Baby name story: Ljubljana

Ljubljana
Ljubljana

In 2002, Alexander Roland and Laurence Heuschen of Belgium took a vacation to the city of Ljubljana (pronounced loo-blee-AH-nuh), the capital of Slovenia.

Years later, in October of 2007, the couple welcomed their first child, a baby girl.

Remembering their vacation, and “the legend saying that the Slovenian capital got its name because of its reputation as a romantic city” — the etymology of Ljubljana is unknown, but it may be related to the Slovenian word ljubljeni, meaning “beloved” — they decided to name their daughter Ljubljana.

Two years after that, in August of 2009, the City of Ljubljana and the Slovenian Tourist Association invited the family back for a visit. They even met the mayor, Zoran Jankovic.

Sources: Belgian girl named Ljubljana in Ljubljana (via Archive.org), Ljubljana visiting Ljubljana – City of Ljubljana, STA: Mayor Receives Belgian Girl Named Ljubljana

Image: Adapted from Ljubljana by Janez Kotar under CC0 1.0.

Baby born on Delta flight, named Delta

Delta airplane

During the wee hours of March 10, 1970, Delta’s Flight 86 was flying from Miami to Detroit with 35 passengers and 7 crew on board.

Somewhere over Georgia, pregnant passenger Janice Liogghio of Livonia, Michigan, gave birth to a baby boy.

What did she name him?

“I want to wait and talk to my husband about the first name,” the 22-year-old mother said. “The baby probably will have three first names. Delta will be one of them.”

They ended up naming him Natalino Delta.

“Natalino” is related to names like Natalia and Natalie, which derive from the Latin phrase natale domini, meaning “birth of the Lord” (in reference to Christmas Day). Traditionally, these names were bestowed upon Christmas babies. In this baby’s case, though, the pairing of Natalino (“birth”) with Delta was likely meant to commemorate his unusual birthplace.

P.S. Speaking of Livonia…here’s a baby named after the Pullman car Livonia.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Douglas DC-8-51 N821E DL MIA 07.02.71 edited-5 by RuthAS under CC BY 3.0.

What brought the baby name Avianne back in 2017?

Avianne pendant with diamonds
Avianne pendant

After popping up in the U.S. baby name data for a couple of years in the late ’90s, the name Avianne returned to the data in 2017:

  • 2019: 15 baby girls named Avianne
  • 2018: 11 baby girls named Avianne
  • 2017: 6 baby girls named Avianne
  • 2016: unlisted
  • 2015: unlisted

What brought it back?

(And also gave rise to the variant forms Avianni, Aviani, and Aviannie?)

New York City-based jewelry company Avianne (pronounced ah-vee-AH-nee), which is known for creating flashy, custom jewelry for various celebrities — particularly rappers.

Avianne — just like rival jewelry company Eliantte — has been name-checked in hundreds of rap songs. The songs that saw the most chart success (before/during 2017) were…

  • “Wicked” (2016) by Future
    • Lyric: “I purchase Avianne and now she lit, huh”
    • Peak: #97 on the U.S. Hot 100
  • “Drowning” (2017) by A Boogie wit da Hoodie, feat. Kodak Black
    • Lyric: “Just bought a brand new chain from Avianne”
    • Peak: #38
  • “What Would Meek Do?” (2018) by Pusha T, feat. Kanye West
    • Lyric: “This Avianne collarbone is see-through”
    • Peak: #75

Other rappers that have mentioned Avianne in one or more songs include Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert, Travis Scott, 21 Savage, Fetty Wap, Migos, Yo Gotti, DaBaby, Young Scooter, Roddy Ricch, Cam’Ron, Don Q, Tyga, Smokepurpp, Playboi Carti, Lil Baby, Flatbush Zombies, Kodie Shane, and Coi Leray.

So how did the brand come to be called “Avianne”?

In 1985, brothers Izzy and Joe Aranbayev emigrated with their parents and extended family from Uzbekistan to Brooklyn. Their father, Boris, started working in a jewelry store. By the mid-1990s, Boris had established a jewelry manufacturing company. A few years later, in 1999, Izzy and several cousins launched a retail jewelry business.

They decided against using their Russian last names and opted for something that sounded more luxurious — think Italian luxury brands like Versace, Gucci, and Armani.

Today, Izzy mainly works behind the scenes, and Joe works on the sales floor. As the face of Avianne & Co, Joe often goes by “Joe Avianne.”

What are your thoughts on the baby name Avianne?

Sources:

Image: © Avianne & Co.

Popular baby names in Puerto Rico, 2021

Flag of Puerto Rico
Flag of Puerto Rico

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, the most popular baby names in Puerto Rico last year were Valentina and Liam.

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

Girl names

  1. Valentina, 197 baby girls
  2. Emma, 153
  3. Victoria, 128
  4. Amaia, 116
  5. Luna, 114
  6. Isabella, 102
  7. Gianna, 93
  8. Mia, 90
  9. Catalina, 88
  10. Milena, 87

Boy names

  1. Liam, 260 baby boys
  2. Thiago, 200
  3. Sebastian, 196
  4. Noah, 180
  5. Dylan, 165
  6. Mateo, 164
  7. Lucas, 161
  8. Adrian, 140
  9. Ian, 131
  10. Jayden, 116

In the girls’ top 10, Milena replaced Kamila.

In the boys’ top 10, Adrian replaced Matias.

In 2020, the top names in Puerto Rico were also Valentina and Liam.

And the most popular baby names in all other U.S. territories — American Samoa, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands (combined) — in 2021 were Isla/Olivia (tie) and Ethan.

Source: Popular Names by Territory

Image: Adapted from Flag of Puerto Rico (public domain)