(no subject)

From time to time someone will rant a fine sulphurous rant about the goofy-ass names that people give their babies nowadays (this website often being referenced.) Should you ever feel such a rant coming on, my advice is to go to the Social Security Administration's list of top baby names throughout the decades, go to "Most Popular Names of the 1910's," and go down toward the bottom of the list. I mean, my lord; back in the sedate sane decade of 1910-20, people were naming children things like Exie, Emogene, Ozella, Delfina, Romaine (for girls), or Furman, Garnet, Waldemar, Pershing, Junious, Laurel (for boys). There's a wonderful assortment of non-Anglo names to be found, reflecting the fact that a century ago the US was still very much a nation of recent immigrants. Anyone looking to find unusual names, whether for a child or a character, might do worse than to scan these lists.

I am in general fascinated by the naming of things, and a wonderful website, if you share this interest, is here, one of those glorious weirdness of the web that allows us all to benefit from one person's obsession. Italian Profession Names, Natural Phenomena Named After Frank Zappa, Norway Farm Names, Quilt Block Names, Scottish Given Names of the 13th Century, Naming Your Homeschool, Subway Line Names, all these and a gazillion more.

(no subject)

I've been really enjoying the comments on my earlier post about names, and find myself moved to follow up by tossing out a few questions for anyone who feels like responding:

1) Your LJ user name--how did you come up with it, where did it come from? And do you have a different pseud for writing/lists/whatever? How do you decide when to use which?

2) Any stories about how your family chose your RL first/middle names? Is there something you were *almost* named until saner heads prevailed?

3) What's the coolest name you've encountered (either real or pseud), one you really wish you had?

Answering for myself: (a) Kat Allison is simply a slight revision of parts of my RL name; it's the only name I've ever used in fandom. (b) My mother once told me that, if my father had had his way, I would have been named "Ariel," which ... well, let's just say I'm very glad he lost that one; it would have been wildly incongruent with both my RL last name and my basic temperament (I'm not remotely ethereal and poetic enough to be an Ariel). And (c) there are two public figures whose names I've always envied: Tai Babilonia (figure skater) and Moon Landrieu (former mayor of New Orleans). Those are just ... *cool.*