Your Baby's Name: An Original? Or Everybody's Taste?

This book is out of print, and I haven't yet found a copy of it anywhere, but I plan to. A Matter of Taste by Stanley Lieberson won the 2001 Book Award given by the Culture Section of the American Sociological Association, and it sounds intriguing. Here's the premise: Harvard University Professor Stanley Lieberson studied children's first names to develop an original theory of fashion. He felt that children's names could provide an opportunity to see the pure mechanisms of fashion in action. People don't have to have a lot of money to name a baby the way they have to have a lot of money to buy diamond earrings at Tiffany's, so baby naming is a chance to show your style without buying anything (well, you still have to pay that outrageous hospital bill).

Using his research techniques, Lieberson examines why the names of certain important and attractive biblical characters are rarely chose, what the influence of movie stars and film characters is in baby naming, and how different ethnic groups exhibit their assimilation into broader populations by the names they choose.

I've wondered about these issues myself. Why are there little Aidens (Aydens, Aadens, Adens) running around everywhere and there's nary a George to be found? And how did that Irish name gain such popularity anyway?

If you find a copy of this book, let me know where you found it. I'm dying to read it.

Baby Names from Downton Abbey

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You love their clothes, but do you love any of their names enough to bestow one on your newborn? Between the characters' names and the actors who play them, there are plenty of baby name possibilities coming from everyone's favorite Masterpiece Theater. Here are a few:

Boys

• Hugh (as in Hugh Bonneville who plays Earl of Grantham)
• Charles (Carson, that is)
• Thomas (I know, he's a bad guy--sometimes, but Thomas is a good, solid name. It's also the actor's name who plays William, if that makes you feel any better)
• Matthew (Crawley, of course)
• Brendan (as in Brendan Coyle who plays Bates)

Girls

• Anna (such a likeable character)
• Mary (played by Michelle Dockery)
• Phyllis (the actress who plays Mrs. Hughes. This name is set for a comeback, I'm telling you)
• Maggie (the beloved Maggie Smith)
• Sophie (as in the adorable Sophie McShera who plays Daisy)

Who did I miss?

7 Baby Names for Spring

If the weather has been as gray and dreary in your neck of the woods as it has been here, you're probably craving spring. That's what inspired these baby names for spring. Whether it feels like it or not, spring is right around the corner, and if your baby is set to arrive in the next few months, consider one of these spring-inspired names.

Girls
Mae: French name meaning "goddess of spring growth"
Rose
Ivy
Primrose (newly famous, thanks to The Hunger Games)

Boys
Kelby: Gaelic name meaning "place by the fountain or spring"
Maxwell: Scottish name meaning "Magnus' spring"
Denver: English name meaning "green valley"

Baby Name of the Day: Conrad

This handsome young man is Conrad Aiken, and he was a poet. From his calm demeanor and nicely combed hair, you might think his life was predictable and comfortable. Well, it started out that way. His parents were wealthy, socially prominent New Englanders who had moved to Savannah, Georgia. His dad was a respected brain surgeon. But then something happened to his father, and no one could ever find out exactly why. The father's behavior became increasingly erratic and violent until early one February morning, he murdered his wife and killed himself. Young Conrad was only eleven years old at the time, but he was the one to hear the gunshots and discover the bodies.

He seems to have recovered. He went to Harvard where he worked on editing with T.S. Eliot, and by 1930 (at the age of 41) he had won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. During his long life, he wrote or edited more than 51 books. He was also largely responsible for establishing Emily Dickinson's reputation as a major American poet.

Conrad's a good solid name for a little boy. I know a young Conrad myself, and he's always the only Conrad in his class. It's charming, a little vintage, and definitely strong.

2 Free Baby Name Books for your Kindle

1. Baby Names to Live By (Tabitha Klein). This unique baby name book offers short biographies of people who are admirable in many ways and also have names that are timely, interesting, and full of potential.

2. Top 8 Baby Names for Boys and Girls (TobBabyNames). This very short book gives you information about the top 8 baby names.

Get them while they're free this weekend and find your perfect baby name.

5 Teacher-Inspired Baby Girl Names

Grace Abbott

If you're looking for baby name inspiration, why not look to famous teachers? Teachers have certainly shaped you and helped you become the competent, creative, talented woman you are today. Pass along a little of that teacher-inspired wisdom by considering one of these baby names:

Maya: Maya Angelou became voluntarily at age 8 when she was raped by her mother's boyfriend. She didn't speak again until she was 13 years old after a dedicated teacher introduced her to classic authors like Poe, Dickens, and Shakespeare. She repaid her gratitude by becoming a teacher herself. Today, she teaches at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

Madeleine: Better known for her role a the first female Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright teaches international relations at Georgetown University.

Grace: Grace Abbott was a social worker, public administrator, educator, and reformer. Born in the 1870s, she was concerned that children spent too much time working for a living and not enough time at school. She became very influential in the field of child-labor legislation.

Nadia: Fortunate Nadia Boulanger grew up among the musicians of the Paris Conservatory where her father taught voice lessons. In 1937, she was the first woman to conduct the Royal Philharmonic. She also taught an entire generation of composers, including American Aaron Copland.

Lucy: The daughter of former slaves, Lucy Craft Laney opened her own school in 1883. By the end of the second year, she had more than 200 African American students enrolled. She also opened a training center that taught nursing skills to black women.

Top Baby Names in Different States

The United States of America is a big country, with many different regions and cultural influences. I thought I'd take a look at the differences in popular baby names in different parts of the country. Here are the top 10 baby boy names from two different parts of the country.

Oregon Baby Boy Names, 2011
1. Mason
2. Liam
3. Logan
4. Jacob
5. Alexander
6. Samuel
7. Daniel
8. Jackson
9. Ethan
10. Noah

Mississippi Baby Boy Names, 2011
1. William
2. James
3. Jayden
4. John
5. Christopher
6. Elijah
7. Jacob
8. Mason
9. Joshua
10. Ethan

There are a few names that appear on both lists (Mason, Ethan, Jacob), but the rest are all different. In both lists, I see the trend of boy names that end in -n. If you want to look up your own state's most popular baby names, take a look at the Social Security website.

Baby Names to Live By

This isn't an ordinary baby name book. You won't find hundreds of thousands of arbitrary names listed by meanings or syllables--because you don't want to give your baby just a name. You have higher hopes for your child than just a melodious sounding name. You want to give your little one a namesake, someone to look up to and be inspired by. From Audrey Hepburn to Isaac Newton, you'll learn about the fascinating people behind the names.

Naming a baby is a big deal. It will consume much of your thinking time while you’re pregnant because you want the name to be just right. You want it to fit the child you haven’t even met yet, and yet it’s also a reflection of you as parents. In modern Western culture, parents often choose names based on how they sound.

This book is full of alternatives: people who are admirable in many ways and also have names that are timely, interesting, and full of potential.

Baby Names to Live By is the perfect book to read while you're pregnant. The mini biographies are short enough for reading in the waiting room while you wait for your appointments and interesting enough to keep you from speculating on whether or not that woman over there is carrying twins.

Get it from Amazon today. It's only $2.99 for the Kindle version.