I won’t try to hide the fact that I have seen the two Twilight movies and I’m likely to see the upcoming third installment. I even went so far as to read the first book, and kept stopping to rant to my friends about what horrible writing it was. My point is, I’m hip to the cultural phenomenon that Stephenie Meyer unleashed on the world.

However, the depth of my cultural awareness did not prepare me for the disturbing news that soccer moms have been doing more than devouring the books and movies with fantastic abandon. No, apparently these mommies are extending the vampiric reach of the “literature” by naming their poor, innocent babies after the Twilight characters.

According to the Social Security Baby Names site, Isabella became the most popular girls’ name in the U.S in 2009. (For those of you not in the know, Isabella Swan, a.k.a. Bella, is the main character’s name in the Twilight series.) I think Isabella is a perfectly beautiful name. My only annoyance is that these girls now have a namesake who is a bland shell of a literary character. I’ll spare you my usual rant about how Bella’s character is composed of weakness, insecurity, and reliance on men for happiness. Simply put, it’s a crying shame that 22,067 baby girls were named after a wet paper bag of a character in a poorly written romance novel series.

Jacob was the top boys name in 2009. (Jacob Black is a werewolf and is also Bella’s unrequited love interest in the series.) In this case, Jacob has been the most popular boys’ name for 11 years. Thus, it’s more likely that the pre-existing popularity of the name Jacob influenced Meyer’s naming of the werewolf and not that the dreamy ab-tastic character made the name a popular choice for mommies.

A surprising blip on the Twilight naming radar is that Cullen moved up the charts 300 spots to the 485th most popular boy name. (Cullen is the last name of the vampire family in the series.) It is an unusual name, and for that I tip my hat to mommies brave enough bestow it upon their sons. But, I wonder how many little boys are going to be explaining to their kindergarten teachers four years from now that it’s Cullen, c-u-l-l-e-n, not Collin!

I was surprised that Edward didn’t even make the top 10 for boys’ names. (Edward Cullen is Bella’s pale-skinned vampire lover.) Edward’s character is most certainly the focal point of the novels. He is described in excruciating and often trite detail, and the mere mention of his name makes teen girls and middle-aged women swoon across the country. Despite the character’s popularity, the name Edward has remained relatively constant in its popularity in the 140s and 130s for over a decade.

Perhaps mommies everywhere really are more avidly members of Team Jacob than they are of Team Edward!? Well, at least when it comes to naming their baby boys, that is. But really, if one grows up to be a sparkly vampire and the other grows up to be a moody werewolf, is one name a better choice than the other?

Tags: baby names, baby naming, Bella, Isabella, pop culture, pop culture naming, Team Edward, Team Jacob, Twilight
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What does naming a baby have to do with naming a laundry detergent? More than you might think. Just as a good commercial brand name creates positive interest and helps that brand make its way in the world, the right first name can smooth your child’s path and predispose people to think well of him or her.

So in the spirit of Mother’s Day and as a gift to mothers (and fathers) everywhere, the brand naming consultants at Catchword present the 10 naming rules that are just as applicable for babies as they are for brands:

1. Know your product.
You wouldn’t name a new skincare lotion before getting to know everything you could about it. Why name your baby before getting to know him or her? Having a handful of names selected ahead of time is always a good idea. But wait until after the birth to make the final decision. Every little one has her or his own personality, as any parent can attest. Even just a few hours getting acquainted with your new baby can help you decide which name’s the best fit.

2. Differentiate from the competition.
Children vie for attention from day one. A distinctive name can give them a head start. That’s not to say a name should be different just for the sake of being different. (Like Frank Zappa’s offspring, Moon Unit, Dweezil, and Diva Thin Muffin. That’s pretty serious karma.) But it’s worth researching what the most popular names of the day are, and going against the grain. Do you really want your kid to have to be called Emily M in the schoolroom, so she’s not mistaken for Emilys A through L?

3. Go for brand longevity.
Today’s phenom could be tomorrow’s punchline. Take the long view, and beware of names whose only virtue is a link to a celebrity or cultural trend. For instance, Chanel, Armani, Porsche and Camry – all popular baby names in early 2000 – may lose their cachet over the next few decades. Just witness Toyota’s recent woes.

4. Consider your target audience.
A name like Ocean (Forest Whitaker’s child) may play well in a Beverly Hills school full of celebrities’ kids – and be the kiss of death in Akron, Ohio. And there’s the workplace milieu to consider too. If you want your child to be able to move freely in a variety of circles, Rocket (the name of Robert Rodriguez’s son) is probably over the top.

5. Limit the number of decision-makers.
Ask 10 people what they think of a name ahead of time and you’re likely to get 20 opinions. Relatives, friends, colleagues – everyone will have their own idiosyncratic take if you invite them into your process. So don’t. You’ll probably have a tough enough time just coming to agreement with your “co-producer.” And just as with commercial products, a name that may sound preposterous to “focus groups” in the abstract often will come to sound perfectly natural when paired with the item in question in real life.

6. Keep the master brand in mind.
In marketing parlance, your surname is the master brand; your little one’s name, the sub-brand. You want the two to pair well together. If your last name is long or hard to pronounce, a simple, short first name is a good idea. If your last name is short and prosaic, a longer, more evocative first name could provide balance. Also, make sure the two names aren’t tongue-twisters when pronounced sequentially. (For instance, Seth Shostak, the radio host’s name: not good.) And avoid cutesy pairings, like Candy Barr, Penny Nicole Dimes, and Tu Morrow (what Rob Morrow from TV’s Numb3rs named his poor daughter). They’re pure bully fodder.

7. Use sounds to create a brand personality.
Sound symbolism can convey a range of desired qualities. For instance, names with “hard” consonants – like Jack and Kurt – come across as more testosterone-y than names like Ralph or Jeffrey. On the other hand, names like Ava, Isabella, Mia – among the most popular girls’ names of 2009 – have a graceful, light feeling, thanks to open vowels and soft consonants (the cushiony “v” and lilting “l”).

8. Make it easy to spell.
Grace. Brandon. Jacob. If you look at the most popular boys’ and girls’ names of the last decade, most of them are intuitive to say and spell. There’s a reason for that. You don’t want your child to be forever spelling her or his name for people. Think Madison vs. Madyson. Katelyn vs. Kaitlyne. Erica vs. Erykah.

9. Exercise care when recycling old brands.
Well-worn names that have been around for decades – or in some cases, even a few years – can have some pretty musty baggage. If you want to use the name of a relative or ancestor and it’s an old-fashioned one, consider freshening it or giving it a new twist. Edie instead of Edwina. Gene instead of Eugene. Skyler instead of Schuyler – you get the idea. You’ll still be paying homage to your ancestry – but your child won’t be paying penance.

10. Avert public relations disasters.
Kids can be cruel; don’t saddle yours with a name that lends itself to embarrassing nicknames or jokes. Consider the initials of first and last names together; possible homonyms (a colleague was almost named Dustin Uriah); closeness in spelling to other, less savory words; historical and cultural associations (Adolf or Hannibal: not), etc. And it doesn’t hurt – especially if you move in international circles – to make sure that the name doesn’t mean something awful in common foreign languages. Pity the poor kid named Desdemona, for instance, which means “ill-fated one” in Greek. Talk about inauspicious beginnings.

Tags: baby naming, Brand Naming, naming guide, Naming Tips
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Dang! I wish I had been clever enough to think of this first. Well, Catchword will be more than happy to check your baby’s name in any language you want – and it won’t cost you a thousand pounds, either.

Via Reuters (great article, stupid title; if I never see another newspaper piece titled “What’s In a Name” I’ll die happy):

LONDON (Reuters) – A London-based translation firm is offering parents-to-be the chance to check the meaning of prospective baby names in other languages to avoid inadvertently causing their offspring future embarrassment.

Celebrity couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes might have thought twice about naming their daughter Suri if they’d known that it means “pickpocket” in Japanese, “turned sour” in French, and “horse mackerels” in Italian, suggest Today Translations.

For 1,000 pounds ($1,678), the company’s linguists will carry out a “basic name translation audit” of names, checking their meaning in 100 languages, or more for an additional cost.

While open to everyone, the firm said it expects the service is likely to attract celebrity clients, who are known for giving their babies unusual names.

Other celebrity baby names it has checked include Kai Rooney, the newborn son of English soccer player Wayne Rooney, whose name means “probably” in Finnish, “pier” in Estonian, and “stop it” in the west African language of Yoruba.

And while musicians Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale may have known Zuma meant “peace” in Arabic when choosing their son’s name, they may not have been aware it also translates as “Lord frowns in anger” in the Aztec language of Nahuatl.

Some unusual celebrity baby name choices are beyond easy translation however, the company admits, such as Jermajesty — the son of Michael Jackson’s brother Jermaine.

Tags: baby names, baby naming, linguistic branding, linguistic naming, linguistic screening
Posted in Fun stuff, In-the-News, Language use | 1 Comment

Catchword has not yet been paid to name a baby, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have the expertise to do it. In fact, almost all of the Catchword team are parents. There are hundreds of websites devoted to baby naming, but we think this is one of the funniest: Baby’s Named a Bad, Bad Thing – A Primer on Parent Cruelty, put together by Diana Goodman. Here Ms. Goodman plucks actual postings from other baby naming sites and comments on them. The title of her site indicates her feelings on this topic.

The United States – unlike Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Japan, and Jordan, among other countries – has no government body that oversees baby names. What this means is that the first-grade teachers of 2010 will begin their day calling roll thusly:

“Mackenzie, Mykenzie, Makynzi, McKayla, McKaty, Mackanzie, Mikayla, Makai, Mekenzie, Michaela, Mikayleigh, Makinzy, and Jennifer.”

(It should go without saying – but apparently doesn’t – that an unusual spelling does not distinguish a name in its most common form, spoken language. All these names were taken from examples at Ms. Goodman’s site.)

Of course we know choosing a new baby’s name is a decision of the heart. But professionally, we can offer a little advice: A baby’s name should meet the same standards as company names and product names – that is, it should be appealing, distinctive, pronounceable, and memorable. Oh, and it should be a name your child can spell before she’s 15.

Tags: baby naming, ugly names
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I know six pregnant women right now – so baby names are a popular topic. They are fielding suggestions from all sorts of different sources (my cousin’s three year old son came up with a brilliant name for his in-utero sister: Avalina Shoppinglist.) The baby-naming conversation always makes me think of my parents’ struggle to decide on a name for my sister.

Twenty-two years ago, when my mom was about eight months pregnant with my sister, my parents threw a party. They had a huge chalkboard in the hallway that had originally hung in an elementary school classroom, and asked the guests to write down some suggestions for my unborn little sister. Had it been left up to the party-goers, she might have been named Chi-Cha, Cayenne, Polyester-Cloroxa, Banana-Rama or Quasar-Pulsar. My sister was born and my parents couldn’t settle on on the right name for two weeks until finally “Baby Girl” was named Tessa. “I could have used a naming expert,” my mom said recently.

Had my parents know about the three golden rules of baby naming (defined by Catchword’s resident baby naming expert, Burt Alper) they might have pursued a slightly different path in naming my sister. In short, Burt suggests keeping the naming candidates to oneself during pregnancy (feedback is generally all negative before birth and all positive afterwards) and narrowing it down to 2-3 names before the birth (but not deciding beforehand). He also warns against naming your baby what you wish you had been named.

The challenges people face in naming their children are not unrelated to those found in coming up with company names and product branding. The name you might pull out of the blue as the most distinctive and beautiful has certainly been thought of. A name that’s too popular won’t let your company, product or child stand apart from the crowd. On the other hand, having a highly unusual name that no one understands (Polyester-Cloroxa?) or that is difficult to pronounce or spell can be equally problematic. So it’s a big decision either way – but the aforementioned naming rules should help, and you can always give your favorite naming experts a call.

Tags: baby naming
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Amazing how popular the topic of baby naming has gotten in the last few months. Here’s the latest entry from the New York Times.

One of my “golden rules of naming” is that parents shouldn’t tell their friends what names they are considering before they name the baby. (You tend to get mostly negative feedback pre-birth and nothing but positive feedback post-birth.) The NYT reporter John Tierney aptly points out that parents considering names like “Ima Hogg” or “Helen Troy” should probably check with a few friends first (maybe even your favorite naming company).

You don’t need a license to have a kid, but maybe you should be forced to get approval for the name you *think* you want to assign to your child. The poor kid named “Favre” certainly would agree (see earlier post).
I say again: leave creative naming to the professionals.

Tags: baby naming
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I was shocked to learn about a Florida couple who named their twin boys Brett and Favre (see article). These folks must not have read my golden rules of baby naming (see earlier blog posts). Naming is not about *you* it is about what (or who) you are naming (in this case, the babies). What may seem like a harmless and funny gag today will probably result in years of therapy for these poor kids.

Grow up people. Name responsibly. Show a little respect for your kids, and remember that they must live with the name you give them for the rest of their lives.

Tags: baby naming
Posted in Fun stuff, In-the-News | 1 Comment