Aya and Ohm
Hilary Swank and her entrepreneur husband Philip Schneider welcomed girl-boy twins last April, but only revealed their names publicly last week, on Valentineâs Day.
Iâm sold. Aya and Ohm are textbook examples of twin names that complement each other without being too matchy. The vowel initials. Both three-letter mini names, with different numbers of syllables. Both feel on-trend for 2024, but in totally different ways â Aya for its pan-cultural sound, Ohm for its science credentials (or possibly spirituality, if they were thinking of Om). These were worth the wait to find out.
Ernest
I enjoyed this graphic â and accompanying list â of Old Man Names that have plummeted. Albert, Chester, Percy⌠any one could be an adorable offbeat fusty revival. Several of these names are already big again in Britain, though often as nicknames, like Albie, Bertie, Ernie, and Herbie.
Fred
Speaking of old guy names, we love grandpa names for girls, but have you ever wondered what itâs like to be a woman named Fred? This piece shows the big gap between Quebec, where the name FrĂŠdĂŠrique (sometimes Fred for short) is common, and the States, where itâs really not.
Iâm thinking we need a subcategory for European girl names with androgynous nicknames. Off the top of my head thereâs also Leonora âLeoâ, Ludovica âLudoâ⌠what others do you know?
Sheridan
I grew up assuming this was a common name because there was a boy called Sheridan in my school. It was only later, in the wider world, that I realised how underused (and unisex) this Irish surname is. So I enjoyed this ode to Sheridan, and how the writerâs son spontaneously embraced his first name.
Virrantytär
Finland has just released a list of baby names that got rejected last year, including KukkupÜÜ (chicken night), Vasara (hammer), Mielivalta (arbitrary) and Voldemort.
Unusual names that were allowed on birth certificates include Kerppu (âfleaâ), Kuippana (âoopsâ), Tähetär (âasteriskâ), and the swoonworthy Virrantytär (âdaughter of the streamâ đ). We can expect Finlandâs full baby name statistics around May.
âŚand Margot
Our followersâ hot takes on names have been causing low-key controversy âŹď¸
If you want more, check out the Hot Takes thread in the Nameberry forums. My favourite recent addition: âThomas should be spelled Tommisâ.
Another female name with a male short form is Frances with the nickname Frank.