Posted: 13 Jan 2010 02:27 AM PST

I've always loved to read the birth listings – just to see the different baby names. (Remember when Shaquille O'Neal began playing in the NBA? Suddenly there were a bunch of little boys being named Shaquille.) And I've always been a sucker for those little paperback books about naming your baby … what the names mean, the traditional baby names, the trendy ones.

Naturally, when some celebrity comes along and gives his or her kids oddball names (think Moon Unit Zappa, Gwyneth Paltrow's Apple or Brad and Angelina's x-factor kids: Knox, Pax and Maddox), my girlfriends and I have a field day discussing the parents' motives.. Last year, we had big fun with Sarah Palin, whose children have names like Track and Trig and Piper Indy — whose middle name is allegedly a salute to Indiana Jones. (For a few laughs, go to the Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator and see wha tyour name would be if you were a member of the Palin clan. I am "Rock Crane Palin," for the record.)

So what names are hot for 2010? The folks at nameberry.com tell us that short, old-fashioned boys' names are all the rage: Max, Gus, Hank, Hal and Bob.

For girls, the latest trend is to add an "ie" to a name: Gracie, Ellie, Evie, Josie. Names that start with L and those that have two Ls are all the rage: Lily, Layla, Leila, Delilah, Tallulah, even Lulu and Lucille.

Also hot? E names for both boys and girls: Evan, Eden, Eli, Eliza, Ella, Evangeline, Elliott, et al.

Harder for me to imagine: The authors also predict a return to old-fashioned names once considered frumpy – Dorothy, Edith, Florence, Alice, Frank, Harold, Harvey, Raymond, etc.

And two big fruity surprises: Prune is all the rage among French moms; her counterpart, Plum, however, is gaining favor in the U.S.

Finally, a drumroll for the comeback name of the decade: Felix.

Any thoughts on the name game? Did you try to find a unique name, a name that was popular at the time, or something conservative? Any debates on names?

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

'Salish Sea' Deemed the 'Name of the Year' - Kitsap Sun

Posted: 12 Jan 2010 07:19 PM PST

The name "Salish Sea" has been chosen over "Twitter" as the American Name Society's "Name of the Year."

The Salish Sea is defined as the inland waterway in Washington and British Columbia that includes Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Strait of Georgia.

"I think it is significant because it is a brand new name," said Cleveland Evans, who conducted the competition for the American Name Society, an academic organization. "It fits ecological interests, being invented by a biologist. And it has a Native American connection, chosen from a name for a broad ethnic group..."

The Canadian connection didn't hurt either, Evans said, because his organization has a significant number of Canadian members.

The name "Salish Sea" was conceived a decade ago by Bert Webber, a professor at Western Washington University in Bellingham. Webber, a biologist, wanted to stress the ecological connections between the branching waterway that crosses the international border. He took "Salish" from Coast Salish, an ethnographic designation for many Northwest native people.

"Salish Sea" became an official name in 2009, when it was adopted by the Washington State Board on Geographic Names, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names and the Geographic Names Board of Canada.

Coming up with an annual "Name of the Year" is one of the nonacademic events at the American Name Society's annual conference. This year's conference was held in Baltimore last weekend.

To became the "Name of the Year," "Salish Sea" first had to be declared the "Place Name of the Year." Competitors in that category included "Afghanistan" and "Helmand Valley," a region in Afghanistan.

From there, said Evans, "Salish Sea" was chosen above the winners in other categories:

— "Twitter" was selected as "Trade Name of the Year." Although Twitter was launched in 2006, it became a global phenomenon in 2009, when it became the fastest-growing word searched on Google. Twitter also played a role in the protests in Iran.

— "Max" was voted the "Fictional Name of the Year," because of the influence of the book and film "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak. Max and Maxwell have become popular baby names.

Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger was picked as the "Personal Name of the Year." As Evans noted, "The name of the pilot who safely landed an airliner on the Hudson River last January illustrates how a name some might find odd and even nerdish can gain a heroic image from current events."

Ellis said "Salish Sea" rose above the other names because, "we thought, among the candidates, that is was the most culturally and historically significant."

Last year's "Name of the Year" was better known. "Barack Hussein Obama" is one of the most "exotic" names in the history of politics, Ellis said.

"'Barack Obama' would have been enough to make it unique," he noted, "but then it has 'Hussein' in the middle."

About 200 people are enlisted in the American Name Society, with others on the mailing list, Evans said. The organization promotes the study of names and their relationships to geography, psychology, linguistics, sociology and history.

The annual conference is scheduled at the same time and place as the American Dialect Society, an older and larger organization.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

OMG! Dannii's having a baby! - Sugarscape

Posted: 13 Jan 2010 08:03 AM PST

Aww, Miss Minogue and her partner are over the moon now they've got a little bundle of joy on the way...

X Factor judge Dannii Minogue has confirmed that she is 12 weeks pregnant with her first child. And the pop princess, 38, and her rugby league star boyfriend Kris Smith, 31, are said to be 'very excited' about their new arrival.

The couple are currently celebrating with Dannii's family in Australia, but they made sure all of us back here in Blighty were let in on the good news by tweeting about the pregnancy on their Twitter pages.

Dannii told her Twitter followers: 'Woo hoo I'm going to be a mummy!'

While Kris wrote on his page: 'Woo hoo I'm going to be a daddy!'

And it's clear the whole Minogue family are overjoyed, with even big sister Kylie joining in on the tweeting, writing: 'Congratulations to my sister Dannii and her partner Kris on the happy news!!!! I am so excited to be an Aunty again!! WOW WOW WOW!! xxx'

But with the new baby due in July it now seems unlikely that Dannii will return as a judge on the X Factor, which hits are screens again in August this year. The bets are on as to who Simon will choose as her replacement!