Miracle win at the SCG!

The Australian cricket team pulled off an amazing comeback to beat Pakistan by 36 runs at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) yesterday. With Pakistan set a small total of 176 to chase with 1 and 1/2 days left, the Australians bowled the tourists out for just 139. This unbelievable win certainly deserves a mention on my blog! But, because it is a naming blog and not a sporting one, I thought I would provide you all with a list of the names of the victors, as well as a list of great Australian cricketers.

Yesterday's players included:
Ricky Ponting - The captain of the Australian Cricket Team.
Doug Bollinger
Michael Clarke - The vice-captain, and well-known for his relationship with (I guess you'd call her a socialite) Lara Bingle.
Brad Haddin - The wicket-keeper, who took an amazing one-handed catch yesterday!
Nathan Hauritz
Phillip Hughes
Michael Hussey - The man-of-the-match scored an unbeaten test century to lead the Aussies to victory.
Mitchell Johnson - A favourite among the ladies!
Marcus North - A lovely name for a relatively quiet man.
Peter Siddle
Shane Watson - Made his first test century during this match.

And some of the Australian cricketing legends include:
Allan Border - a famous Australian captain, he held the record of most test runs scored until Brian Lara passed the total in 2005.
Adam Gilchrist - an recently retired Australian wicketkeeper, who also made runs in no time!
Dennis Lillee - a Western Australian fast-bowler.
Sir Donald Bradman - the best player the cricketing world has ever seen.
Glenn McGrath - nicknamed pigeon, Glenn holds the record of number of test wickets taken by a fast bowler. He continues to work for the McGrath Foundation, a charity created with his late wife Jane to raise funds for more breast care nurses. Jane sadly passed away from breast cancer in 2008.
Richard 'Richie' Benaud - now a respected commentator, Richie is just as famous for his beige suits and light pink shirts!
Rodney Marsh - a wicket-keeper who debuted and retired at the same time as Lillee.
Shane Warne - one of the greatest leg spin bowlers in the history of the game. He is also known for many off-field scandals, including marital infidelities and a postitive drug test for a banned substance.
Steven Waugh - one of the most successful Australian captains, he lead his team to 16 consecutive test match wins. He was also named Australian of the Year in 2004. His twin brother Mark also played cricket for Australia.

Bowl yourself over by at least considering these names. Remember, you may be naming the next cricketing legend!

Love,
The Name Dame

Names that mean new

Happy New Year everyone! To tie in with the new year theme, I thought the first post in 2010 should be about names that relate to the start of something new. Most are quite unusual, so if you're after a unique name this may be the list for you!

Aurora - female, Latin for 'dawn'. I like the French alternative Aurore.
Dawn - female. Obvious association here!
Dagny - female, Scandinavian for 'new day'.
Idony - female meaning 'new'. I like the Scottish variant Idonea.
Nasima - female, Arabic for 'fresh air'.
Navin - male, Hindi for 'new'.
Neo - male, Latin for 'new'. Perhaps an alternative for the increasingly popular Leo.
Neoma - female, Greek for 'new moon'. This could be a sly way of dedicating your child's name to Twilight!
Oriana - female, Latin for 'dawn'.
Raanan - male, Hebrew meaning 'fresh'.
Roxanne - female, Persian for 'dawn'. I prefer the similar sounding Roxana, which is Persian for 'little star' and was also the name of the wife of Alexander the Great.
Sahar - female, Arabic for 'dawn'.
Zara - female, Hebrew/Arabic for 'dawn'.
Zelenka - female, Czech meaning 'fresh', 'new' and 'green'.
Zera - female, Hebrew for 'beginnings'.
Zora - female, Slavic for 'dawn's light'.
Zorina - female, Slavic for 'golden dawn'.

And I thought I'd finish this post with a small list of celebrity babies born in late 2009/early 2010. I'm sure these baby names will rise in popularity now that they're good enough for celebrities!

Cheyenne Genevieve - the daughter of rocker Chris Robinson and his wife Allison Bridges. The second child for Robinson, who also has son Ryder Russel with ex Kate Hudson.

Rocko Akira Clapp - son of Johnny Knoxville (Jackass fame) and girlfriend Naomi Nelson. Not really my taste but it will be interesting to see if Rocko takes off like Cruz.

Vida Alves McConaughey - the daughter of  actor Matthew McConaughey and his model girlfriend Camilla Alves. As Matthew announced, Vida is Portuguese for life. A little sister for Levi.

Do any of these names take your fancy?

Happy New Year!

Love,
The Name Dame

A Makeover!

The Naming Game was looking tired, old, and shabby around the edges. Therefore I decided to give it a makeover. Let me know what you think!

Love,
The Name Dame

Summer names vs Winter names

Christmas is fast approaching, and so too is the expected summer heat wave we generally experience every year here in Australia. Thinking of relating your baby's name to the season in which it is born? For fellow Australians, here is a list of names that relate to summer:

Coraline - meaning natural sea growth, it is a variant of Coral.
Deniz - a Tukish boys' name meaning sea.
Dylan - Welsh name that means 'son of the sea'.
Kai - Hawaiian name that probably works best for boys.
Nerida - a Greek name that means mermaid.
Nerissa - Greek, meaning 'from the sea'. Also a character from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.
Oceane - French for ocean. Very popular in France!
Sky/Skye - a clear sky in summer!
Summer - an obvious choice!
Sunny

To my European and American readers, I haven't forgotten which season you are in! Because I have every intention of experiencing a white Christmas in the not too distant future, here is a list of names that relate to winter:

Aubin - masculine, French and means white.
Bianca - Italian, meaning white.
Candace/Candice - meaning white, pure, sincere.
Demeter - Greek mythological character who is said to have created winter.
Finola - Irish for white shoulders.
Hermione - from Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. Also Harry Potter's friend.
January - a winter month in the Northern Hemisphere. Made famous by actress January Jones.
June - the first month of winter here in Australia!
Leontes - from Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale.
Neva - Spanish for white snow. Very cute in my opinion!
Neve - Latin for snow. Made famous by actress Neve Campbell.
Nixie - German for 'snowy'.
Paulina - from Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale.
Perdita - from Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. It actually means lost.
Persephone - pronounced per-SEF-o-nee. Greek mythology name meaning spring. It is said mother Demeter created winter when she was grieving over the loss of Persephone.
Snow - unusual!
Soyala - meaning winter solstice.
Winter - has been put in the spotlight because it is the middle name of Nicole Richie's baby girl, Harlow.
Winterborn - a little out there, but it came from a baby name book!
Yuki - Japanese for snow.

See any you like?

Love,
The Name Dame

THE Naming Checklist

Do you often read the birth announcements and ask yourself "What were they thinking?" when you come across a really awful/ugly/plain/out there name? To help combat this, I have come up with a list of things future parents should consider when deciding on their little ones' names...

1. Is the name easy to spell? With some of the ridiculous spellings I've seen lately, I suggest choosing a name that does not require your child to spell it out to every single person! Perhaps avoid those names that can be spelt multiple ways (eg Ashley, Ashleigh or Ashlee), or choose the spelling that is the most common. Above all, avoid inventing the spelling. I can vow for this, as the other day I saw 'Cameron' spelt as 'Kamron'!

2. Will the name suit the child for his/her entire life? The name 'Richard' doesn't really suit a baby, just like 'Jayden' doesn't suit a senior citizen! If you want the name to last a lifetime, stick with classic names such as 'Thomas' or 'Emily'.

3. Does the first name suit the surname? While the first name should sound nice with the last name, it's probably best to avoid any rhyming. Chelsea Helsey or something similar is probably a little over the top! Also make sure you avoid the first name being similar to the surname, John Johns immediately springs to mind here! Also look at the initials of your first name and last name. I've heard of someone's name being W. Anchor. Probably not a good look!

4. Are you happy with the associated nicknames that may eventuate? Calling your son 'Richard' may see him being called 'Dick' for the rest of his life. Are you comfortable with that?

5. Have you made the choice for yourself or for your baby? Sure, you may like the name Adolf, but have you really thought about how this name may impact on your child's life? Others may also be offended by your choice, so please make sensible decisions!

6. Is your choice simply based on a fad? Ensure you choose a name you are likely to love in the future. There's no point calling your son 'Cruz' if you're going to wonder what you were thinking in years to come.

7. Is the name easy to pronounce? A friend of mine has to sound her name out to everyone. While she admits she likes her unusual name, she said she's quite sick of sounding her name out to everyone, while stating its origin in the questions that follow. All I ask is that you take this example on board!

8. Are there any obvious connections to a famous person? If your surname is Taylor, perhaps avoid the name Elizabeth. Similarly, I once knew of a person called Frank Lee, who was constantly asked if he knew of the famous quote from Gone With The Wind. You get the idea!

Well there it is folks. If you have any other burning questions to add to this list, why not comment on this post?

Love,
The Name Dame

Copenhagen + Climate Change

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks, many world leaders are currently in Copenhagen to discuss the implications and possible solutions for climate change. Personally, I can't really see the point in these discussions. Nothing ever comes of them, and the world leaders cannot agree on anything. But the whole point of this blog is to discuss names, so I thought I'd dedicate this post to Danish names. Well the climate change conference is in Copenhagen after all...

Boys
Aksel - variant of Axel
Aleksander
Aron - Scandinavian form of Aaron
Bernt - Scandinavian form of Bernard
Christian - because of Prince Christian of course!
Christoffer
Edvin
Flemming
Georg
Harald
Ivar
Jannik
Jesper - Danish for Jasper
Kaj
Lars
Lukas
Mikael - form of Michael
Nikolaj - Danish form of Nicholas
Oskar
Palle - Danish for Paul
Svend - Danish form of Sven
Valdermar - Danish form of Waldermar. Also one of Prince Christian's middle names.

Girls
Agathe - variant of Agatha
Ane - Danish form of Anna
Anja - also a Danish form of Anna
Astrid
Birgitta
Cathrine
Dorte - Danish form of Dorothy
Dorthe - another Danish form of Dorothy
Elin - Scandinavian for Helen
Freja
Grete - Danish for Margaret
Hanna
Inga
Jonna
Kaja
Laila
Lykke - means good fortune in Danish
Magdalone
Rakel - Danish form of Rachel
Sanna - Scandinavian short version of Susanna
Siri
Tekla
Vanja
Vita

This list only scrapes the surface of Danish names! Personally, I think they are lovely and express true Scandinavian culture. Why not coincide your baby's name with the Copenhagen Climate Change conference?

Love,
The Name Dame

Welcome to December!

Happy December everyone! Wow, hasn't the year gone by so fast?! I hope everyone is very organised this year and have begun their Christmas shopping. If you haven't, you better get a move on!

I'm saying goodbye to the eleventh month with a post of the last November births announced in Australia. Some bundles of joy just in time for Christmas!

Girls
Amelia Rose - this combination is very common.
Ava Issac - is Isaac a misprint?
Claudia Estelle - contrary to my previous post, Claudia makes an appearance!
Ellie Maree
Emilie Margaret
Erika
Erin Mae
Gemma Gabrielle - announced as a "new Saints supporter". Poor girl!
Georgiana Lyn
Harmony Isabel Jane
Jade Sienna
Leah Brooke
Lily Grace
Mackenzie Maree
Madison Ilona
Madison Zofia
Maya Isabella
Meika Maree
Milla Llaine
Montanna Skye - inspired by Hannah Montanna? A little yucky!
Remi Taylah
Rose Pamela
Ruby Grace - Ruby is becoming more common.
Sadie Lee - this doesn't sound right to me...
Taliyah Lily Isabella - two nice names with Taliyah
Tiarna Essie - unusual, but Essie has a nice ring to it!
Trinity Caitlin
Violet Olive - cute!
Zara Crystal - she was announced as "Miss World 2028". How tacky.

Boys
Archie William
Benji Jack
Brock Joel - Brock has come up a few times over the year. A tribute to the V8s and Peter Brock perhaps?
Brody Owen
Bryce Angus
Cooper Mack
Christian
Christopher Peter
Hayden Arthur
Jack Lewis
Jackson Bradley
Jackson Godwin
Jake William
Jasper Adam
Jayden Robert - I'm unsure why the made-up Jayden is suddenly so popular!
Liam James
Louis Arthur
Mitchell Rhett
Myles Daniel
Rhys Lee
Tyson Jacob
Will Kais
Zachary Ryan

Twins
Ashton Leigh and Brandon Douglas
Lily and Summer - how appropriate for this time of year!

Any similarities? It's interesting to see that Maree was common this week for girls' middle names. I also don't like many of the boys' names. Jackson seems to have been appearing often over the last few months. Could this be a tribute to the late Michael Jackson? If so, I suggest the nicer name, Michael!

Enjoy!

Love,
The Name Dame