September Name Sightings (and Babies!)

I’ve been publishing name sightings for the past few months now, but this month I lucked out and spotted some babies’ names!  So, my September post includes a few birth announcements. 🙂

I met:

Tor – in his 20s. His middle name is also Scandinavian; Behind the Name defines Tor as a Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish form of Thor. Only 14 boys were named Tor in 2016, compared to 87 Thors.

Agape – teenage girl. The name has nothing to do with the English word, but with an Ancient Greek word for love (especially in a divine or Biblical sense). This name is pronounced with 3 syllables: ah-gah-pay or ah-gah-pee. 7 girls were named Agape in 2016.

Leila – Adult. Leila is *not* an unusual name, but she pronounced it like “Lyla.” Until this point, I assumed everyone said Leila the way they say Layla. Leila currently ranks #230 in the U.S.; Lyla, #138.

Shirley – a man in his 70s. Shirley started out as a men’s name, and it would have still been in the top 1000 when he was born. I wonder what his life’s been like; Shirley was extremely trendy a few years before he was born. Was he a real-life “Boy Named Sue?” 168 girls were named Shirley in 2016.

Via Facebook:

Kyrslynn – No information on this name, though I’m surprised she’s not a young child considering the trendiness of “-Lynn” names. All I can think of is that it’s somehow related to “Kyrsten.”

Loredana – A very rare name that hasn’t charted in SSA data since 2001.

From Elsewhere:

Charlay – young woman. 5 girls were named Charlay in 2016.

Ripley–Reece – unknown gender, but definitely an adult. Double-barrel names are uncommon in this country, and Ripley is on its own. 128 girls and 26 boys were named Ripley last year, while 474 boys and 175 girls were named Reece.

Olwen – also an adult. Olwen is a beautiful and extremely rare Welsh girls’ name. Apparently it hasn’t appeared in American birth data since 1917, but you can find 11 in the 2016 English/Welsh data.

Justo – Probably a form of Justus. Justo was given to just 5 boys last year.

Robinson – Robinson Crusoe! 54 boys were given this literary name last year.

Kiernan – person (likely female) with a sixty-year-old sister. In 2016, 32 boys and 16 girls were named Kiernan. 

Birth announcements!

Brody Krishna – I believe his dad is Indian. Brody ranks #135 in the U.S., while Krishna lies far below the top 1000 (with 73 boys and 24 girls in 2016).

Clara Blue – Clara currently ranks #99 in the U.S., but Blue is a rare first name (23 boys/16 girls last year). I expect Blue is far more popular as a middle name, as it’s short and takes on a hipster quality.

Alanna Valentina – Both Alanna (#564) and Valentina (#106) are in the top 1000! 

Milly Emma – Only 112 girls were named Milly in 2016; Millie is the more popular spelling with a rank of #436. Emma is the #1 name in America.

What do you think of these names? Have you spotted any interesting ones lately? Met any babies with cool names? Let me know in the comments!

Previous rare name round-ups:

• August Name Sightings!
• Rare Name Round-Up! (May-July 2017)
• Name Spotting! (March-April 2017)