Tuesday, August 31, 2010

In the News: Hurricane Names (Girls)

This week Hurricane Earl threatens the Eastern U.S. shore with 160mph winds. According to the Atlantic Tropical Weather Center, the naming history of hurricanes is as follows:
 Atlantic tropical cyclones were named with the old World War II phonetic alphabet during the years 1950-1952.  Women's names were first used in 1953, and the same list (with one change) was used in 1954.  However, after the major East Coast storms of that year, forecasters decided to use new names each year for awhile.  Then beginning in 1960, four semi-permanent sets were established, to be re-cycled after four years.  This list was expanded to ten sets in 1971, but before making it through the list even once, these sets were replaced by the now familiar sets of mens' and womens' names.   In the Atlantic, male names were first used in 1979, and the sets are repeated every six years.
Through researching names for this post, we also learned that hurricane names are retired when the storm is destructive and/or significant enough. Here are some names from the database that we like:

We found that most of the names we liked were female, though Dennis and George did catch our attention from the male side.
  • Abby
  • Alice
  • Audrey
  • Betsey
  • Betty
  • Caroline
  • Emmy
  • Flora
  • Gabrielle
  • Grace
  • Hannah
  • Isabel

Friday, August 20, 2010

FabNames Pair of the Week - Oliver & Graham

Oliver is originally thought to be a French name and is often associated with the olive tree. It hovers just around #100 for popularity (in 2009), so it is used often but not extremely common. Graham has English, Scottish, and Celtic origins, and usually ranks around #250+ (2009).

All around, we think these two names are familiar, though not extremely common. And two little boys with these names would be pretty darn cute.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Spotlight - Place Names

Our recent post about India/Indie got us thinking about the wonderful naming inspiration found on a map. Here are some place-names we like. I'm sure we've missed many, but here's what stands out to us when perusing the map.

Female:
  • Alexandria
  • Aurora
  • Berlin
  • Bristol
  • Brooklyn
  • Charlotte
  • Geneva
  • Georgia
  • London
  • Milan
  • Savannah
  • Sydney

Male:
  • Boston
  • Cruz
  • Dallas
  • Diego
  • Finn
  • Jackson
  • Logan
  • Mason
  • Penn
  • Roman


Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Fab Names Combinations of the Week - Chef Names

Do you ever think about chef & cook names when watching the FoodNetwork or flipping through cookbooks? Recently we've been thinking about the unique and classy names of some of our favorite foodie chefs. Perhaps there are others we've missed?

Female:
  • Claire
  • Ellie
  • Giada
  • Ina
  • Julia
  • Martha
  • Nigella

Male:
  • Alton
  • George
  • Jacques
  • (Jamie) Oliver

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Names of the Times - Colors

Recently we've noticed a lot of babies and tots with names derived from the color-wheel. Here are some we like, by gender:

Boys:
  • Grey
  • Jett (black)
  • Hunter (green)
  • Sterling
Girls:
  • Hazel
  • Goldie
  • Maude
  • Olive
  • Ruby
  • Sienna
  • Scarlett/Scarlet
  • Sage
  • Violet

Friday, July 23, 2010

In the News: India / Indie

Yesterday in India, a prototype tablet computer was released that will sell for approximately $35, aiming to help improve education in India through technology. We love the forward-thinking mindset of this low-priced technology for students, and we also are loving this up-and-coming girls' name: India or Indie.

Within the past decade singer India Arie's popularity has increased the use of this name, and while it is still only ranked well over 4000 (#4571 to be exact) for girls, it has grown steadily since the year 2000. The name also has connections to the "indie" mindset of many hipsters who prefer to support all things independent. We love this reworking of a country into a girls' name. What do you think?

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Letters we Love - B

{After a long break, we are back. We will be updating often now with names we love, so keep checking FabNames for names you may like. Email us with any questions or name inspiration for upcoming babies.}

B -
A strong letter for any boy’s name. Here are some B names that we love:
  • Bennett
  • Benton
  • Bentley
  • Beckham
  • Benson
  • Brendan
  • Brandt
  • Brennan
  • Branson
  • Bryson
  • Berkeley
  • Bryant
  • Braden