Some of these names I found in the comments to the the earlier namestorm (thank you Nancy, Bridgett and Julie) and others I found on various photography websites.

• Alfred, for Alfred Eisenstaedt (who took that famous V-J Day shot) and Alfred Stieglitz.
• Anna-Lou (or Annie), for Anna-Lou “Annie” Leibovitz.
• Ansel, for Ansel Adams.
• Berenice, for Berenice Abbott.
• Carleton, for Carleton Watkins.
• Dorothea, for Dorothea Lange.
• Edward, for Edward Steichen and Edward Weston.
• Eugene, for Eugène Atget and W. Eugene Smith.
• Galen, for Galen Rowell.
• Garry, for Garry Winogrand.
• Harry, for Harry Callahan.
• Helen, for Helen Levitt.
• Henri, for Henri Cartier-Bresson.
• Imogen, for Imogen Cunningham.
• Irving, for Irving Penn.
• Julia, for Julia Margaret Cameron.
• Margaret, for Margaret Bourke-White.
• Mathew, for Mathew Brady.
• Richard, for Richard Avedon.
• Roger, for Roger Fenton.
• Robert, for Robert Capa and Robert Adams.
• Timothy, for Timothy O’Sullivan.
• Walker, for Walker Evans.
• Yousuf, for Yousuf Karsh.

Who else would you add to this list?

What interests/activities should we namestorm about next?

My husband and I are pregnant with our first child, my husband and his family are really proud of their last name. I was wondering what names go along with Saling (pronounced like sailing) that actually sound like names and not just boat terms.

This question reminds me of the post I wrote about the surname Gripe a few months ago.

They key with surnames like Saling and Gripe is to pick a first and middle names that don’t make them seem like anything other than surnames. That is, names that don’t pull them out of context. This entails avoiding:

• Names, nicknames, and initials that are (or sound like) nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, or other parts of speech. Examples: Christian Saling, Sky Saling, Ernest Saling, Ben Saling, Izzy Saling, Will B. Saling, C. U. Saling.
• Names and nicknames that have too many sounds in common with the surname. Alliteration can make a name sound cartoonish (e.g. Olive Oyl, Betty Boop). Examples: Stella Saling, Cecilia Saling, Irving Saling, Sal Saling.
• Names that don’t work with the surname specifically. Examples: Clara Saling, Perry Saling (both are close to parasailing).

Here are some names that I think would work with Saling:

Which of the above do you like best? What other names would you suggest to Kim?

We want what a lot of people probably want – timeless, classic, slightly vintage and old fashioned, an ‘accepted’ name in the sense it’s known, but hopefully he is not one of three kids in class to have it.

So far, Kate and her husband like five names: William, Henry, Oliver, Duncan and Charles (nn Charlie). (She also likes the girl names Abigail, Alice, Clara and Hope.)

The baby’s middle name will be Hawkins, and his surname will begin with the letter t.

Here are some names that came to mind:

I stayed away from the current top 50 (and names that looked like they might be headed that way soon).

Which of the names above to you like best for Lucy’s brother? What other name suggestions can you come up with for Kate?

If the Internet has been significant part of your life, you might be interested in a baby name that honors one of the people who contributed to its development. Here are some ideas:

Vannevar
American engineer Vannevar Bush described a proto-hypertext computer system he called a “memex” in his influential essay “As We May Think,” published in 1945.

Lawrence
American computer scientist Lawrence Roberts and his team developed the ARPANET, predecessor to the modern Internet, in the late 1960s.

Leonard and Douglas (and Charles)
ARPANET was established between nodes at Leonard Kleinrock’s lab at UCLA and Douglas Engelbart’s lab at Stanford on October 29, 1969. The first message transmitted over the ARPANET was sent by UCLA grad student Charles Kline.

Raymond
American programmer Raymond Samuel Tomlinson created the first true e-mail system (using the @ character) in 1971.

Vinton and Robert
American computer scientists Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn designed the TCP/IP Internet network protocol in 1973-1974.

Archie
The first Internet search engine, Archie (archive minus the v) was created by McGill University students in 1990.

Timothy
British computer scientist Timothy Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web (HTTP, HTML, etc.) in 1990.

Marc and Eric
American software engineers Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina created the web browser Mosaic in 1993.

Can you come up with any other Internet-related names?

Sources: Computer History Museum, 18 Interesting Firsts on the Internet, Internet Pioneers, Wikipedia

We need help finding a boy name for a very challenging last name…Gripe. We tend to like classic names (Henry, Charles).

Ah, the surname-that-is-also-a-word. I know this one well: my married name is one of these. They can turn great first names into puns, insults, unpleasant phrases, and who knows what else. Names like Kurt, Will, Harry and Roman just won’t do with a surname like Gripe.

I think the key to dealing with a word-surname is to select a first name that does not call attention to that surname, in terms of either meaning or sound.

• Meaning: Steer clear of first names that are words, that sound like words, or that have short forms that are similarly word-like. We want people to think of Gripe as a name, not as a verb or a noun. (I’d also keep away from A-names and I-names, which could turn into A. Gripe and I. Gripe on, say, a résumé. Not too helpful for making a good first impression.)
• Sound: Avoid names with the same sounds as Gripe, especially those with a G, long I, or G-R combination. The repetition in Gregory Gripe, for instance, makes the name sound like it belongs to a character, not a human–and it’s easy to think of character names in an abstract, meaning-laden sort of way. (Think Holly Golightly.)

The names below seem to me to be good matches for Gripe:

Do you like any of the above? What other names would you suggest to Sarah?

Update: The baby has arrived! Scroll down to see what name Sarah chose.

She still likes the names Alexander, Ivan and William…but not in the same order as before. One twin will now be Alexander William, the other will have the first name Ivan, and Pam would appreciate some middle name suggestions for Ivan.

Pam writes:

We would like something “strong” like Ivan Alexander, but don’t want to use Alex for a first name and a middle name.

Makes sense. :)

One thing that struck me about Alexander William was its length (6 syllables). I feel like the boys’ full names should be on par with one another, so I focused on finding longish middles for Ivan.

I still like these options from the original post:

And I also think these names could work:

What other names would you suggest to Pam as a middle for Ivan?

His sister’s name is Adalaide Joy Foley* and we would like to use the middle name Bernard in honor of his grandfather who is no longer with us.

Abby also mentions that she likes names that are easily shortened. (Adalaide goes by the nickname Ada, for instance.)

Here’s what I came up with:

Do you think any of these go particularly well with Bernard? What other names would you suggest to Abby?

*The actual surname is not Foley, but it’s similar.

Update – The baby is here! Scroll down to see which name Abby chose.

The parents, originally from Romania, immigrated to Canada in 1990. They’ve been married 24 years.

I think they chose some great names for their kids. I do wonder, though, if things ever got confusing for Alexandru (father), Alexandra (child #2) and Alex (child #6).

Source: Parents proud of record 18th baby

Maybe you should go with a classic. The following names have been popular in the U.S. since at least 1880 (when data on baby names was first collected). None of the male names have ever been out of the top 400, and none of the female names have ever been out of the top 500.

So, if you’re stumped, simply close your eyes and point. Just remember to veer to the left if you’re having a boy, to the right if you’re having a girl…

Honorable Mentions: Douglas, Eddie, Ivan, Lawrence, Mitchell and Russell were each out of the top 400 only once, and Nora was out of the top 500 only once.