(The mother of baby Alicia, born 12 days late and named after Hurricane Alicia, had used similar reasoning.)

Source: “Mom names baby for Elena.” Gainesville Sun 31 Aug. 1985: 2A.

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

A total of 4,143 babies were born in Malta in 2009. (In 2006, the number was 3,885.) These were the most popular baby names last year:

Boy Names

1. Luke/Luca (92 babies)
2. Matthew/Matthias/Matteo (84)
3. Jake (59)
4. Aiden (53)
5. Jaden/Jayden (51)
6. John/Giovanni/Jean (48)
7. Kaiden/Kayden (47)
8. Michael/Miguel/Mikele (46)
9. Nicholas/Nick (42)
10. Isaac/Izaak (39)
11. Nathan (38)
12. • Liam/William (36)
    • Gabriel (36)
13. Benjamin/Ben (35)
14. • Alexander/Alessandro/Alejandro (34)
    • Zachary/Zak (34)
15. • James (33)
    • Daniel (33)
16. Denzel/Danzil (31)
17. Keiran (29)
18. • Andre/Andrew/Andrea (26)
    • Sven (26)
19. Julian (25)
20. • Kyle (24)
    • Joseph/Giuseppe/Beppe (24)

Girl Names

1. Maria/Mariah/Marie (82 babies)
2. Elena/Ylenia/Ella (79)
3. Christina/Kristina/Krista (63)
4. Eliza/Elizabeth/Lisa (52)
5. Amy/Aimee (49)
6. Julia/Gulia (45)
7. • Maya/Maia (39)
   • Emma (39)
8. Martina (33)
9. Rihanna/Rhiana (32)
10. Jasmine/Yasmine (31)
11. Keira (29)
12. Mikela/Michaela (28)
13. Jade (27)
14. Hannah/Anna/Ann (26)
15. • Nicole (25)
    • Mireille (25)
    • Hailey/Hayley (25)
16. Sarah/Sara (24)
17. • Emilia (22)
    • Lea (22)
18. Thea (20)
19. • Shania (18)
    • Katrina/Kate (18)
    • Amber (18)
    • Kailey/Kayleigh (18)
20. • Faith (17)
    • Laura (17)

You’ll notice that Malta still lumps variants together. (They even lump non-variants like Elena and Ella together.) I’m not a big fan of this method because when groupings change from year to year, comparisons become impossible.

Malta also seems to have some issues with spelling. Aidan and Kieran became Aiden and Keiran between 2006 and 2009, for instance. And I’m sure “Gulia” was meant to be Giulia. (Though I do like the fact that there’s a “Julia/Gulia” grouping. Very Wedding Singer-esque.)

But it’s interesting stuff nonetheless. I’m especially intrigued by all the -ayden names on the boys’ list. (Worldwide phenomenon, anyone?)

If you want to see more from Malta, the top baby names of 2008, 2007, 2004/2005, 2003 and 2002 are available for download.

Source: National Statistics Office – Malta

• Girls: Florence, Lucie, Lacey, Esme, Elena
• Boys: Ollie, Jenson, Eli, Jesse, Cole

Here’s some of Luke’s analysis (plus a few Wikipedia links, just for context):

Some of these fast risers definitely correspond with pop trends – Florence must be inspired by Florence and the Machine, right? Also, Ollie and Jenson will have been boosted by X Factor and Formula 1 respectively.

Some names popped up on both lists, which was very interesting. Darcy was on the boys’ list, Darcie and Darcey were on the girls’ list. (Mr. Darcy influence, perhaps?) Frankie ranked for girls, and both Frank and Frances ranked for boys.

Hop on over and check out the lists (and Luke’s other posts). Which of the names do you like best?

Here’s what she’s looking for in a boy name:

For the boy I’d like names that are two syllables long and start and end in a consonant. So far I like Robert, Patrick, Daniel and Fabian. The only one he likes is Fabian, but we’re still not sure.

And here’s what she’s looking for in a girl name:

For the girl I’d like names that are three or four syllables long, and start and end in a vowel. So far I like Anastasia, Ophelia, Elena and Ursula, but he likes none of them.

The babies’ last name will sound something like Thisbe.

Here are some of the boy names I came up with:

And here are some ideas for the girl name:

Which of the above do you like best with Beatrix? (And which ones make the best boy/girl pairings, do you think?)

What other names would you suggest to Marissa?

• 1892: Numidian
• 1903: Sarto
• 1909: Theodore
• 1910: Cleveland, Sufficient
• 1919: Dante
• 1921: Decillion
• 1929: Airlene
• 1933: Karina
• 1935: Meadows Brook
• 1938: Adolph Benito Adrien, Ford
• 1941: Dawn Siren, Linda, Victory Pearl Harbor
• 1944: Leorita, Linda
• 1946: Mi Hwa
• 1950: Auden, Queenie, Roy Hugh
• 1953: Val N. Tines
• 1954: Hazel
• 1955: George, etc.
• 1957: Mash
• 1963: Jeep Gilbert
• 1967: Australis
• 1977: Friday February Eleven
• 1980: (unknown)
• 1983: Alicia, Australia II, etc.
• 1984: Jorge, Pearl
• 1985: Elena, Gloria, Tracy, etc.
• 1986: Good Hope Sky, Samantha
• 1988: Normah
• 1989: Joseph
• 1992: Andrew
• 1997: Laa-Laa
• 1998: Keane
• 2000: Ginaya
• 2001: Hajez
• 2002: BOH DVF 260602, Frank, Ikea, Mondeo, Philip Ruddock
• 2003: Isabel
• 2004: Jon 2.0
• 2005: Cape Cod, Helsinki, Golden Palace, Moses, Silvio Berlusconi, Taylor, Tsunami
• 2006: ABS-CBN, Metallica, Venerdi
• 2007: 4Real, Ann, Aoyun, Autumn, etc., Boston Harold, Carlee, Daniella, Gala, Noah, Wrigley Fields, Zeljko
• 2008: Aoyun, Camryn, Jesus, Sarah McCain Palin, V.W.
• 2009: Aussie Trooper, Barcelona, Edan Shaw, Freeway, Jovi, Kia, Westbury, Ya Hang, Zealand-New
• 2010: Crimson Tide, Jacqueline, Jazz, Lady Gaga, Li Jefferson, Monique-Lucie, Tami Fabiola, Torah, Zöé

And here they are sorted by theme:

• Airplane: Airlene, Daniella, Good Hope Sky, Linda, Tami Fabiola, Ya Hang
• Boat: Australis, Cleveland, Dante, Edan Shaw, Karina, Numidian, Roy Hugh
• Car: Camryn, Carlee, Ford, Freeway, Jazz, Jeep Gilbert, Keane, Kia, Mondeo, V.W., Westbury
• Train/subway/bus: Joseph, Leorita, Queenie
• Hospital: Meadows Brook, Normah
• Weather/Natural disaster: Andrew, Alicia, Cape Cod, Elena, Gloria, Hazel, Isabel, Jorge, Mash, Monique-Lucie, Moses, Noah, Theodore, Tsunami
• Politics/War: Ann, Adolph Benito Adrien, Dawn Siren, Hajez, Li Jefferson, Linda, Mi Hwa, Philip Ruddock, Samantha, Sarah McCain Palin, Silvio Berlusconi, Victory Pearl Harbor, Zeljko
• Sports: Aoyun & Aoyun, Australia II, etc., Autumn, etc., Barcelona, Crimson Tide, Helsinki, Jacqueline, Torah, Wrigley Fields
• Entertainment: Auden, ABS-CBN, Gala, Jovi, Laa-Laa, Lady Gaga, Metallica
• Food: Frank, Pearl, Taylor
• Day/Date: BOH DVF 260602, Friday February Eleven, Val N. Tines, Venerdi
• Other: (unknown), 4Real, Aussie Trooper, Boston Harold, Decillion, George, etc., Ginaya, Golden Palace, Ikea, Jesus, Jon 2.0, Sarto, Sufficient, Tracy, etc., Zealand-New, Zöé

I’ve got more on deck, so this list will continue to grow in the coming months. In the meanwhile, if you spot any baby names in the news that I’ve missed, please let me know.

We have two daughters, Vivian Grace and Margaret Anne. I like the first name Elise but struggle with a middle name for it ~ better to be brief, or do I go more dramatic?

We like Carmen, Veronica and Iris. I love Beatrix and Simone.

Because Elise is (visually) the shortest name in the group and has a unique rhythm, I think I would go for a middle that’s slightly more dramatic — something traditional like Grace and Anne, but with an added syllable or two. I might try Charlotte, Irene, Michelle, Naomi or Nicole. Of the names listed, I think Carmen could work.

As far as alternative first names go, out of the current favorites, I’m partial to Iris and Simone. (Vivian already has a V-name, Tiffany’s surname already starts with a B, and Carmen just doesn’t sound quite right to me as the sister of Vivian and Margaret.)

Most of the names Tiffany mentioned end with a consonant sound, so that’s what I focused on while brainstorming for other first name suggestions. Here are the results — consonant-endings on the left, the rest on the right:

Do you think any of the above fit particularly well with Vivian and Margaret? What other names and/or advice would you offer to Tiffany?

We’re looking for something non-biblical, the more international the better, and should be no more than three syllables, preferably two. Front-runners are Daphne, Maya, and Clementine.

The baby’s surname will be either Gower or van der Plas.

Here’s what I came up with:

I tried to focus on short, simple names that I thought would cross borders easily. I don’t believe any of the above are mentioned in the Bible (someone please correct me if I’m wrong).

Do you think any of these names sound particularly good with Gower and/or van der Plas? What other names would you suggest to Eric?

P.S. Eric’s blog looks delicious, doesn’t it?

Update: The baby is here! Scroll down to see what name Eric chose.