Country Names: From Dolly and Dierks to Randy and Miranda

Is it me, or has country music been having a real moment lately? I never used to pay attention to it, but with artists like Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift played on both country and mainstream music stations, country has reinvented itself into something less marginalized. Now, the genre seems more accessible and relatable than ever before, as do the names of the artists themselves. Here, I've put together a list of some of the best country names--names which, in the style of contemporary country music, can please a wide variety of parents.

Some trends I noticed:

1. To "countrify" a girls' name, take a nickname name and add a short, one-syllable name to the end to create a double-barrelled first name. Examples: Sally Mae, Winnie Lou, Laura Bell, etc.

2. To "countrify" a boys' name,  use a one-syllable, tough-sounding name like Beau or Clay, or simple, down-homey nicknames like Billy and Randy.

THE COUNTRY GIRLS:

ALABAMA

CAROLINA Rain

CARRIE Underwood

DIXIE Chicks

DOLLY Parton

EMMA MAE Jacobs

EMMYLOU Harris

FAITH Hill

GLORIANA

HEIDI Newfield

HOLLY Williams

JENNETTE McCurdy

JESSI Alexander

JESSICA Andrews, Harp, Simpson

JOANNA Smith

KATRINA Elam

KRISTA MARIE

LAURA BELL Bundy

LeANN/LEE ANN Rimes, Womack

LORETTA LYNN

MAGGIE ROSE

MARLEE Scott

MINDY MacCready

MIRANDA Lambert

REBA McEntire

SAWYER Brown

SHEA Fisher

SIERRA Hull

SUNNY Sweeney

SUZY Burgess

VERONICA Ballestrini

WYNONNA Judd


THE COUNTRY BOYS:


AARON Lewis, Tippin

ASH Bowers

ASHTON Shepherd

BEAU Davidson

BILLY Currington, Dean, Shaver, Cyrus

BLAKE Shelton, Wise

BLAINE Larsen

BRAD Paisley

BRADY Seals

BRANTLEY Gilbert

BRETT Eldredge

BROOKS & Dunn

BUDDY Jewell, Miller

CHASE Rice

CHUCK Wicks

CHRIS (many)

CLAY Walker

CLINT Black

COLE Deggs & The Lonesome

COLT Ford

CORB Lund

CRAIG Campbell, Morgan

DARIUS Rucker

DEAN Brody

DIERKS Bentley

EASTON Corbin

FRANKIE Ballard

GARTH Brooks

GEORGE Jones, Strait

GLEN Campbell, Templeton

HAL Ketchum

HANK Williams

HUNTER Hayes

JACE Everett

JACK (many)

JASON (many)

JOSH (many)

KEITH Anderson, Urban

KENNY Chesney, Rogers, Vaughn

KIP Moore

LEE Brice, Greenwood

LUKE Bryan

NEAL McCoy

RANDY (many)

RAY Charles, Scott

RHETT Akins

RODNEY Atkins, Carrington, Crowell

SHOOTER Jennings

SONNY Burgess

TOBY Keith

TRACE Atkins

VINCE Gill

WADE Hayes

WAYLON Jennings

The Coolest Surname and Androgynous Names for Girls: From Afton to Willoughby

Mia Sara as Sloan Peterson in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986.

I think I started becoming fascinated by surname names on girls the first time I saw Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The stunning Mia Sara portrays Ferris's girlfriend, Sloan Peterson--I wanted her white leather jacket with fringe, I wanted her expressive eyes, and I wanted her carelessly-tossed hair. But more than anything, I wanted her name. It was just so--cool. It gave her character an instant sense of sophistication, class, and panache. Since then, I've heard a wide variety of surname-y, androgynous-sounding names on girls, and the best of these project the same aura as Sloan: an aura that is capable, confident, and sleek. Here are my picks:










Flannery

Sloane/Sloane

Winslow

Marlo/Marlow/Marlowe

Kensington

Kennedy

Rooney

Kingsley

Aberdeen

Walker

Baker

Willoughby

Windsor

Carson

Langley

Landry

Spenser

Greer

Quincy

Corgan

Obrien

Donnelly

Calloway

Prewitt/Pruitt

Truett

Milne

Fifer

Sterling

Cooper

Trilby

Eliot

Austen

Eyre

Bronte

Lawrence/Laurence

Locke

Lincoln

Parker

Bellamy

Jacoby

Foster

Morrissey

Murphy

Kipling

Courtland

Garland

Nash

Cade

Clark

Sullivan

Revere

Tenley

Tierney

Ferebee

Quinlan

Sutton

Tipper

Hollis

Harper

Hadley

Cameron/Camryn/Kamryn et.al

Keagan

Laramie

Greyson/Grayson

Afton

Fourth of July Baby Names: Inspired by Summer, July, and Independence Day

Fireworks blazing against  a sky of deepening blue, sparklers crackling bright, and the lake shore: these are the images that the 4^th of July brings to my mind. It’s an American holiday with proud and patriotic panache, and an impressive pedigree. Though many of us appreciate the Fourth for its traditions—barbecues, lazy summer evenings, and red, white, and blue popsicles, Independence Day also turn out to be a fantastic inspiration for baby names. For this blog, I’ve put together a list of names illuminated in summer sunlight, and steeped in a brave historical background. From color names like Azure to Revolutionary War hero names like Thaddeus, here are my picks for Fourth of July-inspired appellations:

Revolutionary War Heroes and early American icons:

Revere (Paul)

Washington (George)

Jefferson (Thomas)

Ross (Betsy)

Sybil (Ludington)

Thaddeus (Kosciuszko)

Crispus (Attucks)

Hale (Nathan)

Hancock (John)- cool in theory but that last syllable might destroy all promise…

Franklin (Benjamin)

Colors Inspired by Red, White, and Blue:

Meaning red:

Scarlet/Scarlett

Crimson

Redmond

Rory

Rufus

Meaning blue:

Navy

Cobalt

Blue

Azure

Meaning white:

Blanche

Bianca

Ivory

Zurine- Basque name meaning “white,” pronounced: soo-REEN-yuh

Finnian

Candida

Alpin

…Stretches, but still lovely names I couldn’t help but add that have something to do with the color white:

Gwendolen

Bronwen

Olwen

Mairwen

Gwyneth

Gwyneira (Gwyn-ay-ruh)

Guinevere

Fintan

Fingal

Finn

Word Names:

Patriot

America

True

Unity

Summer

Star

Boston

July

Liberty

Brave

Bravery

Land

Free

Justice

Pledge

Anthem

Valor

Lake

Freeman

Names inspired by the month of July, sign Leo and Month Gemstone:

Leo

Leopold

Leonidas

Leonie

Leocadia

Ruby

Julian

Julius

Julia

Juliana

Names meaning Star, from “stars and stripes”

Stella

Asta

Estella

Estelle

Estrella (es-tray-uh)

Star

Names meaning summer or having to do with summer:

Tesni- Girls’ Welsh name meaning “warmth from the sun”

Sunniva- From behindthename.com: Scandinavian form of the Old English name Sunngifu, which meant "sun gift" from the Old English elements sunne "sun" and giefu "gift". This was the name of a legendary English saint who was shipwrecked in Norway and killed by the inhabitants.

Somerled- meaning “summer traveler”

Vera- Derived from Albanian verë "summer"

Suvi- Finnish girls’ name meaning “summer”

Theresa- could be derived from Greek θερος (theros) "summer"

Apollo- god of the sun and light

Helios- “sun” in Greek

Elio- Italian variation of Helios

Marisol- “sea and sun”

Savitri- girls’ name: “relating to the sun” in Sanskrit

Solveig (SOOL-vie)- Norwegian, Swedish: “sun strength”

Sorin- m, Romanian- “sun”

Theia- mother of the sun god Helios