Florence. And other names.

The name Florence was among the names I looked at this week on the Sand-Writing.com Facebook page.
In 1904 it was the second most popular girls' name.
Today it is still in the top 100 - in fact it's number 47, one of many traditional names that remain popular or have risen back up the charts.
Mary was the most popular name in 1904, Doris was third, Edith fourth and Dorothy fifth.
For boys, the top five were William, John, George, Thomas and Arthur and ALL of them were in the top 100 for 2012.

Are you called Florence or another traditional name? Are there any traditional names you love or hate?

Here's the round-up from the week on our Facebook page - don't forget to like it to see a new name each day and to hear news and offers.

Florence is the 47th most popular girls' name of the moment and means blossoming, flourishing or charming.
It comes from the Latin name Florentius.
Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing who served during the Crimean war, was given the name because she was born in Florence.
Florence is the English name for the wonderful Italian city Firenze.

 

 

Kian is number 91 of the top 100 boys' names for 2012, according to babycentre.co.uk.
It is the Anglicized spelling of the Gaelic name Cian, meaning ancient.

 

Victory of the people is the meaning of the name Nicole.
It is the 92nd most popular girls' name.
Nicole is the French feminine form of Nicholas.
Famous people with the name include the actress Nicole Kidman, the socialite Nicole Richie and singer Nicole Appleton.

 

Elliot is the 50th most popular boys' name.
It means my God is the Lord and came from a Norman French version of the name Elias.
Other spellings include Elliott and Eliott.
Famous Elliots include the actor Elliot Gould and it always reminds me of the little boy in ET.

Amy means beloved and is the 36th most popular girls' name.
The English name comes from the Old French name Amee.
Amy is the heroine in the novel Little Dorrit by Charles Dicken and was a character in Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott.
Famous people with the name included the pilot Amy Johnson.

To see all the pictures available go to Sand-Writing.com where there are hundreds of personalised canvas pictures of names and messages written in the sand. They make beautiful gifts for loved ones and are a unique children's present for a birthday or christening.

Mother's Day and baby names

I hope all the mums out there had a lovely Mother's Day.

My two-year-old gets very excited about giving presents now - they are called pre, he doesn't say the second part of the word yet!

He rushed in from the shops with my husband on Friday and happily revealed he'd bought me a 'pre'! Then told me it was some chocolates, so I was able to have them before the day.

And we made some lovely chocolates for his grandmas too and carefully decorated some boxes to put them in, so he was thrilled to give those out as well.

For mothers-to-be, who have all this loveliness to come, I've been continuing my daily exploration of baby names on the Sand-Writing.com Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/SandWriting.

Please like the page, if you haven't already, so that you don't miss out on news and ideas.

Here are the names and www.Sand-Writing.com pictures I looked at last week and their meanings and popularity.

 

Lewis is the 27th most popular name for a baby boy

It was the English version of the French Louis in the middle ages.

The Isle of Lewis is one of the islands off the west coast of Scotland known as the Hebrides.
Interesting fact: Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was actually called Charles Dodgson.

 

The 14th most popular name for a girl is Charlotte

It is the feminine form of the name Charles and among its meanings are free and strong woman.

It's been used in England since the 17th century.

 

Number 16 on the most popular boys' names of 2012 is Samuel.

The biblical name can mean name of God or he has hearkened and was popular with 26th century Puritans.

It is often shortened to Sam.

 

The 32nd most popular name for a girl was is thought to have originated from a mistake.

The character of Imogen was printed in Shakespeare's play Cymbeline in 1609.

But it's thought he meant to use the Gaelic name Innogen instead and the error was the result of a misreading.

Imogen means maiden.

 

Little king is the meaning of the name Ryan.

It is the 36th most popular boys' name and is taken from an Irish surname.

In north America it is well established as a girls' name.

All of the above photographs are available to buy as canvas pictures from the website www.Sand-Writing.com from just £24.99.

There are hundreds of names and messages available - they make a gorgeous personalised present for a boy, girl or loved one.

Baby name remorse

Increasing numbers of parents are apparently changing their baby's name after suffering 'baby name remorse'.

Some parents wish they hadn't picked an obscure name, others regret a name that is too trendy.
Incredibly, a survey found that 54 per cent of parents regret their original choice of baby name and a quarter say they grew to dislike the name.
To change a name if a baby is under 12 months costs less than £40 and just involves filling out an application form to get a new birth certificate.
I imagine that would be confusing for a baby and difficult for friends and family to adapt.
So make sure you give this important decision lots of thought!

Here are the names I have been looking at this week on my Facebook page -https://www.facebook.com/SandWriting

 

The 17th most popular baby name at the moment is Poppy, which comes from the English flower.

Apparently its popularity peaked in the 1900s and returned to favour in the 1990s.

 

 Adam is 35th in the boys' name charts for 2012 according to www.babycentre.co.uk.

In the bible, Adam was the first man on earth.

The name can mean man, human being, earth or red.

St Adam is the patron saint of gardeners.

 

 

If William and Kate have a baby girl, maybe they will be wanting to name her after the Queen.

Or perhaps they will choose a short form of Elizabeth, Beth.

Beth first appeared in the 19th century and is the 78th most popular name for a girl at the moment.

It means My God is a vow.

The 66th most popular name for a boy is Rory.

Rory means great king.

It is a Scottish and Irish name and comes from the Gaelic words for red and king.

It is also found as Rorie and can be used as a shortened form of Roderick.

 

Emily is a very popular name at the moment - number three in the girls' charts.

It's also used a lot in the US, Australia and New Zealand.

Its popularity also soared in the 19th century (think Emily Bronte, the 19th century poet and novelist).

The meaning comes from the Latin for striving or eager.

For more personalised sand photographs go to www.Sand-Writing.com.