Hurricane Andrew hit Florida on 24 August 1992. It ended up demolishing Homestead Air Force Base.

Luckily, Kevin Hicks–who had been stationed at Homestead–was off the base by that point. Kevin, his pregnant wife Heidi, and their daughter Emily had driven 5 hours north to Leesburg to avoid the storm.

But on the day the hurricane hit Homestead, Heidi went into labor (4 days early). She gave birth to a baby boy at Leesburg Regional Medical Center that night.

The baby was named Jacob Andrew.

Source: Bond, Bill. “Hurricane Shoots Down Visiting Air Force Family.” Orlando Sentinel 27 Aug. 1992: 1.

(Want to see other baby names in the news?)

(Isn’t Littlehale a great surname for a doctor? Too bad the “hale” part actually refers to a hollow, not to health.)

Source: “Ship Ends Eventful Trip.” New York Times 29 Jun. 1950: 59.

(Want to see other baby names in the news?)

On 8 April 2009, Kate Flello of Gloucestershire, England, went into labor a month early. Her partner Brian Sterry began driving her to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital via A48, but they never made it. The baby boy was born in the Westbury-on-Severn lay-by (rest area).

What was he named? Toby Westbury. According to Kate, “We wanted to call him something appropriate and Toby Westbury is better than Toby Astra.”

Sources: Roadside birth baby named after layby, Layby baby’s early arrival

(Want to see other baby names in the news?)

• Mary MacKillop (1842-1909), who will be the very first Australian saint.
• André Bessette (1845-1937), founder of Saint Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal.
• Stanisław Sołtys (1433-1489) of Poland.
• Cándida María de Jesús (1845-1912) of Spain.
• Giulia Salzano (1846-1929) of Italy.
• Camilla Battista da Varano (1458-1524) of Italy.

The canonization is scheduled for 17 October 2010.

The last canonization, in October of 2009, included Father Damien of Molokai.

Sources: Brother André, Mary MacKillop, among 6 new saints to be canonized in October, Canada, Poland and Australia among nations to have new saints

Fewer than 20 babies total: Agam, Aidynn, Amadi, Armahni, Arrington, Ecko, Elim, Elyah, Grae, Jarae, Jasyiah, Jiayi, Keighan, Kumari, Lakshya, Lanny, Lean, Mako, Marcelle, Money*, Nyel, Oluwanifemi, Oluwatomisin, Omega, Phynix, Psalm, Qamar, Rayen, Reyhan, Ryian, Santanna, Shadow, Shyler, Siah, Sinclair, Skiler, Starling, Stellar, Thanh, Ugonna, Windsor, Yali, Yareth

*I’m pleased that Money made the list. There may be a gender-based income gap in the U.S., but at least men and women are named Money in equal measure. That has to count for something, right?

Toowoomba is a city in Queensland, Australia. The name of the city is based on an aboriginal word (though no one’s quite sure which one). According to a recent article, these are the top baby names in Toowoomba right now:

I have no idea why the article included 10 boy names and 11 girl names. I also don’t know if this list is entirely trustworthy. (The article went on to claim that the top names in Queensland are William and Ruby, but the top names in Queensland are actually William and Chloe. The author could be using statistics from early 2010, but who knows–she didn’t reveal her source.)

I found this statement intriguing, but who knows if it’s accurate:

There has been a growing trend of leaving it up to our children to distinguish themselves in life, rather than selecting a name that stands out.

I think it would be nice if it were true, though.

Update: Another article, Chloe and William top baby names, also claims the top names in Queensland are now William and Chloe. This one mentions that the information comes from “statistics recorded by the Births, Deaths and Marriages Register in Queensland for 2009/10.” How’s that for a meaningless time period?

Source: Parents put an end to name game

Concerned about workers’ poor living conditions (and how these conditions might affect productivity) the Federal government began the Linda Vista housing project in March of 1941. Linda Vista is Spanish for “pretty view.”

The first baby born to residents of the Linda Vista community arrived in late June, 1941. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. D. E. Chapman and had two older siblings, Patricia and Gerald.

Her name? Linda, after Linda Vista.

[A Mental Floss post I read the other day about Linda Vista Hospital reminded me of this story. The abandoned hospital is in Los Angeles and was built decades before San Diego's housing project, but their names are similar.]

Sources:

• “Linda Vista Baby Named for Project.” Los Angeles Times 29 Jun. 1941: 20.
• Linda Vista @ San Diego Daily Transcript
• Linda Vista @ SanDiego.gov
• Taschner, Mary. “Boomerang Boom: San Diego 1941-1942.” The Journal of San Diego History 28.1 (1982).

(Want to see other baby names in the news?)

Names are identifiers, but since they shadow our lives, we never give them much thought, just like we never think about how we walk or what we sound like breathing. I grew up in a small town in rural Oklahoma, where everyone knew everyone. Baxter was just what I was–nothing special.

So when asked to describe the essence of “Baxter,” I thought, When someone shouts it in a crowd, it’s my attention they’re trying for.

How did Baxter’s mother come up with his name?

When waddling around with me in her belly, she saw “Baxter” autographed on the cast of a friend of a friend’s broken arm. It was just what she was looking for, something distinct and distinguished. “I knew the minute I said it in my mind,” she says. “I loved the way it sounded.”

See the rest of Bax’s essay in this month’s LA Time Magazine.

A baby girl was born aboard the ship during the voyage. According to the Times, she was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Antonio Mittoria and named Beatrice Dante, “in honor of the ship.”

The passenger manifest for the SS Dante Alighieri does mention a newborn baby girl, but her name isn’t Beatrice. Or Dante. It’s Vittoria:

She was born on August 4 to Vincenzo and Ninfa Affe, and had older sisters named Angiolina and Giovannina.

Beatrice and Dante could be Vittoria’s middle names, but I haven’t found any official record of it yet.

Sources:

• “Baby Dante Born at Sea.” New York Times 10 Aug. 1919: 7.
• Ellis Island Foundation

(Want to see other baby names in the news?)

“I know someone who named their kid, Genghis.”

“Why? Was Mussolini taken?”

“And another couple who named their kids after two different ski runs in Colorado,” she continued. “One is named Zaugg and the other is called Hyrup.”

“Those sound like names for Hobbits or evil emperors of the Galactic Alliance,” I said.

“Ironically, they then got a dog and named it Bill,” she continued.

Funny stuff. Read the whole thing here. Or here. Or here.

By the way, over 100 babies (86 boys, 28 girls) were named Seven last year. George Costanza would be proud.