Baby names with TEN: Tenley, Ortensia, Quinten

ten ball (pool)

If you’re looking for a baby name that’s a “perfect ten” — that is to say, a name that contains the word TEN — you’re in luck!

Here’s a long list of names with the letter sequence “t-e-n.” Most of these names come directly from the U.S. SSA’s baby name data.

  • Aften
  • Alten
  • Anisten, Annisten
  • Antenette
  • Artena
  • Ashten
  • Asten
  • Aten
  • Atena
  • Atenas
  • Atenea
  • Augusten
  • Austen
  • Axten
  • Ayten
  • Benten
  • Berten
  • Bertena
  • Bexten
  • Blayten
  • Bosten
  • Branten
  • Braxten, Braxsten
  • Brayten
  • Brenten, Brentten
  • Brexten
  • Briggsten
  • Brighten, Bryten
  • Bristen
  • Britten
  • Britteny, Britteney, Briteny, Britteni
  • Brixten
  • Brysten
  • Carsten
  • Catena
  • Catenia
  • Charlesten
  • Chasten, Chaysten
  • Chayten
  • Chazten
  • Christen, Chrysten, Cristen, Crysten
  • Christena
  • Christene, Chrystene, Cristene
  • Christensen
  • Clayten
  • Clementene
  • Clinten
  • Clotene
  • Coasten
  • Colsten
  • Colten, Coleten, Coulten
  • Constence
  • Contenia
  • Content
  • Courteney, Courtenay, Courteny
  • Dalten
  • Daxten
  • Dayten, Daiten
  • Desten
  • Destene
  • Desteny, Desteney, Destenee, Destenie, Desteni
  • Dexten
  • Doristene
  • Dristen
  • Dusten
  • Easten
  • Ernestene, Earnestene
  • Esten
  • Faten
  • Gaten
  • Goten
  • Gustena
  • Haisten, Haysten
  • Halsten
  • Hasten
  • Hiten
  • Holten
  • Hortense, Hortence, Hartense
  • Hortensia, Hortencia, Ortensia, Ortencia
  • Housten
  • Huxten
  • Jacksten, Jaxten
  • Jasten
  • Jaten
  • Jaysten
  • Jayten
  • Jesten, Jessten
  • Jestene
  • Jiten
  • Jitender
  • Jitendra
  • Josten
  • Justen
  • Justene
  • Karsten
  • Kashten, Cashten
  • Kasten, Casten
  • Katen
  • Katena
  • Katenia
  • Kaysten
  • Kayten
  • Keaten
  • Kelten
  • Kenten
  • Keristen
  • Kersten, Kirsten, Kyrsten
  • Keyten, Keiten
  • Kiersten, Keirsten, Kearsten, Kiirsten
  • Kingsten, Kyngsten
  • Kipten, Kypten
  • Kiristen
  • Kisten
  • Kitten
  • Kjersten, Kjirsten
  • Klayten
  • Knighten
  • Kolsten
  • Kolten, Kohlten
  • Kosten
  • Kresten
  • Kristen, Krysten, Khristen
  • Kristene
  • Kristena, Krystena
  • Kursten
  • Kyersten
  • Kyten
  • Laten
  • Layten
  • Latenya
  • Lieutenant
  • Loften
  • Loistene
  • Marten, Maarten
  • Martena
  • Martene
  • Matten
  • Maxten
  • Merten
  • Montene
  • Morten
  • Oluwateniola
  • Osten
  • Paxten
  • Peyten, Payten, Paiten, Paytten, Peighten
  • Presten
  • Princeten
  • Quenten
  • Quinten, Quinnten
  • Riften
  • Risten
  • Rusten
  • Rutendo
  • Sixten
    • Two numbers in one!
  • Slaten
  • Sostenes
  • Staten
  • Sten
  • Stena
  • Stennis
  • Stratten
  • Sutten
  • Taten
  • Tayten, Taiten
  • Ten
  • Tena, Tenna
  • Tenaj
  • Tenaja, Tenajah
  • Tenara
  • Tenasha
  • Tenasia
  • Tenay, Tenae
  • Tenaya
  • Tench
  • Tenchi
  • Tency
  • Tendai
  • Tendra
  • Tendria
  • Tene
  • Teneca
  • Tenecia, Tenesia
  • Tenee
  • Teneha
  • Teneia
  • Teneka, Teneika
  • Teneke
  • Tenequa
  • Tenesa, Tenessa
  • Tenesha, Teneisha, Teniesha, Teneasha, Tennesha
  • Teneshia
  • Tenesia
  • Teneya, Tenea
  • Teng
  • Tengis
  • Tenia, Teniah, Teniya, Teniyah, Tennia
  • Tenicia
  • Tenika, Tenica,Tenicka
  • Tenina
  • Teniola
  • Teniqua
  • Tenise
  • Tenisha, Teneesha, Tenicha
  • Tenishia, Teneeshia
  • Tenita
  • Tenley, Tenly, Tenlee, Tenlie, Tenli, Tenleigh, Tennley
  • Tenneh
  • Tennelle, Tenelle, Tennell
  • Tennille, Tennile, Tenille, Tenile, Tennielle, Tenielle, Tenniel, Teneille, Tenneill, Tenneil, Teneile, Teneil, Tenneal, Teneal
  • Tenner
  • Tennessee
  • Tennie, Tenny, Tenie, Teny
  • Tennill
  • Tennillie
  • Tennis, Tennys
  • Tennyson, Tennison, Tenneson, Tennasyn
  • Tenoch
  • Tenor
  • Tenora
  • Tensie
  • Tensley, Tenslee
  • Tenuun
  • Tenya
  • Tenyce
  • Tenzin
  • Tenzing
  • Tenzley
  • Thorsten
  • Thristen
  • Torsten
  • Trenten
  • Tresten
  • Treyten, Trayten
  • Trinten
  • Tristen, Trysten
  • Trusten
  • Tyten
  • Varteni
  • Westen
  • Whiteny
  • Whitten, Witten
  • Winsten
  • Yasten

Many of these names are variants of –ton names (like Clayton, Dalton, and Winston), and several others are variants of –ine names (like Christine, Justine, and Clementine).

Which TEN name do you like most? Let me know in the comments!

P.S. You may also want to check out baby names with the letter X, as the Roman numeral X (“decem”) has a value of 10. Here are girl names starting with X and boy names starting with X, for instance.

P.P.S. Speaking of “perfect 10” names, here’s a post about Nadia Comaneci. :)

Image: Adapted from 10 ball by Reggie Alvey under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Baby name story: Helvetia

The Boswell sisters: Martha, Connie, and Vet (circa 1930)
Martha, Connie, and Vet Boswell

The Boswell Sisters were a trio of siblings from New Orleans who performed as a jazz vocal group from the mid-1920s to the mid-1930s.

Martha, Constance (“Connie”), and Helvetia (“Vet”) Boswell were famous for their “intimate, close harmonies.” Their songs also tended to feature changes in both key and tempo.

Here’s what they sounded like:

(The song “It’s the Girl,” released in 1931, was added to the U.S. National Recording Registry in 2010.)

Helvetia’s first name — unlike her sisters’ first names — is quite unusual. Where did it come from?

She was named after the Helvetia Milk Condensing Company, because that’s the brand of milk she was bottle-fed as an infant.

The Helvetia Milk Condensing Company was founded in Illinois in 1885 by Swiss immigrant John B. Meÿenberg. “Helvetia” was what the ancient Romans called the region now known as Switzerland (because, at that time, a Celtic people known as the Helvetii resided there). In English, the word Helvetia is typically pronounced hel-VEE-shuh.

All three Boswell sisters got married in the mid-1930s. At that point, Martha and Vet decided to retire and start families, but Connie — who had been wheelchair-bound since childhood, due to a bout of polio — decided to continue performing.

Intriguingly, Connie altered the spelling of her name to “Connee” partway through her moderately successful solo career. Here’s why:

The onset of WW II meant touring and signing autographs for troops. The loss of dexterity from the lingering affect of polio made it difficult to dot the “i” in her name, making Connee a more practical alternative; by 1942, she legally changed the spelling.

Which of the sisters’ names do you like best – Martha, Constance, or Helvetia?

P.S. Another famous jazz vocal group was Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, which later became Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan.

Sources:

Image: Photo of the Boswell Sisters in What’s on The Air (Jan. 1931, page 25)

Baltimore Orioles baby names: Adley, Grayson, Cal

Baseball catcher Adley Rutschman
Adley Rutschman

Will the name Adley — which has been trendy for baby girls recently — start seeing more usage among baby boys? Particularly among baby boys in Maryland?

I ask because a recent Baltimore Sun article listed three Maryland babies who were born this year to Orioles fans and named after young Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman:

  • Trevor Adley Thompson (boy)
  • Adley Kenney (girl)
  • Grayson Adley Shepke (boy)

Admittedly, the two boys were given Adley as a middle name. But I’m sure other boys will get it as a first name following the team’s impressive 2023 season. (One expectant family mentioned in the article is considering using the name for their son, due in January.)

Other Orioles players who might be influencing baby names this year include third baseman/shortstop Gunnar Henderson, outfielder Cedric Mullins, and pitchers Grayson Rodriguez and Félix Bautista.

A former player who had a discernible influence on U.S. baby names several decades ago is Calvin “Cal” Ripkin, Jr., who was with the Orioles for his entire career (from 1981 to 2001).

P.S. Female country singer Adley Stump, who participated in the second season of The Voice, helped popularize the name Adley for baby girls in the early 2010s.

Update, Jan. 2024: The first baby born at the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center (UM BWMC) in 2024 was a girl named Adley Michelle Jobst. The Oriole Bird (the baseball team’s mascot) paid a visit to the Jobst family in mid-January.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Adley Rutschman by Keith Allison under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Massachusetts quadruplets: Chesley, Chatham, Chance, Cheston

kinderfest

In July of 2022, quadruplets in the form of two sets of identical twins were born to Ashley Ness of Taunton, Massachusetts.

The two girls were named Chesley and Chatham, and the two boys were named Chance and Cheston.

Why did Ashley choose four names starting with “Ch”?

Family tradition. After Ashley’s sister gave her three children Ch-names, Ashley followed suit by naming her now 8-year-old daughter Chanel.

And then, when I found out I was having four, I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m not changing it now.’ It was very challenging, though, to find four names.

I wonder if Chatham’s name was inspired by the Cape Cod town of Chatham (pronounced CHAT-um). If so, she has something in common with Michael J. Fox’s daughter Aquinnah, who was named after the Martha’s Vineyard town of Aquinnah.

What are your thoughts on these names? Which one do you like best?

Source: Truesdell, Jeff. “Mom Ashley Ness Delivers Quadruplets Who Are 2 Sets of Identical Twins.” People 28 Jul. 2022. (found via Abby, thank you!)