Baby Name Generators

Here are a couple of name generators I've found out there:

Emo baby Name Generator

Celebrity Baby Name Generator

Baby-name experts grade `Bronx Mowgli'

By ERIN CARLSON

The name Brooklyn has been done before, so Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and Pete Wentz turned to another New York City borough in naming their newborn son: The Bronx.

She hails from Texas, he grew up near Chicago, and the pop-rock power couple haven't said whether the Yankees' territory (and arguably the toughest real estate in New York City) inspired their unusual choice: Bronx Mowgli Wentz.

That ranks right up there with Zuma Nesta Rock — Gwen Stefani's baby boy — in the category of quirkiest baby names.

The Associated Press consulted its panel of baby-name gurus to weigh in on the scrappy-sounding moniker.

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EXPERT: Whitney Walker, co-author with Eric Reyes of "The Perfect Baby Name" and consultant through ThePerfectBabyName.com.

SPECIALTY: Phonetics and rhythm — how names sound and flow together.

IMPRESSIONS: "I actually like the name Bronx. ... It is kind of a poser move to name your kid after this particular neighborhood that's seen as being a tough New York neighborhood. But if they have some connection to it, then that's nice."

"That `x' ending and the short `o' sound — those are things that are going to be appealing to people, so it's not surprising that Bronx is a choice. ... It sound tough, and hopefully the kid will be a little bit tough, and he probably will with Pete Wentz as a father, because Pete Wentz comes across certainly as a prankster. ... Bronx isn't the name for some nerdy, shy kid, you know?"

"Mowgli is a character (from the Rudyard Kipling stories and the Disney film `The Jungle Book') who's got a lot of independence, and he's brave and he saves the day, and I think there's a great tradition of naming your kids after a fictional character ... that represents an ideal that you want to impart to your kid."

"The reason that I'm giving it a minus is because Bronx ends with an `s' sound and Wentz ends with an `s' sound, and to have two one-syllable names in a row like that (both) ending with the same sound? It's almost like it's rhyming. It's a little bit too repetitive."

GRADE: B-

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EXPERT: Maryanna Korwitts, author of "Name Power 101" and founder of BabyNamingCentral.com.

SPECIALTY: The holistic approach, from sounds and meanings to the impact of names, possible nicknames — even initials — on personality traits.

IMPRESSIONS: "With Bronx, it's got some positives: It's short, not a name that's going to be shortened with a crazy nickname, so it is what it is. It does have a very masculine sound. There's a lot of appeal to x's and z's in names for some reason for people, and so that's another positive in the way that the name looks. It's got a nice, hard sound in the beginning — and easy to spell."

"Subliminally, it's a name that's gonna encourage this child to be very independent, very headstrong. ... He's going to have a stubborn streak and really want to do things his way, which will help him growing up in a celebrity family."

"This is a child that's going to grow up using his physical traits and talents, so he would be the kind that you talk to him the wrong way, he might throw a punch. Or he might turn his sights to sports."

"One of the things that I always caution my clients on is to choose a middle name that a child is not going to be embarrassed by later on, and this is one that could definitely be one of those that's hidden. `What's your middle name?' `Oh, I don't have one.' ... That's kind of a downer, and I think when choose a name like that, they're picking it more on the basis of their own likes and dislikes and not really thinking about the child going forward."

"Bronx Wentz? Little problem in the flow there in saying the name. ... We've got some problems in that Bronx and Wentz are both one syllable, and it's a very herky-jerky type of thing when you're saying it."

GRADE: C

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EXPERT: Jennifer Moss, author of "The One-in-a-Million Baby Name Book" and founder of Babynames.com.

SPECIALTY: Practicality. Moss focuses on the research process, looking for influences such as family history and life experiences.

IMPRESSIONS: "The sound of it — Bronx Wentz — is really a harsh sound. And the name Bronx itself sounds like a honk, you know? ... It associates with a certain place — not that there's anything wrong with the Bronx, but it's, like, why? ... I mean, I don't know, it's just like naming somebody Detroit."

GRADE: D+

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COMPOSITE PANEL GRADE: C

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PREVIOUS PANEL RESULTS:

_ Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline, twins of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt: Knox Leon: C, Vivienne Marcheline: B-plus.

_ Zuma Nesta Rock, son of Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani: C-

Barack a hot name for new babies

From the International Herald Tribune
By Jennifer 8. Lee
Published: November 10, 2008

Decontee Williams was so excited by Barack Obama's victory on Tuesday night that she started jumping up and down — and went into labor. Twelve hours later, Barack Jeilah was born at Phoenix Baptist Hospital to Williams and Prince Jeilah. The baby was 8 pounds 9 ounces and had a full head of hair.

"I love Barack Obama, and I love the name," said Williams, 31, who came to the United States as a refugee from Liberia in 2003. "In Africa, we call it a blessing. That is a good name."

In the last week, Barack, Obama, Michelle, Malia and Sasha have become inspirations for first and middle names across the United States, according to news reports. But the Obama baby boom has been even more pronounced in Kenya, particularly in Kisumu, an area in the western part of the country where relatives of Obama live.

From Election Day through Saturday afternoon, 43 children born at the Nyanza Provincial Hospital in Kisumu were named after the Obamas, with 23 boys given the first and middle name Barack Obama and 20 girls named Michelle Obama.

Pamela Odhiambo, who gave birth to a girl during Obama's victory speech in Chicago, named her Michelle Obama. "It's a new start, a new beginning," said Odhiambo, 18.

There have been other presidential naming trends in the past century, according to Social Security Administration data. Franklin jumped to No. 33 in 1933, up from No. 147 in 1931. Dwight surged in the 1950s and Lyndon in the 1960s. Theodore hit its peak in the first decade of the 20th century.

"Honoring new presidents with baby namesakes used to be an American tradition," said Laura Wattenberg, author of "The Baby Name Wizard." But she pointed out that the custom faded around the time of Watergate, in part because people became more cynical about the presidency.

Wattenberg said Barack and Obama might break that trend for a number of reasons. Blacks, particularly moved by Obama's victory, tend to be more open to new names and to naming children after public figures. Also, Obama drew strong support from people of child-bearing age, and his name sounds fresh.

Obama has said that Barack has the same etymological roots as the Hebrew name Baruch, "one who is blessed."

A shift away from traditional names has meant a decline in the prevalence of John, George, William and James, the popularity (or unpopularity) of presidents notwithstanding.

There is perhaps more hope for presidential surnames, as parents look for untraditional monikers with a classic flavor. Lincoln (for boys) and Kennedy and Reagan (for girls) jumped in popularity in the 1990s. But none of those can compare with the surge by Madison, which broke into the top 10 for girls in 1998 and peaked at No. 2. (Though that may have more to do with a mermaid in the movie "Splash" than a framer of the Constitution.)

And the names can also track the rise and fall of the public's perception of presidents. Hoover came out of nowhere to land at No. 367 for boys' names in 1928, the year Herbert Hoover was elected the 31st president. Then the Great Depression started, and it dropped to No. 945 in 1931. And Clinton, a top 200 baby name for boys in the 1970s and 1980s, still ranked No. 211 in 1992. By 1999, the year after the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke, it had sunk to No. 664.

Even the most tainted presidencies have left a nomenclature mark. The Watergate president inspired some parents, at least overseas. In Venezuela, Nixon Moreno was one of the leaders behind student protests two years ago.

Then again, his co-organizer was Stalin González.