Celebrity baby name: True

American actor Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker

Actor Forest Whitaker and his late ex-wife, Keisha Nash, were the parents of four children:

  • Ocean, b. 1990 (Forest’s son from a previous relationship)
  • Autumn, b. 1991 (Keisha’s daughter from a previous relationship)
  • Sonnet, b. 1996 (daughter)
  • True, b. 1998 (daughter)

Their youngest, True Whitaker, was interviewed several days after the birth of Khloé Kardashian’s daughter True (in April of 2018). In the interview, she told the story behind her name:

Whitaker discovered that her parents originally planned to name her Truth before deciding on True, which was inspired by Lauryn Hill‘s version of “Can’t Take My Eyes off of You” by Frankie Valli. “I remember to this day my mother singing the lyrics ‘You’re just too good to be True’ to me in my little cradle.”

True Whitaker’s birth did not noticeably affect the usage of the baby name True in the late ’90s, but the birth of her older sister did give the rare name Sonnet a boost in 1997.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Forest Whitaker by David Shankbone under CC BY 2.0.

Baby names with SKY: Skyla, Chesky, Lovensky

the sky

Looking for baby names that contain the word SKY?

If so, you’re in luck!

Because below you’ll find a long list of names that contain the letter sequence “s-k-y.” Most of these names come directly from the U.S. SSA’s baby name data. The rest were gathered from U.S. vital records, censuses, and headstones.

  • Chesky
  • Dawensky
  • Dorlesky, Darlesky, Dorlisky, Dorlusky
  • Dosky, Dusky
  • Esky
  • Hasky
  • Husky
  • Lensky
  • Lodusky, Ladusky, Lodosky, Ludusky, Lodesky, Ledusky, Lodoisky
  • Losky, Lusky
  • Lovensky, Lovinsky
  • Marvensky
  • Sandusky
  • Skya, Skyah, Skyia
  • Skyanna, Skyana
  • Skyanne, Skyann
  • Skyasia
  • Skyden
  • Skye, Sky, Skyy, Skyye, Skyee, Skyi
  • Skyel
  • Skyen
  • Skyla, Skylah, Skylaa, Skyela, Skylla
  • Skylair
  • Skylan, Skylann
  • Skyland
  • Skylar, Skylarr, Skyylar, Skylaar, Skyelar, Skyllar
  • Skylark
  • Skyle
  • Skylea
  • Skylee, Skylie, Skyley, Skyleigh, Skyli, Skyelee
  • Skylei
  • Skylen
  • Skylene, Skyleen
  • Skyler, Skyyler, Skyeler, Skyller
  • Skylette, Skylett
  • Skylia
  • Skylier
  • Skylin, Skylinn, Skyelin
  • Skylind
  • Skylinda
  • Skyline
  • Skylir
  • Skylis, Skyliss
  • Skylit
  • Skylon
  • Skylor
  • Skylur
  • Skylynn, Skylyn, Skylynne, Skyelynn, Skyelyn
  • Skylyr, Skylr
  • Skynesha
  • Skynora
  • Skyra, Skyrah
  • Skyrel, Skyrell
  • Skyren
  • Skyrene, Skyrine
  • Skyron
  • Skyshun
  • Skysun
  • Starsky
  • Woodensky

Some of the more whimsical SKY names I’ve seen include Morningsky, Nightsky, Midnightsky, Northernsky, Wintersky, Thundersky, Bluesky, Redsky, Graysky/Greysky, Skysea, and Skydancer.

Which SKY name do you like most?

Sources: SSA, FamilySearch.org, Find a Grave

Image: Adapted from Behind a cloud by jenny downing under CC BY 2.0.

Female names in six generations of the same family

Roxanne Steele (100) and her great-great-great-granddaughter Trina Byerly (10 months)
Roxanne with great-great-great-granddaughter Trina

In mid-1972, Life magazine ran a photo of six females — mothers and daughters spanning six generations within a single family. The oldest was 100; the youngest was not yet one.

All six live within a one-hundred mile radius of the 90-acre farm in the flatlands of southern Alabama where Mrs. [Roxanne] Steele, now the matriarch of a clan so vast that no one has counted it, was born.

Here are the birth names of the six females (five women and one baby):

  1. Roxanne Kennedy (b. 1871), who, with David Steele, had a daughter named…
  2. Stella Steele (b. 1898), who, with John Godwin, had a daughter named…
  3. Geneva Godwin (b. 1918), who, with Rayburn Moye, had a daughter named…
  4. Rita Moye (b. 1935), who, with Ples Booth, had a daughter named…
  5. Shirley Ann Booth (b. 1953), who, with William Byerly, had a daughter named…
  6. Trina Roxanne Byerly (b. 1970)

Which of their names — Roxanne, Stella, Geneva, Rita, Shirley, or Trina — do you like best? Why?

Sources:

Image: Clipping from Life magazine (21 Jul. 1972)

Rhode Island quadruplets: Sofía, Philomena, Veronica, Isabel

kinderfest

In January of 2025, Rhode Island couple Rachel and Marco Vargas (and their two young children) welcomed quadruplets into the family.

The four identical baby girls were born at about 30 weeks’ gestation and weighed roughly 3 pounds each.

What were they named?

Sofía, Philomena, Veronica, and Isabel.

What are your thoughts on these names?

(And, which set of girl names — this one, or the one given to the Louisiana quads born a few months ago — do you prefer? Why?)

Sources:

Image: Ein Kinderfest (1868) by Ludwig Knaus