MIA: Missing In Action

Firstly, I'd like to apologise for my lack of posts of late. I have been extremely busy with work, and have been forced to take many of my assignments home. On this note, I thought I'd make my return by listing some names that have also been MIA (missing in action). Most of them can be considered common, but I have not really seem them listed too often in the latest birth announcements!

Girls
Alana
Alison
Amanda
Bethany
Carolyn
Catherine
Claudia
Courtney
Eloise
Julia
Kristy
Kylie
Lauren
Lisa
Megan
Michelle
Nicole
Phillipa
Renee
Stacey
Suzanne
Teresa
Veronica

Boys
Aaron
Adam
Brian
Darrell
David
Drew
Guy
Harry
Jamie
Jared
Jordan
Leigh
Peter
Paul
Phillip
Robert
Rowan
Stuart
Timothy
Victor

Okay, so it's probably a good thing that some of these names have fallen out of favour. Some can be considered too plain, or perhaps even quite ugly! You may, however, be inspired to call your child one of these names. They are, after all, uncommon without being too strange!

Can you think of any more names that have been missing in action?

Love,
The Name Dame

Happy Melbourne Cup!

Now before you get any ideas, I am not going to suggest you call your child 'Shocking', who was the winning horse in this year's Melbourne Cup! There are, however, other names associated with the Melbourne Cup that may inspire you, or help you to decide on the name. Unfortunately, only three horse names in this year's Cup can be transposed into human names. These are:

Leica (after horse Leica Ding)
Harris (after horse Harris Tweed) - perhaps an alternative for Harrison
Daffodil - an unusual floral-inspired name.

Perhaps your naming favourites lay with some of the horse trainers or jockeys? This year, they included:

Bart (or Bartholemew) Cummings: the famous horse trainer, who assisted Viewed, Roman Emperor and Allez Wonder in the lead-up to this year's Cup.
Corey Brown: jockey on Shocking. A winning name!
David Hayes: trainer of Changing of the Guard.
Herman Brown: trainer of Mourilyan.
Jake Stephens: trainer of Alcopop.
Mark Kavanagh: trainer of Shocking. You're on a winner with the name Mark!

And did you know that Makybe Diva, the winning horse of a record three Melbourne Cups (2003, 2004 and 2005), was actually named after five women? These co-workers, who worked for the horse's owner Tony Santic at his Port Lincoln tuna farm, worked on a name using the first two letters of their first names. These women were called:

Maureen
Kylie
Belinda
Dianne
Vanessa

So.. MA + KY + BE + DI + VA = MAKYBE DIVA. Cool? I think so! Perhaps these names may also influence your naming ideas. After all, this horse is the most successful of all time...

Giddyup!

Love,
The Name Dame

The last for October 2009

Welcome to November! The time is moving along so fast, and before we know it, Christmas will be upon us yet again! Anyway, here is a selection of the final names to appear in the announcements for October 2009 (Australian papers).

Boys
Archer William
Ben Albert
Blake Aiden
Charlton Alexander
Christian James
Corey James
Ethan James
Finn Thomas
George John
Harrison John
Harvey Matthew
Issac Aubrey
Issac Vincent Majer - Majer?
Jacob Aiden
Jaynen Wayne - yuck.
Jonathan Arthur David
Jordan Mac - Mac? As in Apple Mac?
Lachlan Bruce
Leon Romano
Luca Alexander - there's the 'a' on the end of a masculine name again.
Lucas
Nicholus Frederick James
Mitchell Jye
Oscar Raymond
Patrick Dennis
Samuel James
Sean Norman
Solomon Euan
Tom John - snappy rhyming there!
Tyler Dean
Zeke Charles Maxwell

Girls
Abbie Elizabeth
Adelaide Iris
Allegra Amalia
Amelia Grace
Amity Amanda - nice alliteration!
Asha Beverley
Astrid Edith
Ava
Ava Mary Rose
Charli Matilda - I'm no fan of Charli or Charlie for a girl.
Charlize Montana - Come to think of it, I don't like Charlize either! It seems to be popular at the moment, perhaps drawing inspiration from actress Charlize Theron.
Eleanor Helena Carmen
Emma Victoria
Emmy Louise
Freya Rose
Isabelle Claire
Isis Grace
Jolie Mae - fans of Angelina perhaps?
Kinslie Blaise - a bit icky.
Madeleine Ellen
Matilda Lucy
Olivia Jayde
Peyton May
Sophie Grace
Zoe Eva

Twins
Aiden Jack and Noah Marshall
Annelise Claire and Tahlia Mary
Chloe Isabella and Emma Catlin
Oscar Reilly and Joshua Rueben
Samuel Christian and Evie Rose

There's not much to report on this list, other than the popularity of Grace and Rose as girls' middle names (again!) and the popularity of James for boys' middle names! There is also a fair selection of unusual names, which seems to be the going trend at the moment, much to my dismay!

See any combinations you like? Any you hate? Please comment!

Love,
The Name Dame