As a follow-up to my previous post, I've compiled a couple of lists of place names that might make nice first names for a baby. With the introduction of VP-nominee Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol, this post is especially timely.
First up, I was surprised, when looking at the existing SSA data, that Africa didn't make the top 1000, and in fact, it never has in this country. Not only would it does it suggest rich ethnic connections, but the -ica ending is familiar (with Angelica, Erica, Jessica, Monica and Veronica among the most well-known) and the bright consonants keep it fresh. In contrast, Kenya, which debuted in the top 1000 in 1968 at #925, had shot up to #275 only five years later and has maintained a strong presence in the middle-hundreds ever since. With that precedent set, I'd like to suggest three other African nations who sound like sisters: Mali, Mozambique, and Mauritania.
If you're too white-bread to pull of the exoticism off that trio, consider some of these. I stuck them in whatever list I personally thought they fit best in, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear of a boy named Holland or a girl named Lisbon.
Boys:
Brisbane
Cairo
Elko
Jericho
Lisbon
Melbourne
Oslo
Girls:
Holland
Milan
Monaco
Vienna
If that girls' list looks a bit skimpy, here are two over-looked but appealing names that have been used on American girls for ages: Odessa (which fell off the charts in 1956) and Valencia (1994).
And I also want to mention three names that have some potential aren't quite there yet. Havana rhymes with Savannah and is probably easier to spell, but politics and poverty prevent it from making inroads. Politics aside, I can't see either China or Korea making it as names. Both names sound pretty and would make a strong cultural assertion, just as Kenya does, but I don't think many people wanting to make that assertion would need those names. Most Chinese- and Korean-American parents, if they want to use their child's name as a vehicle for ethnic pride, can use traditional Chinese or Korean names. Traditional Chinese and Korean names won't sound strange to many Chinese- and Korean-Americans, because they have thriving linguistic traditions. In contrast, many African-American parents don't have that option, their ancestors' languages having been obliterated in this country hundreds of years ago. Definitely, there are African-language names in every baby name database I feature, but a lot of them will sound too foreign to English-speaking African Americans.
2 comments:
I've met two people named chyna. are 'misspellings' of countries common?
I see you mentioned Brisbane and Melbourne as possible baby names. Most of our Australian capitals make good candidates. The others potentials are: Sydney, Adelaide, Darwin and possibly Perth. Canberra and Hobart don't work so well though. Many of the American states also work: Navada, Montana, Dakota, and my personal favourite: Indiana.
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