The Sweet Spot.

 

We’re all on the lookout for them. Names that somehow defy popularity, aren’t moving up in the charts, and haven’t been usurped by a celebrity. Names that have a nice balance between simplicity and complexity, sound modern but timeless, and are easy to say and spell. Names that aren’t trying too hard, but don’t bore you to tears. Names that even the grandparents can tolerate. For girls, we’d like them to be feminine but strong, for boys, masculine yet kind. Here’s a list of relatively off the radar names that come recommended by YCCII for 2009– all with great meanings to boot:

 

LADIES

Adele- Germanic, “noble” and underused. 

Aster- Greek, “star.” a flower, a form of Hebrew Esther with a modern sound; Pop culture: Rita’s daughter in “Dexter.”

Blythe- Old English, “cheerful.” Gwyneth Paltrow’s mother Blythe Danner is one famous bearer who began a litany of unusual names in their family.

Bronwen- Welsh, “fair breasted”, or pure of heart.  This gets a lot of attention on the name boards but remains unusual in the big picture.

Celeste- Latin origin, “heavenly.”  Queen Celeste reigns in the Babar books.  

Coralie- French, “coral.”  Somewhere between Cora and the newly famous Coraline, this one has potential to be a crowd pleaser.  

Frances- English from Francis, “Frenchman” or “free.”  Courtney Love broke with her own image when she and Kurt Cobain named their baby Frances Bean.

Iris- Greek goddess of the rainbow.  Jude Law and Judd Apatow both have one.  What fun for a young girl to have both a flower and a rainbow to celebrate her name.  

Louisa- “Prepared for battle”; appears in both Jane Austen’s Persuasion, and is the author of Little Women Louisa May Alcott.  All the beauty of Sophia and Olivia, without the searing popularity. 

Margot-French short form of Margaret, “pearl.”  Alluring woman in charge.

Mira- Triple threat: Slavic, “peace”, Sanskrit, “sea”, and Latin, “admirable”; Actress Mira Sorvino has faded from view so your daughter would have no trouble owning this name.  

Naomi- Hebrew, “pleasant”, Japanese “honest + beautiful.”  Cross cultural appeal far surmounts any quibble that may come from spelling this name backwards.  Don’t be silly.  If it does bother you, try Noemi.  

Petra- Greek, “rock.”  This will surprise people– pleasantly, I would think.

Phoebe- Greek, “bright, pure.”  Shakesperean, Biblical, and Mythological.  Cool.  

Susannah- Hebrew, “lily.”  Ladylike and lovely from childhood on.

Verity- From the Latin veritas, “truth.”  Appellation Mountain picked this as her alias for good reason.  

 

GENTS

Callum- Scottish, from Latin Columba for “dove.”  While people are discovering this, it’s still far from popular.  The nickname Cal just might help to sell Dad.

Conrad- German, “bold counsel.”  Time for Conrad to shed his geeky image.  Conrad is strong and commanding, and maybe even too cool for school.

Desmond- Irish, “from South Munster.”  One of many delectables brought to America’s attention on LOST.  I hope to have the pleasure of meeting a few.  

Edward- Old English, “rich guard.”  Will easily weather the storm that is Twilight.  A tried and true classic.  Try Ned, Ted, and Teddy before you stop at Ed.  

Everett- English, from the Germanic Everard, meaning “brave boar.”  Handsome choice that people seem to forget about.

Hugh- German, “intellect.”  A personal favorite.  Hugo is a top of the charts in France. 

Jonah- Hebrew, “dove.”  Are Callum and Jonah too incongruous to work for twins?  No, it’s not Jonas, but we like that too.  The brothers will be soon forgotten.  

Lachlan- Scottish nickname for a person from Norway, “land of lochs.”  Australia is gaga over Lachlan.  A sign it could make the journey here. 

Leo- Latin origin, “lion.”  Such an international choice.

Malcolm- Scottish, “disciple of St. Columba.”  It’s time to make way for new associations from Malcolm X and “Malcolm in the Middle.”

Philip- Greek origin, “horse lover.”  Try this name in full, with one L, and you’ve got a winner.

Raphael- Hebrew, “God has healed.”  Another name that works in so many languages.  Rafael is another bonafide spelling.

Reid- English, may mean “red-haired” or “forest clearing.”  This child could be preppy, a hippie baby, or just hip.

Seth- Hebrew, “appointed.”  Handsome and understated. 

Tobias- Hebrew, “God is good.”  Germans are liking Tobias these days and so am I.  

Wesley- English, “west meadow.”  Straddles Western cowboy and tea-sipping gentleman.  

 

Where does your sweet spot lie?