Poinsettia

 

What a beautiful holiday plant to name your baby girl after. We all know someone with a Christmas related name, but not this rare gem. Pronounced POYN-setta, although some do say poin-SET-ee-ah or POINT-set-ah, you can create a wide range of nicknames such as Pippa, Settia, or just Tia. In 2010 and 2011 there were no babies named Poinsettia. The poinsettia was named for Joel Poinsett, the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. It is said he is the one who brought attention to this plant for botanists to study. It's hard to believe this Christmas plant is actually tropical. The Aztecs used this plant to produce red dye, and today Mexicans and Guatemalans call it "Noche Buena," Christmas Eve, although in Spain it is called the Easter flower. The poinsettia's Christmas origin began in Mexico, where a young girl's gift of weeds to Jesus's altar at church blossomed into poinsettias. A century later, Franciscan friars in Mexico used this plant in their Christmas celebrations because the leaves resembled the Star of Bethlehem and the red color symbolized the blood of Christ. But just so you know, poinsettias can be toxic, so don't go eating them or feeding them to your pets.

Garland

Think of Judy Garland (real name Frances Gumm), Hollywood starlet, or musician Garland Jeffries when considering Garland, unisex, as a baby name. Transfer this traditional surname into a modern holiday name, and suddenly Christmas garlands will be special to them. Garland is from Old English and Old French origins, meaning "land of the spear," "wreath," or "prize." Garland ranked until 1984 on the Social Security Administration's list of the top 1000 baby names, albeit low on the list. Nameberry says Garland is "fragrant and celebratory." For a boy, nicknames include Garry or Lando (as in Orlando), and for a girl, Laney or Galla, perhaps. In 2010 there were 14 baby boys named Garland but no baby girls named Garland. In 2011 there were 21 baby boys named Garland and 6 girls named Garland.

Baby names that mean Star

We have multiple choices for star names, from the obvious, Star, to the not so obvious, Estreya.

Star
Starlight
Starling
Starla
Starry

Stella
Estelle
Estella
Estreya
Estrella
Estelita
Estrellita
Estee
Esther
Danica
Hester
Maria, Mary and their variants mean "star of the sea"
Vesper & Vespera

Nana
Nova
Sidra
Siria
Tara
Twila
Twyla

Asta
Astra
Astera
Asteria
Asterina
Astraea
Astrea
Astri
Astria

Actual stars:
Altair (Altaira)
Capella
Arcturus
Sirius
Aludra
Nashira
Avior
The Garnet Star (Garnet, January's birth stone)
Mira
Mimosa
Gemma
Rana
Vega
Bellatrix
Mintaka
Meissa
Alcyone
Atlas
Electra
Maia
Tania
Alula
Polaris
Spica
Zaniah

Constellations and galaxies:
Draco
Andromeda
Aquila
Ara
Carina
Cassiopeia
Columba
Delphinus (from which we get the lovely name Delphina)
Leo
Lyra
Norma
Orion
Pegasus
Perseus
Phoenix
Taurus (from which we get the lovely name Tauria)
Ursa (Ursula is acceptable as a full name, Ursa the nickname)
Vela

A Christmas Carol

There are three different kinds of Carols. One, the surname Carroll, as in Lewis Carroll (born Charles) of Alice in Wonderland fame. There were 7 baby boys given Carroll as a first name in 2011. Two, the girl's name Carol, feminine variant of Charles. Three, Carol in the winter kind of way, as in Christmas caroling (my favorite kind of Carol). Carol last ranked in 2006 at #972

Carroll is suitable for a boy, but upon hearing the name many might be confused on the gender. Carol was originally a male anglicized form of Carolus, meaning "free man." As a female name it probably started as a short form of Caroline. Charles comes from the same root. Carola, Carly, Charlotte, Carla, Carlene, Charla and Carolina are all feminine variants of the same meaning. Charlemagne, Carl, Carlo, Carlos, and Chuck are all male variants of the same meaning. Chip, Chaz and Chad have been used as nicknames.

Carol can also be given as a reference to caroling, carol from the English word for "song," and the history of Christmas caroling gives you a pretty excuse for naming your winter baby Carol. There are other musically inspired baby names to give your child, including Aria, Chantal, Lauda, Gita, Lyric, Melody, Odele, Sonata and Ceridwen.

Peaceful Baby Names

Everyone knows how stressful the holidays can be, but everyone also knows how peaceful those silent nights can be. Here is my holiday list of names that are peaceful...

Dove, the universal symbol of peace.
Columba, pn. co-LUM-ba, meaning "dove." There is a St. Columba.
Paloma, Spanish, also meaning "dove." In 2010 Paloma ranked at #698.
Aloma is the shorter form of Paloma, meaning "dove."
Callum, from Scottish Gaelic Calum, a variant of Columba, meaning "dove." Calumina is the female variant.
Culver is Old English from the same root as Callum, meaning "dove."
Jemima, Hebrew, meaning "dove."
Yonina is also Hebrew, meaning "dove."

Paz, Spanish, in reference to Our Lady of Peace, means "peace."
Paxton (male) is from Latin and Old English, meaning "peace town."
Concordia, meaning "harmony," the goddess of peace after a battle.
Olivia, meaning "olive tree." Extending (giving) an olive branch is a symbol of offering peace. Fun fact: Shakespeare coined Olivia as a girl's name from the name Oliver.
Mira, which Latin, Slavic and Hindi. One of its meanings is "peace."
Axel, Hebrew, and Axelle, Old German, meaning "father is peace."
Nitsa, the German nickname of Greek goddess Irene, both meaning "peace." Yarina and Rena also come from Irene.
Amani, which is Kiswahili, means "peace."
Malina, Hawaiian, meaning "peace."
Chessa, Slavic, meaning "at peace."
Inga, Scandinavian and Old Norse, meaning "guarded by Ing." Ing was a god of fertility and peace.
Zulema, Arabic, meaning "peace."
Shalom, a Hebrew greeting, means "peace." Also Salome, Salama and Selima.
Wilfreda, the feminine form of Wilfred, means "desiring peace."
Winifred, Old English and Welsh, means "joy and peace."
Evania means "peaceful," as does Freda, Paccia and Pacifica.
Emeline can mean "peaceful home," as does Karinya.
Casimir, Polish, "announcing peace."
Farica, Frederica and Frederick, "peaceful ruler."
Geoffrey, "pledge of peace."
Milo, "peaceful."


Names that mean calm...
Galina
Halcyon, Halcyone, Alcyone
Lana
Janoah
Placidia
Lulu
Serena
Serenity

Cosima means "order, beauty."
Amity means "friendship, harmony."

And there's always plain old Peace...

December's Birthstone: Turquoise, Fairuza

Traditionally, if you're a Capricorn you should be wearing a ruby, although turquoise is considered December's modern stone. It is not uncommon for a month to have more than one stone.

So, since Ruby currently ranks #113, I will cover Turquoise, and it's Turkish gem-turned-baby-name, Fairuza. Turquoise would make a fine middle name in my opinion, because it's not as feminine and frilly as Ruby, Amethyst, Coral, etc. Fairuza, on the other hand, has first name potential. Fairuza is Turkish, meaning "turquoise." Pronounced fy-RO-zah, fair-OO-zah, or FY-ru-zah, you might be more inclined to ask actress Fairuza Balk (of The Craft and Waterboy fame) how she pronounces her name.

A suitable nickname for Fairuza is Fay. It was originally spelled Firouza, which is where the fy-RO-zah pronunciations come from. It can also mean "happiness," "luck," "precious one" and "victory." I believe the word fairuz means "turquoise" in Arabic, and all versions might come from the Persian word piruzeh, also meaning "turquoise." Firuza could work as another option if you don't prefer the spelling of Fairuza. There were no baby girls born in 2010 or 2011 with the name Fairuza or Firuza.

North

Today's name: North (male)

Potential nicknames: Nor

Origin: Old English, from nord. This is where "Norse" and "Nordic" come from.

Popularity: North has long been used as a surname, including variants such as Northman, and occasionally used as a given name. In 2010 there were 19 baby boys named North, and in 2011 there were 20.

Fun fact: North hosts a ton of different impressions: snow, "up north," winter, Christmas time, cardinal north, etc. It has also been the hereditary surname of the Earls of Guildford.