you understood that he was probably also Howard or Francis, and it wasn't a problem.

Someone I know just named her baby girl "Abcde." What do you think of that???

- Julie

Someone you know? Not just someone you heard about? I'm just asking because reports of babies named Abcde outpace real Abcde's by a mile.

That said, this name is not just an urban legend. There are some real Abcde's out there, ranging from babies to young adults. The name is pronounced AB-si-dee, and it seems to be exclusively female. You'll find Abcde's most often in Latino families and in creative-naming outposts like Hawaii and New Mexico.

You can think of Abcde as an extreme version of Nevaeh (heaven backwards, pronounced neh-VAY-uh). It features the same element of wordplay, though without the religious aspect, and it seems to appeal to some of the same parents. Unlike Nevaeh, though, the name has a fatal flaw. No, I'm not talking about the lack of vowels or the fact that the name regularly makes "worst baby name" lists. That's just a matter of taste. Abcde has a concrete, practical problem: It sounds fake.

For every real live girl named Abcde there are dozens using the name as a placeholder or a pseudonym. At presstime, Facebook listed 861 members named Abcde, including Abcde Fghijk, Lmnop Abcde, and Abcde Edcba.

Get the picture?

For a glimpse at the potential problems faced by an Abcde Smith, talk to any John Doe. Yes, there are real men with that name, and they endure endless hassles. The New York Times recently reported on one Mr. Doe's struggles with skeptical landlords, airport security agents and even prospective dates. An Abcde might not face that level of trouble, but it's still a burden other names don't bear.

If you're drawn to wordplay, I'd say stick to the anagrams. Traeh, anyone?

Have you run into any creative names? Share your experiences! And if you have your own question to Ask the Name Lady, drop her a line!

My daughter's name is Caitlin, and I have the hardest time finding anything with her name spelled the correct way. This is the traditional Irish spelling, as noted in baby-naming books. So why do I constantly see her name with a "K?" And worse Katelyn....what the heck is that?

- Melissa (one "L" two "S's")

You're absolutely right that Caitlin is considered the traditional spelling of the name. Why do so many American parents spell it Katelyn? Well, let's turn the question around. Why do you pronounce it Katelyn?

Caitlin is an Irish form of Catherine. It has been an Irish-American favorite for generations, in the Anglicized spelling Kathleen.

Yes, Kathleen is just a phonetic version of Caitlin. Depending on local accents an Irishman might say KAHT-leen or koyt-HLEEN, but not KAYT-lin. That's a modern American reading of the old Irish spelling.

Confusing, eh? It just shows how hard it is to pin down authentic versions of ethnic names. Strictly speaking, the Irish Caitlin should have an accent mark (Caitlín) or even be written in Gaelic script. Things get even more confusing with names that come from a completely different writing system like Arabic. Should you write Mohammad, Mohamed, or Muhammad? There's no one correct answer.

As a parent choosing a name, you should pick the spelling that best reflects what you love about the name. If Irish heritage is important to you, Caitlin is the way to go. If you just like the bright, girlish sound -- an updating of Carolyn and Jaclyn -- then Katelyn is a reasonable choice.

Have you struggled with creative spellings? Share your experiences! And if you have your own question to Ask the Name Lady, drop her a line!

What makes celebrity baby names strike a nerve? Sometimes they're cutting-edge stylish, like Maddox, Angelina Jolie's litte boy. Sometimes they're offbeat, like Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter named Apple. Once in a long while they're truly eye-popping, like Bronx Mowgli, Ashlee Simpson's son. So what's the secret behind the latest water-cooler sensation, Sparrow?

Sparrow Midnight Madden is the newborn son of reality-TV star Nicole Richie and musician Joel Madden. Sparrow's big sister Harlow was a style maker, widely hailed as one of Hollywood's most fashionably named kids. The name Sparrow, though, is meeting with a much cooler reception.

The problem? Well, it's certainly offbeat. Few of us have ever heard of a person named Sparrow. The real point of contention, though, seems to be that the name sounds feminine.

It's curious that a name you've never heard of can feel too feminine. It's not the sound of Sparrow that does it -- when words like Shadow and Arrow show up as names, they're usually masculine. The issue is the sparrow bird itself. The charming little parts of nature, including flowers and songbirds, are expected to end up in the girls' names column. (Somewhere out there, a macho male sparrow is chirping in resentment as it tears a bug limb from limb.)

In our society, a female with a slightly masculine name is usually considered the height of style. Think of Cameron Diaz and Hayden Panettiere. A male with a slightly feminine name, though, can be an embarrassment. Young Sparrow has run into that double standard.

If you'd like to read more about Sparrow and all the latest famous baby names, take a tour of the new site NameCandy.com. You'll find a daily celebrity name blog, a baby name lookup to see who in Hollywood has chosen your favorite name and, best of all, the second home of me, The Name Lady.

Armani. Valentino. Gianni. Chanel. Today's lineup at New York Fashion Week, perhaps? Not this time. Those four names were plucked off the official listing of America's top 1000 baby names.

Parents have always had grand dreams for their babies, and those dreams have always rubbed off on names. Scan through the popular name charts from the 1800s and you'll find vintage visions of the high life. There are boys named General, Noble and Prince, and girls called Golden, Blossom and Queen, along with the more familiar Ruby and Pearl.

What's changed is the labels. Instead of generic gemstones, parents today aim for brand-name bling.

The breakthrough label was Tiffany & Co., the jewelry emporium that gave us one of the top names of the '70s and '80s. Tiffany is actually a medieval form of Theophania, but who are we kidding? America's love affair with the name only started when Audrey Hepburn went cruising for diamonds in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Chanel was the next to join the ranks of designer baby names. Then, starting in the '90s, luxury-labeled babies took off. There are now more boys named Armani than Harry and more girls name Armani than Barbara. Even Nautica hit the name charts three years running.

Today, it's open season on designer names. The only restrictions are that the name has to sound glamorous (even shoe maestro Jimmy Choo can't do that for Jimmy) and it has to sound like a first name (sorry, Gucci).

So as you check out the fashion week catwalk, put the designers to the ultimate test. Sure, they might do fine in America's wardrobes. But can they make their mark on America's nurseries?

Dear Name Lady,

I love interesting combinations of sibling names. It's so sweet to meet families with multiple children who have intriguing names that go well together. For instance, Sarah Palin caught my interest with her children's names Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig.

However, when it comes to naming my own children, I have long cherished a group of sibling names, but I don't really care for some of the names when they stand alone. It seems foolish, but I can't give up the sounds of the names together, nor can I find equally suitable alternatives. Help!

- Naming in Bunches


I'm a big believer in thinking about siblings when you pick a name. The names don't have to match like a set of china, but they should be equal in the ways that count. For instance, if one child has a middle name, they all should have middle names. It's the same story with wildly creative names, family namesakes and so on. But it's possible to go too far, and you, my dear, are about to cross that line. How do I know? It's simple. You're breaking the Golden Rule of Baby Naming:

It's not your name. It's the baby's name.

Naming babies should be creative fun for parents. Never forget, though, that this isn't really about you. We parents only get to choose the names because babies are, well, babies. A newborn isn't in any position to weigh the benefits of Ella vs. Chloe. So you make choices on her behalf, trying your best to prepare her for a healthy, happy, successful life.

When you start talking about choosing names because of how they sound as a set, you're thinking too much about yourself. I understand the impulse -- believe me. When you love names as I do, naming fantasy families can be irresistible. But this is your child's one and only name and she deserves the best you can give her, siblings or no siblings.

Remember that life is unpredictable. You may start out with a dream of three sons and three daughters, but end up with six sons ... or you may have a single, cherished child. So when your baby is born, celebrate that singular miracle with a name you can love for a lifetime.


Do you keep a list of dream names? Share your experiences! And if you have your own question to ask The Name Lady, click here to drop her a line!