Weekend Post: Good, Fresh, Uncomplicated Names

Eat’s ethos

Since I shared this photo in last week’s Spot post, I’ve been thinking about the Eat ethos, which is good, fresh, uncomplicated food.

What would be the naming equivalent?

Let’s break it down.

FRESH

Fresh is often used (and I’m particularly guilty of this one) as another way to say unusual, but one could also see it as a name that hasn’t been overexposed.

In the end I settled for 4 set criteria for a name to pass this category and go on to the next category. For a name to be fresh in my eyes, it must not be:

• A name that has been in the Top 100 for 10 years at some point in time
• A name that ever been #1
• A name that has been given to a high profile celeb offspring
• A name that has risen more than 100+ places in the Top 500 since 2000

Taking this into consideration, names that fail this category include:

1. Amber
2. Amelie (up 1420 since 2000)
3. Chloe
4. Harry
5. Jack
6. Kayden (up 1326 since 2000)
7. Lexi (up 1949 since 2000)
8. Oliver
9. Suri
10. Thomas

GOOD

For a name to be good, I believe it has to have little negative connections such as an evil forebearer (whether fictional or not) or less-than-lovely meaning.

8 names that would fall down at this hurdle, but would’ve passed the previous category include:

1. Adolf - self explanatory
2. Azrael – aka The Angel of Death
3. Bellatrix – think Harry Potter
4. Dolores – means sorrows + think Harry Potter
5. Gretel - Hansel&Gretel tale
6. Louhi - name of a death goddess in Finnish mythology
7. Memphis - the US city known for crime
8. Mordred – rival of Arthur in Arthurian legend
9. Nuala - the Nuala in Irish mythology was less-than-nice
10. Persephone - means murder /to destroy

UNCOMPLICATED

What makes a name complicated? One could say it is a name which causes little spelling/pronunciation issues, such as James and Ruby.

8 names that fail this test, but passed the previous two include:

1. Caoimhe - pronounced KEE-va
2. Ceridwen - pronounced ke-RID-wen
3. Eluned - pronounced EH-lee-ned
4. Heliodoro - just generally a mouthful of a name
5. Joachim/Joaquin – just generally a name that causes me a headache when it comes to pronunciation
6. Schuyler - pronounced SKY-ler
7. Solveig - pronounced SOL-vay
8. Xanthe - pronounced ZAN-the

So, without further ado, here’s the list of  some of the names I think  pass all three tests:

BOYS

1. Angus
2. August
3. Barnaby
4. Bruno
5. Caspian
6. Cosmo
7. Ever
8. Ezra
9. Fergus
10. Gray
11. Indigo
12. Ivor
13. Rio

GIRLS

1. Avalon
2. Blossom
3. Coral
4. Gwen
5. Hero
6. Ingrid
7. Josie
8. Lux
9. Nova
10. Orla
11. Roma
12. Rosemary
13. Vera

Do you dispute any of these choices? Are there any names you think qualify too?