30 Year Love Affair (or thereabouts)

When I was six or seven, my granny gave me my very first Barbie doll. She had two-tone hair, and a gorgeous chiffon ball gown in a rainbow of pastels. I named her Eleanor Elizabeth. This is my first remembered act of naming.

Since then I have named any number of my own dolls and stuffed animals, as well as those belonging to others. The names range from ones based on appearance (white bear named Whitey and a scruffy looking dog named Scruffy) to ones based on my current interests at the time (a Barbie named Juliette Magill after Juliette Lowe and a stuffed whale named Walter after Walt Disney). I cannot say that my naming tastes have always been of the high brow sort. Let’s face it, we are each influenced by the names of our peers and those that come into use during our formative years. I have very cute twin Cabbage Patch kids named Debra Star and Satin Dawn as I thought Satin and Star would be ever so cute as twin names. I have evolved.

When I was considering single motherhood almost four and a half years ago, I discovered Babycenter and the girls naming board. Who knew that there were so many others out there who kept copious lists of names and name combinations? It was nirvana for my inner name nerd. Here I could share my thoughts, lists, and endless ponderings without having eyes rolled at me. And when my journey to motherhood became reality rather than research, my friends in a box affirmed my choices and supported me emotionally through the journey.

My personal penchant is for family names be they common names (Elizabeth), last names (Clark) or old lady chic/geek sheik (Judith & Rupert) combined with Celtic names. When assisting others  in choices, I start with family names or people that are close that they might want to honor. When naming my son, I ended up giving him the Irish form of my father’s name. This tickles my father to no end, and as he grows will give my son a connection to his past. My hope is that connections like that can be grown in other families as well.

MJ: Mom of Jedi

MJ has studied names intently since she was eight years old.  Born in 1977, she grew up with more than her share of Jennifers and Michelles, Jasons and Michaels, and was always fascinated with the ever-revolving door of name trends.  Her own, personal naming style is quite eclectic, running the gamut of names from Greek mythology to those of modern sci-fi; English classics to Scandinavian gems; earthy “hippie” fare to funky-clunky old-fashioned wonders.  To MJ (as to all Fredders), a name is not simply a name; it is a face to the world, a presentation of a whole human being, and as such it should reflect a certain maturity and timelessness, ideally.  And that essence can be captured through most any style, if given enough thought and consideration.

MJ is a writer and fledgling filmmaker.  She lives in Colorado (USA) with her husband, Brent, and their young son, Steven.  Steven is named after Steven Spielberg.  She is obsessed with the name Gillian, and harbors a healthy love for all things Star Wars and Harry Potter.

–Fred posting for MJ

Camilla Chameleon AKA OldLadyChic AKA Kristin: Onomastaholic

For the blog, my real name is Kristin, I go alternately by Peitho’sMuse, OldLadyChic and my avatar is Camilla, so to avoid confusion, I’ll try to just pick one and stick with it.

I cannot remember a time before I was a namer. When I started writing skits and short plays for my friends to perform during fine arts class in Elementary school, though, my mom bought me my first baby name book. I carried it everywhere I went, circling, starring and highlighting names that had a sound I wanted or reminded me of a book I’d read. Some of those names make me cringe now, but they were just sparks for my naming interest.
I still have that book, and many others that help me pass the time, study up on naming origins or spellings and I can imagine naming lots of sweet little children. So far, I’ve named two such angels – Amelia Ainsley (Mia) and Gwendolyn Georgia (Wendy). Their names reflect my and my husbands best efforts to capture something dynamic yet timeless, infant and adult, delicate and strong in a name.
I remember when I met most of the Fred Girls. I was so happy to find others, who, while we often disagree about the best names, are all “freaks and geeks” like me (I hope they don’t mind me calling them that!). It makes my naming obsession seem less insane. My naming interests tend toward historical figures, lit-inspired, saints, and ancient Roman and Grecian, with some Gaelic flair thrown in for good measure. I’m an eclectic namer and a lifetime lover of names. My life goal is to name paint chips or lipsticks – anyone know how I might get that job?

Hi, My Name is Traci Tyne and I’m a Name Nerd

I love stories, mysteries, names, books, words, genealogy, history, and language.

A character, real or imagined, gives evidence of their life through their name. In history a name reveals clues about the person’s heritage, their family, their era, location, something of the place their family occupied in the world.

In literature a characters name conveys something of the author’s perspective on the world. The name the author chooses sets the reader up with an early impression of the character. More interestingly it also reveals something of how the author perceives the name and in a way, how the author perceives language.

My own name is Traci Tyne. At first glance you can tell my parents appreciate alliteration. They like clean, crisp sounds. They like tailored, unisex names. They liked a name that had been fairly popular for a while.

And if you know a little more of the story, you can see how much my mom loves her father. To honor him she called me Tyne, his mother’s name.

I’m like my parents, in naming tastes. I like names that feel right, or are fun for me to say. As much as I like my own name for me, I prefer to say L sounds and sounds that feel warm and round, O’s, U’s, and R’s for example. My own children are also named for family, mostly passed away but who I do not want the generations to forget.

The names Eleanor Berry and Lucy Beatrice reveal more about my husband and I than about the children. But they do connect the children to a line of family.

As they learn about their names and family, they will discover their southern roots, and the story of a harrowing journey in a covered wagon. They will come to know the four amazing women who made an impact on the world, and for whom they were named.

They will also learn, from their names, that mommy loves Jane Austen, daddy loves C. S. Lewis, mommy loves medieval history, and daddy loves the Beatles. They will learn that we loved them enough to call them by names rich in history and suggesting greatness.

Naming two people was one of the greatest honors of my life. It put me on the path to name addiction that led me here, to Fred’s List.

Our Origins

It was a balmy, moonless night. Compelled there by an internal force we cannot explain, led by a path mapped out along the stars, we met up in a circle on the sand, hovering ’round a fire, sparked by our mutual love of nomenclature. And it was there that the Fredders were born.

Nah, that’s not true!

We met on an online name board. We were all drawn there by our mutual fascination with, and love of names. We bonded, became dear friends, and collected into a group we call “Fred.” Why Fred? Why not?! What kind of self-respecting group of name studiers doesn’t give themselves a name? “Fred” rhymes with “thread,” so “The Fred Thread” we became; “Fredders,” for short.

We’ve been coming together as a group since 2005. Some of us arrived later than others, but Fredders we’ve all become. Fred is our name; nomenclature is our game, which is what has lead us here to the blogosphere.

Welcome to Fred’s List, which has been in the making for over a year. Our collective goal is to help you on your journey through naming., Whatever your path, we are here to help.

Launch Date

We are in the process of writing and compiling our thoughts. Please look for our first official post on 4 July 2008!

The Fredders