Victoria

Victoria can be thought of and used as a feminine form of Victor; really both names simply come from the Latin word for "victory." The most well-known Victoria was Queen Victoria of England (1819-1901.) Her namesakes include not only people, but cities, regions, an attitude, styles for everything from clothes to architecture, and the entire Victorian Era. Victoria is currently enjoying a popularity spike in the United States, having been a consistently top 20 or top 30 name since the early 1990's, which in unsurprising, since many names popular during the Victorian era have also been enjoying a popularity spike (though Victoria itself wasn't a particularly popular name during the same era.) Interestingly, during the same time period in England and Wales, Victoria has declined in popularity and dropped out of the top 100 names for girls. Victoria is a versatile name. A girl named Victoria can choose to be Vicki, Vicky, Vic, or Tori.

Christian

Christian means "follower of Christ," from the Latin Christianus. Christian was used in the Middle Ages as a masculine name and as a feminine name. In modern times, Christian is usually a masculine name, but is still given to some baby girls as well. The most famous bearers of the name Christian have come from Denmark, including 10 kings of that country and Hans Christian Andersen, who wrote fairy tales such as "The Princess and the Pea," "The Ugly Duckling," and my personal favorite, "The Brave Tin Soldier."

Cole

Cole is a surname that is now used as a given name for boys. The surname itself came from a given name from medieval times. The origin and meaning of the original name are not known for certain. According to Ask Oxford, "It may represent a survival into Middle English of the Old English byname Cola 'swarthy', 'coal-black', from col 'charcoal'." Cole is currently a popular name in the U.S., Canada, and Scotland. The children's nursery rhyme "Old King Cole," like many nursery rhymes, might have a factual basis. There were several rulers of ancient Britain named Coel, and one of them was probably at least the inspiration for "Old King Cole." Which one seems to be open to some debate. The most famous Cole whose existence is not in doubt, was Cole Porter. This makes a wonderful name for a black dog, such as a black lab.

Ivan

Ivan is a Russian form of John. The name is most famous for belonging to Ivan the Great, and to Ivan the Terrible, as well as Ivan Pavlov (as in "the Pavlov response.") Ivan has become a reasonably common name in the United States, having been consistently in the top 200 names for baby boys since 1990, although it should be noted that the name in Russia is pronounced a little like Yvonne, while in the U.S. it is with a long I sound (EYE-van.)

Philip

Philip means comes from the Greek philein which means "to love," and hippos which means horse, therefore, Philip means "lover of horses." Philip is a saint name, and has been a royal name in Spain and France. Philip was the name of Alexander the Great's father, and although it is less popular now than it was in the early to mid 1900's, it is still given to baby boys reasonably often. The name is reasonably versatile; nicknames include Phil, Philo, and Pip, though the latter two are not often heard today.

James

James is the English version of the name Iacomus, which is a Latin version of the Greek Iakobus. (The name Jacob ultimately comes from the same source, via the Hebrew name version of Iakobus, which is Yaakov.) James is a saint name; in the New Testament, two of Christ's disciples were named James. Several Kings of Scotland were named James. James is a perennial favorite in all English-speaking countries. It is normally a masculine name, but has on occasion been given to girls, as well. (Naming a girl James just isn't recommended. It's not like names for girls are rare.) Because James comes from the same source as Jacob, it also means "supplanter" or "holder of the heel." One reason for James' continued popularity is its versatility. Nicknames for James include Jim, Jimmy, and Jamie. The name is considered by many to be overused, and it probably is, but that overuse is not likely to stop--and there is a big difference between an overused "trendy" name that comes out of nowhere and is overused for a few years, and classic names like James, John, Anne, Mary, etc. James is likely to remain popular, and will also remain a good name choice for boys.

Asa

Asa means "doctor" or "healer" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament Asa was a king of Judah. Asa was a Puritan name (17th century) and has been popular with Jewish families. In the United States in the last century Asa has usually appeared in the top 1000 names for boys, but in the bottom 500 of that list. Personally I really like this name. Its only real drawback is that it is already such a short name that there are no real nicknames or short forms of it, so a child named Asa wouldn't have a lot of choice about what to be called later. Paired with a versatile name like William or Robert though, Asa could work out wonderfully. Asa is also a wonderful name for a dog. I don't know why it is, but it is. Trust me. An interesting (or sort of interesting) but totally irrelevant aside here: a search on Google for "Asa" shows that it's also apparently a very popular acronym. The entire first page of results is nothing but associations and societies with ASA as their initials. (See? Irrelevant. I told you.)

Bruce

It's pure coincidence that Bruce is the name I'm listing here right after having listed Morris--to me these are both cat names, but that's not why they're listed together. Alright, on to Bruce. According to Ask Oxford, Bruce was originally a Norman baronial name. Behind the Name says that it comes from the place name Brieuse in France, but Ask Oxford says there are other candidates for the place the name its taken from. So I guess no one really knows for sure. The Bruces were a Norman family that became powerful in Scotland. A member of that family, Robert the Bruce, became King Robert I of Scotland and ruled from 1306 to 1329. If you've seen the movie Braveheart you are familiar with Robert the Bruce, but that movie is not historically accurate in many respects. Popularity-wise, Bruce is not used as much as it was in the mid 1900's, but is still far from rare. The famous include Bruce Willis, Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Lee, and of course, Bruce Wayne--the alter-ego of Batman. The Cat Connection: I've been acquainted with not one but two cats named Bruce. They were both huge. In fact, they were the largest domestic housecats I've ever seen. So if you want your new kitten to grow really large, feed him well and name him Bruce. It can't hurt.

Emma

Emma is derived from the Germanic ermen meaning "all-embracing," "whole," "entire,"...you get the picture. Originally, we are told, it wasn't a name on its own at all, it was used as the first element for Old French names such as Ermengarde. How they made the leap from Ermen to Emma is just one of those little mysteries. The name was introduced to England by the Normans, but before the Norman Conquest: Emma of Normandy was twice the Queen of England, first marrying Ethelred the Unready, and after his death, marrying Canute, who was also king of Norway and Denmark. She was then mother of two kings of England, one of whom was Edward the Confessor, and William the Conqueror was her grandnephew. Possibly because of her, Emma was quite popular in the Middle Ages. One fascinating Emma was Lady Emma Hamilton, who was actually originally named Emily, but "became" an Emma. Her story is definitely worth reading. In addition to its historic and royal connections, Emma is a name with literary and popular entertainment connections as well: The book Emma by Jane Austen is a classic, which was made into a wonderful movie starring Gwyneth Paltrow in 1996. It would seem that a baby girl named Emma would have some pretty large--though ladylike--shoes to fill. One can only hope there are enough shoes to go around, since Emma has continued to be popular through the ages, and is currently enjoying a peak of popularity in many countries including the U.S, Scotland, Sweden, Ireland, Canada, and others. This is one of those names that seems old-fashioned in the good way, and always benefits from trend towards traditional names. Because of Emma's extreme popularity at the moment, I'd actually recommend against giving it to a baby girl right now--it certainly would not be unique. Emma is always a wonderful name for a fictional character, and it's also always a great name for a cat, particularly a tabby with the classic "M" on her forehead.

Robert

Robert is considered to be one of the names brought to England with the Norman Conquest. The English were, however, already using the name Hreodbeorht, and I have also seen one source report that the name the Normans brought was not Robert, but another similar name, in which case perhaps Robert represents a melding of the two names. In any case, whether the name comes from the Old English Hreodbeorht or the Germanic hrod 'fame' + berht 'bright,' the meaning is the same and comes down to "famous." And regardless of where they got it, the English of the Middle Ages loved the name Robert, and gave it to their children often, leading to the necessity for plenty of nicknames to differentiate between all those Roberts: Rob, Robbie, Bob, Bobby, Robin, and even nicknames such as Nob, Dob, Hob, and Dobbin. Of course, most of those nicknames have fallen out of use today, and few people would automatically associate "Dobbin" with "Robert," but the use of those nicknames gave us surnames such as Hopkins, Hobbs, and Dobson. Robert remains now as popular as it was in the Middle Ages, and has never really been out of use in the years in between. Famous Roberts are simply too many to name, but include three kings of Scotland, Scottish poet Robert Burns, U.S. Civil War General Robert E. Lee, one of my favorite actors of all time-- Robert Mitchum, and Robert F. Kennedy. Robert is one of the true classic names of all time, and is always an excellent choice for a baby boy.

John

From John the Baptist to King John to John Lennon to John Kerry, if I need to tell you how popular this name has been through the ages, you just haven't been paying attention. Everyone from saints to kings to popes to pop singers have been named John. Actually, the Hebrew name was more like "Johanan," but since John is the version used in the Authorized Version of the New Testament, and is the English form, that is the name we know best. Due to its extreme popularity over so many centuries, "john" has picked up at least two seperate meanings as a word rather than just being a name. "John" is a recognized synonym for a toilet, and, probably because of the habit of calling anonymous men "John Doe," prostitutes commonly refer to their customers as johns. Despite these bad associations, the name is still a reasonably good choice for a boy's name. One common nickname for John is Johnny, or its alternate spelling Johnnie, both of which are also used as names in their own right.

Charles

Charles comes from Germanic and means "man," or "free man." Charlemagne, ("Charles the Great,") was the earliest famous Charles, and the name spread with his fame. The name has since been borne by kings, holy roman emperors, and other famous or notable persons such as Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, and unfortunately for the name, Charles Manson. On a nicer note, Charles Schultz is another famous Charles, who created another more famous Charles, Charlie Brown. Charles is one of those classic names that is always popular, and although it doesn't currently have the top 10 status that it had in the early 1900's, it is still comfortably in the top 50. One reason for its continued popularity is its versatility: a child name Charles can be Charles, Chaz, Chuck, or Charlie. Incidentally, I once knew a great dane named Charles and the name fit him perfectly.

Mark

Mark comes from the Latin name Marcus, which probably derives from the Roman god of war, Mars. We are familiar with the name Mark from the New Testament, as well as American writer Mark Twain. There was also King Mark in Arthurian legend, and according to the Ask Oxford Concise Dictionary of Names, King Mark's name was probably of Celtic origin, from a word that meant "horse." Although it has recently fallen out of the top 100 names for boys in the U.S., Mark has been quite popular in the U.S. for over a century. Its status as a saint name and important biblical figure, and its simplicity, probably guarantee its continued popularity. You won't win any points for originality if you name your baby boy Mark, but its still a fine choice.

Frederick

Frederick comes from Old German and means "peaceful ruler." Frederick was a top 100 baby name for boys in the U.S. until the 1950's, but it's been used less and less since then--it seems decidedly old-fashioned at this point. Another thing that Frederick has going against it as a baby name at the moment is that the full form, Frederick, seems too formal and stiff, while the short form, Fred, generally makes us think of Fred Flintstone or Fred Mertz, and definitely sounds old-fashioned. Another common short form of Frederick is Freddy (or Freddie,) which brings to mind Freddy Krueger, so that's no help for the name, either. The name is an old classic though, and has been historically royal in Germany and Prussia. It's been abused by popular culture over the past few decades, but its chances of outliving the fame of television shows and movies are excellent, so I'm betting it will one day make a comeback. When you get past all the current connections, it's a very distinguished-sounding name. At the moment though, I'd definitely hesitate before naming a baby Frederick--at least give the kid a first or middle name with fewer interesting connections; he'll be glad you did. All that aside, Fred is a great name for a dog or cat, and we once had a fish named Fred. He was a very small bream that my brother caught in the lake and for some reason we decided to keep him and put him in an aquarium. He lived there for over a year, and seemed reasonbly happy, for a fish. Then one night someone had left the cover halfway off his tank and he made a leap for a passing fly (he loved flies,) landed on the floor, and was pretty dried out by the time we found him the next day--and obviously dead. Of course, we don't know for a fact that he was leaping for a fly, but that is probably what happened. None of that has anything at all to do with the name Frederick, but that's life.

George

George (Washington, duh,) was the first President of the United States, and has belonged to less-distinguished presidents since then, so I guess George will do as the first name added here. The literal meaning of George is someone who works in the earth, so we take that to mean "farmer." The name is derived from Greek. Saint George is the patron saint of England, and a dreaded enemy of dragons everywhere. George has been a popular name among the royal set, and history is littered with kings and princes named George. The name is currently more popular in England than in the U.S. In the U.S., it's been dropping in popularity since the early 1900's, but is still in the top 200 names for boys. Interestingly (to me, at least,) George was among the top 1000 most popular names for girls in the U.S. until 1950. Since I don't know any women, old or otherwise, named George, I'm going to assume for the moment that the name must have been given as a middle name mostly--as a namesake of a male George father or other relative, as the mother's maiden name, or maybe occasionally because moms just admired the female writers who chose "George" as their male pseudonyms. Why the drop in (U.S.) popularity in recent decades? This is one thing you can't blame on a Bush. At least, not entirely. At this point in time when most people hear the name "George," they think of an old, or at least middle-aged man. Maybe George Bush (either of them.) Maybe George Jefferson (you know, from tv.) George of the Jungle? Maybe just Uncle George who tells bad jokes and has a nervous habit of adjusting his dentures with his tongue. In short, right now, the name seems kind of old-fashioned. People who are naming their babies George (in the U.S., that is,)are probably naming them after fathers, grandfathers, or rich old relatives who might kick off at any moment and don't have any children of their own. In a generation or two, when the memories of Georges past have faded, the name will probably regain popularity once again--it's an old standard, a classic, and it's not likely to go away entirely. Why is it still so popular in England? The simple answer is probably that the British are a little more tradition-oriented and less trend-oriented when it comes to naming their babies. For the bored: Where's George, a website that lets you track one dollar bills.