Baby born outside of pub, named after pub (again)

English pub
English pub

In September of 2021, a baby girl was born unexpectedly in the front seat of a car “in early morning traffic on the A2 in Rainham” (a suburb of East London).

Her parents had been trying to reach the hospital in time for the birth, but instead the baby was born while the car was outside a London pub called The Rose Inn.

The couple parked the car, and a local woman named Sue offered them assistance until an ambulance arrived.

The baby was later given the middle name Rose, after the pub.

Source: Horn, Jenni. “Newborn named after Rainham pub The Rose Inn where Sittingbourne mum gave birth.” Kent Online 21 Sept. 2021.

Image: Adapted from The Old Nags Head, Grindsbrook Booth, Edale by Barrie Price under CC BY-SA 4.0.

[Latest update: Oct. 2023]

Baby name story: MacKinnon

Avalanche player Nate MacKinnon (#29) hoisting the Stanley Cup during the victory parade in Denver (Jun. 30, 2022).
Nathan MacKinnon hoisting the Stanley Cup

I took a few hours off yesterday to check out the Stanley Cup victory parade in downtown Denver. (The photo above was taken by my brother-in-law; the one below was taken by me.)

Later on that day, while reading a recap of the event, I happened to learn about a baby boy named for Colorado Avalanche player Nate MacKinnon:

Nikki Lyons brought her baby — aptly named MacKinnon for the star Avalanche center.

“We love Nathan MacKinnon and everything he stands for because he took less for the team,” Lyons said.

Taking “less for the team” refers to the fact that NHL teams have salary caps, and that MacKinnon has been willing to settle for less than he’s worth in order to help the Avs attain/retain other talented players (and thereby have a better shot at winning).

Here’s a photo of the Lyons family.

Further reading led me to a second baby boy — born just a few days ago in Centennial to parents Christy and Will Lowry — named Gabriel after Avalanche team captain Gabriel Landeskog (from Sweden).

Avalanche players Nate MacKinnon (#29) and Erik Johnson (#6) with the Stanley Cup during the victory parade in Denver (Jun. 30, 2022).
Nathan MacKinnon & Erik Johnson with the Stanley Cup

Sources:

Where did the baby name Miosotis come from in 1969?

Title of the telenovela "La Mujer de Aquella Noche" (1968), from the Universidad de Puerto Rico audiovisual archive.
“La Mujer de Aquella Noche”

The unusual name Miosotis first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1969, thanks to heavy usage in New York state:

  • 1971: unlisted
  • 1970: 8 baby girls name Miosotis
    • 8 born in New York
  • 1969: 10 baby girls name Miosotis [debut]
    • 8 born in New York
  • 1968: unlisted
  • 1967: unlisted

The inspiration?

A Puerto Rican telenovela called La Mujer de Aquella Noche (translation: “The Woman of That Night”), which aired during 1968.

Advertisement for the telenovela "La Mujer de Aquella Noche" (1968).
“La Mujer” ad

It was a 3-episode historical drama that told the love story of aristocrat Countess Adriana de Astolfi (played by Gladys Rodríguez) and itinerant gypsy Renzo (played by Braulio Castillo). Renzo’s pet name for Adriana was “Miosotis.”

The story was also turned into radio soap opera at some point, though I’m not sure when.

The Spanish word miosotis is a form of myosotis, another name for the forget-me-not flower (Myosotis palustris). The Greek word myosotis means “mouse ear” and describes the shape of the leaf.

Sources:

P.S. The name Quetcy, which we talked about a couple of days ago, was also popular among New York City’s Puerto Ricans (a.k.a., Nuyoricans) in the late 1960s…

Popular baby names in Norway, 2021

Flag of Norway
Flag of Norway

According to Statistics Norway, the most popular baby names in the country last year were Nora and Noah — both of which happen to be quite similar to the name of the country itself (Norge, pronounced nor-geh).

Here are Norway’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Nora/Norah, 409 baby girls
  2. Emma, 369
  3. Sofie/Sophie, 327
  4. Olivia, 311
  5. Ella, 302
  6. Sofia/Sophia, 295
  7. Maja/Maia/Maya, 282
  8. Leah/Lea, 279
  9. Frida, 276
  10. Ingrid, 273

Boy Names

  1. Noah/Noa, 402 baby boys
  2. Oskar/Oscar, 370
  3. Oliver, 367
  4. Lucas/Lukas, 364
  5. Isak/Isac/Isaac, 361
  6. Aksel/Axel, 346 (3-way tie)
  7. Emil, 346 (3-way tie)
  8. Filip/Philip/Fillip/Phillip, 346 (3-way tie)
  9. Jakob/Jacob, 325
  10. William, 313

In the girls’ top 10, Frida replaced Emilie.

In the boys’ top 10, Isak and Aksel replaced Liam and Henrik.

Names that saw notable increases in usage include…

  • Girl names: Ada (9th), Alma (12th), Iben (19th), Ellie (32nd), Hedvig (38th), Mie (42nd), Mille (46th), Hermine (48th), Klara, and Noelle
  • Boy names: Oskar (2nd), Isak (5th), Aksel (6th), Ludvig (19th), Gustav (25th), Falk, Harald, Joel, and Luca

In the capital city, Oslo, the top names last year were Sofia and Oskar.

And the year before, in 2020, the top names in Norway were Nora and Jakob.

Sources: Navn – Statistics Norway, Dette var de mest populære navnene i 2021 – Statistics Norway

Image: Adapted from Flag of Norway (public domain)