Do You Know What Your Name Means?

Do you know what your name means? Where it came from? Were you named after someone famous, someone in your family or admired by one of your parents? Do you like your name?

This Friday, March 8th is Discover What Your Name Means Day. What a great excuse to explore something that is both so personal and ubiquitous in our lives!

One of the first of many decisions parents make upon the arrival of their newborn, is what to name their little one. Of course, some people start the process of selecting a name weeks, even months, earlier. Some parents pick a name, then change their choice once they meet their child for the first time. I've heard some people say they did this because their baby simply didn't look or seem like a ____. They intuitively knew the name needed to arise from what this little person was like, rather than trying to impose something onto them that didn't feel right.

Want to find out what your name means?
Click here to take you to names.org, a website which can shed some light on your name. My name, Antoinette Marie, is the inverse of the famous Marie Antoinette. Antoinette is French for 'little flower'. (Timely, given we're starting the season when little flowers are just beginning to bloom around us.)

Names, like many other aspects of our culture, can be trendy (or not). There are organizations which have summarized birth registration data to determine the most popular birth names by year and decade. Want to see how your name fares? Click here to see information based on US names.

One of the baby name trends we've seen in the past decade or two is the return of older names. That is, names that were popular three or four generations ago, such as Sophia, Hannah, and Abigail. Also, several biblical names, such as Noah, Elijah, Jacob and Benjamin. It seems everything that goes around, comes around.

If you do look through the US database of baby names, you'll also notice that in recent times, parents have wanted names that are different. Ironically, it does seem that several parents have either wanted the same unusual name, or there are simply a lot of followers, or people copying the same names. For this reason, it can be almost impossible to create a name that is truly unique. However, we think one mother did manage it... see our Reverie section!

There are a few popular tactics people use to come up with unique names: restoring old names (as mentioned above), changing the spelling of a name (e.g. Jazmin instead of Jasmine), and using last names as first names. Some parents also create their own names, or use words that have a special appeal or meaning to them. This can sometimes include the names of a particular place.

Some names predicted to be popular in 2024 include: Liam, Levi, Mason, Dolores, Marjorie, Isla, Mia, Florence, Evelyn, Charlotte, Amelia, Luna, Layla, Cedric, Oliver, George, Henry and Jude.

At Figg Street Co., we see people personalizing cards, notebooks, etc. with their names and initials. Some use writing tools, such as pens and markers. Others spell out their name in glitter, using washi tape or tiny stickers. Some use ribbon and glue for initials. Or rubber stamps. There are many ways to make things uniquely yours.

Thank you for spending some time with us exploring the significance of names.

Remember that this coming Sunday, March 10th at 2am, clocks will be reset one hour ahead to 3am. A little tip to recall which way our clocks change: use the saying, "spring forward, fall back". This means spring is on its way!