Blue Ivy's name story finally revealed!
Well, part of it
When the news is too heavy and dark — which is too often — it can feel like we have to justify why we write about names. I’ve got to admit, when I tell people in real life what I do, it sometimes comes out a bit fluffy.
But Abby at Appellation Mountain puts it better than I could:
Names matter.
At a moment when the world is filled with horror and pain and worry, the act of naming – of learning others’ names and acknowledging those names – is a way of acknowledging each others’ humanity. Of our intrinsic value and worth.
If you’re reading this, you’re a name lover too. You get it. The world is wide enough that we can care deeply about the awful things happening, AND get sparks of joy from titbits of baby name news, AND acknowledge that mulling over all things namey can be fun and trivial and fascinating and very important, all at once.
So, at the risk of segueing fast, here’s something that ticks several of those boxes…
Blue Ivy is one of the coolest and most enigmatic celebrity baby names. It caused a stir when she was born in 2012 to music royalty Beyoncé and Jay-Z, and sparked great speculation about why they chose it. Is Blue Jay-Z’s favorite color, or a reference to his Blueprint albums?
Finally, only 11 years later, he’s revealed that it comes from her in utero nickname, Blueberry. So now it’s both cool and adorable 🫐
Still no confirmation on Ivy, though. The popular theory is that it represents the Roman numerals IV, meaning four, a significant number for Beyoncé and the name of the album she released while pregnant. Ivy was already in the Top 300 in 2012, but the celebrity endorsement really accelerated its rise.
From music royalty to actual royalty (kind of): a pleasantly surprising choice of baby name for the Princess of Wales’ brother James Middleton, and his wife Alizée Thenevet. It works well as a quirky British name: could Inigo be the next Jago?
And another from the upper class: in Spain, the baby name Sofía Fernanda Dolores Cayetana Teresa Ángela de la Cruz Micaela del Santísimo Sacramento del Perpetuo Socorro de la Santísima Trinidad y de Todos Los Santos is too long to legally register. Who’d have thought?!
Going back to names mattering: it’s not uncommon for parents to change their babies’ names, but how about changing your own name to match your baby? To make him a Junior… when you already had a Junior with your previous name? Singer Brian McKnight is truly using names as a power tool in his family dynamics.
And on a lighter note, here’s a reminder to consider combinations of initials and surnames when choosing a baby name. Although some things you just can’t plan for: how could you know that someone with a name like Sam McAnulty would end up as McAnuS@company.com ?🤭
Finally, I’ve been having too much fun chatting to an AI bot at Think Baby Names. Its answers are pretty unflappable and diplomatic (although its predictions for the top names of 2033 seem a tad unlikely), I was starting to worry my colleagues and I would be out of a job. Luckily…
PS If you need a Halloween Name for the big night — take our quiz to generate the perfect spooky pseudonym!🎃