the hottest baby names of 2011

Ok, in actuality we’re talking about the hottest baby names of 2011 according to me. Yes, this is an opinion post – no research done here, folks! But aren’t you curious about what my faves are?

All of these are names I love that have not made our top five for either gender for one reason or another. Some of them Ryan has outright rejected, others one or both of us don’t like the nickname options, others we don’t like the actual meaning of, and others have different reasons for rejection all together. 

I won’t tell you all of our “no” reasoning for each name, because some of it is just personal or best kept to ourselves! But of course, I couldn’t resist making comments after a few of them. {JustCantHelpMyself.}

the hottest name of 2010: levi scott

Alright then, for what it's worth, here are some great suggestions (according to yours truly) that the Bookers won’t be using. So... {*wink, grin*} please help yourself:

Top 12 boys names (in no particular order):

• Lucas or Luca
• Jude
• Samuel (Love the nickname “Sam” but it doesn’t work with the Australian pronunciation of our last name without sounding like Sambuca - a type of liqueur. We don’t want to be known as the “lush parents”.)
• Max
• Noah
• Milo (In Australia that’s the well-known brand name of a hot chocolate-type drink. I’ve decided we will just have to get a dog and name him Milo instead, as I really am in love with that name!)
• Asher
• Dexter (I don’t want my kid being nicknamed Sexy Dex!)
• Jack or Jaxon
• Micah
• Dylan
• Silas

Top 12 girls names (in no particular):

• Elianna
• Alivia (I adore the nickname “Liv”, but Levi and Liv are just a little too similar.)
• Charlotte (With the nickname “Charlie” – ohmygoodness, so cute!)
• Lucy
• Mira (In Australia people would think her name is “mirror” as the two are pronounced exactly the same.)
• India
• Grace (Such a timeless classic!)
• Stella (Again, a little too alcohol-ish since this is the name of a popular Belgian beer.)
• Sydney (I just wouldn’t ever use that one unless we actually lived outside of Australia.)
• Isla
• Dyllan (Yes, I like it for both genders, but with a slight variation of the spelling.)
• Clara

For the record, we are still somewhat undecided on name options for baby number two. (We’re open for suggestions!) We are fairly certain we have a girl’s name nailed down, and less certain about a boy’s (although we have a few options left over from round one that we still really like and are seriously considering). But even when we do find out the gender and decide on a name… we will be keeping it under wraps until his/her birthday so that Ryan can have his “Lion King Moment” – sharing baby’s name with the world.

Oh, it’s exciting isn’t it?! What a huge deal it is to name our children… so very daunting, frustrating, difficult, fun, and exciting.

Dear friends, what are your favorite baby names at the moment? How did you choose your children’s names and did it stir up controversy or was it a simple and seamless process? Alternately, if you don’t want to give your gems away, what were your favorite baby names when you were a kid? (If I had babies when I was eight years old, I think my girls would have been named Jamie and Melody and my boys would have been Tyson and Mitchell. *smile* I was just crazy about those names. I still think they’re nice names… but they don’t even come close to making the top of my list anymore.)

loving the name game,

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2011
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